17-Across. Heavyweight who dethroned Sonny Liston : CASSIUS CLAY. First you take some CLAY,
25-Across. The London Eye, for one : FERRIS WHEEL...throw it on a WHEEL,
36-Across. Zesty meat coating : ORANGE GLAZE...coat it with a GLAZE,
50-Across. Beer-making device : BREWERS KILN...and cook it in a KILN.
And the reveal:
59-Across. Fictional wizard, and a hint to who would use the ends of 17-, 25-, 36- and 50-Across : HARRY POTTER. If you manage to come out with something useful or pretty, you are a POTTER! I liked the logical progression in the theme entries. Well done.
Across
1. Los Alamos projects : A-BOMBS.
7. "A Jug of Wine ... " poet : OMAR. Khayyám.
11. Shelter acquisition : PET. Oh, one acquired from a shelter...I thought it was something acquired for shelter, like a tent or an IRA.
14. Hat with a brim : FEDORA.
15. Sport for heavyweights : SUMO.
16. Fertility lab supply : OVA. Plural of ovum.
19. NASA transport : LEM. Lunar Excursion Module.
20. Attacks : SETS AT.
21. Other, to Orlando : OTRA.
22. Happy hour site : PUB. "Bar" also fit.
28. Exception lead-in : UNLESS...
30. Memorable "Richard III" words : A HORSE, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!
31. Disadvantaged : POOR.
32. One of the Mountain States : IDAHO.
35. Some hot rods : GTs. From the Italian Gran Turismo, they are not just hot rods. True "grand touring" cars have specific attributes to go along with the name.
40. Roulette option : ODD. "Red" also fit.
42. "Sorry" : I CAN'T.
43. Land of the banshee : EIRE.
46. Home of the NCAA's Wolf Pack : NEVADA.
48. "Tess" Golden Globe winner : KINSKI. Nastassja played the role so well.
54. Slew : TON.
55. Level, in London : RASE. Those Brits, I wish they'd learn to spell... ;-)
56. Spelunkers : CAVERS.
58. Dash widths : ENs. Half as wide as an EM dash.
64. __ limit : AGE.
65. Assist badly? : ABET.
66. Words before "Happy New Year!" : ...TWO, ONE.
67. Kenan's TV pal : KEL. "Kenan and Kel" ran for four years on Nickelodeon. It was cancelled in 2000. Never saw it.
68. Chats : JAWS.
69. New York county on Lake Ontario : OSWEGO. That sounds like an Air Force song: "Oswego, into the wild blue yonder..."
Down
1. Browns' gp. : AFC. American Football Conference. The AFC and the NFC are the two conferences which make up the NFL.
2. Cole Porter's "__ Clown" : BE A. What movie was it from?
3. Takes too much, briefly : ODs. Overdoses.
4. Peat component : MOSS.
5. Legal filings : BRIEFS.
6. Browns, perhaps : SAUTÉS.
7. Word before nod or buzz : OSCAR.
8. Millionaire starter? : MULTI. Because "mega"-millionaire was too short.
9. Org. with a monthly Journal of Ethics : AMA. American Medical Association.
10. Kevin's "Tin Cup" role : ROY. Not one of Kevin Costner's finest movies.
11. Disruptive spirit : POLTERGEIST.
12. Tibetans call it Chomolungma : EVEREST. Learning moment, but easily inferable.
13. They may be hot : TAMALES. Nailed it!
18. Belarus or Ukr., once : SSR. Soviet Socialist Republic.
21. "Looky here!" : OHO.
22. Small seal : PUP.
23. Low número : UNO.
24. Circulation need : BLOOD VESSEL. I briefly toyed with a "publication."
26. Humorist Mort : SAHL.
27. "Hold it!" : WHOA.
29. Bobble the ball : ERR.
32. Market chain based in Chicago : IGA. With the red and white logo.
33. Room with a recliner : DEN.
34. Insurance fig. : AGT. Insurance agent.
37. Helper : AIDE.
38. Site of Mt. Mitchell, highest Appalachian peak : N. CAR. Did you skip over the abbr. of "Mt." in the clue?
39. __ master : ZEN.
40. Taking five or ten : ON BREAK.
41. Drive up the wall : DERANGE. and 53-Down. One climbing the walls : IVY.
44. "King Kong" studio : RKO.
45. Cologne article : EIN. It can mean "one" or "a/an." It can be easily confused with "eins," which is the number "one."
47. Blow away : AWE.
48. Heavy lifter, for short? : KLEPTO.maniac.
49. Aligned : IN ROWS.
51. Head-turner's hardware? : SCREW. I had a hard time aligning the clue with the answer, since I feel it's the screwdriver that does the head turning, not the screw.
52. Super Mario racers : KARTS.
57. Stash : STOW.
59. Uris novel, with "The" : HAJ. I read it when it first came out, so this was a gimme.
60. Old sports org. with a red-white-and-blue ball : ABA. American Basketball Association. It merged with the NBA in 1976.
61. Piggy : TOE.
62. Writer's coll. major, often : ENG.lish
63. Vintage auto : REO.
And my work here is done...
Marti
Note from C.C.
Our California Coven & Lucina had their annual get-together yesterday. JD said:
"Here
we are today in Pleasanton, CA: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina. Chris (Garlic Gal)
read a sweet email that she had received from Dodo (wish I had brought
some of mine too). Then we toasted her and a life well lived."
Left to Right: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina.
June 3, 2015
