Theme: "Rhyme with MUCK"
18A: Leaving Las Vegas lament: ROTTEN LUCK
62A: Word in Don Rickles' insults: HOCKEY PUCK
4D: Defenseless target: SITTING DUCK
25D: FX network series: NIP TUCK
27D: Shift blame: PASS THE BUCK
Good puzzle, but I was not really aweSTRUCK by the construction, no Z or Q. I guess I should not always expect such scrabbly letters from Allan E. Parrish. But I think his rhyming themed puzzles start to bore me now.
I do like those strikeout K's in the grid, and the J & X. The puzzle feels very smooth, no forced fill or strained clue. I did not know EISEN (16A), RAL (23A), SERGEI (33A), HIS'N (70A) and MYNA (38D), but all were inferable by the crossing fills.
Across:
1A: One meaning of X: KISS. Here is Rodin's "The KISS".
9A: Dutch cheese: GOUDA. Or sometimes EDAM.
14A: Race in "The Time Machine": ELOI
16A: Rich of the "NFL Network": EISEN. His mug looks familiar to me, but I would not have got his name without the crossing fills.
20A: Organic fuel source: PEAT BOG
23A: '60s singer Donner: RAL. Again, I pieced his name together from the perps. I like this album title.
24A: Dude from Dubuque: IOWAN. Ha, I thought "Dubuque" is a city in Scotland. Here is the map. Great clue. This is the fasinating "American Gothic" from the IOWAN Grant Wood.
26A: Undulation: RIPPLE. "Undulation" reminds me of yesterday's PGA Championship. 41 down, 1 more to go Sergio!
28A: Tip over: UPEND
31A: Inventor Tesla: NIKOLA. Good to see "Tesla" as part of the clue rather than as the answer to "unit of magnetic flux density".
33A: Composer Rachmaninoff: SERGEI. Wikipedia says that Vladimir Horowitz might have gotten his "rhythmic snap from Rachmaninoff". His hands look quite small. Does anyone know the difference between SERGEI and SERGEY in Russian?
35A: Smoke conduit: PIPE STEM. Hmm, very interesting names. Must be a very satisfying experience to insert the tenon of the PIPE STEM into the mortise of the PIPE BOWL.
40A: Like wise: DITTO. That's what Sam replied to to Molly when she said "I love you" to him in "Ghost". He really loved her though.
42A: Sharp rival: SONY
43A: 2006 Steve Martin role: CLOUSEAU. Remember this picture? That's Molly Sims. She is in the upcoming "Pink Panther 2".
45A: Customer: PATRON
50A: African wild dog: JACKAL. His tail looks rather bushy. Our ex-governor Jesse Ventura ("The Body") used to call the local media as "JACKALS". He is a hard man.
53A: Deceitful one: KNAVE
56A: Middle Eastern grp.: PLO. Vs. Hamas.
58A: Coffee bean variety: ARABICA. Beautiful berries.
70A: Boondocks possessive: HIS'N. I still don't understand this one. Why add letter N?
71A: Kentucky fort: KNOX. Also President Polk's middle name.
Down:
1D: Some seaweed: KELP. Very grainy and coarse. Only good for vegetarian dashi broth. I like miso soup.
5D: "One L" writer: TUROW (Scott). He also wrote "Presumed Innocent". "One L" is a good read, short too.
6D: Work shoe: BROGAN. It appeared in our puzzle before.
9D: Non-Jewish: GENTILE. Or Non-Mormon, according to the dictionary.
11D: Stage a coup: USURP
12D: Temporary tattoo: DECAL
13D: That's just over a foot: ANKLE. I like this clue.
19D: Continental sound: EUROPOP. Here is "Believe" from Dima Bilan (Eurovision 2008 winner), for Melissa. She likes Plushenko. That violinist is Edvin Marton, the very talented Hungarian composer. He is playing his Stradivarius.
28D: Parris Island org.: USMC (United States Marine Corps). I've never heard of Parris island before. Where is the Marines HQ?
29D: Orange coat: PEEL
30D: Cube-make Rubik: ERNO. I like this Rubik scene from Will Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness". But why not "Happiness"?
34D: According to plan: IDEALLY
36D: One third of a WWII movie?: TORA. It's a good movie. "To" means "sudden" in Chinese too.
37D: Son of Seth: ENOS. Or "Slaughter in baseball".
38D: Talking starling: MYNA. What?
50D: Holy war: JIHAD. Those people who take part in JIHAD are called mujahideen (singular is mujahid). Wikepedia says "In Islamic scripture, the mujahid contrasts with the QAID, one who does not join the JIHAD". Dictionary explains QAID (also spelled as CAID) as "Muslim judge, tribal chief". Those constructors should probably consider this word for their next pangram.
51D: Like a bunch: ADORE. I initially misread "Like" as an prepostion.
52D: Powdered chocolate: COCOA
54D: "Catch-22" star: ARKIN (Alan). I've never seen "Catch-22". Like his role in "Little Miss Sunshine" thought.
60D: Mafia leader: CAPO. Haven't see CAPO clued as "Guita device" for a while.
61D: Writer Haley: ALEX. I truly felt the culture shock when I read his "The Autobiography of Malcolm X". Very educating though.
