Theme: "You asked for it, you got it." Ear worm, but hilarious scene from "Forget Paris." 1:10
And that brings us to the unifier today:
54A. Ignore warnings, say...and a hint to the last words of the answers to starred clues : ASK FOR IT.
17A. *"Press Your Luck" contestant's cry : BIG MONEY. Never watched the show, so this was my first glitch. But looking it up, I think they usually say "big bucks"??? Did you ever have to ask for money from your friends?
19A. *What sputtering might indicate : ENGINE TROUBLE. Or, or, or, er....er...er...wife trouble?? ("Honest, honey, uh, uh, er, er, I was with the guys playing poker all night!") I bet more than one of you has asked for trouble in your life!
34A. *Aid for the short? : DEBT FORGIVENESS. Because "stilts" was too short. After the husband stays out all night "playing poker," he will probably have to ask for forgiveness.
47A. *Glee club on "Glee" : NEW DIRECTIONS. Would you believe, I actually knew this one? William McKinley High glee club. (No, I am not a gleek!!) OK, show of hands: how many guys out there have actually stopped and asked for directions?
Interesting grid design, with two pair of themers overlapped. Nice work, and wow, two weeks in a row I get an interesting interview with the constructor. So thanks, C.C.!!
Across:
1. Israel's Barak : EHUD. Oh-oh, trouble right off the bat.
5. Half an S-curve : ZAG. "ZiG" got me into more trouble.
8. Carol beginning : ADESTE. Ok, I got this one!
14. Honeymooner's island destination : BORA BORA.
16. Juice for Zeus : NECTAR.
18. Bronx-to-Coney Island subway : D TRAIN. Not the A-Train? 6:08
21. Dr.'s specialty : ENT. Ear, Nose and Throat
22. Not just centuries : EONS.
23. Big name in smooth jazz : KENNY G. Really smooth.
27. ___ Nui: Easter Island : RAPA.
28. Netherlands carrier : KLM. Oops, filled in "SAS" too soon!
31. Melville novel : OMOO.
32. Card for tomorrow? : TAROT. Nice clue for "foreseeing" the future with TAROT cards.
33. Big Apple sch. : NYU. New York University.
38. Chase Field team, on scoreboards : ARI.zona. Hi Lucina!
39. Betelgeuse's constellation : ORION.
40. Plenty : A LOT. "Tons" would also fit...just sayin'!!
41. "The Spanish Tragedy" playwright Thomas : KYD. No idea about this guy. I bet Yellowrocks knows him!
42. Nippon noodle : UDON. C.C., I think they have these in China, also? Except they are called 烏冬 (wūdōngmiàn), correct? I remember you once ate only rice for an entire month. Maybe UDON noodles would have been a welcome change! (From C.C.: Udon is distinctively Japanese. wūdōngmiàn is just Chinese translation of "Udon noodle". Mian (Mandarin) & Mein (Cantonese, as in Lo Mien) both mean "Noodle". Chinese has a similar style thick noodle, but it has no flavorful broth as Udon. Seafood Udon is heaven!)
43. Immunity agents : T-CELLS. A gimme, for me.
45. Vermeer's "Girl With ___ Hat" : A RED. Vermeer liked to title his works as "Girl With...," like "Girl With a Pearl Earring," etc. Not to be confused with "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."
46. Sale abbr. : IRR.egular.
53. San ___, Argentina : ISIDRO. Oops - I spelled it "ySIDRO" at first, until I realized that "NyBS" was probably not the correct spelling.
57. "Father of American Universalism" Hosea ___ : BALLOU. Why the "___" in the clue???
58. Close way to fight : TOE TO TOE.
59. Mum : SILENT.
60. Dash lengths : ENS. EM-dashes are double the width of EN-dashes. Can you guess why?
61. "Critique of Pure Reason" philosopher : KANT. Nailed it!
Ouch - power went out twice already. Must be all the ACs running overtime today. Mid-nineties, and humid here. Ugh! So I will make the rest brief, and fill in later if I still have power!
Down:
1. Diminish : EBB.
2. ___ polloi : HOI.
3. Drive : URGE.
4. Denounce : DAMN.
5. Urban planner's concern : ZONING.
6. "___ you clever!" : AREN'T.
7. "Mercy Mercy Me" singer : GAYE. Great song. About the environment, not about asking for FORGIVENESS!
8. Longest-serving KGB chairman (1967-'82) : ANDROPOV. Huh? Who? (All perps!)
9. Go boom : DETONATE. Loved the clue!
10. Neutral paint colors : ECRUS.
11. Wild guess : STAB.
12. Shadow : TAIL.
13. Ballyshannon's river : ERNE. Not a shore bird?
15. Tiger's concern : BOGEY. I thought of the golfer immediately.
20. Enter hurriedly : TEAR IN.
23. Brand for shooters : KODAK. Fun clue!
24. Polishing agent : EMERY.
25. "I pass" : NO BID.
26. "Kidding!" : "NOT!"
27. Make fun of : RAG ON.
28. Lugubrious chime : KNELL. Lugubrious = dismal, mournful, sad, melancholy.
29. Antibacterial brand : LYSOL.
30. They're not optional : MUSTS.
32. Transistor's forerunner : TRIODE. and 43-Down. Kids' rides : TRIKES. Did three kids TRIODE TRIKES?
35. Longish club : FOUR IRON. Rich is a big golf fanatic.
36. Call for a pizza, say : ORDER OUT. I started filling "ORDER in," but didn't have enough letters!
37. "___ wind, ___ rain -- ___ golf!": Scottish adage : NAE. NAE. NAE. Apropos, since the Scottish Open was last weekend and it was pretty windy and rainy. How can you have golf in Scotland without wind and rain?
44. Lara of "Tomb Raider" : CROFT. Nailed it!
45. Mystify : ADDLE.
46. "This means war!" : "IT'S ON!"
47. His ___: big shot : NIBS. (Not "nybs." See 53-Across.)
48. Morales of "Caprica" : ESAI.
49. It deals with what's left : WILL. Fun clue for a gloomy subject!
50. Actress Blanchett : CATE. I loved her depiction of Katherine Hepburn in "The Aviator."
51. Kindle competitor : NOOK. Nope, I have an iPad. So does Dudley!
52. Mex. miss : SRTA. Señorita.
55. K+, e.g. : ION. K = Potassium. If it loses an electron, it becomes the positively charged potassium ion. In a bunsen burner, potassium emits a beautiful lilac hue!
56. Asian holiday : TET.
That's it, until next week!
Marti
