Theme: April Fools' Day
20A: 2003 Katie Holmes film: PIECES OF APRIL
37A: 1965 film based on a Katherine Anne Porter novel: SHIP OF FOOLS
55A: 1962 WWII film: THE LONGEST DAY
Once again, none of the theme answers was gimme to me. But this puzzle felt much easier than yesterday's, probably because there are only 3 theme answers compared to yesterday's 5. I am curious to see how many theme answers will be in Pancho Harrison's next puzzle. His last "Numeral Prefix" has 3 entries also.
This culture handicap is so hard for me to overcome. I was surprised and intrigued that THE KINGMEN puzzle yesterday brought back sweet memories to so many of you. "Louie, Louie" really meant nothing to me.
WALL is the answer for 61A: Outfield border. And then "Wall St. deals" for 30D LBOS (Leveraged Buyouts). I don't know. Maybe you can think of a better way to clue LBOS. I can't think of anything. I could not even get the answer. All that popped into my mind is M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions).
Favorite clue: Pisa dough? for EURO (6D). So clever. Very well-kneaded. Now I can smell EURO from my oven.
"Barrel of A Pencil", the alias name of a fellow LA Times crossword solver, constructed a 21*21 puzzle and he would love to hear feedback from us. I've published a special post and hope you can give him your thought on his grid.
Across:
1A: Impetuous fervor: ELAN. I am used to the old "Distinctive flair" clue. Had no idea that ELAN has an "Impetuous" color.
9A: Not on the up and up: SHADY. Like The Talented Mr. Madoff. I still can't believe he was once the Nasdaq chairman.
15A: Dark purple: PUCE. I don't understand this one. What are PUCE stamps?
16A: "Flip This House" airer: A AND E. Big stumper. I wanted MSNBC. Hard for me to interpret A & E into A AND E. Have never heard of "Flip This House".
17A: Some dadaist art: ARPS (Jean/Hans). Dada founder. Hans is German for Jean, correct?
19A: Hardly sensitive: CRASS. Reminds me of Francis Heaney's CRASSWORD crossword.
23A: Leftovers covering: SARAN. "It's a wrap" in yesterday's clue. Do you know why Dow Chemical named this product SARAN? Google shows that SARAN is also girl's name, meaning "joy".
24A: "Bus Stop" playwright: INGE (William). He has become a gimme. Won Pulitzer for "Picnic".
25A: Robin Hood's wood: YEW. No idea. Only knew the Sherwood Forest. Google search shows that Robin Hood used a bow of YEW to win Maid Marion and they wed under a YEW tree.
31A: Carole start: ADESTE. "ADESTE Fideles". I would not have got the answer without the down fills. I know "Carol ending?" is INE.
42A: "The Girl From Ipanema" singer Gilberto: ASTRUD. Here is the clip. Someone mentioned on the blog last time that Sade has a certain ASTRUD Gilberto style.
43A: Composer Andrew Lloyd __: WEBBER. His brother is Julian Lloyd WEBBER the cellist.
45A: Clytemmestra's son: ORESTES. Alas, I forgot, the guy "The Three Furies" are chasing. He was clued as "Electra's brother" in our old puzzle 3 weeks ago. His father is Agamemnon. Interesting information from Wikipedia: "According to the myth, Zeus appeared to Leda in the form of a swan, raping and impregnating her. Leda produced four offspring from two eggs: Castor and Pullux from one egg, and Helen and Clytemnestra from the other." But then it continues: "Castor and Clytemnestra were fathered by Tyndareus whereas Pollux and Helen were fathered by Zeus". Sounds very conflicting, doesn't it?
50A: Prefix with skeleton: EXO. Opposite endoskeleton.
54A: Gear parts: TEETH. Of course, I fell to the trap and put S at the end of the blanks first.
62A: 5-point K, e.g.: TILE. Scrabble TILE. I like this clue.
65A: San __ Obispo, CA: LUIS. Sometimes it's clued as "Baseball Hall of Famer Aparicio". Can you believe he is still alive? Pulled an certified Aparicio autograph out of a Topps Heritage set once. Oh by the way, I heard that Topps is going to produce a set of "world's biggest hoaxes, hoodwinks and bamboozles" trading cards. Ponzi & Madoff are among those bad guys. Maybe Ken Lay too.
67A: First name in country: REBA. Not a fan of REBA McEntire or any country music. The tunes all sound so similar and repetitive.
Down:
2D: Dogie catcher: LARIAT. La reata. The REATA/RIATA.
4D: Pocono 500 group: NASCAR
8D: Sable or Impala: SEDAN. Good clue.
9D: Like some cows: SACRED. Does it refer to the exclamation "Holy cow!" or the Indian sacred cow?
10D: Spydom name: HARI (Mata). Bond does not fit.
11D: In-depth examination: ANALYSIS. Plural is analyses. It's embarrassing, but I often have difficulty spelling analysis & analyze. Actually I can't spell the word embarrassing itself. Thank God for the automatic spelling check.
