NYT Crossword, 0810

Even I had to agree with some of the other crossword bloggers out there that this puzzle was relatively easy, and that the theme was a little weak. But, hey, for a 98-pound crossword weakling like me, a win is a win! And there were a few things to learn:

Gilberto's partner on "The Girl from Ipanema," 1964 = GETZ (As in Stan Getz. The guy's name sounds even more familiar than this vaguely familiar title, but I've never seen it - oh, it's not a movie or a show, but a song. Doh!)

"Vissi d'arte" singer = TOSCA (I've never seen this opera, but I got it when I got enough letters because I have heard of it. And now I've read about it too!)

"New York State of Mind" rapper = NAS (You know how much I love rap.)

Cut made by a saw = KERF (OK, whatever. On a related note, I used my chainsaw this weekend. It's almost as much work as the axe!)

Ringo's drummer son = ZAK (Interestingly, he goes by Zak Starkey, since Ringo Starr's name was Richard Starkey).

Woes, to a Yiddish speaker = TSURIS (Not being a Yiddish speaker myself...)

Brightly colored fish = OPAH (Do scientists make up animal names so that crossword makers will be able to finish making their puzzles?)

Issues:
Cicero or Publius = SENATOR (No! Cicero, both the famous guy and his brother, was a senator, and really only refers to a single individual, but Publius was a first name, and there were plenty of Publii who were not senators. This is like saying Clay or Harry: Sure, the only Clay (Henry Clay) that most people know was a senator, although maybe that's not a good one since Clay could be Cassius Clay, but just because Harry Reid is a senator does not mean his first name is synonymous with the office. I'd think of Dirty Harry before I'd think of Harry Reid. Sorry for the rant.)

Breakfast spot, briefly = HOJO (Umm, isn't HOJO short for Howard Johnson's, a hotel chain. Who thinks of this place when they say, let's go out for breakfast? I'm thinking IHOP, which would have been a much better answer to the clue, except that it wouldn't have fit in the puzzle.)

Pet cat, in British lingo = MOG (OK, sure, it is from a British book series, but do people in Britain really call their pet cats 'Mog'? We don't call our pet cats 'Garfield', do we? Some people might name their orange pet cat Garfield, but that is not the same thing as genericizing the name into a term for pet cats.)

TTFN!