Theme: Dennis Rodman - he created so many random news stories during his career, he seems a good theme title
17A. Annual e-tail sale event: CYBER MONDAY
25A. Expensive gift: DIAMOND RING. Here's one currently on eBay for $155,000 from Illinois. They don't say if you get free postage, I'm not bidding if I have to pay USPS. Pah.
38A. Old West wanted poster figure: REWARD MONEY
51A. Apollo craft: LUNAR MODULE. Lunar Excursion Module officially, but we'll LEM, or I mean LET that one go.
61A. Ideal deck-shuffling goal ... and a hint to a hidden word, and how it appears, in the four other longest answers: RANDOM ORDER, Surely random disorder? I think I see the point, but the reveal fell a little flat for me.
Simple enough theme from Roland, but still a lot of challenge to work through. I think we would all have navigated this one safely.
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Shelves for cooking: RACKS
6. Image problem, briefly: BAD P.R.
11. Navy letters: USS
14. Muscat native: OMANI
15. Catherine of "Best in Show": O'HARA
16. Water source: TAP. English! Faucet now.
19. Good Grips gadget brand: OXO. I have an OXO can opener. Best I've ever had. Bed, Bath and Beyond - take your 20% off coupon and get one, I'm sure you've got a pile of coupons. I tell them they should just knock 20% off all the prices and save themselves the cost of printing and mailing the coupons.
20. Distrustful: LEERY
21. Any of six classic Clue cards: WEAPON. What are they? The candlestick seems a little bludgeon-y. There! I just invented a word!
23. "I kissed thee __ I killed thee": "Othello": 'ERE. With a candlestick?
28. Folded snack: TACO. Food! I made carnitas al carbon tacos with two salsas, crema, queso and pico de gallo at the weekend. I think I passed out in a food coma.
30. Put away: HID
31. Shock, in a way: TASE
32. Sliced very thin: SHAVED. Food! I'm loving this today. Shaved truffles? Go lightly ...
35. Substantial: SOLID
41. Soprano Fleming: RENEE. Thank you, crosswords past.
42. Log on to: ACCESS
45. Barely go (through): SEEP. Hmmm. Not sure about this clue. Seep to me means slowly, not a struggle to get through a gap.
48. Like a favored project: PET
50. Govt. workplace watchdog: OSHA
56. "The Fountainhead" author Rand: AYN. I read this years ago, it was a long read. I rarely give up on a book, but this one was a challenge.
57. Build up: ACCRUE
58. Raptor's grabber: TALON
60. E'en if: THO'
66. Call someone by the wrong name, e.g.: ERR. I do this all the time, all the memory games I play just don't help. I've called long-term girlfriends the wrong name at random times. That usually doesn't go over well.
67. Outrage: ANGER
68. Small change in a small bank: PENNY
69. Catch: SEE
70. City on the Rhone: LYONS. I stalled on this one for a while, I've been to Lyon a number of times - as far as I know, unless there is another similar-named city on the Rhone, the city is called LYON. A quite beautiful place with great food. I first went there when I was 17 and was hitchhiking through France. I got dropped off at midnight by a little park where I pitched my tent. I woke up in the morning and found that I was camped on a traffic circle in the middle of the rush hour. A Gendarme drove up and told me to get the hell out of there :) I'd be happy to be corrected, about the spelling, but I'm calling this entry a rare mistake.
71. Ham it up: EMOTE
Down:
1. Big bird of myth: ROC
2. Adams of HBO's "Sharp Objects": AMY. No clue, thank you crosses.
3. Iconic San Francisco transport: CABLE CAR. Fun to ride up and down the hill from downtown to Fisherman's Wharf. Amazing that the old technology works just fine!
4. Tot's perch: KNEE
5. Fathered: SIRED
6. "Take that!": BOOYAH!
7. "Kung Fu" actor Philip: AHN. Another one, thank you crosses.
8. Pops: DAD
9. Decapod on a menu: PRAWN. I'm not sure I knew they had ten pods, whatever a pod is. I need to go and research this.
10. Like starfish: RAYED. I've love to explain this one, but I have no idea why a starfish is "rayed" - is it sunbathing? We need to explore Google.
11. Ideal place: UTOPIA
12. Battle of Hastings combatants: SAXONS. The home side. The Away team the Normans, sneaky buggers, invented shooting people in the eye with arrows. Then made a tapestry out of it. Oh well, that's why my DNA is 17% North-West French.
13. Dish cleaner: SPONGE. Whirlpool Dishwasher didn't fit.
18. Orthopedist's pic: MRI
22. Like the Empire State Building: ART DECO. Funny, I don't think of the Empire State Building as Art Deco. The Chrysler Building, yes.
