Theme: IXNAY (60A. Slangy turndown, and a hint to how 17-, 22-, 32-, 47- and 51-Across are formed) - IX is nixed from familiar phrases.
17A. Health nut?: MISTER F(IX)IT
22A. "Make him an offer he can't refuse," e.g.?: DON QU(IX)OTE. The memorable line is a quote from Don Corleone ("The Godfather").
32A. Where hogs go hog-wild?: SWINGING S(IX)TIES. Hilarious clue/answer.
47A. DVDs?: N(IX)ON-TAPES. Not a smooth fill for me.
51A. Cocktails at an exotic resort club?: M(IX)ED DRINKS. Was ignorant of Club Med (Méditerranée), so I had trouble understanding the connection between MED & "exotic resort club".
This puzzle reminds of Gareth Bain's NIXON puzzle, where ON is nixed in every theme entry. And NIXON is placed in the lower right corner as well.
Nice pangram (all 26 letters are used at least once). But the theme took me too long to grok, though I got IXNAY rather early. Several peeks at the cheat sheet today.
Across:
1. Angle: SLANT
6. Like disco dancers: GO-GO. Go-go dancers.
10. "Wow": GEE
13. Explorer __ de León: PONCE. He named Florida Florida, meaning "flower".
14. Structural sci.: ANAT. Body structure.
15. Nightclub in a Manilow song: COPA. Copacabana (At the Copa), referring to the famous nightclub Copacabana (The Copa) in NY City.
16. Atlanta university: EMORY. And GONZAGA (41A). Spokane university). The latter stumped me. Wikipedia says it's a private Catholic Jesuit university and listed Bing Crosby as one of its notable alumni.
19. Prefix with dermal: EPI. Epidermal.
20. PC support person: TECH. See techie in grid more often.
21. Village paper?: VOICE. Village Voice, the free weekly newspaper in NY. They give out the annual Obie Award. Nice clue.
25. Toy in a holster: CAP GUN
26. Eightfold: OCTUPLE. Adjective. Noun is octuplet, like the Octuplet Mom.
28. Arg. neighbor: URU (Uruguay). Can't be Bra(zil), Par(aguay) or Chi(le) because the constructors/editor prefer a full word rather than an abbreviated country name.
29. IM provider: AOL
30. Arles assent: OUI. Alliteration. Arles is where van Gogh painted many of his masterpieces.
31. Get ready, briefly: PREP
36. Satirist Mort: SAHL. Thank God I committed him to my memory.
37. Blood classification letters: ABO. O for me.
38. "__ who?": SEZ. With P?Z?? in place, I should have got PIZZA (31D. Food in a flat box) immediately.
40. Source of 20s, for short: ATM. And NCR (4D. Big name in 40-Acrosses).
45. Comfort for a griever: SOLACE
50. Tolkien tree creature: ENT. Anglo-Saxon word for "giant".
53. Bugs chaser: ELMER. Elmer Fudd.
56. Lighten up?: DIET. Nailed it immediately.
57. Stiller's comedy partner: MEARA. Jerry Stiller and Anna Meara, Ben Stiller's parents.
58. Form 1040 ID: SSN
59. Lhasa __: APSO. The breed originating from Tibet. APSO is literally "bearded" in Tibetan.
Down:
1. Swimwear brand: SPEEDO. They sponsor Michael Phelps.
2. California city near Vandenberg Air Force Base: LOMPOC. See this map. Literally "little lake" in its Native Indian language. I simply forgot.
3. Consecrate using oil: ANOINT
5. Mystery writer Josephine: TEY. No idea. The only Josephine I know is Hart, whose "Damage" is just brilliant.
6. Reproductive cell: GAMETE. Sperm or egg.
7. In the cooler: ON ICE
8. Deep wound: GASH
9. Polo Grounds hero: OTT (Mel). NY Giants played in the Polo Grounds.
10. "I don't get it": GO FIGURE
11. Gastronomes: EPICURES (EP-i-kyoors). And SAVORERS (32D: 11-Down, e.g.). Both posed problems to me, though I remember we had epicure/epicurious discussions on the blog before. Savorer sounds so made-up.
12. Gone from the plate: EATEN UP. I liked how it parallels EPICURES.
15. Photoshop command: CROP
18. Author Hunter: EVAN. Also known as Ed McBain.
20. Turnpike collection spot: TOLLGATE
23. Small game bird: QUAIL. Cantonese style quail is often glazed with honey, very tasty, crispy too.
24. Resting atop: UPON
25. Two-wheeled artillery wagons: CAISSONS (KEY-suhn). Only know the military funeral caisson.
27. "A __ of Wine, a Loaf of Bread ...": JUG. And Thou (Beside me singing in the Wilderness).
30. Notable 1969 bride: ONO. Liked this new clue.
33. Battered repeatedly, in slang: WHALED ON. New phrase to me.
34. ThinkPad maker: IBM
41. Attends: GOES TO
43. Biological divisions: GENERA. Wow, I had no idea that plural of genus is genera.
44. Down a sinful path: ASTRAY
52. Pocatello's state: Abbr.: IDA. Have never heard of the city Pocatello, home of the Idaho State University. Named after some Indian tribal chief Pocatello.
