Theme: AFTER PARTY (56. Oscar night celebration ... and where to find the ends of the answers to starred clues)
17. *Ingratiate oneself (with): CURRY FAVOR. Party favor.
24. *Hardly cutting-edge: OLD SCHOOL. Party school.
36. *Last stage of a chess match: END GAME. Party game.
46. *Joke payoff: PUNCH LINE. Party line.
This compliments the "PARTY ON" a few years ago where both words can precede "party".
C.C.
here. After more than a year of dedicated weekly blogging, TTP wants to
cut back a bit and blogs every other week. He'll be back next Tuesday.
As
I mentioned before, it's fun to blog once or twice. Doing it week after
week can be exhausting. It's no coincidence that TTP always has the
perfect images and apt shout-outs on his write-ups. It's hours of hard
work. Finding the right words to describe the theme
clearly. Finding the suitable images and video clips to go with some
entries. Formatting.
Googling various crossword websites and our own blog for past
references, etc. This all takes time, often 3 or more hours. I feel so
lucky to have such a dedicated team!
Across:
1. Car cam spot: DASH.
5. Sacred Judaic scroll: TORAH. Hebrew for "law".
10. Wild guess: STAB.
14. Reverberate: ECHO.
15. Of __: helpful for: USE TO.
16. Pop in a bottle: COLA. Pepsi in our house.
19. Similar: AKIN.
20. Childish comeback: ARE NOT.
21. Needing cleaning, as tabletops: DUSTY. Also the name of Misty's sorely-missed dog.
23. Doctored in a bad way: FAKED.
28. Latin American dances: TANGOS.
30. Spooky: EERIE.
31. Surprised sounds: OHS.
33. "__ light is not daylight": Juliet: YON.
34. Shoe pad: INSOLE. Found your perfect shoes last week, Agnes?
35. Good name for a cook: STU.
38. Sun. speech: SER.
39. That is: NAMELY.
41. Early TV maker: RCA.
42. Pricing word: PER.
43. Armenian's neighbor: IRANI. Often Iranian.
44. Coo: MURMUR.
48. Type of pie popular in Southern cuisine: PECAN.
52. Lecherous sorts: ROUES.
53. Concerns of teachers and ophthalmologists: PUPILS. Cute clue.
54. Drop of sweat: BEAD.
59. Turn toward: FACE.
60. Brahms played it: PIANO.
61. Element with the symbol "Fe": IRON. I know iron deficiency, but can you get too much iron in your body?
62. Mister Rogers: FRED.
63. Deign (to): STOOP.
64. Part of DVD: DISC.
Down:
1. Brew for an early night: DECAF.
2. High-end Honda: ACURA.
3. Princess Fiona's love: SHREK.
4. Charlotte NBA team: HORNETS. Owned by Michael Jordan.
5. Hair clump: TUFT.
6. Mama bear, in Madrid: OSA.
7. Gun, as an engine: REV.
8. In conflict: AT ODDS.
9. Falcon-headed son of Osiris: HORUS.
10. Verbally tears apart: SCATHES. I've only used "scathing".
11. Name in Japanese WWII propaganda: TOKYO ROSE. And 32. Group often threatened in dystopian fiction: HUMAN RACE. Nice pair of 10's.
12. Boxer Laila: ALI.
13. Outlaw: BAN.
18. "Size matters not" Jedi master: YODA.
22. Play part: SCENE.
24. Prayer opener: O GOD.
25. Extended period of time: LONG RUN. Great 7 also.
26. Refueling ship: OILER.
27. Rude look: LEER.
29. Part of a Park Ave. address: NY NY.
31. Japanese seaport: OTARU. Northern Japan. Kazie just visited Japan last month.
34. Quran reader: IMAM.
35. Salon sound: SNIP.
36. Peace Nobelist Root: ELIHU.
37. 43,560 square feet: ACRE.
40. Made cryptic: ENCODED.
42. Like most phone cards: PRE-PAID.
44. Fish out of water: MISFIT.
45. "__ and away!": UP UP.
47. Springs: LEAPS.
49. Wispy clouds: CIRRI.
50. Choir section: ALTOS.
51. "This I Promise You" band: NSYNC.
53. Shore (up): PROP.
54. IM VIP: BFF.
55. Musical talent: EAR.
57. Lao Tzu's "way": TAO. Here is the Tao Vegas billboard. "Always a Happy Ending." I think of Steve every time I see it.
29. *System with only ones and zeros: BINARY CODE.
35. *Picture-taking Brownie: BOX CAMERA.
