Theme: Gram Positive - Each of the 14-letter theme answer includes two 6-letter anagrams separated by IN, and the puzzle is a pangram, continuing a very scrabbly week of puzzles.
20A. Male goose during hunting season?: GANDER IN DANGER. GANDER becomes DANGER. Well, if you goose a male in hunting season, be careful.
25A. Sought-after former football announcer?: MADDEN IN DEMAND. Now retired hall of fame NFL coach and announcer John MADDEN becomes DEMAND.
46A. Fencing implement at the shop?: RAPIER IN REPAIR. RAPIER (along with EPEE and SABER, the fencing swords) becomes REPAIR.
51A. Biblical guy who refused to believe the writing on the wall?: DANIEL IN DENIAL. Our constructor gives himself a plug. I wonder if realizing his own name worked was the inspiration for this puzzle?
It has been a long time since we had one of Mr. Finan's efforts, and I really hit a home run for personal pleasure, as I love anagrams. This effort is fabulous, all 14-letter theme entries, with perfect symmetry, each anagrammed word being six letters long, and he employs subtle differences in the use of IN for each clue.
Lemonade here and let's get to work.
Across:
1. Outré: QUEER. Well, damn, what a place to start.
6. __ Mahal: TAJ. Do we all remember TAJ means crown?
9. Door parts: JAMBS.
14. Dictionary note subject: USAGE.
15. Brandy letters: VSO. This means Very Superior Old, 12-17 years old.
16. Drools over, in a way: OGLES. Did any of you guys ever ogle, 40A Bingham of "Baywatch": TRACI. Boys, did you watch BAYWATCH ? They knew how to select lifeguards. Or perhaps, 9D. Singer with the Blackhearts: JOAN JETT?
17. "Call it __": "No winner": A DRAW.
18. S or SE: DIR. Lots of abbreviations today, 24. Small, medium, or large: Abbr.: ADJ. (Adjective), 34. Like waitresses: Abbr.: FEM.
19. Netizen who might hear "You've got mail!": AOLER. Netizen, really?
23. Novelist Deighton: LEN. His first book was the IPCRESS FILE an amazingly successful thriller.
33. Le Pew of skunkdom: PEPE. He has shown up often lately.
35. Shocking buildup?: STATIC. My mind focused on this BUILD UP .
36. Shangri-las: EDENS. A reminder of our recent Utopia puzzle…
38. Purple minus blue: RED. Oh goody, mathematical colors, maybe we can combine them with Roman Numerals. 32D. Early seventh-century year: DCIX (609)
41. Get molars, say: TEETHE.
43. Shiatsu response: AAH. A special massage AAAAAAAAAH for our own Mellissa Bee.
45. "Night at the Museum" creature, for short: T REX. I had a little trouble picturing this one even though I love the MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY .
49. Free (of): RID.
50. __-El: Superman's birth name: KAL. Son of JOR-EL. We also have 63. Super __: game console: NES, which supplanted 30D. Video game trailblazer: ATARI.
59. Part of HDTV, briefly: HI DEF. Which is how we watch 60. "South Park" brother: IKE. You either love or hate SOUTH PARK . While we have our, 6D. Swanson product: TV DINNER.
61. Main life line?: AORTA.
62. "Good __!": Charlie Brownism: GRIEF. A true AMERICAN ICON.
64. Cinemax rival: STARZ.
65. Baby-sits, e.g.: TENDS.
66. Jetta fuel: GAS.
67. English class assignment: ESSAY.
Down:
1. Marsh, for short: QUAG. This is an abbreviation for QUAGMIRE .
2. Meat pkg. letters: USDA. United States Department of Agriculture.
3. Take home: EARN.
4. "Yikes!" : EGAD.
5. Fix by fusing, as metal: REWELD.
7. B-boy connection: AS IN. Tricky for me. B as in boy.
8. Hoops legend: JORDAN. Is there anyone who does not know MJ? Or 59D. NBA bio stat: HGT. Yes, they are tall.
10. With eager anticipation: AGOG.
11. Fr. miss: MLLE.
12. Cold one, so to speak: BEER. My youngest son's other career is at ORLANDO BREWING, makes a dad proud.
13. Ukr., once : SSR.
21. Snorkeling site: REEF.
22. Chimes in with: ADDS.
25. Jason's wife: MEDEA. I made the puzzle too, you keep assigning me the right days, C. C.! Glad I was not married to her though. (Note from C.C.: Lemonade's real name is Jason.)
