Theme: EY Drops
18A: One shivering atop Mount Arafat?: COLD TURK(ey)
19A: Tool in a Belfast bakery?: IRISH WHISK(ey)
33A: Desperate farmer's transaction?: FIELD HOCK(ey)
49A: Abbey resident in a rock 'n-roll musical?: GREASE MONK(ey)
53A: Serious Frisbee thrower?: DISC JOCK(ey)
Mount Arafat, where Noah's Ark landed, is in Turkey. I love the image IRISH WHISK evokes. Not familiar with the "pawn" meaning of HOCK. "Grease" is on my Netflix queue now. DISC JOCK tipped me off the theme. It was actually my first complete theme fill.
This grid has only 32 blocks & 70 words. Such a themeless clean look. So open in all the four corners. Dan Naddor mentioned that he always shoots for at least 20 entries of 6 letters or more in his puzzles. And in this grid, he has 21 alone in Across entries. And another 18 6-letter entries in the Down fills. So, total 39. Yesterday's puzzle, on the other hand, has lots lots of 4-letter entries (37 blocks & 78 words).
Several clever clues:
23A: Follower of Christ?: IAN. Christian. Nice change from IAN Fleming or IAN McKellen.
32A: The Boss's address?: E STREET. Bruce Springsteen's The E STREET Band. His nickname is "The Boss".
55D: Mo. named for the Roman god of doorways: JAN. Janus, the god who has 2 heads facing opposite direction. Very refreshing fill.
I had my normal Friday struggle. But I filled in lots of blanks and exceeded my expectation. So I am happy.
Across:
1A: ABCs: BASICS. Can't believe the first entry is so simple.
7A: Banter: REPARTEE
15A: Depth charge, slangily: ASHCAN. I did not know the meaning of "Depth charge". Is it somehow related to the ASHCAN school?
16A: Magnetite et al.: IRON ORES
17A: __ dream: optimist's philosophy: DARE TO. I was thinking of Cassandra's Dream.
21A: Vous, in Weimar.: SIE. No idea. I don't speak German. It's the formal "you". The informal one is Du (tu in French), How come there is no SIE or Du in "Ich liebe dich"?
22A: Pester for payment: DUN. Learned this word from my brother. He also calls potato "murphy".
26A: Polished: ELEGANT. I was thinking of a past tense verb.
31A: Houston team affiliated with the NHL's Minnesota Wild: AEROS. Have vaguely heard of this hockey team. Was unaware of the Wild connection though.
36A: Distant: FARAWAY
38A: Catcher with a pot: EELER. Ha ha, gimme. Dan Naddor clued EELS as "Fish caught in a pot" in his "Put a Lid on It" Sunday puzzle. But LAT website wrongly uploaded Merl Reagle's "TV shows I'd Like" that weekend.
42A: Actress Francis and others: ARLENES. Often clued as "Francis and Dahl".
43A: Military exercise: WAR GAME
45A: Sees: DATES. Oh, romantically. I thought of ESPY first.
48A: "Here __ Again" (Whitesnake #1 hit): I GO. All I remember about this video is Tawny Kitae. She was married to Chuck Finley for a few years.
57A: Dinner alternative: A LA CARTE. First time I saw a full A LA CARTE in a grid.
58A: Blush: REDDEN
59A: Allure: SEXINESS. Love the clue and the answer.
60A: Covers with crumbs: BREADS. These croquette are mouthwatering.
Down:
1D: "I wouldn't": BAD IDEA. Did not get it immedately.
2D: By and large: AS A RULE
3D: Red fez wearer: SHRINER. Why "red"? The guy on the right is wearing a black fez.
5D: Like the pope: Abbr.: CATH
6D: Strand at the chalet: SNOW IN
7D: Toxin found in castor beans: RICIN. I remember the castor oil plants my grandma had. Can't remember what she used the seeds for.
8D: Cupid's counterpart: EROS. Cupid's Greek counterpart, to be exact.
9D: President between Tyler and Taylor: POLK. His middle name is KNOX, which often appears in our crossword.
11D: Falderal: ROT. I did not know the meaning of "falderal".
12D: Bankruptcy court appointee: TRUSTEE. Love the clue, esp given the current economic situation. Aren't you curious about whom Bernie Madoff was trying to protect by being silent? Who is behind him?
14D: Glacial ridges: ESKERS. New word to me. Dictionary defines it as "a serpentine ridge of gravelly and sandy drift, believed to have been formed by streams under or in glacial ice." I think I will connect ESKER with ASKER.
