Theme: "Call Me Madam." (Harking back to a common thread lately!)
Let's start with the reveal today:
60D. Title for the starts of 20-, 25-, 37-, 46- and 55-Across: MRS.
20A. Showy bit of plumage : PEACOCK FEATHER. Mrs. Peacock is one of the suspects in the game of Cluedo. (Called "Clue" in North America.)
25A. Mae West's request to Beulah in "I'm No Angel" : PEEL ME A GRAPE. Mrs Peel is every guy's heartthrob from the show "The Avengers."
37A. N, in Morse code : DASH-DOT. Mrs. Dash is the brand name for a line of seasonings. Developed by a real-life Mrs. named Carol Bernick. Before settling on the name "Mrs Dash," the company also considered the name "Mrs. Pinch."
46A. Quadrennial mathematics awards : FIELDS MEDALS. Another real-life lady who started a cookie company with her own secret recipe.
55A. His work was done by Friday : ROBINSON CRUSOE. One of my favorite movies is "The Graduate." I will never forget this famous film cougar!
Just missing a "J" for a pangram. Did this seem like a Monday puzzle to you? I have to admit, I wondered what the connection was for the themers, and had an "Aha!" moment when I read the reveal. Trivia for today: "MRS" is the abbreviation for "mistress," which is the feminine form of "Master" or "mister." It originally applied to both married and unmarried women. Around the 17th century, the word "mistress" was divided differently to designate a married (Mrs) or unmarried (Miss) woman.
Across:
1. Bigger than big : EPIC.
5. Spender of rials : OMANI. I always have to wait for perps before entering OMANI or Irani. Yemeni can be determined by the number of spaces. They all spend rials.
10. It makes cents : ZINC. This was my last fill, and a real "D'OH" when I finally figured it out. (It makes sense, now!)
14. Hawaiian girl who adopted Stitch : LILO. A 2002 Disney film that was made into a TV show, airing for only two seasons that ended in 2006.
15. Assume : POSIT. I just love that word!
16. Fishing, maybe : ASEA. Obligatory "A" word.
17. Bulky bovids : OXEN. Nice alliterative clue.
18. Oscar-winning composer Korngold : ERICH. Won for his 1938 score of the love theme of Robin and Marian in "The Adventures of Robin Hood."
19. Family : CLAN.
23. First name in talk shows : ELLEN. DeGeneres. She also played Dory in "Finding Nemo." Fun clip. 4:58
24. Big Ten or Big East org. : NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
32. Place for stop-and-go traffic? : REST AREA. Funny clue!
35. Asian currency name meaning "round" : YUAN. Looks pretty rectangular to me... (From C.C.: The coins used before paper currency were all "round".)
36. Plains native : OTO.
41. Box set component : DVD.
42. Selene's Roman counterpart : LUNA. Moon goddesses.
44. Blue moons and hen's teeth : RARITIES.
50. Traveling : AWAY.
51. Splenda rival : EQUAL.
60. Home of H. Matisse's "The Dance" : MOMA. Museum of Modern Art.
61. Scarlet fever cause : STREP.
62. Ambiance : AURA.
63. Leeway : ROOM.
64. Refrain from singing about a farm? : E-I-E-I-O. (Mr. McDonald's farm, that is!)
65. "Phooey!" : RATS.
66. Plato's promenade : STOA.
67. iPad pictures : ICONS.
68. David and Goliath's battlefield : ELAH.
Down:
1. Surprise your friends, wedding-wise : ELOPE. Fresh clue.
2. Point of resolution : PIXEL. I wonder if that is where the film studio Pixar got its name?
3. Intestine-related : ILEAL.
4. Notion : CONCEPT.
5. Vienna-based commercial gp. : OPEC. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Originally based in Geneva, Switzerland.
6. '70s-'80s TV attic-dweller : MORK. from Ork.
7. "Fat chance!" : AS IF.
8. ___ Creed : NICENE. A profession of faith in Christianity, it was adopted by the first Ecumenical Council in Nicaea.
9. Cornell's city : ITHACA. In the Finger Lakes of New York.
10. Millard was his vice president : ZACHARY. Millard Fillmore and Zachary Taylor. Millard went on to become POTUS when Zachary died of cholera. There were suspicions that he was assassinated with poison, but that was disproved. His doctors probably had more to do with his death by treating him with ipecac, calomel, opium and quinine, bleeding him, and blistering him. Nice.
11. Man, for one : ISLE. This one threw me for a bit.
12. Almost : NEAR.
13. Slammer : CAN. Hands up for "pen" at first? If I had figured out that tricky ZINC clue, I might not have gotten hung up in this corner.
21. Early Christian year : ONE A.D. Very early.
22. ___ sale : TAG.
26. Stat for Justin Verlander : ERA. Earned Run Average. I feel lost when trying to decide between RBI or ERA.
27. Bandleader Brown : LES...and his "Band of Renown." 2:43
28. 1984 Olympic slalom champion : MAHRE. Phil Mahre and Bode Miller were my heroes when I was growing up.
29. "Truth in Engineering" automaker : AUDI.
30. Smooth, in a way : PAVE.
31. They may be tight or right : ENDS.
32. Massage deeply : ROLF. Learned this from crosswords.
33. Sewer's case : ETUI.
34. Unit of loudness : SONE.
38. Martin Sheen, to Emilio Estevez : DAD.
39. ___ pro nobis : ORA. "Pray for us."
40. Bathroom renovator : TILER.
43. Country band named for their home : ALABAMA. "Tennessee River" was their first #1 hit. 2:55
45. Drafting implement : T-SQUARE.
47. SADD concern : D.W.I. Driving While Intoxicated, refers to being inebriated on alcohol. DUI is another common term meaning "Driving Under the Influence" (of either drugs or booze.)
48. Japanese immigrant's grandchild : SANSEI. Issei, Nisei and Sansei are names used in Australia and North America to refer to first generation immigrants from Japan, their children, and their grandchildren, respectively
49. Sufi, e.g. : MYSTIC.
52. Garden variety : USUAL.
53. Corpuscle's passageway : AORTA. Because "artery" was too long and "vein" was too short. AORTA was juuuuust right!
54. Boxer's restraint : LEASH. Anyone get pulled into the boxing ring misdirection?
55. Origin : ROOT.
56. "Typee" sequel : OMOO. I'm going to read that one some day...
57. Three-layer treat : OREO.
58. Dusseldorf denial : NEIN.
59. USN noncoms : CPOs. Chief Petty Officer. What do you get when you have three CPOs? ;-D
Signing off, until next week!
Hugs,
Marti
Note from C.C.:
Here is a sweet photo of Max, 8-year-old grandson of our dear Spitzboov (Al). Max lost his mother Gretchen in January. Al told me they just held a memorial service for Gretchen last weekend.
