3-Down. Classic music hall song that lent its melody to the "Howdy Doody" theme : TA-RA-RA BOOM-DE-AY. Sung by the character Winnie-Woopsie Tapatit. I never knew the words until I looked it up.
5-Down. Lake Erie city : TOLEDO, OHIO. Home of Katie Holmes, Jamie Farr and Danny Thomas, among others.
13-Down. Unalaska, e.g. : ALEUTIAN ISLAND. Map.
30-Down. "No one knows" : WHO CAN TELL?
And the reveal:
7-Down. Apt challenger of this puzzle's circled locations : MOUNTAIN CLIMBER. Four mountains appear, if you read the circles from bottom to top: A-R-A-R-A-T, H-O-O-D, S-I-N-A-I and E-T-N-A. I know from personal experience, that getting to the top is only half the battle!
Marti (L) and friend Erica in the Italian Alps, ca. 2008
I solved the NW corner before stumbling onto the reveal at 7-Down, so I could immediately fill in that grid spanner, with T-A-R-A-R-A in place! That's probably why this felt more like a Tuesday puzzle to me.
Across
1. Hint : GET AT.
6. Insincere flattery : SMARM. The origin of the word is unknown, but may stem from the early 1900s. Possibly from "smear" or "smooth," as in smearing hair with pomade to make it slick.
11. Town in a Hersey title : ADANO.
12. Book before Joel : HOSEA.
13. Roadie's burden : AMP. Three letters? Roadie? Fill in AMP and move on...
16. Like some ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos : VIRAL. Here are some hilarious "fails." (Caution: some f-bombs.)
17. Home of the bush ballad : AUSTRALIA. Bush? 9 letters? Enter AUSTRALIA and move on!
19. Greek letter : ETA. ETA, rho, tau, phi, chi or psi? (Check perps!)
20. Take in : EARN.
22. Hardest to get close to : ICIEST. Like Splynter's college "ice princess."
23. Rocky pinnacle : TOR. Another challenge to a MOUNTAIN CLIMBER?
24. Brit who might lose a stone? : DIETER. Should be a gimme for Steve and Nice Cuppa! The British stone is used for measuring weight, and is equal to 14 lbs.
26. __ tape : DUCT. It was first developed by Johnson and Johnson in WWII to help waterproof ammo cans. The soldiers dubbed it "duck" tape for that reason. After the war, JandJ developed a silver version to seal heating ducts, among other things. That is when the name morphed into DUCT.
27. Cicero, for one : ORATOR.
29. From the top : ANEW.
31. Half a drink : -TAI. Mai-TAI.
32. CV component : BIO.graphy - Curriculum Vitae.
33. Three sheets to the wind : LIT.
34. Selassie of Ethiopia : HAILE.
36. Stew base : BROTH.
38. Snake eye? : ONE. I assume this refers to a die. In craps, a pair of ones is referred to as "snake eyes."
39. Doctoral candidate's hurdle : ORALS.
40. Seventh-century pope : LEO II.
41. Blu-ray player ancestor : VCR. Ancestor? Boy, do I feel old!!
42. Swindle : CON.
43. Sturdy tree : ELM.
44. Astra or Insignia : OPEL. No clue - four perps helped me nail it, though!
46. Salad vegetable : RADISH.
49. DWI-fighting gp. : SADD. Driving While Intoxicated is fought by Students Against Destructive Decisions (formerly: Students Against Driving Drunk.)
51. Genesis : ORIGIN.
53. "__ Cried": 1962 hit for Jay and the Americans : SHE. You remember this?
54. Prepares (oneself), as for combat : STEELS.
56. Pooch sans papers : MUTT.
57. Diminutive, diminutively : LI'L. As in "L'IL Abner."
58. Fated : MEANT TO BE.
60. Send, in a way : EMAIL.
62. Ice cream maker Joseph : EDY. Three letters? Ice cream? Fill in EDY and move on...
63. Bars with character, to some : DIVES.
64. Slower than adagio : LENTO. And another musical term at 46-Down. Slowing, in scores : RIT.ardando.
65. Act surprised : START.
66. Puts on cargo : LADES.
Down
1. Donated for the benefit of : GAVE TO.
2. One checking stories : EDITOR.
4. Santa __ Mountains : ANA.
6. Trading unit : SHARE. Oops - not "stock."
8. Long-eared beast : ASS.
9. Hit the hay : RETIRE.
10. Painter Chagall : MARC. His "The Fiddler" is the painting that inspired the title for "Fiddler on the Roof."
14. Name incorrectly : MISCALL.
15. McDonald's supply : PATTIES.
18. Succor : AID.
21. Service station offering : AIR.
25. Wide key : ENTER.
28. Small South American monkey : TITI. "Titi" is also the French nickname for "Tweety Bird."
33. Enthusiast : LOVER.
35. Yankee suspended for the 2014 season : A-ROD. Suspended for use of performace-enhancing drugs. Tsk tsk.
36. Start of a confession :"BLESS ME...father, for I have sinned." And 61-Down. __ culpa : MEA. ("My fault!")
37. Like family : RELATED.
45. Reminder of a kind : POST-IT.
47. Certain Muslim : SHI'ITE. I never know whether is should be spelled with an apostrophe or not. I've seen it both ways.
48. Greetings : HELLOS.
50. Room with a remote, often : DEN.
52. Letterman interviewee, say : GUEST. Pick your favorite!
55. Old Fords : LTDs. EL-TEE-DEE. (Not "limited.")"Luxury Trim Decor?" "Limited Trim Designation?" "Lincoln Type Design?" It's a mystery...
59. Reproductive cells : OVA. Plural of "ovum." Don't put them all in one basket!
I'm done - your turn!
Marti
