Theme: Nine to One - Six theme-answer nine-letter words, each of which is only a single syllable. Not to mention a pair of eleven-letter unifiers. This brilliant puzzle isn't typical Dan Naddor. It's not typical of anyone or anything. It is special, unique, exquisite, and technically awesome.
23A. *Poker holdings : STRAIGHTS. This is a holding of five cards in sequence, such as 8, 9, 10, J, Q, irrespective of suite.
31A. *Subdued : SQUELCHED. To squeeze, squash and crush something, often before it gets a chance to start moving - nip in the bud.
38A. *Prepared to jog : STRETCHED. Gave the muscles a gentle warm up. Athletes should do this, and musicians, too.
45A. *Stained : SPLOTCHED. A splotch is an irregularly shaped spot, stain or discolored area. Rather an ugly word, I think.
11D. *Pocketed the cue ball : SCRATCHED. Actually, SCRATCH refers to a variety of fouls in cue-sports. This clue is just one case.
30D. *Fortes : STRENGTHS. The word forte, meaning strength, comes to us from Latin, via old French. This puzzle shows us Dan's fortes. All the theme answers start with "S." This & 23A are the only ones to not end in "ED."
And the unifiers:
17A. Feature of the answers to starred clues : NINE LETTERS
55A. Feature of the answers to starred clues : ONE SYLLABLE
Hi gang, It's JzB your humble trombonist, who was lucky enough to finish off a truly wonderful day with this great Dan Naddor offering. The grid looks like a Saturday themeless, but I don't recall ever seeing a weekday puzzle with so much thematic density. Also, four additional 9-letter words in the fill, along with five 7's. Yikes! Of course, this caused a large number of 3 and 4 letter answers. Still the average length is 5.22, which is between Thursday and Friday average.
Across:
1. Sierra Nevada resort : TAHOE. On Crystal bay, near the CA border.
6. Like some checking accounts : NO FEE. One more reason to love my Credit Union.
11. Scand. land : SWE Sweden. Abrv in cl & ans.
14. Observe Yom Kippur : ATONE. Yom Kippur is the Jewish day of ATONEMENT. I'll let one of our resident experts elaborate.
15. Neptune's realm : OCEAN. Neptune is the god of the sea.
16. When repeated, a Latin dance : CHA. Better than "half a dance" I suppose.
19. Children's author/illustrator Asquith : ROS. Unknown to me. You can read about her here.
20. Icky stuff : GLOP.
21. Common flashlight power source : C CELL. Batteries.
22. Endure : LAST Energizer bunnie batteries.
25. Actor Dillon et al. : MATTS. Let's see -- Damon, Smith, Bomer, plus the guys who play bass trombone and tuba in the symphony with me.
26. Hwys. : RDS. I'll take the highway, you take the road, and I'll get to the welcome mat afore ye!
27. Chinese discipline : TAI CHI. There's more to this than just hand-waving. Actually, a lot of body control - a bit like ballet in slow motion. And I love that pink outfit.
28. Cut's partner : PASTE. Word processing.
34. First N.L. 500 home run club member : OTT. Our most likely baseball player shows up with a new fact. I did not know that!
35. Indictment : ACCUSAL. A little legal help, please.
37. "__ pales in Heaven the morning star": Lowell : ERE. The opening line of PHOEBE by James Russell Lowell.
40. Less refined : RUDER.
42. Degree requirements, at times : THESES. The plural of THESIS, a requirement for an advanced degree. To be more refined, I will eschew repeating what said about this word the other day.
43. Convert to leather, as a hide : TAN. Did your parents ever threaten to TAN your hide?
44. Minor cost component : CENTS. Minor parts of U.S.D.
51. Ship of Greek myth : ARGO. I believe it had starched sails. Jason and the Argonauts went on a quest for gold and got fleeced.
52. European toast : SKOAL. Skandinavian - from the Old Norse word for a drinking bowl. Not to be confused with a French toast.
