11.18.2009

WEDNESDAY, November 18, 2009—Dan Naddor



THEME: "Barflies"—Six people's last names form new phrases or compound words with BAR

Theme answers:
  • 18A: *"Seven Year Ache" country singer (ROSANNE CASH). My high-school reunion had a cash bar.
  • 20A: *"All I Wanna Do" singer (SHERYL CROW). Crowbar. I just checked over another puzzle with a theme of female vocalists that included both CASH and CROW, so I couldn't help expecting the other theme entries to follow suit. Nope! In that other puzzle, I changed the clue to include this song instead of some other song I'd never heard of.


  • 32A: *Longtime "American Bandstand" host (DICK CLARK). The Clark Bar is, well...is it as good as a Butterfinger? I do like me a Butterfinger bar, and I ate all the minis my kid got for Halloween.
  • 45A: *Notable member of The Second City improv group (JOHN CANDY). The Clark Bar is a candy bar. John Candy was in the comedy Uncle Buck, which could also be...a horror movie:


  • 59A: *French writer who befriended Chopin (GEORGE SAND). Don't ground your boat on a sandbar.
  • 63A: *"The Mark of Zorro" star (1940) (TYRONE POWER). A Power Bar is one of those horrible things I never eat. I hear people like them.
  • 65A: Happy hour site, and word that can follow each last name in the answers to starred clues (BAR).
What else? Here are my favorite entries:
  • 42A: Bette's "Divine" nickname (MISS M).
  • 50A: Time-share units (CONDOS). Hey! Plenty of us city-dwellers live in condos year-round.
  • 10D: Bach work (TOCCATA). I don't know classical music much, but this answer always makes me think of veal. (Piccata.) Which I don't eat.
  • 21D: Gibraltar landmark (ROCK).
  • 30D: King Arthur's meeting spot (ROUND TABLE). This is where King Arthur hung out with Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley, at the Algonquin.
  • 43D: Chat idly: Var. (SHMOOZE). I prefer the schmooze spelling.
  • 46D: Official emergency status (CODE RED). My kitchen was at code red last week.
I wasn't so thrilled with the remainder of the fill. L-DOPA, UTA, L.I.U., ENID, ADE, ADJ., K.P.H., the weird ANC. ("Ancient"? Not the much more famous African National Congress?), MAU, SEP., and TRAC? Well, with a theme that occupies 63 squares of the grid, it's not surprising to see some blah fill.

Crosswordese 101: The clue 9D: Fruit drink suffix refers to ADE. It often plays the part of a stand-alone word in the crossword grid, though some dictionaries don't know what the heck you're talking about when you look up ADE. Lemonade, sure. But ADE alone? Not so much. This used to get clued a lot as Fables in Slang writer George ADE, but now? Beverages all the way. Assorted clues: summer cooler; fruity quaff; lemon/lime/orange/citrus drink. Nigerian world music legend King Sunny Adé, alas, almost never gets mentioned in a clue.



