Theme: The Puzzle That Keeps On ..
1A. Giving __ : ADVICE
17A. Giving __ : PERMISSION
40A. Giving __ : CONSENT
63A. Giving __ : DIRECTIONS
71A. Giving __ : THANKS. I assume this is the reason for all the "giving" today.
11D. Giving __ : ASSISTANCE
25D. Giving __ : LESSONS
27D. Giving __ : BLOOD
29D. Giving __ : ABSOLUTION
33D. Giving __ : BIRTH
Happy Turkey Day!
A thumping 74 theme squares in this one. With themage this heavy in a 15x15 with 36 blocks, that leaves a challenge to fill the remaining white squares cleanly without the whole thing feeling forced. I confess I didn't really enjoy this experience. There's nothing to relate the theme entries to each other except for the fill-in-the-blank clue unless there's some meta-element to the puzzle that I've missed.
Given there are ten fill-in-the-blank clues in the theme, I'd have tried very hard not to have any more of those in the puzzle, but there are another three in the across set.
Throw in an unhealthy dose of IT A/EWW/OHO/AS I/PHI/PSIS/TNPK/EPI/ISM/OTS/PYS and I'm feeling more BLAH than anything else. I'm not sure the "Thanksgiving" payoff was really worth the stuffing that went into this.
Alrighty then! I got that off my chest. I'm having a few days of downtime in Mexico this week. Here's the sunrise this morning while I was walking on the beach - now I know where the namesake tequila cocktail got its name. Cheers!
Let's see what else we've got going on:
Across:
7. High ick factor reaction : EWW
10. "Misery" co-star : CAAN
14. Title teen in a '90s-'00s sitcom : MOESHA. Passed me by. Thank you, crosses. The last episode aired back in 2001.
15. Key letter : PHI. The symbol of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity is a key. Of course it is.
16. Regarding : AS TO
19. General __ chicken : TSO'S
20. Actor who gave up wearing his trademark gold jewelry after Hurricane Katrina : MR T.
21. Kingston Trio hit with the line "He may ride forever 'neath the streets of Boston" : MTA. Fresh in the memory from 1949.
22. Stew : AGONIZE
24. While : SPELL
26. Places to unwind : SPAS
27. Boring : BLAH
30. Eggs from the sea : ROE
31. Can opener : POP TAB
34. Chad neighbor : LIBYA
36. Coveted award : OSCAR
38. "__ said earlier ... " : AS I
39. Brief game deciders? : OT'S. Overtimes. Just one in the NFL, as many as it takes in college football until there's a winner.
42. "Morning Edition" airer : NPR
43. "So that's your game!" : OHO!
44. Williams of "Happy Days" : ANSON. "Potsie" portrayer.
45. Ref. to a prior ref. : OP. CIT. "Opere citado" - "In the work cited"
47. Put one over on : DELUDE
49. '60s-'70s protest subject : 'NAM
51. __-savvy : TECH
52. "Battle Cry" author : URIS
53. A lot : SCADS
55. Make a pretrial determination : SET BAIL
58. Sch. with a Shreveport campus : L.S.U. Louisiana State.
59. Longtime Richard Petty sponsor : STP. The second-longest sponsor-driver relationship in motorsports.
62. Samoan port : APIA
66. Sign gas : NEON
67. Outback bird : EMU
68. They have many arms : OCTOPI
69. Trait transmitter : GENE
70. Hound : DOG
Down:
1. Clock radio toggle : AM/PM. Not AM/FM.
2. Evil end? : DOER
3. Dial on old TVs : VERT. Vertical Hold. I couldn't find an image of the control, but I did find the packaging for a spare.
4. Believer's suffix : -ISM
5. Congo River area denizen : CHIMP. Not worthy of the full "chimpanzee" today?
6. Spring festival : EASTER
7. Center opening : EPI-
8. "Hold on!" : WHOA!
9. Flying statistic : WINGSPAN
10. Afternoon refresher : CATNAP
12. Including everything : A TO Z. The London street atlas was the A-Z. Everyone had an A-to-Zed before Google Maps made it all a little, sadly, obsolete.
13. Difference in a close race : NOSE
18. Oater settings : SALOONS
23. Iberian coastal city : OPORTO. From whence "port" wine.
24. Retiring : SHY
28. Like ballerinas : LITHE
32. Cold mold : ASPIC
35. New England's only National Park : ACADIA. OK, now I know.
37. Traditional Jerusalem site of the Last Supper : CENACLE. New to me. It doesn't look like it's ever been used in the LAT crossword before (nor the NYT), so I imagine it might be new to a few of us.
41. Not close at all : ONE-SIDED
46. Bookie's spread units: Abbr. : PTS. Points. The points spread in gambling to even out the betting on the favorite and the underdog.
48. Suave : URBANE
50. Michigan State's Sparty, e.g. : MASCOT. Imagination at work in the mascot-naming stakes. Not.
54. How a couple might go for dinner? : DUTCH.
55. Squealed : SANG
56. Olympian's blade : ÉPÉE
57. Prom rental : LIMO
59. "It's next on my list" : SOON
60. East-west Mass. artery : TNPK
61. Penultimate Greek letters : PSIS. Right before Omegas. I suppose.
64. Decorator's suggestion : RUG
65. Call-day link : IT A
And .. I'm calling it a day with this one. My Tequila Sunrise awaits! If you are celebrating Thanksgiving today, I hope you have a happy and safe one!