53. Fit : HALE. HALE and hearty. Not to be confused with Laurel and hearty.
54. Living in Fla., maybe : RET. I, OTOH, am RET in MI.
57. Morse unit : DAH. I thought Morse Code was dots and dashes, so this gave me a bit of a pause.
58. Racket : NOISE. The loud sound of a fuzzy ball hitting STRETCHED threads is the tennis racket.
59. More repulsive : VILER. Like some of my attempted humor
60. Many IRA payees : SRS. Only the ones who are RET.
61. Landlord : OWNER.
62. Really dumb : INANE. Like some of my attempted humor.
Down:
1. Zesty flavors : TANGS
2. Leaning : ATILT
3. __ society : HONOR. For the best students.
4. Cocktail preparation phrase : ONE PART. That's the Vermouth. Add to four parts London Dry Gin. Swirl with ice. Pour over skewered olives in a stemmed, slant-sided glass. I suppose other garnishes are optional.
5. Sushi fish : EEL. I'll pass, thank you.
6. Tally symbol : NOTCH. As on bedposts or belt buckles?
7. Large wedding band : OCTET. Here is an example.
9. Viscount's superior : EARL. This rank in the British peerage was first noted in 1440. It was intended to not be hereditary, but nepotism is an awesome force. A baron ranks lower.
10. One-third of ninety? : ENS. Two ENS in six letters.
12. Obligatory joke response : WHO'S THERE? Knock-knock. WHO'S THERE? Banana . . (Does anyone remember elephant jokes?)
13. Park Avenue resident, e.g. : EAST-SIDER. New York City, I guess. I'm from the East Side of Toledo, which has Zero cachet.
18. ER tests : ECGS. Electrocardiograms, aka EKGs.
22. Secular : LAIC. Of or relating to the laity, those not of the clergy.
24. Imagines : IDEATES. Think about it.
25. Young food court loiterer : MALL RAT. Here's the trailer.
27. Afternoon service : TEA. And the perfect way to celebrate your unbirthday - if you're not RUDER than an intruder.
28. Gift shop items on a rotating stand : POSTCARDS. Very true. Dan got me here.
29. Where to see a caboose : AT THE REAR. Of a train, sometimes. Here is Loose Caboose a CHA-CHA by Henry Mancini, from Breakfast at Tiffany's - still my all time favorite movie score album. Great trombone solo by Dick Nash. The movie itself was 11 kinds of horrible, the lovely Audrey Hepburn not withstanding.
31. USC or NYU : SCH. Of course, I entered Col. Four Yrs after I entered Col, I was a grad.
32. Prov. on James Bay : QUE. QUEBEC. This is the FR spkg pt of Can.
33. Amer. currency : USD. U.S. Dollars, for those who have the sense.
36. IV units : CCS. Cubic centimeters, a measurement of volume.
39. __ perpetua: Idaho's motto : ESTO. I believe this means "Potatoes forever!"
41. "__ My Heart": 1962 #1 R&B hit for Ray Charles : UNCHAIN. Baby, let me go!
43. Going rate? : TOLL. The fee to travel on a turnpike. This simple pun is an example of what makes Dan's puzzles so delightful. Cf 46 D.
45. Coil of yarn : SKEIN.
46. Western chasers : POSSE. Here they come. A group of insane clowns, perhaps? Cf 43D.
47. Ply : LAYER. I love those seven-ply cakes!
48. "¿__ usted español?" : HABLA. Do you speak Spanish?
49. Paula's "American Idol" replacement : ELLEN. I am proud to say I have NEVER wached it.
50. Steel plow developer : DEERE. Nothing plows like a DEERE!
52. Winter forecast : SNOW. Please, no more. I am SO tired of plowing.
55. John Lennon Museum founder : ONO. A different clue for Yoko. I didn't know there was a John Lennin Museum.
56. VII x VIII : LVI. Roman numeral math. I got it from the perps.
Great fun with this wonderful puzzle from Dan. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I even learned a few things, though I did not do the math.
