Theme: Peg Opts In - Four STOP anagrams coming together at the crossroads.
A three-part reveal across the bottom of the grid, then two horizontal themers and two vertical ones meeting in the middle.
62A. With 63- and 64-Across, meeting place suggested both literally and graphically by this puzzle's circled letters : FOUR and
63A. See 62-Across : WAY and
64A. See 62-Across : STOP. These don't exist in England. Here in Los Angeles we call 'em "All Way Stops", so that slowed me up a little. Here's one on my street:
36A. Vessels on carts : TEAPOTS. CSO to Nice Cuppa!
37A. Tennis lob strategy : TOPSPIN. Both Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf had fearsome topspin lobs. I wonder if they have "best lob" competitions at home - loser does the chores for a day.
5D. Popular reading in New York and Washington : THE POST. I think it's fair to say that one of these publications is not remotely like the other.
41D. Pandora alternative : SPOTIFY. I use the free version of Pandora - the ads aren't intrusive enough to make me want to pay for a subscription. I've just started using the YT Music app from YouTube - I like it so far.
Lawks-a-mercy, this one took me way longer than usual for a Thursday. I was staring down a whole lot of white space wondering where my next fill was coming from. Stubborn chipping away got me there in the end, but phew! Very nice concept from Peg with both wordplay and a visual element. Some really nice long non-theme fill, especially INCOGNITA.
Peg is a frequent contributor to the daily discussion here at the Corner under the moniker C6D6 Peg - C.C. posted an interview with her last year over on the sidebar.
Across:
1. Word with time or money : PLAY
5. Greek cross : TAU
8. Cameo shape : OVAL. Cameo brooch.
12. It may be straight : RAZOR. One of these. I've been tempted in the past to get one just for the retro feel of it, but considering I regularly stab myself with my kitchen knives it's definitely for the best that I've resisted.
14. Ostracize : SHUN
15. Spy follower? : WARE. Computer nastiness.
16. Expenditure : OUTGO. Hmmm. Outgoings, sure. Outgo? Not sure.
17. Home to Mykonos and Milos : AEGEAN SEA. We used to charter a sailboat and sail the Aegean on summer vacations. Beautiful islands, especially the smaller ones with little tourism.
19. Concocts : DREAMS UP
21. Broad panoramas : VISTAS
22. Anatomical pouch : SAC
23. Sanctioned : ALLOWED
25. __ lab : DNA
26. Condensed, for short: Abbr. : SYN. I'm starting to be able to spot the "synonym" cluing, finally! Condensed : Short.
27. Schooner part : MAST. Schooners have at least two masts, that's a lot of sail and rope-work, especially for a gaff-rigged example like this one. I certainly didn't sail one of these in the Aegean. I stuck to single mast, one mainsail and one jib/genny, Bermuda-rigged.
31. Woman undercover : INCOGNITA. Fun, I'd not come across this before in the "undercover" sense; I have seen it on old maps - "Terra Incognita"
35. __ String : SILLY
39. Made a bad call, say : ERRED
40. Park that opened in April 1965 : ASTRODOME. Houston. Nicknamed "The 8th Wonder of the World" when it opened. Disused at the current time.
42. Unkempt dos : MOPS
43. Christian denom. : BAP. tist.
44. Guatemala gold : ORO
45. Election check : RECOUNT
47. Simile center : AS A
50. Improvises : AD LIBS
54. Like the water in a Simon & Garfunkel song : TROUBLED. Simon and Garfunkel's "signature" song. Written by Paul Simon, sung solo by Art Garfunkel.Never gets old.
56. Laundry challenge : SOIL STAIN. This stuff gets great reviews.
58. New home subcontractor : TILER
59. De Tocqueville thought : IDÉE. He wrote a lot about American democracy in the 1800's.
"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money."
60. Lummoxes : OAFS
61. Online jotting : E-NOTE
Down:
1. Nudges : PRODS
2. Actress Dern : LAURA. Who? I didn't recognize the name, but looking her up I find she's been in a bunch of movies that I've seen.
3. Ancient Texcoco native : AZTEC
4. __ mat : YOGA
6. National Mustard Day mo. : AUG. Apparently the Soilove above is no good at getting mustard stains out, but then again I don't think anything can do that particular job.
