Theme: EY DROPS - The letters EY are dropped from the end of the first word of easily recognizable phrases, to yield a new phrase with a comical twist.
20A. Faultfinding brother?: MONK ON ONE'S BACK. Monkey on one's back. This expression goes back to ancient Egypt, originally meaning a guiding spirit or source of inspiration. More recently, it's some sort of burden, affliction, or addiction. I wanted a sibling brother, but a MONK will do just fine.
29A. Debris in the hayloft? : BARN RUBBLE. Barney Rubble, Fred Flintstone's pal.
38A. Impervious to chutzpah? : GALL PROOF. This one's my favorite. Galley proof: the final proof copy of a page being typeset for printing, before it is set as a page of a book or booklet.
50A. What Michelle Kwan might do in a financial emergency? : HOCK SKATES. Hockey skates: essential hardware for the Buffalo Sabres. Somehow, I don't think Michelle will ever be in that position.
59A. Haystack-hiding Ottoman? : TURK IN THE STRAW. Turkey In The Straw. Musical Americana.
No unifier, but five brilliant theme entries, two of them almost grid-spanning, along with ten 7-letter answers. Wow!
Hi gang, Jazzbumpa here, aka JzB, more formally, Mr. Bumpa, or just plain Bumpa to my 11 favorite youngsters. But you can call me Ron.
This is a hard puzzle, and I never got on John McInturff's wave length. Even after I sussed the theme, I couldn't get TURK IN THE STRAW, due to errors in the perps. So, I was reduced to technical assistance for many requested answers.
Across :
1. Spread __ : EAGLE. An unincorporated community in Wisconsin. Or this pose. You can search Google images for many interesting variations.
6. Rises to great heights : SOARS. Like an EAGLE.
11. Short nightwear? : PJS. "Short" indicating an abbreviation. Here is one of the more demurre images.
14. Series : ARRAY. Each is a systematic arrangement of things.
15. Speedpass brand : EXXON. I don't use a gas station Speedpass, so the scrabbly answer had to slowly reveal itself.
16. Space in time : LAG. Clever, and it left me behind. Here is my favorite example.
17. "Big Girl in the Middle" co-author Gabrielle : REECE. American professional volleyball player, sports announcer, fashion model and actress.
18. Longtime DieHard rival : DELCO. Car batteries. Any reference to yesterday's reversals?
19. Fake it : ACT. and 54. Pretense : POSE. Which do you think is pretending?
23. Spat end : ULA. End to the word spatula. You all know how I love this kind of clue for an affix. It's my affixiation.
24. Carmelite, e.g. : NUN. Very easy for a simple Catholic boy from Toledo. Clearly, a fun-loving bunch.
25. Daughter of Laban : LEAH. Jacob loved Rachel, but on the wedding day, sneaky Laban substituted her older sister, LEAH. Jacob coped as best he could, and LEAH bore him six sons.
27. Lighten up : FADE. Nice misdirection here. I was expecting frivolity, and instead got bleach.
34. Shivering causes : FEARS. Aha - this is what made the Shakers shake! But what were they afraid of?
36. Each : A POP. I never care much for this equivalence. But the free dictionary includes it waaaaayyy down the page..
37. WWII intelligence gp. : OSS. Office of Strategic Services - precursor of the CIA. Abrv in cl & ans.
42. Jordan was part of it: Abbr. : NBA. Aha! Michael Jordan, former star in the National Basketball Association.
45. Dreamcast maker : SEGA. Now, John is just playing with us.
46. Dona __ pacem: grant us peace : NOBIS. (Lord) grant us peace, in Latin. Very easy for a simple boomer Catholic boy from Toledo. But, alas, this often-uttered prayer seldom yields the requested answers.
55. First daughter of the '60s : LUCI. Lucy (later LUCI) Baines Johnson, one of several LBJ's in the late 60's first family. Born after me with a LAG of about 28 weeks and raised Episcopalian, she converted to Catholicism at age 18. Since I had not yet given it up, we had something in common for awhile.
