Monday, November 24, 2008

Title: Dressing Up in England
Author: Mark Feldman
Theme: Clothes named for a British town or city.

• 17a: Part of an English outfit (ETON JACKET).


• 25a: Part of an English outfit (RUGBY SHIRT).


• 37a: Part of an English outfit (NORFOLK COAT).


• 52a: Part of an English outfit (OXFORD SHOE).


• 61a: Part of an English outfit (WINDSOR TIE).

Straightforward Monday theme. Not much to say there.

Sunny Spots:

• 20a: Take as one's own (COOPT). I love the word coopt. It's right up there with abscond.



• 26d: Hungarian stew (GOULASH). A tasty word, in more ways than one.


• 40d: Black gold (TEXAS TEA). I've seen "The Beverly Hillbillies".


• 50d: With 43-Down, a potentially dangerous situation (POWDER / KEG). Very nice, even though it necessitates losing a beer clue for KEG.

Sundries:

• 1a: Was an art school model (POSED). Here's a great pastel drawing of a model by Sharon Sieben. Click it to go to a site where it and many other originals and prints can be purchased.


• 23a: Shout that might follow "Look what the cat dragged in" (EEK). Do people really say "Eek!" when they see a mouse? And if so, why? As mammals go, they're pretty unintimidating. Now if a bear got in your house, that's a different story...


• 28a: Didn't use, as a news story (SAT ON). Good clue for what could have been a boring fill.


• 32a: ESPN anchor Mayne (KENNY).




• 33a: Minimum number required to transact business legally (QUORUM).


• 42a: "Aha!" (EUREKA).


• 57a: Logophile's love (WORDS).


• 60a: Specimen container (VIAL). Eww.


• 66a: Lake by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (ERIE). Hint: Use the ERIE rule here.


• 69a: Baseball team that changed its name during the McCarthy era (REDS). You don't have to know much about baseball to figure this one out.


• 70a: Four trimesters (YEAR). A trimester is three months.


• 3d: Recordholder for assists in the NBA (John STOCKTON). A good portion of those were doled out to Karl "The Mailman" Malone.




• 5d: Martial arts studio (DOJO). I've seen "Karate Kid".


• 10d: Witheringly denounce (SCATHE).


• 11d: Like some robberies (PUSH-IN). I didn't know this one off-the-top either, but I live in a small town in New Hampshire.



• 27d: Use defamation to block the confirmation of, as a Supreme Court nominee (BORK). A verb coined from the man blocked in such a manner.


• 30d: Their babies are not yet weaned (NURSERS).


• 45d: Shutter slat (LOUVER).


• 48d: Semisheer fabrics (VOILES).



• 53d: "___ Defeats Truman" (11/3/48 Chicago Daily Tribune headline) (DEWEY). Possibly the most famous headline of all time.


• 58d: Water or Bowl preceder (ROSE). Perfume and football. What a great combination.

Suns of Bitches:

• 31a: ___ Canals (SOO). I didn't know this one readily, but it's up on Lake Superior. That it crossed BORK was nasty for a early week puzzle.


• 67a: Sculptor Nadelman (ELIE).

There was a lot of crosswordese here, which is unusual for a Monday. ERNO, URIS, ELIE, ERIE, IDI, ILE, ARA, ORO, EOS, EAU, NIA, plus super fill like ORES, EEL, ICE, and ADO. There was also some excellent fill, and it was just a Z short of being a pangram, but the overreliance on the above words was noticeable during the solve, which is too bad. All in all, an okay puzzle.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.