Theme: CLOSING ACTS (What the last words of 17-, 25-, 36- and 48-Across could be considered, relative to the phrases in which they appear) - Phrases ending with famous one-name singers.
17A: Pleased plus: TICKLED PINK (She used to sport pink colored hair. Love her "Get the Party Started".)
25A: Piece of royal wealth: CROWN JEWEL (She grew up in Alaska. Her husband is rodeo cowboy Ty Murray.)
36A: Official corporate stock imprint: COMPANY SEAL (He is married to supermodel Heidi Klum.)
46A: Kiss seeker in a fairy tale: FROG PRINCE (The pride of Minnesota. "Purple Rain".)
Two female singers, two male singers, nicely balanced.
I had trouble understanding the clue for the tie-in answer CLOSING ACTS. The theme did not come to me readily at all.
I don't understand why LA Times & NY Times do not title their puzzles. Sam's draft of gridding SINGERS (clued as "People found at the ends of 17-, 25-, 36- and 48-Across) at the very center of the puzzle as a unifying answer and Closing Acts as title would be much easier for me to grok.
Quite a scrabbly puzzle, with 3 Z's, 1 J and several K'.
Across:
1A: Make like: MIMIC. Thought of CLONE.
6A: Biblical king and a captain: AHABS. Captain AHAB, "Moby Dick".
11A: Spoil the finish of: MAR. The PGA Championship ending was just perfect, unlike the British Open when everyone was rooting for Tom Watson.
14A: Long operatic solo: SCENA. I forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before. Just Italian for "scene", an extended operatic vocal solo, usually including an aria and a recitative, according to the dictionary.
15A: Gouged-out fairway piece: DIVOT. The piece of turf golfers "gouge out" when hitting their balls in the fairway.
16A: Bad way to go?: APE. Go APE. I was stumped. Great clue.
19A: Shear (off): LOP. Wrote down RID first.
20A: Song from a choir: HYMN
21A: Shade of green: PEA
28A: Slap cuffs on: MANACLE . Shackle also has 7 letters.
31A: Slapstick actors, e.g.: ZANIES. Like those Marx Brothers.
32A: __ coin: decide randomly: FLIP A. This kind of fill is called partial phrase. It's different from multiple word fill like SEE RED because it's not self-sustaining, a la Rich Norris.
33A: Take back: RECANT. Obama did not officially RECANT his "acted stupidly" statement, did he?
39A: Draw support from: LEAN ON
40A: Spots on the tube: TV ADS. Yep, this simple multiple word got me again.
43A: Prove successful: PAN OUT
46A: "My bad": I'M SORRY. And APOLOGY (29D: 46-Across, e.g.). I love cross-references.
53A: UN workers' rights gp.: ILO (International Labor Organization). They were awarded Nobel Peace in 1969.
54A: Man Friday, e.g.: AIDE. Man Friday in Robinson Crusoe's AIDE.
57A: New Mexico tribe with a Sun symbol: ZIA. No idea. The ZIA Sun symbol is featured in New Mexico state flag.
62A: Night school subj.: ESL (English as a Second Language). No problem for an immigrant like me.
63A: Group of gods ruled by Odin: AESIR. Stymied again. I can never remember this name. They lived in Asgard. Both words are rooted in old Norse āss, meaning "god".
64A: Arkansas city: OZARK. Obtained the answer from Down fills. What is this city famous for?
67A: Make good on: REPAY
Down:
1D: Yr.-round setting in most of Arizona: MST (Mountain Standard Time). Because most of Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
2D: Here, to Henri: ICI. Vous êtes ICI (You are here). Great picnic spot at Jardin du Luxembourg.
3D: Tuning pro: MECHANIC. Misread the clue as "Turning pro".
4D: Like an octopus' defense: INKY. Octopuses expel ink when facing predators.
5D: Devoid of wind: CALM
6D: Recipe verb: ADD. I am going to try Barb B's "Crazy for Coconut Balm" (12:35pm post in yesterday's Comments). Sounds so simple.
7D: African heavyweight: HIPPO. Heavyweight indeed, more than 3,000 lbs. They are vegetarians, right?
8D: Miller's "__ From the Bridge": A VIEW. Nope. Have never heard of this Arthur Miller play. The second partial in the grid.
