Theme: Shock and Awe (overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force...)
16A. Four-legged comfort giver : THERAPY DOG. Golden Retrievers are great dogs for this job. SHOCK THERAPY. Nurse Ratched, revisited entry? (I believe the link is Jack Nicholson in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
23A. Budget-friendly fast food offering : VALUE MEAL. A McDonalds offering is one of the main causes of obesity in this country. Now also a huge concern in Europe. SHOCK VALUE: How to provoke a reaction of disgust. (You can provide your own link here...)
37A. Coming trend : WAVE OF THE FUTURE. And we have an atomic SHOCK WAVE.
49A. Locker room laundry item : JOCKSTRAP. The one theme entry that is a compound word. Visions of dirty jockstraps..."Eeew". SHOCK JOCK like (warning: offensive language!!) this guy.
60A. Seismic phenomenon, and where you might find the starts of 16-, 23-, 37- and 49-Across : AFTERSHOCK. So the first words of the theme entries can follow (come "after") the word "shock".
Marti here, so let's see what else we have on the plate today...
Across:
1. Play the court clown? : JEST
5. "Mad Men" subject, familiarly : AD BIZ
10. Rapper ___ Def, now known as Yasiin Bey : MOS. Why do rappers feel they have to change their names all the time? Born Dante Terrell Smith...
13. Use copperplate, perhaps : ETCH
14. Mountain, on Hawaii : MAUNA. Loa, Kea, Lani, Lai...
15. Four-sided fig. : RECT.angle.
18. The "merry" part of a "merry game" : ALAI. From the Basque for "jai" = Celebration, and "Alai" = merry. My uncle was doing some genealogy research and found that grandfather's ancestors came from the Basque country in France. He was excited to discover this, and wrote to my mother "I never knew we were all basquards!"
19. Domingo et al. : TENORS
20. Old-time desk accessory : INKWELL
22. "Spartacus" setting : ARENA
25. Low spirits : GLOOM
27. Inventing initials : TAE. Thomas Alva Edison.
28. Compete : VIE
31. "Heidi" setting : ALPS
33. Pertaining to birth : NATAL
41. Empty-headed Mortimer : SNERD
42. "And ___ bed" : SO, TO. From Samuel Pepys Diary?
43. "Today" rival, briefly : GMA. Good Morning America.
44. Cheer syllable : SIS...boom...baa!
46. Out in the sticks : RURAL
53. Retro beer : PABST. Retro? I think it is still sold in stores, right?
16A. Four-legged comfort giver : THERAPY DOG. Golden Retrievers are great dogs for this job. SHOCK THERAPY. Nurse Ratched, revisited entry? (I believe the link is Jack Nicholson in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
23A. Budget-friendly fast food offering : VALUE MEAL. A McDonalds offering is one of the main causes of obesity in this country. Now also a huge concern in Europe. SHOCK VALUE: How to provoke a reaction of disgust. (You can provide your own link here...)
37A. Coming trend : WAVE OF THE FUTURE. And we have an atomic SHOCK WAVE.
49A. Locker room laundry item : JOCKSTRAP. The one theme entry that is a compound word. Visions of dirty jockstraps..."Eeew". SHOCK JOCK like (warning: offensive language!!) this guy.
60A. Seismic phenomenon, and where you might find the starts of 16-, 23-, 37- and 49-Across : AFTERSHOCK. So the first words of the theme entries can follow (come "after") the word "shock".
Marti here, so let's see what else we have on the plate today...
Across:
1. Play the court clown? : JEST
5. "Mad Men" subject, familiarly : AD BIZ
10. Rapper ___ Def, now known as Yasiin Bey : MOS. Why do rappers feel they have to change their names all the time? Born Dante Terrell Smith...
13. Use copperplate, perhaps : ETCH
14. Mountain, on Hawaii : MAUNA. Loa, Kea, Lani, Lai...
15. Four-sided fig. : RECT.angle.
18. The "merry" part of a "merry game" : ALAI. From the Basque for "jai" = Celebration, and "Alai" = merry. My uncle was doing some genealogy research and found that grandfather's ancestors came from the Basque country in France. He was excited to discover this, and wrote to my mother "I never knew we were all basquards!"
