Jerry Edelstein loves to create crosswords with clever wordplay. One puzzle titled "Square roots" included several examples where a square of four spaces contained the letters R, O, O and T. A puzzle titled "Water, water everywhere" included several two-word phrases in which each word could be preceded by WATER, such as PIPELINE and POWERPLANT. The theme of today's crossword is "Half moon." Either end of the three theme answers is a half-moon, i.e., MO or ON:
Historic Potomac estate: MOUNTVERNON
Life of Brian comedy group: MONTYPYTHON
NPR broadcast since 1979: MORNINGEDITION
In astronomy, a "half moon" refers to the moon when only half of its illuminated surface is visible from the earth; the first or last quarter. An explanation of the nine phases of the moon is on the EarthSky website:
http://earthsky.org/moon-phases/understandingmoonphasesMount Vernon is the name given to the plantation house owned by George and Martha Washington in the latter half of the 18th century. The region was origially known by the Native American name Epsewasson, then became Little Hunting Creek Plantation after the nearby river. When Washington's half-brother Lawrence inherited the property, he renamed it Mount Vernon after Vice Admiral Edward Vernon. Construction on the house began in 1758.
http://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/the-mansion/Today's crossword includes the way-too-overused words ADE, ARIA, AROMA, ELIE (Wiesel), OMEN, (Yoko) ONO and ORE. "Uno plus due" is TRE, which is not used in English. "Menu possessive linked to the Qing dynasty" is TSOS. Peng Chang-Kuei, the Taiwanese chef who created General Tso's chicken in 1955, died November 30, 2016, at age 98. The dish is made by taking lightly battered pieces of dark meat and frying them in a spicy sweet-and-sour sauce. Peng named the dish after 19th-century Chinese military leader Zuo Zontang, whose name is often anglicized as Tso Tsung-t'ang. General Tso's chicken is a common menu item at Chinese resturants in the United States but very few restaurants in China serve the dish -- the Chinese people consider it to be too sweet and spicy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/world/asia/general-tso-chicken-peng-chang-kuei.html?_r=0So General Tso's chicken is not Chinese -- and neither are the fortune cookies which are so popular in American Chinese restaurants. Fortune cookies originated in Japan.
再见 -- 祝你过一个好天!
