Theme: Punditry - four punning theme entries as follows:
20A. San Sebastián beachgoer?: BASQUE IN THE SUN. Also known as Donostia in the Basque language, San Sebastián is a beautiful city in Spain renowned for its beaches and its wonderful cuisine.
34A. Really cranky folks in Prague?: CROSS CZECHS
43A. Majestic Nairobi native? : GRAND KENYAN. Not for me. I pronounce "Kenyan" and "Canyon" quite differently.
59A. End of a Helsinki marathon?: THE FINNISH LINE. Odd one out here, I'd say. The punning "Finnish" and the punned "Finish" are too close for my liking.
Here we have another LAT debutant in Hoang-Kim Vu, Rich really is casting the net wide for new constructors, so congratulations.
I think I've said before that play-on-words puzzles are not my favorites; they're difficult to nail for one reason or another. I did like "basque in the sun" having said all that. Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Radio letters: AM/FM
5. Oust: EVICT
10. Overly submissive: MEEK. Aren't the meek supposed to inherit the earth?
14. Composer Schifrin: LALO. I think I ought to know this by now, it's been used in more than a few puzzles. The crosses filled it in for me.
15. Where one might find shade on a 16-Across: LANAI. The veranda, originating quite aptly in the Hawai'ian islands.
16. Tropical spot: ISLE. Such as the island of Lanai, now 97% owned by my old boss Larry Ellison. He's come in for a lot of criticism regarding his promises to make the island "the first economically-viable 100% green community". Not a lot of progress has been made.
17. Ceremonial promises: I DO'S
18. Explosion: BLAST
19. Bread with vindaloo: NAAN. Food! I love garlic naan. I've tried making them at home, but you need that 800F tandoor to cook them in for the genuine taste and texture.
23. Doorbell ringers' response: IT'S US
24. Joshua tree habitat: DESERT. Let's hear from U2 with a live track from their "Joshua Tree" album. I saw them perform the album live at the Rose Bowl in 2017. What a great gig.
25. CPR specialist: EMT
27. Copy, in a way: TRACE
31. "Blue Bloods" network: CBS
39. Only state whose entire east and west borders are rivers: IOWA. News to me. The Missouri and Mississippi rivers are the borders. The author Bill Bryson once wrote "Iowa is so flat that if you stand on a phone book you can see for 200 miles". Made me chuckle.
41. "Mythology" author Hamilton: EDITH. Who? Apparently this Bryn Mawr graduate passed me by.
42. Word with day or year: LEAP
46. Like many Pinterest projects, for short: D.I.Y. I never quite "get" Pinterest. I've ended up there a few times searching for images, but I don't really understand what the site is all about.
47. Inkling: SENSE
48. Young Dickens hero: PIP. From Great Expectations. "I took the opportunity of being alone in the court-yard, to look at my coarse hands and my common boots."
50. Birthplace of Marie Curie: WARSAW. I knew this, no idea how. I must have read up on Mrs. Curie at some point.
55. PlayStation player: GAMER
62. Wielder of the hammer Mjölnir: THOR
63. Gate fastener: LATCH
64. Chip in chips: ANTE
65. See 66-Across: KANE and
66. With 65-Across, Susan Lucci role: ERICA. Crosses all the way. I don't watch daytime soaps, and thus I've never seen "All My Children". The actress was 71 when this picture was taken last year. Had some "work" done?
67. Like some dorms: CO-ED
68. Was in the red: OWED
69. Disintegrate: DECAY
70. Blunders: ERRS
Down:
1. Cover story?: ALIBI. Nice clue.
2. Really upset with: MAD AT
3. Dentist's advice: FLOSS
4. The Hagia Sophia, once: MOSQUE. This place in Istanbul, now a museum. It began life as a Greek Orthodox Christian cathedral before it became a mosque.
