Theme: Thicker than water. The first word of each starred entry can follow the word BLOOD to yield a recognizable in-the-language phrase.
17A. *Marlin, for one : SPORT FISH. A fish prized for the sport of catching it. Contrast minnows. BLOOD SPORT is a sport in which blood is shed, such as hunting or cock fighting.
25A. *Source of endless funds : MONEY TREE. As in: "He sure knows how to shake the MONEY TREE." BLOOD MONEY
has two quite different meanings. 1) money paid as compensation to a
family for the loss of kin [Anglo-Saxon weregeld], and 2) money gained
at the cost of another's life or livelihood.
30A. *Common Milky Way star : RED DWARF.
These relatively cool stars are, in fact, the most common in our region
of the galaxy, but because they are so dim, none can be seen from earth
with the naked eye. BLOOD RED is simply a descriptor for a deep red shade.
44A. *Billiards maneuver : BANK SHOT. A
shot in billiards which causes the cue ball or the object ball to
rebound off a cushion before finding its target. Also a basketball shot
that rebounds off the backboard. A BLOOD BANK is a storage facility for supplies of blood or plasma to be used in transfusions.
50A. *Part of a uniform : WORK SHIRT. A heavy-duty shirt worn for manual or physical work. BLOOD WORK is laboratory analysis of blood for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.
11D. *Chocolate overdose consequence : SUGAR RUSH. Hyperactivity caused by excessive sugar consumption. BLOOD SUGAR is the concentration of glucose in the BLOOD stream, presumably elevated in a SUGAR RUSH.
32D. *What a driver's license may serve as : DONOR CARD. A card that authorizes the use of your organs for transplants, after you've passed on. A BLOOD DONOR is one who contributes blood for transfusion.
And the unifier: 62. A. Family relations, and what the first words of the answers to starred clues can have : BLOOD TIES. Indicating an actual genetic relationship. I have BLOOD TIES to 5 of the grandchildren, and Gloria has them to the other 6. I'll leave sorting that out as an exercise for the interested reader. [They're all a year and a half older now.]
Hi
gang, JazzBumpa here, hoping today's thickly-themed puzzle doesn't
leave us too battered and bloody. I'm feeling sanguine, so let's give
it a shot. It looks like this is Daniel's first L.A. Times appearance since the start of this blog
Across:
1. __-loading: endurance strategy : CARB.
Eating low glycemic index high carbohydrate foods in advance of an
endurance event, such as a marathon, to maximize glycogen storage in the
muscles.
5. Chance : RISK. Wanna bet?
9. Shocking weapon : TASER. Well known to all by this time.
14. Worker protection org. : OSHA. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
15. Singer from County Donegal : ENYA. I must have some sort of karmic connection with Eithne Ní Bhraonáin. It seems as if the only time she shows up on my days.
16. Sky hue : AZURE. We had that crystal blue hue here for a while on Tuesday, but not much temperature to go along with it.
19. Prepare to make an electronic payment, say : LOG ON. To your computer or tablet or phone.
20. Halves of fifths : TENTHS. Go metric.
21. Breaking wave feature : CURL. Prized by surfers.
23. Drink for a hot day : ADE. You can be abetted by a fruity concoction.
24. Nasty expression : SNEER. I was thinking verbal, not facial. SNARK fits.
27. "You're dreaming" : NOPE. I'm not dreaming?
29. Hate : ABHOR.
34. Gallery baddies : ROGUES. This stumped me for a while, then the AHA! moment.
37. Yoko of Tokyo : ONO. Oh, yes!
38. Rodeo rope : REATA. A looped lariat, AKA lasso.
40. __-cone : SNO. A confection made of shaved ice. I'll wait until August, thank you.
41. Mount McKinley's national park : DENALI. The tallest mountain in the North America located in the Alaskan interior.
47. Where the floor is always wet : OCEAN. Obvious in retrospect, but for the longest time I was thinking: water you talking about?
49. Banking regulatory agcy. : FDIC. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
53. Latish wake-up time : TEN A.M. A diller, a dollar . . .
57. Curve : ARC.
58. "Woe __!" : IS ME. This expression of dismay goes back to The Old Testament, where it shows up several times.
