Theme: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? ... "
Across:
1. Tops (off): CAPS. As in limits the amount of in a drink/alcoholic beverage? π
5. Shopping aids: LISTS. A must for this Stooge when he goes grocery shopping
10. Loops in on the sly: BCCS. I am not that "sly", nor do I have a family stone
14. Tons: A LOT. I think I was approached by a realtor who once said: "I have tons for sale in this new housing development ..."
15. Foe: ENEMY. I don't think you could substitute the word enemy into the folktale when the Giant encounters Jack at the beanstalk: "Fee, Fi, [enemy]... I smell the blood of an Englishman"
16. "Excuse me ... ": AHEM. Pardon my interruption
17. "That's the last time!": NEVER AGAIN. But what about the first time?
19. __ monster: GILA. The "G" is pronounced like an "H"
20. Standard: NORM. Or, how about cluing it as a bar "fixture" at Cheers!?
21. Bright: CLEVER. Witty, perhaps; I don't think of "bright" with being clever
23. The Proclaimers hit subtitled "500 Miles": I'M GONNA BE. Never heard of this tune before
28. Watchful: ALERT. 3 cups of coffee in the morning makes Moe alert
29. D.C. figure: POL. I tried SEN first, but to no avail
30. Yardstick, e.g.: RULER. My ruler only went 12" in length, but I always was the shortest person in my class
32. Top no. in a blood pressure reading: SYS. Short for SYStolic Pressure - which measures the force in your arteries when your heart beats
33. Baby's bodysuit: ONE-SIE. I hear that the designers of these began making two-sies for parents who had twins
37. Some high-end insulated mugs: YETIS. A brand name for a drinking vessel, but literally, wouldn't a Yeti in the wild also have an insulated "mug"? See the "hairy expression" insulating this beast's mug:
39. Is apathetic: DOESN'T GIVE A HOOT. This reminded me of an old ad, featuring an owl that promoted good citizenship and environmental responsibility when he said: "Give a hoot; don't pollute!"
44. __ squash: ACORN. Hand's up from anyone who's been reading this blog so far, and thinks that Moe is just completely "nutty" today??
45. Balanced: STEADY. Getting more and more difficult for me as I progress through my seventies
46. Pronoun for Miss Piggy: MOI. Already used in my intro
49. "West Side Story" role for Rita and Ariana: ANITA. Actors Moreno and Grande played the role of Anita in the movie adaptation (original and remake). I thought MARIA was the role, but I was incorrect. According to a source I found on the Internet: "Anita's the girlfriend of Maria's older brother, Bernardo,
the leader of the Sharks, the Puerto Rican street gang at war with the
Jets. The Jets are the white gang that was co-founded by Tony, Maria's
love interest and the Romeo figure. Anita is Maria's friend and
confidante, like an older sister to her"
51. With it, once: HEP. Hmm ... no Moe-ku's so far? Ok, let's try this one - if no one else gets it I know that my fellow blogger Splynter will:
52. Bank nos.: ACCTS. My checking account number and SSN are the same: 123 45 6789
54. "Should've listened to me!": TOLD YOU SO. This could've been clued as the title of a Randy Travis hit song: "(I) Told You So"
58. Markets: STORES. See 5-across for what I bring to markets/stores. BTW, do you call the facility where you buy food items a supermarket or a grocery store?
60. One of many, in a string of pearls: BEAD. Don't let this one fool you
61. "Song of Solomon" novelist Morrison: TONI. She shows up a lot in crossword puzzles
62. [reveal] - save for later
68. Many a four-hour film: EPIC. I can barely stay alert for a two-hour movie
69. Actor Davis - known for "A League of Their Own": GEENA. Don't let this one fool you
70. Japanese wheat noodle: UDON. Or this one
71. [reveal] - save for later
72. Go-between: ENVOY. Or this one
73. [reveal] - save for later
Down:
1. Country with the world's largest moose population: Abbr.: CAN. CSO to CanadianEh! Can you attest that there are more moose in CANada than anywhere else in the world? Have you any moose encounters you care to share with us?
