Theme: Perfection, or rather TEN (116D. Theme answer count, amount of letters in each, word hidden in each, and, when repeated twice, today's date. ) - Multi-layered theme: Total 10 theme answers, each 10-letter long, with TEN spanning across, and the puzzle appears on 10/10/10.
22A. Audible sleep aid : WHITE NOISE. I need total silence.
24A. Stadium ticket datum : GATE NUMBER. Target Field has a Gate 34 in honor Kirby Puckett.
43A. Hiker's snack : DATE NUT BAR. Trader Joe's Lara Bars are the best. Dates with raw cashews.
46A. It's transferred from iron to pants during pressing : HEAT ENERGY. We have several tricky "it", "they", "them" in the clues today.
67A. Barely sufficient : JUST ENOUGH
69A. You, to you, at times? : WORST ENEMY. Great clue.
83A. Warning sign : DO NOT ENTER
88A. On and on : WITHOUT END
112A. Agreed to a proposal : GOT ENGAGED. I came to the US on Fiancée Visa.
114A. Library reminder : LATE NOTICE
We also have another implied TEN:
86D. MLB post-season mo. : OCT. Twins are done! Incurable Inferiority Complex against the damn Yankees. Windhover said this started when they were still Washington Senators.
You'll notice that besides the theme entries (perfectly placed), none of the fill are 10-letter long. It's no accident. Also the left & right grid edge three-finger rather than our normal Sunday four-finger break-up gave us plenty of 7-letter entries. 18 in total. Quite a few eye-catching 9s and 8s as well.
There's always something extra in Don's puzzles. That in turn often presents a challenge to his theme choices and grid designs. He's not called "Hard G" for nothing. I've attached his notes on the puzzle at the end of my write-up.
Across:
1. They're in Vogue : POSES. Vogue magazine.
6. Figs. disclosed before closings : APRS. APR = Annual Percentage Rate. On your mortgage.
10. Alley-oop setups, in hoops : LOBS. A term in tennis and golf too.
14. Work on, as pipe bowl ash : TAMP. What is "pipe bowl ash"?
18. Sex appeal : OOMPH. Zippy clue.
19. Fifth-century pope known as "the Great" : LEO I. Educated guess on I. Can't be X or V.
20. "There's no step 3!" product : IMAC. Nice clue.
21. Chick on ivories : COREA. Jazz great Chick Corea.
26. Wing : ELL
27. Trifle : SOU. As in "not worth a sou".
28. Kept sacred : ENSHRINED
30. Where __ at : IT'S
31. Singer Corinne Bailey et al. : RAES. Recognize her face when I googled.
33. Whole that's greater than the sum of its parts : GESTALT. Can you give me an example?
35. Be in a bee : SEW. Be in sewing bee.
36. Monthly exp. : UTIL
37. Fill with joy : ELATE
39. Admonishing king? : TUT. King Tut. Nice clue too.
40. Aide: Abbr. : ASST
42. "Me, Myself & __": 2000 film : IRENE
49. "Wait __!" : A SEC
50. All-inclusive : A TO Z
52. An atheist can't be one : ELK. The Elks. I was unaware of this fact. They are not all-inclusive then.
53. Strikebreakers : SCABS
56. Emmy-winning legal drama : LA LAW
58. Kid who moves a lot : ARMY BRAT. Great "moves", more deceptive than "travels".
63. One bit : AT ALL.
64. Gets twisted : WARPS
65. Cries of disgust : FIES.
66. Miscellany : OLIO
71. With the bow, in music : ARCO. Learned from doing Xword.
72. Approximately : OR SO
73. __-ling : DING A. And BONER (59. Blunder). Tee hee.
74. Nods, often : YESES
75. Dec. purchase : XMAS TREE. Hmm, not so far away.
77. "The vine that ate the South" : KUDZU
78. Brusque : TERSE
79. It may need a boost : EGO. Nailed it.
80. Bindle carrier : HOBO
81. Meteor tail? : ITIC. Meteoritic. How is it different than meteoric?
94. In reserve : ON ICE
95. Sharpen : WHET
97. Ed.'s request : SAE. Self-Addressed Envelope.
98. "A __ this gout!": "Henry IV, Part 2" : POX ON. This clue is for Clear Ayes, who knows all the Shakespearean stuff.
