Theme: OUCH
23A: 1992 Cyrus hit: ACHY BREAKY HEART
40A: Spanish-born Jewish philosopher: MAIMONIDES
59A: Meet cut: TENDERLOIN (Update later: The clue should be Meat cut)
82A: Failure to enforce a prohibition: SUFFERANCE
100A: Annika and Charlotta: SORENSTAMS
118A: Rains on a private parade?: CRAMPS ONE'S STYLE
16D: With meticulous care: PAINSTAKINGLY
58D: Going lickety-split: HURTLING ALONG
What an excruciating journey! The pain "which can not forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart" in my own despair and against my own will, and has crushed me completely. My gosh, the assaults of new words and names in this puzzle are unrelenting.
GESTALTS (45D: Symbolic configurations)? What is that? Can you explain it to me plainly? And SALUKIS (54A: Arabian hounds)? And SENTA (68A: "The Flying Dutchman" role")? To me, "The Flying Dutchman" is always Honus Wagner. ALISTAIR? Probably a gimme for Katherine, but a nightmare for me. ACETAL (30D: Hypnotic stuff) was hard, and the intersecting MAIMONIDES (40A: Spanish-born Jewish philosopher) only compounded the agony. So, a total SNAFU in that LYRIST (62A: Greek harp player) corner.
NEDDA, TARSAL, CCNY, PROA, ST. KITTS, CNS, YEAGER, EVONNE, BICORN, TSURIS, etc. Unknown words aplenty. I can not remember how many times I shouted "Merde!" this morning. TSURIS crossing MAIMONIDES? That's diabolic.
And 71A: CII x III: MDVI; 41D: 1950: MCML; 112D: CCCII tripled: CMVI. Three Roman numerals in one grid? You've got to be kidding.
Look at these 3 pairs:
50A: Ashen: PALE
95D: Gray-faced: ASHEN
122A: Sudden thrust: LUNGE
90D: Fencing charge: THRUST
103A: Of part of a foot: TARSAL
83D: One end of a table: FOOT
It's insane. Please, no more unsightly eyesores like these! Please test-solve your puzzle first!
I do love the OUCH theme though, very creative, esp the SORENSTAMS one. I wonder if Annika herself is aware of the SORE in her name.
I am also elated with 65A: "Six O'Clock, Winter" painter John: SLOAN. Remember last time I was outraged with John Underwood's "Six O'Clock" painter clue? I could not believe that the constructor/editor decided to omit the very important "Winter" from the painting. See, our arrogant editor, he is reading this blog. Good!
ACROSS:
4A: Star quality: EGO. Is "EGO" a quality? Not a problem?
7A: Had cravings: YEARNED. And learned & earned, that's a good life indeed.
14A: Turvy preceder: TOPSY. What's this one? I've never heard of this phrase. TOPSY was clued as "Electrocuted elephant" on an April TMS puzzle.
21A: Boyer film: ALGIERS. Not familiar with Charles Boyer nor the film ALGIERS (1938). Wikipedia says the movie is "notableable as one of the sources of inspiration to the screenwriters of the 1942 Warner Brothers film Casabalanca"
26A: New York city: UTICA
30A: Bout sites: ARENAS
31A: "___ Bulba": TARAS. No, not familiar with the movie at all. What a ride!
33A: Elia, really: LAMB (Charles). Love this clue. But why did he call himself "Elia"?
35A: Brings out: ELICITS
38A: Feudal lords: LIEGES. How can I remember this word? It trips me all the time.
46A: Baja seaport: ENSENADA. Here is the map. Not a familiar name to me.
49A: Apples, pears, etc.: POMES. I tried to pen in FRUIT. POME is "a fleshy fruit (apple or pear, quince or related fruits) having seed chambers and an outer fleshy part". Had no idea that pears and apples belong to the same family. I've never had the fresh quince or the quince jam before, have you?
54A: Arabian hounds: SALUKIS. Unknown to me. It was named after the ancient Arabian city Saluq. Wikipedia says " The saluki is perhaps the oldest known breed of domesticated dog". Great picture, isn't it?
65A: "Six O'Clock, Winter" painter John: SLOAN. Look at the painting.
66A: Hook's mate: SMEE
68A: "The Flying Dutchman" role: SENTA. Not familiar with this opera at all.
