Theme: PO' BOY (63A. N'awlins sandwich, and this puzzle's title) - PO is inserted into the start of the second word of a two-word common phrase.
21A. Criticize a small town?: SLAM (PO)DUNK. Slam Dunk. Podunk = Small town.
26A. Checking for doneness at the grill?: BURGER (PO)KING. Burger King, our cream cheese contest-winning Jeannie's client.
42A. Certain pork thief?: BELLY (PO)ACHER. Ah, OK, bellyacher is actually one word. Poacher = Thief.
49A. Spelling contest notice?: BEE (PO)STING. Bee Sting.
As the clue says, PO' BOY is a just a title, not the exact theme tie-in word we are accustomed to. So you won't find BOY anywhere.
All the above inserted POs are pronounced with long O sound in the new phrases, very consistent. I've never had Po' Boy. Looks delicious. It always has fried seafood in the middle, right?
As the norm with the late week puzzle, I went straight to the bottom for the unifier, then worked my way up. Not really a proper course order. The constructors/editor place the unifying "Aha" at the very end for a reason. It's served as a dessert.
Across:
1. Large swallows: GULPS. Large amount swallowed. I was thinking that there might be a large bird swallow I was not aware of.
6. Loosen (up): WARM. Wanted EASE.
10. Joseph who brought Shakespeare to Central Park: PAPP. He founded the New York Shakespeare Festival. Unknown to me.
14. Director Kurosawa: AKIRA. Must be a happy fill for Annette.
15. Plant with thick, fleshy leaves: ALOE
16. Morlock prey: ELOI. The race in "The Time Machine".
17. Elementary particle: MESON. From Greek "mesos", meaning "middle". I simply forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before.
18. Neeson of "Nell": LIAM. Have never seen "Nell". Liked his Oskar in "Schindler's List".
19. Undecided: TORN. Between decisions.
20. Abbr. followed by a year: ESTD (Established)
23. Old Ford: PINTO. Must be named after the horse then. We also have EL CAMINO (38D. 1950s-'80s Chevy utility vehicle). Literally "the road" in Spanish.
25. Bad luck: HOODOO. Voodoo too.
30. Jackie Chan and others: ASIANS. Chinese, to be exact.
31. Magic 8-Ball response: YES. And NO, I presume.
32. Rug feature: NAP
35. Giving word?: UNCLE. Giving up. Nailed it.
36. Fertilization targets: OVA. Was in the soil direction. Fertility would be an easier clue.
37. Priestess in Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers": LEILA. Total blind spot for me.
39. West famous for "Come up sometime and see me": MAE. Mae West. Lois would love this clue.
41. Scarecrow portrayer: BOLGER (Ray). And BAUM (26D. Munchkin creator). "The Wizard of Oz".
45. St. Clare's town: ASSISI. Saint Clare of Assisi. I've only heard of St. Francis of Assisi.
48. Finish by: END AT
52. Name on some Kmart shoes: MCAN. The Thom McAn shoe brand. Learned from doing Xword.
55. Subordinate: AIDE
56. Mountain lake: TARN. The glacier-formed lake.
57. Op artist Bridget: RILEY. Easy guess. Not not familiar with this English painter.
58. List of games, briefly: SKED (Schedule)
59. Presque Isle's lake: ERIE
60. Bury: INURN. You wanted INTER, don't you?
61. __ d'oeuvre: HORS
62. Opposite of bleak: ROSY
Down:
