Theme: Space Music (All Song Titles)
17A: Wernher von Braun?: ROCKET MAN
21A: Cageless canary? FREE BIRD
37A: Pilot's request?: COME FLY WITH ME
56A: Elevens, not ones, in blackjack?: ACES HIGH
61A: British flyer?: AEROPLANE
Wow, Michael T. Williams sure loves space science. Remember his Celestial Cinema (Sciene Fiction Films) puzzle?
I am not familiar with any of above songs. In fact, I was thinking of "HOME SWEET HOME" for 37D, so many similar letters with COME FLY WITH ME.
Several obscure clues/answers for me. Had to google. I did love seeing ETS (43A: UFO pilots) in the grid, so fitting to the theme. And I thought "Cockpit communication device" would be a better clue for RADIO (19A: Brit's wireless) today.
Had to admire the symmetry of TOO (2D: Also) and NOR (64D: And also not). Very well done!
But "Cut sheep" for SHEAR (54D)? I think EWE are wrong.
Across:
1A: Alone: STAG. I penned in SOLO first.
5A: Acronym before World Series: NLCS (National League Championship Series). Whom are rooting for this year, Dodgers or Phillies? Very interesting, ORIOLES (42A: Ripken's team) won the World Series in 1966 (against Dodgers), and won it again in 1983 (against Phillies).
9A: African fever: LASSA. I've never heard of this disease. It's first discovered in a town called LASSA in Nigeria. Sade was born in Nigeria.
14A: Unhinged: LOCO. Are they really interchangeable?
30A: Sacred river of India: GANGES. See this map. It flows into the Bay of Bengal.
34A: San ___, CA: ANSELMO. Here is the map. New to me. What is it famous for? What's the origin of its name?
45A: Geisha garb: KIMONO. And NOH (32D: Japanese drama). This masked NOH character doll in KIMONO costs $295. Too much.
48A: Card poets: RHYMERS. Are you OK with this clue?
59A: Letters for 1051: MLI
60A: Strong, cotton thread: LISLE. It's named after the French city Lille (formerly Lisle), where it was first made.
66A: God of Assyria: ASHUR. Also spelled as ASSUR. I wanted ALLAH, thinking "Assyria" a Muslim name. See this map. Assyria is an ancient empire in northern Mesopotamia (Iraq). So confusing: ASHUR was not only one of the capitals of Assyria, but also its highest God. I don't understand this information. Is ASHUR the "Silly Hunter" Nimrod ( Noah's great-grandson) then?
71A: Blow-gun ammo: DART. I did not know what a blow-gun is.
Down:
1D: Camera letters: SLR. What a boring clue.
3D: Coll. sports. grp.: ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference)
4D: Mini-racer: GO KART
6D: Hasty retreat: LAM. Somehow "Retreat'' brought SPA to my mind.
7D: Cause friction: CHAFE. I tend to confuse CHAFE with CHAFF.
8D: Composer of "The Nubians of Plutonia": SUN RA. Nope, I've never heard of him. What a cool name he picked for himself. RA is Egyptian God of Sun.
11D: Short section of a track: SIDING. What track?
22D: Pool spin: ENGLISH. Lois can probably provide us with her expert opinion on sidespin, topspin and backspin.
24D: Weakly colored: pref.: LEUC. Or LEUCO, LEUKO. As in "leukemia". Completely unknown to me.
26D: __ Park, NJ: MENLO. EDISON is often clued as "The Wizard of Menlo Park".
29D: Group in "The Godfather": MAFIOSI. The singular form is MAFIOSO. Their code of silence is OMERTA, which is also the title of a Mario Puzo book. I've also read his "The Last Don".
35D: Part of a wd.: SYL (Syllable)
44D: Old pol. unit: SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic)
45D: Furry marsupials: KOALAS. Time to get up! Crossword has arrived.
46D: Carve: INCISE
47D: Brandy's sitcom: MOESHA. I have never heard of MOESHA. Brandy used to date Kobe Bryant, right?
59D: City near Essen: MORS. Also spelled as MOERS. Here is the map. Absolutely no idea. Dictionary says it's "a city of west-central Germany west of Essen. Chartered in 1300, it is a market center. In Ruhr district."