73A: Pierre's "the same": ÉGAL. Equal in French. Here is Pierre's motto" Liberté , Egalité, Fraternité.
74A: Part of UHF: ULTRA. UHF is "Ultrahigh Frequency". Did not know it before.
76A: Malayan outrigger: PROA. No, another unknown. PROA is boat in Malay language. It's "any of various types of Indonesian boats, esp. a swift Malay sailing boat built with the lee side flat and balanced by a single outrigger". It looks like this.
78A: Pre-surrealist painter: REDON (Odilon). Saw his self portrait in person, not inspired at all.
79A: Letter opening, often: SLIT. I was so clever, I put SIRS first.
80A: Napping: ASLEEP
86A: Carpenter's tool: NAIL SET. I am not a carpenter, so I do not know this tool.
88A: Encourages, actively: PRODS. Sigh... URGE is always my first fill.
91A: Big apple school: CCNY (City College of New York)
94A: Tic-tac-toe win: OOO. Alright, give me "Bowler's turkey (XXX)" next time.
95A: Refined lover of beauty: AESTHETE
99A: Heart chart: EKG (Electrocardiograph)
103A: Of part of a foot: TARSAL. Tarsus, nope, no idea. I don't know myself well enough obviously.
104A: Utterly stupid: ASININE. I am smart enough to know this word though.
106A: First chancellor of reunified Germany: KOHL (Helmut). Bill, thanks for the Medal of Freedom, now tell me what is the exact meaning of the word "IS"!
108A: Like pinups: BUSTY. She is not, is she?
109A: Small landmasses: ISLETS. Interesting crossing of ISLETS with 109D: Isolated land: ISLE.
114A: Sesame oil: TEEL. Unknown to me. It's from the black sesame seeds, and I only eat white ones.
116A: 800 exams: SATS. And 115D: Would-be atty.'s exam: LSAT
123A: Having more chutzpah: NERVIER
126A: Border tool: EDGER
127A: __ and Nevis: ST. KITTS. No, this is the first time I heard of this island country.
128A: Wash. or Jackson in NYC: HTS. Good crossing with 121D: Ave. crossers: STS
129A: B & O and others: RRS. I got the answer easily, though I completely forgot what B & O stands for (Baltimore & Ohio Railroad).
DOWN:
1D: Mariners' base: SEATTLE. I like Ichiro, don't you?
2D: Fetter: ENCHAIN
3D: Sticks: ADHERES
7D: City in the Cascade Range: YAKIMA. Stumped by this clue last time, and again today. It's the "Apple Capital of the World", says the locals.
9D: Turkish officer: AGHA. Or AGA. Literally "older brother" in Turkish.
10D: Cambodian cash: RIEL
14D: Yiddish aggravation: TSURIS. No idea. The dictionary says it's Yiddish slang for "woe, trouble". Guess that's how you get a "Oy, vey" response.
15D: Octopus arms, e.g.: OCTET. Are you happy with this 8 clue?
17D: Shelter for strays: SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
24D: "The Right Stuff" role: YEAGER (Chuck). Nope, nope, completely unknown to me. I don't normally know "The Right Stuff".
25D: Old world lizard: AGAMA. Wow, his tail is so long, interesting blue color.
30D: Hypnotic stuff: ACETAL. No, too technical a term for me. Acet(o) is a prefix meaning vinegar, as in “acetic acid". "Al" is short for alcohol. I don't know, I don't understand what Wikipedia says, but I know that there is some ACETAL in wines.
34D: Shaped like crescent: BICORN. Another new word for me. Can also be spelled as BICORNE. Here is Napoleon in his BICORN hat.
44D: Cooke of "Masterpiece Theatre": ALISTAIR. COOKE was clued as TV host Alistair in a March puzzle. I simply forgot.
45D: Symbolic configurations: GESTALTS. Hard one. Here is the explanation: a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts; a unified whole. I still don't get it.
47D: Big name in tires: DUNLOP. Or DUNLOP golf balls.
52D: London fog: PEA SOUP. What a weird idiom! How can a bowl of delicious pea soup become dreaded fog?
53D: Cooks just below the boiling point: SIMMERS. Very accurate clue.
