Theme: Film at the Animal Farm - Part of five theme entries (including four movies) is punnily substituted by the sound the corresponding animal make, and the clues and answers together form a funny animal "what film to watch" decision-making story.
17A. The animals were bored, and the cows suggested a __ : MOO-VIE NIGHT. The base phrase is Movie Night. Cows moo.
20A. "Great idea!" said the goats. "Let's watch '__'" : MAA-S ATTACKS. Mars Attack!. Directed by Tim Burton. Goats maa. The first two and the last two theme answers have an impressive 7-letter overlap.
35A. "How lowbrow!" said the cats. "We much prefer '__'" : THE COLOR PURR-PLE. The Color Purple. Not a familiar movie to me. Cats purr. The only entry where the pun is on the last word instead of the first. I'd prefer the central entry puns on Prince's "Purr-ple Rain", so the sound would be consistent with the other theme entries. The resulting phrase has 11 letters, nice but not ideal for the central entry. Constructors prefer a central 15-letter grid spanner as it's easier to work around.
50A. "Too serious!" said the pigeons. "Why don't we go with '__'?" : COO HAND LUKE. Cool Hand Luke. Starring the great Paul Newman. Pigeons coo.
55A. But in the end, the sheep had their way, and they all watched "__" : BAA-BAA-RELLA. Barbarella. Jane Fonda movie. Sheep baa.
Fun theme. Reminds me of John Lampkin's "Pet Food" puzzle, in which part of a common food/beverage is substituted with the sound the animal make.
The cluing is fun too. Patrick Berry uses this style in some of Chronicle of Higher Education puzzles. John Lampkin also employs this clue/answer combination story in his "The Clothier's Apprentice".
The clue for ELENA (45A. Supreme Court nominee Kagan) is obviously not updated, since she just became our Supreme Court justice last Saturday. Rich Norris edits all the puzzles a month in advance, hence the error.
Across:
1. Weenie : TWERP. Was thinking of hot dog.
6. Certain alien : LEGAL. "Alien" always refers to "foreigner" rather than "extraterrestrial being" in late week puzzle.
11. With 58-Down, "Taking Woodstock" director : ANG. And LEE (58D. See 11-Across). New Ang Lee reference to me.
14. Many an IM user : AOLER. All of its letter components can be the first & second letter of any word, very construction friendly. So, you keep seeing it again and again.
15. "But I don't want to go among mad people" speaker : ALICE. "Alice in Wonderland". Was ignorant of the quote.
16. Co. in Cannes : CIE. Kazie explained this before.
19. False pretense : ACT
22. One may have an undulating floor : FUNHOUSE. I've never been to one.
26. Viti Levu is its largest island : FIJI. Stumper. I don't know where Viti Levu is. Fiji's capital Suva is in this island and the majority of Fijians live here, a la Wikipedia.
27. Salt's salutations : AHOYS. Alliteration. Salt = Sailor.
28. Nouveau riche : UPSTART
31. Piece conclusion : CODA. Did you think of "musical piece" immediately?
32. Software for creating bibliographies : ENDNOTE. Not aware of this software.
40. Check for flaws : INSPECT
41. Give __ up: assist : A LEG
42. Cry at a faith healing : I CAN SEE. Nice multi-word.
46. Abolitionist Lucretia : MOTT. No idea. She's a Quaker.
47. 1949 Gatsby portrayer : ALAN LADD. I only know Robert Redford's "The Great Gatsby".
54. Sanctioned : OK'D
60. Jar head : LID. Of course I fell the trap of reading the clue as one word Marine "Jarhead" and thinking of Dennis & Argyle.
61. "Bye!" : ADIEU
62. Say "Hi!" to : GREET. I like the consecutive "Bye" and "Hi".
63. L'École __ Roches: French private school : DES. I suppose you can deduce if you know French, since "des" = de + les. Too much for me.
64. Support pieces : BASES
65. Produce some cliff notes? : YODEL. Because there are lots of cliff and mountains in the Swiss Alps?
Down:
1. Highlander's cap : TAM
2. Seek support from : WOO. Or seek affection.
3. Jeff Lynne's band : ELO. Easy guess.
4. MLK's title : REV
5. Piano duet parts : PRIMOS. Not a familiar "primo" definition to me.
6. Turner and Wood : LANAS. Lana Wood is the sister of Natalia Wood.
7. Beethoven title name : ELISE. "Für Elise".
8. Inverse of nano- : GIGA. Nono= one billionth. Giga = billion.
9. Eight, in Aachen : ACHT. Well, gimme for Kazie/Spitzboov I am sure. It escaped me again.
10. Lithuanian's neighbor : LETT. Latvian.
11. Whistling thorn, e.g. : ACACIA. First encounter with whisteling thorn.
12. Channel for little kids : NICK JR. Total unknown to me. Owned by Viacom.
13. Laughs at a joke : GETS IT
18. Perrier, e.g. : EAU. Quite expensive bottled water.
21. Nevertheless : AFTER ALL
22. Trivia buff's fodder : FACT
23. "Here comes trouble!" : UH OH
24. Anatomical knot : NODE
25. Plant with colorful flower clusters : HYACINTH. Named after the Greek mythological figure who was loved and accidentally killed by Apollo.
