Theme: HOLIDAYS
18A: December Day: CHRISTMAS
62A: February Day: GROUND HOG
3D: May Day: MEMORIAL
5D: March Day: ST. PATRICK'S
32D: February Day: VALENTINE'S
35D: Jan. Day: MLK
40D: October Day: COLUMBUS
Um, it looks like our editor's pipeline is drying up. Two Josiah Breward puzzles in less than 4 days, and now another Michael T. Williams. TMS definitely needs to ante up their woeful payment to attract some creative puzzle constructors. We need fresh blood and we deserve quality puzzles!
In case you have not heard yet, Michael T. Williams is the nephew of our editor Mr. Wayne Robert Williams, who often uses Josiah Breward or Willy A. Wiseman as his alias names.
But this is a great puzzle, isn't it? Lovely theme. Simple yet elegant grid structure, though the intersection of MLK and AMORAL bothered me a bit. I was not able to close the deal today unassisted, not even with the generous help from those long self-revealing theme entries. Too bad, I squandered a great chance for a Wednesday home run. I completely screwed up the lower left corner. I did not know what was Quamash (CAMASS), had no idea who was the French historian (RENAN), forgot Saul's uncle's name (NER). PNIN also escaped me this morning. PECCAVI was a total stranger to me too.
ACROSS:
1A: Spiritual leaders: LAMAS. LAMA originally referred to a monk of higher rank, now it has evolved into "Guru" status. FYI, Dalai means "Ocean". So "Dalai LAMA" literally means a man of great spiritual depth.
6A: Consumer protection org.: FTC (Federal Trade Commission). Thought of FDA (Food and Drug Administration) first.
9A: Use elbow grease: SCRUB
16A: Stomachs of ruminants: OMASA. Singular is Omasum. Unknown to me. It's "the third stomach of a ruminant, between the reticulum and the abomasum". Also called manyplie.
17A: Recapitulate: SUM UP
20A: Funny Phillips: EMO. Vaguely heard of this name before.
21A: City in Pennsylvania: ALTOONA. Have never heard of this city. Strung the words together by down clues.
23A: Ball carriers, briefly: RBS. Why? What ball carriers? (Update from Dennis: RBS is Running backs)
27A: Green target: HOLE. Nice clue, though my first response was PIN. You shoot for the PIN when you are in the fairway, or rough, or bunker, don't you? But of course, you target is HOLE when your ball safely lands on the green.
28A: Make clucking sounds: CHIRRUP. Stumper for me. This word looks so wrong to me.
31A: Dodges: EVADES
33A: Raccoon's cousin: COATI
34A: Lacking values: AMORAL
37A: Reminder of times past: RELIC
38A: They: Fr: ILS. Tired of French words/painters/authors every day. How about "Instrument Landing System, briefly?"
39A: Legal: LICIT. English is strange. See, you add one letter E, then you have this completely different ELICIT (68A: EDUCE). Different root I suppose.
43A: Lurks: SKULKS
46A: Black: EBONY. Also a magazine name.
46A: Quamash: CAMASS. No idea. It's the definition of CAMASS: "any of several plants of the genus Camassia, of the lily family, esp. C quamash, of western North America, having long clusters of blue to white flowers and edible bulbs." Here is a picture.
49A: Ring-shaped: ANNULAR
51A: Arabian sultanate: OMAN. Clued as "Muscat's land" in yesterday's puzzle.
52A: Boob Tubes: TVS. Would be an OK clue if not for the intersecting 53D: TV monitor.
55A: Aleutian island: ATTU. Sometimes it's ADAK or ATKA.
56A: Saul's uncle: NER
57A: Confession: PECCAVI. Latin, literally I have sinned (first person singular).
66A: Pathogenic bacteria: E. COLI
67A: Inhabitant of: suff.: ITE. I can only think of "Israelite" at this moment.
69A: French historian: RENAN (Ernest). Total étranger to me. Is he very well known?
70A: Score figs.: PTS (Points)
71A: Bird in "Peter and the Wolf": SASHA. No idea, thought it's very gettable.
DOWN:
1D: _ majesty: LESE. It's "a crime committed against the sovereign power". Treason. I suppose LESE comes from French word LÉSER (damage)
2D: Bard grad, e.g.: ALUM
4D: Prefix for puncture: ACU. Aw, the painful needles. Have you ever had acupuncture before?
