Theme answers:
- 20A: Milton Hershey, e.g.? (CHOCOLATE BARON).
- 56A: Segundo matrimonio result, maybe? (SPANISH STEPSON).
- 10D: Body of brewing rules? (BEER CANON).
- 35D: Ancient Germanic singer? (ALTO SAXON).
- 39A: Extra, and this puzzle's title (ADD ON).
Cute, simple theme for today. I had the middle part of the first theme answer first and wasn't sure where that was going, so I moved on.
When I got to the reveal answer it all became clear. I had a few trouble spots: I thought STRASSE was going to be "car lot" or some variation thereof. But in this case, a German car (30A: Place to see an Audi) is used to clue the German word for street. Also, the R in TYPER was the last letter I entered into the grid (26D: Blood __). I thought it must be A, B, or O, but that didn't really make sense. The only other thing I'll mention before I get to the bullets is, HOLY COW look at all those abbreviations!!! I admit that I didn't notice them so much during solving — I think I was pretty focused on the downs and the abbreviations are, for the most part, acrosses — but when I was putting this write-up together it looked like abbreviation after abbreviation after abbreviation!Bullets:
- 1A: Mother of Horus (ISIS). I have a really hard time keeping all the Gods and Goddesses straight. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
- 23A: MPG rating agency (EPA). The Environmental Protection Agency.
- 25A: E. African nation (ETH.). Ethiopia.
- 34A: A.L. player whose team logo includes an Uncle Sam hat (N.Y. YANKEE). I grew up a Twins fan, but switched allegiances when I moved to New York. As you can imagine, I'm not really enjoying this series so much as just paying attention to it. I feel like Venus and Serena's mom.
- 50A: "Star Trek" sequel, briefly (TNG). "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
- 69A: Malibu, for one (SEDAN). Did anyone try BEACH first? I already had the N in place so I didn't fall into that trap.
- 1D: Apple variety (IMAC). Considered ROMA but couldn't get the crosses to work, so I moved on and came back to this corner later.
- 2D: Jedi nemesis (SITH). This is how dumb I am. Every Single Time the answer is SITH, I put in SIKH first and have to erase it. Every. Single. Time.
- 22D: Lover of Cal, in "East of Eden" (ABRA). Wow, no idea. I guess on Friday an ABRA-cadabra clue is too easy.
- 29D: Rocker Nugent (TED). Sure he's completely batshit crazy now, but back in the day ....
- 41D: What an apostrophe may stand for, in dates (NINETEEN). What a great clue. I'm all "Apostrophes are used in dates?" Took me a minute.
- 15A: Last Olds (ALERO).
- 16A: Ostrich cousins EMUS).
- 19A: Give off (EMIT).
- 28A: Fictional tree shepherd ENT).
- 5D: "She's a Lady" songwriter (PAUL ANKA).
- 6D: Radius neighbor (ULNA).
Everything Else — 5A: Cheap reads (PULPS); 10A: Divulge (BARE); 14A: 1959 British Motor Corp. debut (MINI); 17A: Routing abbr. (ATTN.); 18A: Subordinate to (UNDER); 24A: Millennium-ending year (ONE B.C.); 37A: Got in on a deal (ANTED); 38A: Form often requiring an SSN (APPL.); 42A: Master: Abbr. (ORIG.); 43A: Buck parts (CENTS); 45A: Improve one's bargaining power, in a way (UNIONIZE); 47A: Radar user (TROOPER); 51A: St. crosser, on signs (PED); 52A: Yahtzee score sheet row (SIXES); 54A: Suffix with ranch (-ERO); 62A: Imitation (FAUX); 63A: Playgroup reminder (SHARE); 64A: Reference work, usually (TOME); 65A: Curly coif (AFRO); 66A: Austrian dessert (TORTE); 67A: Thought (IDEA); 68A: "It's __ fun" (BEEN); 70A: Word avoided by optimists (CAN'T); 3D: Involved with (INTO); 4D: From that time (SINCE); 7D: Helped come about (LED TO); 8D: Grooms (PREENS); 9D: Frozen dessert (SORBET); 11D: Gun shop stock (AMMO); 12D: Wreck (RUIN); 13D: Winter hrs. in N.J. (EST); 21D: Not booked (OPEN); 25D: Put on the books (ENACT); 27D: Therapy lead-in (HYPNO-); 31D: Comic unit (STRIP); 32D: Jump on, as an opportunity (SEIZE); 33D: Beat by a bit (EDGED); 36D: http://mit.__ (EDU); 40D: Man. and Minn. neighbor (ONT.); 44D: Reinterpret, in a way (SPIN); 46D: Brute (OGRE); 48D: Is (EXISTS); 49D: Work on hooves (RESHOE); 53D: Pottery piece (SHARD); 55D: Sight-related (OPTIC); 56D: Protected (SAFE); 57D: Not corrupted (PURE); 58D: Madrid miss: Abbr. (SRTA.); 59D: Club __ (SODA); 60D: Comet, to some (OMEN); 61D: Tidy (NEAT); 62D: "Cool!" ("FAB!").