53. Brit. record label: EMI. One of the four major record labels: Sony, Universal, Warner and EMI.
54. Latin law: LEX. Learned from doing Xword. The plural is leges (LEE-jeez).
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. Health nut?: MISTER F(IX)IT
22A. "Make him an offer he can't refuse," e.g.?: DON QU(IX)OTE. The memorable line is a quote from Don Corleone ("The Godfather").
32A. Where hogs go hog-wild?: SWINGING S(IX)TIES. Hilarious clue/answer.
47A. DVDs?: N(IX)ON-TAPES. Not a smooth fill for me.
51A. Cocktails at an exotic resort club?: M(IX)ED DRINKS. Was ignorant of Club Med (Méditerranée), so I had trouble understanding the connection between MED & "exotic resort club".
This puzzle reminds of Gareth Bain's NIXON puzzle, where ON is nixed in every theme entry. And NIXON is placed in the lower right corner as well.
Nice pangram (all 26 letters are used at least once). But the theme took me too long to grok, though I got IXNAY rather early. Several peeks at the cheat sheet today.
Across:
1. Angle: SLANT
6. Like disco dancers: GO-GO. Go-go dancers.
10. "Wow": GEE
13. Explorer __ de León: PONCE. He named Florida Florida, meaning "flower".
14. Structural sci.: ANAT. Body structure.
15. Nightclub in a Manilow song: COPA. Copacabana (At the Copa), referring to the famous nightclub Copacabana (The Copa) in NY City.
16. Atlanta university: EMORY. And GONZAGA (41A). Spokane university). The latter stumped me. Wikipedia says it's a private Catholic Jesuit university and listed Bing Crosby as one of its notable alumni.
19. Prefix with dermal: EPI. Epidermal.
20. PC support person: TECH. See techie in grid more often.
21. Village paper?: VOICE. Village Voice, the free weekly newspaper in NY. They give out the annual Obie Award. Nice clue.
25. Toy in a holster: CAP GUN
26. Eightfold: OCTUPLE. Adjective. Noun is octuplet, like the Octuplet Mom.
28. Arg. neighbor: URU (Uruguay). Can't be Bra(zil), Par(aguay) or Chi(le) because the constructors/editor prefer a full word rather than an abbreviated country name.
29. IM provider: AOL
30. Arles assent: OUI. Alliteration. Arles is where van Gogh painted many of his masterpieces.
31. Get ready, briefly: PREP
36. Satirist Mort: SAHL. Thank God I committed him to my memory.
37. Blood classification letters: ABO. O for me.
38. "__ who?": SEZ. With P?Z?? in place, I should have got PIZZA (31D. Food in a flat box) immediately.
40. Source of 20s, for short: ATM. And NCR (4D. Big name in 40-Acrosses).
45. Comfort for a griever: SOLACE
50. Tolkien tree creature: ENT. Anglo-Saxon word for "giant".
53. Bugs chaser: ELMER. Elmer Fudd.
56. Lighten up?: DIET. Nailed it immediately.
57. Stiller's comedy partner: MEARA. Jerry Stiller and Anna Meara, Ben Stiller's parents.
58. Form 1040 ID: SSN
59. Lhasa __: APSO. The breed originating from Tibet. APSO is literally "bearded" in Tibetan.
Down:
1. Swimwear brand: SPEEDO. They sponsor Michael Phelps.
2. California city near Vandenberg Air Force Base: LOMPOC. See this map. Literally "little lake" in its Native Indian language. I simply forgot.
3. Consecrate using oil: ANOINT
5. Mystery writer Josephine: TEY. No idea. The only Josephine I know is Hart, whose "Damage" is just brilliant.
6. Reproductive cell: GAMETE. Sperm or egg.
7. In the cooler: ON ICE
8. Deep wound: GASH
9. Polo Grounds hero: OTT (Mel). NY Giants played in the Polo Grounds.
10. "I don't get it": GO FIGURE
11. Gastronomes: EPICURES (EP-i-kyoors). And SAVORERS (32D: 11-Down, e.g.). Both posed problems to me, though I remember we had epicure/epicurious discussions on the blog before. Savorer sounds so made-up.
12. Gone from the plate: EATEN UP. I liked how it parallels EPICURES.
15. Photoshop command: CROP
18. Author Hunter: EVAN. Also known as Ed McBain.
20. Turnpike collection spot: TOLLGATE
23. Small game bird: QUAIL. Cantonese style quail is often glazed with honey, very tasty, crispy too.
24. Resting atop: UPON
25. Two-wheeled artillery wagons: CAISSONS (KEY-suhn). Only know the military funeral caisson.
27. "A __ of Wine, a Loaf of Bread ...": JUG. And Thou (Beside me singing in the Wilderness).
30. Notable 1969 bride: ONO. Liked this new clue.
33. Battered repeatedly, in slang: WHALED ON. New phrase to me.
34. ThinkPad maker: IBM
41. Attends: GOES TO
43. Biological divisions: GENERA. Wow, I had no idea that plural of genus is genera.
44. Down a sinful path: ASTRAY
52. Pocatello's state: Abbr.: IDA. Have never heard of the city Pocatello, home of the Idaho State University. Named after some Indian tribal chief Pocatello.
53. Brit. record label: EMI. One of the four major record labels: Sony, Universal, Warner and EMI.
54. Latin law: LEX. Learned from doing Xword. The plural is leges (LEE-jeez).
Answer grid.
C.C.
