Theme: Aye Aye, Sir - Eight-letter, Two-word Assonant Phrases (Long "I" vowel rhyme).
20A: Like Tater Tots: BITE-SIZE.
24A: Metaphorical site of some presidential chats: FIRESIDE.
48A: Lengthy guarantee period: LIFETIME.
53A: "Ditto": LIKEWISE.
4D: Delicate path to walk: FINE LINE.
40D: Energetic type: LIVE WIRE.
Argyle here. I don't know what to say. It's a pangram puzzle, but it has the feel of a puzzle put together by a computer program. Just not much life to it.
Would be cool if long "I" sounds were completely eliminated from non-theme fill.
Across:
1A: Valley girl's "Pshaw!": AS IF.
5A: Ere: AFORE.
10A: Facial bones: JAWS.
15A: City attacked by Godzilla: TOKYO. Movie monster
18A: Bee parts that are really cool?: KNEES. Coined in 1920s as part of the flapper language, 'the bee's knees' meant excellent, as did 'the cat's pyjamas'.
19A: Online prefix with -pedia: WIKI. I would be lost without it(but I don't always trust it.)
22A: Jeered: GIBED.
23A: Novelist Deighton: LEN.
27A: "Haste makes waste" and others: MAXIMS.
30A: Sassy: FRESH.
31A: Tree of life site: EDEN.
32A: Baked __: BEANS.
33A: Automne preceder: ETE. French. Summer (ete) precedes autumn (automne).
36A: Place for a Pinot: WINE BAR.
39A: Handyman's carryall: TOOL BOX.
41A: __-Caps: candy: SNO. Usual found in movie theaters. Sno-Caps
44A: "Dies __": hymn: IRAE.
45A: Bravery: VALOR.
46A: Chunks of fairway: DIVOTS. Something I'm familiar with. "Please replace your divots."
51A: Many a Roddick serve: ACE.
58A: Turin-based automaker: FIAT. One-time largest auto maker in the world.
59A: Dispatch boat: AVISO. Finally has become a gimme for me.
63A: Ceiling: LIMIT.
64A: Pro __: RATA.
65A: River of Hades: STYX.
67A: Prefix with distant: EQUI.
Down:
1D: Graceful horse: ARAB.
2D: "The Open Window" storywriter: SAKI. I loved that story.
3D: Part of LBJ, e.g.: Abbr.: INIT.. Initial.
5D: "Diet Revolution" doctor: ATKINS.
6D: "Aaay!" sayer of '70s-'80s TV: FONZ.
7D: Painter Georgia: O'KEEFFE.
8D: Deli request: RYE.
9D: Dawn deity: EOS. Aurora for the Romans.
10D: Like the calendar established by Hillel II: JEWISH. The Jewish calendar is lunisolar. That is, its months are synchronized with the phases of the moon, but its average year length approximates the mean length of a solar year.
11D: Cover story?: ALIBI.
12D: Roused: WAKED.
13D: Said with a sneer: SNIDE.
21D: Future father's sch.?: SEM..
22D: Plaster painting surface: GESSO.
25D: Teed off: IRATE.
26D: Attorney general under Clinton: RENO. Janet Reno.
27D: Kittens' cries: MEWS.
28D: Server's edge, in tennis: AD IN.
29D: Alien: Pref.: XENO.
32D: Dustpan's partner: BROOM.
33D: Spanish river: EBRO. Northern Spain. Map
34D: Perfectly: TO A T.
35D: It can be awkward when they run into each other: EXES.
37D: Rhythms: BEATS.
38D: "__ want for Christmas ...": ALL I.
43D: Fights before the main event, for short: PRELIMS.
45D: Highest point: VERTEX.
46D: Actress Fanning: DAKOTA. She was seven when she won a role in the movie Tomcats(2001).
47D: Rocks at the bar: ICE.
48D: Hay storage areas: LOFTS.
49D: Chucklehead: IDIOT.
50D: Like freshly poured beer: FOAMY.
54D: "__ just me, or ...": IS IT.
55D: Baghdad's land: IRAQ.
56D: In __: as found: SITU.
57D: Morales of "La Bamba": ESAI.
59D: Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP.
