Theme: MADE IN CHINA. Nine items that were invented in CHINA - the unifier - over the course of millenia are arranged in perfect symmetry.
1. *Rock conqueror? : PAPER. Rock-PAPER- scissors game. Oh - and that stuff you write letters on.
10. *Soy milk brand : SILK. I'll pass on the soy milk, thank you. But high quality fabric made from the cocoon fiber of silk worms is OK by me.
17. *Dental checkup freebie : TOOTHBRUSH. I always take a red one.
28. *Wile E. Coyote buy : GUNPOWDER. Ka-Boom stuff.
35. *Gets creative : NOODLES. I usually think of NOODLING as thinking deeply on a challenging subject, but OK.
39. *Extent : COMPASS. Not the most obvious sense of this word. Is it within the COMPASS of your vocabulary?
45. *Flashy display : FIREWORKS. Clever clue, and a carefully NOODLED use for GUNPOWDER.
59. *Beginner's piano piece : CHOPSTICKS. The eating utensils used in Chinese restaurants that can be tricky to use if you don't know how to hold them.
64. *Forged check : KITE. We had a discussion of check-kiting recently. I will defer to the resident legal staff. But the other meaning is a cloth or paper form that flies in the wind on the end of a string.
And the unifier -- 66. It celebrates National Day on October 1 (and it's where the answers to starred clues were invented) : CHINA
Wow - this is some dense themage in another virtuoso technical masterpiece by our dynamic duo. Note that only some of the theme answers have double meanings. Symmetrical pairings GUN POWDER - FIREWORKS and TOOTHPICK - CHPSTICKS add to the impressive fun. Would you make a KITE out of SILK? If so, add that one in, too. And PAPER plates for CHINA?!?
Hi gang, JazzBumpa here. C. C. is rightfully very proud of the rich heritage and culture of her original homeland, and shows them off here to good effect. Let's explore the rest of this puzzle.
