THEME: Elementary my dear Watson, it goes on the Table, Period.
Wow, another of our many favorite constructors and mentors, who put together an effort filled with so many layers, and no hens in the bunch. For the newbies, here is his INTERVIEW. So the theme has three sets of two natural elements, (two 14 and one 15 letter combination) the atomic symbol for which spells out the first unifier, 39A, FASHION which is then enhanced by 59A, another grid-spanning clue, which clues you to think of the answers to 17A, 22A and 50A as elements. There are some three and four letter fill to help get the theme going through perps, but all in all another gem. It is hard to believe Jeff has only been doing this for just over three years. For me the puzzle has much of the joy of a Dan Naddor, heavy themeage and lots of tricky word pairs. Some may not enjoy the referential cluing and the proper names, but hey that is what make the world interesting; so let's get to dissecting this one.
17A. Components of 39-across : FLUORINE (symbol F) ARSENIC (AS). (15)
22A. Components of 39-across : HYDROGEN (H) IODINE.(I). (14)
50A. Components of 39-across : OXYGEN (O) NITROGEN (N). (14)
and the first hint:
39A. Symbolic sum of 17-, 22- and 50-Across : FASHION. (7) Symbolic being your first clue to the periodic table.
followed by:
59A. Classic manual, with "The," and what the starred answers' components are vis-à-vis 39-Across : ELEMENTS OF STYLE. (15). This book was still the BIBLE for authors when I was studying and teaching English at UConn. (Does your paper have the 17A, 22A & 50A starred?)
Across:
1. Kool Moe Dee's genre : RAP. I do not know this early rap ARTIST,(4:17) but I see he was the first to rap at the Grammys.
4. Response to a drought ending : AT LAST. Rain, at last!
10. Spot that many avoid : TV AD. Nice misdirection.
14. Words of attribution : A LA. Our first French of the day, and my recurring clue for three Fridays, though each was different. Literally, from the...
15. Inspiration for jambalaya : PAELLA. When the Spanish came to the new world, they found saffron too rare and too expensive, they used the exciting fruit, the tomato, the rest in gastronomic history.
16. Jaunty greeting : HI HO. A greeting which cannot be used in certain neighborhoods, or you will be beaten.
20. Yao-like : TALL. 7'6" tall, basically a walking tree who played basketball for the Houston Rockets until his body broke down.
21. Gummy : VISCID. from the Latin, like its more popular cousin, viscous; though not to be confused with vicious.
28. Lightsaber wielders : SITH. George Lucas explained to me, this race became so mean because everyone called them SITHIES.
29. Get ready for a drive : TEE UP. (third two word answer).
30. Elem. school staple : PBJ. Peanut Butter & Jelly.
33. Some emoticons : FROWNS. Turn that frown upside down, stand on your head.
37. Barbera d'___: Italian wine : ASTI. A brand new way to avoid Spumante.
38. Sushi topper : ROE. Wants some eggs with your fish?
41. Key for getting out of a jam : ESCape. Nice clue.
42. Humble reply to praise : I TRY. Number 4.
44. Visit : STOP BY. (5)Can people Stop By or do they need to call first?
45. ___ Cabos, Mexico : LOS. The southern most city in the BAJA.
46. Chowderhead : MORON. This is an actual medical term for a level of awareness.
48. Gaseous: Pref. : AERI. Not that kind of gaseous, silly!
56. Signal to try to score : WAVE IN. (6) and the Yankees did not wave in many runs did they. The horse AROD finished last at Belmont yesterday.
57. They're often bruised : EGOS. I also bruise my eggos, but that is just me.
64. Greg's love on "House" : LISA. Mostly known as CUDDY, she left the cast.
65. Hard pieces : ETUDES. I will let our resident maestro JzB discuss this musical concept.
66. Flicks : PIX. Not to be confused with 27D. Books that require a commitment : EPICS.
67. Pup without papers : MUTT. Speaking of which, how did the cat placement go divine miss m? An the semi-clecho 35D. Go after, puppy-style : NIP AT.(8). Not like the 43A. Support for a downward-facing dog : YOGA MAT.(9).
