Theme: Clueless
20-Across. " " : I'M DRAWING A BLANK.
36-Across. " " : HOW WOULD I KNOW?
53-Across. " " : I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE.
I don't know if your paper had a blank for the clue, a dash, or just empty quote marks (as my Across Lite version did.) I remember seeing a similar theme from Daniel Finan, where "CLUELESS" was the revealing entry, and each theme entry described some sort of airhead. It was a few years ago, so many solvers likely would not remember it. But when I saw it I was blown away by the cleverness, so it stuck in my mind.
In this one, I thought 20 and 53-Across were spot on, since they refer to a blank or not having a clue. But 36-Across didn't quite hit the same note. Maybe I'm picking a nit here? Or maybe I'm just crabby and frazzled from dealing with contractors who never show up when they are supposed to.
Let's move on...
Across:
1. Rewards for waiting : TIPS. Simple words today, but some devilish clueing had me scratching my head.
5. Sauce finisher, often : CREAM.
10. Bit of Halloween makeup : SCAR.
14. Gray subj. : ANAT. "Gray's Anatomy" was my bible in pre-med. The TV popular show was spelled "Grey's Anatomy."
15. Expansive : LARGE.
16. Parting words : TA-TA.
17. Family nickname : NANA. Funny to see nana after tata...
18. Parting word : ADIOS. Clecho of 16-Across.
19. Erelong : ANON.
23. Presidential nickname : ABE.
24. Inflationary fig.? : PSI. Pounds / Square Inch. It's the number on your driver's door telling you how much to inflate the tires.
25. Drive off : REPEL.
26. Language of Pakistan : URDU.
28. Peak on the 1,000-yen note : FUJI. Yen = Japanese. What other mountain would it be?
31. Language suffix : ESE. JapanESE, ChinESE, JavanESE, etc.
32. __-Julie, Quebec : STE.
33. Nail-biting way to win : BY A NOSE.
40. Jerks : YANKS ON.
41. Morse code letter after dit-dit-dit : DAH. (Or, last syllable after ZIP-A-DEE-DOO...)
42. Outlaw Clanton : IKE.
45. Get rid of : LOSE.
46. Gorilla trained to use sign language : KOKO. "Supposedly" trained...
47. Holiday air : CAROL.
49. Mao __-tung : TSE.
51. Ten-cent pres. : FDR.
58. Designer Schiaparelli : ELSA.
59. The Joe in Detroit, for one : ARENA. Joe Louis Arena.
60. Superb : A-ONE.
61. Tallow source : SUET.
62. Huge : GIANT.
63. Earthworm habitat : SOIL.
64. Stun, in a way : TASE.
65. Bout of retail "therapy" : SPREE.
66. Fine subject? : ARTS. Kind of a mini-clecho with 14-Across.
Down:
1. "Lost" actress Raymonde : TANIA. No clue.
2. How soldiers may lie : IN AMBUSH.
3. Gratify the baser side of : PANDER TO.
4. Have the lead : STAR.
5. Shellfish morsels : CLAWS. Mmmm, we just had crab that our buddy in New Orleans shipped to us the other night.
6. Lines from the center : RADII.
7. 33-Down's homeland : ERIN.
8. Open-mouthed : AGOG.
9. Western landform : MESA.
10. Clichéd : STALE.
11. Happy hour morsel : CANAPE.
12. Makes amends : ATONES.
13. Rub the wrong way : RANKLE.
21. Manjula's husband on "The Simpsons" : APU.
22. Like autumn mornings : BRISK.
27. Like morning grass : DEWY.
28. Made-up : FALSE.
29. Loosen, as laces : UNDO.
30. Enroll : JOIN.
33. U2 frontman : BONO.
34. Belly laughs : YUKS.
35. Prefix with morph : ENDO.
37. Pixar title robot : WALL-E.
38. Hardwood option : OAK FLOOR. I'm leaning toward an engineered oak floor for the living room next door. Any thoughts on durability, Splynter?
39. Mystery : WHODUNIT.
42. Most distant : ICIEST.
43. Black Russian component : KAHLUA. I had the "K" so it was a gimme.
44. Fulfills a takeout order? : ERASES.
46. Alpine parrot : KEA.
48. Roundish : OVATE.
49. 1,000 kilograms : TONNE. Metric ton. Not to be confused with the short ton or long ton.
50. Kerry's department : STATE. John Kerry, current Secretary of State.
52. Projection room stack : REELS.
54. Badgers : NAGS.
55. It may be round : TRIP.
56. Stuff in a backpack : GEAR. GORP was my first thought...
57. José's home : CASA. His casa is su casa.
That's it for me. Gotta run!
Marti
