52A. What 20-, 25- and 47-Across all are, in one way or another: WHISTLE BLOWERS
Argyle here. Unusual; the first three are needed to reveal the fourth, the unifier of the theme. I do like Michael's puzzles. I like the whole answer being theme, not just a part of it.
Across:
1. On the __: broken: FRITZ. Now there's a word to start the week on.
6. Dressed (in): CLAD
10. Quail or turkey, e.g.: FOWL. Ok, there are birds tweeting, sort of.
14. Prefix with economics: MACRO
15. Impulse: URGE
16. "Yeah, sure": "I BET"
17. Do over 60 in Hawaii, say: SPEED. Vermont, too. Any others?
18. Upsurge: BOOM
19. Null and __: VOID
23. Lao Tzu's "way": TAO
24. Republican org.: GOP
34. Flower painted by van Gogh: IRIS
35. Burns with hot liquid: SCALDS
36. Mai __: TAI
37. One who shuns company: LONER. Prefers solitude.
39. Many a Monopoly prop.: AVEnue
40. Kick out: EJECT
42. "Brokeback Mountain" director Lee: ANG. Ang Lee
43. Snoozing: ASLEEP
46. Rank between viscount and marquis: EARL
50. Motor City labor gp.: UAW. (United Automobile Workers)
51. Preacher's msg.: SERmon
60. Billiards triangle: RACK
61. "Garfield" pooch: ODIE
62. Paradises: EDENS
64. Lotion additive: ALOE
65. __ monster: lizard: GILA
66. "Rabbit food" course: SALAD
67. Remain undecided: PEND
68. Staircase part: STEP
69. Sporty sunroofs: T-TOPS
Down:
1. Radio choices: FMs. (frequency modulation)
2. Completely engrossed: RAPT
3. Bakery employee: ICER
4. Dissertation: TREATISE
5. It has a dozen signs: ZODIAC
6. Ice tray unit: CUBE
7. Scientologist Hubbard: L. RON
8. Intensely eager: AGOG
9. Divine-human hybrid: DEMIGOD. List of demigods, if you care to see if your name is there.
10. Quitting hr. for many: FIVE PM
11. Double-reed instrument: OBOE
12. Flow-altering dam: WEIR
13. Former Ford models: LTDs
21. Thumbs-down votes: NOes
22. Like Eric or Leif: NORSE
25. Rice dish: PILAF
26. Home of the University of Maine: ORONO
27. Jargon: LINGO
28. Poker wager-matching response: "I CALL"
29. Bellybutton: NAVEL
30. Baseball card rival of Topps: FLEER
31. On __: rampaging: A TEAR
32. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE
33. Owner's document: TITLE
38. Morocco's capital: RABAT
41. Made heckling remarks to: JEERED AT
44. Snooze loudly: SAW LOGS
45. Mexicali money: PESO
48. Like warthogs and walruses: TUSKED
49. Smallest number: FEWEST
52. Rolled-up sandwich: WRAP
53. In good health: HALE
54. Venerated image: ICON. A religious work of art.
55. Proofreader's change: EDIT
56. Irascibility: BILE
57. Jump: LEAP
58. Move, in Realtor-speak: RELO. (relocation)
59. Go off the deep end: SNAP
63. Vietnam War protest gp.: SDS. (Students for a Democratic Society)
Theme: Having a go at it - or - disappointing Yoda. The last word of multi-word in-the-language phrases are all synonyms for striving to achieve something.
17 A. It may lead to an acquisition : TAKE OVER ATTEMPT. One corporation ATTEMPTS to take over another.
28 A. Coalition : JOINT ENDEAVOR. Working together for a common goal. Rather a different shade of meaning, as compared to ATTEMPT.
48 A. With "the," one's best shot : OLD COLLEGE TRY. This is a wild and desperate ATTEMPT to achieve something, perhaps with a bit of showboating along the way.
62. Sincere intention to be fair : GOOD FAITH EFFORT. This is actually a legal term, relating to "what a reasonable person would determine is a diligent and honest EFFORT under the same set of facts or circumstances." Troutt v. City of Lawrence, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61641 (S.D. Ind. Aug. 8, 2008)
As I see it, all except JOINT ENDEAVOR carry some implication of failure, realized after the fact. Does that seem right?
