Theme: Tough Ending
17A: Loaf pan filler: BREAD DOUGH
29A: Mistletoe branch that was Aeneas' pass to the underworld: GOLDEN BOUGH
39A: Something to lead a horse to: WATER TROUGH
52A: "The Thorn Birds" author: McCULLOUGH
11D: "Cut it out": THAT'S ENOUGH
24D: Make a dramatic recovery: PULL THROUGH
I did not know GOLDEN BOUGH or the author of "The Thorn Birds" Colleen McCullough. I do know historian/author David McCullough though. Heard so many of his interviews when he promoted "1776".
This is an incredible puzzle. Four 11-letter entries, Two 10-letter entries. All with different pronunciation. Last time Kazie and someone else (Doreen?) discussed *OUGH ending words in detail on the blog. I don't think they covered McCullough though. Dan Naddor ploughed through the whole field and left no stone unturned. Amazing. Lots of clever fills too.
I cottoned to the theme very earlier on and was able to fill in lots of blanks. Had trouble with lower left corner though. I was so sure that the answer for 48A (WWII torpedo vessel) is U-BOAT. Have never heard of E-BOAT before. With letter U in place, my 44D (Pop or bop) became MUSIC rather than GENRE. Then I wanted ABUZZ instead of ABOIL for 45D: "Full of excitement".
By the way, crossword constructor Justin Smith is running a Metacross Contest starting tomorrow. See here for details.
Across:
1A: St. with a panhandle: OKLA. Wow, 9 states with panhandle. I thought only 3. Whenever I see the abbreviation St, I think of "saint" first.
5A: Polio vaccine developer: SABIN. He developed oral vaccine. Salk's is injection.
16A: "Now I get it": AH SO. Often clued as "Charlie Chan's comment". The complete Japanese interjection is "AH SO desu ka" (That is so). "AH SO desu ka?" means "Is that so"?
19A: Mane man of film?: LAHR (Bert). The Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz". Great clue.
20A: Fruity rum drink: COLADA. Ah, must be a gimme for Clear Ayes. She loves piña COLADA.
22A: Give authority to: EMPOWER
25A: Gets in the crosshairs: AIMS AT
26A: English subjects?: NOUNS. The ? mark makes this clue very interesting. Without ?, the clue is legit too.
27A: One may be proffered at a wedding: HANKIE. I have this 1991 Twins Championship Homer Hanky. I also have the original 1987 Twins World Series one.
32A: Eavesdropping org.: NSA (National Security Agency). "The Puzzle Palace". What is the nickname for CIA? I wonder if the author of "Enemy of the State" worked in NSA before. Great movie.
35A: First name in jazz: ELLA (Fitzgerald). I wrote ETTA. She is a jazz singer too. Very interesting: ETTA James said her mother told her that her father was "Minnesota Fats." How could that be?
38A: It's 0 at the equator: Abbr.: LAT (Latitude). Ecuador got its name from its equator location.
41A: Rained hard?: HAILED. Another great clue. I wanted POURED.
44A: Used Scope, say: GARGLE. I like Listerine.
46A: Dogs: POOCHES
48A: WWII torpedo vessel: E-BOAT. My disaster area. Wikipedia says it's commonly held that the E stood for "Enemy", but it is likely that it in fact stood for "Eilboot" ("fast boat"). Looks too big to be a torpedo vessel.
49A: Poe's "The Murders in the Rue ___": MORGUE. The first detective story ever. Unknown to me. All I know about Poe is "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee".
51A: We, to Henri: NOUS. Also "Us, to Henri".
56A: Fixes, in a way: RIGS
57A: Two-dimensional surface: PLANE
59A: Pre-coll, catchall: ELHI. El(mentary) + Hi(ghschool). Last time several ex-teachers said they had never heard of ELHI.
Down:
1D: Heavenly body: ORB. I thought of GOD. What's the first thing that popped into your mind? Victoria's Secret Angels?
2D: It can precede plop or plunk: KER. I like last time's "Plunk starter?" clue.
4D: Amazon predator: ANACONDA. Oh my goodness, so huge. I've never heard of it before. Wikipedia says it's mostly found in water, such as Nile or Amazon. I thought all snakes live on land. (Note: Here is the Sea Eagle Vs. Banded Snake clip PromiseMe provided).
5D: Move furtively: SIDLE
6D: Like Niagara Falls: AROAR
7D: Data transmission rate: BAUD. I forgot. It's named after Émile Baudot the French inventor.
8D: Swenson of "Benson": INGA. Swedish for "Hero's daughter". I tend to confuse her with Gloria Swanson.
