Theme: Just a Tease!
17A: Mojave Desert grower: JOSHUA TREE
26A: Flashy theatrically: RAZZLE-DAZZLE
44A: VIP at a grand opening: RIBBON CUTTER
60A: Place to wade: KIDDIE POOL
A pangram. 5 Z's. Unbelievable. There are also 6 V's in the grid. Quite unusual.
Such a tight & focused theme. RAZZLE-DAZZLE is certainly the showiest entry. Wish NEEDLE (45D: Bit of Christmas debris) were just clued as "Tease".
I had trouble with lower right corner. Penned in TROY instead of EPIC for 55D: "Cast-of-thousands movie" and messed up the whole corner.
Across:
1A: Knocks senseless: DAZES. And TKOS (52AD: Ali stats).
6A: "__ Zapata!": 1952 film: VIVA. Elia Kazan film, starring Marlon Brando. I obtained the answer from Down fills. I had ?IVA there and thought of DIVA first.
10A: Hook for landing large fish: GAFF. Faux pas is GAFFE.
14A: Send to the Hill, say: ELECT. Capitol Hill.
15A: Sister of Ares: ERIS. Twin sister to be exact. ERIS is the apple thrower who indirectly initiated the Trojan War. Greek goddess of discord.
16A: Teen follower?: AGER. Teenager.
19A: Tear to pieces: RIVE. So the person who tears the stuff to pieces would be RIVER?
20A: Coin-op eatery: AUTOMAT
21A: Moved to and fro, as a golf club just before swinging: WAGGLED. I'm glad Sergio Garcia gave up his waggle habit. Painful to watch. Just hit the damned ball.
23A: Harris' __ Rabbit: BR'ER
25A: Last Olds ever made: ALERO. Discontinued in 2004. Some source says ALERO is a Nigerian name meaning "Grace of the Land".
32A: "Tiny Alice" dramatist: ALBEE (Edward). The answer emerged itself.
33A: Rattler's pose: COIL
37A: Haunted house sound: MOAN
38A: Scout's job, for short: RECON
42A: Former wrestling star __ Brazil: BOBO. No idea. Wikipedia say this guy was credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, and he is often referred to as the Jackie Robinson of wrestling,
43A: Luxurious fur: SABLE
47A: Up and about: RISEN
51A: Exams for would-be Mensas: IQ TESTS. Why did those Kamikaze pilots bother to wear helmets?
54A: Perfumery product: ESSENCE. ATTAR is often clued as "Essence of roses".
59A: Simon & Garfunkel et al.: DUOS
62A: Show flexibility: GIVE. A perfectly ripe mango should GIVE a little when pressed.
64A: Popular DVRs: TIVOS
65A: Seine summers: ETES. What Jerome himself said.
67A: 1"=100', e.g.: SCALE. What kind of SCALE?
Down:
1D: __ vu: DEJA. "DEJA Vu" is also a Denzel Washington movie. Very strange.
5D: Trip: STUMBLE. Verb.
6D: Checked out thoroughly: VETTED. Brutal vetting process in politics.
7D: Bargain tag abbr.: IRR
8D: Penthouse feature: VIEW
10D: Use Listerine, say: GARGLE
11D: Mentally quick: AGILE. "Physically quick" too.
12D: Peggy Lee signature song: FEVER
13D: Feckless Corleone brother: FREDO. He is indeed feckless. Sonny is hot-headed and reckless. Michael is just a perfect Godfather, calculated and ruthless.
18D: Bern's river: AARE. Or AAR. The river flows from the Alps into the Rhine. Aa is an old German for "running water". R is "river" I presume?
22D: It may be unmitigated: GALL. Is "unmitigated GALL" a common phrase?
28D: Letter-shaped beam: Z-BAR. No idea. Like this?
29D: Buddhist sect: ZEN. I like how it mirrors ZIN (31D: California red, briefly) in the grid.
34D: Cardholder's woe: DEBT
35D: Car bar: AXLE. Nice rhyme.
36D: Textile worker: DYER
39D: Fall away: EBB
42D: Trash holders: BINS. Wrote down CANS first.
43D: Romantic lowerings: SUNSETS. Did not come to me immediately. I was stumped by "lowerings".
44D: __ Pieces, candy brand: REESE'S. I've never had this candy. Do they taste similar to M & M?
46D: Mozart's "__ fan tutte": COSI. Italian for "Thus do all (women)" or "Women are like that". COSI = thus, in this way. Fan=do. Tutte=feminine form for "all". Mozart's comic opera (buffa). Alien to me.
47D: Ruffles potato chip feature: RIDGE
48D: Fed-up employee's announcement: I QUIT
49D: Potbelly, e.g.: STOVE. Wikipedia says the potbelly sandwich name is derived from the potbelly STOVE.
53D: Hindu "Destroyer": SIVA. Or Shiva. Plus Brahma the "Creator" & Vishnu the "Preserver". Hindu Trinity.
56D: 1960s-'80s Chevy: NOVA. No idea.
57D: Calm under pressure: COOL. "Grace under pressure" = COURAGE (Hemingway).
