Theme: BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH THE HONEYMOONERS. No that's not some sort of glaring error. After the 1960 success of the Flintstones - which was the Honeymooners, reset in cartoon creationist pre-history - the same formula was applied two years later to a space-age toon family, giving us our reveal, which will be revealed at the appropriate moment.
17A. Leader for whom Houston's airport is named : GEORGE (JETSON) BUSH. Poppy or W?
24A. "The Chimpanzees of Gombe" writer : JANE (JETSON) GOODALL. A British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and author.
34A. "Superfudge" novelist : JUDY (JETSON) BLUME. Writer of children's books and racy adult novels.
49A. Pro Football Hall of Famer nicknamed "Crazylegs" : ELROY (JETSON) HIRSCH. As an amateur, he was a football running back and receiver with the University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan. As a pro, he played for the Chicago Rockets of the old All-America Football Conference, and then with the L.A. Rams. He is a member of both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
And the reveal, since now is the appropriate moment. 58A. TV series that first aired 9/23/1962 whose family shares first names with 17-, 24-, 34- and 49-Across : THE JETSONS. And here is the THEME theme.
Hi gang, It's JazzBumpa, reunited with Gareth. Once upon a time, three of my consecutive blogging dates corresponded with three consecutive publications of his puzzles - a coincidence beyond all probability, since my blogging dates were irregular. I always enjoy Gareth's puzzles. Didn't we have one just last Wednesday? I thought that would be a near miss. Let's see what he has for us this time.
Across:
1. 1983 movie about a taxi company : D.C. CAB. A cheesy, B-grade comedy starring Mr.T.
6. Place for a sala : CASA. A Spanish room in a Spanish house. ¿Entienden?
10. Home on the range : CAMP. A temporary home, I guess.
14. Kukla's dragon friend : OLLIE. Back to the past, with these TV puppets from my childhood.
15. Israeli weapons : UZIS. A family of Israeli open bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns. I have no clear idea what that means.
16. Optic layer : UVEA. The middle of three concentric layers that make up the eye. Per Wikipedia, "it is traditionally divided into 3 areas, from front to back, the iris, ciliary body, and choroid." Now you know.
19. Really tired : BEAT. Like I feel, and I'm just getting started.
20. Highlands honey : LASS. Sure.
21. Narrow-bodied river fish : GAR. Not her.
22. Intrinsically : PER SE. Latin. That's going way back.
23. Christmas __ : EVE.
27. Fixed, in a way : GELDED. Ouch! I had WELDED, at first, which is another way to be fixed.
29. Farm feed item : OAT. Feed bag morsel.
30. Salon supply : GEL. For me, this was slow to set.
31. Saloon orders : RYES. This took lots of perp help. Ironically, I am sipping a snifter of Ole George Whiskey, a genuine Michigan RYE from the Grand Traverse Distillery as I write this.
32. Hot tub reaction : AAH. Or reaction to a sip of Ole George.
33. Bit of background in a Road Runner cartoon : MESA. I tried SAND at first.
38. Nick and Nora's pooch : ASTA. The crossword canine mascot.
41. Cold War agcy. : A.E.C. Atomic Energy Commission. Now the Nuclear Regulatory Agency.
42.Shell propellers : OARS. At The Free Dictionary, definition 3b is "A light, long, narrow racing boat propelled by rowers." Definition 4 is "A small glass for beer." AAH!
45. Starfish arm : RAY.
46. WWII craft : L. S. T. Landing Ship Tank. Frequent fill item these days.
47. Not a good thing to be at the wheel : ASLEEP. Unless you're on Rt. 66.
53. Traffic cops gp.? : D.E.A. Drug (traffic) Enforcement Agency. Tricky!
54. Maxim : ADAGE. For example: "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, and then as farce." The actual quote goes like this: "Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce." Extra credit, if you can identify the source - without Google!
55. Do lunch, e.g. : EAT.
56. Speaker with a .345 career batting average : TRIS. Frequent visitor to crosswords, this center fielder played for the Red Sox, and Indians from 1909 to 1926.
57. Stallion feature : MANE. The line of hair on the back of a horse's neck.
61. Henry VIII's fourth : ANNE. The marriage lasted from Jan. 6 to July 9, 1540. Henry demanded an annulment, which she granted, thereby keeping her head and gaining a generous settlement, including a castle formerly occupied by the Boleyns.
63. Squander : WASTE. ANNE chose not to Squander her life.
64. Ponies up : PAYS, as, frex, to a former wife.
65. Office furnishing : DESK.
66. Some McFlurry ingredients : OREOS. A frozen yogurt confection from McDonald's, with pieces of candy or cookies mixed in.
Down:
1. Zigzag hole feature : DOGLEG. Golf. So named because of it's sharp bend. I was fixated on a zigzag shaped perforation. D'OH!
2. Chop chopper : CLEAVER. Meat!
3. __ held: in few hands, as stock : CLOSELY. Like most of Ford.
4. Snob's affectations : AIRS. The best I could do.
5. Avoid, as an issue : BEG. I assume this refers to the logical ploy of BEGGING the question, which I will not attempt to explain.
6. Like many Miamians, by birth : CUBAN.
7. Clear blue : AZURE. Like the Miami sky.
8. Girl sib : SIS. I have one.
9. Campfire remains : ASH.
10. Like ice or dice : CUBED. Clever clue.
11. Run-of-the-mill : AVERAGE.
12. Spotty condition? : MEASLES. One of the dreaded childhood diseases.
13. Kneecap : PATELLA. Knees like these, if you please.
18. "I say!" : EGAD. Zounds!
22. Patio planter : POT. Our patio pots are only AVERAGE. They contain flowers.
24. Savior in a Bach cantata : JESU. This one.
25. Purpose : GOAL. Gareth's purpose is to entertain; my goal is to inform. How we doin'?
26. Interstate H-1 locale : OAHU. Map.
28. __ vu : DEJA. I think I've seen this clue before.
32. "Modern Family" network : ABC.
33. Square food? : MEAL. Three square meals a day.
35. Salt sprinkle : DASH.
36. Himalayan myth : YETI. He has an odd fondness for Ole George.
37. Dance in a pit : MOSH. Knock yourself out.
38. Visitors center handout : AREA MAP.
39. Zoe of "Avatar" : SALDANA. Better without the CGI.
40. Abuse of power : TYRANNY.
43. Flower for one's honey : RED ROSE. If she is your cup of tea. Or is this putting on AIRS?
44. Foreknow, as the future : SEE INTO. I see me sleeping in tomorrow.
46. Caustic stuff : LYE. And that's the truth!
47. Part of a Molière comédie : ACTE. Play acting, in French. Est-ce donner des airs?
48. Avoids an F : PASSES. Scholastic. Whether this is acing or eking out a D is unspecified.
50. Arches with pointed tops : OGEES. More DEJA vu.
51. Oboist's supply : REEDS. O GEE, we don't usually see oboes in the clue. They use double reeds.
52. Noted vowel seller : SAJAK. Wheel. Of. Fortune. I wanted VANNA.
56. Nicholas II, e.g. : TSAR. Back to the past, again. The last one, reigning from 1894 to 1917.
58. Wee bit : TAD.
59. Hotfoot it, old-style : HIE. Soon I will hie off to bed.
60. Pair : TWO. Gareth and I, together again.
Answer grid.
We had some fresh fill and some old familiar friends, and a bit of trickery along the way,. Hope you enjoyed it.
Jazzbumpa
