Hi! Horace here, taking over typing duties for Frannie for today. Let's start at the beginning - 1A. Young fellow (BUCKO), which Frannie rates as C-. She hates the word "BUCKO." Me, I don't hate it so much, but it's not my month, so C- it is.
Next, let's get right to the theme. WALKENSTICK (47A: Cudgel for actor Christopher) is, of course, Frannie's favorite. BACONPOWDER (24A: Makeup for actor Kevin) is good too, but let's face it, who is going to choose Kevin Bacon over Christopher Walken. Nobody, that's who.
Now let's get personal for a minute... at dinner this evening, Frannie said that she had the "sharp" part of "1D: C's equivalent" first, but needed 1 Across to figure out the note part. She did play flute for about six years in high school, and even attended a special music camp at Tanglewood, but still she had to have the first cross to figure out which "sharp" was "C's equivalent." Ouch.
But it's not a day to be taking pot shots at Frannie, believe me, so we'll just move on. (I do it for you, esteemed reader.) (Frannie dictated that part.)
Anywho, in other fill news, we both like UMPTEEN (12D: A zillion), FOE (Moriarty to Holmes) (because we love Holmes), and LLBEAN (Competitor of The North Face) (They wouldn't print it if it wasn't true, right?). Frannie also enjoyed OMSK (37D: Trans-Siberian Railway city), the quote from Dickens in 57D (The Law is a ass.), and ALAMODE (How birthday cake may be served). Her other favorite was "Part of a comedy routine" (BIT). Luckily, neither of us had to resort to the clue for 34D, "Two of nine" (ENS), so we were not duped for the NTH time!
OK, that's all for tonight. Frannie hopes to be back tomorrow for another of her signature reviews.
Peace,
Horace
5:55
ReplyDeleteI very much enjoyed this puzzle. Great theme, well carried out. While I like Christopher Walken more than Kevin Bacon, I like bacon more than just about anything else, so that's a wash. The corners are all very strong. I only wish they'd clued 63A with a Game of Thrones reference. Am I right?
13:35
ReplyDeleteDisagree about the Game of Thrones suggestion. As most know, Sue and I are around a decade behind with our series-watching, so see me in 2026 for that one. I agree, though, about Walken. Excellent puzzle and theme. The only theme answer for which I needed a few crosses was LANDONGEAR, since that's going back a few years. RIB is nicely clued, as is REEK (gross). Finally, I had the "H" for 65A Beefy-T brand, and wanted so badly for "Hormel" to fit into the five squares, but alas. Funny, kind of, that TONTO and INDIA are side-by-side, even though, not really.
11:14
ReplyDeleteI started in the NW and had ______OWDER before I looked at the clue for 24A. The answer was immediately obvious and I thought right away, 'Frannie will love this theme.' I hope it made her smile a couple of times. I liked DANSONSHOES, too, although I didn't have any on yesterday.
And wait, Frannie was in high school for six years?!?!