7. Like some parallel bars : UNEVEN. I always thought they were called "asymmetrical bars" but I guess gymnastics coaches and commentators got lazy at some point. Here's the amazing Olga Korbut in the 1972 Olympic finals. The "Korbut Flip" (at 0:08 in the video) was viewed as one of the most dangerous moves in gymnastics. It probably still is - you miss the catch and it's 10 feet straight down to the mat.
8. Has : OWNS
9. Immense : VAST
10. Rest __ : AREA
11. Grazing sites : LEAS
13. Neptune or Mars : ROMAN GOD
14. "Better Call __" : SAUL. Crosses for me. An AMC TV series which is a spin-off from "Breaking Bad".
18. Pitch in : AID
20. Approach to a subject : SLANT
24. "Father Knows Best" actress Jane : WYATT. Thank you, crosses. I felt like I needed one of these today with all the crossing help I required:
25. Figures (out) : DOPES
27. Perform improperly : MISDO. Probably my least favorite entry today. Merriam-Webster has it as "obsolete". I have it as "crosswordese".
28. Iams competitor : ALPO
29. Svelte : SLIM
30. River to the North Sea : TYNE. Newcastle's river in the North-East of England. I was born on Tyneside in South Shields. The region's Geordie accent is renowned for being very difficult for non-Geordie folk to understand.
31. Agenda bullet : ITEM
32. 300-pound Wolfe : NERO. Crosses for me. I think I've seen the name before but definitely is not one at the forefront of my mind.
33. Trivial objection : CARP. We never do that here, of course.
34. Half-brother of Ishmael : ISAAC
35. GMC Terrain, for one : SPORT UTE. Short for "Sports Utility Vehicle", which is long for "SUV".
38. Maine college town : ORONO. Thank you, crosswords past.
43. Impart : BESTOW
45. NFL ball carriers : RB'S. Running Backs.
46. Footed vases : URNS
47. Deal out : ALLOT
48. Handle : SEE TO
49. Seller of TV time : AD REP. Tried AD MAN first. Was wrong.
50. "Yeah, right!" : AS IF!
51. Extinct bird : DODO
52. Stead : LIEU
53. Actor Robert of "The Sopranos" : ILER. Finally remembered this gentleman. Nailed it!
55. Recycling containers : BINS
57. TourBook-issuing org. : AAA. They also come in mobile and online versions now.
and .... I think that does it for me. Here's the grid.
Steve
A three-part reveal across the bottom of the grid, then two horizontal themers and two vertical ones meeting in the middle.
62A. With 63- and 64-Across, meeting place suggested both literally and graphically by this puzzle's circled letters : FOUR and
63A. See 62-Across : WAY and
64A. See 62-Across : STOP. These don't exist in England. Here in Los Angeles we call 'em "All Way Stops", so that slowed me up a little. Here's one on my street:
36A. Vessels on carts : TEAPOTS. CSO to Nice Cuppa!
37A. Tennis lob strategy : TOPSPIN. Both Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf had fearsome topspin lobs. I wonder if they have "best lob" competitions at home - loser does the chores for a day.
5D. Popular reading in New York and Washington : THE POST. I think it's fair to say that one of these publications is not remotely like the other.
41D. Pandora alternative : SPOTIFY. I use the free version of Pandora - the ads aren't intrusive enough to make me want to pay for a subscription. I've just started using the YT Music app from YouTube - I like it so far.
Lawks-a-mercy, this one took me way longer than usual for a Thursday. I was staring down a whole lot of white space wondering where my next fill was coming from. Stubborn chipping away got me there in the end, but phew! Very nice concept from Peg with both wordplay and a visual element. Some really nice long non-theme fill, especially INCOGNITA.
Peg is a frequent contributor to the daily discussion here at the Corner under the moniker C6D6 Peg - C.C. posted an interview with her last year over on the sidebar.
Across:
1. Word with time or money : PLAY
5. Greek cross : TAU
8. Cameo shape : OVAL. Cameo brooch.
12. It may be straight : RAZOR. One of these. I've been tempted in the past to get one just for the retro feel of it, but considering I regularly stab myself with my kitchen knives it's definitely for the best that I've resisted.
14. Ostracize : SHUN
15. Spy follower? : WARE. Computer nastiness.
16. Expenditure : OUTGO. Hmmm. Outgoings, sure. Outgo? Not sure.
17. Home to Mykonos and Milos : AEGEAN SEA. We used to charter a sailboat and sail the Aegean on summer vacations. Beautiful islands, especially the smaller ones with little tourism.
