Theme: The First Thirteen - The circled pairs in each American Revolutionary War related theme answers are the abbreviations of the first 13 states that signed The Declaration of Independence. All 13 pairs are arranged in the roughly north-to-south order in which their representatives (except for John Hancock of MA ) signed the document.
25A. *"I only regret that I have but one life ..." speaker : NATHAN HALE. America's first spy. Hidden inside is NH.
28A. *Patriot Navy vessel : FRIGATE. I know it's a Navy warship. Don't know the "Patriot" connection. Embedded is RI.
38A. *1765 tax law : THE STAMP ACT. This is not listed in our citizenship exam preparation questions. Enclosed is CT.
71A. *Treaty of __: 1783 war ender : PARIS. Concealed is PA.
82A. *1780 battle site : CAMDEN. The Battle of Camden 1780. Definitely out of my knowledge zone. MD is cloaked in.
101A. *1777-'78 military camp site : VALLEY FORGE. This I know. VA is buried in the phrase.
112A. *"Shot heard 'round the world" site : CONCORD. First clash of American Revolutionary War. NC is disguised. Of course I thought of baseball. Bobby Thomson's home run.
116A. *Article I mandate : US CONGRESS. Article I of US Constitution. It describes the power of US Congress. Veiled inside is SC.
3D. *Beer named for a patriot : SAM ADAMS. Someone mentioned this beer on the blog a while ago. MA is sheltered in.
42D. *First Chief Justice : JOHN JAY. Gimme gimme. He's the author of "The Federal Papers". Listed prominently in our exam booklet. NJ is shielded inside.
62D. *Like the government outlined in the Constitution : FEDERAL. DE is covered.
91D. *Site of a decisive 1777 patriot victory : SARATOGA. Know nothing about Battle of Saratoga. GA is tucked inside.
Then, John's unifier:
55A. *Each circled pair is an abbreviation for one; all 13 are arranged in the roughly north-to-south order in which their representatives (except for John Hancock) signed the Declaration of Independence : COLONY. NY is contained.
Here are those signatures. John Hancock represented MA, which is gridded in the upper left corner. Maybe Argyle can validate John's order. I am very bad recognizing autographs. Those colonies have now become STATES (9D. This puzzle's circled pairs, nowadays).
And more patriotic entries:
21A. Birthplace of seven presidents : OHIO. Minnesota has none.
65A. "Burr" and "Lincoln" : NOVELS. Gore Vidal's "Burr" and "Lincoln". Got me.
95A. Code for Burr and Hamilton : DUELLO. New word to me. Code regarding dueling.
99A. Washington portraitist Rembrandt __ : PEALE. And PEAL (16D. Bell sound that sounds like a portraitist?) & OIL COLOR (30A. Rembrandt choice)
1D. "Yankee Doodle" word : MACARONI. The Feather. And DAMN (51A. "__ Yankees"). Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets.
13D. Tribe allied with the patriots : MOHICANS. Not aware of this information.
101D. Washington's mount? : VERNON. Mount Vernon.
120D. Emulate Betsy Ross : SEW. Her flag has 13 stars, representing the 13 states. John's original theme title is "The First Thirteen *". With the asterisk, I thought it's very clever, esp since each of the 13 theme clues has * too.
Probably my favorite LAT Sunday puzzle in 2010. Below are my reasons:
1) I loved the theme. Tight & complex. Three layers (in John's words): All 13 theme clues & answers have to do with Revolutionary War history; 13 colonies hidden inside; All arranged in north-south order. Clever placement of those state abbreviations and yet all the theme answers still remain symmetric.
2) Lots of clue echos and thoughtful weaving. A sign that the constructor went to extra steps to entertain his solvers. For a 4th of July change, I highlighted them in red in my write-up today.
3) Pangram: Check. John used all the 26 letters at least once to spice up the scrabbliness of his puzzle. Cheater/Helper squares: Nope. It does not please his photographer's eye aesthetically.
