Theme: NIXON (Follower of Johnson, and a two-word hint to this crossword's theme) NIX ON → ON is nixed.
18A: Communist watering hole?: THE RED BAR(ON)
59A: Place for a paw?: LEG OF MUTT(ON)
3D: Plead with one's frontier buddy?: BEG YOUR PARD(ON)
26D: Adorable, bottomwise?: CUTE AS A BUTT(ON)
CUTE AS A BUTT tipped me off the theme. And it's also my favorite theme answer. I wonder if it's the constructor Gareth Bain's seed theme entry. ((Note: Gareth told me his seed entry is NIXON). He is a very young South African. I was thinking of FOOT OF MUTT rather than LEG OF MUTT for "Place of a paw?".
NIXON is the best unifying answer I've seen in a TMS or LAT puzzle. Very creative. Once again, I did not really need it to get the theme answers. Just a wonderful Aha revealing moment. Lots of clever wordplay in this puzzle. I got most. Still don't understand the clue for CASINO (29D: Strip tease?"). How so?
Last time when AYE SIR (47A: Ensign's affirmative) was clued as "Mate's response", both Barry G and Frank (he served in the Navy) mentioned that the sailors normally respond with two AYE's , always "AYE AYE SIR".
This might be our last eased-up Friday puzzle. Rich Norris said the puzzle will return to normal at the end of April/early May.
Across:
1A: Not loaded: SOBER. Just learned that "sauce" is a slang for alcohol too. Off the sauce = SOBER.
6A: Guy: CHAP. Used to think that CHAP only applies to young LAD, but it can refer to grown-up man too.
10A: Nuts' opposite: SOUP. "SOUP to nuts" is a new idiom to me. What is a typical "dessert of nuts"?
14A: Slide subject: AMEBA. Ah, lab slide.
15A: Tuna order: RARE. This ahi tuna looks delicious. Sesame seeds are very easy to get burned.
16A: Ballpark phrase: OR SO
20A: Prius automaker: TOYOTA. Do you know why they named their car Prius? Is it some god's name? Paris' father is Priam.
22A: Fishing for marlin, e.g.: AT SEA. I like this clue. Technically ASEA is also correct, isn't it?
23A: Long-tongued Congo critter: OKAPI. Oh, I did not know this trivia. The long prehensible tongue helps them to grip and pull leaves. I can only remember its unique striped legs.
26A: MV ÷ V: CCI. Roman 201.
29A: French vineyard: CRU. Reminded of Meg Ryan/Kevin Kline's "French Kiss". Luc has a beautiful vineyard in French countryside.
31A: "Turn Me Loose" singer, 1959: FABIAN. No idea. His lip movement does not match the lyrics.
33A: Use up: BURN. Did not come to me readily.
34A: Costs of getting high?: AIRFARES. Great clue.
36A: Some National Music Museum treasures: AMATIS. Another good clue. I've never heard of the National Music Museum though. Strange, it's located in South Dakota.
38A: Deep sleep: SOPOR. Ugh, stumped. Saw identical clue before.
39A: Gen - ___: XER. This time range is a bit confusing. But I am a Gen- XER, born in 1971.
42A: Stressed type: ITALIC. Nice clue.
44A: Blowup in a jam: ROAD RAGE. I remember seeing one scary movie about ROAD RAGE, but I can't think of the title now.
46A: Teen movie stereotype: NERD. Have you seen "Napoleon Dynamite"?
49A: Virgo's mo., maybe: SEP. Virgo (August 23 and September 22).
50A: Roulette bet: ODD. Wrote down RED immediately.
52A: Twin Cities suburb: EDINA. This clue reminds me of our fellow solver T.J. He lives in Osseo, another 5-letter "Twin Cities suburb". Tomorrow is his birthday.
54A: D-Day beach: OMAHA
56A: Defendants' spouses, sometimes: ALIBIS. I like this clue too.
63A: Show jubilation: EXULT. And OOZE (54A: Exhibit aplenty, as confidence). This puzzle has a very cheerful tone.
64A: All-inclusive: A TO Z
67A: Ford, for example: WADE. I actually knew the shallow water meaning of ford. But I still couldn't get President Ford out of my brain.
68A: Lo-cal: LITE
69A: Readily accessible: ON TAP
Down:
1D: It can be helpful in a pinch: SALT. Love this clue too.
2D: Melville South Seas novel: OMOO. "Typee" sequel, learned from doing Xword as well.
4D: Project Gutenberg offering: EBOOK. Oh well, I am definitely living under a rock. Have never heard of Project Gutenberg. It's founded in 1971, and it's the oldest digital libary, according to Wikipedia. I've never seen a Kindle in person either.
5D: Haile Selassie worshipers's movement: RASTAFARI. Ah, Bob Marley. Here is "Stir it Up" again.
