Theme: Triples
17A: Horse racing coup, literally: CROWN CROWN CROWN
23A: Baseball rarity, literally: PLAY PLAY PLAY
46A: Rhythm for waltzing, literally: TIME TIME TIME
54A: Text layout specification, literally: SPACE SPACE SPACE
Is there a jockey who won the Triple Crown by riding three different horses in the same year? Looks like Calvin Borel is going back to Mine That Bird since Rachel Alexandra won't run the Belmont Stakes.
Triple play is indeed rare. Twins is the only team in MLB history to turn two triple plays in one game (they still lost to Red Sox 1-0). Wikipedia says triple time is common in formal dance styles like waltz, minuet and the mazurka. What is triple-space? I've never heard of the term.
BOGEY BOGEY BOGEY would be a great theme answer too. Nothing is more frustrating than a triple bogey on a par 3. What other triples can you think of?
Across:
5A: Pub diversion: DARTS
14A: Spots in high school?: ACNE. ACNE has no plural form?
15A: Group cultural values: ETHOS
16A: Funny Bombeck: ERMA. I tend to confuse her with IRMA Rombauer, "The Joy of Cooking" author.
21A: Moo goo __ pan: GAI. Moo goo = mushroom. GAI = chicken. Pan = slices. I bet this plate contains over 800 calories.
22A: Draw a bead on: AIM AT
28A: Strait of Dover port: CALAIS. The French port nearest England.
30A: Prefix with -syncratic: IDIO. Literally "peculiar". Somehow I wrote down IDEO first. It's a prefix for "thought", ideological for example.
38A: Book in a hotel: BIBLE
39A: Apple MP3 player: IPOD. And another Apple products MACS (1D: Computer choices).
40A: Lad's love: LASS. And MOLL (43A: Hood's gal). Nice pair.
49A: Aptly named Renault: LE CAR. Not familiar with this car. Apt name indeed.
62A: Reader of Seventeen: TEEN. Not fond of this clue.
63A: Coasters with runners: SLEDS. Got the answer. Did not know runner can mean "either of the long, bladelike strips of metal or wood on which a sled or sleigh slides".
64A: Ref's fight-ending decisions: TKOS. Boxing.
Down:
3D: Drift removers: SNOWPLOWS
5D: Turns to compost: DECAYS. In the end, everything DECAYS, including culture.
6D: Just free of the bottom, as an anchor: ATRIP
7D: Letter after pi: RHO. Before sigma. The former South Korea president who killed himself over bribery scandal is surnamed ROH (Roh Moo-hyun).
12D: Big name in multilevel marketing: AMWAY. They have big factories in China. So does Avon.
18D: Mystery writer Marsh: NGAIO. How do you pronounce her name? What a weird spelling.
19D: Guitarist's gadget: CAPO
25D: It might be applied while puckering: LIP BALM. I really don't understand the fascination with Angelina Jolie's lips.
26D: German violinist Busch: ADOLF. Easy guess. Just learned that ADOLF means "noble, majestic wolf", a compound word of "adal" (noble) and wolf.
27D: Cry of surprise: YIPE. Oh, I always say "Oh, my goodness".
28D: Prof.'s employer: COLL. Crossing the college town ORONO (31A: University of Maine town).
32D: Garlicky mayo: AIOLI. Provençal words: Ai, garlic. Oli, oil. Looks creamy.
33D: Mouthed sidelines greeting: HI MOM
34D: Brandy distilled from cider: APPLEJACK. Have never had this stuff.
35D: Place for cargo: HOLD
38D: Sponge up: BLOT. Only knew the "stain" meaning of BLOT.
42D: Litmus reddeners: ACIDS. Does blue have a verb form also?
44D: Rides of knights: STEEDS. How do you clue NAGS then? "Rides of whom?"
45D: Home often made of canvas nowadays: TEPEE. Literally, "to dwell" in Lakota language.
46D: Sympathetic words: I CARE. Hmm, "empathy", Sonia Sotomayor.
47D: City SE of Atlanta: MACON. Nicknamed "Heart of Georgia" because it lies near the geographic center of Georgia, according to Wikipedia.
48D: 11th century Spanish hero: EL CID. Literally "the lord".
52D: Canyon rebound: ECHO. It fits in today's theme pretty well.
57D: Civil War nickname: ABE. Wonder how ABE would deal with the Burris case. Oh, well, at least, Illinois has 2 senators. We only have 1. The recount goes on!
