Theme: None
Total blocks: 32
Total words: 70
Another relentless uphill battle. These LAT late week puzzles are so hard for me. Saturday is the worst. I definitely need a theme as my sherpa. The eight 15-letter words are very intimidating, esp the stacks at the top and the bottom of the grid. The below long answers might be the reason why we have a noticeable amount of abbreviations in the grid:
1A: Jealous reaction to a witty remark: I WISH I'D SAID THAT
16A: Broad-based statistical standard: NATIONAL AVERAGE
17A: "The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches" and others: CAUTIONARY TALES
24A: Sousa subject: STARS AND STRIPES
44A: Headed for home: ROUNDED THE BASES
59A: Tried to escape: MADE A BREAK FOR IT
62A: FDR's Fala, e.g.: ABERDEEN TERRIER
63A: Didn't just dive in: TESTED THE WATERS
I know FDR's dog is called Fala, had no idea what breed it is. Also, I don't know Scottish Terrier is also known as Aberdeen Terrier. Have never heard of "The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches". But I got *TALES filled in, so I decided that Canterbury TALES sounds good. And it fit pretty well.
I am feeling just so slow this morning. It took me a long time to understand why SIXTH (29D) is clued as "Like Friday or June". D'oh! Friday is the SIXTH day and June is the SIXTH month. Was also stumped by the rationale of the SET clue (42D: Seinfeld's apartment, say). Only realized a few minutes ago that his apartment is the SET of the whole show. I love "The Nazi Soup" episode.
I still can't believe the answer for 52A: "120/70, 130/80 etc: Abbr." is a simple BPS (Blood Pressures). I thought it would be like HDL/LDL, you know, something sophisticated and unrecognizable to common people. One small quibble: ETC is the answer for 21A: "More of the same, briefly" and then part of the clue for 52A.
Across:
18A: Shoppers' savings?: Abbr.: RCPTS (Receipts)
19A: Roadie's burden: AMP. Blanked on this one. I am used to the "Current/Electric unit" clue.
20A: Unique folks: ONERS. The first Across word I filled in today. I often confuse humdinger with harbinger.
23A: Ger. neighbor: AUS. My answer is always AUS whenever I see a "Ger. neighbor" clue.
34A: Namely: TO WIT
35A: Meter site: TAXI. I was thinking of the parking meter.
36A: Overseas okay: OUI. I like yesterday's "Nice way to beg off?" for NON.
37A: Sheepdog in "Babe": REX. Saw the movie. Can't remember the dog name. Oh, look, there is an ESME, another way to clue the "Salinger girl".
38A: Cleo portrayer of 1963: LIZ. She fell in love with Richard Burton while making "Cleopatra".
39A: Its parts may be eaten separately: OREO. Well, I never eat them separately, nor do I dunk them.
41A: Flavors, in a way: SALTS. Verb. I like this clue.
43A: Starlet's goal: ROLE. I wanted LEAD. Thought starlet wants a leading ROLE.
47A: 1946-'75 nuclear agcy: AEC. This has become a gimme. NRC replaced AEC in 1975.
48A: Marker's end: TIP. Was this a gimme to you? Pen did not come to my mind when I saw "Marker".
49A: Ones wanted by the mil.: AWOLS. Good clue.
55A: Dr. visits: APPTS
Down:
1D: Rise: Abbr.: INCR (Increase). Another unfamiliar abbreviation.
2D: WWII female: WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps). I can never remember this name. Our fellow solver Southern Belle is a WAAC member. Oh, no, she is WAC. How is different from WAAC?
3D: Words after live or give: IT UP
4D: Jobs for teens: SITTERS. I thought of WAITERS. It has the same number of letters.
5D: Derricks and cranes: HOISTS. I only know HOISTS as a verb. Did not know it's a noun too.
6D: Theban queen of myth: INO. Pronounced like "I know". Clued as "Daughter of Cadmus" in our puzzle last time. She rescued Odyssus from drowing by giving him a veil. I was thinking of Dido, but she is actually "Queen of Carthage". Do you know that Elissa is another name for Dido?
8D: Poetry-reading competition: SLAM. Have never heard of Poetry SLAM. Do you call this a poem?
9D: Group that grows as boomers grow: AARP. I like this clue too.
10D: Brown, but not white?: IVY. Stumped. Very clever clue. The "but not white" part is very tricky and misleading. Brown is an IVY League school. I pictured sauce and then bread. I might have thought the university if the clue were simply "Brown, for one". Hmm, I take it back. This clue might lead me to Michael Brown and the "heck of a job" he did.
11D: Roundabout route: DETOUR
12D: What mailed packages are in?: TRANSIT. Tricky. ENVELOP is the only word that popped into my brain.
14D: Golden __: AGER
15D: Polanski film based on a Hardy novel: TESS. TESS is the only Hardy novel I've read. I had no idea that Polanski made it into a movie.
22D: Bucky of "Get Fuzzy" for one: CAT. Absolutely no idea. I've never heard of this comic strip.
23D: Verizon rival, initially: ATT. AT&T stock ticker is just a T.
