Theme: Double Talk
17A: The true state of things: WHAT'S WHAT
26A: Regular guy: MAN'S MAN
36A: Biographical reference book: WHO'S WHO
48A: Up-and-comer: HOTSHOT
55A: Another chore done!: THAT'S THAT
How does HOTSHOT fit in here? Because it has a letter S in the middle? Too flimsy as a theme answer. Besides, HOTSHOT is an ace, and "Up-and-comer" is a rising star, they are not synonymous to me.
MAN'S MAN is a "Regular guy"? Really? Not a rugged macho type he-man?
I did not enjoy this puzzle at all. Yawned all the way through the solving.
I don't know what the heck is happening inside Tribune, but it's not a good sign when we've been offered so many puzzles from Josiah Breward (our editor himself) in the past 2 months. He seems to have stopped accepting new puzzles from our regular constructors. And I expect more Breward puzzles in the future, if there is actually a future with Tribune.
Enough's enough! Hmm, I wonder why he did not use this phrase as his theme answer.
Across:
9A: Climb: SCALE. SCALE a mountain? I've never heard of this usage. SCALE a fish, yes.
15A: Romaine: COS. The Greek island where Romaine lettuce was first introduced is actually KOS.
19A: Inventer Howe: ELIAS. Why "Inventer" instead of "Inventor"? I used to think that Singer invented the sewing machine.
22A: Spaces between leaf veins: AREOLES. The plural can also be AREOLAS, AREOLAE. The singular form is AREOLA. Just had this clue last Sunday.
30A: Hobo's sack: BINDLE. Bundle does not fit. This BINDLE is so small.
31A: Gelling agent: GELATINE. I simply can't stand this 3 letter repetition.
35A: Celtic god of sea: LER. Or Lir. New to me. Only know Roman sea god Neptune. The Greek counterpart is Poseidon, the brother of Zeus/Hades/Hera.
39A: Iranian desert, Dasht-e __: LUT. See this map. Foreign to me. "Dasht" means "desert" in Persian I presume?. Oh by the way, why Iran is not considered an Arab country? What's the difference between an Arab country and an Muslim country?
43A: See through fabric: VOILE. French for "veil".
47A: Apollo 10 astronaut: CERNAN (Eugene). Not a familiar figure to me. Wikipedia says CERNAN is the last man on the moon. Both he and the Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, graduated from Purdue University.
49A: Some postal workers: SORTERS. Does this refer to the people or the machines?
50A: Pugilist's stat: KOS (Knockouts). See TKO more often.
51A: __ En-lai: CHOU. It's Zhou En-Lai to us. Cantonese spelling can be so different. CHOU (Zhou) is also a powerful dynasty in China, with its capital in Xi'An.
62A: Satellite of Jupiter: ELARA. No idea. Easily obtainable though. Wikipedia says it's named after the mother by Zeus of the giant Tityus. Look at this list, Zeus is such a womanizer. And he married his sister Hera. So DF.
64A: Ho or Pardo: DON. Have never heard of the singer DON Ho or TV announcer DON Pardo.
Down:
1D: Partner of hem: HAW. Is teamster here a verb?
2D: Old English letter: EDH. Sometimes the answer is ETH.
9D: "Morning Train" singer Easton: SHEENA. I googled her name. Here is the clip. Also the singer for Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only".
21D: Guitarist Joe: WALSH. Here is his "All Night Long". Saw this clue somewhere before.
27D: Body axis: MIDLINE. Holy moley. I did know know I have a MIDLINE in my body.
28D: Ring-shaped: ANNULAR
41D: Writer Caldwell: ERSKINE. Another google. He is the author of "Tobacco Road".
46D: Certain sandals: THONGS. Or "Certain beachwear". What a perfect body shape!
49D: Snowboarder White: SHAUN. No idea. See this photo cover. Wikipedia says he is known for his shock of red har, for which he has become known as "The Flying Tomato".
53D: Stevedores' grp.: ILA (International Longshoremen's Association)
C.C.
