Theme: Hits for the Cycle
20A: Mom or pop, but not both: SINGLE PARENT
34A: Two fold setback: DOUBLE WHAMMY
44A: Three-pronged attack: TRIPLE THREAT
60A: "Breezing Up" painter: WINSLOW HOMER
Wow, a cycle, and a natural cycle! Wikipedia says "There have been 14 natural cycles in the major leagues." And the last player to hit for the natural cycle is Brad Wilkerson of Montreal Expos (June 24, Expos versus the Pirates).
I am not familiar with "Breezing Up" or WINSLOW HOMER. I only wish that the entry for 60A started with HOMER* to be consistent with other theme answers.
I don't like the clue for EARNS (9D: Takes home) due to HOMER. I hope it's a SILKY (25A: Soft and lustrous) puzzle to you. The intersection of AQI & AQUINO gave me lots of trouble. And I struggled with lower right corner.
Across:
8A: Mock: JEER AT
14A: EPA pollution measure: AQI (Air Quality Index). Barry crossed AQI with AQABA (Red Sea gulf) in his last puzzle. Really hard crossing with AQUINO (2D: Woman of the Year). Corazo AQUINO succeeded Marcos and she was Time's 1986 Woman of the Year.
16A: Mexican state on the Pacific: OAXACA. Have you been here before? What's the origin of this name OAXACA?
19A: Scandinavian coins: KRONER. Of Denmark and Norway. Singular form: KRONE.
23A: Hydroxyl-carbon compound: ENOL. I am used to the "Organic compound" clue.
29A: Bandanna: DO-RAG. Interesting word origin from Wikipedia: "A popular folk etymology claims that the term derives from drive-on rag, a term first used by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War to refer to a mulim bandage often used as a head covering."
50A: Heat-resistant glass: PYREX. I always wonder why Corning did not sue Anchor Hocking for its Fire-King brand. PYREX is Greek for Fire-King after all.
54A: Coral segment: POLYP. New to me. Which segment is POLYP? Is it edible?
63A: Kyoto garment: KIMONO
66A: Supercomputer maker: CRAY. I forgot. CRAY appeared in our puzzle before.
67A: Mystery man: MR. X
71A: Weekend follower: MONDAY. Ah, "MONDAY MONDAY".
Down:
1D: Ran out: LAPSED
3D: Sicilian sir: SIGNOR. It's Xian Sheng in Chinese.
7D: Talk of Toledo: ESPANOL. See this Top 30 Languages of the World. #2 for ESPANOL.
10D: Unusual stuff: EXOTICA. So close to EROTICA.
22D: Like some films: RATED R
26D: __ Linda, CA: LOMA. New to me. See this map. What is it famous for?
27D: J-O connection: KLMN. I suppose there is no other way to clue to this string of letters.
28D: "Divine Secrets of the __ Sisterhood": YAYA. Have you seen the movie?
32D: Too, too cute: TWEE. No idea. It does not sound "Too, too cute" to me. In fact, it does not sound cute at all.
45D: Layered board: PLYWOOD. I don't know much about PLYWOOD. Is it cheaper than plain wood? Can you make PLYWOOD out of walnut/cherry trees?
46D: Grumman fighter plane: HELLCAT. Here is a picture. I've never heard of it before.
53D: Persian victor at Thermopylae: XERXES. XERXES I to be exact. I am not familiar with him or the Battle of Thermopylae, which is "one of history's most famous last stands" according to Wikipedia. General Patton did mention this battle in the movie "Patton", but I did not pay attention to it.
55D: Nina's sister ship: PINTA. And Santa Maria.
63D: Rudyard Kipling novel: KIM. I got it from across fills. Have never heard of this novel before. More than 1/5 of Koreans have KIM as their surname, including Kim Jong-il.
64D: Union contract?: I DO. I like this clue. I DO.
C.C.
20A: Mom or pop, but not both: SINGLE PARENT
34A: Two fold setback: DOUBLE WHAMMY
44A: Three-pronged attack: TRIPLE THREAT
60A: "Breezing Up" painter: WINSLOW HOMER
Wow, a cycle, and a natural cycle! Wikipedia says "There have been 14 natural cycles in the major leagues." And the last player to hit for the natural cycle is Brad Wilkerson of Montreal Expos (June 24, Expos versus the Pirates).
I am not familiar with "Breezing Up" or WINSLOW HOMER. I only wish that the entry for 60A started with HOMER* to be consistent with other theme answers.
I don't like the clue for EARNS (9D: Takes home) due to HOMER. I hope it's a SILKY (25A: Soft and lustrous) puzzle to you. The intersection of AQI & AQUINO gave me lots of trouble. And I struggled with lower right corner.
Across:
8A: Mock: JEER AT
14A: EPA pollution measure: AQI (Air Quality Index). Barry crossed AQI with AQABA (Red Sea gulf) in his last puzzle. Really hard crossing with AQUINO (2D: Woman of the Year). Corazo AQUINO succeeded Marcos and she was Time's 1986 Woman of the Year.
16A: Mexican state on the Pacific: OAXACA. Have you been here before? What's the origin of this name OAXACA?
19A: Scandinavian coins: KRONER. Of Denmark and Norway. Singular form: KRONE.
23A: Hydroxyl-carbon compound: ENOL. I am used to the "Organic compound" clue.
29A: Bandanna: DO-RAG. Interesting word origin from Wikipedia: "A popular folk etymology claims that the term derives from drive-on rag, a term first used by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War to refer to a mulim bandage often used as a head covering."
50A: Heat-resistant glass: PYREX. I always wonder why Corning did not sue Anchor Hocking for its Fire-King brand. PYREX is Greek for Fire-King after all.
54A: Coral segment: POLYP. New to me. Which segment is POLYP? Is it edible?
63A: Kyoto garment: KIMONO
66A: Supercomputer maker: CRAY. I forgot. CRAY appeared in our puzzle before.
67A: Mystery man: MR. X
71A: Weekend follower: MONDAY. Ah, "MONDAY MONDAY".
Down:
1D: Ran out: LAPSED
3D: Sicilian sir: SIGNOR. It's Xian Sheng in Chinese.
7D: Talk of Toledo: ESPANOL. See this Top 30 Languages of the World. #2 for ESPANOL.
10D: Unusual stuff: EXOTICA. So close to EROTICA.
22D: Like some films: RATED R
26D: __ Linda, CA: LOMA. New to me. See this map. What is it famous for?
27D: J-O connection: KLMN. I suppose there is no other way to clue to this string of letters.
28D: "Divine Secrets of the __ Sisterhood": YAYA. Have you seen the movie?
32D: Too, too cute: TWEE. No idea. It does not sound "Too, too cute" to me. In fact, it does not sound cute at all.
45D: Layered board: PLYWOOD. I don't know much about PLYWOOD. Is it cheaper than plain wood? Can you make PLYWOOD out of walnut/cherry trees?
46D: Grumman fighter plane: HELLCAT. Here is a picture. I've never heard of it before.
53D: Persian victor at Thermopylae: XERXES. XERXES I to be exact. I am not familiar with him or the Battle of Thermopylae, which is "one of history's most famous last stands" according to Wikipedia. General Patton did mention this battle in the movie "Patton", but I did not pay attention to it.
55D: Nina's sister ship: PINTA. And Santa Maria.
63D: Rudyard Kipling novel: KIM. I got it from across fills. Have never heard of this novel before. More than 1/5 of Koreans have KIM as their surname, including Kim Jong-il.
64D: Union contract?: I DO. I like this clue. I DO.
C.C.
