Theme: A mob of Sicilians? No, as the reveal elegantly states:
34D. Raise stakes in a game ... and a hint to a hidden feature of five Down puzzle answers : UP THE ANTE
3D. Europe's highest active volcano : MOUNT ETNA. Nice to see the mountain getting a starring role for once, rather than consigned to the supporting cast of fill.
5D. Cold War Baltic patrollers : SOVIET NAVY. The US Navy was patrolling as well, but out of sight under the surface.
10D. "The Deer Hunter" setting : VIETNAM. A beautiful country - it's on my bucket list to visit.
30D. Green sign information, traditionally : STREET NAME. They're blue in my part of the world.
43D. Wings eaters' needs : WETNAPS. When I first moved here I was amused to see that these things had instructions on the back. I can still remember verbatim: "This is a moistened towelette. It is a towelette, moistened. Open and use".
Thursday already? Roger's theme is all in the downs as the direction-change wouldn't work with the reveal if the entries ran cross-wise.
I'm guessing that MOUNT ETNA was the seed entry for the theme and a rummage through the dictionary pulled out the other four. Some lively fill and some cluing trickery makes for a satisfying Thursday. Let's go for a meander through the fill and see what jumps out.
Across:
1. It's often a stretch : LIMO
5. Grim, as a landscape : STARK. You can be a stark landscape without necessarily being grim. This looks pretty grim though:
10. Debit card choice : VISA. Both of my debit cards are Visa-branded. I recently opened a checking account with Chase because they offered me $300 if I'd direct-deposit at least $500/month and keep the account open for at least six months. Two weeks later, the $300 was in my account. Never turn down free money.
14. Superstar : IDOL
15. Command : ORDER
16. Troublesome tykes : IMPS
17. Bad-blood situation : FEUD
18. One out for blood : VAMPIRE BAT. Nasty-looking little buggers. The common vampire bat will feed off any mammal, including humans.
20. Some browns : TANS
21. Number in an outline, perhaps : III. More likely to be seen as iii. Most style guides recommend using western numerals for major outline points, lowercase roman numerals for sub-outlines. Same goes for Shakespeare citations (see my comment at 48D)
22. Put in stitches : SUTURE
23. Variety show array : TALENTS
26. Disdainful look : SNEER
27. Holes in sneakers : EYELETS
29. Cruising : ASEA
31. Slender-stemmed palm : RATTAN
32. Where to see a wake : AFT. More nautical references this week after a slew of them on Monday.
33. Botch : MUFF
37. Lease alternative : OWN
38. Babies, or what some babies wear : PAMPERS. The verb "babies", not the noun. Had me thinking for a second.
41. Historic beginning? : PRE-
42. Kentucky Fried side : SLAW. KFC have their own branded Wetnaps.
44. Brewery fixture : VAT
45. In-groups : ELITES
47. Irish New Age singer : ENYA. Let's have a quick "Orinoco Flow" before we get to the downs.
49. Runs aground : BEACHES
50. Striped quartz : AGATE
53. Pork-filled pastry, e.g. : MEAT PIE. Food! Here's a batch of famous Melton Mowbray pork pies from England. They have their own association too.
55. Ruined in the kitchen : BURNED. I tend to burn myself, not the food.
57. Brooke Baldwin's network : CNN
58. Auto parts giant : NAPA. Or the National Automotive Parts Association, to be posh about it.
61. Pearl Harbor battleship : USS ARIZONA
63. Third-generation Genesis name : ENOS. Grandson of Adam and Eve. Depending on who you read, his Dad, Seth was either 105 or 205 when Enos was born.
64. Remote button with a square : STOP
65. Capital on the Willamette : SALEM
66. Pedometer measure : STEP
67. Many millennia : EONS
68. Sky scraper? : SPIRE. Here's a picture of Salisbury Cathedral in England, built between 1220 and 1258. The spire is the tallest in the UK, standing 404ft above Salisbury Plain.
69. Stage layouts : SETS
Down:
1. Garage contraption : LIFT.
2. What a light bulb may mean : IDEA
4. Veteran seafarer : OLD SALT
6. Coaches : TRAINS. This could be read two ways - either in the sports sense, or as I just noticed, rakes of coaches forming trains?
