39-Across. Fans' disapproval, and a hint to the starts of the answers to the starred clues : JEERS.
17-Across. *Flashy theatricality : RAZZMATAZZ. Fun word. I started filling in RAZZledazzle...and ran out of squares. Hmpf.
62-Across. *Folk music shindig : HOOTENANNY. Remember this show?
11-Down. *Tantrums : HISSY FITS. Like what my cats throw when I try to give them a pill...
34-Down. *Hidden hazard : BOOBY TRAP. Would make a great name for a line of lingerie.
I am so honored to blog a puzzle by my heroine, Nancy Salomon. Always crisp themes, and great fill. She is an inspiration to all cruciverbalists out there. I liked how the JEERS were all part of a longer word, and you had to "tease" them out.
Two tens and two nines circle the grid, with the unifier smack in the middle. So here's the scoop on the rest...
Across:
1. Player with a record 14 100-RBI seasons : A-ROD. Oh, I don't think I will comment on this guy right now. But I will point out that he is the first in a string of "letter-followed-by-a-word" answers in this puzzle. ("LFBAW") Not good, not bad - I just thought it was interesting.
5. Dancer's rail : BARRE. Ballet.
10. Fake : SHAM.
14. Numbskull : BOZO.
15. "Love Story" co-star : O'NEAL. Ryan's famous quote from the movie, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." LFBAW? (Nah...)
16. Hookah, e.g. : PIPE.
19. Soccer shower : ESPN. Not the showers in the locker room, but a channel that shows soccer.
20. Parting that's bid : ADIEU. So long, farewell. 2:57.
21. Childlike sci-fi race : ELOI.
22. Abbr. before a date : EST'D. Established.
23. Remitted : SENT IN.
25. Good to go : READY.
27. Medicinal shrubs : SENNAS.
29. Hoists with difficulty : HEFTS.
32. Can opener : TAB. Those little pull-thingys on top. They have kind of made "church keys" obsolete.
35. Prepare for a bout : SPAR.
36. Cereal usually served hot : FARINA. Remember this stuff?
37. Hardly first-class fare : SLOP. Amusing to see this word right after 36-A.
41. Bowl over : STUN.
42. Snorkeling spots : ATOLLS.
44. Boozehounds : SOTS.
46. Fr. religious figure : STE. Sainte.
47. Dressed for choir : ROBED.
48. Do like Vassar did in 1969 : GO COED.
50. Co-Nobelist Arafat : YASIR. The official Nobel Prize web site spells his name "Yasser." But I guess it's tough to Anglicize his name:
محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني
52. GI's work detail : KP DUTY.
55. They may be saturated : FATS.
57. Takes for a ride : CONS.
59. Unsteady on one's feet : AREEL. Aaaaa...(LFBAW?)
61. Piece of farmland : ACRE.
64. Landlocked African country : CHAD. Right smack dab in the middle.
65. Like cardinals : AVIAN. Because "Catholic" wouldn't fit...
66. Belg.-based alliance : NATO. North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
67. Copy editor's find : TYPO.
68. Pomme de ___: French potato : TERRE. Literally, "apple of the earth/soil."
69. Tax cheat chaser, briefly : T-MAN. Treasury man. LFBAW.
Down:
1. Incantation opener : ABRA.cadabra!
2. Places to find forks : ROADS.
3. David and Ricky's dad : OZZIE. From the '50s sitcom "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."
4. By the ___: in quantity : DOZENS. Usually cheaper. (And no, I didn't see Steve Martin's 2003 remake of it.)
5. Scary squeezer : BOA.
6. Insect's pair : ANTENNAE.
7. Not fake : REAL. Are they real, or fake?
8. Maugham's "The ___ Edge" : RAZOR'S.
9. Popeye creator Segar : ELZIE. All perps.
10. Ones ignoring limits : SPEEDERS.
12. Date with a Dr. : APPT. Appointment.
13. Heal : MEND.
18. Makes an unsound decision about? : MUTES. Decides to "un" the sound on the TV, e.g.
24. Dressed for dreamland, briefly : IN PJs. Hef must always be in dreamland.
26. "Bingo!" : AHA.
28. "You ___ Beautiful": Joe Cocker hit : ARE SO. Great song. 2:40
30. Threaded fastener : T-NUT. LFBAW.
31. Right upstairs? : SANE. I laughed out loud when I finally figured this one out!
32. Abdicator of 1917 : TSAR. Nicholas II.
33. Violist's clef : ALTO. Ah, I misread the clue as "violinist's clef." The violin clef is the "treble," but the viola clef is the "alto" or "C" clef.
36. Camera setting : F-STOP. LFBAW.
38. "Sure, go ahead!" : PLEASE DO.
40. Fan club focus : ROCK STAR.
43. Brigham Young's gp. : LDS. Latter Day Saints.
45. Auto leasing choice : SEDAN.
48. Furrow : GROOVE.
49. Three-time NBA scoring champ Kevin : DURANT.
51. Mac messaging program : I-CHAT. LFBAW.
53. Early brunch hr. : TEN AM. TTP, what time did you get to brunch the other day?
54. Busybody : YENTA. Yiddish origin, now Yinglish loanword.
55. Trivia champ's tidbit : FACT.
56. In need of liniment : ACHY.
58. Roulette bet : NOIR. (Black.) Roulette is French for "wheel."
60. City on the Rhône : LYON. Traditionally spelled "Lyons" in English, but "Rhône" is in French, so it calls for the French spelling.
63. Pittsburgh-to-Boston dir. : ENE. Whew! A gimme for the finish.
Now I must bid ADIEU until next week,
Marti
