Another Monday that I didn't breeze right through, although the theme became apparent right away in answers that ended with things you'd find in the (30 D) JUNK DRAWER. The theme entries were:
(18 A) FLORIDA KEYS
(61 A) THIRD STRING
(3 D) TICKER TAPE
(24 D) PIG PENS
I don't keep any of these things in a junk drawer, preferring to strew them all over the house in various locations, but it was a nice theme nonetheless. I hadn't seen it before, anyway.
Notable today was some bizarreness that didn't seem too Monday-esque. My top vote in this category goes to (42 A) TOPER. I've been in the company of way too many serious drinkers in my day, and I've never heard this word under any circumstances. Per my dictionary, it's derived from the French infinitive 'toper' meaning to accept the stakes in gambling, and it goes on to speculate that the drinking element "probably" refers to the custom of drinking to the conclusion of the wager. Uh ... what? Everyone, please use this in a sentence today. Personally, I'd rather never see it again.
Another was actually a clue, which may be totally obvious to some, and that was (1 D) Part of a suicide squeeze, or BUNT. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squeeze_play_%28baseball%29
That's a rather unfortunate term, though, or would be for some.
Never heard of doctors being referred to as (22 A) MEDICOs, either.
Decorate with leaves? (5D) FOLIATE? Who says that? For that matter, who does that?
However, there are old friends here today, among whom are:
We have crossword blogger extraordinaire (69 A) REX (see sidebar if you by some chance don't know who he is);
the Pantheonic krossword kanine (33 A) ASTA, who I might note lived with two humans, Nick and Nora Charles, who were TOPERs to the max;
(57D) Archie and Veronica precursor ETTA Kett, who was supposed to be a high school student, but I'm not buying it; she looks at least 30. Don't you think? FYI, her boyfriend's name is Wingey. Don't kill the messenger.
There are several others, but I'm bored by them already.
(12 D) YOYO and (35 D) DODO make a cute pair in the puzzle, though!
Getting ready for the season premiere of the killer show 30 Rock this Thursday at 8:30 Eastern is (11D) ALEC Baldwin. One of my few appointment television shows from the past year. I am so glad he didn't get derailed by his family problems and leave the show like he originally threatened. Nothing would have been gained by that, Alec! (Call me selfish.)
By far my thrilling word of the day here was (36A) PLUNK. That was worth the price of admission.
Hope you're getting ready for the week ahead by having a hearty breakfast, and I don't mean (60D) TRIX, which will rot your teeth or worse. I suppose you could go to (55D) IHOP, though to me, I know it's sacrilegious, but here again, we're talking empty calories or cholesterol out the wazoo. Just IMOO. ;)
Here's the grid; click to enlarge.
7 comments:
Nice write-up Wendy. I didn't know what a suicide squeeze was either and appreciated your reference. Etta does look 30-and-I wondered where the Rex in Rex Parker came from-now I know! If he's king of the crosswords I think you and Linda are the queens! Appreciate your early post-it was nice to be able to check right after working the puzzle online.
47A had me scratching my head even after I got it from the downs. Had to go over it a few times before OD on came to me.
I know all about "The Thin Man" (Hammett, Nick & Nora Charles, and, of course, Asta) ONLY from crossword puzzles :-P
With all the talk about time, I decided to time myself (thought a Monday puzzle would be a good place to start) did this one with paper & pencil in just under 8 minutes. Sunday's took me close to an hour.
Nice job, Wendy. Thanks again for filling in.
A nice easy puzzle...I was even able to do it online in under 9 minutes. That means I'd have been under 5 on paper.
BUNT was a good guess, since I had most of the letters filled in, but I don't think I knew the term suicide squeeze.
It rained most of the day, but we managed to get in a beach walk and do some souvenir and gift shopping. I think it's safe to say it here...I bought Elaine the most beautiful string of pearls to wear with her wedding dress.
Looking forward to seeing what Rick has to say tomorrow. He's doing a good job of behaving himself ; )
Wendy: over the years I've seen "toper" used many times, but only in crossword puzzles, never in a sentence. Nice write-up.
I had the same problem with 47A, Coach. A space between "od" and "on" would have been nice.
I had "ya" for 30A and thought for a minute that a new word "yuckdrawer" had been created. Nah!
And for 63A I had "you" which made 30D even more rediculous. The acrosses finally smoothed things out.
Very nice. By the way, IHOP is breakfast mecca to some, even if one can make better pancakes at home :). Personally, I prefer to test their neverending cup of coffee, or whatever they call it. Been a long time since I've made the pilgrimage there.
Used to have a junk drawer with all that stuff; nowadays, it's more of the strewn-around-the-kitchen system. I miss the drawer.
wendy. you are really getting the hang of this. nice job!
this is probably my all time favorite monday puzzle.
so many great clues/answers for a monday...i marked 11 to comment on while slving, but i'll spare you the details.
except to mention one of my favorite bits of trivia.
27D: fur (and opium) trader john jacob ASTOR was the first millionaire. what did he have in common with j.d. rockefeller (the 1st billionaire)?
they both were purported to engage wet nurses in their old age.
don't shoot the messenger, ok? ahahahaha
Having lived much of my life with a son who is a baseball nut, I can attest that "suicide squeeze" is a frequently used phrase among those who discuss these things.
Thanks for letting me know about Nick and Nora's drinking habits. I thought the only thing they did was own a dog.
Good commentary -- thanks!
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