Theme: None
Total words: 72
Total blocks: 28
Themeless puzzles often feature triple stacks, today we have four triple stacks of 10s in each quadrants:
1A. Vacation destination : RESORT AREA
15. Like some avian plumage : IRIDESCENT. What's this bird? Such brilliant colors.
17. Almighty : OMNIPOTENT
63A. Special treatments : RED CARPETS. Like what Hu Jintao got during his State visit. J, X, Z are quite common in Chinese names.
69A. Urban runoff cause : STORM WATER. And RAIN (38. 69-Across source).
67A. Voters : ELECTORATE
12D. It helps maintain posture : MUSCLE TONE
13D. Silk Road component : TRADE ROUTE. Silk Road is the most well-known trading route in Ancient China.
14D. Like some fast planes : SUPERSONIC
28D. Point maker : SCRATCH AWL. Gimme for Splynter/Jerome.
29D. "That's news to me!" : I HAD NO IDEA. Loved the answer. I say it so often.
30D. Existing at the beginning : PRIMORDIAL
Also a couple of symmetrically placed 9s:
34A. Three-time Grammy Award winner for comedy : CHRIS ROCK. Always confuse him with Chris Tucker.
44A. Michigan city where the first Domino's Pizza opened : YPSILANTI. Jazzbumpa mentioned this city once. Wikipedia says it's named after a Greek hero named Ypsilanti.
Quite a few cross-references in the grid, a hallmark of Barry's themeless.
Across:
11. Invoice nos. : AMTs
16. Sikh leader : GURU. Guru Nanak was the founder of Sihkism.
18. Rush order : ASAP
19. Café container : TASSE. French for "cup" . And 55. 19-Across prefix : DEMI. Demitasse. "Half cup".
20. Union requirement : DUES. Was thinking of marriage union and I DOs.
22. Letter run : CDE. No help from the clue. So many choices.
23. Aid for making columns : TABS
26. Flu treatment, at times : INHALER
28. Sample, in a way : SIP
31. Flights : LAMS. Lots of groans last time when lam appeared as a verb.
33. Challengers : DARERS
37. "Same here" : ME TOO
39. Popular toast : SKOAL. Scandinavian toast. Gan Bei in Chinese.
41. Morning or evening, e.g. : NOUN. Nice clue.
42. Let in : ADMIT
46. One- to ten-yr. investments : T-NOTES
48. First name in architecture : EERO (Saarinen). Architect of the Gateway Arch.
49. Org. that included the Benelux countries : EEC (European Economic Community). No idea. Is this a forerunner to EU?
50. Waist management items : CORSETS. Ha ha, I actually read it as "waste management".
52. Big mouths : MAWS
54. Covered up : HID
57. Holly portrayer : BUSEY (Gary). "The Buddy Holly Story" is pretty good.
61. Court edge : AD IN (Advantage In). Tennis court.
66. Sport : WEAR
68. Singing syllables : LA LA
Down:
1. With 7-Down, something read during a lecture? : RIOT. 7. See 1-Down : ACT.. Riot act.
2. First name in humor : ERMA (Bombeck)
3. Some are deadly : SINS. Deadly sins.
4. Lyric poet : ODIST
5. Nullifies : REPEALS
6. General on a menu : TSO. General Tso's Chicken. The pronunciation of TSO is very similar to the Cantonese F word.
8. Marsh stalk : REED
9. Lecture reaction, perhaps : ENNUI. Could picture a smiling Husker Gary.
10. Be present : ATTEND
11. Turkish bigwig : AGA
21. Bedroom accessory : SHAM
24. They need tending : BARS. Tending bars. And 25. Like some 24-Down : SMOKY. State-wide smoking ban here.
27. Play area : ARENA
32. Reach : SCOPE. Noun "Reach".
35. FDR, HST, etc. : INITS
36. 1985 National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee : KASEM (Casey)
40. Former Maltese currency : LIRA. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says they started using Euro in 2008.
