Theme: 51 Pickup - Roman numeral LI (51) is inserted into familiar phrases.
22A. Space cadet's selection?: OB(LI)VIOUS CHOICE. Obvious Choice.
30A. "Let's go, Mr. North": COME ON O(LI)VER. Come on Over. Olive North.
52A. Fish-eating bird's dessert?: PE(LI)CAN PIE. Pecan Pie.
61A. Powell's portrait painter?: CO(LI)N ARTIST. Con Artist. Colin Powell.
76A. Badly neglected vehicle?: SQUA(LI)D CAR. Squad Car.
95A. Scores kept by Cinderella's godmother?: FAIRY TAL(LI)ES. Fairy Tales.
109A. Ultimate caterer?: THE LAST SUPP(LI)ER. The Last Supper.
3D. Seasoning for kielbasa?:PO(LI)SH SPICE. Posh Spice (of the Spice Girls).
14D. Sarah's campaign strategist?: PA(LI)N HANDLER. Panhandler.
57D. Lassie's luggage carrier?: COL(LI)E PORTER. Cole Porter.
66D. Analgesic for a post-snorkeling headache?: CORAL RE(LI)EF. Coral Reef.
And CII (54D. MXX ÷ X). 1020÷ 10= 102. It doubles the theme number 51 and connects two of the theme answers. Neat!
Quintessential Dan Naddor puzzle: very heavy themage, clever, entertaining & bold wordplay. I counted a total of 129 theme squares among the 11 entries. We don't often see Down theme answers overlapping each other.
An unusual number of people names in the grid though. Fortunately most of them are recognizable. I did have to peek at the cheat sheet for a few obscure ones.
I suspect Dan got the theme inspiration during his 51 birthday celebration. Alas, I can not just send him an email now and ask. But I was comforted by the fact that he celebrated his last birthday with us on Oct 16, 2009, and he knew he was adored and respected.
Across:
1. Flavorful: SAPID. Boy, the third appearance in the past 8 days. Still sounds "insipid"/"vapid" to me. Do read this funny "How I Met My Wife" Bill G brought to us a while ago (sorry for the wrong credit yesterday, Bill.)
6. Tennyson poem that begins "He clasps the crag with crooked hands": THE EAGLE. Got the answer from crosses.
14. Scorecard numbers: PARS. Another golf term is CART (61D. Golf rental). Dan loves golf.
18. Leachman who is the oldest "Dancing With the Stars" contestant to date: CLORIS. Nope. Have never heard of this lady.
20. Is guaranteed to work: CAN'T FAIL
21. Ike's mate: MAMIE. And BESS (70D. 21-Across predecessor). Bess Truman.
24. Fly on the wind: GLIDE
25. Buddy: PAISANO. Paysan is French for "peasant".
26. Madre's boy: NINO.
27. Coleridge storyteller: MARINER. Albatross the wearisome burden (also the golf score) is derived from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".
29. USNA grad: ENS (Ensign)
34. Bridge site: NOSE. Of course I was picturing a real bridge, not the ridge of my nose.
35. "So that's it!": OHO. Crossing OOH (36D. "I'm amazed!").
37. Sporty Pontiac: GTO
38. Start of Caesar's boast: VENI. "Veni, vidi, vici"
39. Crack reaction: HA HA
40. Novelist Susan: SONTAG. Long time lover of Annie Leibovitz.
44. Inclined: LEANT. Oh, I thought it's leaned.
46. Burrowing rodents of Central and South America: PACAS. No idea. Dictionary says this rodent is almost tailless and valued as food.
47. Vatican Palace painter: RAPHAEL. The Italian Renaissance painter.
49. Had in mind: MEANT
50. "Meet the Fockers" actor: DE NIRO (Robert). Fun movie.
