Theme: The INs are OUT! The letters IN are removed from in the language phrases or titles, to create a new and completely whimsical clue/fill combo. This is our third puzzle from Bruce, but his first sharing the honors with Doug Peterson one of my many favorite constructors. All of Bruce's LAT puzzles have been published on Friday, so I am now his caddy, his Stevie Williams; oops bad analogy. The theme is the same concept of his September offering, but I found getting started very hard maybe because I got up at 5:30, this morning, but I got 'er done, and had a really good time doing so. Very few three letter words, and lots of original stuff made this a treat. So let's go.
20A. Movie about a wacky submarine crew?: THE DIVINE COMEDY. The very unfunny book by Dante Alighieri, is juxtaposed with a silly clue. Once I got this I had the theme, and all the the corner, but it was hard, as I kept picturing the Cary Grant Tony Curtis movie, Operation Petticoat.
33A. Feeling when surrounded by taxis?: CABIN PRESSURE. Hard to picture than many taxicabs, but Cabin Pressure in an airplane is very important.
40A. Prince's request to the Pauper?: WILL YOU BE MINE? The classic story where the rich kid wants to experience the freedom of no responsibility, so he changes places with the poor kid, told so well by our own Mark Twain. I like the Anita Baker version of the song.
52A. Random criticisms from the Musketeers?: THREE POINT SHOTS. Pot shots are what are modern press believe is reporting; and 3 point shots are a basketball term for long distance scoring, worth more then regular scoring (2 points). Going to see the newest movie version?
The unifier,
48D. Unexpected visitor ... and a hint to 20-, 33-, 40- and 52-Across: DROP IN, suggesting the dropping of 'IN' from words. It came too late to help me.
Across:
1. Revolution for Caesar?: ANNUM. Latin for a year, one revolution around the sun.
6. Run together: BLUR. This is what my vision is like.
10. Midnight snack: NOSH.
14. "The Family Man" actress: LEONI. David Duchovny's long suffering wife, and the co-star with Nicholas Cage in this MOVIE variation of the Prince and the Pauper, where the rich single guy becomes married with kids in a bizarre flashback to what might have been
15. Mystical letter: RUNE. I am sure all of our crew with Germanic, English and Scandinavian backgrounds found this easy.
20A. Movie about a wacky submarine crew?: THE DIV
33A. Feeling when surrounded by taxis?: CAB
40A. Prince's request to the Pauper?: WILL YOU BE M
52A. Random criticisms from the Musketeers?: THREE PO
The unifier,
48D. Unexpected visitor ... and a hint to 20-, 33-, 40- and 52-Across: DROP IN, suggesting the dropping of 'IN' from words. It came too late to help me.
Across:
1. Revolution for Caesar?: ANNUM. Latin for a year, one revolution around the sun.
6. Run together: BLUR. This is what my vision is like.
10. Midnight snack: NOSH.
14. "The Family Man" actress: LEONI. David Duchovny's long suffering wife, and the co-star with Nicholas Cage in this MOVIE variation of the Prince and the Pauper, where the rich single guy becomes married with kids in a bizarre flashback to what might have been
15. Mystical letter: RUNE. I am sure all of our crew with Germanic, English and Scandinavian backgrounds found this easy.
16. Home furnishings acronym: IKEA. The ultimate first letter challenge. The founder's name (Ingvar Kamprad),the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd), and his home parish (Agunnaryd).
17. Success symbol: AWARD. Who was taught 'let them have the credit, you take the cash.'
18. Alarm clock toggle: AM/PM.
19. Shout to a line: NEXT. Great visual, standing in line in the bank.
23. Give out in portions : ALLOT. Meant to say something...
24. Set-to: ROW. Not ROW which rhymes with BOW, oops I mean with BLOW, but the one which sounds like COW, HOW NOW? English is so easy to learn, right C.C.
25. Quarterdeck?: SPADES. Yes, the other quarters being clubs, hearts and diamonds.
28. Set the stage for: USHER IN. Is Usher still in?
32. Carpooler's __ lane: HOV. high-occupancy vehicle. Did you hear about the sad group from Jersey who could not decide between the Holland and Lincoln Tunnel to go to work? they suffered from Carpool Tunnel Syndrome.
