Theme: None
Total blocks: 31
Total words: 72
This grid is so atypical of Alan Olschwang. I don't remember his puzzles being so scrabbly: 4 Z's, 2 J's, 1 X, 1 Q and 2 V's. Only 1 letter F away from a pangram (all 26 letters are used at least once in the grid). I guess I was used to his old TMS Daily Thursday quote style.
Tough puzzle for me. Quite a few unknowns. Some struck me as a bit obscure. Take CET (10D. Belgium winter hrs.) for example. I've been to Brussels several times. Don't recall seeing CET (Central European Time) at all. GMT +1 yes, same as Paris.
Favorite fill today is ZAHARIAS (39D. Golfer Babe who was a six-time AP Female Athlete of the Year). A rare long gimme for me (golf trivia is my strong suit). Babe was the founding member of LPGA and won over 80 tournaments in her career. Definitely the best female althelete of all time, with her track & field and other sports success.
Across:
1. King overthrown by William of Orange: JAMES II. Tough start. William of Orange sounds like a Dutch king. The Dutch House of Orange.
8. Breaks out: ESCAPES
15. Conversion gadget: ADAPTOR. Adapter too.
16. Was humbled: ATE DIRT
17. Dennis the Menace's neighbors, with "the": WILSONS. I thought Dennis the Menace is a rather cute name. Surprised that Dennis hated it.
18. "Told you!": SO THERE!
19. Zen enlightenment: SATORI. Literally "awakening". Japanese Kanji character satori is the same as Chinese.
20. Certain theater, for short: REP. Stumper. REP is repertory.
21. Berkshire school: ETON. Easy guess. I did not really know the exact location of Eton.
22. Carmen, for one: MEZZO-SOPRANO. Completely out of my knowledge zone. A gimme for our Sallie, hopefully. She loves opera.
25. Bad start?: MAL. Like malfunction.
28. "__ for Evidence": Grafton novel: E IS
29. Fork in the road: VEE. Struggled with the answer also.
30. Caribbean cruise stop: ARUBA. Dutch territory.
33. Inexpensive kids' toy: PAPER DOLL. Somehow I don't connect paper doll with "toy".
38. Maker of many jets: JACUZZI. Oh, jet stream. I was thinking of jet plane. Very scrabbly answer.
40. Asmara is its capital: ERITREA. A province of Ethiopia until 1993. Last time we had ASMARA clued as "Eritrea capital".
41. One in a box: SPECTATOR. Box seat. I was picturing a present.
43. Nutritious beans: SOYAS. Soybeans.
44. "I'm so clever" sound: HEH
45. Big affairs: DOS. Big galas.
47. Classic Jag: XKE. What does XKE stand for?
48. Spinach is high in it: BETA CAROTENE. Well, I associate carrots/sweet potatoes with beta carotene, not spinach, which is high in iron.
54. U.S. dept. with a windmill on its seal: ENER (Energy)
55. Robot play: R. U. R. (Rossum's Universal Robots). The Capek play which debuted the word "robot".
56. Company with a kangaroo on its logo: QANTAS. A Q word without the U. Kazie just mentioned last time that Qantas is an acronym for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services".
60. Daydream: REVERIE
62. Decay, as pipes: RUST OUT
63. "Sleepless in Seattle" studio: TRISTAR. Unknown fact to me.
64. One who aches: YEARNER. Argyle is still bothered by last time's RE-ADDS.
65. Party leader: HOSTESS. Was thinking of political party.
66. Brisk, to Brahms: ALLEGRO. Brisk tempo.
Down:
1. 1975 thriller shot largely on Martha's Vineyard: JAWS. Have never seen the movie.
2. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA. Don't confuse it with the "Verdi slave girl" AIDA.
3. Brewer's supply: MALT
4. Derby town: EPSOM. English derby.
5. Supply: STORE
6. Create charged particles in: IONIZE
7. Org. that gets a lot of returns: IRS. Tax returns. I outsmarted myself by thinking of tennis returns.
8. Uncomplicates: EASES
9. Short stay: STOPOVER
11. Didn't deviate from, as plans: ADHERED TO
12. Michelangelo masterpiece: PIETA. See the sculpture, which depicts Virgin Mary mourning Jesus after the Crucifixion. It's housed in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.
