Thursday, September 25, 2008

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Title: Themeless Thursday
Author: Jeffrey Harris
Theme: None


Sunny Spots:

  • 1a: Go-go gadget? (DISCO BALL). A great clue and awesome fill at 1-Across.

  • 17a: Pu pu platter portion (SPARE RIBS). Mmmm... spare ribs.

  • 43a: "14 Shades of Grey" group (STAIND). I saw these guys live a few years back. Very good. Here's the song you'll know, if you've heard them before. Or the following, which is my favorite:



  • 8d: Drives in the back seat of a car? (LIBIDOS). This was hands down my favorite clue/answer pair in the puzzle. Inspired!

  • 35d: Song with the repeated lyric "Mr. Mojo risin'" (L.A. WOMAN). I like the Doors. Always have. Plus, for you puzzlers out there, "Mr. Mojo Risin'" is an anagram of "Jim Morrison".


Sundries:
  • 18a: Hotel founder Ritz (CESAR). I didn't know this, but thankfully it's a normal-enough name.

  • 19a: Signal to start speaking, perhaps (TONE). At the tone, please leave a message...

  • 20a: Wryly incredulous query (IS THAT SO?).

  • 22a: Woodworking tools (AWLS). I generally think of awls more in terms of leatherworking, but I guess they're used for wood as well.


  • 25a: Murrelet relative (AUK). I had the _UK before I even read this clue, so it wasn't a big stretch to figure out.

  • 26a: Two points, maybe (FEE). Points here as in percentages, as when closing a mortgage.

  • 27a: Gambol (CAVORT). Both excellent words.

  • 29a: After-dinner mints, e.g. (FREEBIES).

  • 31a: Go off the edge of the page (BLEED). Thank you for choosing a clue that passes the "breakfast test".


  • 32a: British logician famous for his diagrams (VENN). Gimme for a former math major. Venn diagrams are those overlapping circles that describe the unions and intersections of sets.

  • 35a: Swain (LOVER). Classic old-style fill.

  • 38a: Taiwan's setting (CHINA SEA). Gimme.

  • 45a: Farceur (WAG).


  • 46a: Runner-up to Sorenstam at the 2005 LPGA Championship (Michelle WIE). I didn't even see this clue, but it's a name you should know. At 18 years of age, she's already been a pro for three years and is absolutely phenomenal. Her attempts to compete with the men have not been particularly successful to date, but I wouldn't bet against her in the long run. She's a superstar.

  • 47a: Mnemonic of film (JOHNNY). Keanu Reeves film, a few years before the much more successful "Matrix" series.

  • 48a: Green Al (GORE). Bet you don't often think of Al Gore and Al Green at the same time, do you? I know I don't.

  • 49a: Precisely (ON THE DOT).


  • 52a: Painter of "The Absinthe Drinker" (MANET). I put in M_NET and waited for the crossing. Never can keep those two straight.

  • 53a: Neighbor of Greece (MACEDONIA).

  • 58a: 2007 film with the tagline "You can only imagine the truth" (ATONEMENT). I still haven't seen this. Need to.

  • 59a: New pet owner, perhaps (NAMER). This is such a horrendous fill, and yet I knew immediately - with no crossings - what the answer was going to be. I'm not proud.

  • 60a: Woods's chipper (SAND WEDGE). I've bitched about the difference between chipping and pitching before. I reiterate my stand.

  • 1d: Attachment on a spinning wheel (DISTAFF).

  • 2d: Like current heads of state (IN POWER).

  • 3d: He was credited as Man Dodging Debris in "Spider-Man 2" (STAN LEE). The original creator of Spiderman. Cool trivia.

  • 4d: The asteroid belt's largest body (CERES). I must have heard this recently, because I knew it right away.


  • 6d: Word after "Don't pass" and "Don't come" on a craps table (BAR).

  • 7d: Slugger from Louisville (ALI). Cute, but easy.

  • 21d: C-4 alternative (TNT).

  • 27d: "Convoy" narrator, e.g. (CBER). You wanted to forget this C.W. McCall song forever, didn't you? Well then, don't click on this link then.

  • 28d: Dancer Koklova who was Pablo Picasso's first wife (OLGA). I had the OL__ before I even saw this clue, so it was pretty obvious.

  • 30d: Like all known perfect numbers (EVEN). If you don't know what these are, you probably don't care. But here's a link just in case. Warning: It's mathy. But you knew that.

  • 31d: Asia, e.g. (BAND). Speaking of songs you'd just as soon forget, how about "Heat of the Moment"?


  • 33d: Body part protected by a greave (SHIN).

  • 36d: The largest of the Ryukyu Islands (OKINAWA).

  • 37d: Setting for part of "Forrest Gump" (VIETNAM).

  • 38d: Bach specialty (CANTATA).


  • 40d: "Girl With a Pearl ___" (Vermeer painting) (EARRING).

  • 41d: Contemporary (AGEMATE). I've never heard of this word, but it made complete sense once I filled in the missing G.

  • 48d: Pink flamingo alternative (GNOME). If you like tacky garden accessories, why settle for alternatives? Go for both, and add a color ball as well.

  • 50d: First word of the theme song to "The Monkees" (HERE). "Here we come!"




Suns of Bitches:

  • 9d: "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" star (LASSER). Not a name I recognize.



I thought this puzzle had pretty nice fill, but I must admit I found it a bit easier than expected for a Themeless Thursday. Still, it evoked many pictures and links, which is a plus for blogging. So, we'll give it a general thumbs up.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

great clips, specially The Monkees. Oh yeah, "we're the new generation and we've got somethin' to say." And still we're dealing with people like Mc**** wanting the Presidency. Problem is, people who want real freedom aren't much into gaining real power.

embien said...

Michelle Wie may be a superstar, but she's had her problems of late. In fact, she has fallen so far that she recently had to go through LPGA Q-school in an attempt to rejoin the tour (she qualified for the Q-school finals which I think is in December, though she didn't win the preliminary round).