other Washington Post Sunday crossword, September 25 (contains answers)

Posted October 17, 2005 • Comments Off on Washington Post Sunday crossword, September 25 (contains answers)

Cw-050925

Title: Inventors’ Spinoffs?
Theme entries: famous inventors’ most famous inventions, each two words, with a third word/suffix added to form a second noun and a new, sillier invention.

23A, Goodyear’s super-strong ignition source?: vulcanized rubber match [I now know what a rubber match is, but I still don’t get it]
56A, Wheeler’s plug-in publication?: electric fanzine
59A, Glidden’s beer dispenser for prisons?: barbed wiretap
83A, Whitney’s bar concoction?: cotton gin fizz
87A, Pullman’s game for rail travelers?: sleeping carpool
118A, Edison’s luminous India ink ingredient?: incandescent lampblack

Things I learned, with web links so you can learn them too:

19A, Grassy expanse: LLANO
61A, Acts the Lorelei: ENTICES [a rock?!]
65A, Ducat info: SEAT
71A, Cake with a kick, perhaps: BABA
77A, Boxer Ali: LAILA [I could not remember her name, and I could have sworn it had a T in it]
89A, Villa ___: D’ESTE
122A, River of Tours: LOIRE
124A, Lunar feature: RILLE
4D, Huascar, for one: INCA
6D, Samuel’s teacher: ELI
10D, Gounod classic: FAUST [the opera]
15D, Back at sea: ABAFT [obviously I know the word aft, but I did not know this word]
58D, Actress Pier: ANGELI
64D, City on the Isere: GRENOBLE
72D, ___ breve: ALLA [I still don’t get this, but then I don’t know anything about music anymore]
73D, Carnera KOer: BAER
74D, I.W. of labor: ABEL

Overall:
I messed up zero squares in this one (streak: 2). This was a mediocre theme, as I seriously still don’t know what a “rubber match” is and other than that it was too darn easy. Only six theme entries, but there were a whopping nineteen things I had to look up. If not for the fact that I am in fact on a streak, I’d be disappointed as hell.

I do feel I should clarify that “things I look up” are things I look up after I complete the puzzle. I make educated guesses. If those guesses are wrong, and I have to make corrections, that’s where “messed-up” squares come into being. My guesses were lucky this time; BABA, ALLA, BAER, and ABEL all intersect, and it was a total crapshoot. I knew BAER (impressive, considering I can name about six boxers ever), but that was about it.