Theme: A-yee, I owe you! A vowel progression runs through the five variants of the first word of the theme entries.
17A. King of the Hill winner : LAST MAN STANDING. I've been watching coverage of the Tour de France cycling race and couldn't figure out how to shoehorn a reference to the spotted jersey winner in here.
20A. Repeated phrase in Kipling's "Recessional" : LEST WE FORGET
31A. It's rarely paid to a car dealer : LIST PRICE
48A. Recovery site? : LOST AND FOUND. Fun clue.
52A. Scholar's motivation : LUST FOR LEARNING. I had lust for other things when I was a scholar at an all-boys school. That might explain a lot.
I think this is an LAT debut for Scott Ober. We've seen Peter before, so a new collaboration A very clean vowel progression with these five, two grid-spanners, and the double-stacking of the 15's with 12's is very neatly done. When you see stacked themers like that, you expect some less than stellar fill, but Scott and Peter managed to stack another seven-letter on the theme pair, and for a final flourish managed to interlock the three with triple seven-letter downs. Bravo!
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Alloy component : METAL
6. Twosomes : DYADS. I always pause between NYADS and DYADS. One is a water nymph, the other is what the clue is asking for.
11. Time for preparations : EVE. A little late for the majority of preparations. The eve is for last-minute refinements, or panic.
14. "It was you," in a Verdi aria : ERI TU. "It was you ... who stained the soul". From "A Masked Ball".
15. Word on mail from Spain : AEREO. Air mail.
16. Unit of RAM : MEG. A little dated now, I count my laptop RAM in gigs - 16 as we speak.
21. Certain balloter : ABSENTEE
24. "Milk's favorite cookie" : OREO
25. Phil Collins' old group : GENESIS. Here's Phil singing on the first post-Peter Gabriel Genesis album. I owned the gate-fold vinyl edition, and I think it's now safe to reveal that I used to roll cigarettes of a herbal nature on it back in 1976.
26. Grilling aids : SKEWERS
29. Bigheadedness : EGO
30. Adjust for the new tax year : RE-ASSESS
35. Large merchant ships : ARGOSIES. Loved this. I struggled a little as I'd filled in RPM at 30D. We'll come back to that one.
38. Chihuahua cheer : OLÉ
41. Spread all over : PERVADE
42. Persian Gulf island nation : BAHRAIN. I didn't know it was an island. Now I do.
46. Instrument to which an orchestra tunes : OBOE
47. Turned down for easy reference : DOG-EARED. My local library used to try to fine you if a book was returned in this condition. Tough to prove it was you though.
56. Single : ONE
57. Make dim : BLEAR. SMEAR went in as a first try. Didn't feel right. Wasn't.
58. Mello __ : YELLO
59. '60s radical gp. : S.D.S. Those pesky Students for a Democratic Society.
60. Buttonholes, e.g. : SLITS
61. Teed off : IRKED
Down:
1. "Alice" diner owner : MEL.
2. Factor in MLB's Cy Young Award : E.R.A. Baseball's annual pitching award. A low Earned Run Average factors into the voting. Right, C.C?
3. Quaint contraction : 'TIS. We read John Ford's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore at school. Cue schoolboy sniggering.
4. Prime minister after and before Churchill : ATTLEE
5. Light bulb units : LUMENS
6. Edmond __: the Count of Monte Cristo : DANTES. Thank you, crosses. Never read it.
7. "__ Can": 2008 slogan : YES WE. Did we?
8. Prado hangings : ARTE. Here's "La Maja Vestida" by Goya in the Prado collection. There's another version with a lot fewer "vestidas". I'll leave you to find that for yourselves.
9. Like many Gallaudet College students : DEAF. The first learning institute for the deaf in the USA.
10. Prefix with gram : SONO-
11. Female political refugee : EMIGRÉE. I didn't know that the term referred to a political refugee. I wouldn't bother with the second "E" nowadays.
12. Thin layers : VENEERS
13. Picnic game that can get messy : EGG TOSS
18. Piedmont city : ASTI
19. Be half-asleep : DROWSE
21. Candle count, perhaps : AGE. Candles on the cake. Didn't see that at first.
22. Ask to be excused, with "off" : BEG
23. __-Cat : SNO. Tried KIT. Was Wrong.