9D: Disease research org.: NIH (National Institutes of Health)
10D: A hero might hold it: SALAMI. Hero sandwich. My favorite clue. Of course, I was picturing a war hero holding a flag.
12D: Dublin-born actor Milo: O'SHEA. Now I see why Rich Norris clued O'SHEA as "__ Jackson: rapper Ice Cube's birth name" yesterday. No repetitive clues on consecutive days.
13D: Razzie Award word: WORST. I like this clue too. I had never connected Raspberry Award with "blow a rasberry" until last time when BOOER was clued as "Raspberry blower" in our puzzle.
18D: Use a divining rod: DOWSE
21D: One of about 19 million Indians: SIKH. Hindu for "disciple" or "learner". Wikipedia says they wear turban, both man and women. Hello, can you hear me now?
22D: Georgia of "Coach": ENGEL. No idea. Is she very famous? Wikepida says she is in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" also.
23D: Dinero: MOOLA. Both slang for money. I used to mix up MOOLA with those Muslim Mullah.
27D: Rinsed, as a driveway: HOSED
28D: Violin virtuoso Leopold: AUER. Impossible vowel-heavy name. I bet I will forget it next time. I like the alliterative "Violin virtuoso".
30D: Author Zora __ Hurston: NEALE. The author of "Their Eyes Were Watching God". Saw this clue somewhere before.
31D: Diminish: BATE. My was FADE.
37D: Expel: FORCE OUT
33D: Smooth transition: SEGUE
39D: Droop: WILT
40D: "High Sierra" director Walsh: RAOUL. No idea. What's wrong with his right eye?
42D: Two-time U.S. Open champ Andre: AGASSI
46D: Cut back, as a branch: PRUNE
47D: Gave the eye: OGLED. "Give someone the eye" is a new phrase to me.
49D: Mid-12th century date: MCLI. 1151.
50D: One __: kids' ball game: O' CAT. See here for more information. I've never heard of One/Two/Three/Four O' Cat ball game. Why Cat instead of Dog?
52D: AWOL chasers: MPS (Military Polices)
53D: troupe for troops: Abbr.: USO. Learned this morning that USO was already established in WWII.
54D: Prizm maker of yore: GEO (1988-1997). The answer revealed itself.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A: Loaf pan filler: BREAD DOUGH
29A: Mistletoe branch that was Aeneas' pass to the underworld: GOLDEN BOUGH
39A: Something to lead a horse to: WATER TROUGH
52A: "The Thorn Birds" author: McCULLOUGH
11D: "Cut it out": THAT'S ENOUGH
24D: Make a dramatic recovery: PULL THROUGH
I did not know GOLDEN BOUGH or the author of "The Thorn Birds" Colleen McCullough. I do know historian/author David McCullough though. Heard so many of his interviews when he promoted "1776".
This is an incredible puzzle. Four 11-letter entries, Two 10-letter entries. All with different pronunciation. Last time Kazie and someone else (Doreen?) discussed *OUGH ending words in detail on the blog. I don't think they covered McCullough though. Dan Naddor ploughed through the whole field and left no stone unturned. Amazing. Lots of clever fills too.
I cottoned to the theme very earlier on and was able to fill in lots of blanks. Had trouble with lower left corner though. I was so sure that the answer for 48A (WWII torpedo vessel) is U-BOAT. Have never heard of E-BOAT before. With letter U in place, my 44D (Pop or bop) became MUSIC rather than GENRE. Then I wanted ABUZZ instead of ABOIL for 45D: "Full of excitement".
By the way, crossword constructor Justin Smith is running a Metacross Contest starting tomorrow. See here for details.
Across:
1A: St. with a panhandle: OKLA. Wow, 9 states with panhandle. I thought only 3. Whenever I see the abbreviation St, I think of "saint" first.
5A: Polio vaccine developer: SABIN. He developed oral vaccine. Salk's is injection.
16A: "Now I get it": AH SO. Often clued as "Charlie Chan's comment". The complete Japanese interjection is "AH SO desu ka" (That is so). "AH SO desu ka?" means "Is that so"?
19A: Mane man of film?: LAHR (Bert). The Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz". Great clue.
20A: Fruity rum drink: COLADA. Ah, must be a gimme for Clear Ayes. She loves piña COLADA.
22A: Give authority to: EMPOWER
25A: Gets in the crosshairs: AIMS AT
26A: English subjects?: NOUNS. The ? mark makes this clue very interesting. Without ?, the clue is legit too.
