Theme: PHENOMENAL (57A. Clue for 17-, 22-, 36- and 44-Across)
17A. See 57-Across: OVER THE TOP
22A. See 57-Across: BEYOND BELIEF
36A. See 57-Across: TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
44A. See 57-Across: OFF THE CHARTS
Incredible! I wish "Incredible" were the real clue for PHENOMENAL rather than "Clue for ...". Not fond of this kind of self-referential, circling cluing style. It frustrated me.
I do like cross-references in the grid. I like the extra effort the constructors spend in connecting certain entries. But cross-references offer you a defining clue for guidance. Take the PRIM & PROPER clues on Tuesday for example. 10D Down PROPER is clued as "See 10-Across", then 10-Across is "With 10-Down and "and", rigidly formal". At least, you have "rigidly formal" as a definitive clue, which gives you a basic idea of what the cross-reference is about.
Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 8. And among them, FALSE ALARM (14A. Wolf cry, often?) and its symmetrical partner INDISPOSED (60A Not feeling well) have the same amount of letters as two of the theme entries and stacked direct ly with them. I don't mind this kind of distraction at all, since the unifying 57A clearly points out which ones belong to the theme answers. And those two are just awesome fill.
Neat to have MOUSSE (40A. Salon preparation) intersect MOOSE (29D. Caribou relative).
Across:
1. "Food, Body and Mind" diet maven: CRAIG (Jenny). The other diet maven is ATKINS. maven
6. Pierce portrayer: ALDA (Alan). In M*A*S*H.
10. Lummoxes: OAFS. Add letter F to lummox, we've got the confusing "flummox".
16. River past Thebes: NILE. Thebes was an ancient city on the NILE. Somehow I thought of STYX, the River of the damned Hades.
18. "Fall back" interval: HOUR. Spring Ahead, Fall Back. China has no Daylight Saving Time, despite its vastness.
19. What F or M may indicate: SEX
20. Shinto temple gateway: TORII. Dennis just linked this TORRI picture when we had TORI (clued as "Doughnut shape" last time). Plural of Torus. I am still waiting for someone to give Torii Hunter some crossword recognition that he richly deserves. Nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards, what more credentials do you want?
21. Longtime Chicago Symphony maestro: SOLTI (Georg). 31 Grammys. A record.
24. Steppes native: TATAR
27. Purge: RID
29. Like many rebates: MAIL-IN
41. Tiger Woods's dad: EARL. Sweet picture. I liked his book "Playing Through". Lots of gems inside.
42. Airline with a hub in Copenhagen: SAS. The "Airline with a hub in Amsterdam" is KLM.
43. Uptight: ANTSY. Oh, I always associate "uptight" with "stiff" rather than ANTSY.
51. Iraqi port: BASRA. Was listening to a Terry Gross "A Messenger for the Marines" interview last night. Just could not control my tears.
52. Cliff dwelling: AERIE
53. "__ to Extremes": Billy Joel hit: I GO. Was unaware of this song title.
56. Gunny fiber: JUTE. A good Scrabble word. I did not know the gunny & burlap connection.
59. Slaughter who famously scored the winning run in the 1946 World Series: ENOS. Nice trivia to a tired name.
61. Reveille counterpart: TAPS
62. Latin 101 verb: ESSE. "To be" in Latin.
63. Frère de la mère: ONCLE. French for "uncle". Frère = Brother. Mère = Mother.
Down:
