Theme: Prime Minister's Questions
17A. *Big-time : MAJOR LEAGUE. John Major. Had a reputation for being tremendously dull, and thus lampooned by the satirical show "Spitting Image" by always portraying him in monochrome.
30A. *Local legend sought in a 1999 horror film : BLAIR WITCH. Tony Blair. AKA "Teflon Tony" for his ability to dodge scandal and criticisms.
44A. *Oatmeal sweetener : BROWN SUGAR. Gordon Brown. nicknamed the "Big Clunking Fist" by his party colleague Tony Blair. It was intended to be a compliment, but the media seized upon it as a term for Brown's perceived lack of diplomacy.
58A. *She voiced Princess Fiona in "Shrek" movies : CAMERON DIAZ. David Cameron. He was caught smoking weed when he was at Eton when he was 16, but famously was not expelled. Unlike Bill Clinton, he didn't claim that he didn't inhale.
and the reveal:
65A. Brit. leaders, the last four of whom begin the answers to starred clues : P.M'S. There have (by generally-accepted definition) been 53 different Prime Ministers since Robert Walpole kicked things off back in 1721. Pleasingly, the four we have here are the four most recent PM's, and neatly appear in chronological order. Major was number 50, Blair 51, Brown 52 and the incumbent Cameron rounds out the list at 53.
Very nicely-executed theme from Jeff; the names came pretty easily for me; because of my roots your mileage might have varied. Let's see what else we've got.
Across:
1. Regular patterns : HABITS
7. Mass robes : ALBS
11. __ time : TEE
14. Madrid-based airline : IBERIA
15. Bantu language : ZULU. I misspelled "LEGOSI" at first, then I wondered why I'd never heard of ZELU. Then a penny-dropping moment.
16. Keats' "still unravish'd bride of quietness" : URN. Our old friend the Grecian one.
19. Barnyard noise : MOO
20. Topeka-to-Peoria dir. : E.N.E.
21. Spiny houseplant : ALOE
22. Rwandan ethnic group : HUTU
23. Reporter's query : HOW. "The five W's and one H" - Who, what, when, where, why and how.
25. Pundits : SAGES
27. Baseball commissioner before Manfred : SELIG
28. "May I get a word in?" : AHEM
32. Round building : SILO
33. Thumbs-up : YES
34. Low-tech propeller : OAR
35. Most swanky : POSHEST
37. Whistleblower's request : AMNESTY
41. __ card : ATM. Needed an alphabet run to stumble across the M.
42. Ancient greeting : AVE
43. 1986 #1 hit for Starship : SARA. Crosses all the way. Never head of the song.
48. Bamboozle : SNOW. Another unknown; I don't think I've seen this usage of SNOW before.
49. Sri __ : LANKA
50. Pretend : LET ON. I found this whole area tricky. I generally use LET ON meaning to reveal something, not to pretend.
52. MD for women : GYN.
53. Old French coins : ECUS
54. Cantina crock : OLLA
55. Something to come up for : AIR
57. St. whose motto is "Forward" : WIS. Forward! And don't forget the cheese!
62. Press into service : USE
63. Cries of clarity : AHAS
64. Very cold period : ICE AGE
66. Bakery output : BUNS. Gym output too, if the LA Fitness commercials are to be believed.
67. Parable feature : LESSON
Down:
1. Finger-pointing pronoun : HIM. YOU went in. YOU came out.
2. Its first champion was the Pitt. Pipers : A.B.A. American Basketball Association. A short life but a merry one for the franchise. They won the inaugural title in 1967, moved to Minnesota in 1968, moved back to Pittsburgh in 1969, changed their name to the Condors in1970 and folded in 1972.
3. Decorates, as a royal crown : BEJEWELS
4. Waffle __ : IRON
5. Flags : TIRES
6. Tessio in "The Godfather" : SAL. Portrayed by the actor Abe Vigoda who sadly passed away recently, more that 35 years after "People" magazine famously reported him as deceased back in 1982.
7. Rhododendron varieties : AZALEAS. The azaleas are in full bloom in my neighborhood at the moment. I love spring in LA - I took this picture yesterday of the bougainvillea on my neighbor's wall.
