Theme: The More The Merrier
20A: Start of a Mae West witticism: TOO MUCH OF
37A: Part 2 of witticism: A GOOD THING CAN BE
52A: End of the witticism: WONDERFUL
Is "witticism" the same as "quip" or more sophisticated?
Not an inspired or inspiring puzzle to me. Quite boring in fact. With ADEPT crossing ADOPT, and STOOP (34D: Small porch) & SNOOP, ASSN & ASST all in one grid, the puzzle felt very hastily constructed and perfunctorily edited.
Bad clue for FOCI (54D: Central points) as POINT is an answer for 28D: Promontory, a word I've never heard before.
I am hoping for an interesting puzzle tomorrow. I don't want a hammer though.
Across:
1A: Easy dupes: SAPS. Why "Easy"? Is there any dupe that is hard to deceive? "Dupes" alone is sufficient.
16A: First name in jeans: LEVI. And DENIM (49A: Jeans material). Good pair. I am glad LEVI is not clued biblically ("Son of Jacob/Leah"). However, I wish THOU (35D: 10 c-notes) were clued as "Bible pronoun" or "__ shalt not...". Why? Because I have been living under the rock. Have never heard of a grand being called THOU before.
19A: "The Sea, the Sea" author Murdoch: IRIS. Knew "Author Murdoch". Not familiar with the book, Booker prize winner in 1978.
25A: Outpouring: SPATE
28A: Wall coatings: PLASTERS
33A: Whimper like a child: PULE. New word to me. Dictionary gives an example: "It becometh not such a gallant to whine and PULE. --- Barrow". Who is Barrow?
34A: Moe, Larry or Curly: STOOGE
40A: Bk. after Ezra: NEH. The answer always seems to be NEH when there are 3 blanks.
43A: Surveillance: STAKEOUT
45A: Steps over a fence: STILE. I don't know what's so special about this word. It keeps popping up in our puzzle.
58A: Myopic cartoon character: MAGOO. Have you seen this film?
59A: Hercules' captive: IOLE. New myth figure to me. What a sad read. Jealousy can be so poisonous. I was actually thinking of an animal, you know, those Twelve Labours of Hercules.
60A: Painter Magritte: RENE. The Belgian surrealist famous for "This is Not a Pipe".
61A: Ship's lowest deck: ORLOP. Would not have got this word without the neighboring fills. I have difficulty remembering this deck.
Down:
4D: City near Oakland: SAN MATEO. Quite a few famous people are from this city. I wonder what Barry Bonds is doing now. His #756 ball definitely deserves an ASTERISK (39D: Star-shaped figure").
6D: East on a map: RIGHT. Boy, I felt like an idiot. This answer did not come to me readily at all.
11D: Queen of the gods: HERA. Ah, the jealous wife of Zeus. I guess all women are jealous to some degree, but no one is as vindicative as HERA.
12D: "We try harder" company: AVIS. Nice change from the "Rara AVIS" clue.
13D: __ and shine!: RISE. Which DF meaning is true, #1 or #3?
22D: Trig. function: COSEC. I've never understood this sine & COSEC stuff.
26D: Sound of Washington: PUGET. Is PUGET Sound the most famous sound in America?
32D: Sorenstam or Garbo, e.g.: SWEDE. Ingrid/Ingmar Bergman too, so is Tiger Woods' wife. She is very pretty.
51D: Lowest pinochle card: NINE. No idea. I have "My Pet Goat" moment every time I see a card clue, totally freezing up.
58D: Bygone bird: MOA. It's too huge to be called a bird.
C.C.
20A: Start of a Mae West witticism: TOO MUCH OF
37A: Part 2 of witticism: A GOOD THING CAN BE
52A: End of the witticism: WONDERFUL
Is "witticism" the same as "quip" or more sophisticated?
Not an inspired or inspiring puzzle to me. Quite boring in fact. With ADEPT crossing ADOPT, and STOOP (34D: Small porch) & SNOOP, ASSN & ASST all in one grid, the puzzle felt very hastily constructed and perfunctorily edited.
Bad clue for FOCI (54D: Central points) as POINT is an answer for 28D: Promontory, a word I've never heard before.
I am hoping for an interesting puzzle tomorrow. I don't want a hammer though.
Across:
1A: Easy dupes: SAPS. Why "Easy"? Is there any dupe that is hard to deceive? "Dupes" alone is sufficient.
16A: First name in jeans: LEVI. And DENIM (49A: Jeans material). Good pair. I am glad LEVI is not clued biblically ("Son of Jacob/Leah"). However, I wish THOU (35D: 10 c-notes) were clued as "Bible pronoun" or "__ shalt not...". Why? Because I have been living under the rock. Have never heard of a grand being called THOU before.
19A: "The Sea, the Sea" author Murdoch: IRIS. Knew "Author Murdoch". Not familiar with the book, Booker prize winner in 1978.
25A: Outpouring: SPATE
28A: Wall coatings: PLASTERS
33A: Whimper like a child: PULE. New word to me. Dictionary gives an example: "It becometh not such a gallant to whine and PULE. --- Barrow". Who is Barrow?
34A: Moe, Larry or Curly: STOOGE
40A: Bk. after Ezra: NEH. The answer always seems to be NEH when there are 3 blanks.
43A: Surveillance: STAKEOUT
45A: Steps over a fence: STILE. I don't know what's so special about this word. It keeps popping up in our puzzle.
58A: Myopic cartoon character: MAGOO. Have you seen this film?
59A: Hercules' captive: IOLE. New myth figure to me. What a sad read. Jealousy can be so poisonous. I was actually thinking of an animal, you know, those Twelve Labours of Hercules.
60A: Painter Magritte: RENE. The Belgian surrealist famous for "This is Not a Pipe".
61A: Ship's lowest deck: ORLOP. Would not have got this word without the neighboring fills. I have difficulty remembering this deck.
Down:
4D: City near Oakland: SAN MATEO. Quite a few famous people are from this city. I wonder what Barry Bonds is doing now. His #756 ball definitely deserves an ASTERISK (39D: Star-shaped figure").
6D: East on a map: RIGHT. Boy, I felt like an idiot. This answer did not come to me readily at all.
11D: Queen of the gods: HERA. Ah, the jealous wife of Zeus. I guess all women are jealous to some degree, but no one is as vindicative as HERA.
12D: "We try harder" company: AVIS. Nice change from the "Rara AVIS" clue.
13D: __ and shine!: RISE. Which DF meaning is true, #1 or #3?
22D: Trig. function: COSEC. I've never understood this sine & COSEC stuff.
26D: Sound of Washington: PUGET. Is PUGET Sound the most famous sound in America?
32D: Sorenstam or Garbo, e.g.: SWEDE. Ingrid/Ingmar Bergman too, so is Tiger Woods' wife. She is very pretty.
51D: Lowest pinochle card: NINE. No idea. I have "My Pet Goat" moment every time I see a card clue, totally freezing up.
58D: Bygone bird: MOA. It's too huge to be called a bird.
C.C.