28. Gender-biased, briefly : UNPC. PC = Politically Correct.
29. Sulk : POUT
30. Violas' sect. : STR (String)
32. More : ELSE
33. Informal turndown : NOPE
34. "Forgot About __": hip-hop hit : DRE. No idea. By Dre, obviously.
36. Walk-__: bit parts : ONS
37. Fervent request : PLEA
38. Give conditionally : LEND
39. Quaint "Yowza!" : EGAD. Lucina uses "Yowza!" often.
42. "Turn up the heat!" : I'M COLD. Finally it's going to cool off a bit here in MN. So hot and humid in the past few weeks.
43. Lunchbox snack : COOKIE
44. Like bitter rivals : AT ODDS. Had difficulty parsing the answer.
45. Verve : ENERGY
47. "The Zoo Story" playwright : ALBEE (Edward). Have never heard of the play.
48. Events where the dessert haupia is served : LUAUS. What is haupia?
49. Dossier abbr. : A.K.A. Oh, police dossier.
51. Rhyme scheme in many sonnets : ABAB. Wish Clear Ayes were here.
52. Bupkis, in Barcelona : NADA. Bupkis is Yiddish for nothing. Another unknown to me.
53. Address site : DAIS
56. Ranch closing? : ERO. Closing for the word ranchero. Gimme, Lois?
57. Spearheaded : LED
59. Part of NATO: Abbr. : ATL
Answer grid.
Here is a recent photo of our quick-witted trombonist Jazzbumpa, who's been on vacation with his talented grand-kids the past few days, thus the sparse appearances. All the fill symmetries have been feeling ignored, Jazzbumpa!
Finally, I'd like to say a special "Thank you" to Spitzboov for a beautiful Annin US flag (3'X5") he surprised me yesterday. When Boomer opened the package and told me the story, I was AGOG and could not stop saying "Oh, my God, oh, my God..". Boomer later showed me how to fold the flag properly.
I then discovered that the Marines raised an Annin flag in Iwo Jima, and the NASA Apollo 11 moon flag is an Annin also. I wonder if those flags draping the coffins of our fallen soldiers are Annin.
I just cast my first vote as a US citizen in the primary on Tuesday, and this flag, made in the US and sent from a former Navy "salt", means a lot to me. Xie Xie, Spitzboov! I'll never take my privileges & rights as a citizen for granted.
C.C.
17A. The animals were bored, and the cows suggested a __ : MOO-VIE NIGHT. The base phrase is Movie Night. Cows moo.
20A. "Great idea!" said the goats. "Let's watch '__'" : MAA-S ATTACKS. Mars Attack!. Directed by Tim Burton. Goats maa. The first two and the last two theme answers have an impressive 7-letter overlap.
35A. "How lowbrow!" said the cats. "We much prefer '__'" : THE COLOR PURR-PLE. The Color Purple. Not a familiar movie to me. Cats purr. The only entry where the pun is on the last word instead of the first. I'd prefer the central entry puns on Prince's "Purr-ple Rain", so the sound would be consistent with the other theme entries. The resulting phrase has 11 letters, nice but not ideal for the central entry. Constructors prefer a central 15-letter grid spanner as it's easier to work around.
50A. "Too serious!" said the pigeons. "Why don't we go with '__'?" : COO HAND LUKE. Cool Hand Luke. Starring the great Paul Newman. Pigeons coo.
55A. But in the end, the sheep had their way, and they all watched "__" : BAA-BAA-RELLA. Barbarella. Jane Fonda movie. Sheep baa.
Fun theme. Reminds me of John Lampkin's "Pet Food" puzzle, in which part of a common food/beverage is substituted with the sound the animal make.
The cluing is fun too. Patrick Berry uses this style in some of Chronicle of Higher Education puzzles. John Lampkin also employs this clue/answer combination story in his "The Clothier's Apprentice".
The clue for ELENA (45A. Supreme Court nominee Kagan) is obviously not updated, since she just became our Supreme Court justice last Saturday. Rich Norris edits all the puzzles a month in advance, hence the error.
Across:
1. Weenie : TWERP. Was thinking of hot dog.
6. Certain alien : LEGAL. "Alien" always refers to "foreigner" rather than "extraterrestrial being" in late week puzzle.
11. With 58-Down, "Taking Woodstock" director : ANG. And LEE (58D. See 11-Across). New Ang Lee reference to me.
14. Many an IM user : AOLER. All of its letter components can be the first & second letter of any word, very construction friendly. So, you keep seeing it again and again.
15. "But I don't want to go among mad people" speaker : ALICE. "Alice in Wonderland". Was ignorant of the quote.
