Theme: Wacky competitions. The first word of all the theme answers is given a different meaning re-associated with the group given in the clue. Question marks in the clues indicate that the meanings are not the usual ones.
17A. Competition for witches?: SPELLING BEE. Magic spells.
27A. Competition for entomologists?: CRICKET MATCH. Insect classifiers.
43A. Competition for pastors?: STEEPLE CHASE. A church tower. This race would be over quickly, they don't move very fast.
58A. Competition for painters?: ROLLER DERBY. A derby was first a horse race, started by the 12th Earl of Derby. The hats they wore to these social occasions were likely named after the race, as are other types of races that followed, such as roller, soap-box, and demolition.
Hi all, Al here. This write-up may be short due to a late start, because of a problem with Cruciverb. Had to wait two hours for the Fredricksburg puzzle to change online. This one seemed easier than yesterday (but fun, nice one, Doug and John, but is there a story to this collaboration?), only took me about 13 minutes, even with having to use my nemesis puzzle app. But I lost all that saved time by having to go through hoops to extract the text of the puzzle from a .sol format instead of .puz. Well, enough complaining (no disrespect meant to the puzzle itself), on with the show.
ACROSS:
6. Northwest Passage seeker: CABOT. Giovanni (John) Caboto. Not Buffy and Jody's butler on Family Affair.
11. Spy's eye, briefly: CAM. Camera.
14. Ancient Greek dialect: IONIC. The Iliad and the Odyssey were written in old Ionic.
15. Sheepish?: OVINE. Latin ovus = sheep.
16. Carry a balance: OWE.
19. "Move it!": NOW!
20. Churl: PEASANT. Freeman, man without rank. This form of the word also gives us the name Carl.
21. Prove pleasing: SIT WELL. Waiting for the puzzle didn't sit well with me.
23. prêt-à-porter monogram: YSL. Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent. prêt-à-porter means ready to wear.
24. Nest egg segments, briefly: IRAS.
26. Not big bites: NIPS.
31. Churchill __: DOWNS. Home of the Kentucky Derby. They don't wear roller skates.
34. Brand that may cause brain freeze: ICEE.
35. "What have we here?!": OHO.
36. Words while anteing: I'M IN. Poker.
37. Brother of Moses: AARON.
39. Awestruck: AGOG.
40. Bridge turn: BID.
41. "First Lady of Song": ELLA. Fitzgerald.
42. Inside information?: X-RAYS. Another question mark clue, very punny.
47. R&B singer India.__: ARIE.
48. __ Sutra: KAMA. So little time, so much to read...
49. Some H.S. students: SRS. Seniors.
52. Bodybuilder's breakfast, maybe: RAW EGGS. I can't do it. I don't mind soft-boiled or poached, but the texture of completely raw is too much for me. Besides, the raw whites bind biotin, preventing it from being absorbed, so even though the yolk provides some, it's a net loss.
55. Nod off, in slang: ZONK OUT.
57. She played Bea in "Kill Bill": UMA. The Thurmanator. 1A. Cry of feigned innocence: WHO ME? (Bet you thought I skipped this clue earlier, right?)
60. With 29-Down, cabbage variety: BOK. Along with 29D. See 60-Across: CHOY.
61. Typeface type: ARIAL. Very plain, sans-serif (no flourishes), proportional font (smaller size letters like "i" take less width than a "w" would).
62. Agree to participate: OPT IN.
63. __ out: barely manage: EKE.
64. Some are urban: MYTHS. If someone tells or emails you something unbelievable, it probably is. These are always from a friend of a second-cousin's neighbor, or a guy from work has a friend who heard that... Check them out on Snopes.com before forwarding them on. And then don't forward them on.
65. Vampire's concern: STAKE.
DOWN:
1. Thin, as smoke: WISPY.
2. Signs of optimism: HOPES.
3. Hollywood dad or his acting daughter: O'NEAL. Ryan, Tatum.
4. Thickness measures: MILS. 1/1000 of an inch. Also an abbreviation for millions. Also a unit of angular measurement equal to 1⁄6400 of 360 degrees and used especially in artillery.
5. Cream puffs: ECLAIRS. This makes me hungry. To me they aren't the same thing though. Eclairs are long, have custard filling and are iced with chocolate. Cream puffs have whipped cream filling, are roundish in shape and are dusted with powdered sugar. Both can be made from the same dough however, choux pastry.
6. Source of cold comfort?: CONTAC. Over The Counter, non-perscription "medicine" brand name.
7. Batter's fig.: AVG. Wanted RBI here.
8. They hang in seafood restaurants: BIBS. Good one.
9. Not a good shot: ONE IN TEN.
10. Links appointment: TEE TIME. Golf.
11. Pre-railroad transport: CONESTOGA. Deja vu with this answer.
12. Missing in the mil.: AWOL. Absent without leave.
13. Little cry: MEWL.
18. Cross letters: INRI. Iesus Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm, Latin for Jesus Christ, king of the Jews
22. New Deal prog.: WPA. Works Progress Administration.
25. Aspen rooftop sight: SKI RACK.
27. 1980 Turner launch: CNN.
28. Natural prefix: ECO. Ecological.
30. Big bikes: HOGS. Harley Davidson cycles.
31. "Mine!": DIBS.
32. Leave out: OMIT.
33. Not nodding: WIDE AWAKE.
37. "The Tortoise and the Hare," for one: ALLEGORY. Figurative language, description of one thing under the image of another. A form of linguistic analogy. Others: exemplification, comparisons, metaphors, similes, and parables
38. Sam Adams, maybe: ALE. That will go well to wash down my eclair. (kidding).
39. "We __ the Champions": ARE. I'll spare you the Freddy Mercury (Queen) video.
41. Bon mot: EPIGRAM. A brief, clever memorable statement: To be safe on the Fourth, Don't buy a fifth on the third.— James H Muehlbauer
42. Playbook symbols: X'S AND O'S. Sports diagram starting positions.
44. Poetic preposition: ERE.
45. Shrubs with edible nuts: HAZELS.
46. Latin love: AMOR.
49. To some extent, colloquially: SORTA.
50. Hexahedral puzzle inventor: RUBIK. The cube.
51. "Gypsy" composer: STYNE. Jule. Also composed music for Funny Girl.
