Theme: None
Total blocks: 27.
If this is the direction to approach the 25 blocks target I mentioned last Saturday, I would prefer to solve a 37 black- squared puzzle.
Too many affixes, esp suffixes. I truly dislike and despise any grid with a heavy reliance on S, ING, ER, EST, which really cheapen the construction in my view. This has become a hallmark of Mr. Matthew Higgins' puzzles. I wonder why he is so stubbornly sticking to this clumsy style.
Had a very tough time battling through this monster, stumped by quite a few obscure names/words. But I should not have looked at the constructor's name first, which put me in a very negative frame of mind immediately.
I do like seeing LION (26A: MGM mascot) and ROAR (60D: Leonine cry) in the same grid. And reeling in URANUS (65A: Seventh planet) brought a smile to my face. Loved Dr. Dad's blue ball.
All in all, it's not an experience that I want to repeat again.
Across:
1A: Low bow: SALAAM. Literally "peace". SHALOM in Hebrew. MIR, the old Russian space station, also means peace.
7A: Brake-lining material: ASBESTOS. Ugh, I struggled here. Would have got it if it's clued as litigation related.
15A: High-pitched: TREBLE
16A: Most immediately available: READIEST
19A: Companion of Caspar and Melchior: BALTHASAR. Toughie. Of the three magi, I only know Caspar.
21A: Unit of magnetic flux density: TESLA. Now how can I remember this word? I always lose it at the bottom of the River Lethe.
23A: Sourish: ACIDIC. What's different between "sour" and "sourish"?
28A: Group of nine: ENNEAD. Here is Gustave Moreau "Apollo and the Nine Muses".
33A: Light anchors: KEDGES. KEDGE was clued as "Small anchor" on an earlier puzzle.
41A: Rudder post lever: TILLER. I totally forgot this nautical aspect of TILLER.
45A: South American plain: LLANO
54A: Fly lava: MAGGOT
59A: Movement away: DISPERSAL. Only know "Disperse" & "Dispersion".
56A: Bishop's jurisdiction: SEE. There is actually a slight religious overtone in this puzzle.
61A: Maryland athlete: TERRAPIN. Just saw TERP the other day. I wonder why this album was called the Terrapin Station.
63A: Larry Fine, for one: STOOGE. The other two are Moe & Curly. Saw someone was selling their bobbleheads at the flea market a few weeks ago. Very ugly.
64A: Informative: EDIFYING. Ungainly crossing with EDGINGS (43D: Decorative borders).
66A: Evaluate anew: REASSESS. A savior word for all the crossword constructors I am sure. It's a miracle that we have not seen REASSESSESS.
67A: Diagrams a sentence: PARSES
DOWN:
1D: Stationary sculptures: STABILES. Not an easy word to pull out of my memory. This is Alexander Calder's STABILE "Man".
2D: Man from Tripoli, Greece: ARCADIAN. Had no idea that there was even a city named Tripoli in Greece.
7D: Daughter of King Minos: ARIADNE. Another stumper. I actually knew who she was, just could not remember her name. She gave Theseus, the Minotaur slayer, the clue to the labyrinth built by Daedalus and his son Icarus. And she was later deserted by Theseus.
8D: Pressed together in rows: SERRIED. New word to me.
11D: Web spots: SITES. And 34D: Web makeup: SILK.
12D: Wonderland service: TEA SET
13D: Stableman at an inn: OSTLER. Or HOSTLER. Another new word to me.
27D: Undiluted: NEAT
38D: Coffin carriers, at times: CAISSONS. I've never heard of this word before. Dictionary explains CAISSON as "a horse-drawn vehicle, usually two-wheeled, used to carry artillery ammunition and coffins at military funerals".
40D: Lacking vitality: TONELESS. It's clued as "Lacking shading" in one of Higgins' earlier puzzles.
39D: Allied (with): IN LEAGUE
42D: Intros: LEAD-IN
44D: Decor one throws?: RUGS
46D: Spanker: BEATER. Are you OK with this clue?
48D: Coypu fur: NUTRIA. No, I've never heard of it. I pieced the answer together from the across references. Looks so close to the artificial sugar NUTRA sweet.
50D: Appears without warning: POPS UP
53D: Feudal masses: SERFS
58D: Tampa Bay team: RAYS
C.C.
