Theme: Meeting your Match
Across:
1. One in a semi circle? : CB-ER. Great clue. One of a group of truckers.
5. "Peer Gynt" playwright : IBSEN
10. Chopped-up fare : HASH. Food! If you're ever anywhere near Napa, make a bee-line for the Boon Fly Cafe for breakfast. They make the world's best corned beef hash (in my humble opinion, of course). Here's the evidence before I ate it:
14. In the style of, on trattoria menus : ALLA. Two Food! in a row! Thanks, Jack.
15. Mount in Exodus : SINAI
16. Mighty Dog alternative : ALPO
17. Links star McIlroy : RORY. He tore a ligament in his ankle last weekend playing a pick-up soccer game with his buddies. He's probably going to miss the next four tournaments, including the Open Championship at St. Andrews next week. That's an expensive game of footie.
18. Court star Borg : BJORN. A very topical name as the Wimbledon tournament is currently underway. He won the Men's Singles there five times in a row.
19. Spiffy : NEAT
23. "Heidi" author Johanna : SPYRI. Crosses - I can never remember how to spell this name.
24. Entry before a password : USER ID
25. Mil. training academy : O.C.S. Officer Candidate School.
27. Legendary 15-Across climber : MOSES. He apparently came down with the Ten Commandments, which have been causing us miserable sinners trouble ever since.
38. Rent alternative : OWN
39. Pasty : ASHEN
40. Quaint quarters : INN
46. "Ah, Wilderness!" mother : ESSIE. This Eugene O'Neill play was completely unknown to me, so thank you, crosses.
47. Fifth scale note : SOL
48. 1950s-'70s TV heroine : LASSIE
53. Collect : AMASS
59. All-birds comic strip : SHOE
61. Matter of fact : DATUM
62. Big Apple neighborhood above Houston Street : NOHO. North of Houston. Soho is south. My next-door neighborhood here in LA is also a NOHO - North Hollywood.
63. New Rochelle college : IONA
64. Reason to wear shades : GLARE
65. __ mater : ALMA
66. Bird's place : NEST. 59A locale.
67. Ruhr Valley city : ESSEN. My first German text book in high school featured the Müller family who lived in Essen. I recall they were proud of the zoo and the river.
68. Congeal : CLOT. I had "CLOG" first, which made my final entry a "what on earth is a shoag? moment."
Down:
1. Pasta nutrients : CARBS. My pasta nutrients are much more likely to be San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil and grated pecorino.
2. Hit just over the infield : BLOOP
3. Judy Jetson's brother : ELROY
4. Fast-food tycoon : RAY KROC. Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler wrote this song about him.
5. Dust jacket ID : ISBN. The International Standard Book Number.
6. Delicate piece of jewelry : BIJOU
7. Bamboozles : SNOWS. Learning moment for me. I don't recall seeing "snow" used in this context before.
8. Country star Steve : EARLE
9. Former Candlestick Park NFLer : NINER. The 49ers have decamped to a new stadium at the southern end of the bay in Santa Clara. I saw Paul McCartney playing the final concert at Candlestick last year. I couldn't hear the music though - I was on a plane taking off from SFO heading home to LA. Great timing!
10. Intimidated, as a look : HANGDOG
11. Protected from gusts : ALEE
12. Place to relax : SPA
13. On a streak : HOT
21. Fourth-down call : KICK. Strictly speaking, it's usually called a punt on fourth down, but we'll let this one slide.
22. Lowers with a switch : DIMS
26. Like a dotted note, in mus. : STAC. Staccato. One of these things:
28. Court filing : SUIT
29. Kin of -ess : -ENNE
30. Fed. IDs : SSNS
31. Drink brand with a lizard logo : SOBE
32. Bills with Jefferson on them : TWOS. When I first got one of these when I moved to the US I thought it was a fake.
33. "What You Need" band : INXS. I thought the band name was pronounced "Ink-sis" when I first saw it in a music magazine.
