Theme: EXED OUT
24A: Underground publisher, perhaps: MIDNIGHT (EX)PRESS
50A: Receive wine from France?: IMPORT (EX)PORT
70A: U.N.'s stance?: INTERNATIONAL (EX)POSITION
88A: Hamming it up?: OVER (EX) POSING
118A: Grinding power of molars?: TOOTH (EX)TRACTION
6D: Flippantly cocky point of view: (EX)PERT OPINION
73D: Keep a supply of coins?: STOCK (EX)CHANGE
The answer for 6D stands out as the only one with the head EXED. As an adjective, PERT is difficult to be clued as the second part of the phrase than a noun or verb I suppose. I thought of "COMPUTER (EX)PERT" and "ESCAPE (EX)PERT", but both have different amount of letters than "(EX)PERT OPINION". That would have screwed up the whole upper left corner.
But for a shock and awe effect, I would have clued 29A: METERS (Taxi device) as "Coin takers", so the letter X would be completely axed out of the answers and the clues.
I really like today's theme concept, but the puzzle is made more difficult than it should be due to the rigidly constrained theme answers. I experienced nightmares at several crucial intersections: SENNET and CONNATET, PESETA and SCUP. And these fishes really gave me headache today:
79A: Pogy: MENHADEN. Absolutely no idea. Dictionary says "Pogy" is short for "Poghaden", which is explained as MENHADEN, a herring like fish. See this picture.
113D: Type of Porgy: SCUP. Completely foreign to me. It's spelled out as a "Porgy of the northern Atlantic coastal waters, important commercially as a food fish." Look at his SCUP.
I did get GRILSE (101D: Young salmon) by crossing clues, but it's definitely a stranger to me. Dictionary said it originated from Middle English "grills/grilles". Obviously I don't know anything about fish or fishing. I also pieced together DAP (15D: Fly-fishing action) with the across references. It's a new word to me. I've never fly-fished before, have you?
It looks like our editor quit Roman numerals cold-turkey after the "Numerous Movies" binge on June 8. Great! Several major flaws in today's puzzle though:
39A: Mach + jets: SSTS. And 87A: Mach + plane: SST. This is simply unacceptable!
115A: Reach across: SPAN. And 1D: Spanning: ACROSS. Unbelievable! What can I say? Nuts! You either change SPAN's clue to "Time period" or reword ACROSS clue to "Down's opposite".
127A: Compositions: ESSAYS. Needs to add "Literary" to the clue.
51D: U. of Maine town: ORONO. The clue U. should NOT be abbreviated. Barry Silk has explained it clearly in his last BYU construction: "Generally, when a clue is abbreviated, the answer is also abbreviated."
90D: Green-eyed?: ENVIOUS. Why question mark? "Green-eyed" is "jealous", isn't it? If you want to be cutesy and loves to ask, try "Green?"
Alright, enough whining, let's go!
ACROSS:
1A: King Herold's last name: AGRIPPA. Stumped immediately. Hard to get A GRIP on his name. He defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the "Battle of Actium".
14A: "___ Fideles": ADESTE. One more Latin: 30A: In ___ (in position): SITU
20A: Loop thread with a hooked needle: CROCHET
21A: Hit the big time: ARRIVE
22A: Lurch and swerve: CAREEN. "Lurch" or "Swerve", one word clue is enough. Why waste ink?
23A: Correct maps: RECHART
27A: Collar fastener: STUD. Stunning STUD fee for Big Brown, isn't it? See also 77A: Fastens: TIES.
33A: Branding tool: IRON. I don't understand this clue or the answer. Why? It's not the Callaway or TaylorMade IRON brand, is it?
40A: Foot: pref.: PEDI. Pedicure.
45A: Straighten up: NEATEN
47A: City in southern France: AVIGNON. Here is the map. See it? It's on the Rhone River, very close to Marseille. This is the Papal palace in AVIGNON.
52A: Grad. deg.: SCD (Scientiae Doctor, Latin). Doctor of Science.
59A: Richard Attenborough film: CHAPLIN. I've never seen the movie, have you? I like this tag line: "Everyone has a wild side. Even a legend."
62A: Living on the street: HOMELESS
66A: Shout for attention: HALLOO. And 119D: Attention getter: HEY
75A: Man from Aberdeen: SCOT. This word has become our editor's new obsession lately. And 93D: Possess like a Scotsman: HAE. Scottish for "Have". Interesting Robert Burns' Some Hae Meat and Cannae Eat poem.
76A: Dance in France: BAL. BAL Masqué (costume party) for example.
