Theme: Breakfast Surprise - scrambled OATS
17A. *What may put a fire in the belly? : HOT SAUCE. I've got quite a few varieties in my pantry. One of my favorites is a green habañero sauce I picked up at a market in Jalisco.
24A. *Commuter entertainment source : RADIO STATION
38A. *Slick trick : FAST ONE. Fast ones are always pulled. I might try and push a fast one and see how far I get.
52A. *Pre-release programs : BETA SOFTWARE. Full of bugs, typically.
64A. What young people may sow ... and what's literally hidden in the answers to starred clues : WILD OATS.
"Boys will be boys, young men must sow their wild oats, and women must not expect miracles." From Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
A pretty straightforward theme today, a word scramble. If the constructor lived in TAOS, NM that would be cool. It does appear to be an LAT debut for Mr. McHugh, so congratulations are in order for that. The stacked 6's at top and bottom are nice. There is a little "bitty" feel to the rest of the fill, but nothing to get too upset about. Maybe a slight surfeit of crossword-ese. More of a Monday feel to this one. Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Part of BYOB and MYOB : OWN. Bring your own bottle/mind your own business. I first heard the term BYO in Australia, which described restaurants which did not have a license to serve alcohol, but you were welcome to bring your own wine.
4. Band name with a lightning bolt slash : AC/DC
8. Unlike a couch potato : ACTIVE
14. T'ai __ : CHI
15. Afrikaans speaker : BOER. Dutch origin. It's not the most mellifluous of languages.
16. 9Lives mascot : MORRIS. Thank you, crosses. No idea with this one.
19. Makes room on, as a schedule : CLEARS
20. Window part : SASH
21. Mother of Pollux : LEDA
23. She plays Crawford in FX's "Feud" : LANGE. Jessica Lange portraying Joan Crawford.
27. Regards with surprise : GAPES AT
30. Sped : TORE
31. Botch : MISDO. Hmmm. Really? "Don't misdo that!". "Darn, I misdid it!" Not convinced that would be the first phrase out of my mouth if I stripped a bolt.
32. Miracle-__ : GRO
33. One teaspoon, e.g. : DOSE
37. Sponsor's array : ADS
42. Pampering place : SPA
43. Lets hit them : NETS. Tennis. A let actually hit the net cord, not the net, but let's not get too picky.
45. Pi follower : RHO
46. Heroism : VALOR
48. In-land link? : LA-LA. You know no-one ever calls Los Angeles La-La land? Just as only tourists call San Francisco "Frisco" and only Guy Fieri calls the state "Cali".
50. Leopardlike cats : OCELOTS
56. Not right : AMISS
57. Commuter's expense : TOLL
58. Staff symbol : REST. Music.
62. Metaphorical state of agitation : LATHER
66. Like most Chaplin films : SILENT. This New Yorker article is an interesting read regarding Chaplin and his attitudes towards sound.
67. "Uh-huh" : I SEE
68. By way of : VIA
69. Gives a heads-up : ALERTS
70. Drag racing gp. : N.H.R.A. National Hot Rod Association.
71. Prompt a correction : ERR
Down:
1. "Draft Dodger Rag" folk singer : OCHS
2. Stop on the trail : WHOA!
3. Quibbles : NITS
4. "Defending Liberty, Pursuing Justice" org. : ABA. American Bar Association. Second association of the day.
5. Might've : COULD'A. Would'a, could'a, should'a.
6. Con man's forte : DECEIT
7. Set of beliefs : CREDO. Had CREED first.
8. "The Walking Dead" channel : AMC
9. Nab : COLLAR
10. Pressure-__ : TREATED. Lumber that has chromated copper arsenate preservative forced into it under pressure.
11. Like two-time Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi : IRANI. More crosses to the rescue.
12. Late summer sign : VIRGO. That's me!
13. Steel city near Cologne : ESSEN. Food! It's also the verb "to eat" in German. All I know about Essen is what I learned from the friendly fictional family who populated the text book in high school German lessons. Herr Mueller was an executive at some kind of factory, and I recall the river was nice and the park was spacious.
18. Bit : SHRED
22. Orbit City pooch : ASTRO
25. Starting : AS OF
26. One in a cel block : TOON. Astro, for example.
27. FBI guy : G-MAN
28. Assistant : AIDE
29. "Wanna hear a secret?" : PSST!
32. '60s-'70s Pontiac : GTO
34. City that hosts an annual Norwegian Wood music festival : OSLO. Quick - name another Norwegian city of four letters. 3-2-1 Go!
35. Blind __ : SPOT
36. Elephant flappers : EARS
39. Singer Guthrie : ARLO
40. Golf club part : SHAFT. The shaft used to be made of good old hickory, then steel and now all kinds of fancy-schmancy carbon fiber, titanium and assorted rocket parts developed by NASA. Or something.
41. Even once : EVER
44. Cutting-edge horror film? : SLASHER
47. Olds compact : ALERO
49. Approval : ASSENT
50. Wide-eyed and wise-looking : OWLISH
51. Telemarketer : CALLER. Bleedin' nuisance, more like.
52. Light wood : BALSA. We used to make model aeroplanes out of balsa wood when we were kids.
53. It's often distributed in cc's : E-MAIL
54. Sir or sri : TITLE
55. Haul to the shop : TOW IN
59. Nesting site : EAVE
Oh - here we are at the end, I stumbled off the edge of the roof. Here's the grid!
