Theme: NONE
Another traumatizing experience! I guess my heart just does not belong to any themeless puzzle.
I was stumped from the very beginning of course. Barely heard of Greer Garson. In fact, I was thinking of Garson Kanin when I read the clue. So I jumped around like a squirrel this morning, darting from corner to corner searching for a nut. Never gained any foothold. I was also very bothered by the excessive amount of INGs in the clues/answers.
I think I floundered about 30 minutes, then I decided to quit and started googling. I would not even call today's solving experience as a rigorous workout. It feels like torture.
The author for today's puzzle is the guy who constructed the Going off half-cocked puzzle on March 9, which tormented me for a good 2 hours as I could not understand what's the relationship between the theme entries and the titled theme. I had no idea that "Going off half-cocked" means "act without thinking".
I kind of like today's wide-open grid, which almost mirrors Breward's Feb 23 puzzle. I think I would've enjoyed this puzzle if I were a better solver.
Across entries:
1A: Greer Garson classic: MRS. MINIVER. Garson won an Oscar for this movie.
11A: Low-ish card: TREY. Why ish?
15A: Bouffe: COMIC OPERA. No idea. Never knew that Bouffe has a Buffoon origin. I guess it makes sense now. Does anyone speak French here? Doesn't Bouffe mean 'grub"/"food" in French?
16A: Gambling mecca: RENO
17A: Chiquimula resident: GUATEMALAN. I am not familiar with South American countries. Now I am waiting for the diabolic editor to clue CHIQUIMULA as Guatemala city.
20A: Last of a collection?: ANA. Why? Why last?
21A: The Promised land: CANAAN
23A: Actor Erik: ESTRADA. I googled "Actor Erik", the first page that came up is all about Erik La Salle, who starred in ER. Estrada's mug looks familiar to me, so I must have googled him before. Famed for TV series CHiP.
26A: Hindu title: SRI. It's very fascinating to me that many languages put Sir, or Mr. in front of a name, including this Hindu title SRI. But in Chinese, we put Sir (先生) after the name, for example, we will call Mr. Warren Buffet as "Warren Buffet 先生". I guess Japanese is the same, you put San after some name, as in Ichiro-san.
28A: Campaign contributor: abbr: PAC (Political Action Committee). Remember Senator Rick Santorum (PA) used his PAC money to pay for his Starbucks ($558)?
31A: Hebrew letter: TSADI. Total stranger to me. It could be also spelled as SADHE, SADI, 18th letter of Hebrew alphabet. How many letters are in Hebrew alphabet?
34A: Hanging to one side: A-LOP. This is another ATIP for me. I hate this kind of made-up word more than any obscure actor/actress (dead or alive). Just tell me in which dictionary can I find this word, Mr. Breward? (Update: Feste found this world in the Oxford English Dictionary).
36A: Whimpers: MEWLS. Identical clue on this author's Feb 27 puzzle.
38A: Dunfermline dagger: SNEE. Yep, Keep camouflaging it. You can pick up the remotest town in Scotland and I will still get this word. I am not falling into your trap.
41A: Agave plant: SISAL. Have never heard of this word. Wanted YUCCA.
43A: Former 1/2 Country: GDR (German Democratic Republic - East Germany. Remember their secret police? STASI. West Germany is FRG (Federal Republican of Germany). The unification, oh, no, reunification took place in 1990. First Chancellor: Helmut Kohl. I never liked him.
44A: Maryland player: TERRAPIN. Got it this time.
48A: Type of general: ONE STAR. Just found out that Eric Shinseki was a 4-star general. I always thought he was a 3-star.
49A: Jurisprudence based on precedents: CASE LAW. I was intimidated by the clue. Jurisprudence sound as sophisticated as "Fiduciary duty" to me.
53A: Ethnic: RACIAL. Really? Are these two the same?
56A: Lawyers: abbr. ATTS. I put in ESQS first and I felt so smart for a while.
57A: Outmoded data storage: MICROFICHE. No idea. Here is the definition: "A flat sheet of microfilm in a form suitable for filing, typically measuring 4 by 6 in. (10 by 15 cm) and containing microreproductions, as of printed or graphic matter, in a grid pattern.".
61A: Stretching out: ELONGATION. It would really drive me bananas if the answer turned out to be ELONGATING.
63A: Again and again: REPEATEDLY
Down clues:
1D: "Fibber _ and Molly": MCGEE. Here is the information on this radio show. I would've penned in the answer easily if the clue were The Cremation of Sam ___.
3D: Brainy: SMART. I am NOT. So, anonymous @ 9:11pm March 21, please don't judge me by your standards. Walk in my shoes for 3 miles, then start opining your view. Don't rush into conclusion.