13. Former Tennessee Titans tight end Kinney: ERRON. Nope. Total stranger to me.
14. Court figure: STENO. Judge's court. I was in the sports direction again.
20. Santa __: Sonoma County seat: ROSA. No idea. What is it famous for?
23. "Shh!": ZIP IT. QUIET would not fit.
24. Sprites of Persian mythology: PERIS (PEE-ees). A word I keep learning and keep forgetting.
25. Some mil. brass: MAJS (Majors)
26. Give __: care: A RAP
27. Fortune founder: LUCE (Henry). Founder of Time/Life as well.
31. Romania's capital: BUCHAREST. Alas, I only know the Chinese word for this capital.
32. Ancient Valley of Mexico native: AZTEC
34. Dallas Mavericks owner before Cuban: PEROT. H. Ross Perot, Jr. Son of Ross Perot. Again, I was oblivious to this fact.
35. Antelope that often has nearly upright horns: ORYX. See this picture. Nearly upright horns indeed. It's not listed in JD's Safari antelope list.
36. Pipe problem: LEAK
37. Cut with light: LASE
42. It may be fishy: ODOR. Nailed it.
46. Film follow-up: SEQUEL
48. Distance maintained between vessels: BERTH. Origin for "Give a wide berth" I presume.
49. Hot time in Chile: ENERO. Spanish for January. It's summer time in Chile. Great clue.
50. "The Hustler" author Walter: TEVIS. See the book cover. Unknown author to me. Loved the movie.
51. Who's sorry now?: RUERS. Shouldn't the clue be "Who are sorry now?"
52. Vocally twangy: NASAL
53. Between: Fr.: ENTRE. I don't like the abbreviated Fr.
57. Half a patio pair: TONG. For your grill.
58. "Violin Playing as I Teach It" author Leopold: AUER. Same pronunciation as "hour". Meaning "from the meadow" in German. I can never commit his name into my increasingly deteriorating memory.
59. Houston pro, locally: STRO. Houston Astros.
61. 66, e.g.: Abbr.: RTE. Route 66.
62. Knotted pile carpet: RYA (REE-uh). The Scandinavian rug. Why knotted?
Answer grid.
C.C.
Total blocks: 31
Total words: 72
This grid is so atypical of Alan Olschwang. I don't remember his puzzles being so scrabbly: 4 Z's, 2 J's, 1 X, 1 Q and 2 V's. Only 1 letter F away from a pangram (all 26 letters are used at least once in the grid). I guess I was used to his old TMS Daily Thursday quote style.
Tough puzzle for me. Quite a few unknowns. Some struck me as a bit obscure. Take CET (10D. Belgium winter hrs.) for example. I've been to Brussels several times. Don't recall seeing CET (Central European Time) at all. GMT +1 yes, same as Paris.
Favorite fill today is ZAHARIAS (39D. Golfer Babe who was a six-time AP Female Athlete of the Year). A rare long gimme for me (golf trivia is my strong suit). Babe was the founding member of LPGA and won over 80 tournaments in her career. Definitely the best female althelete of all time, with her track & field and other sports success.
Across:
1. King overthrown by William of Orange: JAMES II. Tough start. William of Orange sounds like a Dutch king. The Dutch House of Orange.
8. Breaks out: ESCAPES
15. Conversion gadget: ADAPTOR. Adapter too.
16. Was humbled: ATE DIRT
17. Dennis the Menace's neighbors, with "the": WILSONS. I thought Dennis the Menace is a rather cute name. Surprised that Dennis hated it.
18. "Told you!": SO THERE!
19. Zen enlightenment: SATORI. Literally "awakening". Japanese Kanji character satori is the same as Chinese.
20. Certain theater, for short: REP. Stumper. REP is repertory.
21. Berkshire school: ETON. Easy guess. I did not really know the exact location of Eton.
22. Carmen, for one: MEZZO-SOPRANO. Completely out of my knowledge zone. A gimme for our Sallie, hopefully. She loves opera.
25. Bad start?: MAL. Like malfunction.
28. "__ for Evidence": Grafton novel: E IS
29. Fork in the road: VEE. Struggled with the answer also.
30. Caribbean cruise stop: ARUBA. Dutch territory.
33. Inexpensive kids' toy: PAPER DOLL. Somehow I don't connect paper doll with "toy".
38. Maker of many jets: JACUZZI. Oh, jet stream. I was thinking of jet plane. Very scrabbly answer.
40. Asmara is its capital: ERITREA. A province of Ethiopia until 1993. Last time we had ASMARA clued as "Eritrea capital".