I think this puzzle should be distributed as part of the US Citizenship & Immigration Services Civics Lessons for the Naturalization Test booklet.
Across:
1. Painted Desert sight : MESA. I am used to the "Flat tableland" clue.
5. Racetracks : OVALS
10. Minuteman, e.g., briefly : ICBM (InterContinental Ballistic Missile). And SILO (17D. Minuteman's home). I was only familiar with the colonial militia Minuteman meaning.
14. Slip : LAPSE
19. Audio/visual production awards : AVAS. Ava = Audio/visual Awards. New to me.
20. Aspect : FACET
22. __ the hole : ACE IN
23. Aide-de-__ : CAMP
24. Appetite stimulant : AROMA. Hunger too.
27. Therapists' org. : APA. OK, American Psychiatric Association.
31. Chagrin symptom : RED FACE. I just bite my lips. I do that a lot.
33. Alleviate : EASE
36. Queen of the Nile, familiarly : CLEO. And ASP (4D. Queen of the Nile biter)
37. Dental products brand : ORAL B
42. Pickle : JAM. In a jam/pickle.
45. A.L. Rookie of the Year after Derek : NOMAR (Garcia). Oh, 1994 then. I had Derek Jeter's rookie card. It's 1993.
46. Deviate from a course : YAW. Yaw, Pitch and Roll. Dennis is an expert on this term. Thrust too.
47. Land bordering los Pirineos : ESPANA. Was ignorant that Los Pirineos = The Pyrenees. We also have QUE PASA (69. "What's up?" in 47-Across).
48. Macbeth's burial isle : IONA. Nice to know this trivia.
49. Penned? : IN STIR. And PAROLES (71D. Unpens?). Pen = Lock up in the prison. Fantastic clues.
53. Clouseau's rank: Abbr. : INSP (Inspector).
54. Scorch : CHAR
57. Poet's "before" : ERE
58. 2010 Super Bowl champs : SAINTS. New Orleans Saints.
60. Boxer's outbursts : ARFS. Dogs.
64. Scope : KEN
68. Menial position : McJOB. Learned this slang from doing Xword.
72. Song syllables : TRA LA LA
74. Canceled : UNDID
75. Fowl less fancy than her mate : PEAHEN. Peacock is fancy indeed.
77. Nonpro sports org. : AAU (Amateur Athletic Union). Was vaguely aware of this org.
78. Looker : EYER
79. Brewpub fixture : ALE TAP
81. __-80: old computer : TRS. Can never remember this old computer model.
85. Meadow mom : MARE. Alliteration all the way.
86. Bounce back : ECHO. Plenty in this grid.
88. Lily used as food by Mormon pioneers : SEGO. I am not surprised. Dried lilies are widely used in Chinese cooking.
89. Abductor's demand : RANSOM
94. Minimally : A TAD
97. Indefinite amount : ANY. And SOME (120. Indefinite amount).
100. First word of Dante's "Inferno" : NEL. No idea. The starting line is "Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita" = "Halfway through the journey of my life".
103. Western buds : PARDS. I can see the groan in Melissa 's face. She does not like this word.
104. Gp. of battalions : REGT (Regiment)
105. Paving stone : SETT. Rectangular paving stone. I forgot.
106. Waffles : SEESAWS
108. Civilized : DECOROUS. Such a polite word.
115. Palindromic peewee : TOT. And SAS (34D. Palindromic airline).
119. Astrologer Sydney : OMARR
121. "... __'clock scholar" : A TEN' O. Partial.
122. "__ to 'Enry ...": Cockney toast : 'ERES. Here's to Henry. The H sound is dropped in Cockney accent.
123. "... __ man put asunder" : LET NO
124. First Alaskan governor : EGAN. Nailed it. Our old editor used this clue very frequently.
125. Encumbered : LADEN
126. Shoe spec : SIZE. Did you also want EEEE?
127. Laud : EXTOL
128. Desire : WANT
Down:
2. 1946-'52 first lady : EVA PERON. Ah, Argentina's first lady.
