Theme: It's a bird, it's a ... - Plane, a jet, to be precise according to the unifier. The first theme requires a two-word verb phrase while the next two are single verbs; altogether, they describe a plane flight.
20A. Lose a few pounds: TAKE OFF WEIGHT
37A. Act defiantly toward: FLY IN THE TEETH OF, 'In the Face' is more common.
54A. Find ideal employment: LAND A GREAT JOB
58D. You might be on one if you do the starts of 20-, 37- and 54-Across: JET
Argyle here.
A perfunctory Monday puzzle rather easy to solve but was an ambitious construction. Six letter stacks in two corners, two near grid spanning themes and a third that made it all the way. It takes a lot of work to make it look easy.
Across:
1. Estimator's words : OR SO
5. It's cut and styled : HAIR
9. "Of __ I Sing" : THEE
13. Kathmandu's country : NEPAL
15. Part of A.D. : ANNO. Anno Domini, which is Latin for "year of our Lord". Now sometimes referred to as the Common Era, Christian Era, or Current Era (abbreviated as C.E. or CE).
16. Sniggler's prey : EELS
17. Maliciousness : SPITE
18. Not so much : LESS
19. Bivouac : CAMP
23. Opposed (to) : AVERSE
24. Pekoe, e.g. : TEA
25. "Far out!" : "RAD!". I don't believe "RAD" ever got much use.
28. Legal thing : RES. By itself, RES is Latin for thing; it starts many legal terms.
29. They're exchanged at the altar : I DOs
32. Make fun of : TEASE
34. Sweet snack with coffee : DONUT
36. Northern California peak : SHASTA. Located at the southern end of the cascades in Siskiyou County. Map.
41. __ Pieces: candy brand : REESE'S
42. Brings up : REARS
43. Make into law : ENACT
44. Bank claim : LIEN
45. Fashion that doesn't last : FAD
48. Canadian A.L. team, on scoreboards : TOR. TORonto, north across Lake Ontario from Buffalo, NY. The Blue Jays.
49. Crude in a tanker : OIL
51. Invent : CREATE
58. Monopoly square with bars : JAIL
60. Yves's girlfriend : AMIE. A Frenchman's girlfriend.
61. Country with a wall : CHINA
62. Poet __ St. Vincent Millay : EDNA. Her Columbia County, NY, farmhouse, which she christened Steepletop, is within miles of my sister's house.
63. Heavenly music maker : HARP
64. Kids' flying toys : KITES
65. Clothes : TOGS
66. Norway's capital : OSLO
67. Open-and-shut __ : CASE
Down:
1. GM navigation system : ONSTAR
2. Fix potholes in : REPAVE
3. Volleyball smashes : SPIKES
4. Wild West movie : OATER
5. One of two equal portions : HALF
6. From the beginning : ANEW
7. Maps within maps : INSETS
8. Talk radio host O'Donnell : ROSIE. Image.
9. PC support pro : TECH
10. Summer itch cause : HEAT RASH
11. Stately tree : ELM
12. Psychic's claim : ESP. Extrasensory perception (ESP)
14. Some summer babies, astrologically : LEOs
21. Deceptive moves : FEINTS
22. Collect : GATHER
26. Regarding : AS TO
27. Unable to hear : DEAF
30. "Of course I knew that!" : "DUH!". Followed by a smack to the head with a V-8 can. (D'oh is when someone else smacks you with a V-8 can.)
31. "SNL" alum Cheri : OTERI. Image.
33. Food, on a diner sign : EATS. Or the whole sign.
34. Computer insert : DISC
35. Common pickup capacity : ONE TON. A half-ton is more common.
36. Afterworld communication meeting : SÉANCE
37. Get all worked up : FRET
38. Letterman rival : LENO. Late night talk show hosts.
39. Horse that isn't two yet : YEARLING
40. Golfer's gadget : TEE
44. Alpaca cousins : LLAMAs
45. Tex-Mex serving : FAJITA
46. Makes reparations (for) : ATONES
47. Lower in rank : DEBASE
50. Wyoming neighbor : IDAHO
52. __ of lamb : RACK
53. Value system : ETHIC
55. "Woe is me!" : "ALAS!"
56. "__, Interrupted" : GIRL. It is a best-selling 1993 memoir by American author Susanna Kaysen, relating her experiences as a young woman in a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The memoir's title is a reference to the Vermeer painting Girl Interrupted at her Music. It was a 1999 drama film, starring Winona Ryder, Brittany Murphy, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg and Vanessa Redgrave. The painting.
