Theme: Get the L in Here! - Y is replaced by LY at the end of first word of each two-word familiar phrase.
17A. Mentioned with a yawn? : DULLY NOTED. Base phrase is Duly Noted. Adv to Adv.
23A. Tightfistedness scale? : MISERLY INDEX. Misery Index. Not a familiar economic term to me. A measurement of unemployment & inflation rate. Noun to Adj.
53A. Like a centaur? : PARTLY ANIMAL. Party Animal. Centaur is part human & part horse. Noun to Adv.
64A. Old enough to know better? : HARDLY BOYS. The Hardy Boys. Noun to Adv.
The first two theme answers experienced a vowel sound change after the transformation. Nothing happened to the last two.
Sometimes our Monday puzzles have more theme entries than Friday's, but the theme concept is definitely more complicated on Friday: Adding/Deleting/Replacing letter (or letter strings), or punny wordplay. Monday's theme tends to be more straightforward, so is Tuesday's. Then we progress to Wednesday & Thursday (often) with a unifier.
Across:
1. A popular one is modeled after the Winchester rifle : BB GUN. Stumped immediately. Wiki says "One of the most famous BB guns is the Red Ryder BB Gun, modeled after the western Winchester rifle".
6. Three-time A.L. MVP : A-ROD. Four letter, with abbr. hint in the clue, who else could it be?
10. Narcissist's obsession : SELF
14. Oil source : OLIVE
15. __ fide : BONA
16. Gin flavoring : SLOE
19. Inn group member : MAID. Nice play on "In group".
20. __ trap : SET A. Didn't emerge quickly.
21. Like jellybeans : OVOID
22. Memo header : IN RE. Latin for "in the matter of".
26. Swiffer WetJet, e.g. : DAMP MOP. Have never heard of Swiffer WetJet.
29. Bereft : LORN
30. Jupiter, for one : ORB. Oh, God, I wanted GOD.
31. Allen contemporary : PAAR (Jack). Steve Allen. I was at a loss.
33. Lollipop-licking cop : KOJAK. Played by Telly Savalas.
37. Ristorante staple : VEAL
39. Explore deeply : PROBE
42. Derelict, perhaps : WINO. "Perhaps" yes.
43. Contest entry : ESSAY
45. Factor opening : BENE. Opening for the word benefactor. I don't think I would have gotten the answer even with a question mark in the clue.
47. Bucko : MAC
48. Goofs (around) : BUMS
51. Battle preparation place, in metaphor : WAR PATH
57. Actress Falco : EDIE
58. Oarlock pin : THOLE. Used to throw me off.
59. Vanishing points : ENDS
63. Outfits : RIGS. New definition of "rig" to me.
66. Send out : EMIT
67. End of a lover's ultimatum : OR ME. I penned in ELSE.
68. Designated : MEANT
69. Aussie sleep sounds? : ZEDS. Z is Zed in Australia.
70. European coal region : SAAR. No idea. Where is it?
71. Fire proof? : ASHES. We've seen similar clue before.
Down:
1. Mr. Olympia contestants' obsessions : BODS. The only Mr. Olympia I know is Arnold.
2. Risqué : BLUE. In China, yellow means risqué. By the way, this is for Jayce. Just omit the bamboo shoots. No such ingredient in authentic Chinese dumplings.
3. Thin ornamental layer : GILT
4. Black light, briefly : UV LAMP. Not familiar with the term. What is it used for? Why "black light"?
5. Marshal under Napoleon : NEY. Napoleon called him "bravest of the brave".
6. Good, except on the links : ABOVE PAR. Always happy with a double bogey round.
7. Eggbeater feature : ROTOR
8. Tip of Massachusetts : O'NEILL. Tip O'Neill. From Massachusetts. Former Speaker of the House. Great clue.
9. Beatnik's address : DADDY-O. Unknown to me. Like today's "dude". Doesn't sound cool at all.
10. Gilligan's shipwrecked ship : S. S. MINNOW. The insane SSM* start made me doubt my crossing entries.
11. Savanna grazer : ELAND
12. River through Tours : LOIRE
13. Fly-by-night co.? : FEDEX. Nice clue too.
18. "It'll never wash!" : NO SOAP. Another new slang for me.
24. Little cut-up : IMP. "Cut-up" = Prankster. Followed by IRK (25. Bug like a 24-Down).
26. Went off the deep end : DOVE. Great idiom play.
27. God wounded by Diomedes in the "Iliad" : ARES. Greek war god. Was ignorant of the wound he suffered in "Iliad".
28. Wheels of Fortune? : MBAS. Tricky clue.
32. Knock over : ROB
34. "Sands of Iwo __": 1949 film : JIMA
35. Med school subj. : ANAT
36. "Mayor" author : KOCH (Ed). Needed crossing help.
38. Doctor's orders, often : LAB TESTS
40. Stump : BEWILDER
41. Plaque holder? : ENAMEL. The question mark should point you at the teeth direction.
44. James's "Westworld" costar : YUL (Brynner). No idea. Not familiar with the movie. James Brolin.
46. Time slice : ERA
49. Aristotle's first element of tragedy : MYTHOS. See here. It consists of 6 parts, a la Aristotle. Another learning moment.
50. Home to many Berbers : SAHARA. Berbers are those North African tribesmen.
52. Annapolis newbies : PLEBES
53. Two-time Venezuelan president Carlos : PEREZ. Alien to me.
54. Turn on __ : A DIME
55. Intolerant : RIGID
56. "__ Rae" : NORMA
60. Early animal handler : NOAH. OK, Noah handled those paired animals in his Ark.
61. Bit of force : DYNE
62. Ret. fliers : SSTS
65. Sumac from Peru : YMA. Classic crossword name.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. Mentioned with a yawn? : DULLY NOTED. Base phrase is Duly Noted. Adv to Adv.