7. Acknowledge : ADMIT
8. Account exec : REP
9. Angel who replaced Jill, in '70s TV : KRIS. Charlie's Angels. Cheryl Ladd's character Kris replaced Farrah Fawcett's Jill in 1977.
11. Saturate (with) : IMBUE
12. Let off the hook : SPARE.
13. Late bloomer? : ASTER. Late summer to fall, according to the American Horticultural Society, who know about such things.
19. Bit of subterfuge : RUSE
24. Entrechat, e.g. : LEAP. Ballet trickeration.
25. Call at home : SAFE. I'm taking my visiting brother to Dodger Stadium tonight, his first ever baseball game.
27. Lover of Psyche : EROS
28. Ketch kin : YAWL. What does a third baseman from the South say when he throws to home plate? "ketch it, y'awl!". The ketch and the yawl are both two-masted vessels, the difference is that the mizzen mast on a yawl is stepped behind the rudder post, rather than in front of it.
32. Suitable : APT
35. Like many apps : FREE
36. Cop to the crime, with "up" : FESS
39. Address with an apostrophe : MA'AM
40. Smack : SLAP
46. Aloof demeanor : ICINESS. Tricky letter progression to parse.
48. "In thy dreams!" : NE'ER!
49. Hung sign : BANNER
50. Treat badly : ABUSE
51. Zest : GUSTO. Great word!
52. Illegal firing : ARSON
54. USDA inspector's concern : E.COLI. Ick.
56. Ph.D. hurdle : DISS. Dissertation.
59. Well-versed artist? : POET
60. Deadly slitherers : ASPS. These have been rearing their heads quite a few times recently.
62. Fast-forward through : ZAP. I record most of the shows that I watch so I can zap through the ads. I watch the Premier League soccer live though; but the great thing about soccer is - no commercial breaks, except at half-time.
I think that's it from me. Heeeeere's the grid, all color-coded and everything!
Steve
34D. Raise stakes in a game ... and a hint to a hidden feature of five Down puzzle answers : UP THE ANTE
3D. Europe's highest active volcano : MOUNT ETNA. Nice to see the mountain getting a starring role for once, rather than consigned to the supporting cast of fill.
5D. Cold War Baltic patrollers : SOVIET NAVY. The US Navy was patrolling as well, but out of sight under the surface.
10D. "The Deer Hunter" setting : VIETNAM. A beautiful country - it's on my bucket list to visit.
30D. Green sign information, traditionally : STREET NAME. They're blue in my part of the world.
43D. Wings eaters' needs : WETNAPS. When I first moved here I was amused to see that these things had instructions on the back. I can still remember verbatim: "This is a moistened towelette. It is a towelette, moistened. Open and use".
Thursday already? Roger's theme is all in the downs as the direction-change wouldn't work with the reveal if the entries ran cross-wise.
I'm guessing that MOUNT ETNA was the seed entry for the theme and a rummage through the dictionary pulled out the other four. Some lively fill and some cluing trickery makes for a satisfying Thursday. Let's go for a meander through the fill and see what jumps out.
Across:
1. It's often a stretch : LIMO
5. Grim, as a landscape : STARK. You can be a stark landscape without necessarily being grim. This looks pretty grim though:
10. Debit card choice : VISA. Both of my debit cards are Visa-branded. I recently opened a checking account with Chase because they offered me $300 if I'd direct-deposit at least $500/month and keep the account open for at least six months. Two weeks later, the $300 was in my account. Never turn down free money.
14. Superstar : IDOL
15. Command : ORDER
16. Troublesome tykes : IMPS
17. Bad-blood situation : FEUD
18. One out for blood : VAMPIRE BAT. Nasty-looking little buggers. The common vampire bat will feed off any mammal, including humans.
