Theme: Animal in Action
17A: Marine gliders: FLYING FISH
63A: Sport utility canine: HUNTING DOG
11D: Avian mimic: MOCKINGBIRD
26D: North Atlantic flier: HERRING GULL
Happy Spring Festival! 春节快乐!
I have never heard of HERRING GULL before. Are they fond of herrings? I wish there were a HEARING GULL instead. HERRING does not really fit the theme pattern here.
I think "Clique" alone is enough for IN-GROUP (53A: Elite clique), since ELITIST is the answer for 28A: Snob.
I believe this is Joe Vita's first TMS puzzle. If so, congratulations.
Across:
1A: Food for Silver: OATS. "Hi-yo, Silver". That's all I know about "The Lone Ranger".
2A: Michelangelo masterpiece: PIETA. The only work Michelangelo ever signed. I thought of DAVID first.
16A: Layer: COAT. Paint?
27A: Musical time unit: BAR. Not familiar with this exact definition. Music was regarded as a corrupt Western capitalist product and was not taught when I grew up. The loudspeaker blasted "The East is Red" every morning to wake us up.
32A: Mil. probe: RECON. I was thinking of the "A Few Good Men" style military probe.
33A: Razor choice: ATRA. Gillette should send free razors to our editor for this free publicity.
57A: Old Gray Mare, for one: NAG. Have never heard of "this folk song" before.
Down:
2D: To a man: ALL. First encounter with the phrase "To a man". Or maybe I saw it before and just did not pay attention to its usage. I tend to check the dictionary when the word is long and complicated.
5D: Braided danglers: PIGTAILS. Brought to mind the long "Braided danglers (queue)" hairstyle the Manchurians forced upon Han people till 1912, when Sun Yat-Sen and his followers finally overthrew the Machurians. That's why he is often referred to as the "Father of Modern China". About 92% of Chinese (almost 20% of the entire global population) are of Han ethnicity.
6D: Diabolical: INFERNAL
9D: For a short time: A WHILE. Often see people write AWHILE when A WHILE should be used.
12D: "Gigi" setting: PARIS. Here is the trailer. "Gigi" is probably Colette's most famous novel.
24D: Kazakhstan range: URALS. European/Asian border.
42D: Food poisoning: PTOMAINE. New word to me. Dictionary says this word derives from Greek "ptoma" meaning "corpse".
45D: Aphrodite's child: EROS. Greek equivalent of Cupid. This will be a great Valentine's Day gift. ARES, the bellicose Greek war god, is "Aphrodite's lover".
49D: Duke's location: DURHAM. The only thing I know about Duke is Coach K & the lacrosse scandal.
52D: Keenan or Ed: WYNN. Got the answer from across fills. Know either of them.
53D: Arboreal lemur: INDRI. Literally "there it is".
54D: Nostril: NARIS. Plural NARES.
64D: Org. of Capitals and Senators: NHL. Holy cow! I've never heard of Ottawa Senators or Washington Capitals. Great clue. I had no idea that there are so many teams in NHL.
C.C.
17A: Marine gliders: FLYING FISH
63A: Sport utility canine: HUNTING DOG
11D: Avian mimic: MOCKINGBIRD
26D: North Atlantic flier: HERRING GULL
Happy Spring Festival! 春节快乐!
I have never heard of HERRING GULL before. Are they fond of herrings? I wish there were a HEARING GULL instead. HERRING does not really fit the theme pattern here.
I think "Clique" alone is enough for IN-GROUP (53A: Elite clique), since ELITIST is the answer for 28A: Snob.
I believe this is Joe Vita's first TMS puzzle. If so, congratulations.
Across:
1A: Food for Silver: OATS. "Hi-yo, Silver". That's all I know about "The Lone Ranger".
2A: Michelangelo masterpiece: PIETA. The only work Michelangelo ever signed. I thought of DAVID first.
16A: Layer: COAT. Paint?
27A: Musical time unit: BAR. Not familiar with this exact definition. Music was regarded as a corrupt Western capitalist product and was not taught when I grew up. The loudspeaker blasted "The East is Red" every morning to wake us up.
32A: Mil. probe: RECON. I was thinking of the "A Few Good Men" style military probe.
33A: Razor choice: ATRA. Gillette should send free razors to our editor for this free publicity.
57A: Old Gray Mare, for one: NAG. Have never heard of "this folk song" before.
Down:
2D: To a man: ALL. First encounter with the phrase "To a man". Or maybe I saw it before and just did not pay attention to its usage. I tend to check the dictionary when the word is long and complicated.
5D: Braided danglers: PIGTAILS. Brought to mind the long "Braided danglers (queue)" hairstyle the Manchurians forced upon Han people till 1912, when Sun Yat-Sen and his followers finally overthrew the Machurians. That's why he is often referred to as the "Father of Modern China". About 92% of Chinese (almost 20% of the entire global population) are of Han ethnicity.
6D: Diabolical: INFERNAL
9D: For a short time: A WHILE. Often see people write AWHILE when A WHILE should be used.
12D: "Gigi" setting: PARIS. Here is the trailer. "Gigi" is probably Colette's most famous novel.
24D: Kazakhstan range: URALS. European/Asian border.
42D: Food poisoning: PTOMAINE. New word to me. Dictionary says this word derives from Greek "ptoma" meaning "corpse".
45D: Aphrodite's child: EROS. Greek equivalent of Cupid. This will be a great Valentine's Day gift. ARES, the bellicose Greek war god, is "Aphrodite's lover".
49D: Duke's location: DURHAM. The only thing I know about Duke is Coach K & the lacrosse scandal.
52D: Keenan or Ed: WYNN. Got the answer from across fills. Know either of them.
53D: Arboreal lemur: INDRI. Literally "there it is".
54D: Nostril: NARIS. Plural NARES.
64D: Org. of Capitals and Senators: NHL. Holy cow! I've never heard of Ottawa Senators or Washington Capitals. Great clue. I had no idea that there are so many teams in NHL.
C.C.