Hi, gang, JazzBumpa here. Nicely constructed theme, with a couple of grid-spanners. The rest of the puzzle lies before us. Shall we do or not do?
Across
1. Coors "malternative" : ZIMA. A kinda-sorta quasi-beer-like fluid from a company that makes other beer-like fluids.
5. NFL ball carriers : RBS. Running Backs. Who will be the first to take this DF?
8. Silently understood : TACIT. That's one sense of it. Another is simply remaining silent. I have several segments of The Nutcracker marked TACIT.
13. National Air and Space Museum movie format : IMAX. Large screen movie presentations.
14. Culturally affected : ARTY.
16. Shrine to remember : ALAMO. As the phrase "Remember the ALAMO" reminds us.
20. Bucket filler : ICE. One of many possibilities.
21. Cooking oil brand : MAZOLA. Corn oil.
22. Sport with masks : EPEE. Fencing.
23. Nag's comment? : NEIGH. Just horsing around - not emulating the Bickersons.
25. Binding words : I DO. Marriage.
27. Stately tree : ELM. Once upon a time.
32. SeaWorld swimmer : ORCA. Shamu the killer whale.
33. Strauss' "__ Rosenkavalier" : DER. The knight of the Roses. DER is the nominative singular masculine definite article in German.
34. Source of ultraviolet rays : SUN. And infra-red, and visible light, and even a small amount of X-Rays. The solar spectrum actually peaks in the visible light region. I'm not delighted with this clue.
35. Evidently is : SEEMS. Appears to be.
37. Enthusiasm : VIM. Usually travels with vigor.
39. The Masters or The Open : MAJOR. Golf tournaments.
43. Aurora's Greek counterpart : EOS. Goddess of the dawn.
45. Beat a hasty retreat : LAM. Here a verb - not it's most common usage.
47. Yawner : BORE. Uninteresting performance or presentation.
51. Dashboard meas. : MPH. Miles Per Hour.
53. __ Jose : SAN. California city. Do you know the way?
54. Race paces : TROTS. Well this interesting and brings out the pedant in me. In harness racing, there are two varieties of races, for TROTTERS and PACERS. They have distinctly different gaits, and breaking stride can lead to disqualification from a race. In other races, where you sit down right on the horse, running is done at a full gallop. So I'm not sure what this clue is getting at.
55. Met showstopper : ARIA. Opera song
57. "We can do it, team!" : LET’S GO. Closely related to the theme, but not in an appropriate location.
59. Belittle : DIS. Disrespect, in street talk.
65. Maneuver around : EVADE. Or avoid. I'm never sure.
66. Jordanian queen dowager : NOOR. Lisa Najib Halaby [b. 1951, Washington D. C.] is an American woman who became the 4th and final wife of King Hussein [d. 1999] of Jordan. She works on behalf of several international organizations.
67. Vacationing, perhaps : AWAY. Perhaps on a business trip, the lam, or playing hooky. Several possibilities.
68. Know without knowing why : SENSE. Oh, what a feeling.
69. Second afterthought: Abbr. : PPS. Post Post Script. For when your thoughts are really untimely or disorganized.
70. Daughter of Elizabeth II : ANNE. Born Aug 15, 1950. She had two marriages and survived a kidnapping attempt. She also has a criminal record, having violated both the speed limit and the Dangerous Dogs Act. She is not to be confused with anther royal Anne who was the eponym for a common weed, a furniture design, and a neckline with a raised back and open front. Oh, yeah - the earlier ANNE was also Queen of Great Britain from 1702 until her death from a stroke in 1714.
Down
1. Pasta choice : ZITI. Medium sized pasta tubes.
2. All-in-one Apple : i-MAC. Desktop computer system.
3. Act in a conciliatory way : MAKE NICE. Whether you want to or not.
4. Log splitter : AXE. Log splitter's tool.
5. Plundered : RAVAGED. Plunder is the violent and dishonest acquisition of property. Ravage is damage severely. Not at all the same thing.
