Theme: Mined Over Matter
17A: Old-time typescript duplicate: CARBON COPY
61A: Determined: IRON- WILLED
10D: Inherited wealth: SILVER SPOON
24D: Trophy wives, perhaps: GOLD DIGGERS
I am not fond of 61A, it's an adjective, all the other 3 are nouns. I thought of IRON CURTAIN & IRON HORSE, but neither fits the blank need. Maybe you can come up with a 10-letter IRON* noun phrase.
I would be very pleased if there were 5 theme answers, with IRON CHEF AMERICA (15-letter) placed in Row #8 running through the whole grid.
Very smooth puzzle. Nice and easy. I had no problem obtaining OSCAR (37A: Lyricist Hammerstein) and LEVI (58D: Italian writer Primo), though I knew neither of them. I liked this new cluing approach. Felt refreshing.
Disliked the clue for OLIVIER (22A: "Hamlet" Oscar winner) because OSCAR is an answer. I think "Fabled city of treasure" should be OK for EL DORADO (26A: Fabled city of gold) as GOLD is part of the answer for 24D.
Across:
6A: Ltr. carriers: ENVS. And ENCS (6D: Ltr. extras)
10A: Ocean extract: SALT. Don't forget SALT is also an acronym for "Strategic arms limitation talks".
19A: "Sweater Girl" Turner: LANA. She is stunning. What's that background music? Sounds so familiar.
20A: 6-points: TDS. And KOS (21A: WBA stats)
41A: Southern cornbread: PONE. Does it look like this? I've never seen PONE in person. Dictionary says it's also called johnnycake.
45A: Killer whale: ORCA. The spelling of ORCA is so close to OCA, often clued as "Andean tuber". They are longer and thicker than Hawaiian TAROS.
46A: Yearn for: DESIRE. I DESIRE U2. ".... Burning, Burning..."
48A: Thought out: REASONED. And PONDERS (15D: Mulls over).
52A: Put on: DON. And CLAD (2D: Dressed in)
50A: Lytton Strachey's first name: GILES. No idea. I got his name from across fills. Are you familiar with "The Letters of Lyatton Strachey"?
64A: Cordelia's father: LEAR. The two bad daughters are Regan and Goneril.
68A: Vogue competitor: ELLE. Or "Model MacPherson".
Down:
5D: Dracula's creator: STOKER (Bram). See this book cover.
9D: Engraving tool: STYLUS. I am not familiar with STYLUS engraver.
13D: Symbol of sadness: TEAR. Very sad "TEARS in Heaven".
32D: John ___ Gardner: NANCE. No idea. Wikipedia says he was FDR's veep from 1933 to 1941, and he was the longest-living vice-president in US history (almost 99 years old). President Ford was the oldest former president, followed by Reagan, both over 93 years old.
47D: Plaza Hotel girl of comics: ELOISE. I vaguely recalled this name, but I could not remember what was the story behind this ELOISE.
49D: Some pool balls: SOLIDS. Lois probably will give us more explanation on SOLIDS. She is an expert on balls: bowling balls, pool balls, golf balls, etc, etc, etc.
55D: Enjoy some haikus, e.g. : READ. I thought it would be a good idea to clue READ as "Enjoyed some haikus, e.g." Past tense could be very cleverly misleading.
57D: Actress Nazimova: ALLA. No idea. This is a rather unique shot of her in the silent film "Camille". Wikipedia says Rudolph Valentino starred in the movie too.
59D: First place?: EDEN. Good clue. EDEN is Hebrew for "pleasure".
C.C.
17A: Old-time typescript duplicate: CARBON COPY
61A: Determined: IRON- WILLED
10D: Inherited wealth: SILVER SPOON
24D: Trophy wives, perhaps: GOLD DIGGERS
I am not fond of 61A, it's an adjective, all the other 3 are nouns. I thought of IRON CURTAIN & IRON HORSE, but neither fits the blank need. Maybe you can come up with a 10-letter IRON* noun phrase.
I would be very pleased if there were 5 theme answers, with IRON CHEF AMERICA (15-letter) placed in Row #8 running through the whole grid.
Very smooth puzzle. Nice and easy. I had no problem obtaining OSCAR (37A: Lyricist Hammerstein) and LEVI (58D: Italian writer Primo), though I knew neither of them. I liked this new cluing approach. Felt refreshing.
Disliked the clue for OLIVIER (22A: "Hamlet" Oscar winner) because OSCAR is an answer. I think "Fabled city of treasure" should be OK for EL DORADO (26A: Fabled city of gold) as GOLD is part of the answer for 24D.
Across:
6A: Ltr. carriers: ENVS. And ENCS (6D: Ltr. extras)
10A: Ocean extract: SALT. Don't forget SALT is also an acronym for "Strategic arms limitation talks".
19A: "Sweater Girl" Turner: LANA. She is stunning. What's that background music? Sounds so familiar.
20A: 6-points: TDS. And KOS (21A: WBA stats)
41A: Southern cornbread: PONE. Does it look like this? I've never seen PONE in person. Dictionary says it's also called johnnycake.
45A: Killer whale: ORCA. The spelling of ORCA is so close to OCA, often clued as "Andean tuber". They are longer and thicker than Hawaiian TAROS.
46A: Yearn for: DESIRE. I DESIRE U2. ".... Burning, Burning..."
48A: Thought out: REASONED. And PONDERS (15D: Mulls over).
52A: Put on: DON. And CLAD (2D: Dressed in)
50A: Lytton Strachey's first name: GILES. No idea. I got his name from across fills. Are you familiar with "The Letters of Lyatton Strachey"?
64A: Cordelia's father: LEAR. The two bad daughters are Regan and Goneril.
68A: Vogue competitor: ELLE. Or "Model MacPherson".
Down:
5D: Dracula's creator: STOKER (Bram). See this book cover.
9D: Engraving tool: STYLUS. I am not familiar with STYLUS engraver.
13D: Symbol of sadness: TEAR. Very sad "TEARS in Heaven".
32D: John ___ Gardner: NANCE. No idea. Wikipedia says he was FDR's veep from 1933 to 1941, and he was the longest-living vice-president in US history (almost 99 years old). President Ford was the oldest former president, followed by Reagan, both over 93 years old.
47D: Plaza Hotel girl of comics: ELOISE. I vaguely recalled this name, but I could not remember what was the story behind this ELOISE.
49D: Some pool balls: SOLIDS. Lois probably will give us more explanation on SOLIDS. She is an expert on balls: bowling balls, pool balls, golf balls, etc, etc, etc.
55D: Enjoy some haikus, e.g. : READ. I thought it would be a good idea to clue READ as "Enjoyed some haikus, e.g." Past tense could be very cleverly misleading.
57D: Actress Nazimova: ALLA. No idea. This is a rather unique shot of her in the silent film "Camille". Wikipedia says Rudolph Valentino starred in the movie too.
59D: First place?: EDEN. Good clue. EDEN is Hebrew for "pleasure".
C.C.
