Big feller? / THU 10-17-24 / Punny summary of the battle between editor and writer / Gru's twin brother in the "Despicable Me" series / Tall and pointy, as ears / 1930s vice president John ___ Garner / Consonants articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth / Thomas Lincoln, familiarly / Hebrew name meaning "my God" / First city in Europe with paved streets (1339) / Do some grapplin' / Drug also called "rocket fuel" or "ozone," for short
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Constructor: August Lee-Kovach
Relative difficulty: On the easy side for a Thursday
THEME: ALTERCATION (56A: Punny summary of the battle between editor and writer seen in 17-, 24-, 35- and 46-Across) — ordinary phrases clued as if they related to a fight about ALTERing a piece of writing (if you're wondering how "-CATION" is "punny," You Are Not Alone)
- PERIOD DRAMA (17A: Much ado about some punctuation?)
- RUN ON FUMES (24A: Anger over a grammatically incorrect sentence?)
- TENSE EXCHANGE (35A: Harsh words regarding the past and the present?)
- TITLE FIGHT (46A: Brawl over what to call a piece of writing?)
Thomas "Tad" Lincoln (April 4, 1853 – July 15, 1871) was the fourth and youngest son of the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln. // Thomas Lincoln was born on April 4, 1853, the fourth son of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd. His three elder brothers were Robert (1843–1926), Edward (1846–1850), and William (1850–1862). Named after his paternal grandfather Thomas Lincoln, he was soon nicknamed "Tad" by his father, for his small body and large head, and because as an infant he wiggled like a tadpole. Tad's first name has occasionally been erroneously recorded as Thaddeus. // Tad was born with a form of cleft lip and palate, which caused him speech problems throughout his life. He had a lisp and delivered his words rapidly and unintelligibly. Often only those close to Lincoln were able to understand him. For example, he called his father's bodyguard, William H. Crook, "Took," and his father "Papa Day" instead of "Papa Dear." [...] On Saturday morning, July 15, 1871, Lincoln died at the age of 18 at the Clifton House hotel in Chicago. The cause of death has been variously referred to as tuberculosis, a pleuristic attack, pneumonia, or congestive heart failure. In an obituary, John Hay affectionately referred to him as "Little Tad." (wikipedia)
[38D: Tall and pointy, as ears] |
Notes:
- 15A: One who might make a comeback? (ALUM) — an ALUM might "come back" ... to their alma mater ... for a class reunion. Pretty sure that's the intended context.
- 21A: Only city that entirely surrounds a country (ROME) — funny that that "country" is the only country with "city" in its name: VATICAN CITY. 0.19 square miles!
- 30A: Hunting cap feature (EARLAP) — I remember the first time I saw this word (in a crossword, of course) and thought "where ... where's the 'F'? What did they do with the 'F'?"
- 5D: What Alexander Graham Bell suggested as the standard telephone-answering greeting ("AHOY") — most of what I know about American history, I learned from "The Simpsons"; please enjoy this video montage of Mr. Burns answering the phone:
- 12D: First city in Europe with paved streets (1339) (FLORENCE) — FLORENCE and ROME, lah-di-dah! My daughter, a theater production manager, has a new gig coordinating the building and installation of theaters on board cruise ships, and those ships are being put together somewhere just outside ... Venice. Most of her work is actually done remotely (meetings meetings meetings), so she's in the States for now, but come January ... Italy. Not a bad perk.
- 24D: Half-baked? (RARE) — think steak.
- 14A: Hercule's creator (AGATHA) — think Christie
- 27D: Consonants articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth (DENTALS) — technical linguistics terminology! I don't mind it! Has FRICATIVE ever been in the grid? No!? And not FRICATIVES either? What's the hold-up!?
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