A debut puzzle from a familiar poster who was a rookie this year at ACPT where he finished 392nd. In a consistent theme, the last letter of a two letter word which begins a common phrase is doubled to create a new and visually fun answer. The choices for this theme are very limited (I thought of some not very good ones like ADD NAUSEAM and OFF HUMAN BONDAGE) because the theme is so tight. The rest of puzzle was similar to many Fridays we have had lately with average word length less than 5 letters, but it also the first pangram (puzzle containing all 26 letters) I have seen on a Friday in a very long while. I found the cluing not only difficult in places, but confusing. Perhaps this comes from the ambitious inclusion of all the letters. I did like seeing two Js in the grid. There are some interesting intermediate fill like AIRBAG, IMAGES, LETS GO, MATHIS, SEARCH, STIGMA, THINGS, XANADU, EMERGENT and JAILBIRD and two which were as long as theme answers, OVERWATERS and SOUTH SUDAN. There are also many fill with double letters (DDAY, TEEMS, ROOT, ROSS, ERRS, APP, OTTO, LEVEE, RAGG and OSS). None of these confused the issue of the theme for me.
18A. Quibble about accommodations? : INN DISPUTE (10). The second N appeared early from the perps, so I had an idea about the theme quickly.
27A. Marshmallow that's been toasted too long? : GOO UP IN FLAMES (13). My favorite of the answers, as I could picture the gooey mess I have made when trying to do marshmallows with my sons.
48A. Small group of tiny monarchs? : WEE THREE KINGS (13). Also a very cute variation on the Christmas CAROL (2:28).
63A. Worthless buzzer? : BEE OF NO USE (10). We all know bees are very useful but I guess there is a Gilligan in every hive.
A good Good Friday, and a Happy Passover to those who celebrate; looking forward to another delicious seder. On to the rest...
Across:
1. Spell : JINX. We are going to have one of those Fridays where I am constrained to comment too vigorously, not knowing if the clue is the author's or Rich's, but I do not see these terms as interchangeable. The dictionary may disagree, but to me 'cast a spell' (or curse) would be the synonym for the verb JINX, and 'bad luck' or 'black cat' for the noun.
5. Traitor : JUDAS. A rather timely clue/fill on this Good Friday which commemorates the crucifixion of Christ after his betrayal by Judas.
10. Letters causing a rush : ASAP. As Soon As Possible. Since people say, 'A Sap,' so is this an acronym?
14. Property measurement : AREA. As most must have, I began with ACRE.
15. Flopped financially : ATE IT. I understand the generic 'ate it' means failed miserably, but I know of no connection to financial failure.
16. Bonkers : LOCO. Some un-pc terms for mentally ill.
17. Response to a drone : YAWN. Not the one with camera or delivering from Amazon, or even from a beehive, but like my Real Property professor, D.T. Smith.
20. Zeus' beginning? : ZETA. In ancient Greek it was spelled ''Ζεύς'' with Zeta the first letter, but if you are transliterating to English, it should be Zee or Zed? I believe in modern Greek they now spell the name of the chief of the Greek gods as Δίας which aligns the name with Latin Deus. Hopefully we have a reader who can shed more light on this subject.
21. Forgives : LETS GO. The cluing so far had me scrambling, again I understand one letting go of the anger can be forgiving, but...well I will just let it go.
22. Director Burton : TIM. Wow, an easy one. Johnny Depp is his favorite.
23. Little bit : DAB.
33. 4x4, e.g. : ATV. All Terrain Vehicle.
34. "1984" worker : PROLE. A really fine Friday CLUE, but no politics.
35. Get used (to) : INURE.
38. Assembly stage : STEP. How many have bought furniture from IKEA?
40. Hit from a tee : DRIVE. Ah some golf as we near the Masters.
42. Start of Operation Overlord : D-DAY.
43. Scrutinized, with "over" : PORED. His notes? Books and records?
45. Abounds : TEEMS. This reminds me of THIS.(2:16).
47. Generation : AGE.
51. Google, say : SEARCH.
53. Canyon part : RIM.
54. "A Bug's Life" extra : ANT.
55. It might blow up in a crash : AIRBAG. Nicely thought-out deception.
59. Shade at the shore : AQUA. Also cute as we are talking shade of color not an umbrella.
65. [I'm doomed] : GULP. Very nice cartoonish visual.
