Theme: Occupational Apt-itude Three materials are paired with one of three artisans:
18A. Virginia politician for whom a university is named : GEORGE MASON. Their men's basketball team made it to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament in 2006 having never won a game in March Madness before. Quite the story.
24A. Magical literary orphan : HARRY POTTER. I've vaguely heard of him; he's a wizard or something.
33A. "Close to You" singer : KAREN CARPENTER. Lovely voice. Passed away sadly young.
42A. "Westworld" actress (who complements 33-Across?) : EVAN RACHEL WOOD. I always hesitate with her first name.
47A. 1960 Olympic boxing gold medalist (who complements 24-Across?) : CASSIUS CLAY. He fought as a light-heavyweight in 1960.
60A. "Basic Instinct" star (who complements 18-Across?) : SHARON STONE. I won't mention the infamous (or famous) leg-crossing scene. Ooops - I just did.
Clever puzzle from Victor. I thought I'd spotted the theme after the first two entries and when I filled in the third I wondered why no-one had done this theme before. Then came the fourth and the clever symmetry. Slick stuff. A whopping 72 letters of theme-age doesn't leave a lot of room for much in the way of long fill, but there's some nice 7's and 5's to keep thing ticking along. Let's take a look.
Across:
1. Reggae relative : SKA. It's Madness, I tell you.
4. Amount before deductions : GROSS. Nicely matched with 62D.
9. Unpleasant : HARSH
14. "U R funny!" : LOL!
15. Vital supply line : AORTA. Vital? I'd say.
16. Throat dangler : UVULA. Lovely word this, but - what on earth is it for?
17. Bran source : OAT
20. Ride on runners : SLED
22. __ Testamento : NUEVO. That's a new one on me.
23. Custard base : EGG. Food! The French call it "Crème anglaise". My mom used to make it from powder out of a tin. I don't think the French would have been impressed.
27. Meeting vote : YEA
28. Falls phenomena : MISTS. Here's one from Iceland at Skogafoss. Pretty.
39. Old World Style sauce : RAGU. Food! The stuff in the bottle is labelled "Old World Style". The made-from-scratch recipes such as ragù alla bolognese don't bear a whole lot of resemblance. There are many claims for the "original" recipe Bolognese, but the official version resides in the Bologna Chamber of Commerce placed there by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, so that one seems pretty legit.
40. Formal orders : DICTA
41. Pet peeve? : FLEA
45. Analyze, in a way : PARSE
46. __ Lingus : AER
55. Like the name "Will," for an estate lawyer : APT. Or "Bill" for any kind of lawyer.
58. Get behind : TRAIL
59. If-then-__: programmer's flow : ELSE.
IF
DAY="THURSDAY"
THEN
BLOGGER:="STEVE"
ELSE
BLOGGER:=!"STEVE"
ENDIF
64. Letters between names : AKA
65. Where "Ratatouille" was cooked up : PIXAR. The studio. Food! I really wanted PARIS for this as that's where the movie was set but was dissuaded by the R which I had in place.
66. Refuge : HAVEN
67. Came together : MET
68. Not at all trustworthy : SLIMY
69. Glacial ridge : ARÊTE. Here's the North-East arête back in 1921. A lot less traffic on the mountain back then.
70. Agency creations : ADS
Down:
1. Walk through puddles : SLOSH. Wellington boots are handy for a good puddle-sloshing.
2. It isn't really a bear : KOALA. Still cute.
3. Make different : ALTER
4. __ order : GAG
5. Sushi topper : ROE
6. Home of Stephen King's alma mater : ORONO. I only learned this from crosswords.
7. Structural support : STRUT. Should really be a strutural [sic] support in my book.
8. "Full House" star Bob : SAGET
9. "Think of it as an indulgence" : HUMOR ME
10. Oscar-nominated director DuVernay : AVA. Thank you, crosses.She won Best Director at Sundance in 2012, the first African-American woman to win the award. She comes from down the road in Long Beach and graduated UCLA.
