Theme: Canine Connections
23A: Marine canine?: SEA BASS (BASS)ET HOUND
42A: Central American canine?: GUATEMALA (MALA)MUTE
64A: Tennis player's canine?: NADAL (DAL)MATIAN
75A: Dancer's canine?: ASTAIRE (AIRE)DALE
99A: Sculptor's canine?: NOGUCHI (CHI)HUAHUA
117A: Sioux holy man's canine?: SITTING BULL (BULL)DOG
16D: Fancy-tailed canine?: PEACOCK (COCK)ER SPANIEL
40D: Island canine?: GRAND BAHAMAS (MAS)TIFF
Great theme, isn't it? My best Sunday ever. Still needed to google a few proper names though.
Some of the clues struck me as annoyingly and unnecessarily obscure, especially BLAIRS (83A: Brown and Underwood: BLAIRS). Aren't these BLAIRS a better clue?
I think the clue for RAM (88A: Farm butter) needs a question mark to warn the unsuspecting solvers about the word play on butt-er. I could not think of a better way to clue OTHO (110D: Holy Roman emperor). But it has to be reworded because of HRE (78A: Bygone Eur. realm) as an answer in the grid.
I still don't understand the clue for SOLO (109A: Arias for one). Why "Arias" instead of "Aria"? (Addendum: My mistake. The answer is SOLI).
Across:
8A: Sail-extending pole: SPRIT. See this diagram. It's "a small pole or spar crossing a fore-and-aft sail diagonally from the mast to the upper aftermost corner, serving to extend the sail". New nautical term to me.
28A: Seine tributary: OISE. Here is the map. I wonder why there is no le, or la in front of this river. Is it a neuter river?
31A: Height: pref.: ACRO. As in acrophobia. New to me. Somehow I wanted ELEV.
35A: Proud of being wealthy: PURSY. Have never heard of this word before.
45A: Saul's uncle: NER. Learned his name from doing Xword. NER is Abner's father. Saul's father is Kish.
46A: Partner of Porthos: ATHOS. The other Musketeer is Aramis. How come these names all end with letter S? I thought only Greek masculine nouns end with letter s.
51A: Pianist Cliburn: VAN. Is this Dan Rather's voice? I did not know this pianist.
55A: Vinegar produced from fermented ale: ALEGAR. Ale + (Vin)negar. It appeared in our puzzle a few days ago. Sometimes I make my own honegar in summer time: honey and apple cider vinegar.
70A: Slot fills: TABS. Mortise insert is TENON.
71A: Skiing mishap: SPILL. Falling from the skis?
77A: Asian goat: TAHR. I've never seen this Asian TAHR in China. He looks so lonely.
82A: Tropical black birds: ANIS. Normally clued as "Black cuckoos".
89A: Cold remedies?: ICE BAGS. Good clue.
93A: French wine region: RHONE. Its capital is Lyon.
102A: His: Fr. SES. Or her, its.
104A: Eat greedily: ENGORGE. New word to me. Only knew gorge.
111A: Permafrost region: TUNDRA
115A: Like an opera song: ARIOSE. Another new word to me. I've never heard of arioso neither.
122A: Pocatello's state: IDAHO. I guessed. I've never heard of Pocatello before. What is it famous for? Potatos?
Down:
4D: Import-export difference: TRADE GAP
5D: Remove with caution: EASE OUT
8D: Division into factions: SCHISM. Lots of consonants in this word.
10D: Black sheep: ROUE. The likes of Casanova & Don Juan. Have you heard of Lothario?
12D: Tiresome times: TEDIUMS. Strange that the plural form is not TEDIA.
13D: Hawker: HUCKSTER. Another new word to me.
15D: Greek peak: OSSA. It's the only Greek mountain I know.
17D: Spanked: LARRUPED. This word looks so wrong, with the spelling RRUP, yet it's a real word.
18D: Losers: ALSO-RANS. Like Senators McCain & Kerry.
34D: DDE's command: ETO (European theater of operations)
39D: 1930s programs: NEW DEAL. I just learned that Social Security program is part of the NEW DEAL too.
43D: Berman or Cariou: LEN. Have never heard of sportcaster LEN Berman. I like those bobblehead figurines on his shelf. I was not acquainted with actor LEN Cariou either.
50D: Eminent conductors: MAESTRI. I did not know that the plural form for maestro is MAESTRI.
51D: The 4 Seasons singer Frankie: VALLI. Another google. I did not know that it's VALLI who sang "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". Lovely song.
55D: Latin handle: ANSA
61D: "Guitar Town" singer Steve: EARLE. Here is the clip.
66D: Turndown, from Putin: NYET. A "No" from Putin obviously still carries enormous authority in Russia.
69D: Famous meteor shower member: PERSEID. New word to me also. Perseus is the guy who killed Gorgon Medusa in Greek mythology.
76D: Martini's partner: ROSSI. Nice poster.
79D: Moran and Gray: ERINS. Have heard of Moran, not Gray.
83D: Armband: BRASSARD. I was surprised when the dictionary says it's a word. It also looks so wrong. -ARD is suffix denoting "persons who regularly engage in an activity, who are characterized in a certain way, as indicated by the stem; now usually pejorative: coward; dullard; drunkard; wizard. "
84D: Niagara's source: LAKE ERIE. New trivia to me.
85D: Faultfinders: SCOLDERS
93D: Altercation: RUN-IN
96D: Cultivate: NURTURE
100D: Sun god: HELIOS. He is the brother of Selene (goddess of the moon) and Eos (goddess of the dawn). Sol in Roman.
114D: Turkish officer: AGHA. Also spelled as AGA.
