Theme: TERminus (TER is added to familiar phrases.)
17A: Megaphone for a ghost?: BOO BOOS(TER)
27A: Fault-finding artist?: NAGGING PAIN(TER)
44A: Reason to bring a relief pitcher? FALLING STAR(TER)
58A: Drunk-as-a-skunk skunk?: LIT CRIT(TER)
FALLING STARTER tipped me off the theme. Only learned a few months ago that LIT can mean "intoxicated". LIT CRIT is a shortening of Literary Criticism.
I was surprised that both CTRL (19A: Key not used by itself) and MCS (21A: Mike holders) have no abbreviation hints in the clue. I guess CTRL is OK, as it's shown as such on the keyboard. It's indeed a "Key not used by itself", you often press CTRL with Alt & Del. Very clever clue.
A much easier puzzle than last Friday's, though I still had troubles here and there. This is an eased-up week I think.
Across:
1A: Longtime Boston Symphony conductor: OZAWA (Seijin). He was born in China. Lived in Beijing until he was 6.
6A: Pack: CRAM
10A: "Goodbye, Columbus" author: ROTH (Philip). Has anyone read this book?
14A: Rental sign: TO LET. Be careful of "letter" clue, as it might refer to one who lets.
15A: Senate garb: TOGA. Roman senate.
16A: Grammy winner for the New Age album "Amarantine": ENYA. Yanni, Enigma are New Age artists too.
22A: "Over here!": YOO-HOO
24A: Special something: AURA. And HALO (13D: Saintly symbol).
26A: Fill (with): IMBUE
32A: San __, Calif.: MATEO. Spanish for "St. Matthew".
33D: Negative link: NOR. Neither/NOR.
34A: Far from exciting: TAME
35A: Mount in Crete: IDA. Zeus was born in MT. IDA.
38A: Programme shower: BBC. Shower=show-er, one who shows. Programme is the British spelling. Hence BBC rather than ABC, my initial answer.
39A: Stereotypical escapee's tool: FILE. Not familiar with hand FILE tool. Wanted ROPE.
48A: Refreshing spot: OASIS. In a desert.
49A: City on the Irtysh River: OMSK. See this map again. The city on the Ural is called ORSK.
50A: Talk incessantly about: HARP ON
53A: Foot in a line: IAMB. Poetic foot.
57D: GM line until 2004: OLDS
62A: Oratorio highlight: ARIA
64A: Pal in a Stetson: PARD. Short for "partner", cowboys' way of saying "pal". Stetson hats are part of Cowboys's outfit.
66A: White poplar, e.g.: ASPEN. I can almost hear the ASPEN leaves fluttering at the slightest breeze.
Down:
1D: Gambling outlets, for short: OTBS. OTB = Off-Track Betting.
2D: __ suiter: '40s dude: ZOOT. Here are two modern ZOOT suiters. Very high-waisted pants.
3D: Flowering succulent: ALOE. Did not know "succulent" can be a noun.
4D: Wikipedia article, e.g.: WEB PAGE. Have you ever paid attention to Wikipedia logo? It's a globe of jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces.
5D: Words on an initial reference volume: A TO. Volume 1, A TO ..., I was stumped. From A TO Z is more at my comprehension level.
6D: Diagnostic pic: CT SCAN. No idea. Also called CAT SCAN. CAT = Computerized Axial Tomography. I can only think of MRI/X-RAY.
8D: Just a number, it's said: AGE. AGE is just a number, so true.
9D: Gospel duo with the single "Shackles": MARY MARY. Unknown to me. See this clip. Sounds like hip hop rather than gospel.
10D: Election extender: RECOUNT. I did not expect the Minnesota Senator seat RECOUNT to last that long.
11D: Offered: ON THE TABLE. And its symmetrical partner A TALL ORDER (28D: One difficult task). Both are three-word fills. Nice pair.
12D: First-time: TYRO. Or TIRO. Latin for "novice".
18D: Katz of "Dallas": OMRI. Headache. I can never remember this guy. OMRI is of Hebrew origin, meaning "sheaf of grain".
