Theme: Animals
17A: Tuxes: MONKEY SUITS
62A: Orange, spotted flowers: TIGER LILIES
11D: Wrestling holds: BEAR HUGS
12D: Ballroom dances: FOX TROTS
Fauna aplenty. And they are in all plural forms. I really like this consistency. And a new constructor to boot.
But I took a series of flogging today, starting from the very beginning (naturally): I put in FIBIA (confused with FIBULA) for 1A, then I put in FAJITA for 1D. ANGELO Dundee is a total stranger to me, in fact, the only Dundee I knew is the town in Scotland, where people use dirk, snee, dagger, and all sorts of crossword friendly weapons.
I could not squeeze BENGAY out of my brain either, I vaguely remember Johan Santana or some other Twins pitcher touted about this stuff before, but my mind was preoccupied with Tiger Balm & Icy Hot, thanks to Jerry Rice and Shaq O'Neal's aching Radio/Radio commercials. ATELIER was actually not a new word to me, I just forgot how to spell it correctly.
So, I got myself in a SNAFU there, then I moved to the MOSSIER part. Another hard scramble. Could not remember URIAH Heep, struggled with RETARD. I remember a headline of "Demure Condi Rice Demurs" during the Senate hearing 2 or 3 years ago, but I never knew that DEMURE was affectedly modest. I always associated it with reticent and reserved.
Oh, the scourge of the CBS corner: I actually did not fill in SYS blindly for 67A. I glanced at 56D: Small rodents, plural, OK, so it had to be SYS. When I could not extricate any animal whose name ends with a letter C, I was atingle with annoyance (Thanks, William, for this word.), and I quickly darted away. (Note to Huge B: Did I use "atingle" properly here?)
Total time spent: close to 1 hour (including googling)
Across entries:
1A: Leg bone: TIBIA. Plural form is Tibiae. Inner bone. Fibula is outer bone. Plural form is Fibulae. Femur is the largest & longest bone, its plural is either femurs or femora.
6A: Lookout's warning: ALARM. Does the lookout here mean a person, Dennis? I don't quite understand the clue.
14A: __ we all? AREN'T. Since DON'T does not fit.
17A: Tuxes: MONKEY SUITS. A big stumper. No idea.
19A: Org. for DAs: ABA (American Bar Association). Jack McCoy has become a DA, no place for Arthur in Law & Order!. What an anemic effort by the forever languid Fred Thompson in his presidential campaign. Disappointing.
20A: Dundee of boxing: ANGELO. He is a boxing cornerman who has worked with 15 world boxing champions, including Ali, Sugar Ray, George Foreman, etc. (Wekipedia information)
22A: Alphabet trio: RST. I could not find a better way to clue this RST either.
23A: Intros: LEAD-INS
25A: Heep of fiction: URIAH. Have never read David Copperfield, or any Dickens work.
27A: Ending for green or crock: ERY. Knew Greenery. Not crockery (crocks collectively; earthenware.)
35A: Tease: RAG ON. To irritate or provoke. I was in the direction of "come-on".
39A: Umps's cousins: REFS
39A: Lines: RULED. Tough for me. Somehow I was not in the math track. I always pegged RULES with all kinds of regulatory stipulations.
42A: Form a secret merger?: ELOPE. Good clue.
44A: Actress Suzanne: SOMERS. Finally an actress I know. Just saw American Graffiti a few month ago, both SOMERS and RON (31D: Howard of "Happy Days") were in it.
46A: Informal college dances: MIXERS
48A: Simone or Foch: NINA. Not familiar with either of them. Only knew NINA RICCI the fashion designer or the perfume line. For a brief moment, Simone de Beauvoir popped into my head.
52A: Step: TREAD
54A: More clogged, as a delta: SILTIER. I suppose so. I misread as More clogged, as a data.
62A: Orange, spotted flowers: TIGER LILIES. So pretty.
65A: Madonna role: EVITA
66A: "Dallas" matriarch: ELLIE. Have never watched "Dallas". Somehow I heard of Sue Ellen, so I put in ELLEN first.
67A: Part of CBS?: ESS. You can only fool me once!!
68A: Passe: DATED
69A: Sowing items: SEEDS
Down entries:
1D: Mexican menu item: TAMALE. Have never had this dish before. Well, if you grow up during Chinese Cultural Revolution, you do not want to touch corn again, ever!
