Theme: None
Total blocks: 30
Total words: 72
A smooth pangram. All 26 letters are used at least once.
The puzzle is anchored by two 15-letter entries intersecting each other right in the middle of the grid:
36A. Gets off suddenly: QUITS COLD TURKEY. Sparkling answer.
8D. "A Fish Called Wanda," e.g.: SCREWBALL COMEDY. I was not clear about the exact definition of the genre. Wikipedia cited that film critic Andrew Sarris defined the screwball comedy as "a sex comedy without the sex". No wonder screwball.
Quite a few great multiple-word entries. Total 11 if I counted correctly. My favorite is DIRTY JOKES (12D. Bar exchanges, perhaps).
Across:
1. It provides more details: ZOOM LENS. Was picturing the Secret Service details. Not camera. Scrabbly start.
9. Raid target: FRIDGE. Again, the bug killer Raid popped into my mind.
15. Where many scenes occur: IN PUBLIC. Wanted ON STAGE.
16. Rich: MONIED
17. Rebounds from: GETS OVER. Sad to hear that Tiger wants to take "an indefinite break" from golf. Hope he rebounds as quickly as Kobe Bryant did.
18. Gaped: STARED
19. Uniform band: SASH
20. Nails down, as a victory: ICES. Wanted ACES.
22. Nervous: ANTSY
23. '90s-'00s sitcom star: DREW CAREY. The sitcom here refers to "The Drew Carey Show" I presume.
25. Pulpy fruit: PAPAYA. Delicious. I love tropical fruits.
29. Handle with care: BABY
30. Rattle: JAR
33. "As if __!": I CARE. And I DUNNO (55A. Words spoken with a shrug).
34. Blush opposite: PALE
35. Botanical trunk: BOLE. Oh, did not know tree trunk has a special name.
39. Largish pottery pieces: URNS. Here is the Greek urn at Louvre. I seem to remember it depicts Dionysus drinking.
40. "__ Well ...": ALL'S. Shakespeare's "All's Well That Ends Well".
41. Name on a combine: DEERE. Just had TORO the other day. Fair & Balanced coverage.
43. Govt. money insurer: FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)
44. Salutes with words: TOASTS
45. Pop or blow: BURST OPEN. Awesome entry.
48. Friend of Spanky: DARLA. No idea. She's from "Our Gang".
50. Qatari big shot: EMIR
51. Ore carrier: TRAM. Mining accidents occur too often in China.
57. It can involve dumbbells and jerks: EXERCISE. Weight-lifting.
59. "High Fidelity" star John: CUSACK. I love his "Say Anything..." (with Ione Skye). "Eight Men Out" is great too, one of my favorite baseball movies.
60. Sabotages: DISABLES. Kazie linked a sabot song some time ago. Sabotage is rooted in the French peasant shoe sabot.
61. Giggled: TE-HEED
62. "I'll bet!": YEAH, YEAH. I like the answer.
Down:
1. Turns on a jagged course: ZIGS
2. Fit to serve: ONE-A
3. Withdraws, with "out": OPTS. Oh...
4. Cornmeal concoction: MUSH. Mine was PONE.
5. Wall St. deal: LBO (Leveraged buyout)
6. "__ Madigan": 1967 Swedish film: ELVIRA. No idea. Sounds sad.
7. Antigone, to Creon: NIECE. Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and his mother. Creon is her uncle. Got me.
9. Radio settings: FMS
10D. __ Club: ROTARY. And EDDY (14D. 10-Down current). I was confused for a while because I was trying to connect EDDY with ROTARY Club rather than ROTARY current.
11. Without substance: INANE. To me, inane means "without sense".
13. Heist units: GEES. Slang for "thousands". And ABET (24D. Be partly responsible for a holdup).
21. Really burns: SCALDS
23. Adjusts shades, in a way: DYES
25. Excite: PIQUE. Did not come to me readily.
26. Honda high-end brand: ACURA. Like Toyota's Lexus.
27. Roller alternative: PAINT BRUSH. What's the color of your bedroom wall?
28. Liberal group?: ARTS. D'oh! Liberal Arts.
32. Alfonso XII and XIII: REYES. Spanish for "kings". Singular is REY.
34. Not at all boorish: POLITE. Thought of GENTLE first.
35. City north of Anaheim: BREA. Was used to the "La Brea Tar Pits" clue. Did not know its exact location.
37. Bounders: CADS. Bounder is a new word to me.
38. Thick Japanese soup noodle: UDON. My favorite is Seafood Udon.
43. Seven Years' War participant: FRANCE. No idea. Have never heard of Seven Years' War. It happened in 18th century. I was not there.
44. "The Pride of the Yankees" costar Wright: TERESA. Lou Gehrig's wife in the movie. I could only remember Gary Cooper. Did you cry watching the movie? I did. Doug Peterson is a Yankees fan.
46. They parallel radii: ULNAE. I like the radii & ulnae consistency. The plurals could also be radiuses and ulnas.
47. Folklore trickster: PIXIE. The Norse trickster god is LOKI.
48. Vol. on a stand, maybe: DICT (Dictionary)
49. Together, on a score: A DUE
51. Beriyo Smoothie server: TCBY. Have never had Beriyo Smoothie. What does Beriyo mean?
52. Get to in a bad way: RILE
53. Between ports: ASEA. AT SEA too.
56. Didn't deny: OK'D.
58. Backing cry: RAH. In the stadium. Excellent clue.
Answer grid.
Zai jian!
