Theme: None
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 29
Triple stacks of 10s are very common in themeless. But we don't often see grid structure like today's: black square in the middle, a pair of 7s flanked by a pair of 12s. Often you'll find short-entries in the middle.
Here are marquee answers:
1A. Closer's bane : BLOWN SAVE. Baseball. Could also be Home Run or Base Hit.
15A. "My Father at 100: A Memoir" author : RON REAGAN. I like him a lot. Very articulate.
17A. Spoiled brat, stereotypically : ONLY CHILD. Made me think of China's "One-child policy".
31A. Thematic musical release : CONCEPT ALBUM. New to me.
39A. Like architecture involving cedar shakes : SHINGLE STYLE. I bet it's a familiar term to Splynter. Have a look at his work. Isn't it gorgeous?
58A. Band with the 1997 double platinum album "So Much for the Afterglow" : EVER CLEAR. Are they very famous?
61A. "This doesn't look good, guys!" : WE'RE TOAST. I've been hassling Dennis about the validity of some colloquial expressions.
63A. Drains : ENERVATES
Probably my favorite Brad Wilber puzzle. Quite a few entries resonate with me, esp the stacks in upper left corner.
Across:
10. Like some drinking cups : CONIC. Lots of whining about CONED last time.
16. Race arbiter, at times : SLO-MO
18. Fibonacci, by birth : PISAN. Identical clue in a Dec 2010 LAT.
19. __ mission : ON A
20. Eagle relative : KITE. Husker Gary must be thinking of golf score "eagle".
21. Comic strip units : PANELS
22. __ Lisa Vito: "My Cousin Vinny" role : MONA. Easy guess.
24. Tree with above-ground roots : BANYAN. I wouldn't want to look like this if I were a tree.
26. "Out of Sight" co-star, familiarly : J-LO. With George Clooney.
27. PMs or GMs : LDRS (Leaders). PM = Prime Minister. GM= General Manger. Not a good fill. Nice clue.
29. Sleeper, for one : CAR
30. Surge in sales : BOOM
35. Environmental summit topic : ETHANOL
38. Gluck opera based on a Euripides play : ALCESTE. No idea. Gluck is a German opera composer.
41. Hand over : CEDE. Power.
42. Cheerios grain : OAT
43. Pinned arrangement : UPDO. Was worried the clue might be asking for the wrestling "pinned".
46. Galoot : APE
47. Feature of some Birkenstocks : T-STRAP. Sandals.
50. Ruin : SINK
52. Cattle drive gear : RIATAS. Or reatas.
54. Brash radio host : IMUS (Don). And 30D. Cover-ups involving 54-Across? : BLEEPS.
56. Org. with June finals : NBA
57. Country on the Gulf of Guinea : GABON. West Africa.
60. Pax Romana year : ONE AD. Got me. Wikipedia says Pax Romana spans 207 years, from 27 BCE to 180 CE.
62. Chalet beverage : TODDY
Down:
1. Curling tool : BROOM. Neat clue.
2. The Khmer Rouge overthrew him : LON NOL. Always preferable to see a full name, not to mention a palindromic one.
3. No longer cruising : ON LAND
4. Like some one-liners : WRY
5. Banjo part : NECK
6. Indian honorific : SAHIB. Urdu for "master".
7. Mylanta target : AGITA
8. Number denoting an ion's bonding capacity : VALENCE. The clue means nothing to me.
9. Close : END
10. House channel : C-SPAN. Congress. Remember the tricky "House shower" clue? Show-er.
11. Lena of "Chocolat" : OLIN
12. Some facial surgeries : NOSE JOBS. Nice entry.
13. Disappointing news about a sale item : I'M ALL OUT. Another good one.
14. It requires a lot of simmering : CONSOMME. Stock, broth, all same to me.
21. Somewhat : PARTLY
23. Obscure : ARCANE
25. Pester shrilly : YAP AT. Like dogs.
28. "Yesterday" or "Tomorrow" : SONG. Nailed it.
32. "He won't be missed" : NO LOSS. Didn't come to me quickly.
33. Turf piercer : CLEAT
34. First Amdt. lobby : ACLU. So Amdt = Amendment? I've never seen this abbreviation before.
35. Bistro appetizer : ESCARGOT. Yummy!
36. "Schindler's List" beat it for Best Picture : THE PIANO. 1993. I like Anna Paquin's character.
37. Studio space-saver : HIDE-A-BED. Studio apartment.
40. Tried hard : STRIVEN
44. Patronize, in a way : DINE AT
45. Contemplating stealing, maybe : ON BASE. Baseball again.
47. "Driving Miss Daisy" Oscar winner Jessica : TANDY
48. "Honour is __ scutcheon": Shak. : A MERE. Saw this clue before.
49. More pristine : PURER
51. Small racers : KARTS
53. No dreamboat : TOAD
55. Show with an "American Bandstand"-like spoof called "Mel's Rock Pile" : SCTV (Second City Television). Canadian TV.
58. Pronoun in a rebus : EWE. For you. See here. You are the apple of my eye.
59. Long, on Lanai : LOA. As in Mauna Loa (Long Mountain).
Answer grid.
C.C.
