i cant believe I finshed this one without help. very hard at first, but after I switched my brain tp PandA mode, it came fairly quickly. Justb one question, what's a COLLAB?
A superiorof a Major is a Colonel, or COL, and LABS are test sites
COLLAB, apparently, is slang for 'collaboration'.
By reading the comments, I learned that Sorry or Monopoly is not an IN GAME, but I still can't figure out whether the answer to 7A is TOP LABS or POT LABS because I have NO IDEA what the answers to 7D and 9D could be.
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The Superior of Maj. is a COL. And the test sites are LABS.
So 7A is COLLABS. (I'm sure of that because MHP told me so.) I don't understand how we get there from the clue.
I think CATE is just the beginning of CATEgories. As to 9D, I guess there's some play on LYE/LAY, but I don't get it.
LYE are the 1st, 3rd and 5th letters in "Laymen".
Clue says "oddly" so odd numbered letters
Please explain how the symbols in 10D mean L is ten and why 27A answer is Ether. Thanks
Dave A, I can't help on 10D, but I finally tumbled to the trick in 27A. You have to pronounce "Number" with a silent B; that is, ETHER makes you "numb."
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Thanks much appreciated
The letter "L" "is" (filling in for) the expected number "ten." L is ten. Mush together and you get the word "listen."
This PandA was more "cryptic" than most and that's a good thing -- "words" like L-seven, Oral-B, and Ntuple keep things interesting. All in all a fun puzzle.
Where's the cheat sheet, i'm not getting it.
Nice puzzle, tougher than usual and like everyone I had the most trouble in the Southwest quadrant especially because I decided 64 across was assered. Which made the puzzle insoluble and I went to the cheat sheet.
I still don't understand L . I got LISTEN, but don't know why.
I think it means "L" is ten
Ah. Yes. Thank you.
But L is fifty?
I don't understand the cluing for 34A (L-SEVEN). I only just now realized, while typing, the explanation for 13D (SESAME without the schwa = SAYSME).
battleship is a game where you call grid squares (e.g. l7, a1, b9, f5...) If you hold up your thumb and forefinger on each hand, you can make L7.
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Karen thanks for explaining L 7 because when I Googled 4 fingered salute I've learned that holding up four fingers is a special hand signal indicating loyalty to the Muslim Brotherhood. Clearly not relevant to this puzzle but interesting.
Thanks Karen.
I knew about what you called the grid squares, but not holding up your hand. (Still don't know why you would.)
A little more challenging for me than most PandAs and lots of fun.
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Especially challenging: the SW corner.
It came together for me after I figured out "N-tuple." Like you, I found this the most difficult section.
Can someone explain how the answer to 36A is imgame? The game part was easy enough, but I just couldn't find an explanation for terse identification other than ID. Obviously, I missed the jetsam reference in the down, but I still don't know where the M comes from in the across clue.
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I think it means: a person might ID himself by saying "I'm game" if his name is Sorry or Monopoly or some other game.
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It's ID Game, short ident=-ID and Game. But the Down as Sad I can't understand how that's Boy with jet
A nice puzzle, but my 12Down answer of BEAPAL just doesn’t look right. Oh. Is it BE A PAL?
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I'm not too keen on that clue.
"Friend of actress Arthur means: BEA's PAL, or BEA PAL for short.
If the answer is BE A PAL, all the wordplay in on BEA, whereas PAL, implied in the clue, is repeated in the answer with with no change of meaning.
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Trying to make sense of these things - is for cryptic puzzles, not for P&As. P&As don't make sense. That's their "charm."
Waiting for the next cryptic...
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Bea Arthur is an actress so her friend is a BEA PAL
Still a nice puzzle if I have to say so myself.
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Nice puzzle.