5. Joan __ : OF ARC
6. "Spice of life" : VARIETY. Variety is the Spice of Life.
7. Slip __: err : A COG
8. Tony of '60s golf : LEMA. Champagne Tony. Died when he's only 32 years old. Plane crash.
10. Cyclotron bit : ION. Cyclotron is a new word to me.
11. Taiwan tea : CHA. Literally "tea" in Chinese. John picked up Taiwan for alliteration purpose. It's called CHA in mainland China too.
12. __-Honey: almond candy : BIT-O. Have never had Bit-O-Honey.
14. Surgical knife : LANCET
15. Allergic reaction : ACHOO
18. Cabinet dept. with a lightning bolt on its seal : ENER (Energy). Did not know this fact. See its seal. And FABRIC (28. It's bought in bolts) & EATEN (29. Bolted down). I am in awe of John's "bolting" mind.
26. LIKE THIS : ALL CAPS. The clue letters are all capped.
32. Driving problem : FLAT. Flat tires.
35. Realms : EMPIRES
39. Was wearing : HAD ON
40. Obi-Wan portrayer : EWAN (McGregor).
41. Triptych third : PANEL
43. France of France : ANATOLE. Have never heard of Anatole France. French novelist who won Nobel Literature 1921.
44. Snickers cousin : MARS BAR. Does it have peanuts inside?
48. Eaves dropper? : ICICLE. Lovely clue.
50. Seoul soldiers : ROKS
52. Birds that ape : MYNAHS
56. Look follower? : LEAP. Look before you leap.
57. Make manifest : EVINCE. Another alliteration.
59. Health org. : AMA
60. Atlantis dweller of comics : AQUAMAN. Have heard of the dude. Don't know where he dwells though.
61. Fall behind : RUN LATE
63. Treated maliciously : SPITED
66. Lode load : ORE. Homophone & alliteration.
67. Boer burg : STAD. Dutch for "burg"?
70. Nabokov novel : ADA. Alliteration.
73. Penitent type : RUER
76. Lucy's landlady : ETHEL. "I Love Lucy".
77. Included in : AMONG
80. Didactic sort : PEDAGOG. Annoying person. But cool answer.
83. Seaweed gelatin : AGAR
84. Got forty winks : NAPPED
87. Bio lab subjects : CULTURES
88. Civil beginning? : SOFT C. The beginning of the word "Civil" is a Soft C.
90. Civil rights activist Ralph : NEAS. Unknown figure to me. Consecutive "Civil" echo.
92. Noted shoe dweller : OLD WOMAN. "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe...". Nursery rhyme.
93. Where soldiers put away food : MESS TENT
96. Soap chemical : LYE
98. "Decide now!" : YES OR NO
102. "The Ruling Class" star, 1972 : O'TOOLE (Peter). Have never heard of the movie.
104. ABC's Arledge : ROONE. Chairman of ABC.
107. Filmdom's Flynn : ERROL. Alliteration.
108. Two-part : DUAL
109. This, in Toledo : ESTA. Another alliteration.
110. Sent the same ltr. to : CCED. Easy for me.
111. LPGA star __ Pak : SE RI. First Korean to be on the LPGA tour. Her surname name is actually Park. Immigration or some other agency misspelled her name. She just let it go.
113. Taos's st. : N MEX
114. Suffragist Carrie : CATT. Recognize her face when I googled. She has a Curt Schilling look, don't you think?
117. "__ who?" : SEZ
118. Boston-to-Weymouth dir. : SSE. Have never heard of Weymouth, a city in MA. Is there any revolutionary tie to this clue?
Please feel free to post on Comments section any alliteration/rhyme/echo or any clever wordplay tricks I've missed. Thanks. And a Happy 4th of July!
