Theme: None
Total blocks: 30
Total words: 72
Read Alan Olschwang interview if he is new to you.
From time to time, I do miss Mr. Olschwang's weekly quip/quote puzzle. Don't you? There is a certain wit and warmth in his work. I will never forget his "Play Ball" TMS puzzle. He placed each ball player in their proper diamond position in the grid. Very impressive.
I was so happy to see his byline this morning. And I had a fantastic start. Filled in the long 17A and the intersecting ACHOO (3D: Cold burst?) immediately and with authority. Didn't we just have a similar ACHOO clue in LAT? Or I might have seen it in Paul's "Clever Clue of the Month" prelims shortlist.
There are eight 9-letter words in the grid, two in each quadrant, none has the annoying RE, ER, EST, ED, ING affix as our old puzzles did. And I like the four 15-letter fills. 58A was an unknown to me:
17A: Where many strings are pulled: BEHIND THE SCENES
27A: Fall opportunities for high school seniors: EARLY ADMISSIONS
58A: Former Boer republic: ORANGE FREE STATE
8D: Classic ghost story: A CHRISTMAS CAROL
I did encounter pockets of trouble later on. But I had fun penning in and then wite-outing my reckless guesses. I am definitely getting better dealing with Rich Norris. His mind can't be as deep as ... hmm... existentialism.
Across:
1A: The Pleiades' Alcyone, for one: GIANT STAR. Easy guess. I've never heard of the Alcyone Star. Wikipedia says it's in the constellation Taurus. About 440 light years from earth. And it's the brightest in the Pleisades open cluster. It's named after the mythological figure Alcyone, one of the mythological Pleiades. I don't know the heck what I just wrote.
10A: Bag opening?: DOGGY. Good clue.
15A: Touching base: IN CONTACT
16A: Dull thing, in slang: SNORE. Oh really? I did not know this. I do lots of SNORES every day then, including soaking our morning glory seeds earlier.
19A: Street address: BRO. Clever clue. Definitely trickier than the direct "Address in the 'hood". And MADAM (32A: Polite title).
22A: Shellac: STOMP. And TROMP (53A: Shellac). I like the pair.
25A: Turbulent waters: RIPS. New definition to me. Last time RIP was clued as "Fiber flaw".
27A: German aviation pioneer Lilienthal: OTTO. The German Glider King. New name to me also. Wow, OTTO is not Auto, but "wealth" in German.
29A: Like some felonies: CLASS A. The most severe felony, right? Imprison for life penalty.
31A: China biggie: SPODE. Named after the English potter Josiah SPODE. I knew immediately the clue is asking for porcelain, but I forgot the brand name. It appeared in our puzzle before.
34A: Branch headquarters?: TREES. Nailed the answer in a NY second.
36A: Inflate: PAD. Did not come to me readily.
40A: Cotillion honoree: DEB. Forgot the meaning of "Cotillion".
41A: Making a crossing: ASEA. Obtained the answer with Down fill help. My first thought was XING.
42A: Sense of style: TASTE. She had style.
43A: Flash: GLINT
45A: Often-allergic attack: ASTHMA. The th in Isthmus is silent too. Both are of Greek origins.
47A: This, in Toledo: ESTO
48A: Not pizzicato: ARCO. No idea. It means "With a bow. Used chiefly as a direction to indicate the resumption of bowing after a pizzicato passage." And dictionary defines pizzicato as "played by plucking the strings with the finger instead of using the bow, as on a violin". So one is with bow (ARCO), the other not.
49A: Battle of Endor fighters of film: EWOKS. Finally I remembered this Star Wars character. Endor is the forested moon EWOKS live.
55A: Ernst contemparary: ARP (Jean). Max Ernst & Jean ARP. Dadaism pioneers.
57A: Chem. unit: MOL. No idea. Molecular?
62A: Out of, as work: NOT AT. Hmm, NOT AT work does not equal "Out of work" to me.
63A: It's pitched at a stake: HORSESHOE. Struggled again. HORSESHOE related clue and answer always give me troubles.
64A: Dreams, to some: OMENS. Yes, indeed, "to some". What's the strangest dream you've ever had? I had an encounter with Phil Mickelson in my dream one night, after his 2004 Masters.
65A: Like an imposition: A LOT TO ASK. I got the answer with down fill help.
Down:
1D: Pop singing brothers from the Isle of Man: GIBBS. What's the origin of their band name The Bee Gees? I did not know they are from the Isle of Man.
2D: Like some gases: INERT
4D: "There's __ in team": NO I. Michael Jordan originated this quote.
6D: Ave. levels: STDS
7D: Chitlins might be cooked with 'em: TATERS. Another guess. I don't know what "chitlins" is. Looks awful.
10D: U.S. Army medal: DSCS. DSC is Distinguished Service Cross. I forgot what's the difference between DSC and DSM (Distinguished Service Medal). Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration.
11D: Like some grounders: ONE HOP. Joe Mauer homered at his first bat (season debut) last night. Awesome!