26. "Not __ out of you!": A PEEP.
27. Driller's prefix?: DENTI. I had trouble getting the I.
28. "That is ..." : I MEAN. Like when you got caught coming home at 2:00 am, reeking of pot and booze, gee dad, it was, I mean....
29. Rush Limbaugh ex __ Fitzgerald: MARTA. Shows who you can date if you have Money never heard of this one.
31. More agreeable: NICER.
33. '80s-'90s tennis star Korda: PETR. His daughter JESSICA is a leading amateur golfer. We also have a tennis echo with, 52D. Score after deuce, maybe: AD IN.
37. Oater lawmen: SHERIFFS.
39. What a full moon mitigates: DARKNESS.
42. Shallowest Great Lake: ERIE. We see this lake once a week at least.
44. Cattle unit: HEAD. Lois, be careful!
47. Waiting at a light, say: IDLING. Which reminds me of being 58D. Like a shirker: LAZY.
48. "The magic word": PLEASE.
51. Desperate, as straits: DIRE. I love Mark KNOPFLER.
53. Must have: NEED.
54. Swedish retail giant: IKEA. If you have not been, it is an adventure.
55. Have-__: the less fortunate: NOTS. The opposite of yesterday's NOBS.
56. S&L offerings: IRAS. Are there any S&Ls still in business?
57. Gillette razor: ATRA. Our crosswordese of the day; when will FUSION become popular in puzzledom; the shave is better.
Answer grid.
A nice tight theme, and lots of long words with all the letters, I hope you all enjoyed the ride. Happy Birthday Troy!
Today we also celebrate the birthday of a military mom, Gloria, Lovely Wife to our quick-witted Jazzbumpa. Here is a picture of Gloria with five of their beautiful granddaughters. From left to right: Abby (7+), Rebekka (10-), Gloria, Lauren (6), Amanda (13-) and Samantha (8).
Abby and Lauren live in Florida. Their dad Tom is in Afghanistan (second tour of duty, I think). The rest are in Michigan.
Lemonade
20A. Male goose during hunting season?: GANDER IN DANGER. GANDER becomes DANGER. Well, if you goose a male in hunting season, be careful.
25A. Sought-after former football announcer?: MADDEN IN DEMAND. Now retired hall of fame NFL coach and announcer John MADDEN becomes DEMAND.
46A. Fencing implement at the shop?: RAPIER IN REPAIR. RAPIER (along with EPEE and SABER, the fencing swords) becomes REPAIR.
51A. Biblical guy who refused to believe the writing on the wall?: DANIEL IN DENIAL. Our constructor gives himself a plug. I wonder if realizing his own name worked was the inspiration for this puzzle?
It has been a long time since we had one of Mr. Finan's efforts, and I really hit a home run for personal pleasure, as I love anagrams. This effort is fabulous, all 14-letter theme entries, with perfect symmetry, each anagrammed word being six letters long, and he employs subtle differences in the use of IN for each clue.
Lemonade here and let's get to work.
Across:
1. Outré: QUEER. Well, damn, what a place to start.
6. __ Mahal: TAJ. Do we all remember TAJ means crown?
9. Door parts: JAMBS.
14. Dictionary note subject: USAGE.
15. Brandy letters: VSO. This means Very Superior Old, 12-17 years old.
16. Drools over, in a way: OGLES. Did any of you guys ever ogle, 40A Bingham of "Baywatch": TRACI. Boys, did you watch BAYWATCH ? They knew how to select lifeguards. Or perhaps, 9D. Singer with the Blackhearts: JOAN JETT?
17. "Call it __": "No winner": A DRAW.
18. S or SE: DIR. Lots of abbreviations today, 24. Small, medium, or large: Abbr.: ADJ. (Adjective), 34. Like waitresses: Abbr.: FEM.