1. Hunter's quarry: GAME
2. Some are made from koa wood: UKES
3. Amount rarely paid: LIST PRICE. True.
4. Spendthrift: PRODIGAL. Nice entry.
5. __ Bernardino: SAN
6. Belt or sock: WALLOP. Great clue.
7. Et __: ALIA. Neutral plural of et al; et alii is masculine plural, et aliae is feminine plural.
8. Knock around: ROAM
9. Tennessee's largest city: MEMPHIS. And IRIS (51D. Tennessee state flower).
10. Eddie of "Frasier," for one: PET DOG. Thought Eddie is just a person, as I've never watched "Frasier".
11. Orally: ALOUD
12. Blue books?: PORNO. "Blue" can mean off-color.
13. Cold War put-down: PINKO. Slang for "communist", isn't it? Why pink instead of red?
21. Narrow waterways: Abbr.: STRS (Straits)
22. Bass attachment?: OON. Bassoon. I wanted IST.
24. Endangered state bird: NENE. Hawaii state bird.
27. Annapolis sch.: USNA
28. Kvetch's words: OY VEY. Tell me you thought of Barry G. I did.
29. Mauna __: KEA. Mauna Kea (white mountain), Hawaii's highest peak. Kea = White. Loa = Long. Mauna Loa (long mountain).
32. Bouncer employer: NIGHTCLUB. Awesome strings of consonants.
33. Opposite of aweather: ALEE
34. Henry VIII's sixth: PARR (Catherine). The last wife of Henry VIII. I often confuse PARR with PAAR (Jack)
36. Olive __: OYL. The BYE in the crossing 40A. Tournament pass (BYE) prevents me from penning in OIL.
37. Burden: LOAD. Fell into the ONUS trap.
40. Runner's problem: BLISTER
41. Big bell sound: BONG
42. Two-footers: BIPEDS. Of course, I was picturing those two-footers on the green.
43. Spanish pronoun: ESO
44. Retailer whose middle name was Cash: PENNEY. J.C. Penney.
45. Put to shame: ABASH
46. Watch handle: SEIKO. D'oh, the watch brand "handle".
47. Feast that includes the Cup of Elijah: SEDER. Can a non-Jew join a Seder feast?
50. Tropical tuber: TARO
53. Nautical leader?: AERO. Aeronautical. We've got three ex-Navy guys in our blog: Spitzboov, Frank & EddyB. Who else?
54. Big Apple ltrs.: NY NY
57. Tear: RIP
Answer grid.
C.C.
21A. Criticize a small town?: SLAM (PO)DUNK. Slam Dunk. Podunk = Small town.
26A. Checking for doneness at the grill?: BURGER (PO)KING. Burger King, our cream cheese contest-winning Jeannie's client.
42A. Certain pork thief?: BELLY (PO)ACHER. Ah, OK, bellyacher is actually one word. Poacher = Thief.
49A. Spelling contest notice?: BEE (PO)STING. Bee Sting.
As the clue says, PO' BOY is a just a title, not the exact theme tie-in word we are accustomed to. So you won't find BOY anywhere.
All the above inserted POs are pronounced with long O sound in the new phrases, very consistent. I've never had Po' Boy. Looks delicious. It always has fried seafood in the middle, right?
As the norm with the late week puzzle, I went straight to the bottom for the unifier, then worked my way up. Not really a proper course order. The constructors/editor place the unifying "Aha" at the very end for a reason. It's served as a dessert.
Across:
1. Large swallows: GULPS. Large amount swallowed. I was thinking that there might be a large bird swallow I was not aware of.
6. Loosen (up): WARM. Wanted EASE.
10. Joseph who brought Shakespeare to Central Park: PAPP. He founded the New York Shakespeare Festival. Unknown to me.
14. Director Kurosawa: AKIRA. Must be a happy fill for Annette.
15. Plant with thick, fleshy leaves: ALOE
16. Morlock prey: ELOI. The race in "The Time Machine".
17. Elementary particle: MESON. From Greek "mesos", meaning "middle". I simply forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before.
18. Neeson of "Nell": LIAM. Have never seen "Nell". Liked his Oskar in "Schindler's List".
19. Undecided: TORN. Between decisions.
20. Abbr. followed by a year: ESTD (Established)
23. Old Ford: PINTO. Must be named after the horse then. We also have EL CAMINO (38D. 1950s-'80s Chevy utility vehicle). Literally "the road" in Spanish.