63. Apparent setting for a two-letter comic strip suggested by the answers to starred clues: STONE AGE.
Across:
1. Part of an urban fleet: CAB.
4. Recipe amt.: TBSP. More or less, to (your personal) taste. Except in most baking, where measurements should be precise.
8. Eva of "Green Acres": GABOR.
13. Tire filler: AIR.
14. Part of a Basque ball game name: ALAI. We saw Basque last Thursday with 20A clue/answer: San Sebastián beachgoer?: BASQUE IN THE SUN, followed in the comments by: Haiku Harry said...
Tall Jai Alai guy sucked.
Teammates suggested, he play
BASQUEtball, instead ...
22. Aptly named autopilot in "Airplane!": OTTO. Crossword Shout Out !
23. Similar to: LIKE. Akin.
24. Oscar winner Winslet of "The Reader": KATE. Saw Winslet and 4 letters, entered Kate.
25. Chum: PAL.
26. Fourth quarter mo.: DEC. December. diciembre in Spanish. décembre in French.
28. Big brass: TUBA. High ranking military officers would not fit.
30. MPG-testing org.: EPA. Standard MPG disclaimer: "Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle."
33. Surprise attack: AMBUSH.
36. "__ Brockovich": ERIN.
37. Swindle: CON. Cheat.
38. Framed in the darkroom for artistic effect: CROPPED. Crossword constructor, pianist, composer, naturalist and photog extraordinaire John Lampkin has contributed over 1000 images to BugGuide.Net. He caught this Fungus Beetle crawling over another one:
40. Nearly obsolete golf club: ONE IRON. It's really tough to hit this club consistently. The one iron, along with the two iron, three iron, four iron and sometimes even the five iron, are increasingly being replaced by hybrid golf clubs, especially among amateur players. It's becoming increasingly rare for even the best players in the world to carry a one iron in the bag.
42. Word after trail or party: MIX.
43. On the rocks: ICED. "What is, How Tinbeni never orders his drinks ?" said James Holzhauer to Alex Trebek.
45. Diamond-shaped pattern: ARGYLE. Scott, you are dearly missed.
46. "Outta here!" PC key: ESC.
47. Kitchen gadget brand: EKCO. Kitchamagigs. Founded in Chicago in 1880, the Edward Katzinger Co was one of the earliest manufacturers of kitchen utensils and products. The name change to EKCO Products Co. was in 1945, and by the 1950's was producing every conceivable pan, gadget and utensil. - WIKICONIC and The Encyclopedia of Chicago.
48. Campaigned: RAN.
49. Throw in: ADD.
51. Courtroom fig.: ATTY. Figure / Attorney.
53. Santa Anita data: ODDS.
57. Prefix for half of Earth: HEMI. Northern and Southern, as determined by the Equator, or Eastern and Western, defined by the Prime Meridian. I guess it depends on how you want to divide it. So much divisiveness in the world today.
59. Acid used in cooking oil: OLEIC.
60. Hilarious routine: RIOT.
61. Removed the pull tab from: OPENED.
65. Calm: SERENE. 25 minutes outside of Lake Tahoe is a place called Serene Lakes
68. Mail-order pioneer: SEARS. Sears was a mail-order watch business starting in 1886, but Montgomery Ward was the mail-order pioneer 14 years earlier in 1872, offering a varied 163 items in his first mail-order catalog.
69. Have to have: NEED.
70. "I did it!": YES. Yes, I mowed the wet lawn between rainstorms last Wednesday. It had to be done. Then had to mow again Sunday afternoon.
Down:
1. Conspiratorial group: CABAL.
2. Garlicky sauce: AIOLI.
3. Trout's home: BROOK.
4. Tic-__-toe: TAC.
6. Popular Girl Scout cookie: SAMOA. According to girlscouts.org:
57. Hefty Cartwright brother: HOSS. Played by Dan Blocker. At 6'4" and weighing 300 pounds, hefty seems an apt physical description. 14 pounds at birth.
18. Performances by Chippendales dancers: STRIP SHOWS.
23. Jubilation: HIGH SPIRITS.
38. Slam-dancing area: MOSH PIT.
50. Right now: AT THIS POINT.
61. Sea disasters, and a hint to what's literally hidden in 18-, 23-, 38- and 50-Across: SHIPWRECKS.
Ship gets jumbled, or wrecked, so to speak, in this latest offering from Bruce and Gail.
Across:
1. Campaign donation orgs.: PACS. Political Action Committees
5. Actor's nickname heard in the song "Key Largo": BOGIE. The lyric is, "We had it all. Just like Bogie and Bacall." "Here's looking at you, kid."