19. Concocts : DREAMS UP
21. Broad panoramas : VISTAS
22. Anatomical pouch : SAC
23. Sanctioned : ALLOWED
25. __ lab : DNA
26. Condensed, for short: Abbr. : SYN. I'm starting to be able to spot the "synonym" cluing, finally! Condensed : Short.
27. Schooner part : MAST. Schooners have at least two masts, that's a lot of sail and rope-work, especially for a gaff-rigged example like this one. I certainly didn't sail one of these in the Aegean. I stuck to single mast, one mainsail and one jib/genny, Bermuda-rigged.
31. Woman undercover : INCOGNITA. Fun, I'd not come across this before in the "undercover" sense; I have seen it on old maps - "Terra Incognita"
35. __ String : SILLY
39. Made a bad call, say : ERRED
40. Park that opened in April 1965 : ASTRODOME. Houston. Nicknamed "The 8th Wonder of the World" when it opened. Disused at the current time.
42. Unkempt dos : MOPS
43. Christian denom. : BAP. tist.
44. Guatemala gold : ORO
45. Election check : RECOUNT
47. Simile center : AS A
50. Improvises : AD LIBS
54. Like the water in a Simon & Garfunkel song : TROUBLED. Simon and Garfunkel's "signature" song. Written by Paul Simon, sung solo by Art Garfunkel.Never gets old.
56. Laundry challenge : SOIL STAIN. This stuff gets great reviews.
58. New home subcontractor : TILER
59. De Tocqueville thought : IDÉE. He wrote a lot about American democracy in the 1800's.
"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money."
60. Lummoxes : OAFS
61. Online jotting : E-NOTE
Down:
1. Nudges : PRODS
2. Actress Dern : LAURA. Who? I didn't recognize the name, but looking her up I find she's been in a bunch of movies that I've seen.
3. Ancient Texcoco native : AZTEC
4. __ mat : YOGA
6. National Mustard Day mo. : AUG. Apparently the Soilove above is no good at getting mustard stains out, but then again I don't think anything can do that particular job.
7. Like some parallel bars : UNEVEN. I always thought they were called "asymmetrical bars" but I guess gymnastics coaches and commentators got lazy at some point. Here's the amazing Olga Korbut in the 1972 Olympic finals. The "Korbut Flip" (at 0:08 in the video) was viewed as one of the most dangerous moves in gymnastics. It probably still is - you miss the catch and it's 10 feet straight down to the mat.
8. Has : OWNS
9. Immense : VAST
10. Rest __ : AREA
11. Grazing sites : LEAS
13. Neptune or Mars : ROMAN GOD
14. "Better Call __" : SAUL. Crosses for me. An AMC TV series which is a spin-off from "Breaking Bad".
18. Pitch in : AID
20. Approach to a subject : SLANT
24. "Father Knows Best" actress Jane : WYATT. Thank you, crosses. I felt like I needed one of these today with all the crossing help I required:
25. Figures (out) : DOPES
27. Perform improperly : MISDO. Probably my least favorite entry today. Merriam-Webster has it as "obsolete". I have it as "crosswordese".
28. Iams competitor : ALPO
29. Svelte : SLIM
30. River to the North Sea : TYNE. Newcastle's river in the North-East of England. I was born on Tyneside in South Shields. The region's Geordie accent is renowned for being very difficult for non-Geordie folk to understand.
31. Agenda bullet : ITEM
32. 300-pound Wolfe : NERO. Crosses for me. I think I've seen the name before but definitely is not one at the forefront of my mind.
33. Trivial objection : CARP. We never do that here, of course.
34. Half-brother of Ishmael : ISAAC
35. GMC Terrain, for one : SPORT UTE. Short for "Sports Utility Vehicle", which is long for "SUV".
38. Maine college town : ORONO. Thank you, crosswords past.
43. Impart : BESTOW
45. NFL ball carriers : RB'S. Running Backs.
46. Footed vases : URNS
47. Deal out : ALLOT
48. Handle : SEE TO
49. Seller of TV time : AD REP. Tried AD MAN first. Was wrong.
50. "Yeah, right!" : AS IF!
51. Extinct bird : DODO
52. Stead : LIEU
53. Actor Robert of "The Sopranos" : ILER. Finally remembered this gentleman. Nailed it!
55. Recycling containers : BINS
57. TourBook-issuing org. : AAA. They also come in mobile and online versions now.
and .... I think that does it for me. Here's the grid.
Steve