1. Some are CPAs: CFOS
2. All-night party: RAVE. Ignorant of this RAVE meaning.
3. Infield mate of Derek: ALEX. Instinctively wanted A-Rod.
4. Haifa's country: Abbr.: ISR. HAIFA is often clued as " Israeli seaport". Good to have a change.
5. Go-__: GETTER. Ha ha, I wanted Go-go girl.
6. Olds compact: ALERO. Learned from doing Xword. The model only existed for for six years.
7. Romance languages ancestor: LATIN
8. R2-D2 or C-3PO: DROID
9. Rock blaster?: AMP. Fell into the TNT trap.
10. Waiting to talk: ON HOLD
11. Garlicky mayo: AIOLI. Ai = garlic. Oli = oil.
12. Rampal's instrument: FLUTE
13. Calligrapher's embellishment: SERIF. I find it very soothing to practise Chinese calligraphy.
15. Call to a mate: AHOY
21. It flows along La Rive Gauche: SEINE. La Rive Gauche = The Left Bank in French.
22. Good thing to go out with: BANG. Go out with a bang. Good clue.
23. Grease, so to speak: BRIBE
24. Cairn terrier of film: TOTO. Oh, I did not know that Toto is a Cairn terrier.
25. Out of control: AMOK
26. Art community near Santa Fe: TAOS
30. Soccer star Freddie: ADU. Too much hype on him earlier on.
31. "__ only money": IT'S. What's this? Movie title? Song title?
32. Rock's __ Lobos: LOS. Literally "The Wolves".
33. Greek house?: FRAT. Frat house. Nailed it.
34. "__ not to reason why": Tennyson: OURS. I forgot. Rich Norris used this clue before.
37. Home of the College World Series: OMAHA. Good to know.
38. They're often next to fives: TENS. Cash box compartment.
42. Chill pill target: STRESS. Not familiar with "chill pill" at all.
43. At the original speed, in music: A TEMPO. New musical term to me.
44. __ d'art: OBJET. Literally "thing" in French.
45. Regional wildlife: FAUNA
46. Setting that affects depth of field: F-STOP. Camera setting.
47. Songwriter Sammy et al.: CAHNS. Just learned that he wrote the lyrics for "High Hope".
48. Pays attention to: HEEDS
49. Immortal PGA nickname: ARNIE (Palmer). Penned in ERNIE first and was ready to complain that Ernie Els has yet to achieve the immortal status.
50. Roberto's rivers: RIOS. Spanish rivers.
53. Dedicated by the auth.: INSC. Inscription I suppose. Not a familiar abbr. to me.
54. Highlander: GAEL. Scottish Highlander.
55. Quaint word in some tavern names: OLDE
57. Dessert choice: PIE. Do any of you love Larabar also?
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. See 57-Across: OVER THE TOP
22A. See 57-Across: BEYOND BELIEF
36A. See 57-Across: TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
44A. See 57-Across: OFF THE CHARTS
Incredible! I wish "Incredible" were the real clue for PHENOMENAL rather than "Clue for ...". Not fond of this kind of self-referential, circling cluing style. It frustrated me.
I do like cross-references in the grid. I like the extra effort the constructors spend in connecting certain entries. But cross-references offer you a defining clue for guidance. Take the PRIM & PROPER clues on Tuesday for example. 10D Down PROPER is clued as "See 10-Across", then 10-Across is "With 10-Down and "and", rigidly formal". At least, you have "rigidly formal" as a definitive clue, which gives you a basic idea of what the cross-reference is about.
Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 8. And among them, FALSE ALARM (14A. Wolf cry, often?) and its symmetrical partner INDISPOSED (60A Not feeling well) have the same amount of letters as two of the theme entries and stacked direct ly with them. I don't mind this kind of distraction at all, since the unifying 57A clearly points out which ones belong to the theme answers. And those two are just awesome fill.
Neat to have MOUSSE (40A. Salon preparation) intersect MOOSE (29D. Caribou relative).
Across:
1. "Food, Body and Mind" diet maven: CRAIG (Jenny). The other diet maven is ATKINS. maven
6. Pierce portrayer: ALDA (Alan). In M*A*S*H.
10. Lummoxes: OAFS. Add letter F to lummox, we've got the confusing "flummox".
16. River past Thebes: NILE. Thebes was an ancient city on the NILE. Somehow I thought of STYX, the River of the damned Hades.
18. "Fall back" interval: HOUR. Spring Ahead, Fall Back. China has no Daylight Saving Time, despite its vastness.
19. What F or M may indicate: SEX
20. Shinto temple gateway: TORII. Dennis just linked this TORRI picture when we had TORI (clued as "Doughnut shape" last time). Plural of Torus. I am still waiting for someone to give Torii Hunter some crossword recognition that he richly deserves. Nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards, what more credentials do you want?