99. Spinoff group : SECT
100. Two-piece piece : BRA. Ultra friendly letter combination, hence the frequent appearances in Xword.
102. Northern lights : AURORAS
105. Paper towel brand : VIVA
106. Consumed : ATE
107. 1960 chart topper with the line "Are you somewhere up above" : TEEN ANGEL. Here is the clip. Not in my knowledge zone.
109. Add (up) : TOT
111. Small songbird : TIT. Oh.
117. Wading bird : EGRET
118. __ insurance : TERM. Had trouble getting the answer.
119. Road for Tiberius : ITER. Roman "road".
120. Code carriers : GENES
121. Versatile beans : SOYS. Versatile indeed.
122. Union mem. since 2/14/1912 : ARIZ. Drew a blank, Lucina!
123. Disney no longer used them after "The Little Mermaid" : CELS. Good to know.
124. It can make your heart pound : ANGST
Down:
1. Turned on, with "up" : POWERED
2. "Tres chic!" : OOH LA LA
3. Graciously greet : SMILE AT
4. Able, facetiously : EPT. Like "apt"?
5. Ladies : SHES
6. Song pour les enfants : ALOUETTE. We just had this entry a week ago.
7. Architect I.M. : PEI. He's born in Guangzhou.
8. Stone home : ROSETTA
9. College near Albany : SIENA. Was ignorant of the Siena College. Catholic college named after St. Bernardino of Siena, a la Wiki.
10. Laser entertainment : LIGHT SHOW. Debut entry.
11. Actor Epps : OMAR
12. Leader overthrown by Castro : BATISTA
13. Part of an act : SCENE. Play act.
14. Kite on the links : TOM. Tom Kite. Very friendly in person.
15. Dispute settler : ARBITER. And MEETING (16. Dispute settler, perhaps). Clecho (clue echo).
17. Decorative herb : PARSLEY. Never developed a taste for parsley.
21. Cow's second helping? : CUD. Fun clue.
23. Yuletide quaff : NOG
25. Improved partner? : NEW. New and improved.
29. '70s extremist gp. : SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army)
32. Mont-__-Anne: Quebec resort : STE
34. Contract segment : SUBCLAUSE. Another fresh entry.
36. Rapt ending : URE. Rapture.
38. Make possible : ENABLE
41. "__ me!" : SEZ
42. Black : INKY
44. __ Enterprise : USS
45. Role for Jackie : RALPH. Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden on "The Honeymooners".
47. Brewer of song : TERESA. Another alien character to me. She looks pretty.
48. Horror film locale: Abbr. : ELM ST.
51. Brits' thank-yous : TAS. Don't know this slang.
53. __ und Drang : STURM. Spitzboov likes to use this term.
54. Ides assassin : CASCA. Could only think of Brutus.
55. Some choirboys : ALTOS
57. Ship that survived the Clashing Rocks : ARGO. I've forgotten most of the scenes in "Jason and the Argonauts".
58. Instrument that's not seen and not heard : AIR GUITAR. Awesome clue/answer.
60. Like "park the car," to a New Englander? : R LESS. Got me again.
61. Songstress Mann : AIMEE. Nope. Mystery figure to me.
62. Fisher Price products : TOYS
63. Achilles' cousin : AJAX
64. Passed tediously : WORE ON
65. Cool sitcom guy : FONZ. "Happy Days".
68. Krone-issuing land, to natives : NORGE. Norwegian name for Norway.
69. Black __ spider : WIDOW
70. Ocular washing aid : EYE CUP. Have never heard of eye cup.
73. Do a film editing job : DUB
76. Tours head? : TETE. French for "head". The city Tours.
77. 155-mi. Asian strip that intersects the 38th parallel : KOREAN DMZ. Gorgeous entry. Crazy NDMZ cluster.
