Theme: H-BOMB
(29. Its testing awakened Godzilla ... and what's dropped, facetiously,
into five puzzle answers) - B is added to the start of each common
phrase. (I meant H. Thanks, CanadianEh!.)
17A. Cool site? : HIP ADDRESS. IP address. Every computer has one. You can google "What's my IP address" to find out yours.
38A. Android greeting? : HI ROBOT. I Robot. Crossing the reveal H-BOMB. Very nice.
62A. Congress taking some R and R? : HILL AT EASE. Ill at ease.
11D. When the punch line hits? : HAHA MOMENT. Aha moment.
27D. Lonely banquet reservation? : HALL FOR ONE. All for one.
C.C.
here. Some of you are aware that Lemonade had a scare following his
sciatica surgery. He was hospitalized for six long days to deal with a
few terrifying health issues. He's now at home recovering. Hopefully
he'll be back guiding us next Friday.
Today we have a classic Friday letter addition/deletion/replacement theme with a pinwheel design, which is frequently used when there is a reveal entry. Pinwheel often allows smoother fill, but it also limits long fill (8+ letter answers). In today's case, we only have two: LAST GASP (20. Like a Hail Mary pass) and ALCATRAZ (57. "The Rock" (1996) setting). Both sparkling.
Today we have a classic Friday letter addition/deletion/replacement theme with a pinwheel design, which is frequently used when there is a reveal entry. Pinwheel often allows smoother fill, but it also limits long fill (8+ letter answers). In today's case, we only have two: LAST GASP (20. Like a Hail Mary pass) and ALCATRAZ (57. "The Rock" (1996) setting). Both sparkling.
Across:
1. Smears : DAUBS
6. Warthog weapon : TUSK. What do you call the pair above his tusks?
10. Leave behind : SHED. As in fur. I was thinking of LOSE.
14. __ de l'air: French Air Force : ARMEE. Helpful clue
15. Bart Simpson's bus driver : OTTO. D-Otto's surname is Uttormark. I forgot what it means. Burnikel means "Don't kill the child".
16. Vendor offering : WARE. Was picturing food.
19. Melville's "grand, ungodly, god-like man" : AHAB
21. "Animal House" rivals : FRATS. Got via crosses.
22. "Suicide Squad" actor Jared : LETO
23. TV fantasy drama inspired by iconic brothers : GRIMM. Helpful clue.
25. Post-run feeling : ACHE
28. Younger Simpson sister : ASHLEE. Jessica's sister. Not LISA or MAGGIE.
30. Mining target : ORE. Also 18. Mining target : DATA
33. Clutch : GRASP
35. DealDash offers : BIDS. Never used DealDash. You?
36. Do a DJ's job : MIX
37. Press output : OIL. Not "The Press" press.
41. N.C. winter hours : EST
42. Seminary subj. : REL
43. Former L.A. Laker Lamar __ : ODOM. Troubled life.
44. Capp chap : ABNER
46. "Speak" follower : ARF
47. Liable to spill the beans : BLABBY. Never used this word.
50. Mediterranean hot spot : ETNA
51. Willow twig : OSIER. Learned from doing crosswords. This tree is very Osier-y.
53. CPR pros : EMTS
55. Show tune that begins, "The most beautiful sound I ever heard" : MARIA
61. Conductive nerve part : AXON
64. Wilder acting : GENE. I know "Acting Wilder" will lose the "capital W" trick, but it sounds better grammatically.
65. Digging : INTO. So what was your sciatica surgery procedure called, Dave? You're so lucky that it's totally gone.
66. Up : ASTIR
67. Whole mess : SLEW
68. "The Hunger Games" president : SNOW. Stranger to me.
69. __ pad : STENO. Not LEGAL/MOUSE.
Down:
1. Oompa-Loompa creator : DAHL
2. Song from Strauss : ARIA
3. Frequent callers? : UMPS. Great clue.
4. Apple Records founders : BEATLES
5. Swamp growth : SEDGE
6. Trunks : TORSOS
7. Sch. that calls the Sun Bowl its home : UTEP. University of Texas at El Paso.
8. New Eng. sextet : STs (States)
9. Mayweather stat : KO'S
10. Be like bees : SWARM. Not STING.
12. Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT
13. Society newbies : DEBS
21. Gala gathering : FIESTA
23. Slick-talking : GLIB
24. Second shot : RE-DO
25. Prefix with 34-Down : AGORA. And 34. Irrational aversion : PHOBIA. Agoraphobia = Fear of public spaces
26. Town __ : CRIER
31. Up : RISEN
32. More than expected : EXTRA
39. "Spamalot" lyricist : IDLE (Eric)
40. Loud cry : ROAR. And 48. Loud cry : BELLOW
45. Childish descriptor of a childhood friend : BESTEST. Are you still in contact with your childhood bestest friend?
49. Where "It's fun to stay," in a disco hit : YMCA
52. Tendon : SINEW
54. Exit lines : TA TAs
55. Money and Fortune, briefly : MAGS
56. Winter Olympics leap : AXEL
57. Adele, vocally : ALTO
58. Use a Yelp account, say : RATE
59. Words used for a spell? : AS IN. Spelling.
60. Cold temperature : ZERO. It was so warm last weekend that Boomer and I started our garden. Then we had a few cold days. Snow on our deck yesterday morning.
62. Half a matching set : HIS
63. Place to stay : INN
Some of you probably still remember Wayne R. Williams, who used to edit our old Tribune Media Daily crosswords. He passed away on Tuesday morning.
Our local Star Tribune now carries Timothy Parker's crosswords and the 6-week-behind New York Times crosswords. Does your paper have two puzzles or only one puzzle? Do they give bylines? Let me know in the Comments section.
C.C.
Some of you probably still remember Wayne R. Williams, who used to edit our old Tribune Media Daily crosswords. He passed away on Tuesday morning.
Our local Star Tribune now carries Timothy Parker's crosswords and the 6-week-behind New York Times crosswords. Does your paper have two puzzles or only one puzzle? Do they give bylines? Let me know in the Comments section.
C.C.
