Theme: RUN ON (50D: Talk and talk)
20A: Start of a quip: A MAN IS NEVER
33A: Part 2 of quip: TOO BUSY TO
41A: Part 3 of quip: TALK ABOUT
52A: End of quip: HOW BUSY HE IS
I don't believe "Talk and Talk" is Olschwang's original clue for RUN ON. He is too professional and experienced to make this kind of clue/answer duplication mistake. His original might be "Gab and gab".
I also don't think LEAD (32A: Blaze the trail) and LED (51A: Set the pace) belong to the same grid. They are just one word in different form, which should not be allowed in crossword construction. Would be alright if LEAD was clued as "Component in recalled toys" or something metal related.
I hope you enjoy this Inauguration Tribute ("Air and Simple Gifts"). I really love the clarinet solo part. What a stellar quartet: a Jewish violinist, an Asian cellist, a Black-American clarinetist and a female Latino pianist. Isn't America beautiful? In fact, Chinese characters for America "Beautiful Country".
Across:
14A: Numskull: IDIOT. "Numskull" is a new word to me. The adjective is "Numskulled". Does the stupid "ding-a-ling" have an adjective form?
17A: "West Side Story" heroine: MARIA. Also the heroine of "The Sound of Music". Very nice clip. I have not heard/seen "Raindrops on roses..." for almost 3 months.
43A: Manitoba tribe: CREE. The answer is invariably CREE for any "Canadian tribe" clue.
44A: Gray and Moran: ERINS. Memorized this name from doing crossword. I know either of them. I suppose both of them are of Irish ancestry?
50A: Long, narrow inlets: RIAS. See this photo.
59A: Publishing grp.: ABA (American Booksellers Association). New abbreviation to me. I am used to seeing ABA clued as "Lawyers' org.".
6!A: City on Baranof Island: SITKA. I guessed. Had no idea where Baranof Island is. Wikipedia says SITKA is the largest city in the US by area.
64A: Range of the Rockies: TETON. Hmm, The Grand TETON. I think TETON (French), TITTEN (German) and TIT (English) might all derive from one word. What word is it then?
67A: Borneo ape, briefly: ORANG. I got the answer. Did not know where "Borneo" is. Dictionary says it's "an island in the Malay Archipelago, politically divided among Indonesia, Malaysia, and the British-protected sultanate of Brunei".
Down:
2D: First grandfather: ADAM. "First father", "First husband", "First" of all. "Second offender" though. Look at how happy this future "First grandma" (Marian Robinson) looks.
10D: Honorable retirement title: EMERITUS. It's a title for those retired professors, right?
12D: Eagle's nest: AERIE
25D: Draft org.: SSS. Here is the SSS classification. ONE A appears in our puzzle almost every week. I don't know where I got the idea that SSS does not exist any more.
27D: Queen of Olympus: HERA. Wife/sister of Zeus. This lady is constantly jealous of and extremely vindictive of her husband's lovers.
28D: Justice Warren: EARL. Surprised to see Chief Justice John Roberts stumbled at Obama's swearing-in. Obama did vote NO at Robert's confirmation though.
33: Disney sci-fi flick: TRON. I just can't remember this film name.
34D: Mongol's tent: YURT. The Great Wall of China was built during Qin Dynasty (Xi'An is its capital city) to prevent the Mongol intrusion.
36D: Persons: ONES. I have never seen plural ONES referred to as "Persons". Only familiar with the singular ONE. Can you make a sentence with ONES for me?
38D: Western lawmen: MARSHALS
46D: Stops in open water: LAYS TO. New nautical term to me. Dictionary defines LAY TO as "To put (a ship) in a dock or other place of safety".
47D: Above it all: BLASE. I got the answer, but I did not quite understand "Above it all". Is it a slang?
48D: Picture puzzle: REBUS. Here is a NY Times' Valentine's Day REBUS puzzle. A big heart will emerge once you connect all those embedded small "heart". Very creative, isn't it? Our editor has never offered us a REBUS puzzle. I think we are smart enough to handle one.
