Theme: None
Total words: 72
Total blocks: 29
Great to see a collaboration borne out of our interview. Brad, who now has a regular monthly Saturday Stumper with Newsday, mentioned to me last time that he's co-constructed quite a few puzzles with Doug since then.
This puzzle features eight 10-letter & six 9-letter entries, mostly triple-stacked in each corner:
1A. Single-season RBI record-holder since 1930 : HACK WILSON. Total 191 RBIs in 1930. Hall of Famer. I was aware of his existence and this card, but couldn't recall his name.
15A. Not beyond belief : IMAGINABLE. REASONABLE fit too.
17A. Elementary level : FIRST GRADE. Needed crossing help.
60A. Knocking 'em dead : IN RARE FORM. Nice clue/answer.
65A. Rambo, notably : ONE MAN ARMY. Loved this one also.
67A. Circumscribes : DELINEATES
10D. Sewing circle? : NEEDLE HOLE. Why question mark?
12D. First actress to play Yente in Broadway's "Fiddler on the Roof" : BEA ARTHUR. And EMMYS (53D. Pair on the résumé of 12-Down).
13D. Wheels in a cave : BATMOBILE. In "Batman".
14D. Like many a jalopy : RUST-EATEN. New word to me.
30D. Years in which Picasso's art took a somber turn : BLUE PERIOD. Gorgeous entry.
32D. Any of the "Ocean's" movies, e.g. : HEIST FILM. Was quite fond of those silly "Ocean's" movies.
33D. Upstart : ARRIVISTE. Is it same to nouveau riche?
34D. Ultra-reliable team members : MAINSTAYS. Ah, we have quite a few on our blog. Ultra-reliable!
How long do you normally spend on a Saturday themeless? I punted after 35 minutes.
Across:
11. This ans. is one : ABBR. The word "ans" is abbreviated. I've seen similar gimmick for ACROSS.
16. __ de soie: bridal gown fabric : PEAU. Literally "skin" in French. Soie = Silk.
18. Focus of some H.S. prep courses : SATs
19. Nagano Olympics torch lighter : ITO (Midori). Japanese Figure skater. Stumped me. I wanted ALI. Silly!
20. "Cinderella" opener? : CEE. Letter C in Cinderella.
21. Like season 8 of "Dallas" : DREAMT. Didn't come immediately.
23. Light-footed woman : SYLPH. We've seen the "slender, graceful woman" clue before.
25. Esmeralda's goat in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" : DJALI. Nope! Way too hard a name for me.
28. Salty delicacy : ROE
29. Dealt with a fatal error, perhaps : REBOOTED. Computer "fatal error". Al might get this one immediately.
31. Sched. gap letters : TBA
32. Skywalker player : HAMILL (Mark). Have never seen "Star Wars".
35. Eastern theatrical style : NOH. Literally "ability". Same character as Chinese.
36. Gambler's voucher : CHIT
37. "Moriae Encomium" author : ERASMUS (Desiderius). Not familiar with "Moriae Encomium", an essay translated as "The Praise of Folly" or "In Praise of More" a la Wikipedia.
39. Ochlocracy : MOB RULE. Greek "oshlos" = Mob.
41. Bulb output, maybe : IRIS. Thought of IDEA.
42. "... and too many to mention" letters : ETC
44. Holly of Hollywood : LAUREN. She looks familiar. Nice clue.
45. Stray, in a way : SIN. "In a way", yes.
46. Reacts to an affront, maybe : SPUTTERS
48. Living room sets : TVS
49. Temporary tattoo dye : HENNA
50. Put forward : STATE
54. Less flabby : FITTER. Wanted FIRMER.
56. Bad liar's giveaway : TIC
58. Lap dog, briefly : POM
59. "By Jove!" : I SAY
64. About 5.88 trillion mi. : LT-YR (Light-year). Got me.
66. High point in a Western? : MESA. Sure was not thinking of those small plateau.
Down:
1. Old living room sets : HI-FIs.
2. Good relations : AMITY
3. "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," e.g. : CAROL
4. Metric meas. : KGS
5. Shade tree native to the British Isles : WITCH ELM. First encounter with this tree.
6. "Bus Stop" playwright : INGE
7. I-35's southern terminus : LAREDO. Drew a blank. The U.S./Mexico border city.
8. Fed. loan source : SBA
9. GOP segment? : OLD. GOP = Grand Old Party.
11. Basilica section : APSE
22. Divested (of) : RID
24. Goody two shoes : PRISS. "Goody two shoe" is a new idiom to me.
26. Cryer in a sitcom : JON. The "sitcom" here refer to "Two and a Half Men", correct?
27. Quark's milieu : ATOM
36. It's rolled out at a patisserie : CRUST
38. Leave agape : STUN
40. What eHarmony users can avoid : BAR SCENE. Those eHarmony commercials look quite sweet.
43. UPS unit : CTN. Carton I suppose.
46. Byron's "__ Walks in Beauty" : SHE
47. Geisha's mat : TATAMI
51. Left on the bridge : APORT. Can never remember those nautical directions.
52. "It Wasn't All Velvet" memoirist : TORME (Mel). Known as "The Velvet Fog".
55. Big name in TV talk : TYRA (Banks). Her talk show was over in May.
57. Caspian Sea country : IRAN
61. Vane dir. : NNE
62. Seminary subj. : REL
63. Govt. agency with a wing on its seal : FAA. Here is its seal.
Answer grid.
