Theme: Made-up Signs - Part of a familiar sign is substituted and the resulting punny phrase is clued with question marked appropriate place name.
17A. Sign at a laundry?: WRING FOR SERVICE. Ring for Service. Crossing PHONES (6D. Ringers). Letter W is added. No sound change.
24A. Sign at a nuclear reactor?: GONE FISSION. Gone Fishing. The only theme entry with no add-letter(s) scheme. Sound change.
42A. Sign at Cape Canaveral?: OUT TO LAUNCH. Out to Lunch. Letter A is added. Sound change.
54A. Sign at the Ukrainian tourism bureau?: WATCH YOUR STEPPE. Watch Your Step. Steppe is the vast grassland plain area in Russia and Central Asia. Letters PE is added. No sound change.
Donna also gives us three baseball references:
46A. Batter's position: STANCE
19D. Fielder's flub: ERROR
29D. Baseball record breaker of 4/8/1974: AARON (Hank). Dennis' favorite all time player. Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run and breaks Babe Ruth's record.
A few thorny spots here and there. Overall an easier Friday for me. I was on Donna's wavelength most of the time.
Across:
1. More, to a minimalist: LESS. Less is more.
5. Coll. performance barometers: GPAS
9. Boatloads: SCADS
14. Reflection in a cave: ECHO. Thought of the cave echo in "A Passage to India".
15. Its quarter reads "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers": OHIO. And REEDED (21. Like a quarter's edge). This reed meaning is new to me: make vertical grooves on the edge of a coin/medal. Quarter echo in the two clues.
16. Petty objection: CAVIL
20. Low cells: DUNGEONS. I tend to confuse this word with bludgeon.
22. Uno e due: TRE. Italian for "three".
23. Wilbur Post's buddy: MR. ED
29. Killer __: powerful software: APP. Not aware of this computer jargon.
32. Turkish peak: ARARAT. Landing peak for Noah's Ark.
33. Dept. headed by Tom Vilsack: AGR. Former governor of Iowa. I have his autograph.
34. First king of Israel: SAUL
35. Secondary: MINOR
36. Results of some receptions: Abbr.: TDS (Touchdowns)
37. __ deaf ear: TURN A
38. Soft footwear: MOCS
39. Strong squeezer: BOA. Loved the soft and strong contrast in the two consecutive clues.
40. Wisconsin college or its city: BELOIT. Unknown to me. Is Beloit a Native Indian name? What does it mean?
41. Whatever: ANY
44. Not exactly exact words: OR SO
45. Perps' patterns: MOS. MO = Modus Operandi.
49. CD holder: JEWEL BOX. Terrific answer.
56. Culprit in some food recalls: ECOLI
57. Pro's opposite: ANTI
58. Either "Raising Arizona" director: COEN. The Coen brothers.
59. Like the Taj Mahal: DOMED
60. Exploit: FEAT
61. Eldest daughter of Cronus: HERA. Did not know the eldest trivia. Her mom is Rhea.
Down:
1. Bawdy: LEWD
2. Neutral shade: ECRU
3. Commonly bruised bone: SHIN
4. Track, perhaps: SONG. Tricky clue.
5. Words of encouragement: GO FOR IT. And GET FAR (18. Be very successful). Thought of the courageous Clear Ayes and her always sunny attitude.
7. Pretensions: AIRS
8. Message in a storm: SOS. I wonder what's message in that bottle, Jazzbumpa?
9. Shield from view: SCREEN
10. Submitted: CAVED. Meh, "cave" is part of clue for 14A.
11. All fired up: AVID
12. Rolling "bones": DICE. Bone is slang for dice, I gather?
13. Arctic carrier: SLED
23. "Top Gun" enemy planes: MIGS
24. Third in a sequence: GAMMA. Alpha, Beta, Gamma. Greek alphabet sequence.
25. Sirius' master, in some depictions: ORION. Sirius is the Dog Star. I was unaware that Sirius is part of the Orion Constellation. Have no knowledge about stars.
26. Sluggo's pal: NANCY. The "Nancy" comics. I guessed.
27. Fertility deity: EROS
28. Time's 1977 Man of the Year: SADAT (Anwar). Here is the Time cover.
17A. Sign at a laundry?: WRING FOR SERVICE. Ring for Service. Crossing PHONES (6D. Ringers). Letter W is added. No sound change.
24A. Sign at a nuclear reactor?: GONE FISSION. Gone Fishing. The only theme entry with no add-letter(s) scheme. Sound change.
42A. Sign at Cape Canaveral?: OUT TO LAUNCH. Out to Lunch. Letter A is added. Sound change.
54A. Sign at the Ukrainian tourism bureau?: WATCH YOUR STEPPE. Watch Your Step. Steppe is the vast grassland plain area in Russia and Central Asia. Letters PE is added. No sound change.
