Theme: Festive Occasions
17A: Diplomatic dustup of 1790s: XYZ AFFAIR
21A: Spongelike plaything: NERF BALL
39A: Hail Mary conclusion?: PASS RECEPTION
58A: CNN Capitol Hill reporter: DANA BASH
64A: Crew: WORK PARTY
Somehow I thought DANA BASH is CNN's White House correspondent.
A bit of Italian sub-theme:
36A: Christmas in Italia: NATALE
3D: Italian eatery: PIZZERIA
10D: Italian Olympic skier Alberto: TOMBA
Also some baseball undertone:
20A: 2002 Cy Young Award winner: ZITO (Barry)
50D: Bronx Bomber: YANKEE
62D: Ted or Connie: MACK. Connie MACK is in Baseball's HOF.
I wish HOME (60D: Web-site page) were clued as diamond plate related. PACKS (31D: Decks of cards) refer to the baseball card PACKS, right?
I suppose the clue for DR. J (25A: Erving of hoops) is OK, but I would prefer "Erving of NBA" to reflect the abbreviation in the answer. But the clue for ET ALII (27A: & others: Lat.) is inaccurate. "Lat" should not be shortened.
The clue for TONER (68A: Salon lotion) is simply wrong. TONER is not lotion.
Overall, I did not enjoy this puzzle. Too many unfamiliar names for me.
Across:
9A: Panache: STYLE. I like really like George Clooney's STYLE. I think he should go to politics, so should Ben Affleck. There are certain idealististic "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" optimism in them.
15A: German wife: FRAU. It's QI ZI in Chinese, very scrabbly.
23A: Haggard novel: SHE. I wonder if our editor has ever read the book. He seems to be very fond of this SHE clue.
30A: Shakur of rap renown: TUPAC. I've never heard of his name (2Pac) before.
34A: Word before tale or ring: FAIRY. FAIRY ring is new to me. Why do those mushrooms grow in a circle?
44A: Tony Randall movie role: DR. LAO. Have vaguely heard of "7 Faces of DR. LAO".
49A: Hot blooded: LUSTY. New to me also. I only know lustful.
51A: 1999 Ron Howard film: EDTV. No idea. It looks interesting. Matthew McConaughey is stud muffin.
69A: Pure Prairie League hit: AMIE. Unknown to me also. Very unique album covers.
70A: Red's Kaddlehopper: CLEM. Nope. Had no idea what the clue is about. Here is an interesting clip.
72A: Ms. Neuwirth: BEBE. Saw her at "Celebrity Jeapardy!" once.
73A: Pioneering U. S. radio station: KDKA. Wikipedia says it's "the oldest commercial radio station in the US". New to me.
Down:
1D: Author Stout: REX. NERO is often clued as "Stout's wolfe".
7D: Actor Conrad: BAIN. He is in "Diff'rent Strokes". Another unknown to me.
9D: Mine passage: SHAFT. No idea.
12D: Actor Nielsen: LESLIE. He is in "The Naked Gun". I googled his name.
13D: Mascara site: EYELID. I would clue CANINE (48D: Eyetooth) simply as "Long tooth". I don't like the duplication of eye's.
18D: Bouquet-delivery syst.: FTD. Syst? I thought FTD is the name of the company.
23D: Tanning lotion letters: SPF
26D: Northernmost state capital: JUNEAU. Only learned this morning that it's named after the gold prospector Joe JUNEAU.
39D: Richie's mom, to Fonzie: MRS. C. Finally I remembered her this time.
32D: Explosive trials: A TESTS
35D: Fashion monogram: YSL
37D: Old Ford model: LTD. Or the British "Inc."
40D: City in Central Missouri: ROLLA. Here is the map. University of Missouri is located there. New to me also.
45D: Lactor- ___-Vegetarian: OVO. They eat eggs and dairy products. Are any of you vegans?
47D: Alternative to digital: ANALOG
66D: Shatner novel: "___ War": TEK. Is it a very famous novel?