C.C.
18A: Leaving Las Vegas lament: ROTTEN LUCK
62A: Word in Don Rickles' insults: HOCKEY PUCK
4D: Defenseless target: SITTING DUCK
25D: FX network series: NIP TUCK
27D: Shift blame: PASS THE BUCK
Good puzzle, but I was not really aweSTRUCK by the construction, no Z or Q. I guess I should not always expect such scrabbly letters from Allan E. Parrish. But I think his rhyming themed puzzles start to bore me now.
I do like those strikeout K's in the grid, and the J & X. The puzzle feels very smooth, no forced fill or strained clue. I did not know EISEN (16A), RAL (23A), SERGEI (33A), HIS'N (70A) and MYNA (38D), but all were inferable by the crossing fills.
Across:
1A: One meaning of X: KISS. Here is Rodin's "The KISS".
9A: Dutch cheese: GOUDA. Or sometimes EDAM.
14A: Race in "The Time Machine": ELOI
16A: Rich of the "NFL Network": EISEN. His mug looks familiar to me, but I would not have got his name without the crossing fills.
20A: Organic fuel source: PEAT BOG
23A: '60s singer Donner: RAL. Again, I pieced his name together from the perps. I like this album title.
24A: Dude from Dubuque: IOWAN. Ha, I thought "Dubuque" is a city in Scotland. Here is the map. Great clue. This is the fasinating "American Gothic" from the IOWAN Grant Wood.
26A: Undulation: RIPPLE. "Undulation" reminds me of yesterday's PGA Championship. 41 down, 1 more to go Sergio!
28A: Tip over: UPEND
31A: Inventor Tesla: NIKOLA. Good to see "Tesla" as part of the clue rather than as the answer to "unit of magnetic flux density".
33A: Composer Rachmaninoff: SERGEI. Wikipedia says that Vladimir Horowitz might have gotten his "rhythmic snap from Rachmaninoff". His hands look quite small. Does anyone know the difference between SERGEI and SERGEY in Russian?
35A: Smoke conduit: PIPE STEM. Hmm, very interesting names. Must be a very satisfying experience to insert the tenon of the PIPE STEM into the mortise of the PIPE BOWL.
40A: Like wise: DITTO. That's what Sam replied to to Molly when she said "I love you" to him in "Ghost". He really loved her though.
42A: Sharp rival: SONY
43A: 2006 Steve Martin role: CLOUSEAU. Remember this picture? That's Molly Sims. She is in the upcoming "Pink Panther 2".
45A: Customer: PATRON
50A: African wild dog: JACKAL. His tail looks rather bushy. Our ex-governor Jesse Ventura ("The Body") used to call the local media as "JACKALS". He is a hard man.
53A: Deceitful one: KNAVE
56A: Middle Eastern grp.: PLO. Vs. Hamas.
58A: Coffee bean variety: ARABICA. Beautiful berries.
70A: Boondocks possessive: HIS'N. I still don't understand this one. Why add letter N?
71A: Kentucky fort: KNOX. Also President Polk's middle name.
Down:
1D: Some seaweed: KELP. Very grainy and coarse. Only good for vegetarian dashi broth. I like miso soup.
5D: "One L" writer: TUROW (Scott). He also wrote "Presumed Innocent". "One L" is a good read, short too.
6D: Work shoe: BROGAN. It appeared in our puzzle before.
9D: Non-Jewish: GENTILE. Or Non-Mormon, according to the dictionary.
11D: Stage a coup: USURP
12D: Temporary tattoo: DECAL
13D: That's just over a foot: ANKLE. I like this clue.
19D: Continental sound: EUROPOP. Here is "Believe" from Dima Bilan (Eurovision 2008 winner), for Melissa. She likes Plushenko. That violinist is Edvin Marton, the very talented Hungarian composer. He is playing his Stradivarius.
28D: Parris Island org.: USMC (United States Marine Corps). I've never heard of Parris island before. Where is the Marines HQ?
29D: Orange coat: PEEL
30D: Cube-make Rubik: ERNO. I like this Rubik scene from Will Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness". But why not "Happiness"?
34D: According to plan: IDEALLY
36D: One third of a WWII movie?: TORA. It's a good movie. "To" means "sudden" in Chinese too.
37D: Son of Seth: ENOS. Or "Slaughter in baseball".
38D: Talking starling: MYNA. What?
50D: Holy war: JIHAD. Those people who take part in JIHAD are called mujahideen (singular is mujahid). Wikepedia says "In Islamic scripture, the mujahid contrasts with the QAID, one who does not join the JIHAD". Dictionary explains QAID (also spelled as CAID) as "Muslim judge, tribal chief". Those constructors should probably consider this word for their next pangram.
51D: Like a bunch: ADORE. I initially misread "Like" as an prepostion.
52D: Powdered chocolate: COCOA
54D: "Catch-22" star: ARKIN (Alan). I've never seen "Catch-22". Like his role in "Little Miss Sunshine" thought.
60D: Mafia leader: CAPO. Haven't see CAPO clued as "Guita device" for a while.
61D: Writer Haley: ALEX. I truly felt the culture shock when I read his "The Autobiography of Malcolm X". Very educating though.
C.C.
