Theme: Split P's Soup - The clues form the theme with a vowel progression between the two P's
17A. Pap : MUSHY FOOD. About as appetizing as it sounds.
24A. Pep : GET UP AND GO. Nice phrase, difficult to parse from a partially-completed grid.
38A. Pip : DIE SPOT. I tried ONE SPOT first, but TEO'S and GERN at 31D and 24D respectively nudged me that something was amiss.
49A. Pop : MUSIC GENRE. "Pop" is often used derogatively, but there's something about a good pop song that lifts the soul.
60A. Pup : YOUNG SEAL. Had YOUNGSTER until nothing would work in the SW corner.
Good Morning from 39,000 feet!. It's cold outside, as the in-flight website shows:
I never cease to be amazed by technology. This wireless internet caper at this altitude is nothing more than dark magic and hocus-pocus to me.
Anyway, back to the puzzle. A nice alphabet progression from Morton, and four of the five theme entries are new to all the major puzzles which makes for a nice fresh feel to the grid.
Let's see what else catches the eye:
Across:
1. WC : LAV Common term in the UK, from whence I just returned. I can stop talking like Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins" now.
4. Cardiff-born : WELSH
9. Many Dickens kids : WAIFS
14. Action film gun : UZI
15. Kauai greeting : ALOHA. Greeting and farewell. Handy word.
16. Northern home : IGLOO
19. Like hardened mud on boots : CAKED
20. Asks too many questions : PRIES
21. Central points : FOCI. Some prefer "focuses", but that's the verb, not the noun.
23. Mountain legend : YETI
30. Getting-started instruction : STEP ONE. Self-assembly furniture, the bane of modern life, usually starts with counting the screws, washers and what-not and finding yourself one short of something.
32. 1976 Dylan song about his first wife : SARA. I'd not heard this track before. When I listened to it, I would have sworn it was Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler if I didn't know it was Bob.
33. Like FM radio, typically : IN STEREO
36. Old lab heaters : ETNAS. We used Bunsen burners in school. Handy for setting fire to just about anything within reach, including your classmate's tie. I'm surprised we survived school sometimes. One of my friends once went home unawares with a flask of sulphuric acid in his overcoat pocket, slipped in there by another chum.
37. Playa __ Rey: L.A. community : DEL. Between the Marina and the airport. It's pretty peaceful in spite of the proximity to LAX.
41. Biol. or chem. : SCI.
42. Places to find stacks : IHOPS. And blue roofs.
44. Some DVD bonus tracks : OUTTAKES. Some of the best parts of Pixer's movies are the specially-created "outtakes" that they run with the credits at the end of the film. The animators have a lot of fun with those.
46. Little dipper? : OREO We take Oreos by popular request to the UK when we visit. For some reason they're rather expensive over there. Also, the more unusual M&M flavors, Lawry's garlic salt and bean dip. It always fascinates the TSA guys when they open the bag.
47. Lovey-dovey : AMOROUS
51. Sounds of activity : HUMS
55. __ beer : NEAR. And pretty much pointless, in my humble opinion. Also known as "small beer." There's a tombstone in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral in England which serves as a dire warning against drinking this stuff. I was just there the other day.
56. Legendary moralist : AESOP
57. Angiogram image : AORTA
64. Counterintelligence targets : SPIES
65. The life of Paris? : LA VIE
66. Tre meno due : UNA. 3-2=1 in any language.
67. Disconcerting gaze : STARE. I get uncomfortable when cats stare at me. I know they're plotting something dire.
68. Stingray kin : SKATE
69. Salary : PAY
Down:
1. Like poorly made Cream of Wheat : LUMPY. Is this also pap?
2. Clear blue : AZURE
3. Stay and catch up : VISIT
4. Techniques : WAYS
5. "The Hobbit" being : ELF. "E" and wait for the crosses.
6. WC : LOO
7. "Homeland" channel, for short : SHO. Showtime.
8. Enjoyed themselves : HAD FUN
9. Contemporary pagan religion : WICCA
10. In contact with : AGAINST
11. Kind : ILK
12. A Capulet, to a Montague : FOE. Romeo and Juliet.
13. Cover for a bald spot? : SOD
18. Art theft, e.g. : HEIST. Art and bank vault robberies always seemed to be "heists". Everything else is plain old larceny.