Donna also gives us three baseball references:
46A. Batter's position: STANCE
19D. Fielder's flub: ERROR
29D. Baseball record breaker of 4/8/1974: AARON (Hank). Dennis' favorite all time player. Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run and breaks Babe Ruth's record.
A few thorny spots here and there. Overall an easier Friday for me. I was on Donna's wavelength most of the time.
Across:
1. More, to a minimalist: LESS. Less is more.
5. Coll. performance barometers: GPAS
9. Boatloads: SCADS
14. Reflection in a cave: ECHO. Thought of the cave echo in "A Passage to India".
15. Its quarter reads "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers": OHIO. And REEDED (21. Like a quarter's edge). This reed meaning is new to me: make vertical grooves on the edge of a coin/medal. Quarter echo in the two clues.
16. Petty objection: CAVIL
20. Low cells: DUNGEONS. I tend to confuse this word with bludgeon.
22. Uno e due: TRE. Italian for "three".
23. Wilbur Post's buddy: MR. ED
29. Killer __: powerful software: APP. Not aware of this computer jargon.
32. Turkish peak: ARARAT. Landing peak for Noah's Ark.
33. Dept. headed by Tom Vilsack: AGR. Former governor of Iowa. I have his autograph.
34. First king of Israel: SAUL
35. Secondary: MINOR
36. Results of some receptions: Abbr.: TDS (Touchdowns)
37. __ deaf ear: TURN A
38. Soft footwear: MOCS
39. Strong squeezer: BOA. Loved the soft and strong contrast in the two consecutive clues.
40. Wisconsin college or its city: BELOIT. Unknown to me. Is Beloit a Native Indian name? What does it mean?
41. Whatever: ANY
44. Not exactly exact words: OR SO
45. Perps' patterns: MOS. MO = Modus Operandi.
49. CD holder: JEWEL BOX. Terrific answer.
56. Culprit in some food recalls: ECOLI
57. Pro's opposite: ANTI
58. Either "Raising Arizona" director: COEN. The Coen brothers.
59. Like the Taj Mahal: DOMED
60. Exploit: FEAT
61. Eldest daughter of Cronus: HERA. Did not know the eldest trivia. Her mom is Rhea.
Down:
1. Bawdy: LEWD
2. Neutral shade: ECRU
3. Commonly bruised bone: SHIN
4. Track, perhaps: SONG. Tricky clue.
5. Words of encouragement: GO FOR IT. And GET FAR (18. Be very successful). Thought of the courageous Clear Ayes and her always sunny attitude.
7. Pretensions: AIRS
8. Message in a storm: SOS. I wonder what's message in that bottle, Jazzbumpa?
9. Shield from view: SCREEN
10. Submitted: CAVED. Meh, "cave" is part of clue for 14A.
11. All fired up: AVID
12. Rolling "bones": DICE. Bone is slang for dice, I gather?
13. Arctic carrier: SLED
23. "Top Gun" enemy planes: MIGS
24. Third in a sequence: GAMMA. Alpha, Beta, Gamma. Greek alphabet sequence.
25. Sirius' master, in some depictions: ORION. Sirius is the Dog Star. I was unaware that Sirius is part of the Orion Constellation. Have no knowledge about stars.
26. Sluggo's pal: NANCY. The "Nancy" comics. I guessed.
27. Fertility deity: EROS
28. Time's 1977 Man of the Year: SADAT (Anwar). Here is the Time cover.
30. Like the wars between Carthage and Rome: PUNIC. Oh, so the Punic Wars were fought between those two?
31. Subject of the 2003 film "Sylvia": PLATH. About Sylvia Plath. Very depressing movie.
34. Enterprise helmsman: SULU. Of "Star Trek".
36. Miss Gulch's bête noire: TOTO. "The Wizard of Oz".
37. Afternoon service: TEA SET
39. "The Buddy Holly Story" star: BUSEY (Gary). Can't remember his name. Did love the movie though.
40. Screws up: BLOWS IT. Ah, Lois!
42. Prom flower: ORCHID
43. Puzo novel: OMERTA. Gimme. I've read every Puzo novel. Omerta is the the mafia code of silence.
44. Frère de la père: ONCLE. French for uncle. Aunt is TANTE. Frère de la père = Brother of the father.
46. Lang. that gives us "ombudsman": SWED. Oh, good to know.
47. Tex-Mex nosh: TACO
48. Molecule constituent: ATOM
49. Flag Day month: JUNE
50. Solidarity hero Walesa: LECH
51. Gp. led by a Grand Exalted Ruler: BPOE (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks). Was stumped. I had trouble in this corner.
52. "0" button letters: OPER. Phone button.
53. Princess from Amphipolis: XENA
55. Lummox: OAF. Add one more letter, it becomes flummox (confuse).