2D: One with a pressing engagement: IRONER. What? What is an engagement? Not a pressing instrument?
3D: Soothing product: BENGAY. Found out that BENGAY was developed by a French guy named Jules Bengué, hense the name BENGAY.
4D: Signed: INKED. Misread the clue as Sighed.
5D: Artist's workshop: ATELIER. Fancy word for a studio.
6D: _ gratia artis: ARS. Art for Art's sake.
9D: Slow down: RETARD. I think I like this word now, after the excruciating pain to ferret it out.
10D: More antiquated: MOSSIER. Big trouble for me. Only knew moss the noun.
11D: Wrestling holds: BEAR HUGS. Not a wrestling fan, but this word is easily inferable.
18D: Over thar: YONDER. I hated words like Thar, Owly, Atip. You just cannot find them in the dictionary. Thar she blows!
24D: Skull cavity: SINUS
26D: Build up: AMASS. Feel so sorry for those Bear Stearns employees, all their money are gone! Stupid James Cayne!
29D: Claw: TALON
32D: Two of a penny? ENS. You cannot trap me here.
33D: Regarding: AS PER
36D: "Man on the Moon" group: R. E. M. : Have never heard of this song. Not a fan of the band either. Only knew REM as Rapid Eye Movement.
38D: Ballroom dances: FOX TROTS
40D: Repudiation: DENIAL
43D: Put up: ERECTED
47D: Mouth moisture: SALIVA
49D: Comparative construction: SIMILE
50D: Epic by Virgil: AENEID: Nope. Have never heard of it.
51D: Turning points: CRISES. Why? I don't get it. I only know crisis as in Financial Crisis, did I miss something here?
55D: Veil material: TULLE. Saw this word in the puzzle several weeks ago.
56D: Small rodents: MICE
59D: Rose or Sampras: PETE. I think we have Pete Rose (Charlie Hustle)'s rookie card.
63D: Unit of absorbed energy: RAD (Radiation Absorbed Dose). Pls read drdad's explanation at the Comment section.
C.C.
17A: Tuxes: MONKEY SUITS
62A: Orange, spotted flowers: TIGER LILIES
11D: Wrestling holds: BEAR HUGS
12D: Ballroom dances: FOX TROTS
Fauna aplenty. And they are in all plural forms. I really like this consistency. And a new constructor to boot.
But I took a series of flogging today, starting from the very beginning (naturally): I put in FIBIA (confused with FIBULA) for 1A, then I put in FAJITA for 1D. ANGELO Dundee is a total stranger to me, in fact, the only Dundee I knew is the town in Scotland, where people use dirk, snee, dagger, and all sorts of crossword friendly weapons.
I could not squeeze BENGAY out of my brain either, I vaguely remember Johan Santana or some other Twins pitcher touted about this stuff before, but my mind was preoccupied with Tiger Balm & Icy Hot, thanks to Jerry Rice and Shaq O'Neal's aching Radio/Radio commercials. ATELIER was actually not a new word to me, I just forgot how to spell it correctly.
So, I got myself in a SNAFU there, then I moved to the MOSSIER part. Another hard scramble. Could not remember URIAH Heep, struggled with RETARD. I remember a headline of "Demure Condi Rice Demurs" during the Senate hearing 2 or 3 years ago, but I never knew that DEMURE was affectedly modest. I always associated it with reticent and reserved.
Oh, the scourge of the CBS corner: I actually did not fill in SYS blindly for 67A. I glanced at 56D: Small rodents, plural, OK, so it had to be SYS. When I could not extricate any animal whose name ends with a letter C, I was atingle with annoyance (Thanks, William, for this word.), and I quickly darted away. (Note to Huge B: Did I use "atingle" properly here?)
Total time spent: close to 1 hour (including googling)
Across entries:
1A: Leg bone: TIBIA. Plural form is Tibiae. Inner bone. Fibula is outer bone. Plural form is Fibulae. Femur is the largest & longest bone, its plural is either femurs or femora.
6A: Lookout's warning: ALARM. Does the lookout here mean a person, Dennis? I don't quite understand the clue.
14A: __ we all? AREN'T. Since DON'T does not fit.