36. Largest of a septet: ASIA. The seven continents.
38. Tote: LUG. To carry.
39. Certain surgeon's concern: TREE. The poor sap thought he was going to medical school.
45. In addition: AND.
46. Level of importance: STATURE. being short, I debate this.
47. Harper Lee recluse Boo __: RADLEY. Brilliantly played by ROBERT DUVALL in To Kill a Mockingbird, a wonderful courtroom drama to warm the soul of this old ex-litigator along with 7D. "12 Angry Men" director: LUMET. The movie and play about a jury trapped because of one holdout is marvelous, but Lumet's CAREER was awesome. He died April of this year.
49. Chicago city council mem.: ALD.
50. Prepare eggs, in a way: SHIRR. Simplified, you bake them; I learned the term from reading Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries, as Wolfe liked his eggs a la FRITZ BRENNER WM, you out there?
57. Thick-bodied fish: CHUB. See LINK not ot be confused with the very UN-PC (see below) slang meaning, though if you think about it, it all makes sense.
58. Stir up: RILE. Is this related to the Life of Riley?
59. Birthstones for some Scorpios: OPALS. The last week in October ones.
61. Farm housing: SILO. Housing for the grain? Missiles?
62. Letters from Hera : ETAS. We have lots of Greek going on today.
63. Cap: LIMIT. Like the NFL's salary cap.
64. Like the ocean around SEALAB: INKY. Not to be confused with INKA from earlier this week.
65. Run like a rabbit: DART. Do any of you like John Updike's books?
66. Green Goblin, to Spider-Man: ENEMY. GG is long dead, though.
Down:
1. In the vein of: A LA. Mode? Yummy.
2. Pond denizen: NEWT. I know he is not in favor anymore but this is awfully cruel to Mr. Gingrich.
3. Role in the musical "Two By Two" : NOAH. never heard of the musical, but it was a logical guess from the biblical story.
4. Like fliers on the windshield, usually: UNREAD. Actually crumpled and left in the parking lot; this whole corner was very hard for me.
5. Place to start for a young music student: MIDDLE C. One of the beauties of music, where do you start, in the beginning, no in the middle.
6. "Well played!": BRAVO. Also a network.
8. Offensive to some, briefly: UN-PC. There is nothing I can say which would not be political. so....
9. "Why'd I do that?" feeling: REMORSE. Or perhaps to do your code over again?
10. Trendy retailer named for its original 57th Street address: NINE WEST. These SHOES remind me of missing Robin, and our other youngsters, Tarra Jo, and recently missing Jeannie.
11. Gave the nod: OK'ED. Okay.
12. Tantalizing, in a way: SEXY. Your choice?
17. Success symbol: AWARD. Who was taught 'let them have the credit, you take the cash.'
18. Alarm clock toggle: AM/PM.
19. Shout to a line: NEXT. Great visual, standing in line in the bank.
23. Give out in portions : ALLOT. Meant to say something...
24. Set-to: ROW. Not ROW which rhymes with BOW, oops I mean with BLOW, but the one which sounds like COW, HOW NOW? English is so easy to learn, right C.C.
25. Quarterdeck?: SPADES. Yes, the other quarters being clubs, hearts and diamonds.
28. Set the stage for: USHER IN. Is Usher still in?
32. Carpooler's __ lane: HOV. high-occupancy vehicle. Did you hear about the sad group from Jersey who could not decide between the Holland and Lincoln Tunnel to go to work? they suffered from Carpool Tunnel Syndrome.
36. Largest of a septet: ASIA. The seven continents.
38. Tote: LUG. To carry.
39. Certain surgeon's concern: TREE. The poor sap thought he was going to medical school.
45. In addition: AND.
46. Level of importance: STATURE. being short, I debate this.
47. Harper Lee recluse Boo __: RADLEY. Brilliantly played by ROBERT DUVALL in To Kill a Mockingbird, a wonderful courtroom drama to warm the soul of this old ex-litigator along with 7D. "12 Angry Men" director: LUMET. The movie and play about a jury trapped because of one holdout is marvelous, but Lumet's CAREER was awesome. He died April of this year.
49. Chicago city council mem.: ALD.
50. Prepare eggs, in a way: SHIRR. Simplified, you bake them; I learned the term from reading Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries, as Wolfe liked his eggs a la FRITZ BRENNER WM, you out there?
57. Thick-bodied fish: CHUB. See LINK not ot be confused with the very UN-PC (see below) slang meaning, though if you think about it, it all makes sense.
