Theme: GRAND FINALE (61A: Big finish, and what the first words of the answers to starred clues can be) - The first word of each theme entry can follow the word GRAND. Superb tie-in phrase.
17A: *Sam in "Casablanca," eg.: PIANO PLAYER. "Casablanca", my favorite movie but I'm glad we weren't looking for a last name or the actor's name. (Dooley Wilson) He wasn't playing a GRAND PIANO, I know that.
36A: *Fast paced: SLAM-BANG. SLAM-BANG is what NASCAR racing has been this year. And while GRAND SLAM could express some of the accidents this year, it really means a sweeping success or total victory.
42A: *Collapsible headgear: OPERA HAT. (a top hat). GRAND OPERA is big production with lavish costumes and sets and a serious topic.
11D: *Hank Aaron's 6,856 is the career record: TOTAL BASES. TOTAL BASES refers to the number of bases a player has gained by his hits alone. Getting on base any other way isn't counted and any advances once on base aren't counted either. A single counts as one base, a double is two, a triple is three, and a home run is four. Combine them all and you get the GRAND TOTAL.
29D: *1962 Gene Chandler hit: DUKE OF EARL. The song. The meaning of GRAND DUKE at Wikipedia. (It's more than this but less than that.You can figure it out for yourself, if you want.)
And on that note, I'll say Argyle here. I kept waiting for Cruciverb last night but it didn't happen. I know I can count on my fellow blogsters to fill in the thin parts of my commentary. It's what makes this site GRAND!
Across:
1A: "The — Kid: early TV Western: CISCO. Very early. Song by War.
6A: Suit parts: VESTS
11A: "__ the season ...": 'TIS
14A: Choir members: ALTOS
15A: Even if, for short: ALTHO
16A: Cal. neighbor: ORE.
19A: Spinner: TOP
20A: Squealed, so to speak: SANG
21A: Be under the weather: AIL
22A: Formally unsay: RECANT
24A: Cutlass or 88: OLDS. Oldsmobile models.
26A: She plays Julia in "Julie & Julia": MERYL. Watched it this week. Agree with the rest of you; wanted more Julia, less Julie.
27A: Tack on: ADD
30A: Standards of excellence: IDEALS
32A: CEO's degree: MBA. Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Master of Business Administration (MBA)
34A: Dirty: GRUBBY
39A: "Wake Up With Al" weatherman: ROKER Best known as the weather anchor for NBC's Today show. On July 20, 2009, he began co-hosting his new morning show "Wake Up with Al" on The Weather Channel.
40A: China's Mao __-tung: TSE
41A: Studio stand: EASEL
44A: "Honor Thy Father" author Gay: TALESE. Cover. Any readers?
45A: Sun, to Esteban: SOL
46A: Outcome: UPSHOT
48A: Canonized 26-Down: STE.. 26D: Swiss miss, maybe: Abbr.: MLLE.. Hands up for those that saw Swiss Miss and thought "Cocoa!".
49A: Festival showings, perhaps: FILMS
51A: Quartz variety: ONYX
53A: Began the betting: OPENED
55A: UN anti-child-labor agcy.: ILO. International Labour Organization
56A: Old oath: "EGAD!"
60A: Menu phrase: A LA
64A: Roofing material: TAR
65A: Part of a pound: OUNCE
66A: Best-seller list entry: NOVEL
67A: NBC fixture for nearly 35 yrs.: SNL. Since 1975.
68A: Dirty campaign tactic: SMEAR
69A: Show reverence, in a way: KNEEL
Down:
1D: Limits: CAPS
2D: Hip bones: ILIA
3D: Ollie's partner: STAN. Laurel and Hardy.
4D: Zaire, today: CONGO
5D: Disney toon panda, "Special Agent ": OSO
6D: Travel bag: VALISE
7D: Airline to Tel Aviv: EL AL. Literally "skyward".
8D: Farm home: STY
9D: "Spider-Man 3" actress Russell: THERESA. Pic.
10D: More ticked off: SORER
12D: Heavy metal: IRON
13D: Back-to-school mo.: SEPT.
18D: Rice source: PADDY. Sorta like saying your wheat comes from a field.
23D: One of a drum set pair: CYMBAL
25D: Scales of the zodiac: LIBRA
27D: Soil-related prefix: AGRO
28D: Fails to grasp: DROPS
31D: Helpers: Abbr.: ASSTS.
33D: " __ of robins ...": Kilmer: A NEST. Another reference to the poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer.
35D: Capital east of the Elbe River: BERLIN
37D: Substantial: MEATY
38D: Elation: GLEE
40D: Base melody: TAPS. A military base.
43D: Boring: HUMDRUM
44D: Like a __ bricks: TON OF
47D: Obama attorney general Eric: HOLDER. A pic with Obama.
50D: Tyke's blocks: LEGOS
52D: Arc lamp gas: XENON
53D: Granola ingredient: OATS
54D: Word after flight or floor: PLAN
55D: Ancient Peruvian: INCA
57D: Contributed: GAVE
58D: Away from the wind: ALEE
59D: Farmer's place, in song: DELL. ''The Farmer in the Dell''.
62D: "Wheel of Fortune" buy: AN 'E'
63D: Printer need: INK
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is a grand photo of our fellow LAT solver Spitzboov "The Rascal". In his own words: "Sptzboov, in blue hat, sending greetings from the stern of the SS American Victory moored at Channelside, Tampa, FL in Feb., 2010, with his son, Peter."
