Well after marti had another puzzle run with Jeffrey ending last Thursday, he is back to Friday with a puzzle right up my carbohydrate loving alley. As we discussed earlier in the week with the WHERE/WARE/WEAR/WERE sound, a puzzle based on sound-alike humor can be under-appreciated by those who speak very differently from the constructor. For me, while 16 across was easy, I do not say 'HALLA' I use the "CHHH" sound, so the HOLIDAY transfer was not there, but it really did not slow me down. All of the puns require some regional accent but I found them all very entertaining, especially in the context of the limited field of types of bread. Jeffrey fills out the theme with two grid-spanners (my guess is RYE sense of humor was the inspiration) and a built-in reveal which I did not need. The rest is fairly straight-forward with lots of 6's and a couple of 7s and 8s. The list is ACTION, ARARAT, HANNAH, LOOK TO, MISHAP, NOISES, OOLALA, OPPOSE, ORANGE, PASTOR, RAMMED, RIYADH, ARCHAIC, BETIDES, ARRANGED, ERIC IDLE, with some also returning fill from recent puzzles. It played like a Thursday for me.
16A. Good feelings during Jewish bread celebrations?: CHALLAH DAY CHEER (15). HOLIDAY Cheer was enough for me to get his idea, if you have not had French Toast made from Challa you are missing a real treat.
25A. Cautionary tale about Greek bread? : PITA AND THE WOLF (14). PETER and the Wolf is a crossword regular (see yesterday) and the boy who cried wolf still gets much play. My favorite of the fill, if not of the bread. Pita is so thick.
45A. Baker of only one type of Indian bread? : NAAN CONFORMIST (14). NONconformist. Is there a variation in saying NAAN? I like it infrequently.
62A. Ability to laugh at deli bread ... and at three other answers in this puzzle? : RYE SENSE OF HUMOR (15). WRY Sense of Humor. I grew up with caraway seeds.
I cannot think of any English muffin, brioche, croissant, baguette or focaccia pun so on to the rest.
(ooo, maybe something about a CROSS AUNT?!?)
Across:
1. Flock leader : PASTOR. Not of sheep...no religion no politics, no picture of Tammy Faye. This was easier because of yesterdays clue/fill.
7. Old : ARCHAIC. What a nice old word.
14. Film genre : ACTION. When asked who the best present day action movie star is, Dolph Lundgren suggested perhaps it is this STAR.
15. Co-creator of the Rutles, a parodic band : ERIC IDLE. The parodic addition seems unnecessary.
18. iComfort maker : SERTA. SEALY has the same number of letters. Anyone else tempted to put in APPLE?
19. Spiritualist's sighting : AURA.
20. Greek peak : OSSA. I do not associate Greece with snow; this is near Mt. Olympus?
21. Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer : LIN. The now almost forgotten Jeremy is replaced by MAYA. Not to be confused with 40A. Draw, as a portrait : LIMN.
23. Newspaper thickener : ADS. Especially on Sundays.
33. Scores : MANY.
34. Big opening : MAW. Usually associated with a voracious animal's mouth.
35. Calf neighbor : TIBIA. Muscle and bone.
36. Scraps : ORTS. Those little leftover pieces of food, I think from German. Not to be confused with 49A. Conquistador's treasure : ORO. Spanish for Gold.
37. Commandment word : SHALT.
41. Home of minor league baseball's RubberDucks : AKRON. A cool unknown. LINK. Damn, Styx is playing there tonight.
43. Friend of Eeyore : ROO. Kanga's little one in Pooh's world.
44. Signs of island hospitality : LEIS. The bad double entendres are too easy.
50. Decorative swimmer : KOI. They often look like huge goldfish but are variations of Carp.
51. Mont Blanc, par exemple : ALPE. Fill for marti.
55. "A good deed __ ever forgot": "Huckleberry Finn" : AIN'T. Unremembered but easy fill.
57. Blush cause : SHAME. "Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to." Mark Twain,
65. Planned : ARRANGED.
66. Hit with force : RAMMED.
67. Happens to : BETIDES. Another great word from the past, often with woe, "One of these was punctuality and woe betide anyone who arrived late in school without a very good reason for being so." Fraser, Christine Marion NOBLE BEGINNNINGS
68. Fight : OPPOSE.
Down:
1. D.C. fundraisers : PACS. Political Action Committees are already gearing up for 2016.
2. Pine : ACHE. Not the tree, the yearning.
3. Take the lead : STAR.
4. Slope : TILT.
5. "C'est magnifique!" : OO LA LA. Linda.
6. Genetic messenger : RNA.
7. Ancient landing spot : ARARAT. We had this Mount back in a Gareth Thursday in April.
8. King Saud University city : RIYADH. Did you remember where the H goes?
9. Speculative bond rating : CCC. Oh my, not a good bond, but an extra C shout out for the Corner?
10. Jaunty greeting : HI HO. Be careful...
11. Summer quaffs : ADES. A CSO; thanks JW!
12. Martinique et Réunion : ILES. We have volcanoes and islands this week.
13. Michael of "Arrested Development" : CERA.
15. URL ending : EDUcation.
17. Disney's Montana : HANNAH. THEN. NOW.
22. Pet food creator Paul : IAMS. The story. LINK.
24. Place for quiet, at times : SET. Quiet on the set! Rolling!
25. Yukon warmer : PARKA. Last week ANORAK, this week...
26. Mural beginning : INTRA. I was playing intramural tag football when Kennedy was shot.
27. 1980s-'90s heavyweight champ : TYSON. He was not impressed with PACQUIAO MAYWEATHER fight, and consumers have filed a class action LAWSUIT based on the undisclosed shoulder injury.
28. Grumpy, say : DWARF. More Disney; or not Disney
29. Hesitant thought : WILL I. or won't I?
30. Theatrical honors : OBIES. Off Broadway. (OB)
31. Control, in a way : LIMIT.
32. Followers : FANS.
33. Halloween effect : MOAN. I hope more often than that in your home.
38. Seek guidance from : LOOK TO.
39. Brand for greenskeepers : TORO. Lawnmowers etc.
42. Sgt., for one : NCO.
46. Grand Marnier flavor : ORANGE. A shout out to Amy?
47. Malfunction indicators, perhaps : NOISES. When you start your car and you hear things it often leads to a ...
48. Thing gone wrong : MISHAP.
51. Many an 8-Down native : ARAB.
52. Harp relative : LYRE. Back after LYRA yesterday.
53. Sassy : PERT.
54. Actor Morales : ESAI. He is crossword staple.
56. Composer Rorem : NED. He is crossword staple also.
58. Hardest part : HUMP. Get over the....
59. It's used in rounds : AMMO.
60. Springfield watering hole : MOE'S. Speaking of rounds...CSOs abound for our Chairman.
61. Paris : terre :: Bonn : __ : ERDE. Earth.
63. Word with game or point : END. Which we are near....as we pace...
64. Not to : FRO. Cute
When you have a bread puzzle you are bound to have some crumby clues (LMAO), but I had a fine time and one of my faster Fridays. Damn, I am missing Styx, lemonade out.
