Author: Sue Alexander
Overall, I thought this was pretty easy for a Themeless Thursday. A few tricky clues, but most were very straightforward.
Mini-theme:
FEET ON THE GROUND (Position of sensibleness and practicality).
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS (Indication of woolgathering).
I really like this pair, as it reminds me of the lyrics to "This Must Be the Place" by Talking Heads, which was covered by Shawn Colvin and is part of the soundtrack for "Wordplay". Very nice. (Note: The Talking Heads version says "head in the sky").
Sunny Spots:
BIKER BAR (Hangout where you might see a lot of hogs): Not only is "Hog" a nickname for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, HOG is also the stock exchange abbreviation.
DO OR DIE (Desperate): Nice fill.
OATS (They can be wild): A nice, subtle sex clue. Does anyone ever refer to "wild oats" in any context besides sowing them? I didn't think so.
GOREN (Author of "Bridge is My Game"): I play duplicate bridge at least once a week (state championships coming up this weekend), so any bridge clue gets a "shout out" from me. Bridge is a fantastic game of logic and subtleties. Learn to play bridge! :)
TARP (An automatic one injured Vince Coleman in 1985, forcing him to sit out the World Series): What a great clue to spice up a potentially bland fill. Sure, it's a long clue for a short answer, but it's pretty damned amusing (unless you're Vince Coleman, I guess).
IGOR (Housemate of Frau Blucher): Nice reference to Young Frankenstein.
WRESTLES (Tries to pin down): Nice clue.
NO DOUBT ("Don't Speak" group): Hear it here if you don't remember it.
Sundries:
OTTO (Wanda's boyfried in "A Fish Called Wanda"): I've seen the movie, but I don't remember the name. I do, however, recall that OTTO was the name of the fish in "A Fish Out of Water". Funny how the brain works.
TREETOP (Angel's perch, perhaps): Christmas tree, that is. Reminds me of joke, but I'll leave at that for now.
RAT (Hit singer, maybe?): I assume we're talking about an informant here, not a member of the Rat Pack.
MOONWALKER (Alan Bean, for one): Fourth man to walk on the moon.
TUE (Day when Oscar nominations are announced): Record albums are typically released on Tuesdays also. Why is that?
TENSES (Pluperfect and others): Too easy for a Thursday. Is there any other possible answer here?
SICK AS A DOG (Not just under the weather): How sick is a dog? And what have you been feeding him?
OBIE (Benson of the Four Tops): Another one to add to the OBIE/ODIE/OPIE list.
BRAHMS (Wagner contemporary): Love Brahms! If you're not sure why Brahms is considered one of the greatest composers of all time, check this out.
Suns of Bitches:
ROH (South Korea's ___ Moo-Hyun): Modern world leaders are certainly fair game, but I didn't know it.
NORA (Radio reporter Raum): I guess I don't listen to enough radio (almost none since I got an iPod).
ATES (Comedic actor Roscoe): He was born in 1895 and has been dead for over 45 years.
RAFFIA (Basket material): Straightforward clue, but not one I knew. I started with RATTAN.
Alright, that's quite enough for a first post. Probably too much, since no one even knows it's here yet.
Thanks for listening.
- Pete M
2 comments:
Hey, Pete. I know I'm late, but I just got here and am catching up by reading all your posts. Man, I hate to disagree with you in my very first post (do I really? probably not :) but, as a college wrestling fan, I have to point out that "Tries to pin down" is a terrible clue for WRESTLES. The wrestlers don't try to pin each other DOWN, they just try to PIN each other. There's no down. There just isn't. I get what the constructor was trying to do here and it was a nice try, but no dice here in Hawkeye Country -- we know too much about wrestling!
Also want to add that "Sick as a Dog" is one of my favorite Aerosmith songs.
Perhaps a '?' is warranted. I do notice that "pin down" is very commonly used in headlines about wrestlers, so the phrase is certainly in play. I supposed wrestlers could also be pinned up, but that would be something different entirely. :)
I had forgotten about the Aerosmith song, it's been that long since I've heard it. I have it on vinyl, which doesn't get much play these days.
Thanks for your comments, late or otherwise. Welcome to the blog.
- Pete M
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