59. "Gracias" reply : DE NADA. Thank you, and the Spanish equivalent of "You're welcome," meaning literally "of nothing."
60. Spanish American grassland : LLANO. Speaking of nothing, this is a large expanse of treeless plain.
64. Frequent Mastroianni co-star : LOREN. Sophia.
65. Edger's target : LAWN. Only at the margin
66. Spacewalks, for short : EVA's. Extra-Vehicular Activities.
67. Range with chinchillas : ANDES. Their natural mountain habitat.
68. Former partners : EXES. The less said, the better.
69. Take out : DELE. Instruction to delete.
Down:
1. Profit factors : COSTS. Subtracted from revenues.
2. Rockies skiing destination : ASPEN. Marti?
3. Avignon's river : RHONE.
4. Work at a saloon : BARTEND.
5. They may cry foul : REFS. I wanted UMPS.
6. Pasta ending : -INI. RotINI, TortellINI, but, please no appletINI.
7. Big name in food distribution : SYSCO.
8. Aloha State big shot : KAHUNA. Originally, a "priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in
any profession." Now any would be big shot who claims the title.
9. "There's the fox!" : TALLY HO. This phrase, which might go back to the 13th century, is derived from sounds used with dogs.
10. Nitrogenous dye : AZO.
12. Undermine : ERODE.
13. Actress Zellweger : RENEE. Not everyone here shares my enthusiasm for this versatile star.
18. Lose on purpose : THROW.
22. Give a new commercial name to : RE-BRAND. This seems right, but most of the examples I could find had to do with
reworking the logo or a new marketing scheme rather than a new
commercial name.
25. Mademoiselle's matriarch : MERE. Mother in French, I presume.
26. Dress to the nines, with "up" : TOG. Not a phrase I'm familiar with.
28. Shunned ones : PARIAHS. A word of Tamil origin applied by Europeans and Hindus to the lowest social casts.
30. "Maggie May" singer Stewart : ROD. Do you think he's sexy?
31. Cincinnati-to-N.Y.C. direction : ENE.
33. "Swell!" : FAB. Slang terms for copacetic.
35. Eclectic musician Brian : ENO. Not ONO.
36. Lush : SOT. A drunkard. I was thinking adjective, not noun.
39. First president to throw a ceremonial opening day pitch : TAFT. Baseball - Only about 85 more days away. On April 14th, 1910, President William Howard Taft threw the ceremonial first pitch
as the Washington Senators took on the Philadelphia Athletics. The A's
Frank "Home Run" Baker lined a foul ball off Secretary of State Charles
Bennet's head, but he was OK and the game went on. Walter Johnson threw
a one-hitter that day to give the Senators a 3-0 victory. Thus was a
tradition born, and every president since has thrown a ceremonial first
pitch at some time during his term.
42. Cry from Cathy of comics : ACK. Not a happy sound.
43. Skin wounds : LESIONS. ACK!
45. Passed, as rubber checks : KITED.
46. Like aromatherapy products : SCENTED. Ever the romantic, Cathy sent Ted a scented handkerchief.
48. Quick and light : NIMBLE. Agile. Fleet of foot.
50. Half a Northwest city : WALLA. In the State of Wash. I've heard you can get the best cous in WALLA. Bur beware, lest you are bitten by a tse.
51. Sock synthetic : ORLON. Acrylic
52. Take a load off : RELAX.
54. Credulous : NAIVE. Easily gulled.
55. Words after cut or close : A DEAL.
56. Pool stroke : MASSE. Per The Free Dictionary, "a stroke made by hitting the cue ball off centre with the cue held
nearly vertically, esp so as to make the ball move in a curve around
another ball before hitting the object ball."
59. Mafia bigwigs : DONS. Crime Kahunas, if you will.
61. Maiden name intro : NEE. Literally indicating her birth name.
63. Have to thank (for) : OWE.
Well
- there you you have it. A bloody good puzzle, with excursions to
France and outer space, some music and a couple of lovely movie stars.
Not bad for a Wednesday.
Cool regards!
JzB
