Theme: Boxer set?
No...Boxing set??
Uhhh.. "Boxed"set?
...sorry, I got distracted with the theme today. AHEM!!
(On to the regular program....)
65A. With 1-Across, Time-Life Records product...and in a way, what each of the answers to the starred clues is : BOX, and 1-Across: See 65-Across : SET.
Aha! BOX SET !!
So how does that relate? Each of the theme entries begins and ends with a word that could be "boxed", making a "set":
17A. *Ongoing saga : SOAP OPERA. SOAP box is what a politician uses to express his views...and an OPERA box is my favorite place to be in Vienna.
29A. *Focaccia-like treat : PIZZA BREAD. PIZZA box is what I always wonder, "Can I recycle this???", and a BREAD box is where .... the bread gets green.
43A. *Kitchen extraction gadget : JUICE PRESS. JUICE box is what I wish my wine came in, so I wouldn't spill it... or, it might describe the coverage at OJ's trial? And a PRESS box is where all those pundits sit.
56A. *Barely find room for : SQUEEZE IN. A SQUEEZE box is another name for an accordion. My daddy used to play one (with mummy on the violin...). And an IN box is what I look forward to every Monday morning....(Not!!!)
Put them all together, and they make four "box set"s! Brilliant!
Marti here, to wend our way through the rest of the entries:
Across:
4. "My Cousin Vinny" star : PESCI. "What's a 'ute'?" Great flick!!
9. Mar. parade VIP : ST PAT.rick
14. Bio stat : AGE
15. Abbr. seen before a year : ESTAB.lished
16. Ad : PROMO. tion
19. Cougar and Impala : AUTOS. And a clecho with 7-down. Cougar or Impala : CAR. Take me for a ride in your car, car...1:50
20. Grammar class no-no : RUNON. Likethisanswer?
21. They're unbeatable : NEMESES
23. Prolonged suffering : AGONY
25. City on the Orne : CAEN. In Normandy, northwestern France. Image.
27. Cutting remark : GIBE
28. Broke down : WEPT
31. Vein pursuit? : ORE.
32. Brewer's need : MALT
33. "Surely you don't mean me?!" : MOI. Who...moi??? 4:47
34. 60-Across with heart-shaped leaves : LINDENS. (Why yes, they are...)
36. Set-up punch : LEFT JAB (...see second image, at top of page.) (Or, is that a right jab?) (I don't know my right from my left tonight!!)
40. Poet-punk music genre : EMO. Such drama!! 3:49
41. Ill-gotten gains : PELF. It took a while for this word to come to me, but I am resolved to use it in a sentence today! pelf...Pelf...PELF!!
42. Before now : AGO. How would you clue this one? (...not as easy as you thought, is it??)
47. Bikini specification : B CUP. OK, how about a few cups here? (I think we need Dennis's expert measurements here...)
48. In another life : ONCE...upon a time
49. Fireside stack : LOGS
50. Concession stand drinks : COKES
51. "True dat!" : I HEAR YA
53. Bovine bedding : STRAW
55. Off one's rocker : NUTSO (Thanks for catching that one, Anony-Mouse!)
60. "A nest of robins in her hair" poem : TREES. Joyce Kilmer (Where is Clear Ayes??):
"I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree."
61. Players take them : TURNS
62. Music-licensing org. : BMI. "Broadcast Music, Inc."
63. ___ de France: sports venue near Paris : STADE. Football and rugby stadium.
64. Sprouts-to-be : SEEDS
Down:
1. KLM rival : SAS. Can you say Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.? (Jerome?) And, Scandanavian Airlines System (OK, I can say that one!!)
2. Centrist leader? : EGO.
3. Eagerly deal with, as an envelope : TEAR OPEN. (Oh yes, I just "tear open" all those bills!!)
4. Indiana state flower : PEONY. Beautiful.
17A. *Ongoing saga : SOAP OPERA. SOAP box is what a politician uses to express his views...and an OPERA box is my favorite place to be in Vienna.
29A. *Focaccia-like treat : PIZZA BREAD. PIZZA box is what I always wonder, "Can I recycle this???", and a BREAD box is where .... the bread gets green.
43A. *Kitchen extraction gadget : JUICE PRESS. JUICE box is what I wish my wine came in, so I wouldn't spill it... or, it might describe the coverage at OJ's trial? And a PRESS box is where all those pundits sit.
56A. *Barely find room for : SQUEEZE IN. A SQUEEZE box is another name for an accordion. My daddy used to play one (with mummy on the violin...). And an IN box is what I look forward to every Monday morning....(Not!!!)
Put them all together, and they make four "box set"s! Brilliant!
Marti here, to wend our way through the rest of the entries:
Across:
4. "My Cousin Vinny" star : PESCI. "What's a 'ute'?" Great flick!!
