Good Morning Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with the Thursday recap. Our Princess of Power friend She-Ra, above, is having a tough time. We all know what that can be like. That said, the fact that this puzzle seemed to be a bit more difficult to solve than most Thursday puzzles is certainly a "first-world" problem. I will try to remember to point out the ROUGH PATCHes that I encountered as we go along.
Today's puzzle is a collaborative effort from Mark McClain and Robert Wemischner. Mark's first puzzle was published in the LAT in October, 2014. Robert had a puzzle reviewed here in February 2020. There may have been others too, and you can find several of his puzzles listed on the Crossword Fiend site.
Let's begin with the themed entries - all of which were starred for our convenience. At four places within the grid, the puzzle-setting team has placed answers within which can be found adjacent, scrambled letters that form the word PATCH when they are unscrambled.
18 Across: *Supply on a gift wrap station: SCOTCH TAPE. Often use it.
27 Across: *Messaging app: SNAPCHAT. Never use it.
39 Across: *"Some Enchanted Evening" musical: SOUTH PACIFIC. They don't seem to make 'em like this anymore. Okay, so it's not the best version of the song, but did you know that Jay & The Americans (Western Union, She Cried) recorded it in 1965? This rendition is from 2019:
Jay & The Americans
54 Across: *Second game of a doubleheader: NIGHTCAP. NIGHTCAP, obviously, has a couple of other meanings, too.
The reveal comes at:
66 Across: Difficult time, or what is hidden in each of the answers to the starred clues?: ROUGH PATCH. I suppose that we are supposed to interpret ROUGH to mean something along the lines of "approximation". In this context I find ROUGH to be a bit of a stretch. But, hey, we're talking crossword puzzles, here. We're not drafting legislation. Hmm, perhaps the pols should consult puzzle creators for editing assistance.
Here is how this looks in the completed grid:
. . . and here are the rest of the clues and answers:
1. Fountain output: SODAS. Not the Trevi Fountain or something similar.
6. Basics: ABCS. Today's "let's pass on the Jackson 5" moment.
10. Cause a scene: ACT UP.
15. Join forces: UNITE.
17. Old Scottish landholder: THANE. We've seen it before but it was still a bit of a rough PATCH.
20. Cancels: VOIDS.
21. As suggested by: PER. ALA, anyone?
22. Cratchit boy: TINY TIM. A Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol reference. God bless us, every one.
God Help Us, Every One
24. Drink that may cause brain freeze: ICEE.
25. Go by: ELAPSE. From Casablanca, "As Time ELAPSEs". Play it, Sam.
29. Verne captain: NEMO. He preceded the clownfish.
30. "Lion" Oscar nominee Patel: DEV. DEV has been visiting us often recently.
33. Zesty Twirls maker: ORE-IDA.
34. Constellation near Ursa Minor: DRACO. A rough PATCH for this solver. Some familiarity with the word DRACO helped. Most of that familiarity came from a dive into the history of Vlad (The Impaler) Dracul. Dracula = son of Vlad the Dragon.
36. Chicago suburb: CICERO. The site of a race riot in 1951.
43. Mato __: third-largest state of Brazil: GROSSO. A rough PATCH for this solver. "Largest" helped. A bit of Romance Language knowledge helped.
44. Flower holders: STEMS. Hand up for first going with VASES. Commander Cody would not have made that mistake.
Asbury Park, New Jersey - August 5, 1977
47. First name in mysteries: AGATHA. AGATHA Christie, nee Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller.
51. GPS heading: ENE. East North East. The answer to this type of clue can be any one of the many secondary intercardinal directions denoted by the first letter of North, South, East and West.
53. Congeal: CLOT.
57. Stick (to): ADHERE. I tried to start the Church of Teflon . . . but I couldn't find any adherents.
59. "Thanks for explaining": I SEE. "I SEE," said the blind man as he spit into the wind. "It's all coming back to me now."