C.C.
23A: Marine canine?: SEA BASS (BASS)ET HOUND
42A: Central American canine?: GUATEMALA (MALA)MUTE
64A: Tennis player's canine?: NADAL (DAL)MATIAN
75A: Dancer's canine?: ASTAIRE (AIRE)DALE
99A: Sculptor's canine?: NOGUCHI (CHI)HUAHUA
117A: Sioux holy man's canine?: SITTING BULL (BULL)DOG
16D: Fancy-tailed canine?: PEACOCK (COCK)ER SPANIEL
40D: Island canine?: GRAND BAHAMAS (MAS)TIFF
Great theme, isn't it? My best Sunday ever. Still needed to google a few proper names though.
Some of the clues struck me as annoyingly and unnecessarily obscure, especially BLAIRS (83A: Brown and Underwood: BLAIRS). Aren't these BLAIRS a better clue?
I think the clue for RAM (88A: Farm butter) needs a question mark to warn the unsuspecting solvers about the word play on butt-er. I could not think of a better way to clue OTHO (110D: Holy Roman emperor). But it has to be reworded because of HRE (78A: Bygone Eur. realm) as an answer in the grid.
I still don't understand the clue for SOLO (109A: Arias for one). Why "Arias" instead of "Aria"? (Addendum: My mistake. The answer is SOLI).
Across:
8A: Sail-extending pole: SPRIT. See this diagram. It's "a small pole or spar crossing a fore-and-aft sail diagonally from the mast to the upper aftermost corner, serving to extend the sail". New nautical term to me.
28A: Seine tributary: OISE. Here is the map. I wonder why there is no le, or la in front of this river. Is it a neuter river?
31A: Height: pref.: ACRO. As in acrophobia. New to me. Somehow I wanted ELEV.
35A: Proud of being wealthy: PURSY. Have never heard of this word before.
45A: Saul's uncle: NER. Learned his name from doing Xword. NER is Abner's father. Saul's father is Kish.
46A: Partner of Porthos: ATHOS. The other Musketeer is Aramis. How come these names all end with letter S? I thought only Greek masculine nouns end with letter s.
51A: Pianist Cliburn: VAN. Is this Dan Rather's voice? I did not know this pianist.
55A: Vinegar produced from fermented ale: ALEGAR. Ale + (Vin)negar. It appeared in our puzzle a few days ago. Sometimes I make my own honegar in summer time: honey and apple cider vinegar.
70A: Slot fills: TABS. Mortise insert is TENON.
71A: Skiing mishap: SPILL. Falling from the skis?
77A: Asian goat: TAHR. I've never seen this Asian TAHR in China. He looks so lonely.
82A: Tropical black birds: ANIS. Normally clued as "Black cuckoos".
89A: Cold remedies?: ICE BAGS. Good clue.
93A: French wine region: RHONE. Its capital is Lyon.
102A: His: Fr. SES. Or her, its.
104A: Eat greedily: ENGORGE. New word to me. Only knew gorge.
111A: Permafrost region: TUNDRA
115A: Like an opera song: ARIOSE. Another new word to me. I've never heard of arioso neither.
122A: Pocatello's state: IDAHO. I guessed. I've never heard of Pocatello before. What is it famous for? Potatos?
Down:
4D: Import-export difference: TRADE GAP
5D: Remove with caution: EASE OUT
8D: Division into factions: SCHISM. Lots of consonants in this word.
10D: Black sheep: ROUE. The likes of Casanova & Don Juan. Have you heard of Lothario?
12D: Tiresome times: TEDIUMS. Strange that the plural form is not TEDIA.
13D: Hawker: HUCKSTER. Another new word to me.
15D: Greek peak: OSSA. It's the only Greek mountain I know.
17D: Spanked: LARRUPED. This word looks so wrong, with the spelling RRUP, yet it's a real word.
18D: Losers: ALSO-RANS. Like Senators McCain & Kerry.
34D: DDE's command: ETO (European theater of operations)
39D: 1930s programs: NEW DEAL. I just learned that Social Security program is part of the NEW DEAL too.
43D: Berman or Cariou: LEN. Have never heard of sportcaster LEN Berman. I like those bobblehead figurines on his shelf. I was not acquainted with actor LEN Cariou either.
50D: Eminent conductors: MAESTRI. I did not know that the plural form for maestro is MAESTRI.
51D: The 4 Seasons singer Frankie: VALLI. Another google. I did not know that it's VALLI who sang "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". Lovely song.
55D: Latin handle: ANSA
61D: "Guitar Town" singer Steve: EARLE. Here is the clip.
66D: Turndown, from Putin: NYET. A "No" from Putin obviously still carries enormous authority in Russia.
69D: Famous meteor shower member: PERSEID. New word to me also. Perseus is the guy who killed Gorgon Medusa in Greek mythology.
76D: Martini's partner: ROSSI. Nice poster.
79D: Moran and Gray: ERINS. Have heard of Moran, not Gray.
83D: Armband: BRASSARD. I was surprised when the dictionary says it's a word. It also looks so wrong. -ARD is suffix denoting "persons who regularly engage in an activity, who are characterized in a certain way, as indicated by the stem; now usually pejorative: coward; dullard; drunkard; wizard. "
84D: Niagara's source: LAKE ERIE. New trivia to me.
85D: Faultfinders: SCOLDERS
93D: Altercation: RUN-IN
96D: Cultivate: NURTURE
100D: Sun god: HELIOS. He is the brother of Selene (goddess of the moon) and Eos (goddess of the dawn). Sol in Roman.
114D: Turkish officer: AGHA. Also spelled as AGA.
C.C.
