Theme: Roy Orbison Hits
20A: Hit by singer who died 12/6/88: ONLY THE LONELY
35A: See 20A: RUNNING SCARED
54A: See 20A: OH, PRETTY WOMAN
Too bad today is not Dec 6. It would have been a perfectly timed tribute.
Argyle probably enjoyed this puzzle. Roy Orbison is one of his favorite singers. I was only familiar with "OH, PRETTY WOMAN". I struggled getting into this constructor's wavelength. So many unfamiliar names.
I loved the clue for OCTOPUS (27A: Entree that serves eight?). I also liked how POEM (61A: Wordsworth work) intersects RHYME (51D: Poetic match). But why "Poetic" clue when POEM is the answer? I really hate our editor's lack of attention to details.
Across:
1A: IBM offerings: PCS. I don't understand what's so cool about Macs.
4A: Evil org. in Bond novels: SMERSH. I forgot. All I could think of is QUANTUM.
10A: GameCube competitor: XBOX. Or "Playstation" competitor.
15A: Kiribati capital: TARAWA. See this map. Unknown to me. I did not know where Kiribati is.
16A: Top choice, slangily: FAVE
18A: Movie category: ACTION. Or "Director's cry".
19A: Footnote wd.: IBID. "In the same place" in footnotes. I wonder if there is any way to clue IBID as I BID.
24A: Jordan/Bunny film: SPACE JAM. New film to me.
32A: Peter and a Wolfe: NEROS. Here is Peter NERO practicing Chopin Etude. I've never heard of his name before.
34A: Nabokov novel: PNIN. I memorized this novel from doing Xword. Without the P, I would have filled in SESAME for 34D: Magic word (PRESTO).
41A: Ballteam skipper Joe: TORRE. I misread the clue as "Ballteam clipper Joe", so I was thinking of Joe DiMaggio. Why "Ballteam"?
42A: Hobbit ally: ELF. I guessed. Have never read Tolkien's work. Would be a gimme if the clue were "Santa's ally".
46A: Twisted wool: WORSTED. Such a strange looking noun.
50A: Enzo's automobiles: FERRARIS. Another guess. I forgot who Enzo was. I actually read his bio last week and could not understand what "mule-shoer" is.
53A: Hokkaido port: OTARU. See this map. Foreign port to me.
57A: Osbourne of rock: OZZY
59A: Arctic attire: ANORAK. New name to me also. Inuit people are of Asian race, right?
62A: Notably the '72 Dolphin defense: NO-NAME. I was not aware of this. Only knew they had a perfect season.
64A: Cornmeal bread: PONE. And TAMALE (47D: Hacienda hot meal). Do you like Thai style fish wrapped in banana leaf?
65A: Stylish: DRESSY
66A: Byrnes or Hall: EDD. I kind of like "Hall of fame" for EDD.
Down:
1D: Mount __, PA: POCONO. Is it the same as POCONO Mountains?
2D: Carson character: CARNAC. I did not know this role.
4D: Big house: STATE PEN
5D: Austrian physicist Ernest: MACH. I googled. Can never remember this guy's name.
8D: Dives like an eagle: SWOOPS
9D: "__ and Her Sisters": HANNAH. One of the few Woody Allen movies that I liked.
10D: Case for Scully and Mulder: X-FILE
11D: Bette's title character of '62: BABY JANE. No idea. I have zero familiarity with this movie.
13D: Signed, kind of: XED
21D: Ms. de Carlo: YVONNE. She played Lily Munster.
22D: Author Umberto: ECO. He escaped my memory this morning. I used to remember him.
26D: Game pieces: MEN
28D: Swiss canton: URI. Or "Spoon-bender Geller".
33D: E. Bilko's rank: SGT. Another unknown film to me.
36D: Thawed out: UNFROZEN
38D: __-Magnon: CRO. Why not "Magnon opening?". It sounds more interesting, doesn't it?
39D: Cursor relocator: ARROW KEY
50D: Playboy's founder, fondly: HEF. This guy seems to wear pajamas all year long.
44D: Thing to do: ERRAND
45D: Certain claim holder: LIENOR
49D: Immersed: DUNKED. I SOAKED first.
52D: Boulder: STONE. I wanted ROCK.
