Argyle here. Underwhelmed by the theme but overwhelmed by the execution of said theme. Ten theme entries covering ninety squares.
Across:
1. "Yeah, like that's gonna happen" : "AS IF ..."
5. "That's clear now" : "I SEE"
9. Honored with a big bash : FETED
14. New Jersey or California city : LODI.
population 24,136
15. French champagne maker founded in Germany : MUMM. The French confiscated all of the Mumm's property, although they had lived in Champagne for almost a century before World War I, because they had never become French citizens.
16. Bakery lure : AROMA
19. Olympic racer since 2008 : BMXer. More trouble in Rio.
20. Staggering dizzily : AREEL
23. "__ out!" : FAR
25. Suffix with switch : EROO
26. DJ's stack : CDs
27. Accessory for note-taking : MEMO PAD
31. __ Wiedersehen : AUF. "until we see again"
33. Lang. of Florence : ITAL. (Italian)
40. Slush __ : FUND. Often used to pay for monkey business.
Theme: Being in Agreement. Common expressions indicating agreement are reimagined as being delivered by their most amusingly appropriate sources. And, impressively, they are all grid spanners. Rather an unusual approach. Let's have a look.
17 A. Yes, to a cowboy? : YOU BET YOUR BOOTS. Evidently, this expression goes back to the old west, where a good pair of boots was as important as a reliable horse. These days, they also make a fashion statement.
43 A. Yes, to a traffic court judge? : SUITS ME JUST FINE. The traffic court judge is likely to issue a FINE, but there are other possibilities with this one. Law SUITS are also settled in court, or one might obtain a SUIT of clothes from a haberdasher, and thus become SUITED in a FINE way.
Judges' suits are rather drab
54. Yes, to the Magic 8 Ball : IT IS DECIDEDLY SO. The Magic 8 Ball has been available since the 1950's and is manufactured by Mattel. It provides one of 20 possible answers to yes/no type questions. IT IS DECIDEDLY SO is one of the 10 positive answers that the Ball might provide. The other 10 responses are evenly divided between negative and non-committal.
Hi, Gang - JazzBumpa here, and in an agreeable frame of mind. My last Blog outing at the Corner was a hair raising experience, coincidentally, also with Bruce. Our stars also aligned back in January, so this is getting to be a bit of a habit. Let's see if we can have positive responses to all of today's crossword questions.
Across
1. Vanna's cohort : PAT. Sajak, not my sister PAT. Cohort, originally a Roman military unit of 6 centuries, a 10th of a legion; hence, any group of people banded together; even more hence a supporter or companion.
9. Thicket : COPSE. Originally a stand of small trees intended for cutting, presumably coming into English from the Latin colpaticum, via Old French copeiz, a cut over forest.
14. Boston Marathon mo. : APR. In APRil, always on Patriot's Day, this year falling on the 18th.
15. Meat and greet patio party? : BAR-B-Q. Another pun. Say hello to your animal part entree, cooked out of doors. Not especially vegan friendly.
16. Skylit courtyards : ATRIA. Generally having a glass roof.
20. Sunday service providers : CLERGY. Another nice word play. I'm starting to like this.
21. Switz. neighbor : AUStria. European geography.
22. Pollen carrier : BEE. Threatened by commercial pesticides. If the BEEs go, they'll take us with them.
23. "M*A*S*H" Emmy winner for acting, writing and directing : ALDA. Alan.
24. German autos : BMWs. Vehicles provided by Bayerische Motoren Werke AG.
26. Women's undergarment, briefly : CAMI. Shortened form of CAMISOLE, a sleeveless top, usually with thin straps and extending to about the waist. Not all are undergarments these days.
31. __ joint : HIP. Where the leg attaches to the torso; or possibly a very cool, up to date and popular club.
32. Cracker with a scalloped edge : RITZ.
33. [uh-oh] : GULP. Cartoonish display of dismay or fear.
