Theme: "ET TU, BRUTAL"? -
Exercise and workout terms for today, the 15th, and Ides, of March.
20A. Last leg of a race : HOME STRETCH - Highly recommended activity before any activity; as a goalie, it is imperative that I STRETCH first.
27A. Chocolate bar with crisped rice : NESTLE CRUNCH - Too many of these, and you'll need to do more CRUNCHES, those sit-ups for 'rock hard ABS', a crossword staple (but not today).
49A. Overseas news-gatherers : FOREIGN PRESS - Leg, bench PRESS, etc., as I am sure there are others.
59A. Very little, in slang : DIDDLY SQUAT - wonderful phrase to speak, like "my pay is diddly squat", and a SQUAT; bend at the knees with a straight back - harder than it sounds, let me tell you.
and the unifier at 57D: PR specialists, and a word associated with the ends of 20-, 27-, 49- and 59-Across : REPS - PR Public Relations REPresentative, (ixnay on Mr. Sheen) and a REPetition, the number of times each exercise is performed within a set - and I am not a gym rat; all my exercise comes from 4 straight hours of carrying varying sizes of packages from the conveyor to the UPS truck.
Splynter filling in for a Santa with a sick "Elf".
And away we GO~!
ACROSS:
1. Cote bleats : BAAS - [koht] - noun: 1. a shelter, coop, or small shed for sheep, pigs, pigeons, etc.
5. Further : ALSO - also: hence, therefore, ergo, and, then....
9. Big name in restaurant guides : ZAGAT - established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979; see the Wiki article.
14. Flattop opposite : AFRO
15. Steady fellow : BEAU - French
16. Author Zola : EMILE - French Author, a regular in crosswords.
18. Elongated fish : EELS - the plural implication on "fish" got me on this one.
19. Turning point : PIVOT
23. Nice season? : ETE - oh man, French, again, I seem to get a lot of this - Nice, the city in France, and the French word for summer (season).
24. Snail mail need : STAMP - I just used one yesterday, first time in forever....
25. Color in the four-color process : CYAN - CYMK, the process that uses CYAN, Yellow, Magenta, and blacK; as opposed to the RGB, two of the options in Photoshop and printing processes.
34. Plug-and-play PC port : USB - another computer term, Universal Serial Bus, for connections between devices. The abbr. of PC for Personal Computer = the abbr. answer.
37. Borat creator Sacha Baron __ : COHEN - love him, or hate him, I guess I am on the fence....
38. Trapper's gear : SNARE
39. Sheltered Greek walkway : STOA
41. Number-guessing fund-raiser : LOTTO
43. IRS agent : T-MAN - Tax Man, like a G-man, a Gov't Agent.
44. False __ : ALARM
46. Paris's __ la Paix : RUE DE - Eh, more French. Map, middle right going diagonally right.
48. Ambulance initials : EMS
52. Run or ruin : DASH - as in "dashed hopes"
53. Times spent in prison or in office : TERMS
57. Dusting aid : RAG - thought MOP first
64. Remove from the videotape : ERASE
66. Cleveland's lake : ERIE
67. DDE's alma mater : USMA - Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th president, and the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY.
68. Argentine grassland : PAMPA - Image
69. Ole Miss rival : 'BAMA - Alabama, crossword regular.
70. Modern Roman, e.g.: Abbr. : ITALian
71. Take badly? : STEAL - Good clue
72. Disappearing slope apparatus : T-BAR Skiers' assist getting up a hill.
73. Big Board letters : NYSE -New York Stock Exchange - I think this was in my first blog, too....
DOWN:
1. They're drawn in tubs : BATHS - very good clue; did anyone think "rings"?
2. In progress : AFOOT - "Strange things are AFOOT..."
3. Bakery quality : AROMA
4. Serious : SOLEMN
5. Aid's partner : ABET
6. Look that may be accompanied by a smirk : LEER
7. Shopping news : SALE - another great clue
8. Bounce, as from a bar : OUST
9. Gentle winds : ZEPHYRS
10. Porthos, to Athos : AMI - uh, French !
11. Abraham, to Lincoln : GIVEN NAME
12. Oodles : ALOT - never liked this answer
13. Place for a beret : TETE - yup, it's French
21. Risky business, briefly : SPEC - Speculation, that someone might come along and buy, as a house.
22. Brutus' 300 : CCC - Hey~! Ides related~! Roman 100 = C
26. Bee or Em : AUNT
28. Fa follower : SOL
29. Rose feature : THORN
30. Rain more gently : LET UP
31. Rectangular computer key : ENTER - Space, too
32. Stuff (into) : CRAM
33. Lady birds : HENS
34. DoD fliers : USAF - Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force.
35. D-Day target city : STLO - Oh, man, French - Conan had a guest last week who claimed in shock, he "turned white as a Frenchman's Flag" - that's funny....
36. Monopoly, for one : BOARD GAME - one of my favorites; you can get them custom made to any city, and movie, too.
40. House painter's calculation : AREA - height is a factor, too - ever try to paint a stair well?
42. Dedicated verse : ODE
45. Card player's goof : MISDEAL
47. Ballpark figs. : ESTS - Estimates. - What's your Ballpark, C.C.?
50. Letters under a 4 : GHI - duh, got me. Look at your phone.
51. Fashion sparkler : SEQUIN
54. Out of practice : RUSTY
55. Cass and Michelle, famously : MAMAS
56. Old hat : STALE
58. "I smell __!" : A RAT
60. Unpaid loan, e.g. : DEBT
61. Not bright at all : DRAB
62. Bean town? : LIMA - ah, not a Bahston reference, but the Peruvian city.
63. Wine taster's guesstimate : YEAR - our friend Tinbeni, any good at this ? I did not drink for the "year", let me tell you....
65. Healthful resort : SPA - after a good workout, head for the SPA~!
Thanks for the chance to "pinch hit", C.C., look forward to more opportunities.
Splynter
