Theme: Fools Rush In - Common phrases that end with a synonym of "fool".
20A. Weightlifting event: CLEAN AND JERK
30A. Golf course pest: CANADIAN GOOSE
39A. Spinning toy manipulated with sticks: CHINESE YO-YO
49A. Honest info: STRAIGHT DOPE
So many synonyms for fool: idiot, blockhead, imbecile, jackass, nitwit, etc. I like dummy. Use it almost every day.
I read Jack McInturff's original theme proposal after I was done with the puzzle, and was so glad PROJECT CREEP did not make the cut. A complete unknown phrase to me.
Used Wite-out several times today: AIRPORT instead of ISRAELI for 23A. Ben-Gurion, e.g., and OCEAN instead of BRINY for 28A. Sea. Did you also fall for the traps or was I but a fool?
Across:
1. Choir member: TENOR
6. Quite: SUCH. Mine was MUCH.
15. Faulkner's "As __ Dying": I LAY
16. Pearl Harbor site: OAHU. Honolulu is on southeast coast of Oahu.
18. Common nickname for a doter: NANA. I sure miss mine.
19. 66 and others: Abbr.: RTES. Route 66.
26. "It's __ business": NO ONE'S
27. Kind of biological network: NEURAL. Neural network.
32. Corp. money manager: CFO. Now we know the constructor was a CFO before.
35. Fighting: AT IT. Hey, it's back! TER next.
37. Hang onto: HOLD
43. River in Lyons: SAONE (Sohn). See this map. It rises in northeast France and flows to the Rhone River at Lyons.
44. Belfast's province: ULSTER. The long, loose ulster overcoat is named after this county.
45. Early Ford success: MODEL A. And EDSEL (48D. Ill-fated Ford). How is Model A different from Model T, Dennis?
48. Actors, often: EMOTERS.
52. Road sign silhouette: DEER. Deer ticks cause Lyme disease.
53. Debt indicators: IOUS. Wrote down LOSS first. Dennis's Bozone Layer (The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating) definitely fogged my brain.
54. Ticked off: IRKED
59. Dresden's river: ELBE (EL-buh). The North Sea feeder.
60. Landlocked African country: NIGER. Ah, Bush's infamous "Sixteen Word" uranium country.
61. A handful of: SOME
62. Navy commando: SEAL. Our ex-governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura was a Navy Seal.
63. Gothic house feature: GABLE. The triangular section at the end of a pitched roof.
Down:
1. La Brea goo: TAR. Brea is just Spanish for "tar".
2. Seventh Greek letter: ETA
3. Christmas quaff: NOG. Hmm, nutmeg.
4. 200 milligrams, to a jeweler: ONE CARAT. Crockett just mentioned last time that carat indicates weight, karat purity.
5. Original primer used to paint the Golden Gate Bridge: RED LEAD. Unknown to me.
6. Source of the Law: SINAI. Does the Law here refer to the Ten Commandments God gave Moses?
7. __ Bator, Mongolia: ULAN. Iterally "red" in Mongolian.
8. Where Jesus turned water to wine: CANA. No idea. Illiterate on Bible.
9. Cape Cod site of a JFK museum: HYANNIS. Hyannis Port. The Kennedy Compound is there.
10. How some jump?: FOR JOY. Got the answer from crosses. Nice clue.
11. Corroded: EATEN
12. Sex researcher Hite: SHERE
13. Mammoth features: TUSKS. Usually, but not always in pairs.
21. Contemporary of Dizzy and Billie: ELLA
22. Finished: DONE. Or OVER.
23. Early Peruvians: INCAS
24. Senate posts: SEATS. Was thinking of the tweet posts from some of the senators.
25. Confrontation: RUN-IN
28. Carried: BORNE. Did not come to me immediately.
29. Classroom drilling: ROTE
20A. Weightlifting event: CLEAN AND JERK
30A. Golf course pest: CANADIAN GOOSE
39A. Spinning toy manipulated with sticks: CHINESE YO-YO
49A. Honest info: STRAIGHT DOPE
So many synonyms for fool: idiot, blockhead, imbecile, jackass, nitwit, etc. I like dummy. Use it almost every day.
I read Jack McInturff's original theme proposal after I was done with the puzzle, and was so glad PROJECT CREEP did not make the cut. A complete unknown phrase to me.
Used Wite-out several times today: AIRPORT instead of ISRAELI for 23A. Ben-Gurion, e.g., and OCEAN instead of BRINY for 28A. Sea. Did you also fall for the traps or was I but a fool?
Across:
1. Choir member: TENOR
6. Quite: SUCH. Mine was MUCH.
15. Faulkner's "As __ Dying": I LAY
16. Pearl Harbor site: OAHU. Honolulu is on southeast coast of Oahu.
18. Common nickname for a doter: NANA. I sure miss mine.
19. 66 and others: Abbr.: RTES. Route 66.
