A quick turnaround in Friday puzzles for Jacob, as we just had him on June 20, with his BETCHA CAN'T EAT JUST ONE puzzle..Today we have a visual where the reveal tells us to look at the corners and the circled spaces. Obviously, the theme is impossible without the circles. Each set makes a word when read around the corner; each describes a type of stand. (Stand in the corner...get it?). The visual of the puzzle almost shows the various stands in the corners, if you use your imagination. I confess the connection between the four circled answers eluded me. But with a little help from my friends... Ringo turned 74 on Monday! With so few words dedicated to the theme there was plenty of room for fun and Jacob gives us 30! seven (7) letter fill. Some of the best are ANODYNE, A PRIORI, BROMINE, DEDUCES, DEMERIT, FLAT TAX, FLICKER, GONE MAD, GRENADE, HIND END, IMITATE, INK PADS, RADIATE, ROGAINE, ROLODEX, SEXLESS, SPLAYED, SUMATRA. Anyway, here we go...
21A. With 55-Across, be punished at school, old-style ... and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters : STAND IN.(7). 55A. See 21-Across : A CORNER.(7) This was a common punishment in grammar school when i was young. The revealed words in the circles are:
NW: MUSIC (5) Music stand.
NE: DISPLAY (7).Display stand.
SW: TAXI (4).Taxi stand.
SE: WITNESS (7).Witness stand.
Across:
1. Often-bracketed word : SIC. Does (sic) you often get this wrong?
4. Lot's uncle : ABRAHAM. His wife got in a lot of trouble with too much sodium. Bible. 43D. Whence "salt of the earth" : MATTHEW. More bible, 5:13. Salt appears again (after Ms. Lot's transformation) as early as Leviticus 2:13.
11. Put down : DIS. The modern shortcut speak of DISRESPECT, not related to the negative prefix DYS. Surprised by the inclusion of 45D. Object : DISSENT, which does come from the same base.
14. Dotted line? : URL. Uniform Resource Locator, another modern clue/fill.
15. One of the halogens : BROMINE. Old knowledge here, (Br) along with fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), iodine (I), and astatine (At) are elements.I did not recall At, meaning I guess I no longer know where it is At.
16. Diocletian, e.g.: Abbr. : EMPeror. Old, old KNOWLEDGE. Thanks to my Classics major son, I am aware this one was the last in the chain to severely persecute Christians.
17. 1972 host to Nixon : MAO. I remember it well.
18. Color in four-color printing : MAGENTA. One of the CYMK colors, Cyan, Yellow, Magenta and the Key color Black.. Maybe marti will be nice enough to explain color printing.
19. 1,000 thou : MIL.
20. T or F, maybe : ANSwer.
22. Itinerary abbr. : ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.
23. Knotted : TIED. The score was....
25. Begets : SIRES. Now some biblical wording.
26. Tea holder : TRAY. Tea the service, not the bag or the drink.
27. Deserve : RATE.
28. Family nickname : NAN. I presume he is referring to the common nickname for grandmothers.
29. Bar mitzvah, for one : RITE. Ritual.
30. Pain reliever : ANODYNE.I am not sure where I learned the word, but Martha Grimes, Anodyne Necklace placed it firmly in my memory banks.
33. Charged, as an account : DEBITED.
36. OPEC member : UAE.United Arab Emirates.
37. Certain clip-on, briefly : MIC. This clue at least tells you it is an abbreviation.
38. Start to go out : FLICKER. Light bulbs and humans are good examples.
42. Lost it : GONE MAD. Sounds like a drama queen to me.
46. Unassisted : LONE.
47. Galley item : OAR. The ship not the kitchen on a ship.
49. Big __: Red Sox slugger's nickname : PAPI. Not much joy in Beantown this year for any of the defending World Series champs. Chemistry really seems to matter.
50. Aquatic birds : AUKS. WATCH. (2:18) Anyone been to Auckland? Not related.
51. Stephen King's "Doctor __" : SLEEP. His recent sequel to THE SHINING. LINK.
53. Orch. section : STRS. I guess this means strings, JzB, help me out?
54. Hot info? : TIP. From the track touts next to....
57. "___ not for you to hear what I can speak": "Macbeth" : TIS. The ironic greeting MacDuff gives Lady Macbeth as she comes upon Duncan's lifeless body.
58. Gatekeeping org.? : TSA. Transportation Security Administration.
59. Give off : RADIATE.Pregnant women are said to glow, what do you think? Talented?
60. Prepare for planting : HOE. No Don Imus jokes.
61. Lend a hand : AID.
62. Like new tires : TREADED. Really?
63. Directional suffix : ERN.
64. Frat letters : XIS.
65. Neuter : SEXLESS. Hey, let's not get personal.
66. One skilled in repartee : WIT. Well we are half way home, and perhaps the same can be said for the wit here.
Down:
1. Island on the Equator : SUMATRA. My favorite Starbuck's coffee. This is the largest purely Indonesian Island, and sixth largest island in the world. (per wiki).
2. Ahvaz native : IRANIAN. A city from ancient Persia with a new NAME.
3. Within reach of : CLOSE TO. All perps.
4. Subj. of a 1972 defense treaty : ABMS. Anti-Ballistic MissileS.
5. Regular sources of annoyance : BRATS. Well those Chicago Cub and Bear fans can get very rowdy.
6. Growth industry brand? : ROGAINE. Funny, hair growth industry.
7. Egyptian god : AMEN RA. Also spelled AMON and AMUN. More religion.
8. Rear : HIND END. What we often think of when dealing with...
9. Naysayers : ANTIS, who are often bad-spirited or down right...
10. Small-minded : MEAN. If we run things we can give them a ...
11. Black mark : DEMERIT.
12. Ape : IMITATE. I am excited about tonight's opening of this new franchise LINK.
13. Spread out : SPLAYED. Sounds cute but very serious for ANIMALS.
24. Concludes : DEDUCES. Interesting as this is part of understanding 44D. Like some knowledge : A PRIORI and deductive reasoning. Go Sherlock.
26. Arm straightener : TRICEPS. The muscle you use, and if exercised creates a nice horseshoe.
31. Long-haired grazer : YAK.
32. Formerly : NEE.
34. Genre of the band Jimmy Eat World : EMO. Do you want to LISTEN?
35. Storage container : BIN.
38. 1992 Jerry Brown campaign proposal : FLAT TAX. Many have proposed flat taxes, but to discuss would be politics.
39. French king known as "the Stammerer" : LOUIS II. Poor guy! I wonder if he saw this MOVIE.
40. Stamp suppliers : INK PADS. Nice misdirection.
41. Circular file? : ROLODEX. We think of the garbage can as the circular file, but the old Rolodex certainly were.
42. It has a safety pin : GRENADE. My favorite clue/fill, so far from my first thought of DIAPER.
48. Passé rooftop sight : AERIAL. Same thin as an ANTENNA.
51. Alarm : SCARE. I do not mean to alarm you, but we are almost done.
52. "For __ sake!" : PETE'S. According to the phrase finder, this was developed as a substitute oath much like JEEZ, FOR PETE'S SAKE - The phrase is simply a polite version of a common and profane expression involving the name of Christ. We'd surmise that the original 'Pete' was St. Peter."
55. Fine __ : ARTS. What is a coarse art? Exotic dancing? Finger painting?
Ah, the grand mysteries of life all explored here on the ultimate Las Vegas day (7-11 was famous before convenience stores). Well I hope you had the circles and had fun. Thanks Jacob and thank you all. lemonade out.