10. Be in sync (with): JIBE.
14. Airline that doesn't fly on Shabbat: EL AL. "El Al is the only commercial airline to equip its planes with missile defense systems to protect its planes against surface to air missiles, and is considered one of the world's most secure airlines, thanks to its stringent security procedures, both on the ground and on board its aircraft." - Wikipedia
15. Diarist Nin: ANAIS. "We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are." – Anais Nin.
16. Spoken: ORAL.
17. "The Beverly Hillbillies" daughter __ May: ELLY. Jed's daughter. A tomboy and an animal lover, here shown with one of her "critters."
20. Sidekick: PAL. Batman and Robin, Wyatt and Doc, Snoopy and Woodstock
21. McJob worker: PEON.
22. Le frère d'un père: ONCLE. French. The brother of a father: Uncle. That's according to Google Translate. Perps solved it for me. Wilbur would have known it.
27. Beach shade: TAN. You might end up paying for all of that free UV exposure.
28. Nods off: SNOOZES.
32. Squash underfoot: STEP ON. Someone posted a picture of a stink bug on Nextdoor, asking what it was. 74 responses came in with similar advice: Don't (squish, squash, step on, stomp on, crush, smash) them. Some recommended vacuuming, while others advocated spraying them with everything from Lysol to peppermint spray. One guy said he swallowed one that was in his coffee.
35. "Law & Order: __": SVU. Special Victims Unit. The long running NBC series was recently renewed for a 21st year. Corner favorite is # 1.
44. Pitchfork target: HAY. You need the right tool for the job. Pitchforks are excellent for spreading hay, turning over the mulch pile, cleaning out the horse stall and more. When paired with torches and an angry mob, pitchforks are effective at cornering a monster in an old mill, and then burning it down.
45. Began, as a hobby: TOOK UP.
47. Phil Collins' longtime band: GENESIS. Live from Wembley.
49. Serious fwy. violation: DUI. Driving Under the Influence. Other acronyms ? DUIL, DWI, OWI, OUI...
59. Pinup's leg: GAM. The internet tells me that gam comes from Middle English gamb leg, which came from Old French gambe, which came from Late Latin gamba, meaning leg of an animal. I'd wager that James Holzhauer knew that. The History Of Pin-Up Girls
64. Top-drawer: A ONE.
65. Shameful symbol in a Hawthorne novel: RED A. Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic, The Scarlet Letter, set in Puritanical Massachusetts. About social shaming and and stigmatizing a few centuries ago. Now there are plenty of social media apps for people that feel the need to publicly focus their attention on others.
66. E-cigarette's lack: ASHES. They still have nicotine, an addicting drug.
67. Novelist Victor: HUGO. Les Misérables andThe Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
68. Ballet title bird: SWAN. 2 hours for your listening and viewing pleasure.
69. "Family Ties" mom: ELYSE. Portrayed by Meredith Baxter. Baxter Birney at the time.
70. Store securely: STOW.
Down:
1. Sound from a nest: PEEP.
2. Quran deity: ALLAH.
3. Declare all debts resolved: CALL IT EVEN.
4. Devious: SLY.
5. Wrigley Field corners: BASES. First and third base are called the corners (of the infield). Technically, since the bases form a square, second base and home plate are also corners. They're just not called corners in baseball. Third base is called the "hot corner" so if you ever see that as a clue and the answer is five letters, enter THIRD.
6. Winning: ON TOP. The St Louis Cardinals are on top of the National League Central Division and are currently projected to have a 6% chance of winning the World Series.
7. Bouquet __: herb bundle: GARNI. More French. Garnished bouquet. Google Translate not needed.
8. Square root of IX: III. Math with roman numerals.
9. Seer's "gift": ESP. Extra Sensory Perception. A hallmark of psychic charlatans.
10. Either "J" in J&J: JOHNSON.
11. Camaro __-Z: IROC. A well written article from a dealership in Albany, NY about the legendary Chevrolet Camaro.
12. Turn on the waterworks: BAWL. Blubber.
13. Apart from this: ELSE. Meaning different in this sense.
19. __ speak: SO TO. "You use so to speak to draw attention to the fact that you are describing or referring to something in a way that may be amusing or unusual rather than completely accurate." - Collins Dictionary. Speaking metaphorically. As in the ships in this puzzle are wrecked, so to speak.
21. __ Penh: PHNOM. Cambodia's capital.
