Theme: Times Four - four types of journalism you might find in your local newspaper:
20A. Article about life jackets?: SAFETY FEATURE. "In the unlikely event of a water landing ...." I love the euphemistic take on the ditching in the water thing, although "Sully" did a pretty good job on the Hudson.
31A. Article about a European language?: GREEK COLUMN. Your choice of three styles - Doric, Ionic or Corinthian. Here's the famous Parthenon Temple in Athens, with Doric columns to the fore.
The facade looked a lot better before Lord Elgin hacked the marble frieze off the front and took them back to England with him. The British Museum, where they are kept, are reluctant to give them back.
41A. Article about crosswords?: PUZZLE PIECE. Blog about crosswords? Right here.
55A. Article about a dessert?: ICE-CREAM SCOOP. I use a spoon, no need for a specialized tool. I don't eat a lot of ice cream, and I don't have to serve four scoops a minute like they do in my local gelato store.
Not a pun-itive puzzle from Susan; as I've said before I'm always a little nervous when I see the "?" clues, as the puns can be awful, but these didn't cause any toe-curls. The fill has a couple of clangers in there though, there's no denying that ENHALO and ACERS should forthwith be cast into the Slough of Despond, never to be seen again.
Across:
1. Quick blows: JABS
5. In need of a massage: ACHY
9. "Back to the Future" surname: MCFLY
14. Kitchen topper: OLEO. Do you top something with margarine in the kitchen? Maybe.
15. Repeatable toy vehicle sound: CHOO. Childish pâtisserie? Choo Pastry.
16. Pine or Rock: CHRIS. Nice clue. Do I know Chris Pine? I don't watch Star Trek reboots which apparently is what he's famous for.
17. Duo in the news: ITEM. Could have been one of the theme entries if you could come up with a word to prefix "ITEM".
18. Pushed the bell: RANG
19. Fountain pen precursor: QUILL
23. Whirl, so to speak: TRY. Giving it the old college whirl. Funny how some word substitutions just don't work.
24. Brewed beverages: ALES
25. Didn't let renege on: HELD TO
28. Chi follower: PSI. Second Greek reference today.
29. Bumbler: BEE. "Bumble", according to the Shorter Oxford English dictionary means "to hum, buzz, drone, or move ineptly or flounderingly." Sounds like me on a bad day.
30. Steal from: ROB
36. Serpent suffix: -INE. The first of three suffixes in the "across" section today, I think that's a little excessive. The Serpentine (pronounced "Serpen-tine") is a lake in London's Hyde park fed originally by two now-lost rivers, the Westbourne and the Tyburn. I swam 1,000 meters in there once competing in a biathlon. It was best to try to ignore the Canada goose-poop on the banks.
37. Latest thing: RAGE. Why "all the rage" and not just "the rage?" We should be told.
38. Monet medium: OIL. Money medium: OIL. Have you seen the gas prices?
39. CBS military series: NCIS. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
40. Texter's "Yikes!": OMG!
45. Solemn assurance: VOW
46. Word ending for enzymes: -ASE
47. Deli delicacy: LOX. Can you still get genuine lox (salted salmon) in a deli any more?
48. Surround, as with a glow: ENHALO. Begone.
50. Cherokee on the road: JEEP
52. Dude: BRO
58. Choral work: MOTET. Why did I knee-jerk OCTET? I should show restraint.
60. Small addition?: -ETTE
61. Honey haven: HIVE. Nice alliteration.
62. Ward off: AVERT
63. School near Windsor: ETON. Windsor couldn't be much closer to the school, pop down the High Street and walk across the bridge and you're there, two minutes, tops. Turn left for the Mango Lounge, a great Indian restaurant.
64. __-friendly: USER
65. Entourage: POSSE
66. "The Metaphysics of Morals" writer: KANT. He had enemies. "Immanuel? I just kan't stand that chap".
67. Cubs spring training city: MESA. If you say so - and so it is:
Down:
1. Support beam: JOIST
2. Destination for a wedding: ALTAR
3. Like many wrestlers: BEEFY
4. Unspecified amount: SOME. Let's enjoy a course in Advanced Mathematics with Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson in "Blackadder".
5. Nail salon material: ACRYLIC
6. Irritate: CHAFE
7. Sharpens: HONES
8. Class with mats: YOGA
9. "12 Years a Slave" director Steve: MCQUEEN. No idea, but MC led me to the answer without any trouble.
10. Boor: CHURL. Nice thought-provoking moment - we've all (?) heard of being "churlish", but I'd not considered there was a noun form.