52. Yahoo: RUBE. Shortened form of Rueben, a typical country man's name. Well, back in the 1800's, maybe.
53. Bad way to run: AMOK.
54. Thin opening: SLIT.
56. Didn't surrender: KEPT.
59. "Well, __-di-dah": LAH.
Answer Grid
Al
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
LA Times, Thu, Jul 22, 2010 Author: Pete Muller / Ed. Rich Norris
Today's theme is contained in 60A: Useful waste, what's literally hidden in 17-, 25- and 46-Across: RECYCLED PLASTIC. The letters of the word PLASTIC are anagrammed and recycled into a portion of the other three theme answers.
17. State of the Union, say: POLITICAL SPEECH. Is this truly informational, or was it ever? Or just another chance to listen to party claims and rhetoric from both sides? As a kid, these always irked me. There were only three channels back then and all of them preempted their regular shows for this. And then just when you thought it was over, the other side got equal air time to rebut. Of course now, with all the cable channel choices, you can just watch something else rather than doing something good, like reading a book instead.
25. Military tradition: HOSPITAL CORNERS. Tightly tucked sheets for a neat appearance. These make me claustrophobic. I have to have my feet free to move. How about you? Do you prefer being tucked in tight?
46. Looney Tunes genre: SLAPSTICK COMEDY. Also animation. I guess I always associated slapstick only with live actors, so this threw answer me for awhile.
It's kind of a tricky theme, so that's why it is spelled out as one of the answers, you wouldn't get it otherwise. Well, maybe Jerome might... This is the kind of clue you would get for an English Crossword answer, an instruction to rearrange letters. Knowing the theme didn't help me at all, because all the letters I needed were the other ones that weren't part of the word plastic. The last to fall for me today was the middle east, and I had two black marks there. The rest was pretty tough too, more like a Friday, I thought. The jump from Wednesday to Thursday seems to me to be more steep than the one from Thursday to Friday.
ACROSS:
1. NASDAQ debuts: IPOS. Stock market Initial Public Offerings, the first time a stock can be bought.
5. Silly: APISH. The word silly has roots in German: selig "blessed, happy, blissful". It moved from "blessed" to "pious," to "innocent", to "harmless," to "pitiable", to "weak", to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish". Here it just means acting like a monkey.
10. '60s-'70s pitcher nicknamed Blue Moon: ODOM. John. Supposedly given to him by a schoolmate because his face was so round.
14. Attic-dweller of '70s-'80s TV: MORK. Robin Williams role, a spin-off show from a Happy Days appearance.
15. Home of a mythical lion: NEMEA. A beast eventually killed by Heracles (Hercules). It could not be killed in a usual fashion because its golden fur was impervious to attack. It could only be killed by shooting it or stabbing it in the mouth.
16. Admonition to Nanette?: NO NO. A musical comedy, made into films in 1930 and again in 1940, No No Nanette contains the song Tea for Two, which we just recently had as a puzzle answer.
20. Miniature surveillance gadget: SPYCAM.
21. Rear ends of a sort: CABOOSES. From M.Du. kambuis "ship's galley," from Low Ger. kabhuse "wooden cabin on ship's deck;" probably a compound word whose elements correspond to English cabin and house.
22. What there oughta be: A LAW.
24. Skirmish: ROW. the "ow" here is pronounced like the "ou" in ouch. Of uncertain origin, but perhaps related to rousel "drinking bout", a shortened form of carousal.
33. Sch. with a Narragansett Bay campus: URI. University of Rhode Island.
34. Odin's group: AESIR. Norse gods.
35. Tuned to: SET AT. As with a radio station.
36. Word with mala or bona: FIDE. In bad or good faith.
38. Works in a Catalonian museum: DALIS. Salvadore.
40. Classico competitor: RAGU. Spaghetti sauces.
41. Element 100 eponym: FERMI. Enrico Fermi, who worked on the development of the nuclear reactor, had Fermium named after him. Fermium was discovered in the aftermath dust of the first hydrogen bomb test.
43. Betty Crocker salad topping: BAC-OS.
45. Crosswalk sign word: PED. No abbreviation clue due to common use? Or because that is the way it literally appears, perhaps.
49. Eastern tongue: LAO. Official language of Laos. Also called Laotian or Isan.
50. It might be a close call: SAFE. Baseball.
51. Japanese golfer in the World Golf Hall of Fame: ISAO AOKI. So many vowels...
56. Make a connection (with): LIAISE. Back formation from French liaison (union, binding together). Said to be a coinage of British military men in World War I.
62. Leafy veggie: KALE. Has powerful antioxidant properties, high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium, kale is considered to be anti-inflammatory. Also contains sulforaphane, a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties. Supposed to taste better after the first frost.
63. Merge: UNITE.
64. Scot's vacation site: LOCH.
65. Insult: SLUR.
66. Try to persuade, with "with": PLEAD.
67. Sean's mom: YOKO. Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono.
DOWN:
1. Troublemakers: IMPS.
2. Info: POOP. Military slang. The rich fertile result of the brass passing down their wisdom through to the lower echelons.
3. French touchdown site: ORLY. Airport
4. Alpine wear: SKI CAP.
5. Like many short films: ANIMATED.
6. Workout target: PEC. Pectoral muscles. For the ladies.
7. Jobs creation?: IMAC. Steve Jobs, Apple computer.
8. "The Fugitive" actress Ward: SELA.
9. Easy-Bake Oven maker: HASBRO.
10. Used car selling point: ONE OWNER.
11. Performs: DOES.
12. Singly: ONCE.
13. Mineralogist Friedrich: MOHS. Namesake of the Mohs scale, to compare mineral hardness (scratching one with another).
18. Two-time Oscar nominee Shire: TALIA. Adriannn! from Rocky and Connie Corleone in the Godfather.
19. Standard partner: POORS. You rarely see the names for the S&P index spelled out like this.
23. Horseradish relative: WASABI. It's green and hot, a Japanese condiment. A lot of products here that claim to be Wasabi are actually just dyed horseradish. Real wasabi is difficult and expensive to grow and harvest.