16. Co. in Cannes : CIE. Kazie explained this before.
19. False pretense : ACT
22. One may have an undulating floor : FUNHOUSE. I've never been to one.
26. Viti Levu is its largest island : FIJI. Stumper. I don't know where Viti Levu is. Fiji's capital Suva is in this island and the majority of Fijians live here, a la Wikipedia.
27. Salt's salutations : AHOYS. Alliteration. Salt = Sailor.
28. Nouveau riche : UPSTART
31. Piece conclusion : CODA. Did you think of "musical piece" immediately?
32. Software for creating bibliographies : ENDNOTE. Not aware of this software.
40. Check for flaws : INSPECT
41. Give __ up: assist : A LEG
42. Cry at a faith healing : I CAN SEE. Nice multi-word.
46. Abolitionist Lucretia : MOTT. No idea. She's a Quaker.
47. 1949 Gatsby portrayer : ALAN LADD. I only know Robert Redford's "The Great Gatsby".
54. Sanctioned : OK'D
60. Jar head : LID. Of course I fell the trap of reading the clue as one word Marine "Jarhead" and thinking of Dennis & Argyle.
61. "Bye!" : ADIEU
62. Say "Hi!" to : GREET. I like the consecutive "Bye" and "Hi".
63. L'École __ Roches: French private school : DES. I suppose you can deduce if you know French, since "des" = de + les. Too much for me.
64. Support pieces : BASES
65. Produce some cliff notes? : YODEL. Because there are lots of cliff and mountains in the Swiss Alps?
Down:
1. Highlander's cap : TAM
2. Seek support from : WOO. Or seek affection.
3. Jeff Lynne's band : ELO. Easy guess.
4. MLK's title : REV
5. Piano duet parts : PRIMOS. Not a familiar "primo" definition to me.
6. Turner and Wood : LANAS. Lana Wood is the sister of Natalia Wood.
7. Beethoven title name : ELISE. "Für Elise".
8. Inverse of nano- : GIGA. Nono= one billionth. Giga = billion.
9. Eight, in Aachen : ACHT. Well, gimme for Kazie/Spitzboov I am sure. It escaped me again.
10. Lithuanian's neighbor : LETT. Latvian.
11. Whistling thorn, e.g. : ACACIA. First encounter with whisteling thorn.
12. Channel for little kids : NICK JR. Total unknown to me. Owned by Viacom.
13. Laughs at a joke : GETS IT
18. Perrier, e.g. : EAU. Quite expensive bottled water.
21. Nevertheless : AFTER ALL
22. Trivia buff's fodder : FACT
23. "Here comes trouble!" : UH OH
24. Anatomical knot : NODE
25. Plant with colorful flower clusters : HYACINTH. Named after the Greek mythological figure who was loved and accidentally killed by Apollo.
28. Gender-biased, briefly : UNPC. PC = Politically Correct.
29. Sulk : POUT
30. Violas' sect. : STR (String)
32. More : ELSE
33. Informal turndown : NOPE
34. "Forgot About __": hip-hop hit : DRE. No idea. By Dre, obviously.
36. Walk-__: bit parts : ONS
37. Fervent request : PLEA
38. Give conditionally : LEND
39. Quaint "Yowza!" : EGAD. Lucina uses "Yowza!" often.
42. "Turn up the heat!" : I'M COLD. Finally it's going to cool off a bit here in MN. So hot and humid in the past few weeks.
43. Lunchbox snack : COOKIE
44. Like bitter rivals : AT ODDS. Had difficulty parsing the answer.
45. Verve : ENERGY
47. "The Zoo Story" playwright : ALBEE (Edward). Have never heard of the play.
48. Events where the dessert haupia is served : LUAUS. What is haupia?
49. Dossier abbr. : A.K.A. Oh, police dossier.
51. Rhyme scheme in many sonnets : ABAB. Wish Clear Ayes were here.
52. Bupkis, in Barcelona : NADA. Bupkis is Yiddish for nothing. Another unknown to me.
53. Address site : DAIS
56. Ranch closing? : ERO. Closing for the word ranchero. Gimme, Lois?
57. Spearheaded : LED
59. Part of NATO: Abbr. : ATL
Answer grid.
Here is a recent photo of our quick-witted trombonist Jazzbumpa, who's been on vacation with his talented grand-kids the past few days, thus the sparse appearances. All the fill symmetries have been feeling ignored, Jazzbumpa!
Finally, I'd like to say a special "Thank you" to Spitzboov for a beautiful Annin US flag (3'X5") he surprised me yesterday. When Boomer opened the package and told me the story, I was AGOG and could not stop saying "Oh, my God, oh, my God..". Boomer later showed me how to fold the flag properly.
I then discovered that the Marines raised an Annin flag in Iwo Jima, and the NASA Apollo 11 moon flag is an Annin also. I wonder if those flags draping the coffins of our fallen soldiers are Annin.
I just cast my first vote as a US citizen in the primary on Tuesday, and this flag, made in the US and sent from a former Navy "salt", means a lot to me. Xie Xie, Spitzboov! I'll never take my privileges & rights as a citizen for granted.
C.C.
