Theme: B-29 -There are total 29 letter B's in the grid.
17A. Trivial Pursuit edition: BABY BOOMER. Both words of the four 10-letter theme answers start with B. Constructor's note is attached at the end of my write-up.
27A. Luxurious soak: BUBBLE BATH. Four B's in this entry alone.
39A. Enola Gay, e.g. (and a hint to this puzzle's unusual feature): B-TWENTY-NINE. Strange to see B-29 spelled out, isn't it? Very creative tie-in! I had no idea that Enola Gay is a B-29 type bomber though.
53A. Party recyclable: BEER BOTTLE
64A. Place for low-priority issues: BACK BURNER
Besides the above five nominal theme entries, there are 38 other B-containing words/phrases in the grid. Total 43 (out of the 78 entries). With his "Hard G" and the previous K & W puzzles, now Don Gagliardo holds four records.
Again, quite a few music references (Don is a piano technician):
10A. Beatles nonsense syllables OB-LA. "... Ob-la-Di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!..". New to me. I like how it intersects LET IT BE (12D. Beatles song with "Mother Mary"). Nice Beatles echo.
14A. "__ Mio": 'O SOLE. "My Sun".
67. Moreno with Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards: RITA. She's Anita is "West Side Story".
13. Franklin of soul: ARETHA
31D. Like bass notes: LOW
41D. Bach's "Mass __ Minor": IN B. Another B.
Don's puzzles are always marked by long Down entries. In today's grid, there are four 8-letter answers, five 7-letter entries and ten 6-letter answers.
Across:
1. To the third power: CUBED. Had difficulty understanding the exact part of speech of the clue.
6. Motorcyclist's hog: BIKE. Hog is a slang for motorcycle.
15. Prefix with mensch: UBER. Übermensch. Superman.
16. Uncle Remus title: BR'ER. Br'er Rabbit/Fox
19. Download source: SITE. Website.
20. Pugilists' gp.: WBC (World Boxing Council). Only know WBA (World Boxing Association)
21. Give it a shot: TRY
24. Smidgen BIT. Wanted TAD.
25. Flight to Eilat: EL AL. Literally "skyward". Eilat is Israel's southernmost city, according to Wikipedia.
30. Asian palm: BETEL. Ah, poor Dennis' Vietnam memory. Both the nut and leaves are chewable, correct, Dennis?
32. Très __: very little: PEU. Un petit peu = a little bit.
33. Word in a Flintstone yell: YABBA. "Yabba dabba doo!".
34. ISP with chat rooms: AOL
36. Gp. that has issued more than 420 million IDs: SSA. Doesn't really sound like a lot.
38. Braves' div.: NLE (National League East)
42. "Phooey!": BAH
43. Ball belle: DEB. Alliteration.
44. "Pick a number from __ ...": ONE. Crossing A NO (37D. "I'll take that as __" ).
45. "Idol" success Clay: AIKEN. The most famous "Idol" non-winner.
47. Ballot choices: X'ES
49. Fiber-rich cereals: BRANS
56. Tongue trouble: SLIP. Slip of the tongue. Alliteration.
57. Show with "Celebrity Jeopardy!" spoofs, briefly: SNL
58. Dadaist Jean ARP. The Dada pioneer.
59. Like many dicts.: ABR (Abridged)
61. Post-op area: ICU
62. Getting the job done: ON IT
68. '40s film critic James: AGEE. Had no idea that he's film critic.
69. Guadalajara "good": BUENO. Alliteration.
70. Max of '30s boxing: BAER. Learned from doing Xword.
71. Proof of ownership: DEED
72. "The Beverly Hillbillies" star: EBSEN (Buddy)
Down:
1. Spider's doing COBWEB
2. In working order USABLE. And BRIBABLE (11. Like one who can be bought). Two able ending words. Venal means bribable too. I tend to confuse venal with venial.
3. Hare-hunting feline: BOBCAT. Oh, I was ignorant that bobcat eat hare. Hare with morels, that's what those people eat in Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party". I love "Amélie", Dudley.
