Theme: ONE BILLION - a thousand times a thousand times a thousand. (Why settle for addition when multiplication is so much quicker?)
First, the Unifier - otherwise it's all too mysterious.
64A. Spectacular concert ender, or what 17-, 26- and 51-across numerically contain : GRAND FINALE. Each of the theme entries ends in a single letter signifying 1000. Isn't that grand?
17A. With "The", Bette Middler debut album : DIVINE MISS M. Lady with a big set of pipes. This spectacular concert starter is sort of a WTH?!? M is the Roman Numeral for 1000. But M is also used as a symbol for one million, so mind your significant digits.
26A. Kellogg's cereal : SPECIAL K. You can start your own SPECIAL K plan right here. K, meaning 1000 comes form the Greek Kilo, and is often used as a prefix. The metric symbol for the prefix KILO is "k", not "K" - OK?
51A. Riboflavin: VITAMIN G. Of course, I wanted VITAMIN D. The elusive VITAMIN G, aka riboflavin, aka VITAMIN B2 is sensitive to light, but not to heat. It also comes from almonds, grains and some green vegetables. G, in U.S. slang, denotes one thousand dollars. This probably is simply an abbreviation for GRAND, meaning - tad-ah - $1000.
Hi, gang - JazzBumpa here, to guide your tour of this GRAND offering from our own dynamic duo. Let's go.
Across:
Hi, gang - JazzBumpa here, to guide your tour of this GRAND offering from our own dynamic duo. Let's go.
Across:
1. 17-time NBA champs: CELTS. Named for the Celtics of British isles history. It says here that "the Iron Age CELTS lived in Britain before and after Jesus." I never knew Jesus lived in Britain. The things you learn . . .
6. Stern with strings : ISAAC. Here, playing Kreisler's Schoen Rosmarin (2:00)
11. Hrs. before noon : AM'S. Good Morning America!
14. Filing board : EMERY. For nail filers, not tax filers nor rank filers.
15. Word of praise for el niño : BUENO. El niño is a boy, en Español, and in this case, a GOOD boy.
16. House plant's housing : POT. Don't get excited, it's just a terra cotta container for a potted plant.
19. Gun lobby org : NRA. National Rifle Association.
20. Funny Idle : ERIC. Of Monty Python fame.
21. Regarding : AS TO, a.k.a. IN RE
22. Classic name in toys : IDEAL. They started making dolls in 1907, and 60 years later came out with KerPlunk.
24. Floors : KO'S. Knock Outs. This one had me floored for a while. Perps to the rescue. "Floors" is a verb here, as in knocks one to the _______. Boxing reference.
28. 1-Across, e.g : PRO TEAM. Replacements would be a PRO TEAM PRO TEM.
31. Govt. cryptanalyis org. : NSA. The National Security Agency
32. Bar graph, say : CHART. If you want to get graphic.
33. Alluring : SEXY. If you want to get graphic . . .
35. Purely academic : MOOT.
39. Ones making deliveries at colleges? : LECTORS. My favorite is Hannibal.
41. Lady in a Beatles song : MADONNA. See how they run.
43. Carafe cousin : EWER. Just some kind of a pitcher.
44. First razor with a pivoting head : ATRA
46. Acquire, as debt: INCUR.
47. Austrian article : EIN. One in German.
49. Conceals from the enemy, in a way : ENCODES. Call in the NSA.
55. An ace has a strong one : ARM. BASEBALL! Nate has been working on his pitching all winter. Here he is with his sis - the divine miss Em.
56. Italian violin craftsman : AMATI.
57. Sci. with cliff notes? : GEOL. Geology. Note Abbrv. Cliffs are geological formations. Love this clue!
59. Shia Islam is its religion : IRAN.
63. Slangy refusal : NAH.
67. Self-esteem : EGO. I'm gonna go get myself a steam!
68. Caribbean country : HAITI. Site of a tragic earthquake on January 13, 2010.
69. Dry out, in rehab : DETOX. Detoxification to clean out the bad stuff from inside your body.
70. Cross-reference word : SEE. See 55 Across for a gratuitous family reference
71. "__ were the days!" : THOSE. See this link for another Family reference.