11. Panda Express staple: FRIED RICE. If you're going to fry rice, steam it and let it get cold before it hits the wok.
12. Short short?: LIL'
13. Designer monogram: YSL
21. Assignment: TASK
22. Classic 1954 horror film about giant ants: THEM. Produced by Warner Bros. using specially-trained giant ants on the Burbank studio backlot:
26. Vodka __: TONIC. And a squeeze of lime, please.
27. More than a bit heavy: OBESE
28. Middle of Tripoli?: PEE. The "P" in the middle.
29. One advocating buying: BULL. Wall Street market-speak. The bronze of the bull on Wall Street comes in for a lot of attention. Let's just say one part of the sculpture is shinier than the rest.
31. Trees of a kind, often: GROVE
32. San __, city near San Francisco: RAMON. Hands up (me!) for MATEO when I just had an A.
33. Meringue ingredients: EGG WHITES
34. Go slowly: OOZE
35. Claiborne of fashion: LIZ
39. Scuttle: NIX
41. Painter's set of colors: PALETTE
42. Biennial games org.: U.S.O.C. United States Olympic Committee, the next Summer games are in 2020, the next Winter games in 2022.
43. Mercury, for one: ELEMENT
44. Orchestra name reflecting its music: POPS. Boston.
49. Superb servers: ACERS. Oh, stop it.! I feel I'm being tickled to death by horrible crossword-ese.
50. Volkswagen sedan: JETTA
51. Big name in stationery: EATON. Friendly crossing with ETON, rather nicely done. The posh writing paper in England was Basildon Bond . I could always hear "I write on Bond, Basildon Bond".
52. Capital WNW of Cheyenne: BOISE
53. Wanders: ROVES
54. Stage performance with singing: OPERA. That's rather like saying a banquet is "a get-together with food".
56. Give a strong impression (of): REEK. Usually a bad impression. I wouldn't say that someone reeks of good manners.
57. Buddy: CHUM
58. Hiker's guide: MAP
59. Lacto-__ vegetarian: OVO. Milk and eggs are on the OK list, but no fish nor shellfish.
Well, that brings the ROVE around the crossword to a close for this week, so here's the grid:
Steve
20A. Article about life jackets?: SAFETY FEATURE. "In the unlikely event of a water landing ...." I love the euphemistic take on the ditching in the water thing, although "Sully" did a pretty good job on the Hudson.
31A. Article about a European language?: GREEK COLUMN. Your choice of three styles - Doric, Ionic or Corinthian. Here's the famous Parthenon Temple in Athens, with Doric columns to the fore.
The facade looked a lot better before Lord Elgin hacked the marble frieze off the front and took them back to England with him. The British Museum, where they are kept, are reluctant to give them back.
41A. Article about crosswords?: PUZZLE PIECE. Blog about crosswords? Right here.
55A. Article about a dessert?: ICE-CREAM SCOOP. I use a spoon, no need for a specialized tool. I don't eat a lot of ice cream, and I don't have to serve four scoops a minute like they do in my local gelato store.
Not a pun-itive puzzle from Susan; as I've said before I'm always a little nervous when I see the "?" clues, as the puns can be awful, but these didn't cause any toe-curls. The fill has a couple of clangers in there though, there's no denying that ENHALO and ACERS should forthwith be cast into the Slough of Despond, never to be seen again.
Across:
1. Quick blows: JABS
5. In need of a massage: ACHY
9. "Back to the Future" surname: MCFLY
14. Kitchen topper: OLEO. Do you top something with margarine in the kitchen? Maybe.
15. Repeatable toy vehicle sound: CHOO. Childish pâtisserie? Choo Pastry.
16. Pine or Rock: CHRIS. Nice clue. Do I know Chris Pine? I don't watch Star Trek reboots which apparently is what he's famous for.
17. Duo in the news: ITEM. Could have been one of the theme entries if you could come up with a word to prefix "ITEM".
18. Pushed the bell: RANG
19. Fountain pen precursor: QUILL
23. Whirl, so to speak: TRY. Giving it the old college whirl. Funny how some word substitutions just don't work.
24. Brewed beverages: ALES
25. Didn't let renege on: HELD TO
28. Chi follower: PSI. Second Greek reference today.
29. Bumbler: BEE. "Bumble", according to the Shorter Oxford English dictionary means "to hum, buzz, drone, or move ineptly or flounderingly." Sounds like me on a bad day.
