Theme: Four Aces - All the theme answers are clued as definitions of "ACE".
17A. ACE: FLAWLESS SERVICE. Filled in FL* immediately, then I wanted FLYING something.
28A. ACE: VENTURA IN FILMS. Movie "Ace Ventura".
45A. ACE: BANDAGE ACRONYM. I only use Johnson & Johnson's Band-Aid. Have never heard of Ace Bandage.
59A. ACE: HALF OF BLACKJACK. Got the answer via crosses. Don't play Blackjack.
No hole-in-one (golf), or pitching star (baseball) or perfect serve (tennis), the aces I am familiar with.
David also gives us three math terms:
63. Geometry calculation: AREA
46D. Geometry calculations: ANGLES. Nice intersection.
48D. Advanced math subj.: CALC. Quite a few abbrs. in this grid.
ANG (51A. "Spider-Man" director Lee) was an easy fill. But I don't remember Ange Lee directed any "Spider-Man" movie. "Hulk", yes.
Across:
1. Pest control target: ROACH
6. Get down the road?: PAVE. Great clue.
10. Hired soldier, briefly: MERC. Mercenary I presume.
14. Big name in foil: ALCOA
15. Ongoing auction site: EBAY. Baseball card mecca.
16. Asian domestic: AMAH
20. Abe Lincoln's boy: TAD. Learned from doing Xword.
22. "Gerontion" poet's monogram: TSE. Easy guess.
23. Just out: NEW. Then we have EFTS (53D. New newts). New duplication. Meh!
24. Acts as lookout, say: ABETS
33. Knotted scarf: ASCOT
34. Reunion attendee: NIECE
35. Ripped: TORN
38. Help for a busy mgr.: ASST
42. Small amounts: IOTAS
44. 100 clams: C-NOTE. Clam is slang for a dollar. Got me.
49. Door squeaker: HINGE. I liked this clue.
50. Flight component: STAIR. Flight between floors.
52. Drink with a string in it, perhaps: TEA
55. Letters in a business name: LLC. Did you want LTD also?
56. One of the three states of matter: GAS. And Solid & Liquid.
65. Message obeyed by Alice: EAT ME. Wonderland cake message.
67. Narrow aperture: SLIT
68. Cornered: TREED
Down:
1. Huck's ride: RAFT
2. Earthenware pot: OLLA. I really love this olla. Some artist signed piece can cost a ton.
3. Phillips, e.g.: Abbr.: ACAD. Phillips Academy.
4. Leather source: COW
5. Largest flatfish: HALIBUT. Oh, I did not even know halibut is flatfish.
6. Dinero replaced by the euro: PESETA (puh-SEY-tuh). The former Spanish currency. I forgot.
7. Six-pack muscles: ABS. Beautiful abs.
8. Seemingly endless: VAST
9. Places for pupils: EYES. We also have SYST (66A. Part of CBS. Abbr.).
10. Dallas cager, familiarly: MAV. Dallas Mavericks.
11. "8 Mile" rapper: EMINEM
12. The Andrettis, e.g.: RACERS. OK, EddyB, your turn to comment.
13. Masticates: CHEWS. Masticate is a new word to me.
19. Dig find: RELIC. Thought of Lemonade's son.
24. Making reparations: ATONING
25. They're often sensitive to allergens: SINUSES
27. Rigby of song: ELEANOR. "Eleanor Rigby", the Beatles' song.
28. Napa Valley vessel: VAT
29. Juan's "that": ESO
30. Maker of bar code scanners: NCR
31. "Collages" novelist: NIN (Anaïs)
17A. ACE: FLAWLESS SERVICE. Filled in FL* immediately, then I wanted FLYING something.
28A. ACE: VENTURA IN FILMS. Movie "Ace Ventura".
45A. ACE: BANDAGE ACRONYM. I only use Johnson & Johnson's Band-Aid. Have never heard of Ace Bandage.
59A. ACE: HALF OF BLACKJACK. Got the answer via crosses. Don't play Blackjack.
No hole-in-one (golf), or pitching star (baseball) or perfect serve (tennis), the aces I am familiar with.
