This puzzle was easier to fill than to discuss, especially to a crowd that does not like cross-referential cluing. (Sorry Barry G.). Each outside edge of the puzzle consists of three (3) four (4) letter fill, where the first and third fill together are the clue for the middle word. When combined, words 1+3 create a compound word, hence the reveal COMPOUND FRACTURE i.e., the compound word is fractured (broken) into two pieces. This was a hard Friday for me, and I hope you all stuck with it because there were lots of learning moments. This appears to be a debut LAT for a very active poster on puzzle blogs, so welcome Paul.
1A. Predicament : BOAT (4) a very tricky clue (in the same boat, being the easiest way to explain clue/fill) paired with 9A. Mutual fund charge : LOAD (4) (funds are no load, front load, or back end loaded) gives the clue for 5A. Boatload: *1-/9-Across : HEAP which describes how much trouble you would be in if you did not see this gimmick.
73A. "Easy to be Hard" musical : HAIR (4) paired with 75A. Business : LINE (4) leaves the compound word clue for 74 A. Hairline: *73-/75-Across : THIN (4) as in a hairline fracture.
1D. Overdue, as pay : BACK (4) paired with 53D. Converse : TALK (4) produces the clue for 29D. Backtalk *1-/53-Down : SASS (4).
16D. Stern : HARD (4) paired with 64D. Reactor part : CORE (4) results in the clue for : Hardcore: 39D. *16-/64-Down : AVID such as the fans for the Patriots or AC Milan, the soccer club.
The reveal is also cross-referential:
32A. With 49-Across, bad break ... and what each answer to a starred clue creates vis-à-vis the answers that define it : COMPOUND (8) 49A. See 32-Across : FRACTURE (8). A Compound fracture of a bone, as opposed to a simple clean break. (Hence bad break).
Add to the fun, the very difficult pair 62D. With 29-Across, Balkan city on the Danube : NOVI. 29A. See 62-Down : SAD. Novi Sad according to wiki is the second largest city in Serbia, the administrative seat of the province of Vojvodina and of the South Backa District. It is located in the southern part of the Pannonian Plain, on the border of the Backa and Srem regions, on the banks of the Danube river, facing the northern slopes of Fruška Gora mountain.
This is a very odd and very hard Friday, it seems like it should be easy with forty 4 letter fill, but the short ones like ABU, ARA, ELAH, AMUR and the few long ones like TONSURE, TREATED, TRUSTER , AMARETTI, AVE MARIA, HEREFORD and RARE COIN were not gimmes.
I can hear all the grumbling, but when you consider he found 4 compound words which clued 4 letter fill, with each compound word 8 letters long that broke into 4 letter parts, and was revealed by two 8 letter reveals, the math is awesome. The architecture is very impressive. On with the show.
Across:
13. Up to it : ABLE. I was able and I finished without cheating, but it was work.
14. Prefix with plasm : ENDO. Already the ECTO/ENDO debate.
15. 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient : OPRAH. I did not recall but the OP___ had to be.
17. Nocturnal critter : COON. Aside from any politically unacceptable existence, is the reference to 'critter' enough to evoke the regionally popular abbreviation?
18. Source : ROOT. Of all evil?
19. Adams' "Nixon in China," for one : OPERA. I had LOAD, LOOSENS and OPP and wondered about OP--- over OP---. I have heard of but not listened to this work.
20. Handled vessel : KETTLE. Finally a stout clue.
22. Pouches : SACS.
24. Orch. section : STRings. JzB, is this abbreviation ever used as a notation in preparation for a concert?
25. Site of unexpected change? : SOFA. Wonderful clue/fill. So evocative and misleading.
27. Didn't trick, maybe : TREATED.
34. Prayer set to music by Schubert and Gounod : AVE MARIA.
36. Choice to sleep on : SERTA. Of course SEALY also fits.
40. Diva highlights : SOLI. In Latin the plural of a word ending in O (SOLO) can become I.
41. Distillery founder John : DEWAR. A CSO to Tin and all of our scotch drinkers.
44. "Ray Donovan" star Schreiber : LIEV.
45. Aptly named bird : SWIFT. LINK.
47. Italian almond cookies : AMARETTI.
52. British pen pal's last letter? : ZED. A nice misdirection as this replaces our American ZEE as the last letter of the alphabet.
53. Part of a Buddhist monk's ordination : TONSURE.
56. Ridge just below the surface : REEF.
58. "Father of," in Arabic : ABU. I had the pleasure of portraying Auda Abu Tayi, who along with the Lawrence was a hero of the Arab revolt. He had married 28 times, which may explain why he has no fear going into battle.
59. Identical : SAME.
61. Place where cheap shots are a good thing : CLINIC. Wonderful clue, especially now during flu season.
65. Allow to attack : LET AT. I nominate this as my meh clue, while accurate, it does not sound like a real phrase.
67. Dagwood's annoying little friend : ELMO. A new/old clue for this fill.
69. Inflict on : DO TO. Others.
70. 1985 Chemistry co-Nobelist Jerome : KARLE. Really hard for me. Embarrassed to say I had NO IDEA.
71. "Avatar" race : NA'VI. I hope no one blue this easy clue.
72. Always : EVER. Always and forever and more.
Down:
2. Instrument to which an orchestra tunes : OBOE. JzB, please explain again.
3. Bushels : A LOT.
4. Pitchers' places : TENTS. Very difficult to suss, especially with 1A a tough fill, but when I understood the theme and backed into BOAT, this made sense as one pitches a tent.
5. White-faced cattle breed : HEREFORD. I grew up driving by large herds of cows, who were the weather forecasters of my youth.
6. Roxy Music co-founder : ENO. Brian has become a staple.
7. Stirs : ADOS.
8. Knish filling : POTATO. No doubt most popular knish thought kasha and meat are also out there.
9. Unfastens : LOOSENS. This was the key word in loosening up the North and getting me the theme, along with....
10. Up and down, say: Abbr. : OPPosites.
11. "Give it __" : A REST.
12. Puccini's "Vissi __" : D'ARTE. An ARIA from Puccini's Tosca. If you listen, read the comments if you like to see debate about Opera, I love that it crosses 19A.
21. Like "la vida" in a Ricky Martin hit : LOCA. An odd duplication as VISSI is Italian for "I lived" and vida is "life" in Spanish.
23. French vineyard : CRU. Staying in romance languages, Alex, we have a French WORD, and then another.
26. Gallic girlfriend : AMIE. And another. 38A. Idée source : TETE.
28. Jane Eyre's charge : ADELE. Like ELMO above, the popular singer gets replaced by an old clue last seen here in a marti puzzle I blogged in 2013.
30. Declare : AVOW.
31. Where to find a hero : DELI. A common pun in the xword world.
33. Play with, in a way : PAW AT. Something for all our cat lovers.
35. Irritates : MIFFS.
37. Cheese holder : RITZ. This one cracked me up.
42. Russia-China border river : AMUR. Nope, no idea.
43. Numismatist's find : RARE COIN. Since coins are their interest...
46. Reliant soul : TRUSTER.
48. Casting aid : REEL.
50. Constellation near Scorpius : ARA.
51. Bind : CEMENT. Your friendship?
54. West Indian folk religion : OBEAH. I know of voodoo and santeria but not this GROUP.
55. __Sweet: aspartame : NUTRA.
57. Friend of Che : FIDEL. A recent picture is being shown on Television purporting to show a healthy Fidel.
60. Where Goliath was slain : ELAH. We recently debated the use of a sling versus sling shot, but where did it happen? HERE.
63. Rte. through Houston : I-TEN. I-Twenty, I-Forty all major E to W routes
66. Will Smith title role : ALI.
68. DIII doubled : MVI. For all you Roman math scholars...
A very long uphill battle, that some will love and some will hate, but welcome Paul; come share your commentary at this the friendliest blog on the web. Lemonade out.
Note from C.C.:
Yellowrocks asked if Lucina wore a wimple the other day. Here are two pictures of what Lucina's veil looked like when she was a Sister of the Precious Blood
Community. You can click here for a clearer image. She was with her sister and her mother in the second picture.