Argyle
17A: *Sam in "Casablanca," eg.: PIANO PLAYER. "Casablanca", my favorite movie but I'm glad we weren't looking for a last name or the actor's name. (Dooley Wilson) He wasn't playing a GRAND PIANO, I know that.
36A: *Fast paced: SLAM-BANG. SLAM-BANG is what NASCAR racing has been this year. And while GRAND SLAM could express some of the accidents this year, it really means a sweeping success or total victory.
42A: *Collapsible headgear: OPERA HAT. (a top hat). GRAND OPERA is big production with lavish costumes and sets and a serious topic.
11D: *Hank Aaron's 6,856 is the career record: TOTAL BASES. TOTAL BASES refers to the number of bases a player has gained by his hits alone. Getting on base any other way isn't counted and any advances once on base aren't counted either. A single counts as one base, a double is two, a triple is three, and a home run is four. Combine them all and you get the GRAND TOTAL.
29D: *1962 Gene Chandler hit: DUKE OF EARL. The song. The meaning of GRAND DUKE at Wikipedia. (It's more than this but less than that.You can figure it out for yourself, if you want.)
And on that note, I'll say Argyle here. I kept waiting for Cruciverb last night but it didn't happen. I know I can count on my fellow blogsters to fill in the thin parts of my commentary. It's what makes this site GRAND!
Across:
1A: "The — Kid: early TV Western: CISCO. Very early. Song by War.
6A: Suit parts: VESTS
11A: "__ the season ...": 'TIS
14A: Choir members: ALTOS
15A: Even if, for short: ALTHO
16A: Cal. neighbor: ORE.
19A: Spinner: TOP
20A: Squealed, so to speak: SANG
21A: Be under the weather: AIL
22A: Formally unsay: RECANT
24A: Cutlass or 88: OLDS. Oldsmobile models.
26A: She plays Julia in "Julie & Julia": MERYL. Watched it this week. Agree with the rest of you; wanted more Julia, less Julie.
27A: Tack on: ADD
30A: Standards of excellence: IDEALS
32A: CEO's degree: MBA. Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Master of Business Administration (MBA)
34A: Dirty: GRUBBY
39A: "Wake Up With Al" weatherman: ROKER Best known as the weather anchor for NBC's Today show. On July 20, 2009, he began co-hosting his new morning show "Wake Up with Al" on The Weather Channel.
40A: China's Mao __-tung: TSE
41A: Studio stand: EASEL
44A: "Honor Thy Father" author Gay: TALESE. Cover. Any readers?
45A: Sun, to Esteban: SOL
46A: Outcome: UPSHOT
48A: Canonized 26-Down: STE.. 26D: Swiss miss, maybe: Abbr.: MLLE.. Hands up for those that saw Swiss Miss and thought "Cocoa!".
49A: Festival showings, perhaps: FILMS
51A: Quartz variety: ONYX
53A: Began the betting: OPENED
55A: UN anti-child-labor agcy.: ILO. International Labour Organization
56A: Old oath: "EGAD!"
60A: Menu phrase: A LA
64A: Roofing material: TAR
65A: Part of a pound: OUNCE
66A: Best-seller list entry: NOVEL
67A: NBC fixture for nearly 35 yrs.: SNL. Since 1975.
68A: Dirty campaign tactic: SMEAR
69A: Show reverence, in a way: KNEEL
Down:
1D: Limits: CAPS
2D: Hip bones: ILIA
3D: Ollie's partner: STAN. Laurel and Hardy.
4D: Zaire, today: CONGO
5D: Disney toon panda, "Special Agent ": OSO
6D: Travel bag: VALISE
7D: Airline to Tel Aviv: EL AL. Literally "skyward".
8D: Farm home: STY
9D: "Spider-Man 3" actress Russell: THERESA. Pic.
10D: More ticked off: SORER
12D: Heavy metal: IRON
13D: Back-to-school mo.: SEPT.
18D: Rice source: PADDY. Sorta like saying your wheat comes from a field.
23D: One of a drum set pair: CYMBAL
25D: Scales of the zodiac: LIBRA
27D: Soil-related prefix: AGRO
28D: Fails to grasp: DROPS
31D: Helpers: Abbr.: ASSTS.
33D: " __ of robins ...": Kilmer: A NEST. Another reference to the poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer.
35D: Capital east of the Elbe River: BERLIN
37D: Substantial: MEATY
38D: Elation: GLEE
40D: Base melody: TAPS. A military base.
43D: Boring: HUMDRUM
44D: Like a __ bricks: TON OF
47D: Obama attorney general Eric: HOLDER. A pic with Obama.
50D: Tyke's blocks: LEGOS
52D: Arc lamp gas: XENON
53D: Granola ingredient: OATS
54D: Word after flight or floor: PLAN
55D: Ancient Peruvian: INCA
57D: Contributed: GAVE
58D: Away from the wind: ALEE
59D: Farmer's place, in song: DELL. ''The Farmer in the Dell''.
62D: "Wheel of Fortune" buy: AN 'E'
63D: Printer need: INK
Answer grid.
Picture of the Day: Here is a grand photo of our fellow LAT solver Spitzboov "The Rascal". In his own words: "Sptzboov, in blue hat, sending greetings from the stern of the SS American Victory moored at Channelside, Tampa, FL in Feb., 2010, with his son, Peter."
Argyle
