Theme: Marketing 101: add an ad.
What a last 4 weeks with Jeffrey Wechsler, John Lampkin, and now Don and C.C. They had this Tea Party puzzle in April. It is only fitting that this team kick off the weekend of the Fourth Annual Minnesota Crossword set for this Sunday, the 14th, here at the Corner.
This time we have an add an AD to a recognizable two word phrase, with the first three added to the middle of the first word, the last to the beginning of the final word. While an outlier, I love the quote from Thelonious Monk. The rest of the puzzle has the now usual mix of deceptively clued facts or not too well known proper names which make the fill a challenge. Some sparkle in the intermediate length answers like ATHENA, AUSTIN, BROKAW, CREEPO, ESALEN, MOROSE, SPARTA, ELECTIVE, SPARE RIB, UPSTAGES with the use of some double words to make the challenge greater MUD PIE, SPOT ON, TONE UP, LADY DI, and LIE AWAKE. Overall not an easy puzzle but a fun Friday.
17A. Sheep and cows grazing together? : MEADOW MIX (9). Meow Mix. A little cat food transforms to big animal fodder.
30A. Taking turns ranting? : TIRADE ROTATION (14). Tire rotation.
48A. Spy industry? : SHADOW BUSINESS (14). My favorite. Show business.
63A. Monk's "The piano ain't got no wrong notes," e.g? : JAZZ ADAGE (9). Jazz Age.
and the reveal:
60D. Court term, and hint to this puzzle's four longest answers : AD IN. It is cool how constructors see these phrases as the building block of a puzzle.
Across:
1. Oilman who once owned the New York Jets : HESS. He bought out his partners and hired Bill Parcells. LINK. Hess gas station recently became Speedway. What will happen to the trucks?
5. Voucher : CHIT. A very common fill.
9. "MacGyver" actor Dana : ELCAR. I recall this odd looking man, but confused the LC as CL for a bit.
14. "Happy Starts Here" food company : ALPO. LINK. (0:15).
15. Something about us all? : AURA. Cute, about us not about us....
16. Lash of Westerns : LARUE. A different time and place. LINK.(14:36).
19. Latin clarifier : ID EST. i. e.
20. Rough projection : CRAG.
21. __ Flags : SIX. Theme parks.
23. Brand of coolers : YETI. No idea; are THEY big in Minnesota?
24. Chateau __ Michelle winery : STE.
25. "... the __ below / As hush as death ... ": "Hamlet" : ORB.
28. Chocolate dessert : MUD PIE. Cookies have taken over the RECIPES but as long as I get my coffee ice cream and hot fudge, I am happy. Not related to our fill from a few weeks ago.
34. Baleful : EVIL. We hit a sour patch here. Baleful is not a common word.
35. Sullen : MOROSE.
36. Char-Broil competitor : WEBER. We have to leave our grills out back as we have no open patios.
38. Last state to be admitted to the U.S. before the start of the Civil War : KANsas.
39. French toast : SALUT. Not the common "à votre santé."
44. Big Sur retreat : ESALEN. This institute was quite popular in the 60s and 70s; want to know MORE?
47. Morning co-host : RIPA. You think she works out?
52. Precise : SPOT ON. A very popular phrase these days.
53. Kung __ shrimp : PAO. Very food intensive grid. YUMMY? HATED?
54. Took sides? : ATE. Great deception, I love the choice of sides at Boston Market.(more food).
55. Lattice strip : LATH.
56. Nigerian culinary staple : YAM. I had no idea. LEARN. (food)
59. Tot's glassful : WAWA.
61. Diner unit : ORDER. (food).
67. Right wrongs : ATONE. As our major religious day is the one of ATONEMENT this could not be easier. I point out, it also parses as AT ONE, which also describes the goal of mankind to be AT ONE with each other and the divine. You remember the quote?
68. "Land for sale" sign datum : AREA.
