Theme: Carrot and Stick
20A: Start of a Johnny Carson quip: YOU GET MORE WITH
32A: Part 2 of quip: A KIND WORD AND
41A: Part 3 of quip: A GUN THAN WITH
56A: End of quip: A KIND WORD ALONE
His original quote is "You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can get with a kind word alone." TR's adage "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." came from a Western African proverb.
A BAS la quip/quote! I've had enough. So happy we only have one left.
Balzac is always Balzac to me. I did not know his given name HONORE (49D: M. de Balzac). Not fond of the abbreviation M. "Novelist de Balzac", yes. Just read "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" the other day. It brought back lots of sad memories.
Balzac said "Great love affairs start with Champagne and end with tisane". It seems that French are stalwart believers in the juice-perfuming/sweetening power of tisane. Have you tried the orange & rose water & mint combination? Does it work?
Speaking of orange, our crossword Orange (Amy Reynaldo) emailed me yesterday about "Marbles Amateur Crossword Tournament". It will be held in Chicago on Saturday April 18, 2009. The contest will use NY Time's Monday to Thursday puzzles from the following week. And the registration is $20. All proceeds go to charities. I hope you guys in Chicago will take part and support her effort.
Across:
14A: Set of antlers: RACK. How many in a "set"? Two? I still can't believe that deer antlers are deciduous. I wonder if there is any pain when the antlers fall off/grow back every year.
18A: French historian: RENAN (Ernest). No idea. He looks like a historian who smokes heavily and collects tobacco pipes, the real ones.
19A: Org. of court player: USTA. "Org. of course player" is USGA. I still can't decide whether I like "Putter Palmer" for ARNIE or not. Nobody ever calls a golfer who puts as "putter", but Dictionary.com says otherwise.
25A: Peer Gynt's mother: ASE. Forgot her name again. Now I am going to connect her with ASSE the African fox. ASE & ASSE.
26A: Mary of "Where Eagles Dare": URE. Another memory failURE for me. Why can't I remember this girl's name?
28A: Evil spirit: var.: DAEMON. Can also be spelled as DAIMON. Both unknown to me.
30A: Tux adjuster: TAILOR. Did not come to me immediately.
46A: Actor Cesar: ROMERO. I googled his name. He was the first actor to play the Joker in "Batman".
55A: Carpool-lane letters: HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle)
61A: Medical prefix: IATRO. Stumped me again. I kept thinking ITIS the "Medical suffix". IATRO is Greek for "Physician", as in IATROGENIC, "a disease or problem caused, or made worse by a physician, surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures." Look, IATROPHOBIA (Fear of Doctors). Gosh, what would you do if you have bestiphobia (Fear of clothing)?
66A: Corduroy rib: WALE. 3rd time in a week?
Down:
2D: Puget Sound port: TACOMA. Bing Crosby was born here (grew up in Spokane).
4D: Keel extension: SKEG. No idea. This picture came up when I googled SKEG. What's the function of SKEG?
5D: Italian ice cream: TORTONI. I only know gelato. This TORTONI looks delicious, with those crumbled macaroons and minced almonds. It's "named after a famous Italian cafe owner of the same name in the 19th century Paris".
6D: Wind: pref.: ANEMO. Nope! It's rooted in ANEMOI the Greek wind gods. The Roman equivalent were VENTI. Question for Ink: Wikipedia says ANEMOI are all male gods, how come the word does not end in masculine-ending S?
7D: Spanish health: SANO. Guessed. Is it somehow related to SANE?
9D: Che's first name: ERNESTO. Got it this time.
11D: Of skin eruptions: PUSTULAR. The noun is pustule, pus-filled pimple. Another new word to me.
13D: NASA partner: ESA (European Space Agency). I am glad NASA spotted the hydrogen gas leak yesterday. I shudder to think what might have happened had Discovery lifted off.
21D: Cuddly George Lucas creature: EWOK. Learned this furry creature from doing Xword. It does not look "cuddly" to me.
27D: Mother of Brunhilde: ERDA. No idea. She is the Mother of Earth. I am not familiar with Wager's "The Ring of the Nibelung". Did not know Brunhilde is a valkyrie, the girl who brings back those who died bravely in the battle to Odin's Valhalla, the afterlife hall of the slain.
34D: Rather or Blocker: DAN. DAN Blocker is foreign to me. Loved DAN Rather' curtain closer “And, to each of you, Courage".
37D: Me, myself and I problem: EGOMANIA. Looks good with NUMSKULL (38D: Blockhead).
42D: Disney sci-fi film: TRON
43D: Greetings: HOWDIES
44D: Singer of M. I. T.: ISADORE. Is this guy very famous? I thought M. I. T. might be band I've never heard of.
48D: Chest: THORAX. Last time I was stumped by THORACIC, clued as "Of the chest".
53D: First president of South Africa: SWART. No idea. See this list. I thought of (De) Klerk, but he was the last president of the apartheid era.
57D: Adjective forming suffix: IBLE. As in collectible. Baseball cards for me. I like old Life magazine too. What do you collect?
58D: Juanita's other: OTRA. "Juan's other" would be OTRO.
