Peter G.

Looked up “holecules” just in case. Turns out they are not a thing.

This was a crossword aria. Simply dazzling. And I’m so glad someone has finally discovered what it is that connects eggmcmuffins and concreteslabs.

Luckily I knew all about that ole’ swinger Frank Sumatra, so that gave me a head start.

I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked “what is the longest number you can write in standard Roman numerals?”, but it’s not that many.

Juicy puzzle this. Like the lemon limo (crossed with Go Long!) I encountered some difficulties along the way. Some clues really stretched me. Incidentally, I make a drink that I call Chango. It’s water kefir flavoured with mango and cherry. Well, I like it anyway. No me la quito.

Baseballisms always catch me out.

re. obsolete tv terms. Does any one else remember ‘give it time to warm up’?

Personally I thought this was stretching it a bit. (A whole lot, in fact).

I also have an independent streak, so this didn’t seem too tough. Speaking as a Brit, I felt that adding in the initials of Middlesex County Cricket Club was an especially nice touch. Thank you very much for that. Thanks to this puzzle I noticed that New York has Wyoming inside it.

Funny, but I never noticed that Wes Anderson and Harold Ramis share the same number of letters and have a d in the middle before.

Serra’s monumental, elegant work stood up for gravity. He was in favor of it, I believe. His pieces glow red like canyons at sunset. Where all the RV’s are parked. Beside the rock.

I was in TROUBLE for a while until I realised what hot water meant.

Amusing take on the cloaked Count. At least it steered clear of fang jokes, which have been done to death. My favorite Dracula was Leslie Nielsen, who played it safe and made withdrawals at the Blood Bank.

Is there all that is?

This one got me in a whirl. Couldn’t figure it out at all. I just went round and round, like the little guy on one of those thingamajigs. What a dumb show I put up! But somehow it got done. For a while there I felt like Grommet, laying down track as the toy steam engine rocketed into the future of rail travel.

I did this in dark mode. I do all my crosswords in dark mode. Then the light dawns!

I thought windfalls were burps so I got off on the wrong foot. HNY to all my readers!

Fun fact: One exception to 11 down is July 4 in 37 accross, presumably.

There’s something about the conjunction of words at the top and bottom of this formidable debut that is faintly mind boggling. (eg. Sacageawa and pale ale or Manhattan and Anastasia, which makes me think of ‘Some Like it Hot’). Also Denim and ‘old as dirt’. It may not themed, but it has interesting cross currents!

For 54A I had BLOT which shows you the sort of clot I am. PS. I loved all the spin dry humour in this one.

ps. You can’t see a hidden gem. Unless you catch a glimpse of one sparkling, going round and round in the idiomatic washing machine.

When I dropped acid my brain had one as tiny wings melted in the heart of the sun.

Me? I’m breaking up.

1D reminded me of the worst episode of Inspector 4D. I liked the colourful borders. Very nice effect!

A better clue for bonsaitree would have been ‘clipped accent’.

007 Ocean’s Eleven came in handy.

They’re not really clues, they’re more like scarlet herrings.

I thought I had 24down covered with KINIMUM, but obviously not.

Seems the contents outweigh the discontents on this one. I liked it. The tiny superhuman Harriet Beecher visited the UK and went down a storm, way before Lycra was a thing. A surreal juxtaposition. It reminded me of Thailand for some reason. Maybe it was The King and I connection with stretchy fabric and forced labour in sweatshops. Weird.

This one was a ROISTERDOISTERCATCHER. I enjoyed it!

I thought the clues and the answers were equally good (arid comment).

For 28d I had Crazy Horse, which fit beautifully for a while then I remembered Doris Day!

50 Down. Word after Chicken and before Court.

Q. Fit. A.THTHTHTHTHTHTHTH

Shouldn’t that be Ark Nergy? I mean, if it means what it says.

Dry Orange Answer? Dejuiced.