Theme: B, literally (Words/Phrase that start with letter B)
17A: B, literally: BANDLEADER
61A: B literally: BOBBLEHEAD
10D: B literally: BRITISH OPEN
25D: B literally: BATTLEFRONT
Hmmm, the farm boy Westley of "The Princess Bride" probably wants a BUTTERCUP COVER. How about BATMAN FACE? What else can you think of?
I liked this puzzle tremendously. Very creative theme idea and smooth cluing. A bit of musical instrument sub-theme:
41A: Slender reed: OBOE
47A: Luau music maker: UKE
50D: Big brass: TUBAS
I also thought of CHEERLEADER, CLUBHEAD, COLD FRONT, CANADIAN OPEN for a "C, literally" themed puzzle, with a golf-sub theme.
Across:
1A: Top points: ACMES. If it's a 5-letter blank, then it could be APICES, the plural form of APEX.
10A: Rorshach image: BLOT
20A: Pack animal: ASS. My first though was RAT.
22A: Wrestling ring duo: TAG TEAM. I learned this morning that only one match is allowed in the ring at one time. Such aggressive wrestling match types: Last Man Standing, Hard Ten Match, Strip Matches (Bra and Panties, Tuxedo), Pillow Fight, Mud Match, etc.
24A: Hitchcock thriller: THE BIRDS. Only saw the very end of the film, horrifying! I like Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief", lovely! "Rear Window" is a bit scary too.
29A: Spot for reporters: PRESS BOX
34A: Latte topping: FROTH. Holy hot wick FROTH. What caused it?
38A: Mia of soccer: HAMM. Very nice clip.
40A: Garden perennial: PEONY. Here is a beautiful PEONY for you. China does not really have a national flower. People simply can not decide whether to pick PEONY or winter plum blossom. We also have lotus for summer and chrysanthemum for autumn. So basically, China is one country, 4 flowers (for 4 seasons).
44A: Watch furtively: SPY ON
46A: Road marker: MILEPOST
49A: Potency: STRENGTH
54A: Austere: SPARTAN
65A: Kinks' title woman: LOLA. Here is the song. Not very familiar to me. LOLA is always the "Damn Yankees" girl to me.
66A: Ballet __ of Monte Carlo: RUSSE. No idea. Got it from the across fills.
69A: Thomas and Green: SETHS. Another educated guess. Have never heard either of them.
Down:
1D: No longer on deck: AT BAT. Wouldn't it be awesome if the clue for the intersecting TRADE (14A: Line of work) is "Baseall news"?
9D: Game plan: STRATEGY
12D: Southern side dish: OKRA. I always associate OKRA with Gumbo.
26D: Brussels ___: SPROUTS. Have you ever grown Brussels SPROUTS? The stems are so long.
31D: Mollycoddle: BABY. "BABY, I Love You."
33D: Wolverine' s group: X-MEN. The Marvel Comics.
34D: O'Hara's "___ the Terrace": FROM. Another unknown. Easy to infer though. Have you seen the movie?
44D: Kabob holders: SKEWERS
47D: River to the Caspian: URAL. Or URAL Mountains (Europe/Asia separator).
C.C.
17A: B, literally: BANDLEADER
61A: B literally: BOBBLEHEAD
10D: B literally: BRITISH OPEN
25D: B literally: BATTLEFRONT
Hmmm, the farm boy Westley of "The Princess Bride" probably wants a BUTTERCUP COVER. How about BATMAN FACE? What else can you think of?
I liked this puzzle tremendously. Very creative theme idea and smooth cluing. A bit of musical instrument sub-theme:
41A: Slender reed: OBOE
47A: Luau music maker: UKE
50D: Big brass: TUBAS
I also thought of CHEERLEADER, CLUBHEAD, COLD FRONT, CANADIAN OPEN for a "C, literally" themed puzzle, with a golf-sub theme.
Across:
1A: Top points: ACMES. If it's a 5-letter blank, then it could be APICES, the plural form of APEX.
10A: Rorshach image: BLOT
20A: Pack animal: ASS. My first though was RAT.
22A: Wrestling ring duo: TAG TEAM. I learned this morning that only one match is allowed in the ring at one time. Such aggressive wrestling match types: Last Man Standing, Hard Ten Match, Strip Matches (Bra and Panties, Tuxedo), Pillow Fight, Mud Match, etc.
24A: Hitchcock thriller: THE BIRDS. Only saw the very end of the film, horrifying! I like Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief", lovely! "Rear Window" is a bit scary too.
29A: Spot for reporters: PRESS BOX
34A: Latte topping: FROTH. Holy hot wick FROTH. What caused it?
38A: Mia of soccer: HAMM. Very nice clip.
40A: Garden perennial: PEONY. Here is a beautiful PEONY for you. China does not really have a national flower. People simply can not decide whether to pick PEONY or winter plum blossom. We also have lotus for summer and chrysanthemum for autumn. So basically, China is one country, 4 flowers (for 4 seasons).
44A: Watch furtively: SPY ON
46A: Road marker: MILEPOST
49A: Potency: STRENGTH
54A: Austere: SPARTAN
65A: Kinks' title woman: LOLA. Here is the song. Not very familiar to me. LOLA is always the "Damn Yankees" girl to me.
66A: Ballet __ of Monte Carlo: RUSSE. No idea. Got it from the across fills.
69A: Thomas and Green: SETHS. Another educated guess. Have never heard either of them.
Down:
1D: No longer on deck: AT BAT. Wouldn't it be awesome if the clue for the intersecting TRADE (14A: Line of work) is "Baseall news"?
9D: Game plan: STRATEGY
12D: Southern side dish: OKRA. I always associate OKRA with Gumbo.
26D: Brussels ___: SPROUTS. Have you ever grown Brussels SPROUTS? The stems are so long.
31D: Mollycoddle: BABY. "BABY, I Love You."
33D: Wolverine' s group: X-MEN. The Marvel Comics.
34D: O'Hara's "___ the Terrace": FROM. Another unknown. Easy to infer though. Have you seen the movie?
44D: Kabob holders: SKEWERS
47D: River to the Caspian: URAL. Or URAL Mountains (Europe/Asia separator).
C.C.
