Craig's just right Wednesday puzzle reminded me instantly of this movie below. Taking literary license to count the theme reveal as a piece, our midweek exercise literally had Five Easy Pieces of a Piano. In the movie the five easy pieces represent tortured Bobby Dupea's first book of PIANO PIECES/exercises.
Theme answers
18. Olympic event featuring a 16-pound ball : HAMMER THROW - Felt covered string striker or a ball and chain Olympic Event
24. Major court rulings : KEY DECISIONS - Those 88 ebony and ivory pieces or certainly this KEY DECISION
39. Speedster's motto : PEDAL TO THE METAL - Foot operated levers to modify a piano's sound or leave it to Steven to have a twist on PEDAL-initiated acceleration
50. Particle physics concept : STRING THEORY - What actually vibrates in the piano or???
...and the Theme Reveal
50. Particle physics concept : STRING THEORY - What actually vibrates in the piano or???
60. Gershwin's preludes, e.g. ... and the starts of 18-, 24-, 39- and 50-Across : PIANO PIECES - Compositions for the PIANO or its parts (HAMMERS, KEYS, STRINGS and PEDALS, etc. all shown here). Hey, a harp really is a naked piano!
Now let's examine the other PIECES of Craig's fine entry -
1. Pal to text "<3" symbols to : BFF - Man, I thought I was so clever when I put in LES as < is the symbol for less than. I thought I was in for a puzzle full of such math symbolism
4. __ Road: WWII supply route to China : BURMA - Allies flew over "The Hump" (Himalayas) in Japanese-controlled Burma to supply Chiang with material in China so they could keep fighting Japan
14. Bud's partner : LOU - "Who's on first?" "Of course he is!"
16. Stop on Chicago's Blue Line : O'HARE - Cubs game from O'HARE? Blue Line to Addison station and then the #152 East Bus to Wrigley
17. Coastal bird : ERN
20. Skin blemish : ACNE
22. Medicinal houseplant : ALOE
23. __ farm : ANT - $19.99 with 25 live ANTS from Amazon.com
29. Beehive State college squad : UTES
30. Clad : ATTIRED
34. Selective way to order : ALA CARTE - I'll just take a #2 with a Sprite (skip this Steve!)
38. "Make it happen" : DO SO - Picard's line has elements of the clue and fill
43. Part of JFK: Abbr. : INIT
44. Emerges : COMES OUT - Like the Sun for Annie Tomorrow!
45. Vouches for : ATTESTS
49. Meat : GIST
55. Irritate : IRK - What the waitress did to Bobby Dupea in the iconic diner scene in Five Easy Pieces
58. Coleridge work : RIME - A statue honoring Coleridge in Somerset, England where the Ancient Mariner bears his famous winged burden from The RIME
59. Adjuration : PLEA
65. "You don't say!" : DUH
66. When a "Macbeth" witch says, "Something wicked this way comes" : ACT IV - Says Witch 2
67. Idolize : ADORE
68. Spanish pronoun : ESO
69. Moriarty's creator : DOYLE - Sherlock always BESTS (49 Down yesterday) him
70. 2015 World Series player, for short : NY MET - I remember that series a little differently
71. Classic car : REO
Down
1. Not promising : BLEAK
2. "Star Wars" power, with "the" : FORCE - I'm NOT lining up for tickets for the next movie in this franchise that starts Friday
3. Comical : FUNNY
4. Scrooge interjection : BAH - There's not a ghost of a chance that he keeps that perspective
5. "Respect for Acting" author Hagen : UTA
6. Sleep stage : REM
7. Half a pop quartet : MAMAS - This group will perform in our town on January 22, 2016 covering The Mamas and Papas and other 60's groups. It's already sold out
8. Bedelia of kiddie lit : AMELIA - "No, Amelia! When I said make us a chicken dinner, I didn't mean serve us cracked corn!"
9. Strong : POTENT
10. Contented sound : AHH
11. Croft of video games : LARA - Well, what would you wear to raid a tomb?
12. Word before man or maiden : IRON
13. Eye source for a dramatic cauldron : NEWT - Clever!
19. Plant part : ROOT
21. Schools : EDUCATES
25. Short list shortener : ET AL
26. Marriage doc. : CERT - ...or do you remember the ad slogan that went with these CERTS?
27. What a colon means, in analogies : IS TO - Guitar : (IS TO) Cello as Segovia: (IS TO) _____
28. Avoid : SIDE STEP - "No one wants to hear about my tax evasion, let's talk about Syria!"
31. __-Rooter : ROTO
32. Old Testament twin : ESAU
33. Nitwit : DOLT
34. Capital of Samoa : APIA - Yep, even in APIA, Samoa "You deserve a break today"
35. Mardi Gras follower : LENT
36. Mine entrance : ADIT
37. Short list shortener : ETC
40. Boss on "The Dukes of Hazzard" : HOGG - Ah, ya cain't beat the classics!
41. Exude : EMIT
42. Screen door stuff : MESH - We had to retrofit our screen door to kitty-proof mesh.
46. Tried hard : STROVE
47. Vacation plan : TRIP
48. Apelike : SIMIAN
51. Down-and-out : NEEDY - NEEDY people aren't necessarily down-and-out
52. More mature : OLDER
53. Reduce, __, Recycle : REUSE - What you can do with old milk cartons
54. Bumpkin : YAHOO
55. Microsoft Surface alternative : I PAD
56. Puerto __ : RICO
57. "Teenage Dream" singer Perry : KATY - She hasn't spoken to her husband of 14 months, Russell Brand, after he texted her on New Year's Eve 2011 that he was divorcing her
61. Nothing : NIL
62. Site attachment? : COM
63. Afore : ERE
64. Firmed up, as plans : SET
Now you can enter any comments you have on PIANO PIECES, Chess Pieces, Reese's Pieces, et al, etc...
