My time: 21:09, about five minutes faster than the average.
Theme: "Toy Story." The themed clues describe famous toys, and note CHRISTMAS as the "day to play with new toys."
I probably would have done better if I'd known all of the toys, or knew more about them, but more on that in the fill. Also, there was just a giant-sized truckload of new material today.
OREM is the city "just south of Timpanogos Cave National Monument."
Indiana governor ERIC Holcomb seems to be a decent Republican. He's a Navy veteran and claims he works to help incarcerated Indianans break the cycle.
"She debuted on March 9, 1959, in black and white striped swimsuit" obviously describes a fictional character. I thought about Betty Boop (before I got the theme) but it doesn't fit. It's BARBIE DOLL, which originally came in both blonde and brunette.
I know about TAMAGOTCHI virtual pets, but had quite a time trying to spell the name. The game won the 1997 Ig Nobel prize in economics for being such a time-waster.
"IN THE MOOD" was a 1939 hit for Glenn Miller.
Never heard of the CAA, "talent grp. representing athletes and entertainers." It stands for Creative Artists Agency.
Hey, this is the second clue in a week about ETCH-A-SKETCH! Today it's clued as originally being named L'Ecran Magique. French electrical technician André Cassagnes applied his experience with
the clinging properties of an electrostatic charge to invent a
mechanical drawing toy with no spare parts. He called his creation
L’Ecran Magique, the magic screen.
Did you know APR. is National Humor Month? It's such a riot when you have to pay taxes. National
Humor Month was founded in 1976 by comedian and best-selling author
Larry Wilde, Director of The Carmel Institute of Humor.
A CLARO is a mild, light-colored cigar.
The north-central Florida city OCALA has been in the puzzle a couple of times.
For "food ____ (Thanksgiving feeling) I put food *BABY. It's COMA.
William O'NEIL, founder of Investor's Business Daily, isn't very famous.
BROCA'S Area is a region in the frontal lobe of the brain related to speech production. It's named after Pierre Paul Broca, a French anatomist whose work produced the first anatomical proof of localization of brain function.
For "combined" I put *AS ONE but it's IN ONE. Similarly, for "not just available online" I put the common phrase *IN STORES but the puzzle wants... AT STORES?? No one says that.
Never heard of IODATE, a salt containing the IO3− ion.
Another unremarkable Florida city: OPA-Locka. The name Opa-locka is an abbreviation of a Seminole place name, spelled Opa-tisha-wocka-locka, meaning "wooded hummock" or "high, dry hummock."
And in similar sounds, an OPAH is another name for moonfish, a Hawaiian food fish.
"Classics comics teen with good manners" is ETTA KETT, an instructive comic which ran from 1925 to 1974, all by the original creator. Now that's a good run!
In the musical "South Pacific," EMILE de Becque is a wealthy, sophisticated and older
French gentleman who runs a plantation on the
island. He volunteers to serve as a spy for the American troops
when Nellie calls things off between them.
As with SILLY PUTTY's origin in wallpaper cleaning, I think I've heard before that MR. POTATO HEAD was the first toy advertised on TV.
But while I have seen them many times, I've never heard of the name COZY COUPE, a toy car that apparently "sold more vehicles in 1991 than the Honda Accord or Ford Taurus." The name sounds like a company that went out of business long ago.
"Cleanliness fixation" is an extremely tone-deaf clue for OCD, a range of disorders that are far from being a desire to clean things.
Did you know ASHANTI had an eponymous debut #1 album in 2002? It won the Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album.
"Give up on" as a clue for PUNT? That's not a meaning I've heard before.
Taormina is a hilltop town in Sicily, close to Mt. ETNA. It's a tourist destination known for its ruins and churches.
Mystic Pizza actress LILI Taylor last appeared on November 1.
The UK military award DSO came up on November 3, 2017.
Clever clues: "One who hasn't turned pro?" is ANTI. "Things found in wandering souls?" is A-E-I-O-U. "Statement of resistance" is OHM'S LAW. "Ballpark figures" is UMPS. "One whistling while working in the Garden?" is REF.
Whew!
While I enjoyed today's theme, I thought there was a preponderance of uninteresting, boring material in the fill. There's nothing wrong with putting things like Opa-Locka or the name O'Neil in the fill; but they need to be clued in an interesting way. The fact that the town exists is not interesting.
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