Theme: ELVIS is in the house! What a fun theme for those of us who love anagrams, as each of the four central theme answers begin or end with an anagram of ELVIS. Perhaps on this Friday the 13th, the mystery of the true end of Elvis inspired the most competent and prolific Mr. Bain , who does lots of blogging and comments himself in addition to entertaining us with his work. Is it not fascinating how this all fit together, albeit in a 16 x 15 grid to allow the wonderful central theme answer and the unifier which brings back memories of the horror which was expressed when I was a child and Elvis first shook those hips. The first two have the anagram first, the last two at the end. Well be careful, here we go....
19A. *Casual-wear brand since 1873 (10) : LEVI'S JEANS.
25A. *Enters a witness protection program, say (11) : LIVES IN FEAR. Nice clue.
42A. *Compromised choice (16) : LESSER OF TWO EVILS. Like I said a sixteen letter answer which led to the grid.
58A. *Wedding shop array (11) : BRIDAL VEILS. Is it true women wear them to hide the inevitable zit in the middle of the forehead on the wedding day?
64A. Song that first topped the charts on 4/13/1957...or how its singer's name appears in the answers to starred clue (10) : ALL SHOOK UP. (1:51). Not many recordings of his early work.
Let us see where we go today.
Across:
1. In tears, say (5) : MOVED. Like Masters champ, BUBBA. Tricky start.
6. NPR's Totenberg (4) : NINA. The journalist most associated with the Supreme Court. During her long career she broke the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill story. Also a tough beginning.
10. Pasta grain (5) : WHEAT. The base ingredient of of flour, even in Matzo.
15. Greenish shade (5) : OLIVE. Military uniforms, for example.
16. Hemoglobin material (4) : IRON. The same one found in the ground.
17. Like healthy soil (5) : WORMY. True but really an obscure fact.
18. Pie nut (5) : PECAN. Really nice clue, not the one who loves it, the one in it.
21. Work on film (4) : EDIT. So many choices beyond just movies,
23. Betwixt (4) : AMID. Mother used to say betwixt and between.
24. Familia member (3) : TIO. Spanish for Uncle.
29. Maine ___ cat (4) : COON. For all our kitty lovers (yes I know) LINK the first breed to win the cat show. A black one cross our paths? Oh oh.
30. Unbeatable service (3) : ACE. Pete Sampras' specialty.
31. Morlock prey (4) : ELOI. H.G. Wells will live forever in puzzles. As will 53D. Hollywood's Mimieux (6) : YVETTE.
32. Sister of Rachael (4) : LEAH. Both married to Jacob.
34. More than serious (4) : DIRE. Often associated with STRAITS. (9:47) It is long but but the anthem for this puzzle, fer sure!
36. Presaging times (4) : EVES. I guess this means passing from day to night.
38. Skin-care brand with a "For Men" line (5) : NIVEA.
46. Take off the TiVo (5) : ERASE. My cousin came to visit and while I was working she watched a movie I had recorded, when I came home I was rather shocked to learn she had erased the movie. What do you think?
47. Encrust, in a way (4) : SEAR. You can pan sear tuna in a crushed cashew crust. Yum.
48. Goddess of discord (4) : ERIS. This ONE, it is easier in Latin where she is Discordia and her opposite in Concordia.
49. Obi-Wan player (4) : ALEC. Not Baldwin, but Guiness, a great ACTOR.
52. On the road (4) : AWAY. Not this week.
54. "Imagine that!" (3) : GEE. Gosh.
55. Wyoming city near Yellowstone (4) : CODY. It is named for Buffalo Bill.
61. Distortion, perhaps (3) : LIE. That distortion Bubba had on the second hole of the playoff was wicked.
62. Little songbird (4) : WREN. Like THIS.
63. City on the Aare (4) : BERN. It should Bern you up if you forget this Swiss city.
68. Blink of an eye (5) : TRICE. Word has been around for centuries.
71. Bench clearer (5) : MELEE. From the French, and cousin to medley.
72. Pickup schtick (4) : LINE. I had a friend who used to ask girls if they liked cheese, but that was a long time ago.
73. "L'chaim!" is one (5) : TOAST. לחיים. Remember, Hebrew is read from right to left; it means to life, and so much more.
