Theme: Money Talks - Common phrases ending with currency denominations.
23A: Lofty bills?: HIGH FIVES. HIGH FIVE is a celebratory slap.
38A: Superior bills?: TOP TENS. OK, here is a David Letterman's TOP TEN George Bush moments. What's the fun with #5 "I like to fish"?
50A: Adored bills?: LOVED ONES. Your spouse & kids & friends & pets are your LOVED ONES.
8D: Hated bills (that appropriately spoil this puzzle's symmetry)?: TERRIBLE TWOS. Toddlers start to get defiant at age two, hence the name.
For the grid to be symmetrical, TERRIBLE TWOS would have to be placed in column #8 rather than #9. (Updated later: My mistake. According to Orange, for a symmetrical grid pattern, the L in TERRIBLE TWO should have been black.)
I was very surprised to hear that two-dollar bills are very rare in the US when I first arrived in Minnesota. We use them a lot in China.
Lively theme clues, esp 8D. So creative to grid the odd-ball TERRIBLE TWOS Down and intersect all the other three cheerful Across theme entries.
Maybe I am paying more attention to the "tapestry weaving" after reading Bob Klahn's interview, but I did notice quite a few echo clues.
Was XI'AN (12D: Ancient Chinese capital) a gimme to you today? Did you think of me when you filled in it? I've mentioned so many times before, XI'AN was the capital city for Zhou, Qin, Han & Tang, four major dynasties in China, I was born and grew up there, hence my Chinese name Zhouqin. Chairman Mao & the Chinese Communist Party picked Beijing over XI'AN as China's capital in 1949.
Do read my interview with Don "Hard G" Gagliardo regarding his thought process on this puzzle.
Across:
1A: Type of large TV: PLASMA
7A: Erwin of '50s TV: STU. Not familiar with STU Erwin or any of his shows. He died in 1967. Nice consecutive "TV" clues.
10A: With 13-Down, opportunity for better luck?: NEXT. And TIME (13D: See 10-Across). Great cross-reference & intersection.
14A: Swinger in a box: HITTER. Penned in BATTER immediately.
15A: "__ making a list ...": Christmas music: HE'S. "Santa Clause is Coming to Town".
16A: Et __: ALII. Latin masculine plural. Et alia is neutral plural. Et aliae is feminine plural.
17A: Looking to be helped out: IN A JAM
18A: Cardinal point suffix: ERN
19A: Go-go go-between? TEAM. Why? I got the answer from Down fills. (Note: Go, TEAM, go)
20A: Strung along: LED ON
21A: Irene of "Fame": CARA. Also Italian (feminine) for "beloved". Cara Mia = My beloved.
26A: Shore shoe style: OPEN TOE
29A: "Incidentally ...": BY THE BY
33D: Excavated areas: PITS. Like the XI'AN Terracotta Warriors PITS.
34A: Author Godwin: GAIL. No idea. She looks like an author who writes something serious, like "Away From Her".
40A: Razor-billed bird: AUK. The Arctic black-and-white diving bird.
41A: Curly- tailed dog: AKITA. Originated from the AKITA Prefecture, Japan.
43A: Oklahoma native: OTO. Or OTOE.
44A: To __: A TEE
45A: "Jeepers!": HOLY COW! And YIKES (32D: "Jeepers!")
48A: Ancient septet: WONDERS. Seven WONDERS of the World.
52A: Julie Kotter's spouse, in a '70s sitcom: GABE. Again, got the answer from Down fills. It's from the TV sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter". He is the teacher with a ruler.
55A: Erotic deity: EROS. Erotic is rooted in EROS.
56A: Gushes: SPEWS. Crossed WELL (58D: Gusher source). Another great intersection. The clues are very Bob Klahn-ish.
61A: Toon Chihuahua: REN. Wrote down RIN, thinking of RIN Tin Tin. I am used to see REN clued as "Stimpy's pal".
62A: Author Allende: ISABEL. Sigh! Her name escaped me. Just heard her interview on Minnesota Public Radio a few weeks ago. Chilean-American author. Very imaginative. Hard to tell whether her stories are real or not.
63A: __ Accords, 1993 Isreal-PLO pact: OSLO. Rabin was assassinated because he signed the OSLO Accords.
64A: Word spoken with a head slap: D'OH. Carol calls it her V8 moment.
65A: Swiss cough drop: RICOLA. Stumper, though this clip sounds very familiar. RICOLA is abbreviation of the company's German name Richterich & Compagnie Laufen.
66A: Occupant of a tiny house: DOLL. Some of those 1950's Madam Alexander hard plastic dolls cost hundreds of dollars.
67A: Tokyo-born artist: ONO. Oh, I had the misconception that she was born in NY, then moved to Tokyo as a kid.
68A: One way to be aware: KEENLY. Good clue. KEENLY aware.
Down:
1D: "Dr. __": PHIL. Nicely placed above OPRAH (26D: Chicago-based daytime host), who launched Dr. PHIL's career. Both yawner, yawner though. Give me Ellen any day.