34. Provides with a soundtrack : DUBS. Meshes the audio with the video.
35. Components of many tips : ONES. Dollar bills. It's been recommended to round up to the nearest five.
37. Give in to wanderlust : ROAM. It's the journey, not the destination.
39. Shakespeare's river : AVON. In the English midlands. Stratford-upon-Avon is the birthplace of some guy named Will.
40. Stockholm carrier : SAS. Formerly Scandinavian Airline System.
47. Author Rice : ANNE. Vampire stories. Who knew they'd be so popular?
48. Final, e.g. : EXAM. Test of learned knowledge at the end of the school term.
49. Medicine Hat's prov. : ALTA. Alberta. Somewhere up north and west.
50. Shoot the breeze : YAK. Gab.
51. Org. for docs : AMA. American Medical Association.
52. Exited quickly, in slang : BAILED. This is an old word with some alternate meanings. I associate this sense of it with making a parachute jump.
58. "Divine Comedy" poet : DANTE Alighieri.
59. "Fun, Fun, Fun" car in 1960s hit : T-BIRD.
60. Make faces for the camera : MUG.
61. Labor day doc : OBGYN. Obstetrician - gynecologist - a medical specialist in the care of specifically female body parts, also charged with the delivery of new born infants. Another pun, if you like that sort of thing. [I do!]
62. Church chorus : AMENS. The response from the crowd, not the choir in the loft. Bruce is a man after my own heart.
63. Mini-albums, briefly : EPs. Extended Play recordings, either CD or vinyl, having more than one song, but fewer than a regular album.
Down
1. Choose paper over plastic? : PAY CASH. Use folding currency instead of a credit card. Who does that any more? Though we always leave a paper tip, rather than charge it.
2. Ill-fated 1967 moon mission : APOLLO I. The mission never occurred. A fire in a launch rehearsal destroyed the Command Module and took the lives of the three crew members.
3. Made even, to a carpenter : TRUED UP. On the level, as it were. Also see 28 D for a partial clecho.
4. "__ your pardon" : I BEG. Words spoken by somebody who elbows you. I always respond with, "I pardon your beggin'."
10. Platte River tribe : OTO. The Platte is in Nebraska, a tributary of the Missouri River. The OTO [or OTOE] were a semi-nomadic people living in the Missouri basin, in what are now the states of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
11. The majors : PRO BALL. For baseball players -- and here we are with opening day coming up on Monday - finally. For men's professional golf, The Majors are a series of 4 tournaments: The Masters, in April at the Augusta National Golf Club; The U. S. Open,played at various U. S. locations in June; the Open Championship, played at one of 10 locations in the U. K. in July, and the PGA Championship, played at various U. S. locations in August.
12. Online guide : SITE MAP. Key to navigating a web site.
13. Enter gradually : EASE IN. As opposed to barging or crashing.
18. Muffin mix additive : BRAN. Might be OATY.
19. Con job : RUSE. A deceptive trick, usually to separate someone from their money.
24. Orders with mayo : BLTS. Tasty, crunchy sandwiches of Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato. Yum! I like mine on whole wheat toast, and prefer Miracle Whip to Mayo.
25. "Les __": musical nickname : MIZ. Les Miserables, based on the novel by Victor Hugo.
26. PCs' "brains" : CPUs. Central Processing Units
28. Karen Carpenter's instrument : DRUMS. She was actually quite good. It's TRUE.
29. Member of the fam : SIB. SIBling = brother or sister, as Richard to Karen. I only have the one.
30. One who helps you find a part? : AGENT. For an actor, in this case.
34. Prom partner : DATE. Oh, my, that was a long time ago.
35. Fallopian tube traveler : OVUM. Part of the reproductive process. It's complicated.
36. Rejections : NOs. Words from those who were not your prom partners.
37. Drink on credit : RUN A TAB.
38. Noise from a 55-Down : OINKING. Porcine pronouncements.
39. Multi-platinum Steely Dan album : AJA. Pronounced "Asia." Don't ask me why. Here's the title track. [8:00 minutes]
40. "I was so foolish!" : SILLY ME. But have you ever known me to be silly? Seriously?
