Theme: Let's all cut gym class!! No more Phys Ed!
A letter extraction puzzle with PE removed from 4 in the language expression to reveal 4 new phrases clued with whims. This appears to be the first LAT effort for Mr. Landman, who did debut in the NYT on March 18, 2013. They did not give him any write up there, only a picture, so hopefully he will stop by and introduce himself. I was able to suss the theme without the reveal (which was a cute one) though I struggled a bit with 46A. "Sorry, the mayo is put on in advance"? both in solving and placing the missing PE. There was some freshness and interesting medium fill, ARTHRO, BOY TOY. PARFUM, T-STORM, IN HIS HAT, ON DAY ONE, HOT CEREAL and THIRSTILY. Lots of Ps in the solution but not a single PE. The puzzle inspired lots of real and imagined musical reference so we will see what you all think. Let's examine this Friday frolic from frigid Florida.
20A. Franken and Yankovic, for example? : PEALS OF LAUGHTER. (13).
Al Franken comedian turned POLITICIAN, elected as a senator in Minnesota (which also made Jesse the body Ventura governor) was a regular on SNL. Al Yankovic is famous for his song PARODIES. (3:30).
29A. Silver-tongued speaker? : SMOOTH OPERATOR. (12). This clue/fill gave me the theme as the song popped in head when I filled in ORATOR.
We get orator a lot in puzzles.
46A. "Sorry, the mayo is put on in advance"? : IT CAN'T BE HEL
56A. "Heretics only" apartment building ad? : RE
The unifier:
59D. Slangy denial, and a hint to 20-, 29-, 46- and 56-Across : NOPE. You have to parse it as NO PE.
Across:
1. Like some tricks : CHEAP. My CHOICE. (4:53).
6. Beatles nonsense syllables : OBLA. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, more music. Hmm, 16A. Sneeze syllable : CHOO. Ah, I get it. 25A. Song syllable : TRA. A mini-theme?
10. Fighting : AT IT. So many ways to parse these sweet little letters.
14. Sporty Toyota made until 2002 : SUPRA. Any reason we care?
15. Met or Nat : NLER. Baseball fan.
17. Police record listing : PRIOR.
18. Unhappy parking lot discovery : DENT. Unless you a Red Sox fan, you are not referring to Bucky.
19. Soupçon : HINT. With just a soupçon of garlic.
23. Gp. currently chaired by Obama : NSC. National Security Council.
24. One-eighty : UEY. The never ending debate of spelling this car maneuver.
26. Union in D.C., e.g. : STAtion. Trains.
32. __ Men: "Who Let the Dogs Out" band : BAHA. Owen, top these lyrics...
Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who?
Who, who, who, who, who?
Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who?
Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who?
Who let the dogs out ?
Who, who, who, who, who?
Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who?
Who let the dogs out ?
35. N.Y.C.-Quebec dir. : NNE. Quebec is closer to New England.
36. A dispersive one is commonly triangular : PRISM. The most famous one?
37. Carbon compound : ENOL. Solid crossword knowledge.
38. Avian abode : AERIE.
41. "Pinocchio" goldfish : CLEO.
42. Numerous, informally : LOTSA.
44. Longtime NBC staple : SNL. Saturday Night Live. Senator Franken?
45. Viewer : EYER. Meh, along with A words, my least favorite type of fill.
50. Wide shoe spec : EEE. Got no word, use letters.
51. Spanish bear : OSO. We get this one often as well.
52. Trattoria suffix : INI. Linguini, rotini etc.
53. A.L. West team, on scoreboards : LAA. Los Angeles Angels.
60. Abe or Dick : PREZ. Lincoln, Nixon. Now they are POTUS.
62. Emailer's "Then again ..." : OTOH. On The Other Hand.
63. Some kids : GOATS.
64. "The foundation of most governments": John Adams : FEAR. Those old guys sat around thinking and writing in those terms. LINK.
65. Novelist Jaffe : RONA. A Radcliffe girl, who died back in 2005.
66. Big name in printers : EPSON. Random, but it fits.
67. Designated driver's choice : COLA. really random, caffeine over booze.
68. Game in which the player is called the Stranger : MYST. If you do not want to see don't
WATCH. (3:21).
69. Navigation hazards : REEFS. In Myst?
Down:
1. Airer of debates : C-SPAN.
2. Pitches : HURLS.
3. Protestant denom. : EPISCopalian.
4. Buck tail? : AROO. Buckaroo.
5. Chanel No. 5 bottle word : PARFUM. As opposed to Eau de Cologne.
6. At the start : ON DAY ONE. Nice very fresh fill.
7. Sharp cheese : BLEU. Why is blue in French?
8. Rope quantity : LENGTH.
9. Joint: Pref. : ARTHRO. Like in arthroscopic surgery.
10. Incentive for a warm bath : ACHE.
11. With great eagerness : THIRSTILY. Nice greedy word.
12. Fluoride, for one : ION. Fluorine is an element; fluoride is an ion or a compound which contains the fluoride ion.
13. Little kid : TOT.
21. Soprano Mitchell : LEONA. People made much fun of the soprano on Downton. I did not know this DIVA.
22. Protective cover : TARPaulin.
27. "Nothing __ here" : TO SEE. Familiar phrase with police and lookie lous.
28. Protective cover : ARMOR.
29. Dip option : SALSA. This is just the Spanish word for sauce, though most now associate the term with the spicy sauces.
30. To the point : TERSE. Yes.
31. Not straight : ARCED.
32. Contradict : BELIE.
33. Make __ of: jot down : A NOTE.
34. Breakfast option : HOT CEREAL. How many of you start your winter's day with hot oatmeal, or cream of wheat?
39. Where Yankee Doodle's feather ended up : IN HIS HAT. A song that ended up being an inspiration to the revolutionary troops, and was played at Yorktown when the British surrendered.
40. 1985 Malkovich film : ELENI. Not a well known film, which dealt with a mother's struggles in war time Greece. Never saw it, but it generated wildly disparate review.
43. Shortly : ANON. We have our own.
47. Bit of forecast shorthand : T-STORM. Thunder.
48. Certain young lover, facetiously : BOY TOY. Every cougar wants one.
53. Use temporarily : LEASE.
54. Bach's "The __ Fugue" : ART OF. This MUSIC. (4:49) He made me so nervous.
55. NBA and others : ASSNS. Associations.
57. Poet friend of T.S. : EZRA. Eliot and Pound.
58. A really long time : EONS.
60. Rank below cpl. : PFC. Private First Class.
61. Vintage roadster : REO. And I will end like I began, with this TUNE. (3:41).
Well we are done with another Friday and in the second half of January already, and we have 2 new LAT constructors already. Certainly no controversy with this grid, and a Friday unifier hint to make sure all get the theme. Thanks Daniel, and as we hit anniversary week next week, I want to thank not only C.C. for this blog but all of the hundreds who have created entertainment for us. Lemonade out.
