Theme: Celiac-Safe: None of the theme entries contain any of the letters G-L-U-T-E-N
17A. GLUTEN-free fare : SWORDFISH. The Andrea Gail which featured in the book and movie "The Perfect Storm" was a swordfishing boat.
26A. GLUTEN-free fare : BABY BACK RIBS. Food! I cook my ribs sous-vide and finish them in a searing-hot oven. Barbecue purists would cry "foul" but I'd back 'em in a blind tasting against anyone!
47A. GLUTEN-free fare : SHRIMP SCAMPI. Classic Italian-American dish of shrimp sautéed in olive oil, garlic, onion and white wine. In Italy, scampi are actually a specific kind of shrimp, also known variously as langoustines, Norway lobsters or Dublin Bay prawns.
61A. GLUTEN-free fare : ROCKY ROAD. A dessert of marshmallow, chocolate and nuts; usually served up as a variety of ice-cream.
I was a little underwhelmed by this theme when I first looked at it - four foods or preparations which happen not to have any one of six letters, but the more I thought about it the more I liked it - the dishes themselves (depending on how the swordfish is prepared, most typically grilled) are actually gluten-free.
Plenty of Food! references to keep me happy too!
Max is also known for a puzzle where the gimmick was that each "W" letter was written out literally as a double-U. It's pretty certain that's the only time you'll see POUUUUOUU in a grid.
Let's see what else catches the eye today.
Across:
1. Not very exciting : DRAB
5. "__ the east, and Juliet ... " : IT IS
9. King whose gift became a curse : MIDAS
14. Tiny bit : IOTA
15. One pulling in pushers : NARC. Slang drug dealers gives us a slang narcotics officer.
16. Amtrak express : ACELA
19. 1983 Woody Allen film : ZELIG. The Z was my last fill, I was distracted for a while by the baseball ex-commissioner Bud SELIG and I'm not an expert on Polish dances.
20. Schoolyard "I'll show you!" : CAN TOO
21. Scholarly : ERUDITE
23. Like some headphones : ON-EAR. 30D's BOSE make mine - noise-cancelling for the plane.
24. Better at heeling, say : TAMER. Is Fido tamer or just better trained if he heels when commanded?
32. "GoodFellas" fellowship : MOB
35. Breaks : GAPS
36. Duffel bag filler, in a thriller : RANSOM
37. Sandwich guy? : EARL. The Earl of Sandwich who, as legend would have it, invented the sandwich when he didn't want to leave the card table to eat dinner and had his meat brought to him between two slices of bread.
39. Take care of : SEE TO
41. "Don't forget ... " : ALSO
42. Singer Nicks : STEVIE. Here's Ms. Nicks back in her Fleetwood Mac days singing "Rhiannon".
44. Modernists, informally : NEOS
46. Mind reader? : EEG. Nice! Brain scan.
50. Alma __ : MATER
51. Lacking the knack : INEPT
55. Supposed bringer of bad luck : EVIL EYE
59. Mimosa family tree : ACACIA. Likes a dry climate and often grows alone.
60. Gas used in flashtubes : XENON. The flash in your camera or your smartphone is a flashtube.
64. Chilean range : ANDES
65. K thru 12 : EL-HI
66. Radius neighbor : ULNA. Forearm bones.
67. "It could happen" : MAYBE
68. Father of Thor : ODIN
69. Padre's brothers : TIOS. Uncles, in Spanish.
Down:
1. Summer genre : DISCO. The singer Donna, not the season.
2. Atkinson of British comedy : ROWAN. I prefer his "Blackadder" characters over the "Mr. Bean" persona. Check out the clips on the BBCWorldwide channel on YouTube.
3. More than just apologize : ATONE
4. Bill for shots : BAR TAB
5. Scoop or poop : INFO
6. With 63-Down, meditative discipline : TAI
7. Org. that takes many forms : I.R.S.
8. Blueprint : SCHEMA
9. Lively Polish dance : MAZURKA. I vaguely remembered this from the song "The Waiter, the Porter and the Upstairs Maid" sung by Bing Crosby in "The Birth of the Blues"
10. Like most cupcakes : ICED
11. Pastrami provider : DELI. I started the process of making pastrami yesterday. It'll be ready in around 22 days - it's the kind of thing you need to plan in advance!
