Theme: ICed - IC is inserted into familiar phrases.
18A: Break from soldiers' training?: BASIC RELIEF
24A: Clown settlement?: ANTIC COLONY
38A: International affair?: TOPIC OF THE WORLD
49A: O. Henry stories?: IRONIC WORKS
60A: Copperfield's limo?: MAGIC WHEELS
Hmmm, IC, maybe I SEE (12D: Now that makes sense) is a better theme title.
I did not know there is a special term for those chrome wheels. Mag wheels are so named because "the aluminum is mixed up with a bit of magnesium to form a stronger alloy", according to one article.
Another hard puzzle for me. Lots of misdirections. I just don't think I am capable of solving late week puzzles. My "Yes, I can" hope has faded into "Probably not", just like some of Obama's ambitious plans.
O'NEAL (64A: Center of Cleveland?) clue is tricky. I actually knew Shaq was traded to Cleveland Cavaliers last month. I remember his "Win for Ring for the King" (LeBron James) quote in the newspaper. But I did not make the connection. Thought it's just another wordplay on the very center of word Cleveland.
Across:
1A: Devious, in a way: COY. Plunked in SLY immediately.
4A: Bad states: SNITS. My husband is easily peeved.
9A: You often see a lap in one: CHAIR. Ha ha, I was picturing someone's lap, but I could not see a CHAIR.
14A: Bullet in a deck: ACE
15A: Strange: OUTRE. Tried EERIE first.
16A: Kind of trader: HORSE. Could only think of FUR.
17A: Royal sleep disturbance, in a tale: PEA. Hans Christian Andersen's "The Princess and the PEA".
20A: Ill-advised: RASH. Is "Ill-advised" the same as "Ill-considered"?
22A: Flames' org.: NHL. Our NHL team is Minnesota Wild.
23A: Gives the slip: EVADES. "Give the slip" is a new phrase to me.
27A: Old waste allowance: TRET. After the deduction for TARE (the weight of a vehicle).
28A: Resemble strongly: PASS FOR
33A: ID necessity, often: PHOTO. The clue is asking for an abbreviated answer, isn't it?
36A: Plow into: RAM. Dictionary explains "Plow into" as "to strike with force". New to me.
37A: Like Chinese dishes, frequently: TO GO. My instinctive reaction is FATTY.
42A: It may be gross in med. sch.: ANAT
43A: OPEC member: UAE. The world's tallest building (Dubai Tower,2,684 feet) is in UAE.
44A: Development units: HOMES. And ACRES (65A: Some plots). I thought of the fictional plots.
45A: Picks: SELECTS
47A: Monopoly cards: DEED
54A: Pizza chain: SBARRO. No idea. Not a fan of pizza or Italian food. The logo looks like SHARRO.
58A: Like Bizet's only symphony: IN C. I had IN? sitting there forever.
59A: Night light: NEON. Nice rhyme. I was in the moonlight direction.
63A: Short sentence about a long term: I DO. Tricky clue. I thought of prison term/sentence.
66A: "I reckon not": NAW. Hillbilly slang I suppose.
67A: Noodleheads: GEESE
68A: "Siddhartha" author: HESSE. Has anyone read this book? Hermann HESSE also wrote "Steppenwolf". He won Nobel Literature in 1946.
69A: It's up to you: SKY. Of course! But I was too stupid to know.
Down:
1D: "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" director: CAPRA. I watched "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" simply because of Chris Matthews. It's one of his favorite movies.
2D: Shore thing: OCEAN. Sure.
4D: __ story: SOB
5D: Fine point: NUANCE
6D: August comment: IT'S HOT. And WHEW (41D: See 6-D). I don't understand the rationale for the WHEW clue.
7D: Warbling sound: TRILL
8D: IPO overseer: SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)
9D: Malibu and Tahoe: CHEVYS. Oh, cars.
10D: Guadalajara greeting: HOLA. What do you normally say when you pick up the phone? Chinese say "Wei", same pronunciation as Michelle Wei's surname.
11D: Ideal for Joshua trees: ARID. Joshua trees grow in desert.
