Theme: Note-orious - Three consecutive musical notes are embedded in each theme entry.
16A. Comfort: CONSOLATION. So La Ti. Thought it's Sol.
61A. Sister Sledge hit: WE ARE FAMILY. Re Fa Mi.
39. Queen whose name contains three apt words in a row, as does each of this puzzle's four longest answers: LATIFAH. La Ti Fa. I like Queen Latifah in "Chicago". Then we had A ROW (5D. In __: lined up). Undesirable duplication.
10D. Outnumber all others: PREDOMINATE. Re Do Mi.
24D. Pooped: ALL TIRED OUT. Ti Re Do.
And two more musical instrument references from Merl Reagle, who plays keyboards:
52D. Instruments with pedals: HARPS. I don't associate harps with pedals.
64D. Concert finale?: INA. Concertina. Stumped me.
Unusual numbers of tricky and fresh clues for a Wednesday, no? Despite the heavy proper names, the puzzle itself is not hard. Fair crossings.
Across:
1. First name in nursing: CLARA (Barton). Founder of American Red Cross.
6. Bridges of Los Angeles County: JEFF. He's "The Dude" in "The Big Lebowski", directed the Coen brothers. Hollywood/LA is in LA County. The clue reminds me of "The Bridges of Madison County". Very romantic!
14. Shooting Starr: BELLE. Have never heard of Belle Starr. Wikipedia says she's a notorious American outlaw. I could only recall Ken Starr.
15. Cry that's a laugh backward: RAH. Nice new clue.
18. Eddie's "Green Acres" co-star: EVA (Gabor)
19. Contraction that's an "i" dropper: 'TWERE. Contraction of "it were". Got me. I liked the "eye"/"i" dropper pun.
22. Rhyme scheme used in a villanelle: ABAA. Maybe Clear Ayes can find us a villanelle today.
25. Follow: ENSUE
28. The __ Parade: ROSE
29. Co-creator of "The View": WALTERS (Barbara)
31. It gets let off: STEAM. Let off steam.
33. Specter on the Hill: ARLEN. Capitol Hill. Senator from PA.
34. Actor Dillon: MATT. He's awesome in "Crash".
35. Alcatraz, e.g.: Abbr.: ISL (Island). "The Rock" is a great movie.
38. Nap or nip preceder: CAT
42. PBS funder: NEA (National Endowment for the Arts)
43. Go down a slippery slope: SKI. Vivid clue.
44. Work without __: A NET
45. Mil. schools: ACADS (Academies)
47. Play delayers: RAINS. Twins new stadium has no roof.
49. Beethoven specialties: SONATAS. Beautiful "Moonlight Sonata".
51. "Mermaids" actress: CHER. Was ignorant of the film.
53. Online business: E-TAIL
55. __ Sweeney, Ethel Merman's "Anything Goes" role: RENO. The answer emerges itself.
56. "You __ be there": HAD TO
58. "The Crucible," e.g.: DRAMA. Arthur Miller play.
60. Guillermo's gold: ORO. Guillermo is the Spanish form of the name "William".
67. PC core: CPU
68. Thinks the world of: LOVES. "Ai" in Chinese. "Wo Ai Ni" = "I love you". Chinese does not have singular/plural forms for verbs.
69. Oscar de la __: RENTA. Laura Bush's favorite designer.
70. Sunrise direction, in Stuttgart: OST. German for "east". New to me, so is the German city Stuttgart.
71. Flip out: SNAP
72. Lewis or Lois colleague: CLARK. Lewis & Clark Expedition. Lois & Clark, Superman.
Down:
1. L x VI: CCC. 50 x 6 = 300
2. Oft-visited pub room: LOO. Nailed it.
4. Say another way: RESTATE
6. Ballet leaps: JETES (zhuh-TEY). I forgot. Here is a clip. PLIES is the "Ballet bends".
7. Passing Manning: ELI. Quarterback for the NY Giants. Nice rhyme.
8. __-Jo: Olympic sprinter's nickname: FLO. Lovely nickname.
