Theme: The Ties That Bind - The first words of the five theme answers are all homophones, with a different spelling of the "tie" sound. The village Tye Green was left out.
17A. National sport of South Korea: TAE KWON DO. Foot hand art.
29A. Longtime skating partner of Randy Gardner: TAI BABILONIA
38A. Places to order tom yum goong: THAI RESTAURANTS
47A. Host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition": TY PENNINGTON
65A. Overtime causes: TIE SCORES. That would be 20 to 20.
Hey all, Al here.
This didn't seem too tough for a Wednesday, pretty much sped through it. Not too much really stood out, but we'll see what can be educed from it anyway.
Across:
1. __ de deux: PAS. A dance for two.
4. Therapy center, for short: REHAB
9. Parts of fast food orders: SODAS
14. Four-legged bugler: ELK
15. Where the ecstatic walk: ON AIR
16. Salt's "Halt!": AVAST. Also a free anti-virus program if used non-commercially.
19. Having a beanpole physique: LANKY
20. "Baseball Tonight" station: ESPN. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network
21. Year-end mall temp: SANTA. Argyle. Missed it by one day.
23. Jon Stewart's "moment of __": ZEN
24. Like drive-thru orders: TO GO
27. Bosom buddy: COMRADE. 1590s, from M.Fr. camarade, from Sp. camarada "chamber mate,"
33. The Trojans of the Pac-10: USC. University of Southern California. I wonder if they ever respond to criticism with: "I am rubber, you are glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you"?
34. Go hither and yon: ROVE
35. Au __: menu phrase: JUS. French. Meat served in its own juices.
44. "Xanadu" band, for short: ELO. Electric Light Orchestra, with Olivia Newton John.
45. __ time: pronto: IN NO. Pronto (sp.) from Latin promptus: prompt.
46. Like some grins: SLY
52. 12 Tribes religion: JUDAISM
55. Caesar's unlucky number?: XIII. I know that some solvers dislike roman numerals, but I found this one amusing for some reason. Fifteen (the ides) could have been used if the answer was one letter shorter.
56. Schooner filler: ALE. One of my hometown favorites.
57. One of the Yokums: PAPPY. L'il Abner's sire in Dogpatch.
60. Pre-dye shade, perhaps: GRAY. If things keep going the way they are now, I'll never have to worry about gray hair. I wish there was a food remedy for that.
63. Open, in a way: UNCAP
68. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE. 97% lime, but has a thousand times higher breaking strength due to layering.
69. In first place: ON TOP
70. Prior to, in verse: ERE
71. Tiny amount: TRACE
72. Tack room gear: REINS
73. Rimsky-Korsakov's "Le Coq __": d'Or. The Golden Cockerel.
Down:
1. "Our Gang" dog: PETE
2. Word of pity: ALAS. Self-pity, perhaps.
3. Having one's doubts: SKEPTICAL. My dictionary has a picture of me by this word.
4. Heed the coxswain: ROW
5. Ambient music composer Brian: ENO
6. Brinker of kiddie lit: HANS. The Silver Skates book had an often excerpted sub-story in it about a nameless little boy who used his finger to plug the dike. It wasn't Hans, though, he was probably the first reference to speed skating in the US...
7. Operatic slave girl: AIDA. Why do famous love stories always seem to have tragic endings? No wonder guys don't want to commit.
8. Old Ford SUV: BRONCO
9. Sub meat: SALAMI. Don't read this if you like salami.
10. In vitro cells: OVA. Latin.
11. Tony of "Who's the Boss?": DANZA. Played the father of a young Alyssa Milano, who turned out well.
12. Part of FAQ: ASKED. Frequently Asked Questions. Infrequently read answers.
13. "Gypsy" composer Jule: STYNE, also Funny Girl and Pal Joey.
18. Door feature: KNOB. Funny how knockers is also spelled the same way.
22. Bricks unit: TON. Did this hit you right away?
25. "Mr. Mom" actress: GARR. Teri.
26. Instrument to which an orchestra tunes: OBOE
28. Big Indian: RAJA
29. Word of rebuke: TUT
30. Big Apple tennis stadium: ASHE
31. Drips in an ICU: IVS. Or DRS if they have bad bedside manner.
32. Open the door to: LET IN
36. Like 007's martinis: UNSTIRRED
37. Normandy battle site: ST LO
39. Wee bit: IOTA
40. Gothic novelist Radcliffe: ANN. Her books always came up with a real explanation for unreal events.
41. Operating system developed at Bell Labs: UNIX. I've spent 22 years on this so far and probably understand less than half of everything it encompasses.
42. Rice-A-__: RONI
43. Roget entry: Abbr.: SYNonym
48. "Hooray!": YIPPEE. --Darth Vader.
49. Non-commercial TV spot: PSA. Public Service Announcement.
50. Caveat __: EMPTOR. Buyer beware.
51. Computer acronym about faulty data: GIGO. Garbage in, Garbage out.
52. Quick trip: JAUNT
53. Of an arm bone: ULNAR. Radius, Ulna (lower pair), and Humerus (upper arm). Your "funny bone" is really the ulnar nerve located near the lower end of the humerus.
54. Bing Crosby's primary label: DECCA. The name "Decca" was coined by Wilfred S. Samuel by merging the word "Mecca" with the initial D of their logo "Dulcet" or their trademark "Dulcephone." Samuel, a linguist, chose "Decca" as a brand name as it was easy to pronounce in most languages.
58. Bench material: PINE
59. Hairy mountain sighting: YETI. They do exist.
61. Musical prefix with smith?: AERO. Aerosmith. Dream on.
62. River of Flanders: YSER
64. Slo-pitch path: ARC
66. Zak, to Ringo: SON
67. Early computer printer speed meas.: CPS. Characters per Second. 1 character = 8 bits = 1 byte.
Answer grid.
