Themeless:
I dislike this puzzle, too many S's (28 in total, almost 15% of the grid), too snaky, look:
25A: Cobra's cousins: ASPS
14D: Serpent's sound: SSS
62D: Snaky character: ESS
This has become a very annoying pattern for Williams' SATURDAY themeless. I mean our editor Wayne R. Williams, not his nephew Michael T. Williams who authored today's puzzle.
I played through the upper left corner without encountering any obstacle this morning. I could not believe my eyes when SATURDAY turns out to be the right fill for 1A: Day like today? But why question mark? The clue felt very anemic to me. Had some problems with SCAUPS & POD crossing. I did not know that a group of whale is called POD, and I had not heard of SCAUPS before.
Lots of animal fills in today's puzzle: SWINE, SCAUPS, TERN, SABLE, ASPS, SKATE (24D: Flat fish), CAT, and a half TSE. I guess it's too much of a stretch to include DEER from DEERE (6D) in the list. There are also quite a few animals in the clue: 65A: Bronco-busting events (RODEOS), Raccoon distinction (RINGTAIL), whale group (POD), Serpent's noise (SSS).
Of the 2 singers today, BILLIE Holiday was a gimme, and CAT Stevens was easily gettable, though I had no idea who he was. Very interesting to see ALLUSIVE (58A: Having indirect references), ASPERSE (22D: Badmouth), BUM RAPS (43D: False charges) structured in one grid. It's painfully pleasant to see SKATE intersects SPRAIN. A bit disturbing to see SWINE crosses SHRILL. Have you ever heard of a last shrill cry from a pig? Boy, it's really piercing, you can hear it a village away.
ACROSS:
9A: Cousins of canvasbacks: SCAUPS. The plural form can be SCAUP too. Wikipedia says there are three kinds of SCAUP: Greater SCAUP (also called Bluebill), Lesser SCAUP & New Zealand SCAUP.
15A: Rump: DERRIÈRE. Aright, yesterday's ITEM picture, the girl is Jessica Biel, who is currently dating Justin Timberlake.
16A: Trunks: TORSOS. Hmm, TORSO rotation. Big problem if you can not unwind properly during the downswing.
19A: Field of Jets: GRIDIRONS. This might be difficult for our fellow solvers in Asia & Europe. Jets here refers to NY Jets, an American football team.
21A: "Peace Train" singer: CAT STEVENS. He said he wrote this song while on a train, and he was thinking of Alfred Hitchcock at the time.
29A: Japanese port: OSAKA. Literally "large hill". The gourmet food capital of Japan. I love OSAKA style kitsune udon!
32A: Ankle injury: SPRAIN. You do need to COSSET your ankle after the sprain, don't you?
37A: Comes to rest: SETTLES. I tried SLEEPS first.
39A: Tenor Pavarotti: LUCIANO, Yes, We are the world!
41A: First name in mysteries: ERLE. Unbelievable, 3 appearances in one week!
42A: Hunter of films: TAB. No. Completely unknown to me.
44A: Gum flapper: GABBER. Very interesting clue.
45A: Half an African fly?: TSE. Remember what Orange said about this clue? "Tsetse is one word! If it's acceptable to clue half of it as an entity, what's stopping the editor from trying TSET for "two thirds of a fly"?
48A: French city known for textiles: LILLE. Known as Lisle before. Probably less than 1 hour away from Gare du Nord if you take Eurostar.
49A: Collectors' groups: SETS. Does anyone here own a 1952 Topps set?
51A: Sportscaster of note: AL MICHAELS. Do you believe in miracles? YES!
53A: Bonapartes' last battle: WATERLOO. Or _____International Station, which used to be the London terminus of Eurostar. About 2 1/2 hours away from Paris.
55A: Piecing in tone: SHRILL
63A: Coetzer of tennis: AMANDA. Not familiar with her name. But it's easily obtainable.
64A: Mechanical music makers: PIANOLAS. What is it? I've never heard of it.
65A: Bronco-busting events: RODEOS
66A: Activity periods: SESSIONS. What a desperate need for S's!
DOWN:
1D: '60s radicals: SDS. And 2D: NRC predecessor: AEC. They've become gimmes to me now. Repeat offenders.
5D: Raccoon distinction: RINGTAIL. Good morning cutie! (Update: The cutie in the picture is a lemur. Sorry about the mistake).
6D: Tractor maker: DEERE. Look at this John DEERE collector's corner.
7D: Make it big: ARRIVE. I like this clue. Still waiting for Günther and the Sunshine Girls to ARRIVE in the US.
10D: Italian resort lake: COMO. Want to go to Lake COMO?
12D: Sailors org: USN. Or ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) sometimes.
13D: Whale group: POD. Seal group is POD too. Seal is probably a better clue as many solvers will be trapped into thinking singer Seal.
20D: Pentium manufacturers: INTEL. Why plural form?
21D: Pampers: COSSETS. Treat me like a baby!
23D: Mini-pie: TARTLET. Want some?
27D: Roberts of "Bonanza": PERNELL. No idea. I got his name from across clues.
28D: Spanish gentlemen: SENORES
40D: John C. and Rory: CALHOUNS. Not familiar with either of them. Again, I strung this fill from across clues.
60D: Worldwide workers' grp: ILO (International Labor Organization). And they celebrate Labor's Day on May 1.