58D: "All __ being equal...": ELSE
61D: Hydroelectric project: DAM. China's Three Gorges DAM is the world's largest hydroelectric project.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A: Mojave Desert grower: JOSHUA TREE
26A: Flashy theatrically: RAZZLE-DAZZLE
44A: VIP at a grand opening: RIBBON CUTTER
60A: Place to wade: KIDDIE POOL
A pangram. 5 Z's. Unbelievable. There are also 6 V's in the grid. Quite unusual.
Such a tight & focused theme. RAZZLE-DAZZLE is certainly the showiest entry. Wish NEEDLE (45D: Bit of Christmas debris) were just clued as "Tease".
I had trouble with lower right corner. Penned in TROY instead of EPIC for 55D: "Cast-of-thousands movie" and messed up the whole corner.
Across:
1A: Knocks senseless: DAZES. And TKOS (52AD: Ali stats).
6A: "__ Zapata!": 1952 film: VIVA. Elia Kazan film, starring Marlon Brando. I obtained the answer from Down fills. I had ?IVA there and thought of DIVA first.
10A: Hook for landing large fish: GAFF. Faux pas is GAFFE.
14A: Send to the Hill, say: ELECT. Capitol Hill.
15A: Sister of Ares: ERIS. Twin sister to be exact. ERIS is the apple thrower who indirectly initiated the Trojan War. Greek goddess of discord.
16A: Teen follower?: AGER. Teenager.
19A: Tear to pieces: RIVE. So the person who tears the stuff to pieces would be RIVER?
20A: Coin-op eatery: AUTOMAT
21A: Moved to and fro, as a golf club just before swinging: WAGGLED. I'm glad Sergio Garcia gave up his waggle habit. Painful to watch. Just hit the damned ball.
23A: Harris' __ Rabbit: BR'ER
25A: Last Olds ever made: ALERO. Discontinued in 2004. Some source says ALERO is a Nigerian name meaning "Grace of the Land".
32A: "Tiny Alice" dramatist: ALBEE (Edward). The answer emerged itself.
33A: Rattler's pose: COIL
37A: Haunted house sound: MOAN
38A: Scout's job, for short: RECON
42A: Former wrestling star __ Brazil: BOBO. No idea. Wikipedia say this guy was credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, and he is often referred to as the Jackie Robinson of wrestling,
43A: Luxurious fur: SABLE
47A: Up and about: RISEN
51A: Exams for would-be Mensas: IQ TESTS. Why did those Kamikaze pilots bother to wear helmets?
54A: Perfumery product: ESSENCE. ATTAR is often clued as "Essence of roses".
59A: Simon & Garfunkel et al.: DUOS
62A: Show flexibility: GIVE. A perfectly ripe mango should GIVE a little when pressed.
64A: Popular DVRs: TIVOS
65A: Seine summers: ETES. What Jerome himself said.
67A: 1"=100', e.g.: SCALE. What kind of SCALE?
Down:
1D: __ vu: DEJA. "DEJA Vu" is also a Denzel Washington movie. Very strange.
5D: Trip: STUMBLE. Verb.
6D: Checked out thoroughly: VETTED. Brutal vetting process in politics.
7D: Bargain tag abbr.: IRR
8D: Penthouse feature: VIEW
10D: Use Listerine, say: GARGLE
11D: Mentally quick: AGILE. "Physically quick" too.
12D: Peggy Lee signature song: FEVER
13D: Feckless Corleone brother: FREDO. He is indeed feckless. Sonny is hot-headed and reckless. Michael is just a perfect Godfather, calculated and ruthless.
18D: Bern's river: AARE. Or AAR. The river flows from the Alps into the Rhine. Aa is an old German for "running water". R is "river" I presume?
22D: It may be unmitigated: GALL. Is "unmitigated GALL" a common phrase?
28D: Letter-shaped beam: Z-BAR. No idea. Like this?
29D: Buddhist sect: ZEN. I like how it mirrors ZIN (31D: California red, briefly) in the grid.
34D: Cardholder's woe: DEBT
35D: Car bar: AXLE. Nice rhyme.
36D: Textile worker: DYER
39D: Fall away: EBB
42D: Trash holders: BINS. Wrote down CANS first.
43D: Romantic lowerings: SUNSETS. Did not come to me immediately. I was stumped by "lowerings".
44D: __ Pieces, candy brand: REESE'S. I've never had this candy. Do they taste similar to M & M?
46D: Mozart's "__ fan tutte": COSI. Italian for "Thus do all (women)" or "Women are like that". COSI = thus, in this way. Fan=do. Tutte=feminine form for "all". Mozart's comic opera (buffa). Alien to me.
47D: Ruffles potato chip feature: RIDGE
48D: Fed-up employee's announcement: I QUIT
49D: Potbelly, e.g.: STOVE. Wikipedia says the potbelly sandwich name is derived from the potbelly STOVE.
53D: Hindu "Destroyer": SIVA. Or Shiva. Plus Brahma the "Creator" & Vishnu the "Preserver". Hindu Trinity.
56D: 1960s-'80s Chevy: NOVA. No idea.
57D: Calm under pressure: COOL. "Grace under pressure" = COURAGE (Hemingway).
58D: "All __ being equal...": ELSE
61D: Hydroelectric project: DAM. China's Three Gorges DAM is the world's largest hydroelectric project.
Answer grid.
C.C.
