THEME: LET us give thanks. Each of the theme answers is a two word, in the language phrase with LET appended to the second word, and clued in a wonderful wacky way. This is our 4th puzzle this year from Jack. When I last blogged his work in January, I reminded you all that he started constructing when he was 73. A very compact, concise puzzle, with humor and misdirection. Let us see the latest from our octogenarian.
17A. PricewaterhouseCoopers, e.g.? : BUSINESS TRIPLET. I wonder if these three companies which are now one ever ride the ACELA when the go out to visit their clients?
25A. Original Roanoke settlement? : VIRGINIA HAMLET. This one was hard and without the theme I would never have tried this answer, I was trying to fit in BIG LICK VIRGINIA and it would not. Do you all prepare a Ham for Easter; I will be making brisket and potato pancakes along with other goodies for tonight's first SEDER.
41A. Actress failing to live up to expectations? : FALLING STARLET. Do you recall this SONG? (2:30). A Mel Torme contemporary, Perry ended up living in Jupiter, Florida where he and Burt Reynolds became good friends.
54A. Bit of style in one's blood? : FASHION PLATELET. My favorite one, as I love good serologic humor, especially knowing platelets do not carry DNA and probably don't even match their socks.
Across:
1. TWA rival : PAN AM. I have had this fill twice in the last month, link your own Christina Ricci pic.
6. Med. care providers : HMOS. Health Maintenance Organization here we go again...
10. Frequent ESPN subject : NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
14. Amtrak express : ACELA. A high speed train in the Northeast; how many of our group have ridden this rail?
15. Four-star : A-ONE. More than just a steak sauce.
16. Bee, for one : AUNT. This LADY from the Andy Griffith Show.Bet you thought it was BEA.
20. Fitting : APT. How apt the next clue is a shout out to my beer making boys.
21. Hops heater : OAST. I think this is where Horace Greeley told Adolph Coors to go.
22. Tweaks, say : ADAPTS. When did tweaking become a good thing?
23. Aqua Velva alternative : AFTA. Or you could have gotten a SLAP in the face.
24. German GM subsidiary : OPEL.
31. Football Hall of Fame locale : CANTON. Canton, Ohio was selected as the location for the Hall of Fame for 3 reasons: First, the NFL was founded in Canton in 1920 (at that time it was known as the American Professional Football Association); second, the now-defunct Canton Bulldogs were a successful NFL team based in Canton during the first few years of the league; and finally, the community of Canton successfully lobbied the NFL to have the Hall built in their city. Per wiki.
32. Title acquired at church, perhaps : MRS. Not Rev. or Fra.
33. Losing line : OXO. In Tic Tac Toe ano win situation; in a letter, not so bad.
34. Reacted to a dealer's request : ANTED. Ante with the "E" pronounced sure looks like it would bug some.
35. Used to be : WAS. Or What Annette Said.
36. "It Wasn't All Velvet" autobiographer : TORME. I do get Mel pretty often, enjoyed him on NIGHT COURT, (2:55) fog and all. I promise I did not...
38. Caustic stuff : LYE.
39. Goal : AIM. I aim to please, but we have slowed. Please relax.
40. Blew up : SAW RED. In French it is VOIR ROUGE.
45. Gives support to : AIDS.
46. Toon wisecracker : BUGS. What is up, Doc?
47. __ center : CRISIS. It is also C.C. like the Corner, hmmm.
50. Get useful material from : MINE. No, you can't have it is mine!
51. Lyric poem : ODE. A true crossword staple. and the beginning of an "O" fest; 57a. Venetian arch shape : OGEE. The design was taken from the Arab world; and 58A. City SSW of Moscow : OREL. Never heard of this city, but it was a pleasant change from the baseball clue: Hershiser.
59. Toss out : EVICT. One of the hard parts about doing foreclosures.
60. Goes after : SUES. Damn lawyers!
61. Unlikely track winners : NAGS. This term for a old beat up horse goes back to the 1500's, but no one knows why.
62. Hamburger helper's reward? : DANKE. Wonderful clue with alliteration, misdirection and humor.
Now time for.
Down:
1. Out-of-favor sunscreen ingredient : PABA. PARA-AMINOBENZOIC ACID is also taken internally as a cure for many ailments though its safety and efficacy is questioned inside or out.
2. Lingerie size : A-CUP. Well it is a common size, how about KEIRA.
3. Robin's digs : NEST. Not Hood, red breast. Or maybe Colorado for or flying nurse. Hey fishy.
4. Ring icon : ALI. Did I tell the story of where he almost killed me with his Rolls at LAX?
5. Graham, for one : MAN OF G-D. BILLY Not to be confused with BILLY.
6. __ II: 1961-'99 Moroccan king : HASSAN. Affectionately know as a "RUTHLESS DESPOT."
