Theme: NO CAPITAL? - Capital idea. If you read the wonderful INTERVIEW of Mr. Finan from a couple of years ago, you will know he loves to hide his themes, so even when the puzzle is complete, the solver has work to do, and this puzzle is no exception. I blogged two of his puzzles last year, the wonderful ANAGRAM/PANGRAM, and the CLUELESS clues. Al blogged his hidden clues this year. And, in the words of Monty Python, now for something completely different- Each of the three theme answers incorporates its numerical placement in the puzzle as part of the clue. This is exposed (obscure, but gettable) because only these three clues do not begin with a capital letter. There are also some tricky and difficult clues. I love this effort.
20. (Twenty) questions: FUN GUESSING GAME. so simple once you see it, but it did not jump out at me; I was about to call Argyle.
36. (Thirty-six) hours: ONE AND A HALF DAYS. Twenty-four plus twelve = thirty-six
49. (Forty-nine) ers: FOOTBALL PLAYERS, from San Fransisco, with new coach Jim Harbaugh. This is the one that revealed the theme, as Daniel certainly was not going to help.
ACROSS:
1. Dollar bill weight, roughly: GRAM. A great start for the Gram man who gave us Anagram /Pangram; I think this is a shout out to himself, as he has used Daniel in his puzzles.
5. Dey job?: LA LAW. SUSAN (1:27) DEY, the cute one who hooked up with Harry Hamlin. Classy clue.
10. __ Stream: GULF
14. San __ : REMO. The Italian city on the Riviera is beautiful, but it is one word, but still...
15. Silly: INANE. Sometimes my middle name. We also have a semi-clecho, 8D. Silliness: ANTICS.
16. Adidas alternative: AVIA. They sneak this one in often.
17. From the top : ANEW. Our A word.
18. Blanche __, pseudonymous author of the 1983 best-seller "Truly Tasteless Jokes": KNOTT. Do not know the books, or the author, Ashton Applewhite.
19. "No ice, please": NEAT. Just the way the TIN MAN likes his pinch.
23. Terhune collie : LAD. This AUTHOR and dog, not to be confused with Lassie, who was always played by a Lad.
24. Annual sign of bad behavior?: COAL. Hard to put heating oil, or central heating in the Christmas stocking.
25. "Alice" singer Lavigne: AVRIL. A favorite Canadian punk rocker, there is this TUNE, (3:25) but I like Complicated better. Hey my boys are her age.
28. Orator's vocal quality : RESONANCE. A wonderful word; if you want to read about this vocal tool, I suggest Robert Harris' Imperium, about Cicero..
33. Sacramento daily: BEE. A nice shout out to our own melissa.
34. Sched. B item on a 1040: INTerest.
35. High point of an Alaskan trip: DENALI. Literally the "high one." Also known as Mt. McKinley.
40. Seven-time N.L. batting champ: MUSIAL. Stan the Man from St. Louis.
41. Storm dir.: ENE
42. They lead to an F: CDE. Well, we will not grade this clue, as Daniel was just stringing us along.
43. Six-pack abs?: BEER BELLY. Really cute visual clue, and a Beer reference.
45. Seat of Colorado's PitkinCounty: ASPEN. More pretty country. DF lives in Colorado I think. Since fall is falling today...
47. TriBeCa neighbor: SOHO. South of Houston.
48. Blueprint subject, perhaps: ELL. In architecture, an ell is a wing of a building that lies perpendicular to the length of the main portion.
57. Frankfurt's river: ODER. And we have crossing at the D, 50D. Nose wrinkler: ODOR. An extra clue. I thought of this nose wrinkler THEME.
58. Phils, e.g.: NL ERS. For Dennis' champion Phillies, National Leaguers.
59. Deception FLAM. A shout out to my fan club.
60. '70s pinup name: LONI. Anderson, ex-wife of Burt Reynolds, poor Burt is being foreclosed..
61. Beneficiary: DONEE. One of those made up legal words.
62. Its state bird is the cardinal OHIO. Then why do they play in Missouri?
63. 2-Down unit: DROP. Eye drops; I am down to six a day; 2D. Eye care brand : RENU.
64. Fixes: SPAYS. Ouch! Be careful Lad!
65. Place to cross, on signs: XING
DOWN:
1. Seles rival: GRAF. Andre Agassi's wife STEFFI.(5:01) Wonderful tennis.
3. Flock response : AMEN. Baa, I hope this did not fool you.
4. "The Jungle Book" boy: MOWGLI
5. Dug, so to speak : LIKED. Maynard G. Krebs anyone?
6. Heart lead singer Wilson et al: ANNS. The clue is meh, but the SINGING (4:17) is great.
7. Where kip are spent: LAOS. Now I know two obscure currencies, this and the Ethiopian BIRR.
9. Party pooper: WET NOODLE. Wonderful fill, though usually associated with 20 lashes, while Blankets ruin parties.
10. Underworld: GANGLAND. Since you did not like my Catherine Parr pic last week, how about one from Underworld? TRAILER. (1:57).
11. Where the iris is: UVEA. Oh goody, more eye-ducation. The vascular middle layer of the eye. It is traditionally divided into 3 areas, from front to back, the iris, ciliary body, and choroid. From the Latin, UVA meaning Grape, think about why.
12. Neeson who voiced Aslan in the"Narnia" movies: LIAM. Nice voice, but what other Neesons are there? My 280 Z?
13. You may have a brush with it FATE. Stubbornly wanted Destiny, which show how foolish I can be.
21. It merged with Continental in 2010: Abbr.: UAL. United Air Lines. Is there a sign pinned to my back, Acronym me?
22. Swindler, in slang: GANEF. Yiddish or low German for thief, though we usually spell it Goniff.
25. Trinity test subject: A-BOMB
26. Locale: VENUE
27. Maker of pieces?: REESE. I linked his Wikipedia history last time.
28. Genetic letters: RNA. Okay I will give you 2 guesses...
29. One of the convicted Rosenbergspies: ETHEL. We know her husband, Julius was a communist spy, but was SHE?
30. Image Awards org.: NAACP. Aw, c'mon. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
31. 1930s public enemy: CLYDE. Mr. Barrow.
32. NFL Network sportscaster Rich: EISEN.One of many ESPN refugees.
34. Devil's tools, metaphorically: IDLE HANDS. This maxim has been traced back to Chaucer's 'Tale of Melibee' (c. 1386). And, 46D. Sneaky devil: SLY FOX.
37. Touchdown site: AIRSTRIP. END ZONES looked bad, now I know why.
38. Big shot: NABOB. Are they nattering?
39. More than zero: ANY.
44. Walk bouncily: LOLLOP. Never heard of this word. I guess it is related to Lolling about, maybe British. NC?
45. Modeled after: A LA. Just a dollop of French today.
48. "It's nobody __business": ELSE'S.
49. Go out: FOLD. Card games, especially Poker.
51. Sommelier's prefix: OENO. Becoming too common.
52. Singer Horne: LENA. CLASSIC. (5:01)
53. Hunted: PREY
54. Pre-coll. catchall: EL-HI. Like the man said, for great clues, you have to use some clunkers.
55. Shower in public?: RAIN. Put aside your dirty minds, it is that time of year for showers here.
56. Urban miasma: SMOG. Miasma, a great word: a heavy vaporous emanation or atmosphere.
Wow, another season has come and gone, and now the days will be shorter than the nights, so cuddle you cuddles, and keep on solving. Thank you Daniel for a really Fine 'un.
Lemonade