57. Bank takeaway : REPO
59. Bustle : ADO
Answer grid.
Argyle
20A. Lose a few pounds: TAKE OFF WEIGHT
37A. Act defiantly toward: FLY IN THE TEETH OF, 'In the Face' is more common.
54A. Find ideal employment: LAND A GREAT JOB
58D. You might be on one if you do the starts of 20-, 37- and 54-Across: JET
Argyle here.
A perfunctory Monday puzzle rather easy to solve but was an ambitious construction. Six letter stacks in two corners, two near grid spanning themes and a third that made it all the way. It takes a lot of work to make it look easy.
Across:
1. Estimator's words : OR SO
5. It's cut and styled : HAIR
9. "Of __ I Sing" : THEE
13. Kathmandu's country : NEPAL
15. Part of A.D. : ANNO. Anno Domini, which is Latin for "year of our Lord". Now sometimes referred to as the Common Era, Christian Era, or Current Era (abbreviated as C.E. or CE).
16. Sniggler's prey : EELS
17. Maliciousness : SPITE
18. Not so much : LESS
19. Bivouac : CAMP
23. Opposed (to) : AVERSE
24. Pekoe, e.g. : TEA
25. "Far out!" : "RAD!". I don't believe "RAD" ever got much use.
28. Legal thing : RES. By itself, RES is Latin for thing; it starts many legal terms.
29. They're exchanged at the altar : I DOs
32. Make fun of : TEASE
34. Sweet snack with coffee : DONUT
36. Northern California peak : SHASTA. Located at the southern end of the cascades in Siskiyou County. Map.
41. __ Pieces: candy brand : REESE'S
42. Brings up : REARS
43. Make into law : ENACT
44. Bank claim : LIEN
45. Fashion that doesn't last : FAD
48. Canadian A.L. team, on scoreboards : TOR. TORonto, north across Lake Ontario from Buffalo, NY. The Blue Jays.
49. Crude in a tanker : OIL
51. Invent : CREATE
58. Monopoly square with bars : JAIL
60. Yves's girlfriend : AMIE. A Frenchman's girlfriend.
61. Country with a wall : CHINA
62. Poet __ St. Vincent Millay : EDNA. Her Columbia County, NY, farmhouse, which she christened Steepletop, is within miles of my sister's house.
63. Heavenly music maker : HARP
64. Kids' flying toys : KITES
65. Clothes : TOGS
66. Norway's capital : OSLO
67. Open-and-shut __ : CASE
Down:
1. GM navigation system : ONSTAR
2. Fix potholes in : REPAVE
3. Volleyball smashes : SPIKES
4. Wild West movie : OATER
5. One of two equal portions : HALF
6. From the beginning : ANEW
7. Maps within maps : INSETS
8. Talk radio host O'Donnell : ROSIE. Image.
9. PC support pro : TECH
10. Summer itch cause : HEAT RASH
11. Stately tree : ELM
12. Psychic's claim : ESP. Extrasensory perception (ESP)
14. Some summer babies, astrologically : LEOs
21. Deceptive moves : FEINTS
22. Collect : GATHER
26. Regarding : AS TO
27. Unable to hear : DEAF
30. "Of course I knew that!" : "DUH!". Followed by a smack to the head with a V-8 can. (D'oh is when someone else smacks you with a V-8 can.)
31. "SNL" alum Cheri : OTERI. Image.
33. Food, on a diner sign : EATS. Or the whole sign.
34. Computer insert : DISC
35. Common pickup capacity : ONE TON. A half-ton is more common.
36. Afterworld communication meeting : SÉANCE
37. Get all worked up : FRET
38. Letterman rival : LENO. Late night talk show hosts.
39. Horse that isn't two yet : YEARLING
40. Golfer's gadget : TEE
44. Alpaca cousins : LLAMAs
45. Tex-Mex serving : FAJITA
46. Makes reparations (for) : ATONES
47. Lower in rank : DEBASE
50. Wyoming neighbor : IDAHO
52. __ of lamb : RACK
53. Value system : ETHIC
55. "Woe is me!" : "ALAS!"
56. "__, Interrupted" : GIRL. It is a best-selling 1993 memoir by American author Susanna Kaysen, relating her experiences as a young woman in a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The memoir's title is a reference to the Vermeer painting Girl Interrupted at her Music. It was a 1999 drama film, starring Winona Ryder, Brittany Murphy, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg and Vanessa Redgrave. The painting.
57. Bank takeaway : REPO
59. Bustle : ADO
Answer grid.
Argyle