Theme: Ultimate Business/Leisure Suit - Two word entries starting with the same two letters but not just any two letters. The two letters stand for pajamas but not just any pajamas. They represent the attire that publisher Hugh Hefner wore while conducting his business from the Playboy mansion.
18A. *Wealthy executive's plane : PRIVATE JET
39A. *Preparation using crushed Bartletts, say : PEAR JAM
63A. *Cheese with a bite : PEPPER JACK
3D. *Pizza Hut rival : PAPA JOHN'S
35D. *Ordinary-looking gal : PLAIN JANE
65D. Magazine mogul, familiarly, known for dressing in the sleepwear hinted at by the answers to starred clues : HEF
Argyle here. I felt the theme was a little flat with the feeling I'd seen it before. Still, it's tough getting all those jays in there. No complaints. The lack of long non-theme entries kicks up the word count.(80)
Across:
1. Have the blues : MOPE
5. Blackens : CHARS
10. Time gone by : PAST
14. Historical times : ERAs
15. Cooperstown's "Hammerin' Hank" : AARON. Cooperstown is the Baseball Hall of Fame location.
16. Mystical old letter : RUNE
17. Ductwork sealer : TAPE
20. Commercial suffix with Motor : OLA. (Motorola)
21. Barfly : SOT
22. Gourmand : EPICURE. Tuesday words.
23. Took issue : OBJECTED
26. Sheets with shopping reminders : LISTS
27. Midwest tribe : OTOE
28. Sea eagles : ERNEs
31. Search engine giant : YAHOO
33. Meadow bleats : BAAs
34. Omar of "House" : EPPS
38. Writer Rand : AYN
42. Lav, in Bath : LOO
43. Slob's creation : MESS
45. Zone : AREA
46. Online business : E-TAIL
48. Breath mint with Retsyn : CERTS
50. Indian garment : SARI
51. Episcopal chapel leader : VICAR. I watch "The Vicar of Dibley" ocasionally.
54. Emulate Gregory Hines : TAP DANCE
58. Kazakh-Uzbek border lake : ARAL SEA
61. Help-wanted notice? : SOS
62. __ in Juliet : J AS
65. Heavenly instrument : HARP
66. As to : IN RE
67. California/Nevada border lake : TAHOE
68. Covetousness : ENVY
69. Like a useless battery : DEAD
70. Leaves : EXITS
71. Lawyer's charges : FEES
Down:
1. "Ditto" : "ME TOO"
2. Pulsonic toothbrush brand : ORAL B
4. Opposite of WNW : ESE
5. "In Cold Blood" writer Truman : CAPOTE
6. Western writer Bret : HARTE
7. Shipping magnate Onassis : ARI
8. Wander : ROVE
9. Go ballistic : SNAP
10. Accurate : PRECISE
11. Served in its natural gravy, as roast beef : AU JUS
12. Viking family dog of comics : SNERT. He is Hägar's pet; Helga's pet is Kvack, the duck.
13. French heads : TÊTÊs
19. Roofing material : TILE
21. Exclusive story : SCOOP
24. DDE's command : ETO. Dwight D. Eisenhower / European Theater of Operations
25. Most loved : DEAREST
29. Hindu prince : RAJA
30. Govt. intel org. : NSA. (National Security Agency)
31. Thanksgiving veggie : YAM
32. Yeoman's "yes" : "AYE"
33. Bratty Simpson kid : BART
36. Hawaiian food staple : POI
37. Note before la : SOL and 47D. Syllable before la : TRA
40. Organ with a canal : EAR
41. Fermented honey beverages : MEADS
44. Sold for a big profit, as tickets : SCALPED
49. Celtic language : ERSE
50. Bike wheel radii : SPOKES
51. Lacking zip : VAPID
52. "Fame" singer Cara : IRENE
53. "It's a Wonderful Life" director Frank : CAPRA
55. Broad tie : ASCOT
56. Work on a totem pole : CARVE
57. Sports awards : ESPYs. (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award)
59. One-named Deco master : ERTÉ. Romain de Tirtoff, initials R.T. (Erté)
60. "Iliad" warrior : AJAX. He came to a tragic end.