5. Dresden's river: ELBE. Crossword staple by now.
6. Still in effect: VALID
7. Cockamamie: INANE
8. Throws out a line: CASTS
9. Church donation: TITHE
10. Faire performer: MINSTREL. Entertainment at many a Renaissance "Faire."
11. First son of Isaac: ESAU
12. Lust for life: ELAN
13. "Inception" actor Watanabe: KEN
21. "Semper Fi" org.: U.S.M.C. Properly "semper fidelis", "always faithful"
22. Tight end Zach who scored the go-ahead touchdown in the Eagles' only Super Bowl victory (2018): ERTZ. Who? And I watched the game. He came from Stanford, so he's probably smart as well as large enough not to trifle with (6'5" and 249lbs)
26. Tough journey: TREK
28. Cruised through: ACED
29. Indian spiced tea: CHAI
30. Best Breakthrough Athlete Award, for one: ESPY
31. Smokes, briefly: CIGS
32. Drag: BORE
33. Ugly duckling, as it turns out: SWAN
35. Tribute piece: ODE
36. Confession in confession: SIN
37. Hog heaven?: STY
38. "I say, old __": CHAP
40. Got back to: ANSWERED. Strangely, this word has not appeared in either the LA Times nor the Shortz-era NY Times crosswords.
44. Unable to hear: DEAF
45. Approaching: NIGH
49. Royal home: PALACE
51. Irritated: RILED
52. It's a trap!: SNARE. Nice clue.
53. Caper: ANTIC
54. Neopagan practice: WICCA. I had WICKA for no good reason at first, and ERIKA seemed OK. Not good enough for the "ta-da" though, so I sleuthed around until I saw my mistake.
56. Like the key of Beethoven's Fifth: MINOR. C minor in this particular instance. All together now - DA DA DA DUN!
57. Stage direction: ENTER
58. Some woodwinds: REEDS. The piccolo and flute are also part of the woodwind section of the orchestra, but do not have reeds.
59. Become less aloof: THAW
60. Give a fine edge to: HONE
61. Grammy-winning country duo Dan + __: SHAY. Crosses again, thank you. Never heard of these two chaps. 67 million folks have viewed their "Tequila" video on YouTube, so they're evidently popular somewhere out there. (See what I did with their/they're/there!)
62. Fight-ending letters: T.K.O. Technical Knock-Out, as I'm sure we all know by now. When the ref stops the fight.
And so to the grid, and that's my lot.
Steve
20A. San Sebastián beachgoer?: BASQUE IN THE SUN. Also known as Donostia in the Basque language, San Sebastián is a beautiful city in Spain renowned for its beaches and its wonderful cuisine.
34A. Really cranky folks in Prague?: CROSS CZECHS
43A. Majestic Nairobi native? : GRAND KENYAN. Not for me. I pronounce "Kenyan" and "Canyon" quite differently.
59A. End of a Helsinki marathon?: THE FINNISH LINE. Odd one out here, I'd say. The punning "Finnish" and the punned "Finish" are too close for my liking.
Here we have another LAT debutant in Hoang-Kim Vu, Rich really is casting the net wide for new constructors, so congratulations.
I think I've said before that play-on-words puzzles are not my favorites; they're difficult to nail for one reason or another. I did like "basque in the sun" having said all that. Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Radio letters: AM/FM
5. Oust: EVICT
10. Overly submissive: MEEK. Aren't the meek supposed to inherit the earth?
14. Composer Schifrin: LALO. I think I ought to know this by now, it's been used in more than a few puzzles. The crosses filled it in for me.
15. Where one might find shade on a 16-Across: LANAI. The veranda, originating quite aptly in the Hawai'ian islands.
16. Tropical spot: ISLE. Such as the island of Lanai, now 97% owned by my old boss Larry Ellison. He's come in for a lot of criticism regarding his promises to make the island "the first economically-viable 100% green community". Not a lot of progress has been made.
17. Ceremonial promises: I DO'S
18. Explosion: BLAST
19. Bread with vindaloo: NAAN. Food! I love garlic naan. I've tried making them at home, but you need that 800F tandoor to cook them in for the genuine taste and texture.
23. Doorbell ringers' response: IT'S US
24. Joshua tree habitat: DESERT. Let's hear from U2 with a live track from their "Joshua Tree" album. I saw them perform the album live at the Rose Bowl in 2017. What a great gig.
