My time: 6:35, pretty good!
Theme: 99, clued four times. "In chemistry," that's the atomic number of EINSTEINIUM, a radioactive metal used in research. "In Islam," that's the number of the NAMES OF ALLAH. Among them are al-mu'izz, the honorer, and al-muzil, the dishonorer and humiliator. "In hockey," 99 is the number of WAYNE GRETZSKY. And in pop music, it's LUFTBALLONS. I only knew the last one off the bat, but they were pretty easy to get once a few letters were filled in.
"What fire poppies do after a wildfire" is BLOOM. I didn't know that was a real flower. Smoke acts as a trigger for the seeds to germinate.
I know director Louis MALLE, but needed some crossfill to spell his name.
The DFC is the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded to any member of the US Armed Forces, not just the air force, as long as the achievement was done during a flight.
I keep forgetting that "good" cholesterol. It's HDL, which stands for high-density lipoproteins. It is sometimes called the good cholesterol because it carries cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver. The higher density the lipids, the better. LDL is low density and bad.
Apparently the ELM has oval-shaped saw-toothed leaves. Its leaves were described as "serrated leaves that taper to a point" on January 3, 2018.
Never heard of jazz pianist EARL Hines. Apparently this is a major lacuna on my part, because he's regarded as one of the best piano players of all time and one who shaped the history of jazz. I'm getting into old "Fatha," as he was sometimes called, now. Fun fact: In 1974, when he was in his seventies, Hines recorded sixteen LPs, usually tossing one out in a day.
Clever clue: "Most likely to be picked, say" had me thinking about picking kids for sports teams. It's RIPEST.
I loved this puzzle! It has a fun theme and some interesting fill, like COUNT ME IN and CRAZY IDEA. And hopefully I'll remember that Einsteinium is atomic number 99. Hey, they rhyme!
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