Theme: Highest Rating - 5-Star
64A. Headliner, or symbol associated with 20-, 28-, 37-, 42- and 50-Across : STAR
20A. Five-time Super Bowl winners : DALLAS COWBOYS
28A. "It's all about the beer" Dutch brewer : HEINEKEN
37A. "Miracle on 34th Street" store : MACY'S
42A. Big name in sneakers : CONVERSE
50A. Standard flown in Ho Chi Minh City : FLAG OF VIETNAM
Argyle here. C.C. on Monday; could that mean Marti on Tuesday? We should be so lucky.
Definitely needed the unifier today to make the connection between the entries.
Across:
1. Dinner for Mister Ed : OATS. Mr. Ed is a horse, of course.
5. On-the-job extras : PERKS. A short form of the word perquisite.
10. Cave feedback : ECHO
14. Snow remover : PLOW
15. Ice show site : ARENA. C'mon, snow and ice! Pushing the season a little.
16. D'back or Met : NLer
17. "East of Eden" director Kazan : ELIA. 1955 film with James Dean in his first major screen role.
18. Popular half of a 45, usually : SIDE A
19. Time division on a map : ZONE
23. Do a librarian's chore : SHELVE. (the books)
24. Last Greek letter : OMEGA
27. Pipeline product : OIL
31. Tweezer targets : BROWS
34. Club for the supersmart : MENSA. I hope Dennis survived yesterday. 60A. 34-Across member : BRAIN
35. Soccer goal : NET
36. Weight training units : REPS
38. Stand up : RISE
39. Make the most of : USE
40. Obama daughter whose Secret Service code name is "Rosebud" : SASHA. and 48D. Obama daughter whose Secret Service code name is "Radiance" : MALIA. Grew up in front of our eyes.
41. Parcels (out) : METES
44. Droop in the middle : SAG
45. Ford flop : EDSEL
46. Insurance filings : CLAIMS
55. Thug's knife : SHIV
57. Snow-block home : IGLOO
58. Prefix with cast : TELE
59. Not contaminated : PURE
61. Soprano's solo : ARIA
62. Shoe inserts : FEET
63. Road curves : BENDS
Down:
1. Opinion pieces : OP-EDs
2. God of Islam : ALLAH
3. Fabric often decorated with pastoral scenes : TOILE
4. Gulps down : SWALLOWS
5. Whole bunch : PASSEL
6. Guitarist Clapton : ERIC
7. Start all over : REDO
8. Felt in one's bones : KNEW
9. Swedish automaker : SAAB. Not exactly Swedish anymore. National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB, abbreviated as NEVS, purchased Saab Automobile's bankruptcy estate. By early 2014, NEVS plans to introduce its first electric vehicle based on the Saab 9-3.
10. Digestive protein : ENZYME
11. Tight, as families : CLOSE-KNIT
12. Lady lobster : HEN. Male lobster is a cock.
13. Find at the mine : ORE
21. "We Try Harder" car rental chain : AVIS
22. Chaplin granddaughter named for her grandmother : OONA
25. V-formation birds : GEESE
26. Gets in the poker game : ANTES
28. Anne of "Donnie Brasco" : HECHE
29. One-named "Orinoco Flow" singer : ENYA. LINK
30. Mag. edition : ISS. (issue)
31. Groundbreaking comic Lenny : BRUCE
32. Put down new grass sections : RESOD
33. Starts to shoot : OPENS FIRE
34. The "m" in E = mc² : MASS. Energy is equal to Mass times the speed of light((c) squared.
37. Make a dent in, say : MAR
38. Rowing races : REGATTAs. Word Origin & History: 1652, name of a boat race among gondoliers held on the Grand Canal in Venice, from It. (Venetian dialect) regatta, lit. "contention for mastery," from regattare "to compete, haggle, sell at retail," possibly from recatare. The general meaning of "boat race, yacht race" is usually considered to have begun with a race on the Thames by that name June 23, 1775 (cf. OED), but there is evidence that it was used as early as 1768. Per Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
40. Actress Ward : SELA. She has become a crossword staple.
41. Gander or gobbler : MALE. Goose or turkey.
43. Soft-pile fabric : VELVET. Used to paint Elvis on.
44. Offshoots : SCIONS
47. Like neon and xenon : INERT
49. Mascara mishap : SMEAR
51. The Bee Gees' "Gee" : GIBB. Brothers Gibb.
52. Beast of fables : OGRE
53. Spanish dessert : FLAN. But the word isn't derived from Spanish.
54. Partner of null : VOID
55. Coppertone letters : SPF. (sun protection factor)
56. Shade of color : HUE
Argyle
