Hey, guys, it's Annabel! Please wish me luck on APs this week. (Or, if there's anyone out there who wants to give me a crash course in BC Calculus...)
Constructor: Zhouquin Burnikel
Relative difficulty: Easy
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THEME:"Step Mama— The center word is STEPMOM, and circled squares repeatedly spell out MAMA in a way that looks like a "step."
Theme answers:
It's good to be writing you guys again! And on a puzzle that I could actually complete without too much difficulty! Fill highlights included NADIR, ENERO, and EROICA; I'd say the fill overall was pretty great for a Monday. I'm ready to be done with clues that end in "to a poet" (as in "Before, to a poet" for ERE); I mean, surely there is a more original way to clue for ERE?
The theme was really cute! I didn't even get "step-mama" until after I had finished filling out the whole puzzle and realized that the MAMAs looked like steps. I will say that the fact that I got STEPMOM well before I even got to any of the MAMAs was a little bit of a letdown. I was feeling all Rex-y about it until my mom reminded me that Mondays are for beginners. Anyway, Cinderella's wicked relative is awesome.
Shout-out to my STEPMOM (who I love and who is not even a little bit wicked) btw!
Bullets:
Constructor: Zhouquin Burnikel
Relative difficulty: Easy
THEME:"Step Mama— The center word is STEPMOM, and circled squares repeatedly spell out MAMA in a way that looks like a "step."
Theme answers:
- HAM A ND EGGS (17A: Traditional breakfast combo)
- LLAMA (20A: Long-necked pack animal)
- STEPMOM (39A: Wicked relative of Cinderella...or what each set of circled letters represents?)
- SAM ADAMS (48A: Brew with the slogan "For the love of beer")
- ROMA (51A: Locale of the Città del Vaticano)
- I AM A CAMERAMAN (64A: Hit 1951 play that inspired "Cabaret")
- DRAMA (67A: "Game of Thrones," e.g.)
I Am a Camera is a 1951 Broadway play by John Van Druten adapted from Christopher Isherwood's novel Goodbye to Berlin, which is part of The Berlin Stories. The title is a quote taken from the novel's first page: "I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking." The original production was staged by John Van Druten, with scenic and lighting design by Boris Aronson and costumes by Ellen Goldsborough. It opened at the Empire Theatre in New York City on November 28, 1951 and ran for 214 performances before closing on July 12, 1952.
The production was a critically acclaimed success for both Julie Harris as the insouciant Sally Bowles, winning her the first of five Tony Awards of her career for Best Leading Actress in a play, and for Marian Winters, who won both the Theatre World Award and Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Play. The play also won for John Van Druten the New York Drama Critics' Circle for Best American Play (1952). However it also earned the famous review by Walter Kerr, "Me no Leica".
• • •
It's good to be writing you guys again! And on a puzzle that I could actually complete without too much difficulty! Fill highlights included NADIR, ENERO, and EROICA; I'd say the fill overall was pretty great for a Monday. I'm ready to be done with clues that end in "to a poet" (as in "Before, to a poet" for ERE); I mean, surely there is a more original way to clue for ERE?
The theme was really cute! I didn't even get "step-mama" until after I had finished filling out the whole puzzle and realized that the MAMAs looked like steps. I will say that the fact that I got STEPMOM well before I even got to any of the MAMAs was a little bit of a letdown. I was feeling all Rex-y about it until my mom reminded me that Mondays are for beginners. Anyway, Cinderella's wicked relative is awesome.
Shout-out to my STEPMOM (who I love and who is not even a little bit wicked) btw!
Bullets:
- SINE (66A: ___ qua non) — This clue reminds me too much of calculus. I should be studying right now...
- SEX ED (70A: School health course, informally)— Reminds me of 8th grade, when my teacher put a condom on her arm up to her elbow and the entire class freaked out. She certainly made a point though. Unlike this dude.
- ARC (10D: Pigskin path) — Okay, I'm convinced. Someone is deliberately putting these calculus-themed clues in this puzzle to stress me out! ...I'm going to go study now.