24. Lack of continuity: GAP. Turning the switch to the off position creates a lack of continuity in a simple electrical light circuit. Those free electrons can't jump from valence shell to valence shell to complete the path when the switch is open.
25. Answer the invite, initially: RSVP. Repondez S'il Vous Plait. LMOA; Left a Message On your Answering machine.
26. Alaskan native: INUIT.
29. Nodding off: ZONKING OUT.
30. Jacob's twin: ESAU.
31. Herding dog name: SHEP. Apropos.
32. Too sure of oneself: SMUG.
33. Subdue with a zap: TASE.
34. Like an extremely well-pitched game: NO HIT.
35. Short, moneywise: SHY. You wouldn't get the moneywise helper on a Friday or Saturday LA Times puzzle.
39. Window framework: SASH. An obi for glass.
40. Disturbances: TO DOs.
43. Like many a successful poker player: DEADPAN. Expressionless, or of a singular expression.
46. "Certainement!": OUI. More French. More Google Translate. More perp help. It means certainly. Makes sense.
48. Crock-Pot dinner: STEW. The crackpot chef tried to roast prime rib in the crock-pot. It resulted in a stew, but no one complained.
51. Like wool, for many: ITCHY. Abejo, has the poison ivy cleared up ? And BTW, belated Happy Anniversary !
52. "For goodness __!": SAKES. I thought it was for Pete. Either way, it's a euphemism used as an expression of frustration , exasperation or annoyance, but in the case of goodness, also for surprise. The speaker's tone inflection and body language will tell you more.
53. Rustler-chasing group: POSSE. I think of The Ox-Bow Incident, starring Henry Fonda.
54. Dance that "takes two": TANGO. The last one was in Paris. Did you see it ? It was rated X when it came out in '72, recut and rereleased and rated R in '81, and then rerated NC-17 in '97. I've never seen it, but I remember there was a controversy about it when it came out.
55. The Baltics, once: Abbr.: SSRS. Soviet Socialist Republics
56. "Close call!": PHEW.
57. Verdi opera: AIDA. Set in Egypt.
60. Catty utterance?: MEOW.
62. Grammy winner Corinne Bailey __: RAE. No idea.
63. Bilingual subj.: ESL. English as a Second Language
64. Massage reactions: AHs.
Notes from C.C.:
To those who can't post on the blog with their iPhone, Blogger Forum mentions that "This issue might be related to high privacy settings on your browser.
Go to your Safari -> Settings -> Privacy -> uncheck "Prevent cross-site tracking."
Please let me know if that works for you.
As for Android phone users, please email me crosswordc@gmail.com if you have problem posting on the blog.
24. New York region, or its narrow bodies of water: FINGER LAKES.
33. Tropical tree leaf: PALM FROND.
51. Fluttering pitch: KNUCKLE BALL.
58. Popular necktie knot ... and a hint to the starts of 17-, 24-, 33- and 51-Across: FOUR IN HAND.
Especially for you Desper-otto, in case you've forgotten how:
How many years has it been ?
Across:
1. Barcelona buddy: AMIGO.
6. Scattered, as seeds: SOWN. Sown and strewn.
10. Rifle filler: AMMO. A young Desper-otto and his pal Nate used their pea shooters on a pile of sand that was destined for a stucco finish on a nearby house. Sprouts appeared on the walls. Fortunately for the young lads, it was only the scratch coat.
14. Hopeless case: GONER. He might have been a goner if that sand was used in the finish coat.
20. "__ Been Awhile": Staind song: IT'S. The genre is post-grunge, alt-metal.
21. Columnist Landers: ANN.
22. Israeli president, 2007-2014: PERES. Shimon Peres.
23. Blackjack card: ACE.
27. Petit or grand crime: LARCENY.
29. Docking fee: MOORAGE. The verb moor (make fast, secure) and the suffix age (belonging to, relating to) creates the word moorage, which can be either the place where you moor or the fee for mooring. Just make sure your hawser is large enough.
30. Hog's nose: SNOUT. A pig, not a hog, but you get the point.
31. Objective: AIM.
32. Fisher-Price product: TOY.
38. Busy IRS month: APR. Internal Revenue Service / April.
56. Canonized Fr. female: STE. Abbreviation of sainte, the feminine form of saint.
57. Slimming surg.: LIPO. Surgery / Liposuction.
62. Cookie cooker: OVEN. The appliance, not the individual, which could be baker.
63. Big on: INTO.
64. Vital heart line: AORTA.
65. "Bill & __ Excellent Adventure": TEDS. "High school slackers Bill and Ted travel back in time to assemble historical figures for their history class presentation." - Wikipedia
66. Cap'n's underling: BOS'N. Contractions of Captain and Bosun.
1. Ten-percenter: Abbr.: AGT. Agent. Talent and booking agents typically get 10 %.
2. Native American in a Cooper title: MOHICAN. About James Fenimore Cooper. We had a regular here that legally changed his name to one of the author's lead characters - Natty Bumpo.
