Theme: HEAT (Summer phenomenon, and word that can precede the first words of 17-, 28-, 44- and 58-Across) Symptoms
17A: Pointing digit: INDEX FINGER
28A: Choice made without thinking: RASH DECISION
44A: Firefly: LIGHTNING BUG
58A: Signal to from the pier, perhaps: WAVE GOODBYE
Argyle again.
Taking the time to think about your decision can also be RASH. There are times when you must act on instinct and don't have time to think. But I digress.
I was looking at the theme answers, wondering what they had in common, when I did 54D. So learning the theme did not help me in ciphering the words. Still, it is an appropriate puzzle for the season.
I haven't seen any fireflies (LIGHTNING BUGS) yet. They seem late this year.
Let's get the dupes out of the way first:
16A & 18D: Commotion: ADO & FUSS
37A & 47D: Pizazz: ELAN & BRIO (of Celtic origin)
42A & 8D: Tractor-trailer: SEMI & RIG
Another nice tie-in pair is RARER (48A: More valuable to collectors) and ADD TO (3D: Expand, as a collection). Actually, GENE (38D: Heredity unit) can be clued as "36A container" (36A: Modern "fingerprint": DNA), so we would have had extra pair, or rather, a cross-referenced pair. Maybe too much?
A good 'Tuesday' puzzle. Smooth cluing, hallmarks of Gail Grabowski puzzles.
Across:
1A: Fallback option: PLAN B.
6A: Knapsack part: STRAP.
14A: Bull rider's venue: RODEO.
15A: Like a wolfman: HAIRY. Yeah, let's hear it for the Wolfman.
19A: Poke fun at: KID.
20A: Co. leaders, collectively: MGT. Management.
22A: Acts as a shill for : ABETS.
24A: Anka song with the phrase "kiss me mucho": ESO BESO. Oh my, this has fallen from a Friday clue to a Tuesday clue.
26A: Petting zoo babies: LAMBS.
32A: Sponge gently: DAB AT.
35A: Stalk in a marsh: REED.
38A: Four-on-the-floor options: GEARS. My kind of Manual transmissions.
43A: Caravan refuges: OASES.
49A: Gallery event: ART SALE. Congratulations to our fellow solver Kathleen Wolf (WM) for her first solo show.
53A: Stage of development: PHASE.
56A: Time or Money, briefly: MAG. Magazine.
57A: 20-vol. reference: OED. Oxford English Dictionary.
62A: West of Hollywood: MAE. MAE West. Is she zaftig?
63A: Online shopping mecca: E-MALL. A web site that displays electronic catalogs from several suppliers, and charges commission from them for the sales revenue generated at that site.
65A: Qt. halves: PTS. Two cups in a PINT, two PINTS in a quart, four quarts in a gallon.
66A: "Inferno" author: DANTE.
67A: Grab the tab: TREAT.
Down:
1D: Much-watched interest rate: PRIME. The Wall Street Journal PRIME Rate is currently 3.25%.
2D: Pines (for): LONGS.
3D: Expand, as a collection: ADD TO.
5D: Exec's perk at a ballgame: BOX SEAT. The bigger executives get a sky box.
6D: Civil War battleground: SHILOH. Did it get mentioned in last week's discussion?
7D: Fish holder: TANK. Shame on me; I was thinking HOOK.
10D: Egyptian monument: PYRAMID.
11D: Eschew neutrality: TAKE SIDES.
23D: Small ammo: BBS.
25D: Stuff in a muffin: BRAN.
27D: Blackjack components: ACES. A Blackjack is...aw, I'll leave it for Dennis to explain what it is.
29D: Sink feature: DRAIN.
30D: It's sometimes enough: ONCE. Sometimes it's not.
31D: Slangy refusals: NAHS.
32D: Computer giant: DELL.
34D: D and F: BAD GRADES. But better than incomplete.
39D: Mideast honcho: EMIR.
42D: Scattered: STREWED.
43D: Remote military base: OUTPOST.
50D: Walk unhurriedly: AMBLE.
51D: Eric Clapton classic: LAYLA.
52D: Spew out: EGEST. Opposite of ingest.
53D: Ceremonial splendor: POMP. No circumstance today
55D: Shoulder muscle, briefly: DELT. Deltoid muscles.
59D: GP's gp.: AMA. General Practitioner (Doctor)'s group, American Medical Association.
60D: Delivery vehicle: VAN.