30. Steal from: ROB
36. Serpent suffix: -INE. The first of three suffixes in the "across" section today, I think that's a little excessive. The Serpentine (pronounced "Serpen-tine") is a lake in London's Hyde park fed originally by two now-lost rivers, the Westbourne and the Tyburn. I swam 1,000 meters in there once competing in a biathlon. It was best to try to ignore the Canada goose-poop on the banks.
37. Latest thing: RAGE. Why "all the rage" and not just "the rage?" We should be told.
38. Monet medium: OIL. Money medium: OIL. Have you seen the gas prices?
39. CBS military series: NCIS. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
40. Texter's "Yikes!": OMG!
45. Solemn assurance: VOW
46. Word ending for enzymes: -ASE
47. Deli delicacy: LOX. Can you still get genuine lox (salted salmon) in a deli any more?
48. Surround, as with a glow: ENHALO. Begone.
50. Cherokee on the road: JEEP
52. Dude: BRO
58. Choral work: MOTET. Why did I knee-jerk OCTET? I should show restraint.
60. Small addition?: -ETTE
61. Honey haven: HIVE. Nice alliteration.
62. Ward off: AVERT
63. School near Windsor: ETON. Windsor couldn't be much closer to the school, pop down the High Street and walk across the bridge and you're there, two minutes, tops. Turn left for the Mango Lounge, a great Indian restaurant.
64. __-friendly: USER
65. Entourage: POSSE
66. "The Metaphysics of Morals" writer: KANT. He had enemies. "Immanuel? I just kan't stand that chap".
67. Cubs spring training city: MESA. If you say so - and so it is:
Down:
1. Support beam: JOIST
2. Destination for a wedding: ALTAR
3. Like many wrestlers: BEEFY
4. Unspecified amount: SOME. Let's enjoy a course in Advanced Mathematics with Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson in "Blackadder".
5. Nail salon material: ACRYLIC
6. Irritate: CHAFE
7. Sharpens: HONES
8. Class with mats: YOGA
9. "12 Years a Slave" director Steve: MCQUEEN. No idea, but MC led me to the answer without any trouble.
10. Boor: CHURL. Nice thought-provoking moment - we've all (?) heard of being "churlish", but I'd not considered there was a noun form.
11. Panda Express staple: FRIED RICE. If you're going to fry rice, steam it and let it get cold before it hits the wok.
12. Short short?: LIL'
13. Designer monogram: YSL
21. Assignment: TASK
22. Classic 1954 horror film about giant ants: THEM. Produced by Warner Bros. using specially-trained giant ants on the Burbank studio backlot:
26. Vodka __: TONIC. And a squeeze of lime, please.
27. More than a bit heavy: OBESE
28. Middle of Tripoli?: PEE. The "P" in the middle.
29. One advocating buying: BULL. Wall Street market-speak. The bronze of the bull on Wall Street comes in for a lot of attention. Let's just say one part of the sculpture is shinier than the rest.
31. Trees of a kind, often: GROVE
32. San __, city near San Francisco: RAMON. Hands up (me!) for MATEO when I just had an A.
33. Meringue ingredients: EGG WHITES
34. Go slowly: OOZE
35. Claiborne of fashion: LIZ
39. Scuttle: NIX
41. Painter's set of colors: PALETTE
42. Biennial games org.: U.S.O.C. United States Olympic Committee, the next Summer games are in 2020, the next Winter games in 2022.
43. Mercury, for one: ELEMENT
44. Orchestra name reflecting its music: POPS. Boston.
49. Superb servers: ACERS. Oh, stop it.! I feel I'm being tickled to death by horrible crossword-ese.
50. Volkswagen sedan: JETTA
51. Big name in stationery: EATON. Friendly crossing with ETON, rather nicely done. The posh writing paper in England was Basildon Bond . I could always hear "I write on Bond, Basildon Bond".
52. Capital WNW of Cheyenne: BOISE
53. Wanders: ROVES
54. Stage performance with singing: OPERA. That's rather like saying a banquet is "a get-together with food".
56. Give a strong impression (of): REEK. Usually a bad impression. I wouldn't say that someone reeks of good manners.
57. Buddy: CHUM
58. Hiker's guide: MAP
59. Lacto-__ vegetarian: OVO. Milk and eggs are on the OK list, but no fish nor shellfish.
Well, that brings the ROVE around the crossword to a close for this week, so here's the grid:
Steve
Notes from C.C.:
1) No updates on Dennis yet. He should be out of the ICU today and move to the step-down unit.
2) Happy birthday to Wilbur Charles! What's the special plan today?
1) No updates on Dennis yet. He should be out of the ICU today and move to the step-down unit.
2) Happy birthday to Wilbur Charles! What's the special plan today?
