Theme: Where do I find the "F" words? I can't C them.
Wow, it is only February and I already am blogging my second Frank Virzi puzzle this year. To refresh your recollection, Frank is a science teacher working in Townsend (?) Massachusetts (that knowledge might help solving) who gave us an 'ell of time in January with his add a sound offering. This time we have a straight letter exchange where "C" becomes "F" in 5 phrases, three of which are grid spanners. Each of the phrases had a final word that begins with C, but an F is substituted to reveal some visually amusing fill. Having the C in Cover as part of a fill may not be acceptable to some, though it is only Cs in the last word which are switched. The key to this type of theme is the wit of the new fill. I really enjoyed some of them and I hope you did as well. With 71 theme letters encased in only 5 fill we have a puzzle which has no fill longer than 6 letter, except for the theme, with 3,4 and 5 letter words dominating the grid.
17A. Forgeries that are easy to spot? : UPSIDE DOWN FAKES (15). Pineapple Upside Down Cake is the only one I have ever had. Do you get a mental image of the Mona Lisa standing on her head? Getting the theme is very critical because the perp of FIFE which intersects this and the next theme answer, is not easy.
23A. Dude in the CIA? : UNDER COVER FOP (13). I do not think of CIA operatives as Cops but I guess in the generic law enforcement sense they are. FOP is a word I know from reading English mysteries along with TOFF. As I said, FIFE is easy if you have the F theme.
37A. Trivial blunder? : MICKEY MOUSE FLUB (15). Ah, they have given us Annette Funicello, Britney Spears, Justin Timerlake and so many other graduates of Disney's Club. I assume we all of heard of the disparaging, what kind of Mickey Mouse operation are you running here?
49A. Pancake cook in pinstripes? : YANKEE FLIPPER (13). I love this; a reminder of Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper, in his pinstripe uniform.
58A. "My fireplace is defective!"? : I HAVEN'T GOT A FLUE (15). I also laughed out loud for this variation of I haven't got a Clue though we had many, and I hope you filled them all.
So that is the theme, just one letter changed, no spelling or sound changes, just interesting mental pictures.
Across:
1. "Invisible Cities" author Calvino : ITALO. I would guess marti knows considerably more than I do about this WRITER. Lately we are getting tough 1A starts to our Fridays.
6. "I ran away from you once. I can't do it again" speaker : ILSA. One of the most quoted films of all time, Casablanca had Ingrid say these lines:
"I can't fight it anymore.
I ran away from you once. I can't do it again.
Oh, I don' t know what's right any longer.
You have to think for both of us.
For all of us."
10. Ford Field player : LION. The stadium where the Detroit Lions play.
14. Surgery acronym : LASIK. Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis or the easier to parse Laser-Assisted Stromal In-situ Keratomileusis. I am sure we all remember KERA is Greek for cornea.
15. It's a gas : NEON. Fun clue. A touch of science.
16. "Snow White" character flaw : ENVY. Poor Queen.
20. By way of : VIA. A Latin word fully accepted into English.
21. French pronoun : TOI. Moi, toi? wait for perps.
22. Habituate : INURE. Both words mean accustom, but inure is more frequently associated with bad things.
28. Essen's valley : RUHR.
29. Spotted : SEEN.
30. Slug relative : SNAIL. A slug living in a motor home?
33. Roll : WAD. Usually seen with 'of dough.'
34. Word after clip or pop : ART.
42. Colorado native : UTE.
43. "About his head he wears the winner's __": "The Two Noble Kinsmen" : OAK. How cool, some Shakespeare that I do not know, with fill that was not easily inferable.
44. Guanaco cousin : LLAMA. This animal got its name from the Qhechua, who live in the Amazon so we are once again back in Ecuador.
45. Beantown athlete : CELTic. Boston is beantown, and they ended up making no deadline trades. Danny Ainge I thought you had the inside track for Dragic? And, 66A. City NNE of Boston : LYNN. Was this a Natick for anyone? Finally, 46D. Bay State motto starter : ENSE. "ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" "by the sword she seeks quiet peace under liberty" How many of our Bay Staters knew the motto of their home, Massachusetts?
47. Peek follower : ABOO.
54. Some Highlanders : GAELS. Having read extensively about Scotland, this was a gimme. Their STORY. Also, 19D. County on the Firth of Forth : FIFE. I find all of this stuff interesting. LINK.