56. Boomer's kid : XER. For us, X = 4.
58. Basso Berberian : ARA. An opera singer born in Detroit in 1930. Way too early to be a boomer.
65. MGM motto word : ARS. The MGM motto is "Ars Gratia Artis," meaning "Art for Art's sake." They lifted it from France's 19th-century bohemians, who inexplicably spoke Latin.
66. D-Day beach : OMAHA. From WWII, and a puzzle echo from earlier in the week. "Pzzecho" anyone?
67. Wedding memento : VIDEO. Like anyone is EVER going to watch it again.
68. Blow without distinction? : JOE. This baffled me completely. Has John McInturff ever heard me play? But JOE Blow is just an ordinary guy.
69. Not fresh : BANAL. Not much that's BANAL in this fresh puzzle.
70. Green shampoo : PRELL. It's been around for a long time. Anybody remember White Rain?
71. Balaam's beast : ASS. Balaam and his ass didn't get along very well. This was one of the rare (at the time) talking asses.
72. Radiate : EXUDE. Only sort of. More of an oozing kind of radiation.
73. Finishing stroke : SERIF. A short line at the end of a main stroke of a character.
Down:
1. Canal protector : EARMUFF. I see. Ear canal. If anyone tries to put a bug in your ear, use protection. Or ear drops.
2. Colorful rings : AREOLAE. A Crossword Corner Classic.
3. Caribbean island nation : GRENADA. In the Caribbean - wow. I had not idea atoll.
4. Dearth : LACK. No lack of EY drops today.
5. "__ America Tour": 2006 CBS News event : EYE ON. EYE ON America. I've never eyed it. But in keeping with the theme, it should be aired for an EON.
6. Arizona's "Red Rocks Country" : SEDONA. I'll let one of our travelers fill us in.
7. Team members : OXEN. Not the smart team.
8. Wheelset component : AXLE.
9. Mythical birds : ROCS. Big and powerful.
10. Arty type, maybe : SNOB. We have art SNOBs, wine SNOBs, and just plain SNOBs.
11. Controversial testing component : PLACEBO. A fake pill POSing as medication, either to fool the patient into feeling better or to ACT as a control in an experimental trial. I guess the controversy comes from not giving the control group anything that will actually help them.
12. Nocturnal scavengers : JACKALS. Wild African canines. Not to be confused with these.
13. Friday was one: Abbr. : SGT. Police Sgt. Friday from the old Dragnet TV show, or the 1987 movie.
21. Heart : NUB. Besides heart, NUB can also mean a protuberance, small lump, or remnant. My favorite William Gass Story is "In the Nub of the Nub of the Country."
22. Tirana is its cap. : ALB. Tirana, ALBANIA. N.B. use of Abbrv. And -- 39. Coin in Tirana : LEK. The other Albanian Capital, Legal tender for all debts public and private, I assume, and a clecho (clue echo).
26. Stars of "Two and a Half Men," e.g. : HES. Just a couple of Joe Blows, I guess.
28. Work unit : ERG. This is the work done by a force of one dyne acting over a distance of one centimeter, roughly equivalent to one fly doing one push-up..
30. Knock on : RAP AT. Knock knock. Who's there? Friend of Pooh. Friend of Pooh who? Hey - don't poo-hoo me!
31. "Fresh Air" airer : NPR. National Public Radio.
32. Friend of Pooh : ROO. ROO, that's who! (And Tigger, too.)
33. Knowledgeable about : UP ON.
35. Reason for grounding, perhaps : SASS. But, maybe children who are well grounded are less likely to SASS. Or as Shreck said, "SASS, my ASS!"
40. Airport near Citi Field, briefly : LGA. Laguardia, airport near the home of the N.Y. Mets. I can't keep track of the commercial names for stadia. "Briefly" again indicates an Abbrv.
