Theme: THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE.
The circles, if you got to see them, are located in quasi-symmetrically placed vertical words. In each case, they contain the letters P I N, in that order. If we start with the unifier, all will become clear. This is the first puzzle I know of with a split unifier since the first one that C. C. and I did together.
7 D. With 36-Down, what you can't do regarding this puzzle's circled letters : HEAR A.
7 D. With 36-Down, what you can't do regarding this puzzle's circled letters : HEAR A.
36 D. See 7-Down ... or, with "a," what you can see in this puzzle's circled letters : PIN DROP.
If it's really quiet, you can HEAR A PIN DROP. But you can't in this puzzle, since it's the written, not the spoken word. [Though reading aloud is allowed.] The theme entries each contain the word PIN, and in the vertical orientation, the PINS are DROPPING.
2 D. Flooring wood : PINE. Pretty common. I prefer oak.
5 D. Custody : KEEPING. As in safe KEEPING.
49 D. One of a gripping tool pair : PINCER. Half of this item.
59 D. Go around : SPIN. Demonstrated here by our oldest granddaughter.
Another unusual aspect of this grid is the bilateral vertical symmetry. [There is neither horizontal nor rotational symmetry.] This, along with the very careful placement of the theme entries allows for 5D and 49 D to have a characteristic I don't recall ever seeing before - similar right-left placement, with vertical displacement and different length. This is a very unusual and creative construction.
Across
1. Touch off : SPARK. To begin something, but since the implication is something inflammatory, it's generally not pleasant.
Across
1. Touch off : SPARK. To begin something, but since the implication is something inflammatory, it's generally not pleasant.
6. Electrical unit : OHM. Are you resistant to this entry? Did you want AMP? That's more along the lines of current events, for which there will be a charge.
9. What wind ensembles usually tune to : B FLAT. This hung me up. Not my most typical playing venue. In orchestra we tune to A. In jazz band we tune the reeds to A and the brass to B FLAT. Of course, the trombone has the infinite capacity to play any note out of tune. Meanwhile, the whole NE corner gave me fits.
15. Place for grazing : LEA. A meadow. This relates back to Old English, German, and ultimately Sanskrit words for an open space.
16. Appreciative cry : BRAVO.
17. Travelocity ad figure : GNOME.
18. "Hotel du __": Anita Brookner novel : LAC. A story of disappointment and self-discovery set in a hotel on the shore of Lake Geneva.
19. Still : QUIET. Like a time when you can hear the sounds of silence.
20. Fabulous writer? : AESOP. Author of many fables. In this one we see the silence of the lambs.
21. Roth __ : IRA. Subject to strict contribution limits, but not subject to mandatory withdrawal.
22. Washer function : RINSE. The soap removal cycle.
23. Production capacity review : LINE AUDIT. For trouble shooting or improving the efficiency of a manufacturing production line.
26. Refused : SAID NO.
29. Very deep places : ABYSMS. I had forgotten that this archaic word exists, and was perplexed that ABYSSES didn't fit. It goes back to medieval Latin and came into English ca. 1150, somehow acquiring a Greek ending along the way. It refers to hell, the bottomless pit, the great deep, the primal chaos. Nietzsche advises us to not stare into it.
33. Shore soarer : ERN. Sea eagle. Paleo-crossword vocabulary.
34. Bellyachers : GRIPERS. Complainers, not to be confused with grippers, which are PINCERS, nor Ronald Reagan, who played the Gipper.
38. Excessively : TOO. As in TOO much of my siliness.
39. Work (on), as 9-Down : GNAW. A fine old Anglo-Saxon word meaning to bite and chew on something.
41. "__ Romance": Jerome Kern song : A FINE. Some better music.
42. TV princess : XENA.
43. Radamès' love : AIDA. From the opera.
44. Cover letter letters : ENClosure.
45. Far from bold : MEEK. Opposites.
46. Pentax competitor : LEICA. Cameras.
48. Cholesterol initials : LDL. Low Density Lipoprotein. You want your LDL to be low, and your HDL to be high.
49. Hides : PELTS. Animal skins.
50. "U slay me!" : LOL. Texters argot, abbrv. for Laughing Out Loud.
51. Chorus syllable : TRA- la-la.
52. Travelers' bus. : INSurance. Company name.
53. Teddy's Mount Rushmore neighