Theme: A Call to Arms Rams Mars
20A. Mars: FOURTH PLANET. The "Mars" part of Gustav Holst's "Planet Suite" is a cracking piece of music, and probably inspired more "Star Wars" and "Star Trek"-type themes than any other. Lots 'o notes in the score shown below:
33A. Mars: CHOCOLATE BAR. In the great Anglo-American confusion stakes, the Mars Bar and the Milky Way provide yet another example. The UK Mars Bar and Milky Way are similar to the US Milky Way and Three Musketeers respectively, while the US Mars Bar is similar to a Snickers bar, which until recently was called a Marathon bar in the UK. Clear? There'll be a quiz at the end.
41A. Mars: POP STAR BRUNO. I like Bruno Mars. This track from British producer and songwriter Mark Ronson is actually credited "Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars", but of course everyone thinks of it as a Bruno Mars song. It's hella catchy though! The video was filmed on 20th Century Fox's "New York Street" set in LA, you can see the lighting mounts on top of the buildings in a couple of the shots.
53A. Mars: SON OF JUPITER. God of War, too.
Fun theme from Joe today. There seemed to be quite a few proper names in the fill, but if the crosses are solid for names unknown I've got no problem with that. SPARTACUS and EXORCISMS in the downs are excellently done, crossing no fewer than three theme entries each.
Four entries not seen before in the LA Times, including RUTHIE which surprised me.
Let's see what else there is to muse on:
Across:
1. Baseball Hall of Famer Speaker: TRIS. Note the capitalized "S" in "Speaker" that tells us we're looking for a name. Tris Speaker, of whom I had never heard until today. Tricky start at 1A, but the crosses were solid.
5. Big name in interstellar communication: UHURA Lt. Uhuru, communications officer and translator on the starship "Enterprise" in Star Trek. Nice clue to this useful crossword name.
10. Window part: SASH. Tried "PANE". Was wrong.
14. Rope fiber: HEMP
15. Weighs an empty container on, as a deli scale: TARES. I got there in the end, but I'd not heard the word used before. I wanted something on the "zeroes out" line like your kitchen scales. The crosses let me to the "oh!" moment.
16. Oberlin's state: OHIO. A town best known for its liberal arts and music college.
17. "Frozen" sister: ELSA. I must get around to watching "Frozen" one day, then I might not having to keep guessing at the frequent references to the characters; two in today's puzzle.
18. Early 2010s Mideast anti-government movement: ARAB SPRING
22. American Red Cross founder: BARTON. Clarissa Harlowe "Clara" Barton, American Civil War nurse and ... patent clerk? What is it with patent clerks - Einstein was one too.
23. Silently understood: TACIT
27. Creative nuggets: IDEAS
28. "Me too": AS AM I
32. "Te __": Rihanna song: AMO
36. Giants manager before Bochy: ALOU. Felipe of the Alou clan. He's still associated with the club in a "Special Assistant" capacity.
39. "Two Women" Oscar winner: LOREN
40. Valentine letters: XOXO
44. Number one woman?: EVE
45. Plan B lead-in: IF NOT
46. CBS news anchor Barnett: ERROL
50. It's in your jeans: DENIM. Hmm, I get the wordplay with the clue, but denim isn't really "in" your jeans, more "is" your jeans. Bar the zipper, buttons, optional rivets - and currently hipster slashes.
52. Gap: LACUNA. Often a gap in a text or manuscript.
58. Yellow mollusk that became the U.C. Santa Cruz mascot: BANANA SLUG. "Best nickname in College Basketball" according to ESPN.
61. Booted, say: SHOD
62. __ rug: AREA
63. Oozy stuff: SLIME. You can buy Banana Slug merchandise with "I've Been Slimed" on it.
64. "Hands off!": MINE!
65. __ chic: GEEK. A fashion trend, or a now-defunct manufacturer of high-end gaming tables.
66. Big name in baseball cards: TOPPS
67. Fortuneteller: SEER
Down:
1. DOJ division since 1908: THE FBI. Bit odd this one, with "The" tacked on the front, no? I think the clue would be better written as "A DOJ division ... " to include the article.
2. Browser's circular arrow function: RELOAD
3. "No doubt about it!": I'M SURE!
4. Gladiator played by Kirk Douglas: SPARTACUS
5. Jazz aficionado?: UTAHN. Basketball team from Salt Lake City. I like the word, it's got a nice unusual letter progression.
6. Angelic strings: HARP
7. Risk territory between Ukraine and Siberia: URAL
8. First name in country: REBA
9. Org.: ASSN.
10. Ish: SORTA
11. Big tuna: AHI. I've got some in my freezer right now waiting to be sushi'd for Christmas Day family pot-luck.
12. Do wrong: SIN
13. Refuse to share: HOG
19. __ four: small cake: PETIT
21. Peter of reggae: TOSH
24. Mexican resort, for short: CABO
25. Big-screen format: IMAX
26. Capa attacker: TORO. Bullfighting, the bull attacking the matador's cape. Also the best cut of tuna for sushi - the fatty part of the belly.
28. Some kind of a nut: ACORN
29. Kevin who played Hercules on TV: SORBO. Thank you, crosses.
30. On one's toes: ALERT
31. Premier League rival of Arsenal, familiarly: MAN. U. England soccer. I won't go on a bore-fest here, but Manchester United and Arsenal are not really rivals, they compete in the same league, that's all. The real rivalry for Arsenal is with Tottenham Hotspur, their North London neighbors. Man. U's true rivals are the other mancunians Manchester City and fellow Merseysiders Liverpool.
I don't know when you cross over from competitor to rival - it's the same here, especially in college sports. Take the PAC 12 - Oregon/Oregon State, Cal/Stanford, USC/UCLA are all rivalries, but none of the schools would consider fellow-confererence member Utah a rival.
34. "Frozen" snowman: OLAF
35. Ways of dealing with inner demons?: EXORCISMS. Is the red cartoon fellow on your shoulder with a trident whispering temptations in your ear an outer demon?
36. Made like: APED
37. Word with bird or nest: LOVE
38. Go first: OPEN
42. Pumbaa's "The Lion King" pal: TIMON. Where would we be without Disney crossword clues? Athens, that's where.
43. __ tide: NEAP
47. Foster of folk music: RUTHIE. Thank you, crosses. I should buy Crosses a drink today for all the help.
48. Impossible NFL score: ONE ONE. Any other score "non-one" score is theoretically possible in football, although in some cases highly unlikely. I did see a scoreboard reading "2-4" a few years ago where a college game was well into the second quarter and the only points registered at that stage in the game were three safeties.
49. Pantry: LARDER. There's an oh-so-subtle difference between the two - a larder originally was cooler than a pantry and used to store meat, milk and other foodstuffs likely to spoil faster. The pantry was where you kept your dry goods, spices and what-not. Nowadays synonymous, and perfectly OK.
51. "Wicked Game" singer Chris: ISAAK. I always want to call him ISAAC until a cross clunks me (cluncs me?) on the top of the head and tells me not to be so silly.
52. Olympic racers: LUGES. Want to slide at 80 miles an hour downhill, feet-first lying on a tray? No, me either. The doubles event is even crazier.
54. Condé __: NAST
55. Nobel ceremony city: OSLO
56. Lose one's cool: FLIP
57. Leap: JUMP
58. Carry-on unit: BAG
59. "__ you serious?": ARE
60. Used to be called: NÉE
Well, I've run out of stuff to talk about, so I'd better stick a fork in this one and call it done.
Steve
20A. Mars: FOURTH PLANET. The "Mars" part of Gustav Holst's "Planet Suite" is a cracking piece of music, and probably inspired more "Star Wars" and "Star Trek"-type themes than any other. Lots 'o notes in the score shown below:
33A. Mars: CHOCOLATE BAR. In the great Anglo-American confusion stakes, the Mars Bar and the Milky Way provide yet another example. The UK Mars Bar and Milky Way are similar to the US Milky Way and Three Musketeers respectively, while the US Mars Bar is similar to a Snickers bar, which until recently was called a Marathon bar in the UK. Clear? There'll be a quiz at the end.
41A. Mars: POP STAR BRUNO. I like Bruno Mars. This track from British producer and songwriter Mark Ronson is actually credited "Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars", but of course everyone thinks of it as a Bruno Mars song. It's hella catchy though! The video was filmed on 20th Century Fox's "New York Street" set in LA, you can see the lighting mounts on top of the buildings in a couple of the shots.
53A. Mars: SON OF JUPITER. God of War, too.
Fun theme from Joe today. There seemed to be quite a few proper names in the fill, but if the crosses are solid for names unknown I've got no problem with that. SPARTACUS and EXORCISMS in the downs are excellently done, crossing no fewer than three theme entries each.
Four entries not seen before in the LA Times, including RUTHIE which surprised me.
Let's see what else there is to muse on:
Across:
1. Baseball Hall of Famer Speaker: TRIS. Note the capitalized "S" in "Speaker" that tells us we're looking for a name. Tris Speaker, of whom I had never heard until today. Tricky start at 1A, but the crosses were solid.
5. Big name in interstellar communication: UHURA Lt. Uhuru, communications officer and translator on the starship "Enterprise" in Star Trek. Nice clue to this useful crossword name.
10. Window part: SASH. Tried "PANE". Was wrong.
14. Rope fiber: HEMP
15. Weighs an empty container on, as a deli scale: TARES. I got there in the end, but I'd not heard the word used before. I wanted something on the "zeroes out" line like your kitchen scales. The crosses let me to the "oh!" moment.
16. Oberlin's state: OHIO. A town best known for its liberal arts and music college.
17. "Frozen" sister: ELSA. I must get around to watching "Frozen" one day, then I might not having to keep guessing at the frequent references to the characters; two in today's puzzle.
18. Early 2010s Mideast anti-government movement: ARAB SPRING
22. American Red Cross founder: BARTON. Clarissa Harlowe "Clara" Barton, American Civil War nurse and ... patent clerk? What is it with patent clerks - Einstein was one too.
