Theme: Four of a Kind - Theme answers are clued with four identical question marked capitalized letters which are pronounced the same as the real hidden clues.
20A. CCCC? (4 C's, pronounced like "foresees"): TELLS THE FUTURE
39A. AAAA? (4 A's, pronounced like "forays"): MILITARY ATTACKS
56A. TTTT? (4 T's, pronounced like "forties"): CHILLY FORECAST
This puzzle reminds of Ashish Vengsarkar's NY Times July 30, 2009 puzzle. Ashish clued EEEE (Ease) as "Facility", QQQQ (Cues) as "Signals" and TTTT (Tease) as "Razz".
Sharon E. Petersen's last LAT has an interesting twist too. Among her theme answers are: CC (Seize) THE DAY (clued as "Time is fleeting" philosophy?) and GG (Jeez) LOUISE (clued as "Good grief!"?)
Anyway, today's theme answers themselves are not very interesting, they seldom are when clues and answers switch positions. But the theme concept itself is so inventive & fun. Jeff Chen has a imaginative mind.
Lots of four-letter words with straightforward cluing, guess that's why I had a easier time earlier.
Across:
1. Torah holders: ARKS
5. Dishonorable types: CADS. We also have NE'ER (67. ____-do-well).
9. Gets off the road, in a way: PLOWS. Get snow off the road I suppose.
14. Spear or pepper follower: MINT. Do you like peppermint tea?
15. End of grace: AMEN
16. Sound portion: AUDIO. The visual portion is VIDEO.
18. Pro __: RATA. Pro rata = In proportion.
19. Spills carelessly: SLOPS
23. Amount consumed: INTAKE
24. Yokel: RUBE
25. Bird was one, briefly: CELT. Larry Bird. Boston Celtics.
27. Hemingway's Santiago, in the story's title: OLD MAN. The title character in "The Old Man and the Sea".
32. Pontificate: ORATE
35. Jessica of "Good Luck Chuck": ALBA. I've never seen the movie. Sounds silly.
42. "Get outta here!": SCAT
43. Coward of the stage: NOEL. Noel Coward.
44. Clarifying words: ID EST. The full form of i.e.. Latin for "that is". I fell prey to I MEAN.
45. Inchon native: KOREAN. Inchon is a seaport in W South Korea.
49. Deli option: TUNA
52. Hunk: ADONIS. A reverse of our recent "Adonis"/HUNK clue. He is my ideal Adonis.
60. Santa __: Silicon Valley city: CLARA. So many CA references in LA Times puzzle.
61. Fuzz: LINT
62. DEA agent's discovery: KILO. DEA uses kilo rather than pound as drug unit?
63. Big jerks: BOZOS
64. Ocean predator: ORCA
65. Penultimate fairy tale word: EVER. "... and they lived happily EVER after.". Also ONCE (59D. Fairy tale opener). Nice fairy tale clue echos.
66. Used up: SPENT
68. Information __: DESK
Down:
1. Valuable violin: AMATI. Another one is STRAD. Loved "The Red Violin". Very real depiction of chaos during Chinese Cultural Revolution.
2. Like baked dough: RISEN. The dough is already risen before it's baked, isn't it?
3. Prepared to speak to a tot, maybe: KNELT. Nice new clue.
4. Overhead projection?: STALACTITE. It hangs from the roof of a cavern, formed from the dripping of mineral-rich water. Shaped like icicle. New word to me.
5. Monopoly: CARTEL
6. Eastern nurse: AMAH. Called so in Hongkong area. We just call is Ama in Guangzhou.
7. Discourage: DETER
8. Messy situation: SNAFU
9. Many a Matisse: PASTEL. Without Gertrude Stein, Matisse might not have achieved such fame.
10. Doozy: LULU
11. It's added to natural gas: ODOR. No idea. Why?
12. Use a rag on: WIPE
13. Coast Guard pickup: SOS. Oh, the signal pickup.
21. Olympic event since 1968: SKEET. Someone just mentioned this trivia on the blog.
22. Wolf pack member: U-BOAT. The WWII German sub. So U-boats form a wolf pack like attacking pack? I've never heard of the term before.
26. Poi essential: TARO. I really miss Cantonese taro cakes.
28. At an impasse, as the Senate: DEADLOCKED. One of two long non-theme entries.
29. Medieval club: MACE
30. More than wonders: ASKS
20A. CCCC? (4 C's, pronounced like "foresees"): TELLS THE FUTURE
39A. AAAA? (4 A's, pronounced like "forays"): MILITARY ATTACKS
56A. TTTT? (4 T's, pronounced like "forties"): CHILLY FORECAST
This puzzle reminds of Ashish Vengsarkar's NY Times July 30, 2009 puzzle. Ashish clued EEEE (Ease) as "Facility", QQQQ (Cues) as "Signals" and TTTT (Tease) as "Razz".
Sharon E. Petersen's last LAT has an interesting twist too. Among her theme answers are: CC (Seize) THE DAY (clued as "Time is fleeting" philosophy?) and GG (Jeez) LOUISE (clued as "Good grief!"?)
Anyway, today's theme answers themselves are not very interesting, they seldom are when clues and answers switch positions. But the theme concept itself is so inventive & fun. Jeff Chen has a imaginative mind.
Lots of four-letter words with straightforward cluing, guess that's why I had a easier time earlier.
