Theme: Down and dirty. Various synonyms for "ground" are broken up in this theme by our Dynamic Duo.
16A. *Rewards cardholder's benefit : LOYALTY PROGRAM
22A. *Computer-generated visual media : DIGITAL ART
32A. *Time for laundry and such : CLEANING DAY
45A. *Salad dressing ingredient : SOYBEAN OIL
And the unifier:
50A. Starting a project...and what the letters between the starting and ending pairs of letters in each starred answer are doing? : BREAKING GROUND...lo-am, di-rt, cl-ay and so-il are broken up in consistent two-letter pairs to make this clever theme. Loved it!
Marti here, and let's look at the rest of the fill:
Across:
1. Word in discount store names : SAV...There is a "Sav-Mor" liquor store in Cambridge, MA. I bet you all have a "sav" store near you, too!
4. Hand-holding dance : HORA
8. Reveal all? : STRIP. HaHa...like this? and 41-down. Reveal all? : GO NUDE. Or, like this?
13. Set right, in a way : ATONE FOR
15. His voice is heard after "Live, from New York..." : PARDO. Longtime SNL announcer Don Pardo.
18. Brazilian novelist Jorge : AMADO. PraDO AmaDO...DO I see a mini-theme here?
19. Horace's "___ Poetica" : ARS. "The Art of Poetry"
20. Roulette option : RED. I always box # 14...
26. Athlete dubbed "O Rei do Futebol" : PELE ("The King of Soccer...")
27. One known for great service : ACER. Tennis server, that is.
28. Limerick fifth : LINE. "I knew a young man from Nantucket..."
(Limericks are normally five lines of poetry.)
29. Environmentalist Sigurd : OLSON. Never heard of him. Wiki article, for those interested...
30. Show of strength? : FLEX
31. Baseball div. : A.L. EAST. American League, East. Home of the Red Sox!
35. Bright : BRAINY
37. Yale grads : ELIS
38. Tiffany collectibles : LAMPS. Like this one.
16A. *Rewards cardholder's benefit : LOYALTY PROGRAM
22A. *Computer-generated visual media : DIGITAL ART
32A. *Time for laundry and such : CLEANING DAY
45A. *Salad dressing ingredient : SOYBEAN OIL
And the unifier:
50A. Starting a project...and what the letters between the starting and ending pairs of letters in each starred answer are doing? : BREAKING GROUND...lo-am, di-rt, cl-ay and so-il are broken up in consistent two-letter pairs to make this clever theme. Loved it!
Marti here, and let's look at the rest of the fill:
Across:
1. Word in discount store names : SAV...There is a "Sav-Mor" liquor store in Cambridge, MA. I bet you all have a "sav" store near you, too!
4. Hand-holding dance : HORA
8. Reveal all? : STRIP. HaHa...like this? and 41-down. Reveal all? : GO NUDE. Or, like this?
13. Set right, in a way : ATONE FOR
15. His voice is heard after "Live, from New York..." : PARDO. Longtime SNL announcer Don Pardo.
18. Brazilian novelist Jorge : AMADO. PraDO AmaDO...DO I see a mini-theme here?
19. Horace's "___ Poetica" : ARS. "The Art of Poetry"
20. Roulette option : RED. I always box # 14...
26. Athlete dubbed "O Rei do Futebol" : PELE ("The King of Soccer...")
27. One known for great service : ACER. Tennis server, that is.
28. Limerick fifth : LINE. "I knew a young man from Nantucket..."
(Limericks are normally five lines of poetry.)
29. Environmentalist Sigurd : OLSON. Never heard of him. Wiki article, for those interested...
30. Show of strength? : FLEX
31. Baseball div. : A.L. EAST. American League, East. Home of the Red Sox!
35. Bright : BRAINY
37. Yale grads : ELIS
38. Tiffany collectibles : LAMPS. Like this one.
39. Key not used by itself : CTRL. Usually CTRL-Alt?
40. Curved molding : OGEE. Oh, gee, need I explain?
44. Road maneuvers, briefly : UIES. How many spellings do we have?
47. Rhinitis doc : ENT. Ear-Nose-Throat doctor.
48. Dads : PAS
49. Infomercial kitchen brand : GINSU. "But wait! There's more!"
55. Bizarre : OUTRE
56. Audience member : ATTENDEE
57. Does some yard work : WEEDS. Yep, been there, done that!
58. Solomonic : WISE
59. Hosp. areas : ERS
Down:
1. Tetley competitor : SALADA. Hands up for Nestea?
2. Infitesimal : ATOMIC
3. Long sail : VOYAGE
4. Spartan serf : HELOT.
5. Time and again, in verse : OFT
6. "The Natural" protagonist Hobbs : ROY. Baseball film starring Robert Redford.