Steve
17A. *What may put a fire in the belly? : HOT SAUCE. I've got quite a few varieties in my pantry. One of my favorites is a green habañero sauce I picked up at a market in Jalisco.
24A. *Commuter entertainment source : RADIO STATION
38A. *Slick trick : FAST ONE. Fast ones are always pulled. I might try and push a fast one and see how far I get.
52A. *Pre-release programs : BETA SOFTWARE. Full of bugs, typically.
64A. What young people may sow ... and what's literally hidden in the answers to starred clues : WILD OATS.
"Boys will be boys, young men must sow their wild oats, and women must not expect miracles." From Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
A pretty straightforward theme today, a word scramble. If the constructor lived in TAOS, NM that would be cool. It does appear to be an LAT debut for Mr. McHugh, so congratulations are in order for that. The stacked 6's at top and bottom are nice. There is a little "bitty" feel to the rest of the fill, but nothing to get too upset about. Maybe a slight surfeit of crossword-ese. More of a Monday feel to this one. Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Part of BYOB and MYOB : OWN. Bring your own bottle/mind your own business. I first heard the term BYO in Australia, which described restaurants which did not have a license to serve alcohol, but you were welcome to bring your own wine.
4. Band name with a lightning bolt slash : AC/DC
8. Unlike a couch potato : ACTIVE
14. T'ai __ : CHI
15. Afrikaans speaker : BOER. Dutch origin. It's not the most mellifluous of languages.
16. 9Lives mascot : MORRIS. Thank you, crosses. No idea with this one.
19. Makes room on, as a schedule : CLEARS
20. Window part : SASH
21. Mother of Pollux : LEDA
23. She plays Crawford in FX's "Feud" : LANGE. Jessica Lange portraying Joan Crawford.
27. Regards with surprise : GAPES AT
30. Sped : TORE
31. Botch : MISDO. Hmmm. Really? "Don't misdo that!". "Darn, I misdid it!" Not convinced that would be the first phrase out of my mouth if I stripped a bolt.
32. Miracle-__ : GRO
33. One teaspoon, e.g. : DOSE
37. Sponsor's array : ADS
42. Pampering place : SPA
43. Lets hit them : NETS. Tennis. A let actually hit the net cord, not the net, but let's not get too picky.
45. Pi follower : RHO
46. Heroism : VALOR
48. In-land link? : LA-LA. You know no-one ever calls Los Angeles La-La land? Just as only tourists call San Francisco "Frisco" and only Guy Fieri calls the state "Cali".
50. Leopardlike cats : OCELOTS
56. Not right : AMISS
57. Commuter's expense : TOLL
58. Staff symbol : REST. Music.
62. Metaphorical state of agitation : LATHER
66. Like most Chaplin films : SILENT. This New Yorker article is an interesting read regarding Chaplin and his attitudes towards sound.
67. "Uh-huh" : I SEE
68. By way of : VIA
69. Gives a heads-up : ALERTS
70. Drag racing gp. : N.H.R.A. National Hot Rod Association.
71. Prompt a correction : ERR
Down:
1. "Draft Dodger Rag" folk singer : OCHS
2. Stop on the trail : WHOA!
3. Quibbles : NITS
4. "Defending Liberty, Pursuing Justice" org. : ABA. American Bar Association. Second association of the day.
5. Might've : COULD'A. Would'a, could'a, should'a.
6. Con man's forte : DECEIT
7. Set of beliefs : CREDO. Had CREED first.
8. "The Walking Dead" channel : AMC
9. Nab : COLLAR
10. Pressure-__ : TREATED. Lumber that has chromated copper arsenate preservative forced into it under pressure.
11. Like two-time Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi : IRANI. More crosses to the rescue.
12. Late summer sign : VIRGO. That's me!
13. Steel city near Cologne : ESSEN. Food! It's also the verb "to eat" in German. All I know about Essen is what I learned from the friendly fictional family who populated the text book in high school German lessons. Herr Mueller was an executive at some kind of factory, and I recall the river was nice and the park was spacious.
18. Bit : SHRED
22. Orbit City pooch : ASTRO
25. Starting : AS OF
26. One in a cel block : TOON. Astro, for example.
27. FBI guy : G-MAN
28. Assistant : AIDE
29. "Wanna hear a secret?" : PSST!
32. '60s-'70s Pontiac : GTO
34. City that hosts an annual Norwegian Wood music festival : OSLO. Quick - name another Norwegian city of four letters. 3-2-1 Go!
35. Blind __ : SPOT
36. Elephant flappers : EARS
39. Singer Guthrie : ARLO
40. Golf club part : SHAFT. The shaft used to be made of good old hickory, then steel and now all kinds of fancy-schmancy carbon fiber, titanium and assorted rocket parts developed by NASA. Or something.
41. Even once : EVER
44. Cutting-edge horror film? : SLASHER
47. Olds compact : ALERO
49. Approval : ASSENT
50. Wide-eyed and wise-looking : OWLISH
51. Telemarketer : CALLER. Bleedin' nuisance, more like.
52. Light wood : BALSA. We used to make model aeroplanes out of balsa wood when we were kids.
53. It's often distributed in cc's : E-MAIL
54. Sir or sri : TITLE
55. Haul to the shop : TOW IN
59. Nesting site : EAVE
Oh - here we are at the end, I stumbled off the edge of the roof. Here's the grid!
Steve
