Dan has some gazetteer fun with us as he takes world capital city names and, using their pronunciation or a reasonable facsimile thereof, creates a fun gimmick. Each city is paired with another word to make an "in the language" phrase or "close enough" sound-a-like. Some theme answers are just one word and some are two.
C.C. saw Dan and Me and decided to PARIS UP. :-)
17. Irish city in a recession? : DUBLIN DOWN/DOUBLING DOWN - Ireland's capital or Blackjack's elided strategy of doubling your bet after seeing first two cards (esp. with a 10 or 11)
63. South Korean sailors? : SEOUL MATES/SOUL MATES - Capital of the Korea that doesn't have a maniac running it and me with my SOUL MATE in Venice (Gondolier is reaching for his cell phone)
Across:
1. Volkswagen Type 1, familiarly : BUG - Designed for Hitler by Ferdinand Porsche (far left)
4. Yemeni neighbor : OMANI
9. Old-timey oath : EGAD
13. 1956 Gregory Peck role : AHAB - Many (including me) thought he was really miscast
15. Add a lane to, say : WIDEN
16. University of New Mexico athlete : LOBO
19. Watched warily : EYED
20. One with a stable job? : GROOM - The GROOM for Triple Crown Winner American Pharoah was Eduardo Luna
26. Body work, briefly : TAT - Tattoo shorthand
33. Catches some rays : SUNS - C'mon, you put TANS first too didn't cha?
37. Home ec alternative : SHOP - Industrial Tech today
38. Louisville's KFC Yum! Center, e.g. : ARENA - Home of the Cardinal basketball teams
39. Dessert pancake : CREPE - Pierre says Krep, Pete says Krape
41. Part of USDA: Abbr. : AGR - United States Department of AGRiculture
42. Spirited diversions : LARKS
43. Febreze targets : ODORS
44. It's on the house : ROOF - MIL needs a new one but hail avoids her!
46. Not as pricey : LESS
50. Originally called : NEE - Hillary (née Rodham) Clinton
51. Jackhammer sound : RAT-A-TAT - Sometimes called the jackhammer of the forest
56. Malady : SICKNESS
61. Thrill to pieces : ELATE - I've used ELATED and ELATION but not the verb
62. Bibliog. catchall : ET AL - ...and some other guys
66. Cartoon maker of explosive tennis balls : ACME - I think Wiley Coyote had an ACME charge card
67. Pile up : AMASS
68. Jib or mizzen : SAIL - The site says this has a JIB, JIB topsail, Foresail, Mainsail, MIZZEN Mast and MIZZEN Topsail. I live 1,500 miles from an ocean but I think the Jib SAIL in the bow and the Mizzen SAIL is astern. Spitz?
69. Where to store hoes and hoses : SHED
70. Tense with excitement : WIRED - Or on 65 Down
71. Genetic material : RNA
Down:
1. Western movie star? : BADGE - Gregory Peck looks better with this "Western movie star" than with a harpoon
2. Crewmate of Chekov and Sulu : UHURA - The Enterprise's communication officer is sending Spock a message
3. Eva or Zsa Zsa : GABOR - The Kardashian's of their day
4. Part of BYOB : OWN
5. Prefix with day or night : MID
6. Fusses : ADOS
7. Small salamander : NEWT
8. Present from birth : INNATE
9. Like a political "college" : ELECTORAL - By winning this vote but not the popular vote, we got Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison and George W. Bush
10. Fiesta Baked Beans maker : GOYA - I didn't know beans about this company but it is the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the U.S.
12. Extinct bird : DODO - Alas, we lost our own DODO in April
14. Gooey clump : BLOB - Your movie career has to start somewhere
18. "It's not too late to call" : I'M UP - Joann's twin is up past midnight every night
22. Waterway with locks : CANAL
24. JAMA subscribers : DRS - Journal of the American Medical Association
25. Much of Libya : SAHARA - Earth's largest "hot" desert
28. "Diary of a Madman" author : GOGOL - I didn't know beans about this Russian either
29. Hubbub : UPROAR
30. Bone-dry : SERE - 25 Down and this...
31. 26-Across materials : INKS
32. Fresh talk : SASS
33. Craig Ferguson, by birth : SCOT - Former Late Late Show host on CBS
34. Pakistani language : URDU
35. Eye-catching sign : NEON
36. Rained gently : SPRINKLED
40. City on the Ruhr : ESSEN - 90% of the town center was destroyed during WWII as the Krupp munition plant was a big target
45. Cosmetics-testing org. : FDA
48. Playground piece : SEESAW
49. Originate (from) : STEM
52. Wistful word : ALAS
53. Golden Horde member : TATAR - A TATAR horseman
55. Car named for a physicist : TESLA - Every physics teacher has used a TESLA coil
56. Wet septet : SEAS - Do you remember the song where wonderful Annie Lennox sang, "I travel the world and the SEVEN SEAS"?
57. Scratching target : ITCH
58. Attended the party : CAME - I hope they RSVP'ed
59. Big Mack : SEMI - Mack The Transporter
60. Fly like an eagle : SOAR - Steve Miller band tune
64. "It's no __!" : USE
65. "Dropped" '60s drug : LSD - Ex combo rat friend of mine was no stranger to this stuff
I CANBERRA DNF sometimes but not on this one! 3...2...1...Comment...