41. Pays for cards : ANTES UP. Puts in the initial bet for a poker hand.
42. Old salts : SEA DOGS. Grizzled old sea-faring veterans.
43. Get hitched : SAY I DO. Make a marriage vow.
44. Viral Internet phenomenon : MEME. An idea, behavior, or style that spreads through a culture. The internet makes it happen more quickly and frequently.
45. Two-horse wager : EXACTA. To win, the better must predict the first and second place finishers, in the correct order.
46. Go up in smoke : FAIL. Or down in flames. I love the English language.
51. Yemeni port : ADEN. Located near the south-west tip of the Arabian peninsula, on the Gulf of Aden.
52. Capital near Zurich : BERN. Back to the AUS neighbor, Switz.
53. Supplements, with "to" : ADDS.
55. Type of pen : STY. Home to hogs and sows.
56. Tech giant : IBM.
57. Cube that rolls : DIE. In Las Vegas, for example. There is a dodecahedral icosahedral [thanks, Howard] one inside the Magic 8 Ball. Which takes us full circle. Or some polyhedral solid approximation thereof. I've never taken an inventory of multiple-word answers. There certainly were a lot of them here. And no nits. This was great fun, as I hope you'll all agree. Cool regards! JzB
Notes from C.C.:
1) I've
been enjoying Peter Gordon's Newsflash Crosswords the past few years.
His entries and clues are super current and full of fun trivia.
MERRICK GARLAND appeared in Peter's grid two days after he was nominated for
the Justice post. Please click here and back his project if you love crosswords and news. You'll love each handcrafted gem from him.
2) Husker Gary is updating our Crossword Corner map. Regulars who want to add their name to the map, please email Gary (gschlapfer@gmail.com).
Please also let him know if you want to drop your name from the map.
Gary will publish an update map next Wednesday.
Theme: Will my do do for you? The second words of common two-word phrases are relocated to a common location, as indicated by the unifier, so let's start there.
62. Permanent place, and a hint to the ends of the answers to starred clues : HAIR SALON. Nice play on "permanent" indicating something of long duration, or, as in this case, a coif treatment. The SALON, of course, is the place where it all happens.
17. *Seriously indoctrinate : BRAIN WASH. Generally BRAIN WASHING involves some radical or extreme set of ideas, and some powerful coaxing. A HAIR WASH might be the first step in the SALON's process.
21. *Improvised rap : FREE STYLE. New usage to me, but it's a real thing. HAIR STYLE is the way the actual tresses are arranged.
37. *Weight-training exercise : BICEP CURL. Demonstrated below. People with straight HAIR want to acquire a CURL. This seems to work the other way, as well.
49. *Markdown : PRICE CUT. Of course, those of us with HAIR need to have it CUT occasionally, even if, as in my case, there's not a lot of it. A PRICE CUT means you can save money on your purchase - but not as much as if you opt not to make it.
56. *Brand created in Toronto in 1904 : CANADA DRY. Soft drinks. And drying the HAIR is what completes the process.
Hi gang - JazzBumpa here, doing my part, so to speak. With 6 theme entries plus a unifier, this puzzle is unusually thematically rich. Let's see if we can make it through without getting either clipped or locked up.
Across
1. Computer whose 27-inch version has a Retina 5K display : I-MAC. Apple product.
5. Down in the mouth : BLUE. As in "I haz a sad."
9. Rum-soaked cakes : BABAS. Yo ho ho!
14. Part of rock's CSNY : NASH. Graham, of Crosby, Stills, NASH and Young.
15. Midterm, e.g. : TEST. Usually we get EXAM.
16. Eel, to a sushi chef : UNAGI. If you say so.
19. 13-Down actress Normand : MABEL. [1892-1930] She collaborated with Mack Sennett.
34. Director Kazan : ELIA. Elias Kazantzoglou [September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003] brought us On The Waterfront, East of Eden, and many more films.
40. Nurse at a bar : SIP ON. Another nice word play.
43. 1956 Mideast crisis site : SUEZ. Seems like it's always a crisis in that part of the world.
