18A: Romantic goings-on (love life). I'm so embarrassed to admit that I used to love watching Love Boat. I had a serious crush on one of the crew members...not Julie, but I won't tell who it was.
23A: Tupperware sale event (house party). That was the last one to fall because of an error at 3D: It means "Go with God" (adieu). I had adios, so house wasn't coming together. Party, of course, was a gimme.
55A: Catching cold? (ice fishing). Clever clue, that one. That was the first theme answer I got, so I was able to go back and finish 38-Across.
63A: Cockpit datum (air speed).
The strangest-looking word in the puzzle appears at 4D: Act as a go-between (liaise). It just looks wrong as a verb.
After a long absence, our good friend Euler appears at 7D, clued as [Calculus pioneer]. In fact, it had been so long since we've seen him that it wasn't a gimme.
A few good entertainment answers. 11D: Where "Aida" premiered (Cairo), 12D: Jude Law title role (Alfie), 24D: "All the King's Men" star, 2006 (Penn)and 58D: David of Pink Panther movies (Niven). Stretching that a bit, we also have 13D: Many Justin Timberlake fans (teens), 39D: Toto's home (Kansas) and 54D: Shrek's ilk (ogres).
Clues that refer to time of day are often easy to figure out. We have two in today's puzzle...43A: Early time to rise (six a.m.) and 71A: When many stores open (at nine).
Some decidedly non-crosswordese fill as well. 1A: Scores, as a victory, with "up" (chalks), 34A: Erie Canal city (Utica), 65A: Whodunit plot element (motive), 8D: Chop-chop (pronto), 9D: Embassy figures (envoys), 19D: Smooth, musically (legato), 42D: Points that may have rays (foci), 47D: Lab tubes (pipets)...great word...and 56D: Pillow filler (eider).
I couldn't for the life of me remember a single Clinton cabinet member...it's late, I'm tired, I have high blood pressure, whatever. Because of the crosses, though, I was able to get Reno at 21A.
I didn't know 20A: "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose" writer (Stein). I may or may not remember it when I see it next.
Well, six a.m. will be here before I know it, so I'll wrap this up for tonight. Here's the grid...
...and I'll see you tomorrow.
Linda G
8 comments:
Hi Linda...todays puzzle was fun...I want to recognize your increasing prowess for sports clues.
Have a good day
Bob
Hi Linda,
I too liked catching cold? Ice fishing. However, I am completely clueless on Twi-nigh double header. What exactly is this?
Thanks
Bob, I didn't even realize I got a sports clue until I read the second comment. Bougeotte, it's a baseball term...and that's all I know about it. Maybe someone else can tell you (us?) more ; )
I did not like several of the clues/answers in this puzzle. But first, twi-night double header refers to two games played in the late afternoon--into evening on the same day. So maybe you leave work early, the game starts at 5, and the second game ends at eleven.
My objection, as a mathematically oriented scientist is that euler was a not a major contributor to calculus---those should be either newton or Leibnitz. Euler was more of a geometrician.
A pipet is not a tube---it is tubular but it is used to transfer liquids from one container to another (maybe tubes). I frequently get frustrated by crossword clues/answers that are only marginally related to correct answers. Enough of my rant for today.
Thanks for your blog. I am glad that your letter verifier is stopping the spam. It shows that the spam is machine generated rather than the result of individual malice.
love.... lucy
Linda,
Gertrude Stein's other famous line is: "There is no there there." I think it refers to her home town somewhere in California. The ROse line is often misquoted as "A rose is a rose is a rose." Small difference. There is a new biography out about her and her lover/partner Alice Toklas. Other than these quotes almost nobody reads her anymore, yet she remains famous.
Re: 21A -- I had the opposite problem doing a puzzle about a month ago, which is to say I remembered TOO MANY Clinton Cabinet members. Four letters, I had the E and the N, and I said, "Aha! An easy one!" ... and wrote in PENA. That's what you get for being a former government employee, I guess.
John, that's funny to me, also a former government employee. I was reflecting recently on the relative anonymity (to me) of so many contemporary cabinet members vs. the heyday of JFK, LBJ and RMN. I can remember name after name of the cabinet members from those administrations, but precious few since that time.
IT IS I, cornbread! hahahahaha.
http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxitsmev.html
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