C.C.
Total blocks: 30
Total words: 72
A smooth pangram. All 26 letters are used at least once.
The puzzle is anchored by two 15-letter entries intersecting each other right in the middle of the grid:
36A. Gets off suddenly: QUITS COLD TURKEY. Sparkling answer.
8D. "A Fish Called Wanda," e.g.: SCREWBALL COMEDY. I was not clear about the exact definition of the genre. Wikipedia cited that film critic Andrew Sarris defined the screwball comedy as "a sex comedy without the sex". No wonder screwball.
Quite a few great multiple-word entries. Total 11 if I counted correctly. My favorite is DIRTY JOKES (12D. Bar exchanges, perhaps).
Across:
1. It provides more details: ZOOM LENS. Was picturing the Secret Service details. Not camera. Scrabbly start.
9. Raid target: FRIDGE. Again, the bug killer Raid popped into my mind.
15. Where many scenes occur: IN PUBLIC. Wanted ON STAGE.
16. Rich: MONIED
17. Rebounds from: GETS OVER. Sad to hear that Tiger wants to take "an indefinite break" from golf. Hope he rebounds as quickly as Kobe Bryant did.
18. Gaped: STARED
19. Uniform band: SASH
20. Nails down, as a victory: ICES. Wanted ACES.
22. Nervous: ANTSY
23. '90s-'00s sitcom star: DREW CAREY. The sitcom here refers to "The Drew Carey Show" I presume.
25. Pulpy fruit: PAPAYA. Delicious. I love tropical fruits.
29. Handle with care: BABY
30. Rattle: JAR
33. "As if __!": I CARE. And I DUNNO (55A. Words spoken with a shrug).
34. Blush opposite: PALE
35. Botanical trunk: BOLE. Oh, did not know tree trunk has a special name.
39. Largish pottery pieces: URNS. Here is the Greek urn at Louvre. I seem to remember it depicts Dionysus drinking.
40. "__ Well ...": ALL'S. Shakespeare's "All's Well That Ends Well".
41. Name on a combine: DEERE. Just had TORO the other day. Fair & Balanced coverage.
43. Govt. money insurer: FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)
44. Salutes with words: TOASTS
45. Pop or blow: BURST OPEN. Awesome entry.
48. Friend of Spanky: DARLA. No idea. She's from "Our Gang".
50. Qatari big shot: EMIR
51. Ore carrier: TRAM. Mining accidents occur too often in China.
57. It can involve dumbbells and jerks: EXERCISE. Weight-lifting.
59. "High Fidelity" star John: CUSACK. I love his "Say Anything..." (with Ione Skye). "Eight Men Out" is great too, one of my favorite baseball movies.
60. Sabotages: DISABLES. Kazie linked a sabot song some time ago. Sabotage is rooted in the French peasant shoe sabot.
61. Giggled: TE-HEED
62. "I'll bet!": YEAH, YEAH. I like the answer.
Down:
1. Turns on a jagged course: ZIGS
2. Fit to serve: ONE-A
3. Withdraws, with "out": OPTS. Oh...
4. Cornmeal concoction: MUSH. Mine was PONE.
5. Wall St. deal: LBO (Leveraged buyout)
6. "__ Madigan": 1967 Swedish film: ELVIRA. No idea. Sounds sad.
7. Antigone, to Creon: NIECE. Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and his mother. Creon is her uncle. Got me.
9. Radio settings: FMS
10D. __ Club: ROTARY. And EDDY (14D. 10-Down current). I was confused for a while because I was trying to connect EDDY with ROTARY Club rather than ROTARY current.
11. Without substance: INANE. To me, inane means "without sense".
13. Heist units: GEES. Slang for "thousands". And ABET (24D. Be partly responsible for a holdup).
21. Really burns: SCALDS
23. Adjusts shades, in a way: DYES
25. Excite: PIQUE. Did not come to me readily.
26. Honda high-end brand: ACURA. Like Toyota's Lexus.
27. Roller alternative: PAINT BRUSH. What's the color of your bedroom wall?
28. Liberal group?: ARTS. D'oh! Liberal Arts.
32. Alfonso XII and XIII: REYES. Spanish for "kings". Singular is REY.
34. Not at all boorish: POLITE. Thought of GENTLE first.
35. City north of Anaheim: BREA. Was used to the "La Brea Tar Pits" clue. Did not know its exact location.
37. Bounders: CADS. Bounder is a new word to me.
38. Thick Japanese soup noodle: UDON. My favorite is Seafood Udon.
43. Seven Years' War participant: FRANCE. No idea. Have never heard of Seven Years' War. It happened in 18th century. I was not there.
44. "The Pride of the Yankees" costar Wright: TERESA. Lou Gehrig's wife in the movie. I could only remember Gary Cooper. Did you cry watching the movie? I did. Doug Peterson is a Yankees fan.
46. They parallel radii: ULNAE. I like the radii & ulnae consistency. The plurals could also be radiuses and ulnas.
47. Folklore trickster: PIXIE. The Norse trickster god is LOKI.
48. Vol. on a stand, maybe: DICT (Dictionary)
49. Together, on a score: A DUE
51. Beriyo Smoothie server: TCBY. Have never had Beriyo Smoothie. What does Beriyo mean?
52. Get to in a bad way: RILE
53. Between ports: ASEA. AT SEA too.
56. Didn't deny: OK'D.
58. Backing cry: RAH. In the stadium. Excellent clue.
Answer grid.
Zai jian!
C.C.
