Theme: VALLEY (49D. Geological depression, and what the first word of 20-, 37- and 56-Across is). Each theme answer begins with a four-letter synonym for VALLEY, that is also a proper name.
20A. Apple hater's purchase?: DELL COMPUTER
37A. 2004 Daytona 500 winner: DALE EARNHARDT JR. Nice grid-spanner right in the middle, 15 letters and only 5 vowels.
56A. "Wichita Lineman" singer: GLEN CAMPBELL.
melissa bee here.
Canyon & gorge are synonyms of VALLEY too. But they all contain more than 4-letters and it's impossible to find a phrase that start with those two words.
Quite a scrabbly puzzle, only one W away from a pangram. It also has 10 letter Us, more than our usual vowel allotment. Valley effect, maybe.
Across:
1. Urge : SPUR
5. It's not what it pretends to be : SHAM
9. Chef's topper : TOQUE
14. Vesuvius flow : LAVA. Holy hotwick lava bomb.
15. O'Hara home : TARA. Also this Tara.
16. Prevent : AVERT
17. Pins and needles holder : ETUI. Crosswordese.
18. Capital of Rhône department : LYON. French departments are administrative divisions. Rhône department is located in the central Eastern region of Rhône-Alpes, and named after the Rhône River.
19. Military lifesaver : MEDIC
23. Grind, as teeth : GNASH
24. Prefix with -naut : AERO. Seeing this prefix a lot lately.
25. Bygone French coin : ECU.
28. Aliens, for short : ET'S
29. Drive up the wall : IRK
31. Guerrero y Oaxaca : ESTADOS. Mexican states.
34. Run the show : EMCEE
36. City of NE Italy : UDINE. Pretty. Anyone been there?
42. Gaming pioneer : ATARI
43. Mends, as socks : DARNS
44. Divided differently, as city land : REZONED
47. 10 mi. on a clear day, e.g. : VIS
48. Eggs in labs : OVA
51. Principal tonality, as of a concerto : KEY
52. Ploy : RUSE
54. __ artery: forearm blood vessel : ULNAR
59. Bordeaux brother : FRERE. French for brother. Those French have a different word for everything! (Anyone remember who said that?)
62. Biblical physician : LUKE. And apostle.
63. Qualified : ABLE
64. Mystiques : AURAS
65. Life sentences? : OBIT. Great clue.
66. Nothing, in Normandy : RIEN. Again with the French.
67. Takes a look inside? : XRAYS
68. Homes, colloquially : PADS
69. Ocular malady : STYE
20A. Apple hater's purchase?: DELL COMPUTER
37A. 2004 Daytona 500 winner: DALE EARNHARDT JR. Nice grid-spanner right in the middle, 15 letters and only 5 vowels.
56A. "Wichita Lineman" singer: GLEN CAMPBELL.
melissa bee here.
Canyon & gorge are synonyms of VALLEY too. But they all contain more than 4-letters and it's impossible to find a phrase that start with those two words.
Quite a scrabbly puzzle, only one W away from a pangram. It also has 10 letter Us, more than our usual vowel allotment. Valley effect, maybe.
Across:
1. Urge : SPUR
5. It's not what it pretends to be : SHAM
9. Chef's topper : TOQUE
14. Vesuvius flow : LAVA. Holy hotwick lava bomb.
15. O'Hara home : TARA. Also this Tara.
16. Prevent : AVERT
17. Pins and needles holder : ETUI. Crosswordese.
18. Capital of Rhône department : LYON. French departments are administrative divisions. Rhône department is located in the central Eastern region of Rhône-Alpes, and named after the Rhône River.
19. Military lifesaver : MEDIC
23. Grind, as teeth : GNASH
24. Prefix with -naut : AERO. Seeing this prefix a lot lately.
25. Bygone French coin : ECU.
28. Aliens, for short : ET'S
29. Drive up the wall : IRK
31. Guerrero y Oaxaca : ESTADOS. Mexican states.
34. Run the show : EMCEE
36. City of NE Italy : UDINE. Pretty. Anyone been there?
42. Gaming pioneer : ATARI
43. Mends, as socks : DARNS
44. Divided differently, as city land : REZONED
47. 10 mi. on a clear day, e.g. : VIS
48. Eggs in labs : OVA
51. Principal tonality, as of a concerto : KEY
52. Ploy : RUSE
54. __ artery: forearm blood vessel : ULNAR
59. Bordeaux brother : FRERE. French for brother. Those French have a different word for everything! (Anyone remember who said that?)
62. Biblical physician : LUKE. And apostle.
63. Qualified : ABLE
64. Mystiques : AURAS
65. Life sentences? : OBIT. Great clue.
66. Nothing, in Normandy : RIEN. Again with the French.
67. Takes a look inside? : XRAYS
68. Homes, colloquially : PADS
69. Ocular malady : STYE
Down:
1. Heavy hammer : SLEDGE. Who doesn't remember this?
2. It may be pending : PATENT
3. Tonsil neighbors : UVULAS
4. Vagabonds might ride them : RAILS
5. Normandy town decimated in WWII : ST LO. Here.
6. Powerful punch : HAYMAKER. Hey/hay Windhover.
7. Soap-on-__ : A ROPE
8. Farm fertilizer : MANURE
9. Bring under control : TAME
10. No longer hung up on : OVER. So over it.
11. Logical abbr. : QED. From Wikipedia: An initialism of the Latin phrase quod erat demonstrandum, which means "that which was to be demonstrated".
12. Ocean State sch. : URI
13. Mail Boxes __ : ETC
21. Give one's two cents : CHIME IN
22. How-__: instruction books : TOS
25. Change text : EDIT
26. Because, e.g.: Abbr. : CONJ. Conjunction . ♪ ♫ ♩ ♬ Hookin' up words, and phrases and clauses ♪ ♫ ♩ ♬.
27. One at a keyboard, often : USER
30. JVC competitor : RCA
32. Uncovers, as evidence : TURNS UP
33. Inserts : ADDS
34. Dulles Airport terminal designer Saarinen : EERO
35. Stop : END
37. Nyctophobe's fear : DARK
38. Suit to __ : A TEE
39. Like a couch potato : LAZY. Or a teenager.
40. Give birth : HAVE A KID. Ouch.
41. Shapiro of NPR : ARI. White House correspondent.
45. Before, before : ERE
46. Longtime tire brand : DUNLOP
48. At all : ONE BIT
50. "What's My Line?" panelist Francis : ARLENE. No peeking.
53. Explore reefs, in a way : SCUBA
55. Construction pieces : L BARS. Hm. Well there's this, and then there's this. Different strokes.
56. Confederate color : GRAY. Confederate officer's uniform.
57. Take away : LESS
58. Beneficiaries of Bill Buckner's famous World Series error : METS. Here is the story. And here is the clip.
59. Phoned document : FAX
60. 1921 sci-fi play : RUR. Rossom's Universal Robots. Usually clued as 'Capek play.' In yesterday's puzzle also.
61. Nostalgic period : ERA
Answer grid.
melissa
