Theme: Food Pun - The first word of each two-word familiar food item is substituted by a city, whose country is given in the corresponding clue.
20A. Swiss poultry dish?: BASEL CHICKEN. Basil Chicken. Basel is a city in Switzerland.
27A. Korean menu listing?: SEOUL FOOD. Soul Food. I do love Seoul food. Hot!
35A. Indian lunch fare?: DELHI SANDWICH. Deli Sandwich. Do Indians use naan as sandwich wrap?
43A. Moroccan hearty meal? RABAT STEW. Rabbit Stew. Rabat is the capital of Morocco.
52A. Meccan omelet ingredient? JEDDAH CHEESE. Cheddar Cheese. I've never heard of Jeddah, a port city in Saudi Arabia. Near Mecca indeed. The only theme entry with a city rather than a country as clue hint.
All of the theme answers are punning on the first word. I like the consistency.
Some more food/drink references:
17A. 2006 farce involving a drinking contest: BEER FEST. Total four 8-letter entries today.
48A. Fare that's filled and baked: MEAT PIE
63A. Fruitcake: NUT. OK, not really food.
49D. __ four: PETIT
50D. Bean products?: IDEAS. Nailed it. The question mark told me it's not sprouts. I have stir-fried bean sprouts every Tuesday.
We don't often see four clusters of four black squares in a puzzle. It sure increases the total black square count in a hurry (Total 42 in today's grid).
My favorite clue (I presume Seen's too) is RED (43D. Bench, once). Johnny Bench. Cincinnati Reds. Dennis told me about a card show near our home a few months ago and I was able to see Bench in person. Pete Rose was there too.
Across:
1. A.L. East team: BOS. Boston Red Sox. Quite a few abbr. in this grid.
4. 1960 Olimpiadi host: ROMA. The Italian clue suggests the answer will be in Italian.
8. Padlocked, perhaps: HASPED
14. Glob suffix: ULE
15. Receptive: OPEN
16. More gray: ASHIER
19. "Magic Hour" author": ISAACS (Susan). Don't know the author or the book. What's it about?
22. Memo abbr.: ATTN
23. Move beyond: OUTGROW
32. Frost: HOAR
33. Fast horse: ARAB
34. Frayed: TATTY
40. Certain Net user: AOLER. Net is capitalized.
41. '60s Mod staple: MINI
42. Letters that come at the end of the week: TGIF. We also have FRI (29D. It can be casual: Abbr.). Not fond of the two in the same grid.
51. Race: TEAR. Did not leap to me readily.
57. All one had: ESTATE. Great clue.
60. Transfers again, as computer files: RECOPIES
61. Hungary neighbor: SERBIA
62. Barrie Newfoundland: NANA. The dog in "Peter Pan".
64. Is out there: EXISTS
65. African antelope: ORYX. It has long, straight-horns, Lois!
66. Rte. finder: GPS
Down:
1. Good ol' boys: BUBBAS
2. Fatty acid salt: OLEATE. Ate is a suffix for "salt".
3. Handles: SEES TO
4. Texter's response to a hilarious joke: ROFL
5. Crude org. : OPEC. Crude oil.
6. Interlock: MESH
7. Boycotting, perhaps: ANTI
8. Basho's forte: HAIKU. Have never heard of Basho, a Japanese 17th century poet known for Haiku poems.
9. Black listing?: ASSET. Awesome clue.
10. City near the Yangtze River: SHANGHAI. No, not "near". It's at the mouth of the Yangtze River. I worked in Shanghai for some time.
11. Emmy-winning news anchor Lindström: PIA. No idea. She's Ingrid Bergman's daughter.
12. Common Mkt.: EEC
13. "ER" extras: DRS
18. Contact lens solution brand: RENU. The only brand I know.
21. Cape __ : COD
24. VMI program: ROTC. VMI = Virginia Military Institute. New to me.
25. Bit of irreverence: OATH
26. Twisted: WRY
28. Lionized actor?: LAHR (Bert). The Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz".
30. Treaty gp. since 1948: OAS
31. President with two Grammys: OBAMA. Loved Lemonade's Palin palindrome comment yesterday. John's SEXES clue is awesome too. I think I mentioned on the blog before. Japanese say "I am going" to mean "I am coming".
34. Fool: TWIT
35. Old Venetian judge: DOGE
36. "The Praise of Chimney-Sweepers" essayist: ELIA
37. Right crosses may follow them: LEFT JABS. Needed crossing help.
38. Point: NIB
39. Stranded material: DNA
40. 20s provider, for short: ATM
44. Dance move: STEP
45. Elevating, in a way: TEEING. Various balls.
46. Relax: EASE UP
47. Takes by force: WRESTS
53. Cartoonist Peter: ARNO. Total stranger to me.
54. When repeated, word of agreement: HEAR
55. Manhattan sch.: CCNY (City College of NY)
56. Piltdown man, e.g. : HOAX
57. Language suffix: ESE
58. Bio datum: SEX
59. Head of state?: TRI. I don't get this one. Wanted ESS, the starting letter of the word state.
Answer grid.