Answer grid.
C.C.
PS: LA Times website does not support circles. Please see my Answer grid to see where they are placed.
25A. *"I only regret that I have but one life ..." speaker : NATHAN HALE. America's first spy. Hidden inside is NH.
28A. *Patriot Navy vessel : FRIGATE. I know it's a Navy warship. Don't know the "Patriot" connection. Embedded is RI.
38A. *1765 tax law : THE STAMP ACT. This is not listed in our citizenship exam preparation questions. Enclosed is CT.
71A. *Treaty of __: 1783 war ender : PARIS. Concealed is PA.
82A. *1780 battle site : CAMDEN. The Battle of Camden 1780. Definitely out of my knowledge zone. MD is cloaked in.
101A. *1777-'78 military camp site : VALLEY FORGE. This I know. VA is buried in the phrase.
112A. *"Shot heard 'round the world" site : CONCORD. First clash of American Revolutionary War. NC is disguised. Of course I thought of baseball. Bobby Thomson's home run.
116A. *Article I mandate : US CONGRESS. Article I of US Constitution. It describes the power of US Congress. Veiled inside is SC.
3D. *Beer named for a patriot : SAM ADAMS. Someone mentioned this beer on the blog a while ago. MA is sheltered in.
42D. *First Chief Justice : JOHN JAY. Gimme gimme. He's the author of "The Federal Papers". Listed prominently in our exam booklet. NJ is shielded inside.
62D. *Like the government outlined in the Constitution : FEDERAL. DE is covered.
91D. *Site of a decisive 1777 patriot victory : SARATOGA. Know nothing about Battle of Saratoga. GA is tucked inside.
Then, John's unifier:
55A. *Each circled pair is an abbreviation for one; all 13 are arranged in the roughly north-to-south order in which their representatives (except for John Hancock) signed the Declaration of Independence : COLONY. NY is contained.
Here are those signatures. John Hancock represented MA, which is gridded in the upper left corner. Maybe Argyle can validate John's order. I am very bad recognizing autographs. Those colonies have now become STATES (9D. This puzzle's circled pairs, nowadays).
And more patriotic entries:
21A. Birthplace of seven presidents : OHIO. Minnesota has none.
65A. "Burr" and "Lincoln" : NOVELS. Gore Vidal's "Burr" and "Lincoln". Got me.
95A. Code for Burr and Hamilton : DUELLO. New word to me. Code regarding dueling.
99A. Washington portraitist Rembrandt __ : PEALE. And PEAL (16D. Bell sound that sounds like a portraitist?) & OIL COLOR (30A. Rembrandt choice)
1D. "Yankee Doodle" word : MACARONI. The Feather. And DAMN (51A. "__ Yankees"). Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets.
13D. Tribe allied with the patriots : MOHICANS. Not aware of this information.
101D. Washington's mount? : VERNON. Mount Vernon.
120D. Emulate Betsy Ross : SEW. Her flag has 13 stars, representing the 13 states. John's original theme title is "The First Thirteen *". With the asterisk, I thought it's very clever, esp since each of the 13 theme clues has * too.
Probably my favorite LAT Sunday puzzle in 2010. Below are my reasons:
1) I loved the theme. Tight & complex. Three layers (in John's words): All 13 theme clues & answers have to do with Revolutionary War history; 13 colonies hidden inside; All arranged in north-south order. Clever placement of those state abbreviations and yet all the theme answers still remain symmetric.
2) Lots of clue echos and thoughtful weaving. A sign that the constructor went to extra steps to entertain his solvers. For a 4th of July change, I highlighted them in red in my write-up today.
3) Pangram: Check. John used all the 26 letters at least once to spice up the scrabbliness of his puzzle. Cheater/Helper squares: Nope. It does not please his photographer's eye aesthetically.
I think this puzzle should be distributed as part of the US Citizenship & Immigration Services Civics Lessons for the Naturalization Test booklet.
