17A: Fortune-seeking trio (Little Pigs).
36A: Grass-eating trio (Billy Goats Gruff). That was one of my favorite stories as a kid, so this was a gimme.
57A: Gift-giver's trio (French Hens). I'm probably not the only solver who wanted the Wise Men in there...wondering what other adjective might make it fit. In retrospect, that would have been clued Gift-giving trio.
11D: Trio at sea (Men in a Tub). Had most of the acrosses, so this was easy.
11D: Trio at sea (Men in a Tub). Had most of the acrosses, so this was easy.
33D: Trio on the run (Blind Mice). Same thing here.
5D: "Nonsense!" (malarkey). By far, my favorite word in the puzzle. My father didn't swear (my mother once remarked that he wouldn't say shit if he had a mouthful), and this was a word he often used instead of BS.
Symmetrically opposite that, we have 38D: Minor hang-ups (glitches), another good word.
Don't believe I've ever seen 28A: Peru-Bolivia border lake (Titicaca) in a puzzle before. It was on the tip of my tongue, but I needed a couple of crosses to get it.
The only place I bungled was 52A: Respectful tribute. I had eulogy...when the first three letters were revealed to be HOM, I changed it to homily. Finally got to the real answer...homage.
Other good ones:
1A: Town known for witch trials (Salem). It's always nice to get 1-Across.
14A: Politician who wrote "The Audacity of Hope" (Obama). Haven't read it but might. Don read something of his and gave it a good review, but I don't remember if this was the one.
43A: Pedestrian's intersection warning (Don't Walk). We used to think that didn't much matter in this fairly small city, but there have been a lot of pedestrian fatalities in the last year. Maybe folks had better start paying big-city attention.
9D: Peaceful interludes (respites). It's nice to finally have some of those in this house...the joys of an empty nest.
10D: Titillating (erotic). We had erotica the other day...one of two answers clued identically as Thighs may be displayed in it. The other answer was meat case.
46D: Painter Chagall (Marc) is back in the puzzle. He's a favorite, and I expect we'll see him more often. Maybe he'll make it to the next Pantheon.
49D: Alpha's opposite (Omega). Those are two Greek letters I never forget.
The award for most clever clue/answer goes to 1D: They're always underfoot (soles).
45D: Jokester (wag). That doesn't sound even vaguely familiar.
A quick diversion before I get to the grid. In yesterday's comments, I mentioned that Elaine and Mike were officially engaged. Here's a picture of the happy couple, who are planning to wed on July 26, 2008. Mike has a 2-year-old son who's currently living with his Grandma. Once he and Elaine get settled, Franklin will move to his new home. And Don and I will become instant grandparents. They're pretty darn happy, and Don and I are happy for them.Okay...here's the grid you've been waiting for.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Linda G
3 comments:
I loved your remarks on 5D (malarkey); your mother uses one of my favorite expressions.
I have no idea what a "gruff" is. It's been centuries since I read children's stories. If it hadn't been for 38D "Glitches", I would never have figured that one out.
gift-giver's trio -- you were lookin' for "wise men" and i was lookin' for "gold, frankincense, and myrrh"... couldn't figure *how* i was gonna fit all those letters in...
again -- congrats on the impending nuptials. lotta gift-givin' gonna be goin' on out your way i imagine!
;-)
janie
The billy goats were a little gruff, especially the biggest one, who opened a can of whup-ass on that nasty troll on the bridge.
When I was a kid, the (usually dry) drainage ditch by my grandma's house had a little wooden bridge. We used to play Three Billy Goats Gruff, with one kid squeezing beneath the bridge to play the troll's part. Good times!
I hope that educational cartoon about Franklin the turtle isn't still on the air when this Franklin's 4 or 5. Nobody wants to be called a turtle!
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