Across:
1. Torah holders: ARKS
5. Dishonorable types: CADS. We also have NE'ER (67. ____-do-well).
9. Gets off the road, in a way: PLOWS. Get snow off the road I suppose.
14. Spear or pepper follower: MINT. Do you like peppermint tea?
15. End of grace: AMEN
16. Sound portion: AUDIO. The visual portion is VIDEO.
18. Pro __: RATA. Pro rata = In proportion.
19. Spills carelessly: SLOPS
23. Amount consumed: INTAKE
24. Yokel: RUBE
25. Bird was one, briefly: CELT. Larry Bird. Boston Celtics.
27. Hemingway's Santiago, in the story's title: OLD MAN. The title character in "The Old Man and the Sea".
32. Pontificate: ORATE
35. Jessica of "Good Luck Chuck": ALBA. I've never seen the movie. Sounds silly.
42. "Get outta here!": SCAT
43. Coward of the stage: NOEL. Noel Coward.
44. Clarifying words: ID EST. The full form of i.e.. Latin for "that is". I fell prey to I MEAN.
45. Inchon native: KOREAN. Inchon is a seaport in W South Korea.
49. Deli option: TUNA
52. Hunk: ADONIS. A reverse of our recent "Adonis"/HUNK clue. He is my ideal Adonis.
60. Santa __: Silicon Valley city: CLARA. So many CA references in LA Times puzzle.
61. Fuzz: LINT
62. DEA agent's discovery: KILO. DEA uses kilo rather than pound as drug unit?
63. Big jerks: BOZOS
64. Ocean predator: ORCA
65. Penultimate fairy tale word: EVER. "... and they lived happily EVER after.". Also ONCE (59D. Fairy tale opener). Nice fairy tale clue echos.
66. Used up: SPENT
68. Information __: DESK
Down:
1. Valuable violin: AMATI. Another one is STRAD. Loved "The Red Violin". Very real depiction of chaos during Chinese Cultural Revolution.
2. Like baked dough: RISEN. The dough is already risen before it's baked, isn't it?
3. Prepared to speak to a tot, maybe: KNELT. Nice new clue.
4. Overhead projection?: STALACTITE. It hangs from the roof of a cavern, formed from the dripping of mineral-rich water. Shaped like icicle. New word to me.
5. Monopoly: CARTEL
6. Eastern nurse: AMAH. Called so in Hongkong area. We just call is Ama in Guangzhou.
7. Discourage: DETER
8. Messy situation: SNAFU
9. Many a Matisse: PASTEL. Without Gertrude Stein, Matisse might not have achieved such fame.
10. Doozy: LULU
11. It's added to natural gas: ODOR. No idea. Why?
12. Use a rag on: WIPE
13. Coast Guard pickup: SOS. Oh, the signal pickup.
21. Olympic event since 1968: SKEET. Someone just mentioned this trivia on the blog.
22. Wolf pack member: U-BOAT. The WWII German sub. So U-boats form a wolf pack like attacking pack? I've never heard of the term before.
26. Poi essential: TARO. I really miss Cantonese taro cakes.
28. At an impasse, as the Senate: DEADLOCKED. One of two long non-theme entries.
29. Medieval club: MACE
30. More than wonders: ASKS
32. Trans-Siberian Railroad city: OMSK. The red arrow area.
33. Moneyed, in Madrid: RICO. Spanish for "rich". Alliteration again. Puerto Rico = Rich Port.
34. Banned apple spray: ALAR. Banned in 1989.
37. Indonesian island: BALI
40. Invalidate: ANNUL
41. España feature: TILDE. The diacritic mark above ñ. We just had UMLAUT yesterday.
46. "Finally!": AT LAST
48. __ sauce: seafood serving: TARTAR
50. Polymer introduced by DuPont in 1938: NYLON
51. Blazing: AFIRE
53. Like a babe in the woods: NAIVE
54. British __: ISLES
55. Childbirth symbol: STORK. I wonder what's the origin of stork delivering babies.
56. Equine sound: CLOP. Was thinking of the sound from equine itself rather than the sound it makes on the road.
57. Smog, e.g.: HAZE
58. Make smooth, in a way: IRON
60. Items used by good buddies: CBS. CB radios.
Answer grid.
33. Moneyed, in Madrid: RICO. Spanish for "rich". Alliteration again. Puerto Rico = Rich Port.
34. Banned apple spray: ALAR. Banned in 1989.
37. Indonesian island: BALI
40. Invalidate: ANNUL
41. España feature: TILDE. The diacritic mark above ñ. We just had UMLAUT yesterday.
46. "Finally!": AT LAST
48. __ sauce: seafood serving: TARTAR
50. Polymer introduced by DuPont in 1938: NYLON
51. Blazing: AFIRE
53. Like a babe in the woods: NAIVE
54. British __: ISLES
55. Childbirth symbol: STORK. I wonder what's the origin of stork delivering babies.
56. Equine sound: CLOP. Was thinking of the sound from equine itself rather than the sound it makes on the road.
57. Smog, e.g.: HAZE
58. Make smooth, in a way: IRON
60. Items used by good buddies: CBS. CB radios.
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of our talented wordsmith Lois and her daughter Katie at VA Beach on a windy day.
Additionally, Dan Naddor has his second puzzle published by NY Times today. Here is the write-up from the Wordplay blog. Lovely notes from Will Shortz and moving tribute from Dan's wife Tracie.
Ming Tian Jian!
C.C.
