Theme: GOOD VIBRATIONS (48A: This puzzle's theme song)
20A: Oscillators: ELECTRIC RAZORS
25A: Oscillators: STEREO SPEAKERS
42A: Oscillators: BUMBLE BEE WINGS
And a bit of musician sub-theme:
60A: New Age music superstar: ENYA
61A: Crooner Jerry: VALE. I don't know him.
10D: Leader of the Medicine Show: DR. HOOK. Unknown to me also. This sounds nice.
Also a river undertone:
47A: Ubangi feeder: UELE. Big stumper! OK, this is the best map I could find (It will enlarge if you click on it). See the two rivers? UELE is on the upper right corner. The word Ubangi is on the upper middle part, under "Central African Republic". Ubangi flows more than 1,400 miles to the west before it joins the Congo River.
11D: German border river: ODER. It divides Germany and Poland. Flows to the Baltic Sea.
27D: Flower of Paris?: SEINE. Flow-er.
The following two clues definitely need "for short or abbr.":
39A: Tussaud's title: MME
55D: Dallas hoopster: MAV
I also don't like the clue for INDY (50D: 500-mi. race). The abbreviation of "mile" does not please my eyes.
Not an easy puzzle for me. I struggled at various spots.
Across:
5A: Dana of "Baretta": ELCAR. No idea. Wikipedia says he is the FBI Agent Polk (aka "Hickey") in "The Sting". No wonder he looks familiar to me.
10A: Martial arts school: DOJO. Literally "place of way" in Japanese, from old Chinese "Dao Chang" (道場).
16A: Vitamin bottle figs.: RDAS. Wow, I just found out that those guide lines were adopted in 1941.
18A: Gradually declined: EBBED
34A: Joker: WAG. New definition to me.
36A: Between, in poetry: TWIXT And ETERNE (5D: Without end, in poetry).
40A: Dancer Verdon: GWEN. She is Lola in "Damn Yankees". She appeared in our puzzle before.
41A: "Lola" band: KINKS. I like the melody of "Lola". Don't quite get the lyrics. What does it mean when he sings "I know what I am, I'm glad I'm a man. And so is Lola"?
46A: Bad, in Limousin: MAL. The regional capital of Limousin is Limoges, which is famous for its porcelain. This is a unicorn Limoges style. I really like Franklin Mint's "Collector's Treasury" unicorn set. Very artfully done.
55A: Albert of Throneberry: MARV. I know neither Marv Albert or MARV Throneberry.
59A: Rework to make work: ADAPT
62A: Winged mimic: MYNAH. It's also spelled as MYNA. New to me. This is so cute.
Down:
4D: Charlatan's doings: QUACKERY
6D: Lustful desire: LIBIDO
9D: Crisis period: RED ALERT
12D: Benchley novel: JAWS. I like some of the Steven Spielberg movies, not "Jaws". "Saving Private Ryan" & "Schindler's List" are my favorites. "Munich" is good too.
21D: Lose will: TIRE. I don't think so. "Lose energy" yes.
22D: Gusto: ZEAL
25D: Whale star: SHAMU
28D: Period of stability: PAX. It's clued as " ___ Romana" in our puzzle before.
30D: Official positions: RANKS. "Official" refer to "Military official" I presume?
36D: Midnight: TWELVE AM
37D: Place to surf: WEB. My first thought was SEA.
38D: Bookkeeping entry: LINE ITEM. Does US President now holds the LINE-ITEM veto power?
43D: No Oscar contender: B MOVIE. I don't quite understand the concept of B MOVIE. What does B stand for? A, B, C? Bad?
44D: Icy satellite of Jupiter: EUROPA. Unknown to me. It's named after a Greek mythical beauty EUROPA, who was abducted by Zeus. Interesting, Europe got its name from EUROPA too. See Rembrandt's "The Abduction of EUROPA".
54D: Police jacket letters: S.W.A.T. It's also a film name. Pretty good. Colin Farrell is a great actor. I like his "Cassandra's Dream".
