Theme: None
Total block: 33
Incredible puzzle! I was stunned when I opened the newspaper. I've never seen a grid with left to right, up and down symmetry before. Our editor has always given us the conventional puzzles with 180 degree rotational symmetry.
This puzzle just looks so pretty to me. But what a hammer! Out of the following 15-letter run -through words, 3D was the only gimme to me:
16A: Shoulder shrugger?: TRAPEZIUS MUSCLE
52A: Sitcom starring Kevin James: THE KING OF QUEENS
3D: George H. W Bush's former jobsite: CIA HEADQUARTERS
10D: Japanese maritime video game: UNCHARTED WATERS
I like the crossing of REHID (18A: Moved to a new secret location) with CIA HEADQUARTERS.
I've never heard of "Sulawesi" (11D) before. After I googled, I think "formerly" should be added for the CELEBES clue.
SAKIS for "Japanese spirits" (45D)? New to me. The only "Japanese spirits" I've used are mirin (to cook) and SAKE.
Across:
1A: Dogpatch creator: AL CAPP. Have not seen "Li'l Abner" in our puzzle for a long time.
7A: Coniferous tree: SPRUCE
19A: Phone button trio: GHI. 4.
20A: Sub-Saharan region: SAHEL. I can never remember this arid region. It's "on the S flank of the Sahara desert that stretches across six countries from Senegal to Chad."
21A: Calif.-to-Fla. rte.: I-TEN. Boy, this did not come to me easily.
25A: Kingston Trio hit: M.T.A.. Can you think of a better way to clue M.T.A.?
26A: North Carolinian: TAR HEEL. I like this old postcard.
28A: Out of the bus.: RET. Retired? I don't understand this clue. How can "Out of the business" mean RETIRED? I was thinking of "bankrupt".
29A: Ornaments: ADORNS. Hard to accept "Ornaments" as a verb.
31A: Points of views: SLANTS. Really? I thought SLANTS are all biased "points of views".
33A: Old British bucks: QUID. No idea. Dictionary says it's a slang for "one pound sterling". I misunderstood "Old" as "former".
34A: French 101 verb: ETRE. I suppose "To be, or not to be" is "ETRE, ou pas ETRE" in French?
37A: Groups of eight: OCTADS. I filled in OCTETS first.
40A: Jimmy of "Red, Hot and Blue": DURANTE. I've never heard of the musical "Red, Hot and Blue". Did he ever explain clearly who "Mrs. Calabash" was?
42A: Female GI, once: WAC (Women's Army Corps). I did not know that it's a separate corps of US Army until 1978.
48A: Fragrant oil: ATTAR
50A: Classic Pontiac: GTO. I wonder why the song title is "Little GTO" rather than "Big GTO".
51A: Himalayan sightings: YETIS
56A: Programming language: FORTRAN. No idea. I've never heard of Formula Translation before.
58A: Gr. peek: MT OSSA
Down:
1D: Belfast's county: ANTRIM. Here is the map. Belfast in the south. I googled the answer.
4D: Clinton cabinet member: ASPIN (Les). How can I remember this guy's name? ASPIN, A SPIN, ASP IN. He looks like a spy.
5D: __ -a-terre: PIED. Did you misread it as "___ de terre"? I did.
6D: Dispensable candy: PEZ. Wow, look at these incredible PEZ dispensers. No "feet", extremely rare, probably worth hundreds of dollars a piece.
12D: Button slot: EYELET
14D: Harsh conditions: RIGORS
15D: Backs of singles: B SIDES
22D: Reach!: HANDS UP. I would not have got this one without your "Stick 'em up" explanations the other day. Thank you.
26D: True partner?: TRIED
32D: Gun lobby, briefly: NRA. Also FDR's "New Deal org."
35D: Transparent, modern-style: SEE THRU. What does "modern-style" mean?
36D: "Wild Thing" group: TROGGS. I love the song "Wild Thing" and "Wild Thing" (Charlie Sheen) in "Major League". But I've never heard of The TROGGS before.
37D: Unrepeated event: ONE-OFF. New word to me.
38D: Steinbeck's birthplace: SALINAS. Here is the map. So close to San Jose. I googled the answer.
39D: Washington airport: SEA-TAC. It serves Seattle and Tacoma. New to me. I was thinking of Dulles Airport.
43D: Aircraft pioneer: CESSNA
49D: La __ gauche: RIVE. The left bank in Paris.
51D: Mongolian tent: YURT
53D: Jarret of Nascar: NED. I guessed. I've never heard of this guy before.
54D: River of Iran: QOM. Here is the map. I cannot find the river. Wikipedia says QOM city is "currently the largest center for Shi'a scholarship in the world". Unknown to me.
