Theme: The Ayes Have It - The last word of each theme answer rhymes with "ayes".
17A. Fibs: LITTLE WHITE LIES. IES spelling.
25A. Seductive peepers: BEDROOM EYES. YES variation. Or is it eyes?
45A. Like large cereal boxes: ECONOMY SIZE. IZE form.
57A. 1963 Elvis hit with the lyrics "You look like an angel ... but I got wise": DEVIL IN DISGUISE. ISE alteration.
Any more long "I" spelling alternatives? I've never heard of Elvis' song "Devil in Disguise". Man, he looks so handsome in that clip.
This puzzle reminded me of Dan Naddor's "Great Food" puzzle. All theme answers end with /ood/ pronunciation, different spellings of course: CAME UNGLUED, POOH-POOHED, FRESHLY BREWED, BUMMER, DUDE, TAKE-OUT FOOD.
Today's is our third Ken Bessette since the TMS switch in March 2009. I enjoyed very much his last STOUT puzzle, in which STOUT is clued as "Heavy brew, and a clue to this puzzle's theme and ST is cut out from all the theme phrases. Very clever interpretation of ST OUT.
When did you catch the theme? I did not glom onto it until I completed the grid.
Across:
1. Hit bottom?: SIDE B. D'oh, hit record. Got me immediately.
6. Irritate: MIFF
10. Excessive elbow-benders: SOTS. Did not know "elbow-benders" means heavy drinkers.
14. Put down: ABASE
15. Sandy color: ECRU
16. World's largest furniture retailer: IKEA. True!
20. Author LeShan: EDA (Thanks, Hahtool!)
21. "Bad" cholesterol letters: LDL. The "good" one is HDL.
22. Scrooge creator: DICKENS (Charles)
23. The first film it aired was "Gone with the Wind": TCM (Turner Classic Movies). Unaware of this trivia.
24. Inauguration Day events: GALAS. I bet there were a few went uninvited at Obama's Inauguration galas.
32. A car with this is often easier to resell: ONE OWNER
33. What quibblers split: HAIRS. Split hairs.
35. Asian on the Enterprise bridge: SULU. Played by George TAKEI, who was just in our crossword the other day. Enterprise is the ship in "Star Trek".
36. Deadens: DAMPS
39. Spanish hand: MANO. Mano-a-mano (one on one) is literally "hand to hand". I used to think it's "man to man".
40. Seagoing mil. training group: NROTC (Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps)
42. Montgomery native: ALABAMAN. Who are the most famous Alabamans?
44. His, to Henri: SES. His or her or its.
48. Online suffix with Net: SCAPE. Netscape. Belongs to AOL. Does anyone actually still use Netscape as browser?
49. Some dashes: ENS. Sometimes it's EMS.
50. Like test papers awaiting grading: IN A PILE. Nice answer, though PILE appears in the clue for AMASS (34D. Pile up)
53. __ chi ch'uan: TAI. Chinese martial art. Cantonese spelling. Mandarin Chinese is Tai Ji Quan. Very scrabbly.
54. Swell, slangily: FAB
61. Signaled backstage, perhaps: CUED
62. "The Da Vinci Code" star: HANKS (Tom). I liked the book more.
63. Shake, as a police tail: LOSE
64. TV's tiny Taylor: OPIE. Another triple alliteration.
65. Typical O. Henry ending: TWIST.
Down:
1. Black Friday store event: SALES. Mayhem!
2. Term paper abbr.: IBID. "Ditto".
3. Excel input: DATA
4. Part of i.e.: EST. Latin "id est" (i.e.).
5. Easily heard herd leader: BELL COW. We also have MAA (29. Barnyard sound). So many lambing in Windhover's farm. Ewe got to be kidding.
6. Feeble cry: MEWL. Baby cry.
7. German "I": ICH. Ich liebe dich.
8. "Dragnet" sergeant: FRIDAY. Sergeant Friday.
