Theme: None
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 36
One letter Q away from a pangram.
Will Nediger anchors his puzzle with a grid spanner MARRIED TO THE MOB (33A. 1988 Michelle Pfeiffer film) and stacks a couple of 11s & a 10 on the top/bottom. OVERANALYZE (52A. Figure to a fault) is my favorite entry today. Awesome.
Will is majoring in linguistics, so his fill/clue skew academics. He probably loves Shakespeare stuff, see the below clues:
1A. He played Brutus in "Julius Caesar" (1953) : JAMES MASON. Total stranger to me.
28A. "I kissed thee __ I killed thee": "Othello" : ERE
45D. "In __, you are to blame": "Othello" : SOOTH. In truth.
As the norm with Saturday puzzles, a few new words for me and plenty of V-8 moments.
Across:
11. Member of a notable foreign trio : AMO (I love). Amo, amas, amat. Latin trio.
14. Complex mirage : FATA MORGANA. New word to me. See the etymology. Italian name. Had some King Arthur root.
15. Go for the bronze? : TAN. Nailed it.
16. 1965 Peter and Gordon hit : I GO TO PIECES. The tune sounds familiar.
17. Enter the pool : BET. D'oh, betting pool. DIP did not work.
18. Crescent : LUNE. Rooted in Latin moon "Luna". Makes sense.
19. Wet-weather wear : GALOSH. Man, I never know there's a special term for this kind of waterproof overshoe.
21. Ski nautique site : LAC. French for "lake". I don't know the meaning of "Ski nautique". Nautique is just French for "Nautical".
22. Acolyte's area : ALTAR
27. Barista's preparation : LATTE
29. Shinto temple gateway : TORII. Like this. I always associate it with ex-Twin Torii Hunter.
30. House or lodge : STOW. Verb. I was in the noun direction.
31. Pelvis-patella connectors : FEMURS
32. The farther ones : THOSE
37. Large amount : OCEAN
38. Stockpile : GATHER
39. Add water to, perhaps : THIN. Can't jam in DILUTE.
40. Tribe member in many films : EXTRA. Extras who play the tribe members. I thought the answer is asking for a real Indian tribe who appears in film often.
41. New Jersey casino, with "The" : TAJ
44. Pen output : OINKS. Pig pen.
46. Sitting Bull, e.g. : SIOUX. Yes, this is the kind of tribe I was picturing for 40A.
47. Doc bloc : HMO. Rhyme.
48. Team that's played in the same home park since 1912 : RED SOX. Their Fenway Park is the oldest ball park in Major League.
50. Busiest : PEAK
51. "__ Got Bonnie": Rydell hit : I'VE. I guessed.
58. One in a zillion? : ZEE. One letter in the word "zillion". Clever clue.
59. Venerable : TIME-HONORED. Another awesome answer.
60. Transgress : ERR
61. Some countdowns : HIT PARADES. Countdowns of most popular songs.
Down:
1. Rain forest cat : JAGUAR. I drew a blank.
2. Without delay : AT ONCE
3. King's downfall, maybe : MATE. Chess ending.
4. Punk rock offshoot : EMO. Learned from doing Xword.
5. Payoff : SOP. Bribe.
6. Med. technique using contrast agents : MRI. What are "contrast agents"?
7. What candles may reveal : AGE. Wrinkles too.
8. Egg holder : SAC
9. A hundred sawbucks : ONE G. 1,000.
10. Like some vowels : NASAL. Like what? I only know nasal consonants.
11. Fundamentally : AT BOTTOM
12. Stately and dignified, in music : MAESTOSO. New word to me. So close to Maestro.
13. Generally Googleable : ON THE WEB. OK.
14. Dijon daughter : FILLE. "Daughter" in French. Alliteration.
20. 1993 Anne Rice novel : LASHER. See the book cover. Not in my radar.
22. Ordered pizza, perhaps : ATE IN
23. Capital of Togo : LOME. Uh-uh, nope. No idea. God will be resigned by my unwillingness to learn those capitals in faraway countries.
24. Walks with effort : TRUDGES
25. Chartered carrier : AIR TAXI. The answer just would not come to me.
26. Ristorante dish : RISOTTO. OK, ristorante is Italian for "restaurant" then.
31. Dogs : FRANKS. Hot dogs.
32. Walking papers : THE AX. Walking papers: slang for dismissal.
33. Make easier to use, in a way : MOTORIZE. Didn't jump to me immediately.
34. One who gets things done : ACHIEVER. This word seems to always come with "over" or "under".
35. Cupid, for one : REINDEER. Santa's Cupid. Not Roman love god.
36. Via, informally : THRU
41. "__ here!" : THEY'RE. Does this refer to the tagline for "Poltergeist"?
42. Floors : AMAZES. Verb.
43. Caused a breakup? : JOKED. Convulsed with laughter "breakup".
49. Louis __: son of Marie Antoinette : XVII. Makes senses. Her husband is Louis XVI.
50. Lumber : PLOD. I confused "Lumber" with "Slumber".
53. First to arrive, often: Abbr. : EMT. True!
54. Good standing, for short : REP (Reputation)
55. "Got it!" : AHA
56. Easter preceder? : NOR. Nor'easter. Strong rain storm in east coast. So named because the winds come from the northeast.
57. Santa __ : ANA
Answer grid.
Tomorrow we are going to have a special 4th of July tribute puzzle by John Lampkin. The theme involves circles, which are unsupported by LA Times website software. If you don't use Across Lite, please come to the blog on Sunday morning for the pdf version.
