Theme: A week of Mondays - Five entries that start out innocent enough but there is a Mon. stuck right in the middle of them.
17A. Light reddish shade named for a fish : SALMON PINK
25A. Children's imitation game : SIMON SAYS
36A. Sticky breakfast sweets : CINNAMON ROLLS
49A. Grated citrus peel : LEMON ZEST
58A. Winter cause of sniffles and sneezes : COMMON COLD
48D. Workweek start, or an apt title for this puzzle based on an abbreviation found in its five longest answers : MONDAY
Argyle here so it must be Monday. I've been frittering my time listening to Monday songs and have decided on this one. Monday Mornin', by Peter, Paul, and Mary, I can't say as I've ever heard it before but I don't think I'll forget it. It's a strange one.
So salmon, cinnamon and lemon sort of put me on a food track but the unifier put me right. It seems like a minimum of abbreviations today. Don and C.C., thank you.
Across:
1. Actress Jessica : ALBA
5. Uses spurs, say : GOADS. Jessica could spur me on.
10. Sports squad : TEAM
14. Fortuneteller : SEER
15. Not yet burning : UNLIT
16. Taper off : WANE. Unlit tapers.
19. Tehran's land : IRAN
20. Uganda's Amin : IDI
21. Drawer projection : KNOB
22. Env. stuffing : ENCL. (enclosure)
23. Flows slowly : SEEPS
29. Deal, as a blow : INFLICT
31. "Then what happened?" : "AND?"
32. Govt. hush-hush org. : NSA. (National Security Agency)
33. "Grody to the max!" : "UGH!"
34. Dessert served in triangular slices : PIE
35. Grub : EATS
40. Relax in the tub : SOAK
41. Solemn promise : VOW
42. "__ as directed" : USE
43. Do some sums : ADD
44. Crank (up) : REV
45. Dormitory, to dirty room : ANAGRAM. OK, Don or C.C. came up with this one? I'll say Don. (From C.C.: I bumped into this anagram while reading something. Not my own creation.)
52. Onetime capital of Japan : KYOTO. Wiki link
53. Swigs from flasks : NIPS
54. Tiny bit : IOTA
56. Chili __ carne : CON. (chili with meat)
57. Go steady with : DATE
61. "Deal me a hand" : "I'M IN". Yesterday, it was "I'M OUT".
62. Heavenly path : ORBIT
63. Golden St. campus : UCLA. California is known as "The Golden State" and UCLA isn't. Here is a link to Golden State University, a school of Oriental medicine.
64. Kennel guests : PETS
65. Pre-meal prayer : GRACE
66. Bouquet : POSY
Down:
1. Birthplace of St. Francis : ASSISI. Spain. No, no, Italy. I was thinking(?) of Ávila.
2. Hard to lift : LEADEN
3. Religious conviction : BELIEF. St. Francis had 'em.
4. Shirt part : ARM
5. '50s-'60s TV detective Peter : GUNN. Check out the blooper. The police car starts rolling after Lt. Jacoby jumps out.
6. Not AWOL : ON POST. I tried ON BASE first.
7. Perp-to-cop story : ALIBI
8. Crowd noise : DIN
9. Wall St. buy : STK. (stock)
10. Minnesota baseballers : TWINS. I think we can guess who came up with this one.
11. Auditory passage : EAR CANAL
12. Some therapists : ANALYSTS
13. "Little __": Alcott novel : MEN. It is considered a sequel to "Little Women".
18. Thumb-and-forefinger gesture : OK SIGN. In this country, at least.
22. Finish : END
24. Put (down), as a bet : PLUNK
26. Common street name : MAIN
27. What a solo homer produces : ONE RUN
28. Airline to Copenhagen : SAS
30. Venezuelan president Hugo : CHAVEZ
34. "Batman" sound effect : [POW!]
35. Song of mourning : ELEGY
36. Alias for a secret agent : CODE NAME. "Skyfall" is setting records already.
37. Words of confession : "I ADMIT IT"
38. "Shake a leg!" : "MOVE!"
39. Native of Japan's third most populous city : OSAKAN. SSE of Kyoto.
40. Mineo of "Exodus" : SAL. Teen idol. Here with some other guy.
44. OR staffers : RN's
45. Like numbers in the periodic table : ATOMIC
46. Ornate 18th-century style : ROCOCO. Did you remember it from Friday?
47. Ring-shaped reefs : ATOLLS
50. Starts the show : OPENS
51. "The Lion King" king : SIMBA
55. Beach bag : TOTE
57. Salsa, e.g. : DIP. Be wary if C.C. offers you salsa dip.
58. Gear tooth : COG
59. Hockey immortal Bobby : ORR
60. Coffee container : CUP
Argyle
Notes from C.C.:
1) Don came up with this theme. He was inspired by Rich's comment on my TWO/TU/TOO/TO puzzle. Interesting tidbit about this puzzle: Rich asked us to ease up the clues as our originals were more midweek-like.
2) Here is a picture of Vegas Doc, a real doctor! (Correction: Vegas Doc is not a doctor. Doc is just his nickname. This is his Halloween costume). He often posts on weekends. Click here to see some of his interests. Another "The Shawshank Redemption" fan.
1) Don came up with this theme. He was inspired by Rich's comment on my TWO/TU/TOO/TO puzzle. Interesting tidbit about this puzzle: Rich asked us to ease up the clues as our originals were more midweek-like.
2) Here is a picture of Vegas Doc, a real doctor! (Correction: Vegas Doc is not a doctor. Doc is just his nickname. This is his Halloween costume). He often posts on weekends. Click here to see some of his interests. Another "The Shawshank Redemption" fan.
