The theme is revealed at 68A: Tiny critters found twice each in 17-, 38- and 60-Across (ants).
And you'll find the ants hiding in the three theme answers:
17A: Operation for a new liver or kidney (ORGAN TRANSPLANT). Always nice to have a long gimme.
38A: Beneficial substance in fruits, vegetables and tea (ANTIOXIDANT). I'm really beefing up my intake of them in an effort to decrease my cholesterol without statins. Definitely lots of blueberries and green tea. Another gimme.
60A: Literary genre popular with women (ROMANTIC FANTASY). That should have been clued "with SOME women." I have never in my life read one. I expect to leave this world without ever having read one. All I could think of was Harlequin romance, and it wouldn't fit...so I needed some downs to get it.
Absolutely loved some of the clues/answers:
11D: Kind of suit (class action). Earlier this year I got a few (48A: Small number) hundred dollars in a class action settlement. Apparently a drug manufacturer had done something to delay the release of the generic equivalent, so I got a refund of a portion of what I paid for the name-brand drug. Woo-hoo!
12D: Street opening for a utility worker (manhole).
25D: "I, Robot" author (Isaac Asimov). I love having his full name in there.
27D: Four (two x two). I'm sure I'm not the only one who was questioning antioxidant at this point.
29D: Key of Saint-Saëns's "Danse macabre" (G minor). I haven't played the piano in months now...thankfully, I still remember the names of chords.
36D: __ gras (foie). I wish it meant "fake grass" instead of "fat liver." That just sounds nasty.
39D: Puffed up (inflated).
41D: Without metaphor (literal).
42D: Mother-of-pearl source (abalone).
The very last square I filled in was the E at the cross of 35A: Swains and 24D: Shade. I even went through the alphabet and couldn't see that they wanted beaus and hue. This was the first puzzle I did online, and I sat for a full five minutes with that empty square staring back at me. I went completely blank on swains, and I was thinking shade...the kind produced by a leafy tree. I ended up printing out the blank puzzle and doing it by hand...then it came to me.
5A: Propel a bicycle (pedal). Don did a 50-mile bike ride this morning, and he did plenty of it. Fifty miles on a road bike isn't bad...fifty miles on a mountain bike is almost unbearable. The man's tough.
Also liked 14A: Hawaii's "Valley Isle" (Maui)...a beautiful place; 20A: Home (in on) (zero); 16A: Linen fiber (flax); 28A: Encourages (eggs on); 8D: "__ it the truth!" (ain't) and 49D: "Streets" of Venice (canals).
Never even saw 45D: 151, in old Rome (CLI), but my Roman numeral knowledge has improved since I started doing puzzles.
Maybe I'm slow, but I don't see how 34A: Beer component is male. I entered hops when I did it online, but that disappeared when I started getting the downs. [UPDATE: Thanks, profphil, for pointing out that it's actually malt. I don't know where my brain was last night.]
That's it for today. Here's the grid...
...and I'll see you tomorrow.
Linda G
7 comments:
Linda,
34A is "malt."
As statins, I too was reluctant to go on them for cholesterol problems. However my Dr (who is unusually brilliant and probably saved my life--long story) said that statins can be life savers and benefit the user in more ways than just reducing cholesterol. She is not a drug pusher and is open to alternatives but feels medicines used correctly can be quite effective especialy with statins. So good luck eating right and avoiding statins but if necessary don't hesitate.
Like your self I print out the blank puzzle as I enjoy doing it better that way. May I ask how you get the inner lines of the puzzle to print so clearly. I can't get my printer to do it...I enjoy your daily blog...thanks for the help
Bob
Oh, how embarrassing! Thanks, profphil. In my defense, I can only say that I don't like malt liquor...or malted milk. And thanks for your advice on statins. If the cardiologist wants to go ahead, I'm game. He talked me out of them two years ago because of the high level of HDL.
Bob, glad you enjoy the blog. I'm not so sure I was helpful today, though...still blushing. When I print out the puzzle, the lines aren't that well-defined. It's my scanner that makes it look that much darker and clearer. Sorry that I couldn't help on that one.
You've never read any romantic fantasy? What about "The Time Traveler's Wife?" Since that's my favorite book, maybe the clue should have read "genre popular with SOME women AND SOME MEN."
Robert, when I think romance novels, I think of those that aren't what I'd consider literature by any stretch of the imagination. You know the ones...the shirtless man, the busty woman in a long dress with a plunging neckline, falling into his arms. The Time Traveler's Wife doesn't fall into that category...and it's still MY favorite book.
speaking of time traveling...i'm here to check out alternative formatting as i attempt a *practice* blog of the puzzle you did 6 weeks ago.
but i don't want to go your syndicated review for fear of actually learning what you or anyone else thought of it before i finish mine.
maybe by morning i'll have finished the blog. (sheesh. i can't believe y'all do this every day...)
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