41. Dandy : FOP. Overdressed, not an ordinary guy. Also not like the ones in the previous link.
42. Sabres' org. : NHL. Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. 'Nother Abrv.
43. Former U.N. secretary-general __-Ghali : BOUTROS. Golly - I knew his name, but had to guess at how it was spelt.
44. Charges : ACCUSES. In a legal sense. Otherwise, I'd run up too many ACCUSES on my credit card.
47. One taken in : BOARDER. I was not taken in by this tricky clue. Were you?
48. Sharon, notably : ISRAELI. Ariel Sharon was in the Israeli army from 1948 on, served in various government positions in the 70's and 90's and served as Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006. Not a BANAL life, by any means.
49. London classic, with "The" : SEAWOLF. A Jack London story, about which I know notihng.
51. Cassis apéritif : KIR. Creme de Cassis is a blackcurrant liqueur. For a KIR, take a measure of C de C, and top it off with white wine.
52. Yoga command : EXHALE. Don't forget to breath!
53. Date : SEE. This evidently does not apply to blind dates.
57. Requested answers : RSVPS. Répondez s'il vous plaît, French for "Please respond." We should add this to "Dona NOBIS Pacem!"
60. Eastern beef city : KOBE. Far East. KOBE is a city in Japan, noted for its beef.
61. It gives you the big picture : IMAX. A motion picture and projection format using a big, big screen, from the Canadian Company IMAX Corp..
62. Half a sitcom signoff : NANU. From the TV show Mork and Mindy, featuring Robin Williams and the ever-cute Pam Dawber. Shazbots! My love for "Half a" clues is right up there with affixes. The perfect one would be "Half a' affix."
63. Ohio State basketball coach Matta : THAD. Ohio State plays basketball? Who knew? Not me. I tried CHAD.
64. Flag : TIRE. This is one of the less common meanings of flag. It is now 1:20 a.m. EST, and I am flagging. Do you think TIRE football will ever catch on?
65. Grammy-winning Steely Dan album : AJA. Aha! It's pronounced "Asia!" Sophisticated pop from Becker and Fagan. I'd play it for you, but Ricky lost that number.
Answer grid.
Cheers!
JzB
20A. Faultfinding brother?: MONK ON ONE'S BACK. Monkey on one's back. This expression goes back to ancient Egypt, originally meaning a guiding spirit or source of inspiration. More recently, it's some sort of burden, affliction, or addiction. I wanted a sibling brother, but a MONK will do just fine.
29A. Debris in the hayloft? : BARN RUBBLE. Barney Rubble, Fred Flintstone's pal.
38A. Impervious to chutzpah? : GALL PROOF. This one's my favorite. Galley proof: the final proof copy of a page being typeset for printing, before it is set as a page of a book or booklet.
50A. What Michelle Kwan might do in a financial emergency? : HOCK SKATES. Hockey skates: essential hardware for the Buffalo Sabres. Somehow, I don't think Michelle will ever be in that position.
59A. Haystack-hiding Ottoman? : TURK IN THE STRAW. Turkey In The Straw. Musical Americana.
No unifier, but five brilliant theme entries, two of them almost grid-spanning, along with ten 7-letter answers. Wow!
Hi gang, Jazzbumpa here, aka JzB, more formally, Mr. Bumpa, or just plain Bumpa to my 11 favorite youngsters. But you can call me Ron.
This is a hard puzzle, and I never got on John McInturff's wave length. Even after I sussed the theme, I couldn't get TURK IN THE STRAW, due to errors in the perps. So, I was reduced to technical assistance for many requested answers.
Across :
1. Spread __ : EAGLE. An unincorporated community in Wisconsin. Or this pose. You can search Google images for many interesting variations.
6. Rises to great heights : SOARS. Like an EAGLE.
11. Short nightwear? : PJS. "Short" indicating an abbreviation. Here is one of the more demurre images.
14. Series : ARRAY. Each is a systematic arrangement of things.
15. Speedpass brand : EXXON. I don't use a gas station Speedpass, so the scrabbly answer had to slowly reveal itself.
16. Space in time : LAG. Clever, and it left me behind. Here is my favorite example.
17. "Big Girl in the Middle" co-author Gabrielle : REECE. American professional volleyball player, sports announcer, fashion model and actress.
