Theme: FAN-tastic. Four FAN definitions, four different results. Three nouns-based, one verb-based.
17A. FAN : RANGE HOOD DEVICE. Really? OK. My range hood doubles as a microwave, so I've got two devices in one, I guess. I treated myself to a new range last week, the old one went kaput in the oven-ignition department. I'm not fond of the smell of gas in my kitchen.
26A. FAN : GEISHA ACCESSORY. Can be very ornate.
43A. FAN : GO DOWN ON STRIKES. It took me forever to parse this. Baseball - you fan the batter when you have him swinging and missing at for strike three. World Series time is on us! I won't claim to being an ardent supporter of my LA Dodgers. I am a fan, though.
56A. FAN : ARDENT SUPPORTER. Now, that's me! Chelsea F.C. When I'm back in London next month I'll be at the ground being ardent. I still renew my annual club membership each year even though I get to one game every goodness knows when.
Four grid-spanners is always a nice construction job - things can get tricky making this kind of pattern work. I thought we were onto a pangram when X, Z, J, K and the other usual suspects started showing up, but no Q, so close, but no cigar.
Lots of nice fill to go with the solid 60 (count 'em!) theme letters. Let's see:
Across:
1. "The Hobbit" figure : DWARF. Makes a nice change from ents, orcs and what-not. There were 13 of the vertically-challenged, pugnaciously-bearded bunch in The Hobbit
6. Moneyless deal : SWAP
10. It may involve an exchange of letters : CODE. Also known as a substitution cipher - you change one letter for another.
14. Like a raucous crowd : AROAR. Your honor, I refer to my previous blog entries on this particular word.
15. Grassy "pet" : CHIA
16. Binged (on) : OD'ED
20. Donkey Kong, e.g. : APE. I'm old enough to remember the first Donkey Kong machine in my local pub in London. I'm also old enough to remember the first Pong machine, and the first Space Invaders machine. I retired after Missile Command and saved my money.
21. Tiny bit : IOTA
22. Gas in an arc lamp : XENON
23. Cultural opening? : AGRI-
24. Working away : AT IT
33. Dark : UNLIT
34. Holy Week season : LENT.
35. Menagerie : ZOO
36. Organa family royal : LEIA. I don't know why I have a problem with this "Organa" family clue. I know I know it's Star Wars, but why was I playing around with LENA and LEDA as possibilities?
37. Outback youngsters : JOEYS. Sing after me the Australian kids' show theme tune: "Skippy, Skippy, Skippy the bush kangaroo". The show came on right after "The Magic Boomerang" on the BBC. I'm guessing cheaply-acquired programming.
39. Cover up : MASK. Verb and noun. Nice.
40. Is for many : ARE. Singular/Plural hint.
41. Trombone's symphonic neighbor : TUBA. Twinned with the 38D clue/answer. Nice.
42. First two-time Nobelist : CURIE
47. False move : FAKE. Sporting term - faking someone out.
48. Try in court : HEAR
49. "Star Wars" genre : SCI-FI
52. Contrary girl of rhyme : MARY. How did her garden grow?
53. Relaxation spot : SPA
60. Oblique look : LEER
61. Lowland : VALE. I wait - DALE or VALE?
62. Din : NOISE
63. Bigelow products : TEAS
64. Cut without mercy, as a budget : AXED
65. Maker of iComfort mattresses : SERTA. I'm surprised lawsuit-happy Apple haven't sued over the name.
Down:
1. Swimmer Torres with 12 Olympic medals : DARA. She's a motiviational speaker now and lives up the street (actually, up quite a few streets) in Beverly Hills.
2. Sub alternative : WRAP
3. As good as it gets : A-ONE
4. Joplin work : RAG
5. Train load : FREIGHT
6. Nova __ : SCOTIA
7. "Just a doggone minute!" : WHOA
8. Legal __ : AID
9. Legal __ : PAD
10. Longs for enviously : COVETS
11. Mr. Wednesday's real identity in "American Gods" : ODIN
12. Artistic style of L.A.'s Eastern Columbia Building : DECO. A beautiful loft building downtown. Here's the entryway:
13. Churchill's 1955 successor : EDEN
18. Hand-holding celebratory dance : HORA
19. Be real : EXIST
23. Where Vladivostok is : ASIA
24. __-deucey : ACEY
25. Arithmetic column : TENS. Please complete the following as your homework. It's due back to me tomorrow.
26. Solzhenitsyn subject : GULAG. I read "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" when I was a teen. Quite the eye-opener.