Everything Else — 1A: Popular (HOT); 4A: Takes steps (ACTS); 8A: Does some garden maintenance (WATERS); 14A: "__ Father ..." (OUR); 15A: Masked critter (COON); 16A: "Ditto" ("I DO TOO"); 17A: Ecol. or agric. (SCI.); 18A: *"Seven Year Ache" country singer (ROSANNE CASH); 20A: *"All I Wanna Do" singer (SHERYL CROW); 22A: 1963 role for Liz (CLEO); 23A: Note after fa (SOL); 24A: Nissan sedan (ALTIMA); 26A: Mimosa family tree (ACACIA); 29A: Part of TNT (NITRO); 32A: *Longtime "American Bandstand" host (DICK CLARK); 36A: Lover of Christine, in "The Phantom of the Opera" (RAOUL); 38A: Gardner of "Mogambo" (AVA); 39A: Parkinsonism drug (L-DOPA); 41A: Hagen of Broadway (UTA); 42A: Bette's "Divine" nickname (MISS M); 45A: *Notable member of The Second City improv group (JOHN CANDY); 48A: "The Merry Widow" composer (LEHAR); 50A: Time-share units (CONDOS); 51A: Rolled oats cereal (MUESLI); 55A: Banned pesticide (DDT); 56A: Voice above tenor (ALTO); 59A: *French writer who befriended Chopin (GEORGE SAND); 63A: *"The Mark of Zorro" star (1940) (TYRONE POWER); 65A: Happy hour site, and word that can follow each last name in the answers to starred clues (BAR); 66A: World's largest river by volume (AMAZON); 67A: King, to a subject (SIRE); 68A: Greater N.Y.C. campus (LIU); 69A: Not naked (DECENT); 70A: City west of Tulsa (ENID); 71A: Street shader (ELM); 1D: "Bonanza" brother (HOSS); 2D: Pained cry (OUCH); 3D: Hears arguments in court (TRIES A CASE); 4D: Painter's medium (ACRYLIC); 5D: Not nerdy (COOL); 6D: Puccini opera (TOSCA); 7D: Warning from a doghouse (SNARL); 8D: Best type of situation (WIN-WIN); 9D: Fruit drink suffix (-ADE); 10D: Bach work (TOCCATA); 11D: Catchall abbr. (ET AL.); 12D: Went up (ROSE); 13D: Fashionable London area (SOHO); 19D: "Just kidding!" ("NOT!"); 21D: Gibraltar landmark (ROCK); 25D: Fallen space station (MIR); 26D: Eden gardener (ADAM); 27D: __ union: same-sex relationship status (CIVIL); 28D: 100% (ALL); 30D: King Arthur's meeting spot (ROUND TABLE); 31D: Finish ahead of (OUTDO); 33D: Noun modifier: Abbr. (ADJ.); 34D: Friend of Pooh (ROO); 35D: Canadian rd. sign letters (KPH); 37D: Fires, with "off" (LAYS); 40D: Very old: Abbr. (ANC.); 43D: Chat idly: Var. (SHMOOZE); 44D: Half a Kenyan rebel (MAU); 46D: Official emergency status (CODE RED); 47D: "No ifs, __ ..." (ANDS); 49D: University officer (REGENT); 52D: Labor Day mo. (SEP.); 53D: Running free (LOOSE); 54D: Author Shaw (IRWIN); 56D: Just barely (A TAD); 57D: __ tick: disease carrier (LYME); 58D: Gillette's __ II (TRAC); 60D: Spice Girl Halliwell (GERI); 61D: Wood fastener (NAIL); 62D: Bongo or conga (DRUM); 64D: Nantes negative (NON).

35 comments:

Rex Parker said...

CLARK *and* CANDY = FAIL.

Cool that all theme answers are names, though.

JOHNSNEVERHOME said...

It's Wednesday and ALL I WANNA DO IS HAVE SOME FUN!!! A super duper Wednesday puzzle and Orange capped off my fun with another great writeup. WOW, DICKCLARK, JOHNCANDY, Bette Midler (MISSM), SHERYLCROW, and ROSANNECASH all in the same puzzle!!!! Okay, Dan, how can you go wrong with those names? Very nice job! And not only am I delighted with the theme and the fun clues, but I could not find even one crappy fill word. Put this puzzle in your annual report.
Okay, enough of my SMMOOZE!

JOHNSNEVERHOME said...
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JOHNSNEVERHOME said...

Rex, I don't get your objection to CLARK and CANDY. Care to explain?

I would have thought that you'd also object to "Not nerdy" (5d) and NOT (19d).

Rex Parker said...

You can have one CANDY bar. Not two. Bars should all be different in kind. Having two candy bars cheapens the theme considerably. Now if you'd had "DICK CLARK," "VERONICA MARS," "BARBARA HERSHEY," etc., you might get something going, candy-wise.