18. Longtime DieHard rival : DELCO. Car batteries. Any reference to yesterday's reversals?
19. Fake it : ACT. and 54. Pretense : POSE. Which do you think is pretending?
23. Spat end : ULA. End to the word spatula. You all know how I love this kind of clue for an affix. It's my affixiation.
24. Carmelite, e.g. : NUN. Very easy for a simple Catholic boy from Toledo. Clearly, a fun-loving bunch.
25. Daughter of Laban : LEAH. Jacob loved Rachel, but on the wedding day, sneaky Laban substituted her older sister, LEAH. Jacob coped as best he could, and LEAH bore him six sons.
27. Lighten up : FADE. Nice misdirection here. I was expecting frivolity, and instead got bleach.
34. Shivering causes : FEARS. Aha - this is what made the Shakers shake! But what were they afraid of?
36. Each : A POP. I never care much for this equivalence. But the free dictionary includes it waaaaayyy down the page..
37. WWII intelligence gp. : OSS. Office of Strategic Services - precursor of the CIA. Abrv in cl & ans.
42. Jordan was part of it: Abbr. : NBA. Aha! Michael Jordan, former star in the National Basketball Association.
45. Dreamcast maker : SEGA. Now, John is just playing with us.
46. Dona __ pacem: grant us peace : NOBIS. (Lord) grant us peace, in Latin. Very easy for a simple boomer Catholic boy from Toledo. But, alas, this often-uttered prayer seldom yields the requested answers.
55. First daughter of the '60s : LUCI. Lucy (later LUCI) Baines Johnson, one of several LBJ's in the late 60's first family. Born after me with a LAG of about 28 weeks and raised Episcopalian, she converted to Catholicism at age 18. Since I had not yet given it up, we had something in common for awhile.
56. Boomer's kid : XER. For us, X = 4.
58. Basso Berberian : ARA. An opera singer born in Detroit in 1930. Way too early to be a boomer.
65. MGM motto word : ARS. The MGM motto is "Ars Gratia Artis," meaning "Art for Art's sake." They lifted it from France's 19th-century bohemians, who inexplicably spoke Latin.
66. D-Day beach : OMAHA. From WWII, and a puzzle echo from earlier in the week. "Pzzecho" anyone?
67. Wedding memento : VIDEO. Like anyone is EVER going to watch it again.
68. Blow without distinction? : JOE. This baffled me completely. Has John McInturff ever heard me play? But JOE Blow is just an ordinary guy.
69. Not fresh : BANAL. Not much that's BANAL in this fresh puzzle.
70. Green shampoo : PRELL. It's been around for a long time. Anybody remember White Rain?
71. Balaam's beast : ASS. Balaam and his ass didn't get along very well. This was one of the rare (at the time) talking asses.
72. Radiate : EXUDE. Only sort of. More of an oozing kind of radiation.
73. Finishing stroke : SERIF. A short line at the end of a main stroke of a character.
Down:
1. Canal protector : EARMUFF. I see. Ear canal. If anyone tries to put a bug in your ear, use protection. Or ear drops.
2. Colorful rings : AREOLAE. A Crossword Corner Classic.
3. Caribbean island nation : GRENADA. In the Caribbean - wow. I had not idea atoll.
4. Dearth : LACK. No lack of EY drops today.
5. "__ America Tour": 2006 CBS News event : EYE ON. EYE ON America. I've never eyed it. But in keeping with the theme, it should be aired for an EON.
6. Arizona's "Red Rocks Country" : SEDONA. I'll let one of our travelers fill us in.
7. Team members : OXEN. Not the smart team.
8. Wheelset component : AXLE.
9. Mythical birds : ROCS. Big and powerful.
10. Arty type, maybe : SNOB. We have art SNOBs, wine SNOBs, and just plain SNOBs.
11. Controversial testing component : PLACEBO. A fake pill POSing as medication, either to fool the patient into feeling better or to ACT as a control in an experimental trial. I guess the controversy comes from not giving the control group anything that will actually help them.
