Theme: "Whatever floats your boat!"
20A. New Year's Day staple, familiarly : ROSE BOWL PARADE. The official name is the "XXXth Rose Parade," sponsored by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Foundation.
32A. Place to learn to crawl : SWIM CLASS. Australian or American crawl.
43A. It has a handle and flies : TACKLE BOX. Fun riddle for the clue!
56A. Place to split a split : ICE CREAM PARLOR. Aw, sweet.
And the unifier:
68A. What one might see in a 20-, 32-, 43- or 56-Across : FLOAT.
Just missing a V for a pangram (or Victor?) I was racking my brain, trying to figure out the theme as I went along. Nope. No chance. Without the unifier, I doubt if I would have "got" it. So I had a real "AHA" moment, which should please Victor no end. (^0^)
Across:
1. Short glasses? : SPECS. I wanted "shots" at first.
6. 1979 exile : SHAH.
10. "Collective unconscious" coiner : JUNG. I put myself dangerously near to a coma by reading on and on about this. So, I will eschew any link...
14. Necklace material : CORAL.
Nicolaas Rubens wearing a coral necklace, by Peter Paul Rubens |
15. Big Island port : HILO.
16. "Beauty ___ the eye..." : IS IN.
17. President who appointed Sotomayor to the Supreme Court : OBAMA.
18. Loads : A LOT.
19. Beatles movie : HELP.
23. One making sidelong glances : EYER. One who sees beauty?
24. Bias-___ tire : PLY.
25. Mil. roadside hazard : IED. Improvised Exploding Device.
26. Highest of MLB's "minors" : AAA. Division in the minor league of baseball.
28. Ode relic : URN.
29. Animation unit : CEL.
37. "Harold and Maude" director Hal : ASHBY.
39. Aptly named 22-Down : LE CAR. And 22-Down. 39-Across automaker : RENAULT. French automaker.
40. Band since 1980 that disbanded in 2011 : R.E.M. The name was chosen at random from a dictionary.
41. Freeway no-no : U-TURN.
42. "The Wizard of Oz" device : IRONY.
45. Comăneci score : TEN. At the 1976 Olympics, Nadia became the first female gymnast to score a perfect "10."
46. "Now I ___ me..." : LAY.
48. Getting-in approx. : ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.
49. 90210, e.g. : ZIP.
50. Stylist's supply : GEL.
52. Run in the heat? : MELT.
60. Goes downhill fast : SKIS. The season is winding down, but there's still some great skiing out there.
61. Ricelike pasta : ORZO.
62. Worthless : SORRY. As in, "You're a sorry excuse for a man!"
63. Confined, with "up" : PENT.
64. "Terrif!" : NEAT.
65. Lena and others : OLINS.
66. Surfers' guides : FAQS. Internet surfers. Frequently Asked Questions.
67. ___ qua non : SINE. Latin for "without which [there would be] nothing."
Down:
1. Make a point : SCORE.
2. NOLA sandwich : PO' BOY. A New Orleans, Louisiana classic. Where's your favorite place to get them, Hahtoolah?
3. Wipe clean : ERASE.
4. One concerned with composition and angles : CAMERA MAN.
5. Hunk : SLAB. Oh. Sorry, I was thinking of this kind of hunk.
6. Wrapped accessory : SHAWL.
7. Like links golf courses : HILLY. "Link" comes from Old English "hlinc," which means "ridge." Links courses are typically found along the seashore, built on sand dunes.
8. Crooked : ALOP.
9. Bloviator's talk : HOT AIR. Love that word! I'm going to use it in a sentence today.
10. Muslim holy war : JIHAD.
11. Exploited : USED.
12. "Aida" backdrop : NILE.
13. Macroeconomics fig. : GNP. Gross National Product. Jazzbumpa knows everything about economics.
21. Gem for a Scorpio, perhaps : OPAL.
27. Fake nail material : ACRYLIC. Don't they look real?
28. "Semper Fi" org. : USMC. Short form of "Semper Fidelis" ("Always Loyal"), the motto of the United States Marine Corps.
29. Carp family fish : CHUB. Pretty fish.
30. Spanish Civil War battle site : EBRO. The Ebro river was the site of one of the bloodiest and most devastating battles of the war. Map.
31. Snowshoe hare hunter : LYNX.
32. Narrow cut : SLIT.
33. Are in the past? : WERE. Fun clue!
34. Emblem : ICON.
35. Pretentiously showy : ARTY.
36. "Wide Sargasso ___": Jean Rhys novel : SEA.
38. Overpower : STEAMROLL.
44. Plant in an underwater forest : KELP.
47. Golf green borders : APRONS.
49. Citrus peels : ZESTS.
50. Certain strip native : GAZAN. From this strip.
51. Overact : EMOTE.
53. California town whose name means "the river" : EL RIO. Pop. 7,198.
54. Doone who turned out to be Lady Dugal's daughter : LORNA.
55. Secret rendezvous : TRYST.
56. Furniture store that also sells Swedish meatballs : IKEA.
57. Quatre et un : CINQ. 4+1=5. French.
58. "...___ saw Elba" : ERE I. Our favorite crossword palindrome.
59. Starting from : AS OF.
60. No. at the beach : SPF. Sun Protection Factor. Dennis knows how important this is!
See you all next week!
Hugs,