Wednesday, March 12, 2014 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme: "There's a funny echo in here". The first word (all have 7 letters) of each theme answer is repeated and split into two to form a punning new phrase.

20A. Signed agreement mailed by someone in prison? : CONSENT CON SENT

24A. Backs a fashion venture? : INVESTS IN VESTS

41A. Authorize two bros' get-together? : MANDATE MAN DATE

47A. Songwriter's dream? : FORTUNE FOR TUNE

Top o' the Morning to you all! Steve here with Pam's latest outing. It took me a little while to get moving with this one, I was picking around the flyover states for some time before the penny dropped with MANDATE MAN DATE. The theme definitely helped me by providing crosses in more a few places. I thought was a fun puzzle nicely put together.

Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Deer guy : STAG

5. Dian Fossey subjects : APES.  Because you can't cram "Gorillas" into four squares.

9. Walking tall : ERECT

14. Snoop (around) : POKE

15. Son of Leah and Jacob : LEVI. Thank you perps, Biblical characters are not one of my strong suits.

16. One unlikely to bring home the bacon? : VEGAN

17. Work on galleys : EDIT

18. Works by Raphael and Michelangelo, e.g. : ITALIAN ART. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni and Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino are thankfully known by their shortened names.

22. "... kissed thee __ killed thee": Othello : ERE I. I thought this could be a Cockney "I kissed thee 'ere; I killed thee over there" but then I saw sense.

23. NYC-based insurance co. : A.I.G. Recipient of the biggest government bailout in US history.

31. Eyelid inflammations : STYES

32. Dogwood, e.g. : TREE

33. Sock part : TOE

34. Pottery oven : KILN

35. Drag through the mud : SMEAR

37. Gardener's bagful : SOIL

38. Rescuer of Odysseus : INO. The Goddess gave him a protective cloak after his ship was wrecked. Seems an odd thing to give him - why not another ship? Curious folk, those Greek gods.

39. Irene of "Fame" : CARA. Legwarmers, leotards and big hair can be found here.

40. Gainesville is about halfway between it and Jacksonville : OCALA. Who knew the world had a horse capital?

45. "Double Fantasy" artist : ONO

46. Measurement named for a body part : FOOT. The original standardized yard was the distance from Henry I's nose to the tip of his thumb when his arm was outstretched. History does not report on the length of his feet, but if you're going to use a King to provide standard measurements you may as well make the most of it and use whatever else he's got handy.

54. Rites of passage : MILESTONES

55. Heathrow postings: Abbr. : E.T.A.s. When I fly into Heathrow on United, we usually park at a gate so far away from the terminal building that you need to factor in about half an hour to walk from the plane to Immigration.

56. Point a finger at : BLAME

57. Dark purple : PUCE. A learning moment. I always thought it was a pale color.

58. Charlie Brown cry : RATS

59. Title role for Michael or Jude : ALFIE. Caine in the original, Law in the remake.

60. New newts : EFTS

61. "Off with you!" : SHOO

Down:

1. Job detail : SPEC

2. Commotion : TO-DO

3. Analogous : AKIN

4. Avenges a wrong : GETS EVEN

5. Runway shapes : A-LINES. Runway as in catwalk.

6. Bob __, first NBA player to be named MVP (1956) : PETTIT. Crosses, crosses and more crosses.

7. FEMA recommendation, maybe : EVAC. Hmmmmm. Not thrilled with this one, but the "maybe" gives fair warning.

8. Storage structure : SILO

9. Like some press conference answers : EVASIVE. Usually, ALL of Bill Belichick's answers are evasive, whether the Patriots win or lose.

10. Go back (on) : RENEGE

11. "A Summer Place" co-star Richard : EGAN

12. Dessert conveyance : CART. 

I said "Dessert" not "Desert"

13. "Rizzoli & Isles" airer : TNT. I can't say I've ever watched this. Anyone?

19. More ridiculous : INANER

21. Spanish 101 word : ERES

24. 1986 rock autobiography : I, TINA. She still looks great.

25. Windbreaker fabric : NYLON

26. Cook, as dumplings : STEAM

27. One may be rolled over : IRA

28. Weasel kin : STOAT

29. Patterned fabric : TOILE

30. Ward of "CSI: NY" : SELA. I finally remembered her name without having to wait for crosses today! Yay!

31. Two percent alternative : SKIM. In the UK, Gold Top milk from Channel Island cows contains an eye-popping 6% fat. It is delicious though!

Guernsey Cow

35. Skipped : SAT OUT

36. C-ration successor : MRE. Officially, "Meals, Ready to Eat". Unofficially "Meals, Rarely Edible"; "Meals, Rejected by the Enemy" and "Materiel Resembling Edibles".

37. Throws here and there : SCATTERS

39. Fails to understand : CAN'T SEE

40. Funk : ODOR. Does this mean that when I'm in a funk I smell?

42. Musical scale sequence : DO-RE-MI.  We had the full scale in last Sunday's puzzle.

43. Produce a change in : AFFECT

44. Scary Wild West circles? : NOOSES

47. Meet, as needs : FILL

48. Norwegian saint : OLAF. I need the cross for OLAF/OLAV

49. "Won't do it" : NOPE

50. Plenty, in slang : ENUF

51. Bonneville Salt Flats site : UTAH. Setting for the wonderful movie "The World's Fastest Indian". If you've not seen it, check it out, it's great. You don't have to be into motorcycles or speed records to enjoy it.

52. Peacekeeping acronym : NATO. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Describing a military alliance as a peacekeeping acronym may seem a little strange, but NATO forces are deployed to areas of civil or military unrest as a "peacekeeping force".

53. Name on a Canadian pump : ESSO. The Exxon Mobil brand name used outside the US.

54. Mgmt. degree : M.B.A.

That's pretty much it for today. As the French probably don't say "C'est une wrappe".

Steve