10.02.2010

S A T U R D A Y   October 2, 2010
Harvey Estes

Theme: None — Description


I slept in this morning (oh man did that feel good!) so I'm posting a little later than usual which means I'm not going to ramble on and on the way I sometimes do. I'll just say that the triple stacks of 10s in each corner are awesome and I really enjoyed this challenge today!

Bullets:
  • 1A: Parts counterparts (LABOR COSTS). When LABOR (by itself) didn't fit I thought I was looking for a different phrase. I'm not crazy about this entry because I don't think it's particularly in-the-language, BUT … looking at the other 10s in that corner and seeing that they're all car-related makes me like it anyway.
  • 16A: Actor who turned down the role of Dr. Shepherd on "Grey's Anatomy" (LOWE). I have to admit I've never watched "Grey's," but I believe it's quite popular (!) so I've gotta think this was a bad career move on Rob LOWE's part.
  • 29A: Neil Young song about Kent State (OHIO).


  • 45A: Common chuckwalla habitat (DESERT). How is it possible that I've never heard of a chuckwalla? I guess at my age I should consider the possibility that I have, in fact, heard of it but have forgotten it somewhere along the way. (It's a big lizard.)
  • 53A: Quarter of a yard (SPAN). I don't really understand this.
  • 63A: Poky activity happens at it (SNAIL'S PACE). Had No Idea what the clue was getting at until the answer became clear through crosses.
  • 1D: Lie low (LURK). Tried HIDE first.
  • 6D: Comics character who said "Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help" (CALVIN). Love him.
  • 7D: "Entertaining Mr. Sloane" dramatist (ORTON). Never heard of (or perhaps forgot about?) this guy either.
  • 11D: Send (ELATE). Whenever this clue/answer combo comes up there seem to be a lot of questions about it. By way of explanation:


  • 26D: Challenging area at Augusta National, as it's facetiously called (AMEN CORNER). Total gimme! PuzzleHusband's golf obsession to the rescue once again! (See also 33D: Links numbers (PARS).)
  • 38D: Tchr.'s notation (ABS.). This is quite the clunker of an abbreviation. I think I would have clued this in relation to the muscles instead.
  • 47D: Lets off steam (VENTS). I thought this was going to be either RANTS or RAVES, so I lightly penciled in the R, which caused me some problems in this corner.
Crosswordese 101 Round-up:
  • 49A: Bald eagle cousin (ERNE).
  • 57A: Quotation abbr. (ANON.).
  • 4D: Comic strip dog (ODIE).
  • 5D: 1986 GE takeover (RCA).
  • 52D: Hollywood canine (ASTA).
  • 55D: Novelist Waugh (ALEC).
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Everything Else — 11A: Vital team members (EMT'S); 15A: Lemon source (USED CAR LOT); 17A: One lacking bias (RADIAL TIRE); 18A: Spotlit opera event (ARIA); 19A: Joint with a cap (KNEE); 20A: Stumper's concern (VOTER); 21A: Summer goals for some (TANS); 22A: Old El Dorado feature (FIN); 23A: Unspoken part of the Godfather's "offers"? (OR ELSE); 25A: "One sec ..." ("HANG ON …"); 31A: Mister (SIR); 32A: Le Pew's pursuit (AMOUR); 33A: High fashion label (PRADA); 34A: Super vision? (ESP); 35A: Endows, as with power (VESTS); 36A: Kleptomaniac film monkey (ABU); 37A: 14th-century Florentine exile (DANTE); 39A: Hydrocarbon ending (-ENE); 40A: Fourth in a series (APRIL); 42A: "Hedda Gabler" playwright (IBSEN); 43A: Undertaking (ACT); 44A: Closing (LAST); 46A: They may be shod (HOOVES); 48A: The boss usually doesn't want to hear them (NOS); 50A: Curly hair, say (TRAIT); 57A: Quotation abbr. (ANON.); 58A: Holiday bloom (EASTER LILY); 60A: Kick back (REST); 61A: Minor considerations? (LITTLE ONES); 62A: Extremely, in Amiens (TRÉS); 2D: Simile center (AS AN); 3D: Only native Englishman ever named Doctor of the Church by a pope (BEDE); 8D: Fine cut (SLIT); 9D: Zipped (TORE); 10D: Olympics no-no (STEROID); 12D: Conscience (MORAL SENSE); 13D: Ann Landers or Abigail Van Buren (TWIN SISTER); 14D: Legendary swimmer (SEA SERPENT); 22D: On the block (FOR SALE); 24D: Rock crew (ROADIES); 25D: Show compassion (HAVE A HEART); 27D: In direct confrontation (NOSE TO NOSE); 28D: __ feeling (GUT); 29D: Shuttle path (ORBIT); 30D: Arrest, with "in" (HAUL); 41D: Some Cassatt works (PASTELS); 45D: "No kidding!" ("DO TELL!"); 48D: Capone associate (NITTI); 51D: Shower (RAIN); 53D: Pen repast (SLOP); 54D: Cóctel fruit (PIÑA); 55D: Novelist Waugh (ALEC); 56D: Place to find IBM (NYSE); 59D: Scale tones (RES).

