Theme: Car Wars - auto-fighting for parking spots.
20A. Spotify category for courageous Motown lovers?: INTREPID SOUL. Dodge Intrepid (Thanks for the correction, Big Easy) and a Kia Soul. I like the fresh "Spotify" reference in the clue - a music streaming service where you can pick your flavor of playlist.
28A. One hiking in a Maine national park?: ACADIA EXPLORER. GMC Acadia and a Ford Explorer. I'm not sure I was familiar with "Acadia", neither the park nor the vee-hick-el, but crosses filled it in for me just fine. Beautiful spot here in the park:
47A. Weekend in the Hamptons, say?: SUBURBAN ESCAPE. Chevy Suburban, Ford Escape. Dearborn gets 50% of the auto sales in this puzzle, I'm sure they'd be delighted if that was the case in the real world.
53A. Like a delivery truck blocking your car, maybe ... and a hint to 20-, 28- and 47-Across: DOUBLE-PARKED
Oh no - things were going so well until the reveal. There are two cars, fore-and-aft in each theme entry and .. they're tandem parked, not double-parked. Double-parked in the puzzle would be stacked, above and below. Still possible in a crossword construct - tricky, but possible. Just changing the reveal entry to TANDEM PARKED and everyone (well, pedants like me!) would be even happier.
Wendy and Martha are, I believe, a mother-daughter partnership and are certainly debutants in the LAT. They were published this last August in the WSJ which I'm pretty sure was their first "major". Congratulations to them on their LAT opening salvo - we look forward to many more. Stop by and introduce yourselves if you have time!
Across:
1. Abruptly end a relationship with by ignoring texts, calls and such: GHOST. A fresh new term from the "yoot". But "... with by ..."? I thought that was a typo at first. If the relationship involved a Norwegian named "Frøm", you could have said "... end a relationship with Frøm by avoiding ..", thus making more sense and nailing the ablative with a trifecta. Maybe a comma for readability would help?
6. European airline: SAS. Scandinavian Air Services. Not the only airline to do this, but they had a chain of hotels in Europe also; they figured if they needed hotels to overnight their aircrews, they might as well own the hotels.
9. Uninspiring: VAPID
14. Pizazz: OOMPH
15. Flightless bird: EMU
16. Not in the dark: AWARE
17. Prickly shrub: BRIAR
18. Prefix with match or fire: MIS-
19. One with no hope: GONER
23. Alpine lake: TARN. More a pond, but I'll let it go. Tarn Geneva?
24. Fair-hiring initials: EOE
25. "The Waste Land" monogram: TSE. T.S. Eliot - "Let's not be narrow, nasty and negative". Wise words, pay attention out there.
32. Org. for the Williams sisters: W.T.A. Women's Tennis Association. Founded by the redoubtable Billie-Jean King in a bid for more equitable prize money as offered to the men. That certainly worked out.
33. Blood fluids: SERA
34. Damascus native: SYRIAN
35. Says 22-Down, perhaps: ERRS
37. Octane Booster brand: STP. Is every car and driver in NASCAR sponsored by STP? Or just my brief forays into that world make it appear so?
39. Loan figs.: A.P.R'S Annualized Percentage Rates. I've never fathomed out the difference between interest paid annually at a certain rate, and an APR, but that's just me finding more interesting things to do.
40. "Field of Dreams" actor: LIOTTA. Actor Ray.
43. Cy Young stats: ERA'S
46. Final: Abbr.: ULT
50. Pinafore letters: H.M.S. Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta, one of their most popular, certainly on the "Greatest Hits" list. I'd pay good money to see a performance of "The Pirates of Penzance" if any impresario is reading. If only for the Major General with an sly reference to "Pinafore".
51. Hebrew for "day": YOM
52. Small fruit pie: TART
58. Gulf States inlet: BAYOU. Linda Ronstadt is going back to a blue one.
61. Bagel go-with: LOX
62. Flower child's greeting: PEACE
63. Track meet part: EVENT
64. Cooperstown winter hrs.: E.S.T.
65. Legally bar: ESTOP. Seen the word, understand it, still hate it.
66. Sees regularly: DATES
67. Rehab issue: DT'S
68. Angioplasty implant: STENT
Down:
1. Mongolian desert: GOBI
2. Traffic sound: HORN. Hoot, honk, howl (of an engine?) would also fit, so wait for the crosses.
3. Jump over: OMIT
4. Ancient Peloponnesian state: SPARTA
5. Winds (one's way) through: THREADS
6. Some advanced college courses: SEMINARS
7. Surrounded by: AMID
8. Prince Harry's dukedom: SUSSEX. Sussex had to stagger along, dukeless, between the death of Prince Augustus Frederick in 1843 and Prince Harry just this year picking up where Fred left off. Now Sussex is proudly re-Duked, with a Duchess thrown in for good measure. I'm sure the honest burghers of Brighton are dancing on the streets, on the pier, and jauntily on the nude beach.