78A: Adopted: TOOK ON
86A: Centering points: FOCI
83A: Like fluids trapped in rocks: CONNATE. Is this a familiar geology term to you? I don't think I even know the Chinese word for it.
92A: Sitarist Ravi: SHANKAR. Good to see SHANKAR clued as an answer.
99A: Links grp: USGA (United States Golf Association). Have to applaud them for their fair course setup during the last US Open.
112A: Old money of Madrid: PESETA. Toughie for me, as I had no idea about the intersecting SCUP.
122A: Authorize: ENTITLE
124A: Solicited orders: TOUTED. And 128A: Sales pitches: SPIELS
125A: Hawaii dress: MUUMUU. She looks pretty in her blue MUUMUU.
126A: Eternal: AGELESS. Helen Mirren, her beauty is AGELESS!
129A: Demonstrates connections: RELATES
DOWN:
2D: Legendary ones: GREATS. Here are two examples: 106A: Pitcher Hershiser: OREL. He won Cy Young in 1988. And HOFer "STAN the Man" (67D: Musial of baseball).
3D: Missile: ROCKET. Do you think "The ROCKET" Roger Clemens will make HOF someday?
4D: German pronoun: ICH. ICH Liebe Dich (我爱你 in Chinese). Say it!
5D: Distinct stage: PHASE
7D: Aleutian island: ATTU. The U from the crossing STUD prevented me from considering ADAK or ATKA.
9D: The best!: PRIMO
11D: Effort: DINT. I only know this word being used in the phrase "By DINT of". Found out today that DINT can also be a verb.
10D: Zealous: ARDENT
12D: Actress Arden, casually: EVIE. "Any Way That You Want Me" by EVIE Sands.
13D: Get back into formation: REGROUP. Does this clue sound OK to you? I always think of REGROUP as "Restart".
17D: Pursue an inquiry: SEE INTO
19D: Consequent: ENSUANT. Unknown to me. I got it from the down clue. Only knew ENSUE.
28D: Failed to: DIDN'T
32D: Mandela's nat.: RSA (Republic of South Africa). His party is ANC (African National Congress).
34D: Roberto's river: RIO. Are we talking about Spanish or Portuguese river here? I think Roberto is also a very popular Italian name.
36D: Against a thing: IN REM. No problem today.
37D: Bristles: SETAE Singular form is SETA.
41D: Richard of "A Summer Place": EGAN. I wanted GERE. I didn't know Richard EGAN. Learned from doing Xword that the "First governor of Alaska" was named EGAN (Willam A.)
43D: Hastens: HIES
46D: Wisconsin city: APPLETON. I can not recall anything special about this city. I only remember its Mini Golf course.
52D: Division into sects: SCHISM
57D: Capital on the Delaware: TRENTON. The Delaware River.
60D: Overabundance: PLETHORA. Did not know that PLETHORA is also a medical term for "excess of body fluid". Dictionary says it's from the Greek plethore (fullness).
62D: Pelvic projections: HIPS. Great Clip on Shakira's "HIPS Don't Lie" Dubai Concert.
64D: Noses: SNOOTS
65D: Elizabethan fanfare: SENNET. Or SENNIT. From French "Signe" (sign). Completely unknown to me. Had great difficulty getting 83A: CONNATE. Here is the definition: "A call on a trumpet or cornet signaling the ceremonial exits and entrances of actors in Elizabethan drama."
74D: Greek colony: IONIA. I simply forgot. A total SNAFU in this CONNATE, IONIA and SENNET area.
80D: Plentifully: AMPLY
81D: Semiconductor: DIODE. I am just so used to the "Electron tube" clue.
88D: Saxophonist Coleman: ORNETTE. Vaguely remember his name from the Jazz Image. I don't think I would have got it without the crossing references. His album 'Sound Grammar" won 2007 Pulitzer for music.
89D: West Indian witchcrafts: VOODOOS
91D: Tailor's measure: INSEAM
94D: K. Capek play: R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots). The debut of the word Robot (1921).
97D: Wink of an eye: NO TIME
100D: Group of seven: SEPTET. Heptad also means "Group of seven".
105D: "Car Talk" broadcaster: NPR. Do you like NPR's "The Splendid Table"?
107D: Dufy or Walsh: RAOUL. I don't know either of them. Is it a gimme to you?
109D: Chip maker: INTEL. Hope you don't own INTEL stock.
116D: Partridge's tree: PEAR. Lovely PEAR blossom.
121D: Greek letters: NUS, followed by XIS.
121D: 6-pointers: TDS (Touchdowns). T.D.S. in prescription means "Ter Die Sumendum" (to be taken three times a day.
123D: Dockers grp.: ILA ( International Longshoremen's Association).
