Theme: That is to "SAY"
21A: Prohibition hot spots: SPEAKEASIES
56A: Ten items or less, e.g.: EXPRESS LINE
3D: Utah seagull, e.g.: STATE BIRD
36D: Limbaugh's milieu: TALK RADIO
And an "Animal World" sub-theme:
26A: Baby fox: KIT. Ha ha, our fellow solver KIT simply adores David Cook to pieces!
63A: Loathsome person: TOAD
66A: Pooch pest: FLEA. Would prefer the clue to be "Pooch biter" due to PESTER (48D: Annoy).
1D: Stand up to: BUCK
3D: Utah seagull, e.g.: STATE BIRD
10D: Bullwinkle, e.g.: MOOSE
25D: Peruvian grazer: LLAMA
27D: "Memory" musical: CATS
30D: Woolly moms: EWES
And don't forget the 2 animals in th clues for ORGE (16A: Shrek) and EAGER (40A: Like a beaver?). The clues for GRIND (68A: Pulverize) can be reworded as "Rat race" and LASSIE (5A: Highland miss) can be rephrased as "Timmy's dog".
Looks like our old Wednesday constructor Philip J. Anderson has been sent to EXILE (52D: Napoleon's punishment). Have not seen his work in a month. The difficulty level of the Wednesday puzzle remains the same though, very doable (sans googling). I still think Wednesday is the easiest, and Thursday is the most boring.
Quite a few SS in the grid: LASSIE, ASSETS, MESSY EXPRESS, PASSÉ. But they don't bother me much. I kind of like today's grid structure and fills, no ARCH style obscure words or old TV/movie names to frustrate me. It's "like the ocean under the moon...", so smooth, Carlos Santana style!
ACROSS:
6A: Pay stub abbr.: FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act)
14A: Above and beyond: ULTRA. Do you like the Fleer ULTRA brand? I don't think I've seen 2008 yet.
17A: School session: CLASS. And 39A: School duration: TERM
24A: Inventor Howe: ELIAS. Or Walter ____ Disney.
26A: All the rage: TRENDY. And 22D: So last year: PASSÉ. Speedy In and Out!
27A: Bridge suspenders?: CABLES. Good one.
34A: Stopped slouching: SAT UP. Several actions in this puzzle. See 70A: Stand on hind legs: REAR. And don't forget the clue for BUCK (1D: Stand up to).
43A: Martyr of Egypt: SADAT. Yes, please stop calling those terrorists as "martyrs"and their cause as "Jihad". Don't unwittingly glorify them.
46A: Gymnast Korbut: OLGA. And 64A: Gymnast Comaneci: NADIA
49A: IOU: MARKER
55A: Kind of story or girl: COVER. COVERGirl is also a cosmetics brand of course. Easy, Breezy, Beautiful, CoverGirl. Drew Barrymore is their new face now.
DOWN:
6D: Lines of marchers: FILES. This word "marchers" always reminds me of "The March of the Penguins" and Mumble ("Happy Feet").
8D: Bop on the bean: CONK
12D: Riled: IRKED. And 48D: Annoy: PESTER. What happened? Why are you so SORE (57D: Painful joint) this morning?
33D: Conceal in one's hand: PALM. Oh, I want these PALM dates, to go with my PEAR (38D: Bosc or Barlett) and my CIDER (55D: Apple drink). You can have the BASIL (1A: Pesto herb). I don't like it.
41D: Actor Novarro: RAMÓN. Unknown to me. Strung his name together from the across fills. RAMÓN is Martin Sheen's real first name.
50D: Get even for: AVENGE. What's the difference between AVENGE and revenge?
54D: Elite: CREAM. Eric Clapton fans probably know all about the Cream.
Finally 2D: Popular diet pill: ALLI. I've never heard of it. I am in "the Zone". Love Sheryl Crow's "ALL I Wanna Do". "ALL I wanna do is have some fun, I got a feeling I'm not the only one...". Enjoy!