9. Without much detail: VAGUELY
10. MPs' concern: AWOL
11. Bad review: PAN
12. Steam: IRE
13. German article: DER. The D on it's own isn't enough to choose which gender article you need.
21. __-dieu: PRIE. I call it a kneeler. I like that you can get padded versions to take the pain out of prayer.
22. Unwelcome word from a barber: OOPS
25. Catch in a lie, say: TRIP UP
26. NutraSweet developer: SEARLE
27. Accounting giant __ & Young: ERNST
28. Courtyard that may feature glass elevators: ATRIUM. A bank I worked at in London was owned by a Scottish family, the Flemings (Ian Fleming was part of the family). The building had a lovely glass-enclosed atrium where a bagpiper would play each morning to serenade you into work. The building also had it's own pub, the "Scottish Pound", with a street entrance for the general hoi-polloi, and a back entrance directly from the offices into the bar for the staff. Ah, happy days ... the pub is no more - the bank was sold to Chase in the early 2000's.
29. Pod-bearing trees: CAROBS. Carob is turned into a quite pleasant chocolate substitute to be ...
30. Consumed: EATEN
31. 60 minuti: ORA
32. __ corgi: WELSH
36. R-V link: STU. You either like this one, or dislike it intensely. An alphabet progression with the subtle misdirection in the R-V clue.
38. Excuses: PRETEXTS. Very nice.
41. Casting calls: TRYOUTS
42. "__ Ben Adhem": ABOU
44. "Stat!": ASAP!
45. Skins, as a knee: SCRAPES
48. Strolled: AMBLED
49. Taking it easy: AT REST
53. Finished: DONE. At rest when you're done. Some nicely-done proximal answers today.
54. In need of guidance: LOST
55. "This Is Us" role for Chrissy Metz: KATE. No clue, thank you crosses.
56. Micro or macro subj.: ECON. I took an Economics class at school and loved it. Back then, an economics degree was a BA, not a BSc. It wasn't viewed as "proper" science, more, as Disraeli put it, "Lies, damn lies and statistics".
57. Cabinet div.: DEPT. Dept. of Econ?
58. __ Bath & Beyond: BED. They send me "20% Off" coupons every week. They officially have an expiry date, but in actual fact they never expire.
59. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA
60. Nevertheless: YET
I'm done - yet, here is the grid:
Steve
20A. Spotify category for courageous Motown lovers?: INTREPID SOUL. Dodge Intrepid (Thanks for the correction, Big Easy) and a Kia Soul. I like the fresh "Spotify" reference in the clue - a music streaming service where you can pick your flavor of playlist.
28A. One hiking in a Maine national park?: ACADIA EXPLORER. GMC Acadia and a Ford Explorer. I'm not sure I was familiar with "Acadia", neither the park nor the vee-hick-el, but crosses filled it in for me just fine. Beautiful spot here in the park:
47A. Weekend in the Hamptons, say?: SUBURBAN ESCAPE. Chevy Suburban, Ford Escape. Dearborn gets 50% of the auto sales in this puzzle, I'm sure they'd be delighted if that was the case in the real world.
53A. Like a delivery truck blocking your car, maybe ... and a hint to 20-, 28- and 47-Across: DOUBLE-PARKED
Oh no - things were going so well until the reveal. There are two cars, fore-and-aft in each theme entry and .. they're tandem parked, not double-parked. Double-parked in the puzzle would be stacked, above and below. Still possible in a crossword construct - tricky, but possible. Just changing the reveal entry to TANDEM PARKED and everyone (well, pedants like me!) would be even happier.
Wendy and Martha are, I believe, a mother-daughter partnership and are certainly debutants in the LAT. They were published this last August in the WSJ which I'm pretty sure was their first "major". Congratulations to them on their LAT opening salvo - we look forward to many more. Stop by and introduce yourselves if you have time!
Across:
1. Abruptly end a relationship with by ignoring texts, calls and such: GHOST. A fresh new term from the "yoot". But "... with by ..."? I thought that was a typo at first. If the relationship involved a Norwegian named "Frøm", you could have said "... end a relationship with Frøm by avoiding ..", thus making more sense and nailing the ablative with a trifecta. Maybe a comma for readability would help?
6. European airline: SAS. Scandinavian Air Services. Not the only airline to do this, but they had a chain of hotels in Europe also; they figured if they needed hotels to overnight their aircrews, they might as well own the hotels.
9. Uninspiring: VAPID
14. Pizazz: OOMPH
15. Flightless bird: EMU
16. Not in the dark: AWARE
17. Prickly shrub: BRIAR
18. Prefix with match or fire: MIS-
19. One with no hope: GONER
23. Alpine lake: TARN. More a pond, but I'll let it go. Tarn Geneva?
24. Fair-hiring initials: EOE
25. "The Waste Land" monogram: TSE. T.S. Eliot - "Let's not be narrow, nasty and negative". Wise words, pay attention out there.
