17A. Par, for stock : FACE VALUE. Funny Face. Most gargoyles don't look particularly funny - this one is pretty cute though.
25A. Delicate tableware : BONE CHINA. Funny Bone. I haven't banged mine for quite some time - it seemed as a kid I was always doing it
39A. Same old same old : BUSINESS AS USUAL. Funny Business
51A. Special effects scene in a summer blockbuster, say : MONEY SHOT. Funny Money. I read recently that they had to re-shoot the "blowing the bridge" scene from "Bridge on the River Kwai" because a cameraman couldn't get out of the way of the train in time. I'm guessing that they managed to "CUT!" before they hit the detonator.
64A. Slogan for TV channel TBS, and a hint to the first word of 17-, 25-, 39- and 51-Across : VERY FUNNY. I have it, but never watch it.
A C.C. Wednesday, so here's a great middle of the week. Tight theme and always great fill and a couple of long downs. I've got a minor snit about the cluing of 39A but I'll leave that to the comments. A couple of unknowns for me, but that's what solid crosses are for and what she does so well. Let's see what else we've got.
Across:
1. City with a Viking Ship Museum : OSLO. This should get you off to a good start.
5. Booking agents? : COPS. Nice!
9. Boardroom graphic : CHART. Could a bakery menu be called a pie chart?
14. Goof up : FLUB
15. Cheerful tune : LILT
16. "Thus with a kiss I die" speaker : ROMEO
19. "No thanks" : I PASS
20. Spend an evening at home : STAY IN. And listening to Stayin' Alive, per the Bee Gees.
21. Spam holders : TINS. Not email inboxes?
23. Minor facial spasm, say : TIC
24. Wanna-__: poseurs : BES
27. Friendly : CORDIAL
30. Rival of Peyton : TOM. I put "TIM" first, and was wondering how Mr. Tebow could be descibed a rival of Peyton Manning, then sanity prevailed and I realized we were looking for Tom Brady, of the New England Patriots.
31. A, in Assisi : UNA. Italian, and a gimme for Marti.
32. Best : ONE-UP
35. Workplace protection agcy. : OSHA
43. Craigslist caveat : AS IS. Probably means it's all banged up or it doesn't work. My favorite CL ad is here - mild profanity warning.
44. University of Alabama head coach Nick : SABAN. Famously buttoned-up. Once described as "..rolling into the house wearing Armani and looking like he'd been dipped in lip-gloss" during one visit to the home of a prospect.
45. Tear : RIP
46. Some commuter lines : ELS
49. Web designers : SPIDERS
56. Silent __: Coolidge nickname : CAL. I typo'd "CAT" on the run across and had to fix it when I ran into 36D. No harm, no foul. "Cat" Coolidge though? I wonder if he played the sax.
57. Year in Mexico : ANO
58. Bring in : REAP
59. Many a marathon winner since the '90s : KENYAN. You're not kidding - in the 25 times the Men's Boston Marathon has been run since 1990, a Kenyan has won it 19 times.
62. Talmud scholar : RABBI
66. Pastel shade : LILAC
67. Word-of-mouth : ORAL
68. Beethoven's birth city : BONN
69. Spheres : AREAS
70. Pound enclosure : CAGE. Oh - Dog Pound! [penny drops]
71. Online crafts store : ETSY. Didn't have a clue on this one - crosses to the rescue.
Down:
1. Does in : OFFS
2. Blind piece : SLAT. As in Venetian blinds.
3. "The Godfather" hatchet man : LUCA BRASI. Victim of being OFFED. He ended up "sleeping with the fishes".
4. Did as directed : OBEYED
5. Tartan-wearing group : CLAN. Men in plaid skirts can be pretty scary.
6. Canola __ : OIL
7. Demoted planet : PLUTO. The demotion seemed a shame. It's not like it had been doing anything differently since it was discovered, just orbiting the sun once every now and then and whistling "Dixie".
8. Stout holder : STEIN
9. Shortening brand since 1911 : CRISCO
10. Short flight : HOP
11. Vintage violin : AMATI. Let's listen to one.
12. Pine secretion : RESIN
13. Puccini classic : TOSCA. More Puccini to come shortly.
18. Asset of successful entrepreneurs : VISION
22. Monarch catcher : NET
25. Hallow : BLESS. Interesting - I knew the term "hallowed ground" but it never crossed my mind that there was a verb form. Nice learning moment.
26. Med. plan choices : HMOS. Heath Maintenance Organizations. Like you didn't know.
27. Largest Caribbean island : CUBA
28. Burden : ONUS
29. "Wheel of Fortune" request : AN 'E'
33. Solheim Cup team : USA. The women's biennial golf challenge tournament between the USA and Europe. The men's version, the Ryder Cup, begins on September 23rd.
34. Brew brand with a ribbon logo : PABST
36. Formal "Uh-uh!" : SURELY NOT. I like that finally I know "Uh-Huh!" means "Of course, you knucklehead" and "Uh-uh" means "Are you kidding me?" Tough language to learn, this 'Murican.
37. Kojak's lack : HAIR
38. Lake Geneva backdrop : ALPS
40. ''Got it" : I SEE
41. Gullible one : SAP
42. Intl. relief agency since 1946 : UNICEF. An acronym from the original name - United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. A number of soccer teams around the world, notably F.C. Barcelona in Spain have a "reverse sponsorship" agreement with the agency where the club donates 1.5M Euros annually to display the Unicef logo on their shirts.
 |
| Lionel Messi, Unicef Global Goodwill Ambassador |
48. Spokane-to-Boise dir. : SSE
50. Vienna's river : DANUBE
51. "A League of Their Own" infielder __ Hooch : MARLA. Did not know. Thank you, crosses!
52. Studio alert : ON AIR
53. Duke or earl : NOBLE
54. Utter chaos : HAVOC. Cry "Havoc" and let loose the dogs of war!" Shakespeare had a way with words, you have to admit.
55. Puccini work : OPERA. Two Puccini's today.
59. Stan's pal on "South Park" : KYLE. You pretty much either love this show or hate it. I'm in the former camp.
60. Landers and Richards : ANNS
61. Part of a SoHo address : NY NY. Unless you're in London, then it would be "City of Westminster, W1". Doesn't fit too well into a crossword grid though.
63. Petting zoo cry : BAA. Not "Ouch" when you get bitten by the goat?
65. Dust collector : RAG. Home exercise bikes and treadmills also fall into this category.
That's it from me - I'm hitting the road this week for a couple of quick trips - Las Vegas and Dearborn, MI. Try to keep safe in the weird weather.
Steve
