Theme: Homophones - The last words of the three theme answers are homophones.
20A: Sophisticated taste, foodwise: REFINED PALATE
36A: Studio item with a thumbhole: PAINTER'S PALETTE
47A: Portable shipping platform: FREIGHT PALLET
The bees (Barb & Melissa) blogging.
We didn't recognize the constructor's name. So we looked him up. Gary Whitehead is a poet, painter, teacher and crossword constructor. Get this. He also wrote this piece for the Christian Science Monitor titled A question of morels.
Homophones are words that are pronounced the same, but are different in spelling and meaning. PALLET can also mean a mattress or small, temporary bed. There are probably a lot of visiting family members sleeping on pallets this week. That might be next for Barb B, a.k.a. Goldilocks. The futon is too hard, and the couch is too soft. Maybe a pallet would be just right. Or maybe she just needs a massage.
Lots of expensive scrabbly letters, but alas, no K, Q or W.
Across:
1: Job detail, briefly: SPEC.
5: First appearance: DEBUT.
10: Irish dances: JIGS.
14: Prefix with space: AERO.
15: Really peeved: IRATE. Michael Smith's famous mad bluebird photograph. What's your pet peeve?
16: Campus south of Sunset Blvd: UCLA.
17: Investor's goal: GAIN.
18: Subsidiary building: ANNEX.
19: Thoughtful: DEEP.
23: B&Bs: INNS. Mother and daughter, too.
24: Jane Fonda, to Peter: SIS.
25: Ping-Pong need: PADDLE.
28: Airing, as an ESPN game: ON TV.
30: Schmooze: GAB.
33: See eye to eye: AGREE.
34: "Night" author Wiesel: ELIE.
35: Nod off: DOZE.
39: Datebook entry: Abbr.: APPT.
40: Improves in the wine cellar: AGES.
41: Western: OATER.
42: Guitarist ____ Paul: LES. June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009. Moonglow. RIP Les.
43: 1982 Disney sci-fi movie: TRON.
44: Pessimistic types: CYNICS.
45: Sidekick: PAL.
46: Sargasso et al.: SEAS. The Sargasso Sea is in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle, and named for the sargassum seaweed that floats in it. Wide Sargasso Sea is a prequel to Jane Eyre, made into a movie.
53: "The Haj" novelist: URIS. Haj = pilgrimage to Mecca. Haji = one who has made a pilgrimage. Who remembers this Hadji?
54: Racetrack borders: RAILS.
55: Giant screen format: IMAX.
57: Vitality: ZEST.
58: Els on the links: ERNIE. Crossword staple. Currently ranked 16th. Career earnings: $35,810,558.
59: Free from doubt: SURE. And 4D: Free from doubt: CONFIDENT. Nice echo. Nice echo.
60: Foreboding date for Caesar: IDES.
61: Dublin-born poet: YEATS. From A Prayer For My Daughter: Have I not seen the loveliest woman born...
62: Romanov ruler: TSAR.
Down:
1: Droop: SAG.
2: Anjou or Bosc: PEAR. Homophones: pair and pare.
3: Toledo's lake: ERIE.
5: California senator Feinstein: DIANNE.
6: Maritime raptors: ERNES.
7: Robinhood's merry men, e.g.: BAND. Including Maid Marion and Friar Tuck.
8: Longhorn State sch.: UTEP. University of Texas at El Paso.
9: Oil, informally: TEXAS TEA.
10: Biblical traitor: JUDAS.
11: Rapper-turned-actor: ICE T.
12: Tickled-pink feeling: GLEE. Right Dennis?
13: Maple yield: SAP.
21: Bay or cove: INLET.
22: Actress Tyler: LIV. Aerosmith's Steven Tyler's daughter.
25: Of the Holy See: PAPAL. "See" comes from the Latin word sedes, meaning the seat or residence of the bishop.
26: Showing shock: AGAPE.
27: Plumbing problems: DRIPS.
28: Jimmy of the Daily Planet: OLSEN.
29: Playful bites: NIPS.
30: Gangster dubbed "The Teflon Don": GOTTI. Dapper Don. John Gotti Jr. is following in his father's footsteps. He's on trial for racketeering and murder, current jury deadlocked after three hung juries.
31: Ancient Mexican: AZTEC.
32: Tavern round: BEERS.
34: Consequently: ERGO.
35: Academic honor: DEAN'S LIST.
37: Tea named for William IV's prime minister: EARL GREY. Infused with bergamot.
38: True blue: LOYAL. Hey! What?
43: Mai ___: cocktail: TAI.
44: Breaks off: CEASES.
45: Roaches, ants, etc.: PESTS.
46. Bowler's headache: SPLIT. Also the word that starts Bananagram game. We've been playing. Barb B keeps winning.
47. Wilma's mate: FRED.
48. Greet the day: RISE.
49: Cocksure Aesopian racer: HARE.
50: "Saturday Night Live" alum Fey: TINA.
51: Outback runners: EMUS. Have you tried Emu oil?
52: O'Hara home: TARA. Rhymes.
53: Action film gun: UZI.
56: Gen-____: boomer's kid, usually: XER. Generation X.
