Theme: HUH (2D: Whazzat?)
17A: At all: WHATSOEVER
26A: "Twelfth Night": WHAT YOU WILL
39A: Thingamabob: WHATCHAMACALLIT
50A: Alfred E. Neuman line: WHAT, ME WORRY
61A: Streisand film: WHAT'S UP, DOC
Sub-theme: "The Sound of Music"
15A: Opera star: DIVA
22A: Prima donna's number: ARIA
23A: Notes of scales: FAS
31A: Refrain syllable: TRA
68A: Yamaha product: PIANO
3D: Lyrical Gershwin: IRA
6D: Lyric poem: ODE
30D: NYC opera house: MET. Techinically it's "The MET", isn't it?
Great puzzle. I like the grid. I simply adore puzzles with a running-through theme answer (39A). They fit my eyes. I also like how the constructor tied in the theme title HUH (2D) to the grid. Very clever, awesome "Whazzat"? clue.
Many WHAT* phrases can fit in a 15*15 grid, for example:
WHAT a cry baby!
WHAT a drag!
WHAT's the problem?
WHAT's the point?
WHAT's the meaning of this?
WHAT did you think I meant?
WHAT else?
It's a pity that MAD (46A: Insane) was not clued as the "Humor Magazine". It would have been a wonderful parallel to 50A: WHAT, ME WORRY. Maybe our editor changed the constructor's original clue. Who knows?
Across:
19A: Get-up: TOGS. Why is TOGS always in plural form? I am very confused by these clothing words: get-up, attire, apparel, dress, outfit, duds and clothes. I can never tell which one is plural and which is singular.
21A: "The Lord of Rings" baddie: ORC. Are you a Tolkien fan?
33A: Delhi attire: SARIS. Three ways to wear a SARI. The spelling of "Delhi" is very baffling to me, so is Gandhi and Lhasa, very whimsical silent "h" position.
44A: "Easy ___": RIDER. I enjoyed this clip last week.
45A: Irish Republic: EIRE
55A: Ipanema locale: RIO. Very interesting "The Girl from Ipanema"clip. Who is your favorite Bond girl?
57A: Rhine tributary: AAR. Or AARE, the Swiss river.
66A: Mark ___ -Baker: LINN. No idea. Obtained his name from the down clues.
69A: Sundance's girlfriend: ETTA. Great movie. I like Robert Redford. He is "The Natural" and he always lives what he has dreamed.
Down:
4D: Charlie Brown's exclamation: RATS. I have this bobblehead.
7D: Swivel: PIVOT
11D: New Zealand Polynesian: MAORI. Only learned this morning that the word MAORI means "ordinary people" in the native language.
12D: Potter's clay: ARGIL. No idea. Dictionary says it's mostly "a white clay used by potters". ARG(os) is a Latin prefix meaning "white". "ARG" means "angry" in Swedish/Norwegian languages, very interesting.
23D: Islamic ruling: FATWA
24D: Hi, on HI: ALOHA. "on HI"? Not "in HI"?
25D: Twilled silk fabric: SURAH. Or SURAT. New word to me. I found out that SURAH is also an alternative spelling of SURA (the Koran chapter). Odd!
28D: Major in astronomy?: URSA. I like this clue.
34D: French soul: AME. Anima/Animus in Latin.
37D: Wispy clouds: CIRRI. Singualr is CIRRUS (Latin for "a lock, curl, tendril"). Saw this clue somewhere before.
41D: Retreat: HIDEAWAY. Indeed, a beautiful place for a HIDEAWAY.
42D: Do-over service: LET. The tennis call.
46D: Sicilian spouter: MT ETNA. Ha, this one had me confused for quite sometime. Shouldn't the clue has some hint to indicate an abbreviated MT?
48D: Bellicose deity: ARES. Mars for the Romans.
50D: Marine mammal: WHALE. Thar she blows!
51D: Daily routine: HABIT. "...You could have a big dipper. Going up and down, all around the bends...I've kicked the HABIT....I've been feeding the rhythm. It's what we're doing, doing, all day and night". For Melissa.
53D: Large mackerel: WAHOO. Also called Peto. New to me. Pretty big.
54D: Borneo ape, briefly: ORANG. What are you thinking?
62D: Crumpet complement: TEA. I have not eaten CRUMPETS for ages.
65D: Kind of lettuce: COS. Romaine lettuce. My favorite.
