Theme: Letter Combo - Today's puzzle brought to you by the letters A and C.
35A. Summer coolers, briefly, and a hint to this puzzle's six longest answers : AC UNITS
17A. Church area for enthusiastic responses : AMEN CORNER
21A. Painting course : ART CLASS
53A. Morning warning provider : ALARM CLOCK
3D. One often precedes it : AREA CODE
36D. Military uniform jacket : ARMY COAT. Surplus favorite.
Argyle here. This is Robert's third puzzle so far this year. An easy puzzle in a complicated grid. Five sections with little connections and yet the themes interlock while the cheese, I mean unifier, stands alone.
Across:
1. Ancient calculators : ABACI
6. Off-ramp : EXIT
10. Makes a quick getaway : LAMS. Lam can be a verb or a noun.
14. Low-ranking noble : BARON
15. Move to another town, for short : RELO
16. Sheltered, at sea : ALEE
19. Bolivia neighbor : PERU
20. Open just a crack : AJAR
23. Point a finger at : ACCUSE
25. Clears a whiteboard : ERASES
26. English sculptor Henry : MOORE. “Man Enters the Cosmos”
27. Clairvoyant's claim : ESP. (extrasensory perception) 60A. Clairvoyant : SEER
30. 1-Down member: Abbr. : ATTY. (attorney)
31. Pie à la __ : MODE
32. SeaWorld tanks : AQUARIA. Plural.
34. Bullring bravo : "¡OLÉ!"
36. TV spots : ADS
39. Odd : STRANGE
40. Dagger in "Macbeth," e.g. : PROP. As in a stage production of the play.
41. Negotiator's goal : PACT. Had DEAL first.
43. Whopper : LIE
44. St. Petersburg neighbor : TAMPA. FLA., not RUS.
45. Local dialect : PATOIS. From French, as you might expect.
47. "Let's wait" : "NOT YET"
51. Cartel acronym : OPEC. (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)
52. Excess : GLUT
57. German "a" : EINE
58. Actor Grant : CARY
59. San Antonio shrine : ALAMO
61. Banjo spot : KNEE So 40D. 61-Across bone : PATELLA. (knee cap)
62. Brit's bye-byes : "TA TA"s
Down:
1. Law gp. : ABA. (American Bar Association)
2. Emeril interjection : "BAM!"
4. Pull out of thin air, seemingly, with "up" : CONJURE
5. Words before "of emergency" : IN CASE
6. Goof : ERR
7. TV warrior princess : XENA
8. Robert who played a Soprano : ILER
9. Flourless cake : TORTE
10. Argentina's Río de __: River of Silver : LA PLATA
11. Yankees' div. : AL EAST
12. River to Liverpool Bay : MERSEY. Not a lip sync!
13. "Hop on Pop" author : SEUSS
18. Bauxite, e.g. : ORE
22. Award-winning detective fiction writer Robert : CRAIS. Crais began his career writing scripts for television shows such as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Quincy, Miami Vice and L.A. Law. - Wikipedia
23. Bullets and such : AMMO
24. Poised under pressure : COOL
27. Up (to), as a task : EQUAL
28. Branch of Islam : SUNNI
29. Baseball Hall of Famer Satchel : PAIGE
32. Unlike this ans. : ACR. (not down, across)
33. Hwy. : RTE.
35. Room accessed via ladder, maybe : ATTIC
37. Knucklehead : DOPE
38. Squabble : SPAT
39. Vespa, for one : SCOOTER
41. Talking parrot in a 1998 film : PAULIE. I did not watch it.
42. Bring into harmony : ATTUNE
44. '60s cartoon feline : TOP CAT. I did watch it.
45. Book parts : PAGES. So simple it's hard.
46. Hanging loosely : SLACK
47. Name, in Paris : NOM. As in NOM de plume.
49. Mongolia's __ Bator : ULAN. Population: 1.132 million (2010)
50. Like Hubbard's cupboard : BARE
54. Kind of whiskey or bread : RYE. A toast for Tinbeni.
55. Nashville awards org. : CMA. (Country Music Association)
56. Fight enders, briefly : KOs...and I'm down for the count.
Argyle
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to Montana! Below is a picture of her birthday gathering in July. She said:
"...Mid-July was more convenient than August for work schedules. My CT son rented a 10 bedroom condo in Vail, CO and invited all his siblings to come with their families. We had never all been at the same place at the same time before. It was a wonderful gift to me!..."
Please click here for more pictures. Montana had to have furnace on the past few days. Are you still planning your autumn visit to Dudley area?
My 5 children celebrated my 2014 birthday in Vail, CO