3. Not yet born: IN UTERO. Latin, meaning in the womb.
4. Precious stones: GEMS.
5. Mars or Venus: ORB. Most often in poetry. I may have first heard orb used this way in the lyrics of a couple of songs on The Moody Blues Days of Future Passed album.
6. Like teenagers in the comic strip "Zits": SKINNY. No idea, but the perps said it had to be.
7. Chimp kin: ORANG. Monkeys have tails. Chimpanzees and orangutans are great apes. Tailless.
8. Was victorious: WON.
9. Sgt. or cpl.: NCO. Sergeant / Corporal: Non-commissioned officer.
10. Unpaid debt: ARREAR.
11. Kalahari mongoose: MEERKAT. The Kalahari Resorts are in the Wisconsin Dells, Sandusky, and the Poconos.
12. Source of machismo, perhaps: MALE EGO.
13. Epic journey: ODYSSEY. My friend is going to take the Astro. Thinking about a used Sienna even though I like the styling of the Odyssey a little more. Mini vans are so versatile. I have to order a Soccer Mom sticker for the back window.
18. Tylenol target: PAIN.
22. Gaza Strip gp.: PLO. Group / Palestine Liberation Organization
23. Capp and Capone: ALs. Kaline and Hrabosky would have thrown many off, but not Boomer and Hondo.
24. Greek cheese: FETA.
25. Mideast ruler: EMIR.
26. NFL analyst Tony: ROMO. 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys as a QB, and now partnered with Jim Nantz as the color commentator of NFL games broadcast by CBS.
28. Trophy shape: CUP.
31. Toward the tiller: AFT. Nautical terms.
34. Hang around: LOLL. Loiter.
35. Grand Canyon animal: MULE.
36. "Little" Dickens girl: NELL.
37. Org. hacked at its Watergate offices: DNC. Organization / Democratic National Committee
38. Require much (of): ASK A LOT.
39. Lost in thought: PENSIVE.
40. Signed on for another tour: REUPPED.
43. Skill rarely practiced now: LOST ART.
44. Not aligned with: ALIEN TO.
45. Little rascal: IMP.
47. Descendants: SCIONS.
48. "Best in Show" org.: AKC. Organization / American Kennel Club
49. __ of honor: MATRON.
50. High: Pref.: ALTI. Like in the ten dollar word altiloquence, meaning lofty, pompous speech. Or as in altimeter or altitude.
52. Boxing matches: BOUTS.
56. Horse's footwear: SHOE. Fit to size by a farrier.
Each of these idioms feature members of our avian friends. The meaning of each idiom is well-defined by its clue. Simple and elegant.
20. Farewell performance: SWAN SONG.
26. Squinter's wrinkles: CROWS FEET.
44. Hidden danger: BOOBY TRAP.
56. Easy-peasy task: DUCK SOUP.
10. Keen-sighted sort: EAGLE EYE.
36. Big fat zero: GOOSE EGG.
Bonus birds in the fill:
12. Seagull kin: TERN.
56. Jackknifed into the pool, say: DOVE. Well, when pronounced differently, it is a bird. Dove is a heteronym: DoveDUV- a bird; DOEV- jumped off.
Across:
1. "The Big Bang Theory" network: CBS. The Corner has a number of fans of this sitcom. Sometimes seen as TBBT in clues and comments.
4. Uncertain: IFFY. I was a little iffy about the theme until I recognized that the theme answers were all idioms, and that tern and dove were just bonus birds.
8. Peek at someone else's test answers, say: CHEAT.
13. River to the Caspian: URAL.
15. Where to find a hero: DELI. I liked this clue / answer, despite it being so evident.
9. Find out about: HEAR OF. Marvin Gaye used another idiom to tell us how he found out she loved some else.
11. Between ports: ASEA.
14. Won't go away, as an odor: LINGERS.
21. __-Coburg: former Bavarian duchy: SAXE. The dukedom ended in 1918. It began in 1826.
22. Mooring rope: HAWSER. New term for me. Spitzboov and Jinx would know.
24. Foes of robbers: COPS.
27. Many a reggae artist: RASTA. - a member of the Rastafarian religious movement. Rastafarians have distinctive codes of behavior and dress, including the wearing of dreadlocks, the smoking of cannabis, the rejection of Western medicine, and adherence to a diet that excludes pork, shellfish, and milk.