12. Nocturnal scavengers : JACKALS. Wild African canines. Not to be confused with these.
13. Friday was one: Abbr. : SGT. Police Sgt. Friday from the old Dragnet TV show, or the 1987 movie.
21. Heart : NUB. Besides heart, NUB can also mean a protuberance, small lump, or remnant. My favorite William Gass Story is "In the Nub of the Nub of the Country."
22. Tirana is its cap. : ALB. Tirana, ALBANIA. N.B. use of Abbrv. And -- 39. Coin in Tirana : LEK. The other Albanian Capital, Legal tender for all debts public and private, I assume, and a clecho (clue echo).
26. Stars of "Two and a Half Men," e.g. : HES. Just a couple of Joe Blows, I guess.
28. Work unit : ERG. This is the work done by a force of one dyne acting over a distance of one centimeter, roughly equivalent to one fly doing one push-up..
30. Knock on : RAP AT. Knock knock. Who's there? Friend of Pooh. Friend of Pooh who? Hey - don't poo-hoo me!
31. "Fresh Air" airer : NPR. National Public Radio.
32. Friend of Pooh : ROO. ROO, that's who! (And Tigger, too.)
33. Knowledgeable about : UP ON.
35. Reason for grounding, perhaps : SASS. But, maybe children who are well grounded are less likely to SASS. Or as Shreck said, "SASS, my ASS!"
40. Airport near Citi Field, briefly : LGA. Laguardia, airport near the home of the N.Y. Mets. I can't keep track of the commercial names for stadia. "Briefly" again indicates an Abbrv.
41. Dandy : FOP. Overdressed, not an ordinary guy. Also not like the ones in the previous link.
42. Sabres' org. : NHL. Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. 'Nother Abrv.
43. Former U.N. secretary-general __-Ghali : BOUTROS. Golly - I knew his name, but had to guess at how it was spelt.
44. Charges : ACCUSES. In a legal sense. Otherwise, I'd run up too many ACCUSES on my credit card.
47. One taken in : BOARDER. I was not taken in by this tricky clue. Were you?
48. Sharon, notably : ISRAELI. Ariel Sharon was in the Israeli army from 1948 on, served in various government positions in the 70's and 90's and served as Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006. Not a BANAL life, by any means.
49. London classic, with "The" : SEAWOLF. A Jack London story, about which I know notihng.
51. Cassis apéritif : KIR. Creme de Cassis is a blackcurrant liqueur. For a KIR, take a measure of C de C, and top it off with white wine.
52. Yoga command : EXHALE. Don't forget to breath!
53. Date : SEE. This evidently does not apply to blind dates.
57. Requested answers : RSVPS. Répondez s'il vous plaît, French for "Please respond." We should add this to "Dona NOBIS Pacem!"
60. Eastern beef city : KOBE. Far East. KOBE is a city in Japan, noted for its beef.
61. It gives you the big picture : IMAX. A motion picture and projection format using a big, big screen, from the Canadian Company IMAX Corp..
62. Half a sitcom signoff : NANU. From the TV show Mork and Mindy, featuring Robin Williams and the ever-cute Pam Dawber. Shazbots! My love for "Half a" clues is right up there with affixes. The perfect one would be "Half a' affix."
63. Ohio State basketball coach Matta : THAD. Ohio State plays basketball? Who knew? Not me. I tried CHAD.
64. Flag : TIRE. This is one of the less common meanings of flag. It is now 1:20 a.m. EST, and I am flagging. Do you think TIRE football will ever catch on?
65. Grammy-winning Steely Dan album : AJA. Aha! It's pronounced "Asia!" Sophisticated pop from Becker and Fagan. I'd play it for you, but Ricky lost that number.
Answer grid.
Cheers!
JzB
