Theme: LOVE IS ALL AROUND (38 Across: 1968 Troggs Top 10 hit, and a hint to the hidden puzzle theme in the answers to starred clues) - All two-word theme answers start with LO and end with VE.
17 A. *"Get going!": LOOK ALIVE. Sounds from the past, Dennis?
24 A. *1986 Pulitzer-winning Western novel: LONESOME DOVE. By Larry McMurtry, made into a TV movie.
53 A. *Gunpowder, e.g.: LOW EXPLOSIVE. I didn't know this was a real term: They are compounds where the rate of decomposition proceeds through the material at less than the speed of sound. The decomposition is propagated by a flame front (deflagration) which travels much more slowly through the explosive material than a shock wave of a high explosive.
65. *Duffer's thrill: LONG DRIVE. Until it goes into the damn sand trap that some sadist figured out was exactly where a person would land on a par 5 double dog-leg. Not that I'd know about that, mind you...
Hi, all, Al guest blogging today.
A tricky puzzle, I thought. (18D. Big-time:) A LOT of clues seemed specifically designed to be misleading today. The theme actually helped me in a couple places today.
Across :
1. Holy pilgrimage: HADJ. Muslim obligation to visit Mecca at least once in their lifetime.
5. Kids' getaway: CAMP. Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda, here I am at, Camp Grenada.
9. "Gimme a break!": AW MAN
14. Nobelist Wiesel: ELIE
15. "This looks like trouble": UH-OH
16. Leonard Marx, familiarly: CHICO. The pianist Marx brother with the silly hat.
19. Peyotes, e.g.: CACTI. Lophophora Williamsii, the source of mescaline. Err, I've heard...
20. She played Donna in the film "Mamma Mia!": MERYL (Streep). Convincing actor, not nearly as convincing a singer. My wife and daughter liked the movie more than I did, but it was OK, I guess.
21. Sinus specialist, briefly: ENT. Ear, nose, and throat doctor. Not to be confused with an enterologist, who treats gastric problems.
23. Baseball Hall of Famer Speaker: TRIS. I only know him from crosswords.
28. Feel the heat: SWELTER. Not doing much of that lately.
31. Food critic Sheraton: MIMI. No Wiki entry?
32. "Bingo!": AHA. On the nose.
33. X-Games bike, briefly: BMX. Bicycle motocross. (an X is a cross).
35. Run at a red light?: IDLE. Hyper-milers turn the engine off.
44. Jeans joint: SEAM
45. Yield to gravity: SAG. Do you throw 'em o'er your shoulder, like a continental soldier...What? I meant ears, of course...
46. Sportage maker: KIA. An example of an SUV, or UTE.
47. Fresh response: SASS.
50. Serious-and-funny show: DRAMEDY. A portmanteau of DRAMA and COMEDY.
57. They're not returned: ACES. Tennis, volleyball, etc. serves.
58. Bosox great: YAZ. Carl Michael Yastrzemski. Also a birth control drug getting a lot of heat and lawsuits filed due to reputed side-effects.
59. Comforting comment: IT'S OK.
63. Parts partner: LABOR I worked at a Ford dealership parts counter for too long in an earlier life.
68. Native Alaskan: ALEUT
69. Treater's words: ON ME. A Spiller's words, too.
70. Persian Gulf land: IRAN.
71. __ and all: WARTS. I fully accept you, even with all your faults.
72. Prime minister before Rabin: MEIR. Golda.
73. Ancient British Isles settler: CELT. Celtic Woman
Down:
1. Bridge position: HELM. Aboard a ship, not the card game east or west seat, as I first wanted.
2. Burn balm: ALOE
3. Fashionable Christian: DIOR
4. Stevenson physician: JEKYLL. Dr. Henry. And Edward Hyde.
5. __-de-sac: CUL literally "bottom of the bag". A dead end.
6. Yellowfin tuna: AHI. Becoming a victim of overfishing.
7. Changes places: MOVES
8. Rising star: PHENOMenon
9. N.C. State's conference: ACC. Atlantic Coast Conference, A collegiate athletic league consisting of: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.
10. "Who, me?": WHAT'D I DO? Quite a few vernacular entries like this today.
