Friday, July 20, 2012, David Steinberg

Theme: No meat, no fish, no fowl!

It is Friday and we do not have a simple add letter(s) theme but one where words are subtracted. Each of the theme answers are common phrases in which the last word is left off the answer. Each of those words refer to something we carnivores eat. Our herbivore unifier tells us the rest of the story. This is a return to Friday for the precocious middle schooler who debuted on a Friday in February. A very different puzzle today, so let us get to it. Maybe I can adopt him.

17A. Calm and kind : AS GENTLE AS A.LAMB.(11) How can we eat these babies? In a stew, chops?

24A. Earn a living : BRING HOME THE BACON (12). Not this ONE.

37A. Completely different situation : ANOTHER KETTLE OF FISH.(15) We stopped using kettles to cook our fish a long time ago, but the phrase lives on. A derivative of A FINE KETTLE.

48A. Suddenly stopping : QUITTING COLD TURKEY. (12) That is how I stopped smoking, This rather common phrase has its origin in what happens to the skin of a heroin addict who quits without any drug help. You should watch this incredible PERFORMANCE (2:22).

and the unifier

59A. Ones responsible for what's missing from certain puzzle answers? : VEGETARIANS.(11) Aren't they really the inspiration of the puzzle? Well, let us see what else in David's back pack.

Across:

1. Throw : FLING. So many words for throw, will have to wait....

6. Capts.' inferiors : SGTS. Hmm, a bit un-pc as while they may be subordinates, I doubt many would think they are inferior.

10. Homeric outburst? : DOH. The GREEK Simpson connection.

13. Honolulu hangout : LANAI. Nice alliteration for this popular breezy tropical building.

14. Toiletry product endorsed by pitcher Mariano Rivera : ARRID. Really obscure for anyone but a Yankee fan. Extra Dry.

16. Great ___ : APE. Did you think of this MOVIE? (1:59).

19. Era units: Abbr. : YRS.

20. Bygone AT&T rival : GTE. General Telephone and Electric.

21. Heady quaffs : GROGS. When is talk like a pirate day? Is this where the word groggy comes from?

22. Utah landscape features : MESAS. Why Utah? Why not?

26. Algebra subject : MATRIX. Obviously from someone still in school; Alge is the one bra most do not like. Also, 67A. Graph lines : X AXES.

29. Posting often seen in a window : MENU. Okay drop down and give me 50 push ups.

30. ___ Goldfinger: 007 enemy : AURIC. MUSIC. (1:04).

31. Suva is its capital : FIJI. The island home of Vijay Singh.

34. Code letters : DNA.

41. Farm enclosure : STY.

42. Movie mogul Marcus : LOEW. We had this MAN recently.

43. Insight provider? : HONDA. The old car name switcheroo. Are we in accord this is a prelude to more of this type of deception?

44. Schoolyard comeback : AM SO. Am not!

47. Like some Latin nouns : NEUTER. If a word is not masculine, or feminine it is not sexless it is THIS.Test on Tuesday.

53. "I'm all ears!" : ASK ME.

54. Sister of Terpsichore : ERATO. One of the amusing muses.

55. NASDAQ or NYSE : MKT.

58. Thumb in folklore : TOM. Also in the circus.

62. Santa ___ : ANA.

63. Florida wader : EGRET. Damn, Jason fit! Is it okay to have this bird because we do not often eat them?

64. TV spot seller : AD REP.

65. Bug-eyed TV dog : REN. Are he and Stimpy making a comeback? He looks kinda like Siciliano.

66. Unpleasant, as details : GORY. Well, it is not that unpleasant.

Down:

1. Hail, with "down" : FLAG. A passing motorist for help.

2. Far from the front : LAST.

3. 1953 Pulitzer-winning playwright : INGE. I had him last week for BUS STOP, but he got the prize for PICNIC.

4. Highland denial : NAE.

5. Newt with a large vocabulary : GINGRICH. If he had been able to get his mitts on as many votes as he gets puzzle nods, oops, no politics.

6. Dryer place : SALON. Not the desert, not the laundry room, the beauty parlor.

7. Shorthand pioneer : GREGG. Shorthand was supposedly invented by a slave of Cicero's trying to keep up with his verbose master.

8. Give one star, say : TRASH.

9. Family nickname : SIS. Not in my family, my brothers would have beaten me badly.

10. Non-dorm resident : DAY STUDENT. I was one for seven years.

11. Queen of Talk : OPRAH. Not lately.

12. State bordering Thuringia : HESSE. German states. LINK. KZ?

15. "Kickboxer" actor Jean-Claude Van ___ : DAMME. Did you fall in this Von Trapp?

18. Rabbit's food? : TRIX. Can we mention rabbits? So soon after Bunny Slope? We eat them you know.

23. Bard's time of day : EEN. Evening?

24. Brolly carrier : BRIT. Umbrella.

25. Forget to mention : OMIT. Oops I forgot to mention....

26. Barnyard bleats : MAAS. Baa.

27. Family gathering visitor : AUNT.

28. Super Bowl XXVII MVP : TROY AIKMAN. I was at the Rose Bowl for this one.

31. Do that's picked, briefly : FRO. Afro needed to be shortened?

32. Much-liked prez : IKE. Damn more politics.

33. Yeshiva student : JEW. Damn more politics.

35. Botanical knot : NODE. Ooh, ooh. I knowed that one.

36. Way in the distance : AFAR. The end is nearing.

38. Morlock prey : ELOI. Hi H.G, hope you are Well(s).

39. 2012 animated movie promoted by IHOP : THE LORAX. Did you all see this MOVIE? (2:33).

40. Clamorous : LOUD. Yes the movie did seem loud.

45. "Rhoda" production co. : MTM. Mary Tyler Moore. The show which gave us Julie Kavner.

46. Forbes, for one : STEVE. No ezine, just a guy. Damn more politics.

47. "___ chance!" : NOT A.

48. Country once known for pearl diving : QATAR. "Cutter."

49. East Coast rte. : US ONE. From Maine to Key West, and one block east of casa limon.

50. Part of UNCF : NEGRO. United Negro College Fund.

51. "Madame Curie" star Garson : GREER. Don't you love HATS (2:09).

52. Like some gossip : CATTY. For all of our feline fanatics, why?

55. "Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others" speaker : MARX. Brother what an obscure quotation from Groucho.

56. Joint with a cap : KNEE. Punchline: What is an ugly joint like you doing in a beautiful girl like this?

57. Baker's amts. : TSPS.

60. It's legal to poach one : EGG. Great clue; do young people even know what illegal poaching is?

61. Pocatello's st. : IDAho. Not me. Ida know it is time to go.

Answer grid.

The weeks fly by, and I say bye bye. Thanks David and all you out in the Corner

Lemonade out.