Total words: 70
Total blocks: 29
Triple stacks of 10s are very common in themeless. But we don't often see grid structure like today's: black square in the middle, a pair of 7s flanked by a pair of 12s. Often you'll find short-entries in the middle.
Here are marquee answers:
1A. Closer's bane : BLOWN SAVE. Baseball. Could also be Home Run or Base Hit.
15A. "My Father at 100: A Memoir" author : RON REAGAN. I like him a lot. Very articulate.
17A. Spoiled brat, stereotypically : ONLY CHILD. Made me think of China's "One-child policy".
31A. Thematic musical release : CONCEPT ALBUM. New to me.
39A. Like architecture involving cedar shakes : SHINGLE STYLE. I bet it's a familiar term to Splynter. Have a look at his work. Isn't it gorgeous?
58A. Band with the 1997 double platinum album "So Much for the Afterglow" : EVER CLEAR. Are they very famous?
61A. "This doesn't look good, guys!" : WE'RE TOAST. I've been hassling Dennis about the validity of some colloquial expressions.
63A. Drains : ENERVATES
Probably my favorite Brad Wilber puzzle. Quite a few entries resonate with me, esp the stacks in upper left corner.
Across:
10. Like some drinking cups : CONIC. Lots of whining about CONED last time.
16. Race arbiter, at times : SLO-MO
18. Fibonacci, by birth : PISAN. Identical clue in a Dec 2010 LAT.
19. __ mission : ON A
20. Eagle relative : KITE. Husker Gary must be thinking of golf score "eagle".
21. Comic strip units : PANELS
22. __ Lisa Vito: "My Cousin Vinny" role : MONA. Easy guess.
24. Tree with above-ground roots : BANYAN. I wouldn't want to look like this if I were a tree.
26. "Out of Sight" co-star, familiarly : J-LO. With George Clooney.
27. PMs or GMs : LDRS (Leaders). PM = Prime Minister. GM= General Manger. Not a good fill. Nice clue.
29. Sleeper, for one : CAR
30. Surge in sales : BOOM
35. Environmental summit topic : ETHANOL
38. Gluck opera based on a Euripides play : ALCESTE. No idea. Gluck is a German opera composer.
41. Hand over : CEDE. Power.
42. Cheerios grain : OAT
43. Pinned arrangement : UPDO. Was worried the clue might be asking for the wrestling "pinned".
46. Galoot : APE
47. Feature of some Birkenstocks : T-STRAP. Sandals.
50. Ruin : SINK
52. Cattle drive gear : RIATAS. Or reatas.
54. Brash radio host : IMUS (Don). And 30D. Cover-ups involving 54-Across? : BLEEPS.
56. Org. with June finals : NBA
57. Country on the Gulf of Guinea : GABON. West Africa.
60. Pax Romana year : ONE AD. Got me. Wikipedia says Pax Romana spans 207 years, from 27 BCE to 180 CE.
62. Chalet beverage : TODDY
Down:
1. Curling tool : BROOM. Neat clue.
2. The Khmer Rouge overthrew him : LON NOL. Always preferable to see a full name, not to mention a palindromic one.
3. No longer cruising : ON LAND
4. Like some one-liners : WRY
5. Banjo part : NECK
6. Indian honorific : SAHIB. Urdu for "master".
7. Mylanta target : AGITA
8. Number denoting an ion's bonding capacity : VALENCE. The clue means nothing to me.
9. Close : END
10. House channel : C-SPAN. Congress. Remember the tricky "House shower" clue? Show-er.
11. Lena of "Chocolat" : OLIN
12. Some facial surgeries : NOSE JOBS. Nice entry.
13. Disappointing news about a sale item : I'M ALL OUT. Another good one.
14. It requires a lot of simmering : CONSOMME. Stock, broth, all same to me.
21. Somewhat : PARTLY
23. Obscure : ARCANE
25. Pester shrilly : YAP AT. Like dogs.
28. "Yesterday" or "Tomorrow" : SONG. Nailed it.
32. "He won't be missed" : NO LOSS. Didn't come to me quickly.
33. Turf piercer : CLEAT
34. First Amdt. lobby : ACLU. So Amdt = Amendment? I've never seen this abbreviation before.
35. Bistro appetizer : ESCARGOT. Yummy!
36. "Schindler's List" beat it for Best Picture : THE PIANO. 1993. I like Anna Paquin's character.
37. Studio space-saver : HIDE-A-BED. Studio apartment.
40. Tried hard : STRIVEN
44. Patronize, in a way : DINE AT
45. Contemplating stealing, maybe : ON BASE. Baseball again.
47. "Driving Miss Daisy" Oscar winner Jessica : TANDY
48. "Honour is __ scutcheon": Shak. : A MERE. Saw this clue before.
49. More pristine : PURER
51. Small racers : KARTS
53. No dreamboat : TOAD
55. Show with an "American Bandstand"-like spoof called "Mel's Rock Pile" : SCTV (Second City Television). Canadian TV.
58. Pronoun in a rebus : EWE. For you. See here. You are the apple of my eye.
59. Long, on Lanai : LOA. As in Mauna Loa (Long Mountain).
Answer grid.
C.C.
