Theme: Kin Hubbard Quip (Ideal Breaker)
17A:Start of Kin Hubbard quip: BEING AN OPTIMIST
25A: Part 2 of the quip: AFTER YOU'VE GOT
42A: Part 3 of the quip: EVERYTHING YOU
56A: End of quip: WANT DOESN'T COUNT
I've never heard of Kin Hubbard before. Here is another quote from him: "There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose." It's so evocative of a great Churchill's line: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts".
This puzzle reminds me of the "globe-trotting guinea pig" Rick Steves and his "Europe Through the Back Door". Look, it's all over the places:
5A: Type of potato: IDAHO
24A: Mongolian horde: TATAR
31A: Hawaiian goose: NENE And another Hawaiian reference: 2D: 4-string guitars: UKES
32A: German article: EIN
30A: Dutch South Africans: BOERS
38A: Icelandic literary work: EDDA
40A: Neighbor of Algeria: MALI. Called "French Sudan" before.
9D: Toronto's prov.: ONT
25D: Swedish pop group: ABBA
37D: English cathedral city: ELY
52D: Marianas island: GUAM
Besides, 6D: Moolah: DINERO and 58A: Procession of matadors: PASEO bring Spain to my mind, and ASP (39A: Cleo's downfall) tranports me to Egypt. Very interesting!
Quite a few Repeat Offenders, but overall, not a bad QUIP.
ACROSS:
1A: Bankrupt: RUIN. "Crying is the refuge of plain women but the RUIN of pretty ones", quip this line next time Mr. Olschwang!
10A: Carvey or Ivey: DANA. Or Scully in "The X-Files".
20A: Twisty letter: ESS. Dislike this one due to 51D: ESSE (Latin being)
22A: Mrs. DDE: MAMIE. 15A: President after Johnson: NIXON. IKE would be so happy that NIXON is not clued as his veep here.
35A: Synagogue platform: BEMA
36A: Routes around some cities: BELTS. Here are 3 BELTS for you.
49A: Egg-shaped: OVATE
50A: Nuclear physicist Enrico: FERMI. I forgot. Boy, I really have problem remembering his name. This is the 3rd time FERMI appears on a TMS puzzle since I started blogging.
61A: Rosebud, e.g.: SLED. Last time ROSEBUD was clued as "Citizen Kane's sled". It's the name of his childhood sled.
62A: Winged: pref.: PTERO. No idea, I only knew ALAR, ALAE or ALATE for "Winged" clue.
DOWN:
1D: After-bath wear: ROBE. Here is Seated Woman in Green ROBE for those Renoir adorers, and Matisse's Purple ROBE for Matisse fans. I love Manet, so I will go ROBELESS. My favorite piece at Musée d'Orsay is probably Ingres' "La Source", so silky and velvety the stroke, stunning!
4D: Bert Bobbsey's twin: NAN. Ennui! Please! Haven't "A Million Little Pieces" & Oprah made NAN Talese well-known?
7D: Impulse conductor: AXON. A new word for me. It's "the appendage of the neuron that transmits impulses away from the cell body".
10D: Whitewater investigator: D'AMATO (Alfonse). Unknown to me. He left the Senate before I came to the US.
11D: In a lively matter: ANIMATEDLY. I like this kind of long yet simple fill.
12D: Polite denial: NO SIR. Has anyone seen this Sir! NO SIR! document?
18D: Live wires: GOERS. Does this clue sound OK to you?
19D: Public persona: IMAGE. This puzzle does summon up an IMAGE of a busy traveler.
27D: Carry Nation's cause: TEMPERANCE. I pieced this fill together from across clues. I did not know who Carry Nation is. Wow, that's an intimidating look!
33D: Logical start?: IDEO. And 53D: Freeze front?: ANTI
34D: Half of Mork's sign-off: NANU. Nailed it this morning.
41D: Shenanigan: ANTIC. Dislike it. See 53D: ANTI
43D: Put in a large container: VATTED. Had no idea that VAT can be a verb.
44D: Nursery-rhyme Jack: HORNER. No, nope, no idea. I spent my childhood reciting Chairman Mao's thought. You probably also know James HORNER. He won 2 Oscars for the "Titanic" score and song compositions. He also composed the new theme music for Katie Couric's "CBS Evening News".
46D: Monks' hoods: COWLS
51D: Latin being: ESSE And another Latin word: 60A: Pro ___ (in proportion): RATA
56D: Antithesis: abbr.: OPP
Finally, 41A: "Over the Rainbow" composer: ARLEN (Harold). I am not familiar with him. I only know Senator ARLEN Specter. I do love "The Wizard of Oz", now close your eyes and tap your heels together three times and enjoy this Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow"!