25. Bad luck: HOODOO. Voodoo too.
30. Jackie Chan and others: ASIANS. Chinese, to be exact.
31. Magic 8-Ball response: YES. And NO, I presume.
32. Rug feature: NAP
35. Giving word?: UNCLE. Giving up. Nailed it.
36. Fertilization targets: OVA. Was in the soil direction. Fertility would be an easier clue.
37. Priestess in Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers": LEILA. Total blind spot for me.
39. West famous for "Come up sometime and see me": MAE. Mae West. Lois would love this clue.
41. Scarecrow portrayer: BOLGER (Ray). And BAUM (26D. Munchkin creator). "The Wizard of Oz".
45. St. Clare's town: ASSISI. Saint Clare of Assisi. I've only heard of St. Francis of Assisi.
48. Finish by: END AT
52. Name on some Kmart shoes: MCAN. The Thom McAn shoe brand. Learned from doing Xword.
55. Subordinate: AIDE
56. Mountain lake: TARN. The glacier-formed lake.
57. Op artist Bridget: RILEY. Easy guess. Not not familiar with this English painter.
58. List of games, briefly: SKED (Schedule)
59. Presque Isle's lake: ERIE
60. Bury: INURN. You wanted INTER, don't you?
61. __ d'oeuvre: HORS
62. Opposite of bleak: ROSY
Down:
1. Hunter's quarry: GAME
2. Some are made from koa wood: UKES
3. Amount rarely paid: LIST PRICE. True.
4. Spendthrift: PRODIGAL. Nice entry.
5. __ Bernardino: SAN
6. Belt or sock: WALLOP. Great clue.
7. Et __: ALIA. Neutral plural of et al; et alii is masculine plural, et aliae is feminine plural.
8. Knock around: ROAM
9. Tennessee's largest city: MEMPHIS. And IRIS (51D. Tennessee state flower).
10. Eddie of "Frasier," for one: PET DOG. Thought Eddie is just a person, as I've never watched "Frasier".
11. Orally: ALOUD
12. Blue books?: PORNO. "Blue" can mean off-color.
13. Cold War put-down: PINKO. Slang for "communist", isn't it? Why pink instead of red?
21. Narrow waterways: Abbr.: STRS (Straits)
22. Bass attachment?: OON. Bassoon. I wanted IST.
24. Endangered state bird: NENE. Hawaii state bird.
27. Annapolis sch.: USNA
28. Kvetch's words: OY VEY. Tell me you thought of Barry G. I did.
29. Mauna __: KEA. Mauna Kea (white mountain), Hawaii's highest peak. Kea = White. Loa = Long. Mauna Loa (long mountain).
32. Bouncer employer: NIGHTCLUB. Awesome strings of consonants.
33. Opposite of aweather: ALEE
34. Henry VIII's sixth: PARR (Catherine). The last wife of Henry VIII. I often confuse PARR with PAAR (Jack)
36. Olive __: OYL. The BYE in the crossing 40A. Tournament pass (BYE) prevents me from penning in OIL.
37. Burden: LOAD. Fell into the ONUS trap.
40. Runner's problem: BLISTER
41. Big bell sound: BONG
42. Two-footers: BIPEDS. Of course, I was picturing those two-footers on the green.
43. Spanish pronoun: ESO
44. Retailer whose middle name was Cash: PENNEY. J.C. Penney.
45. Put to shame: ABASH
46. Watch handle: SEIKO. D'oh, the watch brand "handle".
47. Feast that includes the Cup of Elijah: SEDER. Can a non-Jew join a Seder feast?
50. Tropical tuber: TARO
53. Nautical leader?: AERO. Aeronautical. We've got three ex-Navy guys in our blog: Spitzboov, Frank & EddyB. Who else?
54. Big Apple ltrs.: NY NY
57. Tear: RIP
Answer grid.
C.C.
