The Eyes Have It. The letter "I" is found side-by-side in each theme answer.
3-Across. * Many an Iraqi Muslim: SHIITE. One of the two major branches of Islam.
18-Across. * From the 50th state: HAWAIIAN. The Hibiscus is the official flower of Hawaii (and my garden, which is not in Hawaii). Look closely to see the real Hibiscus,
23-Across. * City buried by Vesuvius' eruption: POMPEII. I visited Pompeii last September. The tiles and mosaics are truly spectacular.
40-Across. * Rolling to the terminal: TAXIING.
55-Across. * Berra's "No one goes there anymore. It's too crowded," e.g.: YOGIISM. A term used exclusively to the sayings of Yogi Berra (né Lawrence Peter Berra; May 12, 1925 ~ Sept. 22, 2015). He acquired the nickname "Yogi" because he had a habit of sitting cross-legged while waiting to bat and a teammate thought he looked like a meditating yogi.
60-Across. * Asian mushroom: SHIITAKE.
And the Unifier:
68-Across. "Yes, captain" ... and a phonetic hint to the answers to starred clues: AYE, AYE!
3-Across. * Many an Iraqi Muslim: SHIITE. One of the two major branches of Islam.
18-Across. * From the 50th state: HAWAIIAN. The Hibiscus is the official flower of Hawaii (and my garden, which is not in Hawaii). Look closely to see the real Hibiscus,
23-Across. * City buried by Vesuvius' eruption: POMPEII. I visited Pompeii last September. The tiles and mosaics are truly spectacular.
40-Across. * Rolling to the terminal: TAXIING.
55-Across. * Berra's "No one goes there anymore. It's too crowded," e.g.: YOGIISM. A term used exclusively to the sayings of Yogi Berra (né Lawrence Peter Berra; May 12, 1925 ~ Sept. 22, 2015). He acquired the nickname "Yogi" because he had a habit of sitting cross-legged while waiting to bat and a teammate thought he looked like a meditating yogi.
60-Across. * Asian mushroom: SHIITAKE.
And the Unifier:
68-Across. "Yes, captain" ... and a phonetic hint to the answers to starred clues: AYE, AYE!
Across:
1. Conversations: TALKS. Chats or Talks?
6. Flows back: EBBs.
10. "Doctor Who" channel: BBC. There have been 13 Doctor Whos. The current Doctor Who is a woman.
15. Congeal: CLOT.
16. __ de Janeiro: RIO.
17. Great new talent: PHENOM.
20. "Hold tight!": GRAB ON!
22. Like at least six periodic table gases: NOBLE. The Nobel gases are inert: Helium (He); Neon (Ne); Argon (Ar); Krypton (Kr); Xenon (Xe); and Radon (Rn).
26. Vital organ pair: KIDNEYS.
28. Smoothie superfruit: ACAI. The Açaí berry has become a crossword staple. It looks rather like a blueberry.
29. Partners' legal entity: Abbr.: LLC. As in a Limited Liability Company. Actually, since the clue indicates the answer should be a Limited Liability Partnership.
31. "Deck the Halls" contraction: 'TIS. Summer is not 'tis the season to be jolly.
32. Horses' houses: BARNS. Because Stable wouldn't fit.
34. Like Cheerios: OATEN.
36. Cigar remnants: ASH.
39. Cunning: SLY.
42. Meadow: LEA.
43. Prof.'s aides: TAs. As in Teaching Assistants.
44. Dress named for a letter: A-LINE. The A-line dress was first designed by Christian Dior (1905 ~ 1957) in the 1940s. It describes a dress with a triangular silhouette that is narrow and fitted at the top and widens out to the hem in a rough shape of an A.
45. Red giant in the night sky: S-STAR.
47. Gobbled down: ATE.
48. Oilers, on NHL scoreboards: EDM. As in the Edmonton Oilers, the National Hockey League team from Edmonton, Canada. The only player I know of who played for the Oilers is Wayne Gretzky (b. Jan. 26, 1961).
50. Drake or drone, e.g.: MALE. One is a duck and the other is a bee, but both can fly.
51. Sully, as a reputation: TARNISH. Has the silverware suffered from a sullied reputation?
57. Borders on: ABUTS.
58. Frightened, in Shakespeare: AFEARD.
62. Prove false: NEGATE.
66. Truck weight unit: TON.
67. "Bright" thought: IDEA.
69. Unit of work: ERG.
70. Sell for: COST.
71. Snide commentary: SNARK.
Down:
1. 1/6 fl. oz.: TSP. As in a Teaspoon.
2. Spa user's reaction: AHH!
3. Golf ball position: LIE.
4. Bigwig: KINGPIN.
5. Department __: STORE. Filene's was the Department Store of my childhood.
6. "HELLO ... (hello) ...," e.g.: ECHO.
7. Shut out, in a game: BLANK.
8. Arrow shooter: BOW.
9. Table showing teams' won-lost records: STANDINGS.
10. Under-the-table money: BRIBE.
11. Onion bagel alternative: BIALY. The difference between a Bagel and a Bialy. We haven't found a decent bialy in years, but good bagels we have.
12. Ice cream holders: CONES.
14. Texting alternative: E-MAIL.
19. Charged particles: IONS. Any questions?
21. Mississippi port: BILOXI. It's also the home of the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library.
23. Blue Ribbon beer: PABST.
24. City about 65 miles west of Daytona Beach: OCALA.
25. Two of them precede "quite contrary": MARYs. Mary, Mary, quite contrary / How does your garden grow?
27. Fla.-to-Cal. highway: I-TEN. I live just off I-10.
30. Fictional mutiny ship: CAINE. The Caine Mutiny was a novel by Herman Wouk (1915 ~ 2019), and was made into a film starring Humphrey Bogart (1899 ~ 1957) as Commander Queeg.
33. Sports page datum: STATISTIC.
35. Many a Woodstock T-shirt: TIE-DYE.
36. Asia's __ Mountains: ALTAI. The Ural Mountains are the usual crossword answer. The Altai Mountains are much further east. Not your typical Tuesday fare.
37. Flippered mammals: SEALS. // 38. Group of 37-Down: HAREM.
41. Bar pints: ALES.
46. Wee bit: SMIDGEN.
47. Against: ANTI-.
49. Polynesian Disney princess: MOANA.
51. Ability to discern quality: TASTE.
52. Find repugnant: ABHOR.
53. Regretting: RUING.
54. Cod cousins: HAKES.
56. Overcast colors, in London: GREYS.
59. Tour de force: FEAT.
61. Brouhaha: ADO.
63. Strong bond rating: AAA.
64. Norse god of war: TÝR. I am not up on my Norse mythology.
65. "A mouse!": EEK!
Here's the Grid:
QOD: Live like you’ll died tomorrow, work like you don’t need the money, and dance like nobody’s watching. ~ Bob Fosse (né Robert Louis Fosse; b. July 23, 1927 ~ Sept. 23, 1987), American choreographer and film director