23A. Tightfistedness scale? : MISERLY INDEX. Misery Index. Not a familiar economic term to me. A measurement of unemployment & inflation rate. Noun to Adj.
53A. Like a centaur? : PARTLY ANIMAL. Party Animal. Centaur is part human & part horse. Noun to Adv.
64A. Old enough to know better? : HARDLY BOYS. The Hardy Boys. Noun to Adv.
The first two theme answers experienced a vowel sound change after the transformation. Nothing happened to the last two.
Sometimes our Monday puzzles have more theme entries than Friday's, but the theme concept is definitely more complicated on Friday: Adding/Deleting/Replacing letter (or letter strings), or punny wordplay. Monday's theme tends to be more straightforward, so is Tuesday's. Then we progress to Wednesday & Thursday (often) with a unifier.
Across:
1. A popular one is modeled after the Winchester rifle : BB GUN. Stumped immediately. Wiki says "One of the most famous BB guns is the Red Ryder BB Gun, modeled after the western Winchester rifle".
6. Three-time A.L. MVP : A-ROD. Four letter, with abbr. hint in the clue, who else could it be?
10. Narcissist's obsession : SELF
14. Oil source : OLIVE
15. __ fide : BONA
16. Gin flavoring : SLOE
19. Inn group member : MAID. Nice play on "In group".
20. __ trap : SET A. Didn't emerge quickly.
21. Like jellybeans : OVOID
22. Memo header : IN RE. Latin for "in the matter of".
26. Swiffer WetJet, e.g. : DAMP MOP. Have never heard of Swiffer WetJet.
29. Bereft : LORN
30. Jupiter, for one : ORB. Oh, God, I wanted GOD.
31. Allen contemporary : PAAR (Jack). Steve Allen. I was at a loss.
33. Lollipop-licking cop : KOJAK. Played by Telly Savalas.
37. Ristorante staple : VEAL
39. Explore deeply : PROBE
42. Derelict, perhaps : WINO. "Perhaps" yes.
43. Contest entry : ESSAY
45. Factor opening : BENE. Opening for the word benefactor. I don't think I would have gotten the answer even with a question mark in the clue.
47. Bucko : MAC
48. Goofs (around) : BUMS
51. Battle preparation place, in metaphor : WAR PATH
57. Actress Falco : EDIE
58. Oarlock pin : THOLE. Used to throw me off.
59. Vanishing points : ENDS
63. Outfits : RIGS. New definition of "rig" to me.
66. Send out : EMIT
67. End of a lover's ultimatum : OR ME. I penned in ELSE.
68. Designated : MEANT
69. Aussie sleep sounds? : ZEDS. Z is Zed in Australia.
70. European coal region : SAAR. No idea. Where is it?
71. Fire proof? : ASHES. We've seen similar clue before.
Down:
1. Mr. Olympia contestants' obsessions : BODS. The only Mr. Olympia I know is Arnold.
2. Risqué : BLUE. In China, yellow means risqué. By the way, this is for Jayce. Just omit the bamboo shoots. No such ingredient in authentic Chinese dumplings.
3. Thin ornamental layer : GILT
4. Black light, briefly : UV LAMP. Not familiar with the term. What is it used for? Why "black light"?
5. Marshal under Napoleon : NEY. Napoleon called him "bravest of the brave".
6. Good, except on the links : ABOVE PAR. Always happy with a double bogey round.
7. Eggbeater feature : ROTOR
8. Tip of Massachusetts : O'NEILL. Tip O'Neill. From Massachusetts. Former Speaker of the House. Great clue.
9. Beatnik's address : DADDY-O. Unknown to me. Like today's "dude". Doesn't sound cool at all.
10. Gilligan's shipwrecked ship : S. S. MINNOW. The insane SSM* start made me doubt my crossing entries.
11. Savanna grazer : ELAND
12. River through Tours : LOIRE
13. Fly-by-night co.? : FEDEX. Nice clue too.
18. "It'll never wash!" : NO SOAP. Another new slang for me.
24. Little cut-up : IMP. "Cut-up" = Prankster. Followed by IRK (25. Bug like a 24-Down).
26. Went off the deep end : DOVE. Great idiom play.
27. God wounded by Diomedes in the "Iliad" : ARES. Greek war god. Was ignorant of the wound he suffered in "Iliad".
28. Wheels of Fortune? : MBAS. Tricky clue.
32. Knock over : ROB
34. "Sands of Iwo __": 1949 film : JIMA
35. Med school subj. : ANAT
36. "Mayor" author : KOCH (Ed). Needed crossing help.
38. Doctor's orders, often : LAB TESTS
40. Stump : BEWILDER
41. Plaque holder? : ENAMEL. The question mark should point you at the teeth direction.
44. James's "Westworld" costar : YUL (Brynner). No idea. Not familiar with the movie. James Brolin.
46. Time slice : ERA
49. Aristotle's first element of tragedy : MYTHOS. See here. It consists of 6 parts, a la Aristotle. Another learning moment.
50. Home to many Berbers : SAHARA. Berbers are those North African tribesmen.
52. Annapolis newbies : PLEBES
53. Two-time Venezuelan president Carlos : PEREZ. Alien to me.
54. Turn on __ : A DIME
55. Intolerant : RIGID
56. "__ Rae" : NORMA
60. Early animal handler : NOAH. OK, Noah handled those paired animals in his Ark.
61. Bit of force : DYNE
62. Ret. fliers : SSTS
65. Sumac from Peru : YMA. Classic crossword name.
Answer grid.
C.C.
