Friday, January 30, 2009

Title: Weekend Warrior
Author: Karen M. Tracey
Theme: None

Everything at Once:

• 1a: Ballet pose (ARABESQUE).


• 10a: My brothel's keeper? (MADAM). I love this clue. I'm sure I'm not the only one who read it as "brother", not "brothel", the first time around.


• 15a: "Chapel of Love" group, with "the" (DIXIE CUPS).


• 17a: Neither fore nor aft (AMIDSHIPS). This was the first fill I entered, and it helped break out the whole section.


• 18a: Ease up (RELAX).




• 19a: Semirigid colloids (GELS). Very scientific sounding, isn't it.


• 20a: Word "go" (ONSET). As in, "from word 'go'"...


• 22a: 1944 Physics Nobelist (RABI). Had everything but the A from crossings, and the A just felt right.


• 26a: Eccentric wheel (CAM). I tried HAM first, but CAM is more literal.


• 28a: She's behind Biden in the presidential line of succession (PELOSI). Speaker of the House.


• 30a: LP Field player (TITAN). LP Field is where the Tennessee Titans play.


• 33a: "Keeping Up With the Steins" actress (JAMI GERTZ). I got this one through crossings and Zen. I really don't know who she is. Oh, wait! She's the girl from "Crossroads" (the Ralph Macchio one, not the Britney Spears one).




• 37a: One taken in (ADOPTEE). Nice clue.


• 38a: The Lone Ranger, for one (MASKED MAN). This was easier once I realized that Tug McGraw was the baseball player and Tim McGraw was the singer.


• 41a: Red dwarfs (M-STARS). Luckily, I had the M before I saw this clue, so I didn't have to guess.


• 45a: Guitarist at Woodstock (SANTANA).




• 52a: Prime time (YOUTH). This one baffled me for a bit longer than it should have. Probably because I'm not there anymore.


• 53a: Littermate of Rover (FIDO).


• 58a: Little skill (APERY). That's Rich Little, and I've seen this exact clue recently, so it didn't fool me.


• 59a: Listing (AT AN ANGLE). Excellent.


• 60a: Bridge positions (WESTS). Not the most exciting of bridge clues, but a bridge clue nonetheless.


• 61a: Provide sympathetic attention (LEND AN EAR).


• 6d: "Danke ___" (1963 Wayne Newton hit) (SCHOEN). I wasn't sure of the spelling here at first, but got it eventually.


• 7d: Fruity bread spread (QUINCE JAM). Very nice!


• 8d: Swedish university city (UPPSALA).


• 9d: European Capital of Culture for 2010 (ESSEN). Erie rule.


• 12d: Central Park theater (DELACORTE). I had no idea. Which is why this section was the last to fall for me. Between this and CAM and RABI and JAMI GERTZ, there was some guessing going on.



• 13d: Figurine material, perhaps (ALABASTER).


• 14d: Makes as big as possible, as a computer window (MAXIMIZES). A little too easy, don't you think?


• 25d: Spanish city known for its aqueduct (SEGOVIA).


• 29d: Anathema (LEPER).


• 30d: "Live Like You Were Dying" singer (TIM MCGRAW).


• 31d: Like rough-and-tumble kids, frequently (IN A SCRAPE).


• 34d: Museum Mile milieu (MANHATTAN).


• 39d: Get going (ACTUATE).


• 48d: Writer ___ Rogers St. Johns (ADELA).


• 53d: Paavo Nurmi, for one (FINN).

Nice puzzle, with good scrabbly letters. Not as tough as many -- I was able to come in under 20 minutes, which is damned good for me for a KMT/WW. And I was ahead of that pace until the NE corner slapped me down.

Thanks for listening.


- Pete M.