7. Almost all : MOST. Wow, almost in the clue?
8. Mich. neighbor : ONTario.
9. Celestial creatures : SERAPHS. The real plural is seraphim. Tradition places seraphs in the fifth rank of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy and the highest rank in the Christian angelic hierarchy, though these winged creatures look more like demons to me.
10. Incendiary gel : NAPALM. A bad memory along with agent orange.
11. "I Spy" co-star : CULP. Starred with Bill Cosby which he talks about in this INTERVIEW.
12. "Joy is __ of love by which you can catch souls": Mother Teresa : A NET. A semi shout out to my fellow south Floridian from the saint with whom I share a birthday.
13. Many "Suits" characters: Abbr. : ATTS. I have never ever seen this abbreviation for attorney anywhere but in CW.
18. Avoid restaurant crowds, perhaps : EAT IN. I like how this leads into and thereby adds to the misdirection of
19. It may be half-baked : IDEA.
23. Prado pictures : ARTE. Spanish museum, Spanish word for art.
24. Lock inserts : OARS. No not keys! This was the part of the puzzle I found tricky.
25. Sonya's uncle, in an 1899 Moscow premiere : VANYA. One of Anton Chekhov's plays.
26. Maker of some drivers : INTEL. The KING of the processing world.
27. Muslim leaders : IMAMS. Most similar to the role of the Rabbi.
28. "Casablanca" actor : LORRE. A wonderful STORY.
29. Strawberry, e.g. : EX-MET. But for drug woes, Darryl Strawberry might have been one of the all time greats in the game of baseball.
30. Pigeon tail? : TOED. Pigeontoed. Cute add on.
31. Range rover : CALF. Another misdirection with alliteration.
35. English court attire : WIGS. Still? Nice Cuppa? Steve?
36. Singled out : TARGETED.
37. Big-eyed birds : OWLS. Like Peter Lorre.
17A. PricewaterhouseCoopers, e.g.? : BUSINESS TRIPLET. I wonder if these three companies which are now one ever ride the ACELA when the go out to visit their clients?
25A. Original Roanoke settlement? : VIRGINIA HAMLET. This one was hard and without the theme I would never have tried this answer, I was trying to fit in BIG LICK VIRGINIA and it would not. Do you all prepare a Ham for Easter; I will be making brisket and potato pancakes along with other goodies for tonight's first SEDER.
41A. Actress failing to live up to expectations? : FALLING STARLET. Do you recall this SONG? (2:30). A Mel Torme contemporary, Perry ended up living in Jupiter, Florida where he and Burt Reynolds became good friends.
54A. Bit of style in one's blood? : FASHION PLATELET. My favorite one, as I love good serologic humor, especially knowing platelets do not carry DNA and probably don't even match their socks.
Across:
1. TWA rival : PAN AM. I have had this fill twice in the last month, link your own Christina Ricci pic.
6. Med. care providers : HMOS. Health Maintenance Organization here we go again...
10. Frequent ESPN subject : NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
14. Amtrak express : ACELA. A high speed train in the Northeast; how many of our group have ridden this rail?
15. Four-star : A-ONE. More than just a steak sauce.
16. Bee, for one : AUNT. This LADY from the Andy Griffith Show.Bet you thought it was BEA.
20. Fitting : APT. How apt the next clue is a shout out to my beer making boys.
21. Hops heater : OAST. I think this is where Horace Greeley told Adolph Coors to go.
22. Tweaks, say : ADAPTS. When did tweaking become a good thing?
23. Aqua Velva alternative : AFTA. Or you could have gotten a SLAP in the face.
24. German GM subsidiary : OPEL.
31. Football Hall of Fame locale : CANTON. Canton, Ohio was selected as the location for the Hall of Fame for 3 reasons: First, the NFL was founded in Canton in 1920 (at that time it was known as the American Professional Football Association); second, the now-defunct Canton Bulldogs were a successful NFL team based in Canton during the first few years of the league; and finally, the community of Canton successfully lobbied the NFL to have the Hall built in their city. Per wiki.
32. Title acquired at church, perhaps : MRS. Not Rev. or Fra.
33. Losing line : OXO. In Tic Tac Toe ano win situation; in a letter, not so bad.
34. Reacted to a dealer's request : ANTED. Ante with the "E" pronounced sure looks like it would bug some.
35. Used to be : WAS. Or What Annette Said.
36. "It Wasn't All Velvet" autobiographer : TORME. I do get Mel pretty often, enjoyed him on NIGHT COURT, (2:55) fog and all. I promise I did not...
