Thursday, July 12, 2012 David Poole

Theme: Tribute to a well-known actor...

First, the quintessential explorer:

20A. Reggie Miller, e.g. : INDIANA PACER. News: Ian Mahinmi was just traded to them in exchange for Darren Collision and Dahntay Jones.

and
40A. Last name of the start of 20-Across : JONES. Indiana Jones. I have linked this character several times: "I HATE snakes!!" 0:15

Then we have:

26A. Long-eared hopper : JACK RABBIT. (Not the Easter Bunny?)

and

69A. Last name of the start of 26-Across : RYAN. He played Jack Ryan in "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger". If you have not seen either of these, GO OUT AND RENT THEM!! (Right NOW!!) 2:32

And finally, maybe his most famous role of all:

48A. Reign between the Qin and the Three Kingdoms : HAN DYNASTY
and
5A. Last name of the start of 48-Across : SOLO. He played Han Solo in the "Star Wars" film series. Who could forget him in this role??

And finally, the unifier, and "star" of our puzzle:
53. Actor born 7/13/1942 who played characters found in 20-. 26- and 48-Across : HARRISON FORD

Lots of cross-referencing clues, and you need to pay attention. Otherwise, you might get Han Jones mixed up with Indiana Ryan, or Jack Solo!!

Marti here, so it must be Thursday (Already???) So, lets just dive in...

Across:

1. Increasingly rare PC monitors : CRTS. Cathode Ray Tube(s). Boy, I'll say they are increasingly rare. I could hardly find them, even on Wiki!!

9. Supplement : ADD-ON

14. Flood notable : NOAH

15. "Iliad" warrior : AJAX. Also, a well-known cleaning brand.

16. Rank : GRADE. Or, like the skunks in my back yard!!

17. Site of Napoleon's 1804 coronation : NOTRE DAME. This was the name of my H.S. (It's also a lesser-known cathedral in Paris, but I won't hold it against them!)

19. Condor's castle? : AERIE. El Condor Passa.

22. Parting word : ADIEU...so long, farewell, it's time to say goodnight. Oh wait, I still have some clues left to do...

25. "Everybody Hurts" band : REM. Great song.

31. 9-3, 9-4 or 9-5 : SAAB

35. It might be casual: Abbr. : FRI.day

36. Actress Falco et al. : EDIES. Not to be confused with 67A. "Grand" ice cream brand : EDYS. Strange to say, but I really don't like ice cream!

37. Hard to look at : UGLY. Like "Coyote Ugly"?

38. Tolkien creatures : ORCS. Now, THAT'S "ugly"!!

42. Not looking well : PALE

43. Hollandaise ingredient : YOLK. My mother was French, and we had a lot of sauces, including Hollandaise, at every meal. Each of us girls had her favorite recipe, and we argued endlessly about whose was "better". One Thanksgiving, one of my brothers-in-law remarked about Hollandaise that was being served: "This is the glue that keeps you sisters together..." Sadly, they are all gone now. I miss them...and all their Hollandaise recipes!

44. Salon offerings : TINTS

46. [Sniff!] : SOB

47. Overly precious, to a Brit : TWEE. Well, I know Brits love their TEA, but TWEE? Never heard of it. The linked image below is a pastel painting (it is NOT a photograph!!) done by my dear friend Barbara Groff. She is a talented artist, and has won many national awards. I am privileged to own some of her original pieces. For more info (bold plug here), go to her web site.

50. Letters from your parents? : RNA. Haha, funny clue. Although, I did want DNA at first...

52. Pernod flavoring : ANISE

60. Often-filtered transmission : EMAIL

61. Degas subject : BALLERINA. More art, but sorry...this is probably not as affordable as a Groff original!

65. Photo finish : MATTE

66. "...___ saw Elba" : ERE I. "Able was I, ere I saw Elba." Famous palindrome. Raise your hand if you did not get this immediately? (Go to the back of the class!)

68. Manuscript marks : STETS

70. Basketful, perhaps : WASH...just did four basketfuls (baskets full??) today, so this was a gimme.

Down:

1. "Piers Morgan Tonight" channel : CNN. Cable News Network.

2. Milne marsupial : ROO. Of "Winnie the Pooh".

3. Bit of artwork seen in NBA games : TAT. Back to Groff and Monet? No, this artwork.

4. Mouse reaction : SHRIEK. Do mice shriek? Really? At what?

5. H.S. safety org. : SADD. Students Against Drunk Driving

6. City WNW of Los Angeles : OJAI. Map.

7. Tibetan for "superior one" : LAMA. A "One L-lama" in an Ogden Nash poem.

8. Farm team : OXEN. (Was anyone thinking "baseball"??)

9. With one's jaw on the floor, so to speak : AGAPE. Ahhh, the A-word.

10. Concocts : DREAMS UP

11. Jeanne ___ : D'ARC. Has anyone read Mark Twain's version? I picked it up because I thought it would be comical. But it was the most interesting and enlightening biography of Jean D'Arc that I have ever read!

12. Jon Arbuckle's pooch : ODIE. Funny one today (yesterday?)

13. "When pigs flyeth!" : NE'ER. I loveth thith clue!

18. Toughen : ENURE

21. Knack : ART. (see 47- and 61-Across)

22. Four-time Indy 500 winner : A.J. FOYT

23. Scopes's defender : DARROW. The famous "Monkey Trial".

24. December hanger : ICICLE. Not if you live in Tampa, though!

27. Tall, dark or handsome: Abbr. : ADJ.ective.

28. Flora and fauna : BIOTA. "Total collection of organisms", per wiki.

29. Togo neighbor : BENIN. Map.

30. "___ a Message": INXS song : I SEND. Love the body language.

32. Court star with the autobiography "Open" : AGASSI. Andre, eight-time Grand-Slam champion.

33. Doles out : ALLOTS

34. Parting words : BYE-BYE. Not yet! 16 more to go...

39. "Picket Fences" Emmy winner Tom : SKERRITT. You don't know him? Of course you know Sheriff Jimmy Brock!!

41. Pen name? : STY. Cute clue.

45. Marcher's drum : SNARE

48. Is ill with : HAS. As in, "Has the flu."

49. Jackson or Johnson : ANDREW. 7th and 17th presidents of the US of A.

51. TV's younger Dr. Crane : NILES. I just loved him on "Frasier"! 0:31

53. Garment edges : HEMS. They go up...they go down...they go up...they go down...

54. Latin lesson word : AMAT. amo-amas-amat-amamus-amatis-amant. I love, you love, he loves, we love, you love, they love...we all love to do crosswords!

55. Deserve : RATE

56. Upper, in Upper Westphalia : OBER. Not to be confused with "über", meaning "over".

57. Quaint negative : NARY

58. ___ market : FLEA. Anyone here in the market for fleas?

59. "Chocolat" actress : OLIN. Lena, for her role as Josephine Muscat. Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp stole the show, even though OLIN is more crossword-friendly...

62. Nev. neighbor : IDA.ho. (Alaska?)

63. Where Cuomo is gov. : NYS. New York State.

64. Cheroot residue : ASH. If you know that a cheroot is a cheap cigar, this was a gimme. Otherwise, you may have been looking for some kind of Indian war paint!

Answer grid.

That's all for now..see you next week!

Hugs,
Marti

Note from C.C.:

Happy 82nd Birthday to dear Sallie!