Theme: CONTAINERS
7A: Stunt pilot's maneuver: BARREL ROLL
61A: Jersey add-on: CHEST PATCH
11D: Louella Parsons' rival: HEDDA HOPPER
25D: Roe v. Wade, notably: FEDERAL CASE
26D: Fight with feet: KICKBOX
A few things first:
1) As I replied to the whoo in yesterday's comment, this blog has about 3,000 visitors every day (Record: 5,750 on April 7). So, on average, about 1% of the solvers leaves comment.
Many of you still prefer to send me emails, and I am grateful for you kind words and I am happy that you are willing to share with me your daily solving experience. But please do not feel ignored if you've received no response from me. I simply do not have enough time. I do, however, read every one of your email. And I believe that I've replied to all the emails with a crossword-related question in them.
I really hope you guys will join us at the Comment section, it's only 2 clicks away. And it's so much fun there. Besides, your question will be addressed more quickly and expertly. Dennis, Dick and Drdad all check in regularly during the daytime.
You've also been watching me blundering my way out of this crossword labyrinth every morning, and you've been seeing me asking all kinds of questions. Some might sound silly to others, but honestly they are TERRA INCOGNITA to me, and I am not afraid to ask. I hope you will do the same if you are baffled by certain clues/cluing. Remember, no question, as long as it's crossword related, will ever be deemed silly or dumb here in my blog. And to quote Will Rogers, "Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects"
2) To those whose local newspapers only carry Monday-Friday TMS puzzle: You can always go to Chicago Tribune's Crossword website for Saturday puzzle. It's always themeless and quite fun to solve sometimes.
Now, back to today's mammoth headache. Oh what a nightmarish puzzle! Stupid CERF/PARI section! CERF appeared on last Sunday's puzzle, and irked me greatly as I had never heard of his name before (there were 7 authors' names in that brutal puzzle). So I googled, whined in my blog, then I promptly forgot.
I also could not remember Parimutuel and XKE, both of them appeared in this constructor's Feb 1, puzzle. Did not know that BARRIO is Spanish for neighborhood. Vaguely heard of Hedda Hopper, but I could not retrieve her surname out of my brain. So, a total quagmire there.
MOHS, HILLEL, EMILO, KEMP, AMECHE are all my Muqtada al-Sadr this morning. So formidble and hard to catch. I simply do not have enough ammo or strategy to fight them. The only thing that made me happy was to see NIC Robertson intersecting KICKBOX. I adore NIC.
Boy, it's been such a sluggish week for me. I guess I was distracted by something Philadephia related. Could be Obama's anemic off-performance, or Hillary's begrudging "Yes, Yes, Yes" comment, or I was simply bothered by Chris Coste, Ryan Howard and their fans. Twins suck!!
Across entries:
1A: Big name in book publishing: KNOPF. Gimme for me. Carl Bernstein's "A Woman in Charge" (Hillary Clinton)'s publisher. It also published Clinton's "My Life". KNOPT is now owned by Random House.
6A: Minerals scale: MOHS. No idea. Mineral hardness measure scale, named after German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. Now, how I can remember such a forgettable name?
10A: Cut with an ax: CHOP
14A: Actress Garson: GREER. Ha ha, got her this time.
15A: Reebok rival: AVIA. Curious about the history of Adias and Puma? And a bit Nike? Read this book (Three Strips Verus Puma). English version is now available.
19A: Deuce follower, perhaps: AD IN
21A: Puzo book, with "The": LAST DON. Since "Godfather" and "Sicilian" do not fit. He also wrote "Omerta" of course. I've read all of them, in Chinese naturalmente.
23A: IRS payout: REFUND
26A: Dole's 1996 slate-mate: KEMP (Jack). I am not familiar with American politics in the '90s. I've only lived under one president, the current occupant of the White House!
28A: Courtroom declaration: PLEA. Really? I thought you declare "guilty" or "not guilty" in the courtroom. I wanted OYEZ.
29A: Actor Estevez: EMILIO. Forgot. He has to change his name in Sheen for me remember him.
