Theme: True or False?
24A: True or false?: (TRUE) BLUE AMERICAN
33A: True or false?: A DREAM COME (TRUE)
50A: True or false?: SHOW ONE'S (TRUE) COLOR
66A: True or false?: (FALSE) SENSE OF SECURITY
89A: True or false?: BE (TRUE) TO YOUR SCHOOL
103A: True or false?: SET OF (FALSE) TEETH
115A: True or false?: MAKE (FALSE) PROMISES
3D: True or false?: TO GOO TO BE (TRUE) - Mistake here, should be TOO.
16D: True or false?: (FALSE) IMPRESSION
73D: True or false?: MAKE A (FALSE) START
77D: True or false?: (TRUE) TO ONE'S WORD
So creative a theme concept! Stunning grid (only 68 blocks). I like how LIARS (65D: Perjurers) intersects with one TRUE and one FALSE theme answer.
I went through a very hard time today, esp the "MAKE PROMISES" corner. I simply forgot TOMBA (104D: Italian Olympic skier Alberto), did not know BROGAN (121A: Stout, workman's shoe), and could not figure out what was 118D: Four CDs (MDC). Very cleverly misleading Roman numberal clue.
I burned out Mr. Google today, way too many unknown words for me to handle: MYRRHS, ANNULI, MYNAH, ICHORS, SIAL, MADRAS, HOKKAIDO (91D: Japanese Island. I only knew the Chinese word for for this place. G-8 Summit was held there only 2 days ago), BROGAN, ANCON and several other actor/actress/singer/furniture designer names.
ACROSS:
5A: Painter Degas: EDGAR. He once said "In painting you must give the idea of the TRUE by means of the FALSE". No other words have expressed "Impressionism" more perfectly in my view.
10: Hurries: SCOOTS
16A: Here by the Eiffel Tower: ICI. "You are here" is "Vous êtes ICI" in French.
19A: Clarinet relative: OBOE. KittyB can probably come up with a bunch of OBOE clues.
21A: Hindu mystic writings: TANTRA. Here is the definition: "Any of several books of esoteric doctrine regarding rituals, disciplines, meditation, etc., composed in the form of dialogues between Shiva and his Shakti (wife)", also called "Agama". I vaguely heard about it before. Knew MANTRA though. What's your MANTRA?
22A: Bon __ (witticism): MOT
23A: Mil. group: REGT. And 12D: Maritime spy. grp.: ONI And 52D: College military org.: ROTC. Oh, also 97A: Navy commando: SEAL
26A: Air pressure unit: PSI. Also the penultimate letter of the Greek alphabet (before OMEGA).
29A: Post-dusk: EEN. Needs "in poetry" or "to a poet" in the clue.
30A: Aromatic resins: MYRRHS. Completely foreign to me.
32A: Earthy color: OCHRE. This is the British spelling, isn't it?
36A: Indian seaport: MADRAS. No idea, Wikipedia says MADRAS the city is now called Chennai. Is there another seaport called MADRAS?
38A: Filmmaker Riefenstahl: LENI
40A: Greek portico: STOA
45A: Cabinetmaker Phyfe: DUNCAN. Sorry. I don't know anything about furniture. Can't understand why some of the pieces are worth that much on the "Antique Road Shows".
53A: Broken-bone support: SPLINT. And 48D: Sound of a wet impact: SPLAT. Are you OK with the SPL intersection?
56A: Muffle: SOFTEN
59A: Infamous hotelier Helmsley: LEONA. The "Queen of Mean". What's that lucky dog's name? "Trouble"!
60A: Zeno's birthplace: ELEA
71A: Bitter regret: REMORSE
93A: __-masochism: SADO. That's Caligula's pervert indulgence, isn't it?
95A: Ring-shaped geometric figures: ANNULI. Singular form is ANNULUS, which originated from Latin ānulus. Hmm, interesting root word.
101A: "Five ___ Pieces": EASY. From the movie soundtrack, here is Tammy Wynette "Stand by Your Man".
102A: Slammers: POKEYS. Slang for jails.
110A: Stores for later: SALTS AWAY
119A: State of two of the Quad Cities: IOWA. Davenport & Bettendorf.
122A: Henry James novel, "___ Miller": DAISY. Another unknown. Have you read it before?
126A: Social stratum: CLASS
DOWN:
1D: Part of FDIC: CORP. I wish it were clued as "NYSE listing" to balance OTC (13D: Nasdaq milieu).
2D: Over in Bonn: UBER
4D: Device to regulate spring tension: SET SCREW. It looks like this.
6D: "La ___ Vita:": DOLCE. I've never seen the movie. DOLCE is "sweet" in Italian.
10D: Take the wheel: STEER
11D: "Bette Davis Eyes": CARNES (Kim). No idea. Very nice clip.