78. Sonora uncle : TIO
80. [I'm so clever] : HEH. Yes, you are!
82. Broadway array : THEATERS
83. Prescribed amounts : DOSAGES
84. Takeout order : ONE TO GO
85. "You gave it a shot!" : NICE TRY. Oui, oui!
87. Banjoist, e.g. : TWANGER. I suppose so.
89. Set apart from the rest : ISOLATE
90. "Mazel __!" : TOV. For Hahtool.
91. On the way out : EXITING
92. They're new at it : NOVICES. Tyros.
93. "CSI" procedure : DNA TEST
96. Act of war? : TUG. Tug of War.
100. More than ask : BEG
101. Rodeo rope : REATA. Or RIATA.
103. Valued old item : RELIC
104. Small business successor, maybe : SON. True.
107. Boom letters? : TNT
108. Atmosphere: Pref. : AERI. Wanted AERO.
110. Loose garment : TOGA
113. Some Caltech grads : EES. Electrical Engineers.
115. Business card abbr. : TEL.
Answer grid.
Notes from the constructor:
"At the beginning of this year, I noticed that the tenth of the month was followed by the ten of 2010 when a date is written. I realized that October would be especially significant, being 10/10/10. There had to be a puzzle in that! The only theme I could think of was to have ten be buried in the answers. Then I realized I could imitate the date, and have the answer be ten letters long, and have ten answers, three TENS (a trifecta?) It sounded challenging, but I thought with common letters like T E N it would be doable. I did come up with at least ten phrases, and I believe a couple were weak. I got great assistance from Rich who cinched it with the final ten-letter phrase.
When designing and filling the grid, it seemed natural to simply place the theme answers side by side and spread them out evenly over the grid to allow for the best chance at filling it in. I also had the advantage that I could move the theme answers around a great deal to find the best combinations. In fact, it drove me crazy that I had so many options to try different combinations. I am certain I could have done better given enough time! As it was, filling this grid was quite a challenge. To make certain that the solver understands what is going on, I had to have TEN appear in the grid, which further added to the challenge."
C.C.
22A. Audible sleep aid : WHITE NOISE. I need total silence.
24A. Stadium ticket datum : GATE NUMBER. Target Field has a Gate 34 in honor Kirby Puckett.
43A. Hiker's snack : DATE NUT BAR. Trader Joe's Lara Bars are the best. Dates with raw cashews.
46A. It's transferred from iron to pants during pressing : HEAT ENERGY. We have several tricky "it", "they", "them" in the clues today.
67A. Barely sufficient : JUST ENOUGH
69A. You, to you, at times? : WORST ENEMY. Great clue.
83A. Warning sign : DO NOT ENTER
88A. On and on : WITHOUT END
112A. Agreed to a proposal : GOT ENGAGED. I came to the US on Fiancée Visa.
114A. Library reminder : LATE NOTICE
We also have another implied TEN:
86D. MLB post-season mo. : OCT. Twins are done! Incurable Inferiority Complex against the damn Yankees. Windhover said this started when they were still Washington Senators.
You'll notice that besides the theme entries (perfectly placed), none of the fill are 10-letter long. It's no accident. Also the left & right grid edge three-finger rather than our normal Sunday four-finger break-up gave us plenty of 7-letter entries. 18 in total. Quite a few eye-catching 9s and 8s as well.
There's always something extra in Don's puzzles. That in turn often presents a challenge to his theme choices and grid designs. He's not called "Hard G" for nothing. I've attached his notes on the puzzle at the end of my write-up.
Across:
1. They're in Vogue : POSES. Vogue magazine.
6. Figs. disclosed before closings : APRS. APR = Annual Percentage Rate. On your mortgage.
10. Alley-oop setups, in hoops : LOBS. A term in tennis and golf too.
14. Work on, as pipe bowl ash : TAMP. What is "pipe bowl ash"?
18. Sex appeal : OOMPH. Zippy clue.
19. Fifth-century pope known as "the Great" : LEO I. Educated guess on I. Can't be X or V.
20. "There's no step 3!" product : IMAC. Nice clue.
