Theme: Odd Ending (oddity)- ITY is added to the end of the second word (a noun) of a two-word common noun phrase. The resulted nouns all have different roots than the originals.
20A. Oil company's penchant for employee transfers? : EXXON MOBILITY. The base phrase is Exxon Mobil.
29A. Measure of neighborhood drug traffic? : OPIUM DENSITY. Opium Dens, the places where opium was sold.
46A. Egotism that brings you to tears? : MOVING VANITY. Moving Van.
56A. Pigmentation variations? : SKIN DIVERSITY. Skin Divers. Skin diving is defined as "the sport of swimming under water with flippers and a face mask and usually with a snorkel rather than a portable air supply". Not a familiar term to me.
Though the changing pattern for 29A and 56A is the same, adding ITY to a S ending phrase, the original words are profoundly different.
It's a carefully selected & rather exhaustive theme set. Not easy to attach ITY to any noun phrase and come up with a sensible new phrase ending with a different root word. Constructors give lots of considerations to their themes.
I thought of author (Anonymous Author) & authority. But the two derived from the same word, not to mention ANONYMOUS AUTHORITY has 18 letters. Equal & equality do not work either. John Major (former British PM) might though, since Major is a proper name here. Major & Majority. But then how do you clue JOHN MAJORITY?
Tough puzzle. Tough cluing.
Across:
1. W.E.B. Du Bois was among its founders : NAACP. Stumped immediately. Did not know who this Du Bois guy was. He's the first African-American graduate of Harvard.
6. Coot's cousin : RAIL. Oh, man, I did not know coot is a bird. Always associate it with old & crotchety person. We also have ERNE (15A. Coastal predator).
10. Barcelona-born muralist : SERT. Josep Maria Sert. Rockefeller Center muralist. Quite a few art references in this grid.
14. Of an arm bone : ULNAR
16. Hawaii neighbor : MAUI. Could be a clue error. Mike probably wanted "Lanai neighbor" or "Hawaii island". (Correction: The clue is correct.)
17. "The Wreck of the Mary __" : DEARE. Mike used the same clue in his last puzzle.
18. Benefit : SAKE
19. Far Hills, N.J.-based sports org. : USGA (United States Golf Association). Who knows? You'd think USGA is based somewhere in Florida. PGA is there, right, Lemonade?
23. Pennzoil letters : SAE. No idea. Society of Automotive Engineers.
24. Carrier with a hub at LAX : UAL
25. Con opening : NEO. Opening for the word neocon, the likes of Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard). Windhover can give you 10-page essay on them.
26. Arena cheer : RAH
32. Part of CPA: Abbr. : ACCT
35. Where Charlie was trapped, in a Kingston Trio hit : MTA. Learned from doing Xword.
36. Doomed city : SODOM. The sin city.
37. Red : RARE. Was not thinking of steak. Dennis would love a "Pink" clue.
38. Peruvian address : SENOR. Not a real place address.
41. "Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story" star Sherilyn : FENN. Total stranger. Alluring look, yes?
42. Puccini offering : OPERA. And CARO (4D. Puccini's "O mio babbino __"). Literally "dear" in Italian. "O mio babbino caro" = "oh, my dear papa". I was stymied.
44. "__ Woman": 1975 hit : I'M A
45. Muy, across the Pyrenees : TRES. Was ignorant that "muy" means "very" in Spanish.
50. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN A. Or any vowel.
51. Half a cocktail : TAI. Mai tai.
52. "Kinda" suffix : ISH
53. Half-witted : DIM
60. Pedestal : BASE. The supporting base for statue/column, etc.
62. Like Erté's art : DECO
63. Any Frankie Avalon song : OLDIE
64. Follow : OBEY
65. Gardener, at times : HOER. Boring.
66. Like many a motel air conditioner : NOISY. So true.
67. Crown's girl, in a 1935 opera : BESS. I've never seen "Porgy and Bess". What's the crown reference?
68. "Gotcha" : I SEE
69. One who's generally bottled up? : GENIE. Genie in a bottle.
Down:
1. Sculptors' subjects : NUDES
2. Billy Joel's daughter : ALEXA. She tried to kill herself with sleeping pill last year. Big headline.
3. Has __ to grind : AN AXE
5. Asset protection plan, briefly : PRENUP (Prenuptial). Drew a blank.
6. Determined : RESOLUTE. Nice entry, crossing 2 theme answers.
7. __-Israeli War : ARAB
8. Equitable way to pay : IN KIND. Confused me last time.
9. Sobieski of "Joy Ride" (2001) : LEELEE. No idea. She looks like Jewel, doesn't she?
10. Blue books? : SMUT. Blue = Off-color/Risque.
11. 1969 road movie : EASY RIDER. Bet Gunghy and Windhover loved this movie.