31A: "__ Jude": HEY
32A: Anti -DUI org.: MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
33A: Roberson of CNN: NIC
38A: Classic Jaguar: XKE
40A: Actress Hedren: TIPPI. Wow, she is Melanie Griffith's mom, did not know that before. She was in "The Bird"? That's one scary movie.
43A: Vitamin-bottle data, briefly: RDAS (Recommended Dietary Allowance). Why do they make the vitamin pills so big? It's so hard for me to swallow.
45A: _ humbug!: BAH. Hmm, Scrooge is thy name Mr. Williams!
47A: Straddle: SPAN. Astraddle is also a word, like yesterday's astride.
50A: Leon lady: SENORA. Did not know where Leon was. But SENORA was easily inferable. Leon is in north Spain by the way. I love the movie LÉON a lot.
52A: Bennett of Random House: CERF. Founder of Random House.
53A: Bad French: MAL. Pas MAL a clue at all. In fact, I like it a lot. Much better than "_ de mer".
54A: Kentucky fort: KNOX
55A: Spanish neighborhood: BARRIO. No idea.
57A: Makes allowances for: EXCUSES
59A: What cons do: TIME. Good clue. Too bad I tanked this one.
60A: Quahog, e. g.: CLAM. Nailed it this time.
66A: Padlock partner: HASP
67A: Prefix for spaces: AERO
68A: Sadat of Egypt: ANWAR. He succeeded Nasser, then Mubarak succeeded him. He and Begin shared the 1978 Nobel Peace prize. He was indeed a visionary who dared.
69A: Merino mamas: EWES
71A: Bacterial infection: STAPH (Staphylococcus). No idea.
Down entries:
2D: Gun Lobby: NRA. Needs an "Org." in the clue to indicate an abbreviation.
4D: Won over: PERSUADED
5D: Refrigerant gas: FREON. All right, "FRE" stands for "refrigerant", and "-on" is suffix for inert gas.
6D: Slugger McGwire: MARK. Too bad, he screwed up his HOF chance. McGwire is also a scratch golfer, very powerful swing.
7D: Lacto - __ vegetarian: OVO. "Lacto" is milk, "ovo" is egg. Basically it's Vegan + Egg + Milk. I have discipline problem, so I can only be a flexitarianist at best!
8D: Ancient Jewish rabbi: HILLEL. No idea. It's "Palestinian rabbi who greatly influenced the interpretation of Judaic law". Literally the word means "he praised" in Hebrew.
9D: Seasoned sausages: SALAMIS
12D: Bobolink's cousin: ORIOLE. Not a bird person, did not know what was a bobolink. Would've got it had it clued as "Baltimore ball player" or "Cal Ripken Jr. is one".
13D: J. C. follower: PENNEY
18D: Heavily burdened: LADEN
22D: Gush forth: SPOUT
23D: Turning figs.: RPMS (Revolutions Per Minute)
24D: Israel's airline: EL AL
26D: Fight with feet: KICKBOX. Let me show you how.
30D: Shuffle: MIX
35D: Wrongdoer: MISCREANT. I suppose this word is too harsh to describe Jeff Immelt. But can I say his mind-boggling behavior is "MISCREANT"? Crazy, if you could not deliver, why would you promise? Would things changed that dramatically in a month? Time to leave!!
37D: To-do list stuff: TASKS
41D: __-mutuel: PARI. What can I say? I have a picky brain. It just refuses to remember certain things.
42D: Skinny, sort of: INFO. If I were the constructor, I would clue it as "Skinny, short".
44D: Five Nations tribe members: SENECAS. Nope. I totally forgot this word 5 seconds after I met him last time. SENECA is "a members of the largest tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy of North American Indians, formerly inhabiting western New York and being conspicuous in the wars south and west of Lake Erie."
46D: Convent attire: HABIT
48D: "Cocoon" star: AMECHE (Don). No, total stranger to me.
49D: Accountant's concern: TAX LAW
51D: Snacks: NOSHES
56D: Oscar org.: AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Flirted with ASCAP until PATCH (61A) came along.
63D: Hughes' airline: TWA (Trans World Airlines)
64D: Tooth topper: CAP
65D: Monarch's letters: HRH (His/Her Royal Highness)
C.C.