44. Mensa concerns : IQ'S. Intelligence Quotient.
47. Hometown of the Ivy League's Big Red : ITHACA. Cornell University.
52. Chinese menu general : TSO. Of chicken fame.
53. Nev. neighbor : IDAho.
55. Binges : SPREES.
60. Chow line? : ARF. Chow is a dog variety, and ARF is the line it speaks.
61. More than chubby : OBESE. Seriously over weight.
66. "__ Black" : MEN IN. Will Smith movie.
67. River to the English Channel : ORNE. In French Normandy.
68. "Don't look at me" : NOT I. Somebody else did it.
69. Brown ermine : STOAT. Either way, it's a weasel.
70. Hard to box in, ironically : CAGY. Secretive, cautious, wary, noncommittal.
71. 52 Pickup need : DECK. Playing cards.
Down
1. Having five sharps, musically : IN B. B Major, specifically - not a common key, and quite awkward on the trombone. The notes in the scale are B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, B.
2. Scratch, say : MAR. Cause a defect.
3. At no cost : AS A GIFT. Freebie.
4. President before Sarkozy : CHIRAC. Jaques, b. 1932, president from 1995 - 2007.
5. Digression lead-in, in texts : By The Way.
6. Table extension : LEAF.
7. Cold War initials : USSR. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, where many of the residents had red aunts.
8. Early anesthetic : ETHER.
9. Foul tip? : BUM STEER. Word play for a bit of bad advice.
10. Med. school subject : ANATomy.
11. Newborn's natural insulator : BABY FAT. Still - you shouldn't leave them out in the cold.
12. Botox target : AGE LINE. Wrinkle.
13. Films that usually had live music : SILENTS.
18. Scrubbed, at NASA : NO GO.
22. Word with bud or flap : EAR. For a personal music device or hat.
23. Bikini part : TOP. Usually it's BRA.
24. Country mail svc. : Rural Free Delivery.
25. Utility abbr. : ELECtricity.
29. Chihuahua cheers : OLES. Not a dog this time, but a state in the United States of Mexico, or the capital city of that state.
30. Tear to pieces : RIP UP.
32. ISP option : Digital Subscriber Line - technology used to transmit data over phone lines..
35. Service pro : ACER. Tennis, I assume.
37. Feathery neckwear : BOA.
38. Contentious border happening : INCIDENT.
39. Israeli guns : UZIS.
40. "Maude," "Phyllis" and "Rhoda" : SIT-COMS.
41. "You're on!" : IT'S A BET. Wagering agreement.
42. Dir. assistance info : PHONE NO.
44. Frozen floater : ICE FLOE. Berg also fits.
45. "¿__ pasa?" : QUE. What's happening? in Chihuahua.
46. Beale and Bourbon: Abbr. : STreetS. Bourbon is in Nashville, Beale is in Memphis.
48. Canine care gp.? : American Dental Association, which apparently is not going to the dogs.
50. Tax time VIPs : CPAS. Certified Public Accountants.
51. Thing to run : ERRAND. Places to go, things to do, people to see.
54. For this purpose : AD HOC, as a committee.
57. Pacific Rim continent : ASIA. Large, with lots of people.
58. Avis modifier : RARA. Rare bird.
59. Hip-hop's __ Yang Twins : YING. Of whom I know nothing.
63. King of Spain : REY.
64. Non-Rx : Over The Counter.
65. Neat ending? : -NIK. Referring to someone overly fussy about keeping things in order. Well, I'm not fond of this type of affix clue, so we end on my nit-NIK. We have 22 each of 3 and 4 letter fill, giving the puzzle a Monday-level average word length. But that's the kind of trade off you face with so much themeage. Nothing ever comes for free. Overall, a nicely done puzzle. Cool regards! JzB
Theme: Kerannng! Car crash calamities. Eight cars are involved in accidents around the grid.
As explained by the grid-spanning reveal:
38A. Car mishaps that occur at this puzzle's four circles : T-BONE COLLISIONS.