60D: Through: VIA.
Answer grid.
Argyle
20A: Like Tater Tots: BITE-SIZE.
24A: Metaphorical site of some presidential chats: FIRESIDE.
48A: Lengthy guarantee period: LIFETIME.
53A: "Ditto": LIKEWISE.
4D: Delicate path to walk: FINE LINE.
40D: Energetic type: LIVE WIRE.
Argyle here. I don't know what to say. It's a pangram puzzle, but it has the feel of a puzzle put together by a computer program. Just not much life to it.
Would be cool if long "I" sounds were completely eliminated from non-theme fill.
Across:
1A: Valley girl's "Pshaw!": AS IF.
5A: Ere: AFORE.
10A: Facial bones: JAWS.
15A: City attacked by Godzilla: TOKYO. Movie monster
18A: Bee parts that are really cool?: KNEES. Coined in 1920s as part of the flapper language, 'the bee's knees' meant excellent, as did 'the cat's pyjamas'.
19A: Online prefix with -pedia: WIKI. I would be lost without it(but I don't always trust it.)
22A: Jeered: GIBED.
23A: Novelist Deighton: LEN.
27A: "Haste makes waste" and others: MAXIMS.
30A: Sassy: FRESH.
31A: Tree of life site: EDEN.
32A: Baked __: BEANS.
33A: Automne preceder: ETE. French. Summer (ete) precedes autumn (automne).
36A: Place for a Pinot: WINE BAR.
39A: Handyman's carryall: TOOL BOX.
41A: __-Caps: candy: SNO. Usual found in movie theaters. Sno-Caps
44A: "Dies __": hymn: IRAE.
45A: Bravery: VALOR.
46A: Chunks of fairway: DIVOTS. Something I'm familiar with. "Please replace your divots."
51A: Many a Roddick serve: ACE.
58A: Turin-based automaker: FIAT. One-time largest auto maker in the world.
59A: Dispatch boat: AVISO. Finally has become a gimme for me.
63A: Ceiling: LIMIT.
64A: Pro __: RATA.
65A: River of Hades: STYX.
67A: Prefix with distant: EQUI.
Down:
1D: Graceful horse: ARAB.
2D: "The Open Window" storywriter: SAKI. I loved that story.
3D: Part of LBJ, e.g.: Abbr.: INIT.. Initial.
5D: "Diet Revolution" doctor: ATKINS.
6D: "Aaay!" sayer of '70s-'80s TV: FONZ.
7D: Painter Georgia: O'KEEFFE.
8D: Deli request: RYE.
9D: Dawn deity: EOS. Aurora for the Romans.
10D: Like the calendar established by Hillel II: JEWISH. The Jewish calendar is lunisolar. That is, its months are synchronized with the phases of the moon, but its average year length approximates the mean length of a solar year.
11D: Cover story?: ALIBI.
12D: Roused: WAKED.
13D: Said with a sneer: SNIDE.
21D: Future father's sch.?: SEM..
22D: Plaster painting surface: GESSO.
25D: Teed off: IRATE.
26D: Attorney general under Clinton: RENO. Janet Reno.
27D: Kittens' cries: MEWS.
28D: Server's edge, in tennis: AD IN.
29D: Alien: Pref.: XENO.
32D: Dustpan's partner: BROOM.
33D: Spanish river: EBRO. Northern Spain. Map
34D: Perfectly: TO A T.
35D: It can be awkward when they run into each other: EXES.
37D: Rhythms: BEATS.
38D: "__ want for Christmas ...": ALL I.
43D: Fights before the main event, for short: PRELIMS.
45D: Highest point: VERTEX.
46D: Actress Fanning: DAKOTA. She was seven when she won a role in the movie Tomcats(2001).
47D: Rocks at the bar: ICE.
48D: Hay storage areas: LOFTS.
49D: Chucklehead: IDIOT.
50D: Like freshly poured beer: FOAMY.
54D: "__ just me, or ...": IS IT.
55D: Baghdad's land: IRAQ.
56D: In __: as found: SITU.
57D: Morales of "La Bamba": ESAI.
59D: Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP.
60D: Through: VIA.
Answer grid.
Argyle