51. Judo sash: OBI
55. Blush: REDDEN
56. Muhammad's birthplace: MECCA. Hence the annual Hajj to Mecca.
58. Swoon: FAINT
59. Gloom: PALL
60. Promise, for one: OLEO. The Promise brand margarine.
65. Creamy shade: ECRU
69. Angle iron: L-BAR. In the form of an L (90 degree bend)
71. Like tortoiseshell: HORNY. Man, Dennis/Carol would have fun kidding with Dan about his clue.
72. Like Niagara Falls: AROAR. I like the two consecutive "Like ...".
73. Large envelope: MAILER
80. Needle: RIB
81. Sign up: ENLIST
82. Lion-colored: TAWNY
83. Water polo teams, e.g.: HEPTADS. Heptad is a group of seven.
85. Chicago suburb: NILES. Unknown to me.
86. Merited: RATED
87. Back fin: DORSAL. Learned from doing Xword.
89. Isinglass: MICA
90. Org. concerned with PCBs: EPA
92. Piece of work: ERG. Normally clued as "Unit of work".
94. Casa pet, perhaps: GATO. Spanish for "cat". Los Gatos (CA) means "The Cats".
101. Pitching stat: ERA
103. Going on and on: ETERNAL
105. "Charity thou __ lie": Stephen Crane: ART A. Was ignorant of the poem.
106. Ralph Nader in the 2000 election, according to Gore supporters: SPOILER. Indeed.
108. Bit of gaucho gear: RIATA. Or reata.
113. Atlas feature: INSET
114. Abscissa's counterpart: ORDINATE. Had to look up in my dictionary for the meaning of "abscissa".
115. Jungle queen: SHEENA. From "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle".
116. Hungarian castle city: EGER. I wonder if it's a gimme for our Hungarian trombonist Jazzbumpa. I only know Eger the river.
117. Grading period: SEMESTER
118. Hotel amenities: SAFES
Down:
1. Range: SCOPE
2. Wrestler Lou: ALBANO. Nope. Was he very famous?
4. The cornea covers it: IRIS
5. Former NBA center Vlade: DIVAC. A Serbian. I peeked at the answer sheet again.
6. Horned Frogs' sch.: TCU (Texas Christian University). In Ft. Worth.
7. Lacks: HAS NOT
8. Valley Girl's home, perhaps: ENCINO. Spanish for "evergreen". It’s in San Fernando Valley. District of LA. Stumper for me.
9. Culture: Pref.: ETHNO
10. "__ Such As I": Elvis hit: A FOOL
11. Merry, in Metz: GAI. French for "gay".
12. Contractor's ID: LIC (License)
13. Natural environment: ELEMENT
15. Body builder?: AMINO ACID. Builder of protein. Great clue.
16. Carpooling: RIDESHARE. Did the answer come to you immediately?
17. Allow oneself to be persuaded: SEE REASON. New idiom to me.
19. Chinese: Pref.: SINO. As in Sino-American relations.
21. Dugout ldr.: MGR (manager). "Ldr" is such a weird abbreviation for "leader", isn't it?
23. Pah lead-in: OOM. Oom leads the word "Oompah".
28. Bush spokesman Fleischer: ARI. Too smooth a tongue.
31. Easter roller: EGG
32. Russian prince known as "Moneybag": IVAN I. Easy guess. 14th-century Russian prince.
33. Sale, to Seurat: VENTE. French for "sale". Does Seurat here refer to pointillist Georges Seurat or is Seurat is a popular French surname, Kazie?
41. Western wine region: NAPA
42. Simple top: TEE
43. Totally behind: ALL FOR
44. Helped out: LENT A HAND. Nailed it. This fill connects three theme answers.
45. "The Raven" monogram: EAP (Edgar Allan Poe)
