Theme: He Must Be Off
17A: Screwball pitcher: DIZZY DEAN
36A: Peculiar parodist: WEIRD AL
58A: Millinery fruitcake: MAD HATTER
11D: Touched toon: DAFFY DUCK
32D: Kook of Koontz: ODD THOMAS
Of the above 5 theme answers, DIZZY Dean was a gimme, and I knew DAFFY Duck. The three 3 were new to me. But I caught the theme very earlier on, so I did not struggle that much.
I solved this puzzle without peeking at the constructor's name. After I was done, I thought it was from John Underwood. We have not seen his work for a long time. Now I am so curious to see who will be the QUIP/QUOTE author tomorrow. Can't be Alan P. Olschwang as we just did his VICTORY puzzle yesterday. Maybe Robert H Wolfe?
The clue for EIDER (37D: Downy duck) definitely needs to be changed as we had DAFFY DUCK as an answer. "Spread Down?" sounds good to me.
Across:
4A: With 64A: Wild Sioux: CRAZY. And HORSE (64A: See 4A). The monument looks quite imposing right now. But I can't wait to see the finished sculpture.
9A: Golden-touch king: MIDAS. Interesting to see ANE (59D: Dijon donkey) in the grid. MIDAS has donkey ears.
15A: Actress Anouk: AIMEE. I've never seen any of her movies. Her parents must love her a lot to name her AIMEE.
19A: Crime group: MAFIA. I like "GoodFellas".
22A: Gabfest: CONFAB. I forgot. Saw this clue before. Is CONFAB a common word?
23A: Ground-nesting Old World bird: BUSTARD. Foreign to me. Dictionary says BUSTARD came from a blend of French word "bistarde" and "outarde'. Both from Latin "avis tarda", meaning "slow bird". Great BUSTARD.
27A: Of armorial bearings: HERALDIC
30A: Came up: AROSE. Here is A ROSE for you. I also like the clues for ITCHES (47D: Restless desires) and YEN (8D: Desire), don't you?
42A: Balin and Clair: INAS. Yawner! Can you think of something else to clue INAS?
45A: Conventional: ORTHODOX
48A: Rabbits' kin: HARES. And HUTCH (50D: Rabbit residence). I wanted WARREN.
53A: Cigar fan: SMOKER. Yep, Freud is right, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
55A: Gumshoe: TEC. Always thought of Pinkerton seeing this clue. Pinkerton has a very successful Intellectual Property Investigation service in China.
57A: Actress Veronica: HAMEL. Unknown to me. WP says she is in "Hill Street Blues". Oh, I saw Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) in the picture. Which one is HAMEL? The girl on the last row?
61A: Clean with a bill: PREEN. I am so vain.
62A: Fifth of MV: CCI. Hmm, me, I, myself.
63A: No longer in: PASSE
Down:
1D: Back of a tape: SIDE B
5D: Passengers: RIDERS. Great EASY RIDER clip.
7D: Fervor: ZEAL. I like the Z's in today's puzzle. See also ZETAS (18D: Greek letters).
9D: Champagne cocktail: MIMOSA. Did not know that MIMOSA was invented at Ritz Hotel in 1925.
10D: Without sense: INANELY
22D: Chick of jazz: COREA. This should make Katherine happy.
24D: Over again: ANEW
25D: Card displays: MELDS. No idea. I don't play canasta or any card game.
27D: Little well-furred rotund mammal: HYRAX. Another unknown animal. WP says "From a distance, a HYRAX could be mistaken for a very well-fed rabbit or guinea pig." He looks so cute.
29D: Charlotte or Gary, e.g.: CITY. Clever clue.
33D: Sots: WINOS. So many words to decribe a drunkard.
38D: Org. of Gulbis and Creamer: LPGA. Ah, the prettiest girls in LPGA Tour. Both have dangerous looking dip drives. See this clip.
41D: Movers' partners: SHAKERS
46D: End of a threat: OR ELSE. "?!!"
49D: Passover meal: SEDER. Did not know that SEDER means "order" in Hebrew.
51D: Standing tall: ERECT. Long, ERECT flower stalk.
55D: Cocoyam: TARO. I had no idea that TARO is also called cocoyam. I miss so much the TARO cakes in Guangzhou.