Husker Gary
Across
1. Pal to text "<3" symbols to : BFF - Man, I thought I was so clever when I put in LES as < is the symbol for less than. I thought I was in for a puzzle full of such math symbolism
4. __ Road: WWII supply route to China : BURMA - Allies flew over "The Hump" (Himalayas) in Japanese-controlled Burma to supply Chiang with material in China so they could keep fighting Japan
9. Michael of Monty Python : PALIN - Michael, no relation to the former Alaska governor
14. Bud's partner : LOU - "Who's on first?" "Of course he is!"
15. Best of the best : A-TEAM
16. Stop on Chicago's Blue Line : O'HARE - Cubs game from O'HARE? Blue Line to Addison station and then the #152 East Bus to Wrigley
17. Coastal bird : ERN
20. Skin blemish : ACNE
22. Medicinal houseplant : ALOE
23. __ farm : ANT - $19.99 with 25 live ANTS from Amazon.com
30. Clad : ATTIRED
34. Selective way to order : ALA CARTE - I'll just take a #2 with a Sprite (skip this Steve!)
38. "Make it happen" : DO SO - Picard's line has elements of the clue and fill
43. Part of JFK: Abbr. : INIT
44. Emerges : COMES OUT - Like the Sun for Annie Tomorrow!
45. Vouches for : ATTESTS
49. Meat : GIST
55. Irritate : IRK - What the waitress did to Bobby Dupea in the iconic diner scene in Five Easy Pieces
58. Coleridge work : RIME - A statue honoring Coleridge in Somerset, England where the Ancient Mariner bears his famous winged burden from The RIME
59. Adjuration : PLEA
65. "You don't say!" : DUH
66. When a "Macbeth" witch says, "Something wicked this way comes" : ACT IV - Says Witch 2
67. Idolize : ADORE
68. Spanish pronoun : ESO
69. Moriarty's creator : DOYLE - Sherlock always BESTS (49 Down yesterday) him
70. 2015 World Series player, for short : NY MET - I remember that series a little differently
71. Classic car : REO
Down
1. Not promising : BLEAK
2. "Star Wars" power, with "the" : FORCE - I'm NOT lining up for tickets for the next movie in this franchise that starts Friday
3. Comical : FUNNY
4. Scrooge interjection : BAH - There's not a ghost of a chance that he keeps that perspective
5. "Respect for Acting" author Hagen : UTA
6. Sleep stage : REM
7. Half a pop quartet : MAMAS - This group will perform in our town on January 22, 2016 covering The Mamas and Papas and other 60's groups. It's already sold out
8. Bedelia of kiddie lit : AMELIA - "No, Amelia! When I said make us a chicken dinner, I didn't mean serve us cracked corn!"
9. Strong : POTENT
10. Contented sound : AHH
11. Croft of video games : LARA - Well, what would you wear to raid a tomb?
12. Word before man or maiden : IRON
13. Eye source for a dramatic cauldron : NEWT - Clever!
19. Plant part : ROOT
21. Schools : EDUCATES
25. Short list shortener : ET AL
26. Marriage doc. : CERT - ...or do you remember the ad slogan that went with these CERTS?
27. What a colon means, in analogies : IS TO - Guitar : (IS TO) Cello as Segovia: (IS TO) _____
28. Avoid : SIDE STEP - "No one wants to hear about my tax evasion, let's talk about Syria!"
31. __-Rooter : ROTO
32. Old Testament twin : ESAU
33. Nitwit : DOLT
34. Capital of Samoa : APIA - Yep, even in APIA, Samoa "You deserve a break today"
35. Mardi Gras follower : LENT
36. Mine entrance : ADIT
37. Short list shortener : ETC
40. Boss on "The Dukes of Hazzard" : HOGG - Ah, ya cain't beat the classics!
41. Exude : EMIT
42. Screen door stuff : MESH - We had to retrofit our screen door to kitty-proof mesh.
46. Tried hard : STROVE
47. Vacation plan : TRIP
48. Apelike : SIMIAN
51. Down-and-out : NEEDY - NEEDY people aren't necessarily down-and-out
52. More mature : OLDER
53. Reduce, __, Recycle : REUSE - What you can do with old milk cartons
54. Bumpkin : YAHOO
55. Microsoft Surface alternative : I PAD
56. Puerto __ : RICO
57. "Teenage Dream" singer Perry : KATY - She hasn't spoken to her husband of 14 months, Russell Brand, after he texted her on New Year's Eve 2011 that he was divorcing her
62. Site attachment? : COM
63. Afore : ERE
64. Firmed up, as plans : SET
Now you can enter any comments you have on PIANO PIECES, Chess Pieces, Reese's Pieces, et al, etc...
Husker Gary
