Theme: MIDDLE EARTH (58A: Tolkie place... or this puzzle's theme)
18A: Dispel differences: CLEAR THE AIR
28A: Like some good food?: HEART-HEALTHY
44A: Woomera, e.g.: SPEAR THROWER
I did not know the meaning of "Woomera", and I heedlessly filled in SEPTET instead of HEPTAD for 46D: "Seven Dwarfs, e.g." and ZEST instead of ZEAL for 53D: "Enthusiasm". So I made a mess at the lower middle section.
I really don't know much about crossword construction, but I do know it's not easy coming up with two J's (JUJUBE) and two Z's (ZZ TOP) in one fill. Barry Silk is unbelievable. I am always impressed by his repeated efforts in coming up with scrabbly grids, so effortlessly.
I hope you enjoyed his pangram today. This is probably my favorite Barry Silk puzzle. I love the theme. I think I am getting better understanding his mind. I filled in AQI (14A: EPA pollution measure) like it's a OREO cookie. Can you believe a year ago I did not even know what ORT is? My first ever crossword fill is SOSA. What about you?
Across:
4A: One way to fall: APART. Fall APART. Good clue.
15A: Film version: MOVIE. What's the difference between Film and MOVIE?
16A: Articles of faith: CREDO. Without ADIOS (12D: Spanish ta-ta), I would probably have penned in CREED. Or should it be the plural CREEDS?
23A: Brief expert: PROS. I was picturing James Bond in "Brief" (Daniel Craig in "Casino Royale"). I wish the clue were "Experts, briefly".
24A: Infomercial knife: GINSU. OK, here is the original GINSU ad.
32A: Like Rembrandt: DUTCH
37A: Corner aloft: TREE. I think the best TREE clue I've seen is "Leaves home?".
41A: Columnist Marilyn __ Savant: VOS. Her name came to me via the adjacent fills. I am not familiar with this columnist. She has a IQ of 228, "the highest ever recorded", according to Wikipedia.
42A: Composer Thomas: ARNE. The composer for "Rule, Britannia".
47A: Chewy candy: JUJUBE. Chinese date is called JUJUBE also. But I've never heard of KIWI (56D) being called "Chinese gooseberry". Is gooseberry edible? I used to binge on mulberry.
51A: Words before end or angle: AT AN. I don't like this clue. You either clue it as "AT AN angle" or "AT AN end". Dennis probably wants to "Get A TAN".
52A: "Legs" band: ZZ TOP. Here is the song. Those beards are too long for my taste. Interesting, Wikipedia says Frank Beard, "Ironically, in spite of his own surname", almost always "sports just a mustache".
55A: "Lonely Boy" singer Paul: ANKA. Look at those girls, they are all chewing bubblegum. Baseballcards came with the bubblegum in 1959, right? This Mickey Mantle Topps 1959 was sold for $2.850 at an auction.
61A: Fort __, NJ: DIX. Learned it from doing Xword.
62A: Sheep peep: BLEAT. BLEAT always reminds of "The Silence of the Lambs". I wish I had never seen it. What a nightmare!
63A: How some stocks sell: AT PAR
66A: Yorkshire city: LEEDS. Mark Knopler, who scored "The Princess Bride", graduated from the University of Leeds.
67A: Milwaukee's st.: WIS. I misread "st" as "street" first.
Down:
1D: Bit of reality: FACT
2D: Pastel hue: AQUA. It's a shade of cyan, so is teal.
3D: Mr. Microsoft?: BILL GATES. It's symmetrical partner is BAY WINDOW (34D: Oriel). Nice to see "Oriel" as the clue rather than the answer. I like seeing GATES, WINDOW and JAMBS (47D: Doorframe parts) in one puzzle.
4D: All-films stn.: AMC. So is TMC.
5D: Buff: POLISH. I misread the clue as "Bluff", so I was picturing the bluffs above Omaha Beach and Reagan's D-Day speech. That's a strange memory statue, isn't it?
6D: Line of inquiry: AVENUE. I was stumped, how so? What is "Line of inquiry"?
7D: Iranian cash: RIAL. It's the money unit of Yemen, Oman and Iran.
8D: Trillion: pref.: TERA. I would not have got this one without the across fills. See this list. Barry can clue PETA as "Quadrillion" prefix rather than "Animal rights grp." next time. I cannot count above a million.
11D: Tripper Timothy: LEARY. The LSD guy.
13D: Body of art: TORSO. Venus de Milo is probably the most famous "Body of art".
19D: Conway of country music: TWITTY. Here is his Hello Darlin'. Sounds so sad. I obtained his name from across fills.
21D: "Odyssey" sorceress: CIRCE. Siren does not fit and sirens don't really appear in "Odyssey", right?
38D: Zephyr: BREEZE
39D: __ roll (streaking): ON A. Strange that Williams allows partial fill from time to time.
44D: Ice cream treat: SUNDAE. I wish there were no whipped cream in SUNDAE. I also don't like icing on the cake.
45D: 1912 Olympian: THORPE. My first thought was Jesse Owens, who was a 1936 Olympian. Here is a picture of Jim THORPE at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. I vaguely remember one of his game worn jerseys was sold over half a million at an auction several years ago.
49D: Word-weary: JADED
57D: Lumber camp stack: AXES
59D: USPS piece: LTR. Lots of three-letter words in today's grid.