No crash-test dummies were injured in this experiment
If you didn't have circles in your puzzle then look at the grid at the bottom of the post and the "t-bones" should become clear (if you hadn't spotted them already).
1A. "Pay attention!" (Ford) : FOCUS! & 3D. Type of pride (Honda) : CIVIC
9A. Minute Maid Park player (Chevy) : ASTRO & 11D. Beat (Ford) : TEMPO
46A. Venomous snake (Dodge) : VIPER & 48D. Space explorer (Ford) : PROBE
51A. Atlas, for one (Nissan) : TITAN & 53D. Western skiing mecca (Chevy) : TAHOE.
Very slick puzzle from Bruce. There's a lot to admire here - the theme itself, the quintuple-stacked 5's in each corner, the bisecting grid-spanners across and down, the long downs, and the tricky single-entry points to the corner blocks. This could have been a beast without solid crosses, and there would be a real temptation to load up the 3's with crosswordese.
I'm not sure the car brands in the clues were necessary and might actually have detracted from the challenge, but I wonder if test solvers struggled without them.
I don't think the theme entries themselves need any clarification - maybe non-sports folks would like the confirmation that baseball's Houston Astros play at Minute Maid Park; Atlas was one of the Titans in Greek mythology for the non-classicists among us.
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
6. Time for new growth: Abbr. : SPR.
"This spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green,
Wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes,
Thorn-blossom lifting in wreaths of smoke between
Where the wood fumes up and the watery, flickering rushes."
(D.H.Lawrence)
14. Select group : A-LIST
15. Eastern ideal : TAO
16. Absolute : SHEER
17. Summer Olympics competitor : DIVER
18. Symmetrically placed Monopoly sqs. : R.R.S. Railroad Stations. Liverpool Street, King's Cross, Marylebone and Fenchurch Street in the London version.
19. Bambino's parent : MAMMA
20. Musical narrated by Che : EVITA
21. Squeeze (out) : EKE
22. Cosmetician Adrien : ARPEL. Close to a personal natick with the "A" crossing "ASMARA", but I guessed right.
23. Info-gathering mission : RECON
24. Entanglement : WEB
25. Guffaw evokers : RIOTS
26. Way up the mountain : GONDOLA. A lot more comfortable than the old chair lifts and t-bars.
29. Slowpokes : SNAILS
33. 1945 battle setting, familiarly : IWO. Jima.
34. "Macbeth" witches, e.g. : TRIO. Shakespeare's "weird" or "weyward" sisters were never named.
41. Jabbers : YAKS
42. Lip-reading alternative: Abbr. : A.S.L. American Sign Language. Did you notice at the start of the singing of the National Anthem at the Superbowl that CBS put a camera on the ASL interpreter for about three seconds, and the producer never showed her again? Somewhat defeats the purpose.
43. Subtlety : NUANCE
44. Writer who used his actual middle name as a pen name : DR. SEUSS
50. Place for a key: Abbr. : IGN. If one of the puzzle's eight cars hadn't put a key in the ignition this morning, that would have been one fewer accident.
56. Pianist known for his Beethoven interpretations : ARRAU. Thank you, crosses
57. Most preferred, in texts : FAV
58. RollerCoaster Tycoon World publisher : ATARI. A video game. I don't play them.
7. Subject to ticketing : PARKED ILLEGALLY. Very nicely automotive-related in tune with the main theme.
8. NCAA's "Granddaddy of them all" : ROSE BOWL. So nicknamed because it's the oldest college football bowl game. Played on New Year's Day just up the road from me in Pasadena.
9. Capital of Eritrea : ASMARA. I didn't know this, and as I mentioned, was almost naticked with ARPEL. Guessed right.
10. Lewis with Lamb Chop : SHARI.
12. Convened again : RE-MET. Grammatically OK, but have any of us actually used this?
13. Educational hurdles : ORALS. EXAMS went in, EXAMS came out.
27. Prize for a picture : OSCAR
28. Beef cuts : LOINS. In legend, a particularly tasty loin was knighted by King James I to become the Sir Loin.
29. Rooting place : STY. I tried BED first for plant roots.
30. Larry O'Brien Trophy org. : N.B.A. The championship trophy named for the Postmaster General turned NBA Commissioner.
31. "Fine with me!" : A-OK
32. Connections : INS
34. Familia member : TIA
35. Harry's Hogwarts cohort : RON. Potter's buddy Weasley. I read about 100 pages of the first book, but never got into it.