Steve
1A. Giving __ : ADVICE
17A. Giving __ : PERMISSION
40A. Giving __ : CONSENT
63A. Giving __ : DIRECTIONS
71A. Giving __ : THANKS. I assume this is the reason for all the "giving" today.
11D. Giving __ : ASSISTANCE
25D. Giving __ : LESSONS
27D. Giving __ : BLOOD
29D. Giving __ : ABSOLUTION
33D. Giving __ : BIRTH
Happy Turkey Day!
A thumping 74 theme squares in this one. With themage this heavy in a 15x15 with 36 blocks, that leaves a challenge to fill the remaining white squares cleanly without the whole thing feeling forced. I confess I didn't really enjoy this experience. There's nothing to relate the theme entries to each other except for the fill-in-the-blank clue unless there's some meta-element to the puzzle that I've missed.
Given there are ten fill-in-the-blank clues in the theme, I'd have tried very hard not to have any more of those in the puzzle, but there are another three in the across set.
Throw in an unhealthy dose of IT A/EWW/OHO/AS I/PHI/PSIS/TNPK/EPI/ISM/OTS/PYS and I'm feeling more BLAH than anything else. I'm not sure the "Thanksgiving" payoff was really worth the stuffing that went into this.
Alrighty then! I got that off my chest. I'm having a few days of downtime in Mexico this week. Here's the sunrise this morning while I was walking on the beach - now I know where the namesake tequila cocktail got its name. Cheers!
Let's see what else we've got going on:
Across:
7. High ick factor reaction : EWW
10. "Misery" co-star : CAAN
14. Title teen in a '90s-'00s sitcom : MOESHA. Passed me by. Thank you, crosses. The last episode aired back in 2001.
15. Key letter : PHI. The symbol of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity is a key. Of course it is.
16. Regarding : AS TO
19. General __ chicken : TSO'S
20. Actor who gave up wearing his trademark gold jewelry after Hurricane Katrina : MR T.
21. Kingston Trio hit with the line "He may ride forever 'neath the streets of Boston" : MTA. Fresh in the memory from 1949.
22. Stew : AGONIZE
24. While : SPELL
26. Places to unwind : SPAS
27. Boring : BLAH
30. Eggs from the sea : ROE
31. Can opener : POP TAB
34. Chad neighbor : LIBYA
36. Coveted award : OSCAR
38. "__ said earlier ... " : AS I
39. Brief game deciders? : OT'S. Overtimes. Just one in the NFL, as many as it takes in college football until there's a winner.
42. "Morning Edition" airer : NPR
43. "So that's your game!" : OHO!
44. Williams of "Happy Days" : ANSON. "Potsie" portrayer.
45. Ref. to a prior ref. : OP. CIT. "Opere citado" - "In the work cited"
47. Put one over on : DELUDE
49. '60s-'70s protest subject : 'NAM
51. __-savvy : TECH
52. "Battle Cry" author : URIS
53. A lot : SCADS
55. Make a pretrial determination : SET BAIL
58. Sch. with a Shreveport campus : L.S.U. Louisiana State.
59. Longtime Richard Petty sponsor : STP. The second-longest sponsor-driver relationship in motorsports.
62. Samoan port : APIA
66. Sign gas : NEON
67. Outback bird : EMU
68. They have many arms : OCTOPI
69. Trait transmitter : GENE
70. Hound : DOG
Down:
1. Clock radio toggle : AM/PM. Not AM/FM.
2. Evil end? : DOER
3. Dial on old TVs : VERT. Vertical Hold. I couldn't find an image of the control, but I did find the packaging for a spare.
4. Believer's suffix : -ISM
5. Congo River area denizen : CHIMP. Not worthy of the full "chimpanzee" today?
6. Spring festival : EASTER
7. Center opening : EPI-
8. "Hold on!" : WHOA!
9. Flying statistic : WINGSPAN
10. Afternoon refresher : CATNAP
12. Including everything : A TO Z. The London street atlas was the A-Z. Everyone had an A-to-Zed before Google Maps made it all a little, sadly, obsolete.
13. Difference in a close race : NOSE
18. Oater settings : SALOONS
23. Iberian coastal city : OPORTO. From whence "port" wine.
24. Retiring : SHY
28. Like ballerinas : LITHE
32. Cold mold : ASPIC
35. New England's only National Park : ACADIA. OK, now I know.
37. Traditional Jerusalem site of the Last Supper : CENACLE. New to me. It doesn't look like it's ever been used in the LAT crossword before (nor the NYT), so I imagine it might be new to a few of us.
41. Not close at all : ONE-SIDED
46. Bookie's spread units: Abbr. : PTS. Points. The points spread in gambling to even out the betting on the favorite and the underdog.
48. Suave : URBANE
50. Michigan State's Sparty, e.g. : MASCOT. Imagination at work in the mascot-naming stakes. Not.
54. How a couple might go for dinner? : DUTCH.
55. Squealed : SANG
56. Olympian's blade : ÉPÉE
57. Prom rental : LIMO
59. "It's next on my list" : SOON
60. East-west Mass. artery : TNPK
61. Penultimate Greek letters : PSIS. Right before Omegas. I suppose.
64. Decorator's suggestion : RUG
65. Call-day link : IT A
And .. I'm calling it a day with this one. My Tequila Sunrise awaits! If you are celebrating Thanksgiving today, I hope you have a happy and safe one!
Steve
