Theme: Try It!
17A: Where Jerry Garcia kept food for the band?: DEAD PANTRY (Deadpan)
28A: Minimalist wall hanging?: BLANK TAPESTRY (Blank Tapes)
47A: Small clergy group?: MICRO MINISTRY (Micro Minis)
64A: Wedding cake mock-up?: FAUX PASTRY (Faux Pas)
About a month ago, Rich Norris clued CHERRY GARCIA as "Ice cream flavor honoring a Grateful Dead icon" in his "Shades of Red" puzzle.
I figured out the theme very quickly, and immediately gave BLANK TAPESTRY and every other theme entry a TRY. I think this girl's micro mini skirt would look better without the big belt. Yes? Thought of WM's love for a cake blog and her "Faux Finisher" daughter when I filled in FAUX PASTRY.
I liked this puzzle a lot. It's BEAUT (36A: Doozy). The theme is so simple yet creative. The original base phrases and the new made-up entries are quite livley.
Lots of black squares, 44, the limit on Rich Norris's 15*15. Most of the other newspaper puzzles cap the number at 38.
Have a look at the constructor Robin Stears's blog. She has written several books.
Across:
1A: Schooner features? JIBS. Nice to start a grid with a letter J.
5A: Kingdom called the Friendly Islands: TONGA. Ugh. I thought of Bhutan where Gross National Happiness index rather than GNP is measured. TONGA is literally "South" in many Polynesian language, according to Wiki.
10A: Biblical plague insect: GNAT. Easy guess. I am not aware of GNAT's Biblical reference. I thought it's locust.
16A: Wear the crown: RULE. Or REIGN.
20A: Fertilizer source: ALGAE
22A: Tar Heel State university: ELON. Often clued just as "North Carolina university".
23A: 1990s speed skating gold medalist: KOSS (Johann Olav). Absolutely no idea. Johanna Olav KOSS is from Norway.
26A: One with a habit: NUN. A rare repeat clue.
35A: Chichi: ARTY. It's the same as ARTSY, isn't it? The clue made me think of Golf Hall-of-Famer Chi Chi Rodriguez.
38A: North Carolina country: ASHE. Unknown to me. Here is the map. Was it named someone surnamed ASHE?
40A: Blue shades: TEALS. The answer might be AQUAS if this were a Barry Silk puzzle.
42A: __ race: ARMS
45A: "East of Eden" brother: ARON. His twin brother is Cal. I thought James Dean was so so in the movie.
46A: Expressive rock genre: EMO. What exactly is the EMO genre?
51A: __-de-vie: brandy: EAU. Literally water of life.
56A: Bygone carrier: TWA. Recklessly wrote down SST.
67A: Blacken: SEAR. I love seared tuna, crusted with sesame seeds, YUMMY! (33D: Scrumptious).
68A: Slacker: IDLER
71A: Bear named for a president: TEDDY. T.R. originated "Speak softly and carry a big stick".
72A: Strategic WWI river: YSER. This has become a gimme. YSER river flows to the North Sea.
Down:
1D: Actress Pinkett Smith: JADA. Another gimme. Will Smith's wife. Both are scientologists, I think.
2D: Country on the Denmark Str.: ICEL. Ah, its most well-known citizen is probably Björk. I thought that swan address is rather cute. Don't understand why it's ridiculed.
3D: Crow: BRAG
4D: "Bad Blood" singer: SEDAKA. This singer does not look like Neil SEDAKA. Maybe I am familiar with the aged SEDAKA.
5D: Luggage-screening gp.: TSA (Transportation Security Administration). Established after 9/11.
6D: Part of BYO: OWN. Bring Your OWN.
8D: "The Day the Earth Stood Still" robot: GORT. Stumper. Here is a picture. Is it related to the Jewish robot golem?
10D: Beverage brewed in a gaiwan: GREEN TEA. "Gaiwan" is literally "lidded bowl".
13D: Many a "One Tree Hill" character: TEEN. The answer revealed itself. Not familiar with this TEEN TV drama.
18D: Drudge: PEON. Noun. I thought of TOIL first.
24D: 32-card game: SKAT. For three players.
25D: Flow: STREAM
27D: Plug-and-play PC port: USB (Universal Serial Bus)
28D: Like a close buddy: BOSOM
29D: Actress Christine: LAHTI. Total stranger to me. Wiki says her name is Finnish for "gulf"/"bay"/"cove". And she won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role in "Chicago Hope".
30D: __ 2600: early game console: ATARI
31D: Road cones: PYLONS. Holy cow. I had no idea that these cones have a special name.
37D: Eponymous Chinese general: TSO
39D: Substitute for dropped items: ET CETERA. Probably my favorite clue today.
44D: Palindromic altar: ARA. This has become a gimme also.
48D: Equip: OUTFIT
49D: Something to keep a teller busy?: SAGA. Nice play on tell-er.
50D: Inferior: TRASHY. Somehow I thought of ersatz.
53D: Fresh approach?: SASS. The answer revealed itself. I did not know "fresh" can mean "impudent" as well.
55D: Bold alternative: Abbr.: ITAL. Italic.
57D: 1973 defendant: WADE. Roe v. WADE
58D: "Should __ acquaintance ...": AULD. Again, the answer revealed itself. I only know the song title "AULD Lang Syne".
61D: Della's creator: ERLE. ERLE Stanley Gardner. Della Street is the secretary of Perry Mason.
