Theme:"Yeah, riiiiiight!"
17A. Wright : WILBUR OR ORVILLE.
27A. Rite : CHURCH CEREMONY.
43A. Right : STARBOARD AT SEA.
57A. Write : EMULATE AN AUTHOR.
This is a variation on a definition-type theme, where the theme clues are all homophones of each other. The theme entries were quite straight-forward, but oh my! The rest of the puzzle was chock full of misdirections and fun clues!
Across:
1. Nature photographer's lens : MACRO. Shout out to John Lampkin!
6. __ facie : PRIMA.
11. Dells, at times : PCs. When is a Dell not a PC? (When it's a tablet!)
14. Steer clear of : AVOID.
15. Charged : RAN AT. RANAT sounds like a Jewish month, doesn't it?
16. Impressed reaction : OOH. I had "awe" at first.
20. "Far out!" : RAD.(ical)
21. Begins : OPENS.
22. Soothing application : ALOE.
23. Dupes : CONS.
26. One getting a share : AGENT.
33. North Carolina's __ Banks : OUTER.
34. "America" soloist in "West Side Story" : ANITA. (Rita Moreno) Great song.
35. Hardy heroine : "TESS...of the d'Ubervilles: A pure Woman Faithfully Presented."
36. They may be dusted : CROPS. Furniture didn't even enter my mind.
37. Indication of freshness? : SLAP. It used to be that when someone got fresh, they'd get a SLAP in the face. Now, they are more likely to get slapped with a lawsuit.
41. Weasel relative : SABLE.
42. Feudal lord : LIEGE.
47. Theater sweepings : STUBS.
48. Drops from the staff : AXES.
49. Like most pets : TAME.
50. Showy neckwear : ASCOT.
54. Actress Carrere : TIA. She played hottie Cassandra Wong in "Wayne's World."
61. End of a texter's amusing comment, perhaps : LOL.
62. Paramount output : MOVIE.
63. Mazda two-seater : MIATA. They don't do well in snow. Mine got T-boned two months after I bought it.
64. Cornerstone abbr. : EST.ablished...
65. Comets, long ago : OMENS.
66. With 12-Down, exile site : PENAL. and 12-Down. See 66-Across : COLONY.
Down:
1. Bryn __ College : MAWR.
2. Reebok rival : AVIA.
3. Ham at a party, say : COLD CUTS. Another great misdirection. I was thinking of the guy with the lampshade hat...
4. Tease : RIB.
5. Norfolk, Va., campus : ODU. I'm sure glad this one was filled before I got to the down clues. Old Dominion University.
6. Phone in a play, e.g. : PROP.
7. Uncommon : RARE.
8. Privy to : IN ON.
9. Rover's turf : MARS. Another great misdirection. Not the kind of 49-Across, but the Mars ROVER:
10. Four-wheeler, briefly : ATV. All Terrain Vehicle.
11. Common allergen : POLLEN.
13. Sleep on it : SHEET. I was getting hit with misdirection from all sides today! (I must be thinking about that turkey...) And then I got hit with a clecho at 27-Down. Sleep on it : COT.
18. __ Hashanah : ROSH.
19. "Othello" villain : IAGO.
24. Metal bearers : ORES.
25. Big name in ATMs : NCR. National Cash Register Company, in business since 1884.
26. Doc bloc : AMA. American Medical Association.
28. Peach or plum : HUE.
29. __-loading : CARBO. Here's how.
30. Name on a historic bomber : ENOLA. Gay.
31. Closer to being harvested : RIPER.
32. Little green men : ETs.
36. "Cash __": TV game show : CAB. I miss Ben Bailey.
37. Set of Web pages : SITE.
38. Under : LESS THAN.
39. Scotch bottle datum : AGE. Hi, Tinbeni!
40. Soup veggie : PEA.
41. Many AARP members: Abbr. : SRs. Seniors. (Who, moi?)
42. Loose : LAX.
43. John of "Necessary Roughness" : STAMOS. I remember him from "Full House."
44. Turbulence : TUMULT.
45. 52-Down victim : ABEL. And 52-Down. Slayer of 45-Down : CAIN.
46. Computer input : DATA.
47. Stone marker : STELE.
50. Bit that can be split : ATOM.
51. Cantabria-born golfer, familiarly : SEVE. Severiano "Seve" Ballesteros Sota. An incredibly talented golfer who died young of a brain tumor. So sad.
53. Till fill : ONES.
55. Kappa preceder : IOTA.
56. Shrinking sea : ARAL.
58. Latin trio word : AMO...amas, amat
59. Worker at home : UMP. Home plate, that is.
Today we have an extra treat thanks to George Barany and Friends. Click here to solve a once-in-a-lifetime puzzle.
Have a wonderful Turkey Day, and a Happy Hanukkah as well!
From the ever-thankful that I found this corner of friends,
Marti
Notes from C.C.:
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I have so much to be thankful this year:
To Rich Norris (LA Times Crossword Editor), who works hard behind the scenes and gently guides and helps constructors to make the best puzzle possible. Many of the clever clues we rave about are Rich's.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I have so much to be thankful this year:
To Rich Norris (LA Times Crossword Editor), who works hard behind the scenes and gently guides and helps constructors to make the best puzzle possible. Many of the clever clues we rave about are Rich's.
Rich Norris & his wife Kim, ACPT, 2008 |
To Rich's patient assistant
Patti Varol, who has the hard job of telling constructors why a puzzle
is rejected (or accepted). Her emails are always clear & thoughtful.
Thanks also to Rich's test solvers and all
LA Times constructors for giving us so many great puzzles to enjoy.
My
eternal
thanks to my dedicated blogging team, who never complain when things go
wrong. And things did go wrong a few times last year. They just
soldiered through.
Dear Santa Argyle, who has blogged 442 puzzles for us the past few years, is always there for me, on and off the blog.
The
beautiful Melissa, who is going through some of life's toughest patches at the moment. She's missed and she'll be back.
The
foodie Steve, who's blogged for us from different parts of the world. He
was in Rio last week, but it was raining the whole time. Too bad, I was
expecting this.
Our economist Jazzbumpa (Ron), who puts lots of time into his each post and
never fails to make me smile with his jokes and whimsical comments.
The
wickedly talented & adventurous Marti, who coheres us in so many
ways. She's always upbeat, no matter what life throws at her.
Marti, Dudley, Hondo & Montana |
The caring Lemonade, our perfect guide for Friday puzzles. He wouldn't have missed last Sunday's theme as I did. He's much more knowledgeable about complicated theme gimmicks.
The coolest UPS guy Splynter, who has never missed a Saturday write-up since May 21, 2011. He's super efficient and hard-working.
I also want to thank our regular commenters. Thanks for your poems, quotes, funny links, travel experiences, life observations, recipes, nitpicking about crosswords, advice about computer glitches, etc. You've enriched my life.
I also want to thank our regular commenters. Thanks for your poems, quotes, funny links, travel experiences, life observations, recipes, nitpicking about crosswords, advice about computer glitches, etc. You've enriched my life.
Thank you!