Friday, August 8, 2008

Title: Weekend Warrior
Author: Barry C. Silk
Theme: None

Sunny Spots:

• 17a: Familiar name of a Virginia sculpture based on a Pulitzer-winning picture taken by Joe Rosenthal (IWO JIMA MEMORIAL).


• 23a: Repeated action in a mathematician's random walk (COIN TOSS).


• 33a: Aloof person (COLD FISH). Great phrase.


• 56a: Batter-fried snack (MOZZARELLA STICK). Mmmmmm.

Sundries:

• 8a: Chihuahua timeouts (SIESTAS). See, we need siestas in the United States. A nice nap in the afternoon would make the workday so much more pleasant.


• 15a: Developer noted for its drive-through kiosks (FOTOMAT). Nowadays, every corner pharmacy does 1-hour photos, but I remember when this was a pretty novel concept.


• 19a: Car that is often black and rarely green (LIMO).


• 20a: Bolshoi bends (PLIÉS).


• 21a: She's buried in Kenya's Meru National Park (ELSA). The lion from "Born Free".


• 22a: Inning threesome (ENS). Cryptic letter clue. But since OUTS didn't fit, what else could it be?


• 26a: "Hamlet" courtier (OSRIC).


• 30a: ___ game (first matchup of March Madness) (PLAY IN). The final two teams selected play each other for the 64th spot in the tourney.


• 36a: Emulate running mates? (ELOPE). It has long been my belief that ELOPE is the word with the most really clever clues. This is certainly one of them.



• 38a: Cruise part? (ROLE). Tom Cruise, that is. Who, by the way, played Lt. Pete Mitchell in "Top Gun".


• 39a: Gave up the ghost (CASHED IN).


• 41a: One holding up a sign at the airport, e.g. (MEETER). This is one of those -ER words that just feels forced to me.


• 43a: They're cobbled together (SHOES). Nice clue.


• 44a: Sternmost member of a crew team (STROKE). I'd seen this before, fairly recently, and I still couldn't remember it without a couple of crossings.


• 55a: The Jalón flows into it (EBRO). You gotta know your four-letter rivers. As soon as I got the B, I knew which one it was.


• 62a: March honoree, informally (ST PADDY).


• 4d: Austin Powers's power (MOJO).




• 6d: Sent up (LAMPOONED). I started with LAMBASTED.


• 7d: Political leader from Georgia (STALIN). Anytime you see Georgia in a clue, you should be on alert. It's a common ruse.



• 8d: Another name for the sugar apple (SWEETSOP). I've never tasted this, but I've heard of it before. Not sure where.


• 11d: Laid-back (STRESS FREE).


• 14d: "Sisters" costar of Swoosie (SELA). That's Swoosie Kurtz and SELA Ward. And no, I didn't know it from the clue.


• 18d: Social psychology topic (MIND CONTROL).


• 24d: Roll-your-own grass? (SOD). The daily drug inference.


• 25d: In large quantities (BY THE DOZEN). Is a dozen a large quantity? I guess it depends on what you're measuring. My first thought was BY THE TRUCKLOAD, which of course didn't fit.


• 29d: Her first solo recording ("Ringo, I Love You") was released under the pseudonym Bonnie Jo Mason (CHER). The list of one-named singers was pretty easily narrowed to an era down by the Ringo reference.


• 34d: Tangy treat (LEMON TART). Mmmmm.


• 37d: Dragging (LISTLESS). This is a great word, and now I'm curious about its derivation. Can you be listful? It's definitely hard to grocery shop when you're listless, that's for sure.


• 47d: Secretary of the Pointy-Haired Boss, in "Dilbert" (CAROL). Love the Dilbert clues. Wally, Alice, Asok, Carol,... bring 'em on!


• 49d: Flew like a fly (ARCED). Like a fly ball in baseball, not like a housefly.


• 51d: Siberian city (OMSK). I love the name OMSK. It just sounds good.


• 55d: Place in a Robert Redford movie (ETTA). Etta Place was in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". Nice misdirection on the clue.

Suns of Bitches:

• 48a: Drawn back thing, for short (TAT). I don't get it. I had TA_, crossing the first letter of 50d: Hungarian wine (TOKAY), which I've never heard of. I just started guessing letters until I hit T. Someone out there will have to explain this one.


• 28d: "The Door to ___ Gorée" (second number in "Bring In 'da Noise, Bring In 'da Funk") (ISLE). Never heard of it. Got it from crossings.


• 53d: '90s Israeli president Weizman (EZER).

Except for the guess-the-letter crossing, this puzzle wasn't too hard for a WW. I came in under 15 minutes, which is a good time for me for a late-week puzzle. Some snazzy fill, too. Nice job.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.