For the younger generation, a sawbuck is a ten dollar bill. This derived from the Roman Numeral X meaning ten, which looks like one end of a sawhorse. C-note meaning a hundred is also from the Latin. Anyway, marti has taken the word TEN and broken between two adjacent fill which are all clued by the first clue, cross-referentially- a variation on the break a word theme like we saw yesterday from Jeffrey Wechsler. Yesterday was an outie, and today is an innie. There is a double symmetry of the break 1/3 having t/en and 2/4 te/n. with 1/4 10 letters and 2/3 9 letters. The reveal is a central gridspanning 15. The fill is heavy on 5 letter words, some of which are tough like ERISA, ICAHN and TABOR and there are some nice 7-8 letter fill such as AMNESIA, CD RATES, EERIEST, HASTIER, NICE DOG, ROB ROYS, BREAD BIN, STAY HERE, many of which required work. Pinch hitting for marti, so let's get to work.
14A. With 15-Across, accounting unit : DEBIT. 15A. See 14-Across : ENTRY. Our system of mathematics, and accounting are based on the base 10. (10 in the theme).
29A. With 31-Across, anathema : BETE. 31A. See 29-Across : NOIRE. We have had bete noire before clued before as bete___?(8/12/14) and _____noire?(9/30/14). (9 in the theme). Aren't you all glad we had this word Tuesday?
44A. With 47-Across, some receivers : TIGHT. 47A. See 44-Across : ENDS. Rob Gronkowski is the New England Patriots star receiver. LINK. (0:29)(9 in the theme).
65A. With 66-Across, National Book Award-winning novel by Don DeLillo : WHITE. 66A. See 65-Across : NOISE. I did not know the book, but I knew the theme. (10 in the theme).
and the reveal
37A. Question about change, which hints at the hidden feature of four two-part puzzle answers : CAN YOU BREAK A TEN? (15).
Across:
1. Some portrait frames : OVALS. I had some trouble with this beginning even though I have a big oval frame in my living room holding a picture of my mother with her brothers when she was little.
6. Noble __ : GASES. Back on track.
11. Singsong syllable : TRA. Well, Lah di dah!
16. Like some aces : RED. So many different kinds of aces- cards, tennis, air warfare, tests....
17. Manage : SEE TO. I always think of,,,
18. Walking __ : ON AIR. What TV show theme music?
19. Sound after a satisfying swig : AAH. How cool that this is next to...
20. Scotch cocktails : ROB ROYS. The Scotch version of a Manhattan, it was named by a bartender at the Waldorf after a Broadway play about the Scottish hero, RECIPE.
22. Zenith : ACME.
23. "I won't hurt you" : NICE DOG. This was all perps,
26. Not as deliberate : HASTIER. This was hard, though once filled makes sense.
28. Toothbrush-endorsing org. : ADA. American Dental Association.
32. Worlds : REALMS. A word I got used to from watching my sons playing video games.
35. __ legend : URBAN. We have urban legends, dictionaries, even cowboys; where is the love for suburbia?
42. Blue Grotto locale : CAPRI.
43. "Ramona and Beezus" co-star Gomez : SELENA. Another STAR (1:41) created by Disney?
49. Set-__ : TOS.
50. Malady in the 2000 film "Memento" : AMNESIA. I could not remember what this movie was about.
52. Like the best occult films : EERIEST.
55. It's about a foot : SHOE. Sock fits this misdirection as well.
56. Yield figures : CD RATES.
58. Figure under a line : SUM. Simple visual.
59. Fife-and-drum drum : TABOR. From the same Latin root where we get Tambourine.
60. Two cents : INPUT. Cute clue/fill.
64. Bardic before : ERE. The Bard?
67. "M*A*S*H" titles : LTS. Lieutenants. Actually they had lots of majors and captains there.
68. Private : INNER.
69. Mount : STEED. A horse is a horse, of course...
Down:
1. Pigs out (on) : OD'S.
2. Center of gravity? : VEE. Tricky.
3. Presidential nickname : ABE.
4. Petrol unit : LITRE. You see, they do not say gasoline, so...
5. Gave up a seat : STOOD. So simple, but the political aspect slowed me. In the UK, they stand for Parliament, I think, even more confusing.
6. One of six British kings : GEORGE. I am still waiting for King Ringo.
7. Year in Tuscany : ANNO. Year in Italian, the same word as Latin.
8. "Wait for me" : STAY HERE.
9. Pension law signed by Ford, briefly : ERISA. Employee Retirement Income Security Act
10. Jordan neighbor: Abbr. : SYRia.
11. Gillette razor : TRAC II. Along with ATRA, regular crossword stuff.
12. Hole enlarger : REAMER. hard to remain pc with this clue/fill.
13. Cleave : ADHERE.
21. Comes to the surface : BOBS UP.
22. Harsh-sounding, to some : ATONAL. And MUSIC (2:16) to others.
23. Traffic stopper? : NARC. Drug traffic. A classic miss m deception.
24. Notion : IDEA.
25. "Elf" actor : CAAN. ACTOR James, not to be confused with 51D. Corporate raider Carl : ICAHN. This was easy for me, but this MAN may not be as well known unless you have worked in the investment world. Both names are variations of the Hebrew family name Cohen.
27. Shoshone Falls river : SNAKE.
30. Shroud city : TURIN.
33. Chinese evergreen : LYCHEE. Nuts to these obscure clues.
34. Zoo security features : MOATS.
36. Droopy-eared hound : BASSET. Do you all remember this early TV star? LINK. (1:18)
38. Wonderful container? : BREAD BIN. Sounds British; the clue should be Wonder-ful (Wonder bread)?
39. Bordeaux bean? : TETE. A French reminder, but still no answer as to why the head /brain is called 'bean.'
40. "The Dukes of Hazzard" officer : ENOS. A break from the biblical reference, played by Sonny Shroyer, a former FSU football player like Burt Reynolds. His character became so popular they had a spin-off called Enos.
41. Tammany Hall caricaturist : NAST. Perhaps the most famous political cartoonist in America.
44. Mortarboard frill : TASSEL.
45. "That upset me!" : I'M HURT.
46. Speakers of Tolkien's Noldorin language : GNOMES. I very much enjoyed both the Hobbit and the The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but was completely unaware that the Noldorin Elves were originally called Gnomes, but what eles starts GN? READ?
48. Costing more : DEARER. "Oh, dear, that's too dear, dear."
53. Jockey's handful : REINS. Cute, evocative clue.
54. "This __ a drill!" : IS NOT. A scary set of words.
57. Mechanical repetition : ROTE.
59. Prefix with light or night : TWI. Rhymes with...
61. "Easy as __!" : PIE. No, but a doable Thursday, don't you think?
62. Wear and tear : USE.
63. Former Ohio governor Strickland : TED. I am not sure what is special about this one term GOVERNOR, but it is time to go anyway.
Here is some insight into the puzzling mind of our own marti:
We were at a local restaurant when DH asked the waitress, “Can you break a ten?” I seem to count words like some people count sheep, and immediately realized that could be a 15-letter unifier. So I toyed with the idea, and had the devilish idea to break the word “ten” across two entries. But that meant the paired entries would have to be cross-referenced. (Sorry BarryG, but it wouldn’t work any other way!!)
As always it is great to blog a marti puzzle, she includes so many whimsical bits, and once I remembered to not write Friday in the title, it all went well. Thanks for reading and enjoying a marti jeudi (play day) and now you can look forward to her Friday write up. Lemonade out.