Answer grid.
Barb & Melissa
20A: Sophisticated taste, foodwise: REFINED PALATE
36A: Studio item with a thumbhole: PAINTER'S PALETTE
47A: Portable shipping platform: FREIGHT PALLET
The bees (Barb & Melissa) blogging.
We didn't recognize the constructor's name. So we looked him up. Gary Whitehead is a poet, painter, teacher and crossword constructor. Get this. He also wrote this piece for the Christian Science Monitor titled A question of morels.
Homophones are words that are pronounced the same, but are different in spelling and meaning. PALLET can also mean a mattress or small, temporary bed. There are probably a lot of visiting family members sleeping on pallets this week. That might be next for Barb B, a.k.a. Goldilocks. The futon is too hard, and the couch is too soft. Maybe a pallet would be just right. Or maybe she just needs a massage.
Lots of expensive scrabbly letters, but alas, no K, Q or W.
Across:
1: Job detail, briefly: SPEC.
5: First appearance: DEBUT.
10: Irish dances: JIGS.
14: Prefix with space: AERO.
15: Really peeved: IRATE. Michael Smith's famous mad bluebird photograph. What's your pet peeve?
16: Campus south of Sunset Blvd: UCLA.
17: Investor's goal: GAIN.
18: Subsidiary building: ANNEX.
19: Thoughtful: DEEP.
23: B&Bs: INNS. Mother and daughter, too.
24: Jane Fonda, to Peter: SIS.
25: Ping-Pong need: PADDLE.
28: Airing, as an ESPN game: ON TV.
30: Schmooze: GAB.
33: See eye to eye: AGREE.
34: "Night" author Wiesel: ELIE.
35: Nod off: DOZE.
39: Datebook entry: Abbr.: APPT.
40: Improves in the wine cellar: AGES.
41: Western: OATER.
42: Guitarist ____ Paul: LES. June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009. Moonglow. RIP Les.
43: 1982 Disney sci-fi movie: TRON.
44: Pessimistic types: CYNICS.
45: Sidekick: PAL.
46: Sargasso et al.: SEAS. The Sargasso Sea is in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle, and named for the sargassum seaweed that floats in it. Wide Sargasso Sea is a prequel to Jane Eyre, made into a movie.
53: "The Haj" novelist: URIS. Haj = pilgrimage to Mecca. Haji = one who has made a pilgrimage. Who remembers this Hadji?
54: Racetrack borders: RAILS.
55: Giant screen format: IMAX.
57: Vitality: ZEST.
58: Els on the links: ERNIE. Crossword staple. Currently ranked 16th. Career earnings: $35,810,558.
59: Free from doubt: SURE. And 4D: Free from doubt: CONFIDENT. Nice echo. Nice echo.
60: Foreboding date for Caesar: IDES.
61: Dublin-born poet: YEATS. From A Prayer For My Daughter: Have I not seen the loveliest woman born...
62: Romanov ruler: TSAR.
Down:
1: Droop: SAG.
2: Anjou or Bosc: PEAR. Homophones: pair and pare.
3: Toledo's lake: ERIE.
5: California senator Feinstein: DIANNE.
6: Maritime raptors: ERNES.
7: Robinhood's merry men, e.g.: BAND. Including Maid Marion and Friar Tuck.
8: Longhorn State sch.: UTEP. University of Texas at El Paso.
9: Oil, informally: TEXAS TEA.
10: Biblical traitor: JUDAS.
11: Rapper-turned-actor: ICE T.
12: Tickled-pink feeling: GLEE. Right Dennis?
13: Maple yield: SAP.
21: Bay or cove: INLET.
22: Actress Tyler: LIV. Aerosmith's Steven Tyler's daughter.
25: Of the Holy See: PAPAL. "See" comes from the Latin word sedes, meaning the seat or residence of the bishop.
26: Showing shock: AGAPE.
27: Plumbing problems: DRIPS.
28: Jimmy of the Daily Planet: OLSEN.
29: Playful bites: NIPS.
30: Gangster dubbed "The Teflon Don": GOTTI. Dapper Don. John Gotti Jr. is following in his father's footsteps. He's on trial for racketeering and murder, current jury deadlocked after three hung juries.
31: Ancient Mexican: AZTEC.
32: Tavern round: BEERS.
34: Consequently: ERGO.
35: Academic honor: DEAN'S LIST.
37: Tea named for William IV's prime minister: EARL GREY. Infused with bergamot.
38: True blue: LOYAL. Hey! What?
43: Mai ___: cocktail: TAI.
44: Breaks off: CEASES.
45: Roaches, ants, etc.: PESTS.
46. Bowler's headache: SPLIT. Also the word that starts Bananagram game. We've been playing. Barb B keeps winning.
47. Wilma's mate: FRED.
48. Greet the day: RISE.
49: Cocksure Aesopian racer: HARE.
50: "Saturday Night Live" alum Fey: TINA.
51: Outback runners: EMUS. Have you tried Emu oil?
52: O'Hara home: TARA. Rhymes.
53: Action film gun: UZI.
56: Gen-____: boomer's kid, usually: XER. Generation X.
Answer grid.
Barb & Melissa
