Theme: FINE Tunes
20A: Fireball hit: BOTTLE OF WINE
29A: Guns N' Roses hit: SWEET CHILD O'MINE
58A: Johnny Cash hit: I WALK THE LINE
Finally we have a "Tic-tac-toe winner" (13D: XXX)! We've been losing or near-missing on this game for a long time.
Out of those 3 theme entries, I was only familiar with 58A. I liked the movie "WALK THE LINE", and I always associated "BOTTLE OF WINE" with Tom Paxton.
I liked this puzzle, a precious pangram (Thanks for pointing it out Barry). It always made me happy to see my Chinese name initials (ZQ) gridded in one puzzle. There were, of course, a few unknown names/words to me, but most obtainable from the crossing fills. I think I am getting better at making educated guesses.
Two minor flaws:
44A: "The Bronx __": ZOO. Why the quotation mark?
47D: Gray shade: PEWTER. Says who? Where can I find this "Gray shade" definition of PEWTER?
Across:
1A: Basie music: JAZZ. A quick guess. I don't know Count Basie & his Orchestra.
9A: Heat-resistant glass: PYREX. Very interesting brand name. PYR (o)= fire. REX =king. Here are some Fire-King mixing bowls.
14A: Winglike parts: ALAE. Singular is ALA.
16A: China brand: LENOX. So simple, yet so presidential. I wonder when they are going to clue Wedgwood or Noritake, both are great brands.
18A: Maddux or Norman: GREG. Hmm, the Shark attacks again today. This is GREG Maddux's Donruss 1987 rookie card. NM to MT condition. Only $8.00. The only good card in 1987 is probably Barry Bonds' rookie card.
19A: Cromwell's earldom: ESSEX. Thomas Cromwell, first Earl of ESSEX.
25A: Popular place: HOT SPOT
47A: Bombards: PELTS
53A: Annapolis or West Point: ACADEMY. Jon Stewart probably wants ACADEMY to be clued this way.
55A: QVC rival: HSN (Home Shopping Network)
57A: Wash rm.: LAV. I don't like "rm". "W.C." should be perfectly fine.
61A: Pursuit: QUEST. I was confused for a long time over the wrong spelling of the word "Happiness" in Will Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness". Thank you Melissa.
65A: Part of VMI: INST. Now we are on a VMI binge. Poor MIT. The clue still needs "abbr.", doesn't it?
66A: Fanny of vaudeville: BRICE. I've never heard of her name before. Oh, so Barbara Streisand's "Funny Girl" was about BRICE's life. What was she holding?
70A: Astronaut Slayton: DEKE. Unknown to me. I've seen "Apollo 13", but I don't remember seeing him. Wikipedia says he was was one of the original "Mercury Seven" NASA astronauts. Oh, by the way, are you a hockey fan?
Down:
1D: Poked: JABBED
2D: Former S. F. mayor: ALIOTO (Joseph). How I wanted his name to spell the same as Justice Samuel ALITO's!
3D: Stomach acid inhibitor brand: ZANTAC. I don't think I would have got this word without the neighboring fills.
8D: Automotive bling: MAG WHEEL. New bling term to me. Good to know.
12D: Want-ad abbr.: EOE (Equal Opportunity Employer)
21D: "Liebestraume" composer: LISZT. Another educated guess.
22D: Antioxidant ion: IODIDE. No idea. Dictionary says it's "a compound of iodine with a more electropositive element or group".
30D: German port: KIEL. Foreign to me. Wikipedia says KIEL is "famous for its sailing events, including KIEL Week, the biggest sailing event in the world. See this map. It's on the Baltic.
32D: Author of "Adam Bede": ELIOT (George). Another guess. I've never heard of this novel.
35D: Scaly inflammation: ECZEMA. And 49A: In need of scratch: ITCHY
37D: Bus. school entrance exam: GMAT. Has anyone here taken this exam before?
38D: Pet protection grp.: SPCA. Aren't you bored by "grp."? Why not "agcy" for a change?
39D: Female military grp.: WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps). I got it from the perps. But I was annoyed by another "grp." clue. What's wrong with "org"? "
41D: Pilgrimage destination: HOLY LAND. It's the same as the Promised Land, isn't it?
48D: Bit of clowning: SHTICK
50D: Outpatient facility: CLINIC
51D: Horsedrawn carriage: HANSOM. This carriage just appeared in our puzzle 2 weeks ago.
54D: Dance music: DISCO. I remember we had this DISCO fever in Xi'An around 1987.
52D: Ms. Mimieux: YVETTTE . Another guess. She appeared in "Where the Boys Are".
56D: Agitate: SHAKE. SHAKE Your Bon-Bon (Ricky Martin). What does "Bon-Bon" mean here? I like the "You are my temple of desire" line.
59D: Swiss painter: KLEE (Paul). This is his "Fish Magic". Such an complex imagery. So hard to understand KLEE's hidden theme/humor. He had too abstract a mind, too poetic and philosophical.
60D: Old Italian coin: LIRA. I just learned that LIRA is a monetary unit in Turkey too.
61D: NFL passers: QBS. Who do you think is the best QB in NFL history? Joe Montana?
62D: Mary of "Where Eagles Dare": URE. No idea. I've never heard of "Where Eagles Dare". How do you pronounce her name URE? You're?
63D: One in Emden: EIN. "Ich bin EIN Berliner". What a donut!
