Happy Monday, everyone!
Theme: 
Today we have three themed answers. Each begins with a type of HUMBLE ABODE (modest home):
16 Across. Choose as a live-in romantic partner: SHACK UP WITH.
24 Across. Loose frocks with wide bottoms: TENT DRESSES.
38 Across. Count in a marching command: HUT, TWO, THREE, FOUR.
These are tied together with a two-part reveal:
47 Across. With 59-Across, what one might say when entering the starts of 16-, 24-, and 38-Across?: WELCOME TO MY.
59 Across. See 47-Across: HUMBLE ABODE.
These add up to an impressive 59 themed letters!
Sidebar: Do people say "Welcome in" when you enter a shop in your town? I mostly hear it in retail stores but last month the greeter at an art museum said it to me. It always throws me for a bit. Humorist and author David Sedaris in not a fan. In his book The Best of Me, he wrote about going shopping after the Covid lockdown:
The clerk said, "Welcome in". Civilization as we know it ends, but "Welcome in" survives? I realized I should have been grateful everyday I didn't have to hear that.
Across:
1. "Why __ I think of that?": DIDN'T.
6. Word after folk or fairy: TALE. The Dewey Decimal System assigns 398.2 to both folk TALEs and fairy TALEs.
10. PD alert: APB. Police Department and All Points Bulletin
13. Frozen drinks with spoon-straws: ICEES.
14. __ boom: SONIC.
15. Big bucks or the Bucks, for short: MIL. a MILlion dollars or the MILwaukee basketball team
19. New Year's popper: CORK.
20. Fashion designer Anna: SUI. unknown to me
This is her Spring line.
21. Desert watering hole: OASIS.
23. Hosp. areas: ORS. I spent several hours waiting outside of a hospital's Operating Room last Monday. I found a chair next to a window with a view of a beautiful pepper tree. That helped.
27. Med. condition treated by Ritalin: ADHD.
29. Board game played on a map: RISK. I noticed RISK crossed 26-Down RISE.
30. Sleep study subject: APNEA.
32. Foamy lather: SUDS.
34. Winter flakes: SNOW.
41. Letter-shaped beam: I-BAR.
42. Flower holder: VASE.
21. Desert watering hole: OASIS.
23. Hosp. areas: ORS. I spent several hours waiting outside of a hospital's Operating Room last Monday. I found a chair next to a window with a view of a beautiful pepper tree. That helped.
27. Med. condition treated by Ritalin: ADHD.
29. Board game played on a map: RISK. I noticed RISK crossed 26-Down RISE.
30. Sleep study subject: APNEA.
32. Foamy lather: SUDS.
34. Winter flakes: SNOW.
41. Letter-shaped beam: I-BAR.
42. Flower holder: VASE.
 |
| Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers (1888) Vincent van Gogh more info. |
43. Dorothy nickname: DOTTY.
44. Share a border with: ABUT.
46. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.
52. Fall over: TIP.
55. Simply must: HAS TO.
56. Sundial numeral: III. The II other possibilities were VII and XII.
57. Short skirt: MINI.
58. "Kings & Queens" singer Max: AVA. unknown to me
This is the 2020 song referenced in the clue:
63. Replayed tennis serve: LET.
64. Great Plains Natives: OTOES.
65. "Zip your lip!": CAN IT. Neither of these exhibit good manners.
66. Mag staff managers: EDS. Magazine EDitorS
67. Brewer's oven: OAST.
68. Book report, e.g.: ESSAY.
Down:
63. Replayed tennis serve: LET.
64. Great Plains Natives: OTOES.
65. "Zip your lip!": CAN IT. Neither of these exhibit good manners.
66. Mag staff managers: EDS. Magazine EDitorS
67. Brewer's oven: OAST.
68. Book report, e.g.: ESSAY.
Down:
1. 1970s music genre: DISCO.
2. Blood of the Greek gods: ICHOR. This one was another learning moment for me. Merriam-Webster's first definition is "(noun) a thin watery or blood-tinged discharge". The second definition is "(n0un) an ethereal fluid taking the place of blood in the veins of the ancient Greek gods." The adjectival form is ichorous. I wondered if it was connected to Icarus (the character who flew too close to the sun), but I did not find a connection (in my very brief search).
3. Start of a letter to the North Pole: DEAR SANTA.
4. Head twister: NECK. Fun clue!
6. "Namely ... ": TO WIT.
7. Singer DiFranco: ANI. Today we had SUI, ANI, AVA, and UTA ... but not Uma.
8. Like an amazing party, slangily: LIT.
9. Canyon comebacks: ECHOES.
10. Accumulate: AMASS.
11. Playful sprite: PIXIE.
12. "__ your heart": BLESS.