21. Chick on ivories : COREA. Jazz great Chick Corea.
26. Wing : ELL
27. Trifle : SOU. As in "not worth a sou".
28. Kept sacred : ENSHRINED
30. Where __ at : IT'S
31. Singer Corinne Bailey et al. : RAES. Recognize her face when I googled.
33. Whole that's greater than the sum of its parts : GESTALT. Can you give me an example?
35. Be in a bee : SEW. Be in sewing bee.
36. Monthly exp. : UTIL
37. Fill with joy : ELATE
39. Admonishing king? : TUT. King Tut. Nice clue too.
40. Aide: Abbr. : ASST
42. "Me, Myself & __": 2000 film : IRENE
49. "Wait __!" : A SEC
50. All-inclusive : A TO Z
52. An atheist can't be one : ELK. The Elks. I was unaware of this fact. They are not all-inclusive then.
53. Strikebreakers : SCABS
56. Emmy-winning legal drama : LA LAW
58. Kid who moves a lot : ARMY BRAT. Great "moves", more deceptive than "travels".
63. One bit : AT ALL.
64. Gets twisted : WARPS
65. Cries of disgust : FIES.
66. Miscellany : OLIO
71. With the bow, in music : ARCO. Learned from doing Xword.
72. Approximately : OR SO
73. __-ling : DING A. And BONER (59. Blunder). Tee hee.
74. Nods, often : YESES
75. Dec. purchase : XMAS TREE. Hmm, not so far away.
77. "The vine that ate the South" : KUDZU
78. Brusque : TERSE
79. It may need a boost : EGO. Nailed it.
80. Bindle carrier : HOBO
81. Meteor tail? : ITIC. Meteoritic. How is it different than meteoric?
94. In reserve : ON ICE
95. Sharpen : WHET
97. Ed.'s request : SAE. Self-Addressed Envelope.
98. "A __ this gout!": "Henry IV, Part 2" : POX ON. This clue is for Clear Ayes, who knows all the Shakespearean stuff.
99. Spinoff group : SECT
100. Two-piece piece : BRA. Ultra friendly letter combination, hence the frequent appearances in Xword.
102. Northern lights : AURORAS
105. Paper towel brand : VIVA
106. Consumed : ATE
107. 1960 chart topper with the line "Are you somewhere up above" : TEEN ANGEL. Here is the clip. Not in my knowledge zone.
109. Add (up) : TOT
111. Small songbird : TIT. Oh.
117. Wading bird : EGRET
118. __ insurance : TERM. Had trouble getting the answer.
119. Road for Tiberius : ITER. Roman "road".
120. Code carriers : GENES
121. Versatile beans : SOYS. Versatile indeed.
122. Union mem. since 2/14/1912 : ARIZ. Drew a blank, Lucina!
123. Disney no longer used them after "The Little Mermaid" : CELS. Good to know.
124. It can make your heart pound : ANGST
Down:
1. Turned on, with "up" : POWERED
2. "Tres chic!" : OOH LA LA
3. Graciously greet : SMILE AT
4. Able, facetiously : EPT. Like "apt"?
5. Ladies : SHES
6. Song pour les enfants : ALOUETTE. We just had this entry a week ago.
7. Architect I.M. : PEI. He's born in Guangzhou.
8. Stone home : ROSETTA
9. College near Albany : SIENA. Was ignorant of the Siena College. Catholic college named after St. Bernardino of Siena, a la Wiki.
