Theme: Bad Hare Day
18A: Start of a quip: A GROUP OF
23A: Part 2 of a quip: RABBITS MARCHING
38A: Part 3 of quip: BACKWARDS IS
50A: Part 4 of quip: CALLED A RECEDING
57A: End of quip: HARE LINE
Funny quip, but "OUCH", hard puzzle. I had to google. Too many entertainment names for my taste. Too concentrated. There really should be a limit on how many actor names/sports terms/operas can appear in one puzzle. I suggest a maximum of 3.
Some of today's clues are very tricky and unfamiliar to me, for example: 66A: Tony who played Wally Cleaver (DOW), Why not clue it as " __ Jones" or simply "Market indicator"? And the clue for MALE (10A: Maldives capital) is just diabolical. I wonder how many people have ever heard of this smallest Asian country, nor to mention its tiny MALE capital. The clue for I DO I DO (47D) could have been easily phrased as "Emphatic yes" or something to that effect.
Anyway, I experienced an epiphnay this morning. I suddenly realized that a puzzle is indeed made tough by the cluing, not by the employment of long & obscure words. Eureka! And I was so ELATED (70A: In high spirit) by the IRONS (47A) clue. Thank you so much for the attention, Mr. Wolf Wolfe, thank you for reading my blog. I am keenly aware that you are in sheep's clothing today, I still like EWE (60D).
Across:
1A: Horsedrawn carriage: HANSOM. Big stumper. I could only think of troika and it did not fit. HANSOM is a one-horse, two-wheeled carriage for two passengers. See this HANSOM cab.
2A: Time-line segment: ERA
14A: Take in liquid: IMBIBE
15A: Greek letter: TAU. The Greek cross.
16A: Big name in Norway: OLAF. Very nice clue.
17A: "Wall Street" co-star James: SPADER. I don't remember seeing him in "Wall Street". He is often clued as James of "Boston Legal".
20A: Whence Zeno: ELEA. Zeno of ELEA.
31A: Stewart of "Swing Shift": ALANA. I simply forgot her name. Danielle should be happy with this answer.
33A: Be much concerned: CARE A LOT
41A: Hagar's dog: SNERT. From the comic strip "Hagar the Horrible". Unknown to me. What's so fun about this one? I don't get it.
43A: Heavy winter fall: DEEP SNOW
47A: Jeremy of "Damage": IRONS. With Juliette Binoche & Miranda Richardson. Very erotic and disturbing. The movie is based on Josephine Hart's novel. So good.
55A: "The Time Machine" race: ELOI. Learned from doing Xwords. I've never read the book.
61A: Ice houses?: IGLOOS. No need for the "?".
67A: Bell tower: BELFRY. I think this is the first time I saw BELFRY clued this way.
Down:
4D: Back of a tape: SIDE B
5D: Marks on old manuscripts: OBELI. Singular is OBELUS. It's "a mark (− or ÷) used in ancient manuscripts to point out spurious, corrupt, doubtful, or superfluous words or passages". Unknown to me also. This word reminds me of "Obelisk", which has the same root as OBELUS (obelós spit, pointed pillar). Do you still remember the magical LIA Fail (Irish crowning stone)?
6D: Lip service: MERE TALK
8D: Scrap collector: RAG MAN. I don't understand this answer. Is "RAG Man" a common phrase?
9D: Goddess of dawn: AURORA. The Roman goddess. The Greek equivalent is EOS.
11D: Yodeler's peak: ALP. Refreshing clue.
13D: Studio apt. EFF. GEE next time?
21D: Equally sad: AS LOW
23D: Singer Ocasek: RIC. Unknown to me. Obtainable though. His wife is so beautiful.
25D: Gym weight: BARBELL. I've never even touched a BARBELL.
26D: Bullfighter: MATADOR
27D: Not me!: IT ISN'T I. Does the clue/answer feel OK to you?
28D: Some TV sets: GES. I hate Jeff Immelt. Under his management, GE is not GE any more. Sigh... But Pluto is not a planet any more either.
37D: Primitive Pluto: DIS. I don't understand the clue, what does "Primitive" here refer to? Indian primitive religion or what?
40D: Paint a word picture: DESCRIBE
45D: Witty one: WAG. New to me also.
47D: 1966 musical: I DO I DO. I just DON'T know.
48D: Pour down upon: RAIN ON. I don't like the "upon" in the clue.
51D: Wary: LEERY. I don't like the clue either. "Distrustful" would be perfect. I really don't like the repetition of certain letter(s) in the clue and answers, esp when it's easily avoidable.
53D: Actress Georgia: ENGEL. She was in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". A stranger to me also.
54D: Perry's secretary: DELLA (Street). No idea. I've never heard of her name before.
59D: Silver or Glass: RON. No. Pure guess. RON Howard, yes.
