Theme: CLASS (36A: Word after 20A, 25A, 42A and 48A in flight)
20A: Largest sector of the gross domestic product: SERVICE ECONOMY
25A: Trickery: MONKEY BUSINESS
42A: Constitution Day in Slovakia: SEPTEMBER FIRST
48A: Fred Shero or Scotty Bowman, e.g.: ICE HOCKEY COACH
Not a good puzzle from Barry Silk today. Lots to dislike:
1) The largest sector of the GDP is SERVICE INDUSTRY, not SERVICE ECONOMY, which is a different economic term.
2) The word "briefly" should have been added to the clue for SLOT (63A: One-armed bandit). It's SLOT machine.
3) I hate the clue for 44D: Kind of monkey (RHESUS) because of the 25A: MONKEY BUSINESS. I found out this morning that there is a King RHESUS of Thrase during the Trojan War, and some complicated RHESUS factors. Both of them might be labeled as too obscure I suppose.
4) The clue for 36A CLASS is a total spoiler. Why not clue it simply as "Elegance"? It completely strips away the fun of ferreting out the theme title by myself. A precious "Wow" moment is regrettably lost. I do like how CLASS anchors the grid though.
5) The clue for 48A is perfectly fine, but I would prefer to have 3 instead of 4 theme answer entries. Airlines normally only have 3 travel classes: ECONOMY (COACH), BUSINESS & FIRST. Oh by the way, I've never heard of Fred Shero or Scotty Bowman before, not a hockey fan. Is Scotty Bowman somehow related to the Bowman card?
Are you ready? Allons-y!
ACROSS:
1A: British puzzle centre?: ZEDS. Great clue. I like how "centre" is spelled. (Update: ZED is the British pronunciation of ZEE, and there are 2 Z's in the word "puzzle", hence ZEDS).
9A: Georgia city: MACON. The "Heart of Georgia". Unknown to me. What? "Cherry Blossom Capital of the World"? That's a bold statement, isn't it? Love this SAKURA sidewalk.
16A: Kukla's pal: OLLIE. Kukla, Fran and OLLIE. Only learned this last Tuesday.
19A: Florida city: OCALA. Yawner. Same old, same old.
32A: Zestful: TANGY. Do you know that OCA can taste TANGY and sweet?
34A: Year Caligula died: XLI: Not familiar with this Roman ruthless emperor. Only knew Colts won Super Bowl XLI. Tony Dungy is very respected and loved here in MN. He played for the Gophers in the '70s.
38A: Pugilist Max: BAER. Quite a few AE/EA combination in today's grid. See 17A: PLEA, 13D: NEA, 27D: BEALE, and 49D: Normandy city: CAEN.
56A: Seine feeder: OISE. This is Daubigny's "Boats on the OISE".
57A: 20th cen. conflict: WWII
58A: Stop counting sheep?: SLEEP. And 30D: Snoozed: SLEPT. Lots of Z's to catch!
61A: Chrissie of the Pretenders: HYNDE. Completely foreign to me. Got it from down clues.
DOWN:
4D: Forage for scraps: SCAVENGE
5D: Mrs. George Burns: GRACIE. Can you believe this is a gimme for me? "Say goodnight, GRACIE".
7D: Der ___(Adenauer): ALTE. Der ALTE is German for "the old man". Wikipedia says Konrad Adenauer was "the oldest chancellor ever to serve German, leaving at the age of eighty-seven." Wait, let me see how old Mubarak is...80. I am sure there will be some grumbling for a new investigation on who on earth killed Sadat after Mubarak dies.
8D: Type of pear: BOSC. Have you tried NASHI pear? It's the sweetest.
9D: marshmallow-filled snack: MOON PIE. New to me. I don't think I will like it, not fond of marshmallow at all. I love MOON cake.
10D: Mississippi's ___ State University: ALCORN. Is it famous? I've never heard of it. Wikipedia says Alex Haley graduated from this university.
11D: Chowder chunk: CLAM. Have some, New England style.
12D: Unctuous: OILY And 48D: In a bad way: ILLY. Well, were 48D LEAN, I might have appreciated the symmetry here. But ILLY, ugh, I dislike it.
21D: Pitch black: INKY
22D: Desert springs: OASES. Just for you, Melissa Bee. These sweet dates are perfect for a single girl like you, aren't they?
25D: Pine Tree State: MAINE
26D: Beer list category: ON TAP
27D: Street in a W.C. Handy title: BEALE. "BEALE Street Blues". Unknown to me. Easily gettable though.
28D: Boom times: UPS
38D: Hooters: BARN OWLS. Look at three BARN OWLS.
40D: Pennsylvania town on the Delaware: NEW HOPE
41D: Conic sect: CIRC (Circle)
45D: Vestibules: FOYERS. Here is Degas' "Le FOYER de la Danse" at Musée d'Orsay.
50D: Amount paid: COST. "All that matters is that you treat me right, give me all the things I need...", from J. Lo's My Love Don't COST a Thing. Enjoy!
