Theme: Monty Python's Flying Circus - The Man Who Speaks in Anagrams.
OK, so strictly speaking these are not anagrams, they are scrambles, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to link a sketch from the classic comedy.
Back on topic, as the reveal explains:
62A. Whole new person who can literally be found in the answers to starred clues: CHANGED MAN.
This picture is a shot of a competitor in annual TT motorcycle races on the Siel fo Amn. The road course can unscramble a rider as surely as you can unscramble the name of the island.
As we work our way down the theme entries, we find that each man has a MAN scramble in his name, and the first clue has "Man" to start, just for fun.
17A. *Man Booker Prize winner for "Life of Pi" : YANN MARTEL. Great book, on my all-time favorites list.
27A. *Star of '70s TV's "Good Times" : JOHN AMOS. Who? Thank you, crosses.
47A. *Actor in two "Jurassic Park" films : SAM NEILL. Vaguely remembered this chap. I needed plenty of crossing help though.
11D. *Gomer Pyle portrayer : JIM NABORS. Another who? for me, I'm sure all you US denizens didn't even stop to think, but again I needed all the help I could get.
34D. *"Atonement" novelist : IAN MCEWAN. There's no doubt he's a great writer, but I recall this novel as being awfully bleak.
Neat theme from Craig, I liked that all the theme entries were men, and there was a pretty solid letter count from the them all. I like seeing the theme entries in both the acrosses and downs, it changes things up a little. Usual Thursday-level cluing and misdirection. For the second week running the NE corner was my problem area, but eventually everything fell into place.
Clunker of the day: SRTAS. I know it's acceptable, but I never like it it when I see it.
Let's see what else jumps out:
Across:
1. Tell target : APPLE. The legend of William Tell. I can't remember why he had to shoot an apple from his son's head, but I do remember being told that the Swiss hero was Austrian by birth.
6. Look for : SEEK
10. Letting in some air : AJAR. Almost my last fill, took a while to see this, but it did unlock the unknown JIM NABORS for me.
14. Dakota natives : SIOUX
15. Lyft alternative : TAXI. First impulse here is UBER.
16. Record, in a way : TIVO. Darn, I had TAPE first which slowed down my progress in the NE.
19. Put out : EMIT. Another tricky one that required some teasing out.
20. When the fewest pieces are on the chess board : ENDGAME
21. Detoxification diet : CLEANSE. I've done what is called the Jedi Cleanse, it was the longest month of my life.
23. Lean-__: sheds : TO'S
24. [Boring!] : YAWN!
26. "Letters From Iwo __": Eastwood film : JIMA
29. "Thwack!" : BAM!
32. Less ingenuous : SLIER. I prefer the SLYER spelling, but this is accepted as an alternative. I read it as "SLEE-ER" though.
35. __ window : BAY
36. Through : DONE. I'm done. Actually, I'm not through yet, I've still got quite a lot of the write-up to go.
37. Scuttlebutt : HEARSAY
40. Souvenir shop display : T-SHIRTS
42. Farm sound : OINK
43. Farm animal : NAG. An old horse. I don't really associate a nag with a farm animal, but I guess it's fine. I recall that the carthorse Boxer from Orwell's "Animal Farm" became a broken down nag towards the end. It didn't finish well for the horse.
45. Watering hole : OASIS
46. Brimless hat : TAM
50. Steamboat fuel : COAL
52. Inflates, as expenses : PADS
53. Significant time : ERA
56. Eurasian plains : STEPPES
59. ADHD medication : RITALIN
61. Fuzzy fruit or fuzzy bird : KIWI. The fruit doesn't have a lot of flavor, but it makes a nice contrast in a fruit salad or garnish for a dessert.
64. OPEC member : IRAN
65. 2-point G, e.g. : TILE. Scrabble, of course. Wasn't my first thought when I was trying to figure out the clue.
66. Dreadlocks wearer : RASTA
67. Island goose : NENE
68. Zipped : SPED
69. Sp. titles : SRTAS. I just think this is clumsy. Spanish señoritas.
Down:
1. Up to now : AS YET
2. Composer John Cage's "Suite for Toy __" : PIANO. Schroeder from the "Peanuts" strip famously played the toy piano, but he preferred playing Beethoven.
3. Cold cream name : PONDS. This was lurking somewhere in the dim recesses of my mind, I'm not sure why I even knew it at all.
4. Organ with alveoli : LUNG
5. Richard M. Daley and Ed Koch : EX-MAYORS. I liked this one, fresh fill. Daley in Chicago, Koch in New York.
6. Scattered : STREWN
7. Put down a hero : EAT. This one was fun to figure out. A hero sandwich.
8. Corp. head : EXEC. Yeah, I suppose so. More usually the head of a corporation would be the president or CEO.
9. Party poopers : KILLJOYS
10. Elite squad : "A" TEAM
12. Driving company that sounds more like a flying company : AVIS. Now this one bothers me. Is Avis a "driving" company? No, it's a car rental company. If you took a poll on the street to describe Avis, Hertz or Enterprise, "driving company" would be about 1,000th on the list.