7A: Stunt pilot's maneuver: BARREL ROLL
61A: Jersey add-on: CHEST PATCH
11D: Louella Parsons' rival: HEDDA HOPPER
25D: Roe v. Wade, notably: FEDERAL CASE
26D: Fight with feet: KICKBOX
A few things first:
1) As I replied to the whoo in yesterday's comment, this blog has about 3,000 visitors every day (Record: 5,750 on April 7). So, on average, about 1% of the solvers leaves comment.
Many of you still prefer to send me emails, and I am grateful for you kind words and I am happy that you are willing to share with me your daily solving experience. But please do not feel ignored if you've received no response from me. I simply do not have enough time. I do, however, read every one of your email. And I believe that I've replied to all the emails with a crossword-related question in them.
I really hope you guys will join us at the Comment section, it's only 2 clicks away. And it's so much fun there. Besides, your question will be addressed more quickly and expertly. Dennis, Dick and Drdad all check in regularly during the daytime.
You've also been watching me blundering my way out of this crossword labyrinth every morning, and you've been seeing me asking all kinds of questions. Some might sound silly to others, but honestly they are TERRA INCOGNITA to me, and I am not afraid to ask. I hope you will do the same if you are baffled by certain clues/cluing. Remember, no question, as long as it's crossword related, will ever be deemed silly or dumb here in my blog. And to quote Will Rogers, "Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects"
2) To those whose local newspapers only carry Monday-Friday TMS puzzle: You can always go to Chicago Tribune's Crossword website for Saturday puzzle. It's always themeless and quite fun to solve sometimes.
Now, back to today's mammoth headache. Oh what a nightmarish puzzle! Stupid CERF/PARI section! CERF appeared on last Sunday's puzzle, and irked me greatly as I had never heard of his name before (there were 7 authors' names in that brutal puzzle). So I googled, whined in my blog, then I promptly forgot.
I also could not remember Parimutuel and XKE, both of them appeared in this constructor's Feb 1, puzzle. Did not know that BARRIO is Spanish for neighborhood. Vaguely heard of Hedda Hopper, but I could not retrieve her surname out of my brain. So, a total quagmire there.
MOHS, HILLEL, EMILO, KEMP, AMECHE are all my Muqtada al-Sadr this morning. So formidble and hard to catch. I simply do not have enough ammo or strategy to fight them. The only thing that made me happy was to see NIC Robertson intersecting KICKBOX. I adore NIC.
Boy, it's been such a sluggish week for me. I guess I was distracted by something Philadephia related. Could be Obama's anemic off-performance, or Hillary's begrudging "Yes, Yes, Yes" comment, or I was simply bothered by Chris Coste, Ryan Howard and their fans. Twins suck!!
Across entries:
1A: Big name in book publishing: KNOPF. Gimme for me. Carl Bernstein's "A Woman in Charge" (Hillary Clinton)'s publisher. It also published Clinton's "My Life". KNOPT is now owned by Random House.
6A: Minerals scale: MOHS. No idea. Mineral hardness measure scale, named after German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. Now, how I can remember such a forgettable name?
10A: Cut with an ax: CHOP
14A: Actress Garson: GREER. Ha ha, got her this time.
15A: Reebok rival: AVIA. Curious about the history of Adias and Puma? And a bit Nike? Read this book (Three Strips Verus Puma). English version is now available.
19A: Deuce follower, perhaps: AD IN
21A: Puzo book, with "The": LAST DON. Since "Godfather" and "Sicilian" do not fit. He also wrote "Omerta" of course. I've read all of them, in Chinese naturalmente.
23A: IRS payout: REFUND
26A: Dole's 1996 slate-mate: KEMP (Jack). I am not familiar with American politics in the '90s. I've only lived under one president, the current occupant of the White House!
28A: Courtroom declaration: PLEA. Really? I thought you declare "guilty" or "not guilty" in the courtroom. I wanted OYEZ.
29A: Actor Estevez: EMILIO. Forgot. He has to change his name in Sheen for me remember him.