Answer grid.
Cheers!
23A. *Poker holdings : STRAIGHTS. This is a holding of five cards in sequence, such as 8, 9, 10, J, Q, irrespective of suite.
31A. *Subdued : SQUELCHED. To squeeze, squash and crush something, often before it gets a chance to start moving - nip in the bud.
38A. *Prepared to jog : STRETCHED. Gave the muscles a gentle warm up. Athletes should do this, and musicians, too.
45A. *Stained : SPLOTCHED. A splotch is an irregularly shaped spot, stain or discolored area. Rather an ugly word, I think.
11D. *Pocketed the cue ball : SCRATCHED. Actually, SCRATCH refers to a variety of fouls in cue-sports. This clue is just one case.
30D. *Fortes : STRENGTHS. The word forte, meaning strength, comes to us from Latin, via old French. This puzzle shows us Dan's fortes. All the theme answers start with "S." This & 23A are the only ones to not end in "ED."
And the unifiers:
17A. Feature of the answers to starred clues : NINE LETTERS
55A. Feature of the answers to starred clues : ONE SYLLABLE
Hi gang, It's JzB your humble trombonist, who was lucky enough to finish off a truly wonderful day with this great Dan Naddor offering. The grid looks like a Saturday themeless, but I don't recall ever seeing a weekday puzzle with so much thematic density. Also, four additional 9-letter words in the fill, along with five 7's. Yikes! Of course, this caused a large number of 3 and 4 letter answers. Still the average length is 5.22, which is between Thursday and Friday average.
Across:
1. Sierra Nevada resort : TAHOE. On Crystal bay, near the CA border.
6. Like some checking accounts : NO FEE. One more reason to love my Credit Union.
11. Scand. land : SWE Sweden. Abrv in cl & ans.
14. Observe Yom Kippur : ATONE. Yom Kippur is the Jewish day of ATONEMENT. I'll let one of our resident experts elaborate.
15. Neptune's realm : OCEAN. Neptune is the god of the sea.
16. When repeated, a Latin dance : CHA. Better than "half a dance" I suppose.
19. Children's author/illustrator Asquith : ROS. Unknown to me. You can read about her here.
20. Icky stuff : GLOP.
21. Common flashlight power source : C CELL. Batteries.
22. Endure : LAST Energizer bunnie batteries.
25. Actor Dillon et al. : MATTS. Let's see -- Damon, Smith, Bomer, plus the guys who play bass trombone and tuba in the symphony with me.
26. Hwys. : RDS. I'll take the highway, you take the road, and I'll get to the welcome mat afore ye!
27. Chinese discipline : TAI CHI. There's more to this than just hand-waving. Actually, a lot of body control - a bit like ballet in slow motion. And I love that pink outfit.
28. Cut's partner : PASTE. Word processing.
34. First N.L. 500 home run club member : OTT. Our most likely baseball player shows up with a new fact. I did not know that!
35. Indictment : ACCUSAL. A little legal help, please.
37. "__ pales in Heaven the morning star": Lowell : ERE. The opening line of PHOEBE by James Russell Lowell.
40. Less refined : RUDER.
42. Degree requirements, at times : THESES. The plural of THESIS, a requirement for an advanced degree. To be more refined, I will eschew repeating what said about this word the other day.
43. Convert to leather, as a hide : TAN. Did your parents ever threaten to TAN your hide?
44. Minor cost component : CENTS. Minor parts of U.S.D.
51. Ship of Greek myth : ARGO. I believe it had starched sails. Jason and the Argonauts went on a quest for gold and got fleeced.
52. European toast : SKOAL. Skandinavian - from the Old Norse word for a drinking bowl. Not to be confused with a French toast.