43. Miffed, with "off" : TEED
45. Uncultivated : LOWBROW
47. Roughly 35-cubic-foot measures : STERES. Classic crosswordese.
51. Silvery food fish : SMELT
53. Old Toyota : SUPRA. Interesting for Japanese to use a Latin-rooted name.
56. Logical beginning? : IDEO. Ideological.
58. Pants part : SEAT
59. Usher ending, once : ETTE. Usherette. Un-PC now I suppose.
60. River of Flanders : YSER. Flow to North Sea.
62. Gp. with many pieces : NRA. Why are guns called pieces?
64. "Lookin' Out My Back Door" band, briefly : CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Got via crosses.
65. Bill source : ATM
Answer grid.
A few weeks ago, I mentioned on the blog that Lemonade was compiling a list of his favorite LAT puzzles/clues for 2010. Unfortunately his computer crashed and his extensive notes can't be recovered. Below is a short list of my favorites:
Rhyme Time: April 27, 2010 by Pete Muller and Sue Keefer. Rhyming two-word common expressions that contain a body part. Excellent set of 8 theme entries.
The First Thirteen: July 4, 2010 by John Lampkin. Resonated with me due to my American citizenship exam & the subsequent swear-in ceremony. Timeless theme. High educational value. Intricate grid design.
OFF TO A FAST START: July 21, 2010 by Dan Naddor. Theme entries start with a synonym of FAST. Not a standard punny Naddor, but I loved the unifier and had fun with the puzzle.
DC COMICS: October 12, 2010 by Meredith Ito (I'm the editor", Rich Norris): DC are the initials of the four comics in the grid. Just an outstanding unifier.
ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT: November 25, 2010 by Don "hard G" Gagliardo. All the edge answers can follow "ELECTRIC". Unusual, original concept, like most of Don's themes. Who can forget his L-BARs?
EYE OPENER: Dec 29, 2010 by Gary Cee. Gorgeously designed grid with intersecting theme entries. A beauty.
I'd love to hear which ones impressed you the most.
C.C.
Total words: 72
Total blocks: 28
Themeless puzzles often feature triple stacks, today we have four triple stacks of 10s in each quadrants:
1A. Vacation destination : RESORT AREA
15. Like some avian plumage : IRIDESCENT. What's this bird? Such brilliant colors.
17. Almighty : OMNIPOTENT
63A. Special treatments : RED CARPETS. Like what Hu Jintao got during his State visit. J, X, Z are quite common in Chinese names.
69A. Urban runoff cause : STORM WATER. And RAIN (38. 69-Across source).
67A. Voters : ELECTORATE
12D. It helps maintain posture : MUSCLE TONE
13D. Silk Road component : TRADE ROUTE. Silk Road is the most well-known trading route in Ancient China.
14D. Like some fast planes : SUPERSONIC
28D. Point maker : SCRATCH AWL. Gimme for Splynter/Jerome.
29D. "That's news to me!" : I HAD NO IDEA. Loved the answer. I say it so often.
30D. Existing at the beginning : PRIMORDIAL
Also a couple of symmetrically placed 9s:
34A. Three-time Grammy Award winner for comedy : CHRIS ROCK. Always confuse him with Chris Tucker.
44A. Michigan city where the first Domino's Pizza opened : YPSILANTI. Jazzbumpa mentioned this city once. Wikipedia says it's named after a Greek hero named Ypsilanti.
Quite a few cross-references in the grid, a hallmark of Barry's themeless.