Al
17A. National sport of South Korea: TAE KWON DO. Foot hand art.
29A. Longtime skating partner of Randy Gardner: TAI BABILONIA
38A. Places to order tom yum goong: THAI RESTAURANTS
47A. Host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition": TY PENNINGTON
65A. Overtime causes: TIE SCORES. That would be 20 to 20.
Hey all, Al here.
This didn't seem too tough for a Wednesday, pretty much sped through it. Not too much really stood out, but we'll see what can be educed from it anyway.
Across:
1. __ de deux: PAS. A dance for two.
4. Therapy center, for short: REHAB
9. Parts of fast food orders: SODAS
14. Four-legged bugler: ELK
15. Where the ecstatic walk: ON AIR
16. Salt's "Halt!": AVAST. Also a free anti-virus program if used non-commercially.
19. Having a beanpole physique: LANKY
20. "Baseball Tonight" station: ESPN. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network
21. Year-end mall temp: SANTA. Argyle. Missed it by one day.
23. Jon Stewart's "moment of __": ZEN
24. Like drive-thru orders: TO GO
27. Bosom buddy: COMRADE. 1590s, from M.Fr. camarade, from Sp. camarada "chamber mate,"
33. The Trojans of the Pac-10: USC. University of Southern California. I wonder if they ever respond to criticism with: "I am rubber, you are glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you"?
34. Go hither and yon: ROVE
35. Au __: menu phrase: JUS. French. Meat served in its own juices.
44. "Xanadu" band, for short: ELO. Electric Light Orchestra, with Olivia Newton John.
45. __ time: pronto: IN NO. Pronto (sp.) from Latin promptus: prompt.
46. Like some grins: SLY
52. 12 Tribes religion: JUDAISM
55. Caesar's unlucky number?: XIII. I know that some solvers dislike roman numerals, but I found this one amusing for some reason. Fifteen (the ides) could have been used if the answer was one letter shorter.
56. Schooner filler: ALE. One of my hometown favorites.
57. One of the Yokums: PAPPY. L'il Abner's sire in Dogpatch.
60. Pre-dye shade, perhaps: GRAY. If things keep going the way they are now, I'll never have to worry about gray hair. I wish there was a food remedy for that.
63. Open, in a way: UNCAP
68. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE. 97% lime, but has a thousand times higher breaking strength due to layering.
69. In first place: ON TOP
70. Prior to, in verse: ERE
71. Tiny amount: TRACE
72. Tack room gear: REINS
73. Rimsky-Korsakov's "Le Coq __": d'Or. The Golden Cockerel.
Down:
1. "Our Gang" dog: PETE
2. Word of pity: ALAS. Self-pity, perhaps.
3. Having one's doubts: SKEPTICAL. My dictionary has a picture of me by this word.
4. Heed the coxswain: ROW
5. Ambient music composer Brian: ENO
6. Brinker of kiddie lit: HANS. The Silver Skates book had an often excerpted sub-story in it about a nameless little boy who used his finger to plug the dike. It wasn't Hans, though, he was probably the first reference to speed skating in the US...
7. Operatic slave girl: AIDA. Why do famous love stories always seem to have tragic endings? No wonder guys don't want to commit.
8. Old Ford SUV: BRONCO
9. Sub meat: SALAMI. Don't read this if you like salami.
10. In vitro cells: OVA. Latin.
11. Tony of "Who's the Boss?": DANZA. Played the father of a young Alyssa Milano, who turned out well.
12. Part of FAQ: ASKED. Frequently Asked Questions. Infrequently read answers.
13. "Gypsy" composer Jule: STYNE, also Funny Girl and Pal Joey.
18. Door feature: KNOB. Funny how knockers is also spelled the same way.
22. Bricks unit: TON. Did this hit you right away?
25. "Mr. Mom" actress: GARR. Teri.
26. Instrument to which an orchestra tunes: OBOE
28. Big Indian: RAJA
29. Word of rebuke: TUT
30. Big Apple tennis stadium: ASHE
31. Drips in an ICU: IVS. Or DRS if they have bad bedside manner.
32. Open the door to: LET IN
36. Like 007's martinis: UNSTIRRED
37. Normandy battle site: ST LO
39. Wee bit: IOTA
40. Gothic novelist Radcliffe: ANN. Her books always came up with a real explanation for unreal events.
41. Operating system developed at Bell Labs: UNIX. I've spent 22 years on this so far and probably understand less than half of everything it encompasses.
42. Rice-A-__: RONI
43. Roget entry: Abbr.: SYNonym
48. "Hooray!": YIPPEE. --Darth Vader.
49. Non-commercial TV spot: PSA. Public Service Announcement.
50. Caveat __: EMPTOR. Buyer beware.
51. Computer acronym about faulty data: GIGO. Garbage in, Garbage out.
52. Quick trip: JAUNT
53. Of an arm bone: ULNAR. Radius, Ulna (lower pair), and Humerus (upper arm). Your "funny bone" is really the ulnar nerve located near the lower end of the humerus.
54. Bing Crosby's primary label: DECCA. The name "Decca" was coined by Wilfred S. Samuel by merging the word "Mecca" with the initial D of their logo "Dulcet" or their trademark "Dulcephone." Samuel, a linguist, chose "Decca" as a brand name as it was easy to pronounce in most languages.
58. Bench material: PINE
59. Hairy mountain sighting: YETI. They do exist.
61. Musical prefix with smith?: AERO. Aerosmith. Dream on.
62. River of Flanders: YSER
64. Slo-pitch path: ARC
66. Zak, to Ringo: SON
67. Early computer printer speed meas.: CPS. Characters per Second. 1 character = 8 bits = 1 byte.
Answer grid.
Al
