Theme: Hopping Around - the three circled theme words jump across, down and across.
We get the hint from the final across entry:
71A. Word that can precede the word in each set of puzzle circles : JUMPING. BEAN, JACK and FROG in order of appearance.
and cross-referentially:
1A. Game piece associated with 71-Across : CHECKER. This also subtly refers to the theme. If you look at the circled entries, each successive "move" jumps a black square.
Thursday again already! Steve here with Don and C.C's latest - if you didn't have the circles in your particular publication I doubt you'd have seen the theme at all, the circled letters were very dispersed and wouldn't have appeared in any discernible pattern in a blank grid.
I'm sensing Don's handiwork here coming up with the theme idea, then the details fleshed out by the Dynamic Duo.
Not a lot of constraints with the theme letters, so plenty of room for some interesting fill around them, especially nice are the four triple-stacked sevens in each corner. Good stuff.
Let's take a closer look.
Across:
8. "C'mon, Let's Play" store : TOYS "R" US. I tried to come up with a backwards "R" but could only find this upside-down version: ʁ
15. Estate planner's suggestion : ROTH IRA
16. Chess grandmaster Karpov : ANATOLY. Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов was World Chess Champion for 10 years from 1975 to 1985, ultimately dethroned by Garry Kasparov.
17. Cancún's peninsula : YUCATAN. Home of the Chicxulub impact crater left by the meteorite that apparently did it for the dinosaurs.
18. Copied : XEROXED.
19. "Nurse Jackie" network, briefly : SHO. Showtime.
20. Attempt : STAB
22. Org. concerned with the AQI : EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency publishes the Air Quality Index.
23. VW hatchback : GTI. More accurately, a variant of the Golf.
24. Way out : EXIT
26. Selective socializer, perhaps : SNOB
29. Geologic periods : EONS
31. Soulful Franklin : ARETHA
33. Catch : NAB
34. Swallow up : ENGULF
36. Asks for more : REORDERS
38. Fish used as bait in bass fishing : EELS. Time for the EEL/EELS plural debate. Who wants to go first?
40. Dagger of yore : SNEE
41. Apple music player : IPOD NANO. Introduced by Steve Jobs as "a thousand songs in your pocket". Quite a few more than a thousand in the latest version.
45. Chess ploy : GAMBIT
49. __ Mahal : TAJ
50. Much of Oceania : ATOLLS
52. Cut with teeth : SAWN. Past tense.
53. Pass over : OMIT
55. Recital numbers : SOLI. Italian for solos, I presume.
56. Cool one : CAT
57. Tampa NFLer : BUC. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I'll whisper quietly so as not to upset anyone (Pssst! They're not very good!).
59. Polynesian beverage : KAVA
61. Spam holder : CAN
62. Like some skinny jeans : LOW-RISE
65. The United States, to Mexicans : EL NORTE
68. Carrier to Tehran : IRAN AIR
69. Critical : DO OR DIE. A couple of mistakes in the downs (COMP and ECG) had me looking at DOOMDIC and wondering what the heck that might be. Sanity prevailed.
70. Training units : LESSONS
Down:
1. Sound from a crib : CRY
2. Fourth-most populous U.S. city : HOUSTON. Not my first thought, but having flown into Houston a few times, in hindsight it doesn't surprise me.
3. Dürer work : ETCHING
4. Former Labor secretary Elaine : CHAO
5. Word with press or mess : KIT
6. Historic stretches : ERAS. Both eras and eons today.
7. Many a talk show caller : RANTER
8. Wage earners' concerns : TAX BITES. Never heard this term before, but it's obvious enough now I look at it - the bites taken out of your income or profits by taxes. Neat.
9. Person : ONE
10. Easily maneuvered, at sea : YARE. 'Tis an adjective, egads. It crops up in Shakespeare, and probably somewhat infrequently since.
"I do desire to learn, sir; and, I hope, if you have occasion to use me for your own turn, you shall find me yare." - Measure for Measure
As an example of "don't believe everything you read on the Internet", dictionary.com cites a "yare" usage which is completely wrong - whoever chose the reference totally failed to understand that there is a River Yare in Norfolk:
11. Bus schedule listings : STOPS
12. 1987 film loosely based on "Cyrano de Bergerac" : ROXANNE
13. Suffix with glob : ULE
14. Australian airport, in itineraries : SYD. G'day Bruce!
21. "Timber!" yeller : AXER. Sorry, guys - this word is going on my personal "ouch" list.
