Theme: SETTLED THE SCORE (61A: Took revenge)
17A: Manassas conflict: BATTLE OF BULL RUN (Baseball)
23A: Meal container: PICNIC BASKET (Basketball)
38A: Calculus calculation: INFLECTION POINT (Football)
51A: Future target: LONG-TERM GOAL (Hockey)
What is INFLECTION POINT? Sounds like an abstract term to me.
Considering the basketball theme today, I wonder why MVP (44A: Letters for baseball's best) is not clued as "Letters for basketball's best". NBA does have MVP award, right? (Addendum: My bad. I misunderstood the theme this morning.)
The clue for ATF (21A: Booze, butts and bullets bureau) definitely needs an abbreviation hint. It should be "Org." rather than "bureau". I love the clue for ATTIC (3D: Top story?). Very clever.
Barry Silk mentioned last time that he is going to hold a presentation on crossword in D.C. (Tysons-Pimmet Regional Branch of the Fairfax County Library) on Jan 17 Saturday. Has anyone registered yet? I hope you can take pictures of Barry and share with us next week.
Across:
1A: Wild hogs: BOARS. Do you think "Hogs wild?" will be a good clue for BOARS?
6A: "Pygmalion" dramatist: SHAW. I wonder why the musical/film was renamed "My Fair Lady" later on. I rather like the mythological aura of the original title.
10A: Spiced tea beverage: CHAI. Rooted in Chinese Cha, meaning "Tea". Strange to see people put sugar, or milk, or spice in tea. Loose leaves and hot water, that's all you need for a perfect tea.
14A: John of the keys: ELTON. I like his "Can You Feel the Love Tonight".
16A: Sources of online help: FAQS (Frequently Asked Questions)
22A: Bother greatly: EAT AT
29A: The Sweetest Place on Earth: HERSHEY. Ha, this is new to me. I did not know that HERSHEY is actually a town in PA. Thought it's only the brand name of the chocolate. I like M & M anyway. Look at this cute dispenser.
46A: Computer model: DESKTOP
56A: Do-it-yourself mover: U-HAUL
69A: Vaio maker: SONY. I don't think this is Barry's original clue. I am not familiar with Vaio notebook.
Down:
1D: Jazz style: BEBOP. What on earth is BEBOP style? Fast? Slow? Broody? Romantic?
2D: Norwegian king (995-1000): OLAV I. I guessed. It could only be OLAV I, OLAV V or OLAV X. Oh, I checked, there is no OLAV X.
6D: Passed quickly: SHOT BY
7D: Vanished union boss: HOFFA (Jimmy). Read stories about this guy in various JFK/RFK books. Very intriguing case. His son James HOFFA is currently the president of Teamsters.
9D: Sch. in Pullman: WSU (Washington State University). I guessed. Have never heard of Pullman. Is it named after the railroad sleeping car guy Pullman?
10D: Some major scales: C-FLAT
11D: Poet Crane: HART. New poet to me. Interesting name. How did his friend address him when they wrote him letters then? Deer HART?
12D: Lung opener?: AQUA. Is AQUA-lung a familiar diving equipment to you? I've never heard of it before. Hmmm, interesting, Dennis might like this one: "Marine opener?"
13D: Ain't correct?: ISN'T
33D: Multicolored: PIED. It's clued as "__ -a-terre" in Barry's last puzzle.
34D: Gender-biased suffix: ENNE. Like trix.
35D: Old-time postal rtes.: RFDS (Rural Free Deliveries)
42D: NASA unit: ONE G. There is no G in outer space, right?
47D: Like an oaf: KLUTZY
49D: Female peasant: PEAHEN. Funny how PEAHEN looks so different from peacock.
50D: English composer: ARNE (Thomas). Often clued as "Rule, Britannia" composer. I look forward to a "Secretary of Education Duncan" clue for ARNE after Jan 20.
53D: Threatened layer: OZONE. I don't understand the clue. Why "Threatened"?
55D: Loamy soil: LOESS. I can never remember this word.
58D: Egyptian god: ATEN. Or ATON. The Egyptian sun god. There is no vowel in Egyptian hieroglyphs, hence various variations in Egyptian God/Goddess names later on, including ATEN and ATON.
64D: The Racer's Edge: STP. Very strange brand name: Son of a Gun!.
65D: Disney collectible: CEL. Remember these three Disney "Snow White" CELS on Antiques Roadshow? Amazing price.
