Theme: Let's Anagram! - The first words of all theme answers are all anagrams of "Cats".
17A. Demonstrates sincere intentions: ACTS IN GOOD FAITH. Plural act. (Update from Argyle: Acts is third persona verb. Not a plural noun.)
28A. Wonderful thing, in old slang: CAT'S PAJAMAS. Bee's knees. Possessive cat. I would not have liked the answer if it were just a plural cat. It'd be the same scheme as the plural act.
46A. Jazzy vocal style: SCAT SINGING
57A. Stereotypical movie epic feature: CAST OF THOUSANDS. What's your favorite epic movie? I liked "300". Muscular Spartan soldiers.
Gareth also weaved three "capitals" in his clues:
10A. Capital south of Quito: LIMA. Peru's capital. Quito is the capital of Ecuador.
25A. Capital replaced by Abuja: LAGOS. Nigeria's old capital. Gareth lives in South Africa. He probably thinks it's incomprehensible that I had never heard of Abuja or MAURITANIA (31D. Senegal neighbor). North of Senegal.
64A. Capital of Oman: RIAL. Currency "capital". The capital city is Muscat.
Surprised OSLO (56D. Nobel Institute site) is not clued as "Norway's capital". Probably too much.
Nice to see TAI (20A. __ chi) and JET LI (48. Martial artist co-star of "The Forbidden Kingdom") in one grid. Jet Li is a big part of my childhood memory. A real mainland Chinese cultural icon, unlike the Hongkong born Jackie Chan or US born Bruce Lee. Cantonese and Koreans often spell Li as Lee, as in Ang Lee.
By the way, Rich Norris apologized for the ANG clue error yesterday. He said the error was "discovered a couple of days ago and corrections were issued to all newspapers and web site." Obviously Cruciverb still had the wrong clue when some of us downloaded.
Across:
1. Be in a funk: MOPE
5. 1979 sci-fi blockbuster: ALIEN. And ETS (43D. They're out of this world).
14. Filthy deposit: CRUD. Couldn't jam in MONEY.
15. Gentle prod: NUDGE
16. "Trinity" novelist: URIS (Leon)
21. At no time, to Bernhard: NIE. German for "never". Bernhard means "strong, brave bear". Is it a typical German name? I only know golfer Bernhard Langer.
22. Like much junkyard metal: RUSTY
31. Humanities degs.: MAS.
34. Prefix with musicology: ETHNO. Ethnomusicology. Defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts", according to Wikipidia. New to me. Makes sense, with ethno's "race"/"culture" prefix meaning.
35. Work with notes: OPUS. Musical notes.
36. Sea dog: SALT. Both slang for sailor.
37. Cosby often wore one on his show: SWEATER. Bill Cosby. I was stumped.
39. Egg-cooking aid: SPATULA. Was picturing the coddled egg porcelain cup.
41. Waterproof cover: TARP
42. "Zip-__-Doo-Dah": A-DEE
44. Comic Cheech: MARIN. Cheech and Chong (Tommy). We also have Arnold STANG (33D. Old-time comic Arnold), whose name simply escaped me.
48. Long __: JOHNS
49. Cause of reduced visibility: MIST
50. Draws back: SHIES
53. "In Treatment" network: HBO. Easy guess.
54. Bustle: ADO
62. Either of a Monopoly pair: Abbr.: UTIL. Got the answer via crossed.
63. Informed: AWARE
65. Ricky portrayer: DESI (Arnaz). "I Love Lucy".
66. Lose one's mind: GO MAD
67. Put on the canvas: KAYO. KO (knockout) spelled out.
Down:
1. Aspiring MD's hurdle: MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)
2. Black-and-white swimmer: ORCA
3. "Shake!": PUT IT THERE. I don't get the clue.
4. Paper heads, briefly: EDS (Editors)
5. Eight-time LPGA Player of the Year Sorenstam: ANNIKA. Loved Annika. Lorena Ochoa too. Sad to see Ochoa retire so early.
6. Downhill racer: LUGE
7. Words sealed with a kiss: I DO. Sweet clue.
8. Psyche part: EGO
9. Composer Rorem: NED. Nice to meet you, sir.
10. Island bashes: LUAUS
11. It regulates the size of the pupil: IRIS. I totally dig "it"/"they" clues.
12. Specialized glove: MITT. Baseball glove.
13. Washed-out: ASHY
18. Joint that's jumping: IN SPOT. Why "jumping"?
19. Bushy styles, for short: FROS
24. "I can do it with my eyes closed!": A SNAP
25. Yorkie's perch: LAP
26. Tickles pink: AMUSES
27. [Horrors!]: GASP. The square brackets suggest non-verbal behavior or gesture.
28. Jai alai basket: CESTA. See this picture. The jai alai ball is called "pelota". Learned from doing Xword.
29. Like Russia and Japan, for most of 1904-'05: AT WAR
30D. River crossed in Joshua: JORDAN. Jordan River. Easy guess. Who crossed the river? Jesus?
17A. Demonstrates sincere intentions: ACTS IN GOOD FAITH. Plural act. (Update from Argyle: Acts is third persona verb. Not a plural noun.)
28A. Wonderful thing, in old slang: CAT'S PAJAMAS. Bee's knees. Possessive cat. I would not have liked the answer if it were just a plural cat. It'd be the same scheme as the plural act.
