Theme: Commands to FIDO (61D: Pet targeted by the first words of this puzzle's four longest answers) - Common phrases that start with a doggy order.
17A: Make an appearance: COME DOWN THE PIKE. New idiom to me. PIKE is short for turnpike.
26A: Do nothing: SIT ON ONE'S HANDS. Don't you think Philip Garrido's wife deserves more severe publishment?
48A: Dancing instruction from KC and the Sunshine Band: SHAKE YOUR BOOTY. Here is the clip. My first theme fill. Beyonce sure knows how to shake her booty. So does Shakira.
63A: Death row reprieve: STAY OF EXECUTION. I was surprised to find that the word "execution" does not always mean "death penalty" in this legal phrase. Wikipedia says it "refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed".
I wonder when FIDO became a common dog name. It's Latin for "I trust"/"faithful". Same root as Fidel, as in Fidel Castro.
Had some trouble with lower left corner. Felt silly stumped by ASIA (54D: Where billions live), after living there for almost 30 years. I suppose you can clue CHINA & INDIA as "Where billions live" too.
Do read Donna's interview. She talked about the other theme candidates that failed to make the cut.
Across:
1A: Big bird's grabber: TALON. What is "Small bird's grabber" then? CLAW?
6A: Croquet venue: LAWN. I always associate Croquet/Polo with the British aristocracy.
10A: Winery container: CASK. VAT is often clued this way.
14A: Essential acid, familiarly: AMINO. AMINO Acid.
16A: Galway Bay's __ Islands: ARAN. No idea. See this map. It's on the west coast of Ireland. How to pronounce ARAN? AIR-ran?
20A: Bolsheviks' bane: TSAR. Had a very romantic view of Bolsheviks & Che Guevara growing up.
21A: Ins. plans: HMOS. Was puzzled by Ins. (Insurance). "Med. plans" would be easier for me.
22A: Auto dealer's agreement, at times: LEASE
23A: Andy Taylor's boy: OPIE. "The Andy Griffith Show". Played by Ron Howard. I liked him in "American Graffiti".
25A: Cloak-and-dagger org.: CIA. Naomi Watts will play Valerie Plame in the movie "Fair Game".
33A: Movie trailer, e.g.: PROMO
34A: Bartender's rocks: ICE. NEAT is "sans ice".
38A: Fortified Portuguese wine: MADEIRA (muh-DEER-uh). Made in the MADEIRA Islands. Off the NW coast of West Africa.
42A: Draw: TIE. Noun. It's a draw/TIE.
43A: Throw in a chip: ANTE
45A: Nintendo game console: WII. Sounds like "we". The spelling of Wii with two lower-case "i" characters is meant to resemble two people standing side by side.
46A: Yankee's home: BRONX. The new Yankee Stadium is just across the street from the old one.
52A: "Groovy": RAD
53A: Seaside city: PORT. Bob Klahn would probably clue PORT as wine-related to echo MADEIRA.
54A: More than sufficiently: AMPLY. Alas, I did not read the clue properly. Had AMPLE.
57A: Greeley's direction for young men: WEST. "Go WEST, young men". Horace Greeley used this expression in an editorial in his "New York Tribune".
59A: Linc's "Mod Squad" do: AFRO. Easy guess. I don't know who Linc is. I remember this picture though. Peggy Lipton is very pretty.
66A: Enjoying a lot: INTO. I've got to learn to put a preposition for this kind of grammar-confusing clue.
68A: Doomed Genesis city: SODOM. SODOM and Gomorrah. The Biblical homosexual sin cities. Sodomy is rooted in SODOM.
69A: YMCA part: Abbr.: ASSN. Did not like the clue due to ABBR (41D: E.g.. e.g.).
70A: Lessons learned early: ABCS
71A: Eat away at: ERODE
Down:
2D: "Famous" cookie: AMOS. I used to really like Nabisco's chocolate chip cookies.
3D: South American capital: LIMA. LIMA bean is named after the city, though with a different pronunciation.
4D: Like a studio apartment: ONE-ROOM
6D: Marshals, unusually: LAWMEN
7D: 12 for Mg or 20 for Ca, e.g.: AT NO (Atomic Number). Easy guess. Mg=Magnesium. Ca=Calcium.
8D: Mental faculties: WITS
9D: Extreme degree: NTH
10D: Peninsula bordering Massachusetts Bay: CAPE ANN. See this map. Remember this Mike Peluso puzzle? CAPE ANN, Cape Fear, Cape Horn and Cape Cod.