17A: Tuxes: MONKEY SUITS. A big stumper. No idea.
19A: Org. for DAs: ABA (American Bar Association). Jack McCoy has become a DA, no place for Arthur in Law & Order!. What an anemic effort by the forever languid Fred Thompson in his presidential campaign. Disappointing.
20A: Dundee of boxing: ANGELO. He is a boxing cornerman who has worked with 15 world boxing champions, including Ali, Sugar Ray, George Foreman, etc. (Wekipedia information)
22A: Alphabet trio: RST. I could not find a better way to clue this RST either.
23A: Intros: LEAD-INS
25A: Heep of fiction: URIAH. Have never read David Copperfield, or any Dickens work.
27A: Ending for green or crock: ERY. Knew Greenery. Not crockery (crocks collectively; earthenware.)
35A: Tease: RAG ON. To irritate or provoke. I was in the direction of "come-on".
39A: Umps's cousins: REFS
39A: Lines: RULED. Tough for me. Somehow I was not in the math track. I always pegged RULES with all kinds of regulatory stipulations.
42A: Form a secret merger?: ELOPE. Good clue.
44A: Actress Suzanne: SOMERS. Finally an actress I know. Just saw American Graffiti a few month ago, both SOMERS and RON (31D: Howard of "Happy Days") were in it.
46A: Informal college dances: MIXERS
48A: Simone or Foch: NINA. Not familiar with either of them. Only knew NINA RICCI the fashion designer or the perfume line. For a brief moment, Simone de Beauvoir popped into my head.
52A: Step: TREAD
54A: More clogged, as a delta: SILTIER. I suppose so. I misread as More clogged, as a data.
62A: Orange, spotted flowers: TIGER LILIES. So pretty.
65A: Madonna role: EVITA
66A: "Dallas" matriarch: ELLIE. Have never watched "Dallas". Somehow I heard of Sue Ellen, so I put in ELLEN first.
67A: Part of CBS?: ESS. You can only fool me once!!
68A: Passe: DATED
69A: Sowing items: SEEDS
Down entries:
1D: Mexican menu item: TAMALE. Have never had this dish before. Well, if you grow up during Chinese Cultural Revolution, you do not want to touch corn again, ever!
2D: One with a pressing engagement: IRONER. What? What is an engagement? Not a pressing instrument?
3D: Soothing product: BENGAY. Found out that BENGAY was developed by a French guy named Jules Bengué, hense the name BENGAY.
4D: Signed: INKED. Misread the clue as Sighed.
5D: Artist's workshop: ATELIER. Fancy word for a studio.
6D: _ gratia artis: ARS. Art for Art's sake.
9D: Slow down: RETARD. I think I like this word now, after the excruciating pain to ferret it out.
10D: More antiquated: MOSSIER. Big trouble for me. Only knew moss the noun.
11D: Wrestling holds: BEAR HUGS. Not a wrestling fan, but this word is easily inferable.
18D: Over thar: YONDER. I hated words like Thar, Owly, Atip. You just cannot find them in the dictionary. Thar she blows!
24D: Skull cavity: SINUS
26D: Build up: AMASS. Feel so sorry for those Bear Stearns employees, all their money are gone! Stupid James Cayne!
29D: Claw: TALON
32D: Two of a penny? ENS. You cannot trap me here.
33D: Regarding: AS PER
36D: "Man on the Moon" group: R. E. M. : Have never heard of this song. Not a fan of the band either. Only knew REM as Rapid Eye Movement.
38D: Ballroom dances: FOX TROTS
40D: Repudiation: DENIAL
43D: Put up: ERECTED
47D: Mouth moisture: SALIVA
49D: Comparative construction: SIMILE
50D: Epic by Virgil: AENEID: Nope. Have never heard of it.
51D: Turning points: CRISES. Why? I don't get it. I only know crisis as in Financial Crisis, did I miss something here?
55D: Veil material: TULLE. Saw this word in the puzzle several weeks ago.
56D: Small rodents: MICE
59D: Rose or Sampras: PETE. I think we have Pete Rose (Charlie Hustle)'s rookie card.
63D: Unit of absorbed energy: RAD (Radiation Absorbed Dose). Pls read drdad's explanation at the Comment section.
C.C.
