A whimsical marti Friday offering, where the single letter R is added to the beginning of a phrase and hilarity ensues. As soon as I solved 17A, I could hear Scooby in my head, and wondered if Scooby and Rover were the inspiration. Another Friday from a Corner denizen, another Friday the 13th puzzle blogged by Jason, and much fun for me. It is hard to concentrate as I am thinking with Scooby in my head. Unlike Steve's effort last week, we have many 3,4 and 5 letter fill and average word length only 4.79. We do have some sixes and sevens APHIDS, BESTOW, DIET R C, ENGAGE, MEANIE, UGANDA, CORRUPT, FOLIAGE, ITERATE, WENT APE, but the cluing is fair with little obscurity. We have the use of initialisms rather than an overrun of abbreviations, and no need for a reveal. let's take a peek.
17A. Allowance for food, vet visits, etc.? : ROVER BUDGET(11). This quickly revealed the theme, though I wonder if younger people relate to Rover as typical dog name? I have seen overbudget as one word, a hyphenated word and two words. For symmetry sake I am going with two words.
23A. Bedtime for bats? : RAFTER HOURS (11). Even with the theme, this took many perps before I got to the bats sleeping in the rafters. After hours also seems can be one word. I like the wordplay as the image of a rafter hours club for bats came to mind.
40A. Threw a tantrum at ballet school? : RAGED GRACEFULLY (15). Well I do think all of the senior crowd here are aging well, but I had this IMAGE (6:17) brought to mind.
50A. Decisive "Star Wars" victory? : ROUT IN SPACE (11). The outlier, with a three word phrase used. Perhaps Rout Rin Space? Somehow Pigs in Space came to mind.
63A. Answer to "What did people listen to during the Depression, señor?"? : RADIOS, AMIGO (11). This is such an interesting fill, as we not only change the pronunciation of the word, but the language. I would imagine radios were a luxury back in the 30s. I guess my friends it is time to say good bye to the theme and dissect the rest of miss m's masterpiece.
Across:
1. Principal introduction? : VICE. Vice-principal.
5. Ladybug lunches : APHIDS. I remember growing up with all the different flowers my father had in our yard, and the battle against the aphids, and the fun ladybugs who always had to be sent flying home.
11. Handle for a chef? : STU. This actually took me a bit as I started with sou (SUE?), even though I know it is SOUS Chef. So a lawyer's daughter would be named....
14. "Yikes!" : EGAD. marti works this word into many of her puzzles.
15. Bully : MEANIE.
16. '60s-'70s news focus, informally : NAM.
19. Old sports org. using colorful balls : ABA. American Basketball Association. When the NBA merged them out of existence they did not keep the red, white and blue ball, but they did keep the three point basket. I did not remember that former Knick great David Albert DeBusschere was one time commissioner of the ABA. He also pitched a shut out for the Chicago White Sox.
20. Place to play : ARENA. For ABA and NBA teams. The Heat play at American Airlines Arena, and what an odd year this post LeBron year has been.
21. PC key : ALT.
22. Some execs : CFOS. Chief Financial Officers.
31. Mutt : CUR.
32. "__ a traveler ...": "Ozymandias" : I MET. More POETRY, but NIT alert!! in the poem it is spelled traveller by Shelley. Right NC, Steve?
33. Dolts : OAFS.
43. You might wake up to one : SNORE. This was hard to follow.
44. Satirist once dubbed "Will Rogers with fangs" : SAHL. He was the voice of the 60's. I grew up listening to Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, as well as Bob Newhart on LPs.
45. Heavily sit (down) : PLOP. Fizz?
46. Draft choice : ALE. Not a selection in the upcoming NFL draft, but what is on tap, which looks like....
48. Lost it : WENT APE.
55. Eclectic online reader : UTNE. Do any of you all go to this oft referenced site?
56. Slime : GOO.
57. Treacherous type : VIPER. Some alliteration.
62. Beads on blades : DEW
66. Poetic preposition : ERE. Some alliteration.
67. Landlocked African country : UGANDA. In South America it is Bolivia.
68. When some ties are broken, briefly : IN O.T. (OverTime) I not understand at first.
69. Clear : RID. And its opposite....
70. Grant : BESTOW.
71. Part of CSNY : NASH. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
Down:
1. "Up in the Air" Oscar nominee Farmiga : VERA. Her videos just do not pass the breakfast test.
2. Aircraft pioneer Sikorsky : IGOR. He pioneered many aircraft and is especially known for his work perfecting the rotary helicopter. He spent most of his adult life in Connecticut, where I had the pleasure of meeting him when I was a child.
3. Give in : CAVE. Such a tricky little clue/fill but I did not.
4. Ideal world : EDEN.
5. Diplomatic VIP : AMBassador?
6. Little, in Lille : PEU. Frawnche.
7. Went after : HAD AT.
8. Hastings hearth : INGLE. Friday fireplace words.
9. Tab alternative : DIET R C. R C Cola, the other cola.
10. Play area : SET. Not where children play, but where one puts on a play.
11. Muddled situation : SNAFU. Situation Normal, All F****** Up.
12. Fife-and-drum corps instrument : TABOR. We just had this in marti's January 29, 2015, Thursday puzzle which I blogged for her.
18. Avis adjective : RARA. This bird is not so rare in crossword puzzles. See Monday.
22. Crooked : CORRUPT. Perhaps this is a New England reference as well?
24. Awestruck : AGOG.
25. They might cause jitters : FEARS.
26. Snit : HUFF. For tV trivia nuts, LINK (1:58) for football fans LINK (2:08)
28. Arabian sultanate : OMAN.
29. Toy for an aspiring architect : LEGO.
30. Repeat : ITERATE. So reiterate is re-repeating.
34. DOT agcy. : FAA. Federal Aviation Administration is now faced with regulating drones.
35. The "e" sound in "tandem" : SCHWA. Have we discussed this enough?
37. Ceramic pot : OLLA.
38. Dinner on the farm, maybe : SLOP.
39. Enter, in a way : TYPE.
41. Where to nosh on a knish : DELIcatessen.
42. Wire service?: Abbr. : ELECtricity. My favorite fill.
47. Captivate : ENGAGE. Her smile ....
49. St. Petersburg's river : NEVA.
50. More boorish : RUDER.
51. Comic Cheri : OTERI. An SNL graduate who did not appear on the 40th reunion.
52. Single : UNWED. I often have lots of unweds in my wallet.
53. Some floats : SODAS. Root beer anyone?
54. Essence : POINT.
58. "Let's do it!" : I'M IN.
59. Cóctel fruit : PINA. Pineapple.
60. They may be inflated : EGOS. Not around here.
61. Author who created Zuckerman : ROTH. This alter-ego for the the author appears in many of Roth's novels really epitomizing what I learned in college that myth is reality and reality is myth.
63. Barbecue seasoning : RUB. The simplest, pepper for steak au poivre.
64. Prefix with meter : ODO. More from Monday.
65. Carpenter's tool : SAW. How is the work coming Splynter?
Well I am out of words, so it is time for me to shuffle off; thanks marti. Lemonade out.
