Buckle Up! Today we have both the dreaded circles and anagrams! So, buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride on this ROCKY ROAD as we travel around the world in a puzzle that contains lots of foreign language words.
I'll start with the unifier:
And the Unifier:
61-Across. Nutty ice cream parlor order ... and a hint to each set of circled letters: ROCKY ROAD.
17-Across. Not be serious: KID AROUND.
We've also have a little criminal activity going as well.
15-Across. Thieves' hideout: LAIR. // 65-Down. Thieves' hideout: DEN.
16-Across. Thief: CROOK.
I'll start with the unifier:
And the Unifier:
61-Across. Nutty ice cream parlor order ... and a hint to each set of circled letters: ROCKY ROAD.
24-Across. "Answer with the first thing that comes to mind" exercise: WORD ASSOCIATION.
36-Across. World's largest lizards: KOMODO DRAGONS. The Komoda Dragon is found in the Indonesian islands.
52-Across. '70s Chilean president: SALVADOR ALLENDE. Salvador Allende (June 26, 1908 ~ Sept. 11, 1973) was a physician and President of Chile from 1970 until 1973 when he was killed in a coup. After the coup, Augusto Pinochet (Nov. 25, 1915 ~ Sept. 10, 2006) became the dictator of Chile. The latter was my first thought, and both names have the same number of letters.
Salvador Allende.
We've also have a little criminal activity going as well.
15-Across. Thieves' hideout: LAIR. // 65-Down. Thieves' hideout: DEN.
16-Across. Thief: CROOK.
Across:
1. Indian music style: RAGA.
5. French "to be": ÊTRE. The first of several references to a foreign language in today's puzzle. The verb Être is an irregular verb. In the present tense, the verb is conjugates as: Je suis / Nous sommes (I am / We are); Tu es / Vous être (You are You are); Il est / Elle est (He is / She is) / Ils sont / Elles sont (They are).
9. Goldman __: investment banking giant: SACHS. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 by Marcus Goldman (Dec. 9, 1821 ~ July 20, 1904). Thirteen years later, his son-in-law, Samuel Sachs (July 28, 1851 ~ Mar. 2, 1935), joined the firm, and the name became as we know it today.
19. Like the accent in passé: ACUTE. The French language uses 5 distinct accents:
the cédille Ç,
the accent aigu é,
the accent circonflexe â, ê, î, ô, û,
the accent grave à, è, ù
and the accent tréma ë, ï, ü.
20. French monarch: ROI. The French King.
23. Cold War mil. program: SDI. As in the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as Star Wars. The program was initiated in 1983 during the Reagan Administration. The program was designed to develop a space-based missile defense program to protect the country from a nuclear attack. The program is sometimes considered the straw that broke down the Cold War between the United States and the USSR.
29. Golfer Michelle: WIE. Michelle Song Wie (b. Oct. 11, 1989) was the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. She was 10 years old at the time.
30. "I've seen better": MEH!
31. Playground equipment: SWINGS.
32. Quaint lodging: INN.
33. Passé: OLD HAT. Note that the clue contains a acute accent, or in French, an Accent Aigu.
42. "Peer Gynt Suite" dancer: ANITRA. Definitely not a Tuesday clue, but I am sure you have heard the music that accompanies the dance.
43. "Mangia!": EAT! Today's Italian lesson. Mangia is the imperative verb form of the verb to eat.
45. Wine city north of Lisbon: OPORTO. Today's Portuguese lesson. This city, which is the second largest city in Portugal, appears as Porto in maps in English.
48. CEO's degree: MBA. The Chief Executive Officer would likely have a Master's in Business Administration.
56. Ed.'s backlog: MSS. As in a backlog of Manuscripts.
57. Actress Russo: RENE. Rene Russo (née Rene Marie Russo; b. Feb. 17, 1954) makes frequent appearances in the puzzles. She began her career as a fashion model.
58. World Cup cheer: !OLE¡ Today's Spanish lesson.
59. Funny Cheri: OTERI. Cheri OTERI (née Cheryl Anne Oteri; b. Sept. 19, 1962) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles. She was on Saturday Night Live 2 decades ago, where she played a number of roles, including the Spartan cheerleader.
Cheri is on the Right.
66. Seasonal mall temp: SANTA. Their temporary job is over until next season, which, I think now begins in about July. Also a fond memory to our own Santa.
67. "Omigosh!": YIPE!
68. Loitering, say: IDLE.
71. Utopia: EDEN.
Down:
1. D.C. United's former stadium: RFK.
2. "Green Book" Oscar winner Mahershala: ALI. Mashershala Ali (né Mahershalalhasbaz Gilmore; b. Feb. 16, 1974) also won an Oscar for his performance in Moonlight. He was also the star of the 3rd season of True Detective, and appeared for a couple of seasons in House of Cards.
3. Neptune or Pluto: GOD. They are brothers in Roman mythology.
5. Kid-lit girl who lives on the "tippy-top floor" of the Plaza Hotel: ELOISE. The Eloise Books were not actually a part of my childhood.
8. Ambulance patient's MD: ER DOC. As an Emergency Room Doctor.
9. Scoundrel: SCALAWAG. Fun word.
11. "My __ Vinny": 1992 comedy: COUSIN. This movie is a favorite of many of the regulars on this blog.
18. Travel aimlessly: ROAM. May your roam be on a smooth road and not a Rocky Road.
22. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" host Tyler: AISHA. Aisha Tyler (née Aisha Naomi Tyler; b. Sept. 18, 1970) is a complete unknown to me. I watched the show when Drew Carey was the host. I didn't know it was still on.
24. 1914-'18 conflict, briefly: WWI. Also known as World War I, the War to End All Wars.
26. Nevada casino city: RENO. Not to be confused with 57-Across. Reno is also the home of the National Judicial College. I took some courses there about 20 years ago.
28. Latin jazz great Puente: TITO. Tito Puente (né Ernesto Antoino Puente; Apr. 20, 1923 ~ May 31, 2000) is sometimes called the King of Latin Music.
34. Pres. or P.M.: LDR. Presidents and Prime Ministers are Leaders of their respective countries.
37. Sportscaster Albert: MARV. Marv Albert (né Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; b. June 12, 1941) was involved in a sex scandal in the late 1990s.
39. LED component: DIODE.
45. Be absorbed gradually: OSMOSE.
49. Cambridge chaps: BLOKES.
50. Treaty partner: ALLY.
53. Sandwich shop specification: ON RYE. We just had some smoked whitefish on rye. Yummers!
54. Lubricate again: RE-OIL.
55. Like "Stranger Things": EERIE.
60. Numbered hwy.: RTE.
62. Lowest-ranking NCO: CPL.
63. Roulette bet: ODD. I initially tried Red. But, instead, we were looking for Even or Odd, not colors.
64. Brewpub pour: ALE.