Theme: The Who
15A: Lendl playing badly?: IVAN THE TERRIBLE
37A: Namath serving drinks? JOE THE BARTENDER
58A: O'Donnel working construction? ROSIE THE RIVETER
I was thinking of JOE THE PLUMBER. Had never heard of JOE THE BARTENDER.
Besides BILLY THE KID and JACK THE RIPPER, who else do you think will be a great theme answer candidate? This constructor (Stan B. Whitten) is probably too modest to clue STAN THE MAN. Had our ex-governor JESSE "THE BODY" run for the senate seat in November, Minnesota probably would not have this messy recount now.
I adore this puzzle. Great theme and a rare action-filled "Do" puzzle. Lots of verbs, so unusual: GOOF, ERRS, EMBED, ELATES, ENJOY, REVERE, OGLE, SNEAK, STATE, OVERLAP, ELEVATE, STUNS, MOOED, and ROTATES.
Some of the fills can also be verbalized too: DETOUR (34A: Way around), LIVE (2D: In person), OUT (7D: On the market), FORCE OUTS (9D: Some failures to advance runners) and ENTER (62A: Key PC key). I think a simple "Go in" would be perfect for ENTER.
Across:
1A: Pixyish: ELFIN. I always thought the adjective for pixie is "pixie-like".
19A: Palm starch: SAGO. Is anyone suffering from gluten intolerance/sensitivity? SAGO flour is safe, so is rice flour of course.
16A: Govt. agents: T-MEN. I think the most famous movie about T-MEN is probably "The Untouchables". Kevin Costner plays Eliot Ness.
20A: Long-distance operators?: REMOTES. Nice clue.
21A: Spotted wildcats: OCELOTS. Do you know that cougar, puma, mountain lion and panther are the same thing?
24A: First wife?: EVE. I suppose you can also clue EVE as "First mother?/grandma?" or "First offender?". "Second name?" though.
28A: Clarinet relative: OBOE. Ah, the most popular "blow" instrument in Xword!
30A: Dr. Tim's drug: LSD. I sure don't believe "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" has anything to do with LSD.
44A: French movie: CINE. I always thought it's CINEMA.
64A: Scottish dagger: SNEE. Dirk is also "Scottish dagger". I don't know the difference between the two.
Down:
3D: "The Film-__ Man": FLAM. Here is clip. I've never seen the movie.
4D: Uncorrupted: INNOCENT. They are not really synonymous, are they?
10D: Subway gate: STILE. Good change. I am tired of the "Steps over a fence" clue.
11D: Early pulpit: AMBO. New word to me. This AMBO looks quite modern.
12D: Moolah: GELT. I wonder how many calories are in one of these GELT coins. Probably the same as in one clementine.
18D: Conditional contraction: HE'D. I don't think I would have got it without the across fills. Sometimes simple word stumps me.
27D: Afrikaners: BOERS. Taiwan was under the Dutch control from 1624 to 1662 (The Dutch Formosa).
29D: Cylinder diameter: BORE. I did not know this.
30D: Rock shelf: LEDGE. New definition to me also.
31D: Inscribed stone pillar: STELA. The plural is STELAE.
34D: Undies: DELICATES. That's why they should be hand-washed.
39D: Happening that didn't happen: NON-EVENT. I don't understand this clue. The event, though anticlimatic, did happen, right?
50D: Pitcher Hershiser: OREL. Wikipedia says OREL Hershiser is "the only player to receive the Cy Young award, the Championship Series MVP award, and the World Series MVP award in the same season (1988)."
51D: Lemming cousin: VOLE. What is he eating? Lemming is new to me.
53D: Unit of loudness: PHON. Learned from doing Xword. Looks like a sound prefix to me.
C.C.
15A: Lendl playing badly?: IVAN THE TERRIBLE
37A: Namath serving drinks? JOE THE BARTENDER
58A: O'Donnel working construction? ROSIE THE RIVETER
I was thinking of JOE THE PLUMBER. Had never heard of JOE THE BARTENDER.
Besides BILLY THE KID and JACK THE RIPPER, who else do you think will be a great theme answer candidate? This constructor (Stan B. Whitten) is probably too modest to clue STAN THE MAN. Had our ex-governor JESSE "THE BODY" run for the senate seat in November, Minnesota probably would not have this messy recount now.
I adore this puzzle. Great theme and a rare action-filled "Do" puzzle. Lots of verbs, so unusual: GOOF, ERRS, EMBED, ELATES, ENJOY, REVERE, OGLE, SNEAK, STATE, OVERLAP, ELEVATE, STUNS, MOOED, and ROTATES.
Some of the fills can also be verbalized too: DETOUR (34A: Way around), LIVE (2D: In person), OUT (7D: On the market), FORCE OUTS (9D: Some failures to advance runners) and ENTER (62A: Key PC key). I think a simple "Go in" would be perfect for ENTER.
Across:
1A: Pixyish: ELFIN. I always thought the adjective for pixie is "pixie-like".
19A: Palm starch: SAGO. Is anyone suffering from gluten intolerance/sensitivity? SAGO flour is safe, so is rice flour of course.
16A: Govt. agents: T-MEN. I think the most famous movie about T-MEN is probably "The Untouchables". Kevin Costner plays Eliot Ness.
20A: Long-distance operators?: REMOTES. Nice clue.
21A: Spotted wildcats: OCELOTS. Do you know that cougar, puma, mountain lion and panther are the same thing?
24A: First wife?: EVE. I suppose you can also clue EVE as "First mother?/grandma?" or "First offender?". "Second name?" though.
28A: Clarinet relative: OBOE. Ah, the most popular "blow" instrument in Xword!
30A: Dr. Tim's drug: LSD. I sure don't believe "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" has anything to do with LSD.
44A: French movie: CINE. I always thought it's CINEMA.
64A: Scottish dagger: SNEE. Dirk is also "Scottish dagger". I don't know the difference between the two.
Down:
3D: "The Film-__ Man": FLAM. Here is clip. I've never seen the movie.
4D: Uncorrupted: INNOCENT. They are not really synonymous, are they?
10D: Subway gate: STILE. Good change. I am tired of the "Steps over a fence" clue.
11D: Early pulpit: AMBO. New word to me. This AMBO looks quite modern.
12D: Moolah: GELT. I wonder how many calories are in one of these GELT coins. Probably the same as in one clementine.
18D: Conditional contraction: HE'D. I don't think I would have got it without the across fills. Sometimes simple word stumps me.
27D: Afrikaners: BOERS. Taiwan was under the Dutch control from 1624 to 1662 (The Dutch Formosa).
29D: Cylinder diameter: BORE. I did not know this.
30D: Rock shelf: LEDGE. New definition to me also.
31D: Inscribed stone pillar: STELA. The plural is STELAE.
34D: Undies: DELICATES. That's why they should be hand-washed.
39D: Happening that didn't happen: NON-EVENT. I don't understand this clue. The event, though anticlimatic, did happen, right?
50D: Pitcher Hershiser: OREL. Wikipedia says OREL Hershiser is "the only player to receive the Cy Young award, the Championship Series MVP award, and the World Series MVP award in the same season (1988)."
51D: Lemming cousin: VOLE. What is he eating? Lemming is new to me.
53D: Unit of loudness: PHON. Learned from doing Xword. Looks like a sound prefix to me.
C.C.