2D: Ticket window sight: LINE
4D: The Red Storm of the Big East Conference: ST JOHN'S. No idea. Wikipedia says Governor Mario Cuomo graduated from this university.
5D: Be dead serious: MEAN IT
6D: Equip, as a posse: ARM. Brought to mind Gary Cooper's "High NOON" (39D: High time?")
7D: Bundle: SHEAF
9D: SEALs' gp.: US NAVY. Our ex-governor Jesse Ventura was a Navy SEAL.
10D: Tony winner Richardson: NATASHA. Sad to see her name. She died of that skiing accident. Wife of Liam Neeson (Oskar in "Schindler's List").
11D: It's usually pd. monthly: ELEC
21D: Tight: CHEAP. Did not know "Tight" can mean stingy as well.
24D: Disco adjective: GO-GO. Unfortunately "Go-go" is also part of the clue for 19A.
25D: Approximate leaving hrs.: ETDS. ETD = Estimated Time of Departure.
27D: Liberal, to Archie Bunker: PINKO. Refers to the communists, right?
28D: Amazon business, say: E-TAIL
30D: Eddie who founded a clothing chain: BAUER. Again, obtained the answer with crosses. Have never heard of the chain.
35D: "Was __ blame?": I TO
38D: Folded fare: TACO. Alliteration.
42D: Acetaminophen brand: TYLENOL. Easy guess. I did not know the meaning of acetaminophen.
44D: Much of a Sunday paper: ADS SPACE. Or of all those gossip magazines.
46D: Exert to excess: OVERDO. Another alliteration.
47D: "It's our turn to perform!": WE'RE ON. Oh well, mine was WERION, since I had RIN instead of REN for the crossing 61A. So I had huge trouble parsing my answer.
49D: Monster nickname: NESSIE. The Lock Ness monster, legend of Scotland.
51D: "Tiny Bubbles" singer: DON HO. Another cross help.
53D: Kid's assertive retort: AM SO
54D: Ringer: BELL
57D: "Heaven's __ vault, studded with stars...": Shelley: EBON. Struggled with this answer. EBON is poetic "black". I wanted A BIG, Heaven's A BIG vault. Makes sense to me.
59D: Elicit guffaws from: SLAY. So many words/phrases for "crack up".
62D: Vex: IRK. IRE can be a verb too.
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is beautiful photo of the Bee's family. From left to right: Melissa Bee's daughter (tank patrol member for the San Jose Sharks), the conjunction Barb B (Melissa's Mom), and our blog "It" girl Melissa.
C.C.
23A: Lofty bills?: HIGH FIVES. HIGH FIVE is a celebratory slap.
38A: Superior bills?: TOP TENS. OK, here is a David Letterman's TOP TEN George Bush moments. What's the fun with #5 "I like to fish"?
50A: Adored bills?: LOVED ONES. Your spouse & kids & friends & pets are your LOVED ONES.
8D: Hated bills (that appropriately spoil this puzzle's symmetry)?: TERRIBLE TWOS. Toddlers start to get defiant at age two, hence the name.
For the grid to be symmetrical, TERRIBLE TWOS would have to be placed in column #8 rather than #9. (Updated later: My mistake. According to Orange, for a symmetrical grid pattern, the L in TERRIBLE TWO should have been black.)
I was very surprised to hear that two-dollar bills are very rare in the US when I first arrived in Minnesota. We use them a lot in China.
Lively theme clues, esp 8D. So creative to grid the odd-ball TERRIBLE TWOS Down and intersect all the other three cheerful Across theme entries.
Maybe I am paying more attention to the "tapestry weaving" after reading Bob Klahn's interview, but I did notice quite a few echo clues.
Was XI'AN (12D: Ancient Chinese capital) a gimme to you today? Did you think of me when you filled in it? I've mentioned so many times before, XI'AN was the capital city for Zhou, Qin, Han & Tang, four major dynasties in China, I was born and grew up there, hence my Chinese name Zhouqin. Chairman Mao & the Chinese Communist Party picked Beijing over XI'AN as China's capital in 1949.
Do read my interview with Don "Hard G" Gagliardo regarding his thought process on this puzzle.
Across:
1A: Type of large TV: PLASMA
7A: Erwin of '50s TV: STU. Not familiar with STU Erwin or any of his shows. He died in 1967. Nice consecutive "TV" clues.
10A: With 13-Down, opportunity for better luck?: NEXT. And TIME (13D: See 10-Across). Great cross-reference & intersection.
14A: Swinger in a box: HITTER. Penned in BATTER immediately.
15A: "__ making a list ...": Christmas music: HE'S. "Santa Clause is Coming to Town".
16A: Et __: ALII. Latin masculine plural. Et alia is neutral plural. Et aliae is feminine plural.
17A: Looking to be helped out: IN A JAM
18A: Cardinal point suffix: ERN
19A: Go-go go-between? TEAM. Why? I got the answer from Down fills. (Note: Go, TEAM, go)
20A: Strung along: LED ON
21A: Irene of "Fame": CARA. Also Italian (feminine) for "beloved". Cara Mia = My beloved.