17A: The true state of things: WHAT'S WHAT
26A: Regular guy: MAN'S MAN
36A: Biographical reference book: WHO'S WHO
48A: Up-and-comer: HOTSHOT
55A: Another chore done!: THAT'S THAT
How does HOTSHOT fit in here? Because it has a letter S in the middle? Too flimsy as a theme answer. Besides, HOTSHOT is an ace, and "Up-and-comer" is a rising star, they are not synonymous to me.
MAN'S MAN is a "Regular guy"? Really? Not a rugged macho type he-man?
I did not enjoy this puzzle at all. Yawned all the way through the solving.
I don't know what the heck is happening inside Tribune, but it's not a good sign when we've been offered so many puzzles from Josiah Breward (our editor himself) in the past 2 months. He seems to have stopped accepting new puzzles from our regular constructors. And I expect more Breward puzzles in the future, if there is actually a future with Tribune.
Enough's enough! Hmm, I wonder why he did not use this phrase as his theme answer.
Across:
9A: Climb: SCALE. SCALE a mountain? I've never heard of this usage. SCALE a fish, yes.
15A: Romaine: COS. The Greek island where Romaine lettuce was first introduced is actually KOS.
19A: Inventer Howe: ELIAS. Why "Inventer" instead of "Inventor"? I used to think that Singer invented the sewing machine.
22A: Spaces between leaf veins: AREOLES. The plural can also be AREOLAS, AREOLAE. The singular form is AREOLA. Just had this clue last Sunday.
30A: Hobo's sack: BINDLE. Bundle does not fit. This BINDLE is so small.
31A: Gelling agent: GELATINE. I simply can't stand this 3 letter repetition.
35A: Celtic god of sea: LER. Or Lir. New to me. Only know Roman sea god Neptune. The Greek counterpart is Poseidon, the brother of Zeus/Hades/Hera.
39A: Iranian desert, Dasht-e __: LUT. See this map. Foreign to me. "Dasht" means "desert" in Persian I presume?. Oh by the way, why Iran is not considered an Arab country? What's the difference between an Arab country and an Muslim country?
43A: See through fabric: VOILE. French for "veil".
47A: Apollo 10 astronaut: CERNAN (Eugene). Not a familiar figure to me. Wikipedia says CERNAN is the last man on the moon. Both he and the Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, graduated from Purdue University.
49A: Some postal workers: SORTERS. Does this refer to the people or the machines?
50A: Pugilist's stat: KOS (Knockouts). See TKO more often.
51A: __ En-lai: CHOU. It's Zhou En-Lai to us. Cantonese spelling can be so different. CHOU (Zhou) is also a powerful dynasty in China, with its capital in Xi'An.
62A: Satellite of Jupiter: ELARA. No idea. Easily obtainable though. Wikipedia says it's named after the mother by Zeus of the giant Tityus. Look at this list, Zeus is such a womanizer. And he married his sister Hera. So DF.
64A: Ho or Pardo: DON. Have never heard of the singer DON Ho or TV announcer DON Pardo.
Down:
1D: Partner of hem: HAW. Is teamster here a verb?
2D: Old English letter: EDH. Sometimes the answer is ETH.
9D: "Morning Train" singer Easton: SHEENA. I googled her name. Here is the clip. Also the singer for Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only".
21D: Guitarist Joe: WALSH. Here is his "All Night Long". Saw this clue somewhere before.
27D: Body axis: MIDLINE. Holy moley. I did know know I have a MIDLINE in my body.
28D: Ring-shaped: ANNULAR
41D: Writer Caldwell: ERSKINE. Another google. He is the author of "Tobacco Road".
46D: Certain sandals: THONGS. Or "Certain beachwear". What a perfect body shape!
49D: Snowboarder White: SHAUN. No idea. See this photo cover. Wikipedia says he is known for his shock of red har, for which he has become known as "The Flying Tomato".
53D: Stevedores' grp.: ILA (International Longshoremen's Association)
C.C.