32. Org. for the Williams sisters: W.T.A. Women's Tennis Association. Founded by the redoubtable Billie-Jean King in a bid for more equitable prize money as offered to the men. That certainly worked out.
33. Blood fluids: SERA
34. Damascus native: SYRIAN
35. Says 22-Down, perhaps: ERRS
37. Octane Booster brand: STP. Is every car and driver in NASCAR sponsored by STP? Or just my brief forays into that world make it appear so?
39. Loan figs.: A.P.R'S Annualized Percentage Rates. I've never fathomed out the difference between interest paid annually at a certain rate, and an APR, but that's just me finding more interesting things to do.
40. "Field of Dreams" actor: LIOTTA. Actor Ray.
43. Cy Young stats: ERA'S
46. Final: Abbr.: ULT
50. Pinafore letters: H.M.S. Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta, one of their most popular, certainly on the "Greatest Hits" list. I'd pay good money to see a performance of "The Pirates of Penzance" if any impresario is reading. If only for the Major General with an sly reference to "Pinafore".
51. Hebrew for "day": YOM
52. Small fruit pie: TART
58. Gulf States inlet: BAYOU. Linda Ronstadt is going back to a blue one.
61. Bagel go-with: LOX
62. Flower child's greeting: PEACE
63. Track meet part: EVENT
64. Cooperstown winter hrs.: E.S.T.
65. Legally bar: ESTOP. Seen the word, understand it, still hate it.
66. Sees regularly: DATES
67. Rehab issue: DT'S
68. Angioplasty implant: STENT
Down:
1. Mongolian desert: GOBI
2. Traffic sound: HORN. Hoot, honk, howl (of an engine?) would also fit, so wait for the crosses.
3. Jump over: OMIT
4. Ancient Peloponnesian state: SPARTA
5. Winds (one's way) through: THREADS
6. Some advanced college courses: SEMINARS
7. Surrounded by: AMID
8. Prince Harry's dukedom: SUSSEX. Sussex had to stagger along, dukeless, between the death of Prince Augustus Frederick in 1843 and Prince Harry just this year picking up where Fred left off. Now Sussex is proudly re-Duked, with a Duchess thrown in for good measure. I'm sure the honest burghers of Brighton are dancing on the streets, on the pier, and jauntily on the nude beach.
9. Without much detail: VAGUELY
10. MPs' concern: AWOL
11. Bad review: PAN
12. Steam: IRE
13. German article: DER. The D on it's own isn't enough to choose which gender article you need.
21. __-dieu: PRIE. I call it a kneeler. I like that you can get padded versions to take the pain out of prayer.
22. Unwelcome word from a barber: OOPS
25. Catch in a lie, say: TRIP UP
26. NutraSweet developer: SEARLE
27. Accounting giant __ & Young: ERNST
28. Courtyard that may feature glass elevators: ATRIUM. A bank I worked at in London was owned by a Scottish family, the Flemings (Ian Fleming was part of the family). The building had a lovely glass-enclosed atrium where a bagpiper would play each morning to serenade you into work. The building also had it's own pub, the "Scottish Pound", with a street entrance for the general hoi-polloi, and a back entrance directly from the offices into the bar for the staff. Ah, happy days ... the pub is no more - the bank was sold to Chase in the early 2000's.
29. Pod-bearing trees: CAROBS. Carob is turned into a quite pleasant chocolate substitute to be ...
30. Consumed: EATEN
31. 60 minuti: ORA
32. __ corgi: WELSH
36. R-V link: STU. You either like this one, or dislike it intensely. An alphabet progression with the subtle misdirection in the R-V clue.
38. Excuses: PRETEXTS. Very nice.
41. Casting calls: TRYOUTS
42. "__ Ben Adhem": ABOU
"What writest thou?"—The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still; and said, "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men."
The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blest,
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.
Leigh Hunt
"Write me as one that loves is fellow men" is the epitaph on Hunt's gravestone in Kensal Green cemetery in London. It's not the most peaceful place in the world, the main railway line from London to the midlands and Manchester is just over the fence.
45. Skins, as a knee: SCRAPES
48. Strolled: AMBLED
49. Taking it easy: AT REST
53. Finished: DONE. At rest when you're done. Some nicely-done proximal answers today.
54. In need of guidance: LOST
55. "This Is Us" role for Chrissy Metz: KATE. No clue, thank you crosses.
56. Micro or macro subj.: ECON. I took an Economics class at school and loved it. Back then, an economics degree was a BA, not a BSc. It wasn't viewed as "proper" science, more, as Disraeli put it, "Lies, damn lies and statistics".
57. Cabinet div.: DEPT. Dept. of Econ?
58. __ Bath & Beyond: BED. They send me "20% Off" coupons every week. They officially have an expiry date, but in actual fact they never expire.
59. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA
60. Nevertheless: YET
I'm done - yet, here is the grid:
Steve