2. Craft brewer's brew: ALE. Let me tap into this one ...
3. Perspective, for short: POV. Point Of View
4. Courtroom fig.: STENO. Makes me think back to the old TV courtroom show, Perry Mason
5. Take in, in a way: LEARN. This clue/answer made me rethink my response to 21-across (CLEVER). I wonder if anyone else saw that a four-letter word for "take in" is in the word "learn"
8. "That's enough!" letters: TMI. Too Much Information
9. Lip-__: SYNC. Here is a video that you might want to lip-sync the lyrics to
10. Bread traditionally boiled then baked: BAGEL. My favorite bagel is an onion one, toasted, and then adorned with some smoked salmon and a schmeer of cream cheese - capers, too, if available
11. Scallion relatives: CHIVES. Who else thought ONIONS fit here?
12. The "log" in the snack ants on a log: CELERY.
13. Really stings: SMARTS. As someone who has been stung by a baby scorpion I can attest that this REALLY, REALLY smarts
18. Actor Perlman: RON. I knew that Rhea could not be the answer as it had one too many letters in the name. Fun fact: Are Ron and Rhea Perlman related? "No, Rhea Perlman and Ron Perlman are not related. Despite sharing a last name, they are two separate actors with no family connection. Rhea Perlman is known for her role in Cheers and for being married to Danny DeVito, while Ron Perlman is known for Hellboy and Sons of Anarchy" [random Internet source provided by AI]
22. Ring in a rodeo ring: LARIAT.
23. Apple gadget: IPOD. Is an iPod really a "gadget"?
24. Part of MSG: MONO. Want to learn more about MonoSodium Glutamate? Click here
25. Merriment: GLEE. Chorus groups were originally called "Merriment Clubs" but someone shortened the name to Glee Club
26. Accept the truth of: BUY INTO. Heh, heh, heh ... π<== impish Moe. Are you buying into my blog, so far?
31. Summers in France: ETES. Speaking of French ...
34. Govt. ID issuer: SSA. Again, mine is 123-45-6789. Feel free to use it
35. To be safe: IN CASE. But, just in case that SSN does NOT work please don't try it again .. π
36. __ mess: classic English dessert: ETON. New clue for me. This concoction:
38. Pronoun for Miss Piggy: SHE. Clecho - see 46-across
40. Moxie: GRIT.
41. Island known as "The Gathering Place": OΚ»AHU. It's also a place where lucky tourists get lei'd
42. Words of appreciation: ODES. This is almost a Friday-like clue
43. Form instead of from, e.g.: TYPO. The autocorrect feature on my technology devices gets a lot of work
46. Ibsen's "The __ Builder": MASTER. Moe-ku:
47. Cuttlefish cousins: OCTOPI. With so many arms, why aren't they called a "cuddle" fish? π
55. Airport flight condition: DELAY. Don't be (53-down. Treat alternative:) TRICKed by this clue and answer
56. Initialism of Young Adult Fiction: YAF. Or this one
59. Herb or spiritual mentor: SAGE. Did this one fool you?
63. What only the most capable crossword puzzle solvers use: PEN. Surely you jest, Moe! "No, I don't, and please don't call me Shirley" <== Famous quote in the movie "Airplane"
65. Dashboard image that is located between the Tach and the MPH dials: ODO. Is this just some kind of green paint??
66. A fitting text message that Moe sent to his alter ego while blogging this puzzle: LOL!
67. A TV show that would probably have classic 62-across skits: SNL
62 - across. What Chairman Moe did to his audience today: APRIL FOOLS!
71 - across. With 73-Across, classic internet prank pulled by this puzzle's longest answers: RICK.
73 - across. See 71-Across: ROLL.
Ok, Moe. You had your fun with us. Ha! Ha! Can you please give us the REAL version and explanation?
Well, since you asked politely, here goes. First, the real clues/fill that Tara used, and that I substituted for to make an alternate puzzle:
60-across. Like a turkey burger: LEAN. My burgers have an 80% LEAN / 20% FAT ratio. Turkeys are a holiday meat - for me, anyway
65- down. Twosome: DUO.
73 - across. See 71-Across: ROLL.
What in the heck is going on here???