20. Some browns : TANS
21. Number in an outline, perhaps : III. More likely to be seen as iii. Most style guides recommend using western numerals for major outline points, lowercase roman numerals for sub-outlines. Same goes for Shakespeare citations (see my comment at 48D)
22. Put in stitches : SUTURE
23. Variety show array : TALENTS
26. Disdainful look : SNEER
27. Holes in sneakers : EYELETS
29. Cruising : ASEA
31. Slender-stemmed palm : RATTAN
32. Where to see a wake : AFT. More nautical references this week after a slew of them on Monday.
33. Botch : MUFF
37. Lease alternative : OWN
38. Babies, or what some babies wear : PAMPERS. The verb "babies", not the noun. Had me thinking for a second.
41. Historic beginning? : PRE-
42. Kentucky Fried side : SLAW. KFC have their own branded Wetnaps.
44. Brewery fixture : VAT
45. In-groups : ELITES
47. Irish New Age singer : ENYA. Let's have a quick "Orinoco Flow" before we get to the downs.
49. Runs aground : BEACHES
50. Striped quartz : AGATE
53. Pork-filled pastry, e.g. : MEAT PIE. Food! Here's a batch of famous Melton Mowbray pork pies from England. They have their own association too.
55. Ruined in the kitchen : BURNED. I tend to burn myself, not the food.
57. Brooke Baldwin's network : CNN
58. Auto parts giant : NAPA. Or the National Automotive Parts Association, to be posh about it.
61. Pearl Harbor battleship : USS ARIZONA
63. Third-generation Genesis name : ENOS. Grandson of Adam and Eve. Depending on who you read, his Dad, Seth was either 105 or 205 when Enos was born.
64. Remote button with a square : STOP
65. Capital on the Willamette : SALEM
66. Pedometer measure : STEP
67. Many millennia : EONS
68. Sky scraper? : SPIRE. Here's a picture of Salisbury Cathedral in England, built between 1220 and 1258. The spire is the tallest in the UK, standing 404ft above Salisbury Plain.
69. Stage layouts : SETS
Down:
1. Garage contraption : LIFT.
2. What a light bulb may mean : IDEA
4. Veteran seafarer : OLD SALT
6. Coaches : TRAINS. This could be read two ways - either in the sports sense, or as I just noticed, rakes of coaches forming trains?
7. Acknowledge : ADMIT
8. Account exec : REP
9. Angel who replaced Jill, in '70s TV : KRIS. Charlie's Angels. Cheryl Ladd's character Kris replaced Farrah Fawcett's Jill in 1977.
11. Saturate (with) : IMBUE
12. Let off the hook : SPARE.
13. Late bloomer? : ASTER. Late summer to fall, according to the American Horticultural Society, who know about such things.
19. Bit of subterfuge : RUSE
24. Entrechat, e.g. : LEAP. Ballet trickeration.
25. Call at home : SAFE. I'm taking my visiting brother to Dodger Stadium tonight, his first ever baseball game.
27. Lover of Psyche : EROS
28. Ketch kin : YAWL. What does a third baseman from the South say when he throws to home plate? "ketch it, y'awl!". The ketch and the yawl are both two-masted vessels, the difference is that the mizzen mast on a yawl is stepped behind the rudder post, rather than in front of it.
32. Suitable : APT
35. Like many apps : FREE
36. Cop to the crime, with "up" : FESS
39. Address with an apostrophe : MA'AM
40. Smack : SLAP
46. Aloof demeanor : ICINESS. Tricky letter progression to parse.
48. "In thy dreams!" : NE'ER!
ROMEO: Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight, for I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.
Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, scene v
49. Hung sign : BANNER
50. Treat badly : ABUSE
51. Zest : GUSTO. Great word!
52. Illegal firing : ARSON
54. USDA inspector's concern : E.COLI. Ick.
56. Ph.D. hurdle : DISS. Dissertation.
59. Well-versed artist? : POET
60. Deadly slitherers : ASPS. These have been rearing their heads quite a few times recently.
62. Fast-forward through : ZAP. I record most of the shows that I watch so I can zap through the ads. I watch the Premier League soccer live though; but the great thing about soccer is - no commercial breaks, except at half-time.
I think that's it from me. Heeeeere's the grid, all color-coded and everything!
Steve
