Theme: A Master Stroke! (And hopefully, what the winner does this week to win the tournament!)
I'll give the reveal first, so as to spoil the fun:
58A. Tournament that begins today (and collectively, words that begin 17-, 23-, 36- and 49-Across) : THE MASTERS. Every first word could begin with the word "master", hence, "collectively", they are all the "masters".
And the the entries are:
17A. One concerned with Times changes : COPY EDITOR. "LA Times", appropriately, for this blog. A MASTER COPY is one that you probably should keep in the safe.
23A. Offensive blueprint? : PLAN OF ATTACK. The offense would plan their attack carefully. A MASTER PLAN should probably also be kept in the safe...
36A. Beetle Bailey's boss : SERGEANT SNORKEL. The cartoon character was always trying to dodge his boss. A MASTER SERGEANT should be kept at a safe distance...
49A. Tonality indicator : KEY SIGNATURE. Major or minor keys in western music. The MASTER KEY should be kept safe in your bra. (Uh, unless you happen to be a guy...)
I just mentioned on Tuesday, that I enjoyed seeing Sam Snead and Arnie Palmer in the SJ2 puzzle, as The Masters tournament was beginning this week. And, WA-LA! Here appears a MASTERpiece puzzle from our own dynamic duo, that I get to write up!!
Hearti here, to do the honors...
Across:
1. Pig ___ : LATIN. Mo-hay, Mas-hay, Mat-hay
6. Out of the cooler? : FREE. "Cooler" is another euphemism for "jail".
10. Street prettifiers : ELMS
14. Kicking partner : ALIVE. As in, "I'm alive and kicking."
15. Maker of Old World Style sauces : RAGU
16. Wet bar : SOAP. Not the mini bar in your hotel room, but that tiny piece of stuff to wash your hands, on the hotel room sink.
19. Senate wrap : TOGA. Old Roman senate, that is.
20. "Roundabout" band : YES. I hope that this opens without an advert for you. 8:43 (Just listen to it in the background, while you finish reading the blog...)
21. Country club costs : DUES. The dues at Augusta National are quite "low": only $10,000 per year, because of all the income generated by THE MASTERS.
22. Related : AKIN
27. Diamond : INFIELD. Of course, we had to have a baseball shout out in this golf theme!
30. Disney girl with a seashell bikini top : ARIEL.
I'll give the reveal first, so as to spoil the fun:
58A. Tournament that begins today (and collectively, words that begin 17-, 23-, 36- and 49-Across) : THE MASTERS. Every first word could begin with the word "master", hence, "collectively", they are all the "masters".
And the the entries are:
17A. One concerned with Times changes : COPY EDITOR. "LA Times", appropriately, for this blog. A MASTER COPY is one that you probably should keep in the safe.
23A. Offensive blueprint? : PLAN OF ATTACK. The offense would plan their attack carefully. A MASTER PLAN should probably also be kept in the safe...
36A. Beetle Bailey's boss : SERGEANT SNORKEL. The cartoon character was always trying to dodge his boss. A MASTER SERGEANT should be kept at a safe distance...
49A. Tonality indicator : KEY SIGNATURE. Major or minor keys in western music. The MASTER KEY should be kept safe in your bra. (Uh, unless you happen to be a guy...)
I just mentioned on Tuesday, that I enjoyed seeing Sam Snead and Arnie Palmer in the SJ2 puzzle, as The Masters tournament was beginning this week. And, WA-LA! Here appears a MASTERpiece puzzle from our own dynamic duo, that I get to write up!!
Hearti here, to do the honors...
Across:
1. Pig ___ : LATIN. Mo-hay, Mas-hay, Mat-hay
6. Out of the cooler? : FREE. "Cooler" is another euphemism for "jail".
10. Street prettifiers : ELMS
14. Kicking partner : ALIVE. As in, "I'm alive and kicking."
15. Maker of Old World Style sauces : RAGU
16. Wet bar : SOAP. Not the mini bar in your hotel room, but that tiny piece of stuff to wash your hands, on the hotel room sink.
19. Senate wrap : TOGA. Old Roman senate, that is.
20. "Roundabout" band : YES. I hope that this opens without an advert for you. 8:43 (Just listen to it in the background, while you finish reading the blog...)
21. Country club costs : DUES. The dues at Augusta National are quite "low": only $10,000 per year, because of all the income generated by THE MASTERS.
22. Related : AKIN
27. Diamond : INFIELD. Of course, we had to have a baseball shout out in this golf theme!
30. Disney girl with a seashell bikini top : ARIEL.
31. Dieter's catchword : LEAN. Cuisine.
32. Stomach discomfort : KNOT
33. Little devil : IMP
41. Navy VIP : ADM. iral
42. Wall St. deals : LBOS. Leveraged Buyouts.
43. Vintner's prefix : OENO. I am an oenophile, "So sue me!"
44. British Petroleum took majority ownership of it in 1978 : SOHIO. Standard Oil of Ohio was bought out by BP, I think in 1968?
