The theme answers are all in-the-language phrases, with the addition of DIS (hence, the title, How Insulting!). Each new phrase is then cleverly clued.
22A: Foul weather condition? (disgusting winds).
30A: Some moralizing about getting off a balance beam? (sermon on the dismount)...the best theme answer.
38A: "Do your thing, Jack the Ripper"? (go disfigure). Funny in a sick way.
59A: Sophistication of clubs like Sam's and BJ's? (discounterculture).
68A: Concerns of someone who's choking? (food and dislodging). The first theme answer I got, which paved the way to several others.
88A: Her Royal Daunter? (dismay queen)...and the last one to fall.
96A: Coleslaw-loving children? (cabbage dispatch kids).
111A: Find chewing gum under a desk, perhaps? (tuck and discover). We actually had duck and cover drills in elementary school...in case of a nuclear attack. Beyond the 5-mile radius of total destruction, but still within range of the immediate killing power of the bomb, you would have split seconds to save your life. These words were on the back of a calendar we made in the fourth grade...right beneath Helpful Hints for Coloring.
[Update: ET pointed out that the answer should be duck, rather than tuck...see comments. When I came back to update, I saw that I had duck and cover in the sentence that followed. I sure can't explain that. The cross at 97D: Old Norse works (Eddas) obviously didn't help much.]
Favorite answers include 1A: Polish Peace Nobelist (Walesa), 62A: Wool source (angora), 83A: Asian shrine (pagoda), 117A: Samantha's cousin on
"Bewitched" (Serena), 3D: Crosses the international date line from east to west (loses a day), 10D: Sci-fi, e.g. (genre), 13D: Place in Monopoly (St. James), 39D: '50s teen star (Fabian), 41D: Car financing co. (GMAC)...they financed my Camaro, 44D: Nobel pysicist Niels (Bohr), 56D: Puzzled (out) (sussed), 58D: Metal refuse (slag)...remembered it from a puzzle a few weeks ago, 81D: Mass. neighbor (Conn.)...where I was born, 94D: Honshu metropolis (Osaka) and 96D: Banana liqueur drink shaken over ice (Capri).
I struggled to remember 73D: Judy Garland's real last name. I was thinking it was Gull, until I finally got the last theme answer. And here she is...the darling Frances Ethel Gumm.Favorite clues in the puzzle:
19A: Head of Great Britain (loo).
77A: March master (Sousa).
115A: Chihuahua drink (agua).
15D: Doing the same old same old (in a rut)...love the answer as well.
61D: Seals are part of it (US Navy).
65D: 9 to 5, e.g. (odds). Good one...had nothing to do with the office workday hours.
78D: Diamond center (mound). I went right to baseball on this one.
90D: Preserves fruits (quinces). If you read preserves as a verb, this took a little longer to see.
108D: TV host known for his mandibular prognathism (Leno)...from the Greek pro (forward) and gnathos (jaw).
52D: "Coming Home" co-star (Dern). This was such a tragic movie...but something about it really got to me at the time. I might need to watch it again.I don't get 7A: Story development (arc)...I didn't get its cross at 9D: Subordinate person (cog) until just this minute.
That's it for this one. Here's the (not corrected for DUCK) grid...
...and I'll see you tomorrow.
Linda G
7 comments:
Very cute picture of Frances Gumm - for some reason, I was able to remember her last name ( I wouldn't have known her first name so easily though) Clues like 9 to 5 and head of Great Britain trick me everytime. I also had trouble with 7 Across -Arc - the c was the last letter I put in the puzzle and I don't understand it either. For 111 A - I have DUCK and discover and the applet accepted that as being correct. I enjoyed this puzzle too. See you tomorrow - ET
ET, that explains why the applet wouldn't accept my solution. I thought my error was the C in ARC.
DUCK AND COVER may very well be what they taught us...I heard it then as TUCK and that's how I've always remembered it.
I'm glad you're on the ball ; )
Hi Linda -- I see you "dis"covered that the answer to old Norse works is EDDA so my intention of noting that is superfluous. Edda is one of those puzzle words you memorize so as an old puzzler (literally) it is automatic to put it in b/c I find that being really sure of certain words as correct anchors makes it easier to figure the gimmicks and other ploys.
However, I didn't recognize the Duck and Cover thing b/c I was well out of school when kids were taught about that (which also dates me!).
I enjoy your whole blog and love the little illustrations. Thanks.
Thanks, anonymous...I hope to see EDDA back soon enough that I'll remember it. I'm glad you enjoy the blog...thanks for commenting ; )
Nice Sunday puzzle. It was a relief to be able to finish unaided after yesterday's disaster.
Oh, gosh, Linda, I remember duck and cover. Now it seems like the most absurd thing, and it always makes me laugh. How ducking and covering was going to save us from an A-bomb blast is beyond me.
My favorite theme answer was CABBAGE DISPATCH KIDS. My daughter was little when that craze hit. We had quite a few Cabbage Patch Kids in this house.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Story_arc
Thank you! Makes sense now...and I'm sure to remember it the next time around.
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