Theme: Size Matters - The first word of each theme answer is a synonym for very small. Toy, Pygmy, Miniature, and Dwarf are also terms used for certain small animal breeds (i.e., Dachschunds can be dwarf, toy, teacup, or micro-mini).
18A. Members of a small army : TOY SOLDIERS. Great clue. I think every kid played with these.
20A. Lumbering critter of Borneo : PYGMY ELEPHANT. So cute.
36A. Some Steinways : BABY GRAND PIANOS. Also, concert, parlor or boudoir grand. Baby grand is the smallest of the grands.
52A. Game often involving a windmill : MINIATURE GOLF. Anyone willing to take a crack at explaining this? (As Dennis says, so many lines.)
57A. Pluto, now : DWARF PLANET
Melissa here.
Melissa here.
An honor to blog one of the few remaining Dan Naddor puzzles. Full of his typical clever clues. I think he wanted us to have some fun with this one.
Dan also overlapped the first & last two pair of theme entries. Hard to achieve in Xword construction.
Across
1. Rd. traveler's stat : MPG. Miles per gallon.
4. Spinnaker, e.g. : SAIL
8. Tending to hang down : DROOPY. No one here though, it's others.
14. Treasure de la Sierra Madre : ORO. Oro is the Spanish word for gold.
15. "M*A*S*H" star : ALDA. Alan Alda. One of the greatest characters, in one of the greatest shows ever.
16. Merited : EARNED
17. Kung __ chicken : PAO. A spicy Sichuan dish with chicken, chili peppers, and peanuts, named after Ding Baozhen, who's title was Gōng Bǎo (宮保), or "palatial guardian."
22. Conger catcher : EELER
23. Publicize : AIR
24. Delivery experts, for short : OB'S. Obstetricians deliver babies. Cute.
27. Remnant : DREG
28. Stuffed : FULL. For you, Jeannie.
31. "Knock it off!" : STOP
32. Poker ploy : RAISE. Was thinking something more like bluff - great subtle clue.
34. Grumpy co-worker? : SNEEZY. Another fun clue.
40. WWII depth charge targets : U-BOATS
41. Bungling : INEPT. Thought of him. "A clue, a clue, a clue!"
42. Any day now : SOON
43. Bite like a beaver : GNAW. Great word.
44. Construction beam : I-BAR
48. Loud laugh : YUK
51. Take potshots : SNIPE
59. Former CNN anchor Dobbs : LOU
60. Wreck, as plans : DERAIL
61. Losing proposition? : DIET
62. Soul, to Sartre : AME
63. Start liking : TAKE TO
64. WWII Normandy battle site : ST. LO. From Wikipedia: Saint-Lô was almost totally destroyed (95% according to common estimates) during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, earning the title of "The Capital of the Ruins" from Samuel Beckett; it was even questioned whether to rebuild it or to leave the ruins intact as a testimony to the bombing.
65. OPEC unit : BBL. Oil - bbl is a designation for a standard unit of measure of a barrel of oil, 42 gallons.
Down
1. Swabbed : MOPPED
2. Bedtime ritual for many : PRAYER
3. Provider of millions of hits : GOOGLE. Great mis-direction.
4. Woodlands deity : SATYR
5. Lip balm ingredient : ALOE
6. Pastoral verse : IDYL
7. Cut with a surgical beam : LASE
8. Indian metropolis : DELHI
9. Tool for scouting pitchers : RADAR. Used to measure the velocity of a pitch.
10. "Are you out __?" : OR IN. Theme related?
11. Count that may diffuse anger : ONE TO TEN. Could prevent eight-to-ten.
12. Part of 1-Across : PER
13. QB's gains : YDS
19. Birthstone after sapphire : OPAL. September = Sapphire, October = Opal.
21. "When Harry Met Sally..." co-star : MEG RYAN.
25. Doofus : BOZO
26. 1974 CIA spoof : SPYS. Do not remember this.
28. Fragrant evergreens : FIRS. Timely. This just came up on Monday's comments. That time of year already ...
29. __ Today : USA
30. Red Square honoree : LENIN
31. Restaurant host's purview : SEATING
33. FBI employee : AGT. Agent.
34. Gush : SPEW
35. Barely beat : NIP
36. Not taking calls, perhaps : BUSY
37. "__ Ben Adhem": James Leigh Hunt poem : ABOU. I'll leave it to Clear Ayes.
38. Web surfer's shortcut : BOOKMARK
39. Paternity suit letters : DNA. Made me chuckle.
43. Intent : GOAL
45. Class with dissections, for short : BIO-LAB. Biology.
46. Poise : APLOMB. Great crossword word, two vowels, four consonants. Surprised we don't see it more often.
47. Gas up : REFUEL.
49. Not qualified : UNFIT
50. Double: Pref. : DIPLO. Diplomat, diplocardiac.
51. Brief brawl : SET-TO
53. Wrath, in a hymn title : IRAE. Dies Irae (Day of Wrath). So dramatic.
54. Smidgens : TADS
55. Military group : UNIT
56. Casting need : REEL. Fishing.
57. Banned bug killer : DDT. Thanks, in large part, to one of my heroes, Rachel Carson.
58. "Are __ pair?": "Send in the Clowns" lyric : WE A
Answer grid.
Notes from C.C.:
Today we celebrate the birthday of our trombonist/poet/wordsmith Jazzbumpa, Iron (I, Ron) in real life. This is one of my favorite blog photos, Ron with his Lovely Wife Gloria and their 11 grandchildren.
Melissa
Answer grid.
Notes from C.C.:
Today we celebrate the birthday of our trombonist/poet/wordsmith Jazzbumpa, Iron (I, Ron) in real life. This is one of my favorite blog photos, Ron with his Lovely Wife Gloria and their 11 grandchildren.
Melissa