56. U.N. workers' agcy. : ILO. International Labour Organization. Don't forget the 'u.'
57. Roasting time in Toulon? : ETE. Another variation on cluing the French word for summer (without the accent.)
63. "Footloose" co-star Singer : LORI. She got the Bacon sizzling...
64. Word after "funny" that clarifies its meaning : HA HA. Not, funny odd.
65. 1995 Stallone title role : DREDD. A dreadful film, that has already been remade.
67. Senate Republican leader before Frist : LOTT.
68. Sources of wisdom : SAGES.
Down:
1. Affectionate text : I LUV U. LUV was a way to avoid saying love, when I was young.
2. It's often just inches : TAP IN. You just love those tap in pars and birdies, HG?
3. Syrian leader : ASSAD.
4. Full deck Nero wasn't playing with? : LII. Fifty-two, the number of cards in a modern deck.
5. Gave a thumbs-up : OK'D.
6. Like some soccer games : INDOOR. And football.
7. Pope before Benedict III : LEO IV. All perps; there have been 266 according to the Vatican; do even the best Catholics know them all?
8. Plant : SOW. Juxtaposed with...
9. Taylor of fashion : ANN. There is no such person, it is the name of a retail chain, and it was named after a DRESS.
10. Pressure : LEAN ON. Me.
11. Finish, as a tat : INK UP. My meh fill of the puzzle, don't you 'ink in' the artwork?
12. Finished : OVER. I am so over this.
13. Where to see MMM : NYSE. New York Stock Exchange. They were Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company when I was young, known then for Scotch tape. A CSO to our Minnesota heritage. LINK.
18. "Toy Story" character who draws : ETCH.
24. Composer Satie : ERIK. More marti's STYLE.
25. Gag __ : RULE. In a trial, the judge orders the participants to not speak of the courtroom happenings.
26. Isaac's eldest : ESAU.
27. Team whose logo involves a "wishbone C" : REDS. There are many Cs but only this odd one.
31. Trivial objection : NIT. You get to pick you own. A tiny clecho with the theme clue.
32. One-spot : ACE. Never heard the term.
33. Pan for Yan : WOK. I guess the rhyme is cute, but YAN is not the most well known of Chinese provinces.(up date, the reference is likely to a tv cooking show You Can Cook hosted by Martin Yan)
34. Recipe words : A LA.
35. Mojito ingredient : RUM.
36. Not yet determined, in skeds : TBA. To Be Announced.
38. It's surrounded by white : YOLK.
39. Game ender : MATE. Why do we have 'check' in chess but not in checkers?
40. Morlock prey : ELOI. Yummy?
41. Bomb : FLOP.
45. He served between Warren and Herbert : CALVIN. Coolidge in between Harding and Hoover.
47. Like most rafts : AFLOAT. Not George.
48. Rorschach image : BLOT. The oldest joke: the man goes to the doctor and is shown inkblots but after each one he tells the doctor he sees naked women fornicating. The doctor expresses amazement with the man's fixation on sex, but the patient says, "Me, Doc? I think it is you since you were the one showing me all the dirty pictures."
49. Ache : YEARN. For better jokes?
50. "__ Men Out": baseball scandal film : EIGHT. Ahhm the 1919 White Sox.
51. Pequod co-owner : PELEG. The characters in Moby Dick should all be familiar.
52. Chopin's "Winter Wind," e.g. : ETUDE. Do we like Piano music ?
53. Orchestra group : REEDS. Or do we prefer the ORCHESTRA?
54. Fish feature : GILL. Vince is hurt...
55. "Hi, sailor!" : AHOY.
59. Vezina Trophy org. : NHL. National Hockey League, the award is for the best goalie, named after a Montreal Canadien goalie who died of tuberculosis.
60. Lao Tzu principle : TAO.
61. Some pop-ups : ADS. Too many.
62. Brother : FRA. This is a variant of the word FRIAR; the Catholic encyclopedia says Friars are different from monks in that they are called to live the evangelical counsels (vows of poverty, chastity and obedience) in service to society, rather than through cloistered aestheticism and devotion. Whereas monks live in a self-sufficient community, friars work among laypeople and are supported by donations or other charitable support.
We are now getting ready for spring training baseball while we have parts of So. Fla. experiencing below 40 degree temps for the first time in four years. I realize this is not impressive to all the New England, upstate NY and Canadian readers, but is our harsh winter. Hope you enjoyed Frank V., as I did. Lemonade out (in the cold!).
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear Argyle, my trusted adviser and close friend. I can't picture my life without Argyle, yet I forgot his birthday! I need to be punished!!
