Wednesday, November 7, 2012, James Sajdak

Theme: i'd like to buy a vowel

ok, sorry, i know that's a lame title. but hey, it's election night and i'm a little distracted.

18A. Tropical headgear : PANAMA HATS.  wikipedia: a traditional brimmed hat of
ecuadorian origin that is made from the plaited leaves of the toquilla straw plant. 

27A. Deal-closing aids : SWEETENERS. 'sweeten the deal.'

36A. Urbana-Champaign NCAA team : FIGHTING ILLINI. complete unknown to me. illini (pronounced "ih-LIE-nee") is a european adaptation of the illinois indians' original word for themselves, illiniwek, which means "the best people".

50A. Powerful pin cushion? : VOODOO DOLL. i'm guessing there are a few voters who wish they had one about now.

58. False : UNTRUTHFUL

melissa here.

this had to be a bear to construct, with every theme answer having only one repeating vowel, with those vowels appearing in alphabetical order. very impressive. the middle one is an even 14-letter answer, hence the grid is 15*16 (16 columns).

there were several unknown / obscure entries that delayed my solve time a bit - guess you gotta expect that in order to pull this off.   

across:

1. Dash, e.g. : RACE. timely entry.

5. Head-hanging emotion : SHAME

10. Altoids alternative : CERTS. mints.

15. Fan favorite : IDOL

16. Earthling : HUMAN

17. Absorbed the loss : ATE IT

20. Passover ritual : SEDER

21. Dix halved : CINQ. french, dix = 10, cinq = 5.

22. Calendar abbr. : TUES

24. Prior to, in verse : ERE

25. Low-tech note taker : STENO.  short for stenographer or stenotype.

30. Unblemished : PURE

31. Line winder : REEL

32. Baking by-products : AROMAS

33. Creative enterprise : ART

34. On the fence : TORN. like all those undecided voters.

35. Six-stringed instrument, usually : VIOL

41. Two pages : LEAF. wikipedia: A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page. i guess thats where the phrase 'turn over a new leaf' comes from.

42. "Zip-__-Doo-Dah" : ADEE. from 1946 disney movie 'song of the south".

43. Tram car filler : ORE. mining car.

45. Totally absorbed : ENRAPT

48. Hon : DEAR. aw.

49. Pontiac muscle cars : GTO'S

52. "It __ hit me yet" : HASN'T

53. Mao follower? : IST. maoist.

54. Scientology's __ Hubbard : L. RON

55. Sushi bar soup : MISO

56. Cook-off potful : CHILI

63. Mixer for a mixologist : TONIC

64. Boyfriends : BEAUS

65. Couple in a rowboat : OARS

66. Run through a reader, as a debit card : SWIPE

67. Footlocker : TRUNK

68. Sandstorm residue : GRIT

down:

1. Split : RIP. i guess.

2. Org. concerned with crowns : ADA. american dental association.

3. Mozart works : CONCERTI

4. Pal of Jerry Seinfeld : ELAINE

5. Retired seven-foot NBAer : SHAQ

6. "Say that again?" : HUH

7. "I __ Rock" : AM A. 

8. Fisher-Price parent company : MATTEL

9. Follow logically : ENSUE

10. Potluck staple : CASSEROLE

11. Summer on the Seine : ETE. french.

12. Turn in for cash : REDEEM

13. Spain's __ de Campos : TIERRA. another unknown for me.

14. Underline, say : STRESS

19. Trio on a phone keypad : MNO. #6 key.

23. Online shopkeeper : E-TAILER

25. Place for pampering : SPA

26. Area of expertise : TURF

27. Calligrapher's flourish : SERIF

28. Question of time, to Telemann : WENN. this seems both really obscure, and a little weak … but maybe i'm missing something. so georg philipp telemann was a german composer (1681-1767), and "when" in german is wenn. 

29. __ me tangere : NOLI. more obscurity.

31. Barbecue spit, e.g. : ROTATOR

34. "Every Breath You Take" band : THE POLICE

35. "Myra Breckinridge" author : VIDAL

37. Tickled pink : GLAD. roughly half of america today.

38. Scottish Celt : GAEL

39. "As of yet, no" : NOT SO FAR

40. Pressing need? : IRON. cute.

44. Inexact fig. : EST. estimate.

45. Throws out : EVICTS

46. Reservation waster : NO SHOW. ugh - i get those a lot.

47. Spiral pasta : ROTINI

48. One of Dancer's partners : DONNER. two of santa's reindeers.

49. Far-from-efficient vehicle : GAS HOG

51. Reservations : DOUBT. partial clecho.

52. Best-seller : HIT

55. Perfumery scent : MUSK

57. Blistex target : LIP

59. Frat house letter : TAU

60. Flee : RUN

61. The Rams of the NCAA's Atlantic 10 Conf. : URI. another unknown to me, university of rhode island.

62. D-Day vessel : LST. landing ship tank.

 melissa