Theme: Tack Together
17A: Tack: TEMPORARY STITCH
26A: Tack: CARPET FASTENER
42A: Tack: SAILOR'S HEADING
56A: Tack: STABLE EQUIPMENT
I learned this morning that the equestrian "Tack" is actually a shortening of "Tackle" in the sense of "equipment". It includes BRIDLE (10D: Horse's headgear") and saddle. So, it's basically the same as harness, isn't it? I forgot to which the straps and bands belong. Also can someone tell me the difference between BRIDLE and halter again? (Note: From Argyle: Bridle has a bit that is placed in the horses' mouths to get them to turn. Reins are attached to it. Halter is with out a bit and you attach a lead to it.)
I am not familiar with the sailing term "Tack". Dictionary explains it as "the heading of a sailing vessel, when sailing close-hauled, with reference to the wind direction". It does not make much sense to me. What is "close-hauled"?
My quibbles today:
2D: Once again: ANEW. Could have changed into "Over again" because ONCE is the answer for 12D: Formerly.
11D: Mountain sighting: YETI. The clue feels like you can spot a YETI in any mountain. But YETI only exists in Himalaya. Actually it only exists as a myth.
40D: Runway VIP: MODEL. Why abbreviated VIP when the answer is a full spelled-out word?
I got PBA (58D: Cops' org) from Across fills. I've never heard of Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. But isn't PBA more well-known as Professional Bowlers Association? Maybe because I live with a bowler. Our house is full of PBA patches, pins, rings and other stuff. My husband's name is inscribed in Bowling Hall-of-Fame, Hometown Boy section.
Across:
1A: Medicine cabinet item: GAUZE. No GAUZE in our medicine cabinet. This puzzle is 2 letters (V, X) away from a pangram.
6A: Holy pilgrimage: HADJ. Sometimes it's HAJJ. And one who has been to Mecca is called HAJI or HADJI. Looks like letter I refers to a person, doesn't it? Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison is the first HAJI of the US Congress. He made his HADJ last year.
10A: Party invite letters: BYOB
14A: Naughty way to live: IN SIN. "Live IN SIN" is a new phrase to me. I am not naughty.
16A: Ashcroft's predecessor: RENO. Learned this morning that she is a Danish American.
22A: In better order: TIDIER
23A: Physics units: ERGS. From Greek Ergon, meaning "work". I used to think ERG is an abbreviation of something. Only realized a few weeks ago that it's a full spelled-out unit.
25A: D.C. attraction, with "the": MALL. The National MALL. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech here.
32A: Artificial being of Jewish folklore: GOLEM. Ugh. I forgot this word completely. Williams clued it as "Automation of Jewish legend" last time. It's literally "cocoon" in modern Hebrew. Wikipedia says "Frankstein" was inspired by the GOLEM legend, whatever it is.
33A: Sites in la Méditerranée: ILES. I penned in MERS first.
36A: Elixir: TONIC. Is it true that soda pop is called TONIC in New England?
39A: Short cut: BOB. This is perhaps the most well-known BOB haircut in fashion industry. I think Anna Wintour looks very cool, don't you? "Devil Wears Prada" is written by her former personal assitant.
40A: Catchall abbr.: MISC
41A: Ostracizes: SHUNS
47A: Grim film genre: NOIR. Lemonade mentioned last time that Fritz Lang is the pioneer for Film NOIR.
48A: Drapery ornament: TASSEL
59A: "We have met the enemy and he is us" speaker: POGO. The comic strip. John Underwood once tried to clue POGO this way, but Williams changed it to "Stick for hopping".
60A: Pivot: SLUE
61A: Language of southern Africa: BANTU. Include Swahili and Zulu.
63A: In order (to): SO AS
64A: Cotopaxi's range: ANDES. I guessed. I did not know that Cotopaxi is a volcano in the ANDES Mountain. It's the highest active volcano in the world.
Down:
1D: Lights out: GITS. Why? Dictionary says GIT is a British slang for "a foolish or contemptible person". It has nothing to do with "Lights" or "Lights out".
3D: Pres. Grant's alma mater: USMA. Oh, I was unaware of this fact. Only know Ike graduated from West Point.
4D: Like some change purses: ZIPPERED
5D: Ambient music pioneer: ENO. And ELO (57D: "Xanadu" band, for short). Both are crossword stalwarts.
6D: San Simeon castle builder: HEARST. Ah, got it immediately, thanks to Clear Ayes/Crockett's repeated mention of this place.
7D: 160 square rods: ACRE. Easy guess. I did not know the exact measure of ACRE. "160 square rods" sounds like a lot.
