For reference, this was probably published in 2019. The title is “Words of Introduction” by Brendan Emmett Quigley, edited by Will Shortz.
84 Across
Clue: A brace
Answer: Two
72 Down
Clue: Have way too much of.
Answer: Odon
Have way too much of: OD on (i.e., OverDose on)
I don’t know about the “a brace” one.
When I Googled ‘brace definition’, it responded that it was either a noun or verb. In the list of noun definitions, the third entry was:
a pair of something, typically of birds or mammals killed in hunting.
“thirty brace of grouse”
I’ve never heard brace used that way, but it can mean two. I guess.
From A Night at the Opera:
It’s none of my business, but I think there’s a brace of woodpeckers in the orchestra.
Well, thanks, gang!
I’ve always heard it used for old-timey muzzle loading pistols, they’d always have a “brace of pistols”, so they could get more than one shot off before reloading.
It’s a bit old-timey, but I’ve always heard brace in regards to “a brace of birds,” meaning two.
I thought a brace of pistols were for dueling.
I think the origin of the term is two oxen yoked together for plowing.
Brace for two is used in sporting contexts in UK English quite commonly (“brace of goals just before halftime” or “brace of wickets upon resumption after tea”)
Two dogs on one leash is called a “brace”. Usually the same breed. “A brace of bloodhounds were tracking …”
They have brace leashes you can buy.
“A brace of” comes up in Shakespeare quite a bit. In R&J, as I recall, the Prince, in his final speech, refers to having lost “a brace of kinsmen.”
The origin of brace implies a pair of items as well as the concept of a strengthing device. Similar to pliers and breeches (trousers) that come in pairs.
I very recently heard the term “brace” used in that way, in a BBC report on a soccer match where it said that a player “scored a brace.” I am under the impression that it’s mainly a British/Australian usage, the way that the clue “French, to British” would be the word snog.
And shot a brace of partridge.
At one point in The Two Towers Sam tells Frodo he’s cooked up “a brace of stewed coneys” - if my memory is correct.
Two rabbits plus lembas. Breakfast of champions.
Is there an implication that the birds have had their necks tied together so that one can be thrown over your shoulder for easier carrying?
In Doonesbury, way back when, Zonker was shown to be a British lord or some such. He has the butler fetch a brace of quail for dinner. That’s when I was introduced to the term.
He started behaving like a British lord after he won the lottery.
This is what I came in to post but you beat me, damnit. I bet a LOT of people heard that line and didn’t know what it meant. This is where I first heard it.