36. Firm ending? : INC.
37. Verb ending : -OSE
39. Hardens into bone : OSSIFIES
40. Keeps up : SUSTAINS
44. Ancient Celtic priests : DRUIDS
45. Present to the public : UNVEIL
46. Well-founded : VALID
47. Adler of Sherlock Holmes lore : IRENE. She appears in "A Scandal in Bohemia" and Holmes scholars like to refer to her as Sherlock's love interest.
49. Like many roofs : EAVED
52. "Challenge accepted!" : IT'S ON
54. Got up : AROSE
55. Gunpowder ingredient : NITER. Along with sulfur and charcoal.
I think that's it from me. Here's the grid, complete with circles and the "T" patterns shown in blue.
Theme: Wealth well within the dreams of avarice. Phrases representing large sums of money are clued in such a way that the phrase relates to a person's occupation or avocation.
17. Tidy sum, to a coin collector? : PRETTY PENNY. This phrase is known to go back to the 1760's. In this instance, PENNY is a synecdoche for money in general, as contrasted to its usual indication of an insignificant amount, so the phrase incorporates a modicum of sardonic humor. A coin collector would have above average appreciation for a literal PRETTY PENNY, if it were of sufficient rarity. Alternatively, one may consider . . .
28. Tidy sum, to a chairmaker? : AN ARM AND A LEG. This phrase is not known to go back any further than 1949. It may be derived from 19th century phrases like "I'd give my right arm for . . ." which seems familiar and " . . . even if it takes a leg," which does not. In any event, it's more in-the-language than A SEAT AND A BACK, which the chairmaker must also consider.
43. Tidy sum, to a soothsayer? : SMALL FORTUNE. This phrase is more literal, and I can't find any information on where it came from. It indicates a sum beyond what is reasonable in some circumstance, but certainly less than a large fortune. A soothsayer can presumably use some occult mechanism to predict your future. But - can you afford it?
56. Tidy sum, to a chess player? : KING’S RANSOM. Now we're talking real money. The phrase is only known to go back to the 13th Century. In 1260, during the 7th Crusade, King Louis IX of France was captured in Egypt by Turks, who demanded a large amount of money to secure his release. However, during the 3rd Crusade, Richard I Plantagenet of England was captured in December, 1192 by Duke Leopold of Austria who had a real or imagined grudge. The amount demanded for his release was more than twice the annual income of the English crown. Taxes were raised, the churches were looted of their treasures, and eventually the money was delivered. Richard was released on Feb. 4, 1194. As a side note, Richard's brother John offered a tidy sum if Richard would be detained until Michaelmas - Sept 29th. This offer was rejected. It's highly unlikely that any chess piece, even the King, would demand such a quantity.
Hi gang, JazzBumpa here - sadly, no richer than the last time we met. We were shopping that day, and today we can consider if we perhaps paid too much.
Onward, then, to the rest of the puzzle.
Down
1. Musical with the song "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" : EVITA.
6. Petty distinctions, metaphorically : HAIRS. As in splitting them.
11. Midriff punch reaction : OOF. Onomatopoeia for the sound of air thus forcibly expelled.
14. Noble gas : XENON. Along with helium, neon, argon, krypton and radon. These gases are chemically inert and considered noble due to their non-reactivity.
15. Former Illinois senator : OBAMA. Whatever happened to that guy?
16. "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" network : National Public Radio.
19. Golf prop : TEE. Little wooden peg that slightly elevates the ball for the first shot on any hole. It's considered gauche to use it on the second shot.
20. "Most Excellent" U.K. award : OBE.