6D: Monitor, for short: CRT
7D: "I get it, but ...": HA HA. I don't get it. How so?
8D: First name in soul: ARETHA. Queen of soul. I don't like her hat and I don't understand all the rage about that hat.
9D: Image: PERSONA. Contrasted with anima the inner personality.
10D: Shake alternative: SODA. COLA works too, right?
12D: Permanent U.N. Security Council member: USA. The other four members are: China, France, Russia and the UK.
13D: Neighbor of ESP, in the Olympics: POR. No idea. Why? Spain & Portugal in Spanish?
19D: Dark'ning time: EEN. Opposite morn.
24D: Goat with recurved horns: IBEX. "Recurved" is "curved upward". It's clued as "Alpine goat" last time. I used to confuse IBEX with ILEX, the "Holm oak" Allan Parrish used in his last puzzle.
27D: Cower: CRINGE
28D: Marching well: IN STEP
30D: Took to the streets: RIOTED. Thought of the youth RIOTS in France a few years ago.
32D: Department bordering Savoie: ISERE. No idea. OK, they are bordering each other. ISERE is 38, Savoie is 73. I am used to the Rhone river clue. Actually it's clued as "Grenoble's river" in our last puzzle.
35D: Choose not to call: FOLD. Oh, poker again. I thought it's phone call.
37D: Native of central Spain: MADRILENO. New word to me. It's "a native or inhabitant of Madrid, Spain". Madrid is in central Spain.
43D: Confection created by heating sugar: CARAMEL. Hmmm, crème brûlée, want some?
45D: Operative princess: AIDA. And the "Operative prince" is IGOR. And "Sarah McLachlan hit" is ADIA.
48D: Violinist Menuhin: YEHUDI. Literally, "Jew" in Hebrew. I got his name from across fills. According to Wikipedia, he is commonly considered one of the twentieth century's greatest violin virtuosi.
51D: Global currency org.: IMF (International Monetary Fund). How does its function differ from that of World Bank?
55D: Working hard: AT IT
57D: The "she" in "Of all the gin joints... she walks onto mine": ILSA. From "Casablanca". My favorite line is "We'll always have Paris".
59D: Mason's field: LAW. Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason.
60D: Letter from Athens: ETA. Greek H. Vowel though.
61D: Mars, for one: GOD. Mars is Roman God of War (Greek Ares). I was thinking of the planet Mars. Good morning, Spirit!
Answer grid.
C.C.
18A: Communist watering hole?: THE RED BAR(ON)
59A: Place for a paw?: LEG OF MUTT(ON)
3D: Plead with one's frontier buddy?: BEG YOUR PARD(ON)
26D: Adorable, bottomwise?: CUTE AS A BUTT(ON)
CUTE AS A BUTT tipped me off the theme. And it's also my favorite theme answer. I wonder if it's the constructor Gareth Bain's seed theme entry. ((Note: Gareth told me his seed entry is NIXON). He is a very young South African. I was thinking of FOOT OF MUTT rather than LEG OF MUTT for "Place of a paw?".
NIXON is the best unifying answer I've seen in a TMS or LAT puzzle. Very creative. Once again, I did not really need it to get the theme answers. Just a wonderful Aha revealing moment. Lots of clever wordplay in this puzzle. I got most. Still don't understand the clue for CASINO (29D: Strip tease?"). How so?
Last time when AYE SIR (47A: Ensign's affirmative) was clued as "Mate's response", both Barry G and Frank (he served in the Navy) mentioned that the sailors normally respond with two AYE's , always "AYE AYE SIR".
This might be our last eased-up Friday puzzle. Rich Norris said the puzzle will return to normal at the end of April/early May.
Across:
1A: Not loaded: SOBER. Just learned that "sauce" is a slang for alcohol too. Off the sauce = SOBER.
6A: Guy: CHAP. Used to think that CHAP only applies to young LAD, but it can refer to grown-up man too.
10A: Nuts' opposite: SOUP. "SOUP to nuts" is a new idiom to me. What is a typical "dessert of nuts"?
14A: Slide subject: AMEBA. Ah, lab slide.
15A: Tuna order: RARE. This ahi tuna looks delicious. Sesame seeds are very easy to get burned.
16A: Ballpark phrase: OR SO
20A: Prius automaker: TOYOTA. Do you know why they named their car Prius? Is it some god's name? Paris' father is Priam.
22A: Fishing for marlin, e.g.: AT SEA. I like this clue. Technically ASEA is also correct, isn't it?
23A: Long-tongued Congo critter: OKAPI. Oh, I did not know this trivia. The long prehensible tongue helps them to grip and pull leaves. I can only remember its unique striped legs.
26A: MV ÷ V: CCI. Roman 201.
