Theme: Slip of the Tongue - The first word of a common phrase is replaced by two identical letters which, when pronounced in plural form, sound like the word itself.
17A. Nursery rhyme dish?: PP (Pease) PORRIDGE. "Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold..."
25A. "Time is fleeting" philosophy?: CC (Seize) THE DAY. Carpe diem.
38A. Reasons?: YY (Whys) AND WHEREFORES
49A. "Good grief!"?: GG (Jeez) LOUISE.
61A. 1999 Kidman/Cruise film?: II (Eyes) WIDE SHUT. It flopped. Stanley Kubrick's last film.
And EE (ease) and TT (tease) came to my mind. What else can you think of?
Such a YY (wise) constructor, Sharon E. Petersen. Very clever theme. One of my favorite LAT puzzles so far. Quite scrabbly too, with 4 J's, 1 Z, & 1 X.
Again, I started from bottom up and figured out the gimmick rather quickly. Still needed the cheat sheet to finish the puzzle.
Across:
1. Alaska's state gem: JADE. Unknown fact to me. I just found out that our Minnesota's state gem is Lake Superior Agate. How about your state?
5. Sonora natives: PIMAS. The Arizona Indian tribe.
10. Soup du __: JOUR. Literally "day" in French.
14. Shepard in space: ALAN. Alan Shepard, the first American in space.
15. Designer Simpson: ADELE. Finally I remember this designer's name. She died in 1995.
19. Island garlands: LEIS
21. Blond Wells race: ELOI. From "The Time Machine".
22. Pained reaction: WINCE
23. Toaster Swirlz brand: EGGO. Owned by Kellogg.
28. Tumblers and tongs, e.g.: BARWARE
35. One of a cup's 48: Abbr.: TSP. A cup has 16 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons. 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.
42. Cio-Cio-__: Madama Butterfly: SAN. Just Japanese suffix used as a term of respect after their names or titles. I am C.C. San.
43. Actress Skye: IONE. She was in "Say Anything ...", together with John Cusack. Nice movie.
44. Three-time pairs skating gold medalist Rodnina: IRINA. No idea. It means "peace" in Russian. Like Greek Irene. Wikipedia says this lady is the only pair skater to win 10 successive World Championships (1969–78) and three successive Olympic gold medal.
45. Gag: JOKE
47. Reaganomics principle: TAX CUTS
53. "Just the facts, __": MA'AM. From "Dragnet".
54. Posture-perfect: ERECT. Reminds me of Frida Kahlo, always erect posture. Back pain.
55. Brest milk: LAIT. French for "milk". Brest is a French seaport. Same pronunciation as breast. Neat clue.
57. Garb for dreamers, briefly: PJS
60. Really smell: REEK
64. Pencil puzzle: MAZE. I've never tried one.
66. Mother of Pollux: LEDA. The swan lady. Mother of Helen of Troy also.
67. Sit tight: STAY
69. Sign that something has turned?: ODOR. I did not miss the sign!
Down:
1. Wisecrack: JAPE. Learned from doing Xword.
2. Heidi's home: ALPS
3. Well-groomed guy: DAPPER DAN. John Gotti was nicknamed "Dapper Don" because of his taste for expensive clothes/cars.
4. "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" composer Brian: ENO. The Windows 95 starting sound is by him too.
5. Game room: PARLOR
6. Prefix with -syncratic: IDIO. Meaning "peculiar".
7. Military physician: MEDIC
8. African country on the Med. Sea: ALG. Algeria I suppose.
10. "'Tis but thy name that is my enemy" speaker: JULIET. From "Romeo and Juliet".
11. Interminably: ON END. How is it different from NO END?
12. Erie Canal city: UTICA
13. Grier of the Fearsome Foursome: ROSEY. His face looks familiar. Must have seen him somewhere before. LA Rams' Fearsome Foursome.
18. Think highly of: REGARD
24. Singer Stefani: GWEN. Very toned. Her band is "No Doubt".
26. Bordeaux wine: CLARET. Red wine.
27. Drink excessively: TOPE. And the person who drinks excessively is a TOPER.
29. Romance novelist Seton: ANYA. No idea. See this picture. Her real name is simply Ann Seton.
30. Bounces back: ECHOES
35. Came out on top: TRIUMPHED. Nailed it.
36. On its way: SENT. Had trouble obtaining the answer.
37. Awareness-raising TV spots, for short: PSAS (Public Service Announcements)
39. Web site that users can edit: WIKI. "Fast" in Hawaii. Wikipedia = Wiki + (Encyclo)pedia.
40. Focus intently (on): FIXATE
41. Large ocean predator: ORCA. With the last A in place, I wrote down SKUA, the predatory sea bird.
45. Silks wearer: JOCKEY. Silks refer to jockey's jacket, correct?
46. Fast asleep: OUT
49. Verminophobe's fear: GERMS. Oh, I thought it's just fear of vermin. Vermis is Latin for "worms". Unknown to me.
51. TV host Gibbons: LEEZA
52. Legendary Broncos quarterback: ELWAY (John). Was he better than Brett Favre?
58. Japanese martial art: JUDO. Literally, "gentle way".
61. Savings vehicle for later yrs.: IRA
62. Cyclades island: IOS. Pronounced as EE-ohs? Don't confuse it with COS, another Greek island where Romaine lettuce was first introduced.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. Nursery rhyme dish?: PP (Pease) PORRIDGE. "Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold..."
