Theme: Crack Up
17A: Broadway moneymaker: SMASH HIT
30A: Blast from the past?: BIG BANG
47A: Soft drink: SODA POP
62A: Launch: BLAST OFF
11D: Bases-loaded homer: GRAND SLAM
35D: Radical food fad: CRASH DIET
Not happy with 30A clue. BLAST is part of the theme answer for 62A. Tell me how you would clue BIG BANG.
The clue for ESS (13D: Part of CBS?) is quite tricky. I thought of SYS first, then EYE. Finally realized ESS refers to the letter S in CBS.
Mary Elson, the Managing Director of Tribune Media Service, emailed me yesterday that TMS will be ending Wayne R Williams syndication puzzle on Sunday March 22, 2009. So, starting on March 23 (Monday) most of the papers that currently have TMS Daily will carry LA Times Daily edited by Rich Norris.
This is a great news for us, as LA Times puzzles are definitely of superior quality. Besides, we can have the same Sunday puzzles to work with. I am aware, however, that some of you might be given a different LA Times Sunday crossword edited by Sylvia Bursztyn. But you can always print out the Rich Norris Sunday puzzle from LA Time's website.
Across:
8A: 1997 20-game winner Denny: NEAGLE. Guessed. Have never heard of this pitcher. He was actually drafted by the Twins in 1989. Wikipedia says his name was mentioned in the Mitchell Report in connection with steroids. Boo!
14A: __ Valley, CA: SIMI. Reagan Library is located here.
19A: Bernhardt and Siddons: SARAHS. SARAH Bernhardt was a French actress nicknamed "The Divine SARAH". SARAH Siddon was a British actress most famous for her portrayal of Lady Macbeth. Of all the SARAHS in the world, our editor wanted these two, absurdly obscure. Boo!
20A: Nautical rescue system: AIR SEA
21A: Cossack chief: HETMAN. No idea. Last time the answer is ATAMAN.
23A: NASA outpost: ISS (International Space Station). Williams like to clue ESA as "NASA's ISS partner".
27A: Mil. honor: DSC (Distinguished Service Cross). I wanted DSM. Wikipedia says DSC is "the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of US Army". What is the highest then? Purple Heart? By the way, DSO (Distingushed Service Order) is the "British military award".
33A: Abominable: ACCURSED. New word to me. Same as CURSED?
36A: Vexed: GALLED. His chutzpah used to GALL me.
38A: Myanmar, by another name: BURMA. Capital city: Yangon. Currency: Kyat. Strange country. Governed by those bloody military juntas. Aung San Suu Kyi needs more than just the glibido from the west for her fight.
41A: Employment: USAGE
44A: Representative examples: EPITOMES
49A: Numerical ending: ETH. "Ordinal suffix" to be exact.
51A: C.S.A. soldier: REB. Opposite Yank?
52A: Actress Meyers: ARI. No idea. Thought ARI is man's name. What's her face shape? Square?
55A: Fanning of "Man on Fire": DAKOTA. She grows up quickly. Her interviews are uniformly boring.
58A: Signaled: CUED IN
64A: Lack of vigor: ANEMIA. Dates help. Lots of irons in dates. Nuts stuffed honeyed dates. Delicious!
65A: NRC forerunner: AEC (1946 to 1975)
66A: Heraldic border: ORLE. Learned this word from doing crossword. What's the difference between heraldry and coat-of-arms?
67A: climber's spikes: PITONS
68A: '60 radicals: SDS. Was this a gimme to you? I keep confusing SDS with '70 radicals SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army).
Down:
1D: Very, in music: ASSAI. "Allegro ASSAI" means very fast. Add one letter L, it becomes the "attack vigorously" ASSAIL.
4D: "Beth" singer: KISS. Here is the clip. Definitely not my style. Any KISS collectors there? Do you have the original KISS bobbleheads?
6D: Colonial cuckoo: ANI. Why "Colonial"?
7D: Prot. sect: METH. The same abbreviation as the drug?
8D: Savings: NEST EGG. Dwindling quickly! My GE stock is now traded at $8 per share. Terrible.
18D: Flights to safety: HEGIRAS. No idea. Dictionary also says that HEGIRA refers to the flight of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina in 622 ad. So it's the starting point of the Muslim era.
29D: Aqua and motor endings: CADES. Aquacade is new to me.
32D: Biographer of FDR: ALSOP. Almost every JFK book I've read mentioned Joseph ALSOP. Are you familiar with General Chenault's Flying Tigers? ALSOP served as Chenault's "Staff Secretary" when they trained in Rangoon, BURMA.
33D: Poplar tree: ABELE. I forgot. What's the difference between ABELE and aspen again?
34D: Flat face of a gem: CULET. No idea. See this digram.
43D: Spanish mates: ESPOSAS. Got the answer from across fills. It's Spanish for "wife". I thought it means "Spouse".
45D: Emetine source plants: IPECACS. I can never remember this word. Their roots contain "emetine", whatever it is.
56D: Sphere starter?: ATMO. Atmosphere.
57D: Down with!: A BAS. Know this from the French Revolutionary cry "A BAS le roi!" Our editor used to clue ABAS as "Arab garments".
61D: Verse starter?: UNI. Universe. "Sex starter?" is also good, yes?