25. Blows: HUFFS. And puffs. I wonder why the big bad wolf never enlisted the kool-aid man
26. Cantilevered window: ORIEL.
27. Libya's Gulf of __: SIDRA.
28. Not a deep purple: LILAC. This is Deep Purple.
29. Pains in the neck: CRICKS. I really wanted a different leading consonant here...
30. Bivouac: ETAPE. A military encampment where a day's stores are kept.
31. Wreaked havoc, as a battle: RAGED. In the manner of a Berzerker.
32. Prepare, in a way: STUDY. For a test.
37. Strike target: EMPLOYER. Unions, not baseball.
39. Of questionable repute: SO-CALLED.
42. First name in sci-fi: ISAAC. Asimov. Prolific writer, more than 200 books in his lifetime, also wrote mysteries, fantasy, and non-fiction in the form of popular science. Also was a professor of biochemistry at Boston University.
44. Balkan capital: SOFIA. Bulgaria.
47. Install needed equipment: TOOL UP.
48. Like five per cent, to a server: MEASLY. An "insulting" tip amount.
51. Nettles: IRKS.
52. Sea World clapper: SEAL.
53. First Amendment advocacy gp.: ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union.
54. __ Ration: KEN-L. Dog food brand.
55. Romeo's last words: I DIE. O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. — Thus with a kiss I die.
57. "Am __ late?": I TOO. Yes, Juliet. Yes you are too late. And now you're late, too.
58. Twisted: SICK.
59. Comeback: ECHO.
61. Harper Valley org.: PTA. Song written by Tom T Hall, performed first by Jeannie C Riley. Made into a movie, and then a TV series starring Barbara Eden, after she lost her magical genie (I dream of Jeannie) powers.
Puzzle Grid
Al
17. State of the Union, say: POLITICAL SPEECH. Is this truly informational, or was it ever? Or just another chance to listen to party claims and rhetoric from both sides? As a kid, these always irked me. There were only three channels back then and all of them preempted their regular shows for this. And then just when you thought it was over, the other side got equal air time to rebut. Of course now, with all the cable channel choices, you can just watch something else rather than doing something good, like reading a book instead.
25. Military tradition: HOSPITAL CORNERS. Tightly tucked sheets for a neat appearance. These make me claustrophobic. I have to have my feet free to move. How about you? Do you prefer being tucked in tight?
46. Looney Tunes genre: SLAPSTICK COMEDY. Also animation. I guess I always associated slapstick only with live actors, so this threw answer me for awhile.
It's kind of a tricky theme, so that's why it is spelled out as one of the answers, you wouldn't get it otherwise. Well, maybe Jerome might... This is the kind of clue you would get for an English Crossword answer, an instruction to rearrange letters. Knowing the theme didn't help me at all, because all the letters I needed were the other ones that weren't part of the word plastic. The last to fall for me today was the middle east, and I had two black marks there. The rest was pretty tough too, more like a Friday, I thought. The jump from Wednesday to Thursday seems to me to be more steep than the one from Thursday to Friday.
ACROSS:
1. NASDAQ debuts: IPOS. Stock market Initial Public Offerings, the first time a stock can be bought.
5. Silly: APISH. The word silly has roots in German: selig "blessed, happy, blissful". It moved from "blessed" to "pious," to "innocent", to "harmless," to "pitiable", to "weak", to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish". Here it just means acting like a monkey.
10. '60s-'70s pitcher nicknamed Blue Moon: ODOM. John. Supposedly given to him by a schoolmate because his face was so round.
14. Attic-dweller of '70s-'80s TV: MORK. Robin Williams role, a spin-off show from a Happy Days appearance.
15. Home of a mythical lion: NEMEA. A beast eventually killed by Heracles (Hercules). It could not be killed in a usual fashion because its golden fur was impervious to attack. It could only be killed by shooting it or stabbing it in the mouth.
16. Admonition to Nanette?: NO NO. A musical comedy, made into films in 1930 and again in 1940, No No Nanette contains the song Tea for Two, which we just recently had as a puzzle answer.
20. Miniature surveillance gadget: SPYCAM.
21. Rear ends of a sort: CABOOSES. From M.Du. kambuis "ship's galley," from Low Ger. kabhuse "wooden cabin on ship's deck;" probably a compound word whose elements correspond to English cabin and house.
22. What there oughta be: A LAW.
24. Skirmish: ROW. the "ow" here is pronounced like the "ou" in ouch. Of uncertain origin, but perhaps related to rousel "drinking bout", a shortened form of carousal.
33. Sch. with a Narragansett Bay campus: URI. University of Rhode Island.
34. Odin's group: AESIR. Norse gods.
35. Tuned to: SET AT. As with a radio station.
36. Word with mala or bona: FIDE. In bad or good faith.
38. Works in a Catalonian museum: DALIS. Salvadore.
40. Classico competitor: RAGU. Spaghetti sauces.
41. Element 100 eponym: FERMI. Enrico Fermi, who worked on the development of the nuclear reactor, had Fermium named after him. Fermium was discovered in the aftermath dust of the first hydrogen bomb test.
43. Betty Crocker salad topping: BAC-OS.
45. Crosswalk sign word: PED. No abbreviation clue due to common use? Or because that is the way it literally appears, perhaps.
49. Eastern tongue: LAO. Official language of Laos. Also called Laotian or Isan.
50. It might be a close call: SAFE. Baseball.
51. Japanese golfer in the World Golf Hall of Fame: ISAO AOKI. So many vowels...
56. Make a connection (with): LIAISE. Back formation from French liaison (union, binding together). Said to be a coinage of British military men in World War I.
62. Leafy veggie: KALE. Has powerful antioxidant properties, high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium, kale is considered to be anti-inflammatory. Also contains sulforaphane, a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties. Supposed to taste better after the first frost.
63. Merge: UNITE.
64. Scot's vacation site: LOCH.
65. Insult: SLUR.
66. Try to persuade, with "with": PLEAD.
67. Sean's mom: YOKO. Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono.
DOWN:
1. Troublemakers: IMPS.
2. Info: POOP. Military slang. The rich fertile result of the brass passing down their wisdom through to the lower echelons.
3. French touchdown site: ORLY. Airport
4. Alpine wear: SKI CAP.
5. Like many short films: ANIMATED.
6. Workout target: PEC. Pectoral muscles. For the ladies.
7. Jobs creation?: IMAC. Steve Jobs, Apple computer.
8. "The Fugitive" actress Ward: SELA.