C.C.
17A: Diplomatic dustup of 1790s: XYZ AFFAIR
21A: Spongelike plaything: NERF BALL
39A: Hail Mary conclusion?: PASS RECEPTION
58A: CNN Capitol Hill reporter: DANA BASH
64A: Crew: WORK PARTY
Somehow I thought DANA BASH is CNN's White House correspondent.
A bit of Italian sub-theme:
36A: Christmas in Italia: NATALE
3D: Italian eatery: PIZZERIA
10D: Italian Olympic skier Alberto: TOMBA
Also some baseball undertone:
20A: 2002 Cy Young Award winner: ZITO (Barry)
50D: Bronx Bomber: YANKEE
62D: Ted or Connie: MACK. Connie MACK is in Baseball's HOF.
I wish HOME (60D: Web-site page) were clued as diamond plate related. PACKS (31D: Decks of cards) refer to the baseball card PACKS, right?
I suppose the clue for DR. J (25A: Erving of hoops) is OK, but I would prefer "Erving of NBA" to reflect the abbreviation in the answer. But the clue for ET ALII (27A: & others: Lat.) is inaccurate. "Lat" should not be shortened.
The clue for TONER (68A: Salon lotion) is simply wrong. TONER is not lotion.
Overall, I did not enjoy this puzzle. Too many unfamiliar names for me.
Across:
9A: Panache: STYLE. I like really like George Clooney's STYLE. I think he should go to politics, so should Ben Affleck. There are certain idealististic "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" optimism in them.
15A: German wife: FRAU. It's QI ZI in Chinese, very scrabbly.
23A: Haggard novel: SHE. I wonder if our editor has ever read the book. He seems to be very fond of this SHE clue.
30A: Shakur of rap renown: TUPAC. I've never heard of his name (2Pac) before.
34A: Word before tale or ring: FAIRY. FAIRY ring is new to me. Why do those mushrooms grow in a circle?
44A: Tony Randall movie role: DR. LAO. Have vaguely heard of "7 Faces of DR. LAO".
49A: Hot blooded: LUSTY. New to me also. I only know lustful.
51A: 1999 Ron Howard film: EDTV. No idea. It looks interesting. Matthew McConaughey is stud muffin.
69A: Pure Prairie League hit: AMIE. Unknown to me also. Very unique album covers.
70A: Red's Kaddlehopper: CLEM. Nope. Had no idea what the clue is about. Here is an interesting clip.
72A: Ms. Neuwirth: BEBE. Saw her at "Celebrity Jeapardy!" once.
73A: Pioneering U. S. radio station: KDKA. Wikipedia says it's "the oldest commercial radio station in the US". New to me.
Down:
1D: Author Stout: REX. NERO is often clued as "Stout's wolfe".
7D: Actor Conrad: BAIN. He is in "Diff'rent Strokes". Another unknown to me.
9D: Mine passage: SHAFT. No idea.
12D: Actor Nielsen: LESLIE. He is in "The Naked Gun". I googled his name.
13D: Mascara site: EYELID. I would clue CANINE (48D: Eyetooth) simply as "Long tooth". I don't like the duplication of eye's.
18D: Bouquet-delivery syst.: FTD. Syst? I thought FTD is the name of the company.
23D: Tanning lotion letters: SPF
26D: Northernmost state capital: JUNEAU. Only learned this morning that it's named after the gold prospector Joe JUNEAU.
39D: Richie's mom, to Fonzie: MRS. C. Finally I remembered her this time.
32D: Explosive trials: A TESTS
35D: Fashion monogram: YSL
37D: Old Ford model: LTD. Or the British "Inc."
40D: City in Central Missouri: ROLLA. Here is the map. University of Missouri is located there. New to me also.
45D: Lactor- ___-Vegetarian: OVO. They eat eggs and dairy products. Are any of you vegans?
47D: Alternative to digital: ANALOG
66D: Shatner novel: "___ War": TEK. Is it a very famous novel?
C.C.
