Well, a very enjoyable visual (rebus) puzzle from our first LAT constructor on the change (March 23, 2009). While Rich does not publish actual crossword rebus puzzles where multiple letters fit in one square, he does present these where you have to use your imagination to see the theme. I really had fun with this one; we have four down clues for songs where the title is scrambled with words missing. It really helps if you recall the exact song title. To make the clues work, you had to have the theme in the downs, except the first which work across or down. Symmetry dictated the grid. For the many newbies or relative newbies, C.C. interviewed Mr. Harrison way back WHEN. We have another high word count Friday, with a few fun mid-range fill:AILMENT, BATGIRL, BREWSKI, DOORMAT, SPUMONI, TELECOM and some tricky/humorous clues. Lots of music here for the taking. Let's go.
4D. 1973-'74 Jim Croce hit, aptly : A TIME BOTTLE. ("Time IN 'A Bottle' ") The trickiest and most fun of the theme. If your brain started humming the song, and the IN A kept coming up, you can see the word TIME is inserted in the phrase A BOTTLE, hence the clue/fill. LISTEN. (2:29)
8D. 1964 Marvin Gaye/Mary Wells hit, aptly : ONCE A TIME. ("Once UPON a Time") I did not remember this SONG. (3:04)
27D. 1989 Bette Midler hit, aptly : MY WINGS WIND.("Wind BENEATH My Wings") LINK.(4:35). This is a simple picture of the placement of the words.
33D. 1936 Eddy Duchin hit, aptly : MOON MIAMI. ("Moon OVER Miami") LINK. We do have some lovely moons over the ocean here in SoFla. Also a straightforward visual.
Here we go again into the fray...
Across:
1. Pinky-side arm bone : ULNA. Cute way of saying the outside one of the pair of bones. Meanwhile, I can't believe they killed off another character on Bones. I wonder if the actor just demanded too much money or asked to leave to not play third fiddle and become a lead.
5. Vibrate : THROB. I like this word and how it sounds like it feels.
10. Lurking locale : BLOG. Well here we all are, I started as a lurker here, finding an answer I filled in but did not understand.
14. Ferrari parent company : FIAT. Hard to believe they produce both of these
15. Spanish royal : REINA. Queen.
16. Furnish anew : REDO.
17. "A Total Departure" hotel chain : OMNI. Is this still their marketing? I think it goes back a few years.
18. Put into effect : ENACT. Did you all watch how Governor Scott was 'enacting' at the debate Wednesday night? Not politics, just humor.
19. Took too much : ODED. This very serious term has become a catch all for overdoing anything.
20. Neapolitan kin : SPUMONI. Spumone, plural spumoni, is a molded Italian ice cream made with layers of different colors and flavors, usually containing candied fruits and nuts. Typically it is of three flavors, with a fruit/nut layer between them. Wikipedia
22. Massage beneficiary : EGO. Love this misdirection.
24. Sticky stuff : GOO.
25. Earth, in Essen : ERDE. Not in my limited German vocabulary.
26. Cold, for one : AILMENT.
28. Anchor man? : SWABBY. A fun clue especially after the Will Ferrell movies.
31. Occurring as an isolated instance : STRAY. I had trouble sussing this definition.
32. "Me too!" : SO DO I? I want some Ice Cream! Maybe some LINK.
33. Work hard : MOIL. I always put in toil and end up here.
34. Baylor Bears' home : WACO. The gave us RG III and now they are a top 5 team.
38. "My Honky Tonk History" album maker Travis : TRITT.
39. First note of a tuba solo? : OOM pah pah.
40. Kept from sticking : OILED.
41. On its way : SENT.
42. Pour affection (on) : DOTE. I dote on my Charlotte.
43. Catty : SNIDE. Not the definition I thought of at first.
44. Extremely foolish : LOONY. The Minnesota and Corner bird is the Loon.
46. Macbeth's "fatal vision" : DAGGER.
47. Sprint, for one : TELECOM. A portmanteau?
50. Minor players : COGS.
51. Color-coded EPA meas. : AQI. Air Quality Index.
52. Prefix with athlete : TRI. A nice view of differing ways to do three letter clues/fill.
53. Cold one : BREWSKI. hear? here? for beer.
57. Failure : BUST. I guess from poker where you lose all your money and go bust.
59. Shows up in time for : MAKES. Nice of you to make it to the Corner.
61. Sews up : ICES.
62. Athens apéritif : OUZO.
63. Dante's love : AMORE. Just the Italian word.
64. Dundee dissents : NAES. Scotland's NO, maybe a sub-theme? 67A. Villain named Julius : DR NO. How many were slowed by the name DRNO?
65. Bone: Pref. : OSTEoporosis for example.
66. Two sheets to the wind? : TIPSY. Three sheets and you are drunk.
Down:
1. Tabloid craft : UFOS.
2. It can result from favoring one side : LIMP.
3. Sitcom sign-off word : NANU. Rest well Mork.
5. All the rage : TRENDY.
6. 1932 Lake Placid gold medalist : HENIE. To our gone but not forgotten figure skater Clear Ayes and the others, this CHAMPION. (3:30).
7. River inlet : RIA.
9. Barbara Gordon's alter ego : BAT GIRL. Apparently there have been THREE in the movies.
10. Good buddy : BRO.
11. Window __ : LEDGE.
12. Ancient theater : ODEON. Lots of vowels, good for crossword building.
13. Title character absent from the cast : GODOT. We are still waiting.
21. Round trip? : ORBIT. Actually part of a round and round trip.
23. Suffix with pay : OLA. The SCANDALS are now ancient history.
28. Droop-nosed fliers : SSTS.
30. Match point, maybe : AD IN. Tennis term where the server needs one more point to win the game.
31. Like a well-used chimney : SOOTY. Dick Van Dyke, anyone.
35. Sacha Baron Cohen persona : ALI G. This flame burned out rather quickly, now FXX is trying to bring about his REZURECTION.
36. Yield : CEDE.
37. Frankfurt's river : ODER. It also is the Polish/German border. One of many four letter European rivers you must know. Oder, Ider, Isar, Eder, Yser
40. Oklahoma native : OSAGE. The original natives. Two days in a row. Clued very differently. Is it rarer to have fill two days in a row or in the LAT and NYT the same day? Owen?
42. Something that may hide a key : DOORMAT.
45. Canadian Thanksgiving mo. : OCT. They just celebrated this on Monday.
46. Big name in the Big Band Era : DORSEY. Tommy and Jimmy, listen LINK. (3:11).
47. Verboten : TABOO. What an appropriate clue to precede....
48. Shaffer play about a stableboy : EQUUS. The interesting but controversial 1973 play about a young man with a religious/sexual fixation on horses. The character is naked for much of the last part of the play, which created an extra dimension when it was revived with Daniel Radcliffe(Harry Potter) playing the role at 17.
49. Symphonic poem pioneer : LISZT. Talk about prolific, here is a LIST of LISZT.
54. Lasting mark : SCAR.
55. Finely honed : KEEN. Both a knife and a sense of humor.
56. "That __ last week!" : IS SO. So is this phrase.
58. Corn site : TOE. If you ever wondered, the name is from the Latin CORNU meaning horn. Not sure that helped.
60. Keystone lawman : KOP. Alliteration made these characters so much funnier. LINK. (3:31).
Well you do not get to see my pratfalls or silliness, just my words, but Mack Sennett would be proud. I hope you had a good time with this Pancho presentation, a fine Friday (thanks PH). Lemonade out.