7. Surrealist Jean : ARP. Surreal, for real!
8. Hunting or fishing : SPORT
9. IDs on a carousel : TAGS. Luggage tags on an airport carousel.
10. Grade sch. basics : RRR. Reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic...
11. "My thought is..." : I DARE SAY
12. Thick-skinned citrus fruit : POMELOS. Very thick!
14. Zenith's opposite : NADIR
17. In short supply : RARE
21. Unfavorable impression? : DENT. Great clue!
23. Calm : ALLAY
24. Bank claim : LIEN
25. "The handmaiden of creativity": Eliot : ANXIETY
26. Guilty, for example : PLEA
29. Bygone GM division : OLDS
30. Marshy lowlands : FENS
31. Nimble : AGILE
32. Got real? : CAME TRUE. Like all my dreams?
33. They may be sealed : LIPS. "Loose lips sink ships..."
34. Workers' rights org. : NLRB. National Labor Relations Board. (Note to self: Ask C.C. for a raise!)
35. Risqué : BLUE
36. Illusory hope : RAINBOW
39. Mozart's "___ fan tutte" : COSI. "Thus do they all (do)". Aria. 9:56.
40. Pungent bulb : ONION
42. Former Disney chief : EISNER (Michael)
43. Ducks : ELUDES
45. "Land ___ alive!" : SAKES
46. Concur : AGREE
48. Cowpoke's pal : PARD
51. Côte d'Azur saison : ETE. Not "Nice summer"?
52. "I'm thinkin' not" : NAW
53. Sporty VW : GTI. I guess it's all in your perception of "sporty"...
54. Sporty Cars : GTS. Like this Super GT? Now, that's sporty!
Answer Grid.
Marti
Note from the constructors (and a fascinating peek into the creative minds of CC and Don G.):
"I'd like to share with you a couple of email exchanges between Don and myself when we first started on this theme. You can see how Don improved on our approach.
From C.C.:
"Would it possible to make a theme with synonyms of GROUND such as CLAY, DIRT, TURF, EARTH, MUD, SOIL bracketing each theme entry. Unifier BREAK GROUND 11.
MUM'S THE WORD & DIRECT CURRENT came to mind."
From Don:
17. In short supply : RARE
21. Unfavorable impression? : DENT. Great clue!
23. Calm : ALLAY
24. Bank claim : LIEN
25. "The handmaiden of creativity": Eliot : ANXIETY
26. Guilty, for example : PLEA
29. Bygone GM division : OLDS
30. Marshy lowlands : FENS
31. Nimble : AGILE
32. Got real? : CAME TRUE. Like all my dreams?
33. They may be sealed : LIPS. "Loose lips sink ships..."
34. Workers' rights org. : NLRB. National Labor Relations Board. (Note to self: Ask C.C. for a raise!)
35. Risqué : BLUE
36. Illusory hope : RAINBOW
39. Mozart's "___ fan tutte" : COSI. "Thus do they all (do)". Aria. 9:56.
40. Pungent bulb : ONION
42. Former Disney chief : EISNER (Michael)
43. Ducks : ELUDES
45. "Land ___ alive!" : SAKES
46. Concur : AGREE
48. Cowpoke's pal : PARD
51. Côte d'Azur saison : ETE. Not "Nice summer"?
52. "I'm thinkin' not" : NAW
53. Sporty VW : GTI. I guess it's all in your perception of "sporty"...
54. Sporty Cars : GTS. Like this Super GT? Now, that's sporty!
Answer Grid.
Marti
Note from the constructors (and a fascinating peek into the creative minds of CC and Don G.):
"I'd like to share with you a couple of email exchanges between Don and myself when we first started on this theme. You can see how Don improved on our approach.
From C.C.:
"Would it possible to make a theme with synonyms of GROUND such as CLAY, DIRT, TURF, EARTH, MUD, SOIL bracketing each theme entry. Unifier BREAK GROUND 11.
MUM'S THE WORD & DIRECT CURRENT came to mind."
From Don:
"This theme works best if the broken word is inside. If the broken word is outside, it should be the same word. No one will see this theme, unless you limit yourself to say, four-letter words that are split the same way. You actually have four four-letter words. Still, as a solver, it is more fun to actually see the word, thus the central location is best. In that case, we could use any dirty words we want.
A quick check shows that we could split SO IL, DI RT, and CL AY in a similar fashion. LO AM also works. You may be onto something. Maybe we can break new ground with this puzzle (haha). What do you think?"
