Theme: Brrr! - R is added after B in each two-word B-starting familiar phrase, which then goes through a spelling change, but maintains the same vowel sound.
18A. Short-lived agitation? : BRIEF STEW. The base phrase is beef stew. Long E sound remains the same after the transformation, from EE combination to IE. BEAD/BREAD wouldn't work due to 1) same letter combination; 2) sound change.
24A. Government security for the blind? : BRAILLE BOND. Bail bond. Does Playboy really have a Braille version? Long A sound. With AI combination.
34A. Places to buy orthopedic products? : BRACE STATIONS. Base stations. Dennis said "A base station typically has satellite stations, but it's the hub". Long A sound also. Just letter A. Different from the above AI combination.
50A. Reserved section for an eight-time stolen base champ? : BROCK'S SEATS. Box seats. Hall of Famer Lou Brock. I was unaware of his stolen base record. Short O. Serious changes on this one, including the unexpected X to CK'S transformation.
56A. Place with thugs in tents? : BRUTE CAMP. Boot camp. oo sound.
What other vowel reconstruction can you think of? I came up with long I: Bide Time. Bride Time. But it has a verb phrase to noun phrase change. Not really fit the above before & after both noun phrase pattern. Besides, it has no spelling modification.
A themeless-like 72 words, with the average word length 5.31. By comparison, last Friday's Donna Levin "Hat Pun" has an average length of 4.97. I suppose some of the scrabbly letters (J, Q, V, X & Z) will return tomorrow. None today.
Favorite clue today is IN A SLUMP (38D. Making out too much lately). Making "out" in baseball. I was picturing kissing "make out".
Across:
1. Like volcanoes : CONIC. Are all volcanoes cone-shaped?
6. John follower : ACTS. Bible book after John.
10. IRS workers : AGTS. CPAS popped into my mind first.
14. Item of rodeo gear : RIATA
15. K follower : MART. Thought of LMNO, but then the clue would be plural "K followers". I like the "follower' echo.
16. Qatar University city : DOHA
17. Cold : ALGID. Real word.
20. Blues legend Smith : BESSIE. Wikipedia says she's referred to as "The Empress of the Blues". Stranger to me.
22. Una y __ vez: time and time again : OTRA. Only know it means "other" in Spanish.
23. Alley prowler : TOM. Short for tomcat?
26. Rahm Emanuel's talent agent brother : ARI. The "Entourage" agent Ari Gold is based on him. Minor agent & AGT (10A) duplication.
27. Ballpark fig. : EST (Estimate)
28. Flee : LAM. Yeah, lam can be a verb.
29. Whale's blowhole, e.g. : NOSTRIL. Didn't come to me readily.
31. "I'll have a grande decaf triple vanilla 2% __, please" : LATTE
33. "Earth's Children" series author : AUEL (Jean)
39. Toast opening, across the pond : 'ERE'S. "Here's to...". The H sound is dropped in Cockney dialect. Safe traveling across the pond, Barry G!
40. Bluebirds, to some : OMENS. Omen of what?
41. Stand-up guys? : NO-SHOWS. Was thinking of the stand-up comedian. There should not be a dash between "stand" and "up", even with the question mark, correct?
45. Part of un giorno : ORA. "Hour" in Italy. Giorno = Day. Unknown to me.
46. "Buy __ drink?": bar come-on : ME A
49. Ring stat : TKO
53. Sushi selection : EEL. Yummy!
54. Vintner's prefix : OENO. As in oenophile.
55. American Society of Magazine Editors annual awards : ELLIES. Whom is it named after?
59. Extreme : ULTRA
60. Software test version : BETA
61. "Hooked on Classics" record co. : K-TEL. New to me.
62. Spiteful sort : MEANY. Meanie also.
63. Paradise : EDEN
64. '60s-'70s Japanese leader : SATO (Eisaku). Japan's prime minister from 1964-1972. Nobel Peace Prize winner 1974. I can never remember his name.
