08.23 Tue

T U E S D A Y

August 23, 2011

Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: Four Little Hogs — Each theme answer is the definition of a phrase that includes the word "hog."



Theme answers:

• 17A: Road hog (DANGEROUS DRIVER).
• 27A: Hog heaven (ABSOLUTE BLISS).
• 44A: Hog wild (OVERLY EXCITED).
• 56A: Whole hog (WITH NO RESTRAINT).

Another cute theme — looks like we're on a roll this week. I'm a big fan of the "definition" theme. As long as we don't see it every day, I think it's fun to have a little something different. I think we usually see this theme using a single word for each clue, so seeing phrases looks like a fresh idea to me. Now that I think about it, Tuesday is a great day for the "definition" theme. I hereby declare Tuesday the Ultimate Perfect Day for Definition Themes. So there's that.



I'm not going to dwell on this, because I really like this puzzle overall and I hate to be negative (You: "Since when?"), but there sure are an awful lot of plurals in this grid. There are even two places (IOU'S / IV'S and RBI'S / ELIS) where the plurals cross at the S, which is a pet peeve of mine. Now that I've mentioned it, maybe it will start bugging you too. Maybe if you start reading this blog often enough, you'll eventually become so irritated at every little thing that you'll be a miserable, hollow person like me. You're welcome!



My favorite clue/answer pairs in this grid are:

• 6D: Kowtow (GROVEL), and
• 38D: Stew (FRET).

I am taking it as my personal challenge to use all four of those excellent words today in normal conversation.



Bullets:

• 15A: Colosseo city (ROMA). Did you notice the Italian spelling of "Colosseum" in the clue? That should have told you that the answer would also be an Italian spelling.
• 22A: Arm-twisting (DURESS). It took me a while to piece this together, but this is a great clue/answer pair.
• 34A: Diddly, in Durango (NADA). I've never been a fan of the word "diddly." It sounds nasty to me.

• 37A: Truth-in-advertising agcy. (BBB). The Better Business Bureau.
• 39A: Candy with collectible dispensers (PEZ). Did you all get this one this time? I seem to recall last time it showed up several of you said you had never heard of PEZ.
• 40A: Flying start? (AERO-). The prefix AERO- can be used to "start" a word that relates to "flying."
• 42A: I-beam, e.g. (GIRDER). With the two Rs in place, I tried CURSOR here first. Sometimes it does look like a little I-beam, right? I'm not just making that up?
• 2D: "A watched pot never boils" is one (ADAGE).





• 11D: Auel's "The Clan of the __ Bear" (CAVE). We've been seeing a lot of Ms. Auel lately, haven't we? She's usually the answer, though, not the clue.

• 13D: Viking's landing place (MARS). Had a conversation recently with the PuzzleKids where we told them they had Viking blood, which made them very tough and growly, so I couldn't think of any other type of Viking.
• 19D: Cuban dance (RUMBA). RUMBA, SAMBA, SALSA — I always have to wait for crosses. I can already see the comments: "Um … you do know, PuzzleGirl, that SAMBA and SALSA are not Cuban, right?" Well, in my brain, they're all stored in the same place. (By the way, I have no idea if they're Cuban or not.)
• 42D: Beanstalk threat (GIANT). So be careful if you're out in the garden today!

Crosswordese 101 Round-up:

• 35A: Nietzsche's "never" (NIE).
• 36A: Bush's undergraduate classmates (ELIS).
• 47A: River in central Germany (EDER).
• 43D: Hairy TV cousin (ITT).
• 54D: Hairy Himalayan legend (YETI).
• 58D: Legal thing (RES).

Everything — 1A: Close-up lens (MACRO); 6A: Jazz jobs (GIGS); 10A: Con game (SCAM); 14A: The American dream, e.g. (IDEAL); 15A: Colosseo city (ROMA); 16A: "__, Can You Hear Me?": song from "Yentl" (PAPA); 17A: Road hog (DANGEROUS DRIVER); 20A: Pvt. driller (SGT.); 21A: Drips in the ER (IV'S); 22A: Arm-twisting (DURESS); 23A: Ritzy apartment feature (TERRACE); 26A: __ mater (ALMA); 27A: Hog heaven (ABSOLUTE BLISS); 32A: Frank topper (RELISH); 34A: Diddly, in Durango (NADA); 35A: Nietzsche's "never" (NIE); 36A: Bush's undergraduate classmates (ELIS); 37A: Truth-in-advertising agcy. (BBB); 38A: Disconcert (FAZE); 39A: Candy with collectible dispensers (PEZ); 40A: Flying start? (AERO-); 42A: I-beam, e.g. (GIRDER); 44A: Hog wild (OVERLY EXCITED); 47A: River in central Germany (EDER); 48A: Diamond-patterned structure, as a trellis (LATTICE); 51A: Black suit (SPADES); 54A: Hither's partner (YON); 55A: Beach shade (TAN); 56A: Whole hog (WITH NO RESTRAINT); 60A: GI's supply (AMMO); 61A: Mindless learning (ROTE); 62A: Shrink in increments (ERODE); 63A: It's history (PAST); 64A: Rephrase, say (EDIT); 65A: South-of-the-border sir (SEÑOR); 1D: Center (MIDST); 2D: "A watched pot never boils" is one (ADAGE); 3D: Bring under a single control (CENTRALIZE); 4D: Dusting aid (RAG); 5D: __ Miss (OLE); 6D: Kowtow (GROVEL); 7D: Chits in the pot (IOU'S); 8D: Baseball VIPs (GM'S); 9D: Got ready to ride (SADDLED); 10D: Slinky shape (SPIRAL); 11D: Auel's "The Clan of the __ Bear" (CAVE); 12D: King Kong's kin (APES); 13D: Viking's landing place (MARS); 18D: Big name in copiers (RICOH); 19D: Cuban dance (RUMBA); 24D: Baseball scoring stats (RBI'S); 25D: Shrek's sidekick Donkey, e.g. (ASS); 26D: Run __: postpone the bar bill (A TAB); 28D: Take out of the carton (UNBOX); 29D: Also (IN ADDITION); 30D: Fitting description? (SIZE); 31D: Nostradamus, for one (SEER); 32D: Auto taken back, briefly (REPO); 33D: Topog. map stat (ELEV.); 37D: Uncle Remus appellation (BR'ER); 38D: Stew (FRET); 40D: First Mayflower passenger to set foot on Plymouth Rock, so it's said (ALDEN); 41D: Neighborhood improvement target (EYESORE); 42D: Beanstalk threat (GIANT); 43D: Hairy TV cousin (ITT); 45D: Sizzling (RED-HOT); 46D: Room for a broom (CLOSET); 49D: "No prob!" ("CAN DO!"); 50D: Sign up to compete (ENTER); 51D: Trade (SWAP); 52D: Arizona tribe (PIMA); 53D: Bread machines, for short? (ATM'S); 54D: Hairy Himalayan legend (YETI); 57D: Valance holder (ROD); 58D: Legal thing (RES); 59D: "__ you serious?" (ARE).