11. Tiny: MICRO
12. When Brutus sees Caesar's ghost: ACT IV.
13. Hullabaloo: NOISE
22. "I didn't need to know that," informally: TMI. Too Much Information.
25. Birds' bills: NEBS.
26. Humorist Bombeck: ERMA
27. Islamic leader: EMIR
28. __ soda: SAL. Washing soda, sodium carbonate.
29. Grinch victims: WHOS. Dr. Seuss Christmas classic.
30. Place for Christmas lights: EAVE. Anyone else fall for the trap at first and put "tree"?
34. Tee choices: XLS. T-shirts, not golf tees for once.
36. Gospel writer: LUKE.
37. Camelot lady: ENID. Wife of Geraint in the Aurthur legend. I think she moved to Oklahoma eventually.
39. Removes gently: EASES OUT. umm, err, nope, not going there.
40. Eye-opening theater: IMAX. Image MAXimum.
41. Fellows: LADS
42. Rural prefix: AGRI. As in agriculture. Could have been AGRO as in agronomy.
43. Beatles' "A __ in the Life": DAY. I read the news today, oh boy.
48. Security threat: SPY. Actually in the computer world, the largest security threat is the legitimate users being naive, or simply not being careful
49. Course for weavers?: SLALOM. Skiing course, tricky clue.
51. Fired up: AVID
52. Like some weights: METRIC
53. Bochco series: LA LAW. How did Laurie Partridge ever find time to study law with all the touring her family did?
54. City NW of Orlando: OCALA. Near Silver Springs Park.
55. Brand on a patio, maybe: WEBER. Anyone still use charcoal for grilling anymore?
56. Hole site: OZONE. Another hot debate along with global warming.
60. Foal's parent: SIRE. Had MARE at first.
61. Rink, often: OVAL
62. Canterbury's county: KENT
64. Some NFL linemen: RTS. Right Tackles.
66. Feature of a two-ltr. monogram: NMI. No Middle Initial.
67. Neighbor of Aus.: GERmany. Austria's two-letter abbreviation is AT. Can you imagine if someone named Dot worked at the Austrian Department of Transportation and had to tell someone her email address? dot@dot.gov.at (say it out loud).
Answer grid.
Al
17 A. *"Get going!": LOOK ALIVE. Sounds from the past, Dennis?
24 A. *1986 Pulitzer-winning Western novel: LONESOME DOVE. By Larry McMurtry, made into a TV movie.
53 A. *Gunpowder, e.g.: LOW EXPLOSIVE. I didn't know this was a real term: They are compounds where the rate of decomposition proceeds through the material at less than the speed of sound. The decomposition is propagated by a flame front (deflagration) which travels much more slowly through the explosive material than a shock wave of a high explosive.
65. *Duffer's thrill: LONG DRIVE. Until it goes into the damn sand trap that some sadist figured out was exactly where a person would land on a par 5 double dog-leg. Not that I'd know about that, mind you...
Hi, all, Al guest blogging today.
A tricky puzzle, I thought. (18D. Big-time:) A LOT of clues seemed specifically designed to be misleading today. The theme actually helped me in a couple places today.
Across :
1. Holy pilgrimage: HADJ. Muslim obligation to visit Mecca at least once in their lifetime.
5. Kids' getaway: CAMP. Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda, here I am at, Camp Grenada.
9. "Gimme a break!": AW MAN
14. Nobelist Wiesel: ELIE
15. "This looks like trouble": UH-OH
16. Leonard Marx, familiarly: CHICO. The pianist Marx brother with the silly hat.
19. Peyotes, e.g.: CACTI. Lophophora Williamsii, the source of mescaline. Err, I've heard...
20. She played Donna in the film "Mamma Mia!": MERYL (Streep). Convincing actor, not nearly as convincing a singer. My wife and daughter liked the movie more than I did, but it was OK, I guess.
21. Sinus specialist, briefly: ENT. Ear, nose, and throat doctor. Not to be confused with an enterologist, who treats gastric problems.
23. Baseball Hall of Famer Speaker: TRIS. I only know him from crosswords.
28. Feel the heat: SWELTER. Not doing much of that lately.
31. Food critic Sheraton: MIMI. No Wiki entry?
32. "Bingo!": AHA. On the nose.
