Theme: Medieval Times - Part of a common phrase is punnily substituted by a word of Medieval relevance.
17A. Medieval commuter between Dover and Calais?: CHANNEL SERF. Channel Surf. Medieval commuter = Serf.
22A. Medieval castle owner's view?: BARON LANDSCAPE. Barren Landscape. Medieval castle owner = Baron.
34A. Manages medieval real estate holdings?: MINDS ONE'S MANORS. Minds One's Manners. Medieval real estate = Manors.
46A. Medieval lord's efforts?: FEUDAL ATTEMPTS. Futile Attempts. Medieval lord's = Feudal.
53. Weapons for medieval warriors?: KNIGHT CLUBS. Night Clubs. Medieval warrior = Knight.
Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 10. Low due to the heavy themage (65 theme squares).
How is your solving experience today? I felt awfully inadequate. Peeked at my cheat sheet very early on. Puns are often difficult for me to grasp.
Lots of tricky clues today. I fell into every possible trap.
Across:
1. Like litigants: SUING. Adjective. "Litigants" would be SUERS.
6. Campaign unpleasantry: SMEAR
11. Onetime lottery org.: SSS. Military draft.
14. Block house: IGLOO. Ice block.
15. Jack of "The Great Dictator": OAKIE. Gosh, I can never remember his name.
16. Make a scene?: ACT. Nailed it.
19. Revolutionary leader: MAO (Ze-Dong). Culture Revolution (1966-1976) that prosecuted Chinese intellectuals. I penned in CHE (Guevara) first.
20. 1994 co-Nobelist with Rabin and Arafat: PERES (Shimon). Gimme.
21. Honeybunch: DOLL
27. Hogwash: BALONEY
28. Geezer: COOT. So is codger.
29. Hope contributed to it for 50 yrs.: USO. Bob Hope was famous for his work with USO. Great golfer too.
30. Settled, as plans: FIRMED UP
39. 1950s Edward R. Murrow news show: SEE IT NOW. I only remember the show ends with NOW. It's been some time since I watched "Good Night, and Good Luck"
40. "Thugz Mansion" rapper: NAS. Just learned that his given name is Nasir.
41. Mover or shaker: DOER. Nice clue.
42. Threaten to attack: ASSAULT. "Threaten"? I thought assault means "attack" itself.
50. Easter bloom: LILY
51. Barbershop device: STROP
52. 007, for one: Abbr.: AGT. The "Abbr." hint should prevent you from considering SPY.
59. Flop preceder: KER. Put down EAR.
60. Heart line: AORTA
61. Country known for its distance runners: KENYA. I wonder where their speed and endurance come from.
62. Big period: ERA
63. Bikini blast: N-TEST
Down:
1. [error left as is]: SIC. The bracket indicates the mistake is quoted verbatim.
2. You might close your eyes when you say it: UGH. Oh, I never close my eyes when I say "Ugh".
3. Dockworkers' org.: ILA (International Longshoremen's Association)
4. Amateur: NON-PRO
5. Been happening: GONE ON
6. One way to be responsible: SOLELY. Solely responsible. Excellent clue.
7. Tuscan marble city: MASSA (MAHS-sah). Nope. Here is a DF marble fountain in Massa.
9. Inflation cause?: AIR. Nailed it also.
10. Whistle blower: REF. Simple & tricky clue.
11. Island group near Fiji: SAMOA. OK, Samoa is in the northeast of Fiji. Stumped me.
12. Sell at an inflated price: SCALP. It's legal in Minnesota.
13. It's a wrap: STOLE. Last time SAREE was clued this way.
18. Seaside flier: ERNE
21. 747 competitor: DC-TEN. No idea. What does DC stand for, Dennis?
22. Count in jazz: BASIE. Count Basie.
23. Single-handedly: ALONE
24. CBS military drama: NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service). Are you a fan?
26. "Brave New World" drug: SOMA. Unknown to me.
27. Saddens, with "out": BUMS
30. "A __ Good Men": FEW. "You can't handle the truth!".
31. Coffee mate?: DONUT. Mine was CREAM, despite the question mark warning.
32. Continent-dividing range: URALS.
33. Hissed "Over here!": PSST
35. Bad Boy Records founder, as he's now known: DIDDY. A rare gimme for me. P. Diddy, J-Lo's ex-flame.
36. Greek portico: STOA
37. First-year law student: ONE-L. L stands for "law". Also the book title of Scott Turow's biography. Very intense.
42. Besides: AT THAT. Thought of Melissa Bee. Her blog name is "Bee Sides".
43. Rockefeller Center muralist: SERT (José María). Spanish muralist. I forgot again.
44. Preschoolers' protection: SMOCKS. Oh, I don't associate smocks with preschoolers.
45. Task-oriented program: APPLET. Often abbreviated as APP.
46. Cereal bit: FLAKE
47. Peak near the Jungfrau: EIGER. Swiss Alpine peak. Jungfrau is German for "young woman'/"virgin". Jung = young.
48. Prefix with conservative: ULTRA
49. Some USAF NCOs: T. SGTS (Technical Sergeants). New to me also.
53. The Sunflower St.: KAN. Did not know sunflower is Kansas' state flower.
54. "As if!": NOT
55. Pique condition?: IRE. "Piqued" would have lost the wordplay on "peak condition".
56. Nice one?: UNE. French for "one". Nice refers to French city Nice.
58. Gullible one: SAP
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. Medieval commuter between Dover and Calais?: CHANNEL SERF. Channel Surf. Medieval commuter = Serf.
