Monday Puzzle #40 or "A Penetrating Wind"

What a week. Crazy busy. I need to figure out how to do this xword project and still be able to do crosswords every day. They really are a great thing for me to do at the end of the day...it helps me relax. But, I haven't been doing them because I want to complete one and then blog about it before I complete the next one. So, it's not really working for me. Maybe I'll keep working on the huge NYT crossword book that I have - do those whenever I want - and just do the research and blogging with the specific M, T, W, etc. books that I buy. Definitely don't think I'm going to be able to do one a day, though.

I did complete a Seattle Times crossword puzzle online on Tuesday (or Wednesday?) and timed myself. Completed it in 7 min 20 sec, which I thought was great. I've never timed myself before.

But, for this post, we're on Monday Puzzle #40. Definitely some weird clues in this one. For example, 11 down was "Penetrating wind." I was thinking gale or (laughingly) fart. But, the answer was OBOE. Common answer in these puzzles, but never heard that clue before.

(Ok, it is now hours later...my life is one long interruption...which is fine, it just makes it more difficult for me to complete anything. BUT, the totally cool thing is I just saw the Space Station zoom by in the sky. Saw a note at 10:32 pm saying it would be visible in the NW sky at 10:33. I ran outside and there it was. I got to call the husband and the kid outside just in time for them to see it. Very cool.)

So, answers that I don't really know were:

10 across, "Damn Yankees siren." LOLA. I have not seen Damn Yankees and have added it to my Netflix queue.

17 across, "Rock bottom." NADIR. MW tells me that nadir means "1. the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and vertically downward from the observer, 2. the lowest point."

And, reflecting my complete lack of any bible/religious information, 58 across, "Creche figures." MAGI. First, I had to look up creche, which is the nativity scene. So, then, the Magi makes sense.

61 across, "Stewpot." OLLA. MW says an olla is "a large bulging widemouthed earthenware vessel sometimes with looped handles used (as by Pueblo Indians) for storage, cooking, or as a container for water."

The last one is 64 across, "Hammer's end." PEEN. That makes sense now that I think of a ball-peen hammer. MW says a peen is "a usually hemispherical or wedge-shaped end of the head of a hammer that is opposite the face and is used especially for bending, shaping, or cutting the material struck."

Alright, that's it for #40. Only 10 more to go in the Mondays and then I start on the Tuesday book.