Theme: AMOR (40A: ___ vincit omnia) (AMOR = LOVE (Tennis 0) = O)
17A: Mediocre distress signal: SO SO SOS
38A: Santa's startled greeting?: OHO HO HO HO
63A: "Rosanna" band's kid: TOTO TOT
10D: Yoko's prohibition: ONO NO NO
42D: Hugs and kisses: OXOXOXO
What an "O"dyssey for me this morning! Felt so stifled and out of breath by those exceeding amount of 3-letter words (24). The extra oxygen (O) did not help much at all.
ARO Rio? Who has heard of it? GYPSUM? No, I did not even understand the clue (34A: Selenite, e.g.). I've seen LASORDA's mug so many times, still could not nail him. Definitely needed "Tommy" in the clue to bring back his name. I do like the baseball references in the puzzle:
49A: Robin of baseball: YOUNT. Another HOFer. Here is his Topps Rookie Card. PSA 8? Looks like a 6 to me.
28A: MLB banned substance: HGH (human growth hormone)
7D: Reds or Rays: TEAM
25D: Noted Dodgers skipper: LASORDA. Remember this scene?
I am also very happy with the answer for 27A: Cork Populace: IRISH. It's so fitting with the O's, since so many Irish people have O in their name: O'Brien, O'Connor, O'Malley, etc. IRA ( 13A: Writer Levin) could be reworded as "Belfast grp" to bring more Irish flavor to the puzzle in my "O"pinion.
By the way, I am a type O, how about you?
ACROSS:
1A: Lively energy: VIM. My instinctive response was PEP.
7A: Hyson or Pekoe: TEA. I've never heard of Hyson TEA. I don't think I want to drink any TEA after so many cups of O (eau) this morning.
10A: Seller's $ equivocation: OBO (Or Best Offer)
19A: Take flight: ABSCOND
22A: Skin pigment: MELANIN. MELAN/MELANO is a prefix meaning "black". "IN" is a noun forming suffix in chemical term. MELANO is clued as "Very dark" on an earlier puzzle.
23A: Anderson of "WKRP": LONI. Learned her name from doing Xword. Not familiar with the TV show.
29A: Venezuelan river: ARO. I've never heard of RIO ARO. ORINOCO was clued "River of Venezuela" on a Feb TMS puzzle.
33A: NRC, once: AEC (Atomic Energy Commission)
34A: Selenite: GYPSUM. So abstract mineralogical terms. GYPSUM is explained as "a widespread colorless, white, or yellowish mineral used in the manufacture of plaster of Paris, various plaster products, and fertilizers." Selenite is "a variety of GYPSUM, found in transparent crystals and foliated masses."
40A: ___ vincit omnia: AMOR. Great intersection with OXOXOXO. Here is Caravaggio's "AMOR Vincit Omnia".
43A: Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary: YARROW. Love their songs. Speaking of Peter, O'Toole (Irish) has got three O's in his name.
48A: California fort: ORD. It escaped my brain. SEA SIDE was clued as "City near Fort Ord" on an April puzzle.
57A: Lack of strictness: LAXNESS. I dislike this monster's loch "NESS" appearing in both the clue and the answer. Ugly.
60A: Induct formally into office: INSTALL
62A: Artificial caves: GROTTOS. Here is a sculpture set in a GROTTO.
64A: Provence city: AIX. Cézanne's "The Card Players" looks stunning in person. He was born in AIX-en-Provence.
DOWN:
1D: City southeast of Fresco: VISALIA. Unfamiliar to me. What is it famous for?
2D: Mesabi Range output: IRON ORE
3D: Of a certain fraternal order: MASONIC
4D: Bind with cord: LASH. Why "Bind with cord"? I thought LASH was just a whip.
6D: Port of Iraq: BASRA. Oil, oil, oil!
8D: Dresden's river: ELBE. An educated guess. I am not familiar with this city Dresden.
11D: Skipjacks: BONITOS. I love miso soup, which has BONITOS as its base. I had no idea that BONITOS are all called "Skipjacks".
30D: German river: RUHR
31D: Melvielle's "Typee" sequel: OMOO
35D: Cellist Ma: YO-YO. This is a wonderful YO-YO Ma interview clip. Both IKE and JFK looked so enchanted and delighted.
36D: Rx place: PHAR (Pharmacy)
40D: Combination: AMALGAM
41D: Blackwater fever: MALARIA
44D: Mexican peninsula: YUCATÁN. Has anyone visited this Chichen Itza Mayan ruins?
45D: Completely surround: ENCLOSE. "Cocoon" would be a more O-y clue.
46D: Awkwardly written: STILTED. New word to me.