6. Khrushchev's successor : BREZHNEV. Leonid, born 1906, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until his death in 1982.
7. Texas ALer : STRO. Astros, an American League baseball team, inexplicably named after George Jetson's dog.
8. What Tweety tawt he taw : TAT. Like this.
9. Out of the wind : ALEE. Gimmee shelter.
10. Pitcher in the woods : CAMPER. Tent pitcher.
11. Spur on : IMPEL. Basically the same meaning as propel. The use of "IMPEL" has been steadily declining for 200 years.
12. Tribal symbol : TOTEM. A spirit being, sacred object or symbol that serves as emblm for a clan or tribe.
15. Connecticut Ivy Leaguer : YALIE. Student or graduate of Yale University. These people are also know as Elis.
18. Fail to say : OMIT. Leave out.
19. "Voilà!" cries : TADAS. "There you are," or "I did it."
24. Glossy coating : ENAMEL. Paint or the natural covering layer on your teeth.
26. Egg cell : OVUM. Female reproductive cell in humans and animals.
28. "__ Boys": Alcott sequel : JO'S. A Sequal to "Little Men," occurring 10 years later.
29. Rock to refine : ORE. Pay dirt.
30. Practice exercise : DRILL. A method of training and discipline.
31. How money might be lost : ON A BET. One of many ways.
36. Fixes the fairway, say : SODS. Here, a verb, meaning to install sod.
38. Soda jerk's workplace : MALT SHOP.
40. Makes a note of : JOTS DOWN.
41. Boston Garden hockey immortal : ORR. Bobby. YouTube has several long video compilations of his highlight moments. Here is just one, and perhaps the most famous.
42. Spanish king : REY.
44. Milan's Teatro alla __ : SCALA. Opera house since 1778, one of the world's leading venues for opera and ballet.
46. Business deals : MERGERS. The joining of two companies to make a new, bigger entity. The opposite of what I had the last time I blogged.
48. John Glenn, for one : OHIOAN. Do you know any others?
49. Words often starting a long shot : ONE IN . . . Often followed by . . . a million.
50. Blunder : GOOF. All GOOFs [in this sense] are mistakes. A blunder is a stupid or careless one.
51. Dungeons & Dragons spellcasters : MAGES. D & D has several categories of characters, each with its own unique powers, potentials and vulnerabilities.
52. Demonstrate as true : PROVE. Provide convincing evidence.
56. Tacks on : ADDS. Emends.
58. Sporty car roof : T-TOP. Removable roof panels make a vehicle so equipped into an almost-but-not-quite convertible.
60. Farsi-speaking land : IRAN. Across the gulf from Saudi Arabia, and contiguous with several other countries.
17-Across. Heavyweight who dethroned Sonny Liston : CASSIUS CLAY. First you take some CLAY,
25-Across. The London Eye, for one : FERRIS WHEEL...throw it on a WHEEL,
36-Across. Zesty meat coating : ORANGE GLAZE...coat it with a GLAZE,
50-Across. Beer-making device : BREWERS KILN...and cook it in a KILN.
And the reveal:
59-Across. Fictional wizard, and a hint to who would use the ends of 17-, 25-, 36- and 50-Across : HARRY POTTER. If you manage to come out with something useful or pretty, you are a POTTER! I liked the logical progression in the theme entries. Well done.
Across
1. Los Alamos projects : A-BOMBS.
7. "A Jug of Wine ... " poet : OMAR. Khayyám.
11. Shelter acquisition : PET. Oh, one acquired from a shelter...I thought it was something acquired for shelter, like a tent or an IRA.
14. Hat with a brim : FEDORA.
15. Sport for heavyweights : SUMO.
16. Fertility lab supply : OVA. Plural of ovum.
19. NASA transport : LEM. Lunar Excursion Module.
20. Attacks : SETS AT.
21. Other, to Orlando : OTRA.
22. Happy hour site : PUB. "Bar" also fit.
28. Exception lead-in : UNLESS...
30. Memorable "Richard III" words : A HORSE, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!
31. Disadvantaged : POOR.
32. One of the Mountain States : IDAHO.
35. Some hot rods : GTs. From the Italian Gran Turismo, they are not just hot rods. True "grand touring" cars have specific attributes to go along with the name.
