Theme: ISLE BE BACK - The Terminator's description of today's theme:
16A. Lombardy skiing destination: THE ITALIAN ALPS. Lanai. Lombardy has all sorts going for it, Milan, great food & wine, Lake Como, skiing. No wonder it's beyond my retirement budget. I blame George Clooney for jacking up the prices.
22B. One of many standing in a Mexican bar: TEQUILA BOTTLE. Bali. The tequila would work well in my 48A restaurant "CANTINA BURRATA" below.
36A. Gene Autry Easter song critter: PETER COTTONTAIL. Crete. Unknown critter for me. Another letter-by-letter fill.
48A. Carl Orff opus: CARMINA BURANA. Aruba. Completely unknown to me. I had ***INA BUR*NA at one point, and decided it had to be a restaurant called CANTINA BUR*** and then BURRATA didn't fit. I didn't know the work, but I certainly know "O Fortuna" from the opus. Here's conductor Simon Rattle giving the Berlin Philharmonic the full eyebrow treatment.
Then the reveal:
58A. Vacation spots found in each set of puzzle circles: ISLAND RETREATS.
Lawks-a-mercy, this was a toughie! I did a speed warm-up with the monthly puzzle in the United Airlines in-flight magazine (a pre-Shortz NYT reprint) and then cracked my knuckles for a quick JW Thursday jaunt. 70 minutes later, I'm still not done. That ALBI/CARMINA/ACS/LAVISH/BRUSHY perfect storm almost did for me. Finally, FINALLY teased it out. That "Congratulations" Mr. Pencil box was never so welcome. Cracking stuff.
Let's see what else gave me wounds to lick this week:
Across:
1. Kvetch's phrase: OY GEVALT! What? Right off the bat. I should have seen the omen for bad things to come.
9. Obstruct: DAM UP. JAM UP? No.
14. Military award phrase: FOR VALOR. This is the Medal of Honor awarded to Sgt. John Randolph "J.R." McKinney. I never knew him nor met him, but his memorial page came up when I was searching for a suitable image to post. He was also awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman's Badge (the, "See, I Been there") during the Pacific campaign in WWII. He passed away aged 76 in 1997. Thank you for your service.
15. Cut out for marriage?: ELOPE
18. Feed bit: OAT
19. "Can I get a word in here?": AHEM?
20. Addams cousin: ITT
27. Merged comm. giant: G.T.E.
29. Large garden ornament: URN
30. Viewed warily: EYED
31. Looks down on: DISDAINS. This caused me a huge problem. I know "DISTAINS" and so "TEN**" was just not revealing a fabric. I stared down that section for a loooooong time. Finally, I thought that maybe it might be a "D". I looked up DISTAIN after I was done, and apparently it's archaic. That ages me quite precisely, I guess.
34. Gas __: TAX
41. Extreme degree: NTH
42. Moot point: NON-ISSUE
43. Toulouse-Lautrec's birthplace: ALBI. Pretty place. This is the Pont Vieux ("Old Bridge"). I like the French literalism. Which begs the question, why isn't he called "Albi-Lautrec"? Toulouse is a good 74Kms away. We should be told.
46. Like -trix, at times: Abbr.: FEM.
47. Brief "I think": IMO
54. "Law & Order: __": SVU. Special Victims Unit, apparently.
55. Boy of la casa: NIÑO
56. Farmers' business: Abbr.: INS. I like the commercials, the always jaunty "We are Farmers, bam-de-bam, bom, bam-bam-bam". The spokesperson in the commercials, actor J.K. Simmons is a regular patron of my local Italian restaurant. It's tough not to sing the hook line when he walks in.
64. Stand out: SHINE
65. Behind closed doors: IN SECRET
66. Publicizes showily: HYPES
67. Car named for a small warship: CORVETTE
Down:
1. Many times o'er: OFT
2. Pirate song snippet: YO, HO!
3. Classic circus adjective: GREATEST
4. Site with clickable RSVPs: EVITE
5. Industrial-sized tank: VAT
6. Helen Keller is on its st. quarter: ALA.
7. Brief chuckle: LOL. Brief, as in abbreviated. Nice clue. First instincts here are HAH! or HAW!
8. Dry run: TRIAL
9. Cygnus' brightest star: DENEB
10. Budget rival: ALAMO
11. Gretchen of "Manchester by the Sea": MOL. I think I saw the movie, but either I gave up on it halfway through, fell asleep or it just didn't register.
12. Presumptuous: UPPITY
13. Mortar's partner: PESTLE. Seems obvious when you fill it in, but my first thought was "BRICKS", closely followed by military ballistics. Considering I used my pestle and mortar more often than bricklaying or aerial bombardment, I wondered why I struggled.