13. "Thy love did read by __, that could not spell": "Romeo and Juliet" : ROTE. Friar Lawrence telling Romeo that Rosalind knew very well that Romeo was not truly in love with her.
18. Eastern nurse : AMAH. Known to me only from crosswords.
22. Frozen Wasser : EIS. German lesson for the day.
25. Capture : NAB
27. __ chicken: Jamaican dish : JERK. Food! I love making jerk chicken, I get to chop a whole chicken into about 16 pieces with my bad-ass cleaver. My friend can't watch, she's convinced I'm going to chop my fingers off some day.
28. Floor covering : MAT
30. Start to trust? : ANTI- I liked this one.
31. Fool (with) : MESS
32. Worn out : SHOT
33. "The Last Jedi" general : LEIA. I keep forgetting Princess Leia was a general towards the end of the series of movies. Crosses usually reveal it pretty quickly
36. First antibacterial soap : DIAL. Didn't know this was the first, but it came pretty easily.
38. Confucian text, with "The" : ANALECTS. "Never give a sword to a man who can't dance." I like that one.
"Analects" in Chinese. Seal script at the top, traditional in the middle and simplifed at the bottom.
39. November tuber : YAM. What did the sweet potato say to the turkey at Thanksgiving? "I yam what I yam".
41. Oater belt attachments : HOLSTERS. You need to know that "oater" is an industry slang term for one of the many cowboy movies that flooded out of the Hollywood studios back in the day.
44. Economic fig. : G.N.P. Gross National Product. If recall correctly from my school economics, the total value of goods and services produced by a country.
47. Plant juice : SAP
48. Made : EARNED
49. "With ya so far" : "I DIG"
51. State one's views : OPINE
53. Slasher film setting: Abbr. : ELM ST.
54. Western prop : RIATA. Often clued as "oater prop" but we just had that above.
55. Actresses Gunn and Kendrick : ANNAS. Gunn best known for her role in "Breaking Bad", Kendrick won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "Up in the the Air".
56. Hide : SKIN
57. Wear out : TIRE
58. Armada unit : SHIP. There must be a minimum number of ships before you can describe the force as an armada, right? 20, 30? There were 130 in the Spanish Armada of 1588. Didn't do them a lot of good, though.
60. Purim month : ADAR
63. Full Sail Amber __ : ALE. Took me a while to see this, and I've even drunk the beer, which is brewed in Oregon.
Well, that about wraps it up for me. Back in Manhattan this week, heading back to LA and hopefully some warm weather tomorrow in time for the weekend. Maybe I'll crack open a bottle of the Amber Ale. Cheers!
Oh, and here's the grid!
Steve
OK, so strictly speaking these are not anagrams, they are scrambles, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to link a sketch from the classic comedy.
Back on topic, as the reveal explains:
62A. Whole new person who can literally be found in the answers to starred clues: CHANGED MAN.
This picture is a shot of a competitor in annual TT motorcycle races on the Siel fo Amn. The road course can unscramble a rider as surely as you can unscramble the name of the island.
As we work our way down the theme entries, we find that each man has a MAN scramble in his name, and the first clue has "Man" to start, just for fun.
17A. *Man Booker Prize winner for "Life of Pi" : YANN MARTEL. Great book, on my all-time favorites list.
27A. *Star of '70s TV's "Good Times" : JOHN AMOS. Who? Thank you, crosses.
47A. *Actor in two "Jurassic Park" films : SAM NEILL. Vaguely remembered this chap. I needed plenty of crossing help though.
11D. *Gomer Pyle portrayer : JIM NABORS. Another who? for me, I'm sure all you US denizens didn't even stop to think, but again I needed all the help I could get.
34D. *"Atonement" novelist : IAN MCEWAN. There's no doubt he's a great writer, but I recall this novel as being awfully bleak.
Neat theme from Craig, I liked that all the theme entries were men, and there was a pretty solid letter count from the them all. I like seeing the theme entries in both the acrosses and downs, it changes things up a little. Usual Thursday-level cluing and misdirection. For the second week running the NE corner was my problem area, but eventually everything fell into place.
Clunker of the day: SRTAS. I know it's acceptable, but I never like it it when I see it.
Let's see what else jumps out:
Across:
1. Tell target : APPLE. The legend of William Tell. I can't remember why he had to shoot an apple from his son's head, but I do remember being told that the Swiss hero was Austrian by birth.
6. Look for : SEEK
10. Letting in some air : AJAR. Almost my last fill, took a while to see this, but it did unlock the unknown JIM NABORS for me.
14. Dakota natives : SIOUX
15. Lyft alternative : TAXI. First impulse here is UBER.
16. Record, in a way : TIVO. Darn, I had TAPE first which slowed down my progress in the NE.
19. Put out : EMIT. Another tricky one that required some teasing out.
20. When the fewest pieces are on the chess board : ENDGAME
21. Detoxification diet : CLEANSE. I've done what is called the Jedi Cleanse, it was the longest month of my life.
23. Lean-__: sheds : TO'S
24. [Boring!] : YAWN!
26. "Letters From Iwo __": Eastwood film : JIMA
29. "Thwack!" : BAM!