55D: Fleur - de ___: LYS. Could also be spelled as LIS. Literally "Lily Flower" in French.
56D: Publication: ISSUANCE. I only knew ISSUE.
57D: Bag of anthracite: COAL SACK. I did not know the meaning of anthracite (hard coal).
61D: " Pagliacci" role: NEDDA. Did you go with TONIO? I did.
67D: Goolagong of tennis: EVONNE. Another unknown.
72D: Sexual crime: INCEST
75D: Dem. candidate of the '50s: AES (Adlai Ewing Stevenson)
78D: City near Council Bluffs: RED OAK. Is it a very well known place?
81D: Juan and Evita: PERONS. "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". I like Sinéad O'Connor's version.
84D: Abbr. on a building: ESTAB (Established)
87D: Spelling of "Trick": TORI. Yes, indeed, lots of tricks can be played with Spelling's name.
93D: Sebaceous cyst: WEN
96D: Evaluator: ESSAYER
97D: Beans spiller: TATTLER
98D: Le Champs __: ÉLYSÉES. Le? No, sir, it's Les. Les Champs ÉLYSÉES (Avenue des Champs ÉLYSÉES). L'arc de triomphe, le parfum, et l'amour! I don't need more reasons to love you...
100D: Tot tender: SITTER
101D: La Guardia alternative: NEWARK. What's the origin of this word NEWARK?
102D: General __ Corporation: MOTORS. And General Electric Company, and General Dynamics Corporation, and General Mills, what other General can you think of?
105D: Suit material: SERGE. It seems like our editor does not like SERGE Gainsbourg. But it's OK, Gainsbourg is not everybody's cup of tea. Some of his songs can be very disturbing, esp Lemon INCEST.
107D: Sponger: LEECH
113D: Barbecue rod: SPIT
118D: Brain, spinal cord, etc. (abbr.): CNS (Central Nervous System). Big stumbling block today.
119D: Part of IRA: RET (Retirement). The first IRA that pops into my brain is always the Irish Republican Army.
120D: Fixed: SET. Given so much pain today, this clue should be reworded as "Heal, as a bone".
C. C.
23A: 1992 Cyrus hit: ACHY BREAKY HEART
40A: Spanish-born Jewish philosopher: MAIMONIDES
59A: Meet cut: TENDERLOIN (Update later: The clue should be Meat cut)
82A: Failure to enforce a prohibition: SUFFERANCE
100A: Annika and Charlotta: SORENSTAMS
118A: Rains on a private parade?: CRAMPS ONE'S STYLE
16D: With meticulous care: PAINSTAKINGLY
58D: Going lickety-split: HURTLING ALONG
What an excruciating journey! The pain "which can not forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart" in my own despair and against my own will, and has crushed me completely. My gosh, the assaults of new words and names in this puzzle are unrelenting.
GESTALTS (45D: Symbolic configurations)? What is that? Can you explain it to me plainly? And SALUKIS (54A: Arabian hounds)? And SENTA (68A: "The Flying Dutchman" role")? To me, "The Flying Dutchman" is always Honus Wagner. ALISTAIR? Probably a gimme for Katherine, but a nightmare for me. ACETAL (30D: Hypnotic stuff) was hard, and the intersecting MAIMONIDES (40A: Spanish-born Jewish philosopher) only compounded the agony. So, a total SNAFU in that LYRIST (62A: Greek harp player) corner.
NEDDA, TARSAL, CCNY, PROA, ST. KITTS, CNS, YEAGER, EVONNE, BICORN, TSURIS, etc. Unknown words aplenty. I can not remember how many times I shouted "Merde!" this morning. TSURIS crossing MAIMONIDES? That's diabolic.
And 71A: CII x III: MDVI; 41D: 1950: MCML; 112D: CCCII tripled: CMVI. Three Roman numerals in one grid? You've got to be kidding.
Look at these 3 pairs:
50A: Ashen: PALE
95D: Gray-faced: ASHEN
122A: Sudden thrust: LUNGE
90D: Fencing charge: THRUST
103A: Of part of a foot: TARSAL
83D: One end of a table: FOOT
It's insane. Please, no more unsightly eyesores like these! Please test-solve your puzzle first!
