Theme: ON END (50D. Upright, and what's been removed to form this puzzle's theme answers) - The "ON" end in each two-word familiar phrase is dropped.
18A. Underwear that never needs washing?: MAGIC JOHNS (ON). Eww! Magic Johnson.
20A. Attack of Tolkien's Ents?: TREE SURGE (ON). Tree Surgeon. Interesting career. New to me. We often see ENT clued as "Tolkien's tree creatures". The above two theme answers overlap.
32. Press watering hole? MEDIA BAR (ON). Media Baron. Like Rupert Murdock. More familiar with the title Media Mogul.
44A. English horn?: ANGLO SAX (ON). Anglo Saxon.
56A. Chest bump cousin? BELLY BUTT (ON). Belly Button.
61A. Fido's greeting? WELCOME WAG (ON). Welcome Wagon. The last two theme answers also overlap.
Might be our first LAT from Matt Ginsberg (The happy Pete Muller is in the middle. The guy with glasses is Peter Gordon), who has constructed quite a few puzzles for NY Times.
Very nice theme concept. Entertaining clues too. Some made me laugh. BELLY BUTT conjures up a fun image. Do you like the tie-in ON END?
I was quite fond of the four long Down non-theme answers. I liked how they paralleled each other and crossed two theme answers.
Filled in CHINA instead of ENLAI (51D. 1972 host to Nixon). Zhou Enlai indeed hosted Nixon during the latter's historic visit to China in Feb 1972. But ENLAI is a given name, while the clue Nixon is surname. I dig when clues and answers fully correspond to each other.
Across:
1. Dell drivers: Abbr. : CPUS. Dell computers.
5. Holy struggle: JIHAD. Literally "struggle" in Arabic. More accurate a translation than "Holy war".
10. Like some activists: ANTI. And WET (26. Against prohibition).
14. Cellar prefix: OENO. Prefix for "wine", as in oenophile.
15. Place to live: ABODE
16. Roger Rabbit, e.g. : TOON
17. Noted cat suit wearer: LAHR (Bert). The Coward Lion of "The Wizard of Oz".
22. Imperiled layer: OZONE
23. Per: A POP
24. Spigoted vessel: URN
27. Judy Jetson's brother: ELROY. Literally "the king". From "The Jetsons".
29. Pretend to be: POSE AS
34. Main ideas: THEMES. Can't avoid the word "theme" for the tie-in 50D.
38. Hip to: IN ON
39. African capital: ACCRA. Ghana's capital.
41. Give a ticket to: CITE
42. Colorado conqueror: RAFTER. Colorado River I suppose.
46. Many a Type A suffers from it: STRESS. And ANTSY (48. Like many a Type A). I don't really know the characteristics of Type A people. But don't all people suffer from stress from time to time and get antsy occasionally?
49. Garden tool: HOE
52. Hesitation: HEM
53. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., e.g. : ADDR
54. Boutros-Ghali's successor: ANNAN (Kofi)
63. Concerning: AS TO
64. Bump on a log: KNAR. Learned from doing crossword. Wait for Argyle for the bump link.
65. Flat condition?: BROKE. New meaning of "flat" to me. Of course I was thinking of apartment.
66. Put away: STOW
67. Peter Gunn's girlfriend: EDIE. No idea. Have never heard of Peter Gunn before.
69. "Around the Horn" channel: ESPN
Down:
1. Piece maker?: COLT. Piece is slang for firearm.
2. High-fiber fruit: PEAR. True.
3. Without precedent: UNHEARD OF. Awesome entry.
4. Conflict sources: SORE POINTS. Not enough blanks for my HOT SPOTS.
5. Clog, as a copier: JAM UP
6. Support beam: I BAR
7. Boss on "The Dukes of Hazzard": HOGG. I peeked at the answer sheet.
8. Tours ta-tas: ADIEUS
9. Solstice mo. : DEC
10. It covers everything: A TO Z. Nailed it.
11. "Ain't gonna happen": NO HOW
12. Winchester weight: TONNE. Alliteration.
19. Prophet with a fishy story?: JONAH. I thought he was swallowed by a whale.
21. Miso bean: SOYA. Miso soup is delicious!
25. Put on sale, say: RETAG
27. Kuwaiti VIP: EMIR
28. "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" star Headey: LENA. Total stranger to me. Great body.
29. __-10 conference: PAC
30. Ocean predators: ORCAS
31. Bag behind a mound: SECOND BASE. Depend on where you stand.
33. Dancer's warmup aid: BARRE
35. Is very wary of: MISTRUSTS
36. JFK approximations: ETAS
37. Hot: SEXY
40. OR VIPs: RNS (Registered Nurses). I bet it's a gimme for our Chickie & Lois, who both have a RN daughter. I thought of Oregon naturally.
43. Biology opening: ETHNO. Man, we've seen a lot of this entry lately. Nice clue though.
45. 1955 title role voiced by Barbara Luddy: LADY. Obtained the answer via crosses.
47. Fire proof: EMBERS. Was thinking of proof against fire. Not "evidence" proof.
49D. Ethan of "Fast Food Nation": HAWKE
53. Rags-to-riches author: ALGER (Horatio)
55. Plot part, perhaps: ACRE. Triple alliteration. Did you think of story plot also?
57. Hairy sci-fi critter: EWOK. The "Star Wars" creature.
58. Michigan, for one: LAKE. Not enough space for my STATE.
59. 'Vette roof option: T-TOP
60. Hamlet's kin: TOWN. Tricky capitalized hamlet placement. The constructors/edior want to trap you with Shakespeare's Hamlet and his DANE kin.