50. Dinner, say: REPAST. late Middle English: from Old French, based on late Latin repascere, from re- (expressing intensive force) + pascere ‘to feed’. The word was more commonly used in the 1800s.
46. Symbolic Egyptian snake, which includes the start of a hint to the answers to starred clues: ASP.
Look at the hind end of this ant:
"The Crematogaster genus of ants has a cute heart-shaped gaster which gives it one of its common names, the Saint Valentine’s Ant." - John Lampkin
After noticing worker, drone, queen and soldier as answers in the starred clues, I first thought "Bees" but I had never heard of soldier bees. John threw me for a loop with ASP. What does ASP have to do with bees ? At that point, I paid attention to the circles and reread the reveal. ANT COLONY might have been hard to spot without the circles.
Clever puzzle and design. I like how ANT COLONY is arranged so that it represents a mound. We had plenty of fire ant mounds in the pastures and yards in Central Texas. Dang things were so hard to get rid of. It was like playing Whac-A-Mole.
Across:
1. "Star Wars" warrior: JEDI. All you want to know and more at Wookiepedia, the Star Wars Wiki.
5. Treaded winter vehicle: SNO-CAT.
11. "Proven," in proofs: QED. Quod Erat Demonstrandum. Latin, from the buzzwords used by great Greek mathematicians, such as Euclid and Archimedes.
14. Laptop brand that sounds like a top tennis player: ACER. Cure clue.
15. Pays homage to: HONORS. Pays respect to.
16. Prefix with corn or cycle: UNI. As a preteen, my gangly friend Brian became an accomplished unicycle rider in our hilly little town. He turned out to be a pretty good basketball player on our high school team.
20. Blight-stricken tree: ELM. A fungal disease spread by bark beetles. "This disease is not of Dutch origin, but because early work on the disease was done by Dutch pathologists in the 1920s, the disease has been called Dutch elm disease (DED)." - Morton Arboretum
21. Deceived: LIED TO.
22. Lo __: noodle dish: MEIN. Lo mein - soft boiled noodles. Chow mein - crispy fried noodles.
23. Church officers: DEACONS. Not germane to the clue for any other reason than Deacon is in it:
25. "Valley of the Dolls" author Jacqueline: SUSANN. A best selling book about three pill-popping women. It was later adapted into a movie of the same name.
33. Rank above maj.: COL. Major / Colonel. Colonels have two grades in the Army. "Light"(Lieutenant Colonel - grade O-5, silver oak leaf insignia) and "Full Bird" (Colonel - grade O-6, silver eagle insignia).
36. Makes an effort: TRIES.
37. Small store: SHOP. My parents small store was in a 6600 sq. ft. two story building my dad and his contractor buddies built. Antiques, Furniture Stripping & Refinishing. That's why I can tell people I used to be a stripper.
44. Mentalist's "gift": ESP. Every Single Perp was not required for this initialism of Extrasensory Perception.
45. Installs, as a minister: ORDAINS. Ordains, as a deacon: Deacons.
47. Sound like an ass: BRAY. I'm not touching this one.
49. Blu-ray buy: DISC. lu- added to bray above.
50. Quick breaths: GASPS.
54. "To reiterate ... ": I REPEAT.
57. Like sunset-silhouetted scenery: REAR LIT. A photog like John Lampkin knows how to get the perfect shots .
59. Golfer's goal: PAR. Unless you are a tour player. Then you are looking for birdies or better. Canadian Corey Conners qualified last Monday to play in the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. He birdied six of nine coming in on Sunday to win the tournament. It was the first time in the last 9 years that a Monday qualifier won a PGA Tour event.
62. From __ Z: A TO. An idiom for beginning to end.
63. Shrek's kiss made Fiona one for good: OGRESS.
64. Hint of the future: OMEN. I don't believe in them.
65. Home in the woods: DEN. I'd prefer a cabin.
66. Treating kindly: GOOD TO.
67. Sunset direction: WEST. On this planet. I assume the same for the others in our solar system.
Down:
1. Ranted (at): JAWED. It's baseball season. So many great clips to choose from. Let's look at this blast from the past for a good example of a couple of guys that jawed at each other:
2. French school: ECOLE.
3. Skin care prefix: DERMA.
4. Annoy: IRK.
5. Sacred place: SHRINE. I wonder if the PGA Tour players had time to stop by the Alamo, and perhaps stroll along the River Walk.