40. Roulette option : ODD. "Red" also fit.
42. "Sorry" : I CAN'T.
43. Land of the banshee : EIRE.
46. Home of the NCAA's Wolf Pack : NEVADA.
48. "Tess" Golden Globe winner : KINSKI. Nastassja played the role so well.
54. Slew : TON.
55. Level, in London : RASE. Those Brits, I wish they'd learn to spell... ;-)
56. Spelunkers : CAVERS.
58. Dash widths : ENs. Half as wide as an EM dash.
64. __ limit : AGE.
65. Assist badly? : ABET.
66. Words before "Happy New Year!" : ...TWO, ONE.
67. Kenan's TV pal : KEL. "Kenan and Kel" ran for four years on Nickelodeon. It was cancelled in 2000. Never saw it.
68. Chats : JAWS.
69. New York county on Lake Ontario : OSWEGO. That sounds like an Air Force song: "Oswego, into the wild blue yonder..."
Down
1. Browns' gp. : AFC. American Football Conference. The AFC and the NFC are the two conferences which make up the NFL.
2. Cole Porter's "__ Clown" : BE A. What movie was it from?
3. Takes too much, briefly : ODs. Overdoses.
4. Peat component : MOSS.
5. Legal filings : BRIEFS.
6. Browns, perhaps : SAUTÉS.
7. Word before nod or buzz : OSCAR.
8. Millionaire starter? : MULTI. Because "mega"-millionaire was too short.
9. Org. with a monthly Journal of Ethics : AMA. American Medical Association.
10. Kevin's "Tin Cup" role : ROY. Not one of Kevin Costner's finest movies.
11. Disruptive spirit : POLTERGEIST.
12. Tibetans call it Chomolungma : EVEREST. Learning moment, but easily inferable.
13. They may be hot : TAMALES. Nailed it!
18. Belarus or Ukr., once : SSR. Soviet Socialist Republic.
21. "Looky here!" : OHO.
22. Small seal : PUP.
23. Low número : UNO.
24. Circulation need : BLOOD VESSEL. I briefly toyed with a "publication."
26. Humorist Mort : SAHL.
27. "Hold it!" : WHOA.
29. Bobble the ball : ERR.
32. Market chain based in Chicago : IGA. With the red and white logo.
33. Room with a recliner : DEN.
34. Insurance fig. : AGT. Insurance agent.
37. Helper : AIDE.
38. Site of Mt. Mitchell, highest Appalachian peak : N. CAR. Did you skip over the abbr. of "Mt." in the clue?
39. __ master : ZEN.
40. Taking five or ten : ON BREAK.
41. Drive up the wall : DERANGE. and 53-Down. One climbing the walls : IVY.
44. "King Kong" studio : RKO.
45. Cologne article : EIN. It can mean "one" or "a/an." It can be easily confused with "eins," which is the number "one."
47. Blow away : AWE.
48. Heavy lifter, for short? : KLEPTO.maniac.
49. Aligned : IN ROWS.
51. Head-turner's hardware? : SCREW. I had a hard time aligning the clue with the answer, since I feel it's the screwdriver that does the head turning, not the screw.
52. Super Mario racers : KARTS.
57. Stash : STOW.
59. Uris novel, with "The" : HAJ. I read it when it first came out, so this was a gimme.
Our California Coven & Lucina had their annual get-together yesterday. JD said:
"Here
we are today in Pleasanton, CA: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina. Chris (Garlic Gal)
read a sweet email that she had received from Dodo (wish I had brought
some of mine too). Then we toasted her and a life well lived."
Left to Right: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina.
Theme: Kobe Bryant Masterclass - hoops moves from all over the floor.
17A. Complete set of recollections : MEMORY BANK. My recollections may be complete, but sometimes my memory bank doesn't want to let me make a withdrawal, at least not without a battle.