C.C.
24A: Underground publisher, perhaps: MIDNIGHT (EX)PRESS
50A: Receive wine from France?: IMPORT (EX)PORT
70A: U.N.'s stance?: INTERNATIONAL (EX)POSITION
88A: Hamming it up?: OVER (EX) POSING
118A: Grinding power of molars?: TOOTH (EX)TRACTION
6D: Flippantly cocky point of view: (EX)PERT OPINION
73D: Keep a supply of coins?: STOCK (EX)CHANGE
The answer for 6D stands out as the only one with the head EXED. As an adjective, PERT is difficult to be clued as the second part of the phrase than a noun or verb I suppose. I thought of "COMPUTER (EX)PERT" and "ESCAPE (EX)PERT", but both have different amount of letters than "(EX)PERT OPINION". That would have screwed up the whole upper left corner.
But for a shock and awe effect, I would have clued 29A: METERS (Taxi device) as "Coin takers", so the letter X would be completely axed out of the answers and the clues.
I really like today's theme concept, but the puzzle is made more difficult than it should be due to the rigidly constrained theme answers. I experienced nightmares at several crucial intersections: SENNET and CONNATET, PESETA and SCUP. And these fishes really gave me headache today:
79A: Pogy: MENHADEN. Absolutely no idea. Dictionary says "Pogy" is short for "Poghaden", which is explained as MENHADEN, a herring like fish. See this picture.
113D: Type of Porgy: SCUP. Completely foreign to me. It's spelled out as a "Porgy of the northern Atlantic coastal waters, important commercially as a food fish." Look at his SCUP.
I did get GRILSE (101D: Young salmon) by crossing clues, but it's definitely a stranger to me. Dictionary said it originated from Middle English "grills/grilles". Obviously I don't know anything about fish or fishing. I also pieced together DAP (15D: Fly-fishing action) with the across references. It's a new word to me. I've never fly-fished before, have you?
It looks like our editor quit Roman numerals cold-turkey after the "Numerous Movies" binge on June 8. Great! Several major flaws in today's puzzle though:
39A: Mach + jets: SSTS. And 87A: Mach + plane: SST. This is simply unacceptable!
115A: Reach across: SPAN. And 1D: Spanning: ACROSS. Unbelievable! What can I say? Nuts! You either change SPAN's clue to "Time period" or reword ACROSS clue to "Down's opposite".
127A: Compositions: ESSAYS. Needs to add "Literary" to the clue.
51D: U. of Maine town: ORONO. The clue U. should NOT be abbreviated. Barry Silk has explained it clearly in his last BYU construction: "Generally, when a clue is abbreviated, the answer is also abbreviated."
90D: Green-eyed?: ENVIOUS. Why question mark? "Green-eyed" is "jealous", isn't it? If you want to be cutesy and loves to ask, try "Green?"
Alright, enough whining, let's go!
ACROSS:
1A: King Herold's last name: AGRIPPA. Stumped immediately. Hard to get A GRIP on his name. He defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the "Battle of Actium".
14A: "___ Fideles": ADESTE. One more Latin: 30A: In ___ (in position): SITU
20A: Loop thread with a hooked needle: CROCHET
21A: Hit the big time: ARRIVE
22A: Lurch and swerve: CAREEN. "Lurch" or "Swerve", one word clue is enough. Why waste ink?
23A: Correct maps: RECHART
27A: Collar fastener: STUD. Stunning STUD fee for Big Brown, isn't it? See also 77A: Fastens: TIES.
33A: Branding tool: IRON. I don't understand this clue or the answer. Why? It's not the Callaway or TaylorMade IRON brand, is it?
40A: Foot: pref.: PEDI. Pedicure.
45A: Straighten up: NEATEN
47A: City in southern France: AVIGNON. Here is the map. See it? It's on the Rhone River, very close to Marseille. This is the Papal palace in AVIGNON.
52A: Grad. deg.: SCD (Scientiae Doctor, Latin). Doctor of Science.
59A: Richard Attenborough film: CHAPLIN. I've never seen the movie, have you? I like this tag line: "Everyone has a wild side. Even a legend."
62A: Living on the street: HOMELESS
66A: Shout for attention: HALLOO. And 119D: Attention getter: HEY
75A: Man from Aberdeen: SCOT. This word has become our editor's new obsession lately. And 93D: Possess like a Scotsman: HAE. Scottish for "Have". Interesting Robert Burns' Some Hae Meat and Cannae Eat poem.
76A: Dance in France: BAL. BAL Masqué (costume party) for example.
