Friday, October 17, 2008

Title: Weekend Warrior
Author: David Quarfoot
Theme: None

I smiled when I saw that today's puzzle was by David Quarfoot, because I knew it would be filled with tough and interesting words and phrases. And it was. In fact, I really struggled in spots, especially the NW. Let's get right to it.

• 1a: Certain pet's refrain (CH-CH-CH-CHIA). Wow. This is the kind of entry that a lot of people are going to either love or hate. I'm torn -- I love the audacity of it, but I can't say I enjoyed trying to figure it out. It's genius. It's nasty. It's geniasty!


• 11a: Hunting field (MATH). Is this a reference to "Good Will Hunting", or is there another Hunting we should know about?


• 15a: Song in a 1953 movie musical (HI LILI HI LO). From the movie "Lili", which I've never seen.




• 17a: Spinner in the wind (ANEMOMETER). The third, and possibly easiest, brick in the NW wall. Speaking of bricks and walls, I just got back from the Australian Pink Floyd performance of The Wall. We had third row seats, and it was awesome. I think the kick drum was wired to my ribcage -- amazing subwoofer action on there. They encored with "Shine On (You Crazy Diamond)", "The Great Gig in the Sky", "Wish You Were Here", "On the Run", and "Brain Damage/Eclipse". If you're a Pink Floyd fan at all, you owe it to yourself to see these guys. Trust me.


• 19a: Broadway closing? (ITE). Broadwayite? That's a word? Learn something new every day.


• 20a: Masters piece (POEM). Edgar Lee Masters. This is one of several name-disguise clues. 53a: Price piece (ARIA) and 55a: Stern article (EINE) are others.


• 21a: Litters (BROODS). Excellent.


• 23a: He bought Vogue in 1909 (NAST). There's a building named after him, you know.


• 25a: Neigh sayer of '60s TV? (MR ED). Thank God for the gimmes.


• 30a: Leagues, e.g. (UNITS). As in 20,000 leagues under the sea.



• 33a: Byrd Stadium athlete (TERP). Somehow I sensed this answer. Maybe I knew it subconsciously. Anyway, it refers to the University of Maryland Terrapins, or Terps for short. A terrapin is a turtle, if you didn't know.


• 35a: '00s CBS sitcom (YES, DEAR).


• 37a: Gordon of "Oklahoma!" (MACRAE). Not my sweet spot.


• 40a: Hang out (AIR DRY). Very nice.


• 41a: Lies (CANARDS). Great word.


• 43a: The Three Blind Mice were his henchmen (DR NO). Great twist on this common James Bond villain.




• 44a: Mendes of "Ghost Rider" (EVA).


• 45a: Word game similar to Mastermind (JOTTO). I went with LINGO first, which didn't help me any.


• 51a: One-fifth of trentacinque (SETTE). I figured trentecinque was 35, so I knew the answer was seven, but that didn't help me much.


• 61a: Fast partner (HARD). The funny thing is, I went with EASY here first.


• 62a: Words by an arrow (YOU ARE HERE). Nice clue and fill anchoring a great SE section, though this answer was my first instinct.



• 66a: Gollum line from "The Two Towers" that was the only 21st-century quote on AFI's 2005 list of 100 movie quotes from 100 years (MY PRECIOUS). Beautiful, but super easy.


• 68a: Diagnosis from a polysomnogram (SLEEP APNEA). It's not hard to see why this section fell quickly.


• 2d: Intimate (HINT AT). The verb, not the adjective or the noun.


• 3d: Screenwriter of "A Fish Called Wanda" (John CLEESE).


• 4d: "It Must Be ___" (1967 hit) (HIM). I guessed YOU first.




• 5d: Racetrack sound (CLOP). Yeah, okay.


• 6d: Waver's phrase (HI MOM).


• 7d: Buoy (CHEER UP).


• 8d: Their job is icing (HITMEN).


• 10d: Choice letters (A OR B). Another gimme.


• 11d: Surveyor Charles (MASON). Of the Mason-Dixon line.


• 12d: Waylaid (ACCOSTED).


• 13d: Possible result of economic sanctions (TRADE WAR).


• 14d: What a philogynist might study (HERSTORY). Cute.


• 22d: Italian composer born on leap day in 1792 (ROSSINI). The trivia didn't help much, but as Italian composers go, he's one of the biggies.



• 24d: Bright school member (TETRA). Tropical fish.


• 26d: Crafty initialism (DIY). Do it yourself.


• 29d: Star's transport, perhaps (LEAR JET). Pink Floyd tie-in: "I'm in the high-fidelity first class travelling set and I think I need a Lear Jet". From "Money".


• 37d: Subject of an art museum in The Hague (M.C. ESCHER).


• 38d: Valedictorian's pride (A AVERAGE).


• 39d: Accidental in the key of D (C NATURAL). Tricky clue, but accurate. The key of D has a C-sharp and an F-sharp, so in order to play a C or F natural, you have to include the "natural" symbol. These symbols on notes, sharps, flats, and naturals, are called accidentals.


• 42d: Levi's ___-Prest pants (STA).


• 43d: Question a chicken might answer "no" to (DO I DARE). Do chickens ask themselves questions a lot?


• 48d: Commit a football infraction (PILE ON). I don't recall seeing this infraction since I was a kid. Does it still happen?


• 50d: Democrat nominee wife after Tipper (TERESA Hines Kerry).



• 52d: Last story in J.D. Salinger's "Nine Stories" (TEDDY). No idea. Maybe it's a story about lingerie.


• 54d: Spot market figure? (AD REP). Advertising spot.


• 57d: Jazz singer Sylvia (SYMS).


• 59d: Laguna ___ (California raceway) (SECA). Never heard of it.


• 63d: "Thimble Theatre" surname (OYL). This is the comic in which Popeye first appeared. Tough trivia.

This was a true Weekend Warrior for me. Actually, the SE fell quickly, and the NE wasn't far behind. Then things came to a grinding halt as I slowly chipped away at the remaining sections. But that's what I expect from a WW, and especially one by DQ. I think I liked it, but I'm glad it's over.

Speaking of over, the Red Sox overcame a 7-0 deficit in the 7th inning to win 8-7 and avoid elimination. They make me smile, even as they torture my soul.

Kind of like a Quarfoot puzzle. :)

Thanks for listening. I'm going to bed.

- Pete M.