46. Answers the call : STEPS UP. Every Wednesday night, that's what I do! And this is a chance to link some impressive STEPS that JD sent to me this week. This artist walks every day in the snow, to make amazing patterns. His name is Simon Beck, and you can find more patterns here.
52. Conde ___: Vogue publisher : NAST
53. Carvey of "SNL" : DANA.This was one of his auditions for "Saturday Night Live". 4:33
54. URL-ending letters : EDU. Anyone else fill in ".com" first, without checking the downs?
57. Rock ending : ETTE. One of these.
61. Part of ABA: Abbr. : AMER. American...er, Bankers Association, British Academy, Bar Association, Birding Association, Bookseller's Association, Bandmaster's Association, Baptist Association...(did I leave anyone out???)
62. Mouse pad? : HOLE. Fun clue!
63. Hair raising : EERIE
64. GOP rivals : DEMS
65. Receiving customers : OPEN
66. Quits : STOPS. I'm not going to STOP yet, I still have to go:
Down:
1. Like some lingerie : LACY. I bet this was Don's clue!
2. Sunscreen additive : ALOE
3. They may be pooled : TIPS
4. Wall climber : IVY
5. Poke fun at : NEEDLE
6. One you might 5-down : FRIEND. I would never needle Don and C.C. !!
7. "Midnight Cowboy" role : RATSO. Rizzo. The guy on the left.
8. Star quality : EGO
9. It. is there : EUR. Italy is in EURope.
10. What's left : ESTATE. Ha! I'm going to spend it all, nothing left!!
11. Doubles : LOOK ALIKES. All babies LOOK ALIKE to me!
12. Potter's practice : MAGIC. Harry Potter, of course.
13. Hit on the rear : SPANK. Oooh, spank me!
18. Twofold : DUAL. See 11D, above.
23. Big name in golf clubs : PING. I have a Ping sand wedge. I bet some of the guys playing this week also have some Pings in their bags. You, Husker?
24. Summer coolers : FANS
25. "East of Eden" twin : ARON. Caleb and Aron Trask.
26. Former Yugoslav leader : TITO. A dynamic, enigmatic, controversial, but well-loved figure.
27. To whom Rick said: "The Germans wore gray. You wore blue." : ILSA. From "Casablanca". Have you seen it?
28. Call for : NEED. Need I say more?
29. Minor leagues : FARM SYSTEM. Of course, another baseball reference...
32. Gold meas. : KTS. Karats. for these:
13. Hit on the rear : SPANK. Oooh, spank me!
18. Twofold : DUAL. See 11D, above.
23. Big name in golf clubs : PING. I have a Ping sand wedge. I bet some of the guys playing this week also have some Pings in their bags. You, Husker?
24. Summer coolers : FANS
25. "East of Eden" twin : ARON. Caleb and Aron Trask.
26. Former Yugoslav leader : TITO. A dynamic, enigmatic, controversial, but well-loved figure.
27. To whom Rick said: "The Germans wore gray. You wore blue." : ILSA. From "Casablanca". Have you seen it?
28. Call for : NEED. Need I say more?
29. Minor leagues : FARM SYSTEM. Of course, another baseball reference...
32. Gold meas. : KTS. Karats. for these:
34. Word after file or edit : MENU
35. Alka-Seltzer sound : PLOP...plop, fizz, fizz
37. K-12 : EL-HI. OK, bring on the complaints!
38. "It's not ___ deal" : A BIG
39. Midday : NOON
40. Dogie catcher : ROPE
45. Some blenders : OSTERS. My Oster blender quit after only 23 years...
46. Pollen bearer : STAMEN
47. Fast-swimming fish : TUNA
48. Wipes clean : ERASES
49. Work with dough : KNEAD
50. Words on a Wonderland cake : EAT ME. No comment...
51. Fred's first partner : ADELE. Astaire. Fred's younger sister, with whom he had a successful vaudeville act in 1905.
54. First name in architecture : EERO. Who can forget the Gateway Arch designer Saarinen?
55. Problem for a plumber : DRIP. Also a problem at a pick-up bar...
56. Versatility list : USES
58. Even if, briefly : THO
59. Short trip : HOP
60. Hanoi New Year : TET. Not to be confused with this. (Fooled ya, didn't I?)
Answer grid.
Hugs,
Marti
1) Note from C.C. & Don:
The theme came to me while thumbing through an old issue of Golf Digest. Don tried to spice up the unifier a bit, but we could not come up with a snazzier reveal of suitable length (11-letters or less, since we wanted 5 theme entries). A bit of trivia for you: Don caddied once for Jack Nicklaus (Six-time Masters champion) in 1976 at Muirfield Village. He said, "It was my first day there, it was late and I was tired, and wouldn't you know Jack came in and wanted to play nine holes. In that group was John Cook, who was attending Ohio State at the time."
(Marti's note: Waaaaay cool, Don!!)
2) Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to Irish Miss! So happy that you're feeling better. Happy Birthday to beer lover Abejo also! Have you heard that James Bond will be drinking beer rather than martini in the next movie?