7. Like one's prized music collection, perhaps: ON CD.
8. Small water birds: COOTS. Thank you perps. An internet search tells me they are closely related to the moorhen, which didn't really help me. A group of them is known as a covert or a cover. I don't remember when I was first told that girls had cooties, but I asked my mom and she said it wasn't true. We didn't have the internet back in those days.
9. Big name in canned meat: ARMOUR. Hormel too.
10. Baking soda amt.: TSP.
12. Amtrak employees: ENGINEERS.
13. "My Heart Will Go On" singer Celine: DION. The theme song from Titanic:
18. Flee to wed: ELOPE.
22. Mexican mother: MADRE.
24. Sleep in a bag, maybe: CAMP.
26. Gig component: SET.
29. "Pronto" letters: ASAP.
30. Japanese golf great Aoki : ISAO. Isao Aoki with Arnold Palmer.
I had the exact same clue and answer on March 20th, 2018. Here's the exact same picture and comments:
He credits watching Arnold Palmer for giving him the inspiration to pursue a golfing career.
"Isao Aoki only plays with golf balls marked with the number 5. That number is pronounced “Go” in Japanese and it also represents the worst score he wants to make."
He was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004. Source - World Golf Hall of Fame.
31. Hardly the best: THIRD RATE.
33. Sounds like a crow: CAWS.
34. Docs who deliver: OBs. Obstetrician.
35. Bausch partner: LOMB.
38. On a scale of one to __: TEN.
39. Sculler's need: OAR.
42. "Please don't bite me!": NICE DOG.
43. Persistently worry: NAG AT.
48. Peter of Peter, Paul & Mary: YARROW. Friend and fellow Cornell student Leonard Lipton wrote a poem in 1959 that Peter Yarrow put into lyrics for this 1962 song that had nothing to do about smoking marijuana or other drug use. - paraphrased from Wikipedia. Our own Bill G went to Cornell.
51. Snail trail: SLIME.
52. Colorado's __ Peak: PIKES. Aaron Kaufman of the Discovery Channel's Fast N' Loud narrates this short clip of him racing up Pikes Peak a few years ago in his '63 Falcon.
53. Cardiologist's implant: STENT.
54. Apple tablet: IPAD.
55. Jason's ship: ARGO. He was searching for the Golden Fleece. Greek mythology. Not my cuppa, but here is an article that shed some light on the story line and players involved. I had no idea that Hercules was an oarsman on the Argo.
56. Lawn mower brand: TORO. I keep thinking about replacing my old John Deere rider. It's a yellow deck STX-38. It was built to last and it has. Faithful service for nearly 30 years.
3) Dear Agnes (Irish Miss) had to spend 5
hours in the ER yesterday due to the excruciating foot pain from the
fall she suffered a few weeks ago. She's going to see her GP tomorrow
and an orthopedic doctor soon. It's been tough few weeks for Agnes, who
lives alone. Please send positive thoughts and love to Troy, New York!
3. *Tough period in life: HARD TIMES. Hard Case - A tough person, such as someone that is hard to deal with. Or, a type of protective container, such as hard case luggage.
9. *Grade school presentation: SHOW AND TELL. Showcase - A glass container used to display merchandise. Or, in music and the arts, an exhibition of talent and creations.
24. *Slim-fitting Dior creation: PENCIL SKIRT. Pencil Case - A container used to hold pens, pencils, erasers and the like.
26. *Nuclear treaty subject: TEST BAN. Test Case - In law, a legal action brought to test the validity of a law, and perhaps set a precedent for deciding similar cases in the future.
35. Caps, and a hint to the answers to starred clues: UPPERCASE. Case can be added to the upper word of each starred answer.
Across:
1. "I'm clever" chuckle: HEH.
4. Take a broom to: SWEEP.
9. Rapscallion: SCAMP.
14. Pretty __ picture: AS A.
15. Main artery: AORTA. The great artery of the heart.
16. __ roll: student's achievement: HONOR. Learning isn't hard. Paying attention to something you have no interest in is.
17. Hawk, in the military sense: WARMONGER. Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun were the notable war hawks leading up to the War of !812.
19. Get the best of: OUTDO. Out as a prefix, meaning more than or better than.
20. In the buff: NUDE. Naked as a jaybird. In the altogether. Buck (or butt) naked. I'm sure there are other idioms.
21. Local residents, to local college students: TOWNIES. Matt and Ben were townies in the film, Good Will Hunting.
23. Draw sap from, as a maple: TAP. In bowling, leaving a "stone 8" (for right handers) is known as a True Tap.
(archaic) A dressing table, typically covered to the floor with cloth (originally, toile) and lace, on which stood a mirror, which might also be draped in lace.