4. Cambridgeshire cathedral town: ELY. Often it's just clued as "English cathedral town".
5. Plastic user's concern: DEBT
6. Keep afloat: BUOY UP
7. ThinkPad maker: IBM. We also had POD (22A. i follower). iPoD.
8. Stay active: KEEP BUSY
9. Flamboyant Flynn: ERROL
10. No longer used, as a word: Abbr.: OBS. OK, obsolete I suppose.
18. Celestial sight: ORB. Alliteration.
23. Actress Susan: DEY
26. Sofa material: LEATHER
28. Safest option: BEST BET. Both word start with B also.
29. Pennants: BANNERS
35. Headed up: LED
39. Collectible plastic jewelry: BAKELITE. Kitchenware too.
40. Words clicked to see more: NEXT PAGE. Nice entry.
42. Two-year periods: BIENNIA. Plural of biennium. I obtained the answer with crosses.
45. Take in: ABSORB
46. Hoops org.: NBA
48. Quenched: SLAKED
50. Dior skirts: A-LINES. First introduced by Christian Dior in 1955.
51. Christianity's __ Creed: NICENE
52. Press forward: SPUR ON
54. "... for there is nothing / either good __, but thinking makes it so": Hamlet: OR BAD. Easy guess.
55. Tidal action: EBB
60. Hick: RUBE. Parallels with RUB (66. Erase, with "out")
63. La Brea material: TAR
65. Average mark: CEE
Don's note:
The inspiration for this puzzle comes from Crossword Corner. I was asked about a puzzle that was memorable, and one that stood out was where I had 30 K’s in the grid. I had a lot of favorable response to that one. It got me thinking how I could do that again. My first thought was B-52. Would you believe I thought I could put 52 B’s in a puzzle? I was lucky to get 29. I also thought the puzzle should have two-word phrases where each word begins with B. It is a simple idea, but very difficult to pull off when it comes to filling a grid. I think it went back and forth to Rich at least three times. Many thanks to C.C.!
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. Trivial Pursuit edition: BABY BOOMER. Both words of the four 10-letter theme answers start with B. Constructor's note is attached at the end of my write-up.
27A. Luxurious soak: BUBBLE BATH. Four B's in this entry alone.
39A. Enola Gay, e.g. (and a hint to this puzzle's unusual feature): B-TWENTY-NINE. Strange to see B-29 spelled out, isn't it? Very creative tie-in! I had no idea that Enola Gay is a B-29 type bomber though.
53A. Party recyclable: BEER BOTTLE
64A. Place for low-priority issues: BACK BURNER
Besides the above five nominal theme entries, there are 38 other B-containing words/phrases in the grid. Total 43 (out of the 78 entries). With his "Hard G" and the previous K & W puzzles, now Don Gagliardo holds four records.
Again, quite a few music references (Don is a piano technician):
10A. Beatles nonsense syllables OB-LA. "... Ob-la-Di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!..". New to me. I like how it intersects LET IT BE (12D. Beatles song with "Mother Mary"). Nice Beatles echo.
14A. "__ Mio": 'O SOLE. "My Sun".
67. Moreno with Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards: RITA. She's Anita is "West Side Story".
13. Franklin of soul: ARETHA
31D. Like bass notes: LOW
41D. Bach's "Mass __ Minor": IN B. Another B.
Don's puzzles are always marked by long Down entries. In today's grid, there are four 8-letter answers, five 7-letter entries and ten 6-letter answers.