61D: Compass pt.: DIR. Direction.
Answer grid.
Argyle
17A: Pointing digit: INDEX FINGER
28A: Choice made without thinking: RASH DECISION
44A: Firefly: LIGHTNING BUG
58A: Signal to from the pier, perhaps: WAVE GOODBYE
Argyle again.
Taking the time to think about your decision can also be RASH. There are times when you must act on instinct and don't have time to think. But I digress.
I was looking at the theme answers, wondering what they had in common, when I did 54D. So learning the theme did not help me in ciphering the words. Still, it is an appropriate puzzle for the season.
I haven't seen any fireflies (LIGHTNING BUGS) yet. They seem late this year.
Let's get the dupes out of the way first:
16A & 18D: Commotion: ADO & FUSS
37A & 47D: Pizazz: ELAN & BRIO (of Celtic origin)
42A & 8D: Tractor-trailer: SEMI & RIG
Another nice tie-in pair is RARER (48A: More valuable to collectors) and ADD TO (3D: Expand, as a collection). Actually, GENE (38D: Heredity unit) can be clued as "36A container" (36A: Modern "fingerprint": DNA), so we would have had extra pair, or rather, a cross-referenced pair. Maybe too much?
A good 'Tuesday' puzzle. Smooth cluing, hallmarks of Gail Grabowski puzzles.
Across:
1A: Fallback option: PLAN B.
6A: Knapsack part: STRAP.
14A: Bull rider's venue: RODEO.
15A: Like a wolfman: HAIRY. Yeah, let's hear it for the Wolfman.
19A: Poke fun at: KID.
20A: Co. leaders, collectively: MGT. Management.
22A: Acts as a shill for : ABETS.
24A: Anka song with the phrase "kiss me mucho": ESO BESO. Oh my, this has fallen from a Friday clue to a Tuesday clue.
26A: Petting zoo babies: LAMBS.
32A: Sponge gently: DAB AT.
35A: Stalk in a marsh: REED.
38A: Four-on-the-floor options: GEARS. My kind of Manual transmissions.
43A: Caravan refuges: OASES.
49A: Gallery event: ART SALE. Congratulations to our fellow solver Kathleen Wolf (WM) for her first solo show.
53A: Stage of development: PHASE.
56A: Time or Money, briefly: MAG. Magazine.
57A: 20-vol. reference: OED. Oxford English Dictionary.
62A: West of Hollywood: MAE. MAE West. Is she zaftig?
63A: Online shopping mecca: E-MALL. A web site that displays electronic catalogs from several suppliers, and charges commission from them for the sales revenue generated at that site.
65A: Qt. halves: PTS. Two cups in a PINT, two PINTS in a quart, four quarts in a gallon.
66A: "Inferno" author: DANTE.
67A: Grab the tab: TREAT.
Down:
1D: Much-watched interest rate: PRIME. The Wall Street Journal PRIME Rate is currently 3.25%.
2D: Pines (for): LONGS.
3D: Expand, as a collection: ADD TO.
5D: Exec's perk at a ballgame: BOX SEAT. The bigger executives get a sky box.
6D: Civil War battleground: SHILOH. Did it get mentioned in last week's discussion?
7D: Fish holder: TANK. Shame on me; I was thinking HOOK.
10D: Egyptian monument: PYRAMID.
11D: Eschew neutrality: TAKE SIDES.
23D: Small ammo: BBS.
25D: Stuff in a muffin: BRAN.
27D: Blackjack components: ACES. A Blackjack is...aw, I'll leave it for Dennis to explain what it is.
29D: Sink feature: DRAIN.
30D: It's sometimes enough: ONCE. Sometimes it's not.
31D: Slangy refusals: NAHS.
32D: Computer giant: DELL.
34D: D and F: BAD GRADES. But better than incomplete.
39D: Mideast honcho: EMIR.
42D: Scattered: STREWED.
43D: Remote military base: OUTPOST.
50D: Walk unhurriedly: AMBLE.
51D: Eric Clapton classic: LAYLA.
52D: Spew out: EGEST. Opposite of ingest.
53D: Ceremonial splendor: POMP. No circumstance today
55D: Shoulder muscle, briefly: DELT. Deltoid muscles.
59D: GP's gp.: AMA. General Practitioner (Doctor)'s group, American Medical Association.
60D: Delivery vehicle: VAN.
61D: Compass pt.: DIR. Direction.
Answer grid.
Argyle