12. Toupee : RUG
13. Madre's hermana : TIA. Hermana = Sister.
21. Injures badly : MAIMS
22. They're not free of charge : IONS. They are charged. Awesome clue.
27. Make restitution : ATONE
28. Service songs : HYMNS. Church service.
29. '90s "SNL" regular Cheri : OTERI
30. Frenzy : MANIA
31. Hardly the drill sergeant type : SOFTY. Never know what the words those drill sergeant are muttering.
32. Coffee asset : AROMA
33. Fowl on a menu : CAPON. Castrated chicken.
34. Climbers' obstacles : CREVASSES. New word to me. Same as "crevice".
39. Man, e.g. : OMNIVORE. Too tricky a clue for me.
40. See, and then some : RAISE. Poker.
43. Fighting : ANTI. Wanted AT IT.
47. Kingsley role : GANDHI. Great movie.
48. Family gathering staples : VIDEOS
49. Crowd : THRONG
53. Slew : DID IN
54. Formal doorstep response : "IT IS I". Keep waiting then!
55. "Yeah, right!!" : MY EYE. "Baloney!"
57. F and G, but not H : KEYS. Would make me happy if Jayce was fooled!
58. Slurpee alternative : ICEE
59. __ gin : SLOE
60. Sportscaster Costas : BOB. I like him.
61. Harlem Globetrotters founder Saperstein : ABE. Uh uh. Nope. He died in 1966. The two founder clues today killed me.
Answer grid.
Our Crossword Corner blog team photo series ends today with two recent pictures of the beautiful Melissa Bee from her Girls Weekend Out (Santa Cruz) trip. Here is Kaya and Melissa (in pink scarf). Here are the girls on the wharf. For more delicious pictures, click here.
C.C.
20A. Oil company's penchant for employee transfers? : EXXON MOBILITY. The base phrase is Exxon Mobil.
29A. Measure of neighborhood drug traffic? : OPIUM DENSITY. Opium Dens, the places where opium was sold.
46A. Egotism that brings you to tears? : MOVING VANITY. Moving Van.
56A. Pigmentation variations? : SKIN DIVERSITY. Skin Divers. Skin diving is defined as "the sport of swimming under water with flippers and a face mask and usually with a snorkel rather than a portable air supply". Not a familiar term to me.
Though the changing pattern for 29A and 56A is the same, adding ITY to a S ending phrase, the original words are profoundly different.
It's a carefully selected & rather exhaustive theme set. Not easy to attach ITY to any noun phrase and come up with a sensible new phrase ending with a different root word. Constructors give lots of considerations to their themes.
I thought of author (Anonymous Author) & authority. But the two derived from the same word, not to mention ANONYMOUS AUTHORITY has 18 letters. Equal & equality do not work either. John Major (former British PM) might though, since Major is a proper name here. Major & Majority. But then how do you clue JOHN MAJORITY?
Tough puzzle. Tough cluing.
Across:
1. W.E.B. Du Bois was among its founders : NAACP. Stumped immediately. Did not know who this Du Bois guy was. He's the first African-American graduate of Harvard.
6. Coot's cousin : RAIL. Oh, man, I did not know coot is a bird. Always associate it with old & crotchety person. We also have ERNE (15A. Coastal predator).
10. Barcelona-born muralist : SERT. Josep Maria Sert. Rockefeller Center muralist. Quite a few art references in this grid.
14. Of an arm bone : ULNAR
16. Hawaii neighbor : MAUI. Could be a clue error. Mike probably wanted "Lanai neighbor" or "Hawaii island". (Correction: The clue is correct.)
17. "The Wreck of the Mary __" : DEARE. Mike used the same clue in his last puzzle.
18. Benefit : SAKE
19. Far Hills, N.J.-based sports org. : USGA (United States Golf Association). Who knows? You'd think USGA is based somewhere in Florida. PGA is there, right, Lemonade?
