Theme:
Camera Obscura - the three theme entries have a common scrambled word concealed within, as explained by the reveal:
54A. Device found in this puzzle's three other longest answers :
HIDDEN CAMERA. You can find these things for next to nothing on eBay and Amazon. Creepy.
20A. Protective charm often adorned with feathers :
DREAM CATCHER. Great, fresh entry. They can be elaborate, and quite beautiful:
33A. Stamina-testing ballroom event :
DANCE MARATHON. Subject matter for the widely-acclaimed 1969 movie "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"
40A. Forensic analyst's discovery :
TRACE MATERIAL. A potpourri of things that might link a person to the scene of a crime.
Thursday rolls around again, and here's a nice scramble-theme from Kurt. The three theme entries are fresh and interesting, and the CAMERA is consistently found scrambled across the two words. There's a couple of nice long downs tying things together. I could have done without either one of the pairs AAR/SAAR or ERR/ERN but that's probably just me being picky. Let's see what else we've got to talk about:
Across:
1. Naproxen brand :
ALEVE. A non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drug of the proprionic acid class. Now we know.
6. Yap :
TRAP.
10. Documentary divisions :
ERAS. Not my first thought as far as a clue is concerned, but I think I see what Kurt or Rich are getting at - for example, documentary maker Ken Burns has produced programs covering the Vietnam War and the Civil War, as well as the jazz era.
14. Ricoh competitor :
XEROX
15. Green-skinned "Return of the Jedi" girl :
OOLA. Thank you, crosses.
16. Approaching :
NIGH. The End, commonly. Let's hear it from Grumpy Cat:
17. Not shady :
LEGIT
18. Action figure? :
DOER
19. Site of Shah Jahan's tomb :
AGRA. The Taj Mahal. The Shah had it built to house the tomb of his wife, Mumtaj. As an aside, there are approximately two million Indian restaurants in the world called either The Mumtaj Mahal or The Taj Mahal. The other four are called The Red Fort, The New Bengal, The Taste of India and The Lahore Kebab House.
23. Decorative globe :
ORB
26. Ice cream maker Joseph :
EDY
27. Holed a five-footer, say :
PUTTED. Or, in my case, three-putted, commonly.
28. Start of a hands-off declaration? :
LOOK, MA! Followed by a trip to the ER or the dentist.
30. Fivers :
ABES. We call 'em "Lady Godivas" in England, in the rhyming vernacular. A "tenner" is an Ayrton (Senna). The day one of my co-workers in London told me that he couldn't make it to lunch because "I got to go down the J. Arthur to sausage a Gregory" and I understood him made me feel like I was a native of the City.
32. Pigs out (on), briefly :
O.D.'S
36. Longtime Labor Day telethon org. :
M.D.A. Jerry Lewis-hosted event in aid of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
37. Wild bunch :
MOB
38. Gold units: Abbr. :
KTS. Karats.
46. Swiss river :
AAR. Here it is, with the old city of Bern sitting handily in the meander.
48. "Peter Pan" pooch :
NANA. In the book, she was described as a Newfoundland, but for some reason Disney in their infinite wisdom turned her into a St. Bernard in their movie adaptation.
49. Travel org. freebie :
AAA MAP. I still enjoy printed maps for browsing, but Google Maps for navigation is pretty awesome, especially the real-time rerouting to avoid traffic.
50. Lamentation :
PLAINT. Complaint, in old-speak.
52. Miss an easy grounder, say :
ERR
53. It can follow directions : -
ERN. Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western. Question - why do we say "suh-thern" and not "sow-thern"?
58. Cold drink brand :
ICEE
59. Come & Get It! pet food maker :
ALPO
60. Annoyed :
IRKED.
64. Like some warnings :
DIRE
65. Jetty :
PIER. The longest pleasure pier in the world is at Southend on the east coast of England. It's almost a mile and a half long and has a railway running from the shore to the pier head. There used to be a pub at the end, but it caught fire in 2007 and took the pier head down with it.
66. "Keen!" :
NEATO!
67. Fresh answers :
SASS
68. Quick on one's feet :
SPRY
69. "Business @ the Speed of Thought" co-author :
GATES. Collins Hemingway gets the co-writing credit, but Bill's is the only name on the cover.
Down:
1. Guns N' Roses' Rose :
AXL. He of the X-rated anagrammatic name.
2. Sheltered side :
LEE
3. Bit of work :
ERG
4. Cancel :
VOID
5. More than just edgy :
EXTREME
6. Morning fare since 1952 :
TODAY. The Today Show on NBC.
7. Study, e.g. :
ROOM
8. Actor Baldwin :
ALEC
9. Rampart topper :
PARAPET. Merriam-Webster has rampart and parapet as synonyms, but they're two separate things. Here's a diagram of Hadrian's Wall, built by the eponymous roman Emperor to keep the marauding Scots out of northern England (some people still say that it should never have been abandoned).
Now, all this begs the question as to whether Francis Scott Key knew the difference. Either "From the ramparts we watched" or "O'er the parapet we watched" would make more sense. Probably too late to change it now.
10. Legislate :
ENACT
11. Punctual :
RIGHT ON TIME. Swiss Railways, famously. Amtrak, less so.
12. Concurred :
AGREED
13. Result of a messy breakup? :
SHARDS. Glass, usually.
21. Wax-coated cheese :
EDAM
22. Rear :
TUSH
23. Ancient :
OLD
24. Gad about :
ROAM
25. Wall Street figures :
BOND TRADERS. 007 memorabilia collectors?
29. 1980 Chrysler debut :
K-CAR
30. Something in the air :
AROMA. There's my coffee brewing, in a K-CUP.
31. Cake with a kick :
BABA. Rum-soaked confection.
34. "Too true!" :
AMEN
35. Creole vegetable :
OKRA. Popular in Indian food too.
39. German industrial region :
SAAR. Don't confuse your Ruhr and your Saar.
41. Youngest Brontë :
ANNE. Cheerful-looking bunch, and this was painted by their brother, Branwell. He painted himself out of the portrait, evidently quite poorly.
42. Short rests :
CATNAPS
43. Weight allowance :
TARE
44. Stud, e.g. :
EARRING. Now, wait a minute. A stud is a stud, an earring is an earring, and ne'er the twain shall be confused. Docking a point for this one.
45. ICU worker :
LPN. The "N" was my final fill. I wasn't sold on that whole "North-ern" thing at 53A, and I didn't know Licensed Practical Nurse.
46. Rose garden pests :
APHIDS
47. "The Good Wife" wife :
ALICIA. Thank you, crosses. Never saw the show.
51. Nice thoughts? :
IDÉES. Nice, in the south-ern part of France, located in a south-erly direction from Lyon. OK, I'll stop now.
52. Bishop John for whom a Georgia university was named :
EMORY. Knew the school, learned today he was a bishop.
55. Movie trailer unit :
CLIP
56. Imitator :
APER. I've been peeved about this word before, I'll just let it go.
57. One-half base times height, for a triangle :
AREA. For a right-angled triangle only, if I recall correctly.
61. Dennings of "2 Broke Girls" :
KAT. Crosses to the rescue again.
62. Juillet's season :
ÉTÉ. Summer in Nice is nice.
63. Big affairs :
DOS
And .... here's the grid.
Steve