C.C.
20A: Hit by singer who died 12/6/88: ONLY THE LONELY
35A: See 20A: RUNNING SCARED
54A: See 20A: OH, PRETTY WOMAN
Too bad today is not Dec 6. It would have been a perfectly timed tribute.
Argyle probably enjoyed this puzzle. Roy Orbison is one of his favorite singers. I was only familiar with "OH, PRETTY WOMAN". I struggled getting into this constructor's wavelength. So many unfamiliar names.
I loved the clue for OCTOPUS (27A: Entree that serves eight?). I also liked how POEM (61A: Wordsworth work) intersects RHYME (51D: Poetic match). But why "Poetic" clue when POEM is the answer? I really hate our editor's lack of attention to details.
Across:
1A: IBM offerings: PCS. I don't understand what's so cool about Macs.
4A: Evil org. in Bond novels: SMERSH. I forgot. All I could think of is QUANTUM.
10A: GameCube competitor: XBOX. Or "Playstation" competitor.
15A: Kiribati capital: TARAWA. See this map. Unknown to me. I did not know where Kiribati is.
16A: Top choice, slangily: FAVE
18A: Movie category: ACTION. Or "Director's cry".
19A: Footnote wd.: IBID. "In the same place" in footnotes. I wonder if there is any way to clue IBID as I BID.
24A: Jordan/Bunny film: SPACE JAM. New film to me.
32A: Peter and a Wolfe: NEROS. Here is Peter NERO practicing Chopin Etude. I've never heard of his name before.
34A: Nabokov novel: PNIN. I memorized this novel from doing Xword. Without the P, I would have filled in SESAME for 34D: Magic word (PRESTO).
41A: Ballteam skipper Joe: TORRE. I misread the clue as "Ballteam clipper Joe", so I was thinking of Joe DiMaggio. Why "Ballteam"?
42A: Hobbit ally: ELF. I guessed. Have never read Tolkien's work. Would be a gimme if the clue were "Santa's ally".
46A: Twisted wool: WORSTED. Such a strange looking noun.
50A: Enzo's automobiles: FERRARIS. Another guess. I forgot who Enzo was. I actually read his bio last week and could not understand what "mule-shoer" is.
53A: Hokkaido port: OTARU. See this map. Foreign port to me.
57A: Osbourne of rock: OZZY
59A: Arctic attire: ANORAK. New name to me also. Inuit people are of Asian race, right?
62A: Notably the '72 Dolphin defense: NO-NAME. I was not aware of this. Only knew they had a perfect season.
64A: Cornmeal bread: PONE. And TAMALE (47D: Hacienda hot meal). Do you like Thai style fish wrapped in banana leaf?
65A: Stylish: DRESSY
66A: Byrnes or Hall: EDD. I kind of like "Hall of fame" for EDD.
Down:
1D: Mount __, PA: POCONO. Is it the same as POCONO Mountains?
2D: Carson character: CARNAC. I did not know this role.
4D: Big house: STATE PEN
5D: Austrian physicist Ernest: MACH. I googled. Can never remember this guy's name.
8D: Dives like an eagle: SWOOPS
9D: "__ and Her Sisters": HANNAH. One of the few Woody Allen movies that I liked.
10D: Case for Scully and Mulder: X-FILE
11D: Bette's title character of '62: BABY JANE. No idea. I have zero familiarity with this movie.
13D: Signed, kind of: XED
21D: Ms. de Carlo: YVONNE. She played Lily Munster.
22D: Author Umberto: ECO. He escaped my memory this morning. I used to remember him.
26D: Game pieces: MEN
28D: Swiss canton: URI. Or "Spoon-bender Geller".
33D: E. Bilko's rank: SGT. Another unknown film to me.
36D: Thawed out: UNFROZEN
38D: __-Magnon: CRO. Why not "Magnon opening?". It sounds more interesting, doesn't it?
39D: Cursor relocator: ARROW KEY
50D: Playboy's founder, fondly: HEF. This guy seems to wear pajamas all year long.
44D: Thing to do: ERRAND
45D: Certain claim holder: LIENOR
49D: Immersed: DUNKED. I SOAKED first.
52D: Boulder: STONE. I wanted ROCK.
C.C.
