Theme: STOUT (64A: Heavy brew, and a clue to this puzzle's theme) - ST OUT (ST is cut out from the theme phrases)
17A: Ennis and Jack in "Brokeback Mountain"?: (ST)RANGE BEDFELLOWS
25A: Etchings?: (ST)ART FROM SCRATCH
42A: Gerontologists?: (ST)AGE TECHNICIANS
56A: Tried to get into Guinness by gobbling hot dogs?: (ST)ATE FOR THE RECORD
This puzzle is very similar in concept to Gareth Bain's NIXON puzzle, where ON is nixed in each theme entry.
I liked ART FROM SCRACH the most, very evocative. Watching the 4th of July hotdog gobbling contest made me sick. Horrifying scene. I always associate TECHNICIANS with mechanical stuff, so AGE TECHNICIANS for "Gerontologists?" came as a surprise to me. My husband does not allow me to netflix "The Brokeback Mountain".
Nice puzzle. Very creative tie-in STOUT. I actually got STOUT earlier on, unfortunately I could not parse it correctly. So it did not really help my solving at all.
Across:
1A: Helps a certain hacker, say: ABETS. North Korea just hacked into many US government websites.
6A: Map showing easements: PLAT. Easement is "A right, such as a right of way, afforded a person to make limited use of another's real property." Unfamiliar definition to me.
10A: "__ Baby": "Hair" song: ABIE. No idea. ABIE is often clued as "Irish Rose's lover".
14A: Raven's sound: CROAK. Ha ha, I thought only frogs CROAK.
15A: Doth own: HATH. Does own = HAS.
16A: Item in a belt: TOOL. I was picturing a buckle. OK, hopefully you can find AWLS (25D: Punching gadgets) in a TOOL belt.
20A: Inning trio?: ENS. Three N's in innings.
21A: Magic prop? WAND. Glinda the Good Witch of the North has one.
22A: Sheepish response?: BAA BAA. Cute clue.
23A: Plane starter?: AERO. Aeroplane. I did not know British call airplane aeroplane.
24A: "Sometimes __ a pleasure": Byron: SIN'S. Have never heard this line. Makes sense though.
31A: Baba __: Gilda Radner persona: WAWA. A spoof of Barbara Walters.
32A: NE New Jersey city: LODI. See this map. I only knew the LODI in California.
33A: Big ref.: OED (Oxford English Dictionary)
35A: Prevaricator: LIAR
36A: Puts away: STOWS. And SALT (49D: Store (away)). Is it correct to put two brackets at the right end?
38A: Magazine content: AMMO
40A: "Let it be": STET. To an editor.
41A: Pirate of fiction: SMEE. "Peter Pan".
47A: Landscaping shrubs: YEWS. Why are they used as shrubs when they are poisonous?
48A: Minnesota's St. __ College: OLAF. Marvelous. All Minnesota clues make me happy.
49A: Sister of Venus: SERENA. She just won Wimbledon.
52A: "The Witches of Eastwick" actress: CHER. Easy guess. Have never heard of the movie. Looks scary.
53A: Musician's degree: MFA
59A: Outdoor feast: LUAU. Literally "young taro tops", which were served at outdoor feasts. Taro cakes are very tasty.
60A: Old timepiece: DIAL
61A: Peninsula bordering Israel: SINAI. Belongs to Egypt.
62A: Ones place: TILL
63A: Short cut: SNIP. I sprinkle freshly snipped chives in everything I cook now. My green beans look very weak this year. Might have bought the wrong kind of seeds.
Down:
1D: Lot, sometimes: ACRE. I was not thinking of farmland "lot".
3D: Big times: EONS. Wrote down ERAS. To me, EONS are long long times.
4D: Phone __: TAG
5D: Barbecuing aid: SKEWER. Shrimps + pineapple + green onion. Delicious.
6D: Prodigy: PHENOM
7D: Fawcett's "Charlie's Angels" successor: LADD (Cheryl). No idea. She looks pretty.
8D: DOJ bureau: ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms). ATF belonged to Treasury Department before 2003.
9D: 1963 thriller set in Bodega Bay: THE BIRDS. I only saw the end of this movie. Terrifying.
10D: Words after a holdup: AT LAST. Struggled with the answer.
