Theme: Snarled up - as the downward-facing reveal explains:
38D. Needing to be bailed out ... or where 20-, 27-, 45- and 51-Across may be found : IN A JAM
The theme entries:
20A. Office supply : PRINTER PAPER. Paper jam. If this happens to my home printer I pretty much have to take the whole thing apart to fix it.
27A. Jaguar, for one : AUTOMOBILE. Traffic jam. A mostly permanent state of affairs for the 101 and 405 freeways in my bailiwick. I try to time my arrivals back at LAX to miss the worst of the parking lot effect.
45A. Malt option : STRAWBERRY. Fruit jam. Jan Hogrewe of Jan's Jam close by in Calabasas makes the best jams and preserves I've ever tasted.
51A. Certain trio member : JAZZ MUSICIAN. Jam session. And a great excuse to link the great Chet Atkins and "Jam Man", brought to a broader audience by a certain insurance company commercial.
Now then, not beating around the bush with this one - I thought the theme entries came across as very uneven. You have a paper in a paper jam, that's fair. but you don't have an automobile jam; you have a traffic jam, and the musical jam session is another step removed from the flow of the theme.
That said, still an entertaining puzzle. I circled right around before coming back to the north west corner to finish. Those three little downs at 1, 2 and 3 make for a tricky trifecta.
Moving right along, unlike the 405 traffic:
Across:
1. Corner piece : ROOK. Chess. V8 moment after a looooong time. Here's a V8 checkmate:
5. Singer James : ETTA
9. One of more than 21 million Indians : SIKH
13. British nobleman : EARL
14. Composer Janácek : LEOS. Thank you, crosses. Czech composer.
15. Perfect : IDEAL
17. Shot that can't be blocked : FREE THROW. I threw myself for a loop here by happily filling in FOUL THROW.
19. Complaint : PEEVE
22. Elbows, e.g. : PASTA. Food! A study (of more than 26,000 Italians) widely reported over the last couple of days concluded that those who ate pasta as part of their diet had a lower body mass index. Be warned however - you don't find "unlimited pasta bowl and breadsticks" restaurants in Italy. I use Lidia Bastianich's recipe for marinara sauce. Simple and delicious. Try to get genuine San Marzano tomatoes - the difference in flavor is very apparent.
25. Cause to roll in the aisles : SLAY. Slayed 'em! Knocked 'em dead!
26. Electrolysis particle : ION
30. Queen who succeeded William III : ANNE. Early 1700's baroque architecture in the UK is known as the "Queen Anne style".
31. Ring result : TKO. A Technical Knock-Out in Boxing when the ref stops the fight.
32. Support for many a 29-Down : WIRE. Not an underwire?
33. More degrading : BASER
34. Gucci competitor : PRADA
36. Parade sight : FLOAT
38. "My thoughts are ... " : I'D SAY
40. Economist Smith : ADAM. Author of "The Wealth of Nations". I studied Economics at school and found the whole thing fascinating. You graduated with a BA in Economics, rather than a BSc which I found amusing. It's not an exact science - too many moving parts.
41. Special __ : OPS
44. "The Daily Show" host Trevor __ : NOAH. Thank you, crosses. I haven't watched the show since Jon Stewart left.
48. Queen's subject : ANT. Not Queen Anne.
49. "__ a man who wasn't there" : I MET
50. Pug or Peke : BREED
55. Really enjoyed : ATE UP. Food! I made a paella mixta last night which I "ate up". When I see good-looking mussels, shrimp and chicken thighs at my local market, it's time to bust out the rice and saffron and go for broke. It's a sobering thought that a good-looking mussel is a girl with a beard. I also need food photography lessons. Any offers? Food! for instruction.
56. Hard times : LEAN YEARS
60. Haggard of country : MERLE
61. Sets a price of : ASKS. I started pondering whether I'd say "sets the price of" or "sets a price for" before I realized life is too short to waste on such ponderings.
62. Not in the pink : SICK
63. R&B-influenced genre : SOUL
64. Editor's mark : STET.
65. Catering aid : TRAY. "Death Star Canteen", Eddie Izzard, Lego animation. YouTube. Rated R for language.
Down:
1. NBA employee : REF
2. Homonym of 3-Down : OAR
3. Homonym of 2-Down : ORE
4. Habitual booster? : KLEPTO. I guess it's not an abbreviation any more. More properly "kleptomaniac". Fun clue.
5. Pre-coll. : EL-HI
6. Gull relative : TERN
7. Film for which Jessica Lange won her first Oscar : TOOTSIE. Best Supporting Actress for this 1982 movie. Later Best Actress for Blue Sky in 1994.
8. Plus : AS WELL
9. __ cup : SIPPY
10. Inventor's need : IDEA
11. Stock : KEEP IN STORE
12. "Try this" : HAVE ONE
16. "My Fair Lady" lyricist : LERNER
18. People mover : TRAMWAY. There's one in Hartsfield International Airport that amuses me - see 52D below.
21. "Norma __" : RAE. Because "JEAN" doesn't fit.
