Busch Gardens locale / MON 11-8-10 / Late 1940s to about 1990 / Commonplace utterance / Rough tumble outdoor kids game

Constructor: John Dunn

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: CATCHPHRASE (64A: Commonplace utterance ... or a description of 18-, 26- and 49-Across) — three theme answers are phrases beginning with synonyms of "CATCH"


Word of the Day: Larry MIZE (7D: 1987 Masters winner Larry) —

Lawrence Hogan "Larry" Mize (born September 23, 1958) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the Champions Tour. He is well-known for one career-defining shot — a chip from off the green at the 11th hole at Augusta to win the playoff for the 1987 Masters Tournament, which was his only major title. (wikipedia)

• • •

Really liked the long answers on this one (both Across and Down), esp. GRAB A BITE TO EAT (five words!) and COLD WAR ERA (3D: Late 1940s to about 1990). The theme revealer actually generated an "aha" (or at least an "oh") moment, as in "Oh, that's what's going on." Short stuff was inoffensive, and so, the verdict: Good. Simple theme idea, Monday-easy, but still interesting. Not much more to hope for. Weirdest thing about the puzzle was the way I solved it—or, rather, the path I took to solve it. Diagonal, right through the middle, starting in the NW and headed SE. I don't know how much of the grid I had done before I got a single theme answer, but it felt like a lot. The theme answers are arranged slightly unconventionally, in that usually the first one will be flush left, and today it's flush right. This meant that I bypassed it completely with my initial solving momentum. Feels like SEIZE THE DAY is hanging out up there in its own little treehouse. Had to climb up there and shake it down before finally finishing the puzzle off in the South. Sadly, I finished with a stupid error: Had PAT for PET (41D: Caress) and never checked the crosses (rookie mistake). Had to scan the grid before I noticed SAAL, which I first thought was a typo for Mort SAHL (42D: Comic Mort), but no.

[37D: Singer k. d. LANG]

Theme answers:

• 18A: "Carpe diem" ("SEIZE THE DAY")
  
• 28A: Quickly satisfy one's hunger (GRAB A BITE TO EAT) — Five words. Nice.
  
• 49A: Rough-and-tumble outdoor kids' game (CAPTURE THE FLAG)
  

I had no idea there was a Bush Gardens in TAMPA (33D: Busch Gardens locale). Sounds like an amusement park that belongs in St. Louis, Missouri, but there's one in Williamsburg, VA and TAMPA and that's it (except for another one planned for — you guessed it: Dubai). Had very, very mild trouble getting into the N and NE generally because I worked my way in from the bottom up and neither ON EDGE (8D: Fidgety) nor TAUT (19D: Fully stretched) were clear from their rear ends. Luckily, I remembered that Andrew JOHNSON was the one pre-Clinton impeachment (9D: First impeached U.S. president), and that was enough to get the ball quickly rolling up there. Also lucky to (somehow) remember Larry MIZE. Not sure why his name stuck, considering I don't care much about golf, but it did "Z" and all.

See you tomorrow. I'm going to try to squeeze in another "Mad Men" before bed. That, or keep (re-)reading "Lolita."

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Explorer born 6/11/1910 / FRI 6-11-10 / Classic Bob Marley song that was 1973 hit for Johnny Nash / Easu vis-a-vis Jacob / Pharmaceutical liquids

Constructor: John Dunn

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: JACQUES COUSTEAU (31A: Explorer born 6/11/1910) — He was a MARINE ECOLOGIST (8D: 31-Across, for one); today is his birthday.


Word of the Day: RATITE (39D: Kiwi, e.g.) —

A ratite is any of a diverse group of large, flightless birds of Gondwanan origin, most of them now extinct. Unlike other flightless birds, the ratites have no keel on their sternum—hence the name from the Latin ratis (for raft). Without this to anchor their wing muscles, they could not fly even if they were to develop suitable wings. // Most parts of the former Gondwana have ratites, or did have until the fairly recent past. Their closest living relatives are the tinamous of South America. (wikipedia) [at least the word in the puzzle wasn't GONDWANAN]

• • •

Not much to this one. Guy was born 100 years ago. His name goes one direction, his job (or one way of phrasing his job) goes in the other. They cross in the middle. I would have called him a MARINE BIOLOGIST, but what do I know? Not a lot of interest in the rest of the grid. My favorite moment (in retrospect) was the very beginning, where I figured out the "Secret" of 1A: Secret target right away ... but drew the wrong conclusion. I submit that the "target" is not the UNDER ARM, as the answer turned out to be. What are you "targeting" when you put on Secret? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? That's right: BODY ODOR. Bam! What a great clue! And what a genius solver I am for nailing it right off the bat! Wait, how can Esau be anything that starts with a "Y"? ... dang! (ESAU ended up being ELDER — 4D: Esau vis-à-vis Jacob) I had to abandon the NW and go elsewhere for a real foothold. NW was actually the place I finished up — with the "I" in UPHILL (1D: Like an arduous battle) and ISLES (19A: 1980-83 Stanley Cup champs, in brief) being the last letter to go in. Current Stanley Cup champs, as of a day or so ago, are the Chicago Blackhawks (I know this from watching ESPN and from following (on Twitter) longtime crossword tournament champ Tyler Hinman — seriously he would not shut up! I mean, congratulations, T .... I call you "T" now, btw)



I don't think intersecting ONEs is a good idea (ONE IS crossing ONE TENTH). I don't think I mind those two answers sharing the grid, but a little space between them would be nice. Don't highlight the fact that you repeated a word.

Too bad there are no other theme answers... unless you count SAIL TO (I don't) or ISLES (nope).

Hardest answer for me to get: ONE TENTH (34D: Part given by the pious?). Hardest and bestest, because it essentially refers to a word that isn't there: TITHING. Clever. Hey, DIMES (20A: They have torches on their backs) are ONE TENTH a dollar. Nice coincidence. I also liked the clue on THANK YOU (14D: Phrase an overseas traveler should know how to translate), mainly because it was mysterious, and then, when I got it, it seemed obvious. Part of the reason it may have seemed mysterious is that I had HURRAY instead of HURRAH at first (16A: Exclamation of joy), and thought the phrase for an overseas traveler was actually going to be in a foreign language: "TYAN..." "Hmm, not Maori. Not Hawaiian. WTHell?"

Then, of course, there's this:


[53A: Classic Bob Marley song that was a 1973 hit for Johnny Nash]

[Flutes!]

I think I will go to my grave confusing SARATOGA and SARASOTA (13D: Site of Florida's first golf course), despite the fact that I live in the state where one of them is (I already forget which one). Melvin MORA (47D: Third baseman and two-time All-Star Melvin ___) is one of a handful of MORAs (MORAE?) one might see in the grid — all of them sports-related (the other two I know of are both NFL coaches named Jim). Whoa, Melvin MORA is a Colorado ROCKIE (ROCKY?) now!? Wow, I missed that one. I've still got him playing third for the (lowly) O's. I also had AQUAS as AQUAE (seemed righter—29D: Pharmaceutical liquids). And finished the puzzle that way. Only in the process of marking it up did I notice the unfathomable answer (TIAE) that it created. Andalusian aunts are, of course, TIAS. And GLUEY is, of course, the fourth nephew of Scrooge McDuck—the one he killed in order to show the others he wasn't @#$&ing kidding when he said the Money Room was Off Limits.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]