26A. Den fixture : TELEVISION SET. This seems archaic, or at a minimum dated. If I walked into Best Buy and asked to look at "television sets" there would probably be some sniggering. That's if I could remember what I went in there for in the first place.
43A. Climber's aid : GRAPPLING HOOK. More the "assault" type of climbing, rather than recreational.
55A. Thrill-seeker's leap : BUNGEE JUMP. I think I'd have a heart attack before I was half-way down if for some reason I was forced to do this.
63A. NBA scoring attempt, which can be preceded by the ends of 17-, 26-, 43- and 55-Across : SHOT. All basketball. Bank shot (off the backboard and into the hoop), set shot (usually a free-throw), hook shot (one-handed aerial move) and jump shot (airborne version of the set shot).
This is one of the most famous jump shots of all time - Christian Laettner's buzzer-beater as Duke edged Kentucky 103-102 in the 1992 NCAA Championship Final.
A Wednesday welcome to you all. Steve here with Michael's hoops-fest, timely as the NBA teams enter the Conference Finals phase of the play-offs. This was pretty much plain sailing for me, a left-to-right, top-to-bottom solve. I didn't look for the theme until I'd finished with the "T" in "SHOT", but I did enjoy the ride.
Let's see what else we've got going on here:
Across:
1. Swerves : ZAGS. Can you zag-zig, or do you always have to zig first?
5. Decorated one : HERO
9. Selects, with "for" : OPTS
13. Hockey violation : ICING. Like offside in soccer, which doesn't really help anyone who doesn't know either sport.
15. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit : ADIA. A beautiful song, it's worth enduring the 15 seconds of commercials over on YouTube.
16. Pebble Beach cry : FORE. I've never played at Pebble Beach, the green fees are incredibly expensive. I've had my picture taken on the famous 18th green though.
19. Elite Eight letters : NCAA. The term for the last eight teams remaining in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's annual basketball championship.
20. Nile snake : ASP. Run!
21. "__ to please" : I AIM
22. Check : LOOK IN. Don't we need an (on) here?
24. Written words : TEXT
25. Price-regulating blocs : CARTELS
30. Screenplay units : SCENES
31. Extinct flightless bird : DODO
32. Pledge : VOW
35. Start to fall? : PRAT. Pratfall.
36. Olive __ : OYL
37. Spot to grab a bite : DELI
38. South, in Soissons : SUD. Obscure little town in northern France, but the name looks "French enough" for me to not cause any problems.
39. Sweater material : WOOL
41. Fries in a little butter : SAUTÉS. Food! You can sauté in other fats too.
46. Vacation options : CRUISES. I've never been on a cruise, I think I'd feel trapped.
48. Rover exploration site : MARS
49. Bit of fruit in a box : RAISIN. All the raisins produced in the US are grown right here in California. The HQ of Sun-Maid is right up the street from me.
50. Rubberneck : GAPE. A bad California freeway habit.
51. Consumes : HAS
54. Pay for a hand : ANTE. In betting parlance, the price for getting into the card game.
58. Headliner : STAR
59. In unison, on a score : A DUE. Shown on a shared score where both musicians should play the same notes.
60. Steadfast belief : DOGMA
61. __ d'oeuvres : HORS. Food! Finally!
62. Revolutionary sewer : ROSS. Not a sprial waste-water pipe, but needle-wielding Betsy. Nice clue
Down:
1. MillerCoors malt beverage : ZIMA. Never tried one. Never will. It's not sold in the USA any more, but apparently you can still buy it in Japan.
2. High-paid pitchers : ACES
3. Hitch in one's step : GIMP. To be honest, I've only seen this used in a derogatory fashion to describe someone physically handicapped.
4. Winter product prefix : SNO- Food! Here's a Sno:LA frozen yoghurt from the famous Los Angeles Farmer's Market on Fairfax:
5. They can be hard to kick : HABITS
6. Red-wrapped cheese : EDAM. Turning into a food-fest here.
7. __ Tin Tin : RIN
8. One end of California's Bay Bridge : OAKLAND. More California today. The new Bay Bridge is now open, the old one which had a span collapse in the 1989 Lomo Prieta earthquake is being dismantled. Here's the two southern spans side-by-side from San Francisco to Treasure Island:
9. Buzzworthy : OF NOTE
10. Rarely used Oval Office strategy : POCKET VETO. Lovely expression. Basically, the President vetoes a bill by not taking any action - essentially keeping his hands in his pockets.