23D: Sash traditionally tied with a bow: OBI. Yes, indeed.
25D: Actor Tognazzi: UGO. No idea. He was an Italian actor. UGO means "intelligence", variant of Hugo.
26D: Apple in your pocket: IPOD. So much free publicity for Apple.
27D: First name in Olympics perfection: NADIA (Comaneci). The first gymnast to be awarded a perfect 10 in Olympic history.
29D: Pesky swarm: GNATS
30D: Fireplace bit: EMBER
31D: Geometric fig.: RECT. Rectangle.
32D: Rub the wrong way: MIFF
36D: Acquired kin: SON-IN-LAW
37D: Follows tightly, as a curve: HUGS
40D: Slipped by: ELAPSED
42D: Stimulus check org.: IRS. Nice clue.
43D: Nevis's sister island: ST KITTS. See this map. Stumper for me. Wikipedia says The Federation of ST KITTS and Nevis is the smallest sovereign nation in the Americas. Nice crossing with ISLET (42A: Speck in the ocean).
45D: Prefix with therm: ISO. Prefix meaning "equal".
46D: Froot Loops mascot: TOUCAN. Not familiar with TOUCAN Sam. Chinese don't eat cereal for breakfast.
47D: Made in the U.S.: AMER. Called to mind this amazing Star Tribune article. What's your best flea market/garage sale find?
50D: Lion tamer's prop: HOOP
51D: Rootless plant: ALGA
52D: Move a muscle: STIR. Alliteration.
5D: Like mortals?: MERE. Us MERE mortals. I got the answer from Across fills.
56D: Falklands War gun: BREN. An acronym of Brno, the Czech city of design, and Enfield, site of the British rifle factory. I first wrote down STEN, which is derived from the weapon's chief designer Major Reginald Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and the same Enfield factory.
59D: "Mad About You" cousin: IRA. Easy guess. I don't remember this character at all. Did watch several episode of "Mad About You".
60D: "Hope __ good breakfast": Bacon: IS A. Francis Bacon's full quote is "Hope IS A good breakfast but a bad supper". I like the breakfast & Bacon connection.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A: Megaphone for a ghost?: BOO BOOS(TER)
27A: Fault-finding artist?: NAGGING PAIN(TER)
44A: Reason to bring a relief pitcher? FALLING STAR(TER)
58A: Drunk-as-a-skunk skunk?: LIT CRIT(TER)
FALLING STARTER tipped me off the theme. Only learned a few months ago that LIT can mean "intoxicated". LIT CRIT is a shortening of Literary Criticism.
I was surprised that both CTRL (19A: Key not used by itself) and MCS (21A: Mike holders) have no abbreviation hints in the clue. I guess CTRL is OK, as it's shown as such on the keyboard. It's indeed a "Key not used by itself", you often press CTRL with Alt & Del. Very clever clue.
A much easier puzzle than last Friday's, though I still had troubles here and there. This is an eased-up week I think.
Across:
1A: Longtime Boston Symphony conductor: OZAWA (Seijin). He was born in China. Lived in Beijing until he was 6.
6A: Pack: CRAM
10A: "Goodbye, Columbus" author: ROTH (Philip). Has anyone read this book?
14A: Rental sign: TO LET. Be careful of "letter" clue, as it might refer to one who lets.
15A: Senate garb: TOGA. Roman senate.
16A: Grammy winner for the New Age album "Amarantine": ENYA. Yanni, Enigma are New Age artists too.
22A: "Over here!": YOO-HOO
24A: Special something: AURA. And HALO (13D: Saintly symbol).
26A: Fill (with): IMBUE
32A: San __, Calif.: MATEO. Spanish for "St. Matthew".
33D: Negative link: NOR. Neither/NOR.
34A: Far from exciting: TAME
35A: Mount in Crete: IDA. Zeus was born in MT. IDA.
38A: Programme shower: BBC. Shower=show-er, one who shows. Programme is the British spelling. Hence BBC rather than ABC, my initial answer.
39A: Stereotypical escapee's tool: FILE. Not familiar with hand FILE tool. Wanted ROPE.
48A: Refreshing spot: OASIS. In a desert.
