Theme: V Formation - W + long vowel sounds are changed into V + same long vowel sounds in the first word of a familiar phrases/name.
18A. Seat for eating scaloppine?: VEAL CHAIR. Wheelchair. Scaloppine refer to thinly sliced pieces of meat, especially veal, dredged in flour, sautéed, and served in a sauce. Unknown to me. I thought it's Italian for scallop. Scallop also means "thin boneless slice of meat" in cookery.
23A. Tool for a dueling snake?: VIPER BLADE. Wiper blade. I gather blade here means teeth?
36A. What Tarzan became after years of swinging?: VINE CONNOISSEUR. Wine connoisseur. Probably Dan's seed entry.
49A. Egotistical describer of laws of motion?: VAIN NEWTON. Wayne Newton. Newton's law of motion.
55A. Paleontologist's ski resort discoveries?: VAIL BONES. Whalebone. Vail is a Colorado skiing resort (Aspen is another one).
Five V theme answers. Roman numeral for five is V. Maybe just a coincidence.
Sometime last month I mentioned that I hoped to finish a Dan Naddor puzzle (sans cheating) before German pulls out of Afghanistan. Well, I did. Aced this puzzle today. Figured out the gimmick rather quickly and simply filled in blank after blank.
Today's Dan Naddor Index (total non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 10. Quite low in his standard.
Across:
1. Seawater component, to a chemist: NACL. Salt.
5. Egypt's Mubarak: HOSNI. Got the answer from crossings. I only know Mubarak as Mubarak. He's been the Egyptian president since Sadat's assassination in 1981.
10. Adriatic Sea country: Abbr.: ALB (Albania)
13. "In other words ...": I MEAN
15. Decide to participate: OPT IN
17. Oktoberfest dance: POLKA. Timely fill, esp for Dennis, who has been organizing the Oktoberfest in his area. Can you picture him dancing polka?
20. Speaker's stand: LECTERN
22. Blue Cross competitor: AETNA. And INS (29. 22-Acr. business). A simple cross-reference.
26. Home of the witch who melted: WEST. The Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz". And EAST (65A. Home of the witch buried under a fallen house). The Wicked Witch of the East. They are sisters. Glinda is the Good Witch of the North.
27. Earth tones: OCHRES
28. Newspaper ad meas.: SQ IN (Square Inch)
30. Sainted fifth-century pope: LEO I
31. Playfully: IN FUN
33. Org. once headed by Heston: NRA. Gimme, right? I've mentioned this fact a few times before.
40. Half and half: ONE. Simple fun clue.
41. Madison's neat roomie: UNGER. From "The Odd Couple".
42. Bottom-line negative: LOSS
43. Sykora of the NHL: PETR. Again, got his name from crosses. I don't follow hockey. He's the right winger for our Minnesota Wild. I presume Petr is Czechoslovakian for Peter?
44. "The Tempest" king: ALONSO
52. Month for fools?: APRIL. April Fools.
54. Uranium-238, e.g.: ISOTOPE. Easy guess. I know nothing about Uranium-238.
57. "Au contraire!": NOT SO. And NO SIR (51D. Boot camp negative).
60. Nest egg item, briefly: IRA. Hey, Dow is over 10,000 now.
61. Cheri of "SNL": OTERI
62. Firestone Country Club city: AKRON. The Bridgestone Invitational is played here.
63. Arch site: Abbr.: STL (St-Louis). The Gateway Arch was designed by our crossword pal Eero Saarinen.
64. Passover meal: SEDER. Funny "20 Things to Do with Matzah".
Down:
2. Latin 101 verb: AMO. AMO, amas, amat.
3. Texting device: CELL PHONE
4. View from Cleveland: LAKE ERIE
5. Shack: HOVEL
6. "The Barber of Seville," e.g.: OPERA. Rossini's most famous opera.
7. Represents: STANDS FOR
9. Peruvian ancestor: INCA. The Inca Empire was centered in Peru.
12. Sacha Baron Cohen title character: BORAT. Quite raunchy.
14. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE
21. Atlanta-based sta.: TBS. TNT, CNN, they are all based in Atlanta.
23. Saab competitor: VOLVO. Latin for "I roll".
24. Trap during a winter storm, maybe: ICE IN. This has become a gimme.
25. Prefix with distant: EQUI
31. Deep-rooted: INGRAINED. Like bad habits.
33. Aquarium fish with an iridescent stripe: NEON TETRA. How is it different from common tetra?
34. Rene of "Ransom": RUSSO. And Mel Gibson. Not a bad movie.
35. Burning desire?: ARSON. Nailed it immediately.
37. Stick in a parlor: CUE. The pool stick.
38. Airing in prime time, say: ON TV
39. Hardly a speed demon: SLOWPOKE. I am one.
45. Hotelier Helmsley: LEONA. "The Queen of Mean".
46. Lincoln's Confederate counterpart: DAVIS. Jefferson Davis, the CSA president.
47. Separately: APART
50. Grenoble's river: ISERE (ee-ZAIR). It flows to the Rhone.
53. Debt-laden corp. takeovers: LBOS (Leveraged Buyouts)
56. Suffix with Capri: OTE. Capriote, native of Capri. Cypriote is native of Cyprus. Learned from doing Xword.
58. Mariner's "Help!": SOS. Mayday too.
59. Que. neighbor: ONT (Ontario). Where Toronto is.
Answer grid.
