Theme: A Sacred Journey
17A: 1941 Bing Crosby movie: BIRTH OF THE BLUES
40A: 1937 Paul Muni move (with "The"): LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA
61A: One of Donne's sonnets: DEATH BE NOT PROUD
None of the above theme answers was familiar to me. I thought there would be an odyssey of struggle waiting ahead when I read the clues. Was surprised that most of them crumbled quickly.
Had trouble with HMO (62D: Ins. choice). "Insurance" did not come to my mind readily at all. I need an additional word "Medical" for the clue, either "Medical Ins. choice" or "Med. Insurance choice".
Besides "LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA" and "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL", what other movie titles include the word LIFE?
Across:
1A: Painter's base: GESSO. Wikipedia says GESSO was "traditionally mixed with animal glue, usually rabbit-skin glue". Does modern GESSO contain any animal product?
29A: Yellowish-green olivines: PERIDOTS. Nice rings. Peridot is the August birthstone. Don't know how it differs from emerald.
32A: University in Waco: BAYLOR. The largest Baptist university in the world.
37A: Seraglio: HAREM. I forgot the meaning of "Seraglio". Italian for "enclosure". I often wonder if men really are not allowed inside HAREM.
46A: Heroic in scope: EPIC. Watched "Gandhi" the other day. Couldn't fully understand his mindset. Overly idealistic.
49A: Supporter: ADHERENT. Supporter of a "cause", isn't it? Nehru was an ADHERENT of Gandhi's philosophy and legacy, but he is not an ADHERENT of Gandhi, right?
55A: Dope or skinny: INFO. And FACT (57D: Actual event).
58A: One of the Ionian Islands: CORFU. Here is the map. Upper left corner. Prince Philip was born there. Lots of decorative stuff on his uniform.
69A: Van Duyn and Washbourne: MONAS. Van Duyn was a Pulitzer-winning poet (1991). Washbourne played Higgins' housekeeper Mrs. Pearce in "My Fair Lady" (1964). Did not know the former, and forgot the latter.
72A: Some golf tournaments: OPENS. "Some tennis tournaments" too. Rafael Nadal just won Australia Open. Stunning. Another history in the making.
73A: Dutch painter: STEEN (Jan). Here is his painting offered at European Fine Art Affair last year. With the current global economic crisis, I don't expect any "shock and awe" in 2009, unless it's another Rembrandt.
Down:
2D: Samuel's mentor: ELI. I guessed. Bible is definitely my Achilles' heel. Holy smoke, is it really ELI Manning?
13D: Durante feature: NOSE. A prominent NOSE indeed.
22D: Cameos and pippins: APPLES. I've had enough APPLES this winter. I am craving fresh peaches & nectarines.
27D: Adam's second: ABEL. And ONAN (59D: Judah's son). No trouble with either of them.
28D: Tom, Dick or Harry, etc.: NAME. What's so special about those three names? They don't rhyme or anything. Or are they just random picks?
35D: Bounces back: REACTS. I suppose so.
41D: Big pot of stew: OLLA. Olio can be "Big pot of stew" too.
43D: Japanese fighter of WWII: ZERO. No idea. Strange number ZERO. Why not name their fighter EIGHT? 8 is a lucky number for both Chinese and Japanese.
C.C.
17A: 1941 Bing Crosby movie: BIRTH OF THE BLUES
40A: 1937 Paul Muni move (with "The"): LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA
61A: One of Donne's sonnets: DEATH BE NOT PROUD
None of the above theme answers was familiar to me. I thought there would be an odyssey of struggle waiting ahead when I read the clues. Was surprised that most of them crumbled quickly.
Had trouble with HMO (62D: Ins. choice). "Insurance" did not come to my mind readily at all. I need an additional word "Medical" for the clue, either "Medical Ins. choice" or "Med. Insurance choice".
Besides "LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA" and "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL", what other movie titles include the word LIFE?
Across:
1A: Painter's base: GESSO. Wikipedia says GESSO was "traditionally mixed with animal glue, usually rabbit-skin glue". Does modern GESSO contain any animal product?
29A: Yellowish-green olivines: PERIDOTS. Nice rings. Peridot is the August birthstone. Don't know how it differs from emerald.
32A: University in Waco: BAYLOR. The largest Baptist university in the world.
37A: Seraglio: HAREM. I forgot the meaning of "Seraglio". Italian for "enclosure". I often wonder if men really are not allowed inside HAREM.
46A: Heroic in scope: EPIC. Watched "Gandhi" the other day. Couldn't fully understand his mindset. Overly idealistic.
49A: Supporter: ADHERENT. Supporter of a "cause", isn't it? Nehru was an ADHERENT of Gandhi's philosophy and legacy, but he is not an ADHERENT of Gandhi, right?
55A: Dope or skinny: INFO. And FACT (57D: Actual event).
58A: One of the Ionian Islands: CORFU. Here is the map. Upper left corner. Prince Philip was born there. Lots of decorative stuff on his uniform.
69A: Van Duyn and Washbourne: MONAS. Van Duyn was a Pulitzer-winning poet (1991). Washbourne played Higgins' housekeeper Mrs. Pearce in "My Fair Lady" (1964). Did not know the former, and forgot the latter.
72A: Some golf tournaments: OPENS. "Some tennis tournaments" too. Rafael Nadal just won Australia Open. Stunning. Another history in the making.
73A: Dutch painter: STEEN (Jan). Here is his painting offered at European Fine Art Affair last year. With the current global economic crisis, I don't expect any "shock and awe" in 2009, unless it's another Rembrandt.
Down:
2D: Samuel's mentor: ELI. I guessed. Bible is definitely my Achilles' heel. Holy smoke, is it really ELI Manning?
13D: Durante feature: NOSE. A prominent NOSE indeed.
22D: Cameos and pippins: APPLES. I've had enough APPLES this winter. I am craving fresh peaches & nectarines.
27D: Adam's second: ABEL. And ONAN (59D: Judah's son). No trouble with either of them.
28D: Tom, Dick or Harry, etc.: NAME. What's so special about those three names? They don't rhyme or anything. Or are they just random picks?
35D: Bounces back: REACTS. I suppose so.
41D: Big pot of stew: OLLA. Olio can be "Big pot of stew" too.
43D: Japanese fighter of WWII: ZERO. No idea. Strange number ZERO. Why not name their fighter EIGHT? 8 is a lucky number for both Chinese and Japanese.
C.C.