11D: Knucklehead: BOOB. I wonder if BOOBS has ever been directly clued as breasts in any major puzzle before.
12D: Major caucus site: IOWA. Ah, Tim Pawlenty 2012.
13D: Lanchester of "Bride of Frankenstein": ELSA. First encounter with this actress.
18D: Prefix with meter: BARO. Barometer.
19D: It's part of Maui county: LANAI. Dan Naddor just clued it as "Island where Bill and Melinda Gates were wed" 2 weeks ago.
23D: Yonder: AFAR. Could not jam in THERE.
24D: Tub: SCOW. Did not know the "old, slow, clumsy vessel" meaning of tub.
26D: Mrs. Gorbachev: RAISA. My goodness. I did not know RAISA is dead. Obama just met with Gorbachev a few days ago.
27D: Country sound: TWANG. D'oh, country music.
28D: Animal that sleeps upside down: SLOTH. No idea. I only knew BATS sleep upside down.
29D: One might appear many times in a long list: COMMA. I love Mickey Mantle, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Kirby Puckett, Johan Santana and Justin Morneau. OK, that's plenty of commas.
30D: Studs: HE-MEN
34D: Stag mates: DOES
36D: Wine openers: STEWARDS. My favorite clue.
37D: Private eyes: TECS. Detectives. Like the Pinkerton guys.
38D: "That's not happening!": AS IF
40D: Pool worker: STENO. I was imagining a swimming pool.
43D: As much as one cares to see: EYEFUL. I just can't believe how lucky these girls are. Look at their waists. So tiny.
44D: Of little use: NO HELP
45D: Robert of "The Soprano": ILER. Gimme. Learned this name from Dennis's mistake. He tried to re-clue ILLER as ILER last time.
46D: Gentle touch: CARESS
50D: Sewing case: ETUI
51D: Unlike a figment: REAL
52D: Trendy tea: CHAI. Why "Trendy"? CHAI is rooted in "Cha", Chinese for tea.
53D: Like 45s: MONO. Monophonic?
54D: Lady of the Haus: FRAU. Haus is German for "house".
55D: Ore seeker's entrance: ADIT. This has become a gimme.
58D: Loc. __: CIT. The other footnote is IBID.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A: Ennis and Jack in "Brokeback Mountain"?: (ST)RANGE BEDFELLOWS
25A: Etchings?: (ST)ART FROM SCRATCH
42A: Gerontologists?: (ST)AGE TECHNICIANS
56A: Tried to get into Guinness by gobbling hot dogs?: (ST)ATE FOR THE RECORD
This puzzle is very similar in concept to Gareth Bain's NIXON puzzle, where ON is nixed in each theme entry.
I liked ART FROM SCRACH the most, very evocative. Watching the 4th of July hotdog gobbling contest made me sick. Horrifying scene. I always associate TECHNICIANS with mechanical stuff, so AGE TECHNICIANS for "Gerontologists?" came as a surprise to me. My husband does not allow me to netflix "The Brokeback Mountain".
Nice puzzle. Very creative tie-in STOUT. I actually got STOUT earlier on, unfortunately I could not parse it correctly. So it did not really help my solving at all.
Across:
1A: Helps a certain hacker, say: ABETS. North Korea just hacked into many US government websites.
6A: Map showing easements: PLAT. Easement is "A right, such as a right of way, afforded a person to make limited use of another's real property." Unfamiliar definition to me.
10A: "__ Baby": "Hair" song: ABIE. No idea. ABIE is often clued as "Irish Rose's lover".
14A: Raven's sound: CROAK. Ha ha, I thought only frogs CROAK.
15A: Doth own: HATH. Does own = HAS.
16A: Item in a belt: TOOL. I was picturing a buckle. OK, hopefully you can find AWLS (25D: Punching gadgets) in a TOOL belt.
20A: Inning trio?: ENS. Three N's in innings.
21A: Magic prop? WAND. Glinda the Good Witch of the North has one.
22A: Sheepish response?: BAA BAA. Cute clue.
23A: Plane starter?: AERO. Aeroplane. I did not know British call airplane aeroplane.
24A: "Sometimes __ a pleasure": Byron: SIN'S. Have never heard this line. Makes sense though.
31A: Baba __: Gilda Radner persona: WAWA. A spoof of Barbara Walters.