49A: City on the Irtysh River: OMSK. See this map again. The city on the Ural is called ORSK.
50A: Talk incessantly about: HARP ON
53A: Foot in a line: IAMB. Poetic foot.
57D: GM line until 2004: OLDS
62A: Oratorio highlight: ARIA
64A: Pal in a Stetson: PARD. Short for "partner", cowboys' way of saying "pal". Stetson hats are part of Cowboys's outfit.
66A: White poplar, e.g.: ASPEN. I can almost hear the ASPEN leaves fluttering at the slightest breeze.
Down:
1D: Gambling outlets, for short: OTBS. OTB = Off-Track Betting.
2D: __ suiter: '40s dude: ZOOT. Here are two modern ZOOT suiters. Very high-waisted pants.
3D: Flowering succulent: ALOE. Did not know "succulent" can be a noun.
4D: Wikipedia article, e.g.: WEB PAGE. Have you ever paid attention to Wikipedia logo? It's a globe of jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces.
5D: Words on an initial reference volume: A TO. Volume 1, A TO ..., I was stumped. From A TO Z is more at my comprehension level.
6D: Diagnostic pic: CT SCAN. No idea. Also called CAT SCAN. CAT = Computerized Axial Tomography. I can only think of MRI/X-RAY.
8D: Just a number, it's said: AGE. AGE is just a number, so true.
9D: Gospel duo with the single "Shackles": MARY MARY. Unknown to me. See this clip. Sounds like hip hop rather than gospel.
10D: Election extender: RECOUNT. I did not expect the Minnesota Senator seat RECOUNT to last that long.
11D: Offered: ON THE TABLE. And its symmetrical partner A TALL ORDER (28D: One difficult task). Both are three-word fills. Nice pair.
12D: First-time: TYRO. Or TIRO. Latin for "novice".
18D: Katz of "Dallas": OMRI. Headache. I can never remember this guy. OMRI is of Hebrew origin, meaning "sheaf of grain".
23D: Sash traditionally tied with a bow: OBI. Yes, indeed.
25D: Actor Tognazzi: UGO. No idea. He was an Italian actor. UGO means "intelligence", variant of Hugo.
26D: Apple in your pocket: IPOD. So much free publicity for Apple.
27D: First name in Olympics perfection: NADIA (Comaneci). The first gymnast to be awarded a perfect 10 in Olympic history.
29D: Pesky swarm: GNATS
30D: Fireplace bit: EMBER
31D: Geometric fig.: RECT. Rectangle.
32D: Rub the wrong way: MIFF
36D: Acquired kin: SON-IN-LAW
37D: Follows tightly, as a curve: HUGS
40D: Slipped by: ELAPSED
42D: Stimulus check org.: IRS. Nice clue.
43D: Nevis's sister island: ST KITTS. See this map. Stumper for me. Wikipedia says The Federation of ST KITTS and Nevis is the smallest sovereign nation in the Americas. Nice crossing with ISLET (42A: Speck in the ocean).
45D: Prefix with therm: ISO. Prefix meaning "equal".
46D: Froot Loops mascot: TOUCAN. Not familiar with TOUCAN Sam. Chinese don't eat cereal for breakfast.
47D: Made in the U.S.: AMER. Called to mind this amazing Star Tribune article. What's your best flea market/garage sale find?
50D: Lion tamer's prop: HOOP
51D: Rootless plant: ALGA
52D: Move a muscle: STIR. Alliteration.
5D: Like mortals?: MERE. Us MERE mortals. I got the answer from Across fills.
56D: Falklands War gun: BREN. An acronym of Brno, the Czech city of design, and Enfield, site of the British rifle factory. I first wrote down STEN, which is derived from the weapon's chief designer Major Reginald Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and the same Enfield factory.
59D: "Mad About You" cousin: IRA. Easy guess. I don't remember this character at all. Did watch several episode of "Mad About You".
60D: "Hope __ good breakfast": Bacon: IS A. Francis Bacon's full quote is "Hope IS A good breakfast but a bad supper". I like the breakfast & Bacon connection.
Answer grid.
C.C.