59D: Soft touch: PAT. Nice one.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A: Horse racing coup, literally: CROWN CROWN CROWN
23A: Baseball rarity, literally: PLAY PLAY PLAY
46A: Rhythm for waltzing, literally: TIME TIME TIME
54A: Text layout specification, literally: SPACE SPACE SPACE
Is there a jockey who won the Triple Crown by riding three different horses in the same year? Looks like Calvin Borel is going back to Mine That Bird since Rachel Alexandra won't run the Belmont Stakes.
Triple play is indeed rare. Twins is the only team in MLB history to turn two triple plays in one game (they still lost to Red Sox 1-0). Wikipedia says triple time is common in formal dance styles like waltz, minuet and the mazurka. What is triple-space? I've never heard of the term.
BOGEY BOGEY BOGEY would be a great theme answer too. Nothing is more frustrating than a triple bogey on a par 3. What other triples can you think of?
Across:
5A: Pub diversion: DARTS
14A: Spots in high school?: ACNE. ACNE has no plural form?
15A: Group cultural values: ETHOS
16A: Funny Bombeck: ERMA. I tend to confuse her with IRMA Rombauer, "The Joy of Cooking" author.
21A: Moo goo __ pan: GAI. Moo goo = mushroom. GAI = chicken. Pan = slices. I bet this plate contains over 800 calories.
22A: Draw a bead on: AIM AT
28A: Strait of Dover port: CALAIS. The French port nearest England.
30A: Prefix with -syncratic: IDIO. Literally "peculiar". Somehow I wrote down IDEO first. It's a prefix for "thought", ideological for example.
38A: Book in a hotel: BIBLE
39A: Apple MP3 player: IPOD. And another Apple products MACS (1D: Computer choices).
40A: Lad's love: LASS. And MOLL (43A: Hood's gal). Nice pair.
49A: Aptly named Renault: LE CAR. Not familiar with this car. Apt name indeed.
62A: Reader of Seventeen: TEEN. Not fond of this clue.
63A: Coasters with runners: SLEDS. Got the answer. Did not know runner can mean "either of the long, bladelike strips of metal or wood on which a sled or sleigh slides".
64A: Ref's fight-ending decisions: TKOS. Boxing.
Down:
3D: Drift removers: SNOWPLOWS
5D: Turns to compost: DECAYS. In the end, everything DECAYS, including culture.
6D: Just free of the bottom, as an anchor: ATRIP
7D: Letter after pi: RHO. Before sigma. The former South Korea president who killed himself over bribery scandal is surnamed ROH (Roh Moo-hyun).
12D: Big name in multilevel marketing: AMWAY. They have big factories in China. So does Avon.
18D: Mystery writer Marsh: NGAIO. How do you pronounce her name? What a weird spelling.
19D: Guitarist's gadget: CAPO
25D: It might be applied while puckering: LIP BALM. I really don't understand the fascination with Angelina Jolie's lips.
26D: German violinist Busch: ADOLF. Easy guess. Just learned that ADOLF means "noble, majestic wolf", a compound word of "adal" (noble) and wolf.
27D: Cry of surprise: YIPE. Oh, I always say "Oh, my goodness".
28D: Prof.'s employer: COLL. Crossing the college town ORONO (31A: University of Maine town).
32D: Garlicky mayo: AIOLI. Provençal words: Ai, garlic. Oli, oil. Looks creamy.
33D: Mouthed sidelines greeting: HI MOM
34D: Brandy distilled from cider: APPLEJACK. Have never had this stuff.
35D: Place for cargo: HOLD
38D: Sponge up: BLOT. Only knew the "stain" meaning of BLOT.
42D: Litmus reddeners: ACIDS. Does blue have a verb form also?
44D: Rides of knights: STEEDS. How do you clue NAGS then? "Rides of whom?"
45D: Home often made of canvas nowadays: TEPEE. Literally, "to dwell" in Lakota language.
46D: Sympathetic words: I CARE. Hmm, "empathy", Sonia Sotomayor.
47D: City SE of Atlanta: MACON. Nicknamed "Heart of Georgia" because it lies near the geographic center of Georgia, according to Wikipedia.
48D: 11th century Spanish hero: EL CID. Literally "the lord".
52D: Canyon rebound: ECHO. It fits in today's theme pretty well.
57D: Civil War nickname: ABE. Wonder how ABE would deal with the Burris case. Oh, well, at least, Illinois has 2 senators. We only have 1. The recount goes on!
59D: Soft touch: PAT. Nice one.
Answer grid.
C.C.