C.C. the Victorious Mandarin Loon
18A. Seat for eating scaloppine?: VEAL CHAIR. Wheelchair. Scaloppine refer to thinly sliced pieces of meat, especially veal, dredged in flour, sautéed, and served in a sauce. Unknown to me. I thought it's Italian for scallop. Scallop also means "thin boneless slice of meat" in cookery.
23A. Tool for a dueling snake?: VIPER BLADE. Wiper blade. I gather blade here means teeth?
36A. What Tarzan became after years of swinging?: VINE CONNOISSEUR. Wine connoisseur. Probably Dan's seed entry.
49A. Egotistical describer of laws of motion?: VAIN NEWTON. Wayne Newton. Newton's law of motion.
55A. Paleontologist's ski resort discoveries?: VAIL BONES. Whalebone. Vail is a Colorado skiing resort (Aspen is another one).
Five V theme answers. Roman numeral for five is V. Maybe just a coincidence.
Sometime last month I mentioned that I hoped to finish a Dan Naddor puzzle (sans cheating) before German pulls out of Afghanistan. Well, I did. Aced this puzzle today. Figured out the gimmick rather quickly and simply filled in blank after blank.
Today's Dan Naddor Index (total non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 10. Quite low in his standard.
Across:
1. Seawater component, to a chemist: NACL. Salt.
5. Egypt's Mubarak: HOSNI. Got the answer from crossings. I only know Mubarak as Mubarak. He's been the Egyptian president since Sadat's assassination in 1981.
10. Adriatic Sea country: Abbr.: ALB (Albania)
13. "In other words ...": I MEAN
15. Decide to participate: OPT IN
17. Oktoberfest dance: POLKA. Timely fill, esp for Dennis, who has been organizing the Oktoberfest in his area. Can you picture him dancing polka?
20. Speaker's stand: LECTERN
22. Blue Cross competitor: AETNA. And INS (29. 22-Acr. business). A simple cross-reference.
26. Home of the witch who melted: WEST. The Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz". And EAST (65A. Home of the witch buried under a fallen house). The Wicked Witch of the East. They are sisters. Glinda is the Good Witch of the North.
27. Earth tones: OCHRES
28. Newspaper ad meas.: SQ IN (Square Inch)
30. Sainted fifth-century pope: LEO I
31. Playfully: IN FUN
33. Org. once headed by Heston: NRA. Gimme, right? I've mentioned this fact a few times before.
40. Half and half: ONE. Simple fun clue.
41. Madison's neat roomie: UNGER. From "The Odd Couple".
42. Bottom-line negative: LOSS
43. Sykora of the NHL: PETR. Again, got his name from crosses. I don't follow hockey. He's the right winger for our Minnesota Wild. I presume Petr is Czechoslovakian for Peter?
44. "The Tempest" king: ALONSO
52. Month for fools?: APRIL. April Fools.
54. Uranium-238, e.g.: ISOTOPE. Easy guess. I know nothing about Uranium-238.
57. "Au contraire!": NOT SO. And NO SIR (51D. Boot camp negative).
60. Nest egg item, briefly: IRA. Hey, Dow is over 10,000 now.
61. Cheri of "SNL": OTERI
62. Firestone Country Club city: AKRON. The Bridgestone Invitational is played here.
63. Arch site: Abbr.: STL (St-Louis). The Gateway Arch was designed by our crossword pal Eero Saarinen.
64. Passover meal: SEDER. Funny "20 Things to Do with Matzah".
Down:
2. Latin 101 verb: AMO. AMO, amas, amat.
3. Texting device: CELL PHONE
4. View from Cleveland: LAKE ERIE
5. Shack: HOVEL
6. "The Barber of Seville," e.g.: OPERA. Rossini's most famous opera.
7. Represents: STANDS FOR
9. Peruvian ancestor: INCA. The Inca Empire was centered in Peru.
12. Sacha Baron Cohen title character: BORAT. Quite raunchy.
14. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE
21. Atlanta-based sta.: TBS. TNT, CNN, they are all based in Atlanta.
23. Saab competitor: VOLVO. Latin for "I roll".
24. Trap during a winter storm, maybe: ICE IN. This has become a gimme.
25. Prefix with distant: EQUI
31. Deep-rooted: INGRAINED. Like bad habits.
33. Aquarium fish with an iridescent stripe: NEON TETRA. How is it different from common tetra?
34. Rene of "Ransom": RUSSO. And Mel Gibson. Not a bad movie.
35. Burning desire?: ARSON. Nailed it immediately.
37. Stick in a parlor: CUE. The pool stick.
38. Airing in prime time, say: ON TV
39. Hardly a speed demon: SLOWPOKE. I am one.
45. Hotelier Helmsley: LEONA. "The Queen of Mean".
46. Lincoln's Confederate counterpart: DAVIS. Jefferson Davis, the CSA president.
47. Separately: APART
50. Grenoble's river: ISERE (ee-ZAIR). It flows to the Rhone.
53. Debt-laden corp. takeovers: LBOS (Leveraged Buyouts)
56. Suffix with Capri: OTE. Capriote, native of Capri. Cypriote is native of Cyprus. Learned from doing Xword.
58. Mariner's "Help!": SOS. Mayday too.
59. Que. neighbor: ONT (Ontario). Where Toronto is.
Answer grid.
C.C. the Victorious Mandarin Loon
