Theme: Dig Dug
23A: Rug: OBVIOUS TOUPEE
37A: Tug: HARBOR VESSEL
63A: Shrug: SHOULDER HEAVE
86A: Plug: WAD OF TOBACCO
101A: Fug: BAD ATMOSPHERE
17D: Bug: LISTENING DEVICE
42D: Slug: COUNTERFEIT COIN
I blanked on "Plug", though I've seen QUID or CHAW clued as "Tobacco plug" before. Did not know "Slug" can be COUNTERFEIT COIN. I do visit this hugely popular website from time to time, but I've never bothered to check what's the meaning of "Fug", always thought it's the substitute of the bad F word.
Too bad "Hug" and "Mug" are missing, they should be fun to define. And "Jug": "A Jug of Wine / A Loaf of Bread / - And Thou ... "so crudely romantic.
I don't know what's happened to our editor, this puzzle is screaming for more editing. The word "devices" should not make the appearance in the clue for ADDABLE (82D: Like auxiliary devices) due to 17D. Interesting to see ARON (8D: "East of Eden" twin) and TWIN (27A: Womb-mate) intersects one another, but the duplication of "twin" spoils the fun tremendously . "East of Eden" brother/son should be sufficient. Or just a simple "Elvis' middle name".
Too many "*est" words:
83A: At the earliest: SOONEST
51D: Most merciless: CRUELEST
109A: Most compact: DENSEST
86D: Superlatively sage: WISEST
Right now I have SEP for 10D (Calendar-watch abbr.). Does it stand for September? If so, why? Is it because NFL kicks off that month?
Click here for Argyle's Valentine Dream blog post.
Across:
1A: Soaked up rays: BASKED. Wrote down TANNED immediately and messed up my 1D: Leg-up: BOOST. I wonder if anyone tried SUNNED.
7A: Movie collie: LASSIE. Wow, this is a very old movie trailer.
13A: Pitchman: SPIELER
25A: "The Bald Soprano" playwright: IONESCO (Eugène). Got his name from the down fills. Romania-born French dramatist, a leading exponent of "Theater of the Absurd." Reminds me of Chris' research on Camus last time.
28A: "Peanuts" regular: LINUS. I don't quite get this one. Election night conservative sentiment?
33A: Conceived: IDEATED. I CREATED again, of course.
36A: First name in cartoon skunks: PEPE. Bon what?
40A: Old Portuguese currency: ESCUDOS. No idea. Here is a banknote.
44A: Planet-finding grp.: SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). I wanted NASA, as I always do.
45A: Electronic navigational system system: SHORAN (Short-Range Navigation). Forgot.
47A: 17th-century opener: MDCI. The year 1601. I like this clue.
54A: God of the east wind: EURUS. No idea. He was supposed to "bring warmth and rain, and his symbol was an inverted vase, spilling water." I can't find a good picture of him. But he is winged, as is every wind god. See this painting of Zephyrus ("God of west wind") and his lover Chloris, goddess of flower (Flora in Roman). "God of the north" wind is Boreas, and "God of south wind" is Notus. They all reported to Aeolus, right? Funny every wind god ends their name with letters "us" except Boreas.
55A: Fish like a stick?: GAR. Because it's very long? I am accustomed to seeing GAR clued as "Long-nosed needlefish".
58A: Modifiers: ADAPTERS. Why?
67A: Well-known wheel-spinner: PAT SAJAK. Really?
71A: People conquered by the Iroquois: ERIES. Easy answer. But I was not educated on this history.
73A: Fannie of vaudeville: BRICE. The funny Fannie in Barbara Streisand's "Funny Girl". What exactly is a vaudeville? See this word often in the biographies of those old movie stars.
82A: Spirit of "The Tempest": ARIEL. This ARIEL does look very airy. Hebrew for "Lion of the Lord". Shouldn't it be "Lioness of God" then?
90A: Botches: MISDOES
95A: U.S. transp. reg. agc.: ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission). From 1887-1996. I don't like the clue. No need to abbreviate all the 4 words, one is enough.
96A: Former Turkish official: PASHA. I think AGA is still in use.
99A: Anchoring place: MOORAGE
106A: Demonstrates: EVINCES
107A: Rough shelter: LEAN-TO. I thought of shanty.
110A: Going astray: ERRANT. Off-course, of course.