David also gives us three math terms:
63. Geometry calculation: AREA
46D. Geometry calculations: ANGLES. Nice intersection.
48D. Advanced math subj.: CALC. Quite a few abbrs. in this grid.
ANG (51A. "Spider-Man" director Lee) was an easy fill. But I don't remember Ange Lee directed any "Spider-Man" movie. "Hulk", yes.
Across:
1. Pest control target: ROACH
6. Get down the road?: PAVE. Great clue.
10. Hired soldier, briefly: MERC. Mercenary I presume.
14. Big name in foil: ALCOA
15. Ongoing auction site: EBAY. Baseball card mecca.
16. Asian domestic: AMAH
20. Abe Lincoln's boy: TAD. Learned from doing Xword.
22. "Gerontion" poet's monogram: TSE. Easy guess.
23. Just out: NEW. Then we have EFTS (53D. New newts). New duplication. Meh!
24. Acts as lookout, say: ABETS
33. Knotted scarf: ASCOT
34. Reunion attendee: NIECE
35. Ripped: TORN
38. Help for a busy mgr.: ASST
42. Small amounts: IOTAS
44. 100 clams: C-NOTE. Clam is slang for a dollar. Got me.
49. Door squeaker: HINGE. I liked this clue.
50. Flight component: STAIR. Flight between floors.
52. Drink with a string in it, perhaps: TEA
55. Letters in a business name: LLC. Did you want LTD also?
56. One of the three states of matter: GAS. And Solid & Liquid.
65. Message obeyed by Alice: EAT ME. Wonderland cake message.
67. Narrow aperture: SLIT
68. Cornered: TREED
Down:
1. Huck's ride: RAFT
2. Earthenware pot: OLLA. I really love this olla. Some artist signed piece can cost a ton.
3. Phillips, e.g.: Abbr.: ACAD. Phillips Academy.
4. Leather source: COW
5. Largest flatfish: HALIBUT. Oh, I did not even know halibut is flatfish.
6. Dinero replaced by the euro: PESETA (puh-SEY-tuh). The former Spanish currency. I forgot.
7. Six-pack muscles: ABS. Beautiful abs.
8. Seemingly endless: VAST
9. Places for pupils: EYES. We also have SYST (66A. Part of CBS. Abbr.).
10. Dallas cager, familiarly: MAV. Dallas Mavericks.
11. "8 Mile" rapper: EMINEM
12. The Andrettis, e.g.: RACERS. OK, EddyB, your turn to comment.
13. Masticates: CHEWS. Masticate is a new word to me.
19. Dig find: RELIC. Thought of Lemonade's son.
24. Making reparations: ATONING
25. They're often sensitive to allergens: SINUSES
27. Rigby of song: ELEANOR. "Eleanor Rigby", the Beatles' song.
28. Napa Valley vessel: VAT
29. Juan's "that": ESO
30. Maker of bar code scanners: NCR
31. "Collages" novelist: NIN (Anaïs)
37. Joplin work: RAG
39. Young fellow: SON
40. Porcine abode: STY. Pigs will be happy with this clue: "abode", so dignified.
41. President pro __: TEM. Robert Byrd is the current President pro tempore of the Senate.
44. Nocturnal noisemaker: CRICKET
45. Like computer code: BINARY. Two digits.
47. Words of relief: AT LAST
49. Mirthful sounds: HAHAS
54. Genesis victim: ABEL. First ever victim. The second son of Adam and Eve, slain by his brother, Cain.
56. Concert receipts: GATE. Not a S ending answer. Tricky clue.
57. Wile E. Coyote's mail-order house: ACME
58. List of appts.: SKED. Cavil away!
61. Flowery welcome: LEI
62. It holds the mayo: JAR
Answer grid.
Notes from the constructor:
I've done a few definition themes before and the word ACE struck me as a good candidate while watching a rerun of "Ace Ventura". I did have to reconstruct the whole puzzle however after learning that ACE was an acronym for a bandage produced by 3M. I originally had "Ventura in Movies" and "Bandage Producer". The other two entries are the same.
C.C.