I do love the OUCH theme though, very creative, esp the SORENSTAMS one. I wonder if Annika herself is aware of the SORE in her name.
I am also elated with 65A: "Six O'Clock, Winter" painter John: SLOAN. Remember last time I was outraged with John Underwood's "Six O'Clock" painter clue? I could not believe that the constructor/editor decided to omit the very important "Winter" from the painting. See, our arrogant editor, he is reading this blog. Good!
ACROSS:
4A: Star quality: EGO. Is "EGO" a quality? Not a problem?
7A: Had cravings: YEARNED. And learned & earned, that's a good life indeed.
14A: Turvy preceder: TOPSY. What's this one? I've never heard of this phrase. TOPSY was clued as "Electrocuted elephant" on an April TMS puzzle.
21A: Boyer film: ALGIERS. Not familiar with Charles Boyer nor the film ALGIERS (1938). Wikipedia says the movie is "notableable as one of the sources of inspiration to the screenwriters of the 1942 Warner Brothers film Casabalanca"
26A: New York city: UTICA
30A: Bout sites: ARENAS
31A: "___ Bulba": TARAS. No, not familiar with the movie at all. What a ride!
33A: Elia, really: LAMB (Charles). Love this clue. But why did he call himself "Elia"?
35A: Brings out: ELICITS
38A: Feudal lords: LIEGES. How can I remember this word? It trips me all the time.
46A: Baja seaport: ENSENADA. Here is the map. Not a familiar name to me.
49A: Apples, pears, etc.: POMES. I tried to pen in FRUIT. POME is "a fleshy fruit (apple or pear, quince or related fruits) having seed chambers and an outer fleshy part". Had no idea that pears and apples belong to the same family. I've never had the fresh quince or the quince jam before, have you?
54A: Arabian hounds: SALUKIS. Unknown to me. It was named after the ancient Arabian city Saluq. Wikipedia says " The saluki is perhaps the oldest known breed of domesticated dog". Great picture, isn't it?
65A: "Six O'Clock, Winter" painter John: SLOAN. Look at the painting.
66A: Hook's mate: SMEE
68A: "The Flying Dutchman" role: SENTA. Not familiar with this opera at all.
73A: Pierre's "the same": ÉGAL. Equal in French. Here is Pierre's motto" Liberté , Egalité, Fraternité.
74A: Part of UHF: ULTRA. UHF is "Ultrahigh Frequency". Did not know it before.
76A: Malayan outrigger: PROA. No, another unknown. PROA is boat in Malay language. It's "any of various types of Indonesian boats, esp. a swift Malay sailing boat built with the lee side flat and balanced by a single outrigger". It looks like this.
78A: Pre-surrealist painter: REDON (Odilon). Saw his self portrait in person, not inspired at all.
79A: Letter opening, often: SLIT. I was so clever, I put SIRS first.
80A: Napping: ASLEEP
86A: Carpenter's tool: NAIL SET. I am not a carpenter, so I do not know this tool.
88A: Encourages, actively: PRODS. Sigh... URGE is always my first fill.
91A: Big apple school: CCNY (City College of New York)
94A: Tic-tac-toe win: OOO. Alright, give me "Bowler's turkey (XXX)" next time.
95A: Refined lover of beauty: AESTHETE
99A: Heart chart: EKG (Electrocardiograph)
103A: Of part of a foot: TARSAL. Tarsus, nope, no idea. I don't know myself well enough obviously.
104A: Utterly stupid: ASININE. I am smart enough to know this word though.
106A: First chancellor of reunified Germany: KOHL (Helmut). Bill, thanks for the Medal of Freedom, now tell me what is the exact meaning of the word "IS"!
108A: Like pinups: BUSTY. She is not, is she?
109A: Small landmasses: ISLETS. Interesting crossing of ISLETS with 109D: Isolated land: ISLE.
114A: Sesame oil: TEEL. Unknown to me. It's from the black sesame seeds, and I only eat white ones.
116A: 800 exams: SATS. And 115D: Would-be atty.'s exam: LSAT
123A: Having more chutzpah: NERVIER
126A: Border tool: EDGER
127A: __ and Nevis: ST. KITTS. No, this is the first time I heard of this island country.
