Theme: We need to talk - Types of talk lead off the four theme entries.
17A. Club used as a weapon, say : BLUNT INSTRUMENT
29A. Kid-friendly comfort food : FRANK AND BEANS
48A. Tests during which checking notes is allowed : OPEN BOOK EXAMS
64A. Candid sort : STRAIGHT SHOOTER
Argyle here. No beating around the bush, I'll go directly to the write-up. Two grid spanners anchor this text-book puzzle. Two other long entries complete the theme. A strong mix of fill. You might remember, Ms. Miller gave us the 4-H puzzle last summer. Link
Across:
1. Employment agency listings : JOBS
5. Fried Cajun veggie : OKRA. Hmm, is it Cajun before it's fried?
9. WWII conference site : YALTA. The Yalta Conference in February 1945 with Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin was held on on the north coast of the Black Sea.
14. Billion extension : AIRE. (billionaire)
15. Steady guy : BEAU
16. He hunted with a club in the "Odyssey" : ORION. And got his own constellation.
20. Nonagenarian actress White : BETTY. Betty turned 91 last month, Jan. 17 (nonagenarian is between 90 and 100 years old). She is incredible.
21. Yeats or Keats : POET
22. Color, as Easter eggs : DYE
23. Summer quencher : ADE
24. Dorm VIPs : RA's. (Resident Assistant)
27. Where Lux. is : EUR. (Luxembourg/Europe)
36. Soothing additive : ALOE
38. River through Sudan : NILE. And in part, in Kenya, Eritrea, Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Egypt, and Ethiopia.
39. Country rocker Steve : EARLE. Here is a song you might not know: The Galway Girl(3:14)
40. Sable maker, briefly : MERC. (Mercury)
41. Turn __ ear : A DEAF
43. Pub projectile : DART. They have flights so they fly true.
44. Former Portuguese territory in China : MACAO. Also spelled Macau, was transferred to China at the end of 1999.
46. Prefix with -pus : OCTO
47. Abates : EBBS
51. Gymnast's goal : TEN. The perfect score.
52. Deli bread : RYE
53. Art on skin, slangily : TAT. Tats have their own TV shows now.
56. Draw upon : USE
59. Not as much : LESS
62. Calf-roping gear : RIATA
68. Street toughs : PUNKS
69. Diamond Head's island : OAHU
70. Aromatic drinks : TEAs
71. Go on tiptoe : SNEAK
72. Small songbird : WREN
73. Wine area near Turin : ASTI
Down:
1. "Star Wars" gangster : JABBA. No links before breakfast, please.
2. No longer squeaky : OILED
3. Xbox battle game : BRUTE FORCE. Squad team player game that may be played single player or multiplayer.
4. Told to go : SENT
5. Asian tie : OBI
6. Barbie's guy : KEN. Except when she took up with Blaine that time.
7. Grating voice : RASP
8. One might get stuck in a jam : AUTO
9. Video-sharing website : YOUTUBE. Where would we be without it. Right, CED?
10. Radius's limb : ARM
11. Committed perjury : LIED
12. Randall who played Felix Unger : TONY. The TV version of "The Odd Couple", with Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. 32D. More like Felix Unger : NEATER
13. Chip in a chip : ANTE. And if you didn't have a 'bad hand', then 28D. "__ and weep!": poker winner's cry : READ 'EM
18. Supermodel Banks : TYRA
19. Marsh stalk : REED
25. Tolstoy's Karenina : ANNA
26. Snowmobile brand : SKI-DOO. Ride 'em if you got 'em.
30. Take back : RECANT
31. Smart guy? : ALECK
33. African countries on the Mediterranean, e.g. : ARAB STATES
34. Mediation agcy. : NLRB. (National Labor Relations Board)
35. Congeals : SETS
36. Target practice supply : AMMO
37. "... one giant __ for mankind" : LEAP
42. Cunning : FOXY
45. Washington Monument, for one : OBELISK
49. Universal blood type, for short : O NEG.
50. Related to flying : AERO
54. Had lunch in : ATE AT
55. Foot bones : TARSI
56. Letter carrier's org. : USPS. (United States Postal Service)
57. Leave speechless : STUN
58. Marine eagle : ERNE
60. Vegas event : SHOW
61. Kindergartner's reward : STAR
63. Tiny bit : IOTA
65. Wanted-poster letters : AKA. (also known as)
66. Sailor's pronoun : SHE. (because ships are referred to as "she")
67. Attila, notably : HUN
Argyle
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear LaLaLinda, whose caring and loving personality shines through in each of her posts.
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear LaLaLinda, whose caring and loving personality shines through in each of her posts.