12D: Oral surgeon's deg.: DDS (Doctor of Dental Science/Surgery). Barry Silk clued DDS as"License to drill?" in his Philly Tribute puzzle. I miss Barry puzzle, don't you?
21D: Listless feeling: ENNUI. And TEDIUM (47D: Monotony).
22D: Links org. sponsoring the FedEx Cup: PGA TOUR. Gimme for me. Stanford Finanical for LPGA. They'd better go back to ADT, given Allen Stanford's huge trouble. This guy should be put into Topps Ponzi card set too.
27D: Jazz guitarist Montgomery: WES. No idea. I know nothing about Jazz. He does not look like a musician. Now, Is WES a nickname for Lesley or Wesley?
34D: Young salamander: EFT. I learned this morning there are three stages in a newt's life: aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile (EFT), and then adult. So technically, EFT does not live under water.
37D: Enemy agent's strategy: SABOTAGE. During Chinese Cultural Revolution, many people had to stop communications with their overseas relatives for fear of being accused of SABOTAGE crime.
39D: "Golden Boy" dramatist: ODETS (Clifford). Know his name, which was clued as "Waiting for Lefty" playwright on our March 15, 2009 puzzle. I have never heard of "Golden Boy" though.
46D: Agree out of court: SETTLE. This reminds me of "nolo contendere", a phrase I never really understand. Is it a "guilty" or "not guilty" plea?
48D: And others, in bibliographies: ET ALII (masculine plural). ET ALIA is neuter plural. ET ALIAE is feminine plural.
52D: Quasimodo's hangout: TOWER. Easy guess. Clear Ayes mentioned his unrequited love for some girl last time. I don't know where they hang out. Huge once said "Intelligence is the wife, imagination is the mistress, memory is the servant." So, who is more important to you, wife or mistress?
58D: Designer Schiaparelli: ELSA. OK, time to know this "Italian artist who made clothes" (said Coco Chanel). She brought fashion to the masses, the first person to introduce off-the-rack designer wear. Her works were heavily influenced by surrealist like Salvador Dali and her style was easy to copy. Her client includes Mae West, Katherine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich. Some article says that ELSA means "noble" in German, and it's derived from German name Elisabeth. Is it true, Kazie?
59D: Talk about sin, e.g.: Abbr.: SER. Love the clue. Reminds me of Celine Dion's "Let's Talk about Love".
Answer Grid.
C.C.
20A: 2003 Katie Holmes film: PIECES OF APRIL
37A: 1965 film based on a Katherine Anne Porter novel: SHIP OF FOOLS
55A: 1962 WWII film: THE LONGEST DAY
Once again, none of the theme answers was gimme to me. But this puzzle felt much easier than yesterday's, probably because there are only 3 theme answers compared to yesterday's 5. I am curious to see how many theme answers will be in Pancho Harrison's next puzzle. His last "Numeral Prefix" has 3 entries also.
This culture handicap is so hard for me to overcome. I was surprised and intrigued that THE KINGMEN puzzle yesterday brought back sweet memories to so many of you. "Louie, Louie" really meant nothing to me.
WALL is the answer for 61A: Outfield border. And then "Wall St. deals" for 30D LBOS (Leveraged Buyouts). I don't know. Maybe you can think of a better way to clue LBOS. I can't think of anything. I could not even get the answer. All that popped into my mind is M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions).
Favorite clue: Pisa dough? for EURO (6D). So clever. Very well-kneaded. Now I can smell EURO from my oven.
"Barrel of A Pencil", the alias name of a fellow LA Times crossword solver, constructed a 21*21 puzzle and he would love to hear feedback from us. I've published a special post and hope you can give him your thought on his grid.
Across:
1A: Impetuous fervor: ELAN. I am used to the old "Distinctive flair" clue. Had no idea that ELAN has an "Impetuous" color.
9A: Not on the up and up: SHADY. Like The Talented Mr. Madoff. I still can't believe he was once the Nasdaq chairman.
15A: Dark purple: PUCE. I don't understand this one. What are PUCE stamps?
16A: "Flip This House" airer: A AND E. Big stumper. I wanted MSNBC. Hard for me to interpret A & E into A AND E. Have never heard of "Flip This House".
17A: Some dadaist art: ARPS (Jean/Hans). Dada founder. Hans is German for Jean, correct?
19A: Hardly sensitive: CRASS. Reminds me of Francis Heaney's CRASSWORD crossword.
23A: Leftovers covering: SARAN. "It's a wrap" in yesterday's clue. Do you know why Dow Chemical named this product SARAN? Google shows that SARAN is also girl's name, meaning "joy".
24A: "Bus Stop" playwright: INGE (William). He has become a gimme. Won Pulitzer for "Picnic".
25A: Robin Hood's wood: YEW. No idea. Only knew the Sherwood Forest. Google search shows that Robin Hood used a bow of YEW to win Maid Marion and they wed under a YEW tree.