33. X-Games bike, briefly: BMX. Bicycle motocross. (an X is a cross).
35. Run at a red light?: IDLE. Hyper-milers turn the engine off.
44. Jeans joint: SEAM
45. Yield to gravity: SAG. Do you throw 'em o'er your shoulder, like a continental soldier...What? I meant ears, of course...
46. Sportage maker: KIA. An example of an SUV, or UTE.
47. Fresh response: SASS.
50. Serious-and-funny show: DRAMEDY. A portmanteau of DRAMA and COMEDY.
57. They're not returned: ACES. Tennis, volleyball, etc. serves.
58. Bosox great: YAZ. Carl Michael Yastrzemski. Also a birth control drug getting a lot of heat and lawsuits filed due to reputed side-effects.
59. Comforting comment: IT'S OK.
63. Parts partner: LABOR I worked at a Ford dealership parts counter for too long in an earlier life.
68. Native Alaskan: ALEUT
69. Treater's words: ON ME. A Spiller's words, too.
70. Persian Gulf land: IRAN.
71. __ and all: WARTS. I fully accept you, even with all your faults.
72. Prime minister before Rabin: MEIR. Golda.
73. Ancient British Isles settler: CELT. Celtic Woman
Down:
1. Bridge position: HELM. Aboard a ship, not the card game east or west seat, as I first wanted.
2. Burn balm: ALOE
3. Fashionable Christian: DIOR
4. Stevenson physician: JEKYLL. Dr. Henry. And Edward Hyde.
5. __-de-sac: CUL literally "bottom of the bag". A dead end.
6. Yellowfin tuna: AHI. Becoming a victim of overfishing.
7. Changes places: MOVES
8. Rising star: PHENOMenon
9. N.C. State's conference: ACC. Atlantic Coast Conference, A collegiate athletic league consisting of: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.
10. "Who, me?": WHAT'D I DO? Quite a few vernacular entries like this today.
11. Tiny: MICRO
12. When Brutus sees Caesar's ghost: ACT IV.
13. Hullabaloo: NOISE
22. "I didn't need to know that," informally: TMI. Too Much Information.
25. Birds' bills: NEBS.
26. Humorist Bombeck: ERMA
27. Islamic leader: EMIR
28. __ soda: SAL. Washing soda, sodium carbonate.
29. Grinch victims: WHOS. Dr. Seuss Christmas classic.
30. Place for Christmas lights: EAVE. Anyone else fall for the trap at first and put "tree"?
34. Tee choices: XLS. T-shirts, not golf tees for once.
36. Gospel writer: LUKE.
37. Camelot lady: ENID. Wife of Geraint in the Aurthur legend. I think she moved to Oklahoma eventually.
39. Removes gently: EASES OUT. umm, err, nope, not going there.
40. Eye-opening theater: IMAX. Image MAXimum.
41. Fellows: LADS
42. Rural prefix: AGRI. As in agriculture. Could have been AGRO as in agronomy.
43. Beatles' "A __ in the Life": DAY. I read the news today, oh boy.
48. Security threat: SPY. Actually in the computer world, the largest security threat is the legitimate users being naive, or simply not being careful
49. Course for weavers?: SLALOM. Skiing course, tricky clue.
51. Fired up: AVID
52. Like some weights: METRIC
53. Bochco series: LA LAW. How did Laurie Partridge ever find time to study law with all the touring her family did?
54. City NW of Orlando: OCALA. Near Silver Springs Park.
55. Brand on a patio, maybe: WEBER. Anyone still use charcoal for grilling anymore?
56. Hole site: OZONE. Another hot debate along with global warming.
60. Foal's parent: SIRE. Had MARE at first.
61. Rink, often: OVAL
62. Canterbury's county: KENT
64. Some NFL linemen: RTS. Right Tackles.
66. Feature of a two-ltr. monogram: NMI. No Middle Initial.
67. Neighbor of Aus.: GERmany. Austria's two-letter abbreviation is AT. Can you imagine if someone named Dot worked at the Austrian Department of Transportation and had to tell someone her email address? dot@dot.gov.at (say it out loud).
Answer grid.
Al
