Theme: Fore! I mean Four! Four kinds of golf clubs hidden in the theme entries:
16A. Data-entering devices: INPUT TERMINALS. We called 'em data entry terminals back in the day. The putter is the first club we find in the theme. It's interesting that the clubs go from green-to-tee in theme order.
24A. Like bread knives: SAW-EDGED. It's acceptable to use one for carving ham too. We have some odd conventions. The wedge is the next club. I'm not sure the origin of the term, but surreptitiously using your foot to play the ball is known as using a "Texas wedge".
34A. August Wilhelmj's arrangement of a movement from Bach's "Orchestral Suite No. 3": AIR ON THE G STRING. Beloved by producers of commercials everywhere. Here's a nice recording. The iron is the penultimate club.
48A. Part of the Texas/Oklahoma border: RED RIVER. I know this from the college football match between Oklahoma and Texas - it's known as the Red River Rivalry. The final theme club is the driver.
And the reveal:
56A. Layered lunch orders ... or a hint to 16-, 24-, 34- and 48-Across: CLUB SANDWICHES. So we look for clubs sandwiched in the theme entries, which brings me to ...
... RED RIVER mildly breaks the rules, as DRIVER comes at the end of the entry. I'm going to give C.C. a pass on this one and call it an open-faced sandwich. How's that?
Timely theme this one, the U.S.Open championship begins today. I was in Las Vegas last week and put a couple of for-fun bets on Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas at 5/1 and 20/1 respectively.
Across:
1. Story trajectories: ARCS. Here's a classic example:
Episodic television is interesting, especially if there are multiple seasons. A well-written series has one overarching story arc, each season an arc of its own, and each episode a mini-arc.
5. Wild pig: BOAR
9. Pulitzer columnist Maureen: DOWD
13. Winter expense: HEAT
14. Soothing botanical: ALOE
15. Great Lake bordering four states: ERIE. Pop quiz - which four states?*
19. Brouhahas: TO DOS
20. Semi unit: TON
21. Document to protect confidential info: Abbr.: N.D.A. Non-Disclosure Agreement. I've signed a ton of these in my career.
22. "Really?": THAT SO?
26. Sinful habit: VICE
27. Chin-up targets, for short: LATS
29. Brontë heroine: EYRE. Governess Jane. We studied the novel in literature class at school for our matriculation exams. I don't remember a thing about it.
30. Creative writing deg.: M.F.A. Master of Fine Arts.
31. [I'm shocked!]: GASP!
32. Dim sum go-with: TEA. I love the jasmine tea that comes automatically with dim sum. I love the whole experience. I went for dim sum the first time I was in Hong Kong and was disconcerted to find that there were no carts, and the menu was all in Cantonese. Pointing and sign language got the job done.
40. Scheduled to arrive: DUE
41. "Really": TRUE
42. Pigeon sound: COO
43. Prefix meaning "god": THEO- A learning moment, I didn't know this.
46. Einsteinhaus locale: BERN. He was a patent clerk in Switzerland and this became the most productive years of his career. He was so fast and efficient at his day job, it left him plenty of time to ponder his physics and formulate his theories.
47. Zebra's mother: MARE
51. Concert venues: ARENAS
53. "__ the Walrus": I AM
54. Peeples of "Pretty Little Liars": NIA
55. Horse-and-buggy group: AMISH
60. Sicily's tallest mountain: ETNA. I think of it as Sicily's only mountain, but there are a few.
61. Word with fishing or party: LINE
62. Con's room: CELL
63. Many profs: PHD'S
64. Usually choppy expanses: SEAS. The Mediterranean is usually pretty placid. Yachts tend to avoid the South China Sea if at all possible.
65. Guessing game: I SPY
Down:
1. Tuna at sushi bars: AHI. Food! Can come from either bigeye or yellowfin. It's commonly used in Hawai'i for poke. My favorite sushi is toro, specifically o-toro, which comes from the belly of the bluefin.
2. Enterprise enterprise: RENT-A-CAR. Nice clue.
3. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" author: CAPOTE.