20D: Monopoly token: HAT. No idea. I actually played Monopoly once. Don't remember the token HAT though.
24D: "Moon River" lyricist: MERCER (Johnny). Got his name from Across fills. Do you like "Breakfast at Tiffany's"?
25D: Pub container: ALE KEG
27D: Get off: GO FREE. Oh, not the DF slangy "Get off".
29D: Show to a seat, slangily: USH. If you say so.
30D: Pou __: vantage point: STO. Absolutely no idea. Dictionary says it's Greek for "where I may stand". And it's from the reputed saying of Archimedes, "Give me where I may stand and I will move the whole world with my steelyard." A place to stand upon; a locus standi; hence, a foundation or basis for operations.
32D: Big name in ice cream: EDY. Not EDY'S??
34D: Ram's ma'am: EWE. Lovely clue.
35D: Much of "Deck the Halls": LAS. The fa-la-la refrain. I drew a blank.
36D: Like some egos: FRAGILE. Thought of BLOATED, which has 7 letters also.
37D: Glazunov wrote a 1934 concerto for one: ALTO SAX. No idea. Have never heard of "Saxophone Concerto", Alexander Glazunov's last major work. He died soon after the premiere.
39D: The Dodgers retired his #2 in 1997: LASORDA. Tommy LASORDA is super-friendly in signing autographs. Somehow I thought #2 is Duke Snider, whose #4 jersey was retired by the Dodgers in 1980. I was way off.
41D: Figures: RECKONS
43D: "We Are Marshall" setting: Abbr.: W. VA. I confused "We Are Marshall" with Tommy "U.S. Marshals".
44D: Condense on a surface: ADSORB. Only knew ABSORB
46D: Rink fakes: DEKES. Learned this term from doing Xword.
49D: Bush battler: GORE (Al). Have you seen Kevin Spacey's "Recount"? Very fascinating to me, as I was not here when Bush battled GORE.
50D: IRS auditor's requests: RCTS. I am used to RCPT.
52D: Ancient Persian: MEDE. The area they lived in called Media/Medea.
54D: LXVII thrice: CCI. Roman 201.
Answer grid.
C.C.
18A: One shivering atop Mount Arafat?: COLD TURK(ey)
19A: Tool in a Belfast bakery?: IRISH WHISK(ey)
33A: Desperate farmer's transaction?: FIELD HOCK(ey)
49A: Abbey resident in a rock 'n-roll musical?: GREASE MONK(ey)
53A: Serious Frisbee thrower?: DISC JOCK(ey)
Mount Arafat, where Noah's Ark landed, is in Turkey. I love the image IRISH WHISK evokes. Not familiar with the "pawn" meaning of HOCK. "Grease" is on my Netflix queue now. DISC JOCK tipped me off the theme. It was actually my first complete theme fill.
This grid has only 32 blocks & 70 words. Such a themeless clean look. So open in all the four corners. Dan Naddor mentioned that he always shoots for at least 20 entries of 6 letters or more in his puzzles. And in this grid, he has 21 alone in Across entries. And another 18 6-letter entries in the Down fills. So, total 39. Yesterday's puzzle, on the other hand, has lots lots of 4-letter entries (37 blocks & 78 words).
Several clever clues:
23A: Follower of Christ?: IAN. Christian. Nice change from IAN Fleming or IAN McKellen.
32A: The Boss's address?: E STREET. Bruce Springsteen's The E STREET Band. His nickname is "The Boss".
55D: Mo. named for the Roman god of doorways: JAN. Janus, the god who has 2 heads facing opposite direction. Very refreshing fill.
I had my normal Friday struggle. But I filled in lots of blanks and exceeded my expectation. So I am happy.
Across:
1A: ABCs: BASICS. Can't believe the first entry is so simple.
7A: Banter: REPARTEE
15A: Depth charge, slangily: ASHCAN. I did not know the meaning of "Depth charge". Is it somehow related to the ASHCAN school?
16A: Magnetite et al.: IRON ORES
17A: __ dream: optimist's philosophy: DARE TO. I was thinking of Cassandra's Dream.
21A: Vous, in Weimar.: SIE. No idea. I don't speak German. It's the formal "you". The informal one is Du (tu in French), How come there is no SIE or Du in "Ich liebe dich"?
22A: Pester for payment: DUN. Learned this word from my brother. He also calls potato "murphy".