31A: Carole start: ADESTE. "ADESTE Fideles". I would not have got the answer without the down fills. I know "Carol ending?" is INE.
42A: "The Girl From Ipanema" singer Gilberto: ASTRUD. Here is the clip. Someone mentioned on the blog last time that Sade has a certain ASTRUD Gilberto style.
43A: Composer Andrew Lloyd __: WEBBER. His brother is Julian Lloyd WEBBER the cellist.
45A: Clytemmestra's son: ORESTES. Alas, I forgot, the guy "The Three Furies" are chasing. He was clued as "Electra's brother" in our old puzzle 3 weeks ago. His father is Agamemnon. Interesting information from Wikipedia: "According to the myth, Zeus appeared to Leda in the form of a swan, raping and impregnating her. Leda produced four offspring from two eggs: Castor and Pullux from one egg, and Helen and Clytemnestra from the other." But then it continues: "Castor and Clytemnestra were fathered by Tyndareus whereas Pollux and Helen were fathered by Zeus". Sounds very conflicting, doesn't it?
50A: Prefix with skeleton: EXO. Opposite endoskeleton.
54A: Gear parts: TEETH. Of course, I fell to the trap and put S at the end of the blanks first.
62A: 5-point K, e.g.: TILE. Scrabble TILE. I like this clue.
65A: San __ Obispo, CA: LUIS. Sometimes it's clued as "Baseball Hall of Famer Aparicio". Can you believe he is still alive? Pulled an certified Aparicio autograph out of a Topps Heritage set once. Oh by the way, I heard that Topps is going to produce a set of "world's biggest hoaxes, hoodwinks and bamboozles" trading cards. Ponzi & Madoff are among those bad guys. Maybe Ken Lay too.
67A: First name in country: REBA. Not a fan of REBA McEntire or any country music. The tunes all sound so similar and repetitive.
Down:
2D: Dogie catcher: LARIAT. La reata. The REATA/RIATA.
4D: Pocono 500 group: NASCAR
8D: Sable or Impala: SEDAN. Good clue.
9D: Like some cows: SACRED. Does it refer to the exclamation "Holy cow!" or the Indian sacred cow?
10D: Spydom name: HARI (Mata). Bond does not fit.
11D: In-depth examination: ANALYSIS. Plural is analyses. It's embarrassing, but I often have difficulty spelling analysis & analyze. Actually I can't spell the word embarrassing itself. Thank God for the automatic spelling check.
12D: Oral surgeon's deg.: DDS (Doctor of Dental Science/Surgery). Barry Silk clued DDS as"License to drill?" in his Philly Tribute puzzle. I miss Barry puzzle, don't you?
21D: Listless feeling: ENNUI. And TEDIUM (47D: Monotony).
22D: Links org. sponsoring the FedEx Cup: PGA TOUR. Gimme for me. Stanford Finanical for LPGA. They'd better go back to ADT, given Allen Stanford's huge trouble. This guy should be put into Topps Ponzi card set too.
27D: Jazz guitarist Montgomery: WES. No idea. I know nothing about Jazz. He does not look like a musician. Now, Is WES a nickname for Lesley or Wesley?
34D: Young salamander: EFT. I learned this morning there are three stages in a newt's life: aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile (EFT), and then adult. So technically, EFT does not live under water.
37D: Enemy agent's strategy: SABOTAGE. During Chinese Cultural Revolution, many people had to stop communications with their overseas relatives for fear of being accused of SABOTAGE crime.
39D: "Golden Boy" dramatist: ODETS (Clifford). Know his name, which was clued as "Waiting for Lefty" playwright on our March 15, 2009 puzzle. I have never heard of "Golden Boy" though.
46D: Agree out of court: SETTLE. This reminds me of "nolo contendere", a phrase I never really understand. Is it a "guilty" or "not guilty" plea?
48D: And others, in bibliographies: ET ALII (masculine plural). ET ALIA is neuter plural. ET ALIAE is feminine plural.
52D: Quasimodo's hangout: TOWER. Easy guess. Clear Ayes mentioned his unrequited love for some girl last time. I don't know where they hang out. Huge once said "Intelligence is the wife, imagination is the mistress, memory is the servant." So, who is more important to you, wife or mistress?
58D: Designer Schiaparelli: ELSA. OK, time to know this "Italian artist who made clothes" (said Coco Chanel). She brought fashion to the masses, the first person to introduce off-the-rack designer wear. Her works were heavily influenced by surrealist like Salvador Dali and her style was easy to copy. Her client includes Mae West, Katherine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich. Some article says that ELSA means "noble" in German, and it's derived from German name Elisabeth. Is it true, Kazie?
59D: Talk about sin, e.g.: Abbr.: SER. Love the clue. Reminds me of Celine Dion's "Let's Talk about Love".
Answer Grid.
C.C.