64. Sashimi tuna : AHI. Hawaiian name.
Argyle
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteEasy enough, just the thing for a tired brain. Didn't notice the theme until reading the unifier.
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteNice to have something easy, for a change! Thanks, Jerome! Thanks also to Santa!
Haven't been feeling well enough for tough puzzles. Usually can do Sunday's. Not this time. Did not even try Saturday.
Cheers!
When you see them in TV dramas
ReplyDeleteYou'd think that those Tibetan lamas
Are all great at kung fu
And can levitate, too,
And spend all day in saffron pajamas!
There once were some Andean llamas
Who got high on mountain-grown marijuanas.
Their wool they shaved off,
And wove nighties, so soft,
To hipsters they sold the cat's pajamas!
It's rumored that the Playboy Mansion
Is a place of unbridled passion.
For a bride to be be there
Just wouldn't be fair,
And could dampen one's erectile expansion!
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteOther than putting in YORE instead of PAST, this was smooth sailing for me. I've never heard of PEAR JAM before, but it certainly seems like it could be a real thing and, since I had the theme grokked by then, it didn't slow me down at all. I did hesitate briefly at VAPID, but VICAR was pretty obvious and that gave it away.
Good morning all.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jerome Gunderson.
I flew through today's puzzle - all the way to a failure. My "help wanted notice" was first entered as EOE. I failed to notice that it became SOE when I entered ASCOT, and that my beverage made from fermented honey was MEADe.
Thank you too Argyle. Speaking of fermented beverages, did you know that Cooperstown is also home to Brewery Ommegang ? If you enjoy Ales, try Ommegang Abbey Ale
Time to make coffee. See you all later...
Great to see Jerome back and it was a very fun theme. A classic Monday with my favorite warrior AJAX . Thanks JG and Argyle
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone!
ReplyDeleteHow nice to have Jerome back, and on a Monday, yet! As I was solving, I hardly noticed the starred clues. Not enough coffee yet! And HEF remained hidden because he was done in by the perps. But I liked all the theme entries - has anyone ever tried PEAR JAM on PEPPER JACK cheese? Or PEPPER JELLY on cream cheese? Yummy!
Thanks for all the words of encouragement and advice about my batty friend yesterday. I thought sure it was gone because I didn't see hide nor feather of him all day. NOPE! I was watching TV ("Anatomy of a Murder") when all of a sudden he swooped over my head. GAARRRRRGH! I threw open the front door, ran for the broom, and came back to find the cats looking forlorn. No more signs of the darned thing. We'll see what tonight brings.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteJerome? You still slummin' in these parts? This was a nice easy start for the day, though I stumbled with BLAND, STAID, VAPID.
PAPA JOHN'S should've been a gimme. It's the only outfit that delivers here. Anybody else want to put an L in PEAR JAM?
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Jerome Gunderson, for a fine puzzle.. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteGot through this easily. Liked RUNE. Read a book about the Kensington Stone in Minnesota. The key to the stone's authenticity and date was a hooked "X". A RUNE character. That was the name of the book, as well. The Hooked X.
Two lakes in this puzzle, TAHOE and ARAL SEA. One thriving and one drying up. I used to work at Lake Tahoe, Stateline, NV. Continental Tel Co.
Hence the name, Duct TAPE.
Theme was good. I had no starred clues via the IPad.
TTP: I will have to try that Abbey Ale if I ever pass through Cooperstown.
Right now cruising along Lake Erie between Cleveland and Erie.
See you tomorrow from Johnsonburg.
Abejo
(863)
desper- Are you kiddin'... Compared to the scalawags I hang with you guys are aristocrats!
ReplyDeleteBarry- You've never heard of PEAR JAM because it doesn't exist. I made it up. It was supposed to be PEARL JAM (the band)but the L wouldn't fit and thank goodness Rich didn't notice. Good catch!
