Monday, March 3 - C. W. Stewart

I'll bet there isn't a solver out there who didn't GET this theme. C. W. Stewart's Monday puzzle had six theme answers...

18A: "Calm down!" (GET A GRIP!)

24A: "Move!" (GET OUT OF THE WAY!)

39A: "Pay attention!" (GET THIS STRAIGHT!)

49A: "Lookie there!" (GET A LOAD OF THAT!)

60A: "Oh, be serious!" (GET A LIFE!)

71A: "Savvy?" (GET IT?)

...as well as some fresh nontheme fill. Some of my favorites:

13A: Actress Blake or Plummer (Amanda)...although I needed the first letter to jog my memory.

15A: Not having a stitch on (nude)...racy!

17A: Lump in the throat (tonsil). You rarely see it in the singular form, but it works for me.

29A: One-named Art Deco master (Erté).

31A: Bear in constellation names (Ursa).

34A: Cap or helmet (headgear). That was my first guess, but when I checked 35D: Middle measurement, I was sure it was waist...so I changed my answer to headwear. When I couldn't come up with an answer for 39A, though, I worked a few more...and realized the middle measurement was girth.

64A: Car model with a musical name (Sonata).

6D: White, in Mexico (Anglo).

10D: "This way" sign (arrow).

12D: __-turvy (topsy). That's a good Mardi Gras word...just a few weeks late.

41D: Golfer __ Aoki (Isao).

50D: When to celebrate el año nuevo (enero)...New Year, January...for those to whom that may be totally foreign.

55D: __-frutti (tutti). It seems to belong in a puzzle that also has topsy-turvy.

There are some things I have finally committed to memory so they no longer have me flummoxed.

16A: Letter before sigma (rho).

21A: Dabbling duck (teal). I don't quite get the dabbling part of the clue, but I have learned that teal is something other than a shade of blue/green.

30A: Stephen of "The Crying Game" (Rea)...he's getting to be crosswordese.

8D: Banned insecticide (DDT). That didn't just happen in my lifetime...it happened in my adulthood. I wonder how much exposure we had to it as kids.

33D: Sutcliffe of the early Beatles (Stu).

59D: Cartoonist Thomas (Nast).

65D: Scottish refusal (nae).

That's it for today's puzzle. Before I wrap this up, I want to congratulate Tyler Hinman on his fourth consecutive win at ACPT. Howard Barkin, esteemed guest blogger and commenter here at Madness, placed third overall. Way to go, Howard! In addition, Patrick Blindauer, who constructed yesterday's puzzle with Tony Orbach, placed first in Division E. Congratulations, Patrick!

Last year I solved the puzzles at home and plan to do that again this year. There's no way it comes close to the puzzle experience, but it's fun to try to finish them in the time allowed. Click here to play at home...or here to play online.

Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G