Theme: None
Total blocks: 28
Total words: 70
Noticed how this puzzle differs from Matthew Higgins' themeless? The sparse and prudent use suffixes. Two ED and several S, which are very common in any Saturday grid. I simply can't stand puzzles with oodles of affixes like ER, RE, ING, ED and EST.
Lots of 10-letter words. 12, to be exact. That results in plenty of 4-letter words, most of which are clued pretty straighforwardedly.
The clue for NEWSSTANDS (1A: Place for papers) should be in plural form. I understand the constructor's alliteration purpose in cluing MISSEND (50A) as "Mail by mistake". I just dislike the letter duplication. "Mail by error" sounds OK to me.
I am lost on ANTECEDENT (14D: Cause). What's the rationale here?
For those regulars who don't have TMS Sunday puzzle, click "Over and Over". I will publish Argyle's blog post here tomorrow morning.
Across:
11A: Caesar's partner: COCA. Stumped immediately. I need "Caesar's TV partner" to think of the Imogene COCA. I thought of Caesar salad.
15A: Pharmacist: APOTHECARY. Recognize this word when I see it. But I can't spell it out.
16A: Son of Judah: ONAN. The guy who spilled his seeds on the ground. Onanism is easier to remember than the Latin "coitus interruptus". "Can I ...?"
17A: Ballet turns: PIROUETTES
18A: Flat fee?: RENT. Nice clue.
19A: Get a whiff of: SCENT. I wrote SMELL first.
21A: Summon to court: CITE. Would have come to me immediately if the clue were "Quote".
22A: Sicilian volcano: ETNA. The insurance giant AETNA is named after this volcano. Greek for "I burn". My surname Burn-ikel has no burning desire at all. It simply means "Don't kill the child" in Viking talks.
27A: Chandler novel, with "The": BIG SLEEP. Easy guess. I've never read this book.
31A: Team spirit: MORALE. I bet those Afghan warlords' MORALE is very high now, with CIA's supply of our friendship blue pills. Viagra is a potent weapon in war on terror, correct?
36A: Abbr. on folk music: TRAD. Add a prefix S, you suddenly have Joshua Bell's expensive STRAD.
46A: Black sea port: ODESSA. Still remember AZOV the "Black sea arm"? It's quite close to ODESSA.
46A: Unskilled: INEXPERT. Only know EXPERT.
56A: Of the kidney: RENAL. And OTIC (60A: Of the ear). What is "Of love"?
65A: Facial features: LINEAMENTS. You won't believe it, but I really have never heard of this word before.
67A: Took the first step: STARTED OUT
Down:
2D: Heroic in scope: EPIC. Are you a fan of "The Lord of the Rings"? Somehow I've never developed an interest in those fantasy novels.
5D: Airport connector: SHUTTLE
11D: Washington D.C. art gallery: CORCORAN. No idea. What is their most precious collection?
12D: Body of water near Syracuse: ONEIDA LAKE. It's the largest lake entirely within NY State. I just learned this morning that the name ONEIDA literally means "Erected stone".
13D: Type of bridge: CANTILEVER. Like this one? According to Dictionary, only one end of the CANTILEVER bridge is fixed. That picture does not seem to fit the definition.
24D: Sponsorship: AEGIS. See Athena's AEGIS shield. The center is Medusa's head. Poor Medusa. She used to be pretty. But then she made love to Poseidon in Athena's temple. Bam! Athena turned her into a monster! Her ugly face could turn any onlooker into stone, maybe an "Erected stone".
26D: Hang in loose folds: LOP. Not a familiar definition to me. "Chop off" is more common.
28D: Casts light on: IRRADIATES
29D: Jefferson Airplane singer: GRACE SLICK. Easy guess. In Chinese culture, that's a very rude gesture.
37D: Examines in minute detail: DISSECTS
44D: Off the charts: EXTREME. "Off the chart" is a new phrase to me.
51D: Shipboard crane: DAVIT. Is it mainly used to lift boat?
55D: Gershon of "Bound": GINA. Don't know "Bound". Only saw GINA Gershon in "Showgirls". She was rumored to have affair with Bill Clinton last year.
57D: One-billionth: pref.: NANO
58D: Westernmost of the Aleutian Islands: ATTU. Also the westernmost of the US.