14D: Mine vehicles: TRAM CARS
15D: Electronics giant: SANYO. And 88D: Tokyo ta-ta: SAYONARA
17D: Hit on the head: COSH. Did anyone pen in CONK?
18D: Tonsil ending?: ITIS (Medical suffix)
25D: Average: MEDIAL. I wrote down "MEDIAN".
28D: Seven Wonders lighthouse: PHAROS. Or the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
31D: Sandhurst sch.: RMA (Royal Military Academy)
33D: Cornice bracket: ANCON. Not familiar with this architectural term. This illustrates pretty well.
34D: Alamogordo, NM event: A TEST
36D: Dayan or Arens: MOSHE. Know Dayan, the guy with the eye patch. Not Arens.
38D: British sheen: LUSTRE. I like our spelling LUSTER.
42D: Heavy metric weight: TONNE
43D: Sequence of eight: OCTAD. Why is "Sequence of eight"?
45D: Made less dangerous: DEFUSED
46D: Time being: NONCE. For the NONCE. I've never used this phrase in my daily conversation.
58D: Deductive: A PRIORI. Can you give me an example?
67D: Moran and Gray: ERINS. No idea. I pieced it together from the across fills.
68D: Caen's river: ORNE
69D: Soft-drink choice: FANTA. I've never had it before. I am a loyal Pepsi fan.
82D: Dangerous sub: U-BOAT
83D: Talking bird: MYNAH. It can also be spelled as MYHA, MINA, MINAH. Completely unknown to me. She looks very content, satisfied and eager to talk. Dictionary says they are "Any of various starlings of southeast Asia, having bluish-black or dark brown coloration and yellow bills. Certain species, are known for mimicry of human speech."
84D: Paper bets: IOUS. (The clue should be "Paper debts".)
85D: Discharges from wounds: ICHORS. Ick. Dictionary says it's also "the rarefied fluid said to run in the veins of the gods" in Greek Mythology.
90D: Boxing combination: ONE TWO
94D: 3 on the phone: DEF
100D: Cross back over: RESPAN. I dislike both the clue and the answer.
102D: Cline and Kensit: PATSYS. Sigh! No, they are total strangers to me.
110D: Light, granite rock: SIAL. Another new geological term to me. It's "the assemblage of rocks, rich in silica and alumina, that comprise the continental portions of the upper layer of the earth's crust".
111D: Polo goal?: ASIA. Marco Polo. Good clue.
113D: Swerves off course: YAWS
C.C.
24A: True or false?: (TRUE) BLUE AMERICAN
33A: True or false?: A DREAM COME (TRUE)
50A: True or false?: SHOW ONE'S (TRUE) COLOR
66A: True or false?: (FALSE) SENSE OF SECURITY
89A: True or false?: BE (TRUE) TO YOUR SCHOOL
103A: True or false?: SET OF (FALSE) TEETH
115A: True or false?: MAKE (FALSE) PROMISES
3D: True or false?: TO GOO TO BE (TRUE) - Mistake here, should be TOO.
16D: True or false?: (FALSE) IMPRESSION
73D: True or false?: MAKE A (FALSE) START
77D: True or false?: (TRUE) TO ONE'S WORD
So creative a theme concept! Stunning grid (only 68 blocks). I like how LIARS (65D: Perjurers) intersects with one TRUE and one FALSE theme answer.
I went through a very hard time today, esp the "MAKE PROMISES" corner. I simply forgot TOMBA (104D: Italian Olympic skier Alberto), did not know BROGAN (121A: Stout, workman's shoe), and could not figure out what was 118D: Four CDs (MDC). Very cleverly misleading Roman numberal clue.
I burned out Mr. Google today, way too many unknown words for me to handle: MYRRHS, ANNULI, MYNAH, ICHORS, SIAL, MADRAS, HOKKAIDO (91D: Japanese Island. I only knew the Chinese word for for this place. G-8 Summit was held there only 2 days ago), BROGAN, ANCON and several other actor/actress/singer/furniture designer names.
ACROSS:
5A: Painter Degas: EDGAR. He once said "In painting you must give the idea of the TRUE by means of the FALSE". No other words have expressed "Impressionism" more perfectly in my view.
10: Hurries: SCOOTS
16A: Here by the Eiffel Tower: ICI. "You are here" is "Vous êtes ICI" in French.
19A: Clarinet relative: OBOE. KittyB can probably come up with a bunch of OBOE clues.
21A: Hindu mystic writings: TANTRA. Here is the definition: "Any of several books of esoteric doctrine regarding rituals, disciplines, meditation, etc., composed in the form of dialogues between Shiva and his Shakti (wife)", also called "Agama". I vaguely heard about it before. Knew MANTRA though. What's your MANTRA?