78A: Adopted: TOOK ON
86A: Centering points: FOCI
83A: Like fluids trapped in rocks: CONNATE. Is this a familiar geology term to you? I don't think I even know the Chinese word for it.
92A: Sitarist Ravi: SHANKAR. Good to see SHANKAR clued as an answer.
99A: Links grp: USGA (United States Golf Association). Have to applaud them for their fair course setup during the last US Open.
112A: Old money of Madrid: PESETA. Toughie for me, as I had no idea about the intersecting SCUP.
122A: Authorize: ENTITLE
124A: Solicited orders: TOUTED. And 128A: Sales pitches: SPIELS
125A: Hawaii dress: MUUMUU. She looks pretty in her blue MUUMUU.
126A: Eternal: AGELESS. Helen Mirren, her beauty is AGELESS!
129A: Demonstrates connections: RELATES
DOWN:
2D: Legendary ones: GREATS. Here are two examples: 106A: Pitcher Hershiser: OREL. He won Cy Young in 1988. And HOFer "STAN the Man" (67D: Musial of baseball).
3D: Missile: ROCKET. Do you think "The ROCKET" Roger Clemens will make HOF someday?
4D: German pronoun: ICH. ICH Liebe Dich (我爱你 in Chinese). Say it!
5D: Distinct stage: PHASE
7D: Aleutian island: ATTU. The U from the crossing STUD prevented me from considering ADAK or ATKA.
9D: The best!: PRIMO
11D: Effort: DINT. I only know this word being used in the phrase "By DINT of". Found out today that DINT can also be a verb.
10D: Zealous: ARDENT
12D: Actress Arden, casually: EVIE. "Any Way That You Want Me" by EVIE Sands.
13D: Get back into formation: REGROUP. Does this clue sound OK to you? I always think of REGROUP as "Restart".
17D: Pursue an inquiry: SEE INTO
19D: Consequent: ENSUANT. Unknown to me. I got it from the down clue. Only knew ENSUE.
28D: Failed to: DIDN'T
32D: Mandela's nat.: RSA (Republic of South Africa). His party is ANC (African National Congress).
34D: Roberto's river: RIO. Are we talking about Spanish or Portuguese river here? I think Roberto is also a very popular Italian name.
36D: Against a thing: IN REM. No problem today.
37D: Bristles: SETAE Singular form is SETA.
41D: Richard of "A Summer Place": EGAN. I wanted GERE. I didn't know Richard EGAN. Learned from doing Xword that the "First governor of Alaska" was named EGAN (Willam A.)
43D: Hastens: HIES
46D: Wisconsin city: APPLETON. I can not recall anything special about this city. I only remember its Mini Golf course.
52D: Division into sects: SCHISM
57D: Capital on the Delaware: TRENTON. The Delaware River.
60D: Overabundance: PLETHORA. Did not know that PLETHORA is also a medical term for "excess of body fluid". Dictionary says it's from the Greek plethore (fullness).
62D: Pelvic projections: HIPS. Great Clip on Shakira's "HIPS Don't Lie" Dubai Concert.
64D: Noses: SNOOTS
65D: Elizabethan fanfare: SENNET. Or SENNIT. From French "Signe" (sign). Completely unknown to me. Had great difficulty getting 83A: CONNATE. Here is the definition: "A call on a trumpet or cornet signaling the ceremonial exits and entrances of actors in Elizabethan drama."
74D: Greek colony: IONIA. I simply forgot. A total SNAFU in this CONNATE, IONIA and SENNET area.
80D: Plentifully: AMPLY
81D: Semiconductor: DIODE. I am just so used to the "Electron tube" clue.
88D: Saxophonist Coleman: ORNETTE. Vaguely remember his name from the Jazz Image. I don't think I would have got it without the crossing references. His album 'Sound Grammar" won 2007 Pulitzer for music.
89D: West Indian witchcrafts: VOODOOS
91D: Tailor's measure: INSEAM
94D: K. Capek play: R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots). The debut of the word Robot (1921).
97D: Wink of an eye: NO TIME
100D: Group of seven: SEPTET. Heptad also means "Group of seven".
105D: "Car Talk" broadcaster: NPR. Do you like NPR's "The Splendid Table"?
107D: Dufy or Walsh: RAOUL. I don't know either of them. Is it a gimme to you?
109D: Chip maker: INTEL. Hope you don't own INTEL stock.
116D: Partridge's tree: PEAR. Lovely PEAR blossom.
121D: Greek letters: NUS, followed by XIS.
121D: 6-pointers: TDS (Touchdowns). T.D.S. in prescription means "Ter Die Sumendum" (to be taken three times a day.
123D: Dockers grp.: ILA ( International Longshoremen's Association).
C.C.