22A. Medieval castle owner's view?: BARON LANDSCAPE. Barren Landscape. Medieval castle owner = Baron.
34A. Manages medieval real estate holdings?: MINDS ONE'S MANORS. Minds One's Manners. Medieval real estate = Manors.
46A. Medieval lord's efforts?: FEUDAL ATTEMPTS. Futile Attempts. Medieval lord's = Feudal.
53. Weapons for medieval warriors?: KNIGHT CLUBS. Night Clubs. Medieval warrior = Knight.
Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 10. Low due to the heavy themage (65 theme squares).
How is your solving experience today? I felt awfully inadequate. Peeked at my cheat sheet very early on. Puns are often difficult for me to grasp.
Lots of tricky clues today. I fell into every possible trap.
Across:
1. Like litigants: SUING. Adjective. "Litigants" would be SUERS.
6. Campaign unpleasantry: SMEAR
11. Onetime lottery org.: SSS. Military draft.
14. Block house: IGLOO. Ice block.
15. Jack of "The Great Dictator": OAKIE. Gosh, I can never remember his name.
16. Make a scene?: ACT. Nailed it.
19. Revolutionary leader: MAO (Ze-Dong). Culture Revolution (1966-1976) that prosecuted Chinese intellectuals. I penned in CHE (Guevara) first.
20. 1994 co-Nobelist with Rabin and Arafat: PERES (Shimon). Gimme.
21. Honeybunch: DOLL
27. Hogwash: BALONEY
28. Geezer: COOT. So is codger.
29. Hope contributed to it for 50 yrs.: USO. Bob Hope was famous for his work with USO. Great golfer too.
30. Settled, as plans: FIRMED UP
39. 1950s Edward R. Murrow news show: SEE IT NOW. I only remember the show ends with NOW. It's been some time since I watched "Good Night, and Good Luck"
40. "Thugz Mansion" rapper: NAS. Just learned that his given name is Nasir.
41. Mover or shaker: DOER. Nice clue.
42. Threaten to attack: ASSAULT. "Threaten"? I thought assault means "attack" itself.
50. Easter bloom: LILY
51. Barbershop device: STROP
52. 007, for one: Abbr.: AGT. The "Abbr." hint should prevent you from considering SPY.
59. Flop preceder: KER. Put down EAR.
60. Heart line: AORTA
61. Country known for its distance runners: KENYA. I wonder where their speed and endurance come from.
62. Big period: ERA
63. Bikini blast: N-TEST
Down:
1. [error left as is]: SIC. The bracket indicates the mistake is quoted verbatim.
2. You might close your eyes when you say it: UGH. Oh, I never close my eyes when I say "Ugh".
3. Dockworkers' org.: ILA (International Longshoremen's Association)
4. Amateur: NON-PRO
5. Been happening: GONE ON
6. One way to be responsible: SOLELY. Solely responsible. Excellent clue.
7. Tuscan marble city: MASSA (MAHS-sah). Nope. Here is a DF marble fountain in Massa.
9. Inflation cause?: AIR. Nailed it also.
10. Whistle blower: REF. Simple & tricky clue.
11. Island group near Fiji: SAMOA. OK, Samoa is in the northeast of Fiji. Stumped me.
12. Sell at an inflated price: SCALP. It's legal in Minnesota.
13. It's a wrap: STOLE. Last time SAREE was clued this way.
18. Seaside flier: ERNE
21. 747 competitor: DC-TEN. No idea. What does DC stand for, Dennis?
22. Count in jazz: BASIE. Count Basie.
23. Single-handedly: ALONE
24. CBS military drama: NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service). Are you a fan?
26. "Brave New World" drug: SOMA. Unknown to me.
27. Saddens, with "out": BUMS
30. "A __ Good Men": FEW. "You can't handle the truth!".
31. Coffee mate?: DONUT. Mine was CREAM, despite the question mark warning.
32. Continent-dividing range: URALS.
33. Hissed "Over here!": PSST
35. Bad Boy Records founder, as he's now known: DIDDY. A rare gimme for me. P. Diddy, J-Lo's ex-flame.
36. Greek portico: STOA
37. First-year law student: ONE-L. L stands for "law". Also the book title of Scott Turow's biography. Very intense.
42. Besides: AT THAT. Thought of Melissa Bee. Her blog name is "Bee Sides".
43. Rockefeller Center muralist: SERT (José María). Spanish muralist. I forgot again.
44. Preschoolers' protection: SMOCKS. Oh, I don't associate smocks with preschoolers.
45. Task-oriented program: APPLET. Often abbreviated as APP.
46. Cereal bit: FLAKE
47. Peak near the Jungfrau: EIGER. Swiss Alpine peak. Jungfrau is German for "young woman'/"virgin". Jung = young.
48. Prefix with conservative: ULTRA
49. Some USAF NCOs: T. SGTS (Technical Sergeants). New to me also.
53. The Sunflower St.: KAN. Did not know sunflower is Kansas' state flower.
54. "As if!": NOT
55. Pique condition?: IRE. "Piqued" would have lost the wordplay on "peak condition".
56. Nice one?: UNE. French for "one". Nice refers to French city Nice.
58. Gullible one: SAP
Answer grid.
C.C.