9. Useless: FUTILE
10. Jockey's wear: SILKS. Light.
11. Steinbeck migrant: OKIE
12. Suffix with four, six, seven and nine: TEEN. Felt silly not getting the answer immediately.
13. Say freshly: SASS
18. __ Dantès, the Count of Monte Cristo: EDMOND. One of my favorite books.
19. PayPal "currency": E-CASH
23. Brook fish: TROUT. Freshwater fish.
24. On point: GERMANE. Don't see this word in grid often.
25. Cap'ns' subordinates: BO'S'NS. Boatswains. The warrant officers (warship) or petty officers (merchant ship). Never know where to put those apostrophes.
26. Make used (to): ENURE
27. Apollo's birthplace, in Greek myth: DELOS. Birthplace of Artemis too, since they are twins.
17A. Fibs: LITTLE WHITE LIES. IES spelling.
25A. Seductive peepers: BEDROOM EYES. YES variation. Or is it eyes?
45A. Like large cereal boxes: ECONOMY SIZE. IZE form.
57A. 1963 Elvis hit with the lyrics "You look like an angel ... but I got wise": DEVIL IN DISGUISE. ISE alteration.
Any more long "I" spelling alternatives? I've never heard of Elvis' song "Devil in Disguise". Man, he looks so handsome in that clip.
This puzzle reminded me of Dan Naddor's "Great Food" puzzle. All theme answers end with /ood/ pronunciation, different spellings of course: CAME UNGLUED, POOH-POOHED, FRESHLY BREWED, BUMMER, DUDE, TAKE-OUT FOOD.
Today's is our third Ken Bessette since the TMS switch in March 2009. I enjoyed very much his last STOUT puzzle, in which STOUT is clued as "Heavy brew, and a clue to this puzzle's theme and ST is cut out from all the theme phrases. Very clever interpretation of ST OUT.
When did you catch the theme? I did not glom onto it until I completed the grid.
Across:
1. Hit bottom?: SIDE B. D'oh, hit record. Got me immediately.
6. Irritate: MIFF
10. Excessive elbow-benders: SOTS. Did not know "elbow-benders" means heavy drinkers.
14. Put down: ABASE
15. Sandy color: ECRU
16. World's largest furniture retailer: IKEA. True!
20. Author LeShan: EDA (Thanks, Hahtool!)
21. "Bad" cholesterol letters: LDL. The "good" one is HDL.
22. Scrooge creator: DICKENS (Charles)
23. The first film it aired was "Gone with the Wind": TCM (Turner Classic Movies). Unaware of this trivia.
24. Inauguration Day events: GALAS. I bet there were a few went uninvited at Obama's Inauguration galas.
32. A car with this is often easier to resell: ONE OWNER
33. What quibblers split: HAIRS. Split hairs.
35. Asian on the Enterprise bridge: SULU. Played by George TAKEI, who was just in our crossword the other day. Enterprise is the ship in "Star Trek".
36. Deadens: DAMPS
39. Spanish hand: MANO. Mano-a-mano (one on one) is literally "hand to hand". I used to think it's "man to man".
40. Seagoing mil. training group: NROTC (Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps)
42. Montgomery native: ALABAMAN. Who are the most famous Alabamans?
44. His, to Henri: SES. His or her or its.
48. Online suffix with Net: SCAPE. Netscape. Belongs to AOL. Does anyone actually still use Netscape as browser?
49. Some dashes: ENS. Sometimes it's EMS.
50. Like test papers awaiting grading: IN A PILE. Nice answer, though PILE appears in the clue for AMASS (34D. Pile up)
53. __ chi ch'uan: TAI. Chinese martial art. Cantonese spelling. Mandarin Chinese is Tai Ji Quan. Very scrabbly.
54. Swell, slangily: FAB
61. Signaled backstage, perhaps: CUED
62. "The Da Vinci Code" star: HANKS (Tom). I liked the book more.