10. Laser entertainment : LIGHT SHOW. Debut entry.
11. Actor Epps : OMAR
12. Leader overthrown by Castro : BATISTA
13. Part of an act : SCENE. Play act.
14. Kite on the links : TOM. Tom Kite. Very friendly in person.
15. Dispute settler : ARBITER. And MEETING (16. Dispute settler, perhaps). Clecho (clue echo).
17. Decorative herb : PARSLEY. Never developed a taste for parsley.
21. Cow's second helping? : CUD. Fun clue.
23. Yuletide quaff : NOG
25. Improved partner? : NEW. New and improved.
29. '70s extremist gp. : SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army)
32. Mont-__-Anne: Quebec resort : STE
34. Contract segment : SUBCLAUSE. Another fresh entry.
36. Rapt ending : URE. Rapture.
38. Make possible : ENABLE
41. "__ me!" : SEZ
42. Black : INKY
44. __ Enterprise : USS
45. Role for Jackie : RALPH. Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden on "The Honeymooners".
47. Brewer of song : TERESA. Another alien character to me. She looks pretty.
48. Horror film locale: Abbr. : ELM ST.
51. Brits' thank-yous : TAS. Don't know this slang.
53. __ und Drang : STURM. Spitzboov likes to use this term.
54. Ides assassin : CASCA. Could only think of Brutus.
55. Some choirboys : ALTOS
57. Ship that survived the Clashing Rocks : ARGO. I've forgotten most of the scenes in "Jason and the Argonauts".
58. Instrument that's not seen and not heard : AIR GUITAR. Awesome clue/answer.
60. Like "park the car," to a New Englander? : R LESS. Got me again.
61. Songstress Mann : AIMEE. Nope. Mystery figure to me.
62. Fisher Price products : TOYS
63. Achilles' cousin : AJAX
64. Passed tediously : WORE ON
65. Cool sitcom guy : FONZ. "Happy Days".
68. Krone-issuing land, to natives : NORGE. Norwegian name for Norway.
69. Black __ spider : WIDOW
70. Ocular washing aid : EYE CUP. Have never heard of eye cup.
73. Do a film editing job : DUB
76. Tours head? : TETE. French for "head". The city Tours.
77. 155-mi. Asian strip that intersects the 38th parallel : KOREAN DMZ. Gorgeous entry. Crazy NDMZ cluster.
78. Sonora uncle : TIO
80. [I'm so clever] : HEH. Yes, you are!
82. Broadway array : THEATERS
83. Prescribed amounts : DOSAGES
84. Takeout order : ONE TO GO
85. "You gave it a shot!" : NICE TRY. Oui, oui!
87. Banjoist, e.g. : TWANGER. I suppose so.
89. Set apart from the rest : ISOLATE
90. "Mazel __!" : TOV. For Hahtool.
91. On the way out : EXITING
92. They're new at it : NOVICES. Tyros.
93. "CSI" procedure : DNA TEST
96. Act of war? : TUG. Tug of War.
100. More than ask : BEG
101. Rodeo rope : REATA. Or RIATA.
103. Valued old item : RELIC
104. Small business successor, maybe : SON. True.
107. Boom letters? : TNT
108. Atmosphere: Pref. : AERI. Wanted AERO.
110. Loose garment : TOGA
113. Some Caltech grads : EES. Electrical Engineers.
115. Business card abbr. : TEL.
Answer grid.
Notes from the constructor:
"At the beginning of this year, I noticed that the tenth of the month was followed by the ten of 2010 when a date is written. I realized that October would be especially significant, being 10/10/10. There had to be a puzzle in that! The only theme I could think of was to have ten be buried in the answers. Then I realized I could imitate the date, and have the answer be ten letters long, and have ten answers, three TENS (a trifecta?) It sounded challenging, but I thought with common letters like T E N it would be doable. I did come up with at least ten phrases, and I believe a couple were weak. I got great assistance from Rich who cinched it with the final ten-letter phrase.
When designing and filling the grid, it seemed natural to simply place the theme answers side by side and spread them out evenly over the grid to allow for the best chance at filling it in. I also had the advantage that I could move the theme answers around a great deal to find the best combinations. In fact, it drove me crazy that I had so many options to try different combinations. I am certain I could have done better given enough time! As it was, filling this grid was quite a challenge. To make certain that the solver understands what is going on, I had to have TEN appear in the grid, which further added to the challenge."
C.C.