C.C.
17A: Manassas conflict: BATTLE OF BULL RUN (Baseball)
23A: Meal container: PICNIC BASKET (Basketball)
38A: Calculus calculation: INFLECTION POINT (Football)
51A: Future target: LONG-TERM GOAL (Hockey)
What is INFLECTION POINT? Sounds like an abstract term to me.
Considering the basketball theme today, I wonder why MVP (44A: Letters for baseball's best) is not clued as "Letters for basketball's best". NBA does have MVP award, right? (Addendum: My bad. I misunderstood the theme this morning.)
The clue for ATF (21A: Booze, butts and bullets bureau) definitely needs an abbreviation hint. It should be "Org." rather than "bureau". I love the clue for ATTIC (3D: Top story?). Very clever.
Barry Silk mentioned last time that he is going to hold a presentation on crossword in D.C. (Tysons-Pimmet Regional Branch of the Fairfax County Library) on Jan 17 Saturday. Has anyone registered yet? I hope you can take pictures of Barry and share with us next week.
Across:
1A: Wild hogs: BOARS. Do you think "Hogs wild?" will be a good clue for BOARS?
6A: "Pygmalion" dramatist: SHAW. I wonder why the musical/film was renamed "My Fair Lady" later on. I rather like the mythological aura of the original title.
10A: Spiced tea beverage: CHAI. Rooted in Chinese Cha, meaning "Tea". Strange to see people put sugar, or milk, or spice in tea. Loose leaves and hot water, that's all you need for a perfect tea.
14A: John of the keys: ELTON. I like his "Can You Feel the Love Tonight".
16A: Sources of online help: FAQS (Frequently Asked Questions)
22A: Bother greatly: EAT AT
29A: The Sweetest Place on Earth: HERSHEY. Ha, this is new to me. I did not know that HERSHEY is actually a town in PA. Thought it's only the brand name of the chocolate. I like M & M anyway. Look at this cute dispenser.
46A: Computer model: DESKTOP
56A: Do-it-yourself mover: U-HAUL
69A: Vaio maker: SONY. I don't think this is Barry's original clue. I am not familiar with Vaio notebook.
Down:
1D: Jazz style: BEBOP. What on earth is BEBOP style? Fast? Slow? Broody? Romantic?
2D: Norwegian king (995-1000): OLAV I. I guessed. It could only be OLAV I, OLAV V or OLAV X. Oh, I checked, there is no OLAV X.
6D: Passed quickly: SHOT BY
7D: Vanished union boss: HOFFA (Jimmy). Read stories about this guy in various JFK/RFK books. Very intriguing case. His son James HOFFA is currently the president of Teamsters.
9D: Sch. in Pullman: WSU (Washington State University). I guessed. Have never heard of Pullman. Is it named after the railroad sleeping car guy Pullman?
10D: Some major scales: C-FLAT
11D: Poet Crane: HART. New poet to me. Interesting name. How did his friend address him when they wrote him letters then? Deer HART?
12D: Lung opener?: AQUA. Is AQUA-lung a familiar diving equipment to you? I've never heard of it before. Hmmm, interesting, Dennis might like this one: "Marine opener?"
13D: Ain't correct?: ISN'T
33D: Multicolored: PIED. It's clued as "__ -a-terre" in Barry's last puzzle.
34D: Gender-biased suffix: ENNE. Like trix.
35D: Old-time postal rtes.: RFDS (Rural Free Deliveries)
42D: NASA unit: ONE G. There is no G in outer space, right?
47D: Like an oaf: KLUTZY
49D: Female peasant: PEAHEN. Funny how PEAHEN looks so different from peacock.
50D: English composer: ARNE (Thomas). Often clued as "Rule, Britannia" composer. I look forward to a "Secretary of Education Duncan" clue for ARNE after Jan 20.
53D: Threatened layer: OZONE. I don't understand the clue. Why "Threatened"?
55D: Loamy soil: LOESS. I can never remember this word.
58D: Egyptian god: ATEN. Or ATON. The Egyptian sun god. There is no vowel in Egyptian hieroglyphs, hence various variations in Egyptian God/Goddess names later on, including ATEN and ATON.
64D: The Racer's Edge: STP. Very strange brand name: Son of a Gun!.
65D: Disney collectible: CEL. Remember these three Disney "Snow White" CELS on Antiques Roadshow? Amazing price.
C.C.