32. Less ingenuous : SLIER. I prefer the SLYER spelling, but this is accepted as an alternative. I read it as "SLEE-ER" though.
35. __ window : BAY
36. Through : DONE. I'm done. Actually, I'm not through yet, I've still got quite a lot of the write-up to go.
37. Scuttlebutt : HEARSAY
40. Souvenir shop display : T-SHIRTS
42. Farm sound : OINK
43. Farm animal : NAG. An old horse. I don't really associate a nag with a farm animal, but I guess it's fine. I recall that the carthorse Boxer from Orwell's "Animal Farm" became a broken down nag towards the end. It didn't finish well for the horse.
45. Watering hole : OASIS
46. Brimless hat : TAM
50. Steamboat fuel : COAL
52. Inflates, as expenses : PADS
53. Significant time : ERA
56. Eurasian plains : STEPPES
59. ADHD medication : RITALIN
61. Fuzzy fruit or fuzzy bird : KIWI. The fruit doesn't have a lot of flavor, but it makes a nice contrast in a fruit salad or garnish for a dessert.
64. OPEC member : IRAN
65. 2-point G, e.g. : TILE. Scrabble, of course. Wasn't my first thought when I was trying to figure out the clue.
66. Dreadlocks wearer : RASTA
67. Island goose : NENE
68. Zipped : SPED
69. Sp. titles : SRTAS. I just think this is clumsy. Spanish señoritas.
Down:
1. Up to now : AS YET
2. Composer John Cage's "Suite for Toy __" : PIANO. Schroeder from the "Peanuts" strip famously played the toy piano, but he preferred playing Beethoven.
3. Cold cream name : PONDS. This was lurking somewhere in the dim recesses of my mind, I'm not sure why I even knew it at all.
4. Organ with alveoli : LUNG
5. Richard M. Daley and Ed Koch : EX-MAYORS. I liked this one, fresh fill. Daley in Chicago, Koch in New York.
6. Scattered : STREWN
7. Put down a hero : EAT. This one was fun to figure out. A hero sandwich.
8. Corp. head : EXEC. Yeah, I suppose so. More usually the head of a corporation would be the president or CEO.
9. Party poopers : KILLJOYS
10. Elite squad : "A" TEAM
12. Driving company that sounds more like a flying company : AVIS. Now this one bothers me. Is Avis a "driving" company? No, it's a car rental company. If you took a poll on the street to describe Avis, Hertz or Enterprise, "driving company" would be about 1,000th on the list.
13. "Thy love did read by __, that could not spell": "Romeo and Juliet" : ROTE. Friar Lawrence telling Romeo that Rosalind knew very well that Romeo was not truly in love with her.
18. Eastern nurse : AMAH. Known to me only from crosswords.
22. Frozen Wasser : EIS. German lesson for the day.
25. Capture : NAB
27. __ chicken: Jamaican dish : JERK. Food! I love making jerk chicken, I get to chop a whole chicken into about 16 pieces with my bad-ass cleaver. My friend can't watch, she's convinced I'm going to chop my fingers off some day.
28. Floor covering : MAT
30. Start to trust? : ANTI- I liked this one.
31. Fool (with) : MESS
32. Worn out : SHOT
33. "The Last Jedi" general : LEIA. I keep forgetting Princess Leia was a general towards the end of the series of movies. Crosses usually reveal it pretty quickly
36. First antibacterial soap : DIAL. Didn't know this was the first, but it came pretty easily.
38. Confucian text, with "The" : ANALECTS. "Never give a sword to a man who can't dance." I like that one.
"Analects" in Chinese. Seal script at the top, traditional in the middle and simplifed at the bottom.
39. November tuber : YAM. What did the sweet potato say to the turkey at Thanksgiving? "I yam what I yam".
41. Oater belt attachments : HOLSTERS. You need to know that "oater" is an industry slang term for one of the many cowboy movies that flooded out of the Hollywood studios back in the day.
44. Economic fig. : G.N.P. Gross National Product. If recall correctly from my school economics, the total value of goods and services produced by a country.
47. Plant juice : SAP
48. Made : EARNED
49. "With ya so far" : "I DIG"
51. State one's views : OPINE
53. Slasher film setting: Abbr. : ELM ST.
54. Western prop : RIATA. Often clued as "oater prop" but we just had that above.
55. Actresses Gunn and Kendrick : ANNAS. Gunn best known for her role in "Breaking Bad", Kendrick won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "Up in the the Air".
56. Hide : SKIN
57. Wear out : TIRE
58. Armada unit : SHIP. There must be a minimum number of ships before you can describe the force as an armada, right? 20, 30? There were 130 in the Spanish Armada of 1588. Didn't do them a lot of good, though.
60. Purim month : ADAR
63. Full Sail Amber __ : ALE. Took me a while to see this, and I've even drunk the beer, which is brewed in Oregon.
Well, that about wraps it up for me. Back in Manhattan this week, heading back to LA and hopefully some warm weather tomorrow in time for the weekend. Maybe I'll crack open a bottle of the Amber Ale. Cheers!
Oh, and here's the grid!
Steve
