Theme: Extra! Extra! (two letter X'es in each theme answer)
17A: One some roads, it might be several miles after the last one: NEXT EXIT
20A: Like interest on some bonds: TAX EXEMPT
36A: She may oversee an estate: EXECUTRIX
57A: Halo 2 and Project Gotham Racing, notably: XBOX GAMES
63A: Route on which to "get your kicks," in a pop standard: SIXTY-SIX
8D: Fajitas, for one: TEX-MEX DISH
29D: Product of a major 1999 merger: EXXONMOBIL
Holy cow! Total 14 letter X'es in the grid. NY Times' record is 13.
Typical Dan Naddor puzzle. Heavy themage. Perfectly placed EXECUTRIX. I like how it intersects the other two Down theme entries. New word to me though. But -TRIX is common feminine suffix, so the answer came to me rather quickly.
So sweet to see XI'AN (39D: Central Chinese provincial capital) in the grid, though the clue is inaccurate, to a nitpicking native Xi'Anese like me. XI'AN is the capital of Shaanxi Province, which is actually classified as Northwestern China. And XI'AN is often regarded as the most important city in Northwestern China. XI'AN (西安), literally "Western Peace".
But I totally understand Dan Daddor's "Central Chinese provincial capital". XI'AN, one of the oldest cities in China, is most famous for its terra-cotta soldiers. Chairmao and the Communist Party picked Beijing over XI'AN in 1949 to be the capital of China. And of course, I grew up there and I just mentioned it yesterday.
Across:
1A: Words spoken with glass raised: A TOAST
7A: Bellicose declaration: IT'S A WAR. And PAX (35A: Peaceful period). Roman goddess of peace.
13A: Disciplines: CHASTENS
16A: Snookums: DEARIE. Snookum does not sound sweet to me at all.
18A: Run out, as a subscription: EXPIRE
19A: Pitching start: ERA. Poor Johan Santana, he is losing steam now.
22A: HMO workers: DOCS
25A: They're just looking: EYERS. How many millihelens? Whom do you like better, Alessandra Ambrosio or Andriana Lima?
30A: Tic-tac-toe loser: OOX
32A: Colorful card game: UNO
33A: Building toy with apostrophe in its name: K'NEX. I only know LEGO.
34A: Campus hangout: QUAD. What exactly is a QUAD? We hung out at DORM.
40A: Delivery person?: MOM. Nice clue.
43A: Gumbo pod: OKRA. So sticky!
44A: Jedi adversary: SITH. No idea. Not a "Star Wars" fan. Wanted EWOK.
48A: PBS benefactor: NEA
49A: Sounds of hearty laugh: HA HA HA
51A: Rattler's threat: VENOM
53A: __ to a one's neck: IN UP. I am familiar with "up to one's neck", not with "in".
55A: Some House votes: NAYS. Some "State Duma votes" would be NYETS.
60A: Otto minus cinque: TRE. Italian for three. Otto (8) minus cinque (5). French five is cinq.
61A: "__ & Mrs. Miller": 1971 Beatty/Christie film: MCCABE. New film to me. Juliet Christie is a beautiful woman.
65A: Begin successor: SHAMIR. I got the answer from Down clues. SHAMIR is of Likud party, so is the current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
66A: South Australia's capital: ADELAIDE. See this map. The city is named after Queen Adelaide, a Germanic name meaning “nobility.”
67A: Bottom lines: TOTALS
68A: In folders, say: SORTED
Down:
1D: Broken out in blemishes: ACNED. I only know the noun ACNE.
2D: Alcatraz, familiarly: THE ROCK. Movie title as well.
3D: Southern Mexican: OAXACAN
4D: 49th-state police gp.: AST. I suppose it's Alaska State Troopers?
6D: Gas company with a star logo: TEXACO
7D: Bordeaux brainstorm: IDEE. French for "idea".
10D: News article: WRITE-UP
11D: Go public with: AIR. Hmmm, Senator John Ensign was forced to AIR his extramarital affair yesterday. The forbidden fruit is always tempting. Sweeter too, yes?