C.C.
17A: Screwball pitcher: DIZZY DEAN
36A: Peculiar parodist: WEIRD AL
58A: Millinery fruitcake: MAD HATTER
11D: Touched toon: DAFFY DUCK
32D: Kook of Koontz: ODD THOMAS
Of the above 5 theme answers, DIZZY Dean was a gimme, and I knew DAFFY Duck. The three 3 were new to me. But I caught the theme very earlier on, so I did not struggle that much.
I solved this puzzle without peeking at the constructor's name. After I was done, I thought it was from John Underwood. We have not seen his work for a long time. Now I am so curious to see who will be the QUIP/QUOTE author tomorrow. Can't be Alan P. Olschwang as we just did his VICTORY puzzle yesterday. Maybe Robert H Wolfe?
The clue for EIDER (37D: Downy duck) definitely needs to be changed as we had DAFFY DUCK as an answer. "Spread Down?" sounds good to me.
Across:
4A: With 64A: Wild Sioux: CRAZY. And HORSE (64A: See 4A). The monument looks quite imposing right now. But I can't wait to see the finished sculpture.
9A: Golden-touch king: MIDAS. Interesting to see ANE (59D: Dijon donkey) in the grid. MIDAS has donkey ears.
15A: Actress Anouk: AIMEE. I've never seen any of her movies. Her parents must love her a lot to name her AIMEE.
19A: Crime group: MAFIA. I like "GoodFellas".
22A: Gabfest: CONFAB. I forgot. Saw this clue before. Is CONFAB a common word?
23A: Ground-nesting Old World bird: BUSTARD. Foreign to me. Dictionary says BUSTARD came from a blend of French word "bistarde" and "outarde'. Both from Latin "avis tarda", meaning "slow bird". Great BUSTARD.
27A: Of armorial bearings: HERALDIC
30A: Came up: AROSE. Here is A ROSE for you. I also like the clues for ITCHES (47D: Restless desires) and YEN (8D: Desire), don't you?
42A: Balin and Clair: INAS. Yawner! Can you think of something else to clue INAS?
45A: Conventional: ORTHODOX
48A: Rabbits' kin: HARES. And HUTCH (50D: Rabbit residence). I wanted WARREN.
53A: Cigar fan: SMOKER. Yep, Freud is right, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
55A: Gumshoe: TEC. Always thought of Pinkerton seeing this clue. Pinkerton has a very successful Intellectual Property Investigation service in China.
57A: Actress Veronica: HAMEL. Unknown to me. WP says she is in "Hill Street Blues". Oh, I saw Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) in the picture. Which one is HAMEL? The girl on the last row?
61A: Clean with a bill: PREEN. I am so vain.
62A: Fifth of MV: CCI. Hmm, me, I, myself.
63A: No longer in: PASSE
Down:
1D: Back of a tape: SIDE B
5D: Passengers: RIDERS. Great EASY RIDER clip.
7D: Fervor: ZEAL. I like the Z's in today's puzzle. See also ZETAS (18D: Greek letters).
9D: Champagne cocktail: MIMOSA. Did not know that MIMOSA was invented at Ritz Hotel in 1925.
10D: Without sense: INANELY
22D: Chick of jazz: COREA. This should make Katherine happy.
24D: Over again: ANEW
25D: Card displays: MELDS. No idea. I don't play canasta or any card game.
27D: Little well-furred rotund mammal: HYRAX. Another unknown animal. WP says "From a distance, a HYRAX could be mistaken for a very well-fed rabbit or guinea pig." He looks so cute.
29D: Charlotte or Gary, e.g.: CITY. Clever clue.
33D: Sots: WINOS. So many words to decribe a drunkard.
38D: Org. of Gulbis and Creamer: LPGA. Ah, the prettiest girls in LPGA Tour. Both have dangerous looking dip drives. See this clip.
41D: Movers' partners: SHAKERS
46D: End of a threat: OR ELSE. "?!!"
49D: Passover meal: SEDER. Did not know that SEDER means "order" in Hebrew.
51D: Standing tall: ERECT. Long, ERECT flower stalk.
55D: Cocoyam: TARO. I had no idea that TARO is also called cocoyam. I miss so much the TARO cakes in Guangzhou.
C.C.