17. Revelation reaction: AHA!
21. "Chopped" host Allen: TED. Gimme. One of my favorite shows, and favorite hosts. He's so classy. Never a bad word to say about anyone.
23. Ice cream buy: QUART
24. "Spenser: For Hire" actor: URICH. I tried URIAH first. Yep, that worked just great.
25. __ particular order: IN NO
26. Student's backpack burden: TEXTS. TESTS/TEXTS. I was wrong at first.
27. Econ. indicator: G.D.P.
28. Exec's accessory: TIE
32. Sturdy fabric: DENIM. I spent about 40 minutes on these nine or ten squares. Paid off in the end, although I'm sure the guy next to me on the plane was wondering if I was trying to solve by sheer stare-down tenacity.
33. RR stop: STN.
34. Copier need: TONER
35. Jungian archetype: ANIMA
37. Stir-fry staple: TOFU. I use the extra-silky type in pad thai noodles. Tip - pour boiling water over it to drive out the moisture before you fry it. Counter-intuitive I know.
38. Buddha statues, Japanese silk prints, etc.: ASIAN ART
39. Periodic table suffix: -IUM
40. Celestial feline: LEO
43. Carrier products, briefly: ACS. Aircraft from a carrier? AC voltage carried by your power utility company? Appellation d'origine contrôlée wines imported by Robert Carrier? Questions, questions.
44. Profuse: LAVISH
45. Like some hillsides: BRUSHY. Not GRASSY, then. Darn.
49. Ludicrous: INANE
50. Array just before an odometer reaches 100,000: NINES
51. "So?": AND
52. __ acid: BORIC
53. Family member: NIECE
57. Dele canceler: STET
59. Cup rim: LIP
60. Eclectic musician Brian: ENO. Elevators, Roxy Music and U2. Versatile guy, and very useful in crosswords.
61. Original D & D company: TSR. One day, one day I'll remember this.
62. Prepare to drag: REV. As in your engine, before your drag race. Here's the famous start to the race in Grease, filmed here in LA on the not-exactly-bucolic river bed under the 6th Street Bridge.
63. Sault __ Marie: STE.
The seatbelt sign has been on for most of the ride across the country today. I call it "trampolining" when you're bouncing up and down. Amazing the internet cable doesn't get disconnected, eh?
And it's Sierra Tango Echo Victor Echo signing off from 37,000 feet, or 11,280 meters, give or take, in Euro-money.
Here's the grid:
16A. Lombardy skiing destination: THE ITALIAN ALPS. Lanai. Lombardy has all sorts going for it, Milan, great food & wine, Lake Como, skiing. No wonder it's beyond my retirement budget. I blame George Clooney for jacking up the prices.
22B. One of many standing in a Mexican bar: TEQUILA BOTTLE. Bali. The tequila would work well in my 48A restaurant "CANTINA BURRATA" below.
36A. Gene Autry Easter song critter: PETER COTTONTAIL. Crete. Unknown critter for me. Another letter-by-letter fill.
48A. Carl Orff opus: CARMINA BURANA. Aruba. Completely unknown to me. I had ***INA BUR*NA at one point, and decided it had to be a restaurant called CANTINA BUR*** and then BURRATA didn't fit. I didn't know the work, but I certainly know "O Fortuna" from the opus. Here's conductor Simon Rattle giving the Berlin Philharmonic the full eyebrow treatment.
Then the reveal:
58A. Vacation spots found in each set of puzzle circles: ISLAND RETREATS.
Lawks-a-mercy, this was a toughie! I did a speed warm-up with the monthly puzzle in the United Airlines in-flight magazine (a pre-Shortz NYT reprint) and then cracked my knuckles for a quick JW Thursday jaunt. 70 minutes later, I'm still not done. That ALBI/CARMINA/ACS/LAVISH/BRUSHY perfect storm almost did for me. Finally, FINALLY teased it out. That "Congratulations" Mr. Pencil box was never so welcome. Cracking stuff.
Let's see what else gave me wounds to lick this week:
Across:
1. Kvetch's phrase: OY GEVALT! What? Right off the bat. I should have seen the omen for bad things to come.
9. Obstruct: DAM UP. JAM UP? No.
14. Military award phrase: FOR VALOR. This is the Medal of Honor awarded to Sgt. John Randolph "J.R." McKinney. I never knew him nor met him, but his memorial page came up when I was searching for a suitable image to post. He was also awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman's Badge (the, "See, I Been there") during the Pacific campaign in WWII. He passed away aged 76 in 1997. Thank you for your service.
15. Cut out for marriage?: ELOPE
18. Feed bit: OAT
19. "Can I get a word in here?": AHEM?