26. Inspiring msg. : SER. Sermon. On the Mount, or on Sunday, or when you did something which didn't please your mother. The latter was not particular inspiring.
27. Ryssdal of NPR's "Marketplace" : KAI. Thank you, crosses.
28. Corner key : ESC. Top-left on your keyboard.
30. Turning meas. : RPS. Revolutions Per Second. The penny finally dropped, but I was convinced that RPM was solid.
31. "Cowboy Man" singer : LOVETT. Lyle.
32. Rose-rose link : IS A. A rose is a rose is a rose. Seems like a "stating the obvious" phrase from Gertrude Stein.
33. Caesar known for being funny : SID
34. Fore site? : TEE
35. Many moon missions : APOLLOS. 17, to be exact.Six landed on the moon.
36. Make a comeback : REBOUND
37. Makes before deductions : GROSSES. The disparity between gross and net can be rather startling, to put it politely.
38. Galley tool : OAR. Row, you scum!
39. Twist facts : LIE
40. Pull the plug on : END
42. Jeer leaders : BOOERS. Least favorite today, but with the rest of the fill, I'll give.
43. Lago contents : AGUA
44. English king who was a son of William the Conqueror : HENRY I
45. Original "SNL" cast member : RADNER
47. Key above C : D FLAT.
49. HQs for B-2s : AFB'S. Air Force Bases. Andrews is the nearest one to me.
50. Longtime Steelers coach Chuck : NOLL
51. Half of sechs : DREI. In Salzbürg, for example.
53. Kind : ILK
54. N.Y. Mets' div. : NLE. National League East. I guessed American League, but LEARNIAG didn't quite look right.
55. Word on U.S. coins : GOD. We Trust.
That about does it for me. I'm on Day Five of remembering how to drive a stick-shift on the wrong side of the road. So far so good! Back on Friday. Here's a quick taste of the Lake District, we just visited Wordsworth's cottage where he wrote a lot of his "greatest hits".
Steve.
17A. King of the Hill winner : LAST MAN STANDING. I've been watching coverage of the Tour de France cycling race and couldn't figure out how to shoehorn a reference to the spotted jersey winner in here.
20A. Repeated phrase in Kipling's "Recessional" : LEST WE FORGET
"The tumult and the shouting dies;
The Captains and the Kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!"
31A. It's rarely paid to a car dealer : LIST PRICE
48A. Recovery site? : LOST AND FOUND. Fun clue.
52A. Scholar's motivation : LUST FOR LEARNING. I had lust for other things when I was a scholar at an all-boys school. That might explain a lot.
I think this is an LAT debut for Scott Ober. We've seen Peter before, so a new collaboration A very clean vowel progression with these five, two grid-spanners, and the double-stacking of the 15's with 12's is very neatly done. When you see stacked themers like that, you expect some less than stellar fill, but Scott and Peter managed to stack another seven-letter on the theme pair, and for a final flourish managed to interlock the three with triple seven-letter downs. Bravo!
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Alloy component : METAL
6. Twosomes : DYADS. I always pause between NYADS and DYADS. One is a water nymph, the other is what the clue is asking for.
11. Time for preparations : EVE. A little late for the majority of preparations. The eve is for last-minute refinements, or panic.
14. "It was you," in a Verdi aria : ERI TU. "It was you ... who stained the soul". From "A Masked Ball".
15. Word on mail from Spain : AEREO. Air mail.
16. Unit of RAM : MEG. A little dated now, I count my laptop RAM in gigs - 16 as we speak.
21. Certain balloter : ABSENTEE
24. "Milk's favorite cookie" : OREO
25. Phil Collins' old group : GENESIS. Here's Phil singing on the first post-Peter Gabriel Genesis album. I owned the gate-fold vinyl edition, and I think it's now safe to reveal that I used to roll cigarettes of a herbal nature on it back in 1976.
26. Grilling aids : SKEWERS
29. Bigheadedness : EGO
30. Adjust for the new tax year : RE-ASSESS
35. Large merchant ships : ARGOSIES. Loved this. I struggled a little as I'd filled in RPM at 30D. We'll come back to that one.