27A: One may be proffered at a wedding: HANKIE. I have this 1991 Twins Championship Homer Hanky. I also have the original 1987 Twins World Series one.
32A: Eavesdropping org.: NSA (National Security Agency). "The Puzzle Palace". What is the nickname for CIA? I wonder if the author of "Enemy of the State" worked in NSA before. Great movie.
35A: First name in jazz: ELLA (Fitzgerald). I wrote ETTA. She is a jazz singer too. Very interesting: ETTA James said her mother told her that her father was "Minnesota Fats." How could that be?
38A: It's 0 at the equator: Abbr.: LAT (Latitude). Ecuador got its name from its equator location.
41A: Rained hard?: HAILED. Another great clue. I wanted POURED.
44A: Used Scope, say: GARGLE. I like Listerine.
46A: Dogs: POOCHES
48A: WWII torpedo vessel: E-BOAT. My disaster area. Wikipedia says it's commonly held that the E stood for "Enemy", but it is likely that it in fact stood for "Eilboot" ("fast boat"). Looks too big to be a torpedo vessel.
49A: Poe's "The Murders in the Rue ___": MORGUE. The first detective story ever. Unknown to me. All I know about Poe is "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee".
51A: We, to Henri: NOUS. Also "Us, to Henri".
56A: Fixes, in a way: RIGS
57A: Two-dimensional surface: PLANE
59A: Pre-coll, catchall: ELHI. El(mentary) + Hi(ghschool). Last time several ex-teachers said they had never heard of ELHI.
Down:
1D: Heavenly body: ORB. I thought of GOD. What's the first thing that popped into your mind? Victoria's Secret Angels?
2D: It can precede plop or plunk: KER. I like last time's "Plunk starter?" clue.
4D: Amazon predator: ANACONDA. Oh my goodness, so huge. I've never heard of it before. Wikipedia says it's mostly found in water, such as Nile or Amazon. I thought all snakes live on land. (Note: Here is the Sea Eagle Vs. Banded Snake clip PromiseMe provided).
5D: Move furtively: SIDLE
6D: Like Niagara Falls: AROAR
7D: Data transmission rate: BAUD. I forgot. It's named after Émile Baudot the French inventor.
8D: Swenson of "Benson": INGA. Swedish for "Hero's daughter". I tend to confuse her with Gloria Swanson.
9D: Disease research org.: NIH (National Institutes of Health)
10D: A hero might hold it: SALAMI. Hero sandwich. My favorite clue. Of course, I was picturing a war hero holding a flag.
12D: Dublin-born actor Milo: O'SHEA. Now I see why Rich Norris clued O'SHEA as "__ Jackson: rapper Ice Cube's birth name" yesterday. No repetitive clues on consecutive days.
13D: Razzie Award word: WORST. I like this clue too. I had never connected Raspberry Award with "blow a rasberry" until last time when BOOER was clued as "Raspberry blower" in our puzzle.
18D: Use a divining rod: DOWSE
21D: One of about 19 million Indians: SIKH. Hindu for "disciple" or "learner". Wikipedia says they wear turban, both man and women. Hello, can you hear me now?
22D: Georgia of "Coach": ENGEL. No idea. Is she very famous? Wikepida says she is in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" also.
23D: Dinero: MOOLA. Both slang for money. I used to mix up MOOLA with those Muslim Mullah.
27D: Rinsed, as a driveway: HOSED
28D: Violin virtuoso Leopold: AUER. Impossible vowel-heavy name. I bet I will forget it next time. I like the alliterative "Violin virtuoso".
30D: Author Zora __ Hurston: NEALE. The author of "Their Eyes Were Watching God". Saw this clue somewhere before.
31D: Diminish: BATE. My was FADE.
37D: Expel: FORCE OUT
33D: Smooth transition: SEGUE
39D: Droop: WILT
40D: "High Sierra" director Walsh: RAOUL. No idea. What's wrong with his right eye?
42D: Two-time U.S. Open champ Andre: AGASSI
46D: Cut back, as a branch: PRUNE
47D: Gave the eye: OGLED. "Give someone the eye" is a new phrase to me.
49D: Mid-12th century date: MCLI. 1151.
50D: One __: kids' ball game: O' CAT. See here for more information. I've never heard of One/Two/Three/Four O' Cat ball game. Why Cat instead of Dog?
52D: AWOL chasers: MPS (Military Polices)
53D: troupe for troops: Abbr.: USO. Learned this morning that USO was already established in WWII.
54D: Prizm maker of yore: GEO (1988-1997). The answer revealed itself.
Answer grid.
C.C.