46A. Jazzy vocal style: SCAT SINGING
57A. Stereotypical movie epic feature: CAST OF THOUSANDS. What's your favorite epic movie? I liked "300". Muscular Spartan soldiers.
Gareth also weaved three "capitals" in his clues:
10A. Capital south of Quito: LIMA. Peru's capital. Quito is the capital of Ecuador.
25A. Capital replaced by Abuja: LAGOS. Nigeria's old capital. Gareth lives in South Africa. He probably thinks it's incomprehensible that I had never heard of Abuja or MAURITANIA (31D. Senegal neighbor). North of Senegal.
64A. Capital of Oman: RIAL. Currency "capital". The capital city is Muscat.
Surprised OSLO (56D. Nobel Institute site) is not clued as "Norway's capital". Probably too much.
Nice to see TAI (20A. __ chi) and JET LI (48. Martial artist co-star of "The Forbidden Kingdom") in one grid. Jet Li is a big part of my childhood memory. A real mainland Chinese cultural icon, unlike the Hongkong born Jackie Chan or US born Bruce Lee. Cantonese and Koreans often spell Li as Lee, as in Ang Lee.
By the way, Rich Norris apologized for the ANG clue error yesterday. He said the error was "discovered a couple of days ago and corrections were issued to all newspapers and web site." Obviously Cruciverb still had the wrong clue when some of us downloaded.
Across:
1. Be in a funk: MOPE
5. 1979 sci-fi blockbuster: ALIEN. And ETS (43D. They're out of this world).
14. Filthy deposit: CRUD. Couldn't jam in MONEY.
15. Gentle prod: NUDGE
16. "Trinity" novelist: URIS (Leon)
21. At no time, to Bernhard: NIE. German for "never". Bernhard means "strong, brave bear". Is it a typical German name? I only know golfer Bernhard Langer.
22. Like much junkyard metal: RUSTY
31. Humanities degs.: MAS.
34. Prefix with musicology: ETHNO. Ethnomusicology. Defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts", according to Wikipidia. New to me. Makes sense, with ethno's "race"/"culture" prefix meaning.
35. Work with notes: OPUS. Musical notes.
36. Sea dog: SALT. Both slang for sailor.
37. Cosby often wore one on his show: SWEATER. Bill Cosby. I was stumped.
39. Egg-cooking aid: SPATULA. Was picturing the coddled egg porcelain cup.
41. Waterproof cover: TARP
42. "Zip-__-Doo-Dah": A-DEE
44. Comic Cheech: MARIN. Cheech and Chong (Tommy). We also have Arnold STANG (33D. Old-time comic Arnold), whose name simply escaped me.
48. Long __: JOHNS
49. Cause of reduced visibility: MIST
50. Draws back: SHIES
53. "In Treatment" network: HBO. Easy guess.
54. Bustle: ADO
62. Either of a Monopoly pair: Abbr.: UTIL. Got the answer via crossed.
63. Informed: AWARE
65. Ricky portrayer: DESI (Arnaz). "I Love Lucy".
66. Lose one's mind: GO MAD
67. Put on the canvas: KAYO. KO (knockout) spelled out.
Down:
1. Aspiring MD's hurdle: MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)
2. Black-and-white swimmer: ORCA
3. "Shake!": PUT IT THERE. I don't get the clue.
4. Paper heads, briefly: EDS (Editors)
5. Eight-time LPGA Player of the Year Sorenstam: ANNIKA. Loved Annika. Lorena Ochoa too. Sad to see Ochoa retire so early.
6. Downhill racer: LUGE
7. Words sealed with a kiss: I DO. Sweet clue.
8. Psyche part: EGO
9. Composer Rorem: NED. Nice to meet you, sir.
10. Island bashes: LUAUS
11. It regulates the size of the pupil: IRIS. I totally dig "it"/"they" clues.
12. Specialized glove: MITT. Baseball glove.
13. Washed-out: ASHY
18. Joint that's jumping: IN SPOT. Why "jumping"?
19. Bushy styles, for short: FROS
24. "I can do it with my eyes closed!": A SNAP
25. Yorkie's perch: LAP
26. Tickles pink: AMUSES
27. [Horrors!]: GASP. The square brackets suggest non-verbal behavior or gesture.
28. Jai alai basket: CESTA. See this picture. The jai alai ball is called "pelota". Learned from doing Xword.
29. Like Russia and Japan, for most of 1904-'05: AT WAR
30D. River crossed in Joshua: JORDAN. Jordan River. Easy guess. Who crossed the river? Jesus?
32. Last-ditch bet: ALL IN. Poker bet.
36. Harts: STAGS
38. A pop: EACH
40. Prenatal tests, for short: AMNIOS. Amniocentesis. New word to me also.
46. Passable: SO SO
47. Permeated: IMBUED
50. Gulf War missile: SCUD
51. Odium: HATE
52. Sister of Osiris: ISIS. Or wife of Osiris.
53. dance: HORA. The Jewish wedding dance. Wikipedia says "Hava Nagila" is a Hebrew folk song, meaning "let us rejoice".
55. Decisive '40s event: D-DAY
58. __ end: cloth remnant: FAG. New word to me.
59. Thematic number on 61-Down: TWO. And ARK (61. Early craft). Noah's Ark. Everything in pairs.
60. Scene stealer: HAM
