Theme: Hat Pun - The first word of each two-word familiar phrase is replaced by a type of hat, and the resulting phrase is humorously clued.
20A. Opportunity to examine some headwear? : CLOCHE ENCOUNTER. The base phrase is "close encounter". Cloche hat is bell-shaped & close-fitting, worn by those flappers in 1920s. Last consonant sound change.
33A. Call-in broadcasting for chefs? : TOQUE RADIO. Talk radio. Chefs wear toque. Vowel & last consonant changes.
40A. Northerners who dress with Scottish flair? : TAM YANKEES. "Damn Yankees" the musical. First consonant change.
47A. Hats that are soft and angular? : BOWLER OPPOSITES. Polar opposites. First consonant change also.
Minor inconsistencies. Tough to come up a focused set of theme entries with consistent sound change.
Still a fun theme theme. Wish clues were more consistent though: the first & last theme clues have a direct reference to hat, not the middle two.
Other than one Q, no other expensive letters (J/V/X/Z) today. And plenty of 4-letter words (total 36) in the grid, which always makes the puzzle accessible, to me any way. FYI, the average word length in this puzzle is under 4.97, shorter than our average Fridays.
Across:
1. Stage routines : ACTS. Rare to gain an immediate toehold on Fridays.
5. Full of spunk : SASSY
10. Shenanigan pullers : IMPS
14. Multilayer farm site? : COOP. Hens lays eggs again and again, hence "multilayer"?
15. Twaddle : TRIPE. Twaddle suggests silly talk. Tripe is just rubbish. No equation to my ears.
16. "Ta ta!" : CIAO
17. It's entered and processed : DATA
18. Needle bearers : PINES. Pine needles.
19. Pachacuti, for one : INCA. Have never heard of Pachacuti (literally meant "earth-shaker"), Inca Empire builder.
23. Grub : EATS
24. Recycled T-shirt? : RAG. Not the cryptic signal "recycle".
25. Carol beginning : ADESTE. "Adeste Fideles".
28. Proactiv target : ACNE
30. One of a cup's 48: Abbr. : TSP (Teaspoon). I bet Jazzbumpa saw "... A Cup's...". He's been concerned about the deflation effect on bra size in crossword.
35. Pampas weapon : BOLA
36. "Seinfeld" actress Julia __-Dreyfus : LOUIS. Elaine Benes.
37. Posed : SAT
38. Idol whose fans are known as Claymates : AIKEN
39. Gray area?: Abbr. : ANAT. Gray's Anatomy.
42. Condiment for pommes frites : SEL. French for "salt".
43. Livens (up) : PEPS
44. Delicate : DAINTY
45. Mendicant title : FRA
46. God attended by Valkyries : ODIN. We just had AESIR yesterday.
55. Plant used for first aid : ALOE
56. More than 70% of Earth's surface : OCEAN
57. Stretched just short of the breaking point : TAUT
58. Tidings : NEWS
59. Sudden movement : START. Thought of JERK.
60. Gumbo ingredient : OKRA
61. "Gee willikers!" : GOSH
62. Keep an __ the ground : EAR TO
63. McJob performer : PEON. Did you think of TEMP also?
Down:
1. Versatile, electronically : AC/DC. Didn't emerge easily.
2. Historic Newcastle resource : COAL. Don't know where Newcastle is. Not familiar with the idiom "selling coal to Newcastle" either, a foolhardy or pointless action, a la Wikipedia.
3. Miss Gulch's bête-noire, somewhat literally : TOTO. " The Wizard of Oz" dog, which appears in many of Donna's puzzles.
4. Garb for Apollo : SPACE SUIT. Pictured the Greek god Apollo, not that I know what garb he's wearing.
5. Religious guardian : ST. PETER. For heaven. No abbr. hint in the clue.
6. Astrological ovine : ARIES. Ram sign.
7. __ Fein : SINN
8. Blueprint item, briefly : SPEC
9. "Just give me an answer already!" : YES OR NO. Nice answer/clue.
