Guten Morgen! Steve here with Gareth's latest and a fun solve it was. A few unknowns for me, but these were taken care of by the crossings so no complaints at all. I had a couple of corrections as I went; for example SWEET led me to SWEETHEART at first but that didn't stay wrong for too long, the same for APEX and EARRINGS.
I did think the face pack/powder entry was somewhat the odd man out as the two different items are somewhat similar, and there's no such similarity with the other theme entries. Let's take a look.
17A. Barbra Streisand's "Funny Girl" role : FANNY BRICE. Fanny packs are called "bum bags" in England due to the fact that "fanny" is slang for a quite different part of the anatomy.
24A. "The Situation Room" host : WOLF BLITZER.
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| Uh-oh |
38A. 1964 Shangri-Las hit ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme found in 17-, 24-, 47- and 59-Across : LEADER OF THE PACK. Spectacularly awful lip-syncing, acting and dancing can be found here.
47A. Like reptiles and amphibians : COLD BLOODED. I'd rather have a cold six-pack.
59A. Shine-minimizing makeup layer : FACE POWDER.
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| Cucumbers appear to be compulsory with a face-pack |
Across:
1. National Museum of Afghanistan city : KABUL
6. High point : ACME
10. Hit : SWAT
14. Greek market : AGORA. This word is now finally part of my puzzle vocabulary. Only took mumble-mumble years.
15. Really good, in '90s slang : PHAT
16. Salary : WAGE. I don't personally see these as synonyms. The wiki entry also makes the distinction.
19. Flair : ELAN
20. Nanny's charge : KID
21. Singer India.__ : ARIE. Crossing help needed here, but the crosses were solid.
22. Short fight : SET TO
23. Comeback: Abbr. : ANS.
27. Dick Tracy has a square one : JAW
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| Also the inventor of the Apple iWatch |
28. Daughter of Lyndon : LUCI. Another unknown for me. Thank you crosses!
29. Permanent UN Security Council member, familiarly : THE UK. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a bit of a mouthful.
32. Some CNBC interviewees : CEO'S. There seem to be more and more Chief "something" Officers. I encountered my first CCXO recently, CX standing for "Customer Experience". I hope every company gets one and then we can start using the abbreviation in crosswords!
34. K thru 12 : EL-HI
41. Drink quickly : CHUG. Where's my cold six-pack?
42. Sinusitis docs : E.N.T.S. I'd love to find a Dr. Treebeard who's an ENT.
43. Supermarket division : AISLE
44. "Zounds!" : EGAD. Gadzooks and foresooth! We just had this recently! Huzzah!
46. Ante- kin : PRE-
52. "Not on a __" : BET. Not a phrase I'd heard before.
55. Password creators : USERS
56. Palmist, e.g. : SEER
57. "__ Been Thinking About You": 1991 Londonbeat chart-topper : I'VE. And I've never heard of either the song or the band before. If you've got the Shangri-La's stuck in in your head then maybe this will stop the agony.
58. Was charitable : GAVE
62. Kept in a vat, say : AGED. Then bottled "under Government supervision" and shipped to Tinbeni.
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| Cheers! |
63. Lab medium : AGAR
64. House of Lords members : PEERS. The UK parliament's upper house comprising Peers of the Realm. Legislation passed by House of Commons must be ratified by the Lords before the Queen rubber-stamps it.
65. Angry, with "off" : TEED. With 'EED' my first thought wasn't a T.
66. Yawner : BORE
67. Feel : SENSE
Down:
1. "Metamorphosis" author : KAFKA. Relentlessly upbeat tale (!) about a man who wakes up to find himself transformed into a "monstrous vermin".
2. One more time : AGAIN
3. Connects emotionally : BONDS
4. Buffet table server : URN
5. Suffered from insomnia : LAY AWAKE. Kafka's chap probably did this often.
6. Earth Day month : APRIL
7. Top cop : CHIEF
8. Bub : MAC
9. Parisian summer : ÉTÉ
10. Honey : SWEETIE PIE
11. Ballroom dance : WALTZ. A friend and I took beginner's ballroom dancing classes once. We obviously weren't very good because we weren't allowed to graduate up to intermediate. We still laugh about it.
12. Quartz variety : AGATE
13. Voice above baritone : TENOR
18. It may be knitted : BROW. Are brows ever anything but knitted or furrowed?
22. [Not my mistake] : SIC.
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| That's sic! |
25. Absorbs with a towel : BLOTS
26. Verdant : LUSH
27. 1995 Stallone film : JUDGE DREDD
29. Treatment from Dr. Mom : TLC
30. Sneaky laugh : HEH
31. __ de Cologne : EAU. I never get why we have to use the French term for this stuff when the German original is perfectly serviceable. What's wrong with Kölnisch Wasser? I also get the sniggers when I hear that "English is the lingua franca of international trade".
32. Homebuyer's option : CONDO. Other options are HOU or TOWNH.
33. Little newt : EFT
35. Vegas intro? : LAS
36. Stomach acid, chemically : HCL. Hydrochloric Acid. Good job the stomach lining is usually up to the job.
37. Well-liked prez : IKE
39. Very : REAL
40. Dangling jewelry : EAR DROPS. EAR RINGS first. I thought ear drops were to help with infections and what-not.
45. "Pygmalion" playwright's monogram : G.B.S. Inspiration for the musical "My Fair Lady".
46. Hatchery sound : PEEP
47. Bandleader Xavier : CUGAT. No clue, thank you crosses. That's four new names for me today.
48. Missouri tributary : OSAGE
49. River barrier : LEVEE
50. Witty Wilde : OSCAR. Famously turned up for his indecency trial wearing a green carnation in his lapel, which didn't exactly endear him to the judge.
51. "It's __ Season": agricultural supply slogan : DEERE. Because "International Harvesters" wouldn't quite fit.
52. Longtime Delaware senator : BIDEN
53. '50s-'60s civil rights leader : EVERS
54. Hardly talkative : TERSE
59. British Invasion adjective : FAB
60. In the past : AGO
61. Like a bairn : WEE. Bairns are always wee. Big bairns are adults behaving like babies.
And that, mes amis, est cette.
Steve