34. __Kosh B'gosh : OSH. Kid's clothing chain, the clothes are no longer made in Oshkosh, which seems a shame.
35. "My, my!" : OHO!
36. Japanese chip maker : NEC. Microchips, not these cheeseburger-flavor ones from Tokyo:
37. Grandson of Eve : ENOS
42. Homeowner's winter option : OIL HEAT. Never heard of it until today. Heating oil, yes.
43. Reaction from a chicken : FEAR. Nothing to worry about from the Muppet's Swedish Chef though.
44. Rich topsoil : LOAM
45. Annual reference volume : ALMANAC
49. Marsh plant : SEDGE
50. "Captain Phillips" military group : SEALS. U.S. Navy Special Forces. Not to be trifled with.
51. Greek vowels : IOTAS
52. Harden : ENURE. Variant of the more common INURE.
54. Ring-shaped reef : ATOLL
55. Noodlehead : SCHMO
56. Young pig : SHOAT. My erroneous CLOG had me wondering what a SHOAG was. Then I read the clue. Aha!
57. A whole lot : TONS
58. Response to a sermon : AMEN
59. Offense : SIN
60. Ground breaker : HOE
That's Game, Set and Match from me! Here's the grid:
Steve
20A. Formal education : BOOK KNOWLEDGE. Matchbook. I was unfamiliar with the clued definition; I understood it to allude (in a somewhat derogatory fashion) to a person who has no practical knowledge of a subject but got everything out of a book.
31A. Hold firm : STICK TO ONE'S GUNS. Matchstick. The English artist L.S.Lowry, who was famous for depicting scenes from the industrial north, was sometimes derided by art critics for painting "matchstick men and matchstick cats and dogs". One of his paintings sold at auction in 2011 for around $8.6m. Not bad for a "Sunday artist".
41A. Sweets for one's sweet : BOX OF CHOCOLATES. Matchbox. When I've got some time on my hands I like to make dark chocolate truffles. I have to give most of them away or I'd eat the lot myself, and you have to make quite a few (at least five dozen) to justify the effort. That's a lot of chocolates!
57A. Smoker's superstitious no-no ... and hint to the starts of 20-, 31- and 41-Across : THREE ON A MATCH. I was familiar with the superstition, but not the actual phrase (In the UK, we referred to the superstition as "third light".) I discover that it was also a 1932 movie and a 70's daytime game show airing on NBC.
Jack Mac is back! When I blogged his previous puzzle on June 17th he commented that it was "probably" going to be his last puzzle. This one was fun - a lot of learning moments for me, and I didn't have my grumpy trousers on either, unlike the prior time blogging Jack, so I'm glad for the opportunity to let him go out on a happier note if this turns out to be his last.
Let's see what else we've got going on here.
Across:
1. One in a semi circle? : CB-ER. Great clue. One of a group of truckers.
5. "Peer Gynt" playwright : IBSEN
10. Chopped-up fare : HASH. Food! If you're ever anywhere near Napa, make a bee-line for the Boon Fly Cafe for breakfast. They make the world's best corned beef hash (in my humble opinion, of course). Here's the evidence before I ate it:
14. In the style of, on trattoria menus : ALLA. Two Food! in a row! Thanks, Jack.
15. Mount in Exodus : SINAI
16. Mighty Dog alternative : ALPO
17. Links star McIlroy : RORY. He tore a ligament in his ankle last weekend playing a pick-up soccer game with his buddies. He's probably going to miss the next four tournaments, including the Open Championship at St. Andrews next week. That's an expensive game of footie.
18. Court star Borg : BJORN. A very topical name as the Wimbledon tournament is currently underway. He won the Men's Singles there five times in a row.
19. Spiffy : NEAT
23. "Heidi" author Johanna : SPYRI. Crosses - I can never remember how to spell this name.
24. Entry before a password : USER ID
25. Mil. training academy : O.C.S. Officer Candidate School.
27. Legendary 15-Across climber : MOSES. He apparently came down with the Ten Commandments, which have been causing us miserable sinners trouble ever since.