128A: Wash. or Jackson in NYC: HTS. Good crossing with 121D: Ave. crossers: STS
129A: B & O and others: RRS. I got the answer easily, though I completely forgot what B & O stands for (Baltimore & Ohio Railroad).
DOWN:
1D: Mariners' base: SEATTLE. I like Ichiro, don't you?
2D: Fetter: ENCHAIN
3D: Sticks: ADHERES
7D: City in the Cascade Range: YAKIMA. Stumped by this clue last time, and again today. It's the "Apple Capital of the World", says the locals.
9D: Turkish officer: AGHA. Or AGA. Literally "older brother" in Turkish.
10D: Cambodian cash: RIEL
14D: Yiddish aggravation: TSURIS. No idea. The dictionary says it's Yiddish slang for "woe, trouble". Guess that's how you get a "Oy, vey" response.
15D: Octopus arms, e.g.: OCTET. Are you happy with this 8 clue?
17D: Shelter for strays: SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
24D: "The Right Stuff" role: YEAGER (Chuck). Nope, nope, completely unknown to me. I don't normally know "The Right Stuff".
25D: Old world lizard: AGAMA. Wow, his tail is so long, interesting blue color.
30D: Hypnotic stuff: ACETAL. No, too technical a term for me. Acet(o) is a prefix meaning vinegar, as in “acetic acid". "Al" is short for alcohol. I don't know, I don't understand what Wikipedia says, but I know that there is some ACETAL in wines.
34D: Shaped like crescent: BICORN. Another new word for me. Can also be spelled as BICORNE. Here is Napoleon in his BICORN hat.
44D: Cooke of "Masterpiece Theatre": ALISTAIR. COOKE was clued as TV host Alistair in a March puzzle. I simply forgot.
45D: Symbolic configurations: GESTALTS. Hard one. Here is the explanation: a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts; a unified whole. I still don't get it.
47D: Big name in tires: DUNLOP. Or DUNLOP golf balls.
52D: London fog: PEA SOUP. What a weird idiom! How can a bowl of delicious pea soup become dreaded fog?
53D: Cooks just below the boiling point: SIMMERS. Very accurate clue.
55D: Fleur - de ___: LYS. Could also be spelled as LIS. Literally "Lily Flower" in French.
56D: Publication: ISSUANCE. I only knew ISSUE.
57D: Bag of anthracite: COAL SACK. I did not know the meaning of anthracite (hard coal).
61D: " Pagliacci" role: NEDDA. Did you go with TONIO? I did.
67D: Goolagong of tennis: EVONNE. Another unknown.
72D: Sexual crime: INCEST
75D: Dem. candidate of the '50s: AES (Adlai Ewing Stevenson)
78D: City near Council Bluffs: RED OAK. Is it a very well known place?
81D: Juan and Evita: PERONS. "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". I like Sinéad O'Connor's version.
84D: Abbr. on a building: ESTAB (Established)
87D: Spelling of "Trick": TORI. Yes, indeed, lots of tricks can be played with Spelling's name.
93D: Sebaceous cyst: WEN
96D: Evaluator: ESSAYER
97D: Beans spiller: TATTLER
98D: Le Champs __: ÉLYSÉES. Le? No, sir, it's Les. Les Champs ÉLYSÉES (Avenue des Champs ÉLYSÉES). L'arc de triomphe, le parfum, et l'amour! I don't need more reasons to love you...
100D: Tot tender: SITTER
101D: La Guardia alternative: NEWARK. What's the origin of this word NEWARK?
102D: General __ Corporation: MOTORS. And General Electric Company, and General Dynamics Corporation, and General Mills, what other General can you think of?
105D: Suit material: SERGE. It seems like our editor does not like SERGE Gainsbourg. But it's OK, Gainsbourg is not everybody's cup of tea. Some of his songs can be very disturbing, esp Lemon INCEST.
107D: Sponger: LEECH
113D: Barbecue rod: SPIT
118D: Brain, spinal cord, etc. (abbr.): CNS (Central Nervous System). Big stumbling block today.
119D: Part of IRA: RET (Retirement). The first IRA that pops into my brain is always the Irish Republican Army.
120D: Fixed: SET. Given so much pain today, this clue should be reworded as "Heal, as a bone".
C. C.