Across:
1. To the third power: CUBED. Had difficulty understanding the exact part of speech of the clue.
6. Motorcyclist's hog: BIKE. Hog is a slang for motorcycle.
15. Prefix with mensch: UBER. Übermensch. Superman.
16. Uncle Remus title: BR'ER. Br'er Rabbit/Fox
19. Download source: SITE. Website.
20. Pugilists' gp.: WBC (World Boxing Council). Only know WBA (World Boxing Association)
21. Give it a shot: TRY
24. Smidgen BIT. Wanted TAD.
25. Flight to Eilat: EL AL. Literally "skyward". Eilat is Israel's southernmost city, according to Wikipedia.
30. Asian palm: BETEL. Ah, poor Dennis' Vietnam memory. Both the nut and leaves are chewable, correct, Dennis?
32. Très __: very little: PEU. Un petit peu = a little bit.
33. Word in a Flintstone yell: YABBA. "Yabba dabba doo!".
34. ISP with chat rooms: AOL
36. Gp. that has issued more than 420 million IDs: SSA. Doesn't really sound like a lot.
38. Braves' div.: NLE (National League East)
42. "Phooey!": BAH
43. Ball belle: DEB. Alliteration.
44. "Pick a number from __ ...": ONE. Crossing A NO (37D. "I'll take that as __" ).
45. "Idol" success Clay: AIKEN. The most famous "Idol" non-winner.
47. Ballot choices: X'ES
49. Fiber-rich cereals: BRANS
56. Tongue trouble: SLIP. Slip of the tongue. Alliteration.
57. Show with "Celebrity Jeopardy!" spoofs, briefly: SNL
58. Dadaist Jean ARP. The Dada pioneer.
59. Like many dicts.: ABR (Abridged)
61. Post-op area: ICU
62. Getting the job done: ON IT
68. '40s film critic James: AGEE. Had no idea that he's film critic.
69. Guadalajara "good": BUENO. Alliteration.
70. Max of '30s boxing: BAER. Learned from doing Xword.
71. Proof of ownership: DEED
72. "The Beverly Hillbillies" star: EBSEN (Buddy)
Down:
1. Spider's doing COBWEB
2. In working order USABLE. And BRIBABLE (11. Like one who can be bought). Two able ending words. Venal means bribable too. I tend to confuse venal with venial.
3. Hare-hunting feline: BOBCAT. Oh, I was ignorant that bobcat eat hare. Hare with morels, that's what those people eat in Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party". I love "Amélie", Dudley.
4. Cambridgeshire cathedral town: ELY. Often it's just clued as "English cathedral town".
5. Plastic user's concern: DEBT
6. Keep afloat: BUOY UP
7. ThinkPad maker: IBM. We also had POD (22A. i follower). iPoD.
8. Stay active: KEEP BUSY
9. Flamboyant Flynn: ERROL
10. No longer used, as a word: Abbr.: OBS. OK, obsolete I suppose.
18. Celestial sight: ORB. Alliteration.
23. Actress Susan: DEY
26. Sofa material: LEATHER
28. Safest option: BEST BET. Both word start with B also.
29. Pennants: BANNERS
35. Headed up: LED
39. Collectible plastic jewelry: BAKELITE. Kitchenware too.
40. Words clicked to see more: NEXT PAGE. Nice entry.
42. Two-year periods: BIENNIA. Plural of biennium. I obtained the answer with crosses.
45. Take in: ABSORB
46. Hoops org.: NBA
48. Quenched: SLAKED
50. Dior skirts: A-LINES. First introduced by Christian Dior in 1955.
51. Christianity's __ Creed: NICENE
52. Press forward: SPUR ON
54. "... for there is nothing / either good __, but thinking makes it so": Hamlet: OR BAD. Easy guess.
55. Tidal action: EBB
60. Hick: RUBE. Parallels with RUB (66. Erase, with "out")
63. La Brea material: TAR
65. Average mark: CEE
Don's note:
The inspiration for this puzzle comes from Crossword Corner. I was asked about a puzzle that was memorable, and one that stood out was where I had 30 K’s in the grid. I had a lot of favorable response to that one. It got me thinking how I could do that again. My first thought was B-52. Would you believe I thought I could put 52 B’s in a puzzle? I was lucky to get 29. I also thought the puzzle should have two-word phrases where each word begins with B. It is a simple idea, but very difficult to pull off when it comes to filling a grid. I think it went back and forth to Rich at least three times. Many thanks to C.C.!
Answer grid.
C.C.
