Theme: The wheels on the bus ... Round and Round
.
17A. Generous nature: HEART OF GOLD. The Infinite Improbability Drive powered the space ship "Heart of Gold" in Douglas Adams' quite wonderful "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy".
28A. Exercising control over one's own affairs: SELF-GOVERNING
44A. 1945 Physics Nobelist who discovered the exclusion principle: WOLFGANG PAULI
58A. Eighteen holes ... and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters: ROUND OF GOLF. The 18th hole at St. Andrews. Don't hit into the Royal & Ancient clubhouse or the High Street.
A thoroughly entertaining puzzle from Christopher. I think this is a debut for him in the LAT, although I've seen a couple of his puzzles over at the Fireball site where he's known for his puzzles with a hidden super-theme, or "meta".
The theme letters really are a true "round" as they progress through FGOL, LFGO, OFLG and finally landing on GOLF. Nicely done.
I looked for a hidden twist, and eventually satisfied myself by convincing said self that the 18 "holes" are represented by 18 "O"s in the puzzle. Pure fluke, I'm sure, but I found the search entertaining.
Super construction too, those stacked 8's in the downs are not easy to pull off and not force anything to make it happen. Let's see what else jumps out.
Across
1. Barfly: SOT
4. Covered with new grass: SODDED
10. Quick snooze: NAP
13. "Fortunate Son" band, briefly: CCR. Credence Clearwater Revival's unofficial "Most American Song Ever".
14. Imagines: IDEATES. Lovely, vocabulary-expanding word.
16. "Science Friday" host Flatow: IRA. Thank you, crosses.
19. S&L offerings: CDS. I like the quirk in English where the plural of an abbreviation puts the "s" at the end, but the full phrase is pluralized differently - here "Certificates of Deposit".
20. Fortified Portuguese wine: MADEIRA. Fascinating wine-making process. The island of Madeira was the often the last port of call for ships sailing to the West Indies or the New World and fortified wine was able to stand up to the rigors of a long sea voyage.
21. Lingering traces: ECHOES
23. Eternally: ON END
24. Org. Edward Snowden worked for: NSA
27. Cigna rival: AETNA. Originally the Aetna (Fire) Insurance Company of Hartford, CT; the name was meant to evoke thoughts of fire-spewing Mt. Etna.
31. Ultrasound goo: GEL
32. One who minds his manor: LORD. Nice clue.
33. Bridal bio word: NÉE
34. Speak (up): PIPE
37. Arabian Peninsula resident: OMANI
39. Admit, with "up": 'FESS
40. World Cup chant: OLÉ. There's been plenty of those in this World Cup. The group stages wrap up today. Some low-odds favorites are already going home - Spain, Poland and, amazingly, Germany among them.
41. Persian Gulf republic: IRAN. Another World Cup country eliminated in the group stages this week.
42. CBS forensic series: CSI. One of the few shows I actually watched. The original series based in Las Vegas was excellent.
48. Bottled water brand: EVIAN
49. "__ out!": YER. An opportunity for an umpire at the plate to get all theatrical on themselves.
50. Minor dents: DINGS
53. Church official: RECTOR
55. "Just watch me!": I CAN TOO!
57. Programming pioneer Lovelace: ADA
61. Hubbub: DIN
62. Blinking diner sign: EAT HERE. I should hang one of these on my front door!
63. Asian New Year: TET
64. "District 9" extras: E.T.S Sci-Fi horror flick. I probably won't watch it. Horror movies scare the bejasus out of me and I don't sleep well. "The Exorcist" had me sleeping with the light on for a month, and I've never played Side 2 of "Tubular Bells" since.
65. Blended: MELDED
66. Texter's "No way!": OMG!
Down:
1. Loser: SCHMO
2. Indian, for one: OCEAN. Because neither "cuisine" nor "motorcycle" fit, amongst many others.
3. Baseball deals: TRADES
4. Go unused: SIT IDLE. If you're a baseball player, that usually means an impending 3D.
5. Musk, e.g.: ODOR
6. Neutralize, as a snake: DEFANG
7. Peace Nobelist Hammarskjöld: DAG. Sadly, a posthumous Nobel prize. The Secretary-General of the UN died when his plane was apparently shot down on the way to peace negotiations in the Congo.