C.C.
I dislike this puzzle, too many S's (28 in total, almost 15% of the grid), too snaky, look:
25A: Cobra's cousins: ASPS
14D: Serpent's sound: SSS
62D: Snaky character: ESS
This has become a very annoying pattern for Williams' SATURDAY themeless. I mean our editor Wayne R. Williams, not his nephew Michael T. Williams who authored today's puzzle.
I played through the upper left corner without encountering any obstacle this morning. I could not believe my eyes when SATURDAY turns out to be the right fill for 1A: Day like today? But why question mark? The clue felt very anemic to me. Had some problems with SCAUPS & POD crossing. I did not know that a group of whale is called POD, and I had not heard of SCAUPS before.
Lots of animal fills in today's puzzle: SWINE, SCAUPS, TERN, SABLE, ASPS, SKATE (24D: Flat fish), CAT, and a half TSE. I guess it's too much of a stretch to include DEER from DEERE (6D) in the list. There are also quite a few animals in the clue: 65A: Bronco-busting events (RODEOS), Raccoon distinction (RINGTAIL), whale group (POD), Serpent's noise (SSS).
Of the 2 singers today, BILLIE Holiday was a gimme, and CAT Stevens was easily gettable, though I had no idea who he was. Very interesting to see ALLUSIVE (58A: Having indirect references), ASPERSE (22D: Badmouth), BUM RAPS (43D: False charges) structured in one grid. It's painfully pleasant to see SKATE intersects SPRAIN. A bit disturbing to see SWINE crosses SHRILL. Have you ever heard of a last shrill cry from a pig? Boy, it's really piercing, you can hear it a village away.
ACROSS:
9A: Cousins of canvasbacks: SCAUPS. The plural form can be SCAUP too. Wikipedia says there are three kinds of SCAUP: Greater SCAUP (also called Bluebill), Lesser SCAUP & New Zealand SCAUP.
15A: Rump: DERRIÈRE. Aright, yesterday's ITEM picture, the girl is Jessica Biel, who is currently dating Justin Timberlake.
16A: Trunks: TORSOS. Hmm, TORSO rotation. Big problem if you can not unwind properly during the downswing.
19A: Field of Jets: GRIDIRONS. This might be difficult for our fellow solvers in Asia & Europe. Jets here refers to NY Jets, an American football team.
21A: "Peace Train" singer: CAT STEVENS. He said he wrote this song while on a train, and he was thinking of Alfred Hitchcock at the time.
29A: Japanese port: OSAKA. Literally "large hill". The gourmet food capital of Japan. I love OSAKA style kitsune udon!
32A: Ankle injury: SPRAIN. You do need to COSSET your ankle after the sprain, don't you?
37A: Comes to rest: SETTLES. I tried SLEEPS first.
39A: Tenor Pavarotti: LUCIANO, Yes, We are the world!
41A: First name in mysteries: ERLE. Unbelievable, 3 appearances in one week!
42A: Hunter of films: TAB. No. Completely unknown to me.
44A: Gum flapper: GABBER. Very interesting clue.
45A: Half an African fly?: TSE. Remember what Orange said about this clue? "Tsetse is one word! If it's acceptable to clue half of it as an entity, what's stopping the editor from trying TSET for "two thirds of a fly"?
48A: French city known for textiles: LILLE. Known as Lisle before. Probably less than 1 hour away from Gare du Nord if you take Eurostar.
49A: Collectors' groups: SETS. Does anyone here own a 1952 Topps set?
51A: Sportscaster of note: AL MICHAELS. Do you believe in miracles? YES!
53A: Bonapartes' last battle: WATERLOO. Or _____International Station, which used to be the London terminus of Eurostar. About 2 1/2 hours away from Paris.
55A: Piecing in tone: SHRILL
63A: Coetzer of tennis: AMANDA. Not familiar with her name. But it's easily obtainable.
64A: Mechanical music makers: PIANOLAS. What is it? I've never heard of it.
65A: Bronco-busting events: RODEOS
66A: Activity periods: SESSIONS. What a desperate need for S's!
DOWN:
1D: '60s radicals: SDS. And 2D: NRC predecessor: AEC. They've become gimmes to me now. Repeat offenders.
5D: Raccoon distinction: RINGTAIL. Good morning cutie! (Update: The cutie in the picture is a lemur. Sorry about the mistake).
6D: Tractor maker: DEERE. Look at this John DEERE collector's corner.
7D: Make it big: ARRIVE. I like this clue. Still waiting for Günther and the Sunshine Girls to ARRIVE in the US.
10D: Italian resort lake: COMO. Want to go to Lake COMO?
12D: Sailors org: USN. Or ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) sometimes.
13D: Whale group: POD. Seal group is POD too. Seal is probably a better clue as many solvers will be trapped into thinking singer Seal.
20D: Pentium manufacturers: INTEL. Why plural form?
21D: Pampers: COSSETS. Treat me like a baby!
23D: Mini-pie: TARTLET. Want some?
27D: Roberts of "Bonanza": PERNELL. No idea. I got his name from across clues.
28D: Spanish gentlemen: SENORES
40D: John C. and Rory: CALHOUNS. Not familiar with either of them. Again, I strung this fill from across clues.
60D: Worldwide workers' grp: ILO (International Labor Organization). And they celebrate Labor's Day on May 1.
C.C.