13D: Trio in an NBA game: REFS. Wow, I did not know this. Not interested in basketball.
19D: Entitle, as an altered file: RENAME
21D: Ancient Indo-European: HITTITE. No idea. It's "a member of an ancient people who established a powerful empire in Asia Minor and Syria, dominant from about 1900 to 1200 BC".
25D: Swift reptile: CROC. Did not know CROC is a reptile member.
26D: Vividly colored fish: OPAH. Or TETRA, another colorful fish.
29D: Used as an elevator: STOOD ON
30D: Blob's lack: FORM
31D: Rubberneck: OGLE. The answer is always GAWK.
32D: Eye cells: RODS. I forgot this "Eye cell" meaning of ROD.
33D: NEA supporters: PTAS
34D: Fine-tune: HONE
35D: Fall birthstone: OPAL. Birthstone for October.
36D: Itinerary abbr.: RTE
39D: Have a better crew than: OUTROW. Wrote down OUTMAN.
40D: Burkina __: FASO. I've never heard of this landlocked nation. It's in West Africa.
46D: Group with common interest: CIRCLE. "Charmed CIRCLE, Gertrude Stein and Company" is a very interesting read.
47D: Some booth occupants: DINERS
48D: Proverbs follower: Abbr.: ECCLES. Bible book. Stumped again.
50D: Heiress, perhaps: NIECE
51D: Equestrian tools: REINS
52D: Maker of Advantix cameras: KODAK. Not familiar with Advantix. AIG replaced KODAK as a DOW component several years ago. Now Kraft Foods has replaced AIG.
53D: Blizzardlike: SNOWY
54D: Urban hazard: SMOG
55D: Proverbial thorn: BANE
56D: "A Death in the Family" novelist: AGEE. James AGEE also co-wrote the script for "The African Queen".
57D: England's Portsmouth Harbour and and others: RIAS. I don't know Portsmouth Harbour is a RIA, which is often just clued as "Narrow inlet".
61D: "As if!": HAH
62D: Mariner's hdg.: SSE. Oh well, it can be any direction.
Answer grid.
C.C.
18A: Break from soldiers' training?: BASIC RELIEF
24A: Clown settlement?: ANTIC COLONY
38A: International affair?: TOPIC OF THE WORLD
49A: O. Henry stories?: IRONIC WORKS
60A: Copperfield's limo?: MAGIC WHEELS
Hmmm, IC, maybe I SEE (12D: Now that makes sense) is a better theme title.
I did not know there is a special term for those chrome wheels. Mag wheels are so named because "the aluminum is mixed up with a bit of magnesium to form a stronger alloy", according to one article.
Another hard puzzle for me. Lots of misdirections. I just don't think I am capable of solving late week puzzles. My "Yes, I can" hope has faded into "Probably not", just like some of Obama's ambitious plans.
O'NEAL (64A: Center of Cleveland?) clue is tricky. I actually knew Shaq was traded to Cleveland Cavaliers last month. I remember his "Win for Ring for the King" (LeBron James) quote in the newspaper. But I did not make the connection. Thought it's just another wordplay on the very center of word Cleveland.
Across:
1A: Devious, in a way: COY. Plunked in SLY immediately.
4A: Bad states: SNITS. My husband is easily peeved.
9A: You often see a lap in one: CHAIR. Ha ha, I was picturing someone's lap, but I could not see a CHAIR.
14A: Bullet in a deck: ACE
15A: Strange: OUTRE. Tried EERIE first.
16A: Kind of trader: HORSE. Could only think of FUR.
17A: Royal sleep disturbance, in a tale: PEA. Hans Christian Andersen's "The Princess and the PEA".
20A: Ill-advised: RASH. Is "Ill-advised" the same as "Ill-considered"?
22A: Flames' org.: NHL. Our NHL team is Minnesota Wild.
23A: Gives the slip: EVADES. "Give the slip" is a new phrase to me.
27A: Old waste allowance: TRET. After the deduction for TARE (the weight of a vehicle).
28A: Resemble strongly: PASS FOR
33A: ID necessity, often: PHOTO. The clue is asking for an abbreviated answer, isn't it?