60D: "48 __": HRS. New film to me. Is it good?
C.C.
18A: Dispel differences: CLEAR THE AIR
28A: Like some good food?: HEART-HEALTHY
44A: Woomera, e.g.: SPEAR THROWER
I did not know the meaning of "Woomera", and I heedlessly filled in SEPTET instead of HEPTAD for 46D: "Seven Dwarfs, e.g." and ZEST instead of ZEAL for 53D: "Enthusiasm". So I made a mess at the lower middle section.
I really don't know much about crossword construction, but I do know it's not easy coming up with two J's (JUJUBE) and two Z's (ZZ TOP) in one fill. Barry Silk is unbelievable. I am always impressed by his repeated efforts in coming up with scrabbly grids, so effortlessly.
I hope you enjoyed his pangram today. This is probably my favorite Barry Silk puzzle. I love the theme. I think I am getting better understanding his mind. I filled in AQI (14A: EPA pollution measure) like it's a OREO cookie. Can you believe a year ago I did not even know what ORT is? My first ever crossword fill is SOSA. What about you?
Across:
4A: One way to fall: APART. Fall APART. Good clue.
15A: Film version: MOVIE. What's the difference between Film and MOVIE?
16A: Articles of faith: CREDO. Without ADIOS (12D: Spanish ta-ta), I would probably have penned in CREED. Or should it be the plural CREEDS?
23A: Brief expert: PROS. I was picturing James Bond in "Brief" (Daniel Craig in "Casino Royale"). I wish the clue were "Experts, briefly".
24A: Infomercial knife: GINSU. OK, here is the original GINSU ad.
32A: Like Rembrandt: DUTCH
37A: Corner aloft: TREE. I think the best TREE clue I've seen is "Leaves home?".
41A: Columnist Marilyn __ Savant: VOS. Her name came to me via the adjacent fills. I am not familiar with this columnist. She has a IQ of 228, "the highest ever recorded", according to Wikipedia.
42A: Composer Thomas: ARNE. The composer for "Rule, Britannia".
47A: Chewy candy: JUJUBE. Chinese date is called JUJUBE also. But I've never heard of KIWI (56D) being called "Chinese gooseberry". Is gooseberry edible? I used to binge on mulberry.
51A: Words before end or angle: AT AN. I don't like this clue. You either clue it as "AT AN angle" or "AT AN end". Dennis probably wants to "Get A TAN".
52A: "Legs" band: ZZ TOP. Here is the song. Those beards are too long for my taste. Interesting, Wikipedia says Frank Beard, "Ironically, in spite of his own surname", almost always "sports just a mustache".
55A: "Lonely Boy" singer Paul: ANKA. Look at those girls, they are all chewing bubblegum. Baseballcards came with the bubblegum in 1959, right? This Mickey Mantle Topps 1959 was sold for $2.850 at an auction.
61A: Fort __, NJ: DIX. Learned it from doing Xword.
62A: Sheep peep: BLEAT. BLEAT always reminds of "The Silence of the Lambs". I wish I had never seen it. What a nightmare!
63A: How some stocks sell: AT PAR
66A: Yorkshire city: LEEDS. Mark Knopler, who scored "The Princess Bride", graduated from the University of Leeds.
67A: Milwaukee's st.: WIS. I misread "st" as "street" first.
Down:
1D: Bit of reality: FACT
2D: Pastel hue: AQUA. It's a shade of cyan, so is teal.
3D: Mr. Microsoft?: BILL GATES. It's symmetrical partner is BAY WINDOW (34D: Oriel). Nice to see "Oriel" as the clue rather than the answer. I like seeing GATES, WINDOW and JAMBS (47D: Doorframe parts) in one puzzle.
4D: All-films stn.: AMC. So is TMC.
5D: Buff: POLISH. I misread the clue as "Bluff", so I was picturing the bluffs above Omaha Beach and Reagan's D-Day speech. That's a strange memory statue, isn't it?
6D: Line of inquiry: AVENUE. I was stumped, how so? What is "Line of inquiry"?
7D: Iranian cash: RIAL. It's the money unit of Yemen, Oman and Iran.
8D: Trillion: pref.: TERA. I would not have got this one without the across fills. See this list. Barry can clue PETA as "Quadrillion" prefix rather than "Animal rights grp." next time. I cannot count above a million.
11D: Tripper Timothy: LEARY. The LSD guy.
13D: Body of art: TORSO. Venus de Milo is probably the most famous "Body of art".
19D: Conway of country music: TWITTY. Here is his Hello Darlin'. Sounds so sad. I obtained his name from across fills.
21D: "Odyssey" sorceress: CIRCE. Siren does not fit and sirens don't really appear in "Odyssey", right?
38D: Zephyr: BREEZE
39D: __ roll (streaking): ON A. Strange that Williams allows partial fill from time to time.
44D: Ice cream treat: SUNDAE. I wish there were no whipped cream in SUNDAE. I also don't like icing on the cake.
45D: 1912 Olympian: THORPE. My first thought was Jesse Owens, who was a 1936 Olympian. Here is a picture of Jim THORPE at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. I vaguely remember one of his game worn jerseys was sold over half a million at an auction several years ago.
49D: Word-weary: JADED
57D: Lumber camp stack: AXES
59D: USPS piece: LTR. Lots of three-letter words in today's grid.
60D: "48 __": HRS. New film to me. Is it good?
C.C.