9. Sedge-filled wetlands: FENS
11. #1 picks: FAVES
12. Phillies all-star slugger Utley: CHASE. Second baseman for the Phillies. I bet Dennis was excited to see Merl's byline today. He's been solving Merl's Sunday for years.
14. Tractor shelters: BARN. I like the double-syllable sounds of the clue.
17. Look like a wolf: LEER. Was picturing a real wolf.
21. Tax-deferring option, briefly: IRA
22. Spy plane acronym: AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System). Completely unknown to me.
23. Netanyahu's successor: BARAK (Ehud). Same pronunciation as Barack?
26. Gp. with F-16s: USAF
27. Henri's conclusion?: ETTA. No idea. I suppose it refers to Henrietta the town in NY.
30. Zhou __: EN-LAI. Mandarin Chinese. Cantonese is Chow En-Lai.
32. A Coen brother: ETHAN. Pride of Minnesota.
34. Where Ben Bernanke got his Ph.D.: MIT. Somehow I thought it's Yale. Bernanke was just named as Time Person of the Year 2009. Netanyahu graduated from MIT too.
36. Ford Taurus, e.g.: SEDAN
37. Calf catcher: LASSO
40. Actress Hathaway: ANNE. She's in "The Devil Wears Prada".
46. Apple topping: CARAMEL. Sweet!
48. Word before or after thou: ART. New spin on a common crossword fill.
49. Foal fathers: SIRES
50. Norse saint: OLAF. No Olaf/Olav wobbling today.
51. Intro to -holic: CHOCO. Chocoholic.
54. TV spot pro: AD REP. Fell into the ADMAN trap.
57. Temple's team: OWLS. Wikipedia says Temple was the first school in the United States to adopt the owl as its symbol.
59. Painter Chagall: MARC
62. Awfully long time: EON
Answer grid.
Ming tian jian!
C.C.
16A. Comfort: CONSOLATION. So La Ti. Thought it's Sol.
61A. Sister Sledge hit: WE ARE FAMILY. Re Fa Mi.
39. Queen whose name contains three apt words in a row, as does each of this puzzle's four longest answers: LATIFAH. La Ti Fa. I like Queen Latifah in "Chicago". Then we had A ROW (5D. In __: lined up). Undesirable duplication.
10D. Outnumber all others: PREDOMINATE. Re Do Mi.
24D. Pooped: ALL TIRED OUT. Ti Re Do.
And two more musical instrument references from Merl Reagle, who plays keyboards:
52D. Instruments with pedals: HARPS. I don't associate harps with pedals.
64D. Concert finale?: INA. Concertina. Stumped me.
Unusual numbers of tricky and fresh clues for a Wednesday, no? Despite the heavy proper names, the puzzle itself is not hard. Fair crossings.
Across:
1. First name in nursing: CLARA (Barton). Founder of American Red Cross.
6. Bridges of Los Angeles County: JEFF. He's "The Dude" in "The Big Lebowski", directed the Coen brothers. Hollywood/LA is in LA County. The clue reminds me of "The Bridges of Madison County". Very romantic!
14. Shooting Starr: BELLE. Have never heard of Belle Starr. Wikipedia says she's a notorious American outlaw. I could only recall Ken Starr.