21. Longtime Chicago Symphony maestro: SOLTI (Georg). 31 Grammys. A record.
24. Steppes native: TATAR
27. Purge: RID
29. Like many rebates: MAIL-IN
41. Tiger Woods's dad: EARL. Sweet picture. I liked his book "Playing Through". Lots of gems inside.
42. Airline with a hub in Copenhagen: SAS. The "Airline with a hub in Amsterdam" is KLM.
43. Uptight: ANTSY. Oh, I always associate "uptight" with "stiff" rather than ANTSY.
51. Iraqi port: BASRA. Was listening to a Terry Gross "A Messenger for the Marines" interview last night. Just could not control my tears.
52. Cliff dwelling: AERIE
53. "__ to Extremes": Billy Joel hit: I GO. Was unaware of this song title.
56. Gunny fiber: JUTE. A good Scrabble word. I did not know the gunny & burlap connection.
59. Slaughter who famously scored the winning run in the 1946 World Series: ENOS. Nice trivia to a tired name.
61. Reveille counterpart: TAPS
62. Latin 101 verb: ESSE. "To be" in Latin.
63. Frère de la mère: ONCLE. French for "uncle". Frère = Brother. Mère = Mother.
Down:
1. Some are CPAs: CFOS
2. All-night party: RAVE. Ignorant of this RAVE meaning.
3. Infield mate of Derek: ALEX. Instinctively wanted A-Rod.
4. Haifa's country: Abbr.: ISR. HAIFA is often clued as " Israeli seaport". Good to have a change.
5. Go-__: GETTER. Ha ha, I wanted Go-go girl.
6. Olds compact: ALERO. Learned from doing Xword. The model only existed for for six years.
7. Romance languages ancestor: LATIN
8. R2-D2 or C-3PO: DROID
9. Rock blaster?: AMP. Fell into the TNT trap.
10. Waiting to talk: ON HOLD
11. Garlicky mayo: AIOLI. Ai = garlic. Oli = oil.
12. Rampal's instrument: FLUTE
13. Calligrapher's embellishment: SERIF. I find it very soothing to practise Chinese calligraphy.
15. Call to a mate: AHOY
21. It flows along La Rive Gauche: SEINE. La Rive Gauche = The Left Bank in French.
22. Good thing to go out with: BANG. Go out with a bang. Good clue.
23. Grease, so to speak: BRIBE
24. Cairn terrier of film: TOTO. Oh, I did not know that Toto is a Cairn terrier.
25. Out of control: AMOK
26. Art community near Santa Fe: TAOS
30. Soccer star Freddie: ADU. Too much hype on him earlier on.
31. "__ only money": IT'S. What's this? Movie title? Song title?
32. Rock's __ Lobos: LOS. Literally "The Wolves".
33. Greek house?: FRAT. Frat house. Nailed it.
34. "__ not to reason why": Tennyson: OURS. I forgot. Rich Norris used this clue before.
37. Home of the College World Series: OMAHA. Good to know.
38. They're often next to fives: TENS. Cash box compartment.
42. Chill pill target: STRESS. Not familiar with "chill pill" at all.
43. At the original speed, in music: A TEMPO. New musical term to me.
44. __ d'art: OBJET. Literally "thing" in French.
45. Regional wildlife: FAUNA
46. Setting that affects depth of field: F-STOP. Camera setting.
47. Songwriter Sammy et al.: CAHNS. Just learned that he wrote the lyrics for "High Hope".
48. Pays attention to: HEEDS
49. Immortal PGA nickname: ARNIE (Palmer). Penned in ERNIE first and was ready to complain that Ernie Els has yet to achieve the immortal status.
50. Roberto's rivers: RIOS. Spanish rivers.
53. Dedicated by the auth.: INSC. Inscription I suppose. Not a familiar abbr. to me.
54. Highlander: GAEL. Scottish Highlander.
55. Quaint word in some tavern names: OLDE
57. Dessert choice: PIE. Do any of you love Larabar also?
Answer grid.
C.C.