4D: Bishops' toppers: MITERS
6D: Wandering life: NOMADISM
7D: Toothpaste brand: IPANA. How quickly I forgot this name! It was on this constructor's March 9 puzzle.
8D: Constellation near Carina: VELA. Brutal clue. No idea.
10D: Deep-seated ill will: RANCOR. Stupid Arafat, he killed the Oslo Accord. Otherwise, the rancor would not run so deep today! History sometimes is really made by the whims of a few people.
11D: Crossings: TRANSITS
12D: Keeping: RETAINING. I would not type in (hence dignify) this word if not for the vexing ING.
13D: Twisted into a confusing mass: ENTANGLED. I am very confused. Can never tell what distinguishes tangle from entangle, untangle from disentangle.
14D: Kid: YOUNGSTER
25D: Calls a passing ship: HAILS. I put AHOYS first.
27D: Booth or Meese: EDWIN. Knew Meese. Booth, No.
28D: Rural opera: PASTORALE. No idea. It's "a piece of music suggestive of pastoral life." The clue just feels very awkward to me. How about Shepherd's opera?
30D Editor or debugger, e.g.: CORRECTOR. Ugh! Don't like it.
32D: Odin's melieu: AESIR. Nope. According to the dictionary, AESIR is "the principal race of gods, led by Odin and living at Asgard." There is another ealier Norse race called Vanir, who was "first in conflict with the Aesir, later allied with them."
35D: Lasts: PERSISTS
37D: ___ Springs, NY: SARATOGA
42D: Aspin or Brown: LES. My first thought was Dan. The author of The Da Vinci Code.
45D: Golfer Arnie: PALMER. You can come back anytime you like Arnie.
47D: Descendant of Shem: SEMITE. Bible knowledge, my Achilles' heels!
49D: Chili con __: CARNE. Interesting, CARNE means meat in so many languages: Spanish, Romania, Portugest and Italian. Do you know that the word "carnival" also derive from carne?
50D: Intelligible: LUCID. Senator Byrd (WV), 91 years old, still serving. Very impressive.
51D: South African playwright Fugard: ATHOL. Had to google him. He is a South African playwright. Well, if you are enamored with with ING, then clue Doris Lessing (Nobel Literature 2007) in your puzzle.
54D: Old English bard: SCOP. No idea. Learned that this SCOP has something to do with SCOFF, the ones who make mocking, or taunting verse.
59D: Unwanted weight: FAT. Absolutely!
C.C.
Another traumatizing experience! I guess my heart just does not belong to any themeless puzzle.
I was stumped from the very beginning of course. Barely heard of Greer Garson. In fact, I was thinking of Garson Kanin when I read the clue. So I jumped around like a squirrel this morning, darting from corner to corner searching for a nut. Never gained any foothold. I was also very bothered by the excessive amount of INGs in the clues/answers.
I think I floundered about 30 minutes, then I decided to quit and started googling. I would not even call today's solving experience as a rigorous workout. It feels like torture.
The author for today's puzzle is the guy who constructed the Going off half-cocked puzzle on March 9, which tormented me for a good 2 hours as I could not understand what's the relationship between the theme entries and the titled theme. I had no idea that "Going off half-cocked" means "act without thinking".
I kind of like today's wide-open grid, which almost mirrors Breward's Feb 23 puzzle. I think I would've enjoyed this puzzle if I were a better solver.
Across entries:
1A: Greer Garson classic: MRS. MINIVER. Garson won an Oscar for this movie.
11A: Low-ish card: TREY. Why ish?
15A: Bouffe: COMIC OPERA. No idea. Never knew that Bouffe has a Buffoon origin. I guess it makes sense now. Does anyone speak French here? Doesn't Bouffe mean 'grub"/"food" in French?
16A: Gambling mecca: RENO
17A: Chiquimula resident: GUATEMALAN. I am not familiar with South American countries. Now I am waiting for the diabolic editor to clue CHIQUIMULA as Guatemala city.
20A: Last of a collection?: ANA. Why? Why last?
21A: The Promised land: CANAAN
23A: Actor Erik: ESTRADA. I googled "Actor Erik", the first page that came up is all about Erik La Salle, who starred in ER. Estrada's mug looks familiar to me, so I must have googled him before. Famed for TV series CHiP.
26A: Hindu title: SRI. It's very fascinating to me that many languages put Sir, or Mr. in front of a name, including this Hindu title SRI. But in Chinese, we put Sir (先生) after the name, for example, we will call Mr. Warren Buffet as "Warren Buffet 先生". I guess Japanese is the same, you put San after some name, as in Ichiro-san.
28A: Campaign contributor: abbr: PAC (Political Action Committee). Remember Senator Rick Santorum (PA) used his PAC money to pay for his Starbucks ($558)?