C.C.
Total blocks: 28
Total words: 70
Noticed how this puzzle differs from Matthew Higgins' themeless? The sparse and prudent use suffixes. Two ED and several S, which are very common in any Saturday grid. I simply can't stand puzzles with oodles of affixes like ER, RE, ING, ED and EST.
Lots of 10-letter words. 12, to be exact. That results in plenty of 4-letter words, most of which are clued pretty straighforwardedly.
The clue for NEWSSTANDS (1A: Place for papers) should be in plural form. I understand the constructor's alliteration purpose in cluing MISSEND (50A) as "Mail by mistake". I just dislike the letter duplication. "Mail by error" sounds OK to me.
I am lost on ANTECEDENT (14D: Cause). What's the rationale here?
For those regulars who don't have TMS Sunday puzzle, click "Over and Over". I will publish Argyle's blog post here tomorrow morning.
Across:
11A: Caesar's partner: COCA. Stumped immediately. I need "Caesar's TV partner" to think of the Imogene COCA. I thought of Caesar salad.
15A: Pharmacist: APOTHECARY. Recognize this word when I see it. But I can't spell it out.
16A: Son of Judah: ONAN. The guy who spilled his seeds on the ground. Onanism is easier to remember than the Latin "coitus interruptus". "Can I ...?"
17A: Ballet turns: PIROUETTES
18A: Flat fee?: RENT. Nice clue.
19A: Get a whiff of: SCENT. I wrote SMELL first.
21A: Summon to court: CITE. Would have come to me immediately if the clue were "Quote".
22A: Sicilian volcano: ETNA. The insurance giant AETNA is named after this volcano. Greek for "I burn". My surname Burn-ikel has no burning desire at all. It simply means "Don't kill the child" in Viking talks.
27A: Chandler novel, with "The": BIG SLEEP. Easy guess. I've never read this book.
31A: Team spirit: MORALE. I bet those Afghan warlords' MORALE is very high now, with CIA's supply of our friendship blue pills. Viagra is a potent weapon in war on terror, correct?
36A: Abbr. on folk music: TRAD. Add a prefix S, you suddenly have Joshua Bell's expensive STRAD.
46A: Black sea port: ODESSA. Still remember AZOV the "Black sea arm"? It's quite close to ODESSA.
46A: Unskilled: INEXPERT. Only know EXPERT.
56A: Of the kidney: RENAL. And OTIC (60A: Of the ear). What is "Of love"?
65A: Facial features: LINEAMENTS. You won't believe it, but I really have never heard of this word before.
67A: Took the first step: STARTED OUT
Down:
2D: Heroic in scope: EPIC. Are you a fan of "The Lord of the Rings"? Somehow I've never developed an interest in those fantasy novels.
5D: Airport connector: SHUTTLE
11D: Washington D.C. art gallery: CORCORAN. No idea. What is their most precious collection?
12D: Body of water near Syracuse: ONEIDA LAKE. It's the largest lake entirely within NY State. I just learned this morning that the name ONEIDA literally means "Erected stone".
13D: Type of bridge: CANTILEVER. Like this one? According to Dictionary, only one end of the CANTILEVER bridge is fixed. That picture does not seem to fit the definition.
24D: Sponsorship: AEGIS. See Athena's AEGIS shield. The center is Medusa's head. Poor Medusa. She used to be pretty. But then she made love to Poseidon in Athena's temple. Bam! Athena turned her into a monster! Her ugly face could turn any onlooker into stone, maybe an "Erected stone".
26D: Hang in loose folds: LOP. Not a familiar definition to me. "Chop off" is more common.
28D: Casts light on: IRRADIATES
29D: Jefferson Airplane singer: GRACE SLICK. Easy guess. In Chinese culture, that's a very rude gesture.
37D: Examines in minute detail: DISSECTS
44D: Off the charts: EXTREME. "Off the chart" is a new phrase to me.
51D: Shipboard crane: DAVIT. Is it mainly used to lift boat?
55D: Gershon of "Bound": GINA. Don't know "Bound". Only saw GINA Gershon in "Showgirls". She was rumored to have affair with Bill Clinton last year.
57D: One-billionth: pref.: NANO
58D: Westernmost of the Aleutian Islands: ATTU. Also the westernmost of the US.
C.C.