23. Awe-full expression? : GEE
25. Revealing beachwear : THONGS. I saw plenty of these when I was in Rio, and that was just on the guys. I'll spare you the visuals.
27. Wake maker : OAR. I'd say it's the boat that makes the wake, not the oar, but I guess indirectly it's true.
28. Small shot : BBS.
30. Sought damages : SUED
31. Repeated notes in Chopin's "Raindrop" prelude : A FLATS. Here's the piece - there seem to be a lot of notes in here which aren't A Flats too.
32. Square measure : AREA
35. Dunham who created and stars in the HBO series "Girls" : LENA. Thank you, crosses.
37. Reps. counterparts : DEMS
39. Hoodwinks : SNOOKERS. I use the word in the "stymies" or "impedes" sense rather than "trickery" that is implied by the clue. You snooker your opponent in the billiards-style game by putting the cue ball in a position that leaves your opponent with no clear shot at his next ball.
41. Jurist Lance : ITO. Not a member of a jury, but a judge or lawyer. Judge Ito is best-known for presiding over the O.J.Simpson trial.
42. Spray on a pan : PAM
43. Lake Huron natives : OJIBWAS. Cheers, crosses! They speak Ojibwe, of course.
44. Earthenware pot : OLLA. Food! finally! Here's some traditional frijoles de la olla:
46. Martini & Rossi parent company : BACARDI
47. "Include me" : I WANT IN
48. Demolition stuff : TNT
51. Dance music provider : LIVE DJ. Probably "Lil" somebody.
54. Chances to play : TURNS
58. Trendy hi : CIAO
60. Six-time All-Star Moises : ALOU
61. Firm: Abbr. : CORP.
62. Rap name adjective : LIL. Lil Wayne, Lil' Kim, Lil Fizz, Lil Scrappy and doubtless many others.
63. Mine output : ORE
64. Committed thing : SIN
66. __ de plume : NOM
67. Neurologist's tool, briefly : EEG. Not ECG which was my first knee-jerk reaction. "Encepha" not "Cardio". Blindingly obvious, really.
That's about it from me. I'm heading home from topping up my accent in the old country, and I think I ate enough Indian food to feed a regiment. Here's the view out of the window - that's Iceland down there, looking chilly (not chili!)
And ... here's the grid.
Steve
We get the hint from the final across entry:
71A. Word that can precede the word in each set of puzzle circles : JUMPING. BEAN, JACK and FROG in order of appearance.
and cross-referentially:
1A. Game piece associated with 71-Across : CHECKER. This also subtly refers to the theme. If you look at the circled entries, each successive "move" jumps a black square.
Thursday again already! Steve here with Don and C.C's latest - if you didn't have the circles in your particular publication I doubt you'd have seen the theme at all, the circled letters were very dispersed and wouldn't have appeared in any discernible pattern in a blank grid.
I'm sensing Don's handiwork here coming up with the theme idea, then the details fleshed out by the Dynamic Duo.
Not a lot of constraints with the theme letters, so plenty of room for some interesting fill around them, especially nice are the four triple-stacked sevens in each corner. Good stuff.
Let's take a closer look.
Across:
8. "C'mon, Let's Play" store : TOYS "R" US. I tried to come up with a backwards "R" but could only find this upside-down version: ʁ
15. Estate planner's suggestion : ROTH IRA
16. Chess grandmaster Karpov : ANATOLY. Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов was World Chess Champion for 10 years from 1975 to 1985, ultimately dethroned by Garry Kasparov.
17. Cancún's peninsula : YUCATAN. Home of the Chicxulub impact crater left by the meteorite that apparently did it for the dinosaurs.
18. Copied : XEROXED.
19. "Nurse Jackie" network, briefly : SHO. Showtime.
20. Attempt : STAB
22. Org. concerned with the AQI : EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency publishes the Air Quality Index.
23. VW hatchback : GTI. More accurately, a variant of the Golf.
24. Way out : EXIT
26. Selective socializer, perhaps : SNOB
29. Geologic periods : EONS
31. Soulful Franklin : ARETHA
33. Catch : NAB
34. Swallow up : ENGULF
36. Asks for more : REORDERS
38. Fish used as bait in bass fishing : EELS. Time for the EEL/EELS plural debate. Who wants to go first?
40. Dagger of yore : SNEE
41. Apple music player : IPOD NANO. Introduced by Steve Jobs as "a thousand songs in your pocket". Quite a few more than a thousand in the latest version.