C.C.
Total words: 72
Total blocks: 29
Great to see a collaboration borne out of our interview. Brad, who now has a regular monthly Saturday Stumper with Newsday, mentioned to me last time that he's co-constructed quite a few puzzles with Doug since then.
This puzzle features eight 10-letter & six 9-letter entries, mostly triple-stacked in each corner:
1A. Single-season RBI record-holder since 1930 : HACK WILSON. Total 191 RBIs in 1930. Hall of Famer. I was aware of his existence and this card, but couldn't recall his name.
15A. Not beyond belief : IMAGINABLE. REASONABLE fit too.
17A. Elementary level : FIRST GRADE. Needed crossing help.
60A. Knocking 'em dead : IN RARE FORM. Nice clue/answer.
65A. Rambo, notably : ONE MAN ARMY. Loved this one also.
67A. Circumscribes : DELINEATES
10D. Sewing circle? : NEEDLE HOLE. Why question mark?
12D. First actress to play Yente in Broadway's "Fiddler on the Roof" : BEA ARTHUR. And EMMYS (53D. Pair on the résumé of 12-Down).
13D. Wheels in a cave : BATMOBILE. In "Batman".
14D. Like many a jalopy : RUST-EATEN. New word to me.
30D. Years in which Picasso's art took a somber turn : BLUE PERIOD. Gorgeous entry.
32D. Any of the "Ocean's" movies, e.g. : HEIST FILM. Was quite fond of those silly "Ocean's" movies.
33D. Upstart : ARRIVISTE. Is it same to nouveau riche?
34D. Ultra-reliable team members : MAINSTAYS. Ah, we have quite a few on our blog. Ultra-reliable!
How long do you normally spend on a Saturday themeless? I punted after 35 minutes.
Across:
11. This ans. is one : ABBR. The word "ans" is abbreviated. I've seen similar gimmick for ACROSS.
16. __ de soie: bridal gown fabric : PEAU. Literally "skin" in French. Soie = Silk.
18. Focus of some H.S. prep courses : SATs
19. Nagano Olympics torch lighter : ITO (Midori). Japanese Figure skater. Stumped me. I wanted ALI. Silly!
20. "Cinderella" opener? : CEE. Letter C in Cinderella.
21. Like season 8 of "Dallas" : DREAMT. Didn't come immediately.
23. Light-footed woman : SYLPH. We've seen the "slender, graceful woman" clue before.
25. Esmeralda's goat in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" : DJALI. Nope! Way too hard a name for me.
28. Salty delicacy : ROE
29. Dealt with a fatal error, perhaps : REBOOTED. Computer "fatal error". Al might get this one immediately.
31. Sched. gap letters : TBA
32. Skywalker player : HAMILL (Mark). Have never seen "Star Wars".
35. Eastern theatrical style : NOH. Literally "ability". Same character as Chinese.
36. Gambler's voucher : CHIT
37. "Moriae Encomium" author : ERASMUS (Desiderius). Not familiar with "Moriae Encomium", an essay translated as "The Praise of Folly" or "In Praise of More" a la Wikipedia.
39. Ochlocracy : MOB RULE. Greek "oshlos" = Mob.
41. Bulb output, maybe : IRIS. Thought of IDEA.
42. "... and too many to mention" letters : ETC
44. Holly of Hollywood : LAUREN. She looks familiar. Nice clue.
45. Stray, in a way : SIN. "In a way", yes.
46. Reacts to an affront, maybe : SPUTTERS
48. Living room sets : TVS
49. Temporary tattoo dye : HENNA
50. Put forward : STATE
54. Less flabby : FITTER. Wanted FIRMER.
56. Bad liar's giveaway : TIC
58. Lap dog, briefly : POM
59. "By Jove!" : I SAY
64. About 5.88 trillion mi. : LT-YR (Light-year). Got me.
66. High point in a Western? : MESA. Sure was not thinking of those small plateau.
Down:
1. Old living room sets : HI-FIs.
2. Good relations : AMITY
3. "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," e.g. : CAROL
4. Metric meas. : KGS
5. Shade tree native to the British Isles : WITCH ELM. First encounter with this tree.
6. "Bus Stop" playwright : INGE
7. I-35's southern terminus : LAREDO. Drew a blank. The U.S./Mexico border city.
8. Fed. loan source : SBA
9. GOP segment? : OLD. GOP = Grand Old Party.
11. Basilica section : APSE
22. Divested (of) : RID
24. Goody two shoes : PRISS. "Goody two shoe" is a new idiom to me.
26. Cryer in a sitcom : JON. The "sitcom" here refer to "Two and a Half Men", correct?
27. Quark's milieu : ATOM
36. It's rolled out at a patisserie : CRUST
38. Leave agape : STUN
40. What eHarmony users can avoid : BAR SCENE. Those eHarmony commercials look quite sweet.
43. UPS unit : CTN. Carton I suppose.
46. Byron's "__ Walks in Beauty" : SHE
47. Geisha's mat : TATAMI
51. Left on the bridge : APORT. Can never remember those nautical directions.
52. "It Wasn't All Velvet" memoirist : TORME (Mel). Known as "The Velvet Fog".
55. Big name in TV talk : TYRA (Banks). Her talk show was over in May.
57. Caspian Sea country : IRAN
61. Vane dir. : NNE
62. Seminary subj. : REL
63. Govt. agency with a wing on its seal : FAA. Here is its seal.
Answer grid.
C.C.