20. Addams cousin: ITT
27. Merged comm. giant: G.T.E.
29. Large garden ornament: URN
30. Viewed warily: EYED
31. Looks down on: DISDAINS. This caused me a huge problem. I know "DISTAINS" and so "TEN**" was just not revealing a fabric. I stared down that section for a loooooong time. Finally, I thought that maybe it might be a "D". I looked up DISTAIN after I was done, and apparently it's archaic. That ages me quite precisely, I guess.
34. Gas __: TAX
41. Extreme degree: NTH
42. Moot point: NON-ISSUE
43. Toulouse-Lautrec's birthplace: ALBI. Pretty place. This is the Pont Vieux ("Old Bridge"). I like the French literalism. Which begs the question, why isn't he called "Albi-Lautrec"? Toulouse is a good 74Kms away. We should be told.
46. Like -trix, at times: Abbr.: FEM.
47. Brief "I think": IMO
54. "Law & Order: __": SVU. Special Victims Unit, apparently.
55. Boy of la casa: NIÑO
56. Farmers' business: Abbr.: INS. I like the commercials, the always jaunty "We are Farmers, bam-de-bam, bom, bam-bam-bam". The spokesperson in the commercials, actor J.K. Simmons is a regular patron of my local Italian restaurant. It's tough not to sing the hook line when he walks in.
64. Stand out: SHINE
65. Behind closed doors: IN SECRET
66. Publicizes showily: HYPES
67. Car named for a small warship: CORVETTE
Down:
1. Many times o'er: OFT
2. Pirate song snippet: YO, HO!
Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest —
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest —
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Robert Louis Stevenson
3. Classic circus adjective: GREATEST
4. Site with clickable RSVPs: EVITE
5. Industrial-sized tank: VAT
6. Helen Keller is on its st. quarter: ALA.
7. Brief chuckle: LOL. Brief, as in abbreviated. Nice clue. First instincts here are HAH! or HAW!
8. Dry run: TRIAL
9. Cygnus' brightest star: DENEB
10. Budget rival: ALAMO
11. Gretchen of "Manchester by the Sea": MOL. I think I saw the movie, but either I gave up on it halfway through, fell asleep or it just didn't register.
12. Presumptuous: UPPITY
13. Mortar's partner: PESTLE. Seems obvious when you fill it in, but my first thought was "BRICKS", closely followed by military ballistics. Considering I used my pestle and mortar more often than bricklaying or aerial bombardment, I wondered why I struggled.
17. Revelation reaction: AHA!
21. "Chopped" host Allen: TED. Gimme. One of my favorite shows, and favorite hosts. He's so classy. Never a bad word to say about anyone.
23. Ice cream buy: QUART
24. "Spenser: For Hire" actor: URICH. I tried URIAH first. Yep, that worked just great.
25. __ particular order: IN NO
26. Student's backpack burden: TEXTS. TESTS/TEXTS. I was wrong at first.
27. Econ. indicator: G.D.P.
28. Exec's accessory: TIE
32. Sturdy fabric: DENIM. I spent about 40 minutes on these nine or ten squares. Paid off in the end, although I'm sure the guy next to me on the plane was wondering if I was trying to solve by sheer stare-down tenacity.
33. RR stop: STN.
34. Copier need: TONER
35. Jungian archetype: ANIMA
37. Stir-fry staple: TOFU. I use the extra-silky type in pad thai noodles. Tip - pour boiling water over it to drive out the moisture before you fry it. Counter-intuitive I know.
38. Buddha statues, Japanese silk prints, etc.: ASIAN ART
39. Periodic table suffix: -IUM
40. Celestial feline: LEO
43. Carrier products, briefly: ACS. Aircraft from a carrier? AC voltage carried by your power utility company? Appellation d'origine contrôlée wines imported by Robert Carrier? Questions, questions.
44. Profuse: LAVISH
45. Like some hillsides: BRUSHY. Not GRASSY, then. Darn.
49. Ludicrous: INANE
50. Array just before an odometer reaches 100,000: NINES
51. "So?": AND
52. __ acid: BORIC
53. Family member: NIECE
57. Dele canceler: STET
59. Cup rim: LIP
60. Eclectic musician Brian: ENO. Elevators, Roxy Music and U2. Versatile guy, and very useful in crosswords.
61. Original D & D company: TSR. One day, one day I'll remember this.
62. Prepare to drag: REV. As in your engine, before your drag race. Here's the famous start to the race in Grease, filmed here in LA on the not-exactly-bucolic river bed under the 6th Street Bridge.
63. Sault __ Marie: STE.
The seatbelt sign has been on for most of the ride across the country today. I call it "trampolining" when you're bouncing up and down. Amazing the internet cable doesn't get disconnected, eh?
And it's Sierra Tango Echo Victor Echo signing off from 37,000 feet, or 11,280 meters, give or take, in Euro-money.
Here's the grid:
