Theme: Texas Lolita's Favorite Things (Note: Lolita is a town in Texas, my theme title is just for fun)
17A: Centennial State rock?: COLORADO BOULDER
22A: Wolverine State fire?: MICHIGAN FLINT
35A: Peach State wide open spaces?: GEORGIA PLAINS
47A: Cotton State sculpture?: ALABAMA MOBILE
54A: Cornhusker State Town Car?: NEBRASKA LINCOLN
I like the theme and theme answers. Very clever. I wonder how the constructor would clue Embarrass, Minnesota.
I did not know the nickname for Colorado is "Centennial State". Found out later that it became a state in 1876, 100 years after the the Declaration of Independence, hence the name.
I also like the extra descriptive phrases and trivia that accompany the clues. Feel like I've learned a few new things and I enjoyed very much the new clues, so refreshing. For example:
26A: It will never fly: EMU. It's always "Flightless bird' in our old puzzle.
24D: Bell hit with a padded hammer: GONG. Again, always "Big bell" in TMS Daily.
41D: Dolly, the clone, was one: EWE. Always "Ram's mate".
As LADY (62A: Disney dog") is an answer in the grid, I am not fond of the clue for ROMEO (15: Ladies' man). Come to the Comments section if you have a better idea.
I'd like to make a suggestion today. When you comment, please let me know which clue is your favorite or least favorite and why. Due to my special background, some of humor or subtlety intended by the constructor or editor is lost on me. And I don't want to miss the fun.
Across:
21A: Frontier bases?: OUTPOSTS. I had the ending letters *STS in place, then I thought of OLD WEST. But you can't pluralize OLD WEST, can you?
29A: One in a "Flying" circus act": WALLENDA. Have never heard of "The Flying WALLENDAS". Wikipidia says their name in German, "Die fliegenden Wallenda", is an obvious rhyme on the title of the Wagner opera, "Der fliegende Holländer ("The Flying Dutchman"). Basebal HOFer Honus Wagner's nickname is also "The Flying Dutchman". His T206 is the most valuable baseball card. Record is $2.8 million. Graded, of course.
32A: __ generis: unique: SUI. New to me. Literally "of its own" in Latin. SUI is also a Cantonese surname (XIAO in Mandarin Chinese), as in fashion designer Anna SUI.
51A: Italian veal dish: OSSO BUCO. I've never developed a taste for Italian food or olive oil. Too strong.
53A: Pah preceder: OOM. Did not come to me immediately.
59A: Quaint "Holy moly": EGAD. Is "Glory be" quaint also?
60A: John of England: ELTON. John MAJOR popped into my mind first. It has 5 letters too.
64A: To be, in old Rome: ESSE. Yesterday it's "To be, in Tijuana" (ESTAR), the same lower right corner. Maybe tomorrow we will see "To be, in Tours" (ETRE).
Down:
1D: Juice drink with a hyphenated name: HI-C. Holy cow! Can you believe I've never heard of this brand name? I only drink tea & water. Sometimes I drink soup. Or should I say I "eat" soup?
3D: Minute particles: MOLECULES
4D: One of the deadly sins: SLOTH. Last time this year I was struggling with Williams' "Two-toed sloth (UNAU) and "three-toed sloths (AIS).
7D: O'Neill's "__ for the Misbegotten": A MOON. New play to me. "Misbegotten" sounds like a wrong word President Bush would say.
8D: Blunt rejection: REBUFF. Putin style, NYET, no matter how many times you look into his eyes and search for his soul.
9D: Play the piccolo: TOOTLE. I've never seen a piccolo in person. Wikipedia says piccolo is the highest instrument in the orchestra or band. Now only manufactured in C.
12D: "Rhyme Pays" rapper: ICE-T. Had he spelled his name correctly as ICED - T, he probably would not make so many appearances in crossword.
18D: Bitter complainer: RAILER. Only knew the verb RAIL. I don't like the ER repetition in clue/ANSWER, though I can't think of a better way to clue it.
19D: Words before smoke or flames: UP IN. Stumper. Are both UP IN smoke and UP IN flames slang?
22D: Copy cats?: MEW. Lovely clue. Cats MEW/MEOW.
33D: Like a 12-0 verdict: UNANIMOUS. Reminds me of "12 Angry Men".
34D: Basketball Hall of Famer Dan: ISSEL. No idea. ISSEL, strange name. OK, I will try to connect him with salt, since SEL is French for salt. IS SEL.
37D: Neeson of "Taken": LIAM. Have never seen the movie "Taken". But LIAM was probably a gimme for many. He's been in the news a lot lately due to his wife's tragic death. He also stars in "Rob Roy". And Rob Roy's refusal is NAE (58D). I liked his "Michael Collins" a lot.
42D: Derivatives of it are used in sunscreen: PABA (Para-AminoBenzoic Acid). This word got me again. I wanted ALOE. Dictionary says PABA is "a metabolic acid found in yeast and liver cells; used to make dyes and drugs and sun blockers".
43D: Privilege loser, often: ABUSER
44D: Equally yucky: AS BAD
49D: Watery trenches under drawbridges: MOATS. My hometown Xi'An has one of the best preserved city walls in the world.
50D: Italian lawn game: BOCCE. I forgot this game again.
51D: Like Ogden Nash's lama, in a poem: ONE L. It's always "Scott Turow title" in our old puzzle. I like this change.
52D: Big name in video games: SEGA. Only found this morning that SEGA stands for "SErvice GAmes of Japan".