72. Plus : ASSET. The plus side of the ledger.
Down:
1. Give up : CEDE. From the Latin cēdere, meaning yield.
2. Muslim noble : EMIR.
3. Jeans pioneer Strauss : LEVI. Forever in Blue Jeans. And just to be fair. (Yikes - had to turn safe search to STRICT!)
4. October custom done in costume : TRICK OR TREAT. Halloween.
5. Dict. entry : SYN. Synonym. Or something similar.
6. Some PCs : IBMS. From back in Aesop's time.
7. "I'm fine with that" : SUITS ME.
8. Greek with 12-Downs : AESOP. Teller of fables.
9. Crossword entry : ANS. Answer - or to those of us in the know - FILL.
10. Funny pages : COMICS.
11. Sleep disorder : APNEA. Respiratus interruptus. This potentially dangerous involuntary breathing disorder is nothing to sneeze at.
12. Point : MORAL. The MORAL to the story is, don't count your chickens before they cross the road.
13. Pursue, cat-style : STALK. Or pursue Euell Gibbons style.
18. The life of Riley : EASE. A retirement spent playing music, working X-words and viewing the grandchildren's performances and activities. What could be EASIER?
23. De Beers properties : DIAMOND MINES. That's rich. See 3 D.
25. Hall of Fame quarterback Graham : OTTO. He was drafted by the Lions, but played for the Cleveland Browns from 1946 to 1955. His 57-13-1 record represents the highest winning percentage of any quarterback. He also won a professional basketball championship with the Rochester Royals in 1945. Thank you Wikipedia.
27. One-named Irish singer : ENYA. That makes her a Celt.
28. "Close call!" : PHEW. PHEW is an interjection indicating relief.
29. Political contest : RACE. No comment..
30. __ D.A. : ASST. Abbrv. for assistant.
32. Largest OH airport: CLE. Cleveland, and 'n'ther abrv.
34. Marvel superhero : X-MAN. I only know of them in the plural.
36. Tots' story starter : ONCE. Once upon a time, Aesop walked into a bar, having left his morals at home. No - wait that's an adult story.
37. Burden : ONUS. Derived from the Latin, onus, meaning - of all things - a burden.
38. Roof application : TAR.
40. Rajah's wife : RANI. An Indian queen.
42. Big name in couture : DIOR. Hey - isn't this French?
45. University officers : REGENTS.
48. "Perhaps." : I MIGHT.
50. Young dolphin : CALF. Yes, mamma tursiops truncatas is, indeed, a cow.
51. Windmill blades : VANES. Don't go tilting at them.
52. Public relations concern : IMAGE. Much more important than reality.
53. 2nd deepest U.S. lake : TAHOE. Crater Lake is the deepest.
54. New Zealand-born crime writer Marsh : NGAIO. She wrote the "Dead Letter" mysteries. Anybody read them?
58. 10-Down drooler : ODIE. Not the brightest of canines.
60. "Bah!" : RATS. Expression of dismay, Charlie Brown style.
61. Natural skin treatment : ALOE. A green succulent, on its way to being a crossword evergreen.
62. "Who's turn is it?!": NEXT. Batter up!
65. Stadium sound : RAH. Could be baseball.
66. Wyo. neighbor : IDA. Idaho. Home of hot springs, spuds, and the National Old Time Fiddlers Contest. They have a law there that forbids a citizen to give another citizen a box of candy that weighs more than 50 pounds. Seven Devils' Peaks, one of the highest mountain ranges in Idaho, Includes Heaven's Gate Lookout, where sightseers can look into four states. RAH!
Cheers!
JzB
Note from C.C. & Don:
"When I first proposed this idea to Don, it's a mishmash K-RATION, G-STRING, GEE WHIZ, GRAND JURY, etc. Don simplified the key word to one letter. We had fun making this puzzle."
Note from C.C. & Don:
"When I first proposed this idea to Don, it's a mishmash K-RATION, G-STRING, GEE WHIZ, GRAND JURY, etc. Don simplified the key word to one letter. We had fun making this puzzle."