18 comments:

JOHNSNEVERHOME said...

Took me too long (40 min.), but hey, I finished and got it totally correct.
I actually liked this puzzle… I prefer the big stacks of words to the dumb theme puzzles. Also, puzzles with literary content get my vote. Words like: Henrik IBSEN, Alighieri DANTE, Joe ORTON, and ALEC Waugh go a long way on my list of puzzle goodies.

I’m not a golfer, but I do remember watching the Masters back in April and there were three terms that expressed a challenging area: Fourteenth Hole, Old Course, and AMEN CORNER… Ta Da !!! That one fit. This morning I’m watching the Ryder Cup Tournament. Tiger Woods with a 3 stroke lead!

I’m a huge fan of classic cars with lots of chrome and big fins. The Cadillac El Dorado has lead the pack in the FIN realm. I love it !!!! You won’t find those in a USED CAR LOT anymore.

Mary Cassatt is a U.S. born painter of the French Impressionist school. Mary Cassatt studied in Paris, where she settled and became a disciple of Degas. Her finest paintings were studies of mother and child, scrupulously firm and unsentimental, e.g. The Bath, Mother and Child, and her studies of everyday life in dry point and aquatint have recently received recognition. Young Woman Sewing is a fine example of her work in oil. I first saw her awesome PASTEL of “Breakfast in Bed” at the Huntington Galleries in Pasadena, CA. If you ever get to Pasadena, I highly recommend this art palace and also their marvelous gardens.

Gee, I really liked this puzzle. Thanks, Harvey!

Off to a late morning breakfast (brunch?)
Yes Puzzlegirl, sleeping in sure does feel good!
Have a wonderful weekend y’all.

Tinbeni said...

@JNH
Thanks for the info on Mary Cassatt. I enjoy art but don't really care if I know the artist name on most works.
Seems to me I probably did enjoy her PASTELS when I visited my brother in LA and went to that gallery.

Sort of a mini-theme in the NW, LABOR COSTS, USED CAR LOT, RADIAL TIRE, FIN amd FOR SALE (Get your lemon at the lot).

My fave 'CALVIN % Hobbes' was when he was selling "Quick Kick in the Pants, $1.00" ... Hobbes asked "How's business?" and he replied (sic) "Lousy, and I don't understand ... it's the one thing everybody needs."

RCA & NYSE were gimmies (I spend way too much time watching CNBC).

Didn't know (don't care) that Rob LOWE turned down a 'Grey's Anatomy" role.

Learned ORTON wrote a play I'll never see.

Liked the dogs, ODIE & ASTA.

Laughed that the puzzle had an ANON who liked to LURK.

badrog said...

Last 10-letter fill-in: 17A, RADIALTIRE. Don't ask why!
Only 10-letter erasure: 27D, facetoface, obviously without enough verifying crosses!
First erasure: 33A FenDi to PRADA.
WOTD: 53A, SPAN. Because I knew it was a measure, assumed it was from thumb-tip to little-finger-tip, but didn't realize it would be a "Quarter of a yard" until my math-impairment subsided a bit.
Troublesome clues: 43A. I couldn't come up with a sentence or phrase where substituting ACT for "undertaking" made reasonable sense.
61A. Couldn't decide whether "Minor considerations"/LITTLEONES was referring to toddlers or to a miserly tip. But with the "?", who cares?
39A. Can't somebody come up with something better than "Hydrocarbon ending" or "Wind direction", etc. for ENE? How about "3/4 of a Hawaiian goose"? (Or perhaps even "three hind quarters of ....)

Eric said...

Totally, abysmally DNF. The NE and SE defeated me, even with all possible Googles in those areas (well, except for LOWE, because by that point I'd just given up).

I liked "Legendary swimmer" -> SEA SERPENT.

Had no idea which sport 26D was referring to, but got CORNER from crosses and the word "area" in the clue; then AMEN surfaced (also with crosses) out of the trivia junkyard of my brain. I didn't know what the phrase meant either, just that the two words somehow went together in a somehow sports-related way. (My half-formed guess was that it was a nasty turn on some car-race course.)

"Tchr.'s notation" -> ABS: I think Rich Norris is just pulling our collective chain after all the TCHR griping a few days ago :-)

I'm not allowed to watch that OHIO clip; it's "blocked in [my] country on copyright grounds" :-( The thing was recorded in my city for cripes sakes! Not your fault, @PG, just VENTing. (Massey Hall is an excellent venue. I've been to many concerts there: Dead Can Dance, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Ian Anderson, Van Morrison, Emerson Lake and Powell; the list goes on. Even Meatloaf, back in the day. Never seen Neil Young there though. That'd be sweet, especially for one of his more acoustic shows. Hmm, maybe he'll play there when he tours Le Noise. From the review I just read, it might work well there.)