74. Seafood serving (5) : PRAWN. The shrimp was just a prawn in his game.
75. Author Blyton (4) : ENID. This WRITER was said to be more liked than JK Rowling, Jane Austen and, dare I say Shakespeare!
76. Els of the PGA (5) : ERNIE. The big easy. Along with Gary Player, this South African is a national hero who has a golf school which produced close friends Charl Scwartzel and Louie Oosthuizen. A bit of pride from our constructor.
Down:
1. Unruly do (3) : MOP. Hairdo that is.
2. Cry after Real Madrid scores (3) : OLE. Really, I thought it was Goal, Goal, Goal. We also have another 'football' reference from our South African constructor, 6D. Zero, in Real Madrid scores (3) : NIL.
3. With the order switched (9) : VICE VERSA. I'll take the vice, you can have the versa.
4. Give the slip (5) : EVADE. It seemed like so many "V"s in this puzzle.
5. 1990 Robert Frost Medal recipient Levertov (6) : DENISE. This British born but American POET is worth reading. CA, you out there? Poetry was one of my passions in college.
7. Fuming state (3) : IRE.
8. Super stars? (5) : NOVAE. Cute clue, misleading as the stars are exploding. Interestingly, we also have 27D. De ___: from square one (4) : NOVO. A standard for judges when reviewing lower court opinions, literally from of new. Are the words related?
9. Twisted balloon shape, often (6) : ANIMAL. So many long skinny dogs...
10. Christian bracelet letters (4) : WWJD. At last What Would Jesus Do.
11. Weed whacker (3) : HOE. The old fashioned way, no strings attached.
12. Muse for Yeats (5) : ERATO. I do not know the life story of this major POET but Erato was a muse by profession, it is what she did. I wonder if Yeats fascination with mysticism was the inspiration for his inclusion in this Friday the 13th offering.
13. OB/GYN test (5) : AMNIOcentesis. When the men see the needle, they are very glad they are men.
14. Boxer with a cameo in "The Hangover" (5) : TYSON. Watch the CLIP.
20. Produce offspring (4) : SIRE. Not to be confused with DIRE.
22. Floor installer (5) : TILER. very literal.
25. Tureen utensil (5) : LADLE. You pretty much need to know what a tureen is.
26. Less chummy (5) : ICIER. Another ICE QUEEN?(4:24)
28. Feudal estates (5) : FIEFS.
29. Onion kin (5) : CHIVE. I thought I heard singing in refrigerator, but it was just Chive Talkin'
33. Suffix with oct- (3) : ANE. Good gas clue.
35. History test section, often (5) : ESSAY. Tee?
37. Start to fast? (5) : STEADfast.
39. Zachary Taylor, by birth (9) : VIRGINIAN. So many presidents were.
40. The senior Saarinen (5) : ELIEL Not as frequent as son Eero.
41. Beasts of burden (5) : ASSES. Man, we are really hauling here.
43. Sargasso Sea denizen (3) : EEL. I will always love alliteration.
44. Trumpet effect (4) : WAWA. Wow wow Wah Wah. (5:23) JzB?
45. Toothbrush choice (5) : ORAL-B. Brush.
50. The Aragón is a tributary of it (4) : EBRO. We have had this Iberian RIVER many times.
51. Southern language (6) : CREOLE. A shout out to Hahtoolah, our bayou babe.
55. Holding device (5) : CLAMP.
56. Refueling ship (5) : OILER. One of a few "er" words in this effort.
57. Street of many mysteries (5) : DELLA. Barbara Hale. Very nice clue.
59. Finalize, as a cartoon (5) : INK IN.
60. Program problem (5) : ERROR.
62. Timely question (4) : WHEN. Nice misdirection.
65. Patch, say (3) : SEW.
66. Prefix with corn (3) : UNIcorn.
67. "Xing" one (3) : PEDestrian.
69. Popular CBS procedural (3) : CSI. Crime Scene Investigation.
70. Parisian season (3) : ETE. For once, not a Nice clue.
Well, it is time for me to take my lemons and go until next week. Thank you GB for a very tough across puzzle made doable with a gentle down fill.
