Theme: MATCH (39A: Word before ends of 20A, 28A, 48A and 58A)
20A: Movie theater appliance: POPCORN MAKER
28A: Parcel, possibly: CARDBOARD BOX
48A: Cocktail implement: SWIZZLE STICK
58A: Sycophant's reward: BROWNIE POINT
BROWNIE POINT is a new phrase to me. It takes "BROWNIE, you're doing a heck of a job" to a whole new dimension then.
I really like the clues for ARSON (2D: Illegal firing?) and LOO (49D: Elton's john). Very clever. I would prefer "Since Jan. 1" over "Since 1/1" for YTD. I also dislike the clue for SEL (24A: SSS word). Abbreviated answer should always be avoided when other choice exists. Besides, why not play with George Sand's name and clue SEL as "Sand's salt". Alliterative and misguiding.
I hope you enjoyed this pangram from Barry. It's been exactly a month since we last solved his puzzle.
Across:
1A: Delhi garb: SARI. And RANI (71A: Indian royalty). Perfect symmetry.
9A: Flashy: JAZZY. The style of Barry's puzzle as well. Four Z's today.
16A: "The Waste Land" poet: ELIOT. Boston accent?
23A: Surround with an aura: ENHALO. Was unaware of the verb form.
37A: Seed covering: ARIL. I forgot the difference between ARIL and TESTA again.
45A: Greek war god: ARES. He is also Aphrodite's lover, so are Adonis and Hermes and a bunch of other guys. Hugo once said "A woman with three lovers is a woman." I've yet to become a woman then.
61A: Leon Uris novel: QB VII. No idea. This is the book cover. What does QB stand for?
65A: Actor Franco: NERO. Unknown to me. I am used to the "Fictional Wolfe" clue. Hmm, his book looks interesting.
68A: Hydroxyl compound: ENOL. Often clued as "Organic compound".
Down:
3D: Writer Ellison: RALPH. New writer to me. Wikipedia says he is best known for novel "Invisible Man", which won the National Book Award in 1953.
4D: Emetic medication: IPECAC. My brain keeps burping this word.
5D: "Air Music" composer: NED ROREM. Have never heard of this composer before. He looks quite handsome.
8D: Half of UTEP: EL PASO. Another "My Pet Goat" moment for me. I just can't remember what UTEP stands for (University of Texas, EL PASO).
9D: Worn ornaments: JEWELRY. Does anyone collect Taxco sterling silver JEWLERY? Here is a vintage Los Castillo signed sterling silver owl pin. The seller is asking $475 for his item.
10D: Banned spray: ALAR. When was it banned?
11D: Quick turn: ZIG
12D: Tony winner Caldwell: ZOE. Here is a clip of Caldwell and Sean Connery in "MacBeth". I simply forgot her name. Googled her before. She has won four Tony Awards.
21D: "The Good Earth" wife: O-LAN. "The Good Earth" is the best book about China. No other author has ever captured the authentic Chinese spirit better than Pearl Buck did.
22D: Cyclades island: KEA. I would not have got it without the across fills. Can never remember this damned island. Isn't it strange that KEA is the only feminine sounding island while others all have *S ending masculine names?
27D: Neural transmitters: AXONS. They transmit impulses.
29D: Kind of fingerprint: DNA. I've always associated DNA with blood or hair, but never with fingerprint.
30D: Test versions: BETAS. Computer term I presume?
31D: River regulator: DAM. I was thinking there might be a federal agency that regulate those rivers.
32D: Fabricated: FALSE. LIED does not fit.
41D: Dutch brew: HEINEKEN. They have very formidable market share in Asia Pacific.
44D: Of Russian monarchy: CZARIST
46D: Porgy: SCUP. Holy cow. So this is what a S CUP looks like. Unknown to me. Where did I get the idea that "Porgy" is a pig name?
50D: One of the Blues Brothers: ELWOOD. Another new name to me.
51D: Scandinavian coins: KRONER. Strange plural form.
55D: City in Tuscany: SIENA
56D: Bankrupt giant: ENRON. We bought a pack of ENRON logo golf balls on Ebay after the ENRON collapse. My sister-in-law has this strange conspiracy theory that Ken Lay is not really dead.
57D: Popular vodka, familiarly: STOLI
60D: Andes autocrat: INCA. Again, why "autocrat"?
61D: NFL passers: QBS. And TDS. That's all I know about football.
62D: Emeril's exclamation: BAM. "Aw, yeah, babe", "feel the love", Emeril also likes to say "Kick it up a notch".