62. Management sch. offering: MBA
Answer grid.
C.C.
18A. Underwear that never needs washing?: MAGIC JOHNS (ON). Eww! Magic Johnson.
20A. Attack of Tolkien's Ents?: TREE SURGE (ON). Tree Surgeon. Interesting career. New to me. We often see ENT clued as "Tolkien's tree creatures". The above two theme answers overlap.
32. Press watering hole? MEDIA BAR (ON). Media Baron. Like Rupert Murdock. More familiar with the title Media Mogul.
44A. English horn?: ANGLO SAX (ON). Anglo Saxon.
56A. Chest bump cousin? BELLY BUTT (ON). Belly Button.
61A. Fido's greeting? WELCOME WAG (ON). Welcome Wagon. The last two theme answers also overlap.
Might be our first LAT from Matt Ginsberg (The happy Pete Muller is in the middle. The guy with glasses is Peter Gordon), who has constructed quite a few puzzles for NY Times.
Very nice theme concept. Entertaining clues too. Some made me laugh. BELLY BUTT conjures up a fun image. Do you like the tie-in ON END?
I was quite fond of the four long Down non-theme answers. I liked how they paralleled each other and crossed two theme answers.
Filled in CHINA instead of ENLAI (51D. 1972 host to Nixon). Zhou Enlai indeed hosted Nixon during the latter's historic visit to China in Feb 1972. But ENLAI is a given name, while the clue Nixon is surname. I dig when clues and answers fully correspond to each other.
Across:
1. Dell drivers: Abbr. : CPUS. Dell computers.
5. Holy struggle: JIHAD. Literally "struggle" in Arabic. More accurate a translation than "Holy war".
10. Like some activists: ANTI. And WET (26. Against prohibition).
14. Cellar prefix: OENO. Prefix for "wine", as in oenophile.
15. Place to live: ABODE
16. Roger Rabbit, e.g. : TOON
17. Noted cat suit wearer: LAHR (Bert). The Coward Lion of "The Wizard of Oz".
22. Imperiled layer: OZONE
23. Per: A POP
24. Spigoted vessel: URN
27. Judy Jetson's brother: ELROY. Literally "the king". From "The Jetsons".
29. Pretend to be: POSE AS
34. Main ideas: THEMES. Can't avoid the word "theme" for the tie-in 50D.
38. Hip to: IN ON
39. African capital: ACCRA. Ghana's capital.
41. Give a ticket to: CITE
42. Colorado conqueror: RAFTER. Colorado River I suppose.
46. Many a Type A suffers from it: STRESS. And ANTSY (48. Like many a Type A). I don't really know the characteristics of Type A people. But don't all people suffer from stress from time to time and get antsy occasionally?
49. Garden tool: HOE
52. Hesitation: HEM
53. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., e.g. : ADDR
54. Boutros-Ghali's successor: ANNAN (Kofi)
63. Concerning: AS TO
64. Bump on a log: KNAR. Learned from doing crossword. Wait for Argyle for the bump link.
65. Flat condition?: BROKE. New meaning of "flat" to me. Of course I was thinking of apartment.
66. Put away: STOW
67. Peter Gunn's girlfriend: EDIE. No idea. Have never heard of Peter Gunn before.
69. "Around the Horn" channel: ESPN
Down:
1. Piece maker?: COLT. Piece is slang for firearm.
2. High-fiber fruit: PEAR. True.
3. Without precedent: UNHEARD OF. Awesome entry.
4. Conflict sources: SORE POINTS. Not enough blanks for my HOT SPOTS.
5. Clog, as a copier: JAM UP
6. Support beam: I BAR
7. Boss on "The Dukes of Hazzard": HOGG. I peeked at the answer sheet.
8. Tours ta-tas: ADIEUS
9. Solstice mo. : DEC
10. It covers everything: A TO Z. Nailed it.
11. "Ain't gonna happen": NO HOW
12. Winchester weight: TONNE. Alliteration.
19. Prophet with a fishy story?: JONAH. I thought he was swallowed by a whale.
21. Miso bean: SOYA. Miso soup is delicious!
25. Put on sale, say: RETAG
27. Kuwaiti VIP: EMIR
28. "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" star Headey: LENA. Total stranger to me. Great body.
29. __-10 conference: PAC
30. Ocean predators: ORCAS
31. Bag behind a mound: SECOND BASE. Depend on where you stand.
33. Dancer's warmup aid: BARRE
35. Is very wary of: MISTRUSTS
36. JFK approximations: ETAS
37. Hot: SEXY
40. OR VIPs: RNS (Registered Nurses). I bet it's a gimme for our Chickie & Lois, who both have a RN daughter. I thought of Oregon naturally.
43. Biology opening: ETHNO. Man, we've seen a lot of this entry lately. Nice clue though.
45. 1955 title role voiced by Barbara Luddy: LADY. Obtained the answer via crosses.
47. Fire proof: EMBERS. Was thinking of proof against fire. Not "evidence" proof.
49D. Ethan of "Fast Food Nation": HAWKE
53. Rags-to-riches author: ALGER (Horatio)
55. Plot part, perhaps: ACRE. Triple alliteration. Did you think of story plot also?
57. Hairy sci-fi critter: EWOK. The "Star Wars" creature.
58. Michigan, for one: LAKE. Not enough space for my STATE.
59. 'Vette roof option: T-TOP
60. Hamlet's kin: TOWN. Tricky capitalized hamlet placement. The constructors/edior want to trap you with Shakespeare's Hamlet and his DANE kin.
62. Management sch. offering: MBA
Answer grid.
C.C.