29 comments:
Thank you PG - great write up as usual.
I feel sort of let down by today's puzzle - I was all excited about seeing CHOCOLATE BAR-ON but after that the puzzle lost much of it's flashiness. Maybe it's just me??
Liked seing NYYANKEE (especially with the series going on), STRASSE and TROOPER was my favorite clue.
Disliked RESHOE and TYPER - is TYPER used anywhere?
Oh well it's Friday - Yeah! Have a great weekend all!
Agreed that TYPER is a bit lame. So is the ADDON theme, in my view. This puzzle was just OK for me, dawgs.
PuzzleGirl, your write-up mirrored my reaction. Especially about the ABBR's.
Had the theme early at CHOCOLATE BARON and ADD'ON' ... otherwise that BEEN CAN'ON' would never have BEEN finished.
NY YANKEE, probably my "all-time" favorite fill (after Scotch). Yup, we're up 2-0, it's an OMEN.
Have the same thought each time about SITH (sikh) this was the first time I waited for the cross to get that 'T'. Hey, I'm a semi-retired accountant, I like my grid NEAT ... I hate it when it becomes an 'ink-blot test.'
Blood____ = TYPER? = Lousy.
Wanted Diamond, it wouldn't fit.
For a Friday I expected a much better puzzle... weak theme, contrived fill, and not very interesting clues. Not much new to me either, except there were some anomalies.
Yep, I too put in BEACH before SEDAN. I guess I'm still thinking about being on MALIBU Beach.
Puzzlegirl, even after reading your explanation on 41D "Apostrophe" NINETEEN, I still don't get it. There's more I don't understand though... "Millenium-ending year = ONEBC ???
Also SPIN for "Reinterpret ???
And what the heck is a Blood TYPER?
I know ANKA appears a lot in CWs, but it's good to see his full name PAUL ANKA. I always thought he was a great 50's and 60's singer and composer.
Puzzlegirl's terrific writeup made solving today's puzzle worthwhile.
That happens a lot... boring puzzle, but interesting writeup.
TGIF! Have a super weekend y'all.
@JNH
Just watch FOX as they "Reinterpret" or "Put a SPIN" on the Bush TARP bailout.
From what I have read in the NY Times, Wall Street Journal and reports on CNBC (my addiction) it looks like WE (the taxpapers) will, IN FACT, make a profit.
But if you listen to some who are currently running for office ... this is not so.
That's their "SPIN" ... they tell the voter whatever they want to hear to get elected.
Spin the facts.
As to ONE BC, thought that was lamely clued.
Didn't try BEACH, did try CHEVY. Then I saw SRTA. Know ROMA as a tomato (and città) instead of an apple, but my mind considered BOSC before moving on. My first entry for ONE BC? MCMIC, which isn't even valid in Roma.
TYPER is lousy indeed, and I wanted a slang term for CENTS to match the [Bucks]. John, didn't you mean '50s and '60s?
@SethG
Yes
DNF west coast middle. I can't accept ETH as an abbrev. or TYPER as a word. However, I also had snOOPER instead of TROOPER, which was "my bad."
Didn't understand TNG. Looked it up - The Next Generation.
Thought about Rome as an apple. They're form Rome, Ohio. But, it wasn't that kind of apple.
The theme was cute. Liked the clues all around.
ONEBC was very good, and almost tricked me. I was trying to fit MCMXCIX in. I bet @Vans were grateful.
Hubster gave me NINETEEN, as I wasn't understanding it as the century.
Poor Dean Davalos. Who knew being James Dean's twin would be a career-killer.
@Tinbeni - prejudice. (period)
@SethG - Ohhhh
Thanks now I get it :)
69A threw me... mainly because I grew up driving a Malibu coupe.
@Tuttle
Malibu = SEDAN ?????
I agree with you, I remember when they were the Malibu SS 396 V-8 and were a muscle car.
When I think sedan, I think ... boring.
@Sfingi
I don't understand.
Spin = prejudice (period) ???
To me "SPIN" is twisting your facts to suit "your" purpose.
Often leading to mis-information.
That's why it is important to have an informed voter who searches out the truth.
Tinbeni, whose totally objective (LOL) sources of opinion include CNN and the NYT wants to turn this fun and informative blog into a lefty rant and Ted Nugent was fine when he agreed with you but now he is "batshit crazy" because he stands up for individual rights. It is no wonder that lifelong independents like me are running to the right in droves. I've enjoyed your work but I'm gone forever.
As a Sudoku refugee, I'm new to this Crossword thingy but I frequently enjoy this FAB blog more than the puzzle.
Coming from a medical background, ULNA and OPTIC were gimmes but TYPER? Uh-uh. The guys in the hematology lab are cringing. I held onto TYPED way too long. Also hung out at the BEACH too long before I returned to the SEDAN. Almost got burned.
Kudos to PuzzleGirl and all contributors that make this blog NEAT!
Note to self: Hmmmm .... Kudos looks like a word to watch for.
rz
So, Batshit, you also believe that Obama says he’s a Christian so he can continue with his jihad of a America-destroying policies and that he's a Muslim operative who has, through deceit, gotten amazing power in this nation and this world?