65. Jimmies : PRIES
Down:
1. Actor who was a 1932 swimming gold medalist : CRABBE (Buster). Tarzan actor. Another stranger to me.
2. Former Texas team : OILERS. Houston Oilers. Now Tennessee Titans. Who knows? Not I! Don't even watch the Vikings.
3. Pesters : NAGS AT
4. "Who's there?" answer : IT IS I
5. Lincoln rival : CADILLAC. Awesome fill.
6. Dipl. official : AMB (Ambassador)
7. Tree pod also called the locust bean : CAROB. I peeked at the answer sheet.
8. Neptune's largest moon : TRITON. So many moons are named after Greek gods.
9. Canned heat : STERNO. On the buffet table.
10. Some pop-ups : ADS
11. "No time to talk now" : GOTTA RUN. Love this entry.
12. Conjectures : THEORIES. Always use "conjecture" as verb.
13. Board producer : SAWMILL. Fresh entry.
19. They don't last : FADS. Good clue.
21. Make ecstatic : ELATE
25. Initial response team, for short : EMTS
30. New Mexico county or its seat : TAOS
31. Small hair piece : LASH. D'oh, eyelash.
32. DDE's command : ETO (European Theater of Operations)
34. Negotiated : BROKERED
35. Steadfast : RESOLUTE
36. Wildly : AMOK. Run amok.
37. Unlike filibusters : TERSE
39. 1976 raid site : ENTEBBE. A Ugandan city. On Lake Victoria. I've never heard of Operation Entebbe. Educate me, Vidwan!
42. Double-reed instrument : OBOE
43. Ruins : WRECKS
44. Beethoven's "Hammerklavier," e.g. : SONATA. What does "Hammerklavier" mean, Kazie?
46. Tiki cocktail : MAI TAI
47. Endless, in poems : ETERNE. Archaic for "eternal".
48. Tests : ASSAYS
51. Under-the-sink brand : COMET. Scrub cleanser.
52. "Oklahoma!" aunt : ELLER. Aunt Eller. Clear Ayes likes "Oklahoma!". She loves nearly all the musicals.
57. You might get one at the pool : TAN. Can't fool me.
58. Mahmoud Abbas's gp. : PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). Abbas succeeded Arafat.
Answer grid.
Here is a recent photo of our handsome, witty & caring counselor Lemonade714. I'll continue to show the key blog contributors in the next few Fridays.
C.C.
18A. Short-lived agitation? : BRIEF STEW. The base phrase is beef stew. Long E sound remains the same after the transformation, from EE combination to IE. BEAD/BREAD wouldn't work due to 1) same letter combination; 2) sound change.
24A. Government security for the blind? : BRAILLE BOND. Bail bond. Does Playboy really have a Braille version? Long A sound. With AI combination.
34A. Places to buy orthopedic products? : BRACE STATIONS. Base stations. Dennis said "A base station typically has satellite stations, but it's the hub". Long A sound also. Just letter A. Different from the above AI combination.
50A. Reserved section for an eight-time stolen base champ? : BROCK'S SEATS. Box seats. Hall of Famer Lou Brock. I was unaware of his stolen base record. Short O. Serious changes on this one, including the unexpected X to CK'S transformation.
56A. Place with thugs in tents? : BRUTE CAMP. Boot camp. oo sound.
What other vowel reconstruction can you think of? I came up with long I: Bide Time. Bride Time. But it has a verb phrase to noun phrase change. Not really fit the above before & after both noun phrase pattern. Besides, it has no spelling modification.
A themeless-like 72 words, with the average word length 5.31. By comparison, last Friday's Donna Levin "Hat Pun" has an average length of 4.97. I suppose some of the scrabbly letters (J, Q, V, X & Z) will return tomorrow. None today.
Favorite clue today is IN A SLUMP (38D. Making out too much lately). Making "out" in baseball. I was picturing kissing "make out".
Across:
1. Like volcanoes : CONIC. Are all volcanoes cone-shaped?
6. John follower : ACTS. Bible book after John.
10. IRS workers : AGTS. CPAS popped into my mind first.
14. Item of rodeo gear : RIATA
15. K follower : MART. Thought of LMNO, but then the clue would be plural "K followers". I like the "follower' echo.
16. Qatar University city : DOHA
17. Cold : ALGID. Real word.
20. Blues legend Smith : BESSIE. Wikipedia says she's referred to as "The Empress of the Blues". Stranger to me.
22. Una y __ vez: time and time again : OTRA. Only know it means "other" in Spanish.
23. Alley prowler : TOM. Short for tomcat?
26. Rahm Emanuel's talent agent brother : ARI. The "Entourage" agent Ari Gold is based on him. Minor agent & AGT (10A) duplication.