9D: Forty-niners' strikes: BONANZAS. NFL's San Francisco 49ers is named after those gold prospectors who came to California around 1849 during the Gold Rush.
10D: Wall St. buy: STK (Stock). I'm used to the answer SHR (Share). Another Wall St. reference is LARGE CAP (38D: Mutual fund designation).
11D: Mozambique neighbor: MALAWI. Madonna puts this landlocked country on the map by adopting 2 kids from there. English is their official language.
12D: Orbital point: APOGEE. Opposite perigee.
13D: Wards off: REPELS
18D: Something sent with a ltr.: ENCL
22D: Peso fraction: CENTAVO
23D: Big letters in bowling equipment: AMF (American Machinery and Foundry). Competitor of Brunswick. My husband is going to have his first bowling tournament this Sunday.
24D: "I'm sorry, Dave" speaker of sci-fi: HAL. I guessed. From "2001".
27D: Jackson and Reno: JANETS. Leigh too.
30D: Was mentioned: CAME UP. Buckeye's name was mentioned /CAME UP during our discussions several days ago.
35D: Critic of the selfless: CYNIC
37D: Lakers coach who trademarked the term "three-peat": PAT RILEY. No idea. The only LA Lakers coach I know is the Zen master Phil Jackson. PAT RILEY led Miami Heat to NBA Championship in 2006.
42D: Thesaurus wd.: SYN
43D: Maker of Lipitor and Celebrex: PFIZER. Nailed it. We once owned some PFIZER stocks. "Maker of Viagra" as well.
44D: Con __: ARTIST
45D: Old cash register key: NO SALE. I learned this button from doing Xword. Don't know what's it really for.
49D: Words from one who's defeated: I LOSE. Grammatically it should be "I LOST", correct?
55D: "Young Frankenstein" role: IGOR. Sometimes it's YGOR.
56D: Knock silly: DAZE
58D: Pic taker: CAM. Is CAM here short for "camera" or "webcam"?
60D: Singing syllable: TRA. TRA La-la.
61D: It's over your head: SKY. Ah, got it this time.
Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of our fellow solver Sallie in her living room. Sallie loves opera, reading and traveling.
I am having problem uploading Answer Grid this morning. Just pop into the Comments section and ask if you need help.
C.C.
17A: Pleased plus: TICKLED PINK (She used to sport pink colored hair. Love her "Get the Party Started".)
25A: Piece of royal wealth: CROWN JEWEL (She grew up in Alaska. Her husband is rodeo cowboy Ty Murray.)
36A: Official corporate stock imprint: COMPANY SEAL (He is married to supermodel Heidi Klum.)
46A: Kiss seeker in a fairy tale: FROG PRINCE (The pride of Minnesota. "Purple Rain".)
Two female singers, two male singers, nicely balanced.
I had trouble understanding the clue for the tie-in answer CLOSING ACTS. The theme did not come to me readily at all.
I don't understand why LA Times & NY Times do not title their puzzles. Sam's draft of gridding SINGERS (clued as "People found at the ends of 17-, 25-, 36- and 48-Across) at the very center of the puzzle as a unifying answer and Closing Acts as title would be much easier for me to grok.
Quite a scrabbly puzzle, with 3 Z's, 1 J and several K'.
Across:
1A: Make like: MIMIC. Thought of CLONE.
6A: Biblical king and a captain: AHABS. Captain AHAB, "Moby Dick".
11A: Spoil the finish of: MAR. The PGA Championship ending was just perfect, unlike the British Open when everyone was rooting for Tom Watson.
14A: Long operatic solo: SCENA. I forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before. Just Italian for "scene", an extended operatic vocal solo, usually including an aria and a recitative, according to the dictionary.
15A: Gouged-out fairway piece: DIVOT. The piece of turf golfers "gouge out" when hitting their balls in the fairway.
16A: Bad way to go?: APE. Go APE. I was stumped. Great clue.
19A: Shear (off): LOP. Wrote down RID first.
20A: Song from a choir: HYMN
21A: Shade of green: PEA
28A: Slap cuffs on: MANACLE . Shackle also has 7 letters.
31A: Slapstick actors, e.g.: ZANIES. Like those Marx Brothers.
32A: __ coin: decide randomly: FLIP A. This kind of fill is called partial phrase. It's different from multiple word fill like SEE RED because it's not self-sustaining, a la Rich Norris.