19. Netizen who might hear "You've got mail!": AOLER. Netizen, really?
23. Novelist Deighton: LEN. His first book was the IPCRESS FILE an amazingly successful thriller.
33. Le Pew of skunkdom: PEPE. He has shown up often lately.
35. Shocking buildup?: STATIC. My mind focused on this BUILD UP .
36. Shangri-las: EDENS. A reminder of our recent Utopia puzzle…
38. Purple minus blue: RED. Oh goody, mathematical colors, maybe we can combine them with Roman Numerals. 32D. Early seventh-century year: DCIX (609)
41. Get molars, say: TEETHE.
43. Shiatsu response: AAH. A special massage AAAAAAAAAH for our own Mellissa Bee.
45. "Night at the Museum" creature, for short: T REX. I had a little trouble picturing this one even though I love the MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY .
49. Free (of): RID.
50. __-El: Superman's birth name: KAL. Son of JOR-EL. We also have 63. Super __: game console: NES, which supplanted 30D. Video game trailblazer: ATARI.
59. Part of HDTV, briefly: HI DEF. Which is how we watch 60. "South Park" brother: IKE. You either love or hate SOUTH PARK . While we have our, 6D. Swanson product: TV DINNER.
61. Main life line?: AORTA.
62. "Good __!": Charlie Brownism: GRIEF. A true AMERICAN ICON.
64. Cinemax rival: STARZ.
65. Baby-sits, e.g.: TENDS.
66. Jetta fuel: GAS.
67. English class assignment: ESSAY.
Down:
1. Marsh, for short: QUAG. This is an abbreviation for QUAGMIRE .
2. Meat pkg. letters: USDA. United States Department of Agriculture.
3. Take home: EARN.
4. "Yikes!" : EGAD.
5. Fix by fusing, as metal: REWELD.
7. B-boy connection: AS IN. Tricky for me. B as in boy.
8. Hoops legend: JORDAN. Is there anyone who does not know MJ? Or 59D. NBA bio stat: HGT. Yes, they are tall.
10. With eager anticipation: AGOG.
11. Fr. miss: MLLE.
12. Cold one, so to speak: BEER. My youngest son's other career is at ORLANDO BREWING, makes a dad proud.
13. Ukr., once : SSR.
21. Snorkeling site: REEF.
22. Chimes in with: ADDS.
25. Jason's wife: MEDEA. I made the puzzle too, you keep assigning me the right days, C. C.! Glad I was not married to her though. (Note from C.C.: Lemonade's real name is Jason.)
26. "Not __ out of you!": A PEEP.
27. Driller's prefix?: DENTI. I had trouble getting the I.
28. "That is ..." : I MEAN. Like when you got caught coming home at 2:00 am, reeking of pot and booze, gee dad, it was, I mean....
29. Rush Limbaugh ex __ Fitzgerald: MARTA. Shows who you can date if you have Money never heard of this one.
31. More agreeable: NICER.
33. '80s-'90s tennis star Korda: PETR. His daughter JESSICA is a leading amateur golfer. We also have a tennis echo with, 52D. Score after deuce, maybe: AD IN.
37. Oater lawmen: SHERIFFS.
39. What a full moon mitigates: DARKNESS.
42. Shallowest Great Lake: ERIE. We see this lake once a week at least.
44. Cattle unit: HEAD. Lois, be careful!
47. Waiting at a light, say: IDLING. Which reminds me of being 58D. Like a shirker: LAZY.
48. "The magic word": PLEASE.
51. Desperate, as straits: DIRE. I love Mark KNOPFLER.
53. Must have: NEED.
54. Swedish retail giant: IKEA. If you have not been, it is an adventure.
55. Have-__: the less fortunate: NOTS. The opposite of yesterday's NOBS.
56. S&L offerings: IRAS. Are there any S&Ls still in business?
57. Gillette razor: ATRA. Our crosswordese of the day; when will FUSION become popular in puzzledom; the shave is better.
Answer grid.
A nice tight theme, and lots of long words with all the letters, I hope you all enjoyed the ride. Happy Birthday Troy!
Today we also celebrate the birthday of a military mom, Gloria, Lovely Wife to our quick-witted Jazzbumpa. Here is a picture of Gloria with five of their beautiful granddaughters. From left to right: Abby (7+), Rebekka (10-), Gloria, Lauren (6), Amanda (13-) and Samantha (8).
Abby and Lauren live in Florida. Their dad Tom is in Afghanistan (second tour of duty, I think). The rest are in Michigan.
Lemonade
