Today's puzzle brought back some old memories.The theme was revealed at 57A: Publication that is the key to this puzzle's theme (DAILY PLANET).
The other three theme answers featured two of its star reporters, as well as the editor.
21A: They require signals (LANE CHANGES).
28A: Ohio university whose team is the Golden Flashes (KENT STATE).
47A: Fibs (WHITE LIES).
I kept looking for Jimmy Olsen in the grid, but he was nowhere to be found. Here's the whole crew (in the 1950s...when I watched Superman).The older I get, the more I enjoy waxing nostalgic...so this was a pretty enjoyable theme.
The nontheme fill consisted of more than 30 four-letter words. Some of them...typical crosswordese...sported clues that strayed from the ordinary. Some of my favorites:
14A: Island dance (hula)...sorry, the only picture I have of me doing the hula is on the blurry side.
17A: Final notice? (obit). Too good.
18A: Coastal flier (erne). Look, up in the sky. It's an erne...
Also 44A: P P P, in Greek (rhos), 70A: Proofer's mark (stet), 7D: Airport delay? (line), 11D: Bug-eyed (agog), 21D: After the buzzer (late), 33D: Israel's Abba (Eban) and 34D: Sticking point? (craw)...one of the best.
There were only two long nontheme answers...liked them both. 3D: 1998 role for Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth I) and 31D: Genesis duo (Adam and Eve)...Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel wouldn't fit.
Other favorite fill:
34A: Fancy flapjacks (crepes).
40A: Slacks material (chino).
63A: Tunesmith's org. (ASCAP).
2D: Blake of jazz (Eubie).5D: N.B.A.'s Shaquille (O'Neal). Sports clue...got it...love it.
6D: Egyptian temple site (Karnak). I thought that was a Johnny Carson character...I guess that was spelled Carnak.
9D: Make spotless (cleanse). Had clean up, causing problems with one of the theme answer. That was made worse by 22D: "Oh, goody!" (hot dog)...I wanted hooray.
29D: Beethoven dedicatee (Elise). Another Beethoven clue/answer at 25A: Number of operas composed by Beethoven (one). I had to look it up to see what it was. Fidelio...I didn't know that.
36D: Haul, slangily (schlep)...just a fun word.
49D: Hundred on the Hill (Senate)...never saw that clue until I was finished.
I hope those of you who had the day off enjoyed it. Elaine aged gracefully...she loved the flowers that Mom and Dad sent. Leslie was one of the organizers of the Martin Luther King march here in town...a friend called to say he'd seen her on the news. I worked...so did Don. C'est la vie.
Here's the grid...
...and I'll see you tomorrow.
Linda G
4 comments:
We must be about the same age, Linda, because my son is also twenty and we seem to know things from the same era. Thought this was a fun Tuesday. As everyone is busily practicing for the tournament, I'm working way too much and barely keeping up with doing the puzzles, much less writing about them, so I thank you again for your blog which is always my first stop after finishing the puzzle.
If there were lifeguards like that at my beach, I might fall off my surfboard and need some saving!
Good morning all. Here's what I'm thankful for today with the puzzle - Kent State University was clued without a reference to May 4, 1970. That is progress! The Golden Flashes are big stuff in these parts - they play the University of Akron in the Mid-American Conference and the local rivalry is intense.
I ran out of ink in my printer cartridge so I had to do the puzzle in AcrossLite last night - I do not enjoy that! The tactile experience with the pen is so much a part of the overall experience, I find. Nothing against typing - I actually love to type.
Linda...our minds must think alike..I wanted hooray too but knew that German was spoken in Lichtenstein...another easy puzzle...I hope we are not being set up for a horrible Fri/Sat!!!
only clue I did not like was 26 A...playing the slots is not the same as making a bet....Wendy, I agree a crossword puzzle should be done with a pencile or a pen...guess it shows my age!!!
Rikki, your comment (that this is your first stop after solving) made my day!
I'm with you, Wendy and Bob. Definitely pencil on paper. As much I enjoy using the computer, I don't like doing the puzzle on Across Lite. That's why I never check the Sunday grid...a waste of precious time when there's a puzzle to blog ; )
I was relieved to see KENT STATE clued ANY other way...although the Crosby Stills song has been going through my head since then. I didn't know the answer, so had to work some of the downs to get it. My wrong answers didn't help there.
And I love how our minds often work alike...giving us the same wrong answers.
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