12D: Ruined: GONE TO POT. New idiom to me.
13D: Scooby-Doo, for one: GREAT DANE. I did not know his species.
18D: It might be sent from a bridge: SOS
23D: 15th century year: MCDL. Roman 1450.
23D: Dabble in: PLAY AT
26D: __ passu: impartially: PARI. New phrase to me. PARI is a prefix for "equal". Like parity I suppose. PERI is the Persian fairy.
28D: Sizable refs.: OEDS. The Oxford English Dictionary.
30D: Latin I word: AMAS
31D: Oil source: SESAME. Use SESAME oil for my salad.
32D: Tumult: MAELSTROM. I can never remember how to spell this word. Looks so similar to maestro.
33D: Resolve, in a way: ARBITRATE. Strung the answer together with the Across help.
35D: O. T. book: ESTH
37D: Go cautiously: EDGE. Feels like this word needs a preposition.
38D: Letter opener: DEAR. It needs a question mark, doesn't it?
39D: "The Last Time __ Paris": 1954 film: I SAW. Is it a good film?
44D: Reagan speechwriter: NOONAN (Peggy). Gimme. She appears on MSNBC often. I love her Challenger speech the most. The last line "They slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God" poem quote is very moving.
46D: Corrida hero: TORERO. "Hero" refers to main character, not the brave hero hero, right?
48D: Mock: APE. Xword word.
50D: Missouri River city: OMAHA. I wonder if the "Oracle of OMAHA" (Warren Buffett) solves Xword every morning.
51D: Japanese stringed instruments: KOTOS. KOTO is the National instrument of Japan. It actually derived from Chinese zither Zheng. Its kanji 箏 is the same as Chinese character.
52D: Glossy: SLEEK. Wrote down SHINY first.
54D: Exec grps.: MGTS
56D: Gnat, for one: PEST. "Dennis, for one" also.
58D: "Double Fantasy" artist: ONO. Here is the album cover. Do you think May Pang is pretty? She is a John Lennon's "Lost Weekend" girlfriend. She is a Chinese I think.
59D: Loan-insuring org.: FHA (Federal Housing Adminstration). Part of HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development). Not a familiar abbreviation to me.
61D: Chicken general: TSO. I had never heard of General TSO's chicken until I came to the US, nor had I heard of Chop Suey or Moo Shu Pork. Those are all Chinese American food. Fortune Cookie was also new to me. Clever idea.
Answer grid.
Happy Birthday, TJ in Osseo.
C.C.
Total blocks: 30
Total words: 72
Read Alan Olschwang interview if he is new to you.
From time to time, I do miss Mr. Olschwang's weekly quip/quote puzzle. Don't you? There is a certain wit and warmth in his work. I will never forget his "Play Ball" TMS puzzle. He placed each ball player in their proper diamond position in the grid. Very impressive.
I was so happy to see his byline this morning. And I had a fantastic start. Filled in the long 17A and the intersecting ACHOO (3D: Cold burst?) immediately and with authority. Didn't we just have a similar ACHOO clue in LAT? Or I might have seen it in Paul's "Clever Clue of the Month" prelims shortlist.
There are eight 9-letter words in the grid, two in each quadrant, none has the annoying RE, ER, EST, ED, ING affix as our old puzzles did. And I like the four 15-letter fills. 58A was an unknown to me:
17A: Where many strings are pulled: BEHIND THE SCENES
27A: Fall opportunities for high school seniors: EARLY ADMISSIONS
58A: Former Boer republic: ORANGE FREE STATE
8D: Classic ghost story: A CHRISTMAS CAROL
I did encounter pockets of trouble later on. But I had fun penning in and then wite-outing my reckless guesses. I am definitely getting better dealing with Rich Norris. His mind can't be as deep as ... hmm... existentialism.
Across:
1A: The Pleiades' Alcyone, for one: GIANT STAR. Easy guess. I've never heard of the Alcyone Star. Wikipedia says it's in the constellation Taurus. About 440 light years from earth. And it's the brightest in the Pleisades open cluster. It's named after the mythological figure Alcyone, one of the mythological Pleiades. I don't know the heck what I just wrote.
10A: Bag opening?: DOGGY. Good clue.
15A: Touching base: IN CONTACT
16A: Dull thing, in slang: SNORE. Oh really? I did not know this. I do lots of SNORES every day then, including soaking our morning glory seeds earlier.
19A: Street address: BRO. Clever clue. Definitely trickier than the direct "Address in the 'hood". And MADAM (32A: Polite title).
22A: Shellac: STOMP. And TROMP (53A: Shellac). I like the pair.
25A: Turbulent waters: RIPS. New definition to me. Last time RIP was clued as "Fiber flaw".
27A: German aviation pioneer Lilienthal: OTTO. The German Glider King. New name to me also. Wow, OTTO is not Auto, but "wealth" in German.
29A: Like some felonies: CLASS A. The most severe felony, right? Imprison for life penalty.
