Theme: Sound Alike
17A: Golf?: PLAY A ROUND (AROUND)
55A: Take a dive?: THROW A BOUT (ABOUT)
11D: Compete in a steeplechase?: JUMP A BOARD (ABOARD)
28D: Race on earth?: RUN A GROUND (AGROUND)
I was not aware of the boxing term "dive". But "PLAY A ROUND" came to me immediately so I got the theme very early on. It certainly helped me fill in several blanks. I found today's down fills much easier to obtain than the across ones.
Two major problems in this puzzle:
1) DIVE (24A: Swoop) is an answer, so "dive" should not be part of the clue for 55A.
2) POUT (51D: Look sullen) and POUTY (33A: Peevish) in the same puzzle? They are of the same root for goodness sake.
I do like the clues for GOOSE (6D: Nene, for one) and GUEVARA (41D: Che from Argentina). Lovely to see "Nene" and "Che" as clues rather than the fills. I had the mistaken idea that Che was from Cuba.
Across:
1A: Walker in water: WADER. Nice clue. All alliterations.
14A: Napoleon, for a time: EXILE. Another nice clue. Try "Dalai Lama" next time. He has been an exile for a long time.
15A: SSS classification: ONE A. Here is a detailed list. Have you ever seen a Purple Heart medal in person?
16A: King novel, "__ Key": DUMA. Got the book title from down fills. I've never read any Stephen King book.
21A: Bonny girl: LASS. "Bonny" is rooted in BON (57D: __ mot (witticism)).
22A: Swooped: DIPPED. Are they are really interchangeable?
25A: __ Gorda, FL: PUNTA. New city to me. What is it famous for? The name is "Fat Point" in Spanish.
26A: Low, foglike clouds: STRATI. Singular form is STRATUS.
34A: Small traveler in space: METEOROID
36A: Japanese ethnic group: AINU. The aboriginal Japanese. AINU is literally "human" in their language.
37A: Hindu garment: var.: SAREE. SARI is more common. Same with RANEE, which is a variant of RANI.
41A: Prickly, Scottish shrub: GORSE. I totally forgot about this bush. Dictionary says it's a genus of Ulex. Kind of reminds me of IBEX (Mountain goat) and IlEX (Holm oak). A bunch of weird looking words.
45A: Rope on the range: RIATA. Sometimes it's REATA. What's the difference between RIATA and LARIAT?
47A: Whence Zeno: ELEA. Zeno of ELEA.
50A: B.C. or P.E.I.: PROV. We have provinces (22) in China. Xi'An is the capital city of Shaanxi Province.
58A: Potent beginning: OMNI. Also "Present beginning".
61A: Art movement: DADA. OK, here is Dadaist Duchamp's "Mona Lisa". Here is the explanation on the DF meaning of L.H.O.O.Q..
Down:
3D: Naturalist Fossey: DIAN. Got her name from across fills. Is DIAN a nickname of DIANA?
9D: Pharisee rival: SADDUCEE. Completely unknown to me. Dictionary defines SADDUCEE as "a member of a Palestinian sect, consisting mainly of priests and aristocrats, that flourished from the 1st century b.c. to the 1st century a.d. and differed from the Pharisees chiefly in its literal interpretation of the Bible, rejection of oral laws and traditions, and denial of an afterlife and the coming of the Messiah."
10D: Make work: ADAPT. Are you comfortable with this clue?
29D: Job extras: PERKS. What amazing PERKS Google offers to its employees!
44D: Exhale forcefully: BLOW. Also the title of a Johnny Depp movie.
52D: Inning sixths: OUTS. Baseball term. "Three up, three down". Why "sixth" instead of "six"?
53D: Very small: ITSY. This reminds me of a good clue for SANTA ("He has a small staff").
C.C.
17A: Golf?: PLAY A ROUND (AROUND)
55A: Take a dive?: THROW A BOUT (ABOUT)
11D: Compete in a steeplechase?: JUMP A BOARD (ABOARD)
28D: Race on earth?: RUN A GROUND (AGROUND)
I was not aware of the boxing term "dive". But "PLAY A ROUND" came to me immediately so I got the theme very early on. It certainly helped me fill in several blanks. I found today's down fills much easier to obtain than the across ones.
Two major problems in this puzzle:
1) DIVE (24A: Swoop) is an answer, so "dive" should not be part of the clue for 55A.
2) POUT (51D: Look sullen) and POUTY (33A: Peevish) in the same puzzle? They are of the same root for goodness sake.
I do like the clues for GOOSE (6D: Nene, for one) and GUEVARA (41D: Che from Argentina). Lovely to see "Nene" and "Che" as clues rather than the fills. I had the mistaken idea that Che was from Cuba.
Across:
1A: Walker in water: WADER. Nice clue. All alliterations.
14A: Napoleon, for a time: EXILE. Another nice clue. Try "Dalai Lama" next time. He has been an exile for a long time.
15A: SSS classification: ONE A. Here is a detailed list. Have you ever seen a Purple Heart medal in person?
16A: King novel, "__ Key": DUMA. Got the book title from down fills. I've never read any Stephen King book.
21A: Bonny girl: LASS. "Bonny" is rooted in BON (57D: __ mot (witticism)).
22A: Swooped: DIPPED. Are they are really interchangeable?
25A: __ Gorda, FL: PUNTA. New city to me. What is it famous for? The name is "Fat Point" in Spanish.
26A: Low, foglike clouds: STRATI. Singular form is STRATUS.
34A: Small traveler in space: METEOROID
36A: Japanese ethnic group: AINU. The aboriginal Japanese. AINU is literally "human" in their language.
37A: Hindu garment: var.: SAREE. SARI is more common. Same with RANEE, which is a variant of RANI.
41A: Prickly, Scottish shrub: GORSE. I totally forgot about this bush. Dictionary says it's a genus of Ulex. Kind of reminds me of IBEX (Mountain goat) and IlEX (Holm oak). A bunch of weird looking words.
45A: Rope on the range: RIATA. Sometimes it's REATA. What's the difference between RIATA and LARIAT?
47A: Whence Zeno: ELEA. Zeno of ELEA.
50A: B.C. or P.E.I.: PROV. We have provinces (22) in China. Xi'An is the capital city of Shaanxi Province.
58A: Potent beginning: OMNI. Also "Present beginning".
61A: Art movement: DADA. OK, here is Dadaist Duchamp's "Mona Lisa". Here is the explanation on the DF meaning of L.H.O.O.Q..
Down:
3D: Naturalist Fossey: DIAN. Got her name from across fills. Is DIAN a nickname of DIANA?
9D: Pharisee rival: SADDUCEE. Completely unknown to me. Dictionary defines SADDUCEE as "a member of a Palestinian sect, consisting mainly of priests and aristocrats, that flourished from the 1st century b.c. to the 1st century a.d. and differed from the Pharisees chiefly in its literal interpretation of the Bible, rejection of oral laws and traditions, and denial of an afterlife and the coming of the Messiah."
10D: Make work: ADAPT. Are you comfortable with this clue?
29D: Job extras: PERKS. What amazing PERKS Google offers to its employees!
44D: Exhale forcefully: BLOW. Also the title of a Johnny Depp movie.
52D: Inning sixths: OUTS. Baseball term. "Three up, three down". Why "sixth" instead of "six"?
53D: Very small: ITSY. This reminds me of a good clue for SANTA ("He has a small staff").
C.C.