C.C.
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 36
One letter Q away from a pangram.
Will Nediger anchors his puzzle with a grid spanner MARRIED TO THE MOB (33A. 1988 Michelle Pfeiffer film) and stacks a couple of 11s & a 10 on the top/bottom. OVERANALYZE (52A. Figure to a fault) is my favorite entry today. Awesome.
Will is majoring in linguistics, so his fill/clue skew academics. He probably loves Shakespeare stuff, see the below clues:
1A. He played Brutus in "Julius Caesar" (1953) : JAMES MASON. Total stranger to me.
28A. "I kissed thee __ I killed thee": "Othello" : ERE
45D. "In __, you are to blame": "Othello" : SOOTH. In truth.
As the norm with Saturday puzzles, a few new words for me and plenty of V-8 moments.
Across:
11. Member of a notable foreign trio : AMO (I love). Amo, amas, amat. Latin trio.
14. Complex mirage : FATA MORGANA. New word to me. See the etymology. Italian name. Had some King Arthur root.
15. Go for the bronze? : TAN. Nailed it.
16. 1965 Peter and Gordon hit : I GO TO PIECES. The tune sounds familiar.
17. Enter the pool : BET. D'oh, betting pool. DIP did not work.
18. Crescent : LUNE. Rooted in Latin moon "Luna". Makes sense.
19. Wet-weather wear : GALOSH. Man, I never know there's a special term for this kind of waterproof overshoe.
21. Ski nautique site : LAC. French for "lake". I don't know the meaning of "Ski nautique". Nautique is just French for "Nautical".
22. Acolyte's area : ALTAR
27. Barista's preparation : LATTE
29. Shinto temple gateway : TORII. Like this. I always associate it with ex-Twin Torii Hunter.
30. House or lodge : STOW. Verb. I was in the noun direction.
31. Pelvis-patella connectors : FEMURS
32. The farther ones : THOSE
37. Large amount : OCEAN
38. Stockpile : GATHER
39. Add water to, perhaps : THIN. Can't jam in DILUTE.
40. Tribe member in many films : EXTRA. Extras who play the tribe members. I thought the answer is asking for a real Indian tribe who appears in film often.
41. New Jersey casino, with "The" : TAJ
44. Pen output : OINKS. Pig pen.
46. Sitting Bull, e.g. : SIOUX. Yes, this is the kind of tribe I was picturing for 40A.
47. Doc bloc : HMO. Rhyme.
48. Team that's played in the same home park since 1912 : RED SOX. Their Fenway Park is the oldest ball park in Major League.
50. Busiest : PEAK
51. "__ Got Bonnie": Rydell hit : I'VE. I guessed.
58. One in a zillion? : ZEE. One letter in the word "zillion". Clever clue.
59. Venerable : TIME-HONORED. Another awesome answer.
60. Transgress : ERR
61. Some countdowns : HIT PARADES. Countdowns of most popular songs.
Down:
1. Rain forest cat : JAGUAR. I drew a blank.
2. Without delay : AT ONCE
3. King's downfall, maybe : MATE. Chess ending.
4. Punk rock offshoot : EMO. Learned from doing Xword.
5. Payoff : SOP. Bribe.
6. Med. technique using contrast agents : MRI. What are "contrast agents"?
7. What candles may reveal : AGE. Wrinkles too.
8. Egg holder : SAC
9. A hundred sawbucks : ONE G. 1,000.
10. Like some vowels : NASAL. Like what? I only know nasal consonants.
11. Fundamentally : AT BOTTOM
12. Stately and dignified, in music : MAESTOSO. New word to me. So close to Maestro.
13. Generally Googleable : ON THE WEB. OK.
14. Dijon daughter : FILLE. "Daughter" in French. Alliteration.
20. 1993 Anne Rice novel : LASHER. See the book cover. Not in my radar.
22. Ordered pizza, perhaps : ATE IN
23. Capital of Togo : LOME. Uh-uh, nope. No idea. God will be resigned by my unwillingness to learn those capitals in faraway countries.
24. Walks with effort : TRUDGES
25. Chartered carrier : AIR TAXI. The answer just would not come to me.
26. Ristorante dish : RISOTTO. OK, ristorante is Italian for "restaurant" then.
31. Dogs : FRANKS. Hot dogs.
32. Walking papers : THE AX. Walking papers: slang for dismissal.
33. Make easier to use, in a way : MOTORIZE. Didn't jump to me immediately.
34. One who gets things done : ACHIEVER. This word seems to always come with "over" or "under".
35. Cupid, for one : REINDEER. Santa's Cupid. Not Roman love god.
36. Via, informally : THRU
41. "__ here!" : THEY'RE. Does this refer to the tagline for "Poltergeist"?
42. Floors : AMAZES. Verb.
43. Caused a breakup? : JOKED. Convulsed with laughter "breakup".
49. Louis __: son of Marie Antoinette : XVII. Makes senses. Her husband is Louis XVI.
50. Lumber : PLOD. I confused "Lumber" with "Slumber".
53. First to arrive, often: Abbr. : EMT. True!
54. Good standing, for short : REP (Reputation)
55. "Got it!" : AHA
56. Easter preceder? : NOR. Nor'easter. Strong rain storm in east coast. So named because the winds come from the northeast.
57. Santa __ : ANA
Answer grid.
Tomorrow we are going to have a special 4th of July tribute puzzle by John Lampkin. The theme involves circles, which are unsupported by LA Times website software. If you don't use Across Lite, please come to the blog on Sunday morning for the pdf version.
C.C.