23. Pennzoil letters : SAE. No idea. Society of Automotive Engineers.
24. Carrier with a hub at LAX : UAL
25. Con opening : NEO. Opening for the word neocon, the likes of Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard). Windhover can give you 10-page essay on them.
26. Arena cheer : RAH
32. Part of CPA: Abbr. : ACCT
35. Where Charlie was trapped, in a Kingston Trio hit : MTA. Learned from doing Xword.
36. Doomed city : SODOM. The sin city.
37. Red : RARE. Was not thinking of steak. Dennis would love a "Pink" clue.
38. Peruvian address : SENOR. Not a real place address.
41. "Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story" star Sherilyn : FENN. Total stranger. Alluring look, yes?
42. Puccini offering : OPERA. And CARO (4D. Puccini's "O mio babbino __"). Literally "dear" in Italian. "O mio babbino caro" = "oh, my dear papa". I was stymied.
44. "__ Woman": 1975 hit : I'M A
45. Muy, across the Pyrenees : TRES. Was ignorant that "muy" means "very" in Spanish.
50. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN A. Or any vowel.
51. Half a cocktail : TAI. Mai tai.
52. "Kinda" suffix : ISH
53. Half-witted : DIM
60. Pedestal : BASE. The supporting base for statue/column, etc.
62. Like Erté's art : DECO
63. Any Frankie Avalon song : OLDIE
64. Follow : OBEY
65. Gardener, at times : HOER. Boring.
66. Like many a motel air conditioner : NOISY. So true.
67. Crown's girl, in a 1935 opera : BESS. I've never seen "Porgy and Bess". What's the crown reference?
68. "Gotcha" : I SEE
69. One who's generally bottled up? : GENIE. Genie in a bottle.
Down:
1. Sculptors' subjects : NUDES
2. Billy Joel's daughter : ALEXA. She tried to kill herself with sleeping pill last year. Big headline.
3. Has __ to grind : AN AXE
5. Asset protection plan, briefly : PRENUP (Prenuptial). Drew a blank.
6. Determined : RESOLUTE. Nice entry, crossing 2 theme answers.
7. __-Israeli War : ARAB
8. Equitable way to pay : IN KIND. Confused me last time.
9. Sobieski of "Joy Ride" (2001) : LEELEE. No idea. She looks like Jewel, doesn't she?
10. Blue books? : SMUT. Blue = Off-color/Risque.
11. 1969 road movie : EASY RIDER. Bet Gunghy and Windhover loved this movie.
12. Toupee : RUG
13. Madre's hermana : TIA. Hermana = Sister.
21. Injures badly : MAIMS
22. They're not free of charge : IONS. They are charged. Awesome clue.
27. Make restitution : ATONE
28. Service songs : HYMNS. Church service.
29. '90s "SNL" regular Cheri : OTERI
30. Frenzy : MANIA
31. Hardly the drill sergeant type : SOFTY. Never know what the words those drill sergeant are muttering.
32. Coffee asset : AROMA
33. Fowl on a menu : CAPON. Castrated chicken.
34. Climbers' obstacles : CREVASSES. New word to me. Same as "crevice".
39. Man, e.g. : OMNIVORE. Too tricky a clue for me.
40. See, and then some : RAISE. Poker.
43. Fighting : ANTI. Wanted AT IT.
47. Kingsley role : GANDHI. Great movie.
48. Family gathering staples : VIDEOS
49. Crowd : THRONG
53. Slew : DID IN
54. Formal doorstep response : "IT IS I". Keep waiting then!
55. "Yeah, right!!" : MY EYE. "Baloney!"
57. F and G, but not H : KEYS. Would make me happy if Jayce was fooled!
58. Slurpee alternative : ICEE
59. __ gin : SLOE
60. Sportscaster Costas : BOB. I like him.
61. Harlem Globetrotters founder Saperstein : ABE. Uh uh. Nope. He died in 1966. The two founder clues today killed me.
Answer grid.
Our Crossword Corner blog team photo series ends today with two recent pictures of the beautiful Melissa Bee from her Girls Weekend Out (Santa Cruz) trip. Here is Kaya and Melissa (in pink scarf). Here are the girls on the wharf. For more delicious pictures, click here.
C.C.
