Theme: The Davey Family
17A: Renowned jazz pianist: DAVE BRUBECK
24A: "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star: LARRY DAVID
48A: "Die Hard" co-star: ROBERT DAVI
57A: English LPGA golfer: LAURA DAVIES
11D: 1997 PGA champion: DAVIS LOVE
32D: Monkees singer: DAVY JONES
Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! Go to solve LA Times Daily puzzle if you have time. It has a very proper theme for today.
Both DAVIS LOVE and LAURA DAVIES were gimmes to me. I remember vividly the miraculous rainbow at Winged Foot and how emotional DAVIS LOVE was. It's his first and only major. Who else but LAURA DAVIES (next to John Daly) can you fill for "English LPGA golfer"? She is the face of the British/European LPGA.
I was not familiar with the other four theme answers. But I figured out the theme earlier on. So I was able to fill in some blanks with creative guesses.
Must be a headache day for those who have trouble with Roman numerals:
11A: 605: DCV
19A: Sundial seven: VII
30A: 1405: MCDV
30D: Twice DLXXV: MCL
Some of the clues could be reworded to avoid the heaviness in abbreviated answers today. For example. BAS (21A: Some U. degs"), why not just "__ - relif"? Also, I've never liked "SSS word" for SEL (29D). Last time "Poivre companion" stumped lots of people (Poivre is French for "pepper"), but a simple "Salt in France" should be fine. I am still waiting for someone to try "Sand's seasoning?".
Across:
1A: Perpetual traveler: NOMAD. Anyone thought of GYPSY first?
6A: "Le __ du printemps": SACRE. "The Rite of Spring". Ballet by Igor Stravinsky. Unknown to me. All I could think of is the Printemps department store. Printemps is "Spring" in French.
14A: Threatened layer: OZONE
28A: Equal-sided figure: ISOGON. Like square.
29A: Part of a wd.: SYL. Why do I always think of letters instead of syllables?
37A: One-horse carriages: CHAISES. New defintion to me. CHAISE is a kind of carriage with a hood. One-horse and two-wheeled.
41A: Morse unit: DIT. What's difference between DIT and DOT again? (Answer from Barry G: DIT and DOT are synonymous. It's just that DIT is paired with dah, whereas DOT is paired with dash. DIT and dah represent the sound made by typing the characters "." and "-" with a telegraph, whereas DOT and dash represent the names of the characters.)
42A: Med. readings: EEGS. Saw a very clever clue the other day. "Head lines?"
44A: Servile: MENIAL
46A: Goya's "The Naked __": MAJA. Hey, Williams is getting DF. He could have clued MAJA as "The Clothed MAJA". But "The Naked MAJA" does look better. I wish I had her waist, so tiny!
60A: Enzyme: suff.: ASE. And ANE (4D: Chemical suffix). I am curious to see how our new editor Rich Norris clues ANE. I like the separate AN E approach.
61A: Felix or Luther: ADLER. Got it because yesterday's "Felix and Polly" clue. Have never heard of actor Luther ADLER. Barry G's Irene ADLER clue sounds equally obscure to me. And I've never heard of any of the ADLER in Ink's list. It seems that Alfred ADLER is most well-known one. Wikipedia says he coined this concept "Inferiority Complex".
Down:
1D: Of a junction: NODAL
2D: Conductor Seiji: OZAWA. His name escapes me constantly. I could only picture his face. He was actually born in Shenyang, China when it was under Japanese occupation.
5D: Boone and others: DEBBYS. Thought of DANIELS first. Here is DEBBY Boone's "You Light Up My Life".
6D: Wursts: SAUSAGES. Interesting comments from Kazie yesterday: "My son has been experimenting with sausage making recipes, and he specially ordered the intestine casings because he says when the meat dries out, the natural casings shrink with it and there are no air pockets to cause spoilage like with the synthetic casings that won't shrink."
7D: Fugitive letters: APB. I like Harrison Ford's "The Fugitive".
8D: Simpleton: CRETIN. New to me. CRETIN does not look like a stupid word.
9D: Sieved into pellets: RICED. Don't have a ricer in our kitchen.
18D: Protective hemispheres for antennas: RADOMES. Contraction of RA (dar) + DOME. Another new word to me. How can antennas work when they are domed?
23D: Beaver Cleaver's hometown: MAYFIELD. Got it from across fills.
25D: Classic Buicks: RIVIERAS. Also got from across fills.
36D: Ed.'s work pile: MSS. I'd rather the clue be "Editor's work pile, abbr."
38D: His: Fr.: SES. Or her/its.
39D: Mary Roberts of mysteries: RINEHART. I googled her name. Wikipedia says she is often called American Agatha Christie. Is it true?
41D: Cotillion gal: DEB. I did not know the meaning of "Cotillion". It's a formal ball given for debutantes.
44D: Sofa section: MODULE. New to me. Which section is MODULE?
46D: Jim or Gardner: McKAY. Did not know actor/artist Gardner McKAY. He must be very famous to grace a Life Magazine cover. Jim McKAY was the first sportscaster to win an Emmy (He won a total of 12 Emmy Awards).
48D: "The Cloister and the Hearth" writer: READE (Charles). One more google. Interesting bookcover. Is it a good read from READE?
49D: Concorde, e.g.: AVION. "Plane" in French.