63. Shake, as a police tail: LOSE
64. TV's tiny Taylor: OPIE. Another triple alliteration.
65. Typical O. Henry ending: TWIST.
Down:
1. Black Friday store event: SALES. Mayhem!
2. Term paper abbr.: IBID. "Ditto".
3. Excel input: DATA
4. Part of i.e.: EST. Latin "id est" (i.e.).
5. Easily heard herd leader: BELL COW. We also have MAA (29. Barnyard sound). So many lambing in Windhover's farm. Ewe got to be kidding.
6. Feeble cry: MEWL. Baby cry.
7. German "I": ICH. Ich liebe dich.
8. "Dragnet" sergeant: FRIDAY. Sergeant Friday.
9. Useless: FUTILE
10. Jockey's wear: SILKS. Light.
11. Steinbeck migrant: OKIE
12. Suffix with four, six, seven and nine: TEEN. Felt silly not getting the answer immediately.
13. Say freshly: SASS
18. __ Dantès, the Count of Monte Cristo: EDMOND. One of my favorite books.
19. PayPal "currency": E-CASH
23. Brook fish: TROUT. Freshwater fish.
24. On point: GERMANE. Don't see this word in grid often.
25. Cap'ns' subordinates: BO'S'NS. Boatswains. The warrant officers (warship) or petty officers (merchant ship). Never know where to put those apostrophes.
26. Make used (to): ENURE
27. Apollo's birthplace, in Greek myth: DELOS. Birthplace of Artemis too, since they are twins.
29. Home of the Hurricanes: MIAMI. The University of Miami sports team.
30. Cuban-born TV producer: ARNAZ (Desi). Husband of Lucille Ball.
31. United: AS ONE
37. Mideast political gp.: PLO
38. No different from, with "the": SAME AS
41. De Beers founder Rhodes: CECIL. Founder of the Rhodes Scholarship as well. I wonder why he named the company "De Beers".
43. When "They Drive," in a 1940 Raft/Bogart film: BY NIGHT. I've never seen "They Drive By Night". I spotted our crossword stalwart Ida Lupino.
46. Cat of many colors: CALICO. Many colors indeed. The clue is a play on "Coat of many colors", the clothes Joseph owned.
47. Demand from a door pounder: OPEN UP. Frightening!
48. Vindictiveness: SPITE
50. Superstar: IDOL
51. Pixar clownfish: NEMO. "Finding Nemo".
52. Alamo competitor: AVIS. Car rental.
53. Ocean motion: TIDE
54. Done, to Dumas: FINI. Another alliteration.
56. "__ in Show": BEST
58. __ gratia: by the grace of God: DEI. So easy to confuse "Dei gratia" with "Deo gratias (thanks to God").
59. Mich.-based labor group: UAW (United Automobile Workers)
30. Cuban-born TV producer: ARNAZ (Desi). Husband of Lucille Ball.
31. United: AS ONE
37. Mideast political gp.: PLO
38. No different from, with "the": SAME AS
41. De Beers founder Rhodes: CECIL. Founder of the Rhodes Scholarship as well. I wonder why he named the company "De Beers".
43. When "They Drive," in a 1940 Raft/Bogart film: BY NIGHT. I've never seen "They Drive By Night". I spotted our crossword stalwart Ida Lupino.
46. Cat of many colors: CALICO. Many colors indeed. The clue is a play on "Coat of many colors", the clothes Joseph owned.
47. Demand from a door pounder: OPEN UP. Frightening!
48. Vindictiveness: SPITE
50. Superstar: IDOL
51. Pixar clownfish: NEMO. "Finding Nemo".
52. Alamo competitor: AVIS. Car rental.
53. Ocean motion: TIDE
54. Done, to Dumas: FINI. Another alliteration.
56. "__ in Show": BEST
58. __ gratia: by the grace of God: DEI. So easy to confuse "Dei gratia" with "Deo gratias (thanks to God").
59. Mich.-based labor group: UAW (United Automobile Workers)
