Theme: Bang a Gong
20A: Verisimilitude: RING OF TRUTH
39A: Trolley sound: CLANG CLANG CLANG
53A: Yuletide song: JINGLE BELLS
I am not sure I got the theme right. RING is singular, but BELLS is plural. What purpose does CLANG CLANG CLANG serve here? The echoing sounds when you RING BELLS? I really have difficulty understanding this constructor's thinking process. (Addendum: My bad. JINGLE, not BELLS, is part of the theme).
Somehow this puzzle brought back memories of Paul Newman. Too bad our editor missed the opportunity to pay tribue to him:
14A: Macho guy: HE-MAN. Didn't Paul Newman always present a tough, rugged HE-MAN persona?
25A: Energetic drive: HUSTLE: How about "Emulate Paul Newman's Fast Eddie"?
32D:Round of applause: HAND: Who doesn't like his "Cool ___ Luke"?
The clue for FED (21D: G-man) should be changed to a simple "Nourished" to avoid the duplication of MAN & man. I would have clued CAESAR (48A: Funny Sid) as "Veni, vidi, vici" speaker" to pair up with ET TU (8D: Ides of March rebuke).
Across:
1A: Cowboy leggings: CHAPS. Can Christina Aguilera really ride a horse wearing this CHAPS?
10A: Persian poet Khayyam: OMAR. "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and Thou..." That's all I need in paradise too. So simple, so beautiful.
19A: Jackknife or swan: DIVE. Jackknife DIVE is a new term to me.
23A: Girlie: SIS. What the heck is this? Isn't "Girlie" an offensive term to describe an effeminate man?
24A: 26th letter: ZEE. "Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."
27A: Lacking vitality: PALLID
44A: Flexible joint: HINGE
45A: Upstanding: ERECT. This pink ERECT anthurium is so pretty.
62A: Composer Porter: COLE. Lovely clip.
Down:
2D: Dodge Ram engine: HEMI. New to me. I only knew HEMI as a prefix for sphere.
5D: Nodding off: SNOOZING. And SOOTHING (9D: Comforting). I think any grid should have a maximum of 2 *ING's.
28D: Actress Nazimova: ALLA. How boring! Is this the only way to clue ALLA? How about this?
40D: Office job category: CLERICAL
46D: British rule in India: RAJ. And CASTE (48D: Societal station).
47D: Jack Horner's dessert: PIE. I wonder what kind of pie he is eating.
56D: "So Big" author Ferber: EDNA. Have you read the book? What is it about? What is "So Big"?
C.C.
20A: Verisimilitude: RING OF TRUTH
39A: Trolley sound: CLANG CLANG CLANG
53A: Yuletide song: JINGLE BELLS
I am not sure I got the theme right. RING is singular, but BELLS is plural. What purpose does CLANG CLANG CLANG serve here? The echoing sounds when you RING BELLS? I really have difficulty understanding this constructor's thinking process. (Addendum: My bad. JINGLE, not BELLS, is part of the theme).
Somehow this puzzle brought back memories of Paul Newman. Too bad our editor missed the opportunity to pay tribue to him:
14A: Macho guy: HE-MAN. Didn't Paul Newman always present a tough, rugged HE-MAN persona?
25A: Energetic drive: HUSTLE: How about "Emulate Paul Newman's Fast Eddie"?
32D:Round of applause: HAND: Who doesn't like his "Cool ___ Luke"?
The clue for FED (21D: G-man) should be changed to a simple "Nourished" to avoid the duplication of MAN & man. I would have clued CAESAR (48A: Funny Sid) as "Veni, vidi, vici" speaker" to pair up with ET TU (8D: Ides of March rebuke).
Across:
1A: Cowboy leggings: CHAPS. Can Christina Aguilera really ride a horse wearing this CHAPS?
10A: Persian poet Khayyam: OMAR. "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and Thou..." That's all I need in paradise too. So simple, so beautiful.
19A: Jackknife or swan: DIVE. Jackknife DIVE is a new term to me.
23A: Girlie: SIS. What the heck is this? Isn't "Girlie" an offensive term to describe an effeminate man?
24A: 26th letter: ZEE. "Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."
27A: Lacking vitality: PALLID
44A: Flexible joint: HINGE
45A: Upstanding: ERECT. This pink ERECT anthurium is so pretty.
62A: Composer Porter: COLE. Lovely clip.
Down:
2D: Dodge Ram engine: HEMI. New to me. I only knew HEMI as a prefix for sphere.
5D: Nodding off: SNOOZING. And SOOTHING (9D: Comforting). I think any grid should have a maximum of 2 *ING's.
28D: Actress Nazimova: ALLA. How boring! Is this the only way to clue ALLA? How about this?
40D: Office job category: CLERICAL
46D: British rule in India: RAJ. And CASTE (48D: Societal station).
47D: Jack Horner's dessert: PIE. I wonder what kind of pie he is eating.
56D: "So Big" author Ferber: EDNA. Have you read the book? What is it about? What is "So Big"?
C.C.