6D: Datum: FACT
8D: Entertainer Channing: CAROL. Unknown to me until this morning. I always thought Marilyn Monroe was the original singer of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."
10D: "Most Wanted Live" stn.: CMT (Country Music TV). Did not know this before. I was actually thinking of John Walsh's "America Most Wanted" (FOX).
11D: Exemplar of stiffness: RAMROD
12D: Operative: USABLE
13D: Deep voices: BASSES
22D: Fighting Tigers of the NCAA: LSU (Louisiana State University). Fighting Tigers always reminds me of General Chennault and his "Flying Tigers".
25D: Crafty person?: ARTISAN. Good clue.
27D: Large flatfish: HALIBUT
28D: "Born on the Bayou" grp.: CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Do not know the song nor the band.
41D: Balin or Claire: INA. Learned from doing crossword of course.
42D: Norse deity: TYR. I faintly I remember I saw this word somewhere before. It's God of Strife/War. Son of Odin. English equivalent is TIU.
44D: You in the Yucatan: USTED. Spanish for You (the formal address).
46D: Marine eel: CONGER
47D: Punish arbitrarily: AMERCE. OK, AMERCE is from à merci, at the mercy of). Is this a special legal term?
48D: Abandon: MAROON
50D: Map reader abbr.: NAV. Navigation I gather?
53D: TV monitor: V-CHIP. See here for more information.
54D: George C. ___: SCOTT. I like his "Patton".
57D: Nabokov novel: PNIN. Has anyone read this book?
60D: Mr. Walesa: LECH. A TMS stalwart.
61D: Ends of small intestines: ILEA. Singular is Ilium.
63D: Tail of a fib?: ULA. Fibula. Plural is Fibulae.
65D: Harem room: ODA. Definitely a repeat offender. OK, some extra information: HAREM is Islamic women's quarters, which could also be called SERAGIO (a sequestered area for wives). Hijab is the headscarf Muslim women wear. Houri is the beautiful virgin promised to those faithfuls in their Koranic paradise.
C.C.
18A: December Day: CHRISTMAS
62A: February Day: GROUND HOG
3D: May Day: MEMORIAL
5D: March Day: ST. PATRICK'S
32D: February Day: VALENTINE'S
35D: Jan. Day: MLK
40D: October Day: COLUMBUS
Um, it looks like our editor's pipeline is drying up. Two Josiah Breward puzzles in less than 4 days, and now another Michael T. Williams. TMS definitely needs to ante up their woeful payment to attract some creative puzzle constructors. We need fresh blood and we deserve quality puzzles!
In case you have not heard yet, Michael T. Williams is the nephew of our editor Mr. Wayne Robert Williams, who often uses Josiah Breward or Willy A. Wiseman as his alias names.
But this is a great puzzle, isn't it? Lovely theme. Simple yet elegant grid structure, though the intersection of MLK and AMORAL bothered me a bit. I was not able to close the deal today unassisted, not even with the generous help from those long self-revealing theme entries. Too bad, I squandered a great chance for a Wednesday home run. I completely screwed up the lower left corner. I did not know what was Quamash (CAMASS), had no idea who was the French historian (RENAN), forgot Saul's uncle's name (NER). PNIN also escaped me this morning. PECCAVI was a total stranger to me too.
ACROSS:
1A: Spiritual leaders: LAMAS. LAMA originally referred to a monk of higher rank, now it has evolved into "Guru" status. FYI, Dalai means "Ocean". So "Dalai LAMA" literally means a man of great spiritual depth.
6A: Consumer protection org.: FTC (Federal Trade Commission). Thought of FDA (Food and Drug Administration) first.
9A: Use elbow grease: SCRUB
16A: Stomachs of ruminants: OMASA. Singular is Omasum. Unknown to me. It's "the third stomach of a ruminant, between the reticulum and the abomasum". Also called manyplie.
17A: Recapitulate: SUM UP
20A: Funny Phillips: EMO. Vaguely heard of this name before.
21A: City in Pennsylvania: ALTOONA. Have never heard of this city. Strung the words together by down clues.