C.C.
17A: Renowned jazz pianist: DAVE BRUBECK
24A: "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star: LARRY DAVID
48A: "Die Hard" co-star: ROBERT DAVI
57A: English LPGA golfer: LAURA DAVIES
11D: 1997 PGA champion: DAVIS LOVE
32D: Monkees singer: DAVY JONES
Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! Go to solve LA Times Daily puzzle if you have time. It has a very proper theme for today.
Both DAVIS LOVE and LAURA DAVIES were gimmes to me. I remember vividly the miraculous rainbow at Winged Foot and how emotional DAVIS LOVE was. It's his first and only major. Who else but LAURA DAVIES (next to John Daly) can you fill for "English LPGA golfer"? She is the face of the British/European LPGA.
I was not familiar with the other four theme answers. But I figured out the theme earlier on. So I was able to fill in some blanks with creative guesses.
Must be a headache day for those who have trouble with Roman numerals:
11A: 605: DCV
19A: Sundial seven: VII
30A: 1405: MCDV
30D: Twice DLXXV: MCL
Some of the clues could be reworded to avoid the heaviness in abbreviated answers today. For example. BAS (21A: Some U. degs"), why not just "__ - relif"? Also, I've never liked "SSS word" for SEL (29D). Last time "Poivre companion" stumped lots of people (Poivre is French for "pepper"), but a simple "Salt in France" should be fine. I am still waiting for someone to try "Sand's seasoning?".
Across:
1A: Perpetual traveler: NOMAD. Anyone thought of GYPSY first?
6A: "Le __ du printemps": SACRE. "The Rite of Spring". Ballet by Igor Stravinsky. Unknown to me. All I could think of is the Printemps department store. Printemps is "Spring" in French.
14A: Threatened layer: OZONE
28A: Equal-sided figure: ISOGON. Like square.
29A: Part of a wd.: SYL. Why do I always think of letters instead of syllables?
37A: One-horse carriages: CHAISES. New defintion to me. CHAISE is a kind of carriage with a hood. One-horse and two-wheeled.
41A: Morse unit: DIT. What's difference between DIT and DOT again? (Answer from Barry G: DIT and DOT are synonymous. It's just that DIT is paired with dah, whereas DOT is paired with dash. DIT and dah represent the sound made by typing the characters "." and "-" with a telegraph, whereas DOT and dash represent the names of the characters.)
42A: Med. readings: EEGS. Saw a very clever clue the other day. "Head lines?"
44A: Servile: MENIAL
46A: Goya's "The Naked __": MAJA. Hey, Williams is getting DF. He could have clued MAJA as "The Clothed MAJA". But "The Naked MAJA" does look better. I wish I had her waist, so tiny!
60A: Enzyme: suff.: ASE. And ANE (4D: Chemical suffix). I am curious to see how our new editor Rich Norris clues ANE. I like the separate AN E approach.
61A: Felix or Luther: ADLER. Got it because yesterday's "Felix and Polly" clue. Have never heard of actor Luther ADLER. Barry G's Irene ADLER clue sounds equally obscure to me. And I've never heard of any of the ADLER in Ink's list. It seems that Alfred ADLER is most well-known one. Wikipedia says he coined this concept "Inferiority Complex".
Down:
1D: Of a junction: NODAL
2D: Conductor Seiji: OZAWA. His name escapes me constantly. I could only picture his face. He was actually born in Shenyang, China when it was under Japanese occupation.
5D: Boone and others: DEBBYS. Thought of DANIELS first. Here is DEBBY Boone's "You Light Up My Life".
6D: Wursts: SAUSAGES. Interesting comments from Kazie yesterday: "My son has been experimenting with sausage making recipes, and he specially ordered the intestine casings because he says when the meat dries out, the natural casings shrink with it and there are no air pockets to cause spoilage like with the synthetic casings that won't shrink."
7D: Fugitive letters: APB. I like Harrison Ford's "The Fugitive".
8D: Simpleton: CRETIN. New to me. CRETIN does not look like a stupid word.
9D: Sieved into pellets: RICED. Don't have a ricer in our kitchen.
18D: Protective hemispheres for antennas: RADOMES. Contraction of RA (dar) + DOME. Another new word to me. How can antennas work when they are domed?
23D: Beaver Cleaver's hometown: MAYFIELD. Got it from across fills.
25D: Classic Buicks: RIVIERAS. Also got from across fills.
36D: Ed.'s work pile: MSS. I'd rather the clue be "Editor's work pile, abbr."
38D: His: Fr.: SES. Or her/its.
39D: Mary Roberts of mysteries: RINEHART. I googled her name. Wikipedia says she is often called American Agatha Christie. Is it true?
41D: Cotillion gal: DEB. I did not know the meaning of "Cotillion". It's a formal ball given for debutantes.
44D: Sofa section: MODULE. New to me. Which section is MODULE?
46D: Jim or Gardner: McKAY. Did not know actor/artist Gardner McKAY. He must be very famous to grace a Life Magazine cover. Jim McKAY was the first sportscaster to win an Emmy (He won a total of 12 Emmy Awards).
48D: "The Cloister and the Hearth" writer: READE (Charles). One more google. Interesting bookcover. Is it a good read from READE?
49D: Concorde, e.g.: AVION. "Plane" in French.
C.C.