31A: China biggie: SPODE. Named after the English potter Josiah SPODE. I knew immediately the clue is asking for porcelain, but I forgot the brand name. It appeared in our puzzle before.
34A: Branch headquarters?: TREES. Nailed the answer in a NY second.
36A: Inflate: PAD. Did not come to me readily.
40A: Cotillion honoree: DEB. Forgot the meaning of "Cotillion".
41A: Making a crossing: ASEA. Obtained the answer with Down fill help. My first thought was XING.
42A: Sense of style: TASTE. She had style.
43A: Flash: GLINT
45A: Often-allergic attack: ASTHMA. The th in Isthmus is silent too. Both are of Greek origins.
47A: This, in Toledo: ESTO
48A: Not pizzicato: ARCO. No idea. It means "With a bow. Used chiefly as a direction to indicate the resumption of bowing after a pizzicato passage." And dictionary defines pizzicato as "played by plucking the strings with the finger instead of using the bow, as on a violin". So one is with bow (ARCO), the other not.
49A: Battle of Endor fighters of film: EWOKS. Finally I remembered this Star Wars character. Endor is the forested moon EWOKS live.
55A: Ernst contemparary: ARP (Jean). Max Ernst & Jean ARP. Dadaism pioneers.
57A: Chem. unit: MOL. No idea. Molecular?
62A: Out of, as work: NOT AT. Hmm, NOT AT work does not equal "Out of work" to me.
63A: It's pitched at a stake: HORSESHOE. Struggled again. HORSESHOE related clue and answer always give me troubles.
64A: Dreams, to some: OMENS. Yes, indeed, "to some". What's the strangest dream you've ever had? I had an encounter with Phil Mickelson in my dream one night, after his 2004 Masters.
65A: Like an imposition: A LOT TO ASK. I got the answer with down fill help.
Down:
1D: Pop singing brothers from the Isle of Man: GIBBS. What's the origin of their band name The Bee Gees? I did not know they are from the Isle of Man.
2D: Like some gases: INERT
4D: "There's __ in team": NO I. Michael Jordan originated this quote.
6D: Ave. levels: STDS
7D: Chitlins might be cooked with 'em: TATERS. Another guess. I don't know what "chitlins" is. Looks awful.
10D: U.S. Army medal: DSCS. DSC is Distinguished Service Cross. I forgot what's the difference between DSC and DSM (Distinguished Service Medal). Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration.
11D: Like some grounders: ONE HOP. Joe Mauer homered at his first bat (season debut) last night. Awesome!
12D: Ruined: GONE TO POT. New idiom to me.
13D: Scooby-Doo, for one: GREAT DANE. I did not know his species.
18D: It might be sent from a bridge: SOS
23D: 15th century year: MCDL. Roman 1450.
23D: Dabble in: PLAY AT
26D: __ passu: impartially: PARI. New phrase to me. PARI is a prefix for "equal". Like parity I suppose. PERI is the Persian fairy.
28D: Sizable refs.: OEDS. The Oxford English Dictionary.
30D: Latin I word: AMAS
31D: Oil source: SESAME. Use SESAME oil for my salad.
32D: Tumult: MAELSTROM. I can never remember how to spell this word. Looks so similar to maestro.
33D: Resolve, in a way: ARBITRATE. Strung the answer together with the Across help.
35D: O. T. book: ESTH
37D: Go cautiously: EDGE. Feels like this word needs a preposition.
38D: Letter opener: DEAR. It needs a question mark, doesn't it?
39D: "The Last Time __ Paris": 1954 film: I SAW. Is it a good film?
44D: Reagan speechwriter: NOONAN (Peggy). Gimme. She appears on MSNBC often. I love her Challenger speech the most. The last line "They slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God" poem quote is very moving.
46D: Corrida hero: TORERO. "Hero" refers to main character, not the brave hero hero, right?
48D: Mock: APE. Xword word.
50D: Missouri River city: OMAHA. I wonder if the "Oracle of OMAHA" (Warren Buffett) solves Xword every morning.
51D: Japanese stringed instruments: KOTOS. KOTO is the National instrument of Japan. It actually derived from Chinese zither Zheng. Its kanji 箏 is the same as Chinese character.
52D: Glossy: SLEEK. Wrote down SHINY first.
54D: Exec grps.: MGTS
56D: Gnat, for one: PEST. "Dennis, for one" also.
58D: "Double Fantasy" artist: ONO. Here is the album cover. Do you think May Pang is pretty? She is a John Lennon's "Lost Weekend" girlfriend. She is a Chinese I think.
59D: Loan-insuring org.: FHA (Federal Housing Adminstration). Part of HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development). Not a familiar abbreviation to me.
61D: Chicken general: TSO. I had never heard of General TSO's chicken until I came to the US, nor had I heard of Chop Suey or Moo Shu Pork. Those are all Chinese American food. Fortune Cookie was also new to me. Clever idea.
Answer grid.
Happy Birthday, TJ in Osseo.
C.C.