111A: Uses a divining rod: DOWSES. No idea. I did not know the meaning of "divining rod" either. Only know douse.
Down:
3D: Region of France: SAVOY. Unknown to me. I do love SAVOY cabbage though. Are those two related? SAVOY is in southeast France, adjacent to the Swiss-Italian border.
5D: I problem?: EGO. Good clue. EGO is Latin for "I", right?
6D: Bombarding particle used in accelerators: DEUTERON. Another unknown. Dictionary defines it as "a positively charged particle consisting of a proton and a neutron, equivalent to the nucleus of an atom of deuterium", whatever deuterium means.
12D: Bit of facial hair: EYELASH. I suppose so.
13D: Red gem: SPINEL. New gem to me. I wanted garnet.
16D: First of a gender: EVE
32D: Assassinated Egyptian leader: SADAT. He was assassinated in 1981. Wait till Mubarak die, there should be an investigation on who on earth killed SADAT.
33D: Welsh actor Novello: IVOR. Composer as well. I can never remember his name. The annual British songwriters' IVOR Award is named after him.
34D: Graphic opening?: DEMO. Demographic. Good clue.
37D: Sentimental novelist Fannie: HURST. No, nope. Does Fannie HURST write sentimental novels or was she a very sentimental woman?
44D: Ascorbic acid deficiency: SCURVY. "Ascorbic" means nothing to me.
53D: B-complex vitamin: BIOTIN. No idea. It's also called Vitamin H. How is it different from thiamin then?
54D: N.T. book: EPH (Ephesian). It appeared in our puzzle yesterday. So hard to remember these books of the Bible.
57D: Seven Wonders lighthouse: PHAROS. Is Pharaoh somehow related to this word?
79D: Converging to a point (var.): FOCUSSED. Did not know this before.
88D: Witticism: BON MOT. I thought MOT alone is BON enough.
87D: Baseball bat wood: ASH. And THREE (93D: Final strike). Babe Ruth's uniform is THREE as well.
103D: __-es-Salaam: DAR. Forgot again. It's the largest city in Tanzania. Arabic for "Abode of Peace". I am just so used to our editor's "Patriotic women's org." for DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution).
104D: Literary bits: ANA. Anecdotal olio.
C.C.
23A: Rug: OBVIOUS TOUPEE
37A: Tug: HARBOR VESSEL
63A: Shrug: SHOULDER HEAVE
86A: Plug: WAD OF TOBACCO
101A: Fug: BAD ATMOSPHERE
17D: Bug: LISTENING DEVICE
42D: Slug: COUNTERFEIT COIN
I blanked on "Plug", though I've seen QUID or CHAW clued as "Tobacco plug" before. Did not know "Slug" can be COUNTERFEIT COIN. I do visit this hugely popular website from time to time, but I've never bothered to check what's the meaning of "Fug", always thought it's the substitute of the bad F word.
Too bad "Hug" and "Mug" are missing, they should be fun to define. And "Jug": "A Jug of Wine / A Loaf of Bread / - And Thou ... "so crudely romantic.
I don't know what's happened to our editor, this puzzle is screaming for more editing. The word "devices" should not make the appearance in the clue for ADDABLE (82D: Like auxiliary devices) due to 17D. Interesting to see ARON (8D: "East of Eden" twin) and TWIN (27A: Womb-mate) intersects one another, but the duplication of "twin" spoils the fun tremendously . "East of Eden" brother/son should be sufficient. Or just a simple "Elvis' middle name".
Too many "*est" words:
83A: At the earliest: SOONEST
51D: Most merciless: CRUELEST
109A: Most compact: DENSEST
86D: Superlatively sage: WISEST
Right now I have SEP for 10D (Calendar-watch abbr.). Does it stand for September? If so, why? Is it because NFL kicks off that month?
Click here for Argyle's Valentine Dream blog post.
Across:
1A: Soaked up rays: BASKED. Wrote down TANNED immediately and messed up my 1D: Leg-up: BOOST. I wonder if anyone tried SUNNED.
7A: Movie collie: LASSIE. Wow, this is a very old movie trailer.
13A: Pitchman: SPIELER
25A: "The Bald Soprano" playwright: IONESCO (Eugène). Got his name from the down fills. Romania-born French dramatist, a leading exponent of "Theater of the Absurd." Reminds me of Chris' research on Camus last time.
28A: "Peanuts" regular: LINUS. I don't quite get this one. Election night conservative sentiment?