21. Emcee : HOST. Master of Ceremonies initials, phonetically spelt.
22. Gooey treat : S'MORE. Contraction of "some more" because that's what you are expected to want after a taste of this marshmallow cum chocolate cum graham cracker confection. I am not a fan.
41. Only person to win both an Academy Award and a Nobel Prize : SHAW. George Bernard won the Nobel prize for literature in 1925 "for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty". The Academy Award came in 1938 for his film adaptation of Pygmalion.
42. Clock button : ALARM. I really wanted SNOOZE. [I know it doesn't fit, but still . . .]
46. Alleviate : ASSUAGE. The word came into Middle English via Old French, and ultimately traces back to Latin ad + suavis, hence to sweeten.
49. Baggage carousel aid : ID TAG.
50. Color in une cave à vin : BLANC. A wine cellar might contain some whites, as indicated here.
51. Angers : IRES.
52. Kin of org : EDU. URL extensions.
55. Japanese capital : YEN. Money, not the seat of government.
60. Ready, or ready follower : SET. Nicely formed clue, illustrating two different senses of the target word.
61. Theme park with a geodesic sphere : EPCOT. Part of Disney World.
62. Slacken : LET UP. Reduce the amount of applied force or effort.
63. Calypso cousin : SKA. Jamaican music from the 50's.
64. They may be Dutch : DOORS. This is a two part door divided horizontally, roughly in the middle, designed so that the top half can be open and the bottom half left closed. This allows fresh air into the room while keeping animals out and small children in.
65. Potters' pitchers : EWERS. Large wide-mouthed jugs for carrying water. The clue suggests they are made from ceramic, but this is not necessary.
Down
1. Big show : EXPO. An exposition or trade fair and convention venue.
2. Beg, borrow or steal : VERB. A self-referential clue relating to examples of a part of speech. Meh!
3. "My bed is calling me" : I NEED A NAP. As occasionally does happen.
4. Kid : TOT. Child.
5. Country music? : ANTHEMS. Songs of loyalty or devotion associated with particular countries, groups or causes.
6. Climbs aboard : HOPS ON.
7. Distract the security guards for, say : ABET. Assist the perp in his criminal endeavor.
8. Actor Somerhalder of "The Vampire Diaries" : IAN.
30. Country inflection : DRAWL. Y'all tahk lahk this, ya see - and dawg is a three syllable word.
33. Noble act, in Nantes : BEAU GESTE. French, but easy enough guess with a little perp help. the fact that there are an English language novel and movies of the same name also helps.
34. Forsaken : LORN. The same as forlorn. The German cognate, verloren, means lost.
35. "My treat" : ON ME. Now we're back to buying.
37. Thick carpet : SHAG. Deep pile. Very 70's.
38. Grimm story : TALE. Kinder- und Hausmärchen [Children's and Household Tales], their collection of German fairy tales, was published in 1812. Many of the tales are indeed grim, disturbing, and unsuitable for children
39. Ski resort near Salt Lake City : ALTA. Where's Marti when you need her?
41. Kissed noisily : SMACKED.
42. Gallery event : ART SALE.
43. Day light : SUN. Often obscured by clouds.
44. They haven't been done before : FIRSTS.
45. Frankfurt's river : ODER. The other Frankfurt is on the Main River.
46. Hardly a miniature gulf : ABYSS. Deep chasm, and a nice word play in the clue.
48. Blitzen's boss : SANTA. Sled-pulling reindeer and his driver.
51. "Young Frankenstein" role : IGOR.
53. Ill-humored : DOUR. Gloomy and stern. Is that a good match?
54. World Series field sextet : UMPS. Regular season games have 4 UMPires - one behind the plate and one at each base. Major league post season games add two in the outfield.
57. Wall St. debut : Initial Public Offering. First general opportunity to acquire equity in the corporation.
58. Sgt. or cpl. : Non Commissioned Officer.
59. Fresh : NEW.
Well, that's all for today. Nice puzzle with a bit of sparkle and couple of outstanding clues. Hope you got your money's worth.
