A jolly good morning to you all. Steve here filing this dispatch from the other side of the pond in old Blighty. I can hear Big Ben chiming each quarter-hour, so I couldn't be much more central in Central London. Unfortunately I'm not going to make it back for Thanksgiving - can one of you save me some turkey?
A smooth Wednesday from Gary Cee today. The reveal helped me with 42A when the "connection" between the theme entries became apparent.
Let's dig a little deeper.
20A. Cartoon quitting-time shout : YABBA DABBA DOO! We can all relate at some time or other to Fred Flintstone's trademark yell.
35A. Fins wearer : SCUBA DIVER. One of the best acronyms ever, and invented by a Frenchman too - wonders will never cease.
42A. Bookmarked link, say : WEB ADDRESS. I need bookmarks for bookmarks I've got so many.
And the reveal:
57A. Phone line difficulty ... and what literally appears four times in 20-, 35- and 42-Across : BAD CONNECTION. Hello? Hello? What? You're breaking up - I'll call you back! Comes in very handy sometimes, I do confess.
Across:
1. Unit price word : EACH
5. Gets ready to travel : PACKS
10. Game where 3-Down are used : GOLF
14. Org. concerned with privacy laws : A.C.L.U. The American Civil Liberties Union.
15. Pasta product suffix : -ARONI. Quibble Alert - it's Rice-a-Roni and Pasta Roni, so I think we're irons here.
16. Aroma : ODOR.
17. Ticket remnant : STUB. Or many torn shreds like so much confetti when it's a parking ticket you discover on your windshield.
18. Speed __ : DEMON
19. H-hour relative : D-DAY
23. Lay into : ASSAIL
24. Group of four : TETRAD. A learning moment for me today. I know I must have seen this in crosswords before, but it's never stuck. Hopefully now it will.
27. "__ Misérables" : LES.
29. "Odds __ ..." : ARE
30. J. Geils Band record label : EMI. Electric & Musical Industries, Ltd. in case you're wondering where the name comes from.
31. Swaddling clothes wearer : BABE
38. Three-time A.L. batting champ Tony : OLIVA. Minnesota Twins legend had his number 6 retired by the club.
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| C.C. & Oliva, Sept 15, 2011 |
40. Letters before a pen name : AKA. Nothing in the clue to indicate an abbreviation - has "Also Known As" moved beyond needing the periods in the shortened form?
41. Cardiologist's insertion : STENT
45. Soup can painter Warhol : ANDY
46. Schubert's "The __ King" : ERL. Why do I always put "Eel"? I've had to correct it often enough, you'd think I'd know by now.
47. Gaming cube : DIE
48. Four-song discs, briefly : EPs. Extended Play 7" vinyl. Say that to anyone born after 1980 and they will have no idea what you're talking about. Two on each side. This first official Beatles EP release is still the biggest-selling in UK pop history.
50. Sound system : STEREO. Not a lot of point playing the EP above on your stereo - it was only released in glorious mono!
52. Venetian marketplace : RIALTO
61. Word from the flock : AMEN. Baaaaaaa!
63. "Today" anchor Hill : ERICA. I needed the crosses for this, somehow I never seem to watch the Today show (nor remember the names of TV anchors!)
64. Good listeners : EARS
65. Barber's nape sprinkle : TALC
66. Starter course : SALAD
67. Stake in a pot : ANTE
68. It's not a true story : MYTH
69. "__ Dream": "Lohengrin" aria : ELSA'S. There's a nice version here from Bayreuth
70. Harbor skyline feature : MAST
Down:
1. Class that requires little effort : EASY A
2. Play the role of : ACT AS
3. Certain pro's selections : CLUBS. The link with 10A helped narrow this one down quickly.
4. When repeated, an enthusiastic shout : HUBBA. When I saw this crossing with Yabba I was expecting to find Bubba, Jabba and all kinds of others.
5. Table tennis tools : PADDLES. We called 'em bats at home. Ours had cork on one side and sandpaper on the other.
6. Field : AREA
7. Brush partner : COMB. I don't own any hair-styling tools, I just wash it, towel it off and comb it with my fingers. Some people say lazy, I say efficient.
8. Gearshift topper : KNOB. I'm renting a car here in London today, so I'll be experiencing this feature. Most rental cars in the UK are stick-shift, adding to the drama of sitting on the wrong side of the car to drive on the wrong side of the road.
9. "My Way" singer : SINATRA
10. Dramatic no-show : GODOT. The production I saw many years ago had Estragon and Vladimir act the entire play whilst standing up to their necks in large Grecian urns. It turned "Waiting for Godot" into "Waiting for "Waiting for Godot" to finish, PLEASE!".
11. Roulette bet choice : ODD OR EVEN
12. Mauna __ : LOA. Always need two crossing letters to distinguish from Mauna Kea
13. Cook in oil : FRY
21. Be unwell : AIL
22. Good ones don't go unpunished, so they say : DEEDS
25. Change for the better : AMEND
26. Below the belt : DIRTY. A low blow in boxing. Somehow it's OK to pummel a fellow about his cranium until he blacks out, but pop him one in the nether regions and that's a cardinal sin.
28. "Eek!" inducer : SCARE. Wanted Mouse, then Snake, then Sc .. ummm ... oh! Scare!
29. Take down a peg : ABASE
31. Pitney's partner : BOWES. Funny how the mind works, I had confidently filled in PRATT and couldn't figure out why nothing else would fit with it, then I went back and re-read the clue. "Whitney" doesn't look anything like "Pitney." How strange.
32. Colorful warning, often : ALERT. Usually Red. I've never seen a Blue or Green alert.
33. Evangelical hot spot : BIBLE BELT
34. Señora Perón : EVA.
36. Hawaiian strings : UKE
37. "Make __ good one!" : IT A
39. Put two and two together : ADDED. Was hoping for "Made Five", but not enough room.
43. Bishop's jurisdiction : DIOCESE. Is there a different between a Diocese and a Bishopric?
44. Goes viral, say : SPREADS. If you want an ear-worm today, click this link for a viral YouTube video that's had more than 700 million views. If you've had enough Korean dance music for a while, just skip over it.
49. [Not my typo] : SIC. What happens if SIC itself is a tpyo (sic). You'd have tpyo (sci) (sic) (sic) or something .. awesome!
51. Italian alternative : RANCH
53. Mr. T's group : "A" TEAM
54. Jungle vine : LIANA. I like this word for no good reason.
55. Basis of civil lawsuits : TORTS
56. First sign : ONSET
58. Like much family history : ORAL
59. Lofgren of the E Street Band : NILS. I always think that Keith Richards is Nils Lofgren's "Picture of Dorian Gray"
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| Nils |
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| Keef |
60. March Madness org. : N.C.A.A. The National Collegiate Athletics Association also administer other events besides this basketball tourney.
61. Brief bread source? : A.T.M. I love how "PIN number" and "ATM machine" are often part of the same sentence and both have redundancies - "I went to the automatic teller machine machine but forgot my personal identification number number".
62. Possibly will : MAY
That's all from me, other than to slip in a brief "Huzzah" that the Fighting Irish are back - ranked Number 1 for the first time since 1993! The ND London campus is very close by my hotel, so please indulge me with this picture we took yesterday!