8. Star of "Dracula" (1931) : LUGOSI.
9. Risqué : BLUE
10. Seek damages : SUE
11. Ruckus : TUMULT
12. Hot : EROTIC. Blue and erotic? We need some ICE AGE to cool things off around here!
13. Just the right amount : ENOUGH
18. Aerie fledgling : EAGLET
22. Many a soap heroine : HEIRESS
23. Briefcase fastener : HASP
24. Where Lima is : OHIO. Quite obviously PERU was my first effort.
26. Deep gulfs : ABYSMS. A very unusual word and the "M" was my last fill. It has never appeared (in the plural form) in the LAT crossword (at least not during the Rich Norris era)
27. Adult cygnet : SWAN
29. Mostly-shaved-head hairstyles : MOHAWKS
31. Classical guitar family name : ROMERO' Los Romeros Guitar quartet. Talented bunch!
36. Volcano near Catania : ETNA. I know the letter sequences are handy, but maybe there should be a constructor's pact to let ETNA and OREO take a well-deserved break.
37. Online icon : AVATAR
38. Fruity wine drinks : SANGRIAS
39. City fooled by a horse : TROY
40. Betray boredom : YAWN
42. Not ephemeral : AGELESS
44. Hit the roof : BLEW UP
45. "To Kill a Mockingbird" theme : RACISM
46. Burdens : ONUSES
47. Tracey of sketch comedy : ULLMAN
51. '30s V.P. John __ Garner : NANCE. Saved by the crosses.
54. Pearl Harbor site : OAHU
56. March time? : IDES. The Ides of April never seemed to get as bad a rap.
58. Hailed transport : CAB
59. Wildcatter's find : OIL. One of the largest oil finds in the US, the East Texas Field, was discovered by prospectors looking for .... salt. Mark Kurlansky's book is a great read.
60. In times past : AGO
61. __ master : ZEN
On a Florida swing this week - was hoping to grab a beer with Lemonade but it looks like customer schedules won't permit. Next time.
And ..... here's the grid.
Steve
17A. *Big-time : MAJOR LEAGUE. John Major. Had a reputation for being tremendously dull, and thus lampooned by the satirical show "Spitting Image" by always portraying him in monochrome.
30A. *Local legend sought in a 1999 horror film : BLAIR WITCH. Tony Blair. AKA "Teflon Tony" for his ability to dodge scandal and criticisms.
44A. *Oatmeal sweetener : BROWN SUGAR. Gordon Brown. nicknamed the "Big Clunking Fist" by his party colleague Tony Blair. It was intended to be a compliment, but the media seized upon it as a term for Brown's perceived lack of diplomacy.
58A. *She voiced Princess Fiona in "Shrek" movies : CAMERON DIAZ. David Cameron. He was caught smoking weed when he was at Eton when he was 16, but famously was not expelled. Unlike Bill Clinton, he didn't claim that he didn't inhale.
and the reveal:
65A. Brit. leaders, the last four of whom begin the answers to starred clues : P.M'S. There have (by generally-accepted definition) been 53 different Prime Ministers since Robert Walpole kicked things off back in 1721. Pleasingly, the four we have here are the four most recent PM's, and neatly appear in chronological order. Major was number 50, Blair 51, Brown 52 and the incumbent Cameron rounds out the list at 53.
Very nicely-executed theme from Jeff; the names came pretty easily for me; because of my roots your mileage might have varied. Let's see what else we've got.
Across:
1. Regular patterns : HABITS
7. Mass robes : ALBS
11. __ time : TEE
14. Madrid-based airline : IBERIA
15. Bantu language : ZULU. I misspelled "LEGOSI" at first, then I wondered why I'd never heard of ZELU. Then a penny-dropping moment.
16. Keats' "still unravish'd bride of quietness" : URN. Our old friend the Grecian one.
19. Barnyard noise : MOO
20. Topeka-to-Peoria dir. : E.N.E.
21. Spiny houseplant : ALOE
22. Rwandan ethnic group : HUTU
23. Reporter's query : HOW. "The five W's and one H" - Who, what, when, where, why and how.
25. Pundits : SAGES
27. Baseball commissioner before Manfred : SELIG
28. "May I get a word in?" : AHEM
32. Round building : SILO
33. Thumbs-up : YES
34. Low-tech propeller : OAR
35. Most swanky : POSHEST
37. Whistleblower's request : AMNESTY
41. __ card : ATM. Needed an alphabet run to stumble across the M.
