Theme: What makes you think my SPRINGs are dirty? The theme answers all begin with things used in washing SPRINGS or possibly other things.
16 A. Like some watches : WATER-RESISTANT. Able to withstand some degree of immersion or soaking, because WATER PROOF is too difficult or expensive to achieve. WATER - the source of all life, and most cleaning solutions.
22 A. Bath floater : SOAP BUBBLE. As illustrated. SOAP is the emulsifier that allows non-polar substances to mix with WATER, so you can CLEAN them up.
35. Patchwork plaything : RAG DOLL. The cloth used for wiping up is often an old tee shirt or some other kind of RAG. Alternatively, DOLLS can be made from them.
No extra charge for this musical interlude.
Four Seasons includes Spring
47 A. Running a marathon may be on it : BUCKET LIST. Things to do before your time runs out and the bucket must be kicked.
Running a marathon - or anything else - is not on mine. A BUCKET can hold all the rest of the theme entries used in the unifier --
It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Running a marathon - or anything else - is not on mine. A BUCKET can hold all the rest of the theme entries used in the unifier --
53. Project suggested by the starts of 16-, 22-, 35- and 47-Across : SPRING CLEANING. Annual ritual of brightening up the home after the dreary shut-down months of winter.
Or this
Hi gang, JazzBumpa here to remind you that the calendar says it's SPRING, no matter what is going on outside your window. Let's see if this puzzle is well seasoned, and whether we can clean it up.
Across
1. Visits : STOPS AT.
8. Legal test, familiarly : THE BAR. Qualifying examination for prospective lawyers.
14. Reporter's needs : SOURCES. People with information.
15. Punk rock surname : RAMONE. A pseudonym adopted by all the band members. I never paid much attention. Here is a rather innocuous example of their style.
California Sun
18. Cost-of-living fig. : CPI. Consumer Price Index. A relative measure of the prices paid by typical consumers for retail goods and other items, used to indicate the level of inflation. Denialists claim the the CPI grossly understates real inflation, but the independent Billion Prices Project actually tracks very well with it.
19. Feed in a bag : OATS. Horse feed and cereal grain for humans.
20. "Am __ the right track?" : I ON. Inquiry by one who is uncertain about how to proceed. If you're cleaning, straightening and simplifying, I'd say yes.
26. Gumbo veggie : OKRA. And crossword staple.
28. Petty squabbles : SPATS.
29. Penny-__ : ANTE. Low stakes poker game, and by extension anything of little value.
30. "I'll have another" responder : BARKEEP. Not the bar we spoke of earlier. Libation provider in a tavern.
34. Neon, or fuel for a Neon : GAS. Clever clue. Neon is the GAS, i.e. vapor, in eponymous lamps, and GASoline is the fuel for the Neon, a now defunct Chrysler Corp. vehicle
36. Public image, briefly : REPutation.
39. Freaked out : GONE APE. Lost it
40. One-eighties : UEYS. U-turns - sharp turns into the opposite direction.
41. Freak out : SPOOK. Frighten or startle - I suppose I could be spooked by a freak, but not by this clecho.
44. Shows proof of : EVINCES. Provides evidence for.
46. Player with a record 14 100-RBI seasons : A-ROD. He sat out last season, suspended for violating the MLB drug use policy. Looks like he's back this year.
51. "__ Jim" : LORD. Joseph Conrad novel from 1900.
52. Knack for snappy comebacks : WIT. Quick and clever.
59. River through Toledo : MAUMEE. The Muddy MAUMEE. I've crossed this river thousands of time, twice as recently as Saturday.
61. Linen closet stack : SHEETS. Bed coverings.
62. Jones with a diary : BRIDGET. Played in the movie by Renee Zellweger, who, post surgery, no longer resembles herself - thus no picture. I haz a sad.
Down
1. Cincinnati-to-Nashville dir. : SSW.
No extra charge for this musical interlude.
ELLA !
3. Pariahs : OUTCASTS. Those who are socially shunned. Derived from the lowest population caste in Southern India.
4. Private school student : PREPPIE. Prep School attendee.
5. Parchment user : SCRIBE. Record keeper. Now it's all electrons.
6. Atmo- kin : AER-. Prefix that denotes having to do with the air or the atmosphere. Pretty Literal.
7. "Ash Wednesday" poet's monogram : TSE. Thomas Stearns Eliot [Sep 26, 1888 - Jan 4, 1965] American essayist, playwright, social critic and poet.
Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
Because I do not hope to turn
8. __ by fire : TRIAL. An ancient judicial practice to determine guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused to an arduous and dangerous task. In these more enlightened times, merely the ability to perform well under pressure.
9. Speed : HASTE. Be quick about it, now.
10. Ambulance VIPs : EMTS. Emergency Medical Technicians are trained to respond quickly to emergency situations regarding medical issues, traumatic injuries and accident scenes.
11. Fluffy scarf : BOA.
12. Golfer Sorenstam, who was among the first women to become honorary members of St Andrews golf club in February 2015 : ANNIKA. To the best of my knowledge, she is not related to Luke Skywalker.
13. Comeback : RETORT. A witty reply.
17. More than sniffle : SOB. Degrees of crying.
21. "One Mic" rapper : NAS. Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones [b Dec 14, 1973]
23. The last Mrs. Chaplin : OONA. [May 14, 1925 - Sep 27, 1991] Charlie's fourth wife, and daughter of Nobel and Pulitzer prize winning playwright Eugene O'Neill. Her Granddaughter, named for her, is an actress with many film and TV credits, including the part of Talisa Maegyr Stark in HBO's Game of Thrones.
24. __ renewal : URBAN. Redevelopment in a city, often by removing slums.
25. How some wines are sorted : BY AGE.
26. Facing: Abbr. : OPPosite
28. Pommes frites sprinkling : SEL. French salt for French fries.
31. Nutritional stat : RDA. Recommended Dietary Allowance.
32. Coin for Putin : KOPEK. One one-hundredth of a Ruble.
33. École attendee : ELEVE. I suppose this is French for student, though I can't get Google translate to admit it.
35. Korean soldier : ROK. For Republic Of Korea.
36. Speaking from memory : RECITING.
37. Spud sprouts : EYES. These can be cut from the tuber and planted to grow plants that are clones of the parent. New varieties are grown from seeds. Why eyes? I'd know if I were wise.
39. Saturn, for one : GOD. Roman equivalent of the Greek Cronus. Complex mythology.
40. Like sketchbook paper : UNLINED. Blank.
41. Collected dust : SAT. Was idle.
42. Rainbow makers : PRISMS. They divide light according to wavelength, due to a refractive index difference from air and the angles a which the light enters and exits.
43. Big brass output : OOM-PAH. Tuba speak
Probably not what you're expecting
45. Formal admission : IT WAS I.
47. Lisa of "Enemy of the State" : BONET. Even after all these years, probably still better known as Denise Huxtable, though.
48. They can be hard to fight : URGES. Those things you want to do.
49. Atlanta-based health agcy. : CDC. Center for Disease Control.
54. Repent : RUE.
55. Photo __ : LAB. Place where photographic negatives are developed. Rather retro. These days, it's SHOP.
56. Throw too low, say : ERR. A mis-played baseball.
57. Merkel's "never" : NIE. German.
58. Captured : GOT. Obtained.
Well, that puts it all away. Hope you got through it without chapped hands or kicking the BUCKET. Now I have to go do some tidying up.
Cool regards!
JzB
Well, that puts it all away. Hope you got through it without chapped hands or kicking the BUCKET. Now I have to go do some tidying up.
Cool regards!
JzB