36A: Plow into: RAM. Dictionary explains "Plow into" as "to strike with force". New to me.
37A: Like Chinese dishes, frequently: TO GO. My instinctive reaction is FATTY.
42A: It may be gross in med. sch.: ANAT
43A: OPEC member: UAE. The world's tallest building (Dubai Tower,2,684 feet) is in UAE.
44A: Development units: HOMES. And ACRES (65A: Some plots). I thought of the fictional plots.
45A: Picks: SELECTS
47A: Monopoly cards: DEED
54A: Pizza chain: SBARRO. No idea. Not a fan of pizza or Italian food. The logo looks like SHARRO.
58A: Like Bizet's only symphony: IN C. I had IN? sitting there forever.
59A: Night light: NEON. Nice rhyme. I was in the moonlight direction.
63A: Short sentence about a long term: I DO. Tricky clue. I thought of prison term/sentence.
66A: "I reckon not": NAW. Hillbilly slang I suppose.
67A: Noodleheads: GEESE
68A: "Siddhartha" author: HESSE. Has anyone read this book? Hermann HESSE also wrote "Steppenwolf". He won Nobel Literature in 1946.
69A: It's up to you: SKY. Of course! But I was too stupid to know.
Down:
1D: "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" director: CAPRA. I watched "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" simply because of Chris Matthews. It's one of his favorite movies.
2D: Shore thing: OCEAN. Sure.
4D: __ story: SOB
5D: Fine point: NUANCE
6D: August comment: IT'S HOT. And WHEW (41D: See 6-D). I don't understand the rationale for the WHEW clue.
7D: Warbling sound: TRILL
8D: IPO overseer: SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)
9D: Malibu and Tahoe: CHEVYS. Oh, cars.
10D: Guadalajara greeting: HOLA. What do you normally say when you pick up the phone? Chinese say "Wei", same pronunciation as Michelle Wei's surname.
11D: Ideal for Joshua trees: ARID. Joshua trees grow in desert.
13D: Trio in an NBA game: REFS. Wow, I did not know this. Not interested in basketball.
19D: Entitle, as an altered file: RENAME
21D: Ancient Indo-European: HITTITE. No idea. It's "a member of an ancient people who established a powerful empire in Asia Minor and Syria, dominant from about 1900 to 1200 BC".
25D: Swift reptile: CROC. Did not know CROC is a reptile member.
26D: Vividly colored fish: OPAH. Or TETRA, another colorful fish.
29D: Used as an elevator: STOOD ON
30D: Blob's lack: FORM
31D: Rubberneck: OGLE. The answer is always GAWK.
32D: Eye cells: RODS. I forgot this "Eye cell" meaning of ROD.
33D: NEA supporters: PTAS
34D: Fine-tune: HONE
35D: Fall birthstone: OPAL. Birthstone for October.
36D: Itinerary abbr.: RTE
39D: Have a better crew than: OUTROW. Wrote down OUTMAN.
40D: Burkina __: FASO. I've never heard of this landlocked nation. It's in West Africa.
46D: Group with common interest: CIRCLE. "Charmed CIRCLE, Gertrude Stein and Company" is a very interesting read.
47D: Some booth occupants: DINERS
48D: Proverbs follower: Abbr.: ECCLES. Bible book. Stumped again.
50D: Heiress, perhaps: NIECE
51D: Equestrian tools: REINS
52D: Maker of Advantix cameras: KODAK. Not familiar with Advantix. AIG replaced KODAK as a DOW component several years ago. Now Kraft Foods has replaced AIG.
53D: Blizzardlike: SNOWY
54D: Urban hazard: SMOG
55D: Proverbial thorn: BANE
56D: "A Death in the Family" novelist: AGEE. James AGEE also co-wrote the script for "The African Queen".
57D: England's Portsmouth Harbour and and others: RIAS. I don't know Portsmouth Harbour is a RIA, which is often just clued as "Narrow inlet".
61D: "As if!": HAH
62D: Mariner's hdg.: SSE. Oh well, it can be any direction.
Answer grid.
C.C.
