Ooof!! When I saw all the cross-references leading me to a Bible verse, I really thought my goose was cooked. But slowly, they started filling in and I had to smile:
1-Across. See 58-Across : GIGGLE.
7-Across. See 58-Across : GUFFAW.
15-Across. See 58-Across : BURST OUT LAUGHING.
34-Across. See 58-Across : CHORTLE.
38-Across. See 58-Across : CRACK UP.
49-Across. See 58-Across : TITTER.
58-Across. Psalm 100 excerpt suggested by six puzzle answers and graphically represented by certain black squares in this puzzle : MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE.
Unusual grid, with left-to-right but not top-to-bottom symmetry. Jeffrey also used a 16*15 grid, both the reveal entry and 15-A have 16-letters. Can you see the "smiling face" in the middle of the grid?
62 blocks of theme is a lot for a weekday puzzle, and necessarily led to a bit of dreck in the fill. But overall, an enjoyable solve.
Across
13. How many golf clubs are sold : AS A SET.
14. Member of Buck Showalter's MLB team : ORIOLE. Can you guess that I struggled with this one?
19. Put __ on: restrict : A CAP.
21. __ profit: make money : NET A. Two awkward partials in a row.
22. With 20-Across, "American Beauty" rockers, familiarly : THE. And 20-Across. See 22-Across : DEAD. The Grateful Dead. Did I really need to come across an extra cross-referential clue in the grid?
23. Gets harder to climb : STEEPENS.
27. Pester : NAG.
28. Valleys : HOLLOWS.
30. Can't stand : DETESTS.
32. Prefix with -pod : TRI. Tripod.
33. Oils and such : ART.
42. Baseball's Piniella : LOU. Nailed it, once I had the L, O and U from perps in place...
43. Measure typically given in knots : AIR SPEED. Dudley, what AIR SPEED do you usually fly at?
46. "Discreet Music" composer : ENO.
47. They can be lifesavers: Abbr. : EMTs. Emergency Medical Technicians.
50. Focus, with "in" : ZERO.
51. Greek cheeses : FETAS.
53. Swear : CUSS. Not aver or avow this time.
54. Withstand : REPEL.
55. Nick working at night? : SANTA. We all know that his real name is Argyle...
57. Crush competitor : FANTA. Does Santa drink Fanta?
64. Pub order : ALE.
65. Like "Gilligan's Island" characters : MAROONED.
66. Do yard work : MOW.
67. "Success!" : YES! [With or without a fist pump.]
68. Bicuspid : PREMOLAR.
69. Yakima-to-Spokane dir. : ENE.
Down
1. Pampas cowboy : GAUCHO.
2. Beersheba's land : ISRAEL.
3. [I don't believe it!] : GASP.
4. Prime meridian std. : GST. Greenwich Sidereal Time. A variant of Greenwich Mean Time used in astronomy for locating specific stars.
5. Regulus is in it : LEO.
6. Technique-building pieces : ÉTUDES. From the French word for "study."
7. Incited : GOADED.
8. Second-smallest S.A. country : URU.guay.
9. Pear-shaped fruit : FIG. Do you give one?
10. Warm alpine wind, in Austria : FÖHN. Without the umlaut, it would be spelled "foehn" in English. A gimme...
11. Klingons, e.g. : ALIENS.
12. Attacked : WENT AT.
15. Spa area : BATH. Hmmm, this could have two meanings. In many spas, a bath is sometimes filled with mineral water or mud, and it could be offered as a special service. -OR- We could be talking about Bath, England. The spas there date back to Roman times.
16. Support on the links? : TEE. hee?
17. Running measure : LAP.
18. Suppresses : GAGS.
23. Not entirely, informally : SORTA.
24. Like an early evening sky : TWILIT.
25. Comparatively warm? : NEARER. In the children's treasure hunt game, you say "Warmer" when they are getting near the hidden object, or "colder" when they are moving farther away from it. Didn't we just have a reference to this game?
26. Valuable cello : STRAD.ivarius. The Italian family was renowned for their violins, violas, cellos and other stringed instruments.
29. USPS item : LTR. United States Postal Service, letter.
31. List-limiting letters : ETC.etera, etcetera, etcetera...
34. Score symbol : CLEF. Thanks for the pic yesterday, Steve!
35. Realty transaction : HOME SALE.
36. Amusing DVD feature : OUTTAKES. Sometimes they are even funnier than the movie. 8:33
37. "The Grouchy Ladybug" writer Carle : ERIC. Lucina, did you read this to your students?
38. Accent pair? : CEES.
39. Tap your foot, say : KEEP TIME. I can assure you, that when my husband is tapping his foot before we got out for the evening, he is not keeping time...
40. Folly : UNREASON. Ugh. Valid, but not your everyday word.
41. Dirty __ : POOL. Because "Harry" wouldn't fit!
44. Disco __ of "The Simpsons" : STU. Have you memorized all the Simpsons characters yet? (He's in the third row, fourth from the right, next to Maggie Simpson.) If you go to this web site and mouse over the faces, it identifies each one. Quiz, to follow.
45. Gal.'s eight : PTS. Pints.
48. Levelheaded : SANE.
50. Philosopher known for a paradox : ZENO. of Elea. Think of "Achilles and the Tortoise."
52. Prepare for mailing : STAMP. I simply hit "send."
54. Getaway goal, for short : R AND R.
56. Somewhat open : AJAR.
57. Boxer's woe : FLEA.
58. Might : MAY. "It ___ rain this afternoon." Either works.
59. Rock worth mining : ORE.
60. __ Kippur : YOM. Day of atonement for those of the Jewish faith.
61. Rock's __ Fighters : FOO. They just released Sonic Highways in November last year. (Yes, check your calendar - it was last year!) Link away.
62. Not in the bk. : UNL.isted. Telephone book.
63. Field grazer : EWE.
Marti, out.
Note from C.C.:
Happy 6th year wedding anniversary to Marti and her husband Allan! Marti said "... we were married on New Year’s Day of 2009. So every year we get to celebrate our anniversary with a hangover." (Added Note: Gosh, sorry Allen, I'm hopeless!)
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| Marti & Allen |
