Thursday, December 18, 2008

Thursday, December 18th

Title: Themeless Thursday
Author: Patrick Jordan
Theme: None

Another themeless Thursday. That makes three in a row. (I don't know, of course, but I have a feeling next Thursday's (12-25) puzzle will have a theme.) And this one's even easier than the last one, which seemed especially easy for a themeless Thursday. This one feels more like a Themeless Tuesday, were there such a beast. As you know I do my puzzles in pen so I can see justy where I messed up, and there's only one scratch-out here and that was at 25a: Battlers' rattlers (SABERS) and that only because I went with the British spelling -- SABRES.



  • 1a: Big-box store? (SAMSCLUB).



  • 9a: Winter Olympics event (SLALOM).



  • 15a: Emigrant's need, maybe (EXITVISA).



  • 16a: Attempts, with "at" (HASAGO).


  • 17a: Prepare for a DVD release, perhaps (REMASTER).



  • 18a: Inception (OUTSET).



  • 19a: Jay or Ray, say (ALER). Toronto Blue Jay or Tampa Bay Ray, two teams that play in the American League East.



  • 20a: Manages an air line? (SKYWRITES). This was kinda cute, but not too misleading thanks to the two word air line.



  • 22a: Original cargo of the Cutty Sark (TEA). I had no idea. How then did it come to be associated with Scotch?



  • 26a: Bynes of "Hairspray" (AMANDA). About the only young star I can think of who's not misbehaving all over the tabloids.



  • 29a: ___ Jon (crunk pioneer) (LIL).



  • 30a: Saturn vehicle? (UFO).



  • 33a: Corporate character with a mule (JUANVALDEZ). That mule's name is Conchita, by the way. Here Conchita and Juan meet New York's famous Naked Cowgirl.


  • 35a: Rigging support (SPAR).



  • 36a: Pitched right (ONKEY).



  • 37a: Jeffy and Dolly's creator (BIL). Bil Keane, creator of the comic strip Family Circus. Believe it or not, it used to be funny.



  • 38a: It's tapped for sap (MAPLE).



  • 39a: Seethe (STEW).



  • 40a: Mal de mer symptom (QUEASINESS).



  • 42a: End of days? (ESS).



  • 43a: Space heater? (SUN). The second outer space clue, after the Saturn UFO thing. Not enough for even a mini-theme though, is it?



  • 44a: Clichéd claim from a conglomerate (WECARE).



  • 45a: Mounts (STEEDS).



  • 48a: Looking sickly (WAN).



  • 49a: Realistic (CLEAREYED).



  • 52a: Nano- reciprocal (GIGA).



  • 56a: One with a game plan? (HUNTER).



  • 57a: Having nowhere to run (CORNERED).



  • 60a: Mad (INSANE).



  • 61a: Neighbor of Myanmar (THAILAND).



  • 62a: Took a gander (PEERED).



  • 63a: Surgeon, slangily (SAWBONES).



  • 1d: Antibody sources (SERA).



  • 2d: A camel might follow it (AXEL).



  • 3d: Act out silently (MIME).



  • 4d: Go back to square one (STARTANEW).



  • 5d: Rite Aid rival (CVS).



  • 6d: Loaded (LIT).



  • 7d: Doesn't abstain (USES).



  • 8d: Sounds from doodles (BARKS). I've heard of Labradoodles (half Lab, half poodle) but I'm not sure what a doodle is.



  • 9d: Variety focus (SHOWBIZ). I know there's all kinds of ways to mislead in clues, but if you're talking about the magazine Variety shouldn't it be italicised?



  • 10d: Plant family that includes cinnamon (LAUREL).



  • 11d: Not dormant (ASTIR).



  • 12d: Mural on a wall of a church in Milan, with "The" (LASTSUPPER).



  • 13d: Arch with a double curve (OGEE).



  • 14d: Clever comments (MOTS). I thought a mot had to be bon to be clever.



  • 21d: Where the Clintons met (YALELAW).



  • 23d: Begrudge (ENVY).



  • 24d: ___ Quonsett (Oscar-winning role for Helen Hayes in "Airport") (ADA).



  • 26d: La Toya and Janet, to Blanket (AUNTS). I stopped paying attention to Michael Jackson years ago. Somebody please tell me he doesn't have a kid named Blanket.



  • 27d: "Figures" (MAKESSENSE).



  • 28d: TV character employed at Gary's Shoes (ALBUNDY).



  • 31d: Like crocodile tears (FALSE).



  • 32d: Metallurgy samples (ORES).



  • 33d: "Three Tenors" colleague of Plácido and Luciano (JOSE).



  • 34d: Item with 21 pips (DIE).



  • 35d: Seat of Tom Green County, Texas (SANANGELO).



  • 38d: Muscovite, e.g. (MICA).



  • 40d: Spoiled (QUEERED).



  • 41d: Work on a patchwork (SEW).



  • 43d: Imperturbable (SERENE).



  • 46d: Language closely related to Bashkir (TATAR).



  • 47d: Faith factions (SECTS).



  • 49d: "My Three Sons" son (CHIP).



  • 50d: Crescent-shaped figure (LUNE).



  • 51d: Capital on the Persian Gulf (DOHA).



  • 53d: Its flag says "God is great" 22 times (IRAN).



  • 54d: Simmons of Kiss (GENE).



  • 55d: Throws in (ADDS).



  • 58d: Lacking experience (RAW).



  • 59d: Calligrapher's point (NIB).

  • Have a great day, Norrin

    1 comment:

    Jim Finder said...

    /begin Rite Aid rant/

    From where I sit, if CVS still feels it has to catch up to Rite Aid (5D, "Rite Aid rival), then that's pretty sad for CVS.

    /end Rite Aid rant/