C.C.
17A: At all: WHATSOEVER
26A: "Twelfth Night": WHAT YOU WILL
39A: Thingamabob: WHATCHAMACALLIT
50A: Alfred E. Neuman line: WHAT, ME WORRY
61A: Streisand film: WHAT'S UP, DOC
Sub-theme: "The Sound of Music"
15A: Opera star: DIVA
22A: Prima donna's number: ARIA
23A: Notes of scales: FAS
31A: Refrain syllable: TRA
68A: Yamaha product: PIANO
3D: Lyrical Gershwin: IRA
6D: Lyric poem: ODE
30D: NYC opera house: MET. Techinically it's "The MET", isn't it?
Great puzzle. I like the grid. I simply adore puzzles with a running-through theme answer (39A). They fit my eyes. I also like how the constructor tied in the theme title HUH (2D) to the grid. Very clever, awesome "Whazzat"? clue.
Many WHAT* phrases can fit in a 15*15 grid, for example:
WHAT a cry baby!
WHAT a drag!
WHAT's the problem?
WHAT's the point?
WHAT's the meaning of this?
WHAT did you think I meant?
WHAT else?
It's a pity that MAD (46A: Insane) was not clued as the "Humor Magazine". It would have been a wonderful parallel to 50A: WHAT, ME WORRY. Maybe our editor changed the constructor's original clue. Who knows?
Across:
19A: Get-up: TOGS. Why is TOGS always in plural form? I am very confused by these clothing words: get-up, attire, apparel, dress, outfit, duds and clothes. I can never tell which one is plural and which is singular.
21A: "The Lord of Rings" baddie: ORC. Are you a Tolkien fan?
33A: Delhi attire: SARIS. Three ways to wear a SARI. The spelling of "Delhi" is very baffling to me, so is Gandhi and Lhasa, very whimsical silent "h" position.
44A: "Easy ___": RIDER. I enjoyed this clip last week.
45A: Irish Republic: EIRE
55A: Ipanema locale: RIO. Very interesting "The Girl from Ipanema"clip. Who is your favorite Bond girl?
57A: Rhine tributary: AAR. Or AARE, the Swiss river.
66A: Mark ___ -Baker: LINN. No idea. Obtained his name from the down clues.
69A: Sundance's girlfriend: ETTA. Great movie. I like Robert Redford. He is "The Natural" and he always lives what he has dreamed.
Down:
4D: Charlie Brown's exclamation: RATS. I have this bobblehead.
7D: Swivel: PIVOT
11D: New Zealand Polynesian: MAORI. Only learned this morning that the word MAORI means "ordinary people" in the native language.
12D: Potter's clay: ARGIL. No idea. Dictionary says it's mostly "a white clay used by potters". ARG(os) is a Latin prefix meaning "white". "ARG" means "angry" in Swedish/Norwegian languages, very interesting.
23D: Islamic ruling: FATWA
24D: Hi, on HI: ALOHA. "on HI"? Not "in HI"?
25D: Twilled silk fabric: SURAH. Or SURAT. New word to me. I found out that SURAH is also an alternative spelling of SURA (the Koran chapter). Odd!
28D: Major in astronomy?: URSA. I like this clue.
34D: French soul: AME. Anima/Animus in Latin.
37D: Wispy clouds: CIRRI. Singualr is CIRRUS (Latin for "a lock, curl, tendril"). Saw this clue somewhere before.
41D: Retreat: HIDEAWAY. Indeed, a beautiful place for a HIDEAWAY.
42D: Do-over service: LET. The tennis call.
46D: Sicilian spouter: MT ETNA. Ha, this one had me confused for quite sometime. Shouldn't the clue has some hint to indicate an abbreviated MT?
48D: Bellicose deity: ARES. Mars for the Romans.
50D: Marine mammal: WHALE. Thar she blows!
51D: Daily routine: HABIT. "...You could have a big dipper. Going up and down, all around the bends...I've kicked the HABIT....I've been feeding the rhythm. It's what we're doing, doing, all day and night". For Melissa.
53D: Large mackerel: WAHOO. Also called Peto. New to me. Pretty big.
54D: Borneo ape, briefly: ORANG. What are you thinking?
62D: Crumpet complement: TEA. I have not eaten CRUMPETS for ages.
65D: Kind of lettuce: COS. Romaine lettuce. My favorite.
C.C.
