Theme: "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker." Ogden Nash
18A. Meeting of a select few : CLOSED FORUM.
24A. Crier's cry : HEAR YE HEAR YE.
39A. Estuary : TIDAL RIVER MOUTH.
51A. Shipping datum : PORT OF ORIGIN.
And the unifier:
60A. Bit of one-upmanship...and what can be found at the end of 18-, 24-, 39- and 51-Across? : PARTING SHOT. Each of the theme entries contains a hidden shot of booze at the end. How cool is that? This puzzle reminded me of Don G.'s martini mix from a couple years ago. Funny how some puzzles just stay in your memory long after the solve is finished.
Jeff saw me off on my trip to Europe, and now he welcomes me back to the corner with another great Thursday puzzle. I have come to love his stacked long non-theme entries like TO THE POINT, FREE ALL DAY, YOU'VE GOT ME and his word-of-the-day AUTODIDACT.
This will be brief, because it is late and I flew for 14 hours to get back home. But let's see what else Jeffrey has for us.
Across:
1. Org. with bomb-sniffing dogs : ATF. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The complete name is "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives." The beagles at Logan airport are so cute, but you mustn't pet them! (I found this out first-hand.)
4. Actor in many Tim Burton films : DEPP. "Edward Scissorhands" is still one of my favorite Depp/Burton films. 2:05
8. Chewed the fat : GABBED.
14. ___ favor : POR. Tough to see the Spanish without an upside down question mark or other accent.
15. Dunn's "___ Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters" : ELLA. The full title of the hardcover version is Ella Minnow Pea: a progressively lipogrammatic epistolary fable, while the paperback version is titled Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel without Letters.
16. Bird in a dugout : ORIOLE. Baseball! (And I actually got it!)
17. Suburban suffix : ITE.
20. Old queen's land : SHEBA.
22. Spot for a mineral scrub : SPA.
29. TV type : PLASMA.
30. British East Africa, now : KENYA. Geography lesson.
33. It rises in el este : SOL. The "sun" in Spanish, rises in "the east."
34. Nile wader : IBIS.
37. Dark suds : STOUT.
43. Like a maternal grandmother : ENATE.
44. Spare in a boot : TYRE. Brit spelling, Brit "boot" instead of "trunk."
45. ___ populi : VOX. Latin for "voice of the people." Like Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" interviews.
46. Bringing together : TYING.
48. Progressed slowly : INCHED.
55. Kimono accessory : OBI.
58. Collector's item? : IOU. Fun clue!
59. Lyric poem : EPODE.
65. Roofing goo : TAR.
66. Marzipan base : ALMOND. "Mozart" chocolates are ubiquitous in Vienna, and have a marzipan filling. I don't really like them - too sweet!
67. Casserole fish : TUNA.
68. Early 12th century year : MCV. 1105, to us Americans. I saw lots of Roman numerals in Italy!
69. With 40-Down, follows restaurant protocol : LEAVES. and 40-Down. See 69-Across : A TIP.
70. Spotted : SEEN.
71. Cézanne's warm season : ETE. French for "summer." Cezanne had a fascination with skulls.
Down:
1. Inane : APISH.
2. Terse : TO THE POINT.
3. Without a single appointment : FREE ALL DAY.
4. Breaks down : DECAYS.
5. Tetris piece : ELL. These are all the pieces:
6. Ramallah-based gp. : PLO. Palestine Liberation Organization.
7. Out of favor : PASSE.
8. Stop transmitting, as a radio station : GO DARK. How can a radio "go dark?" Do the dials not glow any more?
9. Lab report? : ARF. Funny. Labrador retriever's bark.
10. A&E offering : BIO.graphy.
11. Party pooper : BORE.
12. Jewish month after Av : ELUL. Have you memorized your Jewish months yet?
13. Sales rep's tool : DEMO.
19. Emissions watchdog gp. : EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.
21. Spandex garment : BRA. I like spandex shorts, myself!
25. Mideast VIP : EMIR.
26. Target of a New Year's resolution : HABIT.
27. Quaint agreement : YES'M. DH always says "Yes, Ma'am"....even to me!
28. Within: Pref. : ENTO. I wanted "endo."
31. "I'm stumped!" : YOU'VE GOT ME.
32. Self-taught individual : AUTODIDACT. Word of the day!
33. Fr. holy woman : STE. "Sainte."
35. Trellis adornment : IVY.
36. Stroke lacking in many modern fonts : SERIF. Like this.
38. Texter's gratitude : THX. Modern clue for abbreviation = "Text."
41. Car-collecting TV host : LENO. Why isn't his name pronounced LEE-noh?
42. '90s attorney general : RENO. Why isn't her name pronounced REHN-oh?
47. Runs through the mill : GRINDS.
49. Like El Greco and the Minotaur : CRETAN. From the isle of Crete.
50. With it : HIP.
52. Dress (up) : TOG. We have had this discussion before...
53. Gives the boot : OUSTS.
54. "The ___!" : NERVE.
55. Down Under gem : OPAL. Pretty!
56. Agricultural unit : BALE. Not "acre."
57. "Garfield" waitress : IRMA. Not pretty!
61. Good, in Hebrew : TOV. WAG - I thought of the salutation "Mazel tov."
62. Like Mendelssohn's Piano Sonata No. 1 : IN E. Finally!! A musical interlude.
63. Color quality : HUE.
64. Unique : ONE. And on this ONE, I am done!!
Hugs from a jet-lagged and party-pooped Marti.
