Theme: None
Total blocks: 38
Total words: 68
What a unique grid! I wonder if there is a special term for this kind of extra symmetry. Fold the puzzle in the middle along Row #8 or Column #8, you will find the mirroring pattern between left & right and up & down. Probably 99% of all the puzzles only have a 180 degree rotational symmetry, i.e., if you turn the puzzle upside down by rotating 180 degrees, the pattern of black squares remains the same.
This constructor Bruce Venzke (the guy with glasses on) seems to be fond of stacked long 15-letter words for his Saturday themeless. Remember this one we solved in April? Today, there are another two sets of triple-stacked long words at the top and the bottom:
1A: Makes some progress: GETS TO FIRST BASE
16A: Song that's acted out: I'M A LITTLE TEA POT
17A: Song also known as "Cowboy's Lament": STREETS OF LAREDO
56A: Responded in kind, in a way: COUNTER-ATTACKED
61A: Vague putoff: AT SOME OTHER TIME
62A: Post under a hood: BATTERY TERMINAL
The last one baffles me. What hood? And what post? To me, BATTERY TERMINAL is just + or -.
Neat to see TAO (37A: Eastern philosophy) crossing HAN (34D: Dynasty after the Qin) right in the middle of the grid. TAO (道) is often spelled DAO in China. Zhou, Qin, HAN & Tang are the four most famous dynasties with capital in my hometown Xi'An. I got my Mandarin name Zhouqin because of the Zhou & Qin dynasties connection.
Had my struggle again today. I failed the "Stress Test" before I even started. Those 15-letter blanks intimidate me.
Across:
18A: Took care of : SAW TO. My first fill of the grid.
19A: Shadow: UMBRA. Latin for "shade". Root word for umbrella.
20A: Gig component: AMP. This simple 3-letter answer stymies me all the time.
22A: Turner of music: IKE. Too bad it's not clued as " '50s nickname" to pair up with ETO (15D: WWII arena").
23A: Groovy toy?: SLOT CAR. The car runs on a groove.
27A: Knocks off: DEDUCTS. Not familiar with this slangy DEDUCT meaning of "knock off".
32A: Record for later: TIVO. Thought of TAPE first.
33A: Radar purchases?: NEHIS.
36A: Skip: OMIT
38A: "Young Frankenstein" lab assistant: INGA. No idea. Wanted IGOR/YGOR. Wikipedia says she's played by Teri Garr.
39A: Drawn things: LOTS. Draw lots.
40A: Monopoly deed sextet: RENTS. Any Monopoly related clue is a stumper to me.
42A: Corner: NOOK
43A: Agents of biochemical change: ENZYMES. Raw veggies/fruits are rich in ENZYMES, which help to break down protein. I like adding fresh pineapple to shrimps or other seafood I cook. Perfect combination.
45A: Contemporary of Lucille: IMOGENE. Big stumper. I need "Zany Coca" in the clue to get the answer.
47A: Me. summer setting: EDT. Shouldn't the letter e be capitalized (Maine)?
48A: Decimal meas.: CEN. No idea. Centimeter?
49A: Got to: IRKED. Is "get to" a slang?
52A: Lassie was rarely seen on one: LEASH. Clever clue. I suppose you can say that about most of the movie/TV dogs?
Down:
1D: Grunts: GIS. "Grunt" is slang for infantry solider. I should have got this one. We had so many Army/Marines/Navy/Air Force nickname discussions a few weeks ago.
2D: Lifesavers, for shorts: EMTS
3D: Plantation near Twelve Oaks: TARA. I like the line "I'll always have TARA" in "Gone with the Wind". Also like "We'll always have Paris" in "Casablanca".
4D: Plethora: SLEW
5D: Stickpin kin: TIE TAC. Thought it's TIE TACK.
6D: Place to put your dogs up?: OTTOMAN. "Dogs" is slang or "feet". I was picturing the real dogs.
7D: NBA scores: FTS (Free Throws). No idea. Not a basketball fan. Maybe you can give me a NBA scores 101 today.
8D: 1969 Peace Prize-winning agcy.: ILO. Sigh. I actually mentioned this Nobel Peace Prize trivia about ILO when it appeared in our puzzle some time ago. This morning I could only think of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières). They were awarded Nobel Peace in 1999.
9D: Ring leader?: REF. Boxing. Good clue.
10D: NYC hospital since 1858: ST LUKE'S. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says their Roosevelt Emergency Room is notable for being the site of John Lennon's death.
11D: Joined (with): TEAMED
12D: Comeback, perhaps: BARB. Another great clue. Not sufficient for me though. I definitely need an extra "biting" for hint.
13D: One who's often not himself?: APER. Did you get it immediately? I did not. Reminds me of Doug Peterson's wicked "Ape wrestlers" for GRAPPLE. Ape is a verb: "mimic".
14: Scotch partner: SODA. Like Gin and Tonic?
21D: Course admission requirement, perhaps: PRETEST. Not familiar with this term. We don't have PRETEST in our schools.
22D: Dumb: IDIOTIC. I feel dumb, not IDIOTIC though. I guess I don't want to be called an idiot. Dummy, yes.