C.C.
20A: Largest sector of the gross domestic product: SERVICE ECONOMY
25A: Trickery: MONKEY BUSINESS
42A: Constitution Day in Slovakia: SEPTEMBER FIRST
48A: Fred Shero or Scotty Bowman, e.g.: ICE HOCKEY COACH
Not a good puzzle from Barry Silk today. Lots to dislike:
1) The largest sector of the GDP is SERVICE INDUSTRY, not SERVICE ECONOMY, which is a different economic term.
2) The word "briefly" should have been added to the clue for SLOT (63A: One-armed bandit). It's SLOT machine.
3) I hate the clue for 44D: Kind of monkey (RHESUS) because of the 25A: MONKEY BUSINESS. I found out this morning that there is a King RHESUS of Thrase during the Trojan War, and some complicated RHESUS factors. Both of them might be labeled as too obscure I suppose.
4) The clue for 36A CLASS is a total spoiler. Why not clue it simply as "Elegance"? It completely strips away the fun of ferreting out the theme title by myself. A precious "Wow" moment is regrettably lost. I do like how CLASS anchors the grid though.
5) The clue for 48A is perfectly fine, but I would prefer to have 3 instead of 4 theme answer entries. Airlines normally only have 3 travel classes: ECONOMY (COACH), BUSINESS & FIRST. Oh by the way, I've never heard of Fred Shero or Scotty Bowman before, not a hockey fan. Is Scotty Bowman somehow related to the Bowman card?
Are you ready? Allons-y!
ACROSS:
1A: British puzzle centre?: ZEDS. Great clue. I like how "centre" is spelled. (Update: ZED is the British pronunciation of ZEE, and there are 2 Z's in the word "puzzle", hence ZEDS).
9A: Georgia city: MACON. The "Heart of Georgia". Unknown to me. What? "Cherry Blossom Capital of the World"? That's a bold statement, isn't it? Love this SAKURA sidewalk.
16A: Kukla's pal: OLLIE. Kukla, Fran and OLLIE. Only learned this last Tuesday.
19A: Florida city: OCALA. Yawner. Same old, same old.
32A: Zestful: TANGY. Do you know that OCA can taste TANGY and sweet?
34A: Year Caligula died: XLI: Not familiar with this Roman ruthless emperor. Only knew Colts won Super Bowl XLI. Tony Dungy is very respected and loved here in MN. He played for the Gophers in the '70s.
38A: Pugilist Max: BAER. Quite a few AE/EA combination in today's grid. See 17A: PLEA, 13D: NEA, 27D: BEALE, and 49D: Normandy city: CAEN.
56A: Seine feeder: OISE. This is Daubigny's "Boats on the OISE".
57A: 20th cen. conflict: WWII
58A: Stop counting sheep?: SLEEP. And 30D: Snoozed: SLEPT. Lots of Z's to catch!
61A: Chrissie of the Pretenders: HYNDE. Completely foreign to me. Got it from down clues.
DOWN:
4D: Forage for scraps: SCAVENGE
5D: Mrs. George Burns: GRACIE. Can you believe this is a gimme for me? "Say goodnight, GRACIE".
7D: Der ___(Adenauer): ALTE. Der ALTE is German for "the old man". Wikipedia says Konrad Adenauer was "the oldest chancellor ever to serve German, leaving at the age of eighty-seven." Wait, let me see how old Mubarak is...80. I am sure there will be some grumbling for a new investigation on who on earth killed Sadat after Mubarak dies.
8D: Type of pear: BOSC. Have you tried NASHI pear? It's the sweetest.
9D: marshmallow-filled snack: MOON PIE. New to me. I don't think I will like it, not fond of marshmallow at all. I love MOON cake.
10D: Mississippi's ___ State University: ALCORN. Is it famous? I've never heard of it. Wikipedia says Alex Haley graduated from this university.
11D: Chowder chunk: CLAM. Have some, New England style.
12D: Unctuous: OILY And 48D: In a bad way: ILLY. Well, were 48D LEAN, I might have appreciated the symmetry here. But ILLY, ugh, I dislike it.
21D: Pitch black: INKY
22D: Desert springs: OASES. Just for you, Melissa Bee. These sweet dates are perfect for a single girl like you, aren't they?
25D: Pine Tree State: MAINE
26D: Beer list category: ON TAP
27D: Street in a W.C. Handy title: BEALE. "BEALE Street Blues". Unknown to me. Easily gettable though.
28D: Boom times: UPS
38D: Hooters: BARN OWLS. Look at three BARN OWLS.
40D: Pennsylvania town on the Delaware: NEW HOPE
41D: Conic sect: CIRC (Circle)
45D: Vestibules: FOYERS. Here is Degas' "Le FOYER de la Danse" at Musée d'Orsay.
50D: Amount paid: COST. "All that matters is that you treat me right, give me all the things I need...", from J. Lo's My Love Don't COST a Thing. Enjoy!
C.C.