31A: Hebrew letter: TSADI. Total stranger to me. It could be also spelled as SADHE, SADI, 18th letter of Hebrew alphabet. How many letters are in Hebrew alphabet?
34A: Hanging to one side: A-LOP. This is another ATIP for me. I hate this kind of made-up word more than any obscure actor/actress (dead or alive). Just tell me in which dictionary can I find this word, Mr. Breward? (Update: Feste found this world in the Oxford English Dictionary).
36A: Whimpers: MEWLS. Identical clue on this author's Feb 27 puzzle.
38A: Dunfermline dagger: SNEE. Yep, Keep camouflaging it. You can pick up the remotest town in Scotland and I will still get this word. I am not falling into your trap.
41A: Agave plant: SISAL. Have never heard of this word. Wanted YUCCA.
43A: Former 1/2 Country: GDR (German Democratic Republic - East Germany. Remember their secret police? STASI. West Germany is FRG (Federal Republican of Germany). The unification, oh, no, reunification took place in 1990. First Chancellor: Helmut Kohl. I never liked him.
44A: Maryland player: TERRAPIN. Got it this time.
48A: Type of general: ONE STAR. Just found out that Eric Shinseki was a 4-star general. I always thought he was a 3-star.
49A: Jurisprudence based on precedents: CASE LAW. I was intimidated by the clue. Jurisprudence sound as sophisticated as "Fiduciary duty" to me.
53A: Ethnic: RACIAL. Really? Are these two the same?
56A: Lawyers: abbr. ATTS. I put in ESQS first and I felt so smart for a while.
57A: Outmoded data storage: MICROFICHE. No idea. Here is the definition: "A flat sheet of microfilm in a form suitable for filing, typically measuring 4 by 6 in. (10 by 15 cm) and containing microreproductions, as of printed or graphic matter, in a grid pattern.".
61A: Stretching out: ELONGATION. It would really drive me bananas if the answer turned out to be ELONGATING.
63A: Again and again: REPEATEDLY
Down clues:
1D: "Fibber _ and Molly": MCGEE. Here is the information on this radio show. I would've penned in the answer easily if the clue were The Cremation of Sam ___.
3D: Brainy: SMART. I am NOT. So, anonymous @ 9:11pm March 21, please don't judge me by your standards. Walk in my shoes for 3 miles, then start opining your view. Don't rush into conclusion.
4D: Bishops' toppers: MITERS
6D: Wandering life: NOMADISM
7D: Toothpaste brand: IPANA. How quickly I forgot this name! It was on this constructor's March 9 puzzle.
8D: Constellation near Carina: VELA. Brutal clue. No idea.
10D: Deep-seated ill will: RANCOR. Stupid Arafat, he killed the Oslo Accord. Otherwise, the rancor would not run so deep today! History sometimes is really made by the whims of a few people.
11D: Crossings: TRANSITS
12D: Keeping: RETAINING. I would not type in (hence dignify) this word if not for the vexing ING.
13D: Twisted into a confusing mass: ENTANGLED. I am very confused. Can never tell what distinguishes tangle from entangle, untangle from disentangle.
14D: Kid: YOUNGSTER
25D: Calls a passing ship: HAILS. I put AHOYS first.
27D: Booth or Meese: EDWIN. Knew Meese. Booth, No.
28D: Rural opera: PASTORALE. No idea. It's "a piece of music suggestive of pastoral life." The clue just feels very awkward to me. How about Shepherd's opera?
30D Editor or debugger, e.g.: CORRECTOR. Ugh! Don't like it.
32D: Odin's melieu: AESIR. Nope. According to the dictionary, AESIR is "the principal race of gods, led by Odin and living at Asgard." There is another ealier Norse race called Vanir, who was "first in conflict with the Aesir, later allied with them."
35D: Lasts: PERSISTS
37D: ___ Springs, NY: SARATOGA
42D: Aspin or Brown: LES. My first thought was Dan. The author of The Da Vinci Code.
45D: Golfer Arnie: PALMER. You can come back anytime you like Arnie.
47D: Descendant of Shem: SEMITE. Bible knowledge, my Achilles' heels!
49D: Chili con __: CARNE. Interesting, CARNE means meat in so many languages: Spanish, Romania, Portugest and Italian. Do you know that the word "carnival" also derive from carne?
50D: Intelligible: LUCID. Senator Byrd (WV), 91 years old, still serving. Very impressive.
51D: South African playwright Fugard: ATHOL. Had to google him. He is a South African playwright. Well, if you are enamored with with ING, then clue Doris Lessing (Nobel Literature 2007) in your puzzle.
54D: Old English bard: SCOP. No idea. Learned that this SCOP has something to do with SCOFF, the ones who make mocking, or taunting verse.
59D: Unwanted weight: FAT. Absolutely!
C.C.
