Theme: Modified - The end word, with an added letter or two and a long E sound in different spelling, is placed in front of itself as a modifier AND the modifier has a different etymology. There are three in the rows and two in the columns.
17A. Meat used in place of a puck? : HOCKEY HOCK. HOCKEY, the game, from the "hook" like nature of the sticks. HOCK, Old English hohsinu (literally, heel). Not much meat there. Image.
39A. Surcharge for a cab ride? : TAXI TAX. TAXI, 1907, shortening of taximeter cab (introduced in London in March 1907), from taximeter "automatic meter to record the distance and fare". TAX, from L. taxare "evaluate, estimate, assess, handle".
61A. Davy Jones at an abbey? : MONKEE MONK. Davy Jones was with the musical group, The Monkees. MONK ; Greek monachós hermit.
11D. Intimidator on the bovine playground? : BULLY BULL. BULLY originally had a positive sense of the word, "sweetheart", uncertain origin (cf. Ger. buhle "lover"). BULL came from O.E. bula "a bull, a steer".
11D. Intimidator on the bovine playground? : BULLY BULL. BULLY originally had a positive sense of the word, "sweetheart", uncertain origin (cf. Ger. buhle "lover"). BULL came from O.E. bula "a bull, a steer".
35D. Short-term Arizona State employee? : TEMPE TEMP. The original campus was in TEMPE, The sports teams are the Arizona State Sun Devils. TEMP is short for temporary, a worker hired for a short period of time.
Argyle here. At first glance, I thought 'meh' but as I had to parse it, I discovered it was much more complex than I thought. Finding a modifier that is based on a different word but still uses the same letters? Well.... Still a good share of names but a bit more common. Some good stuff you might care to comment on.
Across:
1. Big Harley, in slang : HAWG
5. "Marching Along" autobiographer : SOUSA. The March King.
10. "Mamma Mia!" group : ABBA
14. Soap Box Derby state : OHIO
15. Hearth debris : ASHES
16. Off-peak period : LULL
19. Untidy type : SLOB
20. John Williams quintet? : OSCARS. A prolific composer. Link to his nominations and wins.
21. Fridge sound : HUM. "Hummm" as I stand with the door open deciding what I want to eat.
22. '70s Olympics name : OLGA. Korbut.
23. Fab Four member : STARR. Ringo.
24. Prepare beans, Mexican-style : REFRY
26. Scary fly : TSE-TSE
30. Place for care instructions : LABEL
33. Mouse catchers : CATS
36. Expected : DUE
37. Professor's goal : TENURE
38. Corrida cry : ¡OLÉ!
41. English __ : LITerature
42. Drum heard in Westerns : TOM-TOM
44. Actress Basinger : KIM. Image.
45. Bar brews : ALES
46. Mar. parade celeb : ST. PAT
47. Presario PC brand : COMPAQ. Can you believe I messed this one up and I'm sitting in front of a COMPAQ!
49. Significant period : EPOCH
51. Comfortably rewarding : CUSHY
55. Dinner and a movie, say : DATE
57. D-backs, on scoreboards : ARI. More Arizona.
59. Gillette razor named for its blade count : TRAC II
60. One with a password : USER
63. Gimlet garnish : LIME. "gin, a spot of lime, and soda"
64. Game show host : EMCEE
65. Throw in a chip : ANTE
66. SoCal force : LA PD
67. Country singer Rimes : LEANN
68. Tabloid loch : NESS. Monster or misunderstood?
Down:
1. Hostess snack cakes : HO HOs. Ho, Ho, Ho! One for the ladies. Image.
2. "__ of golden daffodils": Wordsworth : A HOST. "Daffodils" (1804). I wander'd lonely as a cloud. That floats on high o'er vales and hills,. When all at once I saw a crowd,. A host, of golden daffodils; ...
3. Neopagan religion : WICCA
4. Some Soap Box Derby entrants : GO-KARTS
5. Articulates : SAYS
6. __Kosh B'Gosh : OSH. The children's apparel company founded in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1895.
7. "Rats!" : "UH OH!"
8. Out of harm's way : SECURE
9. Invitation on a rep's button : ASK ME
10. Losing candidate : ALSO RAN
12. Online journal : BLOG
13. Jessica of "Sin City" : ALBA. Another for the boys. Image.
18. Slips up : ERRS
25. Show off one's muscles : FLEX. And another for the girls. Image. Are you keeping score?
27. Dutch cheese : EDAM
28. Prom duds : TUX
29. Bulova competitor : SEIKO
31. 14-Across's Great Lake : ERIE
32. Tennis net grazers : LETS
33. Summer cabin beds : COTS
34. Boatloads : A LOT
37. Pack (down) : TAMP
39. Four-legged Oz visitor : TOTO
40. Comical Conway : TIM
43. Like a pencil point : TAPERED
45. Sea-dwelling superhero : AQUAMAN. Sending out a message.
47. Car trim : CHROME
48. Farmland division : ACRE
50. Skating maneuver : CAMEL. Camel spin.(0:18)
52. Teatime snack : SCONE. No dunking today.
53. Help for the clueless : HINTS
54. "Omigosh!" : "YIKES!"
55. Boring : DULL
56. Where most people live : ASIA
58. Bygone Peruvian : INCA
59. Not-so-little kid : TEEN
62. Barbie's guy : KEN
Argyle
Note from C.C.:
A belated "Happy Birthday" to dear Chickie.
Note from C.C.:
A belated "Happy Birthday" to dear Chickie.