Also, re: bad fill, did you even read Amy's write-up? Here, I'll quote it:

"I wasn't so thrilled with the remainder of the fill. L-DOPA, UTA, L.I.U., ENID, ADE, ADJ., K.P.H., the weird ANC. ("Ancient"? Not the much more famous African National Congress?), MAU, SEP., and TRAC? Well, with a theme that occupies 63 squares of the grid, it's not surprising to see some blah fill."

If you "could not find even one crappy fill word," you weren't really trying.

ANC is especially bad — why go with some alleged abbrev. of "ANCient" when African National Congress is readily available? ANC would still be less than great, but at least it would not be absurd, as it is now.

rp

JOHNSNEVERHOME said...
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JOHNSNEVERHOME said...

I now understand your objection to the non-theme dual candy reference.

But, what about that "not" NOT thing?

I DID read Amy's writeup on the fill words, but I don't have to agree with that... I liked all the fill, but my opinion is as a humble CW fun-solver, not as a rigid CW "scientist". Is it okay to like a Dan Naddor puzzle for it's fun values?

The Corgi of Mystery said...

@John: I don't think it matters what kind of a solver you are; some words are not inherently "fun" because of their limited cluing potential. 3-letter words in particular are not really there to be liked...they're the glue that holds the grid together, and constructors try to keep them to a minimum. I, for one, would be perfectly content if I never had to see UTA Hagen in a grid again.

Robert said...

There is no such thing as a LYME TICK. This is really misleading as DEER TICK is a carrier and also a 4 letter word.

Quote:
The most common Lyme Disease tick vectors include Ixodes scapularis (Deer Tick), Ixodes pacificus (Western Black Legged Tick), Amblyomma americanum (Lone Star Tick).
- http://www.canlyme.com/ticks.html

JOHNSNEVERHOME said...

@Corgi
But even the "glue" fill can be fun. As much as UTA is overused, I tend to visualize her beauty every time I see that word. The fill I don't like are those dumb fill-in-the-blank ones (eg. ITSA long way to...).

JOHNSNEVERHOME said...

@Robert
I am currently being treated for my second bout with LYME disease... two weeks ago I took a deer tick in my eye. That's the second time in 5 years time that I've gotten "ticked-off". When I asked the ER nurse why do these deer ticks seem to like me, she quickly replied "cuz you're such a DEAR" (sic).

Tinbeni said...

Fun Wednesday LAT offering.
I've learned (from here) that with a Dan Naddor puzzle look for the theme answer first, and it was my first fill ... BAR. Which lead me easily to the 6 theme names.

Don't have a clue why I knew Parkinsonism Drug is L'Dopa.

LOL when the Gillette's razor reverted to the TRAC II and not the ATRA (which was mentioned in an 'over used answer' comment a while ago).

L.I.U. was cleaverly clued, got it from the crosses.

Not & Nor in the same puzzle = blah. But after some of the discussions, lately, I have come to a point where I realize there are 3 letter fills that WILL come up over-and-over again and I guess if you do CW's you have to "Grin-and-Bear-It."

Loved the clips, Good job Orange !!!

Anonymous said...

@Robert - In a just world, you would be correct. However, at least the USDA has re-cristened the Black Legged (Deer) Tick the LYME Tick.

Tinbeni said...

oops, meant NOT & NON ... smashed middle finger (40+ stitches, crushed bone) is messing up my typing, again.

@JNH - Hope you are on the road to recovery. A friend got bit a few years back and it surprised me how long that stays with you.

Burner10 said...

I vote a fun Wednsday and a pleasant thread so far...
Favorite word today, but not my favorite breakfast - muesli.

*David* said...

The blah fill didn't bother me as much. I felt the puzzle was right about where I want for a Wednesday and I liked the various different names used in the puzzle.

Talking about liking or not liking a CW puzzle is so subjective that to argue what it was is ususally as productive as talking politics, celebrate the differences.

scott said...

Theme was alright, thought I was let down that the first 4 were C-bars and then that stopped at the bottom. I don't really find fault with having CANDY and CLARK (and POWER). They are sufficiently terms for me.