8. WWII zone: ETO. European Theater of Operations.
9. Take-out order?: DELE. World Cup fans would clue "DELE" as an English national team midfielder!
10. Ingredient in therapeutic gum: NICOTINE
11. Battle of the Bulge region: ARDENNES
12. Excerpts: PASSAGES
15. Microchip found in cameras, briefly: SD CARD. Bzzzzz! Microchip? No, it's not. It's a removable storage medium. I just bought one for my Canon Eos camera.
18. Go back on a promise: RENEGE
22. One with nest eggs: HEN.
25. One-named "A Seat at the Table" singer: SOLANGE
26. HarperCollins romance imprint: AVON. Thank you, crosses. I only know of the cosmetics direct-to-consumer company.
29. Native plants: FLORA. Compare and contrast with FAUNA
30. CNN correspondent Hill: ERICA
34. Coca-Cola sports drink: POWERADE
35. "Two thumbs up!": I LOVED IT!
36. New Orleans NBA team: PELICANS. One of the less-threatening US sports franchise names. Unless you're a fish. Golden State Herrings anyone?
38. Quite a few: MANY
39. Clerk's chore: FILING. My first office job. I was an underwriter's clerk at a London marine insurance company. Thank heavens computers arrived and I punched my (punch card) ticket out of policy-filing hell. I did learn "specie" back in those days though, that's come in handy in recent crosswords.
41. Deliberately overlook: IGNORE
43. Decongestant brand: SUDAFED
45. Blubber: FAT. This filled itself in. I might have been tempted by "CRY" though.
46. Rated (oneself) highly: PRIDED. "I prided myself on well-filed claims forms when I was an underwriter's clerk". Actually no, but I did pride myself on the mirror-finish of the floors I polished in the wee hours at the county hospital prior to my first office job
47. All things considered: IN TOTO
51. Clay being of Jewish folklore: GOLEM
52. Introduction to geometry?: SOFT G. These "soft" answers always stump me until the "ahhhh" moment.
54. Ramble: ROAM
56. Essence: CORE
59. 4 x 4, for short: UTE. "What's a 'ute'?" My Cousin Vinny.
60. Art Ross Trophy org.: NHL "Awarded to the player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season". Currently held by the splendidly-named Connor McDavid. No doubt about his provenance.
And .. here's the grid. Four World Cup football matches today and I get a day off watching tomorrow, the first rest day in two weeks. It's a tough life!
Steve
.
17A. Generous nature: HEART OF GOLD. The Infinite Improbability Drive powered the space ship "Heart of Gold" in Douglas Adams' quite wonderful "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy".
28A. Exercising control over one's own affairs: SELF-GOVERNING
44A. 1945 Physics Nobelist who discovered the exclusion principle: WOLFGANG PAULI
"The best that most of us can hope to achieve in physics is simply to misunderstand at a deeper level."
58A. Eighteen holes ... and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters: ROUND OF GOLF. The 18th hole at St. Andrews. Don't hit into the Royal & Ancient clubhouse or the High Street.
A thoroughly entertaining puzzle from Christopher. I think this is a debut for him in the LAT, although I've seen a couple of his puzzles over at the Fireball site where he's known for his puzzles with a hidden super-theme, or "meta".
The theme letters really are a true "round" as they progress through FGOL, LFGO, OFLG and finally landing on GOLF. Nicely done.
I looked for a hidden twist, and eventually satisfied myself by convincing said self that the 18 "holes" are represented by 18 "O"s in the puzzle. Pure fluke, I'm sure, but I found the search entertaining.
Super construction too, those stacked 8's in the downs are not easy to pull off and not force anything to make it happen. Let's see what else jumps out.
Across
1. Barfly: SOT
4. Covered with new grass: SODDED
10. Quick snooze: NAP
13. "Fortunate Son" band, briefly: CCR. Credence Clearwater Revival's unofficial "Most American Song Ever".
14. Imagines: IDEATES. Lovely, vocabulary-expanding word.
16. "Science Friday" host Flatow: IRA. Thank you, crosses.
19. S&L offerings: CDS. I like the quirk in English where the plural of an abbreviation puts the "s" at the end, but the full phrase is pluralized differently - here "Certificates of Deposit".
20. Fortified Portuguese wine: MADEIRA. Fascinating wine-making process. The island of Madeira was the often the last port of call for ships sailing to the West Indies or the New World and fortified wine was able to stand up to the rigors of a long sea voyage.
21. Lingering traces: ECHOES
23. Eternally: ON END
24. Org. Edward Snowden worked for: NSA
27. Cigna rival: AETNA. Originally the Aetna (Fire) Insurance Company of Hartford, CT; the name was meant to evoke thoughts of fire-spewing Mt. Etna.
