Yogi Berra is quoted as having said, "It's deja vu all over again" and this morning that is apropos. As far as explaining the theme of today's puzzle is concerned, this blogger can (and will) copy the description that he posted two weeks ago:
(quote) Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here along with He-man to bring you a TGIF recap. Today, the I's (ayes) Y's (whys) definitely have it with a straightforward theme from veteran puzzle-setter Pam Klawitter.
At the following four places within the grid, Pam has added the letter (I) Y to common words/phrases to create amusing answers to the given clues (end quote):
18 Across: Forged painting?: ART DECOY. Art Deco
23 Across: When kids start rolling their eyes at everything their parents say?: THE IRONY AGE. The Iron Age.
40 Across: School newspaper entries from its youngest reporters?: KINDERGARTEN COPY.
49 Across: Sign that it's time to clean the closet?: DUSTY JACKET. Dust Jacket.
The reveal comes at:
63 Across: "Allow me to explain," and a phonetic hint to this puzzle's theme: HERE'S WHY. Or, in this instance, H . . . e . . . r . . . e' . . . s Y.
. . . and Here's the rest of the clues/answers:
Across:
1. __ farm: ANT. I had one when I was a child.
4. Respond to "Let's give it up for ... ": CLAP. The clue refers to a colloquialism for soliciting a round of applause. The answer, or course, also has at least one other meaning.
8. Burro: ASS.
11. Bamboozle: CON. What do you call a female CON artist? Ms. Leading.
14. Lav: LOO. Bathroom. We've often seen this clued with some reference to the British Isles.
15. London jazz duo?: ZEDS. . . . (immediately followed by just such a reference). The last last letter of the alphabet (what we Yanks call Zee) in British English is called ZED.
16. "Shape of You" singer-songwriter: SHEERAN. Ed SHEERAN. His third album was the worldwide best seller in 2017. He is currently being sued for copyright infringement. The plaintiff is asking $100 million. In 2022 SHEERAN successfully defended a copyright infringement claim involving "Shape of You".
20. Foul: POLLUTE. Adjective, noun or verb? Verb. . . . and neither an odor nor a basketball reference.
21. Get lovey-dovey: SMOOCH.
22. Post-makeover self: NEW ME.
30. Make hay, maybe: MOW. As in the advice to "MOW while the sun shines".
31. Country quarters: INNS. Apparently, quarters as used here, can be plural.
34. Spanish cheer: OLE.
35. Gardener's mixture: LOAM. I went to the library to get a book about soil but was told that they had only one, unavailable copy. It was on LOAM.
37. Cuss out: SWEAR AT.
43. "No need to explain further": YES I SEE. Aha!
44. Broke new ground?: HOED.
45. Spy-fi writer Deighton: LEN. Author!
46. Turow book: ONE L. Author!
47. Shar-__: wrinkly dog: PEI. Not to be confused with the architect.
47. Shar-__: wrinkly dog: PEI. Not to be confused with the architect.
48. "Anything __?": ELSE.
55. Some pasta: TUBES. There are many types of pasta and several of those are tubular. Wait, isn't that surfer slang?
55. Some pasta: TUBES. There are many types of pasta and several of those are tubular. Wait, isn't that surfer slang?
56. James Cameron blockbuster set on Pandora: AVATAR. Mr. Cameron has directed three of the all-time top five grossing films
60. Critters sought in a Nintendo game: POKEMON.
65. Rust-causing agent: OXIDANT. Remember this from chemistry class?
66. "Dear __ Hansen": EVAN. A musical and a film.
67. Energizer size: AAA. A battery reference.
68. Pea holder: POD.
69. Cartoon frame: CEL. Pre CGI technology.
70. Bulb unit: WATT. These days, we purchase LED bulbs with a WATT equivalence.
71. Phisher's fig.: SSN. Social Security Number. Phising is the act of sending a false email in an attempt to gather information with which to commit fraud.
Down:
1. "Ah, me!": ALAS. My experiment of cross breeding a hen with a Slinky has failed. ALAS, I have no spring chicken.
3. "Africa" band: TOTO.
4. Slovak neighbor: CZECH.
6. Fuss: ADO.
7. "Gangnam Style" rapper: PSY. The video is one of history's most-viewed.
8. Colorado quaker: ASPEN. As in quaking ASPEN trees. In the clue, quaker was not capitalized so it wasn't going to be a religious sect.
Populus Tremuloides
9. Like a strutting peacock: SHOWY. Hand up for PROUD.
10. Title city in a DuVernay film: SELMA. Ava DuVernay.
11. French wine term: CRU. The word roughly translates to "growth" but is now used to denote a vineyard and its wines.
12. Muesli grain: OAT. Sometime today, USPS is scheduled to deliver to me a box containing four bags of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Muesli. I do not have Celiac Disease. I do enjoy eating crunchy things made from rice.
13. Vane dir.: NNE. North North East
17. Mournful: ELEGIAC. Same etymology as elegy.
22. "On the double!": NOW. Neither ASAP nor STAT would fit.
24. PR concern: IMAGE. Public Relations.
25. Tomato paste tomato: ROMA.
25. Tomato paste tomato: ROMA.
26. Register: ENROLL. Noun or verb? Verb. As in to register for a class.
27. Pacific Rim capital: TOKYO. So many from which to choose. The perps, especially the K and the Y, narrowed things down considerably.
28. Extraterrestrial: ALIEN. So far, most of our depictions have come from Hollywood.
29. Became edgy: TENSED.
32. Mane areas: NAPES. A hand up for first trying NECKS.
33. Broadway composer Jule: STYNE. A member of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame with far too many credits to cite here. One of his best known:
35. "__ Misérables": LES.
36. Underground resource: ORE. What is a ferrous particle's favorite constellation? Ore-ion.
37. Poker-faced: STOIC. The ancient STOICs never got cavities. They were implacable.
38. Itty-bitty: WEE.
39. Gridiron position: END. An American Football reference.
41. Watered down: DILUTED. THINNED would fit.
42. Actress Perlman: RHEA. Best known for her role as Carla Maria Victoria Angelina Teresa Apollonia Lozupone Tortelli Lebec on the TV show "Cheers":
47. Sack dress?: PJS. PaJamaS are something to wear when one "hits the sack".
48. "Are we there yet?" guesses: ETAS. Estimated Time of Arrival S
50. Poison __: SUMAC.
51. Pricey steak: T-BONE. I asked the butcher for a couple of T-BONEs but he gave me sirloins instead. He later apologized for his mis-steak.
52. "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" film: YENTL. The song from the movie.
53. Gold purity unit: KARAT. I often forget which one is spelled carat (mass) and which is spelled KARAT (purity).
54. Part of a track meet: EVENT.
57. First word of "Jabberwocky": TWAS. TWAS meant to be a nonsense poem.
58. "Got it!" cries: AHAS. Yes, I see.
59. "Deadpool" actor Reynolds: RYAN.
60. Burst: POP. Soda, parent, music, burst and art are among other possible clues.
61. Good Grips kitchen brand: OXO.
62. Tyke: KID.
63. Fell, as firs: HEW. Homophone of you, yew and ewe.
64. Longoria of "Telenovela": EVA. I never can keep all of the EVA and AVA names sorted out. The perps tell me which it should be.
. . . . and now it's time
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