46. Spa treatment: PEEL
47. Dallas quarterback Tony: ROMO. Now who's he dating?
48. Brother of Cain: ABEL. Or SETH (the youngest).
49. Jazz flutist Herbie: MANN
50. "Shoot!": DRAT
53. Adverb ending: IAL. The ending of the word adverbial. Not the real adverb LY ending.
59. Movie with a memorable shower scene: PSYCHO. Wish I had not seen it.
63. Penta- minus two: TRI. Shouldn't be "Penta - minus bi-" since they are all prefixes?
64. Corn Belt st.: IND (Indiana)
67. Bust: RAID
68. Cities, informally: URBS
72. Dadaist collection: ARPS. Jean Arp. The Dadaist pioneer.
73. Where the wild things are: MENAGERIE. Awesome entry.
74. Bringing to life: ANIMATING
75. Uptight: ILL AT EASE
76. Keanan of "Step by Step": STACI. No idea. Quite heavy foundation on her forehead, no?
77. Persian Gulf nation: QATAR. Where Al Jazeera is based.
78. German director Boll known for film adaptations of video games: UWE. Man, this guy has a weird name. How do you pronounce UWE?
86. Theater districts: RIALTOS. Another new word to me. This solely refers to those districts around Broadway, right?
87. Indian lentil dish: DAL. Not to my taste. Indian dish is a bit too strong for me.
89. Juilliard deg.: MFA
90. Really bugs: EATS AT
91. Nebraska river: PLATTE. Missouri tributary.
93. "The Quiet American" author: GREENE (Graham)
96. Either Bush, once: YALIE. Both members of Skull and Bones too.
97. __ fat: TRANS
98. Ames sch.: ISU (Iowa State University)
99. "House" actor Omar: EPPS
100. Next year's juniors: SOPHS. Need "briefly" in the clue for abbreviation hint.
102. Tapestry behind which Polonius hid: ARRAS. In "Hamlet''.
104. Rebellious Turner: NAT
107. Intestinal parts: ILEA. Plural of ileum.
110. Realm until 1806: Abbr.: HRE (800 A.D. -1806 A.D.)
111. Teacher's deg.: ED. M (Master of Education)
Updates: In his Facebook, Dan Naddor said: "Don't send me flowers, don't send-in-the-clowns...make my life count. Please donate to Hoag Cancer Center -without them I would have been gone a long time ago." If you are attending the service on Jan 7th, Dan requested "no coats, no ties, no mourning attire, flip flops preferred".
Answer grid.
C.C.
22A. Space cadet's selection?: OB(LI)VIOUS CHOICE. Obvious Choice.
30A. "Let's go, Mr. North": COME ON O(LI)VER. Come on Over. Olive North.
52A. Fish-eating bird's dessert?: PE(LI)CAN PIE. Pecan Pie.
61A. Powell's portrait painter?: CO(LI)N ARTIST. Con Artist. Colin Powell.
76A. Badly neglected vehicle?: SQUA(LI)D CAR. Squad Car.
95A. Scores kept by Cinderella's godmother?: FAIRY TAL(LI)ES. Fairy Tales.
109A. Ultimate caterer?: THE LAST SUPP(LI)ER. The Last Supper.
3D. Seasoning for kielbasa?:PO(LI)SH SPICE. Posh Spice (of the Spice Girls).
14D. Sarah's campaign strategist?: PA(LI)N HANDLER. Panhandler.
57D. Lassie's luggage carrier?: COL(LI)E PORTER. Cole Porter.
66D. Analgesic for a post-snorkeling headache?: CORAL RE(LI)EF. Coral Reef.
And CII (54D. MXX ÷ X). 1020÷ 10= 102. It doubles the theme number 51 and connects two of the theme answers. Neat!
Quintessential Dan Naddor puzzle: very heavy themage, clever, entertaining & bold wordplay. I counted a total of 129 theme squares among the 11 entries. We don't often see Down theme answers overlapping each other.
An unusual number of people names in the grid though. Fortunately most of them are recognizable. I did have to peek at the cheat sheet for a few obscure ones.
I suspect Dan got the theme inspiration during his 51 birthday celebration. Alas, I can not just send him an email now and ask. But I was comforted by the fact that he celebrated his last birthday with us on Oct 16, 2009, and he knew he was adored and respected.
Across:
1. Flavorful: SAPID. Boy, the third appearance in the past 8 days. Still sounds "insipid"/"vapid" to me. Do read this funny "How I Met My Wife" Bill G brought to us a while ago (sorry for the wrong credit yesterday, Bill.)