Total blocks: 27.
If this is the direction to approach the 25 blocks target I mentioned last Saturday, I would prefer to solve a 37 black- squared puzzle.
Too many affixes, esp suffixes. I truly dislike and despise any grid with a heavy reliance on S, ING, ER, EST, which really cheapen the construction in my view. This has become a hallmark of Mr. Matthew Higgins' puzzles. I wonder why he is so stubbornly sticking to this clumsy style.
Had a very tough time battling through this monster, stumped by quite a few obscure names/words. But I should not have looked at the constructor's name first, which put me in a very negative frame of mind immediately.
I do like seeing LION (26A: MGM mascot) and ROAR (60D: Leonine cry) in the same grid. And reeling in URANUS (65A: Seventh planet) brought a smile to my face. Loved Dr. Dad's blue ball.
All in all, it's not an experience that I want to repeat again.
Across:
1A: Low bow: SALAAM. Literally "peace". SHALOM in Hebrew. MIR, the old Russian space station, also means peace.
7A: Brake-lining material: ASBESTOS. Ugh, I struggled here. Would have got it if it's clued as litigation related.
15A: High-pitched: TREBLE
16A: Most immediately available: READIEST
19A: Companion of Caspar and Melchior: BALTHASAR. Toughie. Of the three magi, I only know Caspar.
21A: Unit of magnetic flux density: TESLA. Now how can I remember this word? I always lose it at the bottom of the River Lethe.
23A: Sourish: ACIDIC. What's different between "sour" and "sourish"?
28A: Group of nine: ENNEAD. Here is Gustave Moreau "Apollo and the Nine Muses".
33A: Light anchors: KEDGES. KEDGE was clued as "Small anchor" on an earlier puzzle.
41A: Rudder post lever: TILLER. I totally forgot this nautical aspect of TILLER.
45A: South American plain: LLANO
54A: Fly lava: MAGGOT
59A: Movement away: DISPERSAL. Only know "Disperse" & "Dispersion".
56A: Bishop's jurisdiction: SEE. There is actually a slight religious overtone in this puzzle.
61A: Maryland athlete: TERRAPIN. Just saw TERP the other day. I wonder why this album was called the Terrapin Station.
63A: Larry Fine, for one: STOOGE. The other two are Moe & Curly. Saw someone was selling their bobbleheads at the flea market a few weeks ago. Very ugly.
64A: Informative: EDIFYING. Ungainly crossing with EDGINGS (43D: Decorative borders).
66A: Evaluate anew: REASSESS. A savior word for all the crossword constructors I am sure. It's a miracle that we have not seen REASSESSESS.
67A: Diagrams a sentence: PARSES
DOWN:
1D: Stationary sculptures: STABILES. Not an easy word to pull out of my memory. This is Alexander Calder's STABILE "Man".
2D: Man from Tripoli, Greece: ARCADIAN. Had no idea that there was even a city named Tripoli in Greece.
7D: Daughter of King Minos: ARIADNE. Another stumper. I actually knew who she was, just could not remember her name. She gave Theseus, the Minotaur slayer, the clue to the labyrinth built by Daedalus and his son Icarus. And she was later deserted by Theseus.
8D: Pressed together in rows: SERRIED. New word to me.
11D: Web spots: SITES. And 34D: Web makeup: SILK.
12D: Wonderland service: TEA SET
13D: Stableman at an inn: OSTLER. Or HOSTLER. Another new word to me.
27D: Undiluted: NEAT
38D: Coffin carriers, at times: CAISSONS. I've never heard of this word before. Dictionary explains CAISSON as "a horse-drawn vehicle, usually two-wheeled, used to carry artillery ammunition and coffins at military funerals".
40D: Lacking vitality: TONELESS. It's clued as "Lacking shading" in one of Higgins' earlier puzzles.
39D: Allied (with): IN LEAGUE
42D: Intros: LEAD-IN
44D: Decor one throws?: RUGS
46D: Spanker: BEATER. Are you OK with this clue?
48D: Coypu fur: NUTRIA. No, I've never heard of it. I pieced the answer together from the across references. Looks so close to the artificial sugar NUTRA sweet.
50D: Appears without warning: POPS UP
53D: Feudal masses: SERFS
58D: Tampa Bay team: RAYS
C.C.