23A: Ball carriers, briefly: RBS. Why? What ball carriers? (Update from Dennis: RBS is Running backs)
27A: Green target: HOLE. Nice clue, though my first response was PIN. You shoot for the PIN when you are in the fairway, or rough, or bunker, don't you? But of course, you target is HOLE when your ball safely lands on the green.
28A: Make clucking sounds: CHIRRUP. Stumper for me. This word looks so wrong to me.
31A: Dodges: EVADES
33A: Raccoon's cousin: COATI
34A: Lacking values: AMORAL
37A: Reminder of times past: RELIC
38A: They: Fr: ILS. Tired of French words/painters/authors every day. How about "Instrument Landing System, briefly?"
39A: Legal: LICIT. English is strange. See, you add one letter E, then you have this completely different ELICIT (68A: EDUCE). Different root I suppose.
43A: Lurks: SKULKS
46A: Black: EBONY. Also a magazine name.
46A: Quamash: CAMASS. No idea. It's the definition of CAMASS: "any of several plants of the genus Camassia, of the lily family, esp. C quamash, of western North America, having long clusters of blue to white flowers and edible bulbs." Here is a picture.
49A: Ring-shaped: ANNULAR
51A: Arabian sultanate: OMAN. Clued as "Muscat's land" in yesterday's puzzle.
52A: Boob Tubes: TVS. Would be an OK clue if not for the intersecting 53D: TV monitor.
55A: Aleutian island: ATTU. Sometimes it's ADAK or ATKA.
56A: Saul's uncle: NER
57A: Confession: PECCAVI. Latin, literally I have sinned (first person singular).
66A: Pathogenic bacteria: E. COLI
67A: Inhabitant of: suff.: ITE. I can only think of "Israelite" at this moment.
69A: French historian: RENAN (Ernest). Total étranger to me. Is he very well known?
70A: Score figs.: PTS (Points)
71A: Bird in "Peter and the Wolf": SASHA. No idea, thought it's very gettable.
DOWN:
1D: _ majesty: LESE. It's "a crime committed against the sovereign power". Treason. I suppose LESE comes from French word LÉSER (damage)
2D: Bard grad, e.g.: ALUM
4D: Prefix for puncture: ACU. Aw, the painful needles. Have you ever had acupuncture before?
6D: Datum: FACT
8D: Entertainer Channing: CAROL. Unknown to me until this morning. I always thought Marilyn Monroe was the original singer of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."
10D: "Most Wanted Live" stn.: CMT (Country Music TV). Did not know this before. I was actually thinking of John Walsh's "America Most Wanted" (FOX).
11D: Exemplar of stiffness: RAMROD
12D: Operative: USABLE
13D: Deep voices: BASSES
22D: Fighting Tigers of the NCAA: LSU (Louisiana State University). Fighting Tigers always reminds me of General Chennault and his "Flying Tigers".
25D: Crafty person?: ARTISAN. Good clue.
27D: Large flatfish: HALIBUT
28D: "Born on the Bayou" grp.: CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Do not know the song nor the band.
41D: Balin or Claire: INA. Learned from doing crossword of course.
42D: Norse deity: TYR. I faintly I remember I saw this word somewhere before. It's God of Strife/War. Son of Odin. English equivalent is TIU.
44D: You in the Yucatan: USTED. Spanish for You (the formal address).
46D: Marine eel: CONGER
47D: Punish arbitrarily: AMERCE. OK, AMERCE is from à merci, at the mercy of). Is this a special legal term?
48D: Abandon: MAROON
50D: Map reader abbr.: NAV. Navigation I gather?
53D: TV monitor: V-CHIP. See here for more information.
54D: George C. ___: SCOTT. I like his "Patton".
57D: Nabokov novel: PNIN. Has anyone read this book?
60D: Mr. Walesa: LECH. A TMS stalwart.
61D: Ends of small intestines: ILEA. Singular is Ilium.
63D: Tail of a fib?: ULA. Fibula. Plural is Fibulae.
65D: Harem room: ODA. Definitely a repeat offender. OK, some extra information: HAREM is Islamic women's quarters, which could also be called SERAGIO (a sequestered area for wives). Hijab is the headscarf Muslim women wear. Houri is the beautiful virgin promised to those faithfuls in their Koranic paradise.
C.C.