11. Way to ski : TRAIL
12. Connery and Penn : SEANS
14. Feel the pain of a loss : GRIEVE
18. Graph line : Y-AXIS. I vaguely remember being taught which direction this axis goes, but it's deep in my MEMORY BANK and not easily found.
23. Thereabout : OR SO
24. Camping shelter : TENT
25. "Sweet!" : COOL
26. Recipe amts. : TSPS. I rarely measure any more, although I cooked a recipe from an English website the other day that confused the heck out of me as it was all metric. I now know that 15g is roughly a large tablespoon, 5g is roughly what we have here, a teaspoon.
27. Color similar to sand : ECRU
28. Rock band soloist : LEAD GUITAR. Hmmm. I'd say that Keith Richard is lead guitarist with the Rolling Stones, he plays lead guitar. Would you say that The Edge is U2's lead guitar? What do you all think? While you're pondering that, let's rock the first track on U2's Joshua Tree album
29. Rustic writing : IDYLL
33. Faux butter : OLEO. I always like seeing this as it reminds me of the time C.C. first taught me the difference between OLEO and OLIO.
34. Tide rival : WISK
36. "Careless me!" : OOPS
37. "Stupid me!" syllables : DUHS. I had a minor misstep with DOHS first, quickly corrected.
39. "What __ thinking?" : WAS I
40. Holiday party perk : OPEN BAR
41. Hogwarts potions master : SNAPE. Played by Alan Rickman in the movies.
42. Settled : AGREED
44. Steplike platforms : RISERS
45. Computer desktop array : IMAGES
46. Computer headache : CRASH
47. Totaled : RAN TO
50. Bearded antelopes : GNUS. A gnu is an antelope designed by a committee.
51. Romcom actor Grant : HUGH. I think he's pretty typecast at this point, he does always seem to play the same role.
52. BBs, e.g. : AMMO
53. Trivial tiff : SPAT
56. Japanese salad veggie : UDO. Final Food! reference today. I'm replete.
Theme: All About Eve-n The word EVEN is wrapped around each theme entry.
20A . Toy with a heating element : EASY BAKE OVEN. Wow, this old classic has gone all hi-tech and politically correct. It didn't look like this when I bought one for my daughter back in the 90's - it was pink in those days and it definitely didn't have a boy on the box.
35A. Fairy tale villain : EVIL QUEEN. The antagonist in Snow White and other tales, and definitely a 22-Down in this incarnation:
45A. 1961 Rick Nelson hit : EVERLOVIN' I wasn't familiar with this song, and I can't say I'm surprised. It wasn't exactly a smash hit - it made the Billboard Top 20 in the US but only at #16.
55A. Neither ahead nor behind ... and what 20-, 35- and 45-Across are literally doing : BREAKING EVEN. A good thing after a weekend in Vegas, less so if we're announcing the company's annual results. Morning! Thanks to Michael for this one; the theme entries split "EVEN" on a 1-3, 2-2 and 3-1 letter-count basis and a 3-2-1 word countdown, so a pleasing progression by the numbers; and a pangram to boot so plenty to like for a midweek offering.
I was having a little trouble with the west, so the theme reveal definitely gave me a leg-up there. When I thought a pangram was emerging that gave me another helping hand towards the end. Good stuff.
Let's see what else catches the eye (Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen obviously does!)
Across:
1. Common lunch hr. end : ONE PM
6. Lowers, as lights : DIMS
10. Drift gently : WAFT
14. Half an Evergreen State city : WALLA. Walla Walla, Washington. In the news as recently as Monday for making Global Yodel's list of the 15 most underrated cities in the US.