So sorry to see you go. Back to the puzzle...
@Batshit Crazy
CNN ???
Where did YOU get that?
What lines are you reading between to get that crap?
I was commenting on "Reinterpert" and SPIN.
I never mentioned CNN ... so I guess you rant holds no water. You're all wet.
Bye!
This blog is not the right place to rant about your political or religious viewpoints... there's plenty of other blogs for that. Let's stay on topic... um, I think it's crossword puzzle construction.
And certainly we ought not to be attacking one another!
Hmm? Some interesting comments here this morning. TED Nugent is what PG said and we all know @Tinbeni watches CNBC.
Now for the puzzle - I wasn't really INTO this one. Had my SHARE of write overs - Chevy before SEDAN, Blood Money before TYPER and Hydro before HYPNO. Count me among those who didn't like TYPER. And then we had ATTN, APPL, EST, ENT, ETH, EPA, ORIG, ONT, SRTA. Just not that FAB.
On the other hand I liked FAUX and SORBET. SITH is my WOTD.
@Tinbeni I knew you'd be glad to see NY YANKEE and NEAT.
@PG thanks for the Jack Johnson
I'm with @CCL about this puzzle. For some reason, this puzzle didn't get my attention. TYPER is a bit off but nothing criminal.
IMO, TED Nugent is bat shit crazy. I don't even think TED would argue that. Dude was busted on poaching charges in Yuba County, CA. Charges were that he used bait and took inappropriate aged deer per CA hunting rules (to which he plead no contest) The bat shit crazy part is that he did all of this on film for his TV show.
Tough puzzle today. Got stuck in the SW, trying to figure out what _AB could be. Rats!
Thanks for the puzzle and the writeup! Coming up with interesting themes, good fill and fun clues is hard work.
Jeff
This was smoother than most Fridays...usually I don't crack it in under half an hour. STRASSE was last to fall.
Not to prolong the political discussion, but I think Tinbeni is correct that Fox News has created a new level of SPIN, the Shirley Sharrod case being a perfect example. They repeatedly ran a clip of her admitting that she wasn't as inclined to help white farmers, but the larger story was about how she did help them and overcame her prejudice. Murdoch et al. knew full well they were taking her out of context, and that what she was saying was the opposite of the quote they cherry-picked. Sharrod's boss unwisely took the bait, and by the time the truth came out (the white farmers in question even came to her defense) she'd already been fired. No other news organization would engage in such blatant SPIN.
Anyway, good puzzle.
I got the themes and most of the fill but gut futzed up in the outside central areas. The west was just ugly with APPL, ETH, and TYPER so it didn't bother me that much that it took longer. The east I put in ENTER instead of ANTED which tied me up for way too long since I didn't know ABRA or STRASSE. STRIP finally showed me the light shoulda been a breezy puzzle.
Once again, NW corner was the last filled in, I am not a star wars fan so I guessed ewok. Tried hence instead of since and it all came together. After a DNF yesterday, glad to say I DF today. Took awhile, but I do the puzzle throughout my workday, finished at home in the lazyboy. And I agree, all the abbrs. is absd. Also tired of emu(s), ante(d,s), and e.s.t/ e.d.t. And what exactly are Spanish steps? Love ur blog, PG, keep up the good work!!
@Tom: The Spanish Steps are in Rome.
Spanish Steps
Thank you, PG, your blog saved the day. This puzzle is just weak and sloppy.
Oddly enough I had just read about the "Hershey School Scandal" before Milton showed up.
Proost, @Tinbeni!
Thanks CCL, as an Italian I should probably know that,lol. And by the way, if any of you are college football fans.........GO BLUE!!!!!!!
@Tinbeni - Since you called me forth, I don't know what I did with today's puzzle, so I don't remember what the clue for SPIN was - but, alls I was saying was, most of this blaming Obama for everything including burnt toast is a deep-seated racial prejudice. I think when many of these people over 50 pass away, things will change. Of course, I'm a knee-jerk liberal. However, I am voting for one Republican this time in a NY election, because of the character of the alternative. NYS has been weird this year.
I finished in a far better time than I usually do on Fridays (especially so, seeing as I often don't finish Friday puzzles at all). I guess that means it was too easy.
What everyone else said about abbrs. etc.
@JNH: There was no Year Zero; 1 BC was immediately followed by 1 AD. So yes, 1 BC ended the first millennium BC. According to Wikipedia, we can blame the (usually) Venerable Bede for that anomaly.
I guess the person whose blood the TYPER types is the TYPEE -- which is crosswordese, oddly enough, thanks to Herman Melville :-)
OK, this is just too silly. BEER CANON amused me enough that I decided to look for a two-N BEER CANNON. And what do you know ... I found one!
Capcha: REDONT. Clue: "Provide with tooth implants?"
@Eric
Thanks for your BC/AD explanation and for a very amusing comment.
Good write-up,Pzl Grl.So much more entertaining than our puzzle 2day.Relatively easy (Thanks 2 Google) for a Friday.Thought the theme was simplistic but at least it was applicable.Have a good weekend!!
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