26A: Shore shoe style: OPEN TOE
29A: "Incidentally ...": BY THE BY
33D: Excavated areas: PITS. Like the XI'AN Terracotta Warriors PITS.
34A: Author Godwin: GAIL. No idea. She looks like an author who writes something serious, like "Away From Her".
40A: Razor-billed bird: AUK. The Arctic black-and-white diving bird.
41A: Curly- tailed dog: AKITA. Originated from the AKITA Prefecture, Japan.
43A: Oklahoma native: OTO. Or OTOE.
44A: To __: A TEE
45A: "Jeepers!": HOLY COW! And YIKES (32D: "Jeepers!")
48A: Ancient septet: WONDERS. Seven WONDERS of the World.
52A: Julie Kotter's spouse, in a '70s sitcom: GABE. Again, got the answer from Down fills. It's from the TV sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter". He is the teacher with a ruler.
55A: Erotic deity: EROS. Erotic is rooted in EROS.
56A: Gushes: SPEWS. Crossed WELL (58D: Gusher source). Another great intersection. The clues are very Bob Klahn-ish.
61A: Toon Chihuahua: REN. Wrote down RIN, thinking of RIN Tin Tin. I am used to see REN clued as "Stimpy's pal".
62A: Author Allende: ISABEL. Sigh! Her name escaped me. Just heard her interview on Minnesota Public Radio a few weeks ago. Chilean-American author. Very imaginative. Hard to tell whether her stories are real or not.
63A: __ Accords, 1993 Isreal-PLO pact: OSLO. Rabin was assassinated because he signed the OSLO Accords.
64A: Word spoken with a head slap: D'OH. Carol calls it her V8 moment.
65A: Swiss cough drop: RICOLA. Stumper, though this clip sounds very familiar. RICOLA is abbreviation of the company's German name Richterich & Compagnie Laufen.
66A: Occupant of a tiny house: DOLL. Some of those 1950's Madam Alexander hard plastic dolls cost hundreds of dollars.
67A: Tokyo-born artist: ONO. Oh, I had the misconception that she was born in NY, then moved to Tokyo as a kid.
68A: One way to be aware: KEENLY. Good clue. KEENLY aware.
Down:
1D: "Dr. __": PHIL. Nicely placed above OPRAH (26D: Chicago-based daytime host), who launched Dr. PHIL's career. Both yawner, yawner though. Give me Ellen any day.
2D: Ticket window sight: LINE
4D: The Red Storm of the Big East Conference: ST JOHN'S. No idea. Wikipedia says Governor Mario Cuomo graduated from this university.
5D: Be dead serious: MEAN IT
6D: Equip, as a posse: ARM. Brought to mind Gary Cooper's "High NOON" (39D: High time?")
7D: Bundle: SHEAF
9D: SEALs' gp.: US NAVY. Our ex-governor Jesse Ventura was a Navy SEAL.
10D: Tony winner Richardson: NATASHA. Sad to see her name. She died of that skiing accident. Wife of Liam Neeson (Oskar in "Schindler's List").
11D: It's usually pd. monthly: ELEC
21D: Tight: CHEAP. Did not know "Tight" can mean stingy as well.
24D: Disco adjective: GO-GO. Unfortunately "Go-go" is also part of the clue for 19A.
25D: Approximate leaving hrs.: ETDS. ETD = Estimated Time of Departure.
27D: Liberal, to Archie Bunker: PINKO. Refers to the communists, right?
28D: Amazon business, say: E-TAIL
30D: Eddie who founded a clothing chain: BAUER. Again, obtained the answer with crosses. Have never heard of the chain.
35D: "Was __ blame?": I TO
38D: Folded fare: TACO. Alliteration.
42D: Acetaminophen brand: TYLENOL. Easy guess. I did not know the meaning of acetaminophen.
44D: Much of a Sunday paper: ADS SPACE. Or of all those gossip magazines.
46D: Exert to excess: OVERDO. Another alliteration.
47D: "It's our turn to perform!": WE'RE ON. Oh well, mine was WERION, since I had RIN instead of REN for the crossing 61A. So I had huge trouble parsing my answer.
49D: Monster nickname: NESSIE. The Lock Ness monster, legend of Scotland.
51D: "Tiny Bubbles" singer: DON HO. Another cross help.
53D: Kid's assertive retort: AM SO
54D: Ringer: BELL
57D: "Heaven's __ vault, studded with stars...": Shelley: EBON. Struggled with this answer. EBON is poetic "black". I wanted A BIG, Heaven's A BIG vault. Makes sense to me.
59D: Elicit guffaws from: SLAY. So many words/phrases for "crack up".
62D: Vex: IRK. IRE can be a verb too.
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is beautiful photo of the Bee's family. From left to right: Melissa Bee's daughter (tank patrol member for the San Jose Sharks), the conjunction Barb B (Melissa's Mom), and our blog "It" girl Melissa.
C.C.
