Theme: Double Takes. Common phrases with the word “double” are transformed cleverly by doubling the key word, instead, like this:
17A. Much-feared economic situation. DIP DIP RECESSION. “Double” dip recession, or a recession, short-lived recovery, followed by another recession.
24A. Sightseer’s option. DECKER DECKER BUS. “Double” decker bus. Often, a London sightseer’s option.
42A. It both aids and hinders. EDGED EDGED SWORD. “Double” edged sword. If one edge is pointing at the enemy, the other edge is pointing directly back at yourself…
56A. Optimal design for clinical trials. BLIND BLIND STUDY. So, here is where I got the AHA moment. I had ****D BLIND STUDY. And I knew it was “double blind study”, or one where neither the participants nor the administrators of the study know the parameters. DUH! Pass the V8 can, please. How many double blind studies have I overseen in my research years? And to think that the most satisfactory one was in an LA Times crossword puzzle!!
Marti signing in today, and totally loving this puzzle! So let me share some of my thoughts…
Across:
1. Like gates, at times. AJAR. When is a gate not a gate?
5. Wide-brimmed hat wearers. AMISH. Did anyone want Tom Mix? (You are dating yourself!)
10. 5-Across, e.g. SECT. This actually let me go back and fill in AMISH for 5A.
14. Pasture gait. LOPE. Not pace, trot, step, clip or walk…
15. Archaeologist’s prefix. PALEO
16. Chat room “Just a thought…” IMHO. In my humble opinion…
20. AOL feature. ONLINE AD. Ubiquitous, IMHO.
21. Like grapefruit. CITRUS
22. Cross shape. TAU. The Greek cross.
23. It often has two slashes. DATE. 11/03/11. Yep, they’re right…two slashes!
32. Despises. ABHORS
33. Angst. WOE. “Angst is me!”
34. Egyptian threat. ASP
35. Bell, book and candle. NOUNS. We’ve had “Tom, Dick and Harry, e.g.” for NAMES before.
Why no “e.g.” here?
36. Reunion attendees. KIN.
37. Humeri attachments. ULNAE. Filled in rapidly, without thinking about it. But to analyze, “humeri” is the Latin plural of “humerus”, or the long bone of the arm from elbow to shoulder, and ULNAE is the Latin plural of ulna, which is the long bone from the elbow to the wrist.
39. Former station for 26-down. CNN. And 26D. Povich co-anchor. CHUNG. Maury and Connie Chung. “Weekends with Maury and Connie” debuted in January 2006, but was cancelled for lack of interest in June. Connie did a parody of herself in this “Thanks for the Memories” clip when it was cancelled.
40. Go astray. SIN. Who wanted “err”?
41. Advil alternative. ANACIN. Tylenol alternative yesterday, for “Bayer”. Today, ANACIN and Advil are both solid brand names, right? Either way, I’m getting a headache…
46. Mil. Field rations. MRES. Meal Ready to Eat…s. So, how would YOU do the plural? I would probably say “meals ready to eat”…or to abbreviate: MRE.
47. Fruity suffix. ADE. Lemon-, lime-, orange-, block- (…whatever!)
48. Noted. ESPIED. “I espied, with my little eye…” Link.
51. Cold ones. BREWSKIS. Ahhh..now here’s one we can all relate to, right?
58. Tops. A-ONE. My favorite steak sauce!
59. Wading bird. EGRET.
60. Yeats’s homeland. ERIN. Note, the apostrophe in Yeats’s name!
61. Huck Finn-like assent. YES’M. Note, the apostrophe in the contraction…
62. Golden, south of the border. DE ORO. Literally, “of gold” in Spanish.
63. Something on the house?: Abbr. MTGE. Most people have a mortgage on their house.
Down:
1. Tough guy actor __ Ray : ALDO. No clue. This guy.
2. Make one : JOIN
3. Laundry room item: Abbr. : APPL. Appliance
4. __-Tea: White Rose product : REDI. The world's first instant iced tea (or is it "ice-tea"?)
5. Manifests itself : APPEARS
6. Emulate a conqueror : MARAUD
7. "__ Three Lives": old TV drama : I LED
8. Champagne designation : SEC . Meaning "dry" in French. Not to be confused with "sekt", which is the German term for "sparkling" wine.
9. Dixie breakfast fare : HOECAKE. Mmmm..DH loves him some HOE CAKE, made with cornmeal and milk, for breakfast!
10. Convent address : SISTER
11. Mideast chieftain : EMIR
12. Mid-20th-century Chinese premier : CHOU. En-lai, or Zhou Enlai. First Premier of the PRC. C.C. taught me that Cantonese has no "zh" word. Hence Zhou En-Lai becomes Chou En-Lai.
13. Scads : TONS.
18. Lays in a grave : INTERS. Spooky clue - should have had this one on Monday!
19. Where it's at : SITE. Loved this clue! Here's my first thought...
23. Brand in a ratty apartment? : D-CON. Ewww...
24. Ball : DANCE
25. WWII investment choice : E-BOND
27. Heyerdahl's "__-Tiki" : KON
28. Basketball Hall of Fame center since 2008 : EWING
29. Baccarat cry : BANCO. John Lennon mistakenly yelled "Bingo!" in "A Hard Day's Night".
30. Carrier renamed in 1997 : US AIR. Now US Airways.
31. Shell out : SPEND
36. "The __ Are All Right": 2010 Oscar nominee : KIDS
37. Prepares to redo, as a quilt section : UNSEWS. Comments?
38. Court standard : LAW
40. Ready-to-plant plot : SEED BED
41. Augmented : ADDED TO
43. "Crack a Bottle" rapper : EMINEM. Sorry, you're going to have to provide your own links here. I'm going to go crack a bottle of wine...(Hey, it is almost 11 PM when I am doing this, not 5:30 AM!!) (Jeesh!!)
44. Scott in an 1857 case : DRED. Review: Dred Scott unsuccessfully sued for his freedom, and that of his wife and children, because he had lived with his master in states where slavery was illegal. All this was made moot by Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
45. Dough maker? : EARNER
48. Modern option for sellers : EBAY
49. English jelly fruit : SLOE. I like mine with gin!
50. Establishes, with "down" : PINS
51. Ballpoint pen brand : BIRO
52. __ cell research : STEM. Gail Martin at UCSF is a pioneer in this area, and one of my "heroines".
53. "Timequake" author Vonnegut : KURT
54. Hipster's "Gotcha!" : I DIG
55. Word sung on New Year's Day : SYNE. Auld...lang...
57. Bigger than med. : LGE. (You want fries with that??)
That's it for now. See you next week, same time, same blog spot!
Marti