61D: Editorial directive: STET
"O Canada..." Happy birthday!
C.C.
17A: Mediocre distress signal: SO SO SOS
38A: Santa's startled greeting?: OHO HO HO HO
63A: "Rosanna" band's kid: TOTO TOT
10D: Yoko's prohibition: ONO NO NO
42D: Hugs and kisses: OXOXOXO
What an "O"dyssey for me this morning! Felt so stifled and out of breath by those exceeding amount of 3-letter words (24). The extra oxygen (O) did not help much at all.
ARO Rio? Who has heard of it? GYPSUM? No, I did not even understand the clue (34A: Selenite, e.g.). I've seen LASORDA's mug so many times, still could not nail him. Definitely needed "Tommy" in the clue to bring back his name. I do like the baseball references in the puzzle:
49A: Robin of baseball: YOUNT. Another HOFer. Here is his Topps Rookie Card. PSA 8? Looks like a 6 to me.
28A: MLB banned substance: HGH (human growth hormone)
7D: Reds or Rays: TEAM
25D: Noted Dodgers skipper: LASORDA. Remember this scene?
I am also very happy with the answer for 27A: Cork Populace: IRISH. It's so fitting with the O's, since so many Irish people have O in their name: O'Brien, O'Connor, O'Malley, etc. IRA ( 13A: Writer Levin) could be reworded as "Belfast grp" to bring more Irish flavor to the puzzle in my "O"pinion.
By the way, I am a type O, how about you?
ACROSS:
1A: Lively energy: VIM. My instinctive response was PEP.
7A: Hyson or Pekoe: TEA. I've never heard of Hyson TEA. I don't think I want to drink any TEA after so many cups of O (eau) this morning.
10A: Seller's $ equivocation: OBO (Or Best Offer)
19A: Take flight: ABSCOND
22A: Skin pigment: MELANIN. MELAN/MELANO is a prefix meaning "black". "IN" is a noun forming suffix in chemical term. MELANO is clued as "Very dark" on an earlier puzzle.
23A: Anderson of "WKRP": LONI. Learned her name from doing Xword. Not familiar with the TV show.
29A: Venezuelan river: ARO. I've never heard of RIO ARO. ORINOCO was clued "River of Venezuela" on a Feb TMS puzzle.
33A: NRC, once: AEC (Atomic Energy Commission)
34A: Selenite: GYPSUM. So abstract mineralogical terms. GYPSUM is explained as "a widespread colorless, white, or yellowish mineral used in the manufacture of plaster of Paris, various plaster products, and fertilizers." Selenite is "a variety of GYPSUM, found in transparent crystals and foliated masses."
40A: ___ vincit omnia: AMOR. Great intersection with OXOXOXO. Here is Caravaggio's "AMOR Vincit Omnia".
43A: Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary: YARROW. Love their songs. Speaking of Peter, O'Toole (Irish) has got three O's in his name.
48A: California fort: ORD. It escaped my brain. SEA SIDE was clued as "City near Fort Ord" on an April puzzle.
57A: Lack of strictness: LAXNESS. I dislike this monster's loch "NESS" appearing in both the clue and the answer. Ugly.
60A: Induct formally into office: INSTALL
62A: Artificial caves: GROTTOS. Here is a sculpture set in a GROTTO.
64A: Provence city: AIX. Cézanne's "The Card Players" looks stunning in person. He was born in AIX-en-Provence.
DOWN:
1D: City southeast of Fresco: VISALIA. Unfamiliar to me. What is it famous for?
2D: Mesabi Range output: IRON ORE
3D: Of a certain fraternal order: MASONIC
4D: Bind with cord: LASH. Why "Bind with cord"? I thought LASH was just a whip.
6D: Port of Iraq: BASRA. Oil, oil, oil!
8D: Dresden's river: ELBE. An educated guess. I am not familiar with this city Dresden.
11D: Skipjacks: BONITOS. I love miso soup, which has BONITOS as its base. I had no idea that BONITOS are all called "Skipjacks".
30D: German river: RUHR
31D: Melvielle's "Typee" sequel: OMOO
35D: Cellist Ma: YO-YO. This is a wonderful YO-YO Ma interview clip. Both IKE and JFK looked so enchanted and delighted.
36D: Rx place: PHAR (Pharmacy)
40D: Combination: AMALGAM
41D: Blackwater fever: MALARIA
44D: Mexican peninsula: YUCATÁN. Has anyone visited this Chichen Itza Mayan ruins?
45D: Completely surround: ENCLOSE. "Cocoon" would be a more O-y clue.
46D: Awkwardly written: STILTED. New word to me.
61D: Editorial directive: STET
"O Canada..." Happy birthday!
C.C.
