Theme: Tiny puns.
Mark B, is back with simple concept, where phrases which include a diminutive, are re-imagined by witty cluing. I found a couple to be very funny, but it did not feel entirely like a theme. His July effort which was on a Friday used legal terms which were clued in non-legal ways. Here the size aspect is vital to both the base phrase and the new definition. I hope he stops by, as he often does, because I have a nagging feeling I missed something. The rest was an interesting mix of very hard fill and very easy answers. GLADIOLI, LOOKS BAD, IDIOT LIGHT, and SUGAR SUGAR are the featured non-theme long fill. Let's see the rest.
17A. Hummingbird feature? : SMALL BILL (9). Do you have any ones on you, I want to buy some food for the hummingbirds, they have such short noses.
26A. Foothills? : SHORT RANGE (10). My drone does not go very far, it cannot get close to the mountains.
37A. Hot Wheels Volkswagen? : MINIATURE GOLF (12). I love this one. They actually EXIST. The seed entry, or maybe
50A. Potty-training tool? : LITTLE JOHN (10). Charlotte was out of diapers before she was two because of this device.
60A. Mouthpiece for a Lilliputian horse? : TEENSY BIT (9). Very cute.
Across:
1. Type of hippo : PYGMY. I spent way too much time trying to work this into the theme.
9. Color guard accessory : SABER. The ceremonial sword. Not a flower.
15. Virgo preceder : LEO. One of the easy ones.
16. "I'm here" : USE ME. This required the perps, not synonymous for me.
19. Enjoyed Vegas : GAMED. Not gambled...
20. Valley : DALE.
21. Place to live in Spain : CASA. House?
23. Sore feeling : IRE. Not achy but angry.
24. Purported ancestor of Ragnar Lothbrok on TV's "Vikings" : ODIN. I do not know this History Channel SERIES (3:15).
29. Crazy scene : ZOO. An unPC TERM now.
30. Call-day link : IT A. I wish I could; it has been a long week.
31. Value : ESTEEM.
32. Did a cobbler's job : SOLED. Shoe enough....
34. Stain : IMBRUE. To stain (something, especially one's hands or sword)."they were unwilling to imbrue their hands in his blood." Mark keeps an extensive word list to build his puzzles. This is a Friday word.
41. Hoedown move : DO-SI-DO. A wonderful CSO for our recovering dancer, YR.
42. Taking place : AFOOT. Hmm, dancing, cobblers and now this....
44. Is in store for : AWAITS.
47. Pine product : TAR. We recently linked the George Brett pine tar incident.
49. Maker of the GreenSaver Produce Keeper : OXO.
54. Explosive letters : TNT. har har.
55. Collector's __ : ITEM. See another easy one.
56. Reveals in an unwelcome way : OUTS. Speaking of unPC, is there any good context for this meaning?
58. Naming : ID-ING. I guess when you are naming a perpetrator....
64. Nursery supply : MULCH.
65. Psyche component : EGO. Id and superego.
66. Hiding __ : PLACE.
67. No longer an item : APART.
68. Oversaw : RAN. The business.
69. Teamed (with) : SIDED.
Down:
1. Jams : PJS.
2. Good remark? : YUM. What you say when it is good.
3. Plants with sword-shaped leaves : GLADIOLI. More swords...
5. Everyone in Mississippi? : Y'ALL.
6. Big ring name : ALI. Muhammed.
7. AT&T, for short : TELCO. We had this before.
8. Grinder : MOLAR. Not the sandwich, the tooth. hard.
9. 1969 hit with the line "You are my candy girl" : SUGAR SUGAR. You want the Music VIDEO (3:02)?
10. Botanist Gray : ASA. No idea of this PIONEER, but he fits with the flowers.
11. Candy heart words : BE MINE. marti...
13. Make amends for : REDEEM.
18. Outdo : BEST.
22. Volume measure : STERE. A cubic metre.
24. Abbr. on some cans : OZS. Ounces, also volume.
25. Hardly a happy ending : DOOM.
27. Where the Santa Maria sank, nowadays : HAITI. How many remember this HISTORY.
28. Dined on, biblically : ATE OF.
30. Dash warning : IDIOT LIGHT. Modern technology. LINK.
33. "I suggest you move on" : END IT.
35. Pie makeup? : MUD.
36. Stock : BROTH. The key to much cooking.
38. Plus : ASSET.
39. Doesn't exactly help one's reputation : LOOKS BAD.
40. Stunning or cunning : FOXY. One for Splynter? LINK.
43. One under a tree, maybe : TOY. Only 70 shopping days left until Christmas.
44. Nissan sedan : ALTIMA.
45. Start of a pitch : WIND-UP.
46. Fifth-century Roman Empire enemy : ATTILA. Never really thought about when the Hun was at large.
48. In a little while : ANON. Our one Shakespeare hint this Friday.
51. 1996 A.L. Rookie of the Year : JETER. Who knew...
53. Needles : STYLI. here it is Latin that matters, the I plural for us is needed.
57. Org. whose logo features an eagle head : USPS. United States Postal Service
59. 6-Across maker : NCR. National Cash Register.
61. Awfully long time : EON.
62. Rocks in a bucket : ICE. Look away Tinman....
63. "Ideas worth spreading" acronym : TED. Technology Entertainment & Design. LINK.
So we have reached the end of another Friday; thank you Mark, time to get ready for the beginning of the costume party season. Be careful out there, lemonade out.
Notes from C.C.:
1) Happy Birthday to dear CrossEyedDave! Thanks for the joy and happiness you've brought to me and many regulars the past few years. You're our sunshine!
2) Happy Birthday to Bluehen as well! I'm stealing a picture Dave got for you last year.
3)
Welcome back, PK! Irish Miss just emailed me about you the other day.
Now we need to hear from Montana, who has not replied to my email yet. We're quite concerned.