(archaic) Personal grooming, in other words washing, dressing, etc.
30. Formula __: auto racing class: ONE.
"F1 cars are at the cutting edge of motorsport technology and push the boundaries of technological design. Each team designs its own chassis and interprets the rules to best suit the ultimate design. Budgets are huge, and no stone is left unturned in the pursuit of development.
Indy cars, on the other hand, are much less developed. Each team has the use of the same Dallara chassis, which does not carry the same sort of funding as F1 operations. That in itself places greater emphasis on the job of the team and the driver, while one of F1's greatest criticisms is that it is so dependent on the performance of the car." - Bleacher Report Article
31. Casino convenience: ATM, and 42. "Casino" co-star Joe: PESCI.
60. Drambuie and Scotch cocktail: RUSTY NAIL. New to me, but the perps were solid. I guess it was popular in the '60s. Behind the Bar: The Rusty Nail
65. Closer to being harvested: RIPER.
66. Month before febrero: ENERO.
Enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre.
Estos son los doce meses del año.
67. Get it: SEE.
68. "Alien" director Ridley __: SCOTT. Also, Blade Runner, Gladiator, The Martian.
69. Eggs purchase: DOZEN.
70. Juan's "that": ESO. Juanita's "that": ESA.
Down:
1. Goldie with a Golden Globe: HAWN. Can you believe she's 73 ? 9 nominations, 1 win in the 1969 romcom Cactus Flower, her first major film.
2. Founder of Edom: ESAU.
4. Brazilian map word: SAO. As in Sao Paulo.
5. Hit the jackpot: WON. Someone won a big one in Wisconsin last week.
6. Bit of energy: ERG.
7. Strasbourg summer: ETE. Strasbourg, France. Directly west across the Rhine river from the Black Forest in southwestern Germany. In German, summer is Sommer.
8. Second section: PART B. Medicare Part B premiums have risen by an average of 7.7% per year.
10. Come back (with): COUNTER. Rick Harrison on the History Channel's Pawn Stars program rarely buys anything at the asking price. Mike Wolfe on the History Channel's American Pickers sometimes counters the original asking price with an amount that is higher than asked.
11. Naysayers: ANTIS.
12. Web surfing tool: MODEM. Modulator / Demodulator.
13. Narrative writing: PROSE.
18. Event with courses: MEAL.
22. War on Poverty org.: OEO. Office of Economic Opportunity.
25. Singer Turner's memoir: I TINA. David Alfred Bywaters had the clue "Turner with numbers" in last Friday's puzzle that Hahtoolah reviewed. I thought that was a great clue.
27. Camper's cover: TARP. I started with tent, but the perps disagreed.
28. Plains native: OTOE.
29. Excessively: TOO. The entree was fine, but the dessert was (excessively, extremely, or too) sweet. Which adverb would you use ?
33. Irish poet who wrote "Easter, 1916": YEATS.
36. Drive or reverse: GEAR.
37. Toothed tools: SAWS.
40. Fr. holy woman: STE. Sainte.
43. Moulin Rouge, notably: CABARET. Yes, I know the setting for the movie was Berlin, but the answer afforded an opportunity to link Liza singing the song.
47. Squeeze (out): EKE.
49. Cross-country southern hwy.: I TEN. The southernmost of the cross-country interstate highways.
50. Some are compulsive: LIARS.
51. Shenanigan: ANTIC. I think of CrossEyedDave.
52. Philippines peak: Abbr.: MT APO. The highest point in the Philippines.
53. Looks flushed: IS RED.
57. Hurries, old-style: HIES.
58. Bread spread: OLEO. The Oleo Wars weren't just in Wisconsin. Vermont, New Hampshire and South Dakota also had various laws against the product. Wisconsin didn't allow yellow colored oleo until 1967, and still has laws about margarine for restaurants and schools. Butter must be served to students unless a doctor provides a valid health reason for not using butter.
62. "__ who?": SEZ. It's the correct pronunciation for says, here and across the pond.
63. Antonio's three: TRE. "Tutti a tavola a mangiare!" Ciao Antonio ! In Italian, numbers from zero to ten are specific words, namely zero [0], uno [1], due [2], tre [3], quattro [4], cinque [5], sei [6], sette [7], otto [8], nove [9], and dieci [10]. More here.
64. That, old-style: YON. For example, "Beyond yon mountain."