Across:
1. Painted Desert sight : MESA. I am used to the "Flat tableland" clue.
5. Racetracks : OVALS
10. Minuteman, e.g., briefly : ICBM (InterContinental Ballistic Missile). And SILO (17D. Minuteman's home). I was only familiar with the colonial militia Minuteman meaning.
14. Slip : LAPSE
19. Audio/visual production awards : AVAS. Ava = Audio/visual Awards. New to me.
20. Aspect : FACET
22. __ the hole : ACE IN
23. Aide-de-__ : CAMP
24. Appetite stimulant : AROMA. Hunger too.
27. Therapists' org. : APA. OK, American Psychiatric Association.
31. Chagrin symptom : RED FACE. I just bite my lips. I do that a lot.
33. Alleviate : EASE
36. Queen of the Nile, familiarly : CLEO. And ASP (4D. Queen of the Nile biter)
37. Dental products brand : ORAL B
42. Pickle : JAM. In a jam/pickle.
45. A.L. Rookie of the Year after Derek : NOMAR (Garcia). Oh, 1994 then. I had Derek Jeter's rookie card. It's 1993.
46. Deviate from a course : YAW. Yaw, Pitch and Roll. Dennis is an expert on this term. Thrust too.
47. Land bordering los Pirineos : ESPANA. Was ignorant that Los Pirineos = The Pyrenees. We also have QUE PASA (69. "What's up?" in 47-Across).
48. Macbeth's burial isle : IONA. Nice to know this trivia.
49. Penned? : IN STIR. And PAROLES (71D. Unpens?). Pen = Lock up in the prison. Fantastic clues.
53. Clouseau's rank: Abbr. : INSP (Inspector).
54. Scorch : CHAR
57. Poet's "before" : ERE
58. 2010 Super Bowl champs : SAINTS. New Orleans Saints.
60. Boxer's outbursts : ARFS. Dogs.
64. Scope : KEN
68. Menial position : McJOB. Learned this slang from doing Xword.
72. Song syllables : TRA LA LA
74. Canceled : UNDID
75. Fowl less fancy than her mate : PEAHEN. Peacock is fancy indeed.
77. Nonpro sports org. : AAU (Amateur Athletic Union). Was vaguely aware of this org.
78. Looker : EYER
79. Brewpub fixture : ALE TAP
81. __-80: old computer : TRS. Can never remember this old computer model.
85. Meadow mom : MARE. Alliteration all the way.
86. Bounce back : ECHO. Plenty in this grid.
88. Lily used as food by Mormon pioneers : SEGO. I am not surprised. Dried lilies are widely used in Chinese cooking.
89. Abductor's demand : RANSOM
94. Minimally : A TAD
97. Indefinite amount : ANY. And SOME (120. Indefinite amount).
100. First word of Dante's "Inferno" : NEL. No idea. The starting line is "Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita" = "Halfway through the journey of my life".
103. Western buds : PARDS. I can see the groan in Melissa 's face. She does not like this word.
104. Gp. of battalions : REGT (Regiment)
105. Paving stone : SETT. Rectangular paving stone. I forgot.
106. Waffles : SEESAWS
108. Civilized : DECOROUS. Such a polite word.
115. Palindromic peewee : TOT. And SAS (34D. Palindromic airline).
119. Astrologer Sydney : OMARR
121. "... __'clock scholar" : A TEN' O. Partial.
122. "__ to 'Enry ...": Cockney toast : 'ERES. Here's to Henry. The H sound is dropped in Cockney accent.
123. "... __ man put asunder" : LET NO
124. First Alaskan governor : EGAN. Nailed it. Our old editor used this clue very frequently.
125. Encumbered : LADEN
126. Shoe spec : SIZE. Did you also want EEEE?
127. Laud : EXTOL
128. Desire : WANT
Down:
2. 1946-'52 first lady : EVA PERON. Ah, Argentina's first lady.
