Theme: Slabber's Pals
17A: Astound: FLABBERGAST
39A: Gossipy types: BLABBERMOUTHS
62A: Classic baking powder brand: CLABBER GIRL
Wish CLABBER GIRL were one word, then the theme answers would be more consistent.
My favorite clue today is AB CRUNCH (11D: Six-pack enhancer?"), so many consonants. I also like seeing OBAMA (6A: 44th president) crossing OPRAH (6D: Talk's Winfrey). I wonder if he would have gained that much momentum without OPRAH's earlier endorsement. Do you know that Barack means "peach" in Hungarian?
I am surprised by our poll result so far. I was also surprised to read this piece in Naples Daily News. One reader wrote: “We do not like the L.A. Times daily crossword puzzle that you’ve started to use. We find it to be very ‘gimmicky’ and difficult to solve as many of the answers aren’t logical or able to be found through a reference manual...".
That's exactly what makes Rich Norris puzzles entertaining. He works hard to be "illogical" and gives us the twisted V-8 moment "gimmicks".
It takes time to adjust to a new editor and his cluing style. I hope you all have patience. If you don't understand the clue or the answer, just go to the Comments section and ask. Don't be shy or feel intimidated by the regulars there. We were all strangers once. And remember, no question is stupid in this blog. I am not afraid to ask question, nor should you be.
Across:
1A: Working on, as homework: DOING. We did not have light in our house until 1979. So I had to do my homework under the candle.
14A: The blahs: ENNUI. I am glad I did not know what ENNUI was when I was a child.
16A: "Big" London clock: BEN. From Dr. Dad: Big BEN is not the clock. It's not the tower. It's the BELL inside the tower. A common mistake to say it is the clock.
20A: Pickle holder: JAR. Gingers turn pink naturally when pickled.
21A: Oater actor Jack: ELAM. I can never remember this guy's name. Rich Norris clued ELAM as "Placekicker Jason" last time.
24A: Cyclotron particle: ATOM. Easy guess. I don't know what "Cyclotron" is. Sounds nuclear and dangerous.
30A: Litter cries: MEWING. No plural for MEWING? I penned in S at the end of blanks immediately, and had trouble with the ING.
32A: "Married ... With Children" dad: AL BUNDY. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says the show was notable for being the first prime time TV series to air on Fox, debuted on April 5, 1987. Oh, I just found out that Rupert Murdock's Fox was launched only in 1986.
35A: One hanging around: LOITERER. Only know the verb loiter.
38A: Suffix with web: CAM. Looks so high-tech to me.
42A: Letter after sigma: TAU. I know the letter, ignorant of the exact order though. It's before upsilon.
43A: Refined grace: ELEGANCE. Did Grace Kelly pop into your mind also? She is the epitome of ELEGANCE. I really like her in "To Catch a Thief".
44A: Kate of "The Reader": WINSLET. Another elegant actress. She won Oscar for "The Reader".
46A: Sarge's order: TEN HUT. Nope. I could only think of AT EASE. Wikipedia says TEN HUT is an American military term meaning "Come to attention!" It was shortened from "a-ten-hut" and came into use because it is easier to say at full shout than "attention." I feel "attention" is easier to shout, don't you?
50A: "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz" brand word: ALKA. I guessed. I've never heard of the song.
51A: Hard to recall: HAZY
54A: "Don't __ me, bro!": TASE. Here is the clip again. You will hear "Don't TASE me, bro!" around 1:58. It's played and replayed and replayed on various stations ad nauseam.
58A: Darn with thread: MEND
61A: Saturn SUV: VUE. French for "sight" as well.
66A: Hang in midair: HOVER. Thought of the kestrel the windhover immediately.
67A: Kate's sitcom pal: ALLIE
68A: '60 "trip" drug: LSD
69A: 33-Down's field: OPERA. And LEONTYNE (33D: Price known for Verdi roles), who was a completely unknown to me. Wikipedia says she was the the first African-American to become a leading prima donna at the Mets and best known for her title role "Aida".
70A: Like really old bread: MOLDY. STALE came to me first.
Down:
1D: Hip-hop record label: DEF JAM. Here is their logo. New name to me. Not into hip-hop or rap or their bling-blings.
2D: Airing after midnight, say: ON LATE. I wanted ON TAPE.
3D: Way to organize all your ducks?: IN A ROW. Lovely clue.
