Theme: Nidget's Pal
17A: Gidget: SURFING FILM
49A: Widget: DESKTOP TOOL
11D: Fidget: SQUIRM ABOUT
25D: Midget: MINI VERSION
All the above theme answers feel like normal clues, don't you think so? "Squirm about": FIDGET. I hope this is an aberrant rather than a pattern. I don't like this reverse pattern. Hate when the clues rather than the answers are the theme. We just had "Snow, Show, Slow & Stow" the day before yesterday.
Our editor clued SANDRA DEE as "Gidget star"a few weeks ago. But the movie escaped me completely this morning. Difficult solving. The intersection of AL OERTER & ERDE is hard.
I disagree with the clue for OILER (47A: Crude workman?). OILER refers to the crude oil carrier rather than worker on the oil field, right?
Across:
5A: Acquire canines: TEETHE. "Acquire molars" too.
15A: Batman's butler: ALFRED. New to me. Not a fan of Batman or Superman. Heroic figures should not have a butler anyway.
19A: Sturm __ Drang: UND. "And" in German. "Storm AND Stress". I always think of Munch's "The Scream" whenever I see this term.
28A: Forest dweller: WOODSMAN. Did not come to me readily. Just realized that this hot-tempered Welsh golfer is called Ian Woosnam, not Ian Woodsman.
32A: Lacy houseplants: FERNS. Seedless and Flowerless. Oh, by the way, Chinese word for fig is "fruit without flowers". Do you think the flower is inside the fig fruit?
33A: Sleeve card?: ACE. Good clue.
35A: Clamps: VISES. With the ?idget theme, "Carpenter's gadget" might be a better clue.
38A: Threescore: SIXTY. Learned the meaning of "score" from Lincoln's "Fourscore and seven years ago...". I like his barebone, economical yet powerful writing. You could find some of his style in JFK's speeches.
44A: Fell as ice: SLEETED. Did not know SLEET can be a verb.
48A: Pressure meas.: PSI (Pounds per Square Inch). Also a Greek letter of course.
56A: "Das Lied von der __": ERDE. I googled. Mahler's composition. "Lied" is a German art song for solo voice and piano. ERDE means "earth". So this work is literally titled "The Song of the Earth".
58A: V-shaped fortifications: REDANS. No idea. This one is indeed V-shaped. I can't see how it serves its fortification purpose. Wikipedia says Russians used REDANS against Napoleon during one battle.
59A: Eurasian deer: ROES. Where is his tail? I learned a few days ago that antlers are deciduous. So I presume the deer shed their antlers every season? Last time our editor clued SIKA as "Japanese deer", brutal clue.
Down:
2D: Old French coin: SOU. 1/20 of the old franc. Sometimes the answer is ECU, a silver five-franc piece.
3D: Swiss river: AAR. Hmmm, Williams is not in the mood for "Swiss flow-er".
6D: "Enigma Variations" composer: ELGAR (Edward). British composer, stranger to me. What does "Nimrod" mean?
7D: Studio apts: EFFS. Saw this clue before. Not clear what exactly is an efficiency apartment.
8D: Angle or pod lead-in: TRI. "Cycle lead-in" as well.
9D: Mischievous children: HELLIONS. New word to me.
10D: O'Brien and Rostand: EDMONDS. EDMOND O'Brien was an actor who won Oscar for "The Barefoot Contessa" (Best Supporting Actor). EDMOND Rostand was a French poet and dramatist best known for his play " Cyrano de Bergerac". He said: It is at night that faith in light is admirable. What does that mean?
24D: Type of magnetism?: ANIMAL. Excellent clue.
26D: Comic Amsterdam: MOREY. Another unknown. He is best known for his role in "Dick Van Dyke Show", the guy on the most left.
28D: Adam and Benjamin: WESTS. Adam WEST played the Batman on the TV series. Benjamin WEST was an American painter of large scale historical scene during the time of American revolution. I feel sad for myself, the only WEST I know is Mae WEST.
35D: Waltz type: VIENNESE. I have no idea there are so many styles of Waltz.
36D: Olympic discus legend: AL OERTER. I don't know this legend. He won a gold medal in four consecutive Olympics, steroid-free, A-Rod.
44D: Suppress, as info: SIT ON
46D: Turkey label letters: USDA. Hey, I have the autograph of the current USDA chief.
50D: Advanced deg.: SCD (Scientiae Doctor, Latin). Doctor of Science. Same clue/ANSWER appeared our puzzle before.
53D: "__ Girls": LES. Have never heard of this comedy film. It's also known as "Cole Porter's LES Girls".
C.C.
17A: Gidget: SURFING FILM
49A: Widget: DESKTOP TOOL
11D: Fidget: SQUIRM ABOUT
25D: Midget: MINI VERSION
All the above theme answers feel like normal clues, don't you think so? "Squirm about": FIDGET. I hope this is an aberrant rather than a pattern. I don't like this reverse pattern. Hate when the clues rather than the answers are the theme. We just had "Snow, Show, Slow & Stow" the day before yesterday.
Our editor clued SANDRA DEE as "Gidget star"a few weeks ago. But the movie escaped me completely this morning. Difficult solving. The intersection of AL OERTER & ERDE is hard.
I disagree with the clue for OILER (47A: Crude workman?). OILER refers to the crude oil carrier rather than worker on the oil field, right?
Across:
5A: Acquire canines: TEETHE. "Acquire molars" too.
15A: Batman's butler: ALFRED. New to me. Not a fan of Batman or Superman. Heroic figures should not have a butler anyway.
19A: Sturm __ Drang: UND. "And" in German. "Storm AND Stress". I always think of Munch's "The Scream" whenever I see this term.
28A: Forest dweller: WOODSMAN. Did not come to me readily. Just realized that this hot-tempered Welsh golfer is called Ian Woosnam, not Ian Woodsman.
32A: Lacy houseplants: FERNS. Seedless and Flowerless. Oh, by the way, Chinese word for fig is "fruit without flowers". Do you think the flower is inside the fig fruit?
33A: Sleeve card?: ACE. Good clue.
35A: Clamps: VISES. With the ?idget theme, "Carpenter's gadget" might be a better clue.
38A: Threescore: SIXTY. Learned the meaning of "score" from Lincoln's "Fourscore and seven years ago...". I like his barebone, economical yet powerful writing. You could find some of his style in JFK's speeches.
44A: Fell as ice: SLEETED. Did not know SLEET can be a verb.
48A: Pressure meas.: PSI (Pounds per Square Inch). Also a Greek letter of course.
56A: "Das Lied von der __": ERDE. I googled. Mahler's composition. "Lied" is a German art song for solo voice and piano. ERDE means "earth". So this work is literally titled "The Song of the Earth".
58A: V-shaped fortifications: REDANS. No idea. This one is indeed V-shaped. I can't see how it serves its fortification purpose. Wikipedia says Russians used REDANS against Napoleon during one battle.
59A: Eurasian deer: ROES. Where is his tail? I learned a few days ago that antlers are deciduous. So I presume the deer shed their antlers every season? Last time our editor clued SIKA as "Japanese deer", brutal clue.
Down:
2D: Old French coin: SOU. 1/20 of the old franc. Sometimes the answer is ECU, a silver five-franc piece.
3D: Swiss river: AAR. Hmmm, Williams is not in the mood for "Swiss flow-er".
6D: "Enigma Variations" composer: ELGAR (Edward). British composer, stranger to me. What does "Nimrod" mean?
7D: Studio apts: EFFS. Saw this clue before. Not clear what exactly is an efficiency apartment.
8D: Angle or pod lead-in: TRI. "Cycle lead-in" as well.
9D: Mischievous children: HELLIONS. New word to me.
10D: O'Brien and Rostand: EDMONDS. EDMOND O'Brien was an actor who won Oscar for "The Barefoot Contessa" (Best Supporting Actor). EDMOND Rostand was a French poet and dramatist best known for his play " Cyrano de Bergerac". He said: It is at night that faith in light is admirable. What does that mean?
24D: Type of magnetism?: ANIMAL. Excellent clue.
26D: Comic Amsterdam: MOREY. Another unknown. He is best known for his role in "Dick Van Dyke Show", the guy on the most left.
28D: Adam and Benjamin: WESTS. Adam WEST played the Batman on the TV series. Benjamin WEST was an American painter of large scale historical scene during the time of American revolution. I feel sad for myself, the only WEST I know is Mae WEST.
35D: Waltz type: VIENNESE. I have no idea there are so many styles of Waltz.
36D: Olympic discus legend: AL OERTER. I don't know this legend. He won a gold medal in four consecutive Olympics, steroid-free, A-Rod.
44D: Suppress, as info: SIT ON
46D: Turkey label letters: USDA. Hey, I have the autograph of the current USDA chief.
50D: Advanced deg.: SCD (Scientiae Doctor, Latin). Doctor of Science. Same clue/ANSWER appeared our puzzle before.
53D: "__ Girls": LES. Have never heard of this comedy film. It's also known as "Cole Porter's LES Girls".
C.C.
