Good Morning to all of you Cool Cat Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here from the town of Mt. Crested Butte, Colorado at an elevation of 9,375 feet above sea level. That's quite a change from two weeks ago when my review was assembled and posted at sea level. Literally on the beach (with apologies to Nevil Shute). Temperatures have dropped from the 80's two weeks ago to highs in the twenties and thirties with lows (at times) below zero. What has not changed from the prior set of circumstances, however, is that the day's puzzle constructor is, once again, Joe Deeney.
National RADIO Day is still five months away but let's ignore that detail for now, turn up our radios, and get right to it. Turn on, tune in, unscramble. At four places in the grid, within answers to starred clues, we find adjacent, but scrambled, letters that spell out the word RADIO:
17 Across: *Be silly: KID AROUND.
24 Across: *Loosen up: LET ONES HAIR DOWN. Walk right in. Sit right down.
38 Across: *Grand Canyon traveler: COLORADO RIVER. There were other ways to clue this but Joe and Rich likely wanted something appropriate for a Thursday. Therefore the somewhat awkward, IMHO, "traveler".
52 Across: *Nyctophobic: AFRAID OF THE DARK. Thanks perps.
The reveal comes at 62 Across: Shortened version of a pop song ... and a hint to what's hidden in the answers to starred clues: RADIO EDIT. I was not previously familiar with the term but now, fifty-five years later, I know what to call that shortened (AM RADIO) version of The Doors song "Light My Fire". Thanks, Mr. Deeney!
Here is how this all looks in the grid . . . .
. . . . and here is the rest of the story:
Across:
1. Tug: YANK. Not a hard-working harbor boat. Pull.
5. Grinding away: AT IT. This might have been clued in a more mammalian manner.
15. Hill by a loch: BRAE. Loch tells us that we're visiting Scotland for this clue/answer.
19. Joints often replaced: KNEES.
20. Mag staff: EDS. EDitorS
21. 12/31, e.g.: EVE. In this case, Christmas EVE.
22. Exams for aspiring judges, briefly: LSATS. Law School Admisions TestS
29. Sponge (up): SOP.
30. Student's hurdle: TEST. EXAM would have fit the space.
31. Universal donor's type, briefly: O NEG. A blood reference.
32. Recipe word: ADD. MIX would have fit.
35. "Like, yesterday!": ASAP.
37. "Hunan Report" author: MAO. Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan. 1927.
42. Dallas hoopster: MAV. Hoopster is slang for a basketball player so we have MAV for the answer.
43. Sub: HERO. The deli sandwich not the underwater war ship.
44. Broadcast from NBC's Studio 8H: SNL. Saturday Night Live
45. Score symbol: CLEF. A musical reference.
47. Tuner toggle: AM FM. Sometimes constructors enjoy messing with us by referring to a Clock RADIO - the answer then can turn out to be either AM FM or AM PM.
49. Previously: AGO.
57. __ Challenge: soft drink promotion: PEPSI.
58. Hound: NAG. Not a dog. A verb.
59. Affirmative vote: YEA. Sometimes AYE.
60. Catherine of "A Mighty Wind": O'HARA. An entertaining mockumentary.
65. Clear: LUCID.
66. First name in stunts: EVEL. EVEL Knievel
68. Feints on the ice: DEKES. An ice hockey reference
69. Mends, in a way: SEWS.
70. Wear: FRAY. Like a rug or a pants cuff.
1. Rustic type: YOKEL.
2. Withstands: ABIDES.
3. Silently acknowledges: NODS TO.
4. Mauna __: KEA. We had this fill-in-the-blank clue / answer two weeks ago, also.
5. Higher than: ABOVE.
6. Most faithful: TRUEST.
7. Novelist McEwan: IAN.
8. 2021 Emmy winner for Outstanding Comedy Series: TED LASSO. A comedy-drama TV show.
9. Liam's "Schindler's List" role: OSKAR.
10. Is unacceptable: WON'T DO.
11. "Full attention here": EYES ON ME.
27. Put on: WEAR.
28. Gps. like Partners In Health: NGO. Non-Governmental Organization.
33. "How silly of me!": DOH.
34. Can't stand the idea of: DREADS.
36. Safety __: PIN. Fill in the blank
38. Whale newborn: CALF.
39. Have trouble closing the suitcase, maybe: OVER PACK.
40. Fancy dressers: ARMOIRES. Furniture, not fops.
41. Prince who inspired Dracula: VLAD.
42. Old Elton label: MCA. Elton John
46. Spenser's "The __ Queene": FAERIE.
48. 57-Across sister brand, on labels: MTN DEW.
The First Mtn Dew Soda Commercial
50. Orientation "sensor": GAYDAR. GAY raDAR
51. Bagel Bites brand: OREIDA. Oregon Idaho
53. Modern checkout devices: I PADS.
54. Comes down hard?: HAILS. Not the idiom for criticizing (to come down hard on someone). Precipitation.
55. It may be massaged: EGO.
56. "Sons of Anarchy" actress Sagal: KATEY.
60. Corny, maybe: OLD.
61. Colorist's concern: HUE.
63. Hail, in a hymn: AVE. Not precipitation.
64. Tolkien's Legolas, for one: ELF. A Lord of the Rings reference.
