Hi gang! Steve here with Mike P's latest. Pretty smooth sailing; I didn't see the theme until the reveal which gave me that nice "Oh! I see!" moment.
17A. *Computer logic game named for a warship : MINESWEEPER. Diamond Mine. Pre-internet, this was one of the biggest PC-based time-vampires (Solitaire was the other).
24A. *Loose-leaf organizer : RING BINDER. Diamond Ring
37A. *Upscale golfwear brand : CUTTER AND BUCK. Diamond Cutter. The immensely-talented Annika Sorenstam was one of their most famous pitch-people.
46A. *Recruiting specialist : HEADHUNTER. Diamond Head. This seems to be the odd man out of the theme entries as it's the only one not directly related to the gemstone itself - it's a volcanic cone overlooking Waikiki beach in Honolulu.
58A. Phoenix-based ballplayer, and what the start of each answer to a starred clue can be : DIAMONDBACK. Arizona's team. Quick, C.C. - excluding the ambiguous Yankees and Mets, how many other Major League Baseball teams are named for their state, not their city?
(From C.C.: 8? How do you classify the Twins then? It's named after the Twin Cities.)
Tidy enough theme and no trip-ups or gaffes for me, as smooth sailing as a Wednesday could be. What else caught my eye?
Across:
1. Elevators, in Leeds : LIFTS. Gimme, for me. I lived in Leeds when I was a little kid. The city's major department store, Schofield's, had a lift operated by an attendant; thrilling for a 5-year old.
6. Milo of "Ulysses" : O'SHEA.
11. Squelch : GAG
14. Classic soap : IVORY. I was thinking along the "Days of Our Lives" lines first.
15. Complete, for short : THORO
16. Gold, in them thar cerros : ORO. Loved this clue.
19. Novelist Umberto : ECO
20. Place to pick up litter? : PET STORE
21. "__ better to have loved ...": Tennyson : 'TIS
23. Radical '60s gp. : SDS. "Students for a Democratic Society" group. The original was dissolved in 1969; it formed anew in 2006.
29. Electrical measure : OHM. Physics geek joke: Resistance is Futile (if <1 Ω)
31. Formal talk : LECTURE
32. Blue shade : AQUA
34. Fed : G-MAN
36. Elevator innovator : OTIS. I can't recall if he made the Leeds lift; it was a long time ago!
40. Indochina country : LAOS
41. Elevated for driving : TEED
42. "Draft Dodger Rag" singer Phil : OCHS. I knew the singer, didn't know the song.
43. Entertainer : ARTISTE
45. Durable wood : ASH
49. eHarmony.com abbr. : SWM. Single White Male. Seems it should be "caucasian" these days.
52. Leaves at Starbucks? : TEA
53. Like herb gardens : AROMATIC. Herb. Erb. No, I still can't say "erb".
56. Serious hwy. violation : D.U.I. What's the difference between "Driving Under the Influence" and "Driving While Intoxicated"? Some states seem to have one, some the other.
61. NASDAQ debut : I.P.O. Initial Public Offering of stock in a company, aka Get Rich Quick for a few.
62. Like some seals : EARED
63. Minolta competitor : LEICA
64. Mark, as a survey box : X-IN
65. PowerPoint unit : SLIDE
66. WWII surrender celebration : V.E. DAY. Cue street parties and public displays of affection. This coming Friday marks the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings on D-Day, 1944.
Down:
1. Favors one side : LIMPS. Because "crooked match-fixing referee" doesn't fit.
2. Like some college walls : IVIED
3. Assortment in a formatting menu : FONTS
4. Cuatro menos uno : TRES. Math class en español today.
5. Fed. Reserve, for one : SYST. The banking system in the U.S. There are 12 Federal Reserve banks identified by the letter/number combination on the banknote. A1 is Boston, L12 is San Francisco. I learned them all when I moved here for no good reason.
6. '90s "SNL" regular Cheri : OTERI
7. Polished look : SHEEN
8. Old school dance : HOP
9. Before, to Blake : ERE
10. __ valve: heart part : AORTIC. The other three are the mitral, tricuspid and pulmonary. Quick research shows that "mitral" has appeared once in the LAT crossword back in 2007. The others are still eagerly awaiting their debut. Aortic leads the pack with a mighty ..... two, including today.
11. Splits the tab : GOES DUTCH. Do the Dutch "Go English" and do they have a couple of pre-battle drinks to get "English Courage?".
12. Welding flash : ARC
13. Slime : GOO
18. Fishhook attachment : WORM
22. Communicating regularly : IN TOUCH
25. Endocrinologist's concern : GLAND
26. Give a little : BEND
27. Estrada and Satie : ERIKS. Cue some relaxing piano music from M. Satie.
28. Legal thing : RES
29. Slim, as chances go : OUTSIDE
30. Bowler, e.g. : HAT. When I first started work in an office in London's financial district, the "City gent" uniform was pinstripe suit, furled umbrella, old school tie and a bowler hat. Within about five years, no-one was wearing one anymore.
32. Without __ in the world : A CARE
33. Entry at Bartleby.com : QUOTATION. “The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is, you know there is a solution.” - Stephen Sondheim.
34. There's always a hole in one : GREEN. Pithy play on words with "hole in one".
35. West of Hollywood : MAE
38. Caesarean rebuke : ET TU
39. Fenway team, on scoreboards : BOS. The Red Sox.
40. "Well, __-di-dah!" : LAH
44. Oakleys or Ray-Bans : SHADES. Seems a little odd that there's no "slangily" clue modifier here, but no hesitation with the answer.
45. Elvis' middle name : ARON
47. Under control : TAMED
48. Cut into : ERODE
49. Unemotional : STAID
50. Book of Shadows religion : WICCA. Thank you, crosses.
51. Emmy-winning sportscaster Jim : MCKAY. Funny, I'm a sports nut and I don't think I've heard of this gentleman.
54. 16th-century yr. : MDLV. or 1555 if you prefer. I amused myself mightily a couple of weeks ago by coming up with a 15x15 crossword composed entirely of roman numerals, then C.C. did some digging and found out that it had been done before by Peter Gordon under the heading "The World's Worst Crossword". Dang!
55. Have __ in one's bonnet : A BEE
56. New Jersey fort : DIX. The Romans would call it Fort 509.
57. Press initials : U.P.I. Washington-based news bureau United Press International.
59. Suffix with adverb : IAL. Magisterial, e.g.
60. The 58-Acrosses, on scoreboards : ARI. Cute finish tying into the theme with the final down. Arizona.
Note from C.C.:
Mike's puzzle today was accepted way before my DIAMOND HEAD was
published last Dec. I had been eagerly waiting to see how Mike tackled
his grid. We both had 5 entries, but Mike had a tough 13-letter in the
middle. I had an easy grid spanner. Noticed how our first three theme
entries had the same clue numbers?