22. Square on a muffin : PAT. What? Oh! Pat of butter. Or Oleo, if you must.,
23. Relative of a puffin : AUK
24. What many a countdown clock does : STOPS AT ZERO. Or at "007" in James Bond movies. I seem to remember continuity problems in "Goldfinger" when each time the camera cut to the nuclear bomb countdown timer it had moved much more slowly than the time elapsing around it. Probably some physics time-warp weirdness.
28. Suffix denoting resemblance : -OID. Ovoid, spheroid, avoid. No, wait, not that last one.
29. Support garb : BRA
30. Gp. for drivers : AAA
33. Military aircraft hold : BOMB BAY
35. Bit of a cheer : RAH!
36. Org. regulating vaccines : FDA Federal Drug Administration.
37. __ school : LAW
39. Supports a cause : DONATES
40. Most dilettantish : ARTIEST
42. Opposite of post- : PRE- This is one of those clues when you wonder why the grid didn't just come "pre-filled".
43. Qantas hub, in itineraries : SYD. Why no "U" in Qantas? Because it's an acronym of "Queensland And Northern Territories Aerial Services".
45. Site of the George W. Bush presidential library : SMU. Southern Methodist. I hesitate between this and TCU when this clue crops up.
46. Eco-friendly wheels : TESLAS. Not the best news week for Telsa and Elon Musk.
47. Antarctic explorer Shackleton : ERNEST. I just finished reading "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing which tells the amazing story of the Trans-Antarctic expedition which took place 100 years ago. Gripping stuff.
49. Force : IMPEL
52. Pilot's alphabet ender : ZULU. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo .... At Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, the concourses are named A thru F. When you're on the people-mover, the stops are announced "A - Alpha", "B - Bravo", "C - Charlie" ... then "D - David" so as not to confuse the passengers flying on Delta Airlines, whose flights mostly depart from the A and B concourses.
53. Wedding tradition : CAKE
54. MIT center?: Abbr. : INST. Mass. Inst. Tech. as it is never known.
57. __ bubble : AIR
58. Record label for P!nk : RCA Note the stylized "!" in her name.
59. Something to look up to : SKY
And .. here's the grid. With that, my work here is done.
Steve
38D. Needing to be bailed out ... or where 20-, 27-, 45- and 51-Across may be found : IN A JAM
The theme entries:
20A. Office supply : PRINTER PAPER. Paper jam. If this happens to my home printer I pretty much have to take the whole thing apart to fix it.
27A. Jaguar, for one : AUTOMOBILE. Traffic jam. A mostly permanent state of affairs for the 101 and 405 freeways in my bailiwick. I try to time my arrivals back at LAX to miss the worst of the parking lot effect.
45A. Malt option : STRAWBERRY. Fruit jam. Jan Hogrewe of Jan's Jam close by in Calabasas makes the best jams and preserves I've ever tasted.
51A. Certain trio member : JAZZ MUSICIAN. Jam session. And a great excuse to link the great Chet Atkins and "Jam Man", brought to a broader audience by a certain insurance company commercial.
Now then, not beating around the bush with this one - I thought the theme entries came across as very uneven. You have a paper in a paper jam, that's fair. but you don't have an automobile jam; you have a traffic jam, and the musical jam session is another step removed from the flow of the theme.
That said, still an entertaining puzzle. I circled right around before coming back to the north west corner to finish. Those three little downs at 1, 2 and 3 make for a tricky trifecta.
Moving right along, unlike the 405 traffic:
Across:
1. Corner piece : ROOK. Chess. V8 moment after a looooong time. Here's a V8 checkmate:
- 1. f3 e5
- 2. g4?? Qh4#
- 3. Doh!
5. Singer James : ETTA
9. One of more than 21 million Indians : SIKH
13. British nobleman : EARL
14. Composer Janácek : LEOS. Thank you, crosses. Czech composer.
15. Perfect : IDEAL
17. Shot that can't be blocked : FREE THROW. I threw myself for a loop here by happily filling in FOUL THROW.
19. Complaint : PEEVE
22. Elbows, e.g. : PASTA. Food! A study (of more than 26,000 Italians) widely reported over the last couple of days concluded that those who ate pasta as part of their diet had a lower body mass index. Be warned however - you don't find "unlimited pasta bowl and breadsticks" restaurants in Italy. I use Lidia Bastianich's recipe for marinara sauce. Simple and delicious. Try to get genuine San Marzano tomatoes - the difference in flavor is very apparent.
25. Cause to roll in the aisles : SLAY. Slayed 'em! Knocked 'em dead!
26. Electrolysis particle : ION
30. Queen who succeeded William III : ANNE. Early 1700's baroque architecture in the UK is known as the "Queen Anne style".