C.C.
20A: Start of a quip: A MAN IS NEVER
33A: Part 2 of quip: TOO BUSY TO
41A: Part 3 of quip: TALK ABOUT
52A: End of quip: HOW BUSY HE IS
I don't believe "Talk and Talk" is Olschwang's original clue for RUN ON. He is too professional and experienced to make this kind of clue/answer duplication mistake. His original might be "Gab and gab".
I also don't think LEAD (32A: Blaze the trail) and LED (51A: Set the pace) belong to the same grid. They are just one word in different form, which should not be allowed in crossword construction. Would be alright if LEAD was clued as "Component in recalled toys" or something metal related.
I hope you enjoy this Inauguration Tribute ("Air and Simple Gifts"). I really love the clarinet solo part. What a stellar quartet: a Jewish violinist, an Asian cellist, a Black-American clarinetist and a female Latino pianist. Isn't America beautiful? In fact, Chinese characters for America "Beautiful Country".
Across:
14A: Numskull: IDIOT. "Numskull" is a new word to me. The adjective is "Numskulled". Does the stupid "ding-a-ling" have an adjective form?
17A: "West Side Story" heroine: MARIA. Also the heroine of "The Sound of Music". Very nice clip. I have not heard/seen "Raindrops on roses..." for almost 3 months.
43A: Manitoba tribe: CREE. The answer is invariably CREE for any "Canadian tribe" clue.
44A: Gray and Moran: ERINS. Memorized this name from doing crossword. I know either of them. I suppose both of them are of Irish ancestry?
50A: Long, narrow inlets: RIAS. See this photo.
59A: Publishing grp.: ABA (American Booksellers Association). New abbreviation to me. I am used to seeing ABA clued as "Lawyers' org.".
6!A: City on Baranof Island: SITKA. I guessed. Had no idea where Baranof Island is. Wikipedia says SITKA is the largest city in the US by area.
64A: Range of the Rockies: TETON. Hmm, The Grand TETON. I think TETON (French), TITTEN (German) and TIT (English) might all derive from one word. What word is it then?
67A: Borneo ape, briefly: ORANG. I got the answer. Did not know where "Borneo" is. Dictionary says it's "an island in the Malay Archipelago, politically divided among Indonesia, Malaysia, and the British-protected sultanate of Brunei".
Down:
2D: First grandfather: ADAM. "First father", "First husband", "First" of all. "Second offender" though. Look at how happy this future "First grandma" (Marian Robinson) looks.
10D: Honorable retirement title: EMERITUS. It's a title for those retired professors, right?
12D: Eagle's nest: AERIE
25D: Draft org.: SSS. Here is the SSS classification. ONE A appears in our puzzle almost every week. I don't know where I got the idea that SSS does not exist any more.
27D: Queen of Olympus: HERA. Wife/sister of Zeus. This lady is constantly jealous of and extremely vindictive of her husband's lovers.
28D: Justice Warren: EARL. Surprised to see Chief Justice John Roberts stumbled at Obama's swearing-in. Obama did vote NO at Robert's confirmation though.
33: Disney sci-fi flick: TRON. I just can't remember this film name.
34D: Mongol's tent: YURT. The Great Wall of China was built during Qin Dynasty (Xi'An is its capital city) to prevent the Mongol intrusion.
36D: Persons: ONES. I have never seen plural ONES referred to as "Persons". Only familiar with the singular ONE. Can you make a sentence with ONES for me?
38D: Western lawmen: MARSHALS
46D: Stops in open water: LAYS TO. New nautical term to me. Dictionary defines LAY TO as "To put (a ship) in a dock or other place of safety".
47D: Above it all: BLASE. I got the answer, but I did not quite understand "Above it all". Is it a slang?
48D: Picture puzzle: REBUS. Here is a NY Times' Valentine's Day REBUS puzzle. A big heart will emerge once you connect all those embedded small "heart". Very creative, isn't it? Our editor has never offered us a REBUS puzzle. I think we are smart enough to handle one.
C.C.