Full Answer Grid.
C.C.
17A: Centennial State rock?: COLORADO BOULDER
22A: Wolverine State fire?: MICHIGAN FLINT
35A: Peach State wide open spaces?: GEORGIA PLAINS
47A: Cotton State sculpture?: ALABAMA MOBILE
54A: Cornhusker State Town Car?: NEBRASKA LINCOLN
I like the theme and theme answers. Very clever. I wonder how the constructor would clue Embarrass, Minnesota.
I did not know the nickname for Colorado is "Centennial State". Found out later that it became a state in 1876, 100 years after the the Declaration of Independence, hence the name.
I also like the extra descriptive phrases and trivia that accompany the clues. Feel like I've learned a few new things and I enjoyed very much the new clues, so refreshing. For example:
26A: It will never fly: EMU. It's always "Flightless bird' in our old puzzle.
24D: Bell hit with a padded hammer: GONG. Again, always "Big bell" in TMS Daily.
41D: Dolly, the clone, was one: EWE. Always "Ram's mate".
As LADY (62A: Disney dog") is an answer in the grid, I am not fond of the clue for ROMEO (15: Ladies' man). Come to the Comments section if you have a better idea.
I'd like to make a suggestion today. When you comment, please let me know which clue is your favorite or least favorite and why. Due to my special background, some of humor or subtlety intended by the constructor or editor is lost on me. And I don't want to miss the fun.
Across:
21A: Frontier bases?: OUTPOSTS. I had the ending letters *STS in place, then I thought of OLD WEST. But you can't pluralize OLD WEST, can you?
29A: One in a "Flying" circus act": WALLENDA. Have never heard of "The Flying WALLENDAS". Wikipidia says their name in German, "Die fliegenden Wallenda", is an obvious rhyme on the title of the Wagner opera, "Der fliegende Holländer ("The Flying Dutchman"). Basebal HOFer Honus Wagner's nickname is also "The Flying Dutchman". His T206 is the most valuable baseball card. Record is $2.8 million. Graded, of course.
32A: __ generis: unique: SUI. New to me. Literally "of its own" in Latin. SUI is also a Cantonese surname (XIAO in Mandarin Chinese), as in fashion designer Anna SUI.
51A: Italian veal dish: OSSO BUCO. I've never developed a taste for Italian food or olive oil. Too strong.
53A: Pah preceder: OOM. Did not come to me immediately.
59A: Quaint "Holy moly": EGAD. Is "Glory be" quaint also?
60A: John of England: ELTON. John MAJOR popped into my mind first. It has 5 letters too.
64A: To be, in old Rome: ESSE. Yesterday it's "To be, in Tijuana" (ESTAR), the same lower right corner. Maybe tomorrow we will see "To be, in Tours" (ETRE).
Down:
1D: Juice drink with a hyphenated name: HI-C. Holy cow! Can you believe I've never heard of this brand name? I only drink tea & water. Sometimes I drink soup. Or should I say I "eat" soup?
3D: Minute particles: MOLECULES
4D: One of the deadly sins: SLOTH. Last time this year I was struggling with Williams' "Two-toed sloth (UNAU) and "three-toed sloths (AIS).
7D: O'Neill's "__ for the Misbegotten": A MOON. New play to me. "Misbegotten" sounds like a wrong word President Bush would say.
8D: Blunt rejection: REBUFF. Putin style, NYET, no matter how many times you look into his eyes and search for his soul.
9D: Play the piccolo: TOOTLE. I've never seen a piccolo in person. Wikipedia says piccolo is the highest instrument in the orchestra or band. Now only manufactured in C.
12D: "Rhyme Pays" rapper: ICE-T. Had he spelled his name correctly as ICED - T, he probably would not make so many appearances in crossword.
18D: Bitter complainer: RAILER. Only knew the verb RAIL. I don't like the ER repetition in clue/ANSWER, though I can't think of a better way to clue it.
19D: Words before smoke or flames: UP IN. Stumper. Are both UP IN smoke and UP IN flames slang?
22D: Copy cats?: MEW. Lovely clue. Cats MEW/MEOW.
33D: Like a 12-0 verdict: UNANIMOUS. Reminds me of "12 Angry Men".
34D: Basketball Hall of Famer Dan: ISSEL. No idea. ISSEL, strange name. OK, I will try to connect him with salt, since SEL is French for salt. IS SEL.
37D: Neeson of "Taken": LIAM. Have never seen the movie "Taken". But LIAM was probably a gimme for many. He's been in the news a lot lately due to his wife's tragic death. He also stars in "Rob Roy". And Rob Roy's refusal is NAE (58D). I liked his "Michael Collins" a lot.
42D: Derivatives of it are used in sunscreen: PABA (Para-AminoBenzoic Acid). This word got me again. I wanted ALOE. Dictionary says PABA is "a metabolic acid found in yeast and liver cells; used to make dyes and drugs and sun blockers".
43D: Privilege loser, often: ABUSER
44D: Equally yucky: AS BAD
49D: Watery trenches under drawbridges: MOATS. My hometown Xi'An has one of the best preserved city walls in the world.
50D: Italian lawn game: BOCCE. I forgot this game again.
51D: Like Ogden Nash's lama, in a poem: ONE L. It's always "Scott Turow title" in our old puzzle. I like this change.
52D: Big name in video games: SEGA. Only found this morning that SEGA stands for "SErvice GAmes of Japan".
Full Answer Grid.
C.C.