31. Ring result : TKO. A Technical Knock-Out in Boxing when the ref stops the fight.
32. Support for many a 29-Down : WIRE. Not an underwire?
33. More degrading : BASER
34. Gucci competitor : PRADA
36. Parade sight : FLOAT
38. "My thoughts are ... " : I'D SAY
40. Economist Smith : ADAM. Author of "The Wealth of Nations". I studied Economics at school and found the whole thing fascinating. You graduated with a BA in Economics, rather than a BSc which I found amusing. It's not an exact science - too many moving parts.
41. Special __ : OPS
44. "The Daily Show" host Trevor __ : NOAH. Thank you, crosses. I haven't watched the show since Jon Stewart left.
48. Queen's subject : ANT. Not Queen Anne.
49. "__ a man who wasn't there" : I MET
"Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today,
I wish, I wish he'd go away..."
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today,
I wish, I wish he'd go away..."
From Antigonish by William Hughes Mearns
50. Pug or Peke : BREED
55. Really enjoyed : ATE UP. Food! I made a paella mixta last night which I "ate up". When I see good-looking mussels, shrimp and chicken thighs at my local market, it's time to bust out the rice and saffron and go for broke. It's a sobering thought that a good-looking mussel is a girl with a beard. I also need food photography lessons. Any offers? Food! for instruction.
60. Haggard of country : MERLE
61. Sets a price of : ASKS. I started pondering whether I'd say "sets the price of" or "sets a price for" before I realized life is too short to waste on such ponderings.
62. Not in the pink : SICK
63. R&B-influenced genre : SOUL
64. Editor's mark : STET.
65. Catering aid : TRAY. "Death Star Canteen", Eddie Izzard, Lego animation. YouTube. Rated R for language.
Down:
1. NBA employee : REF
2. Homonym of 3-Down : OAR
3. Homonym of 2-Down : ORE
4. Habitual booster? : KLEPTO. I guess it's not an abbreviation any more. More properly "kleptomaniac". Fun clue.
5. Pre-coll. : EL-HI
6. Gull relative : TERN
7. Film for which Jessica Lange won her first Oscar : TOOTSIE. Best Supporting Actress for this 1982 movie. Later Best Actress for Blue Sky in 1994.
8. Plus : AS WELL
9. __ cup : SIPPY
10. Inventor's need : IDEA
11. Stock : KEEP IN STORE
12. "Try this" : HAVE ONE
16. "My Fair Lady" lyricist : LERNER
18. People mover : TRAMWAY. There's one in Hartsfield International Airport that amuses me - see 52D below.
21. "Norma __" : RAE. Because "JEAN" doesn't fit.
22. Square on a muffin : PAT. What? Oh! Pat of butter. Or Oleo, if you must.,
23. Relative of a puffin : AUK
24. What many a countdown clock does : STOPS AT ZERO. Or at "007" in James Bond movies. I seem to remember continuity problems in "Goldfinger" when each time the camera cut to the nuclear bomb countdown timer it had moved much more slowly than the time elapsing around it. Probably some physics time-warp weirdness.
28. Suffix denoting resemblance : -OID. Ovoid, spheroid, avoid. No, wait, not that last one.
29. Support garb : BRA
30. Gp. for drivers : AAA
33. Military aircraft hold : BOMB BAY
35. Bit of a cheer : RAH!
36. Org. regulating vaccines : FDA Federal Drug Administration.
37. __ school : LAW
39. Supports a cause : DONATES
40. Most dilettantish : ARTIEST
42. Opposite of post- : PRE- This is one of those clues when you wonder why the grid didn't just come "pre-filled".
43. Qantas hub, in itineraries : SYD. Why no "U" in Qantas? Because it's an acronym of "Queensland And Northern Territories Aerial Services".
45. Site of the George W. Bush presidential library : SMU. Southern Methodist. I hesitate between this and TCU when this clue crops up.
46. Eco-friendly wheels : TESLAS. Not the best news week for Telsa and Elon Musk.
47. Antarctic explorer Shackleton : ERNEST. I just finished reading "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing which tells the amazing story of the Trans-Antarctic expedition which took place 100 years ago. Gripping stuff.
49. Force : IMPEL
52. Pilot's alphabet ender : ZULU. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo .... At Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, the concourses are named A thru F. When you're on the people-mover, the stops are announced "A - Alpha", "B - Bravo", "C - Charlie" ... then "D - David" so as not to confuse the passengers flying on Delta Airlines, whose flights mostly depart from the A and B concourses.
53. Wedding tradition : CAKE
54. MIT center?: Abbr. : INST. Mass. Inst. Tech. as it is never known.
57. __ bubble : AIR
58. Record label for P!nk : RCA Note the stylized "!" in her name.
59. Something to look up to : SKY
And .. here's the grid. With that, my work here is done.
Steve
