Theme: None
Total blocks: 34
Total words: 70
This is the first puzzle that I've solved with so few Down fills. Only 25 answers, compared with 45 Across words. And four of them have 15 letters:
3D: Flock and pride, e.g.: COLLECTIVE NOUNS
6D: Predatory insects: PRAYING MANTISES
7D: cousin of colitis: GASTROENTERITIS
11D: Digestive tract: ALIMENTARY CANAL
To steal a line from SEC whistle blower Harry Markopolos, this grid "roars like a lion and bites like a flea". Can't believe SEC took no action for 10 years when it took this guy only five minutes to figure out Bernie Madoff was a fraud.
I did have some trouble at the lower left quadrant. I did not know "No, no, NANETTE" and had trouble deciphering REDALGAE (37D: Source of agar). Has forgotten all the edible RED ALGAE dulse discussion we had a few weeks ago. I only use nori seaweed to wrap my rice balls.
Across:
4A: With it, once: HEP. I still see people use the word HEP occasionally. "With it, once"?
15A: Part of E.E.C.: EUR. Interesting intersection with EUROPA (5D: Icy satellite of Jupiter), which was named after the Greek goddess, from whom Europe derived.
16A: Spaces between leaf veins: AREOLAE. Last time the answer is a different plural form AREOLES. Can also be AREOLAS. Boring clue. I wanted "Nipple rings" .
25A: Elbe tributary: EGER. I can't find a map. Wikipedia says EGER is also a Hungarian city best known for its castle & thermal baths & wines. Nicknamed "Rome of Hungary". I wonder why most of those roofs are red.
26A: Capital on the Missouri River: PIERRE. Lingered here when we went to Billings a few years ago. A small charming city. Very quiet and clean. It's named after the fur trader PIERRE Chouteau.
27A: Old high note: ELA. The obscure Guido's high note.
33: Verizon, once: GTE. Only learned this morning that Verizon is a portmanteau of veritas and horizon. It's formed in 2000 when GTE merged with Bell Atlantic.
40A: Construct a retaining wall: REVET. No idea. Dictionary explains REVET as "to retain (an embankment, for example) with a layer of stone, concrete, or other supporting material; provide with a revetment." And it's rooted in French word "revetir", meaning "to clothes again". The noun is revetment. I did not know that there is a special term for those stony embankment.
38A: Adult males: MEN. And MAN (50A: Isle of __). Not sure if NY Times will allow this singular & plural form appear in one puzzle.
42A: Big place in California?: SUR. Big SUR.
44A: Invalidate: CANCEL. I thought of debunk.
51A: Prefix meaning different: HETERO. Heterosexual.
52A: __ homo (Behold the man!): ECCE. Last time ECCO is clued as "Behold, to Bellini". Italian for ECCE I suppose.
53A: Afrafat's org.: PLO. It's "Abbas's org." now.
54A: Of part of the eye: IRIDIC. New word to me. You would think the adjective for iris would be irisic.
61A: 'No, No,__": NANETTE. Have never heard of this musical before. Interesting trivia: Wikipedia says the producer of the show, a former owner of the Red Sox, financed the show by selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
64A: Artist's bases: GESSOES. Thought the plural form is just GESSOS.
66A: WWII landing craft: LST (Landing Ship Tank). The boat used in "Saving Private Ryan".
Down:
2D: Caspian sturgeon: BELUGA. I suppose those black stuff are BELUGA? Have never tasted it before.
9D: Clairvoyant women: SEERESSES. Cassandra was a SEERESS. She foresaw the fall of Troy. But because she did not return Apollo's love, he cursed her and nobody believed in her predictions.
12D: Certain Israeli: GALILEAN. Jesus is one.
23D: Given life, eg.: SENTENCED. I like this clue.
32D: Toss among: PITCH INTO
35D: Ducks and dodges: ELUDES
45D: hang out to freshen: AERATE
46D: John and Sondra: LOCKES. Knew John LOCKE, not Sondra LOCKE. Wikipedia says she is best known for frequently starring in films with Clint Eastwood.
57D: Presidential election loser of '50s: AES. Poor Adlai Stevenson. Always a "loser" in our editor's eye. How about "JFK's UN ambassor" or "DDE's opponent/challenger" rather than "Loser to DDE" all the time. He dated Lauren Bacall for some time, right?