22. Unlatch, poetically : OPE'
24. "Deadwood" actress Jewell : GERI
25. Fencing sword : EPÉE
26. "Should I have waited?" : TOO SOON? Often the question comes after a joke in bad taste regarding a recent tragic event.
27. Lenox china brand : DANSK. Crosses all the way.
28. Word with period or note : GRACE. One of these little notes on the stave. They're barely played before a quick segue into the note following.
29. It might be a mirage : OASIS
31. Koppel and others : TEDS
33. By the seat of one's pants, e.g. : IDIOM
34. Indira Gandhi's father : NEHRU. A lot of people think Mahatma Gandhi was Indira's father. Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India following independence from British rule.
35. Plumlike fruits : SLOES. Take a bottle of gin, a generous handful of sloes, prick the berries all over with a needle, steep in the gin for a few days or longer - voila, sloe gin.
36. Classic accusation : ET TU?
39. Be catty? : PURR
40. Missouri River native : OTOE
43. Laser device : POINTER. I've got one on my PowerPoint remote clicker for presentations. Dogs love chasing the red dot around the room.
45. Clambake leftovers : ASHES
47. Ottoman honorific : AGA
48. Ice dancing Olympic gold medalist Davis and Oscar winner Streep : MERYLS. I knew the actress, not the dancer.
50. Pull the plug on : CEASE
52. Run through : USE UP
53. 2016 Disney film set in the South Seas : MOANA. I think I saw film. By the fact I "think" I saw it probably means it wasn't a Disney classic.
54. Spread apart : SPLAY
56. Tommie of '60s-'70s baseball : AGEE. Nailed it! Thanks to many crosswords under my belt.
57. Hee-hawing animal : ASS
58. Choose : OPT
59. Narrow inlet : RIA
61. Barrel wood : OAK
62. The Cavaliers of the ACC : UVA. University of Virginia, naturally.
63. It may be picked : NIT. But never, ever here at the Corner.
That about rounds it off. I'll leave you with this cloudscape in London last Sunday, and the grid. The iPhone really does take pretty good photos sometimes!
Steve
17A. Pap : MUSHY FOOD. About as appetizing as it sounds.
24A. Pep : GET UP AND GO. Nice phrase, difficult to parse from a partially-completed grid.
38A. Pip : DIE SPOT. I tried ONE SPOT first, but TEO'S and GERN at 31D and 24D respectively nudged me that something was amiss.
49A. Pop : MUSIC GENRE. "Pop" is often used derogatively, but there's something about a good pop song that lifts the soul.
60A. Pup : YOUNG SEAL. Had YOUNGSTER until nothing would work in the SW corner.
Good Morning from 39,000 feet!. It's cold outside, as the in-flight website shows:
I never cease to be amazed by technology. This wireless internet caper at this altitude is nothing more than dark magic and hocus-pocus to me.
Anyway, back to the puzzle. A nice alphabet progression from Morton, and four of the five theme entries are new to all the major puzzles which makes for a nice fresh feel to the grid.
Let's see what else catches the eye:
Across:
1. WC : LAV Common term in the UK, from whence I just returned. I can stop talking like Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins" now.
4. Cardiff-born : WELSH
9. Many Dickens kids : WAIFS
14. Action film gun : UZI
15. Kauai greeting : ALOHA. Greeting and farewell. Handy word.
16. Northern home : IGLOO
19. Like hardened mud on boots : CAKED
20. Asks too many questions : PRIES
21. Central points : FOCI. Some prefer "focuses", but that's the verb, not the noun.
23. Mountain legend : YETI
30. Getting-started instruction : STEP ONE. Self-assembly furniture, the bane of modern life, usually starts with counting the screws, washers and what-not and finding yourself one short of something.
32. 1976 Dylan song about his first wife : SARA. I'd not heard this track before. When I listened to it, I would have sworn it was Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler if I didn't know it was Bob.
33. Like FM radio, typically : IN STEREO
36. Old lab heaters : ETNAS. We used Bunsen burners in school. Handy for setting fire to just about anything within reach, including your classmate's tie. I'm surprised we survived school sometimes. One of my friends once went home unawares with a flask of sulphuric acid in his overcoat pocket, slipped in there by another chum.