25A. "Time is fleeting" philosophy?: CC (Seize) THE DAY. Carpe diem.
38A. Reasons?: YY (Whys) AND WHEREFORES
49A. "Good grief!"?: GG (Jeez) LOUISE.
61A. 1999 Kidman/Cruise film?: II (Eyes) WIDE SHUT. It flopped. Stanley Kubrick's last film.
And EE (ease) and TT (tease) came to my mind. What else can you think of?
Such a YY (wise) constructor, Sharon E. Petersen. Very clever theme. One of my favorite LAT puzzles so far. Quite scrabbly too, with 4 J's, 1 Z, & 1 X.
Again, I started from bottom up and figured out the gimmick rather quickly. Still needed the cheat sheet to finish the puzzle.
Across:
1. Alaska's state gem: JADE. Unknown fact to me. I just found out that our Minnesota's state gem is Lake Superior Agate. How about your state?
5. Sonora natives: PIMAS. The Arizona Indian tribe.
10. Soup du __: JOUR. Literally "day" in French.
14. Shepard in space: ALAN. Alan Shepard, the first American in space.
15. Designer Simpson: ADELE. Finally I remember this designer's name. She died in 1995.
19. Island garlands: LEIS
21. Blond Wells race: ELOI. From "The Time Machine".
22. Pained reaction: WINCE
23. Toaster Swirlz brand: EGGO. Owned by Kellogg.
28. Tumblers and tongs, e.g.: BARWARE
35. One of a cup's 48: Abbr.: TSP. A cup has 16 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons. 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.
42. Cio-Cio-__: Madama Butterfly: SAN. Just Japanese suffix used as a term of respect after their names or titles. I am C.C. San.
43. Actress Skye: IONE. She was in "Say Anything ...", together with John Cusack. Nice movie.
44. Three-time pairs skating gold medalist Rodnina: IRINA. No idea. It means "peace" in Russian. Like Greek Irene. Wikipedia says this lady is the only pair skater to win 10 successive World Championships (1969–78) and three successive Olympic gold medal.
45. Gag: JOKE
47. Reaganomics principle: TAX CUTS
53. "Just the facts, __": MA'AM. From "Dragnet".
54. Posture-perfect: ERECT. Reminds me of Frida Kahlo, always erect posture. Back pain.
55. Brest milk: LAIT. French for "milk". Brest is a French seaport. Same pronunciation as breast. Neat clue.
57. Garb for dreamers, briefly: PJS
60. Really smell: REEK
64. Pencil puzzle: MAZE. I've never tried one.
66. Mother of Pollux: LEDA. The swan lady. Mother of Helen of Troy also.
67. Sit tight: STAY
69. Sign that something has turned?: ODOR. I did not miss the sign!
Down:
1. Wisecrack: JAPE. Learned from doing Xword.
2. Heidi's home: ALPS
3. Well-groomed guy: DAPPER DAN. John Gotti was nicknamed "Dapper Don" because of his taste for expensive clothes/cars.
4. "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" composer Brian: ENO. The Windows 95 starting sound is by him too.
5. Game room: PARLOR
6. Prefix with -syncratic: IDIO. Meaning "peculiar".
7. Military physician: MEDIC
8. African country on the Med. Sea: ALG. Algeria I suppose.
10. "'Tis but thy name that is my enemy" speaker: JULIET. From "Romeo and Juliet".
11. Interminably: ON END. How is it different from NO END?
12. Erie Canal city: UTICA
13. Grier of the Fearsome Foursome: ROSEY. His face looks familiar. Must have seen him somewhere before. LA Rams' Fearsome Foursome.
18. Think highly of: REGARD
24. Singer Stefani: GWEN. Very toned. Her band is "No Doubt".
26. Bordeaux wine: CLARET. Red wine.
27. Drink excessively: TOPE. And the person who drinks excessively is a TOPER.
29. Romance novelist Seton: ANYA. No idea. See this picture. Her real name is simply Ann Seton.
30. Bounces back: ECHOES
35. Came out on top: TRIUMPHED. Nailed it.
36. On its way: SENT. Had trouble obtaining the answer.
37. Awareness-raising TV spots, for short: PSAS (Public Service Announcements)
39. Web site that users can edit: WIKI. "Fast" in Hawaii. Wikipedia = Wiki + (Encyclo)pedia.
40. Focus intently (on): FIXATE
41. Large ocean predator: ORCA. With the last A in place, I wrote down SKUA, the predatory sea bird.
45. Silks wearer: JOCKEY. Silks refer to jockey's jacket, correct?
46. Fast asleep: OUT
49. Verminophobe's fear: GERMS. Oh, I thought it's just fear of vermin. Vermis is Latin for "worms". Unknown to me.
51. TV host Gibbons: LEEZA
52. Legendary Broncos quarterback: ELWAY (John). Was he better than Brett Favre?
58. Japanese martial art: JUDO. Literally, "gentle way".
61. Savings vehicle for later yrs.: IRA
62. Cyclades island: IOS. Pronounced as EE-ohs? Don't confuse it with COS, another Greek island where Romaine lettuce was first introduced.
Answer grid.
C.C.