10. Hockey infraction : ICING. No idea. Don't follow hockey.
11. After-dinner item : MINT
12. Step : PACE
13. Look down on the clouds, perhaps : SOAR. Dudley our pilot guy would love this clue.
21. Can't take : HATES
22. Seven sheikdoms fed. : UAE (United Arab Emirates)
25. Rand's shrugger : ATLAS. "Atlas Shrugged".
26. Shortbread cookie surname : DOONE. Got me. Have never had "Lorna Doone".
27. Peer : EQUAL
28. Apple or ale lead-in : ADAMS. Adam's ale = water.
29. Pierre, e.g. : CITY. I've got to think of South Dakota next time Pierre comes up.
30. Perfunctory : TOKEN
31. Wintry woe : SLEET
32. Flower name derived from the French for "thought" : PANSY. New trivia to me. Pencer is French verb for "to think". Sounds similar. (Correction: It's penser. Thanks, Kazie!)
34. PDQ cousin : ASAP
35. Halter, perhaps : BIKINI TOP. In a way, yes.
38. "Henry & June" role : ANAIS. Stumper. Returned my Netflix on this movie. Could not warm myself to it.
40. Lady Hillingdon is a cultivar of one : TEA ROSE. Yellow and has a tea fragrance. See here.
41. Enlarge, as a house : ADD ONTO
43. Ante- equivalent : PRE
45. Meat : FLESH
46. Victor Vasarely's genre : OP-ART. Victor Vasarely was a Hungarian French artist whose work is generally seen aligned with Op-Art, says Wiki. Total stranger to me.
47. Explosion : BANG
48. It's found in tubs : OLEO. Not bathtub.
49. Awes : WOWS
50. Tetra- times two : OCTA. Prefix for "eight". Tetra, "four".
51. Fruit with a "check the neck" ripeness test : PEAR
52. Steal : TAKE
53. Slovenia capital : EURO. "Capital" always refers to "currency" in late week puzzles.
54. Ollie's sidekick : STAN
Answer grid.
In the next few Fridays, I am going to show a recent photo of our regular blogging contributors. We start today with Darling Santa Argyle. He said: "My cousin took a picture of me saying a prayer before his son attacks my hair and beard. I'm not gonna showing the "after" picture." Argyle's nicknames: Scott, Scotty, Cid/Sid, Skid, Skidney, El Cid and "Hey, you".
C.C.
20A. Opportunity to examine some headwear? : CLOCHE ENCOUNTER. The base phrase is "close encounter". Cloche hat is bell-shaped & close-fitting, worn by those flappers in 1920s. Last consonant sound change.
33A. Call-in broadcasting for chefs? : TOQUE RADIO. Talk radio. Chefs wear toque. Vowel & last consonant changes.
40A. Northerners who dress with Scottish flair? : TAM YANKEES. "Damn Yankees" the musical. First consonant change.
47A. Hats that are soft and angular? : BOWLER OPPOSITES. Polar opposites. First consonant change also.
Minor inconsistencies. Tough to come up a focused set of theme entries with consistent sound change.
Still a fun theme theme. Wish clues were more consistent though: the first & last theme clues have a direct reference to hat, not the middle two.
Other than one Q, no other expensive letters (J/V/X/Z) today. And plenty of 4-letter words (total 36) in the grid, which always makes the puzzle accessible, to me any way. FYI, the average word length in this puzzle is under 4.97, shorter than our average Fridays.
Across:
1. Stage routines : ACTS. Rare to gain an immediate toehold on Fridays.
5. Full of spunk : SASSY
10. Shenanigan pullers : IMPS
14. Multilayer farm site? : COOP. Hens lays eggs again and again, hence "multilayer"?
15. Twaddle : TRIPE. Twaddle suggests silly talk. Tripe is just rubbish. No equation to my ears.
16. "Ta ta!" : CIAO
17. It's entered and processed : DATA
18. Needle bearers : PINES. Pine needles.
19. Pachacuti, for one : INCA. Have never heard of Pachacuti (literally meant "earth-shaker"), Inca Empire builder.
23. Grub : EATS
24. Recycled T-shirt? : RAG. Not the cryptic signal "recycle".
25. Carol beginning : ADESTE. "Adeste Fideles".
28. Proactiv target : ACNE
30. One of a cup's 48: Abbr. : TSP (Teaspoon). I bet Jazzbumpa saw "... A Cup's...". He's been concerned about the deflation effect on bra size in crossword.