24D: Hound's find: SPOOR
25D: Abril-mayo zodiac sign: TAURO. Spanish for Taurus (Apri 20-May 20). I am not into horoscope, so I had no idea which one is for which month. And I don't speak Spanish. Therefore, a complete loss here.
26D: "Farewell, François!": ADIEU. I would like some lively & topical clue for ADIEU rather than the alliteration. They've said ADIEU to each other.
27D: U.S. Canada defense acronym: NORAD. Crossword stalwart acronym.
28D: Lived: DWELT. "Lived" is often a clue for WAS.
30D: California's ___ Verdes Peninsula: PALOS. No idea. See this map. PALOS Verdes is literally "green sticks" in Spanish.
31D: Dictator's fate, perhaps: EXILE. Stupid Saddam should have chosen this route and settled down in Syria. The Iraq War would have been avoided.
32D: Label data: SIZES
40D: Vigilant: ON ALERT. So hard to get used to multiple word answers.
41D: Wall St. watchdog: SEC. The current chairperson is Mary Schapiro, the first woman to head SEC.
43D: Camaraderie: RAPPORT
45D: Marquis of note: DE SADE. Sadism is derived from his name.
46D: Former African secessionist state: BIAFRA. Have never heard of BIAFRA (southeast of Nigeria). It existed from May 1967 to Jan 1970. Wikipedia says "Doctors Without Borders" were created in the aftermath of BIAFRA secession. Oh well, at least something good came out of this conflict.
49D: Latin 101 word: AMAT. "He loves". Amo, amas, AMAT.
50D: "Did gyre and gimble in the__": "Jabberwocky": WABE. No idea. All the "Jabberwocky" stuff drive me bunkers. It simply makes no sense to me.
52D: Writer Harte: BRET. I confused him with "Poet Hart" (Crane). Both appeared in our puzzle before. Wikipedia says BRET Harte is an "American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pionnering life in California".
53D: Phnom __: PENH. Plus Pol Pot & Khmer Rouge, that' all I know about Cambodia. Their official language is Khmer. I don't know why Chinese translation for Phnom PENH is "Gold Border". Maybe there are lots of gold there?
56D: __ dieu: PRIE. The kneeling bench. I learned this from doing Xword.
57D: Large cake layer: TIER
58D: Narrow waterways: Abbr.: STRS (Straits). Again, not a familiar abbreviation to me.
60D: Where Goldilocks was discovered: BED. Anyone uses Sleep Number BED? Is it really that good?
61D: Royal Botanic Gardens locale: KEW. The KEW Garden was established in 1759. Have you been there? Their water lily pads look so strange.
Answer Grid.
C.C.
Total blocks: 32
Total words: 70
Another relentless uphill battle. These LAT late week puzzles are so hard for me. Saturday is the worst. I definitely need a theme as my sherpa. The eight 15-letter words are very intimidating, esp the stacks at the top and the bottom of the grid. The below long answers might be the reason why we have a noticeable amount of abbreviations in the grid:
1A: Jealous reaction to a witty remark: I WISH I'D SAID THAT
16A: Broad-based statistical standard: NATIONAL AVERAGE
17A: "The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches" and others: CAUTIONARY TALES
24A: Sousa subject: STARS AND STRIPES
44A: Headed for home: ROUNDED THE BASES
59A: Tried to escape: MADE A BREAK FOR IT
62A: FDR's Fala, e.g.: ABERDEEN TERRIER
63A: Didn't just dive in: TESTED THE WATERS
I know FDR's dog is called Fala, had no idea what breed it is. Also, I don't know Scottish Terrier is also known as Aberdeen Terrier. Have never heard of "The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches". But I got *TALES filled in, so I decided that Canterbury TALES sounds good. And it fit pretty well.
I am feeling just so slow this morning. It took me a long time to understand why SIXTH (29D) is clued as "Like Friday or June". D'oh! Friday is the SIXTH day and June is the SIXTH month. Was also stumped by the rationale of the SET clue (42D: Seinfeld's apartment, say). Only realized a few minutes ago that his apartment is the SET of the whole show. I love "The Nazi Soup" episode.
I still can't believe the answer for 52A: "120/70, 130/80 etc: Abbr." is a simple BPS (Blood Pressures). I thought it would be like HDL/LDL, you know, something sophisticated and unrecognizable to common people. One small quibble: ETC is the answer for 21A: "More of the same, briefly" and then part of the clue for 52A.
Across:
18A: Shoppers' savings?: Abbr.: RCPTS (Receipts)
19A: Roadie's burden: AMP. Blanked on this one. I am used to the "Current/Electric unit" clue.
20A: Unique folks: ONERS. The first Across word I filled in today. I often confuse humdinger with harbinger.
23A: Ger. neighbor: AUS. My answer is always AUS whenever I see a "Ger. neighbor" clue.
34A: Namely: TO WIT
35A: Meter site: TAXI. I was thinking of the parking meter.
36A: Overseas okay: OUI. I like yesterday's "Nice way to beg off?" for NON.
37A: Sheepdog in "Babe": REX. Saw the movie. Can't remember the dog name. Oh, look, there is an ESME, another way to clue the "Salinger girl".
