3D. 2000 Ben Kingsley crime drama : SEXY BEAST
5D. "Who shot J.R.?" e.g. : BURNING QUESTION
9D. People, for one : POPULAR MAGAZINE
15D. Piquant sushi choice : SPICY TUNA ROLL
And the unifier:
33. Easily angered, or what the answers to 3-, 5-, 9- and 15-Down appear to be? : HOT HEADED. The four theme entries are "headed" by synonyms for "hot": sexy, burning, popular or spicy. I'll take it any way I can get it!!
Hearti here, with another fun Thursday offering from Julian Lim. It's been a while since I blogged one of his puzzles, but I never forget his wit. Let's see what he has for us today...
Across:
1. Condiment often mixed with soy sauce : WASABI. I mix a drop of soy sauce to a tablespoon of wasabi. DH mixes a drop of wasabi to a tablespoon of soy sauce.
7. Cowboys-and-Indians toys : CAP GUNS. Wow, what a blast from the past, playing with the neighbor kids. I can still smell the sulfur from those rolls of caps!
14. Help, metaphorically : A LEG UP. More legs for Splynter...
15. Scrape together : SCROUNGE. Great word. I used to scrounge money from my sister to go to the movies on Saturdays.
16. Bobby ___: '40s-'50s adolescent girls : SOXERS. Remember poodle skirts?
18. "Stop right there!" : HEY.
19. Classic pop : NEHI. Radar's drink.
21. Start of a personal trainer's motto : USE IT...and lose it!
22. ASCAP competitor : BMI. Broadcast Music Inc. collects license fees for musicians, as does the American Society of Composers, Artists and Publishers.
24. Phrase from one who sees : I CALL. Poker. And 65A. Dealer's demand : ANTE UP.
27. ___-wop music : DOO. Remember poodle skirts?
28. Song of thanksgiving : PAEAN. Song from a paisan? 3:50
30. Workaholic's personality : TYPE A
31. Talk on the street? : SLANG
32. Zoom : TEAR
33. Santa's laughs : HOs. Hey, Argyle!
36. And the following, in a bibliog. : ET SEQ. "et sequens" or "et sequentia". Latin.
37. James Bond's outfit : TUX. Who else wanted MI6? But the clue refers to the outfit he is wearing.
38. Given to gloom : MOODY.
40. Spot for a snooze : COT
41. Asian soup noodle : UDON. Wheat-flour noodles, usually served hot, in soup. Yummm!
43. Trump's "The ___ the Deal" : ART OF. His blueprint for rising to the top. Anyone read it?
44. Vex supremely : EAT AT.
46. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao architect : GEHRY. Frank, who designed this masterpiece in Spain:
47. OPEC measure : BBL. Why two "b"s for "barrel"? Find the answer here!
50. Campfire treat : SMORE. Yummm!
51. Dogfish Head product : ALE. Craft-brewed ales, for melissa and Abejo.
52. Sought-after group : A LIST. ...or "A-listers", who are the crème de la crème of society.
54. Courtroom cry : OYEZ. Not to be confused with "oyer", which is an open hearing. OYEZ is called three times to bring the court to session.
56. "That's the spot!" : AHH
59. Watchman : SENTINEL
62. Much-anticipated time : BIG DAY
64. Like Little League World Series qualifying games : REGIONAL
66. One who decks the halls, say : ADORNER
67. Tachometer part : NEEDLE
Down:
1. Household chore : WASH. Iron, dust, cook...
2. Healthy smoothie ingredient : ALOE. Aha! So it's not just a soothing lotion additive!
4. ___-appropriate : AGE.
6. ___ dixit: unfounded claim : IPSE
7. Hosp. area for heart patients : CCU. Coronery Care Unit. Stay out of there, Lemonade!
8. Alsatian dadaist : ARP. Our old favorite dada guy.
10. Male people : GUYS. Uh-uh, I use it for both male and female. "What's up, guys?"
11. Needing nourishment : UNFED. (Needing S'mores?)
12. Marsh of mysteries : NGAIO. Not familiar with him. (Update from Fermatprime: Marsh is a dame!) And 45D. Mystery writer Josephine : TEY. Not familiar with her, either.
13. Squabble : SET TO
20. Google success : HIT. They actually have a site that tracks these things.
23. Hair very apparent? : MANE. A pun-ny take on "heir apparent". I guess if you have a mane of hair, it would be quite apparent!
25. Zenith : APEX
26. Field for a fold : LEA. A fold can either be the pen that sheep are kept in, or the flock of sheep.
28. Infinitesimal division of a min. : P-SEC. Pico-second?
29. Middle harmony part : ALTO
34. Stink : ODOR
35. "Ghost Hunters" network : SY-FY. Evidently, the #1 paranormal show on TV.
37. Dog in Kansas : TOTO
39. Sports analyst Hershiser : OREL
42. River project : DAM
47. Iraqi seaport : BASRA. Geography lesson for the day. Zoom out, and you will see that it is not a seaport, after all.
48. Go through the page : BLEED. Like ink.
49. Techspeak, e.g. : LINGO
53. Cup-a-Soup direction : STIR
55. Abba of Israel : EBAN. This guy. Ambassador to the US and UN.
57. Lug : HAUL
58. Publicist's job : HYPE. Hurry, hurry, step right up!!
60. L.A.-to-Helena dir. : NNE
61. Kernel holder : EAR. Don't you hate it when you get kernels of corn in your ear?
63. Merged comm. giant : GTE. GEE, are we done already? See you next week!
Answer grid.
Hugs,
Marti