GET YOUR PEAR JAM HERE!
ReplyDeleteAnd several others. Sidehill Farm
See, Jerome, you're a genius.
Good morning everybody, welcome to a new week!
ReplyDeleteWhat an easy way to start us off. I caught the PJ theme right away, but I didn't know who Gregory Hines was (54A).
My favorite clue was 61A: Help wanted notice? SOS.
Have a great week!
Fun puzzle. Welcome back, Jerome. I discovered the PJ theme almost immediately. Good theme for a Monday. I never figured out what the girls see in HEF, even when he was young, except for $$$$.
ReplyDeleteIt’s serendipity, Jerome. PEAR JAM turns out to be real, as Argyle said, and is sold online at several places. Also, there are dozens of recipes available. I didn’t even question it.
My computer is calling my links questionable, even those from Kraft Food recipes.
Jerome: Nice Monday puzzle. I didn't get the theme until the end.
ReplyDeleteWYRS - Pear jam is a real thing. My grandmother made it when I was a kid. It was sort of sweet and tart at the same time. She would make jam, jelly or preserves out of any fruit she could get. I really liked elderberry. Here is a recipe for Pear Jam
Have a good week everyone.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteThe Norwegians have landed. Glad to see a fine puzzle by Jerome this Monday. Have missed your presence at the Corner.
Kraft and others have PEAR JAM recipes on the web.
PJ theme came early. Pretty much solved from top toward bottom; one pass. Slight pause at VAPID, but was expecting ARAL SEA.
With all the J's,(as in Jerome), it was neat to see J AS (in Juliet). Note that in official NATO usage, phonetic J is spelled Juliett so that native French speakers will pronounce the final 't' sound.
Not much to add so I'll toss in a couple of nits.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't describe YAHOO as a "search engine giant". Yahoo Search is "powered by" Bing (Microsoft's search engine). Yahoo is more of a web portal (and e-mail provider).
Though they're often used interchangeably, precision and accuracy are not the same thing.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteA nice, easy-breezy start to the week, much appreciated after Saturday and Sunday mind-benders. Fav clue was for SOS.
Thanks, Jerome, and Argyle.
Did anyone watch the Tony Awards? I'm still worn out just from watching Hugh Jackman's opening routine. What energy and stamina that took!
Have a merry Monday.
Nothing was hard to get today, which is the best thing about Mondays.
ReplyDeletePet peeve: restaurant menus that say: "with au jus", which is the equivalent of "with with gravy".
Welcome back Jerome!
Just back myself too, from visiting the family in Germany. Lea has a whole new bag of tricks now at almost 17 months of age. Understands just about everything in both languages, but speaks mainly in German the few words that she's using so far. Climbs on everything in sight, then looks for applause, cheeky little thing that she is. Great time there though.
Nice Monday level CW but at first I wondered because it took the Downs to start filling in the white space!
ReplyDeleteI had ROAM before ROVE, ELDER before VICAR, and went through UTES, CREE before getting OTOE. But I nailed NSA!!
I have a recipe for Heavenly Jam that has pears, peaches, maraschino cherries, orange, lemon. Yum.
J AS IN reminded me of W AS IN WASTED that I just read.
Off to a ladies' lunch.
I have no nit with Yahoo as a search engine. Yahoo describes itself as one, as do many other sites. "Yahoo is a search engine,subject directory, and web portal. Yahoo provides good search results powered by their own search engine database, along with many other Yahoo search options."
ReplyDeleteClose enough for me. Crossword clues are frequently near synonyms, instead of exact synonyms.
PEAR JAM was my first theme entry so I was sure I was onto a tight little deletion them (P*L J* phrase becomes another when the interior L is removed) but an "Ordinary-looking gal" (PLAIN JANE) quickly disabused me of that notion. It was a nice accessible CR with common words as Mondays should be in spite of all those pesky, constricting "Js"--Thanks Jerome.