The short was pretty awful though. I don't mind ADJ, ADE and KPH too much, but LDOPA, TRAC, MAU, and especially ANC are pretty brutal.

Much of the longer fill is nice though, ROUNDTABLE and TRIESACASE are fairly nice and ACRYLIC, CODERED, MUESLI, MISSM, and SHMOOZE are fabulous.

GLowe said...

I thought this was a very good puzzle. CIVIL parallel to TRIESACASE was good. Can't understand what's supposedly wrong with LDOPA or TRAC, to each his own I guess.

MAU ... will we one day see a clue "Half a Rodriguez": CHI

Carol said...

Nice Wednesdayish puzzle. No complaints here.

Loved SHMOOZE.

ribbit said...

35D: Canadian road signs do not have the letters KPH. It's KM/H.

Burner10 said...

@ribbit That's what I thought and since I didn't know ldopa from ldoma I was wrong! But, now vidicated.

shrub5 said...

@tinbeni: OUCH!!!! (2d Pained cry). Hope you're on the fast track to recovery.

I'm not familiar with the term CASH BAR, though it's obvious what it means. "No host bar" is more commonly used around here, I guess.

Liked WIN WIN, DECENT (not naked) and MISS M (shout out to the divine Bette Midler). I didn't know the names GEORGE SAND (in the context of the clue), LEHAR or ERWIN but no prob getting them from their surroundings. Embarrassed myself by wondering what KPH on a Canadian road sign meant. (d'oh)

@GLowe: LOL at CHI....how about ZSA (half a Gabor ......or maybe one-sixth of the Gabor sisters?)

CrazyCat said...

Enjoyed this puzzle and the theme. Liked SHMOOZE although I agree with Orange that the SCHMOOZE spelling is preferable. The only thing I found objectionable was ANC. Thanks Dan Naddor for another fun puzzle. I could go for a CLARK BAR right now.

mac said...

Nice Wednesday puzzle, no problems here.

Somehow "waters" seemed unusual in a good way, and there is Rosanne Cash again. It like that the theme answers are all first plus last names. Can't find a lot of fault with clark bar and candy bar, these are/were two existing people. And look at the middle part of the puzzle: 8 people/characters!

chefbea said...

A fun Bar puzzle. Who doesn't like a bar - candy or otherwise

Loved having eden gardner/gardner of Mogambo

Had a Natick at KPH/Ldopa. never heard of either one

Tinbeni said...

@Shrub5
Thanks, happened 9/29 and is healing slowly. When it occurred, I didn't say OUCH (something a bit stronger !!!). But my typing really sucks with only 4 fingers in play on the right hand.

Funny thing today was I always thought being naked was decent.

Learned ACACIA, mimosa family tree, @JNH probably didn't even have to think about that one. Didn't know, don't care about the Spice Girl's name, hated the slang spelling of Schmooze.

@ribbet, nice catch, it's imprecise answers that are a CW pet-peeve of mine.

@Corgi, I agree with you. The 3-letter words may be the glue, and there are many we see all the time but the UTA (and UMA) I wish constructor's would quarantine until 2011.

bluebell said...

I hope the puzzles don't jettison Uta and Uma just yet--I have finally fixed in my head which is Hagen and which is Thurman.

Acacias bloom in late February early March along the highway on the way to Santa Cruz, CA. A stunning sight, as long as you are not one of the souls who suffers from allergies!

I didn't know John Candy, so the center didn't quite come together for me--I had kms, couldn't remember ldopa, and, stupidly, adj didn't spring to mind. Ah, well.

housemouse said...

I have to agree with those who quibbled about the designation of the "Lyme" tick. AFAIK, Lyme is a disease, not a tick. I haven't seen the USDA announcement, but are they really the ones who name these nasty little critters? It's like calling the H1N1 virus "swine" flu. There are differences between common names and scientific names.