22A: Bon __ (witticism): MOT
23A: Mil. group: REGT. And 12D: Maritime spy. grp.: ONI And 52D: College military org.: ROTC. Oh, also 97A: Navy commando: SEAL
26A: Air pressure unit: PSI. Also the penultimate letter of the Greek alphabet (before OMEGA).
29A: Post-dusk: EEN. Needs "in poetry" or "to a poet" in the clue.
30A: Aromatic resins: MYRRHS. Completely foreign to me.
32A: Earthy color: OCHRE. This is the British spelling, isn't it?
36A: Indian seaport: MADRAS. No idea, Wikipedia says MADRAS the city is now called Chennai. Is there another seaport called MADRAS?
38A: Filmmaker Riefenstahl: LENI
40A: Greek portico: STOA
45A: Cabinetmaker Phyfe: DUNCAN. Sorry. I don't know anything about furniture. Can't understand why some of the pieces are worth that much on the "Antique Road Shows".
53A: Broken-bone support: SPLINT. And 48D: Sound of a wet impact: SPLAT. Are you OK with the SPL intersection?
56A: Muffle: SOFTEN
59A: Infamous hotelier Helmsley: LEONA. The "Queen of Mean". What's that lucky dog's name? "Trouble"!
60A: Zeno's birthplace: ELEA
71A: Bitter regret: REMORSE
93A: __-masochism: SADO. That's Caligula's pervert indulgence, isn't it?
95A: Ring-shaped geometric figures: ANNULI. Singular form is ANNULUS, which originated from Latin ānulus. Hmm, interesting root word.
101A: "Five ___ Pieces": EASY. From the movie soundtrack, here is Tammy Wynette "Stand by Your Man".
102A: Slammers: POKEYS. Slang for jails.
110A: Stores for later: SALTS AWAY
119A: State of two of the Quad Cities: IOWA. Davenport & Bettendorf.
122A: Henry James novel, "___ Miller": DAISY. Another unknown. Have you read it before?
126A: Social stratum: CLASS
DOWN:
1D: Part of FDIC: CORP. I wish it were clued as "NYSE listing" to balance OTC (13D: Nasdaq milieu).
2D: Over in Bonn: UBER
4D: Device to regulate spring tension: SET SCREW. It looks like this.
6D: "La ___ Vita:": DOLCE. I've never seen the movie. DOLCE is "sweet" in Italian.
10D: Take the wheel: STEER
11D: "Bette Davis Eyes": CARNES (Kim). No idea. Very nice clip.
14D: Mine vehicles: TRAM CARS
15D: Electronics giant: SANYO. And 88D: Tokyo ta-ta: SAYONARA
17D: Hit on the head: COSH. Did anyone pen in CONK?
18D: Tonsil ending?: ITIS (Medical suffix)
25D: Average: MEDIAL. I wrote down "MEDIAN".
28D: Seven Wonders lighthouse: PHAROS. Or the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
31D: Sandhurst sch.: RMA (Royal Military Academy)
33D: Cornice bracket: ANCON. Not familiar with this architectural term. This illustrates pretty well.
34D: Alamogordo, NM event: A TEST
36D: Dayan or Arens: MOSHE. Know Dayan, the guy with the eye patch. Not Arens.
38D: British sheen: LUSTRE. I like our spelling LUSTER.
42D: Heavy metric weight: TONNE
43D: Sequence of eight: OCTAD. Why is "Sequence of eight"?
45D: Made less dangerous: DEFUSED
46D: Time being: NONCE. For the NONCE. I've never used this phrase in my daily conversation.
58D: Deductive: A PRIORI. Can you give me an example?
67D: Moran and Gray: ERINS. No idea. I pieced it together from the across fills.
68D: Caen's river: ORNE
69D: Soft-drink choice: FANTA. I've never had it before. I am a loyal Pepsi fan.
82D: Dangerous sub: U-BOAT
83D: Talking bird: MYNAH. It can also be spelled as MYHA, MINA, MINAH. Completely unknown to me. She looks very content, satisfied and eager to talk. Dictionary says they are "Any of various starlings of southeast Asia, having bluish-black or dark brown coloration and yellow bills. Certain species, are known for mimicry of human speech."
84D: Paper bets: IOUS. (The clue should be "Paper debts".)
85D: Discharges from wounds: ICHORS. Ick. Dictionary says it's also "the rarefied fluid said to run in the veins of the gods" in Greek Mythology.
90D: Boxing combination: ONE TWO
94D: 3 on the phone: DEF
100D: Cross back over: RESPAN. I dislike both the clue and the answer.
102D: Cline and Kensit: PATSYS. Sigh! No, they are total strangers to me.
110D: Light, granite rock: SIAL. Another new geological term to me. It's "the assemblage of rocks, rich in silica and alumina, that comprise the continental portions of the upper layer of the earth's crust".
111D: Polo goal?: ASIA. Marco Polo. Good clue.
113D: Swerves off course: YAWS
C.C.