32A: NE New Jersey city: LODI. See this map. I only knew the LODI in California.
33A: Big ref.: OED (Oxford English Dictionary)
35A: Prevaricator: LIAR
36A: Puts away: STOWS. And SALT (49D: Store (away)). Is it correct to put two brackets at the right end?
38A: Magazine content: AMMO
40A: "Let it be": STET. To an editor.
41A: Pirate of fiction: SMEE. "Peter Pan".
47A: Landscaping shrubs: YEWS. Why are they used as shrubs when they are poisonous?
48A: Minnesota's St. __ College: OLAF. Marvelous. All Minnesota clues make me happy.
49A: Sister of Venus: SERENA. She just won Wimbledon.
52A: "The Witches of Eastwick" actress: CHER. Easy guess. Have never heard of the movie. Looks scary.
53A: Musician's degree: MFA
59A: Outdoor feast: LUAU. Literally "young taro tops", which were served at outdoor feasts. Taro cakes are very tasty.
60A: Old timepiece: DIAL
61A: Peninsula bordering Israel: SINAI. Belongs to Egypt.
62A: Ones place: TILL
63A: Short cut: SNIP. I sprinkle freshly snipped chives in everything I cook now. My green beans look very weak this year. Might have bought the wrong kind of seeds.
Down:
1D: Lot, sometimes: ACRE. I was not thinking of farmland "lot".
3D: Big times: EONS. Wrote down ERAS. To me, EONS are long long times.
4D: Phone __: TAG
5D: Barbecuing aid: SKEWER. Shrimps + pineapple + green onion. Delicious.
6D: Prodigy: PHENOM
7D: Fawcett's "Charlie's Angels" successor: LADD (Cheryl). No idea. She looks pretty.
8D: DOJ bureau: ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms). ATF belonged to Treasury Department before 2003.
9D: 1963 thriller set in Bodega Bay: THE BIRDS. I only saw the end of this movie. Terrifying.
10D: Words after a holdup: AT LAST. Struggled with the answer.
11D: Knucklehead: BOOB. I wonder if BOOBS has ever been directly clued as breasts in any major puzzle before.
12D: Major caucus site: IOWA. Ah, Tim Pawlenty 2012.
13D: Lanchester of "Bride of Frankenstein": ELSA. First encounter with this actress.
18D: Prefix with meter: BARO. Barometer.
19D: It's part of Maui county: LANAI. Dan Naddor just clued it as "Island where Bill and Melinda Gates were wed" 2 weeks ago.
23D: Yonder: AFAR. Could not jam in THERE.
24D: Tub: SCOW. Did not know the "old, slow, clumsy vessel" meaning of tub.
26D: Mrs. Gorbachev: RAISA. My goodness. I did not know RAISA is dead. Obama just met with Gorbachev a few days ago.
27D: Country sound: TWANG. D'oh, country music.
28D: Animal that sleeps upside down: SLOTH. No idea. I only knew BATS sleep upside down.
29D: One might appear many times in a long list: COMMA. I love Mickey Mantle, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Kirby Puckett, Johan Santana and Justin Morneau. OK, that's plenty of commas.
30D: Studs: HE-MEN
34D: Stag mates: DOES
36D: Wine openers: STEWARDS. My favorite clue.
37D: Private eyes: TECS. Detectives. Like the Pinkerton guys.
38D: "That's not happening!": AS IF
40D: Pool worker: STENO. I was imagining a swimming pool.
43D: As much as one cares to see: EYEFUL. I just can't believe how lucky these girls are. Look at their waists. So tiny.
44D: Of little use: NO HELP
45D: Robert of "The Soprano": ILER. Gimme. Learned this name from Dennis's mistake. He tried to re-clue ILLER as ILER last time.
46D: Gentle touch: CARESS
50D: Sewing case: ETUI
51D: Unlike a figment: REAL
52D: Trendy tea: CHAI. Why "Trendy"? CHAI is rooted in "Cha", Chinese for tea.
53D: Like 45s: MONO. Monophonic?
54D: Lady of the Haus: FRAU. Haus is German for "house".
55D: Ore seeker's entrance: ADIT. This has become a gimme.
58D: Loc. __: CIT. The other footnote is IBID.
Answer grid.
C.C.
