Theme:
GET A ROOM (63A. "Whoa! Do that somewhere else!" ... which hints at
what can be
shared by the beginning and end of the answers to starred clue) - Room
can follow the first word & precede the second word in each theme
entry.
16A. *Colonial imposition that led to a "party" : TEA TAX. Tea room. I had to ask Argyle what "Room tax" is.
17A. *After-school chum : PLAYMATE. Play room. Roommate.
28A. *FedEx, for one : DELIVERY SERVICE. Delivery room. Room service.
37A. *Wrestling move : LEGLOCK. Legroom. Room lock. I just call it "lock", never "room lock".
46A. *Some like it hot : BATH TEMPERATURE. Bathroom. Room temperature. This is often a TEA clue.
65A. *Summary of atlas symbols : MAP KEY. Map room. Room key.
C.C. here, filling in a blogging gap.
It's
hard than it looks to come up with natural phrases where both words can
precede/follow a certain word or like today's, one precedes/one
follows.
This type of grid with stacked 8's & 6's
start is notoriously hard to fill cleanly. There is a reason why most first theme entry is 9+ letters. And this grid has 7 themes (2 grid spanners). So you could imagine the changes the constructor faced during the filling process.
I think this is Rick Papazian's LAT debut. Congratulations, Rick, I'm sure your next grid will be easier :-)
Across:
1. __ Husky : SIBERIAN
9. Shoot for, with "to" : ASPIRE
15. Like poisonous mushrooms : INEDIBLE. I'm not an adventurous mushroom eater. I also find it hard to make mushrooms tasty.
18. "I __ a clue!" : HAVEN'T
19. Fun-with-bubble-wrap sound : POP
20. Sign of success? : SRO (Standing Room Only). Marti might have gone with ALTA for 7D to avoid the ROOM dupe.
21. Sweetie : DOLL
22. Novelist Hunter : EVAN. Also known as Ed McBain. Lemonade likes him.
24. Dropped in : CAME OVER
32. Simple : BASIC
33. Sty fare : SLOP
34. Prince Valiant's boy : ARN. ALETA isPrince Valiant's wife. I learned both from doing xwords.
41. Record producer Brian : ENO
42. Tract for Heathcliff and Cathy : MOOR. "Wuthering Heights"
44. Any Elvis number : OLDIE
53. Direct opposites : INVERSES
54. Receiving customers : OPEN
55. Wild party : BASH
56. Sportscaster Costas : BOB. Who is your favorite sportscaster, Buckeye Bob?
59. Hwy. : RTE
60. 7-Up, in old ads : UNCOLA
66. Notice in passing? : OBITUARY. Nice clue.
67. Cheers up : AMUSES
68. They're often displayed on a cart : DESSERTS. This Apple strudel is waiting for me at the fridge right now. I was too full to eat yesterday.
Down:
1. Nursed : SIPPED
2. Under Cupid's spell : IN LOVE. I was 16 when I fell in love with the boy I grew up with. We were together for 7 years. How about your first love?
3. "Help me out, will ya?" : BE A PAL
4. Eponymous ice cream maker : EDY
5. Salty spots on margarita glasses : RIMS
6. Steel beam : I-BAR
7. Midrange voice : ALTO
8. Wedding column word : NEE
9. Where telecommuters work : AT HOME. Do you work at home also, Anon-T?
10. Deck coating : SEALER. Oh, I thought it's called SEALANT.
11. __ dog: conditioned reflex experiment : PAVLOV'S
12. Meteor tail? : ITE. Meteorite.
13. Was published : RAN
14. Telephone no. add-on : EXT.
21. Courtroom VIPs : DAs
23. Beak : NIB
24. One-eyed monster : CYCLOPS
25. Repulsive : VILE
26. Nobel Prize subj. : ECON
27. Confiscated auto : REPO
29. Actor Kilmer : VAL
30. Laramie-to-Cheyenne dir. : ESE
31. Big truck : RIG
34. Prefix with dextrous : AMBI
35. Colorful horse : ROAN
36. Kid's punishment : NO TV. Like GOUP & PERSE, Tricky to parse at times.
38. Bullfight "All right!" : OLE
39. USN officer : CDR. Spitzboov was a Commander when he retired from the Navy Reserve. I love these pictures.
 |
| Sallie & Spitzboov |
40. Sephia automaker : KIA
43. South African antelopes : RHEBOKS
45. Ike's WWII arena : ETO (European Theater of Operations)
47. Seat of County Kerry : TRALEE. Unfamiliar to me. What's it famous for?
48. School writing assignments : ESSAYS
49. "So what" : MEH
50. Racket : UPROAR
51. Sharp comeback : RETORT
52. "The __ in view; draw up your powers": "King Lear" : ENEMY'S. For Keith.
56. Actress Neuwirth : BEBE
57. Elevator name : OTIS
58. Dugout rackmates : BATS
60. Thurman of "Kill Bill" : UMA
61. '60s-'70s arena, briefly : NAM
62. PC component : CPU
63. Word on U.S. currency : GOD
64. Repent : RUE
Here is one more tip for Sallie and those who want a clearer picture for their avatar.
Click
on your Blue Name, then "Edit Profile" on the upper right, then scroll
down to "Profile Picture", then click on "From Your Computer", then
upload the picture & click on "Save Profile".
If you click on my blog picture on the left, you'll
notice that it can be enlarged while others on the blog remain the
same. It's because I did not click on "From Your Computer", I picked the
second "From the web. Paste an image URL below". See below (click it, a clearer picture will show up).
I simply copy and paste a link from my Ginger Roots blog. You can copy & paste
any link you like, whether it's from my Ginger Roots Blog Photo archive,
or your Facebook, Instagram or any website (like here for Sallie's Crab).
Again, it might take a few tries. Be patient.
C.C.