C.C.
20A: Movie theater appliance: POPCORN MAKER
28A: Parcel, possibly: CARDBOARD BOX
48A: Cocktail implement: SWIZZLE STICK
58A: Sycophant's reward: BROWNIE POINT
BROWNIE POINT is a new phrase to me. It takes "BROWNIE, you're doing a heck of a job" to a whole new dimension then.
I really like the clues for ARSON (2D: Illegal firing?) and LOO (49D: Elton's john). Very clever. I would prefer "Since Jan. 1" over "Since 1/1" for YTD. I also dislike the clue for SEL (24A: SSS word). Abbreviated answer should always be avoided when other choice exists. Besides, why not play with George Sand's name and clue SEL as "Sand's salt". Alliterative and misguiding.
I hope you enjoyed this pangram from Barry. It's been exactly a month since we last solved his puzzle.
Across:
1A: Delhi garb: SARI. And RANI (71A: Indian royalty). Perfect symmetry.
9A: Flashy: JAZZY. The style of Barry's puzzle as well. Four Z's today.
16A: "The Waste Land" poet: ELIOT. Boston accent?
23A: Surround with an aura: ENHALO. Was unaware of the verb form.
37A: Seed covering: ARIL. I forgot the difference between ARIL and TESTA again.
45A: Greek war god: ARES. He is also Aphrodite's lover, so are Adonis and Hermes and a bunch of other guys. Hugo once said "A woman with three lovers is a woman." I've yet to become a woman then.
61A: Leon Uris novel: QB VII. No idea. This is the book cover. What does QB stand for?
65A: Actor Franco: NERO. Unknown to me. I am used to the "Fictional Wolfe" clue. Hmm, his book looks interesting.
68A: Hydroxyl compound: ENOL. Often clued as "Organic compound".
Down:
3D: Writer Ellison: RALPH. New writer to me. Wikipedia says he is best known for novel "Invisible Man", which won the National Book Award in 1953.
4D: Emetic medication: IPECAC. My brain keeps burping this word.
5D: "Air Music" composer: NED ROREM. Have never heard of this composer before. He looks quite handsome.
8D: Half of UTEP: EL PASO. Another "My Pet Goat" moment for me. I just can't remember what UTEP stands for (University of Texas, EL PASO).
9D: Worn ornaments: JEWELRY. Does anyone collect Taxco sterling silver JEWLERY? Here is a vintage Los Castillo signed sterling silver owl pin. The seller is asking $475 for his item.
10D: Banned spray: ALAR. When was it banned?
11D: Quick turn: ZIG
12D: Tony winner Caldwell: ZOE. Here is a clip of Caldwell and Sean Connery in "MacBeth". I simply forgot her name. Googled her before. She has won four Tony Awards.
21D: "The Good Earth" wife: O-LAN. "The Good Earth" is the best book about China. No other author has ever captured the authentic Chinese spirit better than Pearl Buck did.
22D: Cyclades island: KEA. I would not have got it without the across fills. Can never remember this damned island. Isn't it strange that KEA is the only feminine sounding island while others all have *S ending masculine names?
27D: Neural transmitters: AXONS. They transmit impulses.
29D: Kind of fingerprint: DNA. I've always associated DNA with blood or hair, but never with fingerprint.
30D: Test versions: BETAS. Computer term I presume?
31D: River regulator: DAM. I was thinking there might be a federal agency that regulate those rivers.
32D: Fabricated: FALSE. LIED does not fit.
41D: Dutch brew: HEINEKEN. They have very formidable market share in Asia Pacific.
44D: Of Russian monarchy: CZARIST
46D: Porgy: SCUP. Holy cow. So this is what a S CUP looks like. Unknown to me. Where did I get the idea that "Porgy" is a pig name?
50D: One of the Blues Brothers: ELWOOD. Another new name to me.
51D: Scandinavian coins: KRONER. Strange plural form.
55D: City in Tuscany: SIENA
56D: Bankrupt giant: ENRON. We bought a pack of ENRON logo golf balls on Ebay after the ENRON collapse. My sister-in-law has this strange conspiracy theory that Ken Lay is not really dead.
57D: Popular vodka, familiarly: STOLI
60D: Andes autocrat: INCA. Again, why "autocrat"?
61D: NFL passers: QBS. And TDS. That's all I know about football.
62D: Emeril's exclamation: BAM. "Aw, yeah, babe", "feel the love", Emeril also likes to say "Kick it up a notch".
C.C.