23. Presumed UFO crew: E.T.'S
24. Cheering word: RAH!
26. Transgression: MISDEED
27. 2016 Tony winner Leslie __ Jr.: ODOM. Crosses again! I'd be all over (figuratively!) the basketball player.
29. Like a bogey: OVER PAR. Now this was interesting. I had the "O" in place and went for "ONE OVER". There's a lot of common letters, so unpicking the mistake wasn't straightforward.
33. Romano cheese source: EWE. Sheep. Cheese.
34. Singer Fogelberg: DAN
36. Mauna __: LOA. KEA also, so if you have the "A" wait for a cross.
37. Fortune rival: INC. Money magazines. I don't read them, maybe I should.
39. Seized wheels: REPO
40. Ambiguous response: YES AND NO
43. Short: SHY.Shy of a dollar, a dime ... short of the check.
44. Japanese title of respect: -SAN. I'd clue this as a suffix, as you don't use "SAN" alone. A man or a woman - Steve-san in my case, Zhouquin-san in C.C.'s case.
45. Roofing pieces: SLATES
46. Trick-taking card game: EUCHRE. I learned this game from some Mid-west friends. I knew I had it nailed when I "went alone" and won every trick. So much fun. My friend Laura from Illinois is an Euchre magician, just don't bet when you go up against her.
47. Recital bonus: ENCORE
49. Private teachers: TUTORS
52. Like much of Idaho: RURAL
53. Nasty type: MEANY
54. Hightail it: LAM
55. Hitch on the fly: ELOPE.
59. Utah city on I-15: OREM. Thank you, crosswords past. On the subject of Utah, when I drove to Las Vegas recently on I-15 from LA, the miles were shown to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. What was odd was that the SLC mileage was pasted over with a new number. Did it move? There were at least 10 mileage boards that I passed with an "amended" mileage.
62. Private aid prog.: NGO. I ddn't even see this while I was filling in the grid. A Non-Governmental Organization.
63. Spot for a recliner: DEN
64. Tolkien creature: ENT. A tree, who specializes in tonsil infections, stirrup problems and sinus infections ... no, wait ....
65. Manhattan liquor: RYE. Whisky, bitters, sugar and a twist of orange.
And on that happy note, Slainte!
Here's the grid!
Steve
17A. Annual e-tail sale event: CYBER MONDAY
25A. Expensive gift: DIAMOND RING. Here's one currently on eBay for $155,000 from Illinois. They don't say if you get free postage, I'm not bidding if I have to pay USPS. Pah.
38A. Old West wanted poster figure: REWARD MONEY
51A. Apollo craft: LUNAR MODULE. Lunar Excursion Module officially, but we'll LEM, or I mean LET that one go.
61A. Ideal deck-shuffling goal ... and a hint to a hidden word, and how it appears, in the four other longest answers: RANDOM ORDER, Surely random disorder? I think I see the point, but the reveal fell a little flat for me.
Simple enough theme from Roland, but still a lot of challenge to work through. I think we would all have navigated this one safely.
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Shelves for cooking: RACKS
6. Image problem, briefly: BAD P.R.
11. Navy letters: USS
14. Muscat native: OMANI
15. Catherine of "Best in Show": O'HARA
16. Water source: TAP. English! Faucet now.
19. Good Grips gadget brand: OXO. I have an OXO can opener. Best I've ever had. Bed, Bath and Beyond - take your 20% off coupon and get one, I'm sure you've got a pile of coupons. I tell them they should just knock 20% off all the prices and save themselves the cost of printing and mailing the coupons.
20. Distrustful: LEERY
21. Any of six classic Clue cards: WEAPON. What are they? The candlestick seems a little bludgeon-y. There! I just invented a word!
23. "I kissed thee __ I killed thee": "Othello": 'ERE. With a candlestick?
28. Folded snack: TACO. Food! I made carnitas al carbon tacos with two salsas, crema, queso and pico de gallo at the weekend. I think I passed out in a food coma.
30. Put away: HID
31. Shock, in a way: TASE
32. Sliced very thin: SHAVED. Food! I'm loving this today. Shaved truffles? Go lightly ...
35. Substantial: SOLID
41. Soprano Fleming: RENEE. Thank you, crosswords past.
42. Log on to: ACCESS
45. Barely go (through): SEEP. Hmmm. Not sure about this clue. Seep to me means slowly, not a struggle to get through a gap.
48. Like a favored project: PET
50. Govt. workplace watchdog: OSHA
56. "The Fountainhead" author Rand: AYN. I read this years ago, it was a long read. I rarely give up on a book, but this one was a challenge.
