Theme: Breakfast Sandwich
17A: "Apollo 13" co-star: KEVIN BACON
56A: Decorative molding: EGG-AND-DART
11D: Horse of the year, 1938: SEABISCUIT
27D: Tough luck: HARD CHEESE
So heavy, a glass of fresh orange juice and a lightly toasted English muffin is more healthy.
I have never heard of EGG-AND-DART before. I don't think I like "EGG" being placed in front of the phrase. It's inconsistent with the other three theme entries. I wonder why the constructor did not consider CODDLED EGG or POACHED EGG, which has the same number of letters.
I don't mind seeing O'HARE (26D: Midwest airport) and O'HARA (31D: Scarlett's last name) in the same puzzle. But I really can't stand having SEEKS (62A: Goes after) and SEEK (49D: Endeavor to obtain) in one grid. Very lazy construction/editing.
I wish WAR (24D: Word with cry or chest) were clued as WAR Admiral (1937 Triple Crown winner) to pair up with SEABISCUIT. They raced together several times, didn't they? I cannot remember the movie too clearly.
Across:
5A: Malcolm __ Warner: JAMAL. He was in "The Cosby Show". Unknown to me. Wikipedia said he was named after Malcolm X and Jazz pianist Ahmad JAMAL.
14A: Mine entrance: ADIT. Here is a picture.
15A: Shaped like Humpty Dumpty: OVATE. I thought of OVOID first.
24A: Japanese horseradish: WASABI. Do you like WASABI peas?
25A: Minerals scale: MOHS. Mineral hardness is measured by MOHS scale. I did not know this. Wikipedia says the hardness of TALC (19A: Soft mineral) is 1, Diamond is 10. Interesting, on the MOHS scale, a fingernail has a hardness of 2.5. I wonder what are the numbers for frozen bananas and hard-boiled eggs.
35A: Like bags under eyes: POUCHY. Only know pouch.
36A: Sail support: YARDARM. No idea. What is it?
38A: Kind of reality?: VIRTUAL
40A: Artist Holbein: HANS. This is his famous portrait of Catherine Howard, "the rose without a thorn".
42A: Right-hand page: RECTO. Verso is left-hand page (even-numbered page).
55A: Zeno of __: ELEA. The other Zeno, Zeno of Citium, the Stoic, was born Cyprus.
59A: Cake cut: PIECE. Ha, this was not a PIECE of cake for me. Mine was slice.
61A: Tot seat: KNEE. Joint for jerks? Yes!
Down:
1D: Capital of Azerbaijan: BAKU. Garry Kasparov was born in BAKU. He showed guts running for Russian presidency last year. He is very articulate and idealistic in a certain way.
2D: March's middle: IDES. Or the middle of May, July and October, and the 13th of other months.
3D: Seedy bar: DIVE. I just learned this word a few days ago.
4D: Steps over fences: STILES
5D: Grass beads: JOB'S TEARS. I've never liked JOB'S TEAR soup, which is very popular in Asia. It's supposed to soften your facial skin.
18D: Beatty of "Deliverance": NED. Remember this dueling banjos scene?
22D: Small drums: TABORS. Is 10" the average diameter of those TABOR drums?
25D: Urban honcho: MAYOR
32D: Strong polyester film: MYLAR. I strung the answer together from across clues. What a strange name!
35D: Evergreen droppings: PINE CONES. "Droppings" conjures up a very unpleasant image to me.
43D: Thick-heeled shoe: WEDGIE
44D: Smear or blur: SMUDGE
50D: Highlands group: CLAN. It's rooted Scottish Gaelic "clann", meaning family.
C.C.
17A: "Apollo 13" co-star: KEVIN BACON
56A: Decorative molding: EGG-AND-DART
11D: Horse of the year, 1938: SEABISCUIT
27D: Tough luck: HARD CHEESE
So heavy, a glass of fresh orange juice and a lightly toasted English muffin is more healthy.
I have never heard of EGG-AND-DART before. I don't think I like "EGG" being placed in front of the phrase. It's inconsistent with the other three theme entries. I wonder why the constructor did not consider CODDLED EGG or POACHED EGG, which has the same number of letters.
I don't mind seeing O'HARE (26D: Midwest airport) and O'HARA (31D: Scarlett's last name) in the same puzzle. But I really can't stand having SEEKS (62A: Goes after) and SEEK (49D: Endeavor to obtain) in one grid. Very lazy construction/editing.
I wish WAR (24D: Word with cry or chest) were clued as WAR Admiral (1937 Triple Crown winner) to pair up with SEABISCUIT. They raced together several times, didn't they? I cannot remember the movie too clearly.
Across:
5A: Malcolm __ Warner: JAMAL. He was in "The Cosby Show". Unknown to me. Wikipedia said he was named after Malcolm X and Jazz pianist Ahmad JAMAL.
14A: Mine entrance: ADIT. Here is a picture.
15A: Shaped like Humpty Dumpty: OVATE. I thought of OVOID first.
24A: Japanese horseradish: WASABI. Do you like WASABI peas?
25A: Minerals scale: MOHS. Mineral hardness is measured by MOHS scale. I did not know this. Wikipedia says the hardness of TALC (19A: Soft mineral) is 1, Diamond is 10. Interesting, on the MOHS scale, a fingernail has a hardness of 2.5. I wonder what are the numbers for frozen bananas and hard-boiled eggs.
35A: Like bags under eyes: POUCHY. Only know pouch.
36A: Sail support: YARDARM. No idea. What is it?
38A: Kind of reality?: VIRTUAL
40A: Artist Holbein: HANS. This is his famous portrait of Catherine Howard, "the rose without a thorn".
42A: Right-hand page: RECTO. Verso is left-hand page (even-numbered page).
55A: Zeno of __: ELEA. The other Zeno, Zeno of Citium, the Stoic, was born Cyprus.
59A: Cake cut: PIECE. Ha, this was not a PIECE of cake for me. Mine was slice.
61A: Tot seat: KNEE. Joint for jerks? Yes!
Down:
1D: Capital of Azerbaijan: BAKU. Garry Kasparov was born in BAKU. He showed guts running for Russian presidency last year. He is very articulate and idealistic in a certain way.
2D: March's middle: IDES. Or the middle of May, July and October, and the 13th of other months.
3D: Seedy bar: DIVE. I just learned this word a few days ago.
4D: Steps over fences: STILES
5D: Grass beads: JOB'S TEARS. I've never liked JOB'S TEAR soup, which is very popular in Asia. It's supposed to soften your facial skin.
18D: Beatty of "Deliverance": NED. Remember this dueling banjos scene?
22D: Small drums: TABORS. Is 10" the average diameter of those TABOR drums?
25D: Urban honcho: MAYOR
32D: Strong polyester film: MYLAR. I strung the answer together from across clues. What a strange name!
35D: Evergreen droppings: PINE CONES. "Droppings" conjures up a very unpleasant image to me.
43D: Thick-heeled shoe: WEDGIE
44D: Smear or blur: SMUDGE
50D: Highlands group: CLAN. It's rooted Scottish Gaelic "clann", meaning family.
C.C.