15. Cry that's a laugh backward: RAH. Nice new clue.
18. Eddie's "Green Acres" co-star: EVA (Gabor)
19. Contraction that's an "i" dropper: 'TWERE. Contraction of "it were". Got me. I liked the "eye"/"i" dropper pun.
22. Rhyme scheme used in a villanelle: ABAA. Maybe Clear Ayes can find us a villanelle today.
25. Follow: ENSUE
28. The __ Parade: ROSE
29. Co-creator of "The View": WALTERS (Barbara)
31. It gets let off: STEAM. Let off steam.
33. Specter on the Hill: ARLEN. Capitol Hill. Senator from PA.
34. Actor Dillon: MATT. He's awesome in "Crash".
35. Alcatraz, e.g.: Abbr.: ISL (Island). "The Rock" is a great movie.
38. Nap or nip preceder: CAT
42. PBS funder: NEA (National Endowment for the Arts)
43. Go down a slippery slope: SKI. Vivid clue.
44. Work without __: A NET
45. Mil. schools: ACADS (Academies)
47. Play delayers: RAINS. Twins new stadium has no roof.
49. Beethoven specialties: SONATAS. Beautiful "Moonlight Sonata".
51. "Mermaids" actress: CHER. Was ignorant of the film.
53. Online business: E-TAIL
55. __ Sweeney, Ethel Merman's "Anything Goes" role: RENO. The answer emerges itself.
56. "You __ be there": HAD TO
58. "The Crucible," e.g.: DRAMA. Arthur Miller play.
60. Guillermo's gold: ORO. Guillermo is the Spanish form of the name "William".
67. PC core: CPU
68. Thinks the world of: LOVES. "Ai" in Chinese. "Wo Ai Ni" = "I love you". Chinese does not have singular/plural forms for verbs.
69. Oscar de la __: RENTA. Laura Bush's favorite designer.
70. Sunrise direction, in Stuttgart: OST. German for "east". New to me, so is the German city Stuttgart.
71. Flip out: SNAP
72. Lewis or Lois colleague: CLARK. Lewis & Clark Expedition. Lois & Clark, Superman.
Down:
1. L x VI: CCC. 50 x 6 = 300
2. Oft-visited pub room: LOO. Nailed it.
4. Say another way: RESTATE
6. Ballet leaps: JETES (zhuh-TEY). I forgot. Here is a clip. PLIES is the "Ballet bends".
7. Passing Manning: ELI. Quarterback for the NY Giants. Nice rhyme.
8. __-Jo: Olympic sprinter's nickname: FLO. Lovely nickname.
9. Sedge-filled wetlands: FENS
11. #1 picks: FAVES
12. Phillies all-star slugger Utley: CHASE. Second baseman for the Phillies. I bet Dennis was excited to see Merl's byline today. He's been solving Merl's Sunday for years.
14. Tractor shelters: BARN. I like the double-syllable sounds of the clue.
17. Look like a wolf: LEER. Was picturing a real wolf.
21. Tax-deferring option, briefly: IRA
22. Spy plane acronym: AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System). Completely unknown to me.
23. Netanyahu's successor: BARAK (Ehud). Same pronunciation as Barack?
26. Gp. with F-16s: USAF
27. Henri's conclusion?: ETTA. No idea. I suppose it refers to Henrietta the town in NY.
30. Zhou __: EN-LAI. Mandarin Chinese. Cantonese is Chow En-Lai.
32. A Coen brother: ETHAN. Pride of Minnesota.
34. Where Ben Bernanke got his Ph.D.: MIT. Somehow I thought it's Yale. Bernanke was just named as Time Person of the Year 2009. Netanyahu graduated from MIT too.
36. Ford Taurus, e.g.: SEDAN
37. Calf catcher: LASSO
40. Actress Hathaway: ANNE. She's in "The Devil Wears Prada".
46. Apple topping: CARAMEL. Sweet!
48. Word before or after thou: ART. New spin on a common crossword fill.
49. Foal fathers: SIRES
50. Norse saint: OLAF. No Olaf/Olav wobbling today.
51. Intro to -holic: CHOCO. Chocoholic.
54. TV spot pro: AD REP. Fell into the ADMAN trap.
57. Temple's team: OWLS. Wikipedia says Temple was the first school in the United States to adopt the owl as its symbol.
59. Painter Chagall: MARC
62. Awfully long time: EON
Answer grid.
Ming tian jian!
C.C.