9. Easy-Bake Oven maker: HASBRO.
10. Used car selling point: ONE OWNER.
11. Performs: DOES.
12. Singly: ONCE.
13. Mineralogist Friedrich: MOHS. Namesake of the Mohs scale, to compare mineral hardness (scratching one with another).
18. Two-time Oscar nominee Shire: TALIA. Adriannn! from Rocky and Connie Corleone in the Godfather.
19. Standard partner: POORS. You rarely see the names for the S&P index spelled out like this.
23. Horseradish relative: WASABI. It's green and hot, a Japanese condiment. A lot of products here that claim to be Wasabi are actually just dyed horseradish. Real wasabi is difficult and expensive to grow and harvest.
25. Blows: HUFFS. And puffs. I wonder why the big bad wolf never enlisted the kool-aid man
26. Cantilevered window: ORIEL.
27. Libya's Gulf of __: SIDRA.
28. Not a deep purple: LILAC. This is Deep Purple.
29. Pains in the neck: CRICKS. I really wanted a different leading consonant here...
30. Bivouac: ETAPE. A military encampment where a day's stores are kept.
31. Wreaked havoc, as a battle: RAGED. In the manner of a Berzerker.
32. Prepare, in a way: STUDY. For a test.
37. Strike target: EMPLOYER. Unions, not baseball.
39. Of questionable repute: SO-CALLED.
42. First name in sci-fi: ISAAC. Asimov. Prolific writer, more than 200 books in his lifetime, also wrote mysteries, fantasy, and non-fiction in the form of popular science. Also was a professor of biochemistry at Boston University.
44. Balkan capital: SOFIA. Bulgaria.
47. Install needed equipment: TOOL UP.
48. Like five per cent, to a server: MEASLY. An "insulting" tip amount.
51. Nettles: IRKS.
52. Sea World clapper: SEAL.
53. First Amendment advocacy gp.: ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union.
54. __ Ration: KEN-L. Dog food brand.
55. Romeo's last words: I DIE. O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. — Thus with a kiss I die.
57. "Am __ late?": I TOO. Yes, Juliet. Yes you are too late. And now you're late, too.
58. Twisted: SICK.
59. Comeback: ECHO.
61. Harper Valley org.: PTA. Song written by Tom T Hall, performed first by Jeannie C Riley. Made into a movie, and then a TV series starring Barbara Eden, after she lost her magical genie (I dream of Jeannie) powers.
Puzzle Grid
Al
Thursday, July 15, 2010
LA Times, Thu, Jul 15, 2010 Author: Jerome Gunderson / Ed. Rich Norris
Theme: Route puns. Double word roadway terms with the first word having a second meaning
17. Routes to work for a bell ringer?: TOLL ROADS. The sound of a bell, a price to pay.
32. Routes to work for a water company engineer?: MAIN STREETS.Water main, the name of the principle street in many towns.
41. Routes to work for a window treatment installer?: BLIND ALLEYS. Window blinds, and a road with only one way in or out
59. Routes to work for a diet guru?: FAST LANES. To abstain from eating, (usually) the innermost lane on a highway, freeway, or turnpike.
Other words in the puzzle loosely related to the theme:
16A. Mayflower employee: MOVER
62A. Unlucky fisherman's catch, in comics: TIRE.
63A. It's hard to run on it: EMPTY.
31D. Classic Jags: XKES.
Here we go, dissecting an offering from our own Jerome. I found this puzzle to be a bit easier than the past couple of Thursdays, no black marks for me from AcrossLite. Seemed like there were quite a few proper nouns, but a pretty good balance of perps that allowed enough room to guess at them. I especially liked: 46D. Who's on it, 60A. gadget on a pad, and 63A It's hard to run on it. There was a bit of crosswordese here and there, but sometimes those are all I have to get started. When that happens, I know I'm in trouble. Not today though.
Al
ACROSS:
1. Balkan native: SERB.
5. "Fernando" singers: ABBA. Their group name for their first commercial single was originally Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid (Frida). Why would you ever change that?
9. Obviously impressed: AGAPE.
14. Maker of Java Freeze: ICEE. 210 calories = 58 minutes of brisk walking.
15. No bull: TRUE. Apparently from old French boll, deception, trick, scheming, intrigue
19. "SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI.
20. Mourned poetically: ELEGIZED.
21. Leave in the dust: OUTRUN. "Blow the doors off of" would have made this word theme related as well.
22. Do an usher's job: SEE IN.
23. New Ager with the album "Dare to Dream": YANNI.
25. View from la costa: AGUA. Depending on which coast, the view today would more likely be el petróleo instead of water.
28. Hood's heater: GAT. Old gangster movie slang for machine guns, from the original rapid fire weapon invented by Richard Gatling. Gat eventually came to mean any gun. Another term for a gun was an "eraser" as in 37A. Rubs out: OFFS. Shortened form of "kills off".
29. "Sour grapes" critter: FOX. Aesop's Fable
36. Proceeding normally: AOK. Unrelated to this, but worth mentioning, Karaoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese.
38. Peace personified: IRENE. Greek goddess.
39. Shipwright's tool: ADZE. Related to axe, hatchet
40. Response to "Speak!": ARF. Talking dogs.
43. Cracker Jack bonus: TOY.
44. Tyler of "Jersey Girl": LIV. A pic with her Dad Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. Sure, the resemblance is obvious...
45. Divided sea: ARAL.
46. Knocks for a loop: FAZES.
48. Like a milquetoast's spouse, often: BOSSY. Caspar Milquetoast, the timid soul, an old comic strip.
52. Wish for: DESIRE. I wish I had not done a google image search for desiree with the safe search option off. What has been seen cannot be unseen.
55. Payload's place: NOSECONE. Payload originally referred to the revenue producing portion of a conveyance. With a bomb attached to a rocket, that lends a whole new meaning to the term "money shot".
58. Ornament: ADORN. Used as a verb, not a fragile glass ball.
60. Gadget on a pad: MOUSE.
61. Bug and more: RILE.
64. Tons: A LOT.
65. Chows down: EATS.
DOWN:
1. Developer's offerings: SITES. Real estate.
2. Nice school?: ECOLE. French city, pronounced like "niece". French word for school.
3. J.E.B. Stuart's boss: R. E. LEE. Confederate generals, James Edward Brown (Stuart), Robert Edward Lee.
4. Antwerp natives: BELGIANS. Also Flemish, but that was a letter short.
5. The whole kit and caboodle: A TO Z.
6. Scottish hillside: BRAE. From old words for eye and eyebrow becoming the brow of a hill.
7. One to hang with: BUDDY.
8. 1950s political monogram: AES. Adlai Ewing Stevenson. Defeated twice for the Democratic bid for president by DDE, later because Ambassador to the UN.