31. Ultrasound goo: GEL
32. One who minds his manor: LORD. Nice clue.
33. Bridal bio word: NÉE
34. Speak (up): PIPE
37. Arabian Peninsula resident: OMANI
39. Admit, with "up": 'FESS
40. World Cup chant: OLÉ. There's been plenty of those in this World Cup. The group stages wrap up today. Some low-odds favorites are already going home - Spain, Poland and, amazingly, Germany among them.
41. Persian Gulf republic: IRAN. Another World Cup country eliminated in the group stages this week.
42. CBS forensic series: CSI. One of the few shows I actually watched. The original series based in Las Vegas was excellent.
48. Bottled water brand: EVIAN
49. "__ out!": YER. An opportunity for an umpire at the plate to get all theatrical on themselves.
50. Minor dents: DINGS
53. Church official: RECTOR
55. "Just watch me!": I CAN TOO!
57. Programming pioneer Lovelace: ADA
61. Hubbub: DIN
62. Blinking diner sign: EAT HERE. I should hang one of these on my front door!
63. Asian New Year: TET
64. "District 9" extras: E.T.S Sci-Fi horror flick. I probably won't watch it. Horror movies scare the bejasus out of me and I don't sleep well. "The Exorcist" had me sleeping with the light on for a month, and I've never played Side 2 of "Tubular Bells" since.
65. Blended: MELDED
66. Texter's "No way!": OMG!
Down:
1. Loser: SCHMO
2. Indian, for one: OCEAN. Because neither "cuisine" nor "motorcycle" fit, amongst many others.
3. Baseball deals: TRADES
4. Go unused: SIT IDLE. If you're a baseball player, that usually means an impending 3D.
5. Musk, e.g.: ODOR
6. Neutralize, as a snake: DEFANG
7. Peace Nobelist Hammarskjöld: DAG. Sadly, a posthumous Nobel prize. The Secretary-General of the UN died when his plane was apparently shot down on the way to peace negotiations in the Congo.
8. WWII zone: ETO. European Theater of Operations.
9. Take-out order?: DELE. World Cup fans would clue "DELE" as an English national team midfielder!
10. Ingredient in therapeutic gum: NICOTINE
11. Battle of the Bulge region: ARDENNES
12. Excerpts: PASSAGES
15. Microchip found in cameras, briefly: SD CARD. Bzzzzz! Microchip? No, it's not. It's a removable storage medium. I just bought one for my Canon Eos camera.
18. Go back on a promise: RENEGE
22. One with nest eggs: HEN.
25. One-named "A Seat at the Table" singer: SOLANGE
26. HarperCollins romance imprint: AVON. Thank you, crosses. I only know of the cosmetics direct-to-consumer company.
29. Native plants: FLORA. Compare and contrast with FAUNA
30. CNN correspondent Hill: ERICA
34. Coca-Cola sports drink: POWERADE
35. "Two thumbs up!": I LOVED IT!
36. New Orleans NBA team: PELICANS. One of the less-threatening US sports franchise names. Unless you're a fish. Golden State Herrings anyone?
38. Quite a few: MANY
39. Clerk's chore: FILING. My first office job. I was an underwriter's clerk at a London marine insurance company. Thank heavens computers arrived and I punched my (punch card) ticket out of policy-filing hell. I did learn "specie" back in those days though, that's come in handy in recent crosswords.
41. Deliberately overlook: IGNORE
43. Decongestant brand: SUDAFED
45. Blubber: FAT. This filled itself in. I might have been tempted by "CRY" though.
46. Rated (oneself) highly: PRIDED. "I prided myself on well-filed claims forms when I was an underwriter's clerk". Actually no, but I did pride myself on the mirror-finish of the floors I polished in the wee hours at the county hospital prior to my first office job
47. All things considered: IN TOTO
51. Clay being of Jewish folklore: GOLEM
52. Introduction to geometry?: SOFT G. These "soft" answers always stump me until the "ahhhh" moment.
54. Ramble: ROAM
56. Essence: CORE
59. 4 x 4, for short: UTE. "What's a 'ute'?" My Cousin Vinny.
60. Art Ross Trophy org.: NHL "Awarded to the player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season". Currently held by the splendidly-named Connor McDavid. No doubt about his provenance.
And .. here's the grid. Four World Cup football matches today and I get a day off watching tomorrow, the first rest day in two weeks. It's a tough life!
Steve
