Richard Silvestri's puzzle really wasn't very Thursday-ish. I had two problem areas...both caused by operator error. Otherwise, I might have almost breezed through this one.
The theme is revealed at 38D: Sign...or a description of the answers to the six starred cues? (omen).
And the six O-men are:
17A: *Five-time Wimbledon winner (Björn Borg)...the best-looking one of the bunch. This was my writing error. While saying it correctly in my head, I wrote Bjorg Born...making for a bit of a mess in that area.
24A: *"Numb3rs" star (Rob Morrow). I've never seen it...or even heard of it...but he's actually not bad looking.
51A: *Harpers Ferry raider (John Brown).
64A: *"Newhart" actor (Tom Poston).3D: *Famed restaurateur (Toots Shor). Here he is with Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe...some time in the fifties.
36D: *Co-star of "The Andy Griffith Show" (Don Knotts). Did anyone else have Ron Howard at first? He's another O-man.
Favorite clues in this one include 22A: Start court proceedings? (serve), 30A: Fire proof? (ash), 31A: "Son of" story (seque
l), 47A: Howard in shorts (Moe)...two days in a row, 69A: Catfish Row denizen (Bess), 4D: Perfect pitch (strike), 10D: Vesta, Pallas or Hygiea (asteroid)...a good guess with only two letters in place, 27D: Orly : Paris :: Gardermoen : __ (Oslo), 40D: Athletes on horses (gymnasts)...clever, and 56D: Yclept (named)...that's a new one for me.My reading problem was at 68A: Classic spy plane. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how UTWO could be correct. I checked and rechecked every answer in that corner until it finally registered...U2. Is it time to turn in my Pentel?
A few more noteworthy answers before I wrap it up. 1A: Lively group? (arts), 5A: Volkswagen route (Bahn), 41A: "The Last Supper," e.g. (mural), 44A: Be deceitful (palter), 57A: 252-gallon unit (tun)...who knew?, 63A: Parsonage (manse)...I'm sure we've had it before, but I needed crosses to get it tonight, 2D: Red, as a Spanish wine (roja), 7D: Silent film star (Harpo), and 28D: " __ paratus" (motto of the U.S. Coast Guard) (Semper)...I think that's Latin for "Always Keep the Boat Afloat." Not really...it's Always Ready.
Skating queen Sonja Henie appears at 53D: "Sun Valley Serenade" star, 1941. Way before my time, but I remember hearing about her when I was a kid. She won her first gold medal at the age of fifteen. You can read more about her here.
That's it for tonight. Here's the grid...
...and I'll see you tomorrow.
Linda G
2 comments:
Before catching on to the O'Theme, I tried putting "Fleishmann" into the "Numb3rs" clue space. Some incredibly faulty wiring on my part, probably from my Northwest exposure. Though we did have Summer last week here in WA. Nice while it lasted.
Another reason my confidence is flagging this A.M.-- I entered SAMUEL instead of SEQUEL...you know, Son of Samuel.
Yes Linda, I went the Ron Howard route as well.
So, I liked the puzzle and would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't compounded any misdirection by Mr. Silvestri with my self-induced plotzes.
BTW Linda G, the correct Spanish word to describe a red wine is not Rojo (roja is the wrong gender) but 'TINTO' as a very stern Madrilleno waiter admonished me when I haltingly asked for 'un otra botella de vino rojo'. He thundered !TINTO señor! Of course, I never forgot it and it messed me up trying to solve the upper left corner today. No matter - I learned a new word - PALTER.
- DrBob
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