12. Came down : ALIT
13. Guru : SAGE
18. Bandanna kin : DO-RAG
22. Place for family game night : REC ROOM
24. Arial, for one : TYPE. I was fixating on "The Tempest" at first and trying to come up with a four-letter word for "sprite" or "nymph".
25. Attendance record spoiler : ABSENCE
27. Regular hourly rate : BASE PAY
28. Genetic letters : RNA
29. Any one of the Arans : ISLE. Three islands off the west coast of Ireland in Galway Bay. Not to be confused with the Isle of Arran which is a Scottish island in the Firth of Clyde.
30. Big name in audio products : BOSE
31. Beijing blight : SMOG. I was lucky enough to visit Beijing during the Summer Olympics in 2008 when there was no smog - industry was shut down and car usage was restricted in the month leading up to the Games to clear the air. I thought the city was beautiful.
32. Serious disorder : MESS
33. Swear words? : OATH
34. Fox's title : BRER
38. Year in Nero's reign : LVI. He lasted as Roman Emperor from LIV through LXVIII and then committed suicide.
40. Run like heck : TEAR
43. Epic : IMMENSE
45. High on the Scoville scale : SPICY. It is if you equate spice with heat. Most spice mixtures aren't hot at all. The hottest I have is ghost pepper, three or four times hotter than a habanero, so it packs quite a punch.
48. Multichannel : STEREO
49. Making no progress : IN A RUT
52. Bacteria in a produce recall : E.COLI.
53. Brahms' instrument : PIANO
54. Proud cries : TADAS. Finishing moment for many online crossword solvers.
55. Teacher's handout : EXAM. Tried TEST. Didn't work.
56. __ cava : VENA. As well as the familiar blood vessel, this is also a winery in the Valle de Guadaloupe, Mexico.
57. May race, familiarly : INDY. The Indianapolis 500, more formally.
58. "Stay (I Missed You)" songwriter Lisa : LOEB. One of those songs that I know, but had no idea what it was called, nor who sang it.
59. Like, with "to" : AKIN
62. Out of use : OLD
63. See 6-Down : CHI
I think that's about it from me - have a nice day, all y'all and heeeeere's the grid!
Steve
17A. GLUTEN-free fare : SWORDFISH. The Andrea Gail which featured in the book and movie "The Perfect Storm" was a swordfishing boat.
26A. GLUTEN-free fare : BABY BACK RIBS. Food! I cook my ribs sous-vide and finish them in a searing-hot oven. Barbecue purists would cry "foul" but I'd back 'em in a blind tasting against anyone!
47A. GLUTEN-free fare : SHRIMP SCAMPI. Classic Italian-American dish of shrimp sautéed in olive oil, garlic, onion and white wine. In Italy, scampi are actually a specific kind of shrimp, also known variously as langoustines, Norway lobsters or Dublin Bay prawns.
 |
| Back off, buddy, I've got claws! |
I was a little underwhelmed by this theme when I first looked at it - four foods or preparations which happen not to have any one of six letters, but the more I thought about it the more I liked it - the dishes themselves (depending on how the swordfish is prepared, most typically grilled) are actually gluten-free.
Plenty of Food! references to keep me happy too!
Max is also known for a puzzle where the gimmick was that each "W" letter was written out literally as a double-U. It's pretty certain that's the only time you'll see POUUUUOUU in a grid.
Let's see what else catches the eye today.
Across:
1. Not very exciting : DRAB
5. "__ the east, and Juliet ... " : IT IS
9. King whose gift became a curse : MIDAS
14. Tiny bit : IOTA
15. One pulling in pushers : NARC. Slang drug dealers gives us a slang narcotics officer.
16. Amtrak express : ACELA
19. 1983 Woody Allen film : ZELIG. The Z was my last fill, I was distracted for a while by the baseball ex-commissioner Bud SELIG and I'm not an expert on Polish dances.
20. Schoolyard "I'll show you!" : CAN TOO
21. Scholarly : ERUDITE
23. Like some headphones : ON-EAR. 30D's BOSE make mine - noise-cancelling for the plane.
24. Better at heeling, say : TAMER. Is Fido tamer or just better trained if he heels when commanded?
32. "GoodFellas" fellowship : MOB
35. Breaks : GAPS
36. Duffel bag filler, in a thriller : RANSOM
37. Sandwich guy? : EARL. The Earl of Sandwich who, as legend would have it, invented the sandwich when he didn't want to leave the card table to eat dinner and had his meat brought to him between two slices of bread.