5. Joan __ : OF ARC
6. "Spice of life" : VARIETY. Variety is the Spice of Life.
7. Slip __: err : A COG
8. Tony of '60s golf : LEMA. Champagne Tony. Died when he's only 32 years old. Plane crash.
10. Cyclotron bit : ION. Cyclotron is a new word to me.
11. Taiwan tea : CHA. Literally "tea" in Chinese. John picked up Taiwan for alliteration purpose. It's called CHA in mainland China too.
12. __-Honey: almond candy : BIT-O. Have never had Bit-O-Honey.
14. Surgical knife : LANCET
15. Allergic reaction : ACHOO
18. Cabinet dept. with a lightning bolt on its seal : ENER (Energy). Did not know this fact. See its seal. And FABRIC (28. It's bought in bolts) & EATEN (29. Bolted down). I am in awe of John's "bolting" mind.
26. LIKE THIS : ALL CAPS. The clue letters are all capped.
32. Driving problem : FLAT. Flat tires.
35. Realms : EMPIRES
39. Was wearing : HAD ON
40. Obi-Wan portrayer : EWAN (McGregor).
41. Triptych third : PANEL
43. France of France : ANATOLE. Have never heard of Anatole France. French novelist who won Nobel Literature 1921.
44. Snickers cousin : MARS BAR. Does it have peanuts inside?
48. Eaves dropper? : ICICLE. Lovely clue.
50. Seoul soldiers : ROKS
52. Birds that ape : MYNAHS
56. Look follower? : LEAP. Look before you leap.
57. Make manifest : EVINCE. Another alliteration.
59. Health org. : AMA
60. Atlantis dweller of comics : AQUAMAN. Have heard of the dude. Don't know where he dwells though.
61. Fall behind : RUN LATE
63. Treated maliciously : SPITED
66. Lode load : ORE. Homophone & alliteration.
67. Boer burg : STAD. Dutch for "burg"?
70. Nabokov novel : ADA. Alliteration.
73. Penitent type : RUER
76. Lucy's landlady : ETHEL. "I Love Lucy".
77. Included in : AMONG
80. Didactic sort : PEDAGOG. Annoying person. But cool answer.
83. Seaweed gelatin : AGAR
84. Got forty winks : NAPPED
87. Bio lab subjects : CULTURES
88. Civil beginning? : SOFT C. The beginning of the word "Civil" is a Soft C.
90. Civil rights activist Ralph : NEAS. Unknown figure to me. Consecutive "Civil" echo.
92. Noted shoe dweller : OLD WOMAN. "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe...". Nursery rhyme.
93. Where soldiers put away food : MESS TENT
96. Soap chemical : LYE
98. "Decide now!" : YES OR NO
102. "The Ruling Class" star, 1972 : O'TOOLE (Peter). Have never heard of the movie.
104. ABC's Arledge : ROONE. Chairman of ABC.
107. Filmdom's Flynn : ERROL. Alliteration.
108. Two-part : DUAL
109. This, in Toledo : ESTA. Another alliteration.
110. Sent the same ltr. to : CCED. Easy for me.
111. LPGA star __ Pak : SE RI. First Korean to be on the LPGA tour. Her surname name is actually Park. Immigration or some other agency misspelled her name. She just let it go.
113. Taos's st. : N MEX
114. Suffragist Carrie : CATT. Recognize her face when I googled. She has a Curt Schilling look, don't you think?
117. "__ who?" : SEZ
118. Boston-to-Weymouth dir. : SSE. Have never heard of Weymouth, a city in MA. Is there any revolutionary tie to this clue?
Please feel free to post on Comments section any alliteration/rhyme/echo or any clever wordplay tricks I've missed. Thanks. And a Happy 4th of July!
Answer grid.
C.C.
PS: LA Times website does not support circles. Please see my Answer grid to see where they are placed.