38. Caustic stuff : LYE.
39. Goal : AIM. I aim to please, but we have slowed. Please relax.
40. Blew up : SAW RED. In French it is VOIR ROUGE.
45. Gives support to : AIDS.
46. Toon wisecracker : BUGS. What is up, Doc?
47. __ center : CRISIS. It is also C.C. like the Corner, hmmm.
50. Get useful material from : MINE. No, you can't have it is mine!
51. Lyric poem : ODE. A true crossword staple. and the beginning of an "O" fest; 57a. Venetian arch shape : OGEE. The design was taken from the Arab world; and 58A. City SSW of Moscow : OREL. Never heard of this city, but it was a pleasant change from the baseball clue: Hershiser.
59. Toss out : EVICT. One of the hard parts about doing foreclosures.
60. Goes after : SUES. Damn lawyers!
61. Unlikely track winners : NAGS. This term for a old beat up horse goes back to the 1500's, but no one knows why.
62. Hamburger helper's reward? : DANKE. Wonderful clue with alliteration, misdirection and humor.
Now time for.
Down:
1. Out-of-favor sunscreen ingredient : PABA. PARA-AMINOBENZOIC ACID is also taken internally as a cure for many ailments though its safety and efficacy is questioned inside or out.
2. Lingerie size : A-CUP. Well it is a common size, how about KEIRA.
3. Robin's digs : NEST. Not Hood, red breast. Or maybe Colorado for or flying nurse. Hey fishy.
4. Ring icon : ALI. Did I tell the story of where he almost killed me with his Rolls at LAX?
5. Graham, for one : MAN OF G-D. BILLY Not to be confused with BILLY.
6. __ II: 1961-'99 Moroccan king : HASSAN. Affectionately know as a "RUTHLESS DESPOT."
7. Almost all : MOST. Wow, almost in the clue?
8. Mich. neighbor : ONTario.
9. Celestial creatures : SERAPHS. The real plural is seraphim. Tradition places seraphs in the fifth rank of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy and the highest rank in the Christian angelic hierarchy, though these winged creatures look more like demons to me.
10. Incendiary gel : NAPALM. A bad memory along with agent orange.
11. "I Spy" co-star : CULP. Starred with Bill Cosby which he talks about in this INTERVIEW.
12. "Joy is __ of love by which you can catch souls": Mother Teresa : A NET. A semi shout out to my fellow south Floridian from the saint with whom I share a birthday.
13. Many "Suits" characters: Abbr. : ATTS. I have never ever seen this abbreviation for attorney anywhere but in CW.
18. Avoid restaurant crowds, perhaps : EAT IN. I like how this leads into and thereby adds to the misdirection of
19. It may be half-baked : IDEA.
23. Prado pictures : ARTE. Spanish museum, Spanish word for art.
24. Lock inserts : OARS. No not keys! This was the part of the puzzle I found tricky.
25. Sonya's uncle, in an 1899 Moscow premiere : VANYA. One of Anton Chekhov's plays.
26. Maker of some drivers : INTEL. The KING of the processing world.
27. Muslim leaders : IMAMS. Most similar to the role of the Rabbi.
28. "Casablanca" actor : LORRE. A wonderful STORY.
29. Strawberry, e.g. : EX-MET. But for drug woes, Darryl Strawberry might have been one of the all time greats in the game of baseball.
30. Pigeon tail? : TOED. Pigeontoed. Cute add on.
31. Range rover : CALF. Another misdirection with alliteration.
35. English court attire : WIGS. Still? Nice Cuppa? Steve?
36. Singled out : TARGETED.
37. Big-eyed birds : OWLS. Like Peter Lorre.
39. Words that replace details : AND SO ON. Had a hard time getting "soon" out of my head.
40. Place to relax : SAUNA. Well a hot time for all.
42. Coquette's asset : LASHES. Eyelashes for batting, not a whip for a dominatrix.
43. Rare clock number : IIII. Amazingly, I blogged the last PUZZLE which had this timeless concept, and Mel Torme was there too.
44. Govt. notes : T-BILLS. Notes and Bonds all have the same number of letters, be patient.
47. Fiscal execs : CFOS. They sometimes deal in 44D.
48. Milan meat sauce : RAGU. Back for another taste.
49. "So that's how it is" : I SEE. Well a little visual for me, as I usually do not..
50. Video CD file format : MPEG. Like JPEG for pictures.
51. Big name in chemicals : OLIN. They were Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation when I was growing up.
52. House addition : DECK. great misdirection clecho with 53D. Room addition : ETTE. Roomette.
55. Gp. with many arms : NRA. Arms, as weapons, get it, get it?
56. "On the Waterfront" Oscar winner __ Marie Saint : EVA. This ACTRESS has been around for 8 decades, which is how old I feel after this work out.
Answer grid.
Enjoy any holiday you may have and hope to see you all next time.
Okay have a fun Friday it is Lemonade signing out.