C.C.
17A:Start of Kin Hubbard quip: BEING AN OPTIMIST
25A: Part 2 of the quip: AFTER YOU'VE GOT
42A: Part 3 of the quip: EVERYTHING YOU
56A: End of quip: WANT DOESN'T COUNT
I've never heard of Kin Hubbard before. Here is another quote from him: "There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose." It's so evocative of a great Churchill's line: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts".
This puzzle reminds me of the "globe-trotting guinea pig" Rick Steves and his "Europe Through the Back Door". Look, it's all over the places:
5A: Type of potato: IDAHO
24A: Mongolian horde: TATAR
31A: Hawaiian goose: NENE And another Hawaiian reference: 2D: 4-string guitars: UKES
32A: German article: EIN
30A: Dutch South Africans: BOERS
38A: Icelandic literary work: EDDA
40A: Neighbor of Algeria: MALI. Called "French Sudan" before.
9D: Toronto's prov.: ONT
25D: Swedish pop group: ABBA
37D: English cathedral city: ELY
52D: Marianas island: GUAM
Besides, 6D: Moolah: DINERO and 58A: Procession of matadors: PASEO bring Spain to my mind, and ASP (39A: Cleo's downfall) tranports me to Egypt. Very interesting!
Quite a few Repeat Offenders, but overall, not a bad QUIP.
ACROSS:
1A: Bankrupt: RUIN. "Crying is the refuge of plain women but the RUIN of pretty ones", quip this line next time Mr. Olschwang!
10A: Carvey or Ivey: DANA. Or Scully in "The X-Files".
20A: Twisty letter: ESS. Dislike this one due to 51D: ESSE (Latin being)
22A: Mrs. DDE: MAMIE. 15A: President after Johnson: NIXON. IKE would be so happy that NIXON is not clued as his veep here.
35A: Synagogue platform: BEMA
36A: Routes around some cities: BELTS. Here are 3 BELTS for you.
49A: Egg-shaped: OVATE
50A: Nuclear physicist Enrico: FERMI. I forgot. Boy, I really have problem remembering his name. This is the 3rd time FERMI appears on a TMS puzzle since I started blogging.
61A: Rosebud, e.g.: SLED. Last time ROSEBUD was clued as "Citizen Kane's sled". It's the name of his childhood sled.
62A: Winged: pref.: PTERO. No idea, I only knew ALAR, ALAE or ALATE for "Winged" clue.
DOWN:
1D: After-bath wear: ROBE. Here is Seated Woman in Green ROBE for those Renoir adorers, and Matisse's Purple ROBE for Matisse fans. I love Manet, so I will go ROBELESS. My favorite piece at Musée d'Orsay is probably Ingres' "La Source", so silky and velvety the stroke, stunning!
4D: Bert Bobbsey's twin: NAN. Ennui! Please! Haven't "A Million Little Pieces" & Oprah made NAN Talese well-known?
7D: Impulse conductor: AXON. A new word for me. It's "the appendage of the neuron that transmits impulses away from the cell body".
10D: Whitewater investigator: D'AMATO (Alfonse). Unknown to me. He left the Senate before I came to the US.
11D: In a lively matter: ANIMATEDLY. I like this kind of long yet simple fill.
12D: Polite denial: NO SIR. Has anyone seen this Sir! NO SIR! document?
18D: Live wires: GOERS. Does this clue sound OK to you?
19D: Public persona: IMAGE. This puzzle does summon up an IMAGE of a busy traveler.
27D: Carry Nation's cause: TEMPERANCE. I pieced this fill together from across clues. I did not know who Carry Nation is. Wow, that's an intimidating look!
33D: Logical start?: IDEO. And 53D: Freeze front?: ANTI
34D: Half of Mork's sign-off: NANU. Nailed it this morning.
41D: Shenanigan: ANTIC. Dislike it. See 53D: ANTI
43D: Put in a large container: VATTED. Had no idea that VAT can be a verb.
44D: Nursery-rhyme Jack: HORNER. No, nope, no idea. I spent my childhood reciting Chairman Mao's thought. You probably also know James HORNER. He won 2 Oscars for the "Titanic" score and song compositions. He also composed the new theme music for Katie Couric's "CBS Evening News".
46D: Monks' hoods: COWLS
51D: Latin being: ESSE And another Latin word: 60A: Pro ___ (in proportion): RATA
56D: Antithesis: abbr.: OPP
Finally, 41A: "Over the Rainbow" composer: ARLEN (Harold). I am not familiar with him. I only know Senator ARLEN Specter. I do love "The Wizard of Oz", now close your eyes and tap your heels together three times and enjoy this Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow"!
C.C.