C.C.
Total block: 33
Incredible puzzle! I was stunned when I opened the newspaper. I've never seen a grid with left to right, up and down symmetry before. Our editor has always given us the conventional puzzles with 180 degree rotational symmetry.
This puzzle just looks so pretty to me. But what a hammer! Out of the following 15-letter run -through words, 3D was the only gimme to me:
16A: Shoulder shrugger?: TRAPEZIUS MUSCLE
52A: Sitcom starring Kevin James: THE KING OF QUEENS
3D: George H. W Bush's former jobsite: CIA HEADQUARTERS
10D: Japanese maritime video game: UNCHARTED WATERS
I like the crossing of REHID (18A: Moved to a new secret location) with CIA HEADQUARTERS.
I've never heard of "Sulawesi" (11D) before. After I googled, I think "formerly" should be added for the CELEBES clue.
SAKIS for "Japanese spirits" (45D)? New to me. The only "Japanese spirits" I've used are mirin (to cook) and SAKE.
Across:
1A: Dogpatch creator: AL CAPP. Have not seen "Li'l Abner" in our puzzle for a long time.
7A: Coniferous tree: SPRUCE
19A: Phone button trio: GHI. 4.
20A: Sub-Saharan region: SAHEL. I can never remember this arid region. It's "on the S flank of the Sahara desert that stretches across six countries from Senegal to Chad."
21A: Calif.-to-Fla. rte.: I-TEN. Boy, this did not come to me easily.
25A: Kingston Trio hit: M.T.A.. Can you think of a better way to clue M.T.A.?
26A: North Carolinian: TAR HEEL. I like this old postcard.
28A: Out of the bus.: RET. Retired? I don't understand this clue. How can "Out of the business" mean RETIRED? I was thinking of "bankrupt".
29A: Ornaments: ADORNS. Hard to accept "Ornaments" as a verb.
31A: Points of views: SLANTS. Really? I thought SLANTS are all biased "points of views".
33A: Old British bucks: QUID. No idea. Dictionary says it's a slang for "one pound sterling". I misunderstood "Old" as "former".
34A: French 101 verb: ETRE. I suppose "To be, or not to be" is "ETRE, ou pas ETRE" in French?
37A: Groups of eight: OCTADS. I filled in OCTETS first.
40A: Jimmy of "Red, Hot and Blue": DURANTE. I've never heard of the musical "Red, Hot and Blue". Did he ever explain clearly who "Mrs. Calabash" was?
42A: Female GI, once: WAC (Women's Army Corps). I did not know that it's a separate corps of US Army until 1978.
48A: Fragrant oil: ATTAR
50A: Classic Pontiac: GTO. I wonder why the song title is "Little GTO" rather than "Big GTO".
51A: Himalayan sightings: YETIS
56A: Programming language: FORTRAN. No idea. I've never heard of Formula Translation before.
58A: Gr. peek: MT OSSA
Down:
1D: Belfast's county: ANTRIM. Here is the map. Belfast in the south. I googled the answer.
4D: Clinton cabinet member: ASPIN (Les). How can I remember this guy's name? ASPIN, A SPIN, ASP IN. He looks like a spy.
5D: __ -a-terre: PIED. Did you misread it as "___ de terre"? I did.
6D: Dispensable candy: PEZ. Wow, look at these incredible PEZ dispensers. No "feet", extremely rare, probably worth hundreds of dollars a piece.
12D: Button slot: EYELET
14D: Harsh conditions: RIGORS
15D: Backs of singles: B SIDES
22D: Reach!: HANDS UP. I would not have got this one without your "Stick 'em up" explanations the other day. Thank you.
26D: True partner?: TRIED
32D: Gun lobby, briefly: NRA. Also FDR's "New Deal org."
35D: Transparent, modern-style: SEE THRU. What does "modern-style" mean?
36D: "Wild Thing" group: TROGGS. I love the song "Wild Thing" and "Wild Thing" (Charlie Sheen) in "Major League". But I've never heard of The TROGGS before.
37D: Unrepeated event: ONE-OFF. New word to me.
38D: Steinbeck's birthplace: SALINAS. Here is the map. So close to San Jose. I googled the answer.
39D: Washington airport: SEA-TAC. It serves Seattle and Tacoma. New to me. I was thinking of Dulles Airport.
43D: Aircraft pioneer: CESSNA
49D: La __ gauche: RIVE. The left bank in Paris.
51D: Mongolian tent: YURT
53D: Jarret of Nascar: NED. I guessed. I've never heard of this guy before.
54D: River of Iran: QOM. Here is the map. I cannot find the river. Wikipedia says QOM city is "currently the largest center for Shi'a scholarship in the world". Unknown to me.
C.C.