9. Is equivalent (to): AMOUNTS. That don't amount to a brae 'o beans.
10. "The Teflon Don": GOTTI. Almost all attempts at getting a conviction didn't stick to him.
11. State firmly: AVER. Related words: verify and very. To make true or prove to be true.
12. Emperor Atahualpa's land: PERU. The last Incan emperor, died in 1533.
13. The Auld Sod: ERIN. The old land, Ireland.
18. Audi logo quartet: RINGS.
21. Painting the town red: ON A TEAR. A riotous spree.
24. Chairman's list: AGENDA.
26. Put into play: UTILIZE. I hate it when someone utilizes this word (see how silly that sounds?). It just sounds like the person is trying to impress you with his vocabulary instead of his (lack of) knowledge. Reminds me too much of corporate-speak, a faker's language used to make a lot of noise without actually saying anything at all. Just use "use".
27. Make it big: ARRIVE. After 30 years of practice you too can become an overnight sensation.
29. Lose vitality: FADE.
30. Like sap: OOZY.
32. Zoo barrier: MOAT.
33. Early Jesse Jackson do: AFRO. Hairdo.
34. Up in the air: IFFY.
35. Bard's nightfall: EEN.
39. Parcel out: ALLOCATE. To locate, to place.
41. Flattery: BLARNEY. Lady Blarny, the smooth-talking flatterer in Goldsmith's "Vicar of Wakefield" (1766) preceded naming the Blarney Stone (1796).
42. Bar code's place: LABEL.
46. Who's on it: FIRST. The old Abbot and Costello routine. Who is the name of the man that is the first baseman.
47. Spiral-shelled creature: SNAIL.
49. Widow of Rajiv Gandhi: SONIA. Never even saw this clue, got it all through perps.
50. Hägar's dog: SNERT. Comic strip characters by Chris Browne.
51. Toadies' words: YESES. Originally, a toady traveled with a medicine man and literally ate a toad (which was thought to be poisonous) to enable his master to "cure" him and sell to all the easy marks. Not so different from ads on TV today.
52. Title for Kiri Te Kanawa: DAME. Operatic soprano.
53. Nation of Esau: EDOM. Esau was the brother of Jacob, the founder of Israel. Talk about sibling rivalry.
54. First course, sometimes: SOUP.
56. City founded by King Harald III: OSLO. Burned to the ground, then was rebuilt and renamed Christiana. Later it was renamed back to Oslo again.
57. Proofer's mark: STET. Let it stand, change the change back to the original text.
59. Monk's title: FRA. Friar. Probably derived from the French word frère ("brother" in English). According to Wiki, friars and monks aren't quite the same. A Monk is devoted to and lives within a single community away from the rest of the world, and a Friar has a wider range, spending time in each of several different provinces, but doing similar work.
17. Routes to work for a bell ringer?: TOLL ROADS. The sound of a bell, a price to pay.
32. Routes to work for a water company engineer?: MAIN STREETS.Water main, the name of the principle street in many towns.
41. Routes to work for a window treatment installer?: BLIND ALLEYS. Window blinds, and a road with only one way in or out
59. Routes to work for a diet guru?: FAST LANES. To abstain from eating, (usually) the innermost lane on a highway, freeway, or turnpike.
Other words in the puzzle loosely related to the theme:
16A. Mayflower employee: MOVER
62A. Unlucky fisherman's catch, in comics: TIRE.
63A. It's hard to run on it: EMPTY.
31D. Classic Jags: XKES.
Here we go, dissecting an offering from our own Jerome. I found this puzzle to be a bit easier than the past couple of Thursdays, no black marks for me from AcrossLite. Seemed like there were quite a few proper nouns, but a pretty good balance of perps that allowed enough room to guess at them. I especially liked: 46D. Who's on it, 60A. gadget on a pad, and 63A It's hard to run on it. There was a bit of crosswordese here and there, but sometimes those are all I have to get started. When that happens, I know I'm in trouble. Not today though.
Al
ACROSS:
1. Balkan native: SERB.
5. "Fernando" singers: ABBA. Their group name for their first commercial single was originally Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid (Frida). Why would you ever change that?
9. Obviously impressed: AGAPE.
14. Maker of Java Freeze: ICEE. 210 calories = 58 minutes of brisk walking.
15. No bull: TRUE. Apparently from old French boll, deception, trick, scheming, intrigue
19. "SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI.
20. Mourned poetically: ELEGIZED.
21. Leave in the dust: OUTRUN. "Blow the doors off of" would have made this word theme related as well.
22. Do an usher's job: SEE IN.
23. New Ager with the album "Dare to Dream": YANNI.
25. View from la costa: AGUA. Depending on which coast, the view today would more likely be el petróleo instead of water.
28. Hood's heater: GAT. Old gangster movie slang for machine guns, from the original rapid fire weapon invented by Richard Gatling. Gat eventually came to mean any gun. Another term for a gun was an "eraser" as in 37A. Rubs out: OFFS. Shortened form of "kills off".
29. "Sour grapes" critter: FOX. Aesop's Fable
36. Proceeding normally: AOK. Unrelated to this, but worth mentioning, Karaoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese.
38. Peace personified: IRENE. Greek goddess.
39. Shipwright's tool: ADZE. Related to axe, hatchet
40. Response to "Speak!": ARF. Talking dogs.
43. Cracker Jack bonus: TOY.
44. Tyler of "Jersey Girl": LIV. A pic with her Dad Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. Sure, the resemblance is obvious...
45. Divided sea: ARAL.
46. Knocks for a loop: FAZES.
48. Like a milquetoast's spouse, often: BOSSY. Caspar Milquetoast, the timid soul, an old comic strip.
52. Wish for: DESIRE. I wish I had not done a google image search for desiree with the safe search option off. What has been seen cannot be unseen.
55. Payload's place: NOSECONE. Payload originally referred to the revenue producing portion of a conveyance. With a bomb attached to a rocket, that lends a whole new meaning to the term "money shot".
