Theme: Tribute Puzzle to Blondie - All eight symmetrically placed entries are Blondie related.
16A. Spouse of 66-Across : DAGWOOD
22A. Spouse of 20-Down : CORA
40A. Friend of 66-Across : TOOTSIE. Intersecting MR. DITHERS (20D.
Employer of 16-Across). I can picture how excited Jerry was when he
discovered that he could cross two themers in the middle. The grid
design of this puzzle probably started in the middle.
54A. Friend of 16-Across : HERB
66A. Comic strip celebrating its 85th anniversary this month : BLONDIE. It's important that this key reveal entry is placed at the lower right corner, traditionally the last part where solvers finish their puzzle.
11D. Son of 16- and 66-Across : ALEXANDER
36D. Creator of 66-Across : CHIC YOUNG. I already had CHI? YOUNG and thought his name might be CHIP, but the crossing said "No".
C.C. here. Marti will be back blogging on Oct 1. Gary will guide us next Thursday.
I
always skip the comic pages in our Star Tribune. I glance at Family
Circus & Dennis the Menace occasionally. They're placed together and
I love the sweet and innocent nature of those two strips.
I
had no problem obtaining those Blondie names. Easy crosses all around.
We don't often see blocks at the corners. Jerry used four to facilitate
smooth fill. Stacked 7's & 6's are not easy to fill cleanly.
Across:
1. Ways to the docks : INLETS
7. Military unit : BRIGADE
14. California colleague of Barbara : DIANNE. Babara Boxer is retiring next year. We also have 51. Hatch in the Senate : ORRIN.
15. Worked on a runway : MODELED
17. Winter clothes : WOOLENS. I did not know Woolen can be a noun.
18. 2008 Benicio del Toro title role : CHE. A hero when I grew up.
19. Fruit support : STEM
21. Fiber-yielding plant : FLAX. My first reaction: ALOE?
24. Messes up : ERRS. And 37. Mess up : MISHANDLE
26. Command to Fido : STAY
28. Pump output : GAS
30. Downturn : DIP. As the stock market.
32. "__ ideal world ... " : IN AN. There will be no personal attacks on this blog. Why do you want to hurt others?
34. Fancy neckwear : ASCOT
39. "A likely story!" : HAH
42. Ike's domain in WWII : ETO
43. Orwell's "1984" Inner Party is one : OLIGARCHY. Sparkling fill.
45. Aired as a marathon : RE-RAN. TV marathons.
47. Track setting : PACE
48. Ship, to a sailor : SHE. Hi there, Spitzboov & D-Otto. Any love stories in Guam, D-Otto?
49. Chips for the winner : POT. Did anyone else read it as "Chips for the winter"?
50. "__-mite!": "Good Times" catchword : DYNO. Easily guessed.
52. Patron of Alice's : ARLO
58. What we have here : OURS. Got via crosses. Sometimes my brain just does not work as constructor/Rich wants.
60. River-bottom accumulation : SILT
62. Word with odds or bricks : LAY
63. Water pistol output : SQUIRTS. Another nice fill.
68. Brighter, in a way : SUNNIER. What Dave does to my day, except when he's in the stunt airplane mood. Dave mentioned that the right section of the blog (including Interviews and Olio), is missing from his iPhone. Does this happen to other iPhone/Android users?
69. Colors again : RE-DYES
70. University officers : REGENTS
71. Last : ENDURE
Down:
1. Union member since 1890 : IDAHO
2. Niamey is its capital : NIGER. Via crosses.
3. Order companion : LAW
4. Slaughter in baseball : ENOS. Cardinals' #9. What jersey number would you like to have? I want #3.
5. U.S. IOUs : T-NOTES
6. The Four Questions ritual : SEDER. Filled in before I even read the clue.
7. Audi rival : BMW
8. Santa's target : ROOF
9. Graven images : IDOLS
10. Makeup of many capsules : GELATIN
12. Scouting unit : DEN
13. Paper staffers, briefly : EDS (Editors)
16. CCCL doubled : DCC. 700.
23. Back then : AGO
25. She won an Oscar for her 1980 portrayal of Loretta : SISSY
27. 1945 "Big Three" conference site : YALTA. No Y/M confusion this time. Easy Across.
29. "__ boy!" : ATTA
31. Chi preceder : PHI. Not TAI.
33. Light element : NEON
34. One bounce, in baseball : A HOP. Partial.
35. __ days : SALAD. I bought a pack of Spaetzle at Aldi on Tuesday. Cooked in boiling water for 12 minutes according to the instruction, the noodles were so bland. No bite at all. How do I make it interesting?
37. Caffé order : MOCHA
38. Beginning of space? : AERO. Aerospace.
41. Surg. sites : ORs
44. Real : GENUINE. Oh, Oh, look at this Chloé Paddington!
46. E. African land : ETH (Ethiopia)
49. Springtime concern for many : POLLEN
53. Cuba __: rum drink : LIBRE
55. Respected figure : ELDER
56. Bring up : RAISE
57. High seed's advantage : BYE
59. "Ignore that edit" : STET
61. Taylor's husband between Wilding and Fisher : TODD (Mike). Wiki says "... Although this marriage lasted only a little over one year, it was the only one of Taylor's marriages to end without divorce; Todd died in a plane crash while married to Taylor... Taylor later called him one of the three loves of her life, along with Burton and jewelry..."
63. Cold War letters : SSR
64. "__ Sera, Sera" : QUE
65. Grads to be : SRs
67. Manhattan coll. founded in 1831 : NYU
C.C.