6. Tennyson poem that begins "He clasps the crag with crooked hands": THE EAGLE. Got the answer from crosses.
14. Scorecard numbers: PARS. Another golf term is CART (61D. Golf rental). Dan loves golf.
18. Leachman who is the oldest "Dancing With the Stars" contestant to date: CLORIS. Nope. Have never heard of this lady.
20. Is guaranteed to work: CAN'T FAIL
21. Ike's mate: MAMIE. And BESS (70D. 21-Across predecessor). Bess Truman.
24. Fly on the wind: GLIDE
25. Buddy: PAISANO. Paysan is French for "peasant".
26. Madre's boy: NINO.
27. Coleridge storyteller: MARINER. Albatross the wearisome burden (also the golf score) is derived from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".
29. USNA grad: ENS (Ensign)
34. Bridge site: NOSE. Of course I was picturing a real bridge, not the ridge of my nose.
35. "So that's it!": OHO. Crossing OOH (36D. "I'm amazed!").
37. Sporty Pontiac: GTO
38. Start of Caesar's boast: VENI. "Veni, vidi, vici"
39. Crack reaction: HA HA
40. Novelist Susan: SONTAG. Long time lover of Annie Leibovitz.
44. Inclined: LEANT. Oh, I thought it's leaned.
46. Burrowing rodents of Central and South America: PACAS. No idea. Dictionary says this rodent is almost tailless and valued as food.
47. Vatican Palace painter: RAPHAEL. The Italian Renaissance painter.
49. Had in mind: MEANT
50. "Meet the Fockers" actor: DE NIRO (Robert). Fun movie.
51. Judo sash: OBI
55. Blush: REDDEN
56. Muhammad's birthplace: MECCA. Hence the annual Hajj to Mecca.
58. Swoon: FAINT
59. Gloom: PALL
60. Promise, for one: OLEO. The Promise brand margarine.
65. Creamy shade: ECRU
69. Angle iron: L-BAR. In the form of an L (90 degree bend)
71. Like tortoiseshell: HORNY. Man, Dennis/Carol would have fun kidding with Dan about his clue.
72. Like Niagara Falls: AROAR. I like the two consecutive "Like ...".
73. Large envelope: MAILER
80. Needle: RIB
81. Sign up: ENLIST
82. Lion-colored: TAWNY
83. Water polo teams, e.g.: HEPTADS. Heptad is a group of seven.
85. Chicago suburb: NILES. Unknown to me.
86. Merited: RATED
87. Back fin: DORSAL. Learned from doing Xword.
89. Isinglass: MICA
90. Org. concerned with PCBs: EPA
92. Piece of work: ERG. Normally clued as "Unit of work".
94. Casa pet, perhaps: GATO. Spanish for "cat". Los Gatos (CA) means "The Cats".
101. Pitching stat: ERA
103. Going on and on: ETERNAL
105. "Charity thou __ lie": Stephen Crane: ART A. Was ignorant of the poem.
106. Ralph Nader in the 2000 election, according to Gore supporters: SPOILER. Indeed.
108. Bit of gaucho gear: RIATA. Or reata.
113. Atlas feature: INSET
114. Abscissa's counterpart: ORDINATE. Had to look up in my dictionary for the meaning of "abscissa".
115. Jungle queen: SHEENA. From "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle".
116. Hungarian castle city: EGER. I wonder if it's a gimme for our Hungarian trombonist Jazzbumpa. I only know Eger the river.
117. Grading period: SEMESTER
118. Hotel amenities: SAFES
Down:
1. Range: SCOPE
2. Wrestler Lou: ALBANO. Nope. Was he very famous?
4. The cornea covers it: IRIS
5. Former NBA center Vlade: DIVAC. A Serbian. I peeked at the answer sheet again.
6. Horned Frogs' sch.: TCU (Texas Christian University). In Ft. Worth.
7. Lacks: HAS NOT
8. Valley Girl's home, perhaps: ENCINO. Spanish for "evergreen". It’s in San Fernando Valley. District of LA. Stumper for me.