ReplyDeleteGood morning all,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the puzzle, Jerome...a nice Monday fare with some great words:epicure, vapid and rune. Laughed at your pear jam remark. They make jam out of everything so I am not surprised.
Always a good write up, Argyle. Thanks.
Marti, I agree...pepper jelly over cream cheese is delicious. Chickie makes great jams and jellies. So does Warren's wife.
Owen, your 3rd verse today was a riot.
Fermat, take care..hope you feel better soon.
Good to see your byline Jerome. A pleasant Monday level puzzle with some punch. Like many, I hesitated at Vapid. Wanted Vicar as well, but had to wait for some proof with other perps. Saw the theme after the last fill, but before the reveal. Clever!
ReplyDeleteHi everyone...
ReplyDeleteDad's in town so no work today...
Thanks Jerome for a fun Monday-easy puzzle with sparkle (WEES - RUNE, EPICURE).
Thank you Argyle for the write-up.
While SOS is a fav, I'll put down CERTS because I remembered Retsyn!
Al Cyone - I kind of agree INRE: YAHOO nit. In fact, YAHOO would be near worthless except for it's 24% stake in the Chinese ETAIL company Alibaba.
Owen - I'm partial to the kung-fu verse. Funny.
Welcome back Kazie!
Cheers, -T
Greetings, friends! Thank you for the review, Argyle. It feels good to be back.
ReplyDeleteAnd what a delightful return with Jerome's puzzle!
I loved the PJ theme since I usually solve the puzzle I my PJs! And PEPPERJACK is a staple in my refrigerator. I didn't question PEARJAM (yes, I wanted PEARl) because jam can be made from any fruit, even tomatoes. My mother made delicious tomato jam.
My only pause was at VICAR but ELDER was a quick change. Great words VICAR and VAPID. I also liked seeing the two authors, CAPOTE and HARTE side by side.
Good job, Jerome! You must do this more often.
It's wonderful to be back though I can tell you all that the California Coven is very much alive and quite well.
Have a splendid Monday, everyone!
Fun for Monday. Does anyone else play the games I do when the pzls are Monday-easy?
ReplyDeleteSimple games like filling in the grid on a diagonal from the NW to the SE, then from the NE to the SW? It adds an extra dimension, albeit a minor one, to easy pzl days.
Hmm. I didn't know that about Erte. Following his lead, I may start signing my name as Kayeff...
What a pleasure to start the week with this fun speed run after my Saturday disaster! Many thanks, Jerome. I kept wondering what on earth the theme could possibly be and loved when it fell into place with HEF. And thanks for the always cool expo, Argyle.
ReplyDeleteWe saw the most amazing show at the Laguna Playhouse yesterday--a play called "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks" starring Leslie Caron. Yes, THE Leslie Caron from "An American in Paris," "Gigi," and so many other great movies of the 50s and beyond. She has a perfect figure, perfect posture, perfect movements, she dances beautifully, and her memory must be awesome because she's on stage with just another actor for almost 3 hours and has to talk the whole time. The lines she had to memorize for that! And guess what: she's 82 years old! I still can't believe it!
Have a great week, everybody!
Not being familiar with sports awards, & being unable to parse "J" as, combined with being a Monday, makes me want to say,
ReplyDelete"forget it, I'm going back to bed..."
The looong clue for the unifier shows that the HEF connection was tenuous at best and basically just made me cringe. That clue and the the overall PLAIN JANE feeling of the other theme answers gave me the feeling that this puzzle was LACKING ZIP.
ReplyDeleteTo gush over this puzzle just because of the byline is just silly.
Musings
ReplyDelete-A nice theme executed with Monday level restraints
-State of Nebraska’s new PRIVATE prop JET
-It’s bad form to MOPE on the course when you’re having a bad round
-Hank got it done with no steroids while hearing hateful things and living in “blacks only” hotels
-A more attractive utilization of DUCT tape
-I can’t decide if that CERTS commercial is sexist or just part of another ERA
-Even the VICAR is a suspect in Agatha Christie’s Murder at the Vicarage
-Rita Hayworth can TAP DANCE (:49) with the best. The guy is pretty good too.