11D: Diva's piece: ARIA
12D: Bloomingdale's rival: SAKS. SAKS Fifth Avenue.
13D: Genuflection joint: KNEE
18D: West Virginia border river: OHIO. Again, WEST is an answer.
19D: Lamb's pen name: ELIA. Here is an updated alias names of our editor Rich Norris.
24D: __ Penh, Cambodia: PNOM. Phnom Penh is more common.
25D: "If I Could Turn Back Time" singer: CHER. Loved the song.
26D: Pet welfare org.: SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). Ah, bonus fill. Sometimes the answer is ASPCA (American SPCA). PETA is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
28D: Place for a crown or cap: TOOTH. What were you thinking? Head?
30D: Biol. or geol.: SCI
31D: Artoo's "surname": DETOO. R2-D2, The "Star Wars" robot. Phonetically spelled Artoo-DETOO.
32D: Be frugal: STINT
40D: Like some home improvement projects, briefly: DIY (Do-It-Yourself)
44D: Near the outset: EARLY ON
47D: __ cuff: pitching injury site: ROTATOR. Shoulder injury. Elbow, wrist & shoulder, common pitching injury sites.
49D: Fight stopper: KAYO. More used to KO (knockout).
50D: Underdog victories: UPSETS
51D: Campus mil. group: ROTC. Quite a few ABBRs in today's puzzle.
55D: "White" peaks in N.H.: MTNS. Have never heard of this mountain range.
57D: Jack of "Dragnet": WEBB. He played Sergeant Friday in "Dragnet". I obtained the answer from Across fills.
58D: Corporate VIP: EXEC
61D: Large cross: ROOD. I forgot. Saw this word somewhere before. Large crucifix.
62D: "Dinner is __": ON ME. Thanks for being so generous.
64D: Flight oversight org.: FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). What a nightmare for FAA in those dark days! Where were you on Sept 11? My husband called from work and asked me to turn on the TV. I was stunned.
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is a sweet photo of our fellow LAT solver Mainiac and his gorgeous wife Jill. They've been married for 13 years, but he still introduces her as his girlfriend. This picture is simply adorable. On the left is their 13-year-old son Sam, who is holding 5-month-old Zivah. Their younger son Gus is 10 years old. He is holding the 5-month-old Hank.
C.C.
17A: Make an appearance: COME DOWN THE PIKE. New idiom to me. PIKE is short for turnpike.
26A: Do nothing: SIT ON ONE'S HANDS. Don't you think Philip Garrido's wife deserves more severe publishment?
48A: Dancing instruction from KC and the Sunshine Band: SHAKE YOUR BOOTY. Here is the clip. My first theme fill. Beyonce sure knows how to shake her booty. So does Shakira.
63A: Death row reprieve: STAY OF EXECUTION. I was surprised to find that the word "execution" does not always mean "death penalty" in this legal phrase. Wikipedia says it "refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed".
I wonder when FIDO became a common dog name. It's Latin for "I trust"/"faithful". Same root as Fidel, as in Fidel Castro.
Had some trouble with lower left corner. Felt silly stumped by ASIA (54D: Where billions live), after living there for almost 30 years. I suppose you can clue CHINA & INDIA as "Where billions live" too.
Do read Donna's interview. She talked about the other theme candidates that failed to make the cut.
Across:
1A: Big bird's grabber: TALON. What is "Small bird's grabber" then? CLAW?
6A: Croquet venue: LAWN. I always associate Croquet/Polo with the British aristocracy.
10A: Winery container: CASK. VAT is often clued this way.
14A: Essential acid, familiarly: AMINO. AMINO Acid.
16A: Galway Bay's __ Islands: ARAN. No idea. See this map. It's on the west coast of Ireland. How to pronounce ARAN? AIR-ran?
20A: Bolsheviks' bane: TSAR. Had a very romantic view of Bolsheviks & Che Guevara growing up.
21A: Ins. plans: HMOS. Was puzzled by Ins. (Insurance). "Med. plans" would be easier for me.
22A: Auto dealer's agreement, at times: LEASE
23A: Andy Taylor's boy: OPIE. "The Andy Griffith Show". Played by Ron Howard. I liked him in "American Graffiti".
25A: Cloak-and-dagger org.: CIA. Naomi Watts will play Valerie Plame in the movie "Fair Game".
33A: Movie trailer, e.g.: PROMO
34A: Bartender's rocks: ICE. NEAT is "sans ice".