38. Chihuahua cheer : OLÉ
41. Spread all over : PERVADE
42. Persian Gulf island nation : BAHRAIN. I didn't know it was an island. Now I do.
46. Instrument to which an orchestra tunes : OBOE
47. Turned down for easy reference : DOG-EARED. My local library used to try to fine you if a book was returned in this condition. Tough to prove it was you though.
56. Single : ONE
57. Make dim : BLEAR. SMEAR went in as a first try. Didn't feel right. Wasn't.
58. Mello __ : YELLO
59. '60s radical gp. : S.D.S. Those pesky Students for a Democratic Society.
60. Buttonholes, e.g. : SLITS
61. Teed off : IRKED
Down:
1. "Alice" diner owner : MEL.
2. Factor in MLB's Cy Young Award : E.R.A. Baseball's annual pitching award. A low Earned Run Average factors into the voting. Right, C.C?
3. Quaint contraction : 'TIS. We read John Ford's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore at school. Cue schoolboy sniggering.
4. Prime minister after and before Churchill : ATTLEE
5. Light bulb units : LUMENS
6. Edmond __: the Count of Monte Cristo : DANTES. Thank you, crosses. Never read it.
7. "__ Can": 2008 slogan : YES WE. Did we?
8. Prado hangings : ARTE. Here's "La Maja Vestida" by Goya in the Prado collection. There's another version with a lot fewer "vestidas". I'll leave you to find that for yourselves.
9. Like many Gallaudet College students : DEAF. The first learning institute for the deaf in the USA.
10. Prefix with gram : SONO-
11. Female political refugee : EMIGRÉE. I didn't know that the term referred to a political refugee. I wouldn't bother with the second "E" nowadays.
12. Thin layers : VENEERS
13. Picnic game that can get messy : EGG TOSS
18. Piedmont city : ASTI
19. Be half-asleep : DROWSE
21. Candle count, perhaps : AGE. Candles on the cake. Didn't see that at first.
22. Ask to be excused, with "off" : BEG
23. __-Cat : SNO. Tried KIT. Was Wrong.
26. Inspiring msg. : SER. Sermon. On the Mount, or on Sunday, or when you did something which didn't please your mother. The latter was not particular inspiring.
27. Ryssdal of NPR's "Marketplace" : KAI. Thank you, crosses.
28. Corner key : ESC. Top-left on your keyboard.
30. Turning meas. : RPS. Revolutions Per Second. The penny finally dropped, but I was convinced that RPM was solid.
31. "Cowboy Man" singer : LOVETT. Lyle.
32. Rose-rose link : IS A. A rose is a rose is a rose. Seems like a "stating the obvious" phrase from Gertrude Stein.
33. Caesar known for being funny : SID
34. Fore site? : TEE
35. Many moon missions : APOLLOS. 17, to be exact.Six landed on the moon.
36. Make a comeback : REBOUND
37. Makes before deductions : GROSSES. The disparity between gross and net can be rather startling, to put it politely.
38. Galley tool : OAR. Row, you scum!
39. Twist facts : LIE
40. Pull the plug on : END
42. Jeer leaders : BOOERS. Least favorite today, but with the rest of the fill, I'll give.
43. Lago contents : AGUA
44. English king who was a son of William the Conqueror : HENRY I
45. Original "SNL" cast member : RADNER
47. Key above C : D FLAT.
49. HQs for B-2s : AFB'S. Air Force Bases. Andrews is the nearest one to me.
50. Longtime Steelers coach Chuck : NOLL
51. Half of sechs : DREI. In Salzbürg, for example.
53. Kind : ILK
54. N.Y. Mets' div. : NLE. National League East. I guessed American League, but LEARNIAG didn't quite look right.
55. Word on U.S. coins : GOD. We Trust.
That about does it for me. I'm on Day Five of remembering how to drive a stick-shift on the wrong side of the road. So far so good! Back on Friday. Here's a quick taste of the Lake District, we just visited Wordsworth's cottage where he wrote a lot of his "greatest hits".
Steve.