11. Subterfuge : RUSE. Great word, subterfuge. Latin subterfugere ‘escape secretly,’ from subter- ‘beneath’ + fugere ‘flee.’
12. Uphill climb : SLOG
13. Pal around (with) : HANG
19. Big night : EVE
21. Dress rehearsals : DRY RUNS
25. "__-haw!" : YEE
26. It is really a bear : PANDA. Also cute.
29. Effective, as a rule : IN FORCE
30. D-Day city : ST LÔ. The city was practically destroyed in prolonged fighting during the 1944 liberation of France.
31. Set up for a drive : TEED
32. Mrs., in Madrid : SRA
33. Polynesian intoxicant : KAVA. This almost foxed me due to the EVAN name uncertainty.
34. Seaweed product : AGAR
35. Pres. title : C.I.C.
.
36. Günther's gripe : ACH!
37. Hwy., e.g. : RTE.
38. Micronesian republic : PALAU
39. Weightlifter's unit : REP
43. Parish house : RECTORY. Home to a rector. A parson lives in a parsonage, a vicar in a vicarage, a dean lives in a deanery and a priest lives in a priestary - wait no, in a presbytery, just to spoil things.
44. Director Anderson : WES
48. Prince Valiant's son : ARN. Thank you, crosses. Never saw the TV series.
49. Beyoncé's "I Am... __ Fierce" : SASHA
50. Lute kin : SITAR
51. "How do __ thee?" : I LOVE. From Elizabeth Barrett Browning's 43rd sonnet:
52. Camel relative : LLAMA
53. Sought answers : ASKED
54. "I Am of Ireland" poet : YEATS
55. Nile hazards : ASPS
56. Knight who co-founded Nike : PHIL. He's worth a couple of bucks now. I bought a pair of Nike running shoes back in 1982. The sole of one came unglued within a week and the store refused to exchange them. I never shopped there again and I've never bought a pair of Nikes since.
57. One in an airport line : TAXI
61. Bash : RAM
62. Amount after deductions : NET
63. Chemical suffix : -ENE
Here's the grid, and that's it from me!
Steve
18A. Virginia politician for whom a university is named : GEORGE MASON. Their men's basketball team made it to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament in 2006 having never won a game in March Madness before. Quite the story.
24A. Magical literary orphan : HARRY POTTER. I've vaguely heard of him; he's a wizard or something.
33A. "Close to You" singer : KAREN CARPENTER. Lovely voice. Passed away sadly young.
42A. "Westworld" actress (who complements 33-Across?) : EVAN RACHEL WOOD. I always hesitate with her first name.
47A. 1960 Olympic boxing gold medalist (who complements 24-Across?) : CASSIUS CLAY. He fought as a light-heavyweight in 1960.
60A. "Basic Instinct" star (who complements 18-Across?) : SHARON STONE. I won't mention the infamous (or famous) leg-crossing scene. Ooops - I just did.
Clever puzzle from Victor. I thought I'd spotted the theme after the first two entries and when I filled in the third I wondered why no-one had done this theme before. Then came the fourth and the clever symmetry. Slick stuff. A whopping 72 letters of theme-age doesn't leave a lot of room for much in the way of long fill, but there's some nice 7's and 5's to keep thing ticking along. Let's take a look.
Across:
1. Reggae relative : SKA. It's Madness, I tell you.
4. Amount before deductions : GROSS. Nicely matched with 62D.
9. Unpleasant : HARSH
14. "U R funny!" : LOL!
15. Vital supply line : AORTA. Vital? I'd say.
16. Throat dangler : UVULA. Lovely word this, but - what on earth is it for?
17. Bran source : OAT
20. Ride on runners : SLED
22. __ Testamento : NUEVO. That's a new one on me.
23. Custard base : EGG. Food! The French call it "Crème anglaise". My mom used to make it from powder out of a tin. I don't think the French would have been impressed.