38A: Fortified Portuguese wine: MADEIRA (muh-DEER-uh). Made in the MADEIRA Islands. Off the NW coast of West Africa.
42A: Draw: TIE. Noun. It's a draw/TIE.
43A: Throw in a chip: ANTE
45A: Nintendo game console: WII. Sounds like "we". The spelling of Wii with two lower-case "i" characters is meant to resemble two people standing side by side.
46A: Yankee's home: BRONX. The new Yankee Stadium is just across the street from the old one.
52A: "Groovy": RAD
53A: Seaside city: PORT. Bob Klahn would probably clue PORT as wine-related to echo MADEIRA.
54A: More than sufficiently: AMPLY. Alas, I did not read the clue properly. Had AMPLE.
57A: Greeley's direction for young men: WEST. "Go WEST, young men". Horace Greeley used this expression in an editorial in his "New York Tribune".
59A: Linc's "Mod Squad" do: AFRO. Easy guess. I don't know who Linc is. I remember this picture though. Peggy Lipton is very pretty.
66A: Enjoying a lot: INTO. I've got to learn to put a preposition for this kind of grammar-confusing clue.
68A: Doomed Genesis city: SODOM. SODOM and Gomorrah. The Biblical homosexual sin cities. Sodomy is rooted in SODOM.
69A: YMCA part: Abbr.: ASSN. Did not like the clue due to ABBR (41D: E.g.. e.g.).
70A: Lessons learned early: ABCS
71A: Eat away at: ERODE
Down:
2D: "Famous" cookie: AMOS. I used to really like Nabisco's chocolate chip cookies.
3D: South American capital: LIMA. LIMA bean is named after the city, though with a different pronunciation.
4D: Like a studio apartment: ONE-ROOM
6D: Marshals, unusually: LAWMEN
7D: 12 for Mg or 20 for Ca, e.g.: AT NO (Atomic Number). Easy guess. Mg=Magnesium. Ca=Calcium.
8D: Mental faculties: WITS
9D: Extreme degree: NTH
10D: Peninsula bordering Massachusetts Bay: CAPE ANN. See this map. Remember this Mike Peluso puzzle? CAPE ANN, Cape Fear, Cape Horn and Cape Cod.
11D: Diva's piece: ARIA
12D: Bloomingdale's rival: SAKS. SAKS Fifth Avenue.
13D: Genuflection joint: KNEE
18D: West Virginia border river: OHIO. Again, WEST is an answer.
19D: Lamb's pen name: ELIA. Here is an updated alias names of our editor Rich Norris.
24D: __ Penh, Cambodia: PNOM. Phnom Penh is more common.
25D: "If I Could Turn Back Time" singer: CHER. Loved the song.
26D: Pet welfare org.: SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). Ah, bonus fill. Sometimes the answer is ASPCA (American SPCA). PETA is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
28D: Place for a crown or cap: TOOTH. What were you thinking? Head?
30D: Biol. or geol.: SCI
31D: Artoo's "surname": DETOO. R2-D2, The "Star Wars" robot. Phonetically spelled Artoo-DETOO.
32D: Be frugal: STINT
40D: Like some home improvement projects, briefly: DIY (Do-It-Yourself)
44D: Near the outset: EARLY ON
47D: __ cuff: pitching injury site: ROTATOR. Shoulder injury. Elbow, wrist & shoulder, common pitching injury sites.
49D: Fight stopper: KAYO. More used to KO (knockout).
50D: Underdog victories: UPSETS
51D: Campus mil. group: ROTC. Quite a few ABBRs in today's puzzle.
55D: "White" peaks in N.H.: MTNS. Have never heard of this mountain range.
57D: Jack of "Dragnet": WEBB. He played Sergeant Friday in "Dragnet". I obtained the answer from Across fills.
58D: Corporate VIP: EXEC
61D: Large cross: ROOD. I forgot. Saw this word somewhere before. Large crucifix.
62D: "Dinner is __": ON ME. Thanks for being so generous.
64D: Flight oversight org.: FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). What a nightmare for FAA in those dark days! Where were you on Sept 11? My husband called from work and asked me to turn on the TV. I was stunned.
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is a sweet photo of our fellow LAT solver Mainiac and his gorgeous wife Jill. They've been married for 13 years, but he still introduces her as his girlfriend. This picture is simply adorable. On the left is their 13-year-old son Sam, who is holding 5-month-old Zivah. Their younger son Gus is 10 years old. He is holding the 5-month-old Hank.
C.C.