57. Build up: ACCRUE
58. Raptor's grabber: TALON
60. E'en if: THO'
66. Call someone by the wrong name, e.g.: ERR. I do this all the time, all the memory games I play just don't help. I've called long-term girlfriends the wrong name at random times. That usually doesn't go over well.
67. Outrage: ANGER
68. Small change in a small bank: PENNY
69. Catch: SEE
70. City on the Rhone: LYONS. I stalled on this one for a while, I've been to Lyon a number of times - as far as I know, unless there is another similar-named city on the Rhone, the city is called LYON. A quite beautiful place with great food. I first went there when I was 17 and was hitchhiking through France. I got dropped off at midnight by a little park where I pitched my tent. I woke up in the morning and found that I was camped on a traffic circle in the middle of the rush hour. A Gendarme drove up and told me to get the hell out of there :) I'd be happy to be corrected, about the spelling, but I'm calling this entry a rare mistake.
71. Ham it up: EMOTE
Down:
1. Big bird of myth: ROC
2. Adams of HBO's "Sharp Objects": AMY. No clue, thank you crosses.
3. Iconic San Francisco transport: CABLE CAR. Fun to ride up and down the hill from downtown to Fisherman's Wharf. Amazing that the old technology works just fine!
4. Tot's perch: KNEE
5. Fathered: SIRED
6. "Take that!": BOOYAH!
7. "Kung Fu" actor Philip: AHN. Another one, thank you crosses.
8. Pops: DAD
9. Decapod on a menu: PRAWN. I'm not sure I knew they had ten pods, whatever a pod is. I need to go and research this.
10. Like starfish: RAYED. I've love to explain this one, but I have no idea why a starfish is "rayed" - is it sunbathing? We need to explore Google.
11. Ideal place: UTOPIA
12. Battle of Hastings combatants: SAXONS. The home side. The Away team the Normans, sneaky buggers, invented shooting people in the eye with arrows. Then made a tapestry out of it. Oh well, that's why my DNA is 17% North-West French.
13. Dish cleaner: SPONGE. Whirlpool Dishwasher didn't fit.
18. Orthopedist's pic: MRI
22. Like the Empire State Building: ART DECO. Funny, I don't think of the Empire State Building as Art Deco. The Chrysler Building, yes.
23. Presumed UFO crew: E.T.'S
24. Cheering word: RAH!
26. Transgression: MISDEED
27. 2016 Tony winner Leslie __ Jr.: ODOM. Crosses again! I'd be all over (figuratively!) the basketball player.
29. Like a bogey: OVER PAR. Now this was interesting. I had the "O" in place and went for "ONE OVER". There's a lot of common letters, so unpicking the mistake wasn't straightforward.
33. Romano cheese source: EWE. Sheep. Cheese.
34. Singer Fogelberg: DAN
36. Mauna __: LOA. KEA also, so if you have the "A" wait for a cross.
37. Fortune rival: INC. Money magazines. I don't read them, maybe I should.
39. Seized wheels: REPO
40. Ambiguous response: YES AND NO
43. Short: SHY.Shy of a dollar, a dime ... short of the check.
44. Japanese title of respect: -SAN. I'd clue this as a suffix, as you don't use "SAN" alone. A man or a woman - Steve-san in my case, Zhouquin-san in C.C.'s case.
45. Roofing pieces: SLATES
46. Trick-taking card game: EUCHRE. I learned this game from some Mid-west friends. I knew I had it nailed when I "went alone" and won every trick. So much fun. My friend Laura from Illinois is an Euchre magician, just don't bet when you go up against her.
47. Recital bonus: ENCORE
49. Private teachers: TUTORS
52. Like much of Idaho: RURAL
53. Nasty type: MEANY
54. Hightail it: LAM
55. Hitch on the fly: ELOPE.
59. Utah city on I-15: OREM. Thank you, crosswords past. On the subject of Utah, when I drove to Las Vegas recently on I-15 from LA, the miles were shown to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. What was odd was that the SLC mileage was pasted over with a new number. Did it move? There were at least 10 mileage boards that I passed with an "amended" mileage.
62. Private aid prog.: NGO. I ddn't even see this while I was filling in the grid. A Non-Governmental Organization.
63. Spot for a recliner: DEN
64. Tolkien creature: ENT. A tree, who specializes in tonsil infections, stirrup problems and sinus infections ... no, wait ....
65. Manhattan liquor: RYE. Whisky, bitters, sugar and a twist of orange.
And on that happy note, Slainte!
Here's the grid!
Steve