19. Domingo et al. : TENORS
20. Old-time desk accessory : INKWELL
22. "Spartacus" setting : ARENA
25. Low spirits : GLOOM
27. Inventing initials : TAE. Thomas Alva Edison.
28. Compete : VIE
31. "Heidi" setting : ALPS
33. Pertaining to birth : NATAL
41. Empty-headed Mortimer : SNERD
42. "And ___ bed" : SO, TO. From Samuel Pepys Diary?
43. "Today" rival, briefly : GMA. Good Morning America.
44. Cheer syllable : SIS...boom...baa!
46. Out in the sticks : RURAL
53. Retro beer : PABST. Retro? I think it is still sold in stores, right?
57. Indian spiced drink : CHAI TEA
58. Sell out : BETRAY
59. Gift from the god Jupiter Pluvius : RAIN. From the Latin "pluvia", meaning rain.
63. Sea eagle : ERNE
64. Half of a classic comedy team : MEARA. Other half was Stiller, in the '60s-'70s.
65. Raison d'___ : ETRE. "Reason for being". Mine is to do this write-up every Thursday...
66. Itsy-bitsy : WEE
67. Overseas misses: Abbr. : SRTAS. Spanish señoritas.
68. "100" symbols, in Greek numerals : RHOS. Link to Rho. Derived from the Phonecian "Res" which looks like this:
Down:
1. Beetle relative : JETTA. Volkswagen model. And 28-down: 1-Downs, for short : VWS
2. Out-of-use anesthetic : ETHER
3. Big fuss : SCENE
4. Big crowd : THRONG
5. Tour Bus cargo : AMPS. Rock star tour bus, that is. Not to be confused with these.
6. Light interval : DAY
7. Pal : BUD. Not to be confused with this.
8. How anchovies are packed : IN OIL
9. Hershey's peanut butter bar : ZAGNUT. Never had one.
10. Brawl : MELEE
11. City on I-75 : OCALA. Florida. Map.
12. Moonshiner's apparatus : STILL
15. Steak tartare, primarily : RAW MEAT. My ultimate surf and turf: tartare and raw sushi tuna!!
17. Shrinking sea : ARAL. But it is growing again, thanks to conservation efforts.
21. He played Kevin in "The Devil's Advocate" : KEANU. Reeves.
23. Battery count : VOLTS
24. Two-handled Greek vase : AMPHORA. These would be called "amphorae".
26. Lummox : OAF
29. First name of the swimmer dubbed the "Thorpedo" : IAN. Thorpe. Australian.
30. Night to party, maybe : EVE
32. Frame : SETUP
34. Harbor helper : TUG
35. "Long" legal weapon? : ARM. Like the long arm of the law?
36. Pasture : LEA
38. "Tobacco Road" writer Caldwell : ERSKINE
39. One writing to things, perhaps : ODIST
40. Pro : FOR
45. Gently unwrinkles : STEAMS
47. Sci-fi planet inhabitants : APES
48. Agitated state : LATHER. "Don't get all in a lather."
49. L.L. Bean competitor : J CREW
50. Midway alternative : O'HARE. Chicago airports.
51. Queeg's command : CAINE
52. '50s-'60s decathlete Johnson : RAFER. Rafer Johnson. Hands up for those who remembered him, without perps?
54. Challenge for a surplus of cooks? : BROTH. "Too many cooks spoil the broth."
55. Prefix with iliac : SACRO
56. Moppets : TYKES
58. '60s bonfire burnings : BRAS. OK gals, 'fess up: did you ever burn one?
61. Make lace : TAT
62. Diamond stat : ERA. Earned Run Average: I learned from C.C.'s puzzles!
Answer grid.
That's all for this week: "And SO, TO bed..."
Hugs,
Marti
From C.C.:
Here is Part II of Kazie's travel to Spain. The last one reminded me of my hometown Xi'An, another walled city.