27. Día de Reyes month : ENERO. Nailed it! January, the twelfth day of Christmas in Spanish-speaking countries.
28. "That wasn't quite true ... " : I LIED
29. Do housework : CLEAN
30. Netflix drama set in a Missouri mountain resort : OZARK. Never seen the drama, but easy to guess.
31. WWII riveter : ROSIE
32. Devices used with oxcarts : YOKES. As one ox said to the other: "This plow is heavy. No yoke".
37. Rubbish : JUNK
38. Flute's symphonic neighbor : OBOE. I like the pair of orchestral maneuvers today. Let's use that as an excuse for some 80's pop. And some hilarity with the video production standards of the day.
39. Sierra Club founder : MUIR
41. With "the," East and West, in a Kipling ballad : TWAIN
OH, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth!
From "The Ballad of East and West" by Rudyard Kipling
I've got a beaten-up old copy of Kipling's "Barrack Room Ballads" that belonged to my Dad and which followed him around his pre-war British Army postings to Hong Kong and Palestine and his WWII assignments in North Africa and Burma. No wonder it's a little rough around the edges.
42. Colorful set : CRAYONS
44. They're music to job-seekers' ears : OFFERS
45. Molded : SHAPED
46. Maryland athlete, familiarly : TERP
49. Cellar contents : SALT. Wanted WINE. A recent addition to my pantry is a Himalaya black salt that smells sulfurous. It's used to finish a couple of Indian curries that I'm fond of. Not to everyone's taste.
50. First Nations tribe : CREE
51. Thought : IDEA
52. Backless shoe : MULE. I tried MOCC first, a bad decision on more than one front.
53. Start to wake up : STIR
54. Sitter's challenge : PEST
55. Geometry figure : AREA
57. Power agcy. since 1933 : T.V.A.
58. Jazz band staple : SAX
59. Landmark '70s case anonym : ROE vs. Wade.
That's about it from me.
Steve
17A. FAN : RANGE HOOD DEVICE. Really? OK. My range hood doubles as a microwave, so I've got two devices in one, I guess. I treated myself to a new range last week, the old one went kaput in the oven-ignition department. I'm not fond of the smell of gas in my kitchen.
26A. FAN : GEISHA ACCESSORY. Can be very ornate.
43A. FAN : GO DOWN ON STRIKES. It took me forever to parse this. Baseball - you fan the batter when you have him swinging and missing at for strike three. World Series time is on us! I won't claim to being an ardent supporter of my LA Dodgers. I am a fan, though.
56A. FAN : ARDENT SUPPORTER. Now, that's me! Chelsea F.C. When I'm back in London next month I'll be at the ground being ardent. I still renew my annual club membership each year even though I get to one game every goodness knows when.
Four grid-spanners is always a nice construction job - things can get tricky making this kind of pattern work. I thought we were onto a pangram when X, Z, J, K and the other usual suspects started showing up, but no Q, so close, but no cigar.
Lots of nice fill to go with the solid 60 (count 'em!) theme letters. Let's see:
Across:
1. "The Hobbit" figure : DWARF. Makes a nice change from ents, orcs and what-not. There were 13 of the vertically-challenged, pugnaciously-bearded bunch in The Hobbit
6. Moneyless deal : SWAP
10. It may involve an exchange of letters : CODE. Also known as a substitution cipher - you change one letter for another.
14. Like a raucous crowd : AROAR. Your honor, I refer to my previous blog entries on this particular word.
15. Grassy "pet" : CHIA
16. Binged (on) : OD'ED
20. Donkey Kong, e.g. : APE. I'm old enough to remember the first Donkey Kong machine in my local pub in London. I'm also old enough to remember the first Pong machine, and the first Space Invaders machine. I retired after Missile Command and saved my money.
21. Tiny bit : IOTA
22. Gas in an arc lamp : XENON
23. Cultural opening? : AGRI-
24. Working away : AT IT
33. Dark : UNLIT
34. Holy Week season : LENT.
35. Menagerie : ZOO
36. Organa family royal : LEIA. I don't know why I have a problem with this "Organa" family clue. I know I know it's Star Wars, but why was I playing around with LENA and LEDA as possibilities?