8D: Like Syrah wine: DRY. Another guess. I know nothing about "Syrah" or wine. These Syrah/Shiraz grapes look very sweet. Black grapes always taste sweeter than the green ones or the red ones.
9D: "Be right there!": JUST A SEC. Now I am slowly getting used to this kind of 3-word answer and I like it a lot.
13D: Physicist represented in the play "Copenhagen": BOHR. Another guess. I forgot Niels BOHR is Danish. He won Nobel Physics in 1922, and his son also won the prize 1975.
19D: Jousts: TILTS. New definition of TILT to me.
24D: LP's 33 1/3: RPM. I don't know anything about this 33 1/3 or 45. Saw lots of LP's in the flea market. I often wonder if they still work.
25D: Landlocked African nation: MALI. OK, it's indeed landlocked. Can't let MALI go without mentioning Ali Farka Toure. This is for you, Melissa, Embien and all of you who were/are "Unfaithful". It's not the original, but his son did a wonderful job.
26D: Drink with marshmallow: COCOA. Well, I never drink COCOA with marshmallow. I don't like marshmallow.
27D: Cover story?: ALIBI. I like this clue.
28D: Bunting, for one: FINCH. Did not know that bunting is a bird, not to mention FINCH.
29D: Like a shutout: NO RUN. NO HIT anyone?
30D: Southfork surname: EWING. I blanked. Have never seen "Dallas". Williams used to clue EWING as "Adlai Stevenson's middle name".
31D: Weightlifter's stat: REPS
32D: Yaks: GABS. Ah, not the Yaks in my mind. Anyway, my question is: If female yak is dri, why yak milk instead of dri milk?
38D: Graham Greene novella, with "The": THIRD MAN. Have heard of the movie. Did not know it's written by Graham Greene.
41D: Reagan era prog.: SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative). The Star Wars program.
43D: City from which Vasco da Gama sailed: LISBON. Da Gama was a Portuguese explorer.
48D: An oz. has six: TSPS (Teaspoons). Chinese people seldom measure. We cook by feel. TBSP is tablespoon.
50D: Big account: SAGA. My favorite clue. Thought of major client "Big account".
51D: Color similar to turquoise: AQUA. Let's see, turquoise. And an AQUA clock. Similar? I think so.
53D: Tear: REND. "Tore" would be RENT, tricky past tense.
55D: A/C spec sheet units: BTUS
Answer Grid.
C.C.
17A: Tack: TEMPORARY STITCH
26A: Tack: CARPET FASTENER
42A: Tack: SAILOR'S HEADING
56A: Tack: STABLE EQUIPMENT
I learned this morning that the equestrian "Tack" is actually a shortening of "Tackle" in the sense of "equipment". It includes BRIDLE (10D: Horse's headgear") and saddle. So, it's basically the same as harness, isn't it? I forgot to which the straps and bands belong. Also can someone tell me the difference between BRIDLE and halter again? (Note: From Argyle: Bridle has a bit that is placed in the horses' mouths to get them to turn. Reins are attached to it. Halter is with out a bit and you attach a lead to it.)
I am not familiar with the sailing term "Tack". Dictionary explains it as "the heading of a sailing vessel, when sailing close-hauled, with reference to the wind direction". It does not make much sense to me. What is "close-hauled"?
My quibbles today:
2D: Once again: ANEW. Could have changed into "Over again" because ONCE is the answer for 12D: Formerly.
11D: Mountain sighting: YETI. The clue feels like you can spot a YETI in any mountain. But YETI only exists in Himalaya. Actually it only exists as a myth.
40D: Runway VIP: MODEL. Why abbreviated VIP when the answer is a full spelled-out word?
I got PBA (58D: Cops' org) from Across fills. I've never heard of Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. But isn't PBA more well-known as Professional Bowlers Association? Maybe because I live with a bowler. Our house is full of PBA patches, pins, rings and other stuff. My husband's name is inscribed in Bowling Hall-of-Fame, Hometown Boy section.
Across:
1A: Medicine cabinet item: GAUZE. No GAUZE in our medicine cabinet. This puzzle is 2 letters (V, X) away from a pangram.
6A: Holy pilgrimage: HADJ. Sometimes it's HAJJ. And one who has been to Mecca is called HAJI or HADJI. Looks like letter I refers to a person, doesn't it? Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison is the first HAJI of the US Congress. He made his HADJ last year.
10A: Party invite letters: BYOB
14A: Naughty way to live: IN SIN. "Live IN SIN" is a new phrase to me. I am not naughty.
16A: Ashcroft's predecessor: RENO. Learned this morning that she is a Danish American.
22A: In better order: TIDIER
23A: Physics units: ERGS. From Greek Ergon, meaning "work". I used to think ERG is an abbreviation of something. Only realized a few weeks ago that it's a full spelled-out unit.
