Author: Jeremy Horwitz
Theme: Movie titles with seasons in them.
- 20a: 2000 Liev Schreiber film (SPRING FORWARD).
- 28a: 1987 Mark Harmon film (SUMMER SCHOOL).
- 49a: 1978 Ingrid Bergman film (AUTUMN SONATA).
- 59a: 2004 Zooey Deschanel film (WINTER PASSING).
I don't know any of these films, which prevents me from loving the theme but not from liking it. They're all reasonable titles and eminently gettable, so I have no real complaints. It's just unusual for me to have a four-movie theme for which I know none of the four films.
The rest:
- 5a: Easy thing to hit the broadside of (BARN). I like this clue, as it makes use of a colorful expression.
- 9a: Lake by the Ponderosa Ranch (TAHOE).
- 14a: Burn balm (ALOE).
- 18a: Name in Al Hirschfeld drawings (NINA). Didn't know this, but NINA is certainly a name, so it fits fine.
- 33a: "Monty Python's Flying Circus" network (BBC). Name a British network.
- 40a: Flip one's lid (GO APE). Didn't we just have this last week? I'm sure of it, because I commented on how I've never actually seen apes go ape. They always seem pretty reserved to me.
- 54a: TV network formerly known as Pax (ION). Never heard of either one.
- 64a: Synfuel source (SHALE).
- 66a: One who observes (EYER). Yuck. I've opined before about my distaste for forced -ER words.
- 70a: Carmela Soprano portrayer Falco (EDIE). A crossword staple.
- 72a: "Put a tiger in your tank" sloganeer (ESSO).
- 73a: Basketball team owned in part by Jay-Z (NETS). I learned this from crosswords.
- 2d: Bond on the run (ELOPE). Cute. I'm pretty convinced that ELOPE has, on average, the coolest clues of any other word.
- 3d: Simba's sounds (ROARS). Simba of "The Lion King".
- 5d: Bob's costar in the "Road" pictures (BING). Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.
- 9d: Basic ingredient? (TOBACCO). Basic is a brand of cigarettes. I didn't get this right away.
- 26d: Like a bad cat burglar (NOISY). Great clue.
- 27d: Famous spokescow (ELSIE). I just love the word spokescow.
- 29d: Ryan of "Sleepless in Seattle" (MEG). I find Meg Ryan attractive in a girl-next-door way. She's just cute all over.
- 30d: He married him in 1930 (MAO). Very tricky clue for a Monday. He Zizhen was Mao Tse-tung's third wife.
- 33d: Joy of "The View" (BEHAR). I should know this, but I needed crossings.
- 35d: Shipwreck survivors (CASTAWAYS). "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale..."
- 39d: "Search for Tomorrow" character Bergman (STU). I can name exactly three soap opera characters by first name: Erica, Luke, and Laura. That's it. If it's not one of those, then I'm guessing.
- 57d: Language whose name means "people" (INUIT). I had I_UIT before I even saw the clue, so it wasn't much of a challenge.
A fine, uneventful Monday. Not much else to add.
Thanks for listening.
- Pete M.
2 comments:
not only is that two more soap characters than i can name, but i had no idea that "search for tomorrow" was a soap. luckily, i never saw that clue at all.
Hey, speaking of Luke and Laura, I just recently met Tony (aka Anthony Geary), who plays Luke, at a mutual friend's wedding! He seems like a very nice guy, and I enjoyed chatting with him. Do I get bonus points for that? :)
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