38A: Cleo portrayer of 1963: LIZ. She fell in love with Richard Burton while making "Cleopatra".
39A: Its parts may be eaten separately: OREO. Well, I never eat them separately, nor do I dunk them.
41A: Flavors, in a way: SALTS. Verb. I like this clue.
43A: Starlet's goal: ROLE. I wanted LEAD. Thought starlet wants a leading ROLE.
47A: 1946-'75 nuclear agcy: AEC. This has become a gimme. NRC replaced AEC in 1975.
48A: Marker's end: TIP. Was this a gimme to you? Pen did not come to my mind when I saw "Marker".
49A: Ones wanted by the mil.: AWOLS. Good clue.
55A: Dr. visits: APPTS
Down:
1D: Rise: Abbr.: INCR (Increase). Another unfamiliar abbreviation.
2D: WWII female: WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps). I can never remember this name. Our fellow solver Southern Belle is a WAAC member. Oh, no, she is WAC. How is different from WAAC?
3D: Words after live or give: IT UP
4D: Jobs for teens: SITTERS. I thought of WAITERS. It has the same number of letters.
5D: Derricks and cranes: HOISTS. I only know HOISTS as a verb. Did not know it's a noun too.
6D: Theban queen of myth: INO. Pronounced like "I know". Clued as "Daughter of Cadmus" in our puzzle last time. She rescued Odyssus from drowing by giving him a veil. I was thinking of Dido, but she is actually "Queen of Carthage". Do you know that Elissa is another name for Dido?
8D: Poetry-reading competition: SLAM. Have never heard of Poetry SLAM. Do you call this a poem?
9D: Group that grows as boomers grow: AARP. I like this clue too.
10D: Brown, but not white?: IVY. Stumped. Very clever clue. The "but not white" part is very tricky and misleading. Brown is an IVY League school. I pictured sauce and then bread. I might have thought the university if the clue were simply "Brown, for one". Hmm, I take it back. This clue might lead me to Michael Brown and the "heck of a job" he did.
11D: Roundabout route: DETOUR
12D: What mailed packages are in?: TRANSIT. Tricky. ENVELOP is the only word that popped into my brain.
14D: Golden __: AGER
15D: Polanski film based on a Hardy novel: TESS. TESS is the only Hardy novel I've read. I had no idea that Polanski made it into a movie.
22D: Bucky of "Get Fuzzy" for one: CAT. Absolutely no idea. I've never heard of this comic strip.
23D: Verizon rival, initially: ATT. AT&T stock ticker is just a T.
24D: Hound's find: SPOOR
25D: Abril-mayo zodiac sign: TAURO. Spanish for Taurus (Apri 20-May 20). I am not into horoscope, so I had no idea which one is for which month. And I don't speak Spanish. Therefore, a complete loss here.
26D: "Farewell, François!": ADIEU. I would like some lively & topical clue for ADIEU rather than the alliteration. They've said ADIEU to each other.
27D: U.S. Canada defense acronym: NORAD. Crossword stalwart acronym.
28D: Lived: DWELT. "Lived" is often a clue for WAS.
30D: California's ___ Verdes Peninsula: PALOS. No idea. See this map. PALOS Verdes is literally "green sticks" in Spanish.
31D: Dictator's fate, perhaps: EXILE. Stupid Saddam should have chosen this route and settled down in Syria. The Iraq War would have been avoided.
32D: Label data: SIZES
40D: Vigilant: ON ALERT. So hard to get used to multiple word answers.
41D: Wall St. watchdog: SEC. The current chairperson is Mary Schapiro, the first woman to head SEC.
43D: Camaraderie: RAPPORT
45D: Marquis of note: DE SADE. Sadism is derived from his name.
46D: Former African secessionist state: BIAFRA. Have never heard of BIAFRA (southeast of Nigeria). It existed from May 1967 to Jan 1970. Wikipedia says "Doctors Without Borders" were created in the aftermath of BIAFRA secession. Oh well, at least something good came out of this conflict.
49D: Latin 101 word: AMAT. "He loves". Amo, amas, AMAT.
50D: "Did gyre and gimble in the__": "Jabberwocky": WABE. No idea. All the "Jabberwocky" stuff drive me bunkers. It simply makes no sense to me.
52D: Writer Harte: BRET. I confused him with "Poet Hart" (Crane). Both appeared in our puzzle before. Wikipedia says BRET Harte is an "American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pionnering life in California".
53D: Phnom __: PENH. Plus Pol Pot & Khmer Rouge, that' all I know about Cambodia. Their official language is Khmer. I don't know why Chinese translation for Phnom PENH is "Gold Border". Maybe there are lots of gold there?
56D: __ dieu: PRIE. The kneeling bench. I learned this from doing Xword.
57D: Large cake layer: TIER
58D: Narrow waterways: Abbr.: STRS (Straits). Again, not a familiar abbreviation to me.
60D: Where Goldilocks was discovered: BED. Anyone uses Sleep Number BED? Is it really that good?
61D: Royal Botanic Gardens locale: KEW. The KEW Garden was established in 1759. Have you been there? Their water lily pads look so strange.
Answer Grid.
C.C.
