The other blog...under Crossword Fans But Not Crossword Blogs...is The View From My Window. Reader and frequent commenter Annielee offers "Random musings in words, pictures, and color. Just for fun." I hope you'll visit her often and encourage her to continue with Annie's 365.
After a week of butt-kicking puzzles, it was nice to see Monday again. There was one clue that totally stumped me, and the cross wasn't much help. More about that after the theme...revealed at 40A: Takes care of all possibilities (covers every base). The other four theme answers are:
17A: Bess Truman or Barbara Bush (First Lady).
25A: Question after the fact (second-guess).
52A: Grilling (third degree). Elaine recently brought a young man home for dinner. Poor Jesse got a bit of the third degree, but he took it quite well. I've made it clear to Elaine that there will be no talk of marriage for a very, very, very long time.
65A: 1990 Macaulay Culkin film (Home Alone). I wonder if anyone had skipped the long answer...so had this one starting with fourth before even reading the clue.
On to my area of struggle...I've never heard of 8D: Brother comic Shawn or Marlon (Wayans), and I didn't understand the clue for 21A: Enclosure with a MS. (SASE). Okay, I get SASE, but I'm clueless about the MS. part of the clue. I finally figured out that 22D: Star Wars program, for short was SDI...Strategic Defense Initiative...and then guessed that SASE was the correct answer. The Applet accepted my solution, but that doesn't help me get it.
Favorite answers in the puzzle include 5A: Stick in one's __ (craw), 9A: Frank of the Mothers of Invention (Zappa)...I'll spare you the toilet shot, 32A: "God's Little __" (Erskine Caldwell best seller)(Acre)...I remember my mother reading it years ago, 44A: Pan-cooked brunch treat (crepe), 61A: French city famous for its mustard (Dijon), 3D: Put aside for later (in reserve), 9D: "Riders of the Purple 
Sage" author (Zane Grey), 37D: Play by George Bernard Shaw (Saint Joan), 41D: Relatively low-temperature star (red dwarf), 42D: German river in a 1943 R.A.F. raid (Eder), 49D: Opposite of "At ease!" (Ten hut), and 54D: Ballroom dancer Castle (Irene)...here she is with her husband and dance partner, Vernon Castle.
Favorite clues...29A: Car bomb? (Edsel)...poor Edsel gets no respect, 59A: Crew's control? (oar), 70A: Compete in the America's Cup (sail), 28D: Fit to be tried? (usable), 52D: "Animal House" party costumes (togas) and 62D: She requested "As Time Goes By" (Ilsa)...a different clue for a change.The Applet wouldn't take my solution for the longest time...I finally found the error. I had misread the clue for 69A...thought it said B.Y.U., rather than B.T.U. Needed Unit rather than Univ. Since Eva is also a word, I didn't pay attention to the fact that it didn't work with the clue for 67D [When a plane is due in: Abbr.] (ETA).
That's it for tonight. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Tuesday...I don't think I could handle another week of puzzles like that.
Here's the grid...
...and I'll see you tomorrow.
Linda G
10 comments:
I did the same thing with 69A. Otherwise this one was short and sweet.
I think MS stands for manuscript.
The Wayans brothers have made a lot of forgettable movies. Or maybe they're just not my cup of tea.
Thanks for the mention, Linda. Time for me to get back to writing.
I've written about 60 people so far - only 300 to go. ;)
Back in the day (early 90s), Fox had a groundbreaking sketch comedy-variety show called In Living Color, created by Keenan Ivory WAYANS, which starred him, his brothers Shawn, Marlon and Damon and his sister Kim. It was ferociously funny and very risque for the time but Fox could get away with it because it was a maverick network at that point. The show launched numerous careers, including that of Jim Carrey and Jamie Foxx, was choreographed by a young Rosie Perez, and included in the dance troupe (which was known as the Fly Girls) Jennifer Lopez and Carrie Ann Inaba who is one of the judges on Dancing With the Stars. Along with The Simpsons, it was one of the shows that made Fox a network to be reckoned with.
To add to what Wendy said, In Loving Color had an hilarious, ongoing sketch called Men On FIlm, featuring Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier as gay, flamboyant movie critics. To describe their reaction to straight films, one or the other would say "Haaated it!". This bit has come to mind over the past year reading various crossword blogs, for various reasons....I can almost hear puzzles being thusly dissed.
A good Monday puzzle by Randall Hartman, Randall Hartman!
So many associations with Zappa, my favorite is "Weasels Ripped My Flesh".
Linda, any reason why you picked an Edsel with Tennessee plates? Just wondering....
Anna is correct...MS does stands for manuscript....Puzzle was nice after after a tough week last week....did not fall for Fourth as being the start of 65 across, because with base being part of 40 across I deduced he was referencing baseball...word that stumped me was 55 down GOONY...loony I could see but GOONY ???
Loved the rusted Edsel!
I would never have figured out MS in a hundred years...thanks ; )
The Tennessee plates were a fluke. I wanted to tie in with the clue (car bomb?) as best I could...this poor old Edsel seemed to fit the bill.
I don't know where I was in the early 90s...none of that sounds even vaguely familiar.
Blogger stopped sending me comments via email at my msn address weeks ago, so I added a yahoo address. As of yesterday, I'm not getting emails at yahoo either. Does anyone know what might be up with that?
Linda,
Thanks so much for mentioning our blog/podcast. We really appreciate it.
SASE-self addressed stamped envelople
correction-self addressed stamped ENVELOPE (so much for my typing skills!)
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