C.C.
17A: Broadway moneymaker: SMASH HIT
30A: Blast from the past?: BIG BANG
47A: Soft drink: SODA POP
62A: Launch: BLAST OFF
11D: Bases-loaded homer: GRAND SLAM
35D: Radical food fad: CRASH DIET
Not happy with 30A clue. BLAST is part of the theme answer for 62A. Tell me how you would clue BIG BANG.
The clue for ESS (13D: Part of CBS?) is quite tricky. I thought of SYS first, then EYE. Finally realized ESS refers to the letter S in CBS.
Mary Elson, the Managing Director of Tribune Media Service, emailed me yesterday that TMS will be ending Wayne R Williams syndication puzzle on Sunday March 22, 2009. So, starting on March 23 (Monday) most of the papers that currently have TMS Daily will carry LA Times Daily edited by Rich Norris.
This is a great news for us, as LA Times puzzles are definitely of superior quality. Besides, we can have the same Sunday puzzles to work with. I am aware, however, that some of you might be given a different LA Times Sunday crossword edited by Sylvia Bursztyn. But you can always print out the Rich Norris Sunday puzzle from LA Time's website.
Across:
8A: 1997 20-game winner Denny: NEAGLE. Guessed. Have never heard of this pitcher. He was actually drafted by the Twins in 1989. Wikipedia says his name was mentioned in the Mitchell Report in connection with steroids. Boo!
14A: __ Valley, CA: SIMI. Reagan Library is located here.
19A: Bernhardt and Siddons: SARAHS. SARAH Bernhardt was a French actress nicknamed "The Divine SARAH". SARAH Siddon was a British actress most famous for her portrayal of Lady Macbeth. Of all the SARAHS in the world, our editor wanted these two, absurdly obscure. Boo!
20A: Nautical rescue system: AIR SEA
21A: Cossack chief: HETMAN. No idea. Last time the answer is ATAMAN.
23A: NASA outpost: ISS (International Space Station). Williams like to clue ESA as "NASA's ISS partner".
27A: Mil. honor: DSC (Distinguished Service Cross). I wanted DSM. Wikipedia says DSC is "the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of US Army". What is the highest then? Purple Heart? By the way, DSO (Distingushed Service Order) is the "British military award".
33A: Abominable: ACCURSED. New word to me. Same as CURSED?
36A: Vexed: GALLED. His chutzpah used to GALL me.
38A: Myanmar, by another name: BURMA. Capital city: Yangon. Currency: Kyat. Strange country. Governed by those bloody military juntas. Aung San Suu Kyi needs more than just the glibido from the west for her fight.
41A: Employment: USAGE
44A: Representative examples: EPITOMES
49A: Numerical ending: ETH. "Ordinal suffix" to be exact.
51A: C.S.A. soldier: REB. Opposite Yank?
52A: Actress Meyers: ARI. No idea. Thought ARI is man's name. What's her face shape? Square?
55A: Fanning of "Man on Fire": DAKOTA. She grows up quickly. Her interviews are uniformly boring.
58A: Signaled: CUED IN
64A: Lack of vigor: ANEMIA. Dates help. Lots of irons in dates. Nuts stuffed honeyed dates. Delicious!
65A: NRC forerunner: AEC (1946 to 1975)
66A: Heraldic border: ORLE. Learned this word from doing crossword. What's the difference between heraldry and coat-of-arms?
67A: climber's spikes: PITONS
68A: '60 radicals: SDS. Was this a gimme to you? I keep confusing SDS with '70 radicals SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army).
Down:
1D: Very, in music: ASSAI. "Allegro ASSAI" means very fast. Add one letter L, it becomes the "attack vigorously" ASSAIL.
4D: "Beth" singer: KISS. Here is the clip. Definitely not my style. Any KISS collectors there? Do you have the original KISS bobbleheads?
6D: Colonial cuckoo: ANI. Why "Colonial"?
7D: Prot. sect: METH. The same abbreviation as the drug?
8D: Savings: NEST EGG. Dwindling quickly! My GE stock is now traded at $8 per share. Terrible.
18D: Flights to safety: HEGIRAS. No idea. Dictionary also says that HEGIRA refers to the flight of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina in 622 ad. So it's the starting point of the Muslim era.
29D: Aqua and motor endings: CADES. Aquacade is new to me.
32D: Biographer of FDR: ALSOP. Almost every JFK book I've read mentioned Joseph ALSOP. Are you familiar with General Chenault's Flying Tigers? ALSOP served as Chenault's "Staff Secretary" when they trained in Rangoon, BURMA.
33D: Poplar tree: ABELE. I forgot. What's the difference between ABELE and aspen again?
34D: Flat face of a gem: CULET. No idea. See this digram.
43D: Spanish mates: ESPOSAS. Got the answer from across fills. It's Spanish for "wife". I thought it means "Spouse".
45D: Emetine source plants: IPECACS. I can never remember this word. Their roots contain "emetine", whatever it is.
56D: Sphere starter?: ATMO. Atmosphere.
57D: Down with!: A BAS. Know this from the French Revolutionary cry "A BAS le roi!" Our editor used to clue ABAS as "Arab garments".
61D: Verse starter?: UNI. Universe. "Sex starter?" is also good, yes?
C.C.