27. Meeting vote : YEA
28. Falls phenomena : MISTS. Here's one from Iceland at Skogafoss. Pretty.
39. Old World Style sauce : RAGU. Food! The stuff in the bottle is labelled "Old World Style". The made-from-scratch recipes such as ragù alla bolognese don't bear a whole lot of resemblance. There are many claims for the "original" recipe Bolognese, but the official version resides in the Bologna Chamber of Commerce placed there by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, so that one seems pretty legit.
40. Formal orders : DICTA
41. Pet peeve? : FLEA
45. Analyze, in a way : PARSE
46. __ Lingus : AER
55. Like the name "Will," for an estate lawyer : APT. Or "Bill" for any kind of lawyer.
58. Get behind : TRAIL
59. If-then-__: programmer's flow : ELSE.
IF
DAY="THURSDAY"
THEN
BLOGGER:="STEVE"
ELSE
BLOGGER:=!"STEVE"
ENDIF
64. Letters between names : AKA
65. Where "Ratatouille" was cooked up : PIXAR. The studio. Food! I really wanted PARIS for this as that's where the movie was set but was dissuaded by the R which I had in place.
66. Refuge : HAVEN
67. Came together : MET
68. Not at all trustworthy : SLIMY
69. Glacial ridge : ARÊTE. Here's the North-East arête back in 1921. A lot less traffic on the mountain back then.
70. Agency creations : ADS
Down:
1. Walk through puddles : SLOSH. Wellington boots are handy for a good puddle-sloshing.
2. It isn't really a bear : KOALA. Still cute.
3. Make different : ALTER
4. __ order : GAG
5. Sushi topper : ROE
6. Home of Stephen King's alma mater : ORONO. I only learned this from crosswords.
7. Structural support : STRUT. Should really be a strutural [sic] support in my book.
8. "Full House" star Bob : SAGET
9. "Think of it as an indulgence" : HUMOR ME
10. Oscar-nominated director DuVernay : AVA. Thank you, crosses.She won Best Director at Sundance in 2012, the first African-American woman to win the award. She comes from down the road in Long Beach and graduated UCLA.
11. Subterfuge : RUSE. Great word, subterfuge. Latin subterfugere ‘escape secretly,’ from subter- ‘beneath’ + fugere ‘flee.’
12. Uphill climb : SLOG
13. Pal around (with) : HANG
19. Big night : EVE
21. Dress rehearsals : DRY RUNS
25. "__-haw!" : YEE
26. It is really a bear : PANDA. Also cute.
29. Effective, as a rule : IN FORCE
30. D-Day city : ST LÔ. The city was practically destroyed in prolonged fighting during the 1944 liberation of France.
31. Set up for a drive : TEED
32. Mrs., in Madrid : SRA
33. Polynesian intoxicant : KAVA. This almost foxed me due to the EVAN name uncertainty.
34. Seaweed product : AGAR
35. Pres. title : C.I.C.
.
36. Günther's gripe : ACH!
37. Hwy., e.g. : RTE.
38. Micronesian republic : PALAU
39. Weightlifter's unit : REP
43. Parish house : RECTORY. Home to a rector. A parson lives in a parsonage, a vicar in a vicarage, a dean lives in a deanery and a priest lives in a priestary - wait no, in a presbytery, just to spoil things.
44. Director Anderson : WES
48. Prince Valiant's son : ARN. Thank you, crosses. Never saw the TV series.
49. Beyoncé's "I Am... __ Fierce" : SASHA
50. Lute kin : SITAR
51. "How do __ thee?" : I LOVE. From Elizabeth Barrett Browning's 43rd sonnet:
Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach,
when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
52. Camel relative : LLAMA
53. Sought answers : ASKED
54. "I Am of Ireland" poet : YEATS
55. Nile hazards : ASPS
56. Knight who co-founded Nike : PHIL. He's worth a couple of bucks now. I bought a pair of Nike running shoes back in 1982. The sole of one came unglued within a week and the store refused to exchange them. I never shopped there again and I've never bought a pair of Nikes since.
57. One in an airport line : TAXI
61. Bash : RAM
62. Amount after deductions : NET
63. Chemical suffix : -ENE
Here's the grid, and that's it from me!
Steve