33A: Conceived: IDEATED. I CREATED again, of course.
36A: First name in cartoon skunks: PEPE. Bon what?
40A: Old Portuguese currency: ESCUDOS. No idea. Here is a banknote.
44A: Planet-finding grp.: SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). I wanted NASA, as I always do.
45A: Electronic navigational system system: SHORAN (Short-Range Navigation). Forgot.
47A: 17th-century opener: MDCI. The year 1601. I like this clue.
54A: God of the east wind: EURUS. No idea. He was supposed to "bring warmth and rain, and his symbol was an inverted vase, spilling water." I can't find a good picture of him. But he is winged, as is every wind god. See this painting of Zephyrus ("God of west wind") and his lover Chloris, goddess of flower (Flora in Roman). "God of the north" wind is Boreas, and "God of south wind" is Notus. They all reported to Aeolus, right? Funny every wind god ends their name with letters "us" except Boreas.
55A: Fish like a stick?: GAR. Because it's very long? I am accustomed to seeing GAR clued as "Long-nosed needlefish".
58A: Modifiers: ADAPTERS. Why?
67A: Well-known wheel-spinner: PAT SAJAK. Really?
71A: People conquered by the Iroquois: ERIES. Easy answer. But I was not educated on this history.
73A: Fannie of vaudeville: BRICE. The funny Fannie in Barbara Streisand's "Funny Girl". What exactly is a vaudeville? See this word often in the biographies of those old movie stars.
82A: Spirit of "The Tempest": ARIEL. This ARIEL does look very airy. Hebrew for "Lion of the Lord". Shouldn't it be "Lioness of God" then?
90A: Botches: MISDOES
95A: U.S. transp. reg. agc.: ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission). From 1887-1996. I don't like the clue. No need to abbreviate all the 4 words, one is enough.
96A: Former Turkish official: PASHA. I think AGA is still in use.
99A: Anchoring place: MOORAGE
106A: Demonstrates: EVINCES
107A: Rough shelter: LEAN-TO. I thought of shanty.
110A: Going astray: ERRANT. Off-course, of course.
111A: Uses a divining rod: DOWSES. No idea. I did not know the meaning of "divining rod" either. Only know douse.
Down:
3D: Region of France: SAVOY. Unknown to me. I do love SAVOY cabbage though. Are those two related? SAVOY is in southeast France, adjacent to the Swiss-Italian border.
5D: I problem?: EGO. Good clue. EGO is Latin for "I", right?
6D: Bombarding particle used in accelerators: DEUTERON. Another unknown. Dictionary defines it as "a positively charged particle consisting of a proton and a neutron, equivalent to the nucleus of an atom of deuterium", whatever deuterium means.
12D: Bit of facial hair: EYELASH. I suppose so.
13D: Red gem: SPINEL. New gem to me. I wanted garnet.
16D: First of a gender: EVE
32D: Assassinated Egyptian leader: SADAT. He was assassinated in 1981. Wait till Mubarak die, there should be an investigation on who on earth killed SADAT.
33D: Welsh actor Novello: IVOR. Composer as well. I can never remember his name. The annual British songwriters' IVOR Award is named after him.
34D: Graphic opening?: DEMO. Demographic. Good clue.
37D: Sentimental novelist Fannie: HURST. No, nope. Does Fannie HURST write sentimental novels or was she a very sentimental woman?
44D: Ascorbic acid deficiency: SCURVY. "Ascorbic" means nothing to me.
53D: B-complex vitamin: BIOTIN. No idea. It's also called Vitamin H. How is it different from thiamin then?
54D: N.T. book: EPH (Ephesian). It appeared in our puzzle yesterday. So hard to remember these books of the Bible.
57D: Seven Wonders lighthouse: PHAROS. Is Pharaoh somehow related to this word?
79D: Converging to a point (var.): FOCUSSED. Did not know this before.
88D: Witticism: BON MOT. I thought MOT alone is BON enough.
87D: Baseball bat wood: ASH. And THREE (93D: Final strike). Babe Ruth's uniform is THREE as well.
103D: __-es-Salaam: DAR. Forgot again. It's the largest city in Tanzania. Arabic for "Abode of Peace". I am just so used to our editor's "Patriotic women's org." for DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution).
104D: Literary bits: ANA. Anecdotal olio.
C.C.
