Another Friday where we mix up some letters and get new fill. Peter has done a few puzzles here, I blogged his first LAT back about three years ago, and this is his first for 2014. Really a mostly straightforward Friday with a classic mix up letters theme. There are some difficult proper names; you need to know some mythology, some old-time baseball, some Gilbert & Sullivan, some rock roll, some history and some literature. A nice bundle, as a Friday should be. So let us see how the letters arrange themselves.
17A. Fish-derived supplement : COD LIVER OIL This is one of those oddities where a scrambled version of a word can be built from either direction. Having to down a tablespoon of this supplement was one of the fears of childhood in my youth.
24A. Prince Charles' closetful : SAVILE ROW SUITS. The London street where the Tailors toil. Steve any comments?
37A. Leaving the jurisdiction, perhaps : PAROLE VIOLATION. The legal system has gone away from Parole to a new type of supervised release.
48A. 1982 Joan Jett & the Blackhearts hit : I LOVE ROCK'N ROLL.
59A. Literary orphan ... and what 17-, 24-, 37- and 48-Across each contains? : OLIVER TWIST,
Across:
1. Famiglia nickname : MAMMA. Italian for family.
6. Celtic language : WELSH. One of 4 which remain spoken. I wonder why the basketball team was never pronounced the "keltics.'
11. Base enforcers, briefly : MPS. Military Police. Interesting because it is a plural but no place to put the S.
14. Menu listings : ITEMS.
15. Muse with a lyre : ERATO. She appears so often I am no longer amused.
16. Bugler in a forest : ELK.
19. Behold : SEE.
20. Diners Club competitor : AMEX. I think American Express would debate this clue.
21. Binding promise : I DO. And you will.
22. Tool that's not for crosscuts : RIP SAW. I hope you have SEEN all the types of saws. Maybe Splynter will come by and give more personal information on sawing.
27. Title stuffed bear in a 2012 film : TED. More from the mind of Seth MacFarlane. TRAILER. (2:07)
28. Valley where Hercules slew a lion : NEMEA. The first of his labors. LINK. More myth, 3D. Vengeful sorceress of myth : MEDEA. A little shout out to me, as she was married to Jason.
29. Site of the Alaska Purchase transfer ceremony : SITKA. Back in 1867 we bought Alaska from the Russians, and the ceremony took place in this southeastern city. With a population of 8,881 in 2010, Sitka is the fourth-largest city by population in Alaska. By land, it is the largest in the United States. (per wiki and others).
33. Blues home: Abbr. : STL. The hockey franchise.
34. Cellular messengers : RNAS.
41. Brest pals : AMIS. I think it works better with milk.
42. Most soldiers : MEN.
43. Hall of Fame umpire Conlan : JOCKO. Those of us who love baseball and study the game know this MAN, but I cannot imagine many here know the name.
44. App writer : CODER. My meh of the day.
46. "... against a __ of troubles": Hamlet : SEA. Take arms...
54. Luxury watch : BULOVA. Luxury?
55. Bailed-out insurance co. : AIG. American International Group, Inc. The STORY.
56. Mislead : FOOL. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
58. "The Prague Cemetery" novelist : ECO. I think we recently had this PHILOSOPHER , for a different book (Foucault's Pendulum) back in January.
62. It may be fresh or stale : AIR.
63. Milk source : UDDER. Would you drink human milk as an adult?
64. Sculled : OARED. A word I also do not like, also 50D. Underground worker : CAVER.
65. House and Howser : MDS. Medical Doctors.
66. Bygone monarchs : TSARS.
67. Winemaking tool : PRESS.
Down:
1. Mineral found in sheets : MICA.
2. Basic matter : ATOMS.
4. Appomattox bicentennial year : MMLXV. 2065.
5. Faulkner's "__ Lay Dying" : AS I. A novel often regarded as one of the best by an American author. Link.
6. Did lawn work : WEEDED.
7. Proofer's find : ERROR.
8. Thai native : LAO. I find the history of the countries and the designation confusing, so maybe you can READ and explain it to me.
9. Last words in a drink recipe, perhaps : STIR WELL.
10. "Total patient" treatment : HOLISM. Holistic medicine does not mean natural medicine, but the two are intertwined.
11. Like one expected to deliver? : MESSIANIC. I really do not get this fill at all, as my knowledge of the word relates to a Messiah.
12. Fabric fold : PLEAT.
13. Slants : SKEWS.
18. Revolting : VILE.
23. __ Rico : PUERTO.
25. Angled ltrs. : ITALics.
26. Not misled by : ON TO.
29. Where to get wraps and scrubs : SPA.
30. "Are you going?" response : I AM. Insane?
31. French and Italian flags : TRICOLORS. Many nations have three colors on the flag including the US; do you all watch the show on flags?
32. Disputed Balkan republic : KOSOVO. As with many an interesting story of CONLICT.
33. Vice principle : SIN.
35. Hunky-dory : A-OK. A word coined by our astronauts.
36. __-cone : SNO.
38. Taurus birthstones, perhaps : EMERALDS. Since many born under the sign of the Bull are born in May, they get the gleaming green gem.
39. Florida's __ Beach : VERO. One of the many small beach town along the Atlantic coast.
40. Out of a jamb? : AJAR. har de har har, har.
45. Pious : DEVOUT.
46. They're often on a slippery slope : SKIERS. Hopefully...
47. MIT grad, often : ENGR. Engineer.
48. Construction girder : I-BEAM. The I from the song made this easy.
49. Understandable : LUCID.
51. Sun Tzu's "The Art __" : OF WAR.
52. Longest river in France : LOIRE. A common clue/fill.
53. Gets knocked off : LOSES.
57. Old Fords : LTDS. Limiteds.
60. Gilbert and Sullivan princess : IDA. I know some G & S but not this one.
61. Part of an inning : TOP. When the visitors bat.
Another Friday done, and for those of you observing best wishes for today and Easter. I am off to rest up from the cold weather. Lemonade out.
Note from C.C.:
Here are a few lovely pictures from the Australia trip Kazie her husband Barry took a couple of weeks ago. Click here for more. Kay was born and grew up in Australia.
Barry and Kay on Tamborine Mountain, overlooking Brisbane
Another friend laying down the law to some pet llamas
Rainbow lorikeets feeding