Rube said...

Had to Google ALEC Waugh since Evelyn wouldn't fit and had Dare me instead of DOTELL. Then I get here and find out that ALEC Waugh is crosswordese. Sigh.

Was wondering about the "lacking bias" for the RADIAL TIRE clue, so Googled and found that the reinforcing steel/cords for bias ply tires are at + and - 60 degrees to the direction of travel while for radial ply tires the reinforcing is at 90 degrees. Makes sense, but not a fact I knew, (or remembered).

Did not like ASAN as an answer to "simile center". Should have had "sometimes" as a qualifier.

Other writeovers were HOrseS/HOOVES and HoldON/HANGON. Never heard of AMENCORNER. Memo to self: watch golf on TV to calm down after an exciting session of watching paint dry.

Very enjoyable puzzle.

Anonymous said...

Fun puzzle today. Definitely doable.

But "abs" as "teacher's notation"? I got it via the perps, but I'm still not sure of the reference there. Grades?

My first thought on "poky activity happens at it" was "slugfest". I was sorry find it came up short, and having to settle for "snail's pace". Of course, some may find "SLOGfest" a more apt description of a late week puzzling session ;).

Anoa Bob said...

Thanks for the hauntingly beautiful link to Neil Young's "Ohio". It brought back a flood of strong feelings and associations.

Then along comes Sam Cooke and soothes the soul with his sweet tones from a happier and more innocent time. Deliberate palate cleanser on your part PuzzleGirl?

I agree with Eric and believe Rich clued ABS as "Tchr.'s notation" because TCHR appeared in a recent puzzle and got some unkind comments as a never-seen abbreviation. So there! It is seen after all!

Anonymous said...

Ah thanks Eric & Anoa Bob, I think I grok now. "Abs" as short for abbreviation, in sneaky self reference to the "tchr" appearance here earlier. Agree it was a legit abs.

Eric said...

FWIW, I think ABS is short for "absent".

Sfingi said...

DNF in NW

@AnoaBob - if you like self-referencing.

@Anon1047 - Slugfest good, though too short. Had elBOw at 1A, but grease too long.

Googled AMENCORNER (sports).
Also, HOrsES before HOOVES.

Joe Orton's bio by John Lahr, Prick up Your Ears, is more well-known. Movie 1987. Orton was murdered by his lover of many years, apparently out of jealousy.

@John - I don't remember watching that game - or any other golf tournament w/o falling asleep from the soothing green and whispers. Better than a lullaby. They should package it.

@Eric - So you're Canadian. Nice place. They'll come around. They can't buck the future. I remember shopping in Kingston years ago and asking how much a certain telephone was. They gasped and said, "You can't buy telephones!"

JIMMIE said...

@Eric. I think ABS is for absent, too. Teachers often start the day with recording present and absent.

Also, Brits like to use SPAN for a nine inch measure.

Fun puzzle, although i did it at a SNAILSPACE.

Anonymous said...

Thanks all; agreed, abs must be for absent.

Eric said...

@Sfingi: Thanks. That must have been a lot of years ago; we've had interconnect (i.e. being able to use your own phone equipment instead of renting it from Bell) since about 1980.

I know it'll change sooner or later. It's just really annoying in the meantime. Neil Young's from Canada, the gig was filmed in Canada, but Canadians can't watch it. Go figure.

John Wolfenden said...

Arrgh, came so close to finishing but snagged on ELATE. Don't mind the obscure word, but didn't like the clue.

Hats off to the ageless Neil Young. "Love and War" from his new album is another classic.

Anonymous said...

Ryder Cup is match play so scoring is in "holes " instead of strokes.

C said...

Hi All,

I *think* ABS refers to the degree that Teachers earn in school in order to teach. I believe it is short for bachelor of arts. Yes, I know that is normally BA but I believe there is a version abbreviated AB.

My 2 cents, spend at your own peril ;^)

KJGooster said...

Jumping in here late today, but boy, do you ever make your run to work and hit all the lights green and get there early? That's how this puzzle felt for me. So many of the stacked 10s fell (with few or no crosses) because the first thing that popped into my head was correct. That ne-ver happens for me. These all went down on the first try:

USEDCARLOT
RADIALTIRE
HAVEAHEART
AMENCORNER
NOSETONOSE
TWINSISTER
SEASERPENT
EASTERLILY
SNAILSPACE

With that huge headstart I was done in under ten, certainly a Sat. record for me (excepting that stretch last year when the puzzles were dumbed down). Clean living I guess (Ha!).

Anonymous said...

I had to google this one: Spam=quarter of a yard.

A span was originally the length from your little finger to your thumb if you stretch your fingers. It later became 9 inches or a quarter of a yard.