17A. Abe's youngest son : TAD LINCOLN. The presidents have been getting a crossword work-out over the last couple of days or so. "Tad" was Abe's nickname for his son - he was "wiggly as a tadpole" as a baby.
25A. Exhortation from Santa, in Moore's poem : DASH AWAY ALL. Clement Clarke Moore's father was the Bishop of New York, and officiated at the inauguration of George Washington. More presidential trivia!
38A. Halls product : COUGH DROP. I needed these last week, I get the mentholyptus variety.
54A. Late-inning substitute : PINCH HITTER. Tinbeni's our resident pinch-hitting specialist.
63A. Gets the unspoken message ... which includes one of five synonyms found in this puzzle's longest answers : TAKES A HINT. I rather like how the "hint" entry is literally a hint.
Today's Wednesday Workout courtesy of Jeff Stillman. A neat enough theme, and plenty of nice fill to enjoy along the way.
Let's get to the rest ...
Across:
1. Recitals showing promise : OATHS. I enjoy how "swearing an oath" can be a good or a bad thing, depending on context and circumstance.
6. A way off : AFAR
10. Big name in PCs : ACER. I can't remember the last time I saw one of these - I confess I thought the company was long-defunct.
14. Braid : PLAIT
15. Where to get a bite on the street : CAFE. One of the great pleasures in life is people-watching from a table at a Parisian pavement café over a cup of coffee.
16. Clue weapon : ROPE. I tried "PIPE" first, that didn't work out so well.
19. Friend on "Friends" : ROSS
20. West Point newbie : PLEBE
21. Latin phrase usually shortened : ET ALIA
23. Old hand : PRO
28. Wrestling maneuver : HOLD
30. Term of respect : SIR. Especially when a wrestler has got you in a full-nelson and is trying to dislocate both your shoulders.
31. "Liar!" in a playground : IS NOT
32. Nerdy types : DWEEBS
35. Target : GOAL
37. Shipping wts. : TNS. I'm guessing this refers to the tonnage of the vessel, not the cargo, but I could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.
41. NCR product : ATM. Does anyone else make them? NCR are certainly the crossword-friendliest.
44. Reed in a hall : OBOE. We seem to have seen a lot of oboes recently.
45. Stable rides for kids : TRIKES. Fun rides for adult too.
49. Whodunit surprise : TWIST. I spell "dunnit" with a double-n. It reads like "who dune-it" to me when the "n" is singled.
51. Org. with Eagles : B.S.A. Boy Scouts of America have Eagle Scouts. It took a moment for the penny to drop here - when I see "BSA" I think motorcycles, and when I see "Eagles" I think NFL.
53. Coin with 12 stars on its reverse side : EURO. The stars are often erroneously thought to represent the number of countries in the European Community or the members of the Eurozone - they don't.
58. Like some grins : WRY
59. Crate up : ENCASE. Ready for weighing and shipping per 37A.
60. Organisms of a region : BIOTA. A learning moment for me. I'll add it to my lexicon.
62. Not fer : AGIN
68. 53-Across fraction : CENT
69. Maui music makers : UKES. The crossword orchestra comprises ukes and oboes accompanying diva arias.
70. Lingerie fabric : SATIN
71. Envelope-pushing : EDGY
72. Huff and puff : PANT
73. Bard's "between" : TWIXT. Juliet: "Give me some present counsel, or, behold, 'Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife"
Down:
1. Go (for) : OPT
2. __ française : A LA. I was surprised when I learned that "Service à la française" in a restaurant means that all the courses are served at once, rather than one at a time. "Service à la russe"describes the serial method. Who knew that Russia created this concept? Not me.
3. Pond juvenile : TADPOLE. Wow, this is very close to breaking one of the cardinal rules of not duplicating an answer in a puzzle, especially as it crosses "TAD", which, as we've learned, was derived from TADPOLE. Maybe this was done intentionally but I'm a little uncomfortable with it. What do you all think?
4. "This Kiss" singer Faith : HILL
5. Kept in a pen : STIED
6. Tap into : ACCESS
7. __ Schwarz : FAO. Frederick August Otto founded the store in Baltimore.
8. CIO partner : AFL. Not CIO in the top-banana geek sense of the word. The Congress of Industrial Organizations.
9. Keep up on the issues? : RENEW
10. Neat arrangements : ARRAYS
11. Nuclear reactor need : COOLANT. I'm a little sketchy on the physics involved, but given a cocktail of carbon rods, enriched uranium and water, I'm voting for plenty of water.
12. Delta-zeta connection : EPSILON. The "Alphabet Song" is a little different in Greek. Or E-Z-er?
13. Seasons a bit more : RE-SALTS. My "Oh no, really?" of the day. You don't "re-salt" an under-seasoned dish, you add more salt. Straw poll - have you ever asked anyone to re-salt something? I've asked for salt, I've mentioned that a dish needs more salt, I've wondered if I've under-seasoned something - but- re-salt? Maybe a frozen road needs to be re-salted. Best I can come up with.
18. Pistons' org. : NBA. Detroit hoopsters.
22. Worker who gives people fits? : TAILOR
23. Honorary deg., perhaps : PH.D. Shaquille O'Neal earned his the hard way. That's a big gown.
24. Fracas : ROW
26. Uppermost : HIGHEST
27. Three-time MLB home run king : A-ROD. He gave what seemed to be a genuine apology yesterday regarding his suspension for PED usage.
29. Advent mo. : DEC
33. Voting enclosures : BOOTHS
34. Deli order : SUB
36. Word with modern or cave : ART
39. Mongolian expanse : GOBI
40. Key lime __ : PIE. Could this fill be anything else?
41. Free from strife : AT PEACE
42. Hurt suddenly, as a muscle : TWINGED
43. Preparing garlic, in a way : MINCING. I wallop my garlic cloves on the chopping board with the side of a chef's knife. It peels and minces them all in one go, and is thoroughly satisfying.
46. Persian Gulf native : KUWAITI
47. Make a faux pas : ERR
48. Traditional Asian sauce base : SOY.
50. Like a string bikini : SCANTY. Scanty bikinis and satin lingerie in the same puzzle? How salacious!
52. If all goes according to plan : AT BEST
55. Hopping mad : HET UP
56. Frozen Wasser : EIS. Just right to drop in your schnapps. Look away, Tinbeni
57. Holiday entrée : ROAST. Not just for holidays in my native UK. The Sunday roast was a traditional highlight of the week's meals.
61. Turn to slush : THAW
64. Letters in a police record : A.K.A. I was originally "also known as" "Stephen", my given name. My mother always refused to take a phone call asking for "Steve".
65. Novelist Kesey : KEN
66. Eighty-six : NIX
67. Explosive stuff : TNT. Boom! Trinitritoluene. Here's the recipe:
Steve