23. Silently understood: TACIT
27. Creative nuggets: IDEAS
28. "Me too": AS AM I
32. "Te __": Rihanna song: AMO
36. Giants manager before Bochy: ALOU. Felipe of the Alou clan. He's still associated with the club in a "Special Assistant" capacity.
39. "Two Women" Oscar winner: LOREN
40. Valentine letters: XOXO
44. Number one woman?: EVE
45. Plan B lead-in: IF NOT
46. CBS news anchor Barnett: ERROL
50. It's in your jeans: DENIM. Hmm, I get the wordplay with the clue, but denim isn't really "in" your jeans, more "is" your jeans. Bar the zipper, buttons, optional rivets - and currently hipster slashes.
52. Gap: LACUNA. Often a gap in a text or manuscript.
58. Yellow mollusk that became the U.C. Santa Cruz mascot: BANANA SLUG. "Best nickname in College Basketball" according to ESPN.
61. Booted, say: SHOD
62. __ rug: AREA
63. Oozy stuff: SLIME. You can buy Banana Slug merchandise with "I've Been Slimed" on it.
64. "Hands off!": MINE!
65. __ chic: GEEK. A fashion trend, or a now-defunct manufacturer of high-end gaming tables.
66. Big name in baseball cards: TOPPS
67. Fortuneteller: SEER
Down:
1. DOJ division since 1908: THE FBI. Bit odd this one, with "The" tacked on the front, no? I think the clue would be better written as "A DOJ division ... " to include the article.
2. Browser's circular arrow function: RELOAD
3. "No doubt about it!": I'M SURE!
4. Gladiator played by Kirk Douglas: SPARTACUS
5. Jazz aficionado?: UTAHN. Basketball team from Salt Lake City. I like the word, it's got a nice unusual letter progression.
6. Angelic strings: HARP
7. Risk territory between Ukraine and Siberia: URAL
8. First name in country: REBA
9. Org.: ASSN.
10. Ish: SORTA
11. Big tuna: AHI. I've got some in my freezer right now waiting to be sushi'd for Christmas Day family pot-luck.
12. Do wrong: SIN
13. Refuse to share: HOG
19. __ four: small cake: PETIT
21. Peter of reggae: TOSH
24. Mexican resort, for short: CABO
25. Big-screen format: IMAX
26. Capa attacker: TORO. Bullfighting, the bull attacking the matador's cape. Also the best cut of tuna for sushi - the fatty part of the belly.
28. Some kind of a nut: ACORN
29. Kevin who played Hercules on TV: SORBO. Thank you, crosses.
30. On one's toes: ALERT
31. Premier League rival of Arsenal, familiarly: MAN. U. England soccer. I won't go on a bore-fest here, but Manchester United and Arsenal are not really rivals, they compete in the same league, that's all. The real rivalry for Arsenal is with Tottenham Hotspur, their North London neighbors. Man. U's true rivals are the other mancunians Manchester City and fellow Merseysiders Liverpool.
I don't know when you cross over from competitor to rival - it's the same here, especially in college sports. Take the PAC 12 - Oregon/Oregon State, Cal/Stanford, USC/UCLA are all rivalries, but none of the schools would consider fellow-confererence member Utah a rival.
34. "Frozen" snowman: OLAF
35. Ways of dealing with inner demons?: EXORCISMS. Is the red cartoon fellow on your shoulder with a trident whispering temptations in your ear an outer demon?
36. Made like: APED
37. Word with bird or nest: LOVE
38. Go first: OPEN
42. Pumbaa's "The Lion King" pal: TIMON. Where would we be without Disney crossword clues? Athens, that's where.
43. __ tide: NEAP
47. Foster of folk music: RUTHIE. Thank you, crosses. I should buy Crosses a drink today for all the help.
48. Impossible NFL score: ONE ONE. Any other score "non-one" score is theoretically possible in football, although in some cases highly unlikely. I did see a scoreboard reading "2-4" a few years ago where a college game was well into the second quarter and the only points registered at that stage in the game were three safeties.
49. Pantry: LARDER. There's an oh-so-subtle difference between the two - a larder originally was cooler than a pantry and used to store meat, milk and other foodstuffs likely to spoil faster. The pantry was where you kept your dry goods, spices and what-not. Nowadays synonymous, and perfectly OK.
51. "Wicked Game" singer Chris: ISAAK. I always want to call him ISAAC until a cross clunks me (cluncs me?) on the top of the head and tells me not to be so silly.
52. Olympic racers: LUGES. Want to slide at 80 miles an hour downhill, feet-first lying on a tray? No, me either. The doubles event is even crazier.
54. Condé __: NAST
55. Nobel ceremony city: OSLO
56. Lose one's cool: FLIP
57. Leap: JUMP
58. Carry-on unit: BAG
59. "__ you serious?": ARE
60. Used to be called: NÉE
Well, I've run out of stuff to talk about, so I'd better stick a fork in this one and call it done.
Steve