58. Stir up: RILE. Is this related to the Life of Riley?
59. Birthstones for some Scorpios: OPALS. The last week in October ones.
61. Farm housing: SILO. Housing for the grain? Missiles?
62. Letters from Hera : ETAS. We have lots of Greek going on today.
63. Cap: LIMIT. Like the NFL's salary cap.
64. Like the ocean around SEALAB: INKY. Not to be confused with INKA from earlier this week.
65. Run like a rabbit: DART. Do any of you like John Updike's books?
66. Green Goblin, to Spider-Man: ENEMY. GG is long dead, though.
Down:
1. In the vein of: A LA. Mode? Yummy.
2. Pond denizen: NEWT. I know he is not in favor anymore but this is awfully cruel to Mr. Gingrich.
3. Role in the musical "Two By Two" : NOAH. never heard of the musical, but it was a logical guess from the biblical story.
4. Like fliers on the windshield, usually: UNREAD. Actually crumpled and left in the parking lot; this whole corner was very hard for me.
5. Place to start for a young music student: MIDDLE C. One of the beauties of music, where do you start, in the beginning, no in the middle.
6. "Well played!": BRAVO. Also a network.
8. Offensive to some, briefly: UN-PC. There is nothing I can say which would not be political. so....
9. "Why'd I do that?" feeling: REMORSE. Or perhaps to do your code over again?
10. Trendy retailer named for its original 57th Street address: NINE WEST. These SHOES remind me of missing Robin, and our other youngsters, Tarra Jo, and recently missing Jeannie.
11. Gave the nod: OK'ED. Okay.
12. Tantalizing, in a way: SEXY. Your choice?
13. Magician's prop: HAT. Where did I put that rabbit?
21. Iconic Ingrid role: ILSA. Is this common fill crosswordese now?
22. Mineralogist with a scale.: MOHS. The one with a hardness scale (not quite like Lois' hardness scale).
25. Fiona of "Harry Potter" films et al.: SHAWS. Not one of our favorite type of clues, as the plural is entirely gratuitous, especially where there are other Shaws like George Bernard or Jaws actor Robert. Fiona, meanwhile was fabulous as MARNIE on True Blood, this season. (1:00)
26. Put forth: POSIT. A good two dollar lawyer word, as attorneys do not like to say anything, they aver, they propose, suggest...yaddah, yaddah.
27. Walled Spanish city: AVILA. How fun, the walled home of our Spanish saint, born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada,
28. Desire: URGE. I really would like to hear from all our missing ones; it was such fun to have Dennis back for the day
29. Bumpkin: RURAL. I had a hard time with this clue, as various forms of RUBE kept coming to mind; I do not think of rural as a noun.
30. Goddess of peace : IRENE. From the Greek, EIRENE, and my mother's name.
31. Down-and-out: NEEDY. Anyone else think seedy?
34. Down: BLUE. You think LOVE is? Paul Mariat you rock. (2:28)
35. Pint seller: PUB. The needed beer reference for a non-beer loving man who raised two boys each wanting to brew beer and run a pub.
37. Bible bearer, often : ALTAR BOY. Followed by another semi-religious clue.
41. Winter season: YULE. This comes from the Germanic pagan festival of yuletide, which was incorporated into the Christian history when the birth was moved from summer to December 25.
42. Put in place: ORDERED. I was thinking about putting someone in their place, not just organizing.
43. Pictures taken in a hosp: MRIS. Magnetic Resonance Images.
44. Football helmet feature: EAR HOLE. A very literal clue, so the players can hear the signals, the play calls etc.
50. Like some panels: SOLAR. Anyone using solar?
51. Earthshaking '50s event: H-TEST. Hydrogen bomb test, literally earth shaking.
52. Slender: THIN. I like slender better, thin always seems like a criticism.
53. Clumsy ship: HULK. I do not know why, but whenever we would drive by a big old ship, my father would say, "Look at that old Hulk." Those of you who sail, any reason?
54. Edible pocket: PITA. The bread from the Mediterranean, the word comes from the Greek word for Pie. In texting it means Pain in the, well you get it.
55. Get under control: TAME. Do you think of animals, your hair or your spouse?
56. Unlikely: SLIM, and his best pal none.
57. TV drama set in Vegas: CSI. Crime Scene Investigator; any thoughts on the Ted Danson experiment?
60. Wilbur's whereabouts, in "Charlotte's Web": STY. He actually spent most of his time in the barn, didn't he?
Answer grid.
Well my work is done, thanks Bruce and Doug. It is also my last chance to remind you lurkers and oldsters to come say hello on Wednesday the 23rd. You all know who you are. We like hearing from you and knowing you are all doing well and just too busy for this to be the daily stopping point. Happy Turkey Day all.
Lemonade
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday, Jimbo! Hope you're doing well and still read the blog every day.