4D: Pencil remnant: NUB. I wonder why pencils instead pens are provided at the golf course. Easy to cheat?
5D: Scoff at: GIBE. I keep forgetting this taunting meaning of GIBE. Vaguely remember we had some GIBE & jibe discussions several weeks ago.
7D: USS Missouri nickname: BIG MO. New to me also. Wikipedia says it's also called "Mighty Mo".
10D: Aptly named shaving lotion: AFTA. After? Holy moley! No idea. I've never paid attention to what brand my husband is using. I don't like the bottle.
12D: Open porches: VERANDAS
18D: Qualified: ELIGIBLE
23D: Like "algae" or "termini": Abbr. PLU. Chinese nouns have no plural form.
27D: Italian cheese city: PARMA. Oh, is that how we get Parmesan cheese?
31D: Prize founder: NOBEL. Harsh words on Geithner's BAILOUTS (39D: Large-scale financial rescues) from Paul Krugman, NOBEL economics winner.
34D: "How to Talk Dirty and Influence People" author Lenny: BRUCE. Have never heard of the book, a parody of Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People".
37D: Bit of work: ERG. Both ERG and JOULE are often clued as "Work unit". JOULE is ten million ERGS.
40D: Bozo: LUNKHEAD. Know blockhead. LUNKHEAD is new to me.
41D: Revival structure: TENT. Thought of yesterday's earthquake in L'Aquila. So many landmark buildings are destroyed.
42D: "Up, up and away" defunct flier: TWA. Owned by Howard Huges from 1939 to 1966.
47D: Skating gold medalist Dorothy: HAMILL. 1976 Olympics champion. She looks very pretty.
48D: Log-in requirement: USER ID
49D: Lipton rival: TETLEY. Owned by Ratan Tata's Tata Group. He was actually educated in the US (Cornell & Harvard). He probably should not have gobbled up Jaguar and Land Rover.
52D: "Waves of grain" color: AMBER. I guessed. I had no idea that it's from "America the Beautiful".
59D: Apothecary's weight: DRAM. One eight of an ounce, or sixty grains, according to Dictionary.
64D: Mop & __: floor cleaner: GLO. I don't know what's the brand in our house, but it's definitely not Mop & GLO.
Answer Grid.
C.C.
17A: Astound: FLABBERGAST
39A: Gossipy types: BLABBERMOUTHS
62A: Classic baking powder brand: CLABBER GIRL
Wish CLABBER GIRL were one word, then the theme answers would be more consistent.
My favorite clue today is AB CRUNCH (11D: Six-pack enhancer?"), so many consonants. I also like seeing OBAMA (6A: 44th president) crossing OPRAH (6D: Talk's Winfrey). I wonder if he would have gained that much momentum without OPRAH's earlier endorsement. Do you know that Barack means "peach" in Hungarian?
I am surprised by our poll result so far. I was also surprised to read this piece in Naples Daily News. One reader wrote: “We do not like the L.A. Times daily crossword puzzle that you’ve started to use. We find it to be very ‘gimmicky’ and difficult to solve as many of the answers aren’t logical or able to be found through a reference manual...".
That's exactly what makes Rich Norris puzzles entertaining. He works hard to be "illogical" and gives us the twisted V-8 moment "gimmicks".
It takes time to adjust to a new editor and his cluing style. I hope you all have patience. If you don't understand the clue or the answer, just go to the Comments section and ask. Don't be shy or feel intimidated by the regulars there. We were all strangers once. And remember, no question is stupid in this blog. I am not afraid to ask question, nor should you be.
Across:
1A: Working on, as homework: DOING. We did not have light in our house until 1979. So I had to do my homework under the candle.
14A: The blahs: ENNUI. I am glad I did not know what ENNUI was when I was a child.
16A: "Big" London clock: BEN. From Dr. Dad: Big BEN is not the clock. It's not the tower. It's the BELL inside the tower. A common mistake to say it is the clock.
20A: Pickle holder: JAR. Gingers turn pink naturally when pickled.
21A: Oater actor Jack: ELAM. I can never remember this guy's name. Rich Norris clued ELAM as "Placekicker Jason" last time.
24A: Cyclotron particle: ATOM. Easy guess. I don't know what "Cyclotron" is. Sounds nuclear and dangerous.
30A: Litter cries: MEWING. No plural for MEWING? I penned in S at the end of blanks immediately, and had trouble with the ING.