39. Take care of : SEE TO
41. "Don't forget ... " : ALSO
42. Singer Nicks : STEVIE. Here's Ms. Nicks back in her Fleetwood Mac days singing "Rhiannon".
44. Modernists, informally : NEOS
46. Mind reader? : EEG. Nice! Brain scan.
50. Alma __ : MATER
51. Lacking the knack : INEPT
55. Supposed bringer of bad luck : EVIL EYE
59. Mimosa family tree : ACACIA. Likes a dry climate and often grows alone.
60. Gas used in flashtubes : XENON. The flash in your camera or your smartphone is a flashtube.
64. Chilean range : ANDES
65. K thru 12 : EL-HI
66. Radius neighbor : ULNA. Forearm bones.
67. "It could happen" : MAYBE
68. Father of Thor : ODIN
69. Padre's brothers : TIOS. Uncles, in Spanish.
Down:
1. Summer genre : DISCO. The singer Donna, not the season.
2. Atkinson of British comedy : ROWAN. I prefer his "Blackadder" characters over the "Mr. Bean" persona. Check out the clips on the BBCWorldwide channel on YouTube.
3. More than just apologize : ATONE
4. Bill for shots : BAR TAB
5. Scoop or poop : INFO
6. With 63-Down, meditative discipline : TAI
7. Org. that takes many forms : I.R.S.
8. Blueprint : SCHEMA
9. Lively Polish dance : MAZURKA. I vaguely remembered this from the song "The Waiter, the Porter and the Upstairs Maid" sung by Bing Crosby in "The Birth of the Blues"
10. Like most cupcakes : ICED
11. Pastrami provider : DELI. I started the process of making pastrami yesterday. It'll be ready in around 22 days - it's the kind of thing you need to plan in advance!
12. Came down : ALIT
13. Guru : SAGE
18. Bandanna kin : DO-RAG
22. Place for family game night : REC ROOM
24. Arial, for one : TYPE. I was fixating on "The Tempest" at first and trying to come up with a four-letter word for "sprite" or "nymph".
25. Attendance record spoiler : ABSENCE
27. Regular hourly rate : BASE PAY
28. Genetic letters : RNA
29. Any one of the Arans : ISLE. Three islands off the west coast of Ireland in Galway Bay. Not to be confused with the Isle of Arran which is a Scottish island in the Firth of Clyde.
30. Big name in audio products : BOSE
31. Beijing blight : SMOG. I was lucky enough to visit Beijing during the Summer Olympics in 2008 when there was no smog - industry was shut down and car usage was restricted in the month leading up to the Games to clear the air. I thought the city was beautiful.
32. Serious disorder : MESS
33. Swear words? : OATH
34. Fox's title : BRER
38. Year in Nero's reign : LVI. He lasted as Roman Emperor from LIV through LXVIII and then committed suicide.
40. Run like heck : TEAR
43. Epic : IMMENSE
45. High on the Scoville scale : SPICY. It is if you equate spice with heat. Most spice mixtures aren't hot at all. The hottest I have is ghost pepper, three or four times hotter than a habanero, so it packs quite a punch.
48. Multichannel : STEREO
49. Making no progress : IN A RUT
52. Bacteria in a produce recall : E.COLI.
53. Brahms' instrument : PIANO
54. Proud cries : TADAS. Finishing moment for many online crossword solvers.
55. Teacher's handout : EXAM. Tried TEST. Didn't work.
56. __ cava : VENA. As well as the familiar blood vessel, this is also a winery in the Valle de Guadaloupe, Mexico.
57. May race, familiarly : INDY. The Indianapolis 500, more formally.
58. "Stay (I Missed You)" songwriter Lisa : LOEB. One of those songs that I know, but had no idea what it was called, nor who sang it.
59. Like, with "to" : AKIN
62. Out of use : OLD
63. See 6-Down : CHI
I think that's about it from me - have a nice day, all y'all and heeeeere's the grid!
Steve