C.C.
20A: Fireball hit: BOTTLE OF WINE
29A: Guns N' Roses hit: SWEET CHILD O'MINE
58A: Johnny Cash hit: I WALK THE LINE
Finally we have a "Tic-tac-toe winner" (13D: XXX)! We've been losing or near-missing on this game for a long time.
Out of those 3 theme entries, I was only familiar with 58A. I liked the movie "WALK THE LINE", and I always associated "BOTTLE OF WINE" with Tom Paxton.
I liked this puzzle, a precious pangram (Thanks for pointing it out Barry). It always made me happy to see my Chinese name initials (ZQ) gridded in one puzzle. There were, of course, a few unknown names/words to me, but most obtainable from the crossing fills. I think I am getting better at making educated guesses.
Two minor flaws:
44A: "The Bronx __": ZOO. Why the quotation mark?
47D: Gray shade: PEWTER. Says who? Where can I find this "Gray shade" definition of PEWTER?
Across:
1A: Basie music: JAZZ. A quick guess. I don't know Count Basie & his Orchestra.
9A: Heat-resistant glass: PYREX. Very interesting brand name. PYR (o)= fire. REX =king. Here are some Fire-King mixing bowls.
14A: Winglike parts: ALAE. Singular is ALA.
16A: China brand: LENOX. So simple, yet so presidential. I wonder when they are going to clue Wedgwood or Noritake, both are great brands.
18A: Maddux or Norman: GREG. Hmm, the Shark attacks again today. This is GREG Maddux's Donruss 1987 rookie card. NM to MT condition. Only $8.00. The only good card in 1987 is probably Barry Bonds' rookie card.
19A: Cromwell's earldom: ESSEX. Thomas Cromwell, first Earl of ESSEX.
25A: Popular place: HOT SPOT
47A: Bombards: PELTS
53A: Annapolis or West Point: ACADEMY. Jon Stewart probably wants ACADEMY to be clued this way.
55A: QVC rival: HSN (Home Shopping Network)
57A: Wash rm.: LAV. I don't like "rm". "W.C." should be perfectly fine.
61A: Pursuit: QUEST. I was confused for a long time over the wrong spelling of the word "Happiness" in Will Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness". Thank you Melissa.
65A: Part of VMI: INST. Now we are on a VMI binge. Poor MIT. The clue still needs "abbr.", doesn't it?
66A: Fanny of vaudeville: BRICE. I've never heard of her name before. Oh, so Barbara Streisand's "Funny Girl" was about BRICE's life. What was she holding?
70A: Astronaut Slayton: DEKE. Unknown to me. I've seen "Apollo 13", but I don't remember seeing him. Wikipedia says he was was one of the original "Mercury Seven" NASA astronauts. Oh, by the way, are you a hockey fan?
Down:
1D: Poked: JABBED
2D: Former S. F. mayor: ALIOTO (Joseph). How I wanted his name to spell the same as Justice Samuel ALITO's!
3D: Stomach acid inhibitor brand: ZANTAC. I don't think I would have got this word without the neighboring fills.
8D: Automotive bling: MAG WHEEL. New bling term to me. Good to know.
12D: Want-ad abbr.: EOE (Equal Opportunity Employer)
21D: "Liebestraume" composer: LISZT. Another educated guess.
22D: Antioxidant ion: IODIDE. No idea. Dictionary says it's "a compound of iodine with a more electropositive element or group".
30D: German port: KIEL. Foreign to me. Wikipedia says KIEL is "famous for its sailing events, including KIEL Week, the biggest sailing event in the world. See this map. It's on the Baltic.
32D: Author of "Adam Bede": ELIOT (George). Another guess. I've never heard of this novel.
35D: Scaly inflammation: ECZEMA. And 49A: In need of scratch: ITCHY
37D: Bus. school entrance exam: GMAT. Has anyone here taken this exam before?
38D: Pet protection grp.: SPCA. Aren't you bored by "grp."? Why not "agcy" for a change?
39D: Female military grp.: WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps). I got it from the perps. But I was annoyed by another "grp." clue. What's wrong with "org"? "
41D: Pilgrimage destination: HOLY LAND. It's the same as the Promised Land, isn't it?
48D: Bit of clowning: SHTICK
50D: Outpatient facility: CLINIC
51D: Horsedrawn carriage: HANSOM. This carriage just appeared in our puzzle 2 weeks ago.
54D: Dance music: DISCO. I remember we had this DISCO fever in Xi'An around 1987.
52D: Ms. Mimieux: YVETTTE . Another guess. She appeared in "Where the Boys Are".
56D: Agitate: SHAKE. SHAKE Your Bon-Bon (Ricky Martin). What does "Bon-Bon" mean here? I like the "You are my temple of desire" line.
59D: Swiss painter: KLEE (Paul). This is his "Fish Magic". Such an complex imagery. So hard to understand KLEE's hidden theme/humor. He had too abstract a mind, too poetic and philosophical.
60D: Old Italian coin: LIRA. I just learned that LIRA is a monetary unit in Turkey too.
61D: NFL passers: QBS. Who do you think is the best QB in NFL history? Joe Montana?
62D: Mary of "Where Eagles Dare": URE. No idea. I've never heard of "Where Eagles Dare". How do you pronounce her name URE? You're?
63D: One in Emden: EIN. "Ich bin EIN Berliner". What a donut!
C.C.