63D: Klondike find: ORE. Another educated guess. I don't know where Klondike is.
C.C.
18A: Start of a quip: A GROUP OF
23A: Part 2 of a quip: RABBITS MARCHING
38A: Part 3 of quip: BACKWARDS IS
50A: Part 4 of quip: CALLED A RECEDING
57A: End of quip: HARE LINE
Funny quip, but "OUCH", hard puzzle. I had to google. Too many entertainment names for my taste. Too concentrated. There really should be a limit on how many actor names/sports terms/operas can appear in one puzzle. I suggest a maximum of 3.
Some of today's clues are very tricky and unfamiliar to me, for example: 66A: Tony who played Wally Cleaver (DOW), Why not clue it as " __ Jones" or simply "Market indicator"? And the clue for MALE (10A: Maldives capital) is just diabolical. I wonder how many people have ever heard of this smallest Asian country, nor to mention its tiny MALE capital. The clue for I DO I DO (47D) could have been easily phrased as "Emphatic yes" or something to that effect.
Anyway, I experienced an epiphnay this morning. I suddenly realized that a puzzle is indeed made tough by the cluing, not by the employment of long & obscure words. Eureka! And I was so ELATED (70A: In high spirit) by the IRONS (47A) clue. Thank you so much for the attention, Mr.
Across:
1A: Horsedrawn carriage: HANSOM. Big stumper. I could only think of troika and it did not fit. HANSOM is a one-horse, two-wheeled carriage for two passengers. See this HANSOM cab.
2A: Time-line segment: ERA
14A: Take in liquid: IMBIBE
15A: Greek letter: TAU. The Greek cross.
16A: Big name in Norway: OLAF. Very nice clue.
17A: "Wall Street" co-star James: SPADER. I don't remember seeing him in "Wall Street". He is often clued as James of "Boston Legal".
20A: Whence Zeno: ELEA. Zeno of ELEA.
31A: Stewart of "Swing Shift": ALANA. I simply forgot her name. Danielle should be happy with this answer.
33A: Be much concerned: CARE A LOT
41A: Hagar's dog: SNERT. From the comic strip "Hagar the Horrible". Unknown to me. What's so fun about this one? I don't get it.
43A: Heavy winter fall: DEEP SNOW
47A: Jeremy of "Damage": IRONS. With Juliette Binoche & Miranda Richardson. Very erotic and disturbing. The movie is based on Josephine Hart's novel. So good.
55A: "The Time Machine" race: ELOI. Learned from doing Xwords. I've never read the book.
61A: Ice houses?: IGLOOS. No need for the "?".
67A: Bell tower: BELFRY. I think this is the first time I saw BELFRY clued this way.
Down:
4D: Back of a tape: SIDE B
5D: Marks on old manuscripts: OBELI. Singular is OBELUS. It's "a mark (− or ÷) used in ancient manuscripts to point out spurious, corrupt, doubtful, or superfluous words or passages". Unknown to me also. This word reminds me of "Obelisk", which has the same root as OBELUS (obelós spit, pointed pillar). Do you still remember the magical LIA Fail (Irish crowning stone)?
6D: Lip service: MERE TALK
8D: Scrap collector: RAG MAN. I don't understand this answer. Is "RAG Man" a common phrase?
9D: Goddess of dawn: AURORA. The Roman goddess. The Greek equivalent is EOS.
11D: Yodeler's peak: ALP. Refreshing clue.
13D: Studio apt. EFF. GEE next time?
21D: Equally sad: AS LOW
23D: Singer Ocasek: RIC. Unknown to me. Obtainable though. His wife is so beautiful.
25D: Gym weight: BARBELL. I've never even touched a BARBELL.
26D: Bullfighter: MATADOR
27D: Not me!: IT ISN'T I. Does the clue/answer feel OK to you?
28D: Some TV sets: GES. I hate Jeff Immelt. Under his management, GE is not GE any more. Sigh... But Pluto is not a planet any more either.
37D: Primitive Pluto: DIS. I don't understand the clue, what does "Primitive" here refer to? Indian primitive religion or what?
40D: Paint a word picture: DESCRIBE
45D: Witty one: WAG. New to me also.
47D: 1966 musical: I DO I DO. I just DON'T know.
48D: Pour down upon: RAIN ON. I don't like the "upon" in the clue.
51D: Wary: LEERY. I don't like the clue either. "Distrustful" would be perfect. I really don't like the repetition of certain letter(s) in the clue and answers, esp when it's easily avoidable.
53D: Actress Georgia: ENGEL. She was in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". A stranger to me also.
54D: Perry's secretary: DELLA (Street). No idea. I've never heard of her name before.
59D: Silver or Glass: RON. No. Pure guess. RON Howard, yes.
63D: Klondike find: ORE. Another educated guess. I don't know where Klondike is.
C.C.
