Thursday, February 5, 2009

Title: Themeless Thursday
Author: Will Nediger
Theme: NA

Happy Thursday, y'all, the Green Genius here. I've only got one hour to blog this puzzle so we'll be hitting the high spots only. I kinda hate to give this puzzle short shrift cuz it's a good one, especially if you like long answers. How could you not like a puzzle that has SLACK JAWED YOKEL crossing TEENAGE WEREWOLF.

But if that's not enough, Will Nediger bought us all several rounds of drinks, maybe ONE TOO MANY (3d: Drinker's excess). Too many alcoholic beverages can have the same effect as NEPENTHES (16a: Forgetfulness potions). We got to listen to WU TANG CLAN (2d: Ghostface Killah's group) on our CAR RADIOS 52a: (Sources of moving music.) When I reviewed the puzzle after I finished it, I saw CAR RADIOS as CARR ADIOS, which I would clue as "Farewell to singer Vikki"

I learned something about basketball: 55a: "The Big ______ (nickname for Shaquille O'Neal) ARISTOTLE. According to Wikipedia, Mr. O'neal is also known as "Shaq," "The Diesel," "Shaq Fu," "The Big Daddy," "Superman," "The Big Agave," "The Big Cactus," "The Big Shaqtus," "The Big Galactus," "Wilt Chamberneezy," "The Big Baryshnikov," "The Real Deal," "Dr. Shaq" (after earning his MBA), and, most recently, "Shaqovic." So if your favorite player doesn't have a nickname now you know, Shaq took more than his share.

I got to see one of my favorite mascots 54a: Mascot with a letter (MR ZIP) who seems to be more or less retired these days.

Speaking of retired, the man with the most home runs as a catcher made an appearance in this puzzle 28d: 1993 rookie of the year (MIKE PIAZZA).

That's all I've got time for this week. If there's a word you missed, you'll find it here:

1a: Gave a damn? (SWORE).
6a: "Who's there?" response (ITSJUSTME).
15a: Capital city in northern Africa (TUNIS).
16a: Forgetfulness potions (NEPENTHES).
17a: Mushroom producer (ATEST).
18a: Ties (DEADHEATS).
19a: Walsh of "Private Practice" (KATE).
20a: Four gills (PINT).
21a: Ant-B-Gon maker (ORTHO).
22a: Producer of Coldplay's "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends" (ENO).
23a: Two-times (CHEATSON).
25a: Sour (GOBAD).
27a: Jock's tutor, maybe (GEEK).
28a: Umami taste trigger (MSG).
31a: Vertexes (ACMES).
32a: City with a Paul Klee museum (BERN).
33a: Good vitamin C source (KIWI).
34a: Cletus of "The Simpsons," for one (SLACKJAWEDYOKEL).
37a: Take a nosedive (TANK).
38a: Green-lit (OKED).
39a: Fall fall, sometimes (SLEET).
40a: "___ Time at All" (Beatles song) (ANY).
41a: One-named Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar winner (CHER).
42a: Did a jeté (LEAPT).
43a: One who caters basely (PANDERER).
45a: "Think" sloganeer (IBM).
47a: Supernumerary's holding (SPEAR).
50a: 40% of fünf (ZWEI).
51a: Actress of "Fame" fame (CARA).
52a: Sources of moving music? (CARRADIOS).
54a: Mascot with a letter (MRZIP).
55a: "The Big ___" (nickname for Shaquille O'Neal) (ARISTOTLE).
56a: Gem holder (BEZEL).
57a: Stopgap (MAKESHIFT).
58a: Plugged-in (AWARE).
1d: Item in a camper's backpack (STAKE).
2d: Ghostface Killah's group (WUTANGCLAN).
3d: Drinker's excess (ONETOOMANY).
4d: Be upwardly mobile? (RISE).
5d: Biblical suffix (EST).
6d: Not from a major studio (INDIE).
7d: Michael Landon played one in 1957 (TEENAGEWEREWOLF).
8d: Like blood at some crime scenes (SPATTERED).
9d: President Bartlet's first name on "The West Wing" (JED).
10d: Remove, as a clip-on bow tie (UNHOOK).
11d: Back in the water? (STERN).
12d: "Imagine ___!" (THAT).
13d: ___ mouth (dental problem for some drug addicts) (METH).
14d: One of the Seven Sisters of the petroleum industry (ESSO).
20d: Advanced degree (PHD).
23d: Vineyard container (CASK).
24d: Fax machine button (SEND).
26d: Call's companion (BECK).
28d: 1993 N.L. Rookie of the Year (MIKEPIAZZA).
29d: Rose with pink flowers (SWEETBRIER).
30d: Having an expensive coat? (GILT).
31d: Film role for Skippy (ASTA).
32d: Italian casserole (BAKEDZITI).
33d: Caffeine source (KOLA).
35d: Mr. Big's first name on "Sex and the City" (JOHN).
36d: Flemish river (YSER).
41d: Gemologist's units (CARATS).
42d: Gift from a wahine (LEI).
43d: Diagram, as a sentence (PARSE).
44d: Zeroed out (RESET).
46d: Bowling pin material (MAPLE).
47d: Hustle (SCAM).
48d: Legal prefix (PARA).
49d: Actor Palladino (ERIK).
51d: Cox's sport (CREW).
53d: Cry a channel surfer might hear a few minutes after the final ticks of "60 Minutes" (DOH).
54d: Dubya's degree (MBA). Boy, that's hard to believe, considering every business he turned his hand to tanked,

