We take a journey with back to back Bruce Haight Fridays. My memories of going to the ocean and looking for stones to throw were brought back. This time he packaged his effort in a rare 14 x 16 grid with a total of 70 theme squares. The 14s are grid-spanners and with so many letters in themers, there is not much room for sparkle. We do get AM FM RADIO and SALMON ROE. Once again I will begin with the very clever reveal which tells us we are looking for stones in the skipped parts of fill, in the circles.
58A. Leisurely lakeside activity, and a clue for the circled letters : SKIPPING STONES (14).
16A. Reason kept to oneself : ULTERIOR MOTIVE (14). Limestone is a sedimentary rock that contains at least 50% calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Because sedimentary rocks are made of various types of sediments, the other 50% of a limestone rock could be virtually any other mineral. Limestone originates in wet areas which mean it could also be composed of shells and waste matter from organisms.
22A. Wig out : FLIP ONE'S LID (11). Fieldstone. This is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally. Collections of fieldstones which have been removed from arable land or pasture to allow for more effective agriculture are called clearance cairns.Coming from New England we know all about this. What movie comes to mind?
29A. Thorny thicket : BRIAR PATCH (10). Birthstone. Am I the only one who always thinks about UNCLE REMUS?
48A. Bum rap : FALSE CHARGE (11). Flagstone. These flat stones are popular for making paths etc. so here is how to DIY.
Across:
1. "Anaconda" rapper Nicki : MINAJ. I am not sure why but I knew this MUSIC (4:49).
6. Sizable chunk : SLAB. Of roast beef? Or Nicki?
10. "Yuck!" : EWW. Ok, I agree. So does 63A. "Yuck!" : BLEH.
13. Carne follower, in Mexican fare : ASADA. Grilled beef.
14. Roll at the airport : TAXI. On the Taxiway.
15. Former Vietnamese emperor Bao __ : DAI. This man. LINK.
19. Barack Obama, astrologically : LEO. He has the same birthday as my step-son.
20. Old Venetian magistrate : DOGE. You should recall THIS.
21. Boy in the first family : ABEL. All the men had four letters.
25. Country singer Clark : TERRI. The only Clark I recall is ROY, not this tall Canadian.
28. Cold weather word : TEENS. Down here that would be freezing.
34. 1953 automobile innovation : AM FM RADIO. Introduced by a Mexican Company. HISTORY.
35. Catch something : AIL. Nice simple misdirection.
38. Put away : ATE. Nice simple misdirection.
39. Some caviar : SALMON ROE. Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspian and Black Sea (Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga caviars). Depending on the country, caviar may also be used to describe the roe of other fish such as salmon, steelhead, trout, lumpfish, whitefish, carp,and other species of sturgeon.
43. West Indian sorcery : OBEAH. Hard to discuss this PRACTICE when we do not talk religion.
47. Young partner : ERNST. CPA firm.
53. Low-cost home loan org. : FNMA. Federal National Mortgage Association.
54. Lug : HAUL.
55. Letters left of center? : EPI. Cute...left of mean a prefix.
62. "If __ again I meet him beard to beard ... ": Shak. : EER. Rar lay I do not know well, Coriolanus.
64. Whiz : MAVEN. It's back.
65. Carefree syllable : TRA. La La.
66. Fun : JEST.
67. Sarcophagus holder : CRYPT.
Down:
1. Stake-driving hammer : MAUL.
2. Part of a chain : ISLE.
3. Defense acronym : NATO. He must like this oraganization. North American Treaty Organization.
4. Thirst quencher : ADE. Thanks for the CSO Mr. H.
5. Rattle : JAR.
6. Bend : STOOP. My thought
7. Slow passage : LARGO. Musical term.
8. Guitar players, slangily : AXMEN. More likely AXE (not maul)
10. Safe to put away : EDIBLE. My favorite clue.
11. Encourage to score, as a base runner : WAVE IN. Maybe not these RUNNERS.
12. Brandishes : WIELDS.
17. First name in despotism : IDI. Amin.
18. Zap : TASE.
22. Set up : FRAME. Central plot to many tv shows.
23. NYC commuter line : LIRR. Long Island Railroad.
24. Ordinal ending : ETH. This is used to create ordinal numbers from cardinal numbers ending in -y, namely the multiples of ten (other than ten itself): 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90; e.g. twentieth, thirtieth.
25. TV sched. uncertainty : TBA. To Be Announced.
26. Aunt with a "Cope Book" : ERMA.
27. Divide : RIFT.
30. El __ : PASO.
31. Maroon 5 singer Levine : ADAM.
32. Counter square : TILE.
33. Lake of Lombardy : COMO. You like this little home?
35. Auto company founder Citroën : ANDRÉ. He was an interesting MAN.
36. Golf bag item : IRON.
37. Not the best of times : LOWS.
40. Universal donor's type, briefly : O NEG.
41. Uvula doc : ENT. Ear Nose and Throat.
42. "Evita" role : CHE. Guevera.
43. Counterbalance : OFFSET. Time for the offset I?
44. Loan officer, e.g. : BANKER.
45. Twain's New York resting place : ELMIRA. This was the cemetery where his wife's family were buried. Twain lived in Connecticut and Mark Twain house is in Hartford. A high school classmate has written about the restoration and is still an ambassador. LINK.
46. "Make it snappy!" : ASAP. As Soon As Possible.
49. Country about 12 times longer than its widest point : CHILE.
50. Underwear brand : HANES.
51. Zero : AUGHT.
52. Literary monogram : RLS. Robert Louis Stevenson.
55. Green attitude? : ENVY. From the green-eyed monster in Othello. Twain also wrote of this. “It turned Brer Merlin green with envy and spite, which was a great satisfaction to me.” — A Connecticut Yankee.
56. Sound often not allowed? : PEEP. I do not want to hear a peep out of you!
57. "It __ Right": 1956 Platters' hit : ISN'T.
59. Lunchbox staple, familiarly : PBJ.
60. Cinephile's TV choice : TMC. TCM? Or maybe AMC? The Movie Channel is owned by Showtime.
61. Tool sometimes used for steering : OAR.
Well this was fun, but I lost my write up and had to redo it all. Some changed, some did not but now it is time to wish you all well and best to all the Olympic athletes who have provided lots of entertainment. Lemonade out.
Note from C.C.:
Let's say Hello to Melissa's granddaughter Jaelyn, who was born yesterday. She was 6 pounds 13 ounces, 20.25 inches long. Congratulations, grandma Melissa!