38. Rent alternative : OWN
39. Pasty : ASHEN
40. Quaint quarters : INN
46. "Ah, Wilderness!" mother : ESSIE. This Eugene O'Neill play was completely unknown to me, so thank you, crosses.
47. Fifth scale note : SOL
48. 1950s-'70s TV heroine : LASSIE
53. Collect : AMASS
59. All-birds comic strip : SHOE
61. Matter of fact : DATUM
62. Big Apple neighborhood above Houston Street : NOHO. North of Houston. Soho is south. My next-door neighborhood here in LA is also a NOHO - North Hollywood.
63. New Rochelle college : IONA
64. Reason to wear shades : GLARE
65. __ mater : ALMA
66. Bird's place : NEST. 59A locale.
67. Ruhr Valley city : ESSEN. My first German text book in high school featured the Müller family who lived in Essen. I recall they were proud of the zoo and the river.
68. Congeal : CLOT. I had "CLOG" first, which made my final entry a "what on earth is a shoag? moment."
Down:
1. Pasta nutrients : CARBS. My pasta nutrients are much more likely to be San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil and grated pecorino.
2. Hit just over the infield : BLOOP
3. Judy Jetson's brother : ELROY
4. Fast-food tycoon : RAY KROC. Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler wrote this song about him.
5. Dust jacket ID : ISBN. The International Standard Book Number.
6. Delicate piece of jewelry : BIJOU
7. Bamboozles : SNOWS. Learning moment for me. I don't recall seeing "snow" used in this context before.
8. Country star Steve : EARLE
9. Former Candlestick Park NFLer : NINER. The 49ers have decamped to a new stadium at the southern end of the bay in Santa Clara. I saw Paul McCartney playing the final concert at Candlestick last year. I couldn't hear the music though - I was on a plane taking off from SFO heading home to LA. Great timing!
10. Intimidated, as a look : HANGDOG
11. Protected from gusts : ALEE
12. Place to relax : SPA
13. On a streak : HOT
21. Fourth-down call : KICK. Strictly speaking, it's usually called a punt on fourth down, but we'll let this one slide.
22. Lowers with a switch : DIMS
26. Like a dotted note, in mus. : STAC. Staccato. One of these things:
28. Court filing : SUIT
29. Kin of -ess : -ENNE
30. Fed. IDs : SSNS
31. Drink brand with a lizard logo : SOBE
32. Bills with Jefferson on them : TWOS. When I first got one of these when I moved to the US I thought it was a fake.
33. "What You Need" band : INXS. I thought the band name was pronounced "Ink-sis" when I first saw it in a music magazine.
34. __Kosh B'gosh : OSH. Kid's clothing chain, the clothes are no longer made in Oshkosh, which seems a shame.
35. "My, my!" : OHO!
36. Japanese chip maker : NEC. Microchips, not these cheeseburger-flavor ones from Tokyo:
37. Grandson of Eve : ENOS
42. Homeowner's winter option : OIL HEAT. Never heard of it until today. Heating oil, yes.
43. Reaction from a chicken : FEAR. Nothing to worry about from the Muppet's Swedish Chef though.
44. Rich topsoil : LOAM
45. Annual reference volume : ALMANAC
49. Marsh plant : SEDGE
50. "Captain Phillips" military group : SEALS. U.S. Navy Special Forces. Not to be trifled with.
51. Greek vowels : IOTAS
52. Harden : ENURE. Variant of the more common INURE.
54. Ring-shaped reef : ATOLL
55. Noodlehead : SCHMO
56. Young pig : SHOAT. My erroneous CLOG had me wondering what a SHOAG was. Then I read the clue. Aha!
57. A whole lot : TONS
58. Response to a sermon : AMEN
59. Offense : SIN
60. Ground breaker : HOE
That's Game, Set and Match from me! Here's the grid:
Steve