-PRECISE vs ACCURATE with kitties, Dave and a Venn Diagram for out mathematicians.
-Damn the facts, full SCOOP ahead!
-The POI I ate in Honolulu appeared to be able to hold up wallpaper
-Pepper Jacks Restaurants around here make a pretty mean Philly Cheese Steak sandwich!
CED @ 12:13 - Thanks for the "warm and fuzzies."
ReplyDeleteHola Everyone, A quick solve today with just a hesitation in the SW corner. Vicar didn't come readily--I should have remembered the "Vicar of Dilby". Irene from "Fame" didn't come readily, either.
ReplyDeleteI'm tired today after spending four days away. But we had a great time with family and friends and have launched our youngest granddaughter into high school.
They live in the Central Valley and the weather was in the triple digits the whole four days. Once it gets past 103 it becomes miserable. Thank goodness for air conditioning.
The graduation was held outdoors at 8:30 a.m. Now I know why. By the time it was over at 10:30 it was well past 90 degrees and the audience was seated on the playing field lawn in the sun.
I missed TTP's birthday and Misty's anniversary while I was gone. Congratulations to both of you. I hope your days were memorable.
Have a great day, everyone.
Fermat, Feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteKazie, Isn't it amazing how fast the children grow and change? We wouldn't have it any other way!
Welcome back, Jerome. It was good to see your by-line on the puzzle today.
Lucina, You, too, are already back home. Our visit was over all too soon. Next time we should make it a sleep over!!!
I enjoyed the puzzle. A couple of the clues seemed harder than usual for a Monday though I'm not complaining. Thanks Jerome and Argyle.
ReplyDeleteI too noticed the discrepancy between precision and accuracy.
Accuracy
Accuracy is how close a measured value is to the actual (true) value.
Precision
Precision is how close the measured values are to each other.
So, if you are playing soccer and you always hit the left goal post instead of scoring, then you are not accurate, but you are precise!
Gary, I grew up not knowing what a great dancer Rita Hayworth was. Like Astaire, she makes it look effortless.
Jerome: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteArgyle: Nice write-up & CERTS link.
WEES ... that, notwithstanding, my fave today was Fermented honey beverages, MEADS. Go figure ...
Cheers!!!
Happy Monday! A great puzzle to start the week; easy and fun! Thanks, Jerome and Argyle.
ReplyDeleteThis would have to be my favorite theme. Before marriage my initials were "PJS".
WEES. No problems that perps didn't take care of quickly.
Happy belated birthday to TTP. Happy belated anniversary to Misty.
Welcome home to you who have been traveling. You were missed.
Have a great week.
Pat
Hi Y'all! Great one, Jerome! Great one, Argyle!
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe I did this puzzle and never caught on to the theme nor saw HEF which filled in with perps. I vaguely remember seeing a few starred items which I ignored while dashing along.
What I did notice was there were sure a lot of names of people and places for a Monday.
My mother made a PEAR JAM that she called PEAR honey that I particularly loved on pancakes. I made it once, the only year my tree had edible fruit on it.
My granddaughter got multiple rolls of colored duct tapes for one birthday and was ecstatic. She used it for craft projects such as making billfolds.
Bill G. - My brother was a sniper and had precision & accuracy. Me, one or the other on any given day :-)
ReplyDeleteTIn - BK (before kids) I had a sweet home-brew kit; I could crank out 2 cases a week after the initial startup. Good brew. One weekend I decided to try my hand at MEAD. Take-away:
1. Sticky mess
2. Tasted like s***
3. Drank all of it anyway
4. Lived to tell about it
Cheers, -T
Anon-T, I was doing an assignment a few years ago where the owner had a nice home brew "lab" set up in the basement. He had just finished a batch of mead, and gave me a bottle to take home. It was quite good! Strong enough to fell an oak, but tasty. One was certainly enough.