14. Like a spiderweb: SPUN.
17. Like most donated clothing: USED.
22. Requests: ASKS FOR.
24. Defrost: THAW.
25. Beats Electronics co-founder: DR DRE. AVA sports a pair of this brand of headphones in the 58-Across video.
26. Get out of bed: RISE. ...and shine! 🌞
28. Take away (from): DETRACT.
30. Tuna variety: AHI.
31. Alehouse: PUB.
32. Illinois or California: STATE. Hmmmm, could these be Janice's and Katie's home states?
33. Sounds of uncertainty: UHS.
35. Jottings in the margins: NOTATIONS. article about doodles in medieval margins
36. No longer cool: OUT. The answer was not hot because hot would also be cool.
37. Dryly humorous: WRY.
39. Egg cell: OVUM.
40. Jittery: EDGY.
45. Sarcastic "So sad": BOO-HOO.
46. Parisian friend: AMIE.
47. Ocean giant: WHALE. This video of a mother humpback WHALE and her calf was taken in Monterey Bay last October.
48. Like a roof with an overhang: EAVED.
49. Exams for future attys.: LSATS.
50. Bhutan neighbor: TIBET. and 53-Down. Bhutan neighbor: INDIA.
54. Saintliness: PIETY.
57. Degs. sometimes paid for by corps.: MBAS.
60. Tony Award winner Hagen: UTA. (1919-2004)
61. Mar. and Sept.: MOS. Hmmmm, could these be Janice's and Katie's birthday MOnthS?
62. Low card in gin rummy: ACE.
The grid:
My apologies for the slim pickings today. DH had (crossword favorite) ENT surgery last Monday for a deviated septum. All went well but my priority this past week was to be a good caregiver so I did not have much time for solving, commenting, or blogging. Today I am taking him back to (another crossword favorite) Palo Alto so his doctor can remove the little breathing tubes in his nose -- which I expect will unleash more ICHOR. 😬
Have a good day! I'll read you later....
8 comments:
I think I can definitely give this Monday puzzle the appellation of “a walk in the park.” There weren’t many obscure names or other items (in fact, I can’t recall any right now.) FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Completely mis-read the clue for 1a, and immediately inked in DO YOU. D'oh. TO WIT? Not even one, apparently. Thanx for the amusement, Janice and Katie, and for the expert explication, sumdaze. (I was going to ask about that OR visit, but you 'splained it, so no nosiness required.)
FIR without erasure.
Didn’t get the MIL clue until sumdaze ‘splained it. I blame decaf.
I used to hear SONIC booms frequently in rural Kentucky when I was a wee lad. Then as an adult living in Topanga, I was occasionally awakened by the space shuttle’s double SONIC booms as it approached Edwards AFB.
Does big logging use AXEs? I’ve only seen vehicle-mounted saws.
So the official on the court yells “net,” and if it lands in-bounds the cat in the lifeguard chair yells “LET.” Got it.
In Charlotte: BLESS your heart. In Newark: Dumbass.
I’ve never done anything so crass as SHACKing UP, but I have enjoyed a few LTRs – Living Together Relationships. One even turned into a marriage that didn’t last nearly as long as the LTR.
Good ol’ GTE paid for me to finish my BS degree, and for my MBA.
I hope Splynter sees Ms. Sui’s spring lineup.
Thanks to Janice and Katie for the fun Monday romp. And thanks to sumdaze for the fun write-up. I’m glad your husband’s procedure was successful.
I got it - deviated septum / nosiness! Good one.
FIR. Only three answers had me a bit flummoxed, Dr Dre, Sui, and Ani, and of course all three are proper names. Figures! But the perps were fair and I didn't get slowed down.
I saw the theme immediately and that made the solve happen quickly.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Took 4:16 today to get home.
I didn't know the fashion designer (Sui), the French friend (amie), the Greek blood, the Tony winner (Uta), or the singer (Ava). Otherwise, I'd agree with SubG's "WITP."
Fast and easy, only two new to me entries, but they filled themselves, AVA and SUI. These ladies are not obscure, just not in my wheelhouse. I know sui generis (one of a kind) and AVA Gardner.
I never hear "Welcome in," but I do hear "Welcome," in some stores (smaller ones) and, more often in white table cloth restaurants. I like it. It is courteous. Restaurants and stores in Japan almost always say, "Irasshaimase (Welcome.)
Sumdaze, I hope DH's operation and recovery go well.
Some helpful advice getting your guests to remove their shoes...
Plus,
I really must purchase this welcome mat....
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