32A: "Married ... With Children" dad: AL BUNDY. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says the show was notable for being the first prime time TV series to air on Fox, debuted on April 5, 1987. Oh, I just found out that Rupert Murdock's Fox was launched only in 1986.
35A: One hanging around: LOITERER. Only know the verb loiter.
38A: Suffix with web: CAM. Looks so high-tech to me.
42A: Letter after sigma: TAU. I know the letter, ignorant of the exact order though. It's before upsilon.
43A: Refined grace: ELEGANCE. Did Grace Kelly pop into your mind also? She is the epitome of ELEGANCE. I really like her in "To Catch a Thief".
44A: Kate of "The Reader": WINSLET. Another elegant actress. She won Oscar for "The Reader".
46A: Sarge's order: TEN HUT. Nope. I could only think of AT EASE. Wikipedia says TEN HUT is an American military term meaning "Come to attention!" It was shortened from "a-ten-hut" and came into use because it is easier to say at full shout than "attention." I feel "attention" is easier to shout, don't you?
50A: "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz" brand word: ALKA. I guessed. I've never heard of the song.
51A: Hard to recall: HAZY
54A: "Don't __ me, bro!": TASE. Here is the clip again. You will hear "Don't TASE me, bro!" around 1:58. It's played and replayed and replayed on various stations ad nauseam.
58A: Darn with thread: MEND
61A: Saturn SUV: VUE. French for "sight" as well.
66A: Hang in midair: HOVER. Thought of the kestrel the windhover immediately.
67A: Kate's sitcom pal: ALLIE
68A: '60 "trip" drug: LSD
69A: 33-Down's field: OPERA. And LEONTYNE (33D: Price known for Verdi roles), who was a completely unknown to me. Wikipedia says she was the the first African-American to become a leading prima donna at the Mets and best known for her title role "Aida".
70A: Like really old bread: MOLDY. STALE came to me first.
Down:
1D: Hip-hop record label: DEF JAM. Here is their logo. New name to me. Not into hip-hop or rap or their bling-blings.
2D: Airing after midnight, say: ON LATE. I wanted ON TAPE.
3D: Way to organize all your ducks?: IN A ROW. Lovely clue.
4D: Pencil remnant: NUB. I wonder why pencils instead pens are provided at the golf course. Easy to cheat?
5D: Scoff at: GIBE. I keep forgetting this taunting meaning of GIBE. Vaguely remember we had some GIBE & jibe discussions several weeks ago.
7D: USS Missouri nickname: BIG MO. New to me also. Wikipedia says it's also called "Mighty Mo".
10D: Aptly named shaving lotion: AFTA. After? Holy moley! No idea. I've never paid attention to what brand my husband is using. I don't like the bottle.
12D: Open porches: VERANDAS
18D: Qualified: ELIGIBLE
23D: Like "algae" or "termini": Abbr. PLU. Chinese nouns have no plural form.
27D: Italian cheese city: PARMA. Oh, is that how we get Parmesan cheese?
31D: Prize founder: NOBEL. Harsh words on Geithner's BAILOUTS (39D: Large-scale financial rescues) from Paul Krugman, NOBEL economics winner.
34D: "How to Talk Dirty and Influence People" author Lenny: BRUCE. Have never heard of the book, a parody of Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People".
37D: Bit of work: ERG. Both ERG and JOULE are often clued as "Work unit". JOULE is ten million ERGS.
40D: Bozo: LUNKHEAD. Know blockhead. LUNKHEAD is new to me.
41D: Revival structure: TENT. Thought of yesterday's earthquake in L'Aquila. So many landmark buildings are destroyed.
42D: "Up, up and away" defunct flier: TWA. Owned by Howard Huges from 1939 to 1966.
47D: Skating gold medalist Dorothy: HAMILL. 1976 Olympics champion. She looks very pretty.
48D: Log-in requirement: USER ID
49D: Lipton rival: TETLEY. Owned by Ratan Tata's Tata Group. He was actually educated in the US (Cornell & Harvard). He probably should not have gobbled up Jaguar and Land Rover.
52D: "Waves of grain" color: AMBER. I guessed. I had no idea that it's from "America the Beautiful".
59D: Apothecary's weight: DRAM. One eight of an ounce, or sixty grains, according to Dictionary.
64D: Mop & __: floor cleaner: GLO. I don't know what's the brand in our house, but it's definitely not Mop & GLO.
Answer Grid.
C.C.