45. Chess ploy : GAMBIT
49. __ Mahal : TAJ
50. Much of Oceania : ATOLLS
52. Cut with teeth : SAWN. Past tense.
53. Pass over : OMIT
55. Recital numbers : SOLI. Italian for solos, I presume.
56. Cool one : CAT
57. Tampa NFLer : BUC. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I'll whisper quietly so as not to upset anyone (Pssst! They're not very good!).
59. Polynesian beverage : KAVA
61. Spam holder : CAN
62. Like some skinny jeans : LOW-RISE
65. The United States, to Mexicans : EL NORTE
68. Carrier to Tehran : IRAN AIR
69. Critical : DO OR DIE. A couple of mistakes in the downs (COMP and ECG) had me looking at DOOMDIC and wondering what the heck that might be. Sanity prevailed.
70. Training units : LESSONS
Down:
1. Sound from a crib : CRY
2. Fourth-most populous U.S. city : HOUSTON. Not my first thought, but having flown into Houston a few times, in hindsight it doesn't surprise me.
3. Dürer work : ETCHING
4. Former Labor secretary Elaine : CHAO
5. Word with press or mess : KIT
6. Historic stretches : ERAS. Both eras and eons today.
7. Many a talk show caller : RANTER
8. Wage earners' concerns : TAX BITES. Never heard this term before, but it's obvious enough now I look at it - the bites taken out of your income or profits by taxes. Neat.
9. Person : ONE
10. Easily maneuvered, at sea : YARE. 'Tis an adjective, egads. It crops up in Shakespeare, and probably somewhat infrequently since.
"I do desire to learn, sir; and, I hope, if you have occasion to use me for your own turn, you shall find me yare." - Measure for Measure
As an example of "don't believe everything you read on the Internet", dictionary.com cites a "yare" usage which is completely wrong - whoever chose the reference totally failed to understand that there is a River Yare in Norfolk:
"So we turned back into the yare, and sailed up to the mouth of the new cut at Reedham."
They even downshifted the "Y" to try to make it work. OK, rant over, let's move on.
11. Bus schedule listings : STOPS
12. 1987 film loosely based on "Cyrano de Bergerac" : ROXANNE
13. Suffix with glob : ULE
14. Australian airport, in itineraries : SYD. G'day Bruce!
21. "Timber!" yeller : AXER. Sorry, guys - this word is going on my personal "ouch" list.
23. Awe-full expression? : GEE
25. Revealing beachwear : THONGS. I saw plenty of these when I was in Rio, and that was just on the guys. I'll spare you the visuals.
27. Wake maker : OAR. I'd say it's the boat that makes the wake, not the oar, but I guess indirectly it's true.
28. Small shot : BBS.
30. Sought damages : SUED
31. Repeated notes in Chopin's "Raindrop" prelude : A FLATS. Here's the piece - there seem to be a lot of notes in here which aren't A Flats too.
32. Square measure : AREA
35. Dunham who created and stars in the HBO series "Girls" : LENA. Thank you, crosses.
37. Reps. counterparts : DEMS
39. Hoodwinks : SNOOKERS. I use the word in the "stymies" or "impedes" sense rather than "trickery" that is implied by the clue. You snooker your opponent in the billiards-style game by putting the cue ball in a position that leaves your opponent with no clear shot at his next ball.
41. Jurist Lance : ITO. Not a member of a jury, but a judge or lawyer. Judge Ito is best-known for presiding over the O.J.Simpson trial.
42. Spray on a pan : PAM
43. Lake Huron natives : OJIBWAS. Cheers, crosses! They speak Ojibwe, of course.
44. Earthenware pot : OLLA. Food! finally! Here's some traditional frijoles de la olla:
46. Martini & Rossi parent company : BACARDI
47. "Include me" : I WANT IN
48. Demolition stuff : TNT
51. Dance music provider : LIVE DJ. Probably "Lil" somebody.
54. Chances to play : TURNS
58. Trendy hi : CIAO
60. Six-time All-Star Moises : ALOU
61. Firm: Abbr. : CORP.
62. Rap name adjective : LIL. Lil Wayne, Lil' Kim, Lil Fizz, Lil Scrappy and doubtless many others.
63. Mine output : ORE
64. Committed thing : SIN
66. __ de plume : NOM
67. Neurologist's tool, briefly : EEG. Not ECG which was my first knee-jerk reaction. "Encepha" not "Cardio". Blindingly obvious, really.
That's about it from me. I'm heading home from topping up my accent in the old country, and I think I ate enough Indian food to feed a regiment. Here's the view out of the window - that's Iceland down there, looking chilly (not chili!)
And ... here's the grid.
Steve
