36A. Bouncer's demand, and this puzzle's title : LET'S SEE SOME ID. I added my title to the mix since two of the new phrases sound like the Wizard (soft ID) and two sound like what you have to produce to satisfy a big, steroid raging bouncer (hard ID). Except for some difficult clues/fill, this felt more like a mid-week puzzle, with many 3/4 letter words, with a few nice answers like: DEMEANS, BUMS A RIDE, I’LL BE AWAY, PEKINGESE, and ROSE MARIE, though the ID in "bum's a ride" is a little troubling. Let's examine this latest from Jeffrey, the self-proclaimed Rip Van Winkle of construction.
17A. Cause of brittle cigars? : DRY HUMIDOR. A little self assessment here, with his sense of humor becoming a excuse for bad cigars. Does he puff?
29A. Rebuke a revolutionary? : CHIDE GUEVARA. Now here is where it gets eerie; as you recall Robin Stears just had Che as a theme answer where she added "IT" (taking out the H) to her theme answers. ID happens to be the Latin word for IT, which is where Freud got the term, but it is all irrelevant because JW was thinking Identification ID. Oops, Freud wrote about THAT as well.
44A. Tolerate a Midwest capital? : ABIDE LINCOLN. A CSO to HG and his Nebraska buddies, built from Honest Abe.
60A. God of honeymoon truck rentals? : RYDER CUPID. Very timely fill, as the Ryder Cup (US versus Europe) is coming soon. Phil's second place finish at Valhalla cemented his position on the team, while Tiger (wisely) withdrew from consideration. Rory's third win, and second major in a row makes Europe the favorites. (Another clue fill conflict) 62D. Ryder Cup team : USA. JW?
And I remind you of the reveal:
36A. Bouncer's demand, and this puzzle's title : LET'S SEE SOME ID.
let's see some action:
Across:
1. Classic beginning or ending? : HARD C. This one had me going for a while, until I got 4D (DOH) and 5D (CLUTCH) then the bell in my head rang. Hey Don Gagliardo!
6. __ bag : GRAB.
10. Some NYSE traders : ARBS. Back again.
14. Playwright Fugard : ATHOL. I did not know this man at all, but he seems INTERESTING. Maybe Gareth Bain can provide some insight, enjoyed his puzzle on Thursday.
15. Smart Simpson : LISA. You all can finally catch up watching every episode, all 207 hours. 4D. "I should have thought of that!" : DOH. The Homer Simpson spelling.
16. Wet course : SOUP. Logical but I am unfamiliar with this term.
19. "This __ Song": Petula Clark hit : IS MY. College years. Going Downtown.
20. Intention : AIM. It is our aim to entertain and educate and learn.
21. Bit : TAD.
22. Artistic surroundings? : FRAMES. Cute.
24. Inventor for whom a N.J. township is named : TAE. Those of you who do not know Edison Township, or think it is unfair to get just the initials of Thomas Alva Edison did not see that NJ tells you what is coming.
25. Said "You're on!" to : CUED.
27. Friar __ de Torquemada : TOMÁS. No clue about first name of this man mentioned in the Catholic ENCYCLOPEDIA. No religion, no politics, no comment. One of the Friday clues/fill.
32. NYSE event : IPO. Initial Public Offering.
34. Tortilla dough : MASA. Well this is the Spanish word for dough. Corn tortillas I think are made of masa de maize (help Lucina!). A Friday clue.
35. Manipulate illegally : RIG. Boxing, basketball and the 1919 Black Sox come to mind.
41. Jan. honoree : MLK. Martin Luther King.
42. 7UP's opposite? : COLA. Remember WHEN (1:01)? Clecho- 50A. 7UP, e.g. : SODA.
43. "Pioneer Woman" cookbook writer Drummond : REE. Another CHEF.
49. Red head : LENIN. Cute misdirection.
51. Olympic diver's ideal : TEN.
54. Former vice-presidential family : AGNEWS. Hmm, there are so many...and the plural?
57. "... from __ far country blows": Housman : YON. From A.E. Houseman's 40th poem in A Shropshire Lad, also inspired the title of of Nevil Shute's The Far Country. (per wiki and other places).
Into my heart an air that kills
From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills,
What spires, what farms are those?
That is the land of lost content,
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.
58. Kitchenware giant : OXO.
59. Actor Wilson : OWEN. Luke also has 4 letters. I now find Luke boring.
63. Vintner's quantity : CASE. Cask?
64. Certain tunnelers : ANTS.
65. Virtual transaction : E-SALE. Now we have A words and E words.
66. Batik artist : DYER. I was looking for a famous one, not just the job.
67. Garden headache : PEST.
68. Obliterates : RAZES. Always loved how the homophone RAISES is so opposite, learning English is such fun.
Down:
1. Tackled : HAD AT.
2. Heart chambers : ATRIA.
3. Sound mostly the same : RHYME. A CSO to all of our resident poets.
5. Shifting aid : CLUTCH. More than aid, I think.
6. Moved smoothly : GLIDED. Not when I am driving stick....
7. Free : RID. Finally I am free of those stupid emails.
8. Since : AS OF.
9. Epstein-__ virus : BARR. Completely unrelated to Roseanne. LINK. One of those from the happy herpes family.
10. Heinlein contemporary : ASIMOV. To me the greatest.
11. "The Dick Van Dyke Show" actress : ROSE MARIE. She was a child actress.
12. Hitches : BUMS A RIDE. Nice hard Friday fill, but the ID in the fill seems ????
13. Furtive sort : SPY.
18. Wailuku's county : MAUI.
23. Crackerjack group : A-TEAM. No Mr. T.?
26. Humiliates : DEMEANS.
28. Lose some support : SAG. I am sure Lois has never lost her support from here at the Corner.
29. Camp sight : COT.
30. Natural resource : GAS. When I am around my youngest son, I am not so sure how natural it is.
31. Mil. morale booster : USO.
32. "That's my vacation time" : I'LL BE AWAY.
33. Typically long-haired breed : PEKINGESE. Did you do the NYT where the fill was PIQUE PEKE PEAKED, or something like that?
37. Dramatic division : SCENE.
38. Sonora sun : SOL. Another Spanish word.
39. Timothy Omundson's role on "Xena" : ELI. No clue. Watch.
40. Coastal raptor : ERN.
41. Content beginning? : MALcontent. From the French for bad.
45. "What's for __?" : DINNER. Really? Leftovers.
46. Least straightforward : COYEST. Nice clue.
47. Burning sulfur quality : ODOR. Funny, as this is often related to damnation.
48. Cavalry soldier : LANCER.
51. November birthstone : TOPAZ.
52. Napoleon, ultimately : EXILE. Using it as a noun was tricky.
53. Meeting places : NODES. CLUBS? No. I love this misdirection, as this botanical and biologic term does define where things meet, or intersect. I would like to intersect with the young lady from Splynter's last blog.
55. Stole, for one : WRAP.
56. January 1 word : SYNE. This clue getting auld?
59. It typically involves repetitive behavior, briefly : OCD. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
61. Sot's woe : DTS. Delerium Tremens. 11th grade math teacher, first period, his coffee cup shaking and rattling- a memory for all time!
Speaking of memories, I recall it is time to thank JW for another romp in his world, thank you all for reading, thank C.C. for being our Werowance and best wishes for Alan, and the three people who I know who are have their birthday today, and DIL tomorrow. Lemonade out.
