Thursday February 9, 2012, Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Four Star Puzzle. You have to love a puzzle that gives you a bonus, in addition to the main theme!

I’m going to go about this bass-ackwards, and give the reveal first, because the entire theme makes more sense that way.

57A. Night sky feature, and a hint to a four-letter sequence hidden in 17-Across and 10- and 25-Down : STAR CLUSTER

So, we have anagrams of “STAR” in each of the other three long theme entries:

17A. Where pros play : SPORTS ARENA

10D. Like most valentines : HEART SHAPED (thanks for the shout-out, Don and C.C. !!)

25D. Ammo for a simple cannon : MORTAR SHELL

BUT WAIT!! There’s more!!! In addition to the main theme entries, we have a bonus entry that crosses each one, and is a word that goes with the anagram:

6D. Word with the 57-Across [star cluster] in 17-Across : RUSSIAN (tsar)
21A. Word with the 57-Across [star cluster] in 10-Down : LIBERAL (arts)

41A. Word with the 57-Across [star cluster] in 25-Down : COAL (tars)

How brilliant is that?

Marti (HeartRx) here, with my humble explanation of the other entries:

Across:

1. Honda Insight, e.g. : ECOCAR. Did you know, that your mood can affect your gas mileage?

7. Like some mus. keys : MAJ. or min.

10. Bale filler : HAY. Hey! Windhover, where you been?

13. 2000s New Hampshire John : SUNUNU. Great crossword name! But wait! There's more!! We have John Henry Sununu, who was governor for NH from '83-'89. He was the father of John Edward Sununu, who was NH Senator and later US Representative. But it was the father who was chairman of the NH Republican party 2009-2011. So I guess the vote on this clue entry goes to John H.?

14. Be up against : ABUT. I just love this word. Sounds like someone who gets up your butt, doesn't it?

16. Roth of "Inglorious Bastards" : ELI. Also starring Brad Pitt, in one of his better roles.

19. Vital statistic : AGE. I'll never tell!

20. Actress Kudrow : LISA. I just loved her in "Friends".

23. Woolen caps : TAMS.

26. "This American Life" host Glass : IRA. This guy.

28. Like some silverware : PLATED. I have a silver-plated tea set. It just collects dust...

29. Prefix with meter : ODO-

30. Lists of priors : RAP SHEETS.

32. Man of the cloth : PARSON. This was my major stumbling block in the puzzle. I wanted "pastor", and stubbornly refused to give it up until I came to 33D...

34. Mean mutt : CUR. Shortened from kurdogge; probably related to Old Norse kurra, to growl. Jerome?

35. She, at sea : SHIP. Aye, and she's yare !!

38. En route to the mechanic : IN TOW

39. Permit : LET

40. Twangy guitarist Eddy : DUANE. "The Master of Twang", as noted below this clip (sans "twang"). (1:19)

42. In great shape : FIT. As long as my skinny jeans fit...

43. Spot on a horse : DAPPLE.

44. Signed up : RECRUITED. Not the person who signed up, but the person who signed him up.

47. Hear here : EAR. Where do you hear? Here, in your ear!

48. Wish : DESIRE

50. Cleveland pro, for short : CAV.aliers. Basketball.

51. Dreyer's brand, east of the Rockies : EDYS. Ice cream brand.

52. Olympics participant : ATHLETE.

54. Far from fatty : LEAN. Maybe our 67A Stout: PORTLY. entry could use some lean cuisine?

56. Actress Charlotte : RAE. I remember her from "The Facts of Life".

62. Short, for short : L'IL. Little...or a short form of Elizabeth?

63. Dry run : TEST

64. Peter of "My Favorite Year" : O'TOOLE. As the drunkard Alan Swann. One of my all-time "favorite" movies!

65. 100% : ALL

66. Dallas opening? : DEE, the letter "d" at the start of "Dallas", cleverly abutting directly on 1D. Dallas closing? : ESS, the letter "s"

Down:

2. Trophy, often : CUP

3. "Dear Yoko" dedicatee : ONO. Do you know anyone else named "Yoko"?

4. Home perm features : CURLS. I wanted "frizz" here, as that is how most of my home perms turned out...

5. One opposed : ANTI

7. Scratch : MAR. I parked my car at the mall the other day and came out to find a 3 foot MAR on the drivers side. grrrrr....

8. Ill-fated brother : ABEL. Go read the story. It's in the bible.

9. Gin flavoring : JUNIPER. I always knew there was a reason I didn't like gin. I don't like chewing on pine needles!

11. Aquarium gunk : ALGAE. ewwww...

12. Right-of-way sign : YIELD. But, does that sign mean anything to Massholes?

15. Put on ice : TABLE. I bet Tinbeni never tables his drinks!

18. Org. promoted by Betty White : AARP. But I love it when she promotes Snickers, instead. (0:31)

22. Relishes, as gossip : EATS UP

23. Talking point : TOPIC

24. Hersey's bell town : ADANO. John Hersey's 1944 novel "A Bell for Adano" won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize. It is so realistic, because he was a war correspondent in Italy during the war.

27. Buddhist monk, e.g. : ASCETIC

30. Steinbeck's "Cannery ___" : ROW. The street in Monterey, CA. was renamed in honor of the book.

31. Marching syllable : HUT. I bet Dennis and Spitzboov filled this in without blinking an eye...(I had "HUp" at first...)

33. It shines on the Seine : SOLEIL. French for "sun". This is the word that finally made me give up "pastor" and write in PARSON at 32A.

36. Cabinet design feature : INLAY. Some inlay designs are quite ornate:

37. ___ of the realm: noblemen : PEERS. Not much chance to link music in this puzzle, is there?? So, I will take advantage of a slight crack, to introduce a favorite from Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite". (4:19)...(Let it play while you read the rest of this blog.)

39. Lucy of "Ally McBeal" : LIU

40. Pa : DAD

42. Stewed : FRETTED. I almost wanted to put "tomatoes" in there...

43. Work on film : DEVELOP. Great misdirection!

45. Aquafresh rival : CREST

46. Locker room supply : TALC. um, powder?

48. Alfalfa's sweetie : DARLA. Oh, man. That goes waaaay back! (2:42)

49. Net sales? : E-TAIL. Although I don't normally like "e-" words, this one was really cleverly clued!!

51. Belgian avant-garde painter James : ENSOR. His paintings are often described as "nightmarish". I dunno, they kinda look like they're just having fun. What do you think?

53. Facility : EASE.

55. Mercury or Saturn, e.g. : AUTO.

58. GPS offering : RTE

59. One of the small fry : TOT...or, a certain 'tater.

60. Bent piece : ELL

61. Juan Carlos, to his subjects : REY. He is the reigning King of Spain, pictured here with his reina.

Answer grid.
That's all I have for tonight...I'll catch you on the "other side" in the morning!

Hugs,
Marti

1) Constructors' notes:

Don wanted to create a puzzle where the middle embeds are anagrams of a word. We brainstormed and came up with ARTS, TARS, TSAR and STAR. Then we decided to further enhance the theme by crossing each anagram with a word that can precede the key word.

2) Marti's note:

I just submitted an embedded anagram theme to Rich last week, and I really hope he rejects it. After seeing this one, I don't think I will ever find a better anagram puzzle!!!

3) Happy 41st Birthday to our Man Saturday Splynter. Hope 2012 is a very special year to you and the long-legged dream girl comes to you soon.