37. Playa __ Rey: L.A. community : DEL. Between the Marina and the airport. It's pretty peaceful in spite of the proximity to LAX.
41. Biol. or chem. : SCI.
42. Places to find stacks : IHOPS. And blue roofs.
44. Some DVD bonus tracks : OUTTAKES. Some of the best parts of Pixer's movies are the specially-created "outtakes" that they run with the credits at the end of the film. The animators have a lot of fun with those.
46. Little dipper? : OREO We take Oreos by popular request to the UK when we visit. For some reason they're rather expensive over there. Also, the more unusual M&M flavors, Lawry's garlic salt and bean dip. It always fascinates the TSA guys when they open the bag.
47. Lovey-dovey : AMOROUS
51. Sounds of activity : HUMS
55. __ beer : NEAR. And pretty much pointless, in my humble opinion. Also known as "small beer." There's a tombstone in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral in England which serves as a dire warning against drinking this stuff. I was just there the other day.
56. Legendary moralist : AESOP
57. Angiogram image : AORTA
64. Counterintelligence targets : SPIES
65. The life of Paris? : LA VIE
66. Tre meno due : UNA. 3-2=1 in any language.
67. Disconcerting gaze : STARE. I get uncomfortable when cats stare at me. I know they're plotting something dire.
68. Stingray kin : SKATE
69. Salary : PAY
Down:
1. Like poorly made Cream of Wheat : LUMPY. Is this also pap?
2. Clear blue : AZURE
3. Stay and catch up : VISIT
4. Techniques : WAYS
5. "The Hobbit" being : ELF. "E" and wait for the crosses.
6. WC : LOO
7. "Homeland" channel, for short : SHO. Showtime.
8. Enjoyed themselves : HAD FUN
9. Contemporary pagan religion : WICCA
10. In contact with : AGAINST
11. Kind : ILK
12. A Capulet, to a Montague : FOE. Romeo and Juliet.
13. Cover for a bald spot? : SOD
18. Art theft, e.g. : HEIST. Art and bank vault robberies always seemed to be "heists". Everything else is plain old larceny.
22. Unlatch, poetically : OPE'
24. "Deadwood" actress Jewell : GERI
25. Fencing sword : EPÉE
26. "Should I have waited?" : TOO SOON? Often the question comes after a joke in bad taste regarding a recent tragic event.
27. Lenox china brand : DANSK. Crosses all the way.
28. Word with period or note : GRACE. One of these little notes on the stave. They're barely played before a quick segue into the note following.
29. It might be a mirage : OASIS
31. Koppel and others : TEDS
33. By the seat of one's pants, e.g. : IDIOM
34. Indira Gandhi's father : NEHRU. A lot of people think Mahatma Gandhi was Indira's father. Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India following independence from British rule.
35. Plumlike fruits : SLOES. Take a bottle of gin, a generous handful of sloes, prick the berries all over with a needle, steep in the gin for a few days or longer - voila, sloe gin.
36. Classic accusation : ET TU?
39. Be catty? : PURR
40. Missouri River native : OTOE
43. Laser device : POINTER. I've got one on my PowerPoint remote clicker for presentations. Dogs love chasing the red dot around the room.
45. Clambake leftovers : ASHES
47. Ottoman honorific : AGA
48. Ice dancing Olympic gold medalist Davis and Oscar winner Streep : MERYLS. I knew the actress, not the dancer.
50. Pull the plug on : CEASE
52. Run through : USE UP
53. 2016 Disney film set in the South Seas : MOANA. I think I saw film. By the fact I "think" I saw it probably means it wasn't a Disney classic.
54. Spread apart : SPLAY
56. Tommie of '60s-'70s baseball : AGEE. Nailed it! Thanks to many crosswords under my belt.
57. Hee-hawing animal : ASS
58. Choose : OPT
59. Narrow inlet : RIA
61. Barrel wood : OAK
62. The Cavaliers of the ACC : UVA. University of Virginia, naturally.
63. It may be picked : NIT. But never, ever here at the Corner.
That about rounds it off. I'll leave you with this cloudscape in London last Sunday, and the grid. The iPhone really does take pretty good photos sometimes!
Steve