C.C.
20A: Start of a Johnny Carson quip: YOU GET MORE WITH
32A: Part 2 of quip: A KIND WORD AND
41A: Part 3 of quip: A GUN THAN WITH
56A: End of quip: A KIND WORD ALONE
His original quote is "You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can get with a kind word alone." TR's adage "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." came from a Western African proverb.
A BAS la quip/quote! I've had enough. So happy we only have one left.
Balzac is always Balzac to me. I did not know his given name HONORE (49D: M. de Balzac). Not fond of the abbreviation M. "Novelist de Balzac", yes. Just read "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" the other day. It brought back lots of sad memories.
Balzac said "Great love affairs start with Champagne and end with tisane". It seems that French are stalwart believers in the juice-perfuming/sweetening power of tisane. Have you tried the orange & rose water & mint combination? Does it work?
Speaking of orange, our crossword Orange (Amy Reynaldo) emailed me yesterday about "Marbles Amateur Crossword Tournament". It will be held in Chicago on Saturday April 18, 2009. The contest will use NY Time's Monday to Thursday puzzles from the following week. And the registration is $20. All proceeds go to charities. I hope you guys in Chicago will take part and support her effort.
Across:
14A: Set of antlers: RACK. How many in a "set"? Two? I still can't believe that deer antlers are deciduous. I wonder if there is any pain when the antlers fall off/grow back every year.
18A: French historian: RENAN (Ernest). No idea. He looks like a historian who smokes heavily and collects tobacco pipes, the real ones.
19A: Org. of court player: USTA. "Org. of course player" is USGA. I still can't decide whether I like "Putter Palmer" for ARNIE or not. Nobody ever calls a golfer who puts as "putter", but Dictionary.com says otherwise.
25A: Peer Gynt's mother: ASE. Forgot her name again. Now I am going to connect her with ASSE the African fox. ASE & ASSE.
26A: Mary of "Where Eagles Dare": URE. Another memory failURE for me. Why can't I remember this girl's name?
28A: Evil spirit: var.: DAEMON. Can also be spelled as DAIMON. Both unknown to me.
30A: Tux adjuster: TAILOR. Did not come to me immediately.
46A: Actor Cesar: ROMERO. I googled his name. He was the first actor to play the Joker in "Batman".
55A: Carpool-lane letters: HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle)
61A: Medical prefix: IATRO. Stumped me again. I kept thinking ITIS the "Medical suffix". IATRO is Greek for "Physician", as in IATROGENIC, "a disease or problem caused, or made worse by a physician, surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures." Look, IATROPHOBIA (Fear of Doctors). Gosh, what would you do if you have bestiphobia (Fear of clothing)?
66A: Corduroy rib: WALE. 3rd time in a week?
Down:
2D: Puget Sound port: TACOMA. Bing Crosby was born here (grew up in Spokane).
4D: Keel extension: SKEG. No idea. This picture came up when I googled SKEG. What's the function of SKEG?
5D: Italian ice cream: TORTONI. I only know gelato. This TORTONI looks delicious, with those crumbled macaroons and minced almonds. It's "named after a famous Italian cafe owner of the same name in the 19th century Paris".
6D: Wind: pref.: ANEMO. Nope! It's rooted in ANEMOI the Greek wind gods. The Roman equivalent were VENTI. Question for Ink: Wikipedia says ANEMOI are all male gods, how come the word does not end in masculine-ending S?
7D: Spanish health: SANO. Guessed. Is it somehow related to SANE?
9D: Che's first name: ERNESTO. Got it this time.
11D: Of skin eruptions: PUSTULAR. The noun is pustule, pus-filled pimple. Another new word to me.
13D: NASA partner: ESA (European Space Agency). I am glad NASA spotted the hydrogen gas leak yesterday. I shudder to think what might have happened had Discovery lifted off.
21D: Cuddly George Lucas creature: EWOK. Learned this furry creature from doing Xword. It does not look "cuddly" to me.
27D: Mother of Brunhilde: ERDA. No idea. She is the Mother of Earth. I am not familiar with Wager's "The Ring of the Nibelung". Did not know Brunhilde is a valkyrie, the girl who brings back those who died bravely in the battle to Odin's Valhalla, the afterlife hall of the slain.
34D: Rather or Blocker: DAN. DAN Blocker is foreign to me. Loved DAN Rather' curtain closer “And, to each of you, Courage".
37D: Me, myself and I problem: EGOMANIA. Looks good with NUMSKULL (38D: Blockhead).
42D: Disney sci-fi film: TRON
43D: Greetings: HOWDIES
44D: Singer of M. I. T.: ISADORE. Is this guy very famous? I thought M. I. T. might be band I've never heard of.
48D: Chest: THORAX. Last time I was stumped by THORACIC, clued as "Of the chest".
53D: First president of South Africa: SWART. No idea. See this list. I thought of (De) Klerk, but he was the last president of the apartheid era.
57D: Adjective forming suffix: IBLE. As in collectible. Baseball cards for me. I like old Life magazine too. What do you collect?
58D: Juanita's other: OTRA. "Juan's other" would be OTRO.
C.C.