9. Culture: Pref.: ETHNO
10. "__ Such As I": Elvis hit: A FOOL
11. Merry, in Metz: GAI. French for "gay".
12. Contractor's ID: LIC (License)
13. Natural environment: ELEMENT
15. Body builder?: AMINO ACID. Builder of protein. Great clue.
16. Carpooling: RIDESHARE. Did the answer come to you immediately?
17. Allow oneself to be persuaded: SEE REASON. New idiom to me.
19. Chinese: Pref.: SINO. As in Sino-American relations.
21. Dugout ldr.: MGR (manager). "Ldr" is such a weird abbreviation for "leader", isn't it?
23. Pah lead-in: OOM. Oom leads the word "Oompah".
28. Bush spokesman Fleischer: ARI. Too smooth a tongue.
31. Easter roller: EGG
32. Russian prince known as "Moneybag": IVAN I. Easy guess. 14th-century Russian prince.
33. Sale, to Seurat: VENTE. French for "sale". Does Seurat here refer to pointillist Georges Seurat or is Seurat is a popular French surname, Kazie?
41. Western wine region: NAPA
42. Simple top: TEE
43. Totally behind: ALL FOR
44. Helped out: LENT A HAND. Nailed it. This fill connects three theme answers.
45. "The Raven" monogram: EAP (Edgar Allan Poe)
46. Spa treatment: PEEL
47. Dallas quarterback Tony: ROMO. Now who's he dating?
48. Brother of Cain: ABEL. Or SETH (the youngest).
49. Jazz flutist Herbie: MANN
50. "Shoot!": DRAT
53. Adverb ending: IAL. The ending of the word adverbial. Not the real adverb LY ending.
59. Movie with a memorable shower scene: PSYCHO. Wish I had not seen it.
63. Penta- minus two: TRI. Shouldn't be "Penta - minus bi-" since they are all prefixes?
64. Corn Belt st.: IND (Indiana)
67. Bust: RAID
68. Cities, informally: URBS
72. Dadaist collection: ARPS. Jean Arp. The Dadaist pioneer.
73. Where the wild things are: MENAGERIE. Awesome entry.
74. Bringing to life: ANIMATING
75. Uptight: ILL AT EASE
76. Keanan of "Step by Step": STACI. No idea. Quite heavy foundation on her forehead, no?
77. Persian Gulf nation: QATAR. Where Al Jazeera is based.
78. German director Boll known for film adaptations of video games: UWE. Man, this guy has a weird name. How do you pronounce UWE?
86. Theater districts: RIALTOS. Another new word to me. This solely refers to those districts around Broadway, right?
87. Indian lentil dish: DAL. Not to my taste. Indian dish is a bit too strong for me.
89. Juilliard deg.: MFA
90. Really bugs: EATS AT
91. Nebraska river: PLATTE. Missouri tributary.
93. "The Quiet American" author: GREENE (Graham)
96. Either Bush, once: YALIE. Both members of Skull and Bones too.
97. __ fat: TRANS
98. Ames sch.: ISU (Iowa State University)
99. "House" actor Omar: EPPS
100. Next year's juniors: SOPHS. Need "briefly" in the clue for abbreviation hint.
102. Tapestry behind which Polonius hid: ARRAS. In "Hamlet''.
104. Rebellious Turner: NAT
107. Intestinal parts: ILEA. Plural of ileum.
110. Realm until 1806: Abbr.: HRE (800 A.D. -1806 A.D.)
111. Teacher's deg.: ED. M (Master of Education)
Updates: In his Facebook, Dan Naddor said: "Don't send me flowers, don't send-in-the-clowns...make my life count. Please donate to Hoag Cancer Center -without them I would have been gone a long time ago." If you are attending the service on Jan 7th, Dan requested "no coats, no ties, no mourning attire, flip flops preferred".
Answer grid.
C.C.