23D: Ripped off: STOLE. Hmm, no more "It's a wrap". Kind of chiseled/sculpted face. Does she look pretty to you?
24D: Dance José: LIMON. No idea. Wikipedia says this guy was a pioneering modern dancer and choreographer. And his most famous dance is "The Moor's Pavane" (1949), based on Shakepeare's "Othello".
25D: Short-lived '90s Disney president: OVITZ (Michael). Unknown figure to me. His short lived tenure at Disney lasts 16 months. And he received $38 million in cash and $100 million in stock as a severance package. Unbelievable! Good job, Michael Eisner!
26D: Hotsy-__: TOTSY. High class hottie?
29D: Where standing is ill-advised: CANOE. What came to your mind first?
30D: "You don't __ Superman's cape": Jim Croce lyric: TUG ON. Unknown to me also. It's from the song "You Don't Mess Around with Jim".
31D: Quench: SLAKE
40D: Venison source: RED DEER. What's the matter with him? Such a desperate look. I wanted DEER MEAT.
41D: Place of refinement?: SMELTER. Sigh! I had trouble with this one.
44D: Lover's message: MEET ME. For some, it would be just "CALL ME".
46D: Bandit feature?: ONE-ARM. The slot machine. Or is it the bad guy in "The Fugitive"?
49D: Greek vowel: IOTA. Greek "i". I am used to the "Tiny amount" clue.
51D: Boater's unit: KNOT. No idea. What kind of unit? Anything to do with the rope?
53D: When Romeo spots Juliet: ACT I. Saw similar clue before.
54D: Large organ: SKIN. Holy moley, I've never thought of SKIN as organ.
55D: Blood: Pref: HEMA. Can you believe I forgot this prefix again? It appeared in our puzzle at least 3 times before. It's Greek for "blood".
56D: Semi-attached compartment?: CAB. Stumped. Semi refers to the 18-wheeler. Dictionary says CAB is "the covered or enclosed part of a locomotive, truck, crane, etc., where the operator sits."
57D: 2003 A.L. Cy Young Award winner Holladay: ROY. Gimme for any baseball fan. ROY Holladay is with Toronto Blue Jays. The 2004 & 2006 A.L. Cy Young is Johan Santana. I miss him a lot.
58D: NYSE ticker symbol changed to "T" in 1930: AT&T
59D: Every day article: THE. Nailed it immediately.
60D: V.P. Biden's state: DEL. My favorite Joe Biden quote is his comment on Rudy Guilian's sentence structure: "a noun, a verb and 9/11".
Answer grid.
C.C.
Total blocks: 38
Total words: 68
What a unique grid! I wonder if there is a special term for this kind of extra symmetry. Fold the puzzle in the middle along Row #8 or Column #8, you will find the mirroring pattern between left & right and up & down. Probably 99% of all the puzzles only have a 180 degree rotational symmetry, i.e., if you turn the puzzle upside down by rotating 180 degrees, the pattern of black squares remains the same.
This constructor Bruce Venzke (the guy with glasses on) seems to be fond of stacked long 15-letter words for his Saturday themeless. Remember this one we solved in April? Today, there are another two sets of triple-stacked long words at the top and the bottom:
1A: Makes some progress: GETS TO FIRST BASE
16A: Song that's acted out: I'M A LITTLE TEA POT
17A: Song also known as "Cowboy's Lament": STREETS OF LAREDO
56A: Responded in kind, in a way: COUNTER-ATTACKED
61A: Vague putoff: AT SOME OTHER TIME
62A: Post under a hood: BATTERY TERMINAL
The last one baffles me. What hood? And what post? To me, BATTERY TERMINAL is just + or -.
Neat to see TAO (37A: Eastern philosophy) crossing HAN (34D: Dynasty after the Qin) right in the middle of the grid. TAO (道) is often spelled DAO in China. Zhou, Qin, HAN & Tang are the four most famous dynasties with capital in my hometown Xi'An. I got my Mandarin name Zhouqin because of the Zhou & Qin dynasties connection.
Had my struggle again today. I failed the "Stress Test" before I even started. Those 15-letter blanks intimidate me.
Across:
18A: Took care of : SAW TO. My first fill of the grid.
19A: Shadow: UMBRA. Latin for "shade". Root word for umbrella.
20A: Gig component: AMP. This simple 3-letter answer stymies me all the time.
22A: Turner of music: IKE. Too bad it's not clued as " '50s nickname" to pair up with ETO (15D: WWII arena").
23A: Groovy toy?: SLOT CAR. The car runs on a groove.
27A: Knocks off: DEDUCTS. Not familiar with this slangy DEDUCT meaning of "knock off".
32A: Record for later: TIVO. Thought of TAPE first.
33A: Radar purchases?: NEHIS.
36A: Skip: OMIT
38A: "Young Frankenstein" lab assistant: INGA. No idea. Wanted IGOR/YGOR. Wikipedia says she's played by Teri Garr.
39A: Drawn things: LOTS. Draw lots.
40A: Monopoly deed sextet: RENTS. Any Monopoly related clue is a stumper to me.