25A: D.C. attraction, with "the": MALL. The National MALL. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech here.
32A: Artificial being of Jewish folklore: GOLEM. Ugh. I forgot this word completely. Williams clued it as "Automation of Jewish legend" last time. It's literally "cocoon" in modern Hebrew. Wikipedia says "Frankstein" was inspired by the GOLEM legend, whatever it is.
33A: Sites in la Méditerranée: ILES. I penned in MERS first.
36A: Elixir: TONIC. Is it true that soda pop is called TONIC in New England?
39A: Short cut: BOB. This is perhaps the most well-known BOB haircut in fashion industry. I think Anna Wintour looks very cool, don't you? "Devil Wears Prada" is written by her former personal assitant.
40A: Catchall abbr.: MISC
41A: Ostracizes: SHUNS
47A: Grim film genre: NOIR. Lemonade mentioned last time that Fritz Lang is the pioneer for Film NOIR.
48A: Drapery ornament: TASSEL
59A: "We have met the enemy and he is us" speaker: POGO. The comic strip. John Underwood once tried to clue POGO this way, but Williams changed it to "Stick for hopping".
60A: Pivot: SLUE
61A: Language of southern Africa: BANTU. Include Swahili and Zulu.
63A: In order (to): SO AS
64A: Cotopaxi's range: ANDES. I guessed. I did not know that Cotopaxi is a volcano in the ANDES Mountain. It's the highest active volcano in the world.
Down:
1D: Lights out: GITS. Why? Dictionary says GIT is a British slang for "a foolish or contemptible person". It has nothing to do with "Lights" or "Lights out".
3D: Pres. Grant's alma mater: USMA. Oh, I was unaware of this fact. Only know Ike graduated from West Point.
4D: Like some change purses: ZIPPERED
5D: Ambient music pioneer: ENO. And ELO (57D: "Xanadu" band, for short). Both are crossword stalwarts.
6D: San Simeon castle builder: HEARST. Ah, got it immediately, thanks to Clear Ayes/Crockett's repeated mention of this place.
7D: 160 square rods: ACRE. Easy guess. I did not know the exact measure of ACRE. "160 square rods" sounds like a lot.
8D: Like Syrah wine: DRY. Another guess. I know nothing about "Syrah" or wine. These Syrah/Shiraz grapes look very sweet. Black grapes always taste sweeter than the green ones or the red ones.
9D: "Be right there!": JUST A SEC. Now I am slowly getting used to this kind of 3-word answer and I like it a lot.
13D: Physicist represented in the play "Copenhagen": BOHR. Another guess. I forgot Niels BOHR is Danish. He won Nobel Physics in 1922, and his son also won the prize 1975.
19D: Jousts: TILTS. New definition of TILT to me.
24D: LP's 33 1/3: RPM. I don't know anything about this 33 1/3 or 45. Saw lots of LP's in the flea market. I often wonder if they still work.
25D: Landlocked African nation: MALI. OK, it's indeed landlocked. Can't let MALI go without mentioning Ali Farka Toure. This is for you, Melissa, Embien and all of you who were/are "Unfaithful". It's not the original, but his son did a wonderful job.
26D: Drink with marshmallow: COCOA. Well, I never drink COCOA with marshmallow. I don't like marshmallow.
27D: Cover story?: ALIBI. I like this clue.
28D: Bunting, for one: FINCH. Did not know that bunting is a bird, not to mention FINCH.
29D: Like a shutout: NO RUN. NO HIT anyone?
30D: Southfork surname: EWING. I blanked. Have never seen "Dallas". Williams used to clue EWING as "Adlai Stevenson's middle name".
31D: Weightlifter's stat: REPS
32D: Yaks: GABS. Ah, not the Yaks in my mind. Anyway, my question is: If female yak is dri, why yak milk instead of dri milk?
38D: Graham Greene novella, with "The": THIRD MAN. Have heard of the movie. Did not know it's written by Graham Greene.
41D: Reagan era prog.: SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative). The Star Wars program.
43D: City from which Vasco da Gama sailed: LISBON. Da Gama was a Portuguese explorer.
48D: An oz. has six: TSPS (Teaspoons). Chinese people seldom measure. We cook by feel. TBSP is tablespoon.
50D: Big account: SAGA. My favorite clue. Thought of major client "Big account".
51D: Color similar to turquoise: AQUA. Let's see, turquoise. And an AQUA clock. Similar? I think so.
53D: Tear: REND. "Tore" would be RENT, tricky past tense.
55D: A/C spec sheet units: BTUS
Answer Grid.
C.C.