C.C.
17A: Wernher von Braun?: ROCKET MAN
21A: Cageless canary? FREE BIRD
37A: Pilot's request?: COME FLY WITH ME
56A: Elevens, not ones, in blackjack?: ACES HIGH
61A: British flyer?: AEROPLANE
Wow, Michael T. Williams sure loves space science. Remember his Celestial Cinema (Sciene Fiction Films) puzzle?
I am not familiar with any of above songs. In fact, I was thinking of "HOME SWEET HOME" for 37D, so many similar letters with COME FLY WITH ME.
Several obscure clues/answers for me. Had to google. I did love seeing ETS (43A: UFO pilots) in the grid, so fitting to the theme. And I thought "Cockpit communication device" would be a better clue for RADIO (19A: Brit's wireless) today.
Had to admire the symmetry of TOO (2D: Also) and NOR (64D: And also not). Very well done!
But "Cut sheep" for SHEAR (54D)? I think EWE are wrong.
Across:
1A: Alone: STAG. I penned in SOLO first.
5A: Acronym before World Series: NLCS (National League Championship Series). Whom are rooting for this year, Dodgers or Phillies? Very interesting, ORIOLES (42A: Ripken's team) won the World Series in 1966 (against Dodgers), and won it again in 1983 (against Phillies).
9A: African fever: LASSA. I've never heard of this disease. It's first discovered in a town called LASSA in Nigeria. Sade was born in Nigeria.
14A: Unhinged: LOCO. Are they really interchangeable?
30A: Sacred river of India: GANGES. See this map. It flows into the Bay of Bengal.
34A: San ___, CA: ANSELMO. Here is the map. New to me. What is it famous for? What's the origin of its name?
45A: Geisha garb: KIMONO. And NOH (32D: Japanese drama). This masked NOH character doll in KIMONO costs $295. Too much.
48A: Card poets: RHYMERS. Are you OK with this clue?
59A: Letters for 1051: MLI
60A: Strong, cotton thread: LISLE. It's named after the French city Lille (formerly Lisle), where it was first made.
66A: God of Assyria: ASHUR. Also spelled as ASSUR. I wanted ALLAH, thinking "Assyria" a Muslim name. See this map. Assyria is an ancient empire in northern Mesopotamia (Iraq). So confusing: ASHUR was not only one of the capitals of Assyria, but also its highest God. I don't understand this information. Is ASHUR the "Silly Hunter" Nimrod ( Noah's great-grandson) then?
71A: Blow-gun ammo: DART. I did not know what a blow-gun is.
Down:
1D: Camera letters: SLR. What a boring clue.
3D: Coll. sports. grp.: ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference)
4D: Mini-racer: GO KART
6D: Hasty retreat: LAM. Somehow "Retreat'' brought SPA to my mind.
7D: Cause friction: CHAFE. I tend to confuse CHAFE with CHAFF.
8D: Composer of "The Nubians of Plutonia": SUN RA. Nope, I've never heard of him. What a cool name he picked for himself. RA is Egyptian God of Sun.
11D: Short section of a track: SIDING. What track?
22D: Pool spin: ENGLISH. Lois can probably provide us with her expert opinion on sidespin, topspin and backspin.
24D: Weakly colored: pref.: LEUC. Or LEUCO, LEUKO. As in "leukemia". Completely unknown to me.
26D: __ Park, NJ: MENLO. EDISON is often clued as "The Wizard of Menlo Park".
29D: Group in "The Godfather": MAFIOSI. The singular form is MAFIOSO. Their code of silence is OMERTA, which is also the title of a Mario Puzo book. I've also read his "The Last Don".
35D: Part of a wd.: SYL (Syllable)
44D: Old pol. unit: SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic)
45D: Furry marsupials: KOALAS. Time to get up! Crossword has arrived.
46D: Carve: INCISE
47D: Brandy's sitcom: MOESHA. I have never heard of MOESHA. Brandy used to date Kobe Bryant, right?
59D: City near Essen: MORS. Also spelled as MOERS. Here is the map. Absolutely no idea. Dictionary says it's "a city of west-central Germany west of Essen. Chartered in 1300, it is a market center. In Ruhr district."
C.C.
