17. That's a wrap: GIFT BOX COVERING.
27. That's a wrap: TERRY CLOTH ROBE.
44. That's a wrap: ROLLED SANDWICH.
60. "That's a wrap!": END OF A FILM SHOOT.
Bruce and Gail tossed us a softball today, wrapped in a tight little package. That's ok by me.
Across:
1. It's sold in bars: SOAP.
5. D-Day invasion city: ST LO. Saint-Lô
9. Live: DWELL.
14. Willing follower?: ABLE. Often preceded by Ready.
15. Forked over: PAID. Remitted.
16. Certain Ivy Leaguer: YALIE.
20. Make more flavorful: SEASON. There's a right way, and a wrong way. Too little and too much are subjective. I tend to be a little heavy handed with seasoning. When things go wrong, the fine folks at Cook Country offer the following suggestions:
- If your food is too salty, add an acid or sweetener such as vinegar; lemon or lime juice; canned, unsalted tomatoes; sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
- If your food is too sweet, add an acid or seasonings such as vinegar or citrus juice; chopped fresh herb; dash of cayenne; or, for sweet dishes, a bit of liqueur or espresso powder.
- If your food is too spicy or acidic, add a fat or sweetener such as butter, cream, sour cream, cheese, or olive oil; sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
Ere I salted, I brined.
What was I thinking ?
My blood pressure was up,
Was I out of my mind ?
(I'd better leave the verse to Owen).
22. Fascinated by: INTO.
23. Opposite of hence: AGO.
25. Gym shorts go-with: TEE. We always played shirts and skins in gym class. That was before co-ed.
Speaking of high school, I read the other day that my high school recognized five valedictorians in the graduating class. I understand that having more than one valedictorian would be a school decision. But is it common now to have more than one ? Doesn't five seem excessive ?
35. Bushy-tailed canines: FOXES. A neighbor posted this picture of this fox family on her deck. She captured them at just the right moment. Mama knows exactly where to look.
36. Eat-on-the-street places: CAFES. Dining Al Fresco. The Filling Station in St Charles, IL.
37. What an amateur may turn: PRO.
38. Like some audiobooks: ON CD.
39. Goes from site to site: SURFS. Web surfer. Hand up.
40. School for a prince: ETON. Prince William and Prince Harry are but two of the many famous Etonians.
41. Beehive State athlete: UTE. Utah Ute. In honor of the American Indian tribe.
42. Start a court contest: SERVE. It took a moment on Saturday to realize that Craig Stowe's answer ACERS for the clue "Great service providers" was in the context of tennis. I agreed with Jerome's observation in the comments, "... willing to bet that no tennis player has ever used the word."
43. Radiates: EMITS. "Who glows ? Just say ____ "
47. Ike's WWII arena: ETO. European Theater of Operations.
48. Italian god: DIO. Ronnie James Dio was a New Hampshire born guitarist and vocalist that became the lead singer of Black Sabbath after they fired Ozzy Osbourne. Prior to that, he and Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple fame formed the heavy metal band Rainbow.
49. Made it up: LIED. Prevaricated.
52. Find fault to a fault: NAG.
55. Evades: SKIRTS.
63. Frequent genre for composer John Williams: SCI-FI. Science Fiction. I paused after filling the answer. I knew Schifrin (Lalo) from doing crosswords. But I had never heard of a composer named Scifi. Then I read the clue again and saw "genre for" instead of "frequent composer for John Williams."
64. Bay, play or gray follower: AREA.
65. Kurylenko of "Quantum of Solace": OLGA. Starred opposite of Daniel Craig in the movie.
66. Identity __: THEFT. Reduce your risk with these tips.
67. Provoke: ROIL.
68. Mulching material: PEAT.
Down:
1. Loses elasticity: SAGS. Physics.
2. "Hamilton" award: OBIE. Off Broadway awards. The 2015 Obie Award for Best New American Theatre Work.
3. Opposite of Zulu?: ALFA. The opposite ends of the phonetic alphabet.
4. They're often adopted: PETS.
5. Like angel food cake: SPONGY. Light and airy.
6. Strain: TAX. Burden.
7. Bothersome bugs: LICE.
8. Reason to use Febreze: ODOR. The science behind why it works, according to the manufacturer.
9. Salon supply: DYE.
10. Not as trusting: WARIER.
11. Author Hilderbrand: ELIN. Romance novelist.
You can read about her at her website.
12. Dust bunny component: LINT. Dust bunny is such a pleasant name. Makes you not want to vacuum.
13. Danish brick: LEGO. Clever clue for a favorite toy across the world wide. In case you too thought Bruce and Gail were looking for the Danish word for a brick, and then wondered what is was, it's mursten.
18. Male razorbacks: BOARS. I can't help but think about the University of Arkansas when I see Razorbacks. It's the mascot of their sports teams.
19. Iconic Chevys: VETTES. The debut model was in 1953 and had 150 horsepower. The only options were an AM radio and a heater. The new eighth-generation Corvette was seen in camouflage in April in Times Square. Formal announcement is next month on July 19th.
24. Goes down, so to speak: OCCURS.
26. Reactions to missing things: EHs. In the US, eh is sometimes vocalized when you would like something repeated, as in # 6 in the chart below.
In Canada, eh is a versatile interjection added to the ends of sentences and "... is a distinctive part of Canadian English":
Canadian Eh, that looks like a pretty good summation, eh?
27. 2013 role for Johnny Depp: TONTO. Controversy ensued.
28. Get all A's: EXCEL.
29. Common hummingbird feeder color: RED. The birds are attracted to the bright color.
30. Cocoon dweller: LARVA.
31. Cause resentment: OFFEND.
32. __ disc: eye part: OPTIC.
33. Stock: BROTH.
34. Quite a stretch: EONS.
35. Common par: FOUR. Because on the typical 18 hole golf course, there are 4 par 3s, 4 par 5's, and the other 10 holes are par 4s.
39. Resort near Flagstaff: SEDONA.
40. Former Radiohead label: EMI. Electric and Musical Industries until 1971. Radiohead is an English rock band
42. Financially secure: SET.
43. "Star Wars" critters: EWOKS.
45. Started: LED OFF. On June 13th, leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber led off the game against the Los Angeles Dodger's ace Clayton Kershaw with a first pitch home run.
46. Dreary: DISMAL.
49. Out of concern that: LEST.
50. Rainfall measure: INCH.
51. Singer Brickell: EDIE. Notably of Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. She is the spouse of Paul Simon.
53. Miles away: AFAR.
54. Copter's forerunner: GIRO.
56. 2007 Applebee's acquirer: IHOP.
57. Part: ROLE. Fred VanVleet played his part superbly in the Toronto Raptors NBA Championship run, and hit a clutch 3 pointer in the waning minutes of their game 6 championship clinching victory. Fred is from nearby Rockford, IL, and, as PK noted Tuesday, played four years of college ball for the Shockers of Wichita State. He was a basketball force in his college days, leading the Shockers to an undefeated season and deep into the NCAAs, but remained undrafted. Toronto took a chance on him. Wise move.
58. Costume made from a sheet: TOGA. "Was it over when Dean Wormer put the Deltas on probation ?" TOGA, TOGA !
59. Sports page entry: STAT.
61. Require no alteration: FIT.
62. Honolulu Airport wreath: LEI.
That's a wrap: END OF REVIEW.