26A: Polished: ELEGANT. I was thinking of a past tense verb.
31A: Houston team affiliated with the NHL's Minnesota Wild: AEROS. Have vaguely heard of this hockey team. Was unaware of the Wild connection though.
36A: Distant: FARAWAY
38A: Catcher with a pot: EELER. Ha ha, gimme. Dan Naddor clued EELS as "Fish caught in a pot" in his "Put a Lid on It" Sunday puzzle. But LAT website wrongly uploaded Merl Reagle's "TV shows I'd Like" that weekend.
42A: Actress Francis and others: ARLENES. Often clued as "Francis and Dahl".
43A: Military exercise: WAR GAME
45A: Sees: DATES. Oh, romantically. I thought of ESPY first.
48A: "Here __ Again" (Whitesnake #1 hit): I GO. All I remember about this video is Tawny Kitae. She was married to Chuck Finley for a few years.
57A: Dinner alternative: A LA CARTE. First time I saw a full A LA CARTE in a grid.
58A: Blush: REDDEN
59A: Allure: SEXINESS. Love the clue and the answer.
60A: Covers with crumbs: BREADS. These croquette are mouthwatering.
Down:
1D: "I wouldn't": BAD IDEA. Did not get it immedately.
2D: By and large: AS A RULE
3D: Red fez wearer: SHRINER. Why "red"? The guy on the right is wearing a black fez.
5D: Like the pope: Abbr.: CATH
6D: Strand at the chalet: SNOW IN
7D: Toxin found in castor beans: RICIN. I remember the castor oil plants my grandma had. Can't remember what she used the seeds for.
8D: Cupid's counterpart: EROS. Cupid's Greek counterpart, to be exact.
9D: President between Tyler and Taylor: POLK. His middle name is KNOX, which often appears in our crossword.
11D: Falderal: ROT. I did not know the meaning of "falderal".
12D: Bankruptcy court appointee: TRUSTEE. Love the clue, esp given the current economic situation. Aren't you curious about whom Bernie Madoff was trying to protect by being silent? Who is behind him?
14D: Glacial ridges: ESKERS. New word to me. Dictionary defines it as "a serpentine ridge of gravelly and sandy drift, believed to have been formed by streams under or in glacial ice." I think I will connect ESKER with ASKER.
20D: Monopoly token: HAT. No idea. I actually played Monopoly once. Don't remember the token HAT though.
24D: "Moon River" lyricist: MERCER (Johnny). Got his name from Across fills. Do you like "Breakfast at Tiffany's"?
25D: Pub container: ALE KEG
27D: Get off: GO FREE. Oh, not the DF slangy "Get off".
29D: Show to a seat, slangily: USH. If you say so.
30D: Pou __: vantage point: STO. Absolutely no idea. Dictionary says it's Greek for "where I may stand". And it's from the reputed saying of Archimedes, "Give me where I may stand and I will move the whole world with my steelyard." A place to stand upon; a locus standi; hence, a foundation or basis for operations.
32D: Big name in ice cream: EDY. Not EDY'S??
34D: Ram's ma'am: EWE. Lovely clue.
35D: Much of "Deck the Halls": LAS. The fa-la-la refrain. I drew a blank.
36D: Like some egos: FRAGILE. Thought of BLOATED, which has 7 letters also.
37D: Glazunov wrote a 1934 concerto for one: ALTO SAX. No idea. Have never heard of "Saxophone Concerto", Alexander Glazunov's last major work. He died soon after the premiere.
39D: The Dodgers retired his #2 in 1997: LASORDA. Tommy LASORDA is super-friendly in signing autographs. Somehow I thought #2 is Duke Snider, whose #4 jersey was retired by the Dodgers in 1980. I was way off.
41D: Figures: RECKONS
43D: "We Are Marshall" setting: Abbr.: W. VA. I confused "We Are Marshall" with Tommy "U.S. Marshals".
44D: Condense on a surface: ADSORB. Only knew ABSORB
46D: Rink fakes: DEKES. Learned this term from doing Xword.
49D: Bush battler: GORE (Al). Have you seen Kevin Spacey's "Recount"? Very fascinating to me, as I was not here when Bush battled GORE.
50D: IRS auditor's requests: RCTS. I am used to RCPT.
52D: Ancient Persian: MEDE. The area they lived in called Media/Medea.
54D: LXVII thrice: CCI. Roman 201.
Answer grid.
C.C.
