Wednesday, January 21, 2015 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Man Up! The start of each theme entry is a slangy synonym for a male.

17A. Well-worn, as comfy shoes : BROKEN IN. These are pretty broken in - I'm not sure how comfortable they are though:

25A. University of North Carolina city : CHAPEL HILL. UNC was the first college in the US to open to the public.

39A. Firehouse crews : LADDER COMPANIES. I want to have a crack at the rear-steering job.

51A. Relaxing soak : BUBBLE BATH. Ahhh!

64A. Lead singer, and a hint to the beginning of 17-, 25-, 39- and 51-Across : FRONT-MAN. Choose your own favorite front-man link. Here's one of mine - the talented and very confused Noel Gallagher from Oasis.

Well, it's Wednesday! Steve here with C.C.'s second solo outing of the year. She has quite a prodigious output! I had to hunt and peck a little in the top half - the ELSA/LIN cross was something of a WAG, but there wasn't much else that was going to make sense there, so not too much of a problem in the end.

I didn't get the theme until the reveal and thought it was pretty neat when I saw it. The two long downs were both great - I don't recall seeing either of them in a puzzle before.

Let's check out the rest.

Across:

1. Band aid : AMP. Nigel Tufnell's volume controls famously go up to 11.

4. "Lohengrin" soprano : ELSA. The role "Elsa of Brabant" is voiced by a soprano.

8. High-priced : STEEP

13. Saint-Tropez sea : MER. On the French riviera between Marseille and Cannes.

14. Chicken (out) : WIMP

15. Wildly impulsive : MADCAP

19. "Finito!" : I'M DONE

20. Stretches on the road : LIMOS

21. Inventor Nikola : TESLA

23. Director who sued Spike TV for using his name : LEE. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. I've got my attorney handy for when Viacom decides to launch "Steve TV".

24. British prep school : ETON. Oh dear - I'm calling this a rare cluing misstep from Rich. Eton isn't a prep school. You attend a prep school before you go on to a school such as Eton.

27. Fives and tens : CASH

29. Clueless : ASEA. If would be fun, if not strictly fair, to clue this without a clue at all!

30. Lennon's love : ONO

32. Door fasteners : HASPS

35. TV radio station : WKRP. I never saw the show, but the call letters are easy enough to remember.

43. Rural road sign silhouette : DEER. I'm never quite sure how to react to these warning signs - the "Falling Rocks" one is another. There's not a lot you can actually do about the potential hazard.

44. Shellac ingredient : RESIN. I discover that it's a bug secretion and is also used as a food glaze! Fun clue pairing with 40D too.

45. Insect egg : NIT

46. Not a pretty fruit : UGLI. Food! It's actually not that bad-looking:

49. Surprise for the taste buds : TANG

56. Almost closed : AJAR

59. Pee Wee Reese's number : ONE. Baseball! C.C. at work here.

60. "Chasing Pavements" singer : ADELE. She won a "Best Vocal Performance" Grammy for the song.

61. English class lesson : USAGE

62. Like a plum tomato : OBLONG. Food! I'm going to go make a sandwich, this puzzle is making me hungry.

66. Royal residence : PALACE. This is the entrance to Hampton Court Palace in London, one of Henry VIII's homes. I used to live close by, needless to say my entryway didn't look much like this.

67. Apple product : IPOD. Fill in the "I" and then wait for crosses.

68. Gift-wrapping time, often : EVE

69. Hinged entrances : GATES. Some gates slide open, are they technically not gates?

70. Beantown hockey great : ESPO. Inspiration for the "JESUS SAVES! But Esposito scores on the rebound!" bumper sticker.

71. Do needlework : SEW

Down:

1. Carefree pace : AMBLE

2. Reason for a raise : MERIT

3. Virtual coupon, briefly : PROMO CODE. The ones I get never seem to have much effect.

4. Farm ladies : EWES

5. Civil Rights Memorial architect : LIN. Maya Lin. The inscription comes from Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream" speech.

6. Will of "I Am Legend" : SMITH

7. Sleep lab study : APNEA

8. Looks pleased : SMILES

9. Wrapped cantina food : TAMALE. Food! My local Farmer's Market has a stall selling the best tamales I've ever tasted. There's something magical about the masa.

10. Baseball Hall of Famer Roush : EDD. Aha! I was waiting for C.C.'s second baseball reference. I had to wait longer to fill it in though - all crosses. Reds center fielder elected to the Hall in 1962.

11. Bad bacteria : E.COLI

12. Science fair judges, e.g. : PANEL

16. Orange coat : PEEL.

18. Hawaii's __ Coast : KONA

22. Some jerks : SPASMS

25. Burn a bit : CHAR

26. Gibson's "Bird on a Wire" co-star : HAWN.

28. "__ Will Be Loved": Maroon 5 hit : SHE. This is one of those songs that I've heard a hundred times and didn't know what it was called, or who recorded it.

30. Word with country or world : OLD

31. "You wish, laddie!" : NAE

33. Writer on scrolls : SCRIBE

34. Usher's creator : POE. "The Fall of the House of Usher" published in 1839.

36. Nickname for LeBron : KING JAMES. Now back with the Cleveland Cavaliers after his sojourn in Miami. For a guy who is listed at 6'8" and 250lbs, that's one heck of a "Small Forward".

37. Outdoor gear brand : REI. Recreational Equipment Inc, apparently. Crosses for me.

38. L.A. clock setting : PST

40. Shellac : DRUB. I can't find the origin of this usage - anyone?

41. Nitty-gritty : PITH

42. "Wheel of Fortune" purchase : AN "A"

47. Carom : GLANCE

48. Ibex resting places : LEDGES. Here's an Alpine ibex in Italy. I used to see these frequently when I was skiing in the Alps.

50. Political cartoonist Thomas : NAST. The "Father of the American Cartoon". No relation to the publisher Condé Nast, which surprised me.

51. Cartoon flapper : BOOP. Betty Boop cartoons were shown on children's television in the UK when I was a kid. In hindsight, they weren't exactly suitable!

52. Put away, as groceries : UNBAG. It sometimes seems harder work than shopping for them in the first place.

53. "Twilight" heroine : BELLA. Thank you, crosses. I didn't even notice this fill until I was writing up the blog. Bella Swan, as portrayed by Kristen Stewart. Now I know, although in about two minutes time I'll forget all about her.

54. Michael Caine role : ALFIE

55. U. of Maryland team : TERPS. Formally the "Terrapins". How many other team nicknames have a nickname? I can't think of any offhand.

57. Tequila source : AGAVE. The finest blue agave plants are carefully guarded - crop thefts are not unknown during periods of shortage.

58. Make one's Fortune last longer? : RENEW. Not renewing a magazine subscription is a fun way to see how many offers you receive to try to get you back. Sports Illustrated pretty much offer you the editorship if you'll re-sign.

61. Counterclockwise arrow function : UNDO. It's funny how toolbar icons become embedded in our understanding.

63. Cereal grass : OAT

65. "Alley __" : OOP.  A fun basketball play to see.

And with that, mes amis, this is Steve signing off.

Note from C.C.: 

Happy 7th Anniversary to our blog! A big "Thank you" to our sweet LaLaLinda for remembering it. I completely forgot it. I need to be punished!

Dear friends, I became a constructor because of your active participation and constant encouragement. Thank you for being here.