My main complaint about this one is the usual having to stay connected to Google complaint. Does the LA Trib have some financial incentive to chain us to Google so frequently? Just askin'. I do feel that crosswords should be a test of vocabulary, not of trivia or the ability to use Google.

I don't really consider "themes" to be important, but if they are considered essential, why not have someone do a puzzle with a "Star Trek" theme? There are 5 series, including the original, and several movies to pick from. Or "Star Wars". What the heck! Why not both?

Sfingi said...

Never noticed CODERED. I don't think I've seen LDOPA used before. ANC is especially bad as a phony abbrev.

@Anon 7:09 Thanx for info.

John Candy 1950 - 94, filming in Durango heat at 375 lbs, leaving his family $20 million.

Kilometers per hour. When you see that sign in Canada you might think you can suddenly speed at 110 mph.

Levodopa, neurotransmitter dopamine, molecule twists to left. Many side effects in including those seen in Michael J. Fox.

George Sand was the nom-de-plume of a woman Amantine Aurore Dupin, Baroness Dudevant. Pretty sure they were lovers. She was a cross-dresser.

Shmooze is Yiddish, but from Hebrew, (shemu) not German, so I would suggest w/o "c" would be correct.

@Shrub5 - 1/6 Gabors - very good. Did you know George Sanders (not SAND) married 2/3 of the Gabors?

From the d.o.l. (dirty ol' lady) files - skip the Clark and use President #17 - JOHNSON.

Unknown said...

I agree that DEER ticks cause LYME disease, but the frustration quickly became irrelevant after getting ALTO, AMAZON, and DECENT.

Otherwise I enjoyed working through this one, as my music/opera/music knowledge isn't so hot, making this a tough, yet enjoyable puzzle for me.

(Oh, and Rex is right: Clark AND Candy = Fail).

Charles Bogle said...

@johnsneverhome: feel better...the good news is it sounds like you got on antibiotics rights away--no fun to get bit in the eye, but fortunately you can't miss it. My problem was I got bit in May 2001 but didn't fall apart and finally get it diagnosed until Fall of 01. Have been on and off disability ever since and one physical problem after another; unfortunately, I now know way too much about Lyme. The ticks often travel on mice too; they can get on your outdoor pet...get dogs vaccinated and use heartguard and frontline. Check yourselves and others for ticks all over after WATERING in the garden, going in the woods etc. Our best friends in So. VT are moving to Albuquerque because she keeps getting bit and re-infected; this could become a nation-wide problem and no pharma co, nor our govt, is working on a human vaccine. Google Plum Island (off CT coast) and you'll learn how the infected ticks got started by an ex-Nazi scientist after WWII working in our gov't lab; truly scandalous/ I could literally go on for days so I'll stop-

Different look to this Dan Naddor puzzle--no ? clues ? Good thing I picked up on the theme and was able to deploy it. Orange did a super write-up, terrific links!; I see her and RP's point about the "crappy" fill, but given sound theme and great mix of famous people it didn't bother me

My all-time favorite TYRONEPOWER movie: "The Mask of Demetrious," w Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre ETAL alas, I can't seem to find it in dvd

Favorite JOHNCANDY movie: "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," w Steve Martin

Orange said...

@Chas. Bogle: "Those aren't pillows!"

Tinbeni said...

@Charles Bogle
I hope you too are finally getting better.
This Tick bite/Lyme disease got my best friend in Feb.2006. For a week or so she couldn't figure out what was wrong, and it was month after month after month of treatments. I googled it for all the info I could consume on it. Oh, and she was bit in Orlando, not in the woods, or up north (I always thought it was not prevalent in a city or here in Florida).
Sounds like hell to me.

@Orange: What pillows?

Orange said...

@tinbeni: It's a quote from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

Tinbeni said...

@Orange
I will have to make a point of re-watching the movie over the holiday's. Saw it when it came out, I think I have a vague recollection of the quote/scene.
What I do remember is it was a very funny movie. But I haven't been 'Home for the Holiday's' in years, Suzette died in 1985.