25. CPR specialist: EMT
27. Copy, in a way: TRACE
31. "Blue Bloods" network: CBS
39. Only state whose entire east and west borders are rivers: IOWA. News to me. The Missouri and Mississippi rivers are the borders. The author Bill Bryson once wrote "Iowa is so flat that if you stand on a phone book you can see for 200 miles". Made me chuckle.
41. "Mythology" author Hamilton: EDITH. Who? Apparently this Bryn Mawr graduate passed me by.
42. Word with day or year: LEAP
46. Like many Pinterest projects, for short: D.I.Y. I never quite "get" Pinterest. I've ended up there a few times searching for images, but I don't really understand what the site is all about.
47. Inkling: SENSE
48. Young Dickens hero: PIP. From Great Expectations. "I took the opportunity of being alone in the court-yard, to look at my coarse hands and my common boots."
50. Birthplace of Marie Curie: WARSAW. I knew this, no idea how. I must have read up on Mrs. Curie at some point.
55. PlayStation player: GAMER
62. Wielder of the hammer Mjölnir: THOR
63. Gate fastener: LATCH
64. Chip in chips: ANTE
65. See 66-Across: KANE and
66. With 65-Across, Susan Lucci role: ERICA. Crosses all the way. I don't watch daytime soaps, and thus I've never seen "All My Children". The actress was 71 when this picture was taken last year. Had some "work" done?
67. Like some dorms: CO-ED
68. Was in the red: OWED
69. Disintegrate: DECAY
70. Blunders: ERRS
Down:
1. Cover story?: ALIBI. Nice clue.
2. Really upset with: MAD AT
3. Dentist's advice: FLOSS
4. The Hagia Sophia, once: MOSQUE. This place in Istanbul, now a museum. It began life as a Greek Orthodox Christian cathedral before it became a mosque.
5. Dresden's river: ELBE. Crossword staple by now.
6. Still in effect: VALID
7. Cockamamie: INANE
8. Throws out a line: CASTS
9. Church donation: TITHE
10. Faire performer: MINSTREL. Entertainment at many a Renaissance "Faire."
11. First son of Isaac: ESAU
12. Lust for life: ELAN
13. "Inception" actor Watanabe: KEN
21. "Semper Fi" org.: U.S.M.C. Properly "semper fidelis", "always faithful"
22. Tight end Zach who scored the go-ahead touchdown in the Eagles' only Super Bowl victory (2018): ERTZ. Who? And I watched the game. He came from Stanford, so he's probably smart as well as large enough not to trifle with (6'5" and 249lbs)
26. Tough journey: TREK
28. Cruised through: ACED
29. Indian spiced tea: CHAI
30. Best Breakthrough Athlete Award, for one: ESPY
31. Smokes, briefly: CIGS
32. Drag: BORE
33. Ugly duckling, as it turns out: SWAN
35. Tribute piece: ODE
36. Confession in confession: SIN
37. Hog heaven?: STY
38. "I say, old __": CHAP
40. Got back to: ANSWERED. Strangely, this word has not appeared in either the LA Times nor the Shortz-era NY Times crosswords.
44. Unable to hear: DEAF
45. Approaching: NIGH
49. Royal home: PALACE
51. Irritated: RILED
52. It's a trap!: SNARE. Nice clue.
53. Caper: ANTIC
54. Neopagan practice: WICCA. I had WICKA for no good reason at first, and ERIKA seemed OK. Not good enough for the "ta-da" though, so I sleuthed around until I saw my mistake.
56. Like the key of Beethoven's Fifth: MINOR. C minor in this particular instance. All together now - DA DA DA DUN!
57. Stage direction: ENTER
58. Some woodwinds: REEDS. The piccolo and flute are also part of the woodwind section of the orchestra, but do not have reeds.
59. Become less aloof: THAW
60. Give a fine edge to: HONE
61. Grammy-winning country duo Dan + __: SHAY. Crosses again, thank you. Never heard of these two chaps. 67 million folks have viewed their "Tequila" video on YouTube, so they're evidently popular somewhere out there. (See what I did with their/they're/there!)
62. Fight-ending letters: T.K.O. Technical Knock-Out, as I'm sure we all know by now. When the ref stops the fight.
And so to the grid, and that's my lot.
Steve
