17. See 49-Down : O'HENRY SPECIALTY.
27. See 49-Down : DRINK GARNISH.
43. See 49-Down : SIXTIES DANCE.
56. See 49-Down : OLIVER OF FICTION.
And the unifier:
49-Down. Diving rotation, and the clue for four puzzle answers : TWIST.
So we have another "definition" type theme, but with a twist. Typically we would see all four theme answers clued as "Twist." But Pancho hid the clue in the grid, making it that much more difficult to make headway. I must confess, I was stumbling around blind on the first couple theme entries, until perps finally gave me an inkling of what the answers might be.
Across:
1. Like bars in noir films : SMOKY. Like this bar. And the dancin' is smokin', too! 3:20 Very apropos to the theme today...
6. Brouhaha : FLAP.
10. Workout woe : ACHE.
14. Salsa singer Cruz : CELIA. Did not remember her. 4:27 (Did it seem like there were a lot of names in the grid? I counted upwards of 15...)
15. BMW competitor : AUDI.
16. Invalidate : VOID.
20. Platte River settler : OTO.
21. Spoil, with "on" : DOTE.
22. "Cagney & Lacey" Emmy winner : GLESS. Sharon.
23. Scripture section : PASSAGE.
25. "I am just __ boy, though my story's seldom told": "The Boxer" : A POOR. Oldie but goodie. 5:17
31. '60s-'70s "Fearsome Foursome" NFL team : L.A. RAMS. Moved to St. Louis in 1994.
34. Reported for the first time : NEW.
35. Payable now : DUE.
36. Is after : SEEKS.
37. Oyster's spot : BED.
38. Peak in a Trevanian title : EIGER. Trevanian is the pen name of Rodney William Whitaker, who wrote "The Eiger Sanction." It was made into a film in 1975, directed by Clint Eastwood.
40. Capri crowd? : TRE. "Due's company, tre's a crowd..." in Italy.
41. "The Birdcage" wrap : BOA. Hilarious movie. Too many great scenes to link.
42. Emerges from the wings : ENTERS. Comes on stage.
47. Cosmetician Elizabeth : ARDEN. Nee Florence Nightingale Graham.
48. Governor who opened the Erie Canal : CLINTON. DeWitt, not Bill.
52. Jazz pianist Ahmad __ : JAMAL. Could not remember him, either. 2:07
54. Moscow news acronym : ITAR. Information Telegraph Agency of Russia. Usually seen as ITAR-TASS.
55. Court : WOO.
60. 1-Down holder : CONE. And 1-Down. Ice cream serving : SCOOP.
61. Exxon forerunner : ESSO.
62. Hosiery thread : LISLE. Don't ask me how I knew this.
63. Bottom of the sea? : KEEL. This one threw me off, but I recovered enough to continue...
64. Hardly a sophisticate : BOOR.
65. Really worry : EAT AT.
Down:
2. Conductor Zubin : MEHTA. Fortunately, I did know him! 3:31
3. Spreads on the table : OLEOS.
4. Flesh and blood : KIN.
5. Sail supports : YARDARMS.
6. Get together : FASTEN.
7. Rapper __ Fiasco : LUPE. Another total unknown. 3:54
8. Gator chaser? : ADE.
9. Paparazzo's prize, briefly : PIC.
10. Land of Arthurian legend : AVALON.
11. "Kubla Khan" poet : COLERIDGE.
12. Pop radio fodder : HITS.
13. "Grand" ice cream brand : EDYS. But only in the eastern US. In the west, it is Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream.
18. Hindu mystics : YOGIS.
19. Operatic prince : IGOR. Aria from the opera "Prince Igor" by Borodin. 8:02
24. Mont. neighbor : S. DAK. South Dakota. But Montana was just in New England last week!
25. Elderly : AGED.
26. Claw holder : PAW.
28. Massage : KNEAD.
29. Plaintiff : SUER. I never want to be the suee (pig...pig...pig.)
30. Bierce defines it as "His" : HERS. From "The Devil's Dictionary."
31. WWII carriers : LSTs. Landing Ship, Tank (s).
32. Gaseous: Pref. : AERI.
33. Go over more carefully : REEXAMINE.
37. Deck department supervisor, briefly : BOS'N. Short for "boatswain."
38. Surround : ENCIRCLE.
39. Santa Monica-to-Jacksonville hwy. : I-TEN. The main interstate in the southern US.
41. Scripps competition : BEE. The winning word in 2013 was "knaidel." It is a dumpling, and comes from the Yiddish "kneydl."
42. Zhou __ : ENLAI. C.C. explained to me the derivation of this name a while ago. "Chow" in Cantonese is the same as "Zhou" in Mandarin Chinese. So Zhou Enlai = Chow Enlai.
44. Retirees often do it : TRAVEL.
45. Between jobs : IDLE.
46. Represent officially : ACT FOR.
50. Alley Oop's girl : OOOLA. I just kept adding "O"s until the answer was full...
51. Large jazz combo : NONET.
52. Prom king, often : JOCK.
53. Sunburn soother : ALOE.
54. In that case : IF SO.
57. Lee follower : REB. Civil war rebels.
58. Granada bear : OSO. Spanish.
59. __ Maria: liqueur : TIA. Could also have been clued as "Granada aunt."
That's all I have for this week. See you next time!
Marti