29A: French vineyard: CRU. Reminded of Meg Ryan/Kevin Kline's "French Kiss". Luc has a beautiful vineyard in French countryside.
31A: "Turn Me Loose" singer, 1959: FABIAN. No idea. His lip movement does not match the lyrics.
33A: Use up: BURN. Did not come to me readily.
34A: Costs of getting high?: AIRFARES. Great clue.
36A: Some National Music Museum treasures: AMATIS. Another good clue. I've never heard of the National Music Museum though. Strange, it's located in South Dakota.
38A: Deep sleep: SOPOR. Ugh, stumped. Saw identical clue before.
39A: Gen - ___: XER. This time range is a bit confusing. But I am a Gen- XER, born in 1971.
42A: Stressed type: ITALIC. Nice clue.
44A: Blowup in a jam: ROAD RAGE. I remember seeing one scary movie about ROAD RAGE, but I can't think of the title now.
46A: Teen movie stereotype: NERD. Have you seen "Napoleon Dynamite"?
49A: Virgo's mo., maybe: SEP. Virgo (August 23 and September 22).
50A: Roulette bet: ODD. Wrote down RED immediately.
52A: Twin Cities suburb: EDINA. This clue reminds me of our fellow solver T.J. He lives in Osseo, another 5-letter "Twin Cities suburb". Tomorrow is his birthday.
54A: D-Day beach: OMAHA
56A: Defendants' spouses, sometimes: ALIBIS. I like this clue too.
63A: Show jubilation: EXULT. And OOZE (54A: Exhibit aplenty, as confidence). This puzzle has a very cheerful tone.
64A: All-inclusive: A TO Z
67A: Ford, for example: WADE. I actually knew the shallow water meaning of ford. But I still couldn't get President Ford out of my brain.
68A: Lo-cal: LITE
69A: Readily accessible: ON TAP
Down:
1D: It can be helpful in a pinch: SALT. Love this clue too.
2D: Melville South Seas novel: OMOO. "Typee" sequel, learned from doing Xword as well.
4D: Project Gutenberg offering: EBOOK. Oh well, I am definitely living under a rock. Have never heard of Project Gutenberg. It's founded in 1971, and it's the oldest digital libary, according to Wikipedia. I've never seen a Kindle in person either.
5D: Haile Selassie worshipers's movement: RASTAFARI. Ah, Bob Marley. Here is "Stir it Up" again.
6D: Monitor, for short: CRT
7D: "I get it, but ...": HA HA. I don't get it. How so?
8D: First name in soul: ARETHA. Queen of soul. I don't like her hat and I don't understand all the rage about that hat.
9D: Image: PERSONA. Contrasted with anima the inner personality.
10D: Shake alternative: SODA. COLA works too, right?
12D: Permanent U.N. Security Council member: USA. The other four members are: China, France, Russia and the UK.
13D: Neighbor of ESP, in the Olympics: POR. No idea. Why? Spain & Portugal in Spanish?
19D: Dark'ning time: EEN. Opposite morn.
24D: Goat with recurved horns: IBEX. "Recurved" is "curved upward". It's clued as "Alpine goat" last time. I used to confuse IBEX with ILEX, the "Holm oak" Allan Parrish used in his last puzzle.
27D: Cower: CRINGE
28D: Marching well: IN STEP
30D: Took to the streets: RIOTED. Thought of the youth RIOTS in France a few years ago.
32D: Department bordering Savoie: ISERE. No idea. OK, they are bordering each other. ISERE is 38, Savoie is 73. I am used to the Rhone river clue. Actually it's clued as "Grenoble's river" in our last puzzle.
35D: Choose not to call: FOLD. Oh, poker again. I thought it's phone call.
37D: Native of central Spain: MADRILENO. New word to me. It's "a native or inhabitant of Madrid, Spain". Madrid is in central Spain.
43D: Confection created by heating sugar: CARAMEL. Hmmm, crème brûlée, want some?
45D: Operative princess: AIDA. And the "Operative prince" is IGOR. And "Sarah McLachlan hit" is ADIA.
48D: Violinist Menuhin: YEHUDI. Literally, "Jew" in Hebrew. I got his name from across fills. According to Wikipedia, he is commonly considered one of the twentieth century's greatest violin virtuosi.
51D: Global currency org.: IMF (International Monetary Fund). How does its function differ from that of World Bank?
55D: Working hard: AT IT
57D: The "she" in "Of all the gin joints... she walks onto mine": ILSA. From "Casablanca". My favorite line is "We'll always have Paris".
59D: Mason's field: LAW. Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason.
60D: Letter from Athens: ETA. Greek H. Vowel though.
61D: Mars, for one: GOD. Mars is Roman God of War (Greek Ares). I was thinking of the planet Mars. Good morning, Spirit!
Answer grid.
C.C.