27. Ballpark fig. : EST (Estimate)
28. Flee : LAM. Yeah, lam can be a verb.
29. Whale's blowhole, e.g. : NOSTRIL. Didn't come to me readily.
31. "I'll have a grande decaf triple vanilla 2% __, please" : LATTE
33. "Earth's Children" series author : AUEL (Jean)
39. Toast opening, across the pond : 'ERE'S. "Here's to...". The H sound is dropped in Cockney dialect. Safe traveling across the pond, Barry G!
40. Bluebirds, to some : OMENS. Omen of what?
41. Stand-up guys? : NO-SHOWS. Was thinking of the stand-up comedian. There should not be a dash between "stand" and "up", even with the question mark, correct?
45. Part of un giorno : ORA. "Hour" in Italy. Giorno = Day. Unknown to me.
46. "Buy __ drink?": bar come-on : ME A
49. Ring stat : TKO
53. Sushi selection : EEL. Yummy!
54. Vintner's prefix : OENO. As in oenophile.
55. American Society of Magazine Editors annual awards : ELLIES. Whom is it named after?
59. Extreme : ULTRA
60. Software test version : BETA
61. "Hooked on Classics" record co. : K-TEL. New to me.
62. Spiteful sort : MEANY. Meanie also.
63. Paradise : EDEN
64. '60s-'70s Japanese leader : SATO (Eisaku). Japan's prime minister from 1964-1972. Nobel Peace Prize winner 1974. I can never remember his name.
65. Jimmies : PRIES
Down:
1. Actor who was a 1932 swimming gold medalist : CRABBE (Buster). Tarzan actor. Another stranger to me.
2. Former Texas team : OILERS. Houston Oilers. Now Tennessee Titans. Who knows? Not I! Don't even watch the Vikings.
3. Pesters : NAGS AT
4. "Who's there?" answer : IT IS I
5. Lincoln rival : CADILLAC. Awesome fill.
6. Dipl. official : AMB (Ambassador)
7. Tree pod also called the locust bean : CAROB. I peeked at the answer sheet.
8. Neptune's largest moon : TRITON. So many moons are named after Greek gods.
9. Canned heat : STERNO. On the buffet table.
10. Some pop-ups : ADS
11. "No time to talk now" : GOTTA RUN. Love this entry.
12. Conjectures : THEORIES. Always use "conjecture" as verb.
13. Board producer : SAWMILL. Fresh entry.
19. They don't last : FADS. Good clue.
21. Make ecstatic : ELATE
25. Initial response team, for short : EMTS
30. New Mexico county or its seat : TAOS
31. Small hair piece : LASH. D'oh, eyelash.
32. DDE's command : ETO (European Theater of Operations)
34. Negotiated : BROKERED
35. Steadfast : RESOLUTE
36. Wildly : AMOK. Run amok.
37. Unlike filibusters : TERSE
39. 1976 raid site : ENTEBBE. A Ugandan city. On Lake Victoria. I've never heard of Operation Entebbe. Educate me, Vidwan!
42. Double-reed instrument : OBOE
43. Ruins : WRECKS
44. Beethoven's "Hammerklavier," e.g. : SONATA. What does "Hammerklavier" mean, Kazie?
46. Tiki cocktail : MAI TAI
47. Endless, in poems : ETERNE. Archaic for "eternal".
48. Tests : ASSAYS
51. Under-the-sink brand : COMET. Scrub cleanser.
52. "Oklahoma!" aunt : ELLER. Aunt Eller. Clear Ayes likes "Oklahoma!". She loves nearly all the musicals.
57. You might get one at the pool : TAN. Can't fool me.
58. Mahmoud Abbas's gp. : PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). Abbas succeeded Arafat.
Answer grid.
Here is a recent photo of our handsome, witty & caring counselor Lemonade714. I'll continue to show the key blog contributors in the next few Fridays.
C.C.
