The six (!) theme entries all have four A's and no other vowels. If I was playing poker and I find four Aces in my hand, I'm shoving all my chips into the middle - it's unbeatable!
17A. *Largest port in NW Africa : CASABLANCA. Timely nod to the winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1942
24A. *Warrior's cry : ATTACK! ATTACK! Enough to make me turn and run the other way.
32A. *Picnic side dish : PASTA SALAD Food! The best pasta salads never seem to have anything green in them beyond a few basil leaves for garnish and maybe some pesto.
42A. *Knocking sound : RAT-A-TAT-TAT. Nice pairing with 24A - the sound of automatic weaponry or spear on shield. Again, I'm hightailing it.
51A. *Delighted : HAPPY AS A CLAM. My friend Heidi always finishes off this phrase with "..sitting in the sand where no-one's digging". That's one happy clam.
60A. *Island nation in the Indian Ocean : MADAGASCAR. One of the more toe-curling moments in NBC's coverage of the opening ceremony in the 2012 Summer Olympics was Matt Lauer opining that "[Madagascar]" (is) "a location indelibly associated with a couple of recent animated movies", and that was ALL he had to say.
And the unifier:
69A. Incursions ... or, phonetically, what the answers to starred clues contain : FORAYS
The fill had some good stuff, so let's go see what else is out there.
Across:
1. Not interesting : JEJUNE. I resolve to use this word in conversation tomorrow.
7. Real heel : CAD
10. German exports : BMWs. Because "Bayerische Motoren Werke" won't fit around that little blue and white badge.
14. Beaucoup : A LOT OF. Shouldn't the answer be French? "Un buquetload de" or something?
15. Eight-time Norris Trophy winner : ORR. Bobby, Hockey Hall-of-Famer. The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to the best defensive player in the NHL.
16. Bit attachment : REIN
19. "Black Beauty" author Sewell : ANNA. Well known in the UK - not so well-known here?
20. Metric distances: Abbr. : KMs One kilometer is one ten-thousandth of the distance between the equator and the north pole.
21. Athos, to Porthos : AMI. French day today, mes amis - I mean - my friends.
22. Word with dark or gray : MATTER. Or my hair, which went from one to the other.
27. Hersey novel setting : ADANO. Crosses all the way for this one - totally unknown to me.
30. Rob Roy's refusal : NAE. Scottish horses say this a lot.
31. Four-time Grammy winner Lovett : LYLE
35. 23-Down's div. : N.L.E. This would be the National League East, home of the Atlanta Braves.
37. As found : IN SITU
38. Pupil surrounder : AREOLA. Stop the schoolboy snickering back there, will you?
41. Ft. Worth campus : TCU. Texas Christian University. I don't punctuate college abbreviations with periods, it seems superfluous.
46. Australian six-footers : EMUs. I had ROOs first. They're about 6ft tall too.
49. Punching tool : AWL
50. "SNL" alum Mike : MYERS
54. Animals who like to float on their back : OTTERS
55. Female hare : DOE
56. "Hardly!" : NOT!
59. Violin holder : CHIN. I tried to make "CASE" work at first. Not good.
64. A sweatshirt may have one : HOOD. In which case it's called a "hoodie" nowadays, I believe.
65. Rocker Rose : AXL. Oh Lordy. More schoolboy sniggering at the back. Presenting Axl Rose to a group of anagram-minded folk is not going to get us anywhere G-rated.
66. Sedative : OPIATE
67. Overnight lodging choices : INNS
68. Low grade : DEE
Down:
1. With 2-Down, "Rio Lobo" actor : JACK. Never knew ..
2. See 1-Down : ELAM .. his name
.. until now
3. __ stick: incense : JOSS
4. Hagen often mentioned on "Inside the Actors Studio" : UTA.
5. Head, slangily : NOB. I've never used this outside of a cribbage game.
6. Key of Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto : E FLAT. Major or Minor? I'm sure our erudite musical experts can enlighten me.
7. Funnel-shaped : CONICAL
8. Compass-aided curve : ARC. Ah, the joys of grade school geometry, where they allowed you to carry a sharp implement to stab the person next to you in the kneecap (that hurt the most) before going back to proscribing your arcs. Happy days.
9. Pulitzer category : DRAMA
10. Like a spoiled kid, often : BRATTY. Compass-wielding ones especially.
11. Unwritten reminder : MENTAL NOTE. I lose mental notes, that's why I write 'em down.
12. Cab storage site : WINE CELLAR. Hmmm - has "Cab" attained "not an abbreviation" status? I liked the misdirection here, notwithstanding.
13. Hunted Carroll creature : SNARK. This is a great, fun, nonsense poem that's worth checking out if it's new to you. Wonderful word-invention along the "Jabberwocky" lines.
18. Microwave maker : AMANA
23. Braves, on scoreboards : ATL. Those NL Easters from 35A.
24. Against : ANTI
25. Exactly : TO A "T"
26. Mauna __ : KEA. I was in Hawaii last week. I climbed a part of Haleakala, but not this volcano.
27. "Whoso diggeth __ shall fall therein": Proverbs : A PIT
28. Fundraiser with steps? : DANCE-A-THON.
29. Thing taken for granted : ASSUMPTION
33. California's Big __ : SUR. I think it's more long than big, but it's a beautiful road trip whichever direction you look at it.
34. Not dis? : DAT. I loved this little gem.
36. Chow : EATS. I looked sideways at this for a little while, and then realized that "eats" is singular, as in "good eats".
39. Avatar of Vishnu : RAMA. I just read "Midnight's Children", so thankful for this as I couldn't get the Mike MYERS entry crossing it.
40. Wd. derivation : ETYM. Etymology, not to be confused with entomology.
43. Some Duracells : AAs
44. Silly talk : TWADDLE
45. Foil maker : ALCOA
47. Capsizes : UPENDS. My boss had his boat capsized by some Australians that borrowed it to race in the America's Cup. It didn't end well.
48. Neighbor of Isr. : SYR. Syria is a friendly old country, it is neighbors with Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan as well as Israel. Keep baking those "welcome to the neighborhood" apple falafels!
51. __ Minh : HO CHI.
52. Comparable to a March hare : AS MAD. Hatters and Hares - what's with those H's to make you crazy?
53. Words with lamb or mutton : LEG OF. Food! My favorite roast.
56. School sports org. : N.C.A.A. You'd think the National Collegiate Athletic Association would try to come up with something shorter by now. Or maybe that's the point - you get a workout just typing the name.
57. Like Cheerios : OATY
58. Half of seis : TRES
61. Fire truck item : AXE. Because "Dalmatian" doesn't fit.
62. G.I.'s mail drop : A.P.O. Army Post Office, not Acute Pulmonary Odema in this context.
63. Paul McCartney, for one : SIR. Macca was knighted for "services in making the Liverpool accent intelligible and cool."
I appear to have run out of space, so I'd better call this a wrap. Have a great day and see you all next time.
Steve
Notes from C.C.:
Do any of you attend ACPT (American Crossword Puzzle
Tournament) this year? Rich Norris (editor for the LA Times Daily
Crossword) and many constructors (including our own John Lampkin) will
be there. If you do, I hope you won't miss the Cru Dinner organized by Mike Alpern. The dinner officially kicks off the tournament and is a great opportunity to meet with constructors and fellow solvers.
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| Kim (Rich's lovely wife), Mike & Rich, ACPT Cru Dinner 2011 |
