The theme is revealed at 39A: What 17-, 26-, 50- and 60-Across have in common (THEY CAN BE ROLLED). The theme answers (no...joint isn't one of them) are:
17A: It may end up in the gutter (bowling ball). Sad to say, that was a gimme...based on personal experience when I first started playing. I probably weighed about 75 pounds when I bowled my first game...I could hardly lift the lightest ball. I bowled a 19...but I managed to get a 56 on my second game. How do you suppose I remember such absurd detail from something that happened in 1961?
26A: Sweater style (turtleneck). I can't remember if I've plugged Nora Ephron's book..."I Feel Bad About My Neck." It's laugh-out-loud funny. This answer reminded me of her...and of the book. Here's the author's photo from the back cover.
50A: Classic breakfast fare (Quaker Oats). Nothing is better for thee than me. Since the most recent cholesterol fiasco, I've been eating oatmeal at least five mornings a week. Not Quaker, though...I prefer the the thick-cut oats I get at Vitamin Cottage. A little bit of real maple syrup, a few sliced almonds, some vanilla soymilk. Delicious.60A: Item on a set (movie camera).
Sometimes I actually remember things from past puzzles. Today I got several answers...just because we've had them before.
21A: Schindler of "Schnidler's List" (Oskar). No misspelling it the first time around.
32A: Slave girl of opera (Aisa). Don't ask me which opera. [Update: This is actually Aida...from the opera of the same name. I guess I didn't remember as much as I'd thought.]
33A: Exploding stars (novae). Just the other day someone commented that the plural that appeared in the puzzle was incorrect. It should have been novae...rather than novas. Whoever you are, this plural's for you!
6D: Stellar swan (Cygnus).
38D: Fred Astaire's sister (Adele).
40D: Bow-toting god (Amor).
Favorite clues include 48A: Old timer? (sundial), 28D: Fact fudger (liar)...that's being rather kind...and 58D: Dirty reading (smut).
Best words in the grid:
1A: Prominent feature of Dracula (fangs).
15A: Search engine name (Yahoo).
70A: Center of power (locus).
13D: Country/rock's __ Mountain Daredevils (Ozark)...sharing a Z with 16A: Designer Claiborne (Liz).
37D: Mullally of "Will & Grace" (Megan). Haven't seen it but have heard the name.
53D: Parting word (adieu).
I like that 9D: Showman Hurok (Sol) is followed by 10D: Went at it alone (soloes). Not that soloes is a great word...but having SOL right after SOL looks really good in the grid. [Update: The source of the Aida problem...should be soloed. Which is a much better word than soloes.]
I've been searching the completed grid for the identical cluing that I liked so much...and just realized it was in the New York Sun puzzle. Even if you didn't do the Sun, it's worth noting. [Madison, for one] is the clue that appears twice...for capital and Avenue. Good one.
That's it for tonight. Here's the grid...
...and I'll see you tomorrow.
Linda G
12 comments:
Linda,
Hi , Aida for 32 across.
As to cholesterol, I've been on lipitor for years and although it has helped it did not help dramatically but kept it from rising and reduced it into a safer zone. However, this year I started also taking Omega 3 fish oil supplements and my cholesterol dropped to 160 from 200 or so. I was stunned. I only take one capsule a day although I don't know how many mgs in the capsules. Just threw the bottle out.
The slave girl(32D) is AIDA from the opera of the same name Linda.
Today's CWP featured something that Shortz usually never allows - an answer in the cluing:
68A: Sees "red"
64D Answer: "red"
Rarely does he let this slip thru.
Other than that, a relatively easy Tuesday puzzle.
Norman
You misread the tense on SOLOED, I do it all the time.
My QUAKER Oats get cinnamon and raw cashews sprinkled over them. So nutritious.
Had a few problems with errors. Icon for IDOL, Pension for PAYHIKE and Pearl for ADAGE really messed up that WSW part of the puzzle for a while.
And at first I wasn't parsing the long answer properly so even though I had ROLLED in place, I was smushing the N,B and E together and wondering what word ended that way. Finally saw the light.
I found todays puzzle easier than yesterday's. Regarding cholestrol, at my last check up mine came back high 225 I think and the DR. put me on Red Yeast Rice. I'll let you know if it works
Linda, Don't we all have to watch our cholesterol. I like soy milk with a banana and berries (blue, black, raspberries, strawberries) blended together with oats and sunflower seeds. Good for the heart and easy on the stomach.
Easy puzzle today, but fun. Thanks for the book recommendation.
Cheers
A mistake in the grid is definitely the way to get comments.
Thanks, all. I don't know where my mind was last night.
I'm anxious to see where my cholesterol is after three months on Lipitor. I've always taken Omega-3, but maybe in combination with Lipitor it will help.
Had some snow last night, over slush that probably iced over...so I'd better get an early start.
I'm glad to see you read my comment about NOVAE (as did apparently the writers of this puzzle)
Pretty easy for a Tuesday - only had to Google one answer (MEGAN Mullally)
I did stump myself by thinking that 23A (Spy Device) was BUG instead of TAP until I had enough crosses and figured out that 24D was ALOHA
Dan
I did not think about Quaker Oatmeal in the context of cholesterol because of the article in the Science Times section today---which discusses the lack of evidence that tight control of cholesterol with statins prolongs life in persons without cardiac disease. Page F5 of today's times. As a scientist, I question the widespread prescription of statins as a device useful for much beyond contributing to pharma's profit margins. There you are, a political comment for today.
lucy
Another easy puzzle, finished in about five minutes.
Every morning my Quaker oats are embellished with walnuts, blueberries, and cinammon. No milk.
Like profphil I take Omega 3 supplements, two capsules a day, and my cholesterol has also dropped down to around 160. I think it helps my arthritis too. Great stuff!
Linda, thanks for the plug of Ephron's book. I've been wondering if it was worth reading. Another book for my fast growing to-be-read
pile. ;)
Wow... I could have sworn I wrote something to you last night, Linda. Must have been dreaming. Of oatmeal, with brown sugar and lots of milk the way my mom made it. Now there's soy milk and nuts and ground flax seed (source of Omegas 3,6 and 9) and fruit in mine.
Also wanted to say thanks for recommending the Nora Ephron book. I love her and I'm liking my neck less and less. I'm sure you are still reeling from A Thousand Splendid Suns. It took me awhile to recover my balance from that one. I have to heartily recommend Life of Pi.
Post a Comment