Welcome back Kazie! You were dearly missed.
C.C.
20A. Swiss poultry dish?: BASEL CHICKEN. Basil Chicken. Basel is a city in Switzerland.
27A. Korean menu listing?: SEOUL FOOD. Soul Food. I do love Seoul food. Hot!
35A. Indian lunch fare?: DELHI SANDWICH. Deli Sandwich. Do Indians use naan as sandwich wrap?
43A. Moroccan hearty meal? RABAT STEW. Rabbit Stew. Rabat is the capital of Morocco.
52A. Meccan omelet ingredient? JEDDAH CHEESE. Cheddar Cheese. I've never heard of Jeddah, a port city in Saudi Arabia. Near Mecca indeed. The only theme entry with a city rather than a country as clue hint.
All of the theme answers are punning on the first word. I like the consistency.
Some more food/drink references:
17A. 2006 farce involving a drinking contest: BEER FEST. Total four 8-letter entries today.
48A. Fare that's filled and baked: MEAT PIE
63A. Fruitcake: NUT. OK, not really food.
49D. __ four: PETIT
50D. Bean products?: IDEAS. Nailed it. The question mark told me it's not sprouts. I have stir-fried bean sprouts every Tuesday.
We don't often see four clusters of four black squares in a puzzle. It sure increases the total black square count in a hurry (Total 42 in today's grid).
My favorite clue (I presume Seen's too) is RED (43D. Bench, once). Johnny Bench. Cincinnati Reds. Dennis told me about a card show near our home a few months ago and I was able to see Bench in person. Pete Rose was there too.
Across:
1. A.L. East team: BOS. Boston Red Sox. Quite a few abbr. in this grid.
4. 1960 Olimpiadi host: ROMA. The Italian clue suggests the answer will be in Italian.
8. Padlocked, perhaps: HASPED
14. Glob suffix: ULE
15. Receptive: OPEN
16. More gray: ASHIER
19. "Magic Hour" author": ISAACS (Susan). Don't know the author or the book. What's it about?
22. Memo abbr.: ATTN
23. Move beyond: OUTGROW
32. Frost: HOAR
33. Fast horse: ARAB
34. Frayed: TATTY
40. Certain Net user: AOLER. Net is capitalized.
41. '60s Mod staple: MINI
42. Letters that come at the end of the week: TGIF. We also have FRI (29D. It can be casual: Abbr.). Not fond of the two in the same grid.
51. Race: TEAR. Did not leap to me readily.
57. All one had: ESTATE. Great clue.
60. Transfers again, as computer files: RECOPIES
61. Hungary neighbor: SERBIA
62. Barrie Newfoundland: NANA. The dog in "Peter Pan".
64. Is out there: EXISTS
65. African antelope: ORYX. It has long, straight-horns, Lois!
66. Rte. finder: GPS
Down:
1. Good ol' boys: BUBBAS
2. Fatty acid salt: OLEATE. Ate is a suffix for "salt".
3. Handles: SEES TO
4. Texter's response to a hilarious joke: ROFL
5. Crude org. : OPEC. Crude oil.
6. Interlock: MESH
7. Boycotting, perhaps: ANTI
8. Basho's forte: HAIKU. Have never heard of Basho, a Japanese 17th century poet known for Haiku poems.
9. Black listing?: ASSET. Awesome clue.
10. City near the Yangtze River: SHANGHAI. No, not "near". It's at the mouth of the Yangtze River. I worked in Shanghai for some time.
11. Emmy-winning news anchor Lindström: PIA. No idea. She's Ingrid Bergman's daughter.
12. Common Mkt.: EEC
13. "ER" extras: DRS
18. Contact lens solution brand: RENU. The only brand I know.
21. Cape __ : COD
24. VMI program: ROTC. VMI = Virginia Military Institute. New to me.
25. Bit of irreverence: OATH
26. Twisted: WRY
28. Lionized actor?: LAHR (Bert). The Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz".
30. Treaty gp. since 1948: OAS
31. President with two Grammys: OBAMA. Loved Lemonade's Palin palindrome comment yesterday. John's SEXES clue is awesome too. I think I mentioned on the blog before. Japanese say "I am going" to mean "I am coming".
34. Fool: TWIT
35. Old Venetian judge: DOGE
36. "The Praise of Chimney-Sweepers" essayist: ELIA
37. Right crosses may follow them: LEFT JABS. Needed crossing help.
38. Point: NIB
39. Stranded material: DNA
40. 20s provider, for short: ATM
44. Dance move: STEP
45. Elevating, in a way: TEEING. Various balls.
46. Relax: EASE UP
47. Takes by force: WRESTS
53. Cartoonist Peter: ARNO. Total stranger to me.
54. When repeated, word of agreement: HEAR
55. Manhattan sch.: CCNY (City College of NY)
56. Piltdown man, e.g. : HOAX
57. Language suffix: ESE
58. Bio datum: SEX
59. Head of state?: TRI. I don't get this one. Wanted ESS, the starting letter of the word state.
Answer grid.
Welcome back Kazie! You were dearly missed.
C.C.
