Theme: SLAPSTICK COMEDY (36A. Where it's laughable to see the answers to starred clues). Beautiful grid spanning unifier, right in the middle.
17A. *Coconut dessert : CUSTARD PIE
23A. *Facetious name for a fund-raising circuit entrée : RUBBER CHICKEN
46. *Mixer holder : SELTZER BOTTLE ♪♬ ♫ A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer in your pants ♬♫♪
Melissa here.
What a fun puzzle, very visually evocative. A pangram, too. This is James Sajdak's sixth appearance this year in the LA Times, his themes are always entertaining.
Across:
1. Cabo locale : BAJA. See Cabo at the very bottom.
5. Fall, as home prices : SLUMP. Don't remind me.
10. Havana howdy : HOLA
14. Distant start? : EQUI. Equidistant.
15. Insured patient's med cost : CO-PAY
16. Mideast nation : IRAN
19. State bordering eight others: Abbr. : TENN. Tennessee. Borders Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri
20. Krazy of comics : KAT.
21. Backsliding event? : LUGE. Fun clue.
22. Tourist attraction : MECCA
27. Some campus sisters : THETAS
29. Big repair bill reaction : OUCH. Very slapstick-y. And 25D. Bops : CONKS, which crosses two theme answers.
31. Kuwaiti currency : DINAR
33. Fairy tale legume : PEA. The princess and the pea.
40. Old curse word : POX. "A pox damn you, you muddy rascal, is that all the comfort you bring me?" Henry IV Part II.
41. Overhangs : EAVES
42. Canal that Sal worked on, in song : ERIE. The Boss's cover.
43. Stud farm stud : SIRE
44. Groundbreakers : FIRSTS
51. Mindful : AWARE
52. Rankles : IRKS
53. TV channels 2 to 13 : VHF
56. Lisa's title : MONA. From Wikipedia: "In Italian, ma donna means my lady. This became madonna, and its contraction mona. Mona is thus a polite form of address, similar to Ma’am, Madam, or my lady in English." Slapstick Mona Lisa.
60. "Agreed!" : OKAY
61. Put an __: stop : END TO
62. Janis's comics mate : ARLO. A new clue for Arlo. Well, sort of. The lead characters of this strip are named after 1960s music icons Arlo Gurthrie and Janis Joplin. Wiki says "Many of the most notable jokes are based on sexual attraction, especially Arlo's desire for Janis." Like this.
63. Sale caution : AS IS
64. County northeast of London : ESSEX
65. Oceanic flora : KELP
Down:
1. Eponymous German brewer Heinrich : BECK
2. Caribbean color : AQUA.
3. "Don't worry about it!" : JUST RELAX. Be happy.
4. River isle : AIT. An ait (or eyot) is a small island. It is especially used to refer to islands found on the River Thames and it's tributaries in England.
5. Surgical coverage? : SCRUBS. Didn't get this right away, even though I have some in every color.
6. Raccoon ___, "The Honeymooners" fraternal group : LODGE. Did not remember this.
7 Like some echelons : UPPER
8. Printemps month : MAI. Printemps is French for Spring.
9. Joe-__ weed: herbal remedy : PYE. Pretty.
10. Like smart phones, e.g. : HI TECH
11. Vacuum shown lifting a bowling ball in TV ads : ORECK. Bowling balls seem to be the standard for suction.
12. Tilting pole : LANCE. Couldn't have said it better myself.
13. 1997-2006 UN leader : ANNAN. Kofi.
18. Goya's "Duchess of __" : ALBA. Painting.
22. Prefix with scope : MICRO
24. Sch. near the Rio Grande : UTEP. University of Texas at El Paso.
26. '50s Red Scare gp. : HUAC. House Un-American Activities Committee. Some great movies about it - Guilty by Suspicion, Citizen Cohn, The Front.
27. Kitchen meas. : TBSP.
28. Saintly circle : HALO
31. One going down : DIVER. Umm ...
32. Assure victory in, slangily : ICE
33. Gut it out : PERSEVERE
34. Cut out, say : EDIT
35. Bridge assents : AYES. Sailor speak.
37. Take by force : SEIZE
38. Container allowance : TARE. The weight of an empty container.
39. Keyboardist Saunders who collaborated with Jerry Garcia : MERL. Had no idea.
43. Range rovers? : STRAYS. Sneaky clue.
44. Loc. with billions in bullion : FT KNOX
45. "__ girl!" : IT'S A
46. Island where Robert Louis Stevenson died : SAMOA. Was unaware of this trivia.
47. Furry Endor inhabitants : EWOKS. Star Wars creatures.
48. Hawaii's Pineapple Island : LANAI
49. Pickles : BINDS
50. Speak formally : ORATE. Little oral fixation today. Maybe it's just me.
54. War, to Sherman : HELL. William Tecumseh Sherman, Union general during the Civil War. "You don’t know the horrible aspects of war. I’ve been through two wars and I know. I’ve seen cities and homes in ashes. I’ve seen thousands of men lying on the ground, their dead faces looking up at the skies. I tell you, war is Hell!"
55. Hardly a big ticket-seller : FLOP
57. Sewing circle : BEE
58. T or F, on tests : ANS. True or False.
59. Karachi's country: Abbr. : PAK. Karachi is the largest city, main seaport, and financial center of Pakistan.
Answer grid.
Melissa
Answer grid.
Melissa