68. Writer de Beauvoir : SIMONE. This unique and powerful woman was the life partner of Jena Paul Sartre, but together they lived a rather debauched LIFE, which you can read about there, or you can consider this LINK. to ponder her contribution to philosophy and feminism.
69. Miss Pym's creator : TEY. Josephine a wonderful mystery and historical mystery author.
Down:
1. Lake floater : RAFT. If you watch CSI, NCIS and BONES you probably thought BODY.
2. Burka wearer's deity : ALLAH. Same one.
3. Comedian Shore : PAULY. Is he FUNNY? (2:03). I really only know him as an early MTV VJ.
4. CPA's busy time : APRil. Tax day the 15th, now. It was March 15 when I first recall my father grumbling.
5. Mai ___ : TAI. The drink.
6. "Dancing With the Stars" judge Goodman : LEN. The dancing prune.
7. Bayer painkiller : ALEVE. If you read the literature, you will never take PILLS.
8. Knocked off : SLAIN. OFF bad, UP bad, on wood, good.
9. Tibia neighbors : TARSI. Speaking of Bones, work your way down.
10. "Why, I never!" : THE IDEA! (7) I can see Aunt Bee, only I think it was always the very idea hmph!
11. "Fast Five" star : VIN DIESEL. Fuel for your tank ladies? Get your motor running?
12. Sushi tuna : AHI, or do you prefer expensive fish?
13. One of a toon septet : DOC. From the Latin for 7, Dwarves of course, or is it Dwarfs?
18. Cutlass maker : OLDS. Not a sword maker but a defunct car manufacturer.
19. Many a St. Andrews golfer : SCOT. They vote next year to be independent of Britain, Steve, Nice Cuppa, anyone?
23. Jazz lick : RIFF.
24. Others, abroad : OTRAS. Our Spanish lesson 1.
25. Spirit : GHOST.
26. Bats : NUTSO. Both colloquial for insane, which is what you have to be to inject your body with 31D. It might make you forget your lines : BOTOX. A portmanteau of Botulinum Toxin, the neurotoxin responsible for many deaths. Worse than taking Aleve. I love the clue, forget your lines...those ones coming from my eyes and my smile and....
30. Tops : PRIMO. From Latin, Italian and I think Spanish for "first."
32. Ex-Laker silhouetted in the NBA logo : JERRY WEST. One of the all time great players, with this interesting STORY. The ABA gave us more than the 3 point shot.
34. Detective's pronoun : WHO. From WHO DUNNIT, I guess.
36. Serious : SOBER.
40. "Eli's Coming" songwriter : NYRO. a wonderful SINGER (3:59) song writer who died young of ovarian cancer just like Gilda Radnor. Sad. makes the song more powerful.
47. Campbell of "Wild Things" : NEVE. For those who have not seen the SCENE(1:12), it is very R-rated. Not related to 51D. Tampico tots : NENES, Tampico is also in Mexico, and the NENE is the bebe..
49. "Is this what ___ for...?" : I GET. (10)
52. Gangster Frank : NITTI. I am really enjoying reading Max Allan Collins' Nate Heller historical mysteries, often featuring Nitti. He was my favorite gangster on the Untouchables.
53. Briefly : IN SUM. (11).
54. Abu Simbel's land : EGYPT. These were dug out by Ramses II's slaves and saved by the Asswan DAM.
55. "Honest!" : NO LIE. (12) Do you ever trust anyone who says this?
58. Steamy : SEXY.
59. Sunblock of a sort : ELM. Under the branches of the old elm tree.
60. Sch. with a Riverhead campus : LIU. Long Island University. LINK.
61. Prefix with meter : ODO. The one that tells yo how many miles you have traveled.
62. Marshland : FEN. A good old English cozy word.
63. Lubbock-to-Laredo dir. : SSE. Well I guess if we are going to go in that direction, I had better get out of here and leave it to you. I love Jeff Chen's work as he always makes me work and think, whether a Monday or a Friday; I hope you had a good time, I know I worked you hard in places as well, so see you next time.
Lemonade
