17-Across. *Slow-to-develop sort : LATE BLOOMER. Teal. Here is the green winged teal duck:
23-Across. *Precursor to adoption, often : FOSTER CARE. Forest. This is what I imagine:
52-Across. *Bargain hunter's destination : FLEA MARKET. Leaf. To me, little difference from "FOREST." But still, a distinct shade of green.
10-Down. *21st birthday, e.g. : MILE STONE. Lime.
31-Down. *Old TV title shown in a heart : I LOVE LUCY. Olive. The one outlier - it uses two words for the anagram. ...Martinis, anyone?
And the revealer (I sorely needed it to suss the theme!):
62-Across. Salad choice, and a literal description of the starts of the answers to starred
clues : MIXED GREENS.
Anagrams of various shades of green in a nicely executed theme. It may be a bit over the top, since all the anagrams were of different words. Usually, anagram puzzles make different words from the same letters. So that is why this puzzle was relegated to a Thursday level, even though the fill (and my solving time of 8 minutes +/-) dictated a Tuesday-Wednesday level.
Marti here, to show the way through the woods on this Thursday.
Across:
1. Kindle add-ons : APPS.
5. Fight : CLASH.
10. Rainy day consequence : MUD.
13. Wool source : LLAMA. Anyone want "sheep" here? Anyone?
15. Personal strength : FORTE.
16. George's songwriting partner : IRA. Gershwins.
19. Cover : LID.
20. Work in which Iago is a baritone : OTELLO.
21. Spot for a Hindu's tilak : FOREHEAD. No idea what a "tilak" was, but guessed it was one of these marks:
25. Like an unswept fireplace : ASHY. By November, ours becomes quite "ASHY."
26. "Ring Cycle" goddess : ERDA. Goddess of earth, from Wagner's "Ring Cycle" ("Der Ring des Neibelungen")
27. Skip over : OMIT.
29. Hubbub : STIR.
32. Gloss targets : LIPS.
35. Maui howdy : ALOHA. Nice rhyme. I wonder if OwenKL will honor us with a limerick including this one?
38. Amigo : PAL.
39. Pound spenders : SYRIANS. Had to perp and WAG this one (check the crosses and do a "wild a**ed" guess.)
41. Postal motto word : NOR. "Neither snow NOR rain NOR gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Minor nit: the US Post Office does not have an official motto. It is simply the inscription on the James Farley Post Office in NYC.
42. Coffee shop feature : AROMA.
44. Half a sci-fi sign-off : NANU. From "Mork and Mindy." Soooo late seventies!
45. Yard parts : FEET. Three, exactly...
46. Star in Lyra : VEGA. Another WAG that proved to be right.
48. Sphere opening : ATMO. ATMOsphere. If you have seen "Gravity," what did you think?
50. Gray __ : AREA.
58. All one can stomach : BELLYFUL.
60. Northwest college town where "Animal House" was filmed : EUGENE.
61. Big bird : EMU.
64. Twitch : TIC.
65. Witch : CRONE.
66. Where many tennis winners are hit : AT NET. No idea. All perps. (C.C.: "Winners here refers to the "winning shots", correct?)
67. Farm structure : STY.
68. Father of Moses : AMRAM. I had to dig deep in the recesses for this one!
69. Word after high or open : SEAS.
Down:
1. "__ the Lights": Kanye West song : ALL OF. Nice intro...
2. First philosopher to mention Atlantis : PLATO.
3. Gourmet spreads : PATES.
4. Ore refinery : SMELTER.
5. Fiscal VIP : CFO. Chief Financial Officer.
6. Bubble bath accessory : LOOFA. I wanted the "loofah" spelling here...
7. Hard wear? : ARMOR. Cute misdirection.
8. Music provider : STEREO.
9. On hand : HERE.
11. Hater of David, in Dickens : URIAH. From "David Copperfield."
12. Pops : DADDY. Wanted "Daddy-o." Wouldn't fit.
14. More qualified : ABLER.
18. Imperious : LORDLY.
22. Flag down : HAIL.
24. __ terrier: Highlands hunter : CAIRN. Shweeet!
28. More, in Madrid : MAS.
29. Relaxing getaway : SPA.
30. La Brea goo : TAR.
33. Newscaster Lindström : PIA. No clue. Three perps nailed it...
34. Capital SSW of Riyadh : SANA'A. This was ingrained from previous x-word puzzles.
36. Weeder's tool : HOE.
37. Busts, perhaps : ART.
39. Lose tensile strength : SAG. Various parts of my body are losing tensile strength...
40. Pumpkin pie spice : NUTMEG. Thanksgiving is coming up.
43. __ ticket : MEAL.
45. Evolves beyond forgiveness : FORGETS. "Forgive, and forget..."
47. Maintain as true : AFFIRM. Avow or Aver were both too short.
49. Tierney of "ER" : MAURA. Four perps and a WAG for the last "A" nailed it.
50. Drives the getaway car for : ABETS.
51. Mail payment : REMIT.
53. Vegas hotel with a Sphinx re-creation : LUXOR.
54. Colleague of Ruth and Sonia : ELENA. Ending in "A" or "E"??? WAG got it.
55. New Hampshire city : KEENE. My "surrogate daughter" (a Katrina evacuee) lives in Keene, and just had a baby. So I nailed this one.
56. Nine: Pref. : ENNEA.
57. Lab work : TESTS.
59. Village People classic : YMCA.
63. Rep.'s rival : DEM.
That's all for this week. See you next time, same day, same blog...
Marti
Note from C.C.:
Please click here to solve a special tribune puzzle George Barany and Friends made to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of a famous opera composer who frequents our crosswords. I hope you bookmark his website as a Favorite. He regularly publishes new puzzles there.