53. Fit : HALE. HALE and hearty. Not to be confused with Laurel and hearty.
54. Living in Fla., maybe : RET. I, OTOH, am RET in MI.
57. Morse unit : DAH. I thought Morse Code was dots and dashes, so this gave me a bit of a pause.
58. Racket : NOISE. The loud sound of a fuzzy ball hitting STRETCHED threads is the tennis racket.
59. More repulsive : VILER. Like some of my attempted humor
60. Many IRA payees : SRS. Only the ones who are RET.
61. Landlord : OWNER.
62. Really dumb : INANE. Like some of my attempted humor.
Down:
1. Zesty flavors : TANGS
2. Leaning : ATILT
3. __ society : HONOR. For the best students.
4. Cocktail preparation phrase : ONE PART. That's the Vermouth. Add to four parts London Dry Gin. Swirl with ice. Pour over skewered olives in a stemmed, slant-sided glass. I suppose other garnishes are optional.
5. Sushi fish : EEL. I'll pass, thank you.
6. Tally symbol : NOTCH. As on bedposts or belt buckles?
7. Large wedding band : OCTET. Here is an example.
9. Viscount's superior : EARL. This rank in the British peerage was first noted in 1440. It was intended to not be hereditary, but nepotism is an awesome force. A baron ranks lower.
10. One-third of ninety? : ENS. Two ENS in six letters.
12. Obligatory joke response : WHO'S THERE? Knock-knock. WHO'S THERE? Banana . . (Does anyone remember elephant jokes?)
13. Park Avenue resident, e.g. : EAST-SIDER. New York City, I guess. I'm from the East Side of Toledo, which has Zero cachet.
18. ER tests : ECGS. Electrocardiograms, aka EKGs.
22. Secular : LAIC. Of or relating to the laity, those not of the clergy.
24. Imagines : IDEATES. Think about it.
25. Young food court loiterer : MALL RAT. Here's the trailer.
27. Afternoon service : TEA. And the perfect way to celebrate your unbirthday - if you're not RUDER than an intruder.
28. Gift shop items on a rotating stand : POSTCARDS. Very true. Dan got me here.
29. Where to see a caboose : AT THE REAR. Of a train, sometimes. Here is Loose Caboose a CHA-CHA by Henry Mancini, from Breakfast at Tiffany's - still my all time favorite movie score album. Great trombone solo by Dick Nash. The movie itself was 11 kinds of horrible, the lovely Audrey Hepburn not withstanding.
31. USC or NYU : SCH. Of course, I entered Col. Four Yrs after I entered Col, I was a grad.
32. Prov. on James Bay : QUE. QUEBEC. This is the FR spkg pt of Can.
33. Amer. currency : USD. U.S. Dollars, for those who have the sense.
36. IV units : CCS. Cubic centimeters, a measurement of volume.
39. __ perpetua: Idaho's motto : ESTO. I believe this means "Potatoes forever!"
41. "__ My Heart": 1962 #1 R&B hit for Ray Charles : UNCHAIN. Baby, let me go!
43. Going rate? : TOLL. The fee to travel on a turnpike. This simple pun is an example of what makes Dan's puzzles so delightful. Cf 46 D.
45. Coil of yarn : SKEIN.
46. Western chasers : POSSE. Here they come. A group of insane clowns, perhaps? Cf 43D.
47. Ply : LAYER. I love those seven-ply cakes!
48. "¿__ usted español?" : HABLA. Do you speak Spanish?
49. Paula's "American Idol" replacement : ELLEN. I am proud to say I have NEVER wached it.
50. Steel plow developer : DEERE. Nothing plows like a DEERE!
52. Winter forecast : SNOW. Please, no more. I am SO tired of plowing.
55. John Lennon Museum founder : ONO. A different clue for Yoko. I didn't know there was a John Lennin Museum.
56. VII x VIII : LVI. Roman numeral math. I got it from the perps.
Great fun with this wonderful puzzle from Dan. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I even learned a few things, though I did not do the math.
Answer grid.
Cheers!
JzB