58. Ornament: ADORN. Used as a verb, not a fragile glass ball.
60. Gadget on a pad: MOUSE.
61. Bug and more: RILE.
64. Tons: A LOT.
65. Chows down: EATS.
DOWN:
1. Developer's offerings: SITES. Real estate.
2. Nice school?: ECOLE. French city, pronounced like "niece". French word for school.
3. J.E.B. Stuart's boss: R. E. LEE. Confederate generals, James Edward Brown (Stuart), Robert Edward Lee.
4. Antwerp natives: BELGIANS. Also Flemish, but that was a letter short.
5. The whole kit and caboodle: A TO Z.
6. Scottish hillside: BRAE. From old words for eye and eyebrow becoming the brow of a hill.
7. One to hang with: BUDDY.
8. 1950s political monogram: AES. Adlai Ewing Stevenson. Defeated twice for the Democratic bid for president by DDE, later because Ambassador to the UN.
9. Is equivalent (to): AMOUNTS. That don't amount to a brae 'o beans.
10. "The Teflon Don": GOTTI. Almost all attempts at getting a conviction didn't stick to him.
11. State firmly: AVER. Related words: verify and very. To make true or prove to be true.
12. Emperor Atahualpa's land: PERU. The last Incan emperor, died in 1533.
13. The Auld Sod: ERIN. The old land, Ireland.
18. Audi logo quartet: RINGS.
21. Painting the town red: ON A TEAR. A riotous spree.
24. Chairman's list: AGENDA.
26. Put into play: UTILIZE. I hate it when someone utilizes this word (see how silly that sounds?). It just sounds like the person is trying to impress you with his vocabulary instead of his (lack of) knowledge. Reminds me too much of corporate-speak, a faker's language used to make a lot of noise without actually saying anything at all. Just use "use".
27. Make it big: ARRIVE. After 30 years of practice you too can become an overnight sensation.
29. Lose vitality: FADE.
30. Like sap: OOZY.
32. Zoo barrier: MOAT.
33. Early Jesse Jackson do: AFRO. Hairdo.
34. Up in the air: IFFY.
35. Bard's nightfall: EEN.
39. Parcel out: ALLOCATE. To locate, to place.
41. Flattery: BLARNEY. Lady Blarny, the smooth-talking flatterer in Goldsmith's "Vicar of Wakefield" (1766) preceded naming the Blarney Stone (1796).
42. Bar code's place: LABEL.
46. Who's on it: FIRST. The old Abbot and Costello routine. Who is the name of the man that is the first baseman.
47. Spiral-shelled creature: SNAIL.
49. Widow of Rajiv Gandhi: SONIA. Never even saw this clue, got it all through perps.
50. Hägar's dog: SNERT. Comic strip characters by Chris Browne.
51. Toadies' words: YESES. Originally, a toady traveled with a medicine man and literally ate a toad (which was thought to be poisonous) to enable his master to "cure" him and sell to all the easy marks. Not so different from ads on TV today.
52. Title for Kiri Te Kanawa: DAME. Operatic soprano.
53. Nation of Esau: EDOM. Esau was the brother of Jacob, the founder of Israel. Talk about sibling rivalry.
54. First course, sometimes: SOUP.
56. City founded by King Harald III: OSLO. Burned to the ground, then was rebuilt and renamed Christiana. Later it was renamed back to Oslo again.
57. Proofer's mark: STET. Let it stand, change the change back to the original text.
59. Monk's title: FRA. Friar. Probably derived from the French word frère ("brother" in English). According to Wiki, friars and monks aren't quite the same. A Monk is devoted to and lives within a single community away from the rest of the world, and a Friar has a wider range, spending time in each of several different provinces, but doing similar work.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
LA Times, Thu, Jul 8, 2010 Author: Dan Naddor / Ed. Rich Norris
Theme: 50D. What you can do to the last words of the answers to starred clues, with "the": SHOOT.
18A. *Second most populous city in Michigan: GRAND RAPIDS. Shoot the rapids. Whitewater rafting, for example.
24A. *1980 biopic about boxer Jake La Motta: RAGING BULL. Shoot the bull. Discussion of experiences in perhaps not an entirely truthful manner, in a testosterone-laden contest of one-upsmanship.
35A. *Beachgoer's relief, perhaps: OCEAN BREEZE. Shoot the breeze. Light airy conversation with no directed purpose.
48A. *Studio co-founded by Spielberg: DREAMWORKS. Shoot the works. Let it ride. Bet everything, holding nothing in reserve.
54A. *Phenomenon near the autumnal equinox: HARVEST MOON. Shoot the moon. A bid in several card games, such as Smear, Euchre, Hearts or others, meaning that you will attempt to take all tricks, points, etc, in some cases without the help of your partner.
Even though this was a Naddor Thursday, it didn't seem as difficult to me as the last couple weeks, or maybe I'm just on his wavelength finally.
Hi all, Al here on a very rainy night. For about an hour, I was actually the owner of riverfront property. Water entirely covered the road curb to curb and beyond, and it had quite a current. The poor guy down at the lowest spot in the neighborhood wound up with a basement full of water; it was almost waist-deep near the storm drain there. Luckily I'm located high enough, but my sump pump is still running almost continuously. Oh well, since I'm not going anywhere for a while, on to the puzzle.
ACROSS:
1. Indian title of respect: SRI. Sanskrit for beauty, and as a honorific prefix for kings, heroes, etc. Related to proto-indo-european "kreie" which gives: Kyrie, for Lord. Kyrie eleison means Lord, have mercy.
4. "My Life on the D-List" comic Griffin: KATHY. Brash comedian, she cleans up well.
9. Bowler's challenge: SPLIT. Any two non-adjacent pins with a gap between, as long as the headpin is not standing.
14. P.I.: TEC. A deTECtive, but not part of a police force. A Private eye (I).
15. Refrain from singing about a farm?: EIEIO. A musical refrain, not to suppress an urge. The noun refrain comes from French words meaning "repeat" and "break off", that is, a repeated interruption before a return to the main melody.
16. Low-budget prefix: ECONO. Economy, bigger, faster, cheaper.
17. Draft pick: ALE. Wasn't fooled. "Draft beer, not boys" is one of the slogans used to oppose war involvement, but it could have been a sports team draft.
20. Not follow a fixed route: ROAM. These kinds of charges are costly on a cellphone.
22. Consider: DEEM.
23. Bro counterpart: SIS.
28. Storm sound: CLAP. Of thunder.
29. Wreck, in a way: DERAIL. That would do it all right. In a big way.
30. Callas, for one: SOPRANO. Maria If you look up "diva" in a dictionary, you will find her picture. Had an affair with Ari Onassis.
