JW is back again with one of his specialties, the "add letters to known phrases" gimmick. This time "AS" is added with a nice simple reveal. I am curious if you all are becoming so familiar with Jeffrey's style, that his Fridays do not seem as difficult as they once did.
As with all of his puzzles, there are tricky clues, sparkly fill like: BRITON, BY AREA, CITY JAIL, FROTHING, GUTTURAL and OUTSTRIP. There also some very funny fill like JUMPING JACKASS and ALL BEASTS ARE OFF. The marvel of JW is that as he beats you up making the puzzle a challenge, his cluing and fill make you smile.
No more delay
17A. *Dog that really needs a bath? : GREASY HOUND (11). The base is GREYHOUND which is the outlier. It is only one word, and the basic meaning of hound stays the same.
22A. *Donkey that has mastered the hurdles? : JUMPING JACKASS (14). JUMPING JACKS were such an important part of the early exercise in my life.
32A. *Holiday employment schedule in "Animal Farm"? : ALL BEASTS ARE OFF (15). ALL BETS ARE OFF is a nice phrase similar to:
47A. *Offer to acquire a rising agent? : I'LL GET YOU YEAST (14). I'LL GET YOU YET.
55A. When required ... or a terse hint to solving the starred clues: AS NECESSARY (11). Literally "AS" is necessary to get the fill.
Across:
1. Med. recording: ECG. I fell for EKG first.
4. Type sizes: PICAS. When I began working, I knew pica and elite - that was all.
9. "__, then ... ": IF SO.
13. __ Post: Nassau County, N.Y. school: LIU. This the current incarnation of CW POST COLLEGE, named for the founder of Post Cereals, Postum coffee substitute and eventually General Foods. The family history is interesting and timely as his daughter, Marjorie Merryweather Post had Mar-a-Lago built.
14. Spectacle: ECLAT. Interesting to see in a puzzle along with 1D. Joie de vivre: ELAN.
15. Haunted house sound: WAIL.
16. Letters on a communications corp. logo: ATT. American Telephone and Telegraph.
19. The Gray Lady of the press: Abbr. : NYT. Our friend the New York Times.
20. Exile of 1979: AMIN. The last king of Scotland? He only ruled for 8 years.
21. Els on greens: ERNIE.
26. AB negative, among blood types: RAREST.
27. Cockpit no. : ALT. An abbreviation for Altimeter, or Altitude on a plane, but also for; Altbier, German beer; Alternate character, in online gaming; Alternate route, type of highway designation; Alternating group, mathematical concept; Alternative lifestyle; Alternative rock.
28. Prepared: SET.
29. Big Ben feature: DIAL.
30. Odysseus' faithful dog: ARGOS. Sad tale; the dog waited 20 years for his master to come home and died when Odysseus returned.
39. Friend of d'Artagnan: ATHOS. Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.
41. One-fifth of MD: CCC. Roman math- 1500/5= 300.
44. Swindle: CON.
45. Any Beatle, say: BRITON. The name meaning a citizen or native of Great Britain was borrowed from the historic CELTIC BRITONS.
51. Give one final flicker: GO OUT.
52. Greatly reduced sea: ARAL. And its similar sounding: 50D. Range with one end in Kazakhstan: URALS.
53. Old possessive: THY.
58. Where Simone Biles won four golds: RIO.
59. Welsh actor Roger: REES. I knew this ACTOR first from Cheers.
60. Subway entrance: STILE.
61. Lake Mich. state: INDiana.
62. Criteria: Abbr. : STDS. Standards.
63. Thompson of "Creed": TESSA. She has been busy and they are filming CREED II
64. Org. with a tee in its logo: PGA. Not to be confused with the logo og the PGA Tour.
Down:
2. Lockup: CITY JAIL. In Florida, the Jails are mostly run by the County.
3. Throaty: GUTTURAL. What a fun word that came after I saw the G.
4. Hunter's need: PERMIT.
5. Trap during winter: ICE IN. This seemed like a stretch as a clue but variations have been used often. Newsday - Feb. 5, 2018; New York Times - Jan. 13, 2018; LA Times - Nov. 16, 2017; New York Times - July 29, 2017; USA Today - April 20, 2017; WSJ Daily - March 18, 2017; USA Today - March 11, 2017; Newsday - Feb. 12, 2017
6. Sound on some San Francisco streets: CLANG. The wonderful streetcars.
7. Small batteries: AAS. Instinctively put in AAA, but the perps changed my mind.
8. Muddy abode: STY.
9. "__ very hard, and ... play very hard": Maya Angelou: I WORK. She said, "I work very hard, and I play very hard. I'm grateful for life. And I live it - I believe life loves the liver of it. I live it."
10. Regional animal groups : FAUNAS. Flora and fauna.
11. "Forrest Gump" actor : SINISE. Lieutenant Dan.
12. Most stale: OLDEST. News, not just bread.
17. Voids: GAPS.
18. Bully: HECTOR. verb (used with object); definition 4.(lowercase) to treat with insolence; bully; torment: The teacher hectored his students incessantly.
23. __ toast: MELBA. Melba toast is a dry, crisp and thinly sliced toast often served with soup and salad or topped with either melted cheese or pâté. It is named after Dame Nellie Melba, the stage name of Australian opera singer Helen Porter Mitchell. The toast was created for her by chef and fan Auguste Escoffier, who also created the Peach Melba dessert for her. The hotel proprietor César Ritz supposedly named it in a conversation with Escoffier
24. Baby food array: JARS.
25. Bit of aquatic life: ALGA. A bit is accurate.
26. Nutritional fig. : RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance.
30. Cadillac compact: ATS.
31. Hue of many Renaissance drawings: SEPIA. Sepia is a reddish-brown color, named after the rich brown pigment derived from the ink sac of the common cuttlefish Sepia.The word sepia is the Latinized form of the Greek σηπία, sēpía, cuttlefish (wiki).
33. Long list substitute, briefly: ETC ETC. This was tricky as Et cetera did not fit.
34. "Cat on __ Tin Roof": A HOT. Tennessee Williams.
35. Xperia maker: SONY. My step-son who works selling cell phones has this one.
36. Best: OUTSTRIP. Definition synonyms: go faster than, outrun, outdistance, outpace, leave behind, get (further) ahead of, lose.
37. Causing to foam: FROTHING;
38. Marshy expanse: FEN. Very popular in Great Britain and British mysteries.
41. Pleasures shared by Churchill and Castro: CIGARS.
42. It might be stuffed at home: CLOSET.
43. Like one who is beside oneself? : CLONED. A very fun Friday misdirection clue.
45. How land prices are often calculated: BY AREA.
46. Lean (on): RELY.
48. Stab: GUESS. This was my method.
49. Refreshing spot: OASIS.
54. Small figure wielding much force? : YODA.
56. Del. winter hrs. : EST. Hey Bluehen.
57. Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr. : STE. French for a female saint.
Another Friday done and done. Thank you, JW. Next time, we will be in March. Thank you all.
Note from C.C.:
Happy 79th Birthday to Keith Fowler (Ol' Man Keith), who's been with our blog since 2009. Dear Keith is the longest-living Fowler on record.
This picture is more recent.
