55. Urban centers, and what this puzzle's circles represent : TOWN SQUARES.
7 randomly selected towns are formed into squares in the grid, as shown by the circled letters. God bless, if you didn't have the circles:
LIMA
OSLO
FLORENCE
PISA
RENO
BRASILIA
BUDAPEST
I am not sure if they qualify as towns - most of them are pretty big cities, IMO.
The grid shows right to left symmetry, but not top to bottom. Not much else stood out for me, which can be a good thing. Let' see where else Jeffrey takes us on his world tour.
Across
1. Popular : LIKED.
6. Scale syllables : LAs.
9. Drives away : SHOOS.
14. Simple-living sect : AMISH. It all began with a schism of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists let by Jakob Ammann. Which explains why they speak a form of German called Pennsylvania Dutch.
15. Guitar attachment? : IST. Guitarist.
16. Pope John Paul II's given name : KAROL. Karol Józef Wojtyła.
17. Warm-water ray : MANTA.
18. Ziegfeld with follies : FLO.
19. Donald Jr.'s mom : IVANA.
20. One of the deadly sins : ANGER. Along with pride, covetousness, lust, gluttony, envy, and sloth.
21. What a flap may cover : EAR.
22. Four-time Emmy winner for Outstanding Drama Series : LA LAW.
23. Longtime Lehrer partner : MACNEIL. They first teamed up to cover the Watergate hearings for PBS in 1973.
26. __ spoon : GREASY. Ah, so here's the GREASY fare I was looking for last week!
29. Coniferous secretions : RESINS.
33. "The imperious __ breed monsters": Shakespeare : SEAS. From "Cymbeline."
34. New England food fish : SCROD. In New England, the term is usually taken to mean "fresh catch of the day," and could be haddock, cod or other whitefish.
36. Goes bad : ROTS.
38. Edible pockets : PITAS.
40. Sign before Virgo : LEO.
41. Canadian bottle size : LITRE. Canadians spell it the same as the British do.
42. Computer text code : ASCII.
43. Sturdy tree : ELM.
44. Bond's car starter? : ASTON.-Martin.
45. Pi-sigma link : RHO.
46. "Life Is Good" rapper : NAS.
48. Pig's digs : STY.
50. Lacking a mate : ODD.
51. Broadway songwriting team __ and Ebb : KANDER. No clue. I should know them, though, because "Cabaret" and "Chicago" are two of my favorite musicals.
53. Starts from scratch : REDOES.
59. Start of a spell : ABRA.cadabra...
61. Dome openings : OCULI. Like this one in the Pantheon in Rome.
62. Melville's Billy : BUDD.
65. China neighbor : LAOS.
66. Fabric information spot : LABEL.
67. Ruse : TRAP.
68. 1953 Caron film : LILI.
69. Helps with the dishes : DRIES. I just throw them in the dishwasher.
70. Michaelmas mo. : SEPT. A celebration of the Archangel Michael, it occurs on September 29th.
Down
1. Priest from the East : LAMA.
2. Mogadishu-born model : IMAN. Thank you, Lucina. I now remember her name without hesitating!
3. Wenceslaus, e.g. : KING. Wenceslaus I was a duke, assassinated in a plot by his brother. He was elevated to sainthood and given the title of KING posthumously.
4. Acapulco-to-Oaxaca dirección : ESTE. OK, I totally blew my Spanish quiz last week, so here I'm given another chance. I'll guess: EAST? (I have a 1 in 4 chance of getting it right!)
5. Greg's sitcom wife : DHARMA. The sitcom ran from 1997-2002. Jenna Elfman is still acting, but not with her previous success on this show. Thomas Gibson has had a bit more success, and can be seen on "Criminal Minds."
6. Series of biological stages : LIFE CYCLES.
7. C.S. Lewis lion : ASLAN. In "The Chronicles of Narnia," Aslan is the only character to appear in all seven books.
8. Shelf-restocking sources : STOREROOMS.
9. Résumé essentials : SKILLS.
10. "__ Nagila" : HAVA.
11. Unwritten : ORAL.
12. Chaplin granddaughter : OONA.
13. Diner side : SLAW.
24. Animal in some of Aesop's fables : ASS.
25. Mil. roadside hazard : IED. Improvised Explosive Device.
26. Teahouse hostess : GEISHA.
27. Certain exterminator's concern : RAT CONTROL.
28. Morales of "La Bamba" : ESAI.
30. Pupil controller : IRIS.
31. Having second thoughts : NOT TOO SURE.
32. Took steps : STRODE.
33. Bit of inspiration : SPARK.
35. Baha'i, e.g.: Abbr. : REL.igion.
37. Ships : SENDS.
39. Strength : SINEW.
41. Cake section : LAYER.
47. Composer Schoenberg : ARNOLD. Here is a very good version of the orchestral prelude to his "Gurre-Lieder" by the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra.
49. Gets behind : TRAILS. And a semi-clecho at 54-Down. Results of getting behind : DEBTS.
52. "__ say!": parental warning : DO AS I. (..."not as I do!")
56. Dueling memento : SCAR.
57. Android media console brand : QUBI. I can honestly say that I have never...ever...seen this word before. It was a crowdfunded startup and was supposed to come out in 2013. But I don't see any current news for it. Does it actually exist?
58. 1997 Fonda role : ULEE.
59. The whole lot : ALL.
60. Chinese-born actress __ Ling : BAI. Her Chinese citizenship was revoked because of her role in "The Red Corner," since the film was critical of Human Rights abuses in China.
63. Fist bump : DAP.
64. Combo vaccine, for short : DPT. Diptheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus. The MMR (Measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine is making headlines lately.
That's it for this week!
Marti
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear LaLaLinda, who has not been active on the blog lately due to a health setback. Last month Linda also lost her beloved cat, who was a close companion to her for the past 16 years. (Edited later: the past 17 years) Let's send Linda our positive thoughts and make today extra special for her.
