Theme: "Perfection" — Ten theme answers, each ten letters long, has the letter string TEN hidden in it. (Today's date can be noted as 10/10/10.)
[Note: This is the syndicated L.A. Times puzzle. It does not appear in the actual newspaper, but is available for free at cruciverb.com.]
Theme answers:
- 22A: Audible sleep aid (WHITE NOISE).
- 24A: Stadium ticket datum (GATE NUMBER).
- 43A: Hiker's snack (DATE NUT BAR).
- 46A: It's transferred from iron to pants during pressing (HEAT ENERGY).
- 67A: Barely sufficient (JUST ENOUGH).
- 69A: You, to you, at times? (WORST ENEMY).
- 83A: Warning sign (DO NOT ENTER).
- 88A: On and on (WITHOUT END).
- 112A: Agreed to a proposal (GOT ENGAGED).
- 114A: Library reminder (LATE NOTICE).
- 116D: Theme answer count, amount of letters in each, word hidden in each, and, when repeated twice, today's date (TEN).
Crosswordese 101 Round-up:- 66A: Miscellany (OLIO).
- 119A: Road for Tiberius (ITER).
- 11D: Actor Epps (OMAR).
- 57D: Ship that survived the Clashing Rocks (ARGO).
Everything Else — 1A: They're in Vogue (POSES); 6A: Figs. disclosed before closings (APR'S); 10A: Alley-oop setups, in hoops (LOBS); 14A: Work on, as pipe bowl ash (TAMP); 18A: Sex appeal (OOMPH); 19A: Fifth-century pope known as "the Great" (LEO I); 20A: "There's no step 3!" product (IMAC); 21A: Chick on ivories (COREA); 26A: Wing (ELL); 27A: Trifle (SOU); 28A: Kept sacred (ENSHRINED); 30A: Where __ at (IT'S); 31A: Singer Corinne Bailey et al. (RAES); 33A: Whole that's greater than the sum of its parts (GESTALT); 35A: Be in a bee (SEW); 36A: Monthly exp. (UTIL.); 37A: Fill with joy (ELATE); 39A: Admonishing king? (TUT); 40A: Aide: Abbr. (ASST.); 42A: "Me, Myself & __": 2000 film (IRENE); 49A: "Wait __!" (A SEC); 50A: All-inclusive (A TO Z); 52A: An atheist can't be one (ELK); 53A: Strikebreakers (SCABS); 56A: Emmy-winning legal drama (L.A. LAW); 58A: Kid who moves a lot (ARMY BRAT); 63A: One bit (AT ALL); 64A: Gets twisted (WARPS); 65A: Cries of disgust (FIES); 71A: With the bow, in music (ARCO); 72A: Approximately (OR SO); 73A: __-ling (DING-A); 74A: Nods, often (YESES); 75A: Dec. purchase (XMAS TREE); 77A: "The vine that ate the South" (KUDZU); 78A: Brusque (TERSE); 79A: It may need a boost (EGO); 80A: Bindle carrier (HOBO); 81A: Meteor tail? (-ITIC); 94A: In reserve (ON ICE); 95A: Sharpen (WHET); 97A: Ed.'s request (SAE); 98A: "A __ this gout!": "Henry IV, Part 2" (POX ON); 99A: Spinoff group (SECT); 100A: Two-piece piece (BRA); 102A: Northern lights (AURORAS); 105A: Paper towel brand (VIVA); 106A: Consumed (ATE); 107A: 1960 chart topper with the line "Are you somewhere up above" (TEEN ANGEL); 109A: Add (up) (TOT); 111A: Small songbird (TIT); 117A: Wading bird (EGRET); 118A: __ insurance (TERM); 120A: Code carriers (GENES); 121A: Versatile beans (SOYS); 122A: Union mem. since 2/14/1912 (ARIZ.); 123A: Disney no longer used them after "The Little Mermaid" (CELS); 124A: It can make your heart pound (ANGST); 1D: Turned on, with "up" (POWERED); 2D: "Tres chic!" ("OOH LA LA!"); 3D: Graciously greet (SMILE AT); 4D: Able, facetiously (EPT); 5D: Ladies (SHES); 6D: Song pour les enfants (ALOUETTE); 7D: Architect I.M. (PEI); 8D: Stone home (ROSETTA); 9D: College near Albany (SIENA); 10D: Laser entertainment (LIGHT SHOW); 12D: Leader overthrown by Castro (BATISTA); 13D: Part of an act (SCENE); 14D: Kite on the links (TOM); 15D: Dispute settler (ARBITER); 16D: Dispute settler, perhaps (MEETING); 17D: Decorative herb (PARSLEY); 21D: Cow's second helping? (CUD); 23D: Yuletide quaff (NOG); 25D: Improved partner? (NEW); 29D: '70s extremist gp. (SLA); 32D: Mont-__-Anne: Quebec resort (STE.); 34D: Contract segment (SUBCLAUSE); 36D: Rapt ending (-URE); 38D: Make possible (ENABLE); 41D: "__ me!" (SEZ); 42D: Black (INKY); 44D: __ Enterprise (USS); 45D: Role for Jackie (RALPH); 47D: Brewer of song (TERESA); 48D: Horror film locale: Abbr. (ELM ST.); 51D: Brits' thank-yous (TAS); 53D: __ und Drang (STURM); 54D: Ides assassin (CASCA); 55D: Some choirboys (ALTOS); 58D: Instrument that's not seen and not heard (AIR GUITAR); 59D: Blunder (BONER); 60D: Like "park the car," to a New Englander? (R-LESS); 61D: Songstress Mann (AIMEE); 62D: Fisher Price products (TOYS); 63D: Achilles' cousin (AJAX); 64D: Passed tediously (WORE ON); 65D: Cool sitcom guy (FONZ); 68D: Krone-issuing land, to natives (NORGE); 69D: Black __ spider (WIDOW); 70D: Ocular washing aid (EYE CUP); 73D: Do a film editing job (DUB); 76D: Tours head? (TÊTE); 77D: 155-mi. Asian strip that intersects the 38th parallel (KOREAN DMZ); 78D: Sonora uncle (TIO); 80D: [I'm so clever] (HEH); 82D: Broadway array (THEATERS); 83D: Prescribed amounts (DOSAGES); 84D: Takeout order (ONE TO GO); 85D: "You gave it a shot!" ("NICE TRY!"); 86D: MLB post-season mo. (OCT.); 87D: Banjoist, e.g. (TWANGER); 89D: Set apart from the rest (ISOLATE); 90D: "Mazel __!" (TOV); 91D: On the way out (EXITING); 92D: They're new at it (NOVICES); 93D: "CSI" procedure (DNA TEST); 96D: Act of war? (TUG); 100D: More than ask (BEG); 101D: Rodeo rope (REATA); 103D: Valued old item (RELIC); 104D: Small business successor, maybe (SON); 107D: Boom letters? (TNT); 108D: Atmosphere: Pref. (AERI-); 110D: Loose garment (TOGA); 113D: Some Caltech grads (EE'S); 115D: Business card abbr. (TEL.).
13 comments:
ARGH! Could not get the cross at ARCO/CASCA. Otherwise, a fun and relatively easy puzzle this morning. OOMPH/OOHLALA is fun, but not a fan of Two-piece piece. Especially right near t*t. Oh, I just got that this is referring to a bathing suit, and not the two parts of a bra. Duh. Loved Gestalt - great clue. Nice work Mr. Gagliano!
Theme is appropriate and well executed. Didn't help me solve, though.
Some weird cluing for OOMPH (sex appeal?); RAES; ITIC; FIES and others.
Solis enough puzzle over all.
Nice to see the TEN theme and OCT reference to the baseball playoffs.
Note, as scheduled the World Serie will go into November.