15. Fancy entrance : ARCH
16. Clickable image : ICON. Part of the WIMP quartet of user interface concepts introduced by Apple, "borrowed" from Xerox PARC research lab. Windows, Icons, Mice, Pointers
17. Bit of dental work : INLAY
18. Indian noble : RAJA
19. On deck : NEXT. No problem for C.C. I'm sure. Next batter up in the on deck circle at the ballpark.
23. Like "las" in Sp. : FEM. I had to look closely to see whether that was an L or an I, then some head-scratching before "Aha! Feminine".
24. Out of the reach of : BEYOND
27. Country where Quechua is an official language : PERU
30. Erstwhile TV ministry : PTL. No clue, needed the crosses. I didn't live in the US when this show was on the air, and to be honest I wouldn't have watched it anyway.
38. Camera setting : F/STOP. Controls the size of the aperture on a manual camera. Apparently the "F" stands for "focal ratio".
39. Carol contraction : 'TIS the season to be jolly, falalala ...
40. "Not my decision" : UP TO YOU
42. Hoppy brew, briefly : IPA. Cheers! Not much in the way of Food! for me today, so a liquid diet instead.
43. Satellite-launching rocket stage : AGENA. Developed by Lockheed and named for the alternate name of the star Beta Centauri because this upper stage would "ignite in the sky".
47. Nightly news fodder, with "the" : LATEST
49. "__ only a game" : IT'S. Not to the fans it's not. My English Premier League team Chelsea clinched the championship on Sunday so big smiles from me! Here's my Facebook profile picture today:
50. Marshy areas : FENS
51. Public figure? : NOTARY
53. Bungler : OAF
61. Clown of renown : BOZO. I had COCO first; that caused a little slowdown in the southwest.
64. Met or Nat : NL-ER. Another gimme for C.C! The New York Mets and the Washington Nationals in Major League Baseball's National League. For some reason I thought the Mets were in the AL, so I was left wondering how "TREADY" at 48D was a word.
65. Jazz singer O'Day : ANITA. Thank you, crosses.
66. Crumbled ice cream topping : OREO
67. 2013-'14 Magic Johnson Award winner Nowitzki : DIRK. Dallas Mavericks All-NBA power forward.
3. Plumbing joints : ELLS. I'm assuming ells are short for elbows, but I can't find anything to back that up.
4. Lighthearted : PLAYFUL
5. "I'll think it over" : MAYBE
6. Nyctophobe's fear : DARK. From the Greek nyktos, "of the night".
7. "Dies __": hymn : IRAE
8. Low-paying position, in slang : MCJOB.
9. Cut off : SHAVED
10. Gathers choice parts from : WINNOWS. Nice word.
11. Celebrated pilot : ACE
12. Cunning critter : FOX
13. Demolition aid : TNT. Boom!
21. Stimulate : AMP UP
22. Good-looker : EYEFUL
25. Hardy's "The Return of the __" : NATIVE
26. Pop over : DROP IN
27. "She loves me not" piece : PETAL
28. Greg of "B.J. and the Bear" : EVIGAN. All crosses, again. I'm relieved I knew AGENA otherwise the "G" would have been a big empty square when everything else was finished.
29. Take on successfully, as a challenge : RISE TO
31. Béret bearer : TÊTE. The grave accent on the first 'e' and the national stereotype is your hint that we're looking for a French word here.
32. Pope after John X : LEO VI
34. Bridge measures : SPANS
36. Deep-space energy source : QUASAR
37. Duma vote : NYET. Fourth language of the day. English, Spanish, French, now Russian.
41. Director Welles : ORSON
44. Tablet relative : NETBOOK. Lower-cost, simplified laptops running a browser such as Chrome.
46. Side with the ball : OFFENSE. Interesting. True for American Football, less so in other sports such as soccer where the offense and defense are on the field at the same time.
48. Hot, for now : TRENDY
52. New England collegian : YALIE
54. Born-__ : AGAIN. No doubt fans of the PTL Show at 30A
56. "Show Boat" composer : KERN
57. Really gets to : IRKS
58. TV handyman Bob : VILA. More crosses. Not a good "name" day for me today.
59. List-shortening abbr. : ET AL. Et alia in full. I like how list-shorteners seem to be abbreviated - also "et cetera".