42. Ancient greeting : AVE
43. 1986 #1 hit for Starship : SARA. Crosses all the way. Never head of the song.
48. Bamboozle : SNOW. Another unknown; I don't think I've seen this usage of SNOW before.
49. Sri __ : LANKA
50. Pretend : LET ON. I found this whole area tricky. I generally use LET ON meaning to reveal something, not to pretend.
52. MD for women : GYN.
53. Old French coins : ECUS
54. Cantina crock : OLLA
55. Something to come up for : AIR
57. St. whose motto is "Forward" : WIS. Forward! And don't forget the cheese!
62. Press into service : USE
63. Cries of clarity : AHAS
64. Very cold period : ICE AGE
66. Bakery output : BUNS. Gym output too, if the LA Fitness commercials are to be believed.
67. Parable feature : LESSON
Down:
1. Finger-pointing pronoun : HIM. YOU went in. YOU came out.
2. Its first champion was the Pitt. Pipers : A.B.A. American Basketball Association. A short life but a merry one for the franchise. They won the inaugural title in 1967, moved to Minnesota in 1968, moved back to Pittsburgh in 1969, changed their name to the Condors in1970 and folded in 1972.
3. Decorates, as a royal crown : BEJEWELS
4. Waffle __ : IRON
5. Flags : TIRES
6. Tessio in "The Godfather" : SAL. Portrayed by the actor Abe Vigoda who sadly passed away recently, more that 35 years after "People" magazine famously reported him as deceased back in 1982.
7. Rhododendron varieties : AZALEAS. The azaleas are in full bloom in my neighborhood at the moment. I love spring in LA - I took this picture yesterday of the bougainvillea on my neighbor's wall.
8. Star of "Dracula" (1931) : LUGOSI.
9. Risqué : BLUE
10. Seek damages : SUE
11. Ruckus : TUMULT
12. Hot : EROTIC. Blue and erotic? We need some ICE AGE to cool things off around here!
13. Just the right amount : ENOUGH
18. Aerie fledgling : EAGLET
22. Many a soap heroine : HEIRESS
23. Briefcase fastener : HASP
24. Where Lima is : OHIO. Quite obviously PERU was my first effort.
26. Deep gulfs : ABYSMS. A very unusual word and the "M" was my last fill. It has never appeared (in the plural form) in the LAT crossword (at least not during the Rich Norris era)
"What seest thou else in the dark backward and abysm of time"?
William Shakespeare, The Tempest
29. Mostly-shaved-head hairstyles : MOHAWKS
31. Classical guitar family name : ROMERO' Los Romeros Guitar quartet. Talented bunch!
36. Volcano near Catania : ETNA. I know the letter sequences are handy, but maybe there should be a constructor's pact to let ETNA and OREO take a well-deserved break.
37. Online icon : AVATAR
38. Fruity wine drinks : SANGRIAS
39. City fooled by a horse : TROY
40. Betray boredom : YAWN
42. Not ephemeral : AGELESS
44. Hit the roof : BLEW UP
45. "To Kill a Mockingbird" theme : RACISM
46. Burdens : ONUSES
47. Tracey of sketch comedy : ULLMAN
51. '30s V.P. John __ Garner : NANCE. Saved by the crosses.
54. Pearl Harbor site : OAHU
56. March time? : IDES. The Ides of April never seemed to get as bad a rap.
58. Hailed transport : CAB
59. Wildcatter's find : OIL. One of the largest oil finds in the US, the East Texas Field, was discovered by prospectors looking for .... salt. Mark Kurlansky's book is a great read.
60. In times past : AGO
61. __ master : ZEN
On a Florida swing this week - was hoping to grab a beer with Lemonade but it looks like customer schedules won't permit. Next time.
And ..... here's the grid.
Steve