C.C.
21A: Prohibition hot spots: SPEAKEASIES
56A: Ten items or less, e.g.: EXPRESS LINE
3D: Utah seagull, e.g.: STATE BIRD
36D: Limbaugh's milieu: TALK RADIO
And an "Animal World" sub-theme:
26A: Baby fox: KIT. Ha ha, our fellow solver KIT simply adores David Cook to pieces!
63A: Loathsome person: TOAD
66A: Pooch pest: FLEA. Would prefer the clue to be "Pooch biter" due to PESTER (48D: Annoy).
1D: Stand up to: BUCK
3D: Utah seagull, e.g.: STATE BIRD
10D: Bullwinkle, e.g.: MOOSE
25D: Peruvian grazer: LLAMA
27D: "Memory" musical: CATS
30D: Woolly moms: EWES
And don't forget the 2 animals in th clues for ORGE (16A: Shrek) and EAGER (40A: Like a beaver?). The clues for GRIND (68A: Pulverize) can be reworded as "Rat race" and LASSIE (5A: Highland miss) can be rephrased as "Timmy's dog".
Looks like our old Wednesday constructor Philip J. Anderson has been sent to EXILE (52D: Napoleon's punishment). Have not seen his work in a month. The difficulty level of the Wednesday puzzle remains the same though, very doable (sans googling). I still think Wednesday is the easiest, and Thursday is the most boring.
Quite a few SS in the grid: LASSIE, ASSETS, MESSY EXPRESS, PASSÉ. But they don't bother me much. I kind of like today's grid structure and fills, no ARCH style obscure words or old TV/movie names to frustrate me. It's "like the ocean under the moon...", so smooth, Carlos Santana style!
ACROSS:
6A: Pay stub abbr.: FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act)
14A: Above and beyond: ULTRA. Do you like the Fleer ULTRA brand? I don't think I've seen 2008 yet.
17A: School session: CLASS. And 39A: School duration: TERM
24A: Inventor Howe: ELIAS. Or Walter ____ Disney.
26A: All the rage: TRENDY. And 22D: So last year: PASSÉ. Speedy In and Out!
27A: Bridge suspenders?: CABLES. Good one.
34A: Stopped slouching: SAT UP. Several actions in this puzzle. See 70A: Stand on hind legs: REAR. And don't forget the clue for BUCK (1D: Stand up to).
43A: Martyr of Egypt: SADAT. Yes, please stop calling those terrorists as "martyrs"and their cause as "Jihad". Don't unwittingly glorify them.
46A: Gymnast Korbut: OLGA. And 64A: Gymnast Comaneci: NADIA
49A: IOU: MARKER
55A: Kind of story or girl: COVER. COVERGirl is also a cosmetics brand of course. Easy, Breezy, Beautiful, CoverGirl. Drew Barrymore is their new face now.
DOWN:
6D: Lines of marchers: FILES. This word "marchers" always reminds me of "The March of the Penguins" and Mumble ("Happy Feet").
8D: Bop on the bean: CONK
12D: Riled: IRKED. And 48D: Annoy: PESTER. What happened? Why are you so SORE (57D: Painful joint) this morning?
33D: Conceal in one's hand: PALM. Oh, I want these PALM dates, to go with my PEAR (38D: Bosc or Barlett) and my CIDER (55D: Apple drink). You can have the BASIL (1A: Pesto herb). I don't like it.
41D: Actor Novarro: RAMÓN. Unknown to me. Strung his name together from the across fills. RAMÓN is Martin Sheen's real first name.
50D: Get even for: AVENGE. What's the difference between AVENGE and revenge?
54D: Elite: CREAM. Eric Clapton fans probably know all about the Cream.
Finally 2D: Popular diet pill: ALLI. I've never heard of it. I am in "the Zone". Love Sheryl Crow's "ALL I Wanna Do". "ALL I wanna do is have some fun, I got a feeling I'm not the only one...". Enjoy!
C.C.