69. Its logo uses Sweden's national colors : IKEA.
70. Trouble : NAG AT. I do not get this clue/fill.
71. Phoned : RANG. Ah the old days, when we rang people up.
72. Costner role : NESS.
Down:
1. Pork cut : HAM. and the nearby clecho 3A. Pork cut : SPARE RIB. A continuation of a food mini-theme.
2. Student's option : ELECTIVE. Most use these to find easy courses to pad their GPA.
4. Pop : SODA. Not father related, but the predominately Midwest concept for carbonated beverages.
5. Call in a field : CAW. From a crow haunting your corn field.
6. White noise, perhaps : HUM. HMM.
7. Tennessee state flower : IRIS. Had absolutely no idea but 4 letter flowers are limited. A rose by any other name?
8. Waiter at O'Hare : TAXI. Nice deception, slowed me a bit.
9. Country's __ Young Band : ELI. An example of what for me is an obscure proper name, though they are playing in Winsted, MN at the Winstock Country Music Festival tomorrow. No link, I could not find one without extensive ads.
10. Prince George's grandma : LADY DI. I wonder if she would have enjoyed being a grandmother?
11. Lowlife, slangily : CREEPO.
12. Southernmost 48-states capital : AUSTIN. Many people forget this is the capital of Texas, though I had a roommate born and raised there, so I knew.
13. Get even with again : RETIE. More deception, not revenge but a tying score. 37D. More than modify : REDO.
18. Prayer opener : O GOD.
22. Brief holiday? : XMAS. When I was young the use of this term was decried by the Church.
24. Ratatouille, for one : STEW. Do you use this RECIPE? My wife makes this not knowing it by name and using Thai Basil for a spark. (MORE FOOD!) Where is Steve?
26. "Losing My Religion" band : REM.
27. Longtime Rather rival : BROKAW. Tom and Dan, they replaced Brinkley and Cronkite.
29. Pac-12 team : UTES. Very original out in Utah.
31. Yard sale? : ALE. Really fun deception, and I did drink a yard of ale at the local German restaurant when I was at dinner with my sons and nephew.
32. P&G dental brand : ORAL B.
33. Get ripped : TONE UP. Most just say tone.
40. Prince __ of Ord, friend of Valiant : ARN. Crossword staple.
41. Act restlessly : LIE AWAKE. We have all had those nights.
42. Draws attention from, in a way : UPSTAGES. Often literally.
43. Zap : TASE.
45. Xperia maker : SONY. I am not familiar with this line of smart phones and tablets.
46. Surveillance org. : NSA. National Security Agency. No politics.
48. Ancient Laconian state : SPARTA. This is the southernmost part of Greece is Laconia (Λακωνία) now recognized as a regional unit with Sparta as a Municipality therein. The long time rivals of Athens named after....
49. Show-off : HOTDOG. Not food, but...
50. Goddess who advised Odysseus : ATHENA. Guess who?
51. "The Bridges of Madison County" setting : IOWA.
52. Plumbing brand : SLOAN. Just look around in the restrooms of your choice.
57. Open slightly : AJAR.
58. Actress Rooney __ : MARA. She was haunting in GIRL IN A DRAGON TATTOO. (3:50)
62. Like Gen. Shinseki : RETired. Very decorated soldier, with a troubled ending to his career. READ.
64. __ garden : ZEN. relax, we are coming to the end.
65. Turn sharply : ZAG. Which is sharper this or the ZIG?
66. __ in echo : E AS.
A fine way to finish the work week. Thanks Hard G and the incomparable C.C. Thanks a lot lemonade out
Notes from C.C.:
As Lemonade mentioned earlier, the fourth Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held on June 14th, 2015 Sunday. Please click here for more details.
Don G and I teamed up again this year. Other constructors include George Barany, Victor Barocas (also our hard-working editor), the
team of Andrea Carla Michaels & Jon Berman, Michael David, Johanna
Fenimore, David Hanson, David Liben-Nowell, Tom Pepper & Amy
Reynaldo (Orange of the Crossword Fiend).
rge Barany
Hope to see some of you there.