Across:
11. Invoice nos. : AMTs
16. Sikh leader : GURU. Guru Nanak was the founder of Sihkism.
18. Rush order : ASAP
19. Café container : TASSE. French for "cup" . And 55. 19-Across prefix : DEMI. Demitasse. "Half cup".
20. Union requirement : DUES. Was thinking of marriage union and I DOs.
22. Letter run : CDE. No help from the clue. So many choices.
23. Aid for making columns : TABS
26. Flu treatment, at times : INHALER
28. Sample, in a way : SIP
31. Flights : LAMS. Lots of groans last time when lam appeared as a verb.
33. Challengers : DARERS
37. "Same here" : ME TOO
39. Popular toast : SKOAL. Scandinavian toast. Gan Bei in Chinese.
41. Morning or evening, e.g. : NOUN. Nice clue.
42. Let in : ADMIT
46. One- to ten-yr. investments : T-NOTES
48. First name in architecture : EERO (Saarinen). Architect of the Gateway Arch.
49. Org. that included the Benelux countries : EEC (European Economic Community). No idea. Is this a forerunner to EU?
50. Waist management items : CORSETS. Ha ha, I actually read it as "waste management".
52. Big mouths : MAWS
54. Covered up : HID
57. Holly portrayer : BUSEY (Gary). "The Buddy Holly Story" is pretty good.
61. Court edge : AD IN (Advantage In). Tennis court.
66. Sport : WEAR
68. Singing syllables : LA LA
Down:
1. With 7-Down, something read during a lecture? : RIOT. 7. See 1-Down : ACT.. Riot act.
2. First name in humor : ERMA (Bombeck)
3. Some are deadly : SINS. Deadly sins.
4. Lyric poet : ODIST
5. Nullifies : REPEALS
6. General on a menu : TSO. General Tso's Chicken. The pronunciation of TSO is very similar to the Cantonese F word.
8. Marsh stalk : REED
9. Lecture reaction, perhaps : ENNUI. Could picture a smiling Husker Gary.
10. Be present : ATTEND
11. Turkish bigwig : AGA
21. Bedroom accessory : SHAM
24. They need tending : BARS. Tending bars. And 25. Like some 24-Down : SMOKY. State-wide smoking ban here.
27. Play area : ARENA
32. Reach : SCOPE. Noun "Reach".
35. FDR, HST, etc. : INITS
36. 1985 National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee : KASEM (Casey)
40. Former Maltese currency : LIRA. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says they started using Euro in 2008.
43. Miffed, with "off" : TEED
45. Uncultivated : LOWBROW
47. Roughly 35-cubic-foot measures : STERES. Classic crosswordese.
51. Silvery food fish : SMELT
53. Old Toyota : SUPRA. Interesting for Japanese to use a Latin-rooted name.
56. Logical beginning? : IDEO. Ideological.
58. Pants part : SEAT
59. Usher ending, once : ETTE. Usherette. Un-PC now I suppose.
60. River of Flanders : YSER. Flow to North Sea.
62. Gp. with many pieces : NRA. Why are guns called pieces?
64. "Lookin' Out My Back Door" band, briefly : CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Got via crosses.
65. Bill source : ATM
Answer grid.
A few weeks ago, I mentioned on the blog that Lemonade was compiling a list of his favorite LAT puzzles/clues for 2010. Unfortunately his computer crashed and his extensive notes can't be recovered. Below is a short list of my favorites:
Rhyme Time: April 27, 2010 by Pete Muller and Sue Keefer. Rhyming two-word common expressions that contain a body part. Excellent set of 8 theme entries.
The First Thirteen: July 4, 2010 by John Lampkin. Resonated with me due to my American citizenship exam & the subsequent swear-in ceremony. Timeless theme. High educational value. Intricate grid design.
OFF TO A FAST START: July 21, 2010 by Dan Naddor. Theme entries start with a synonym of FAST. Not a standard punny Naddor, but I loved the unifier and had fun with the puzzle.
DC COMICS: October 12, 2010 by Meredith Ito (I'm the editor", Rich Norris): DC are the initials of the four comics in the grid. Just an outstanding unifier.
ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT: November 25, 2010 by Don "hard G" Gagliardo. All the edge answers can follow "ELECTRIC". Unusual, original concept, like most of Don's themes. Who can forget his L-BARs?
EYE OPENER: Dec 29, 2010 by Gary Cee. Gorgeously designed grid with intersecting theme entries. A beauty.
I'd love to hear which ones impressed you the most.
C.C.
