I will keep this politically correct, adding no SPIN of my own. A truly non-partisan puzzle, or is it? JW gives us another example of adding to an existing phrase to create a new and amusing fill. Today, it is four letters (the word SPIN). JW has really come up with so many ways to present the add a _ _ _ that I wonder what could be next. He also infused this puzzle with some very excellent non-theme entries such as NON-MOTILE, SNOW ANGEL, STEP-PARENT, SO THIS IS IT, ONE NO TRUMP, LORGNETTES.
17A. Vito Corleone talking bobblehead? : RASPING DOLL (11). Rag doll gets Marlon Brando's voice.
22A. Goal of a holistic chiropractor? : SPINE HARMONY (12). Well-advertised dating site E-Harmony gets well adjusted.
38A. As a group, emulate Popeye? : BE SPINACH LOVERS (15). We beach lovers get to eat spinach also.
50A. Maiden aunt mascot? : TEAM SPINSTER (12). maiden aunt and spinsters probably are no longer PC terms, and the TEAMSTER's union isn't what it used to be.
And the reveal
59A. Enjoying the new car ... or what four puzzle answers are literally doing : TAKING A SPIN (11).
Really well played as they all take on a spin.
Well I hope your head is not spinning so we can get to work on this fun Friday.
Across
1. Start of something : ESS. Something. So simple it becomes tricky.
4. Know-it-all : BRAIN
.
9. Sticky roll : TAPE. Not food....
13. Title car in a Ronny + the Daytonas hit : GTO.
14. Michelangelo's "The Last Judgment," e.g. : FRESCO. Per wiki:
The Last Judgment, or The Final Judgement (Italian: Il Giudizio Universale), is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo executed on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity
15. Australian export : OPAL. And dear Kazie.
16. Like Gen. Powell : RETired.
19. N.T. book before Phil. : EPHesians come directly before the Phillipians. These are two of the epistles ascribed to Paul.
20. Denver-to-Wichita dir. : ESE.
21. Oppressive atmosphere : MIASMA. What a fun word which we have not had since marti was doing Thursdays.
26. Renewal notice feature, briefly : SASE. Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope.
27. Like a well-written mystery : TAUT. But hopefully not tautological.
28. Hammer user's cry : SOLD. At the auction!
32. Payment in Isfahan : RIALS. In Iran, old Persia.
37. Drift (off) : NOD.
41. Singer DiFranco : ANI. Some music...
42. Pop : SODA.
43. TV oil name : EWING. The show finally died when JR (Larry Hagman) died.
44. "The Good Wife" figs. : ATTS.
46. Fabric rib : WALE.
48. Its home version debuted at Sears in 1975 : PONG. At Sears?
54. Israeli prime minister after Barak : SHARON.
57. "__ Gotta Be Me" : I'VE.
58. Way to go: Abbr. : RTE. Nice, was thinking atta boy.
62. Great Basin native : UTE.
63. Saharan : ARID.
64. Hydrocarbon gas : ETHENE. I did not know this was the official NAME for ethylene.
65. Rx item : MED.
66. Inheritance factor : GENE.
67. Tends : LEANS.
68. Humanities maj. : PSYchology. My major in college. My youngest as well, who recently asked, "Dad how could you let me major in psychology?
Down:
1. Way out : EGRESS.
2. Mike or Carol on "The Brady Bunch" : STEP-PARENT. As are my wife and I. She got to be an instant grandmother.
3. "I guess the moment has finally arrived" : SO THIS IS IT. Not sure, but this was my thought.
4. Impetuous : BRASH.
5. Find a new table for : RESEAT. More glue.
6. Nile slitherer : ASP. Another big week for this snake.
7. It's here in Paris : ICI.
8. Anchored for life, as barnacles : NON-MOTILE. A really fun five dollar word.
9. Word in morning weather forecasts : TODAY'S.
10. Mil. mail drops : APOS.
11. It faces forward in a stop sign : PALM. very cerebral.
12. Big name in jazz : ELLA.
14. Like IHOP syrup : FREE. Really?
18. Alabama Slammer liquor : GIN. This is tricky, it has sloe gin, but no plain gin. But SLOE is made with gin.
23. Type of tide : NEAP.
24. Troublemakers : RASCALS.
25. Often : MUCH.
29. Bridge bid : ONE NO TRUMP.
30. Glasses with handles : LORGNETTES. What a fun fill. For sale on Amazon.
31. One working on a bridge: Abbr. : DDS. Dental humor.
33. Fleur-de-__ : LIS. The flower of the lily is very important in French and English heraldry, religion and apparently in post-Katrina New Orleans.
34. What a kid is prone to make in winter? : SNOW ANGEL.
36. Farm mom : SOW. She does not say....
38. Pastoral call : BAA.
39. Early exile : ADAM.
40. Ones with clout : VIPS.
45. Variable distance measure : STRIDE. I love the dictionary
1. a long step in walking.
2. (in animal locomotion) the act of progressive movement completed when all the feet are returned to the same relative position as at the beginning.
47. Hand-held allergy treatment : EPIPEN. Timely clue after all the recent scandal.
49. Insatiable : GREEDY.
51. Very long time : EON.
52. Political columnist Molly : IVINS. She was a very quotable woman, but it was mostly politics.
“Margaret Atwood, the Canadian novelist, once asked a group of women at a university why they felt threatened by men. The women said they were afraid of being beaten, raped, or killed by men. She then asked a group of men why they felt threatened by women. They said they were afraid women would laugh at them.”
― Molly Ivins, Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?
53. Island bird named for its call : NENE. Hawaiian Goose.
54. Doe beau : STAG. My eyes first saw "Doe Bean" Therefore I missed the rhyme.
55. Long-eared critter : HARE. Lots of animals in today's grid.
56. Similar : AKIN.
60. Snacked : ATE.
61. __ Na Na : SHA. I had never heard of them until seeing themat Woodstock. 47 years ago.
Well we had lots of music today of all kinds, so I will leave you trying to remember to set your clocks back Sunday morn. Thanks JW and all of you. A ride back in time.