C.C.
20A: Oscillators: ELECTRIC RAZORS
25A: Oscillators: STEREO SPEAKERS
42A: Oscillators: BUMBLE BEE WINGS
And a bit of musician sub-theme:
60A: New Age music superstar: ENYA
61A: Crooner Jerry: VALE. I don't know him.
10D: Leader of the Medicine Show: DR. HOOK. Unknown to me also. This sounds nice.
Also a river undertone:
47A: Ubangi feeder: UELE. Big stumper! OK, this is the best map I could find (It will enlarge if you click on it). See the two rivers? UELE is on the upper right corner. The word Ubangi is on the upper middle part, under "Central African Republic". Ubangi flows more than 1,400 miles to the west before it joins the Congo River.
11D: German border river: ODER. It divides Germany and Poland. Flows to the Baltic Sea.
27D: Flower of Paris?: SEINE. Flow-er.
The following two clues definitely need "for short or abbr.":
39A: Tussaud's title: MME
55D: Dallas hoopster: MAV
I also don't like the clue for INDY (50D: 500-mi. race). The abbreviation of "mile" does not please my eyes.
Not an easy puzzle for me. I struggled at various spots.
Across:
5A: Dana of "Baretta": ELCAR. No idea. Wikipedia says he is the FBI Agent Polk (aka "Hickey") in "The Sting". No wonder he looks familiar to me.
10A: Martial arts school: DOJO. Literally "place of way" in Japanese, from old Chinese "Dao Chang" (道場).
16A: Vitamin bottle figs.: RDAS. Wow, I just found out that those guide lines were adopted in 1941.
18A: Gradually declined: EBBED
34A: Joker: WAG. New definition to me.
36A: Between, in poetry: TWIXT And ETERNE (5D: Without end, in poetry).
40A: Dancer Verdon: GWEN. She is Lola in "Damn Yankees". She appeared in our puzzle before.
41A: "Lola" band: KINKS. I like the melody of "Lola". Don't quite get the lyrics. What does it mean when he sings "I know what I am, I'm glad I'm a man. And so is Lola"?
46A: Bad, in Limousin: MAL. The regional capital of Limousin is Limoges, which is famous for its porcelain. This is a unicorn Limoges style. I really like Franklin Mint's "Collector's Treasury" unicorn set. Very artfully done.
55A: Albert of Throneberry: MARV. I know neither Marv Albert or MARV Throneberry.
59A: Rework to make work: ADAPT
62A: Winged mimic: MYNAH. It's also spelled as MYNA. New to me. This is so cute.
Down:
4D: Charlatan's doings: QUACKERY
6D: Lustful desire: LIBIDO
9D: Crisis period: RED ALERT
12D: Benchley novel: JAWS. I like some of the Steven Spielberg movies, not "Jaws". "Saving Private Ryan" & "Schindler's List" are my favorites. "Munich" is good too.
21D: Lose will: TIRE. I don't think so. "Lose energy" yes.
22D: Gusto: ZEAL
25D: Whale star: SHAMU
28D: Period of stability: PAX. It's clued as " ___ Romana" in our puzzle before.
30D: Official positions: RANKS. "Official" refer to "Military official" I presume?
36D: Midnight: TWELVE AM
37D: Place to surf: WEB. My first thought was SEA.
38D: Bookkeeping entry: LINE ITEM. Does US President now holds the LINE-ITEM veto power?
43D: No Oscar contender: B MOVIE. I don't quite understand the concept of B MOVIE. What does B stand for? A, B, C? Bad?
44D: Icy satellite of Jupiter: EUROPA. Unknown to me. It's named after a Greek mythical beauty EUROPA, who was abducted by Zeus. Interesting, Europe got its name from EUROPA too. See Rembrandt's "The Abduction of EUROPA".
54D: Police jacket letters: S.W.A.T. It's also a film name. Pretty good. Colin Farrell is a great actor. I like his "Cassandra's Dream".
C.C.