41. One in a box: SPECTATOR. Box seat. I was picturing a present.
43. Nutritious beans: SOYAS. Soybeans.
44. "I'm so clever" sound: HEH
45. Big affairs: DOS. Big galas.
47. Classic Jag: XKE. What does XKE stand for?
48. Spinach is high in it: BETA CAROTENE. Well, I associate carrots/sweet potatoes with beta carotene, not spinach, which is high in iron.
54. U.S. dept. with a windmill on its seal: ENER (Energy)
55. Robot play: R. U. R. (Rossum's Universal Robots). The Capek play which debuted the word "robot".
56. Company with a kangaroo on its logo: QANTAS. A Q word without the U. Kazie just mentioned last time that Qantas is an acronym for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services".
60. Daydream: REVERIE
62. Decay, as pipes: RUST OUT
63. "Sleepless in Seattle" studio: TRISTAR. Unknown fact to me.
64. One who aches: YEARNER. Argyle is still bothered by last time's RE-ADDS.
65. Party leader: HOSTESS. Was thinking of political party.
66. Brisk, to Brahms: ALLEGRO. Brisk tempo.
Down:
1. 1975 thriller shot largely on Martha's Vineyard: JAWS. Have never seen the movie.
2. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA. Don't confuse it with the "Verdi slave girl" AIDA.
3. Brewer's supply: MALT
4. Derby town: EPSOM. English derby.
5. Supply: STORE
6. Create charged particles in: IONIZE
7. Org. that gets a lot of returns: IRS. Tax returns. I outsmarted myself by thinking of tennis returns.
8. Uncomplicates: EASES
9. Short stay: STOPOVER
11. Didn't deviate from, as plans: ADHERED TO
12. Michelangelo masterpiece: PIETA. See the sculpture, which depicts Virgin Mary mourning Jesus after the Crucifixion. It's housed in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.
13. Former Tennessee Titans tight end Kinney: ERRON. Nope. Total stranger to me.
14. Court figure: STENO. Judge's court. I was in the sports direction again.
20. Santa __: Sonoma County seat: ROSA. No idea. What is it famous for?
23. "Shh!": ZIP IT. QUIET would not fit.
24. Sprites of Persian mythology: PERIS (PEE-ees). A word I keep learning and keep forgetting.
25. Some mil. brass: MAJS (Majors)
26. Give __: care: A RAP
27. Fortune founder: LUCE (Henry). Founder of Time/Life as well.
31. Romania's capital: BUCHAREST. Alas, I only know the Chinese word for this capital.
32. Ancient Valley of Mexico native: AZTEC
34. Dallas Mavericks owner before Cuban: PEROT. H. Ross Perot, Jr. Son of Ross Perot. Again, I was oblivious to this fact.
35. Antelope that often has nearly upright horns: ORYX. See this picture. Nearly upright horns indeed. It's not listed in JD's Safari antelope list.
36. Pipe problem: LEAK
37. Cut with light: LASE
42. It may be fishy: ODOR. Nailed it.
46. Film follow-up: SEQUEL
48. Distance maintained between vessels: BERTH. Origin for "Give a wide berth" I presume.
49. Hot time in Chile: ENERO. Spanish for January. It's summer time in Chile. Great clue.
50. "The Hustler" author Walter: TEVIS. See the book cover. Unknown author to me. Loved the movie.
51. Who's sorry now?: RUERS. Shouldn't the clue be "Who are sorry now?"
52. Vocally twangy: NASAL
53. Between: Fr.: ENTRE. I don't like the abbreviated Fr.
57. Half a patio pair: TONG. For your grill.
58. "Violin Playing as I Teach It" author Leopold: AUER. Same pronunciation as "hour". Meaning "from the meadow" in German. I can never commit his name into my increasingly deteriorating memory.
59. Houston pro, locally: STRO. Houston Astros.
61. 66, e.g.: Abbr.: RTE. Route 66.
62. Knotted pile carpet: RYA (REE-uh). The Scandinavian rug. Why knotted?
Answer grid.
C.C.