4. Virile dudes: STUDS
5. Night fliers: BATS
6. "Bravo!": OLÉ!
7. Main arteries: AORTAS
8. Do more lawn work: RE-MOW
9. Scout group: DEN
10. Like a bad spray tan: ORANGY. Check out fashion mogul Valentino next to Anne Hathaway. He needs to have a word with himself.
11. Not as tame: WILDER
12. Marquis of note: DE SADE. I'm not sure if I could name another French Marquis. I can recall a few British ones.
17. "You missed it": TOO LATE
18. Suffix with elephant: -INE
22. "Homeland" rating: TV MA. TV, Mature Audience.
23. Old audio system: HI-FI. I remember when I got my first hi-fi, I was hearing things on my records that I'd never heard before.
24. Pearly gates greeter: ST. PETER
25. Sweetie: DEAR
28. Cigar remnants: ASH
31. Serengeti antelope: GNU
32. Word on an "evacuation route" sign: TSUNAMI
33. Sorbonne summer: ÉTÉ. There won't be many students at the Sorbonne, they'll be on summer break.
35. Trash barge emanation: ODOR
36. Boxer's warning: GRR ...
37. "Let me give you a hand": I CAN HELP
38. Screenwriter Ephron: NORA.
39. "Here __ nothing": GOES
43. __ dips: upper-arm workout: TRICEP. Lats and triceps today. I feel guilty, I should go and work out.
44. Toast topic: HEALTH
45. Mountaineer Hillary: EDMUND. He would have been horrified by the commercialization of Everest.
46. Head-hugging brimless cap: BEANIE
47. Blends well: MESHES
49. Seat winners: INS. I was almost Natick'ed with the "N" here. I just couldn't see "INS" and couldn't recall "NIA".
50. Lab containers: VIALS
52. "Now and Then" actress: RICCI. Here's Christina, "then and now":
55. Bowls over: AWES
57. __-relief: BAS
58. Genetic letters: DNA
59. Underhanded: SLY
*Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Ontario is the province to the north.
I'm off to watch some golf, and some Women's World Cup soccer. Here's the grid!
Steve
16A. Data-entering devices: INPUT TERMINALS. We called 'em data entry terminals back in the day. The putter is the first club we find in the theme. It's interesting that the clubs go from green-to-tee in theme order.
24A. Like bread knives: SAW-EDGED. It's acceptable to use one for carving ham too. We have some odd conventions. The wedge is the next club. I'm not sure the origin of the term, but surreptitiously using your foot to play the ball is known as using a "Texas wedge".
34A. August Wilhelmj's arrangement of a movement from Bach's "Orchestral Suite No. 3": AIR ON THE G STRING. Beloved by producers of commercials everywhere. Here's a nice recording. The iron is the penultimate club.
48A. Part of the Texas/Oklahoma border: RED RIVER. I know this from the college football match between Oklahoma and Texas - it's known as the Red River Rivalry. The final theme club is the driver.
And the reveal:
56A. Layered lunch orders ... or a hint to 16-, 24-, 34- and 48-Across: CLUB SANDWICHES. So we look for clubs sandwiched in the theme entries, which brings me to ...
... RED RIVER mildly breaks the rules, as DRIVER comes at the end of the entry. I'm going to give C.C. a pass on this one and call it an open-faced sandwich. How's that?
Timely theme this one, the U.S.Open championship begins today. I was in Las Vegas last week and put a couple of for-fun bets on Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas at 5/1 and 20/1 respectively.
Across:
1. Story trajectories: ARCS. Here's a classic example:
5. Wild pig: BOAR
9. Pulitzer columnist Maureen: DOWD
13. Winter expense: HEAT
14. Soothing botanical: ALOE
15. Great Lake bordering four states: ERIE. Pop quiz - which four states?*
19. Brouhahas: TO DOS
20. Semi unit: TON
21. Document to protect confidential info: Abbr.: N.D.A. Non-Disclosure Agreement. I've signed a ton of these in my career.
22. "Really?": THAT SO?
26. Sinful habit: VICE
27. Chin-up targets, for short: LATS
29. Brontë heroine: EYRE. Governess Jane. We studied the novel in literature class at school for our matriculation exams. I don't remember a thing about it.
30. Creative writing deg.: M.F.A. Master of Fine Arts.
31. [I'm shocked!]: GASP!
32. Dim sum go-with: TEA. I love the jasmine tea that comes automatically with dim sum. I love the whole experience. I went for dim sum the first time I was in Hong Kong and was disconcerted to find that there were no carts, and the menu was all in Cantonese. Pointing and sign language got the job done.
40. Scheduled to arrive: DUE
41. "Really": TRUE
42. Pigeon sound: COO
43. Prefix meaning "god": THEO- A learning moment, I didn't know this.
46. Einsteinhaus locale: BERN. He was a patent clerk in Switzerland and this became the most productive years of his career. He was so fast and efficient at his day job, it left him plenty of time to ponder his physics and formulate his theories.
47. Zebra's mother: MARE
51. Concert venues: ARENAS
53. "__ the Walrus": I AM
54. Peeples of "Pretty Little Liars": NIA
55. Horse-and-buggy group: AMISH
60. Sicily's tallest mountain: ETNA. I think of it as Sicily's only mountain, but there are a few.
61. Word with fishing or party: LINE
62. Con's room: CELL
63. Many profs: PHD'S
64. Usually choppy expanses: SEAS. The Mediterranean is usually pretty placid. Yachts tend to avoid the South China Sea if at all possible.
65. Guessing game: I SPY
Down:
1. Tuna at sushi bars: AHI. Food! Can come from either bigeye or yellowfin. It's commonly used in Hawai'i for poke. My favorite sushi is toro, specifically o-toro, which comes from the belly of the bluefin.
2. Enterprise enterprise: RENT-A-CAR. Nice clue.
3. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" author: CAPOTE.
4. Virile dudes: STUDS
5. Night fliers: BATS
6. "Bravo!": OLÉ!
7. Main arteries: AORTAS
8. Do more lawn work: RE-MOW
9. Scout group: DEN
10. Like a bad spray tan: ORANGY. Check out fashion mogul Valentino next to Anne Hathaway. He needs to have a word with himself.
11. Not as tame: WILDER
12. Marquis of note: DE SADE. I'm not sure if I could name another French Marquis. I can recall a few British ones.
17. "You missed it": TOO LATE
18. Suffix with elephant: -INE
22. "Homeland" rating: TV MA. TV, Mature Audience.
23. Old audio system: HI-FI. I remember when I got my first hi-fi, I was hearing things on my records that I'd never heard before.
24. Pearly gates greeter: ST. PETER
25. Sweetie: DEAR
28. Cigar remnants: ASH
31. Serengeti antelope: GNU
32. Word on an "evacuation route" sign: TSUNAMI
33. Sorbonne summer: ÉTÉ. There won't be many students at the Sorbonne, they'll be on summer break.
35. Trash barge emanation: ODOR
36. Boxer's warning: GRR ...
37. "Let me give you a hand": I CAN HELP
38. Screenwriter Ephron: NORA.
“When I buy a new book, I always read the last page first, that way in case I die before I finish, I know how it ends. That, my friend, is a dark side.”
When Harry Met Sally
39. "Here __ nothing": GOES
43. __ dips: upper-arm workout: TRICEP. Lats and triceps today. I feel guilty, I should go and work out.
44. Toast topic: HEALTH
45. Mountaineer Hillary: EDMUND. He would have been horrified by the commercialization of Everest.
46. Head-hugging brimless cap: BEANIE
47. Blends well: MESHES
49. Seat winners: INS. I was almost Natick'ed with the "N" here. I just couldn't see "INS" and couldn't recall "NIA".
50. Lab containers: VIALS
52. "Now and Then" actress: RICCI. Here's Christina, "then and now":
55. Bowls over: AWES
57. __-relief: BAS
58. Genetic letters: DNA
59. Underhanded: SLY
*Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Ontario is the province to the north.
I'm off to watch some golf, and some Women's World Cup soccer. Here's the grid!
Steve