31A: "__ Jude": HEY
32A: Anti -DUI org.: MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
33A: Roberson of CNN: NIC
38A: Classic Jaguar: XKE
40A: Actress Hedren: TIPPI. Wow, she is Melanie Griffith's mom, did not know that before. She was in "The Bird"? That's one scary movie.
43A: Vitamin-bottle data, briefly: RDAS (Recommended Dietary Allowance). Why do they make the vitamin pills so big? It's so hard for me to swallow.
45A: _ humbug!: BAH. Hmm, Scrooge is thy name Mr. Williams!
47A: Straddle: SPAN. Astraddle is also a word, like yesterday's astride.
50A: Leon lady: SENORA. Did not know where Leon was. But SENORA was easily inferable. Leon is in north Spain by the way. I love the movie LÉON a lot.
52A: Bennett of Random House: CERF. Founder of Random House.
53A: Bad French: MAL. Pas MAL a clue at all. In fact, I like it a lot. Much better than "_ de mer".
54A: Kentucky fort: KNOX
55A: Spanish neighborhood: BARRIO. No idea.
57A: Makes allowances for: EXCUSES
59A: What cons do: TIME. Good clue. Too bad I tanked this one.
60A: Quahog, e. g.: CLAM. Nailed it this time.
66A: Padlock partner: HASP
67A: Prefix for spaces: AERO
68A: Sadat of Egypt: ANWAR. He succeeded Nasser, then Mubarak succeeded him. He and Begin shared the 1978 Nobel Peace prize. He was indeed a visionary who dared.
69A: Merino mamas: EWES
71A: Bacterial infection: STAPH (Staphylococcus). No idea.
Down entries:
2D: Gun Lobby: NRA. Needs an "Org." in the clue to indicate an abbreviation.
4D: Won over: PERSUADED
5D: Refrigerant gas: FREON. All right, "FRE" stands for "refrigerant", and "-on" is suffix for inert gas.
6D: Slugger McGwire: MARK. Too bad, he screwed up his HOF chance. McGwire is also a scratch golfer, very powerful swing.
7D: Lacto - __ vegetarian: OVO. "Lacto" is milk, "ovo" is egg. Basically it's Vegan + Egg + Milk. I have discipline problem, so I can only be a flexitarianist at best!
8D: Ancient Jewish rabbi: HILLEL. No idea. It's "Palestinian rabbi who greatly influenced the interpretation of Judaic law". Literally the word means "he praised" in Hebrew.
9D: Seasoned sausages: SALAMIS
12D: Bobolink's cousin: ORIOLE. Not a bird person, did not know what was a bobolink. Would've got it had it clued as "Baltimore ball player" or "Cal Ripken Jr. is one".
13D: J. C. follower: PENNEY
18D: Heavily burdened: LADEN
22D: Gush forth: SPOUT
23D: Turning figs.: RPMS (Revolutions Per Minute)
24D: Israel's airline: EL AL
26D: Fight with feet: KICKBOX. Let me show you how.
30D: Shuffle: MIX
35D: Wrongdoer: MISCREANT. I suppose this word is too harsh to describe Jeff Immelt. But can I say his mind-boggling behavior is "MISCREANT"? Crazy, if you could not deliver, why would you promise? Would things changed that dramatically in a month? Time to leave!!
37D: To-do list stuff: TASKS
41D: __-mutuel: PARI. What can I say? I have a picky brain. It just refuses to remember certain things.
42D: Skinny, sort of: INFO. If I were the constructor, I would clue it as "Skinny, short".
44D: Five Nations tribe members: SENECAS. Nope. I totally forgot this word 5 seconds after I met him last time. SENECA is "a members of the largest tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy of North American Indians, formerly inhabiting western New York and being conspicuous in the wars south and west of Lake Erie."
46D: Convent attire: HABIT
48D: "Cocoon" star: AMECHE (Don). No, total stranger to me.
49D: Accountant's concern: TAX LAW
51D: Snacks: NOSHES
56D: Oscar org.: AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Flirted with ASCAP until PATCH (61A) came along.
63D: Hughes' airline: TWA (Trans World Airlines)
64D: Tooth topper: CAP
65D: Monarch's letters: HRH (His/Her Royal Highness)
C.C.