9. Mar. parade VIP : ST PAT.rick
14. Bio stat : AGE
15. Abbr. seen before a year : ESTAB.lished
16. Ad : PROMO. tion
19. Cougar and Impala : AUTOS. And a clecho with 7-down. Cougar or Impala : CAR. Take me for a ride in your car, car...1:50
20. Grammar class no-no : RUNON. Likethisanswer?
21. They're unbeatable : NEMESES
23. Prolonged suffering : AGONY
25. City on the Orne : CAEN. In Normandy, northwestern France. Image.
27. Cutting remark : GIBE
28. Broke down : WEPT
31. Vein pursuit? : ORE.
32. Brewer's need : MALT
33. "Surely you don't mean me?!" : MOI. Who...moi??? 4:47
34. 60-Across with heart-shaped leaves : LINDENS. (Why yes, they are...)
36. Set-up punch : LEFT JAB (...see second image, at top of page.) (Or, is that a right jab?) (I don't know my right from my left tonight!!)
40. Poet-punk music genre : EMO. Such drama!! 3:49
41. Ill-gotten gains : PELF. It took a while for this word to come to me, but I am resolved to use it in a sentence today! pelf...Pelf...PELF!!
42. Before now : AGO. How would you clue this one? (...not as easy as you thought, is it??)
47. Bikini specification : B CUP. OK, how about a few cups here? (I think we need Dennis's expert measurements here...)
48. In another life : ONCE...upon a time
49. Fireside stack : LOGS
50. Concession stand drinks : COKES
51. "True dat!" : I HEAR YA
53. Bovine bedding : STRAW
55. Off one's rocker : NUTSO (Thanks for catching that one, Anony-Mouse!)
60. "A nest of robins in her hair" poem : TREES. Joyce Kilmer (Where is Clear Ayes??):
"I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree."
61. Players take them : TURNS
62. Music-licensing org. : BMI. "Broadcast Music, Inc."
63. ___ de France: sports venue near Paris : STADE. Football and rugby stadium.
64. Sprouts-to-be : SEEDS
Down:
1. KLM rival : SAS. Can you say Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.? (Jerome?) And, Scandanavian Airlines System (OK, I can say that one!!)
2. Centrist leader? : EGO.
3. Eagerly deal with, as an envelope : TEAR OPEN. (Oh yes, I just "tear open" all those bills!!)
4. Indiana state flower : PEONY. Beautiful.
5. Hockey nickname : ESPO. Phil Esposito, from the Boston Bruins and (ack!) New York Rangers.
6. Sign-making aids : STENCILS
8. Spanish writer Blasco ___ : IBANEZ. Best known for his novel "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
9. Cyberjunk : SPAM. I get about 100 spam emails a day....fortunately, I have a program that filters them to a "junk mail" box...
10. 2010 Coen brothers Western : TRUE GRIT. Do you think Jeff Bridges lived up to John Wayne's original portrayal?
11. "Happy Days" pal of Richie : POTSIE
12. It divides to multiply : AMOEBA. Opposite of "E pluribus unum"?
13. Threw easily : TOSSED (Somehow, this had a really bad vision of leaning over a toilet...ewww)
18. Kick with a "hang time" : PUNT. I got a kick out of this clue!
22. Glossy coats : ENAMELS
23. Illegally off base : AWOL. Absent WithOut Leave
24. Spice Girl Halliwell : GERI
26. HIV-treating drug : AZT. Azidothymidine. (But you knew that, right??)
29. Impressive display : PANOPLY.
"Thee for my recitative,
Thee in the driving storm even as now, the snow, the winter-day declining,
Thee in thy panoply, thy measur'd dual throbbing and thy beat
convulsive,
Thy black cylindric body, golden brass and silvery steel..."
- Walt Whitman
(...where is ClearAyes??)
30. Box office smash : BOFF. From the British "boffin", meaning a scientist or technical expert. Not sure how that translates to a "box office smash".
32. Internet ___: fast-spreading item : MEME. Nonsensical internet clips that go viral, like this one. Why?
35. "That parrot is definitely ___": line from a Monty Python sketch : DECEASED. Funny clip. 5:34
36. Not as confident : LESS SURE
37. Friday guy? : JACK WEBB. Who remembers him? "Just the facts, ma'am..." 2:21
38. Feverish chills : AGUE
39. Conks on the head : BOPS
41. Throw hard : PEG
43. Ace bandage sites : JOINTS
44. Injury-free : UNHURT
45. Picnic pitcher filler : ICE TEA. No, no, no...IT IS ICED TEA!!
46. Friars Club events : ROASTS
47. Ruth's husband : BOAZ
50. Mustard family plant : CRESS
52. Lost a lap? : ROSE. (Stood up)
54. Serve behind bars : TEND. "Two termites walk into a bar..."
57. José's "Huh?" : QUE. And here is how to pronounce it. 0:01
58. "As I see it", in email : IMO. "In My Opinion", or, more politely: "IMHO" ("In my humble opinion").
59. Quash : NIX. Ix-Nay!
Answer grid.
That's all for tonight. See you next week!
Hugs,
Marti