60. Barbecue spot: TERRACE. A rough PATCH. PATIO was too short. I guess that I will have to move to a high-rise condo.
63. The way things are usually done, for short: SOP. Standard Operating Procedure.
64. Learned league?: MENSA. A rough PATCH. Would they revoke one's membership for being stymied here for a while?
68. Wood used in guitar-making: ALDER. Many other types, too.
69. Beachy vacation spot: ISLE. Beachy? That's almost as bad as PROSY.
70. Minimal amount: TRACE. Rough PATCH. Hand up for LEAST, initially. It would have gone well with 71 Across.
71. Paper for a pad: LEASE. Cute. Pad as in beatnik slang for the place where you live.
72. Examined: EYED.
73. Sports: HAS ON. As in wears.
Down:
1. Hang: SUSPEND. SUSPEND me from the highest tree?
Roger Miller - 1978
2. "The Lorax" voice role for Ed Helms: ONCE-LER. A rough PATCH. Thanks, perps. I know some of Geisel's characters but not this one.
3. Grade school exhibits: DIORAMAS. Three-dimensional models.
4. NFL passing stat: ATT. ATTempts. At least it wasn't pluralized.
5. Splinter groups: SECTS.
6. Env. directive: ATTN. ATTeNtion.
7. Sound like an ass: BRAY. After watching too much TV leading up to last Tuesday's primaries, my mind initially went in a different direction.
8. Egyptian Christians: COPTS. The largest Christian denomination in Egypt and the Middle East.
9. Biergarten vessel: STEIN. A German theoretical physicist walks into a bar. He orders himself ein stein.
10. Off-rd. rig: ATV. All Terrain Vehicle
11. First-class: CHOICE.
12. "Meditation in motion" discipline: TAI CHI. I wanted to do TAI CHI but I ended up with chai tea.
13. Like zombies: UNDEAD. I prefer this type of Zombie:
2019 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
14. Coin replaced by the euro: PESETA. Spanish. Neither Pound nor Franc nor Lira was going to fit.
19. Made haste: HIED.
23. Haka dancers of New Zealand: MAORI.
Kapa Haka
26. A bit, in music: POCO. Italian. . . or . . .
2015 Colorado Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
28. Faculty figs.: PROFS. PROFessorS. Not the worst plural-y abbreviation that we have come across.
31. Amazon gadget: ECHO. Amazon's smart speaker.
32. Celebs given the red-carpet treatment: VIPS.
35. Should, with "to": OUGHT. What did the librarian say when the books were in a mess? We OUGHT to be ashamed of our shelves.
37. Word in many Encyclopedia Brown titles: CASE. The boy detective series of books.
38. MBA course: ECON. ECONomics. B'school reference. UCLA GSM class of '79, here.
40. Piece of land: TRACT. "Sherlock, what do you know about the gastrointestinal tract?" "It's alimentary, my dear Watson."
41. Hankering: ITCH. URGE?
42. Keyboard instruments that sound like glockenspiels: CELESTAS. A rough PATCH. Thanks, perps.
45. "Casablanca" setting: MOROCCO.
46. Composer Sondheim: STEPHEN.
47. Twisted balloon shape, often: ANIMAL.
48. Supermodel Bündchen: GISELE. A bit of a rough PATCH. Thanks perps.
49. Board meeting outline: AGENDA.
50. Dissertations: THESES.
52. Per item: EACH.
55. American Eagle Outfitters loungewear brand: AERIE. A rough PATCH. Usually clued with an avian reference. Thanks perps.
55. American Eagle Outfitters loungewear brand: AERIE. A rough PATCH. Usually clued with an avian reference. Thanks perps.
56. Unlike poetry: PROSY. We kinda guessed that PROSE would be a likely jumping off point but PROSY?
58. Pool statistic: DEPTH.
61. Wear the crown: RULE.
62. Like some dried meats: AGED.
65. "__ you decent?": ARE.
"Me? Sure, I'm decent."
67. Coach Parseghian: ARA. University of Notre Dame Head Football Coach from 1964 to 1974 and occasional visitor to our puzzles.
That wraps things up for today. May your day be without much in the way of rough spots.
Robert and Mark, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever in the Comments section. We'd love to hear from you.
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