Theme: Heaps of Shapes - the four theme entries contain scrambles of the word "shape":
18A. Penny pincher: CHEAPSKATE
23A. Knot used to take up slack: SHEEPSHANK. I can tie one of these with my eyes closed, it's a common sailing knot. It shakes out when there's no tension on the rope, super-useful for shortening a mooring line. Wikipedia terms it "unstable", I didn't realize knots had personality issues.
50A. Prankster's weapon: PEASHOOTER. I shot my dad in the eye with a peashooter when I was six. I still remember the feeling of absolute dread of the consequences. He was pretty good about it, he only beat me to within two inches of my life. Actually, after he got over the surprise, he just sat me down for a little chat about safe play.
57A Project wrap-up: FINAL PHASE. The first 90% of a project takes 90% of the time. The final 10% takes the other 90%.
... and the reveal giving us a hint of what to look for:
38A. Amorphous sci-fi beings, and a hint to what's hidden in the four other longest answers: SHAPESHIFTERS
For the therianthropiist-followers among us, I recall we had LOUP GAROU a couple of weeks ago, one of the more common shapeshifting tropes.
A straightforward theme, scramble SHAPE and find four theme entries which work. The odd man out is FINAL PHASE, which has two words, the others just one.
A solid effort from Roland, the theme works nicely. The puzzle as a whole felt more like a Tuesday or Wednesday to me, but it sailed along nicely. Let's see what we've got to talk about:
Across:
1. Onetime capital of the Mughal Empire: AGRA. Slightly different slant on the cluing for this staple. Nice.
5. Pop star: IDOL
9. Idea, at times: IMAGE. Mental image.
14. Apparently are: SEEM. Not "is", that would be "seems".
15. Bering Sea port: NOME. I'm intimately acquainted with Dutch Harbor, another Alaska port, despite never having been there. I've watched all the "Deadliest Catch" episodes.
16. Center for Auto Safety co-founder: NADER. "Unsafe at any speed".
17. Part of the supreme Hindu trinity: SIVA. The Destroyer. The Creator and Preserver are Brahma and Vishnu respectively.
20. Trooper's outfit?: ISUZU. Nice clue. Car manufacturer.
22. Moan and groan: GRIPE
26. Garden nuisance: WEED. Jeopardy answer "What is a Boston fan?"
30. Prof.'s helpers: T.A.S
31. Overly: TOO
32. Fill with affection: ENAMOR
34. Relax completely: GO LIMP
37. Like lambs and rams: OVINE. I've got by bovines and ovines down now.
41. Pizzeria allure: AROMA. I can smell the aroma of Blue Mountain coffee brewing. I'm in Jamaica.
42. Refreshers: TONICS. Gin in mine, please. Tonic water was developed to mask the taste of the anti-malarial drug quinine in colonial-era India.
43. Snapper?: CAMERA.
45. Chinese restaurant general: TSO
46. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones music genre: SKA. This will get you up in the morning. I love Ska - the British band "Madness" was another fine purveyor of the genre.
49. One logging on: USER
54. Miniseries based on a Haley novel: ROOTS
56. Sucked (in): LURED
62. Voice quality: TONE
63. Old saw: ADAGE
64. Throw off: EMIT
65. Poetic black: EBON
66. Ins and outs, with "the": ROPES
67. Like yellow bananas: RIPE
68. Slight damage: DENT
Down:
1. Give a hand: ASSIST
2. "Memoirs of a __": Arthur Golden novel: GEISHA
3. Musical shows: REVUES
4. Floor: AMAZE
5. Business mag: INC
6. Self-critical cry: DOH! Homer Simpson's favorite expression.
7. Seamaster watchmaker: OMEGA. Wait for at least one letter to decide between OMEGA and ROLEX.
8. Come to know: LEARN
9. Clouseau's rank, briefly: INSP. The bumbling inspector, wonderfully played by Peter Sellers.
10. Rock the boat: MAKE WAVES
11. Periodontist's org.: A.D.A. I saw mine last week. I love getting my teeth cleaned.
12. Come down with: GET
13. Long starter, once: ERE. Ere long, this will be back in common parlance. At least among us crossword folk.
19. Toll road: PIKE. A shortened version of "turnpike". The tallest mountain in England is Scafell Pike, which towers an astonishing - wait for it - 3,209 feet. You can walk up and down it in a couple of hours. The scenery is beautiful, it's in England's Lake District.
21. Passing muster: UP TO PAR
24. Footprint maker: SOLE
25. Raise on a pole: HOIST
27. Many an oil-rich ruler: EMIR. I tried SHAH first, was wrong.
28. Many ages: EONS
29. Death Row Records co-founder, familiarly: DRE. The good Dr. with his business partners Suge Knight and The D.O.C. The label was a sensation in the 90's, but it didn't end well.
33. "You're way over the line": NOT COOL
34. Tantrum while playing Xbox: GAMER RAGE. I like this new fill. I'd never heard the phrase before, but it didn't take long to figure it out.
35. Old conductance unit: MHO. It's the reciprocal of the ohm, hence the spelling. I like inventive plays on words, especially in the sciences.
36. Ice cream buys: PINTS. I rarely buy a pint of ice cream, I'd just eat it all. I buy those little Haagen-Dazs mini-tubs.
38. Mmes., in Madrid: SRAS. Señoras.
39. House-shaped browser button: HOME
40. School group: FISH. Made me smile. The clue has been used before, but I like these plays on words.
41. Puncture prefix: ACU-
44. Each: A POP
46. Disco light: STROBE
47. Passionate about: KEEN ON. I might be more than keen if I was passionate. I read in an article this week that nowadays if you say "I love you" in Japan, it's viewed as something of a joke. You say "I like you ... a lot" instead.
48. Passionate: ARDENT
51. Upper regions of space: ETHER
52. "Likewise": AS AM I
53. Blabbed about, in a way: OUTED
55. World Cup cheers: OLÉS. There were a few of these at the Barcelona - Manchester United game this week. The Messi-led Barca knocked United out of the Champions League 4-0.
57. Go __: succeed: FAR
58. Rite answer?: I DO
59. Short snooze: NAP
60. Bit of a draft?: SIP, Draft beer. Thursday-clue for a simple word.
61. Côte d'Azur saison: ÉTÉ. I've been to the French Riviera a number of times, always in summer. I have an unpaid ticket for parking on the Cannes promenade. I had no idea what I'd done wrong, so I figured I was being targeted for having GB license plates. I couldn't pay it now even if I wanted to, it's in francs.
And with that confession of crimes past, I think I'm done. I'm off to get some salt fish and callalou for breakfast and some of that delicious coffee. Ya Mon, Respect.
Steve
18A. Penny pincher: CHEAPSKATE
23A. Knot used to take up slack: SHEEPSHANK. I can tie one of these with my eyes closed, it's a common sailing knot. It shakes out when there's no tension on the rope, super-useful for shortening a mooring line. Wikipedia terms it "unstable", I didn't realize knots had personality issues.
50A. Prankster's weapon: PEASHOOTER. I shot my dad in the eye with a peashooter when I was six. I still remember the feeling of absolute dread of the consequences. He was pretty good about it, he only beat me to within two inches of my life. Actually, after he got over the surprise, he just sat me down for a little chat about safe play.
57A Project wrap-up: FINAL PHASE. The first 90% of a project takes 90% of the time. The final 10% takes the other 90%.
... and the reveal giving us a hint of what to look for:
38A. Amorphous sci-fi beings, and a hint to what's hidden in the four other longest answers: SHAPESHIFTERS
For the therianthropiist-followers among us, I recall we had LOUP GAROU a couple of weeks ago, one of the more common shapeshifting tropes.
A straightforward theme, scramble SHAPE and find four theme entries which work. The odd man out is FINAL PHASE, which has two words, the others just one.
A solid effort from Roland, the theme works nicely. The puzzle as a whole felt more like a Tuesday or Wednesday to me, but it sailed along nicely. Let's see what we've got to talk about:
Across:
1. Onetime capital of the Mughal Empire: AGRA. Slightly different slant on the cluing for this staple. Nice.
5. Pop star: IDOL
9. Idea, at times: IMAGE. Mental image.
14. Apparently are: SEEM. Not "is", that would be "seems".
15. Bering Sea port: NOME. I'm intimately acquainted with Dutch Harbor, another Alaska port, despite never having been there. I've watched all the "Deadliest Catch" episodes.
16. Center for Auto Safety co-founder: NADER. "Unsafe at any speed".
17. Part of the supreme Hindu trinity: SIVA. The Destroyer. The Creator and Preserver are Brahma and Vishnu respectively.
20. Trooper's outfit?: ISUZU. Nice clue. Car manufacturer.
22. Moan and groan: GRIPE
26. Garden nuisance: WEED. Jeopardy answer "What is a Boston fan?"
30. Prof.'s helpers: T.A.S
31. Overly: TOO
32. Fill with affection: ENAMOR
34. Relax completely: GO LIMP
37. Like lambs and rams: OVINE. I've got by bovines and ovines down now.
41. Pizzeria allure: AROMA. I can smell the aroma of Blue Mountain coffee brewing. I'm in Jamaica.
42. Refreshers: TONICS. Gin in mine, please. Tonic water was developed to mask the taste of the anti-malarial drug quinine in colonial-era India.
43. Snapper?: CAMERA.
45. Chinese restaurant general: TSO
46. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones music genre: SKA. This will get you up in the morning. I love Ska - the British band "Madness" was another fine purveyor of the genre.
49. One logging on: USER
54. Miniseries based on a Haley novel: ROOTS
56. Sucked (in): LURED
62. Voice quality: TONE
63. Old saw: ADAGE
64. Throw off: EMIT
65. Poetic black: EBON
66. Ins and outs, with "the": ROPES
67. Like yellow bananas: RIPE
68. Slight damage: DENT
Down:
1. Give a hand: ASSIST
2. "Memoirs of a __": Arthur Golden novel: GEISHA
3. Musical shows: REVUES
4. Floor: AMAZE
5. Business mag: INC
6. Self-critical cry: DOH! Homer Simpson's favorite expression.
7. Seamaster watchmaker: OMEGA. Wait for at least one letter to decide between OMEGA and ROLEX.
8. Come to know: LEARN
9. Clouseau's rank, briefly: INSP. The bumbling inspector, wonderfully played by Peter Sellers.
10. Rock the boat: MAKE WAVES
11. Periodontist's org.: A.D.A. I saw mine last week. I love getting my teeth cleaned.
12. Come down with: GET
13. Long starter, once: ERE. Ere long, this will be back in common parlance. At least among us crossword folk.
19. Toll road: PIKE. A shortened version of "turnpike". The tallest mountain in England is Scafell Pike, which towers an astonishing - wait for it - 3,209 feet. You can walk up and down it in a couple of hours. The scenery is beautiful, it's in England's Lake District.
21. Passing muster: UP TO PAR
24. Footprint maker: SOLE
25. Raise on a pole: HOIST
27. Many an oil-rich ruler: EMIR. I tried SHAH first, was wrong.
28. Many ages: EONS
29. Death Row Records co-founder, familiarly: DRE. The good Dr. with his business partners Suge Knight and The D.O.C. The label was a sensation in the 90's, but it didn't end well.
33. "You're way over the line": NOT COOL
34. Tantrum while playing Xbox: GAMER RAGE. I like this new fill. I'd never heard the phrase before, but it didn't take long to figure it out.
35. Old conductance unit: MHO. It's the reciprocal of the ohm, hence the spelling. I like inventive plays on words, especially in the sciences.
36. Ice cream buys: PINTS. I rarely buy a pint of ice cream, I'd just eat it all. I buy those little Haagen-Dazs mini-tubs.
38. Mmes., in Madrid: SRAS. Señoras.
39. House-shaped browser button: HOME
40. School group: FISH. Made me smile. The clue has been used before, but I like these plays on words.
41. Puncture prefix: ACU-
44. Each: A POP
46. Disco light: STROBE
47. Passionate about: KEEN ON. I might be more than keen if I was passionate. I read in an article this week that nowadays if you say "I love you" in Japan, it's viewed as something of a joke. You say "I like you ... a lot" instead.
48. Passionate: ARDENT
51. Upper regions of space: ETHER
52. "Likewise": AS AM I
53. Blabbed about, in a way: OUTED
55. World Cup cheers: OLÉS. There were a few of these at the Barcelona - Manchester United game this week. The Messi-led Barca knocked United out of the Champions League 4-0.
57. Go __: succeed: FAR
58. Rite answer?: I DO
59. Short snooze: NAP
60. Bit of a draft?: SIP, Draft beer. Thursday-clue for a simple word.
61. Côte d'Azur saison: ÉTÉ. I've been to the French Riviera a number of times, always in summer. I have an unpaid ticket for parking on the Cannes promenade. I had no idea what I'd done wrong, so I figured I was being targeted for having GB license plates. I couldn't pay it now even if I wanted to, it's in francs.
And with that confession of crimes past, I think I'm done. I'm off to get some salt fish and callalou for breakfast and some of that delicious coffee. Ya Mon, Respect.
Steve