ReplyDeleteHe did mention that it was one of the tougher recipes to work with and it took a few tries together it right. I've never seen it commercially, but would buy it if I did.
Misty, thanks for sharing that about Leslie Caron. I was a big fan of hers when I was growing up. That she is still performing at 82 is amazing. I hadn't heard of her for years and just supposed she was no longer alive.
ReplyDeleteWB and EES. Nice puzz, and thanks for the expo, Argyle.
ReplyDelete@Kazie - I also shudder when I hear someone ask a server "can I get some au jus on the side"?
@OMK - getting someone to download the puz for you and printing out only the clues (or cutting the grid out of the paper lets you go diagramless. That's fun.
Three news helicopters hovering overhead at the moment - a guy with a rifle is holed up in the neighborhood after a freeway pursuit. Fingers crossed it all ends without anyone getting harmed.
ReplyDelete(Guy with rifle - ) : I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere without taking someone else with me.
Be very afraid.
Through my window, I see this foodie guy tip tapping on his computer, and I wouldn't have known who you were until I read this last comment.
Nice to have known you, Steve - now duck !@!@
Other than random years clued for Roman numeral answers, is there a worse clue/answer than "4. Opposite of WNW : ESE"?
ReplyDeleteMight as well just print the grid with those letters already filled in.
Steve, yes. The constant drone of news helicopters hovering over this area (when there happens to be some activity they think is newsworthy) can be really annoying. I hope it all turns out OK.
ReplyDeleteSteve, your neighborhood seems to have taken over all of the local TV stations. Can you see your house or your neighborhood on some of the shots from the news helicopters? I can't imagine that this is all going to end well for the gunman.
ReplyDeleteHi all.
ReplyDeleteThank you Chickie and Pat for the HBD wishes. They are just as warm today.
Abejo, fortunately, you don't actually have to go to Cooperstown to get Ommegang Abbey Ale. You can buy it at any of the local Binny's stores. It was rated 99 out of 100 by members of ratebeer.com.
Avg Joe, the top rated mead at ratebeer is Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel French Toast Mead, but I don't think you can get it anywhere but Michigan. It was rated 100. Strong ! 14.5 ABV. One would be enough. You might have to poke around that web site or Beer Advocate to find a meadery or retailer of mead that's in your area.
Anonymous -T, I cracked up at your # 3.
Husker - Nebraska's new turboprop is a Beechcraft King Air 200. They aren't the fastest in that class, but they're built like a lightweight battleship.
ReplyDeleteThe management of a big church dropped into our place with one of those, having flown in from Oklahoma. The pilot grumbled a bit because it was a slow voyage, and because management hesitated to buy a (faster) jet for fear of looking extravagant to the parishioners. Hmmm.
Mike from Moline:
ReplyDeleteJerome Gunderson is well like old blogger friend and speaking for myself, I love to see his byline. I suspect others do as well.
TTP:
I'm sorry to have missed your birthday and hope it was spectacular. I'm sure the Cornerites greeted you in appropriate style.
Hmmm. I'll have to see who else I missed.
Many thanks for the anniversary wishes, Chickie and Pat. We had a lovely party and a great time.
ReplyDeletePK, so glad to hear you're a Leslie Caron fan as well. I wish so much that you could have seen her! You would have been amazed!
Ave Joe - I guess when then kids leave the nest I'll give MEAD another try. I've had good MEAD (at renaissance festivals), but another bad batch would have had a devastating impact on production and I'd be down to 2 or so cases :-)
ReplyDeleteDad was in town this weekend. We built a huge pot of red sauce with fresh garden basil. I have two quarts in the freezer now. Pop is one-of-a-kind...
To clarify, my brother was an Army sniper in Iraq, not a mad-man on a roof. When I razz him, he'll remind me that he can kill me from another zip code :-)
Cheers, -T