33A: Take back: RECANT. Obama did not officially RECANT his "acted stupidly" statement, did he?
39A: Draw support from: LEAN ON
40A: Spots on the tube: TV ADS. Yep, this simple multiple word got me again.
43A: Prove successful: PAN OUT
46A: "My bad": I'M SORRY. And APOLOGY (29D: 46-Across, e.g.). I love cross-references.
53A: UN workers' rights gp.: ILO (International Labor Organization). They were awarded Nobel Peace in 1969.
54A: Man Friday, e.g.: AIDE. Man Friday in Robinson Crusoe's AIDE.
57A: New Mexico tribe with a Sun symbol: ZIA. No idea. The ZIA Sun symbol is featured in New Mexico state flag.
62A: Night school subj.: ESL (English as a Second Language). No problem for an immigrant like me.
63A: Group of gods ruled by Odin: AESIR. Stymied again. I can never remember this name. They lived in Asgard. Both words are rooted in old Norse āss, meaning "god".
64A: Arkansas city: OZARK. Obtained the answer from Down fills. What is this city famous for?
67A: Make good on: REPAY
Down:
1D: Yr.-round setting in most of Arizona: MST (Mountain Standard Time). Because most of Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
2D: Here, to Henri: ICI. Vous êtes ICI (You are here). Great picnic spot at Jardin du Luxembourg.
3D: Tuning pro: MECHANIC. Misread the clue as "Turning pro".
4D: Like an octopus' defense: INKY. Octopuses expel ink when facing predators.
5D: Devoid of wind: CALM
6D: Recipe verb: ADD. I am going to try Barb B's "Crazy for Coconut Balm" (12:35pm post in yesterday's Comments). Sounds so simple.
7D: African heavyweight: HIPPO. Heavyweight indeed, more than 3,000 lbs. They are vegetarians, right?
8D: Miller's "__ From the Bridge": A VIEW. Nope. Have never heard of this Arthur Miller play. The second partial in the grid.
9D: Forty-niners' strikes: BONANZAS. NFL's San Francisco 49ers is named after those gold prospectors who came to California around 1849 during the Gold Rush.
10D: Wall St. buy: STK (Stock). I'm used to the answer SHR (Share). Another Wall St. reference is LARGE CAP (38D: Mutual fund designation).
11D: Mozambique neighbor: MALAWI. Madonna puts this landlocked country on the map by adopting 2 kids from there. English is their official language.
12D: Orbital point: APOGEE. Opposite perigee.
13D: Wards off: REPELS
18D: Something sent with a ltr.: ENCL
22D: Peso fraction: CENTAVO
23D: Big letters in bowling equipment: AMF (American Machinery and Foundry). Competitor of Brunswick. My husband is going to have his first bowling tournament this Sunday.
24D: "I'm sorry, Dave" speaker of sci-fi: HAL. I guessed. From "2001".
27D: Jackson and Reno: JANETS. Leigh too.
30D: Was mentioned: CAME UP. Buckeye's name was mentioned /CAME UP during our discussions several days ago.
35D: Critic of the selfless: CYNIC
37D: Lakers coach who trademarked the term "three-peat": PAT RILEY. No idea. The only LA Lakers coach I know is the Zen master Phil Jackson. PAT RILEY led Miami Heat to NBA Championship in 2006.
42D: Thesaurus wd.: SYN
43D: Maker of Lipitor and Celebrex: PFIZER. Nailed it. We once owned some PFIZER stocks. "Maker of Viagra" as well.
44D: Con __: ARTIST
45D: Old cash register key: NO SALE. I learned this button from doing Xword. Don't know what's it really for.
49D: Words from one who's defeated: I LOSE. Grammatically it should be "I LOST", correct?
55D: "Young Frankenstein" role: IGOR. Sometimes it's YGOR.
56D: Knock silly: DAZE
58D: Pic taker: CAM. Is CAM here short for "camera" or "webcam"?
60D: Singing syllable: TRA. TRA La-la.
61D: It's over your head: SKY. Ah, got it this time.
Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of our fellow solver Sallie in her living room. Sallie loves opera, reading and traveling.
I am having problem uploading Answer Grid this morning. Just pop into the Comments section and ask if you need help.
C.C.
