Theme: J & J
18A: Denim item: JEANS JACKET
61A: Party punch: JUNGLE JUICE
3D: Jumpin' hot spot: JUKE JOINT
34D: Portly planes?: JUMBO JET
And more J words to intersect the above theme entries:
1A: M. Houlihan's rank: MAJ. "M*A*S*H".
24A: Horizontal beams: JOISTS
34A: Lively dance: JIG
58A: H-M connection: IJKL
4D: __ Mahal: TAJ
19D: King's comic: JESTER. I don't understand the clue and the answer.
49D: Prized trinket: BIJOU. New word to me.
57D: Member of the "Love Train" soul group: O'JAY. Unknown to me also. Here is "Love Train".
So many famous JJ names: Janis Joplin, Joan Jett and Jesse Jackson. Oh, don't forget Shoeless Joe (Joe Jackson). He deserves to be in HOF. If you build it, he will come.
I hope you enjoyed solving this puzzle as much as I did. It's a great construction. There are quite a few unfamiliar names, but most of them are inferable from crossing fills. I still had to resort to Google though.
The clue for SERER (47A: Senegalese language) made me laugh. How obscure! Barry must be very excited to find this language. Otherwise, he would have to clue it as "more dry", which might irk some solvers.
Across:
4A: Puccini opera: TOSCA. Does anyone know the meaning of "TOSCA la ha" (Emperor Gene Nelson sign-off line)?
15A: Turkish bigwigs: AGHAS. PASHAS are also "Turkish bigwigs".
17A: Shatner novel: "__ War": TEK. Got it this time.
20A: Skater's jump: AXEL. Can you believe the first AXEL jump was performed in 1882?
26A: Lymphoid organ: SPLEEN
28A: Geological period: AZOIC. No idea. Dictionary defines it as "noting or pertaining to the Precambrian Era, esp. that part formerly believed to precede the first appearance of life". Rooted in Greek ázō(os) meaning "lifeless".
33A: Insertion symbol: CARET
52A: San Luis __: OBISPO. Here is the map. I've never heard of it before. Wikipedia says Loren Roberts was born and raised there. He has such an enviable putting stroke, so smooth and unhurried. OBISPO is Spanish for "Bishop".
55A: Japanese sci-fi film: RODAN. See the movie trailer. So horrifying.
69A: Like some questions: YES-NO
Down:
2D: NYSE rival: AMEX. NASDAQ is very scrabbly too.
5D: S-shaped moldings: OGEES. Can anyone explain to me what exactly is OGEE? I cannot see any S-shape in this OGEE clock frame.
7D: Game with four jokers: CANASTA. Did you know that CANASTA originally came from Uruguay?
12D: "Guys and Dolls" song: SUE ME. I got it from the across clue. See the clip.
13D: Mythical giant: TITAN. ATLAS is a TITAN.
21D: Lane in Metropolis: LOIS. I like this clue. Much more interesting than "Superman's girlfriend Lane".
25D: Like navigable northern waterways: ICE-FREE
28D: Actress Baxter: ANNE. I guessed. Wikipedia says she won Oscar for best supporting role in "The Razor's Edge", which stars GENE Tiernery also (see 36D: Tierney of films).
33D: G. P. A. slangily: CUME (Cumulative). New slang to me. I wish I had attended some kind of school here in the US.
39D: "No Exit" playwright: SARTRE. I think his "Being and Nothingness" & "Nausea" are more famous. Speaking of existentialism, do you like Milan Kundera's "The Unbreable Lightness of Being"?
46D: Arizona tribe: HOPI. Does anyone collect HOPI Kachina dolls?
63D: Paul Anka's "__ Beso": His voice sounds so warm.
C.C.
18A: Denim item: JEANS JACKET
61A: Party punch: JUNGLE JUICE
3D: Jumpin' hot spot: JUKE JOINT
34D: Portly planes?: JUMBO JET
And more J words to intersect the above theme entries:
1A: M. Houlihan's rank: MAJ. "M*A*S*H".
24A: Horizontal beams: JOISTS
34A: Lively dance: JIG
58A: H-M connection: IJKL
4D: __ Mahal: TAJ
19D: King's comic: JESTER. I don't understand the clue and the answer.
49D: Prized trinket: BIJOU. New word to me.
57D: Member of the "Love Train" soul group: O'JAY. Unknown to me also. Here is "Love Train".
So many famous JJ names: Janis Joplin, Joan Jett and Jesse Jackson. Oh, don't forget Shoeless Joe (Joe Jackson). He deserves to be in HOF. If you build it, he will come.
I hope you enjoyed solving this puzzle as much as I did. It's a great construction. There are quite a few unfamiliar names, but most of them are inferable from crossing fills. I still had to resort to Google though.
The clue for SERER (47A: Senegalese language) made me laugh. How obscure! Barry must be very excited to find this language. Otherwise, he would have to clue it as "more dry", which might irk some solvers.
Across:
4A: Puccini opera: TOSCA. Does anyone know the meaning of "TOSCA la ha" (Emperor Gene Nelson sign-off line)?
15A: Turkish bigwigs: AGHAS. PASHAS are also "Turkish bigwigs".
17A: Shatner novel: "__ War": TEK. Got it this time.
20A: Skater's jump: AXEL. Can you believe the first AXEL jump was performed in 1882?
26A: Lymphoid organ: SPLEEN
28A: Geological period: AZOIC. No idea. Dictionary defines it as "noting or pertaining to the Precambrian Era, esp. that part formerly believed to precede the first appearance of life". Rooted in Greek ázō(os) meaning "lifeless".
33A: Insertion symbol: CARET
52A: San Luis __: OBISPO. Here is the map. I've never heard of it before. Wikipedia says Loren Roberts was born and raised there. He has such an enviable putting stroke, so smooth and unhurried. OBISPO is Spanish for "Bishop".
55A: Japanese sci-fi film: RODAN. See the movie trailer. So horrifying.
69A: Like some questions: YES-NO
Down:
2D: NYSE rival: AMEX. NASDAQ is very scrabbly too.
5D: S-shaped moldings: OGEES. Can anyone explain to me what exactly is OGEE? I cannot see any S-shape in this OGEE clock frame.
7D: Game with four jokers: CANASTA. Did you know that CANASTA originally came from Uruguay?
12D: "Guys and Dolls" song: SUE ME. I got it from the across clue. See the clip.
13D: Mythical giant: TITAN. ATLAS is a TITAN.
21D: Lane in Metropolis: LOIS. I like this clue. Much more interesting than "Superman's girlfriend Lane".
25D: Like navigable northern waterways: ICE-FREE
28D: Actress Baxter: ANNE. I guessed. Wikipedia says she won Oscar for best supporting role in "The Razor's Edge", which stars GENE Tiernery also (see 36D: Tierney of films).
33D: G. P. A. slangily: CUME (Cumulative). New slang to me. I wish I had attended some kind of school here in the US.
39D: "No Exit" playwright: SARTRE. I think his "Being and Nothingness" & "Nausea" are more famous. Speaking of existentialism, do you like Milan Kundera's "The Unbreable Lightness of Being"?
46D: Arizona tribe: HOPI. Does anyone collect HOPI Kachina dolls?
63D: Paul Anka's "__ Beso": His voice sounds so warm.
C.C.