62D: Batik worker: DYER
66D: Meddle: PRY. Rhymed with the theme TRY.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A: Where Jerry Garcia kept food for the band?: DEAD PANTRY (Deadpan)
28A: Minimalist wall hanging?: BLANK TAPESTRY (Blank Tapes)
47A: Small clergy group?: MICRO MINISTRY (Micro Minis)
64A: Wedding cake mock-up?: FAUX PASTRY (Faux Pas)
About a month ago, Rich Norris clued CHERRY GARCIA as "Ice cream flavor honoring a Grateful Dead icon" in his "Shades of Red" puzzle.
I figured out the theme very quickly, and immediately gave BLANK TAPESTRY and every other theme entry a TRY. I think this girl's micro mini skirt would look better without the big belt. Yes? Thought of WM's love for a cake blog and her "Faux Finisher" daughter when I filled in FAUX PASTRY.
I liked this puzzle a lot. It's BEAUT (36A: Doozy). The theme is so simple yet creative. The original base phrases and the new made-up entries are quite livley.
Lots of black squares, 44, the limit on Rich Norris's 15*15. Most of the other newspaper puzzles cap the number at 38.
Have a look at the constructor Robin Stears's blog. She has written several books.
Across:
1A: Schooner features? JIBS. Nice to start a grid with a letter J.
5A: Kingdom called the Friendly Islands: TONGA. Ugh. I thought of Bhutan where Gross National Happiness index rather than GNP is measured. TONGA is literally "South" in many Polynesian language, according to Wiki.
10A: Biblical plague insect: GNAT. Easy guess. I am not aware of GNAT's Biblical reference. I thought it's locust.
16A: Wear the crown: RULE. Or REIGN.
20A: Fertilizer source: ALGAE
22A: Tar Heel State university: ELON. Often clued just as "North Carolina university".
23A: 1990s speed skating gold medalist: KOSS (Johann Olav). Absolutely no idea. Johanna Olav KOSS is from Norway.
26A: One with a habit: NUN. A rare repeat clue.
35A: Chichi: ARTY. It's the same as ARTSY, isn't it? The clue made me think of Golf Hall-of-Famer Chi Chi Rodriguez.
38A: North Carolina country: ASHE. Unknown to me. Here is the map. Was it named someone surnamed ASHE?
40A: Blue shades: TEALS. The answer might be AQUAS if this were a Barry Silk puzzle.
42A: __ race: ARMS
45A: "East of Eden" brother: ARON. His twin brother is Cal. I thought James Dean was so so in the movie.
46A: Expressive rock genre: EMO. What exactly is the EMO genre?
51A: __-de-vie: brandy: EAU. Literally water of life.
56A: Bygone carrier: TWA. Recklessly wrote down SST.
67A: Blacken: SEAR. I love seared tuna, crusted with sesame seeds, YUMMY! (33D: Scrumptious).
68A: Slacker: IDLER
71A: Bear named for a president: TEDDY. T.R. originated "Speak softly and carry a big stick".
72A: Strategic WWI river: YSER. This has become a gimme. YSER river flows to the North Sea.
Down:
1D: Actress Pinkett Smith: JADA. Another gimme. Will Smith's wife. Both are scientologists, I think.
2D: Country on the Denmark Str.: ICEL. Ah, its most well-known citizen is probably Björk. I thought that swan address is rather cute. Don't understand why it's ridiculed.
3D: Crow: BRAG
4D: "Bad Blood" singer: SEDAKA. This singer does not look like Neil SEDAKA. Maybe I am familiar with the aged SEDAKA.
5D: Luggage-screening gp.: TSA (Transportation Security Administration). Established after 9/11.
6D: Part of BYO: OWN. Bring Your OWN.
8D: "The Day the Earth Stood Still" robot: GORT. Stumper. Here is a picture. Is it related to the Jewish robot golem?
10D: Beverage brewed in a gaiwan: GREEN TEA. "Gaiwan" is literally "lidded bowl".
13D: Many a "One Tree Hill" character: TEEN. The answer revealed itself. Not familiar with this TEEN TV drama.
18D: Drudge: PEON. Noun. I thought of TOIL first.
24D: 32-card game: SKAT. For three players.
25D: Flow: STREAM
27D: Plug-and-play PC port: USB (Universal Serial Bus)
28D: Like a close buddy: BOSOM
29D: Actress Christine: LAHTI. Total stranger to me. Wiki says her name is Finnish for "gulf"/"bay"/"cove". And she won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role in "Chicago Hope".
30D: __ 2600: early game console: ATARI
31D: Road cones: PYLONS. Holy cow. I had no idea that these cones have a special name.
37D: Eponymous Chinese general: TSO
39D: Substitute for dropped items: ET CETERA. Probably my favorite clue today.
44D: Palindromic altar: ARA. This has become a gimme also.
48D: Equip: OUTFIT
49D: Something to keep a teller busy?: SAGA. Nice play on tell-er.
50D: Inferior: TRASHY. Somehow I thought of ersatz.
53D: Fresh approach?: SASS. The answer revealed itself. I did not know "fresh" can mean "impudent" as well.
55D: Bold alternative: Abbr.: ITAL. Italic.
57D: 1973 defendant: WADE. Roe v. WADE
58D: "Should __ acquaintance ...": AULD. Again, the answer revealed itself. I only know the song title "AULD Lang Syne".
61D: Della's creator: ERLE. ERLE Stanley Gardner. Della Street is the secretary of Perry Mason.
62D: Batik worker: DYER
66D: Meddle: PRY. Rhymed with the theme TRY.
Answer grid.
C.C.