42A: Corner: NOOK
43A: Agents of biochemical change: ENZYMES. Raw veggies/fruits are rich in ENZYMES, which help to break down protein. I like adding fresh pineapple to shrimps or other seafood I cook. Perfect combination.
45A: Contemporary of Lucille: IMOGENE. Big stumper. I need "Zany Coca" in the clue to get the answer.
47A: Me. summer setting: EDT. Shouldn't the letter e be capitalized (Maine)?
48A: Decimal meas.: CEN. No idea. Centimeter?
49A: Got to: IRKED. Is "get to" a slang?
52A: Lassie was rarely seen on one: LEASH. Clever clue. I suppose you can say that about most of the movie/TV dogs?
Down:
1D: Grunts: GIS. "Grunt" is slang for infantry solider. I should have got this one. We had so many Army/Marines/Navy/Air Force nickname discussions a few weeks ago.
2D: Lifesavers, for shorts: EMTS
3D: Plantation near Twelve Oaks: TARA. I like the line "I'll always have TARA" in "Gone with the Wind". Also like "We'll always have Paris" in "Casablanca".
4D: Plethora: SLEW
5D: Stickpin kin: TIE TAC. Thought it's TIE TACK.
6D: Place to put your dogs up?: OTTOMAN. "Dogs" is slang or "feet". I was picturing the real dogs.
7D: NBA scores: FTS (Free Throws). No idea. Not a basketball fan. Maybe you can give me a NBA scores 101 today.
8D: 1969 Peace Prize-winning agcy.: ILO. Sigh. I actually mentioned this Nobel Peace Prize trivia about ILO when it appeared in our puzzle some time ago. This morning I could only think of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières). They were awarded Nobel Peace in 1999.
9D: Ring leader?: REF. Boxing. Good clue.
10D: NYC hospital since 1858: ST LUKE'S. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says their Roosevelt Emergency Room is notable for being the site of John Lennon's death.
11D: Joined (with): TEAMED
12D: Comeback, perhaps: BARB. Another great clue. Not sufficient for me though. I definitely need an extra "biting" for hint.
13D: One who's often not himself?: APER. Did you get it immediately? I did not. Reminds me of Doug Peterson's wicked "Ape wrestlers" for GRAPPLE. Ape is a verb: "mimic".
14: Scotch partner: SODA. Like Gin and Tonic?
21D: Course admission requirement, perhaps: PRETEST. Not familiar with this term. We don't have PRETEST in our schools.
22D: Dumb: IDIOTIC. I feel dumb, not IDIOTIC though. I guess I don't want to be called an idiot. Dummy, yes.
23D: Ripped off: STOLE. Hmm, no more "It's a wrap". Kind of chiseled/sculpted face. Does she look pretty to you?
24D: Dance José: LIMON. No idea. Wikipedia says this guy was a pioneering modern dancer and choreographer. And his most famous dance is "The Moor's Pavane" (1949), based on Shakepeare's "Othello".
25D: Short-lived '90s Disney president: OVITZ (Michael). Unknown figure to me. His short lived tenure at Disney lasts 16 months. And he received $38 million in cash and $100 million in stock as a severance package. Unbelievable! Good job, Michael Eisner!
26D: Hotsy-__: TOTSY. High class hottie?
29D: Where standing is ill-advised: CANOE. What came to your mind first?
30D: "You don't __ Superman's cape": Jim Croce lyric: TUG ON. Unknown to me also. It's from the song "You Don't Mess Around with Jim".
31D: Quench: SLAKE
40D: Venison source: RED DEER. What's the matter with him? Such a desperate look. I wanted DEER MEAT.
41D: Place of refinement?: SMELTER. Sigh! I had trouble with this one.
44D: Lover's message: MEET ME. For some, it would be just "CALL ME".
46D: Bandit feature?: ONE-ARM. The slot machine. Or is it the bad guy in "The Fugitive"?
49D: Greek vowel: IOTA. Greek "i". I am used to the "Tiny amount" clue.
51D: Boater's unit: KNOT. No idea. What kind of unit? Anything to do with the rope?
53D: When Romeo spots Juliet: ACT I. Saw similar clue before.
54D: Large organ: SKIN. Holy moley, I've never thought of SKIN as organ.
55D: Blood: Pref: HEMA. Can you believe I forgot this prefix again? It appeared in our puzzle at least 3 times before. It's Greek for "blood".
56D: Semi-attached compartment?: CAB. Stumped. Semi refers to the 18-wheeler. Dictionary says CAB is "the covered or enclosed part of a locomotive, truck, crane, etc., where the operator sits."
57D: 2003 A.L. Cy Young Award winner Holladay: ROY. Gimme for any baseball fan. ROY Holladay is with Toronto Blue Jays. The 2004 & 2006 A.L. Cy Young is Johan Santana. I miss him a lot.
58D: NYSE ticker symbol changed to "T" in 1930: AT&T
59D: Every day article: THE. Nailed it immediately.
60D: V.P. Biden's state: DEL. My favorite Joe Biden quote is his comment on Rudy Guilian's sentence structure: "a noun, a verb and 9/11".
Answer grid.
C.C.