35. Pampas weapon : BOLA
36. "Seinfeld" actress Julia __-Dreyfus : LOUIS. Elaine Benes.
37. Posed : SAT
38. Idol whose fans are known as Claymates : AIKEN
39. Gray area?: Abbr. : ANAT. Gray's Anatomy.
42. Condiment for pommes frites : SEL. French for "salt".
43. Livens (up) : PEPS
44. Delicate : DAINTY
45. Mendicant title : FRA
46. God attended by Valkyries : ODIN. We just had AESIR yesterday.
55. Plant used for first aid : ALOE
56. More than 70% of Earth's surface : OCEAN
57. Stretched just short of the breaking point : TAUT
58. Tidings : NEWS
59. Sudden movement : START. Thought of JERK.
60. Gumbo ingredient : OKRA
61. "Gee willikers!" : GOSH
62. Keep an __ the ground : EAR TO
63. McJob performer : PEON. Did you think of TEMP also?
Down:
1. Versatile, electronically : AC/DC. Didn't emerge easily.
2. Historic Newcastle resource : COAL. Don't know where Newcastle is. Not familiar with the idiom "selling coal to Newcastle" either, a foolhardy or pointless action, a la Wikipedia.
3. Miss Gulch's bête-noire, somewhat literally : TOTO. " The Wizard of Oz" dog, which appears in many of Donna's puzzles.
4. Garb for Apollo : SPACE SUIT. Pictured the Greek god Apollo, not that I know what garb he's wearing.
5. Religious guardian : ST. PETER. For heaven. No abbr. hint in the clue.
6. Astrological ovine : ARIES. Ram sign.
7. __ Fein : SINN
8. Blueprint item, briefly : SPEC
9. "Just give me an answer already!" : YES OR NO. Nice answer/clue.
10. Hockey infraction : ICING. No idea. Don't follow hockey.
11. After-dinner item : MINT
12. Step : PACE
13. Look down on the clouds, perhaps : SOAR. Dudley our pilot guy would love this clue.
21. Can't take : HATES
22. Seven sheikdoms fed. : UAE (United Arab Emirates)
25. Rand's shrugger : ATLAS. "Atlas Shrugged".
26. Shortbread cookie surname : DOONE. Got me. Have never had "Lorna Doone".
27. Peer : EQUAL
28. Apple or ale lead-in : ADAMS. Adam's ale = water.
29. Pierre, e.g. : CITY. I've got to think of South Dakota next time Pierre comes up.
30. Perfunctory : TOKEN
31. Wintry woe : SLEET
32. Flower name derived from the French for "thought" : PANSY. New trivia to me. Pencer is French verb for "to think". Sounds similar. (Correction: It's penser. Thanks, Kazie!)
34. PDQ cousin : ASAP
35. Halter, perhaps : BIKINI TOP. In a way, yes.
38. "Henry & June" role : ANAIS. Stumper. Returned my Netflix on this movie. Could not warm myself to it.
40. Lady Hillingdon is a cultivar of one : TEA ROSE. Yellow and has a tea fragrance. See here.
41. Enlarge, as a house : ADD ONTO
43. Ante- equivalent : PRE
45. Meat : FLESH
46. Victor Vasarely's genre : OP-ART. Victor Vasarely was a Hungarian French artist whose work is generally seen aligned with Op-Art, says Wiki. Total stranger to me.
47. Explosion : BANG
48. It's found in tubs : OLEO. Not bathtub.
49. Awes : WOWS
50. Tetra- times two : OCTA. Prefix for "eight". Tetra, "four".
51. Fruit with a "check the neck" ripeness test : PEAR
52. Steal : TAKE
53. Slovenia capital : EURO. "Capital" always refers to "currency" in late week puzzles.
54. Ollie's sidekick : STAN
Answer grid.
In the next few Fridays, I am going to show a recent photo of our regular blogging contributors. We start today with Darling Santa Argyle. He said: "My cousin took a picture of me saying a prayer before his son attacks my hair and beard. I'm not gonna showing the "after" picture." Argyle's nicknames: Scott, Scotty, Cid/Sid, Skid, Skidney, El Cid and "Hey, you".
C.C.