26. "It's __ business": NO ONE'S
27. Kind of biological network: NEURAL. Neural network.
32. Corp. money manager: CFO. Now we know the constructor was a CFO before.
35. Fighting: AT IT. Hey, it's back! TER next.
37. Hang onto: HOLD
43. River in Lyons: SAONE (Sohn). See this map. It rises in northeast France and flows to the Rhone River at Lyons.
44. Belfast's province: ULSTER. The long, loose ulster overcoat is named after this county.
45. Early Ford success: MODEL A. And EDSEL (48D. Ill-fated Ford). How is Model A different from Model T, Dennis?
48. Actors, often: EMOTERS.
52. Road sign silhouette: DEER. Deer ticks cause Lyme disease.
53. Debt indicators: IOUS. Wrote down LOSS first. Dennis's Bozone Layer (The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating) definitely fogged my brain.
54. Ticked off: IRKED
59. Dresden's river: ELBE (EL-buh). The North Sea feeder.
60. Landlocked African country: NIGER. Ah, Bush's infamous "Sixteen Word" uranium country.
61. A handful of: SOME
62. Navy commando: SEAL. Our ex-governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura was a Navy Seal.
63. Gothic house feature: GABLE. The triangular section at the end of a pitched roof.
Down:
1. La Brea goo: TAR. Brea is just Spanish for "tar".
2. Seventh Greek letter: ETA
3. Christmas quaff: NOG. Hmm, nutmeg.
4. 200 milligrams, to a jeweler: ONE CARAT. Crockett just mentioned last time that carat indicates weight, karat purity.
5. Original primer used to paint the Golden Gate Bridge: RED LEAD. Unknown to me.
6. Source of the Law: SINAI. Does the Law here refer to the Ten Commandments God gave Moses?
7. __ Bator, Mongolia: ULAN. Iterally "red" in Mongolian.
8. Where Jesus turned water to wine: CANA. No idea. Illiterate on Bible.
9. Cape Cod site of a JFK museum: HYANNIS. Hyannis Port. The Kennedy Compound is there.
10. How some jump?: FOR JOY. Got the answer from crosses. Nice clue.
11. Corroded: EATEN
12. Sex researcher Hite: SHERE
13. Mammoth features: TUSKS. Usually, but not always in pairs.
21. Contemporary of Dizzy and Billie: ELLA
22. Finished: DONE. Or OVER.
23. Early Peruvians: INCAS
24. Senate posts: SEATS. Was thinking of the tweet posts from some of the senators.
25. Confrontation: RUN-IN
28. Carried: BORNE. Did not come to me immediately.
29. Classroom drilling: ROTE
31. Come out ahead: GAIN
32. British actor Robert, the original Colonel Pickering in "My Fair Lady": COOTE. Stranger to me. Is Coote pronounced the same as coot?
33. Candidate's handout: FLYER. Or flier.
37. Common crowd reaction in monster films: HYSTERIA. No monster film for me.
39. Colombian city: CALI. The Colombian drug cartel city.
40. Some heroes: HOAGIES. Hero sandwich.
41. Sport for 300-pounders: SUMO
42. Like lovers skipping church?: ELOPING. Valid clue without the question mark too.
43. Pharmaceutical giant that developed Celebrex: SEARLE. Pfizer wouldn't fit. I've never heard of Searle before.
45. Windows predecessor: MS-DOS
46. Alamogordo's county: OTERO. In New Mexico county. Spanish for "height". Again, I strung the answer together from Across.
47. Nightmare, e.g.: DREAM
50. Putter's target: HOLE. Golf.
51. Very big wind: TUBA. Wind instrument. Good clue too.
55. Soviet spy org.: KGB. The East German secret police is STASI.
56. Snakelike fish: EEL. Yep, snakelike. Delicious!
57. Hip-hop Dr.: DRE. I wonder why he named himself "Dr. Dre". Such a Xword friendly name.
Answer grid.
C.C.
32. British actor Robert, the original Colonel Pickering in "My Fair Lady": COOTE. Stranger to me. Is Coote pronounced the same as coot?
33. Candidate's handout: FLYER. Or flier.
37. Common crowd reaction in monster films: HYSTERIA. No monster film for me.
39. Colombian city: CALI. The Colombian drug cartel city.
40. Some heroes: HOAGIES. Hero sandwich.
41. Sport for 300-pounders: SUMO
42. Like lovers skipping church?: ELOPING. Valid clue without the question mark too.
43. Pharmaceutical giant that developed Celebrex: SEARLE. Pfizer wouldn't fit. I've never heard of Searle before.
45. Windows predecessor: MS-DOS
46. Alamogordo's county: OTERO. In New Mexico county. Spanish for "height". Again, I strung the answer together from Across.
47. Nightmare, e.g.: DREAM
50. Putter's target: HOLE. Golf.
51. Very big wind: TUBA. Wind instrument. Good clue too.
55. Soviet spy org.: KGB. The East German secret police is STASI.
56. Snakelike fish: EEL. Yep, snakelike. Delicious!
57. Hip-hop Dr.: DRE. I wonder why he named himself "Dr. Dre". Such a Xword friendly name.
Answer grid.
C.C.