32. Prenatal test, for short: AMNIO.centesis. Amniotic fluid is checked for chromosomal abnormalities, infections, and Rh blood type incompatibilities.
34. Stampeded toward: RAN AT.
38. Eyes: OCULI. Latin.
40. Kid's sandwich staple: JELLY. I prefer my sandwiches folded, not stapled.
41. Baseman's misplay, maybe: LATE TAG. Baseball, too slow.
44. Deliberately ignoring: DEAF TO. (hands over ears) I'm not listening, la la la la la la la.
47. Rights: DIBS. Children's word to express a claim on something, originally U.S., apparently a contraction of dibstone "a knucklebone or jack in a children's game", of unknown origin.
51. Laura Bush's alma mater: Abbr.: SMU. Southern Methodist University.
52. Hoodwink: FOOL. Literally to blindfold someone.
53. Ill-considered: RASH. German rasch (quick, fast), Old English ræsc (a bolt of lightning)
59. AFL partner: CIO. American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.
60. Beginning: ONSET.
61. "Fiddler on the Roof" dairyman: TEVYE.
62. "Where did __ wrong?": I GO. Or the word for the game of GO, IGO in Japan,WeiQi in China, Baduk in Korea.
63. Big name in cosmetics: ESTEE. Lauder.
64. Floss brand: ORAL-B.
65. QB's stat: INT. Interceptions. One of the may records that Bret Favre holds.
DOWN:
1. Whitewater figure: STARR. Kenneth.
2. Prepare for more pictures: RELOAD. Camera memory cards and batteries now instead of film.
3. More than just a cold snap: ICE AGE. Scratt. The saber tooth squirrel.
4. Beer holder: KEG. Temporarily fooled into using MUG at first.
5. Broadcast: AIR.
6. Earl Grey, e.g.: TEA. A black tea with bergamot added, a type of orange, closer in taste to a lemon. Bergamot essential oil has been found to reduce excitotoxic damage (aspartame, MSG) to cultured human neuronal cells in vitro and may therefore have neuroprotective properties.
7. Caste member: HINDU.
8. Peak calls?: YODELS. Swiss, Austrian Alps.
9. Line of pants?: SEAM. This type of misdirection used to hoodwink me when I started doing x-words. Not any more.
10. Angel dust, for short: PCP. PhenylCyclohexylPiperidine
11. Frequently imperiled reporter: LOIS LANE. Anyone who hadn't the sense to recognize someone whose only disguise was removing a pair of glasses was bound to wind up in risky spots.
12. Notre Dame's locale: INDIANA. The city of Notre Dame, Indiana actually has three colleges. The University of Notre Dame (Fighting Irish), Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. The Notre Dame Cathedral is in Paris, France.
13. Hooch hound: TOSSPOT. Found in the closing song of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Beer/ale used to be served in ceramic "pots". Current use is as a British insult similar to "wanker" or "tosser".
19. Move, in Realtor-speak: RELO. Relocate.
21. The virgin birth and others: MIRACLES.
25. "Your call": NAME IT. Whatever you want, it's yours.
26. Actress Lollobrigida: GINA. A "pneumatic" brunette bombshell.
27. Crêpe-like Russian food: BLIN. Crepes do not use yeast. Blins are allowed to.
28. Gaga over: CRAZY FOR. I wonder how long ago Dan did this puzzle... Crazy and GaGa are certainly synonymous in music today. Actually, if you close you eyes and just listen, her music is kind of catchy...
31. Future attorney's study: PRE-LAW.
33. Vb. target: OBJ. Andy ate oranges. Ate is the verb, oranges, the object.
35. Courtroom interruption: OUTBURST.
36. Mark of Prynne's sin: RED A. The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, Adulteress.
37. Preteens' sch.: ELEM. Elementary, my dear Watson.
38. Part of a comfort simile: OLD SHOE.
39. Alligator relatives: CAIMANS. Scary teeth.
42. Hoo-has: ADOS. Isn't hooha slang for something else entirely?
43. Cave: GROTTO. From Italian grotta, from Latin crypta. Related: grotesque.
45. Gillette razor brand: TRAC II. Is it just me, or does it seem like Dan did a lot of puzzle creation while shaving?
46. Thumbs-up: OK SIGN. The Romans didn't turn their hands upside down, they merely hid or extended their thumb for down or up.
49. Whom Bugs bugs: ELMER. Bunny, Fudd.
52. Gala: FETE. Fest, feast. French en gala, in festive clothing.
55. A quarter of five?: VEE. The letter "V" is one of the four letters of the word "five". A quarter = 1/4.
56. In vitro cells: OVA. Latin eggs, in a lab setting. Literally "in glass".
57. Very thin Olive: OYL.
58. Colo. neighbor: NEB. Nebraska is the only state with a unicameral (one chamber) legislature. Colorado has spent the last century battling Wyoming for the coveted title of "Most Rectangular State".
18A. *Second most populous city in Michigan: GRAND RAPIDS. Shoot the rapids. Whitewater rafting, for example.
24A. *1980 biopic about boxer Jake La Motta: RAGING BULL. Shoot the bull. Discussion of experiences in perhaps not an entirely truthful manner, in a testosterone-laden contest of one-upsmanship.
35A. *Beachgoer's relief, perhaps: OCEAN BREEZE. Shoot the breeze. Light airy conversation with no directed purpose.
48A. *Studio co-founded by Spielberg: DREAMWORKS. Shoot the works. Let it ride. Bet everything, holding nothing in reserve.
54A. *Phenomenon near the autumnal equinox: HARVEST MOON. Shoot the moon. A bid in several card games, such as Smear, Euchre, Hearts or others, meaning that you will attempt to take all tricks, points, etc, in some cases without the help of your partner.
Even though this was a Naddor Thursday, it didn't seem as difficult to me as the last couple weeks, or maybe I'm just on his wavelength finally.
Hi all, Al here on a very rainy night. For about an hour, I was actually the owner of riverfront property. Water entirely covered the road curb to curb and beyond, and it had quite a current. The poor guy down at the lowest spot in the neighborhood wound up with a basement full of water; it was almost waist-deep near the storm drain there. Luckily I'm located high enough, but my sump pump is still running almost continuously. Oh well, since I'm not going anywhere for a while, on to the puzzle.