Have a great Thursday. Norrin

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Title: Themeless Thursday
Author: Will Nediger
Theme: N/A

Hmmm, this themeless Thursday puzzle actually seems to be themeless. That's unusual. Maybe I'm missing something.

Hey, maybe it's a pangram.

Nope, unless I screwed up somewhere (always a possibility) it lacks a Q.

Sunny Spots:

64A: Did the Wright thing? (FLEW) Well, DESIGNED A BUILDING won't fit, so you know he's talking about Orville and Wilbur and not Frank Lloyd.

48A: Chase scenes were often seen during its broadcasts (SNL) I was kinda torn on this one as to whether it belonged here or in the Suns of Bitches category. I like the clue, but shouldn't it have a question mark after it or at least some indication that the answer is an abbreviation?

59A: Certain toy, for short (PEKE) I mean, if they're going to let us know the dog's name has been shortened, shouldn't they do the same with "Saturday Night Live"?

58D: Novel idea? (PLOT) By the way, next month is National Novel Writing Month, and I intend to participate. If you think you might to write a novel in November (no pressure, it doesn't have to be a good one, as it says on their website "Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved") you can get more information here.

Sundries:

24D: Cranny (NOOK) If these words mean the same thing, why do we always say "nook and cranny" instead of "nook" or "cranny"?

55D: Movie character who says "The, uh, stuff that dreams are made of." (SPADE) Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon." As far as hardboiled detectives go, I was always more of a Chandler than a Hammett man, but this is a great movie and a great line -- changing only letter from Prospero in Shakespeare's "The Tempest": "We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep." Carly Simon later had a hit song with the same title as Mr. Spade's famous line (minus the "uh").

(By the way you can win a few bar bets by challenging your fellow imbibers to quote the last line of "The Maltese Falcon". Most people think the "dreams" line is it, but the last line is actually from the guy Spade makes his poetic pronouncement to. He says, "Huh?" and that's the last lien of the movie.)

62D: Producer of Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" album (ENO) Musical reference, three letters, it's got to be ENO. It's interesting though that he's associated with this short musical name as his real full name is Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno.

45D: Like some marriages (SAME SEX) I try to keep politics out of my crossword commentary. I don't always succeed but I do try. I can't help wondering though why the party that prides itself on staying out of people's personal lives is the same party that wants to tell you who you can and cannot marry.

67A: Doctor's words (TRY TO RELAX) The only time a doctor has ever said this to me was during a procedure where it is impossible to relax.

42A: Circles (ENGIRDLES) When I was a kid, "girdle" was the punch line of every other dirty joke. I still remember this little ditty from second grade:

"Yankee Doodle went to town a riding on a turtle, turned a corner just in time to see a lady's girdle."

I wasn't too sure exactly what a girdle was but I knew it was both dirty and hilarious.

Suns of Bitches:

50A: Pussy thing on a puss (ZIT) Not too difficult to figure out once you get your "u" sounds all straightened out. But still -- Yuck! I doubt you'll ever see the word "pussy" in a New York Times clue.

See you next Thursday.

Norrin