37. Outback youngsters : JOEYS. Sing after me the Australian kids' show theme tune: "Skippy, Skippy, Skippy the bush kangaroo". The show came on right after "The Magic Boomerang" on the BBC. I'm guessing cheaply-acquired programming.
39. Cover up : MASK. Verb and noun. Nice.
40. Is for many : ARE. Singular/Plural hint.
41. Trombone's symphonic neighbor : TUBA. Twinned with the 38D clue/answer. Nice.
42. First two-time Nobelist : CURIE
47. False move : FAKE. Sporting term - faking someone out.
48. Try in court : HEAR
49. "Star Wars" genre : SCI-FI
52. Contrary girl of rhyme : MARY. How did her garden grow?
53. Relaxation spot : SPA
60. Oblique look : LEER
61. Lowland : VALE. I wait - DALE or VALE?
62. Din : NOISE
63. Bigelow products : TEAS
64. Cut without mercy, as a budget : AXED
65. Maker of iComfort mattresses : SERTA. I'm surprised lawsuit-happy Apple haven't sued over the name.
Down:
1. Swimmer Torres with 12 Olympic medals : DARA. She's a motiviational speaker now and lives up the street (actually, up quite a few streets) in Beverly Hills.
2. Sub alternative : WRAP
3. As good as it gets : A-ONE
4. Joplin work : RAG
5. Train load : FREIGHT
6. Nova __ : SCOTIA
7. "Just a doggone minute!" : WHOA
8. Legal __ : AID
9. Legal __ : PAD
10. Longs for enviously : COVETS
11. Mr. Wednesday's real identity in "American Gods" : ODIN
12. Artistic style of L.A.'s Eastern Columbia Building : DECO. A beautiful loft building downtown. Here's the entryway:
13. Churchill's 1955 successor : EDEN
18. Hand-holding celebratory dance : HORA
19. Be real : EXIST
23. Where Vladivostok is : ASIA
24. __-deucey : ACEY
25. Arithmetic column : TENS. Please complete the following as your homework. It's due back to me tomorrow.
26. Solzhenitsyn subject : GULAG. I read "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" when I was a teen. Quite the eye-opener.
27. Día de Reyes month : ENERO. Nailed it! January, the twelfth day of Christmas in Spanish-speaking countries.
28. "That wasn't quite true ... " : I LIED
29. Do housework : CLEAN
30. Netflix drama set in a Missouri mountain resort : OZARK. Never seen the drama, but easy to guess.
31. WWII riveter : ROSIE
32. Devices used with oxcarts : YOKES. As one ox said to the other: "This plow is heavy. No yoke".
37. Rubbish : JUNK
38. Flute's symphonic neighbor : OBOE. I like the pair of orchestral maneuvers today. Let's use that as an excuse for some 80's pop. And some hilarity with the video production standards of the day.
39. Sierra Club founder : MUIR
41. With "the," East and West, in a Kipling ballad : TWAIN
OH, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth!
From "The Ballad of East and West" by Rudyard Kipling
I've got a beaten-up old copy of Kipling's "Barrack Room Ballads" that belonged to my Dad and which followed him around his pre-war British Army postings to Hong Kong and Palestine and his WWII assignments in North Africa and Burma. No wonder it's a little rough around the edges.
42. Colorful set : CRAYONS
44. They're music to job-seekers' ears : OFFERS
45. Molded : SHAPED
46. Maryland athlete, familiarly : TERP
49. Cellar contents : SALT. Wanted WINE. A recent addition to my pantry is a Himalaya black salt that smells sulfurous. It's used to finish a couple of Indian curries that I'm fond of. Not to everyone's taste.
50. First Nations tribe : CREE
51. Thought : IDEA
52. Backless shoe : MULE. I tried MOCC first, a bad decision on more than one front.
53. Start to wake up : STIR
54. Sitter's challenge : PEST
55. Geometry figure : AREA
57. Power agcy. since 1933 : T.V.A.
58. Jazz band staple : SAX
59. Landmark '70s case anonym : ROE vs. Wade.
That's about it from me.
Steve