ACROSS:
1. Indian title of respect: SRI. Sanskrit for beauty, and as a honorific prefix for kings, heroes, etc. Related to proto-indo-european "kreie" which gives: Kyrie, for Lord. Kyrie eleison means Lord, have mercy.
4. "My Life on the D-List" comic Griffin: KATHY. Brash comedian, she cleans up well.
9. Bowler's challenge: SPLIT. Any two non-adjacent pins with a gap between, as long as the headpin is not standing.
14. P.I.: TEC. A deTECtive, but not part of a police force. A Private eye (I).
15. Refrain from singing about a farm?: EIEIO. A musical refrain, not to suppress an urge. The noun refrain comes from French words meaning "repeat" and "break off", that is, a repeated interruption before a return to the main melody.
16. Low-budget prefix: ECONO. Economy, bigger, faster, cheaper.
17. Draft pick: ALE. Wasn't fooled. "Draft beer, not boys" is one of the slogans used to oppose war involvement, but it could have been a sports team draft.
20. Not follow a fixed route: ROAM. These kinds of charges are costly on a cellphone.
22. Consider: DEEM.
23. Bro counterpart: SIS.
28. Storm sound: CLAP. Of thunder.
29. Wreck, in a way: DERAIL. That would do it all right. In a big way.
30. Callas, for one: SOPRANO. Maria If you look up "diva" in a dictionary, you will find her picture. Had an affair with Ari Onassis.
32. Prenatal test, for short: AMNIO.centesis. Amniotic fluid is checked for chromosomal abnormalities, infections, and Rh blood type incompatibilities.
34. Stampeded toward: RAN AT.
38. Eyes: OCULI. Latin.
40. Kid's sandwich staple: JELLY. I prefer my sandwiches folded, not stapled.
41. Baseman's misplay, maybe: LATE TAG. Baseball, too slow.
44. Deliberately ignoring: DEAF TO. (hands over ears) I'm not listening, la la la la la la la.
47. Rights: DIBS. Children's word to express a claim on something, originally U.S., apparently a contraction of dibstone "a knucklebone or jack in a children's game", of unknown origin.
51. Laura Bush's alma mater: Abbr.: SMU. Southern Methodist University.
52. Hoodwink: FOOL. Literally to blindfold someone.
53. Ill-considered: RASH. German rasch (quick, fast), Old English ræsc (a bolt of lightning)
59. AFL partner: CIO. American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.
60. Beginning: ONSET.
61. "Fiddler on the Roof" dairyman: TEVYE.
62. "Where did __ wrong?": I GO. Or the word for the game of GO, IGO in Japan,WeiQi in China, Baduk in Korea.
63. Big name in cosmetics: ESTEE. Lauder.
64. Floss brand: ORAL-B.
65. QB's stat: INT. Interceptions. One of the may records that Bret Favre holds.
DOWN:
1. Whitewater figure: STARR. Kenneth.
2. Prepare for more pictures: RELOAD. Camera memory cards and batteries now instead of film.
3. More than just a cold snap: ICE AGE. Scratt. The saber tooth squirrel.
4. Beer holder: KEG. Temporarily fooled into using MUG at first.
5. Broadcast: AIR.
6. Earl Grey, e.g.: TEA. A black tea with bergamot added, a type of orange, closer in taste to a lemon. Bergamot essential oil has been found to reduce excitotoxic damage (aspartame, MSG) to cultured human neuronal cells in vitro and may therefore have neuroprotective properties.
7. Caste member: HINDU.
8. Peak calls?: YODELS. Swiss, Austrian Alps.
9. Line of pants?: SEAM. This type of misdirection used to hoodwink me when I started doing x-words. Not any more.
10. Angel dust, for short: PCP. PhenylCyclohexylPiperidine
11. Frequently imperiled reporter: LOIS LANE. Anyone who hadn't the sense to recognize someone whose only disguise was removing a pair of glasses was bound to wind up in risky spots.
12. Notre Dame's locale: INDIANA. The city of Notre Dame, Indiana actually has three colleges. The University of Notre Dame (Fighting Irish), Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. The Notre Dame Cathedral is in Paris, France.
13. Hooch hound: TOSSPOT. Found in the closing song of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Beer/ale used to be served in ceramic "pots". Current use is as a British insult similar to "wanker" or "tosser".
19. Move, in Realtor-speak: RELO. Relocate.
21. The virgin birth and others: MIRACLES.
25. "Your call": NAME IT. Whatever you want, it's yours.
26. Actress Lollobrigida: GINA. A "pneumatic" brunette bombshell.
27. Crêpe-like Russian food: BLIN. Crepes do not use yeast. Blins are allowed to.
28. Gaga over: CRAZY FOR. I wonder how long ago Dan did this puzzle... Crazy and GaGa are certainly synonymous in music today. Actually, if you close you eyes and just listen, her music is kind of catchy...
31. Future attorney's study: PRE-LAW.
33. Vb. target: OBJ. Andy ate oranges. Ate is the verb, oranges, the object.
35. Courtroom interruption: OUTBURST.
36. Mark of Prynne's sin: RED A. The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, Adulteress.
37. Preteens' sch.: ELEM. Elementary, my dear Watson.
38. Part of a comfort simile: OLD SHOE.
39. Alligator relatives: CAIMANS. Scary teeth.
42. Hoo-has: ADOS. Isn't hooha slang for something else entirely?
43. Cave: GROTTO. From Italian grotta, from Latin crypta. Related: grotesque.
45. Gillette razor brand: TRAC II. Is it just me, or does it seem like Dan did a lot of puzzle creation while shaving?
46. Thumbs-up: OK SIGN. The Romans didn't turn their hands upside down, they merely hid or extended their thumb for down or up.
49. Whom Bugs bugs: ELMER. Bunny, Fudd.
52. Gala: FETE. Fest, feast. French en gala, in festive clothing.
55. A quarter of five?: VEE. The letter "V" is one of the four letters of the word "five". A quarter = 1/4.
56. In vitro cells: OVA. Latin eggs, in a lab setting. Literally "in glass".
57. Very thin Olive: OYL.
58. Colo. neighbor: NEB. Nebraska is the only state with a unicameral (one chamber) legislature. Colorado has spent the last century battling Wyoming for the coveted title of "Most Rectangular State".
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