12D: R & B artist Des'__: REE. Nope. Have never heard of this singer. Her original name is Desiree Weeks.
14D: His Western White House was dubbed La Casa Pacifica: NIXON
21D: Deletes: X'S OUT
23D: Portly pirate: SMEE. "Peter Pan" pirate.
27D: Chicago team, briefly: SOX. CUB as well.
31D: It fits in a lock: OAR. Oarlock. Of course I thought of KEY.
34D: In the capacity of: QUA. Sometimes it's clued as Sine QUA non.
38D: Guy with a helpful online list: CRAIG. Nice clue. I bought a few bobbleheads from CRAIG's List.
40D: Dallas NBAer: MAV. Mark Cuban is a colorful character.
41D: __ Miss: OLE. University of Mississippi.
42D: Often tailless feline: MANX CAT
45D: "We're done here": THAT'S IT
46D: Halloween jaunt: HAYRIDE. No idea. I've never seen anyone takes HAYRIDE during Halloween.
49D: Sticky: HUMID. Like the weather in Guangzhou, so HUMID. Takes days to dry my clothes in the raining season. Most Chinese do not have dryer at home.
50D: High points: APEXES. The plural of apex can also be apices. So close to apiece.
54D: Apollo's creator: NASA. Very timely fill. NASA is going to launch an unmanned rocket to the moon today. I wonder if anyone thought of Zeus, who is the father of Apollo.
56D: H.S. health course: SEX ED
58D: Much of the MTV Generation: X'ERS. I am one.
59D: 1944 battle site: ST LO. Close to Caen.
61D: Cheyenne hrs.: MST. I wonder if we have any fellow LAT solvers in Cheyenne.
62D: Comic Margaret: CHO. Korean-American. Chinese for CHO is Zhao or Cao.
64D: "Babi __": Shostakovich symphony: YAR. No idea. I suppose it's related to the Babi Yar massacre.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A: One some roads, it might be several miles after the last one: NEXT EXIT
20A: Like interest on some bonds: TAX EXEMPT
36A: She may oversee an estate: EXECUTRIX
57A: Halo 2 and Project Gotham Racing, notably: XBOX GAMES
63A: Route on which to "get your kicks," in a pop standard: SIXTY-SIX
8D: Fajitas, for one: TEX-MEX DISH
29D: Product of a major 1999 merger: EXXONMOBIL
Holy cow! Total 14 letter X'es in the grid. NY Times' record is 13.
Typical Dan Naddor puzzle. Heavy themage. Perfectly placed EXECUTRIX. I like how it intersects the other two Down theme entries. New word to me though. But -TRIX is common feminine suffix, so the answer came to me rather quickly.
So sweet to see XI'AN (39D: Central Chinese provincial capital) in the grid, though the clue is inaccurate, to a nitpicking native Xi'Anese like me. XI'AN is the capital of Shaanxi Province, which is actually classified as Northwestern China. And XI'AN is often regarded as the most important city in Northwestern China. XI'AN (西安), literally "Western Peace".
But I totally understand Dan Daddor's "Central Chinese provincial capital". XI'AN, one of the oldest cities in China, is most famous for its terra-cotta soldiers. Chairmao and the Communist Party picked Beijing over XI'AN in 1949 to be the capital of China. And of course, I grew up there and I just mentioned it yesterday.
Across:
1A: Words spoken with glass raised: A TOAST
7A: Bellicose declaration: IT'S A WAR. And PAX (35A: Peaceful period). Roman goddess of peace.
13A: Disciplines: CHASTENS
16A: Snookums: DEARIE. Snookum does not sound sweet to me at all.
18A: Run out, as a subscription: EXPIRE
19A: Pitching start: ERA. Poor Johan Santana, he is losing steam now.
22A: HMO workers: DOCS
25A: They're just looking: EYERS. How many millihelens? Whom do you like better, Alessandra Ambrosio or Andriana Lima?
30A: Tic-tac-toe loser: OOX
32A: Colorful card game: UNO
33A: Building toy with apostrophe in its name: K'NEX. I only know LEGO.
34A: Campus hangout: QUAD. What exactly is a QUAD? We hung out at DORM.
40A: Delivery person?: MOM. Nice clue.
43A: Gumbo pod: OKRA. So sticky!
44A: Jedi adversary: SITH. No idea. Not a "Star Wars" fan. Wanted EWOK.
48A: PBS benefactor: NEA
49A: Sounds of hearty laugh: HA HA HA
51A: Rattler's threat: VENOM
53A: __ to a one's neck: IN UP. I am familiar with "up to one's neck", not with "in".
55A: Some House votes: NAYS. Some "State Duma votes" would be NYETS.
60A: Otto minus cinque: TRE. Italian for three. Otto (8) minus cinque (5). French five is cinq.
61A: "__ & Mrs. Miller": 1971 Beatty/Christie film: MCCABE. New film to me. Juliet Christie is a beautiful woman.
65A: Begin successor: SHAMIR. I got the answer from Down clues. SHAMIR is of Likud party, so is the current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
66A: South Australia's capital: ADELAIDE. See this map. The city is named after Queen Adelaide, a Germanic name meaning “nobility.”
67A: Bottom lines: TOTALS
68A: In folders, say: SORTED
Down:
1D: Broken out in blemishes: ACNED. I only know the noun ACNE.
2D: Alcatraz, familiarly: THE ROCK. Movie title as well.
3D: Southern Mexican: OAXACAN
4D: 49th-state police gp.: AST. I suppose it's Alaska State Troopers?
6D: Gas company with a star logo: TEXACO
7D: Bordeaux brainstorm: IDEE. French for "idea".
10D: News article: WRITE-UP
11D: Go public with: AIR. Hmmm, Senator John Ensign was forced to AIR his extramarital affair yesterday. The forbidden fruit is always tempting. Sweeter too, yes?
12D: R & B artist Des'__: REE. Nope. Have never heard of this singer. Her original name is Desiree Weeks.
14D: His Western White House was dubbed La Casa Pacifica: NIXON
21D: Deletes: X'S OUT
23D: Portly pirate: SMEE. "Peter Pan" pirate.
27D: Chicago team, briefly: SOX. CUB as well.
31D: It fits in a lock: OAR. Oarlock. Of course I thought of KEY.
34D: In the capacity of: QUA. Sometimes it's clued as Sine QUA non.
38D: Guy with a helpful online list: CRAIG. Nice clue. I bought a few bobbleheads from CRAIG's List.
40D: Dallas NBAer: MAV. Mark Cuban is a colorful character.
41D: __ Miss: OLE. University of Mississippi.
42D: Often tailless feline: MANX CAT
45D: "We're done here": THAT'S IT
46D: Halloween jaunt: HAYRIDE. No idea. I've never seen anyone takes HAYRIDE during Halloween.
49D: Sticky: HUMID. Like the weather in Guangzhou, so HUMID. Takes days to dry my clothes in the raining season. Most Chinese do not have dryer at home.
50D: High points: APEXES. The plural of apex can also be apices. So close to apiece.
54D: Apollo's creator: NASA. Very timely fill. NASA is going to launch an unmanned rocket to the moon today. I wonder if anyone thought of Zeus, who is the father of Apollo.
56D: H.S. health course: SEX ED
58D: Much of the MTV Generation: X'ERS. I am one.
59D: 1944 battle site: ST LO. Close to Caen.
61D: Cheyenne hrs.: MST. I wonder if we have any fellow LAT solvers in Cheyenne.
62D: Comic Margaret: CHO. Korean-American. Chinese for CHO is Zhao or Cao.
64D: "Babi __": Shostakovich symphony: YAR. No idea. I suppose it's related to the Babi Yar massacre.
Answer grid.
C.C.