Now I know why I'm not an ELK (among other reasons).
Add (up) = TOT, for 'total' I suppose. In 35 years I have never heard someone say "What's the tot?"
ON ICE, Avatar doesn't understand.
47D echoes the names of my daughter T(h)eresa and her main-squeeze Jim Brewer.
Having gotten ATOZ for 50A (same as 35A last Sunday 9/26), because I lack B, C, etc...toes (foot-wise -:) its meaning puzzled me until now seeing it parsed herein.
Since my 6'90 move from MI to wNC I've heard various laments down here about KUDZU (77A); and am adding that clue to my repertoire in which my fav'e is from the ambitious sign for "Kudzu Cable TV".-)
the whole NW gave me a fit! oomph! really? ept? really?
What the @#%& is EPT ????
This was a complete slog.
I hope I never see another puzzle by Don Gagliardo. He better keep his day job.
This puzzle sucked !
Had about as much trouble in the NW as in the rest of the puzz. EPT?? I guess this is from inept, as in "not ept". Trouble is that EPT is not a word in English. (Well, maybe in the OED.) Much better would be clued for Early Pregnancy Test. (Not that I would have gotten that either.)
The clue for RAES makes it sound like they are a singing group. Nope, just her and her, (deceased), husband, per Wiki.
Good to see Chick Corea in a puzzle again. Learned his name in a puzz about a year ago and haven't seen it since.
Had ream for TAMP for too long. (Ex pipe smoker.)
Very enjoyable puzzle. Go Giants.
EPT is the opposite of inept. Not that it is a good entry.
10/10/10
And Don G. has constructed probably one of the most clever 21x21 theme puzzles of the year!
TEN, TEN, TEN
Three 10s... ten themes, ten letters each, and the word TEN embedded in each of the themes, and it's today's date. Now that's just plain genius!
When I said yesterday that James Sajdak's puzzle rated a "10", little did I know that today's puzzle would also rate a "10".
The four corners have some very nice stacks of 7-letter words too. OOHLALA/OOMPH got me chortling.
Word to use on someone today: POX ON.
The only part of the puzzle that I couldn't figure out was AIR GUITAR. Perhaps that was an intentional mental block.
Best clue: "Bindle carrier" (HOBO). Found out my dad was a hobo for one year before he was married (depression years). No one in our family will admit that, but my dad told me that when I was just a kid. Perhaps it's in my GENES and that's why I have such wander-lust.
Other great clues were "Stone home" (ROSETTA), and "Like 'park the car' to a New Englander" (R-LESS).
When I saw ELM ST., I also chuckled. Years ago I dabbled in real estate. In my first year as a Realtor, I sold three different houses that all were located on ELM ST. (in different towns). How weird is that? I began to think it was some dark omen, but the next year was my big boom year, so I guess my superstition meant nothing.
Here's a nice Sunday night treat---
Chick COREA, jazz pianist and Bela Fleck, Banjo TWANGER, perform "Mountain" from the Enchantment project, live at The Zeiterion THEATERS in New Bedford MA
@JNH
Next year on November 11th we'll probaly get a puzzle that has Roman Numeral eleven's in it.
It will be 11/11/11 a date you can see a mile away ... and someone will say:
"Boy that was clever ..."
Yeah right!
Remember that wonderful Christmas puzzle we had last year on December 25th?
It didn't even have that lousy XMAS TREE.
The 10/10/10 theme was good but NOT "genius" ...
@Tinbeni
Okay, so what's your criterion for a truly "genius" puzzle?
JUST BOOZE?
68D, both NORGE and Noreg are used in Norway. Had to let the crosses solve it.
Did not like OOHLALA crossing OOMPH. Those words can kind of mean anything. In fact, you could reverse the clues and still use the same words.
The opposite of inept is apt, not EPT. WTF!? Facetious doesn't mean "wrong". Saying I'm 'gruntled' when I'm happy is facetious, saying I'm 'ept' to do something is just stupid.
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