Theme: QUIP
20A: Start of a quip: GIVE CRABGRASS AN
37A: Part 2 of quip: INCH AND
51A: End of a quip: IT WILL TAKE A YARD
Hand-pulling is probably the most effective way to control CRABGRASS in a small garden.
So, this is the 22rd puzzle from Mr. Alan P. Olschwang since I started blogging. Stunning consistency in QUIP/QUOTE theme and difficulty rating, every Thursday, amazing! I am really bored to tears. Too many repeat offenders, too many humdrum clues.
I did get stumped immediately by 1A: Style inhibitor? (CRAMP). Took me a few seconds to realize the "Style" here refers to the "Swimming style". (Update later: I was wrong. I did not know the phrase "CRAMP one's style"). And I would not have got 11D: BALSA (11D: Model material) without the across clues, I was thinking of Claudia Schiffer and those supermodel models.
I did not know 17A: ANITA (Actress Ekberg), I pieced her name together from down clues. It would be great if it's clued as Santa ___ Race Track. Together with 28A: Like horse's hooves: SHOD, and 5D: Finished second: PLACED, it would form a lovely horse racing sub-theme. Looks like Big Brown is going to end this Triple Crown drought on Saturday. Are you rooting for him also? Anyone picks Casino Drive? I will stick to Denis of Cork though. I like his style.
ACROSS:
1A: Style inhibitor?: CRAMP. I like this wonderful Michael Phelps slow motion clip.
14A: Entangle: RAVEL. Knew "unravel", had no idea that RAVEL is a word itself.
16A: Movie piglet: BABE. Hey, Wilbur is the new piglet on the block.
17A: Actress Ekberg: ANITA. Did not know her. She was in "La Dolce Vita".
30A: Ear-piecing: LOUD. And 36A: Musician's pride: EAR. The clue for 30A could be easily reworded as blaring or something to avoid this annoying double EAR appearance.
31A: Superman's makeup: STEEL
40A: Old name of Tokyo: EDO. This reminds me of Nobel author Yasunari Kawabata's "The Old Capital" (Koto, Kyoto). I like his "The Dancing Girl of Izu". It stars Momoe Yamaguchi, my favorite Japanese actress.
41A: Exhibit extravagant desire: DROOL. Wow, what a sophisticated clue!
43A: Flatfoot's circuit: BEAT. So many slangs for cops.
44A: Exchange: SWITCH
46A: Native-born Israeli: SABRA. And 3D: Tel _ -Jaffa: AVIV. And 35D: Second Hebrew letter: BETH. I did not know BETH. Got it from across clues.
58A: Part of BYOB: YOUR. Tell me what YOUR favorite books are.
59A: Trial's locale: VENUE
61A: Philbin co-host: RIPA (Kelly)
DOWN:
1D: Rugged cliff: CRAG
2D: Rajah's wife: RANI. Another Indian reference: 46D: Indian instrument: SITAR. Here is Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" with the exotic SITAR instrument.
4D:Like utilities: METERED
11D: Model material: BALSA. What model? I still don't get it.
12D: WWII maritime marauder: U BOAT. Did not know before that U BOAT comes from German U-Boot, short for Unterseeboot (undersea boat).
22D: In contact: AHOLD. Another annoying AWord. Why don't you break it up into A HOLD and romanticize the puzzle a bit? "You've Really Got __ ___on Me, baby, I love you..."
25D: Kind of club: GLEE. And 43D: Kind of shower: BRIDAL. "Kind of" tiresome, isn't it?
28D: Navy commando: SEAL. "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed". Our ex-governor Jesse Ventura was a Navy SEAL.
33D: Leg ends: FEET. Love Happy ___. Sorry Dick, Mkat and all your Pens fans.
34D: With, in Paris: AVEC. I dare you to clue "Voulez vous coucher ___ moi ce soir...", enjoy this Lady Marmalade!
42D: Annual halfway point: MIDYEAR
44D: __ Anne de Beaupre: STE. It's in Québec. I had no idea. I was used to the Sault ___ Marie clue.
45D: Drove erratically: WEAVED
48D: African address: BWANA. Swahili for "our father", hence Master.
49D: Brownish gray: TAUPE. So many different shades of TAUPE.
52D: Vega's constellation: LYRA. I like this succinct line from Wikipedia: "Beginning at the north, Lyra is surrounded by the Dragon Draco, the Greek hero Hercules, the Little Fox Vulpecula and Cygnus the swan." See here.
C.C.
20A: Start of a quip: GIVE CRABGRASS AN
37A: Part 2 of quip: INCH AND
51A: End of a quip: IT WILL TAKE A YARD
Hand-pulling is probably the most effective way to control CRABGRASS in a small garden.
So, this is the 22rd puzzle from Mr. Alan P. Olschwang since I started blogging. Stunning consistency in QUIP/QUOTE theme and difficulty rating, every Thursday, amazing! I am really bored to tears. Too many repeat offenders, too many humdrum clues.
I did get stumped immediately by 1A: Style inhibitor? (CRAMP). Took me a few seconds to realize the "Style" here refers to the "Swimming style". (Update later: I was wrong. I did not know the phrase "CRAMP one's style"). And I would not have got 11D: BALSA (11D: Model material) without the across clues, I was thinking of Claudia Schiffer and those supermodel models.
I did not know 17A: ANITA (Actress Ekberg), I pieced her name together from down clues. It would be great if it's clued as Santa ___ Race Track. Together with 28A: Like horse's hooves: SHOD, and 5D: Finished second: PLACED, it would form a lovely horse racing sub-theme. Looks like Big Brown is going to end this Triple Crown drought on Saturday. Are you rooting for him also? Anyone picks Casino Drive? I will stick to Denis of Cork though. I like his style.
ACROSS:
1A: Style inhibitor?: CRAMP. I like this wonderful Michael Phelps slow motion clip.
14A: Entangle: RAVEL. Knew "unravel", had no idea that RAVEL is a word itself.
16A: Movie piglet: BABE. Hey, Wilbur is the new piglet on the block.
17A: Actress Ekberg: ANITA. Did not know her. She was in "La Dolce Vita".
30A: Ear-piecing: LOUD. And 36A: Musician's pride: EAR. The clue for 30A could be easily reworded as blaring or something to avoid this annoying double EAR appearance.
31A: Superman's makeup: STEEL
40A: Old name of Tokyo: EDO. This reminds me of Nobel author Yasunari Kawabata's "The Old Capital" (Koto, Kyoto). I like his "The Dancing Girl of Izu". It stars Momoe Yamaguchi, my favorite Japanese actress.
41A: Exhibit extravagant desire: DROOL. Wow, what a sophisticated clue!
43A: Flatfoot's circuit: BEAT. So many slangs for cops.
44A: Exchange: SWITCH
46A: Native-born Israeli: SABRA. And 3D: Tel _ -Jaffa: AVIV. And 35D: Second Hebrew letter: BETH. I did not know BETH. Got it from across clues.
58A: Part of BYOB: YOUR. Tell me what YOUR favorite books are.
59A: Trial's locale: VENUE
61A: Philbin co-host: RIPA (Kelly)
DOWN:
1D: Rugged cliff: CRAG
2D: Rajah's wife: RANI. Another Indian reference: 46D: Indian instrument: SITAR. Here is Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" with the exotic SITAR instrument.
4D:Like utilities: METERED
11D: Model material: BALSA. What model? I still don't get it.
12D: WWII maritime marauder: U BOAT. Did not know before that U BOAT comes from German U-Boot, short for Unterseeboot (undersea boat).
22D: In contact: AHOLD. Another annoying AWord. Why don't you break it up into A HOLD and romanticize the puzzle a bit? "You've Really Got __ ___on Me, baby, I love you..."
25D: Kind of club: GLEE. And 43D: Kind of shower: BRIDAL. "Kind of" tiresome, isn't it?
28D: Navy commando: SEAL. "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed". Our ex-governor Jesse Ventura was a Navy SEAL.
33D: Leg ends: FEET. Love Happy ___. Sorry Dick, Mkat and all your Pens fans.
34D: With, in Paris: AVEC. I dare you to clue "Voulez vous coucher ___ moi ce soir...", enjoy this Lady Marmalade!
42D: Annual halfway point: MIDYEAR
44D: __ Anne de Beaupre: STE. It's in Québec. I had no idea. I was used to the Sault ___ Marie clue.
45D: Drove erratically: WEAVED
48D: African address: BWANA. Swahili for "our father", hence Master.
49D: Brownish gray: TAUPE. So many different shades of TAUPE.
52D: Vega's constellation: LYRA. I like this succinct line from Wikipedia: "Beginning at the north, Lyra is surrounded by the Dragon Draco, the Greek hero Hercules, the Little Fox Vulpecula and Cygnus the swan." See here.
C.C.