60. Reputation : NAME
61. Marshy area : BOG. Second marsh of the day.
62. Tulsa sch. named for an evangelist : O.R.U. Oral Roberts. Born-again, PTL and this one make a evangelical trifecta.
.
63. "__ in the Art of Writing": Ray Bradbury collection : ZEN. When I corrected my "COCO" clown at 61A I tried BOBO instead. Then I saw I was left with "Ben in the Art of Writing" and asked myself "Who the heck is Ben?" The penny finally dropped.
47. Musical symbol : QUARTER NOTE. Quarterback, the field general.
55. Hold that's illegal in amateur wrestling : FULL NELSON. Fullback, blocking and taking the ball straight ahead,.
Argyle here. Are we ramping up for the Superbowl or what? I wouldn't be surprised to find this theme has been done before but it wouldn't detract any of my enjoyment of solving this one. Some other football references included.
Across:
1. PBS science series since 1974 : "NOVA"
5. Barton of the Red Cross : CLARA
10. Secret language : CODE. That seems a little off.
14. Fictional rabbit's title : BR'ER
15. Persian Gulf tanker : OILER
16. __ about: roughly : ON OR
19. Lang of Smallville : LANA. Superman's boyhood friend.
49A. Thieves in the tombs of the pharaohs, say : GRAVE ROBBERS
58A. Early arcade game with pixelated aliens, and, in a way, what 20-, 27- and 49-Across all are : SPACE INVADERS
Argyle here. Just a Q short of a pangram. Everything worked out nicely; no strain to get words to pffft. A little step up from Monday.
Across:
1. Rhubarb desserts : PIES
5. Blue cartoon critter : SMURF
10. Spoiled one : BRAT
14. Mount of Greek myth : OSSA. A real mountain.
15. Old Testament prophet : HOSEA
16. Move like slime : OOZE
17. St. Bernard's bark : [WOOF!]
18. German WWII threat : U-BOAT. The submarine one.
19. Cowboy boot attachment : SPUR
23. '70s-'80s Olympic skier Phil : MAHRE. Remember?
25. Suffix with glob : ULE
26. "Just as I predicted!" : "SEE!"
32. Irish dance : JIG
33. Right triangle ratio : SINE
34. Minor quarrels : TIFFS
38. Egg cell : OVUM
40. "May the __ be with you" : FORCE
43. Fizzy drink : COLA
44. Hemmed in : BESET
46. Pop's Lady __ : GAGA
48. Flashlight output : RAY
53. Immigrant's subj. : ESL. (English as a Second Language)
56. Miss Teen __ : USA
57. "John Brown's Body" poet : BENÉT. Stephen Vincent Benét
63. 1974 Peace Nobelist from Japan : SATŌ. Eisaku Satō was the 39th Prime Minister of Japan and shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Seán MacBride in 1974.
3. Gullet : ESOPHAGUS. Whoa! Not a common word for any day of the week(but common enough for TV ads).
4. Jungle journey : SAFARI
5. Boarded up : SHUT
6. "__-Dick" : MOBY
7. Biennial games org. : USOC. (United States Olympic Committee)
8. Rise on hind legs, as a horse : REAR UP
9. Femme __ : FATALE
10. "Fiddlesticks!" : "BOSH!"
11. What rookies are shown, with "the" : ROPES
12. Sky shade : AZURE
13. To the point : TERSE
21. Radiation measures : REMS. Straight from the NRC Library, meaning.
22. Rockefeller Center muralist José María : SERT
23. Low-paying employment, slangily : McJOB
24. Partner of kicking : ALIVE
28. Peter Pan rival : JIF. Peanut butter.(#1 brand Jif)
29. Numero __ : UNO
30. Road sign with a double-tailed arrow : MERGE
31. Attack command word : SIC
35. "CSI" science : FORENSICS
36. Distress signal : FLARE
37. Speak, biblical-style : SAY'ST. "Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty, — that is all." - Ode on a Grecian Urn - John Keats