66. Goes wrong : ERRS. Do not forget to forgive.
67. Bridge expert on some "Sports Illustrated" covers : GOREN. If you ever played the game and are about my age you know and have read books by CHARLES. I do use Blackwood.
68. Mozart's "a" : EINE.
69. Soft-spoken painter Bob : ROSS. All perps for me, thought it sounds like it was an interesting SHOW.
70. Irish hero, briefly : ST. PAT.
71. Pringles competitor : STAX. I tried them once and they were not good. I do tend to try every food product once.
Down:
1. Now hyphen-less rapper : JAYZ. DKDC. He is attempting to take over streaming of music with TIDAL.
2. "Dies __" : IRAE. More religion.
3. Spotted aquarium dweller : NEWT. Mr. Gingrich's image is fading in the mirror.
4. Film estate with a championship golf course : XANADU. Took me way to long to dredge this ESTATE from my brain.
5. "Avian" for whom flight is often futile : JAILBIRD. A little prison humor.
6. __ Reader : UTNE.Does anyone actually read this?
7. It may be hammered out : DENT. Not an agreement but a literal hammer job.
8. Help providers : AIDS.
9. Stain : STIGMA. So many connotations; we also have the related STIGMATA but that sounds like religion.
10. European attraction : ALP. marti, a gimme for you?
11. Independent country since 2011 : SOUTH SUDAN. All you wanted to know and MORE.
12. When Hamlet says, "The play's the thing ... " : ACT II. Well I got a very small taste of some Shakespeare.
13. Dickinson output : POEMS. Emily.
19. "Amen!" : SO AM I. So be it? I agree?
24. Trivia Crack, e.g. : APP. Sounds vaguely obscene, but this GAME sounds and looks like electronic Trivial Pursuit.
26. Mind : TEND. All perps, did not even see the clue and hope you all will explain. Children? One's business?
27. Horrified reaction : GASP.
28. One of the Ringling brothers : OTTO. No Sgt. Snorkel for this puzzle, but this somewhat obscure figure who died in 1911. Per wiki the Ringling Brothers Circus was a circus founded in the United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling Brothers: Albert (1852–1916), August (1854–1907), Otto (1858–1911), Alfred T. (1862–1919), Charles (1863–1926), John (1866–1936), and Henry (1869–1918). In 1907 it acquired the Barnum & Bailey Circus, merging them in 1919 to become Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, promoted as The Greatest Show on Earth. It does not say which 5, but John and Charles were the most famous and did much to put Sarasota, Florida on the map.
29. Drowns in the garden : OVERWATERS. A thoughtful clue; I do love gardening but in April one should not need to water often.
30. __ Star : NORTH. No love for Kanye and Kim?
31. Circular : FLIER.
32. Chevy's "American Pie" destination : LEVEE.
36. Woolen yarn : RAGG. Nope, sorry, I do not know this WORD. I do know MOP.
37. Socket set : EYES. Oh my, what a great alliterative misdirection.
39. Review target : PEER. Peer review is very big in many professions, especially medical ones.
41. Newly formed : EMERGENT.
44. Joe sans jolt : DECAF. Love those Js.
46. Take on moguls : SKI. I will be Colorado and the snow will be fresh. Who wants to meet me there? marti?
49. The Cat in the Hat's numbered cohorts : THINGS.
50. Visuals : IMAGES.
51. Word with tooth or saw : SABER.
52. Año starter : ENERO.
56. Repeated word in "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" : ROOT.
57. Do a new mom's job : BURP. Oh those burping moms, watch out.
58. On a cruise : ASEA.
60. Gave notice : QUIT.
61. Radius neighbor : ULNA.
62. Pinnacle : APEX. Apex, Acme? My favorite golf ball in the 80s. Second day in a row for this fill.
64. '40s spy org. : OSS. Office of Strategic Services. The predecessor of the CIA.
Well enjoy Friday, I will be out of pocket most of the day in preparation for the first night of Passover, so smoke em if you have them and happy holidays to all. Lemonade out.
1) Our own Minnesotan constructors George Barany and Marcia J. Brott constructed today's CHE "Sea Shells" puzzle. Tasty and timely. Please click here to download the puz file.
2) The fourth Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held on June 14th. Please click here for more details.