C.C.
Total blocks: 34
Total words: 70
This is the first puzzle that I've solved with so few Down fills. Only 25 answers, compared with 45 Across words. And four of them have 15 letters:
3D: Flock and pride, e.g.: COLLECTIVE NOUNS
6D: Predatory insects: PRAYING MANTISES
7D: cousin of colitis: GASTROENTERITIS
11D: Digestive tract: ALIMENTARY CANAL
To steal a line from SEC whistle blower Harry Markopolos, this grid "roars like a lion and bites like a flea". Can't believe SEC took no action for 10 years when it took this guy only five minutes to figure out Bernie Madoff was a fraud.
I did have some trouble at the lower left quadrant. I did not know "No, no, NANETTE" and had trouble deciphering REDALGAE (37D: Source of agar). Has forgotten all the edible RED ALGAE dulse discussion we had a few weeks ago. I only use nori seaweed to wrap my rice balls.
Across:
4A: With it, once: HEP. I still see people use the word HEP occasionally. "With it, once"?
15A: Part of E.E.C.: EUR. Interesting intersection with EUROPA (5D: Icy satellite of Jupiter), which was named after the Greek goddess, from whom Europe derived.
16A: Spaces between leaf veins: AREOLAE. Last time the answer is a different plural form AREOLES. Can also be AREOLAS. Boring clue. I wanted "Nipple rings" .
25A: Elbe tributary: EGER. I can't find a map. Wikipedia says EGER is also a Hungarian city best known for its castle & thermal baths & wines. Nicknamed "Rome of Hungary". I wonder why most of those roofs are red.
26A: Capital on the Missouri River: PIERRE. Lingered here when we went to Billings a few years ago. A small charming city. Very quiet and clean. It's named after the fur trader PIERRE Chouteau.
27A: Old high note: ELA. The obscure Guido's high note.
33: Verizon, once: GTE. Only learned this morning that Verizon is a portmanteau of veritas and horizon. It's formed in 2000 when GTE merged with Bell Atlantic.
40A: Construct a retaining wall: REVET. No idea. Dictionary explains REVET as "to retain (an embankment, for example) with a layer of stone, concrete, or other supporting material; provide with a revetment." And it's rooted in French word "revetir", meaning "to clothes again". The noun is revetment. I did not know that there is a special term for those stony embankment.
38A: Adult males: MEN. And MAN (50A: Isle of __). Not sure if NY Times will allow this singular & plural form appear in one puzzle.
42A: Big place in California?: SUR. Big SUR.
44A: Invalidate: CANCEL. I thought of debunk.
51A: Prefix meaning different: HETERO. Heterosexual.
52A: __ homo (Behold the man!): ECCE. Last time ECCO is clued as "Behold, to Bellini". Italian for ECCE I suppose.
53A: Afrafat's org.: PLO. It's "Abbas's org." now.
54A: Of part of the eye: IRIDIC. New word to me. You would think the adjective for iris would be irisic.
61A: 'No, No,__": NANETTE. Have never heard of this musical before. Interesting trivia: Wikipedia says the producer of the show, a former owner of the Red Sox, financed the show by selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
64A: Artist's bases: GESSOES. Thought the plural form is just GESSOS.
66A: WWII landing craft: LST (Landing Ship Tank). The boat used in "Saving Private Ryan".
Down:
2D: Caspian sturgeon: BELUGA. I suppose those black stuff are BELUGA? Have never tasted it before.
9D: Clairvoyant women: SEERESSES. Cassandra was a SEERESS. She foresaw the fall of Troy. But because she did not return Apollo's love, he cursed her and nobody believed in her predictions.
12D: Certain Israeli: GALILEAN. Jesus is one.
23D: Given life, eg.: SENTENCED. I like this clue.
32D: Toss among: PITCH INTO
35D: Ducks and dodges: ELUDES
45D: hang out to freshen: AERATE
46D: John and Sondra: LOCKES. Knew John LOCKE, not Sondra LOCKE. Wikipedia says she is best known for frequently starring in films with Clint Eastwood.
57D: Presidential election loser of '50s: AES. Poor Adlai Stevenson. Always a "loser" in our editor's eye. How about "JFK's UN ambassor" or "DDE's opponent/challenger" rather than "Loser to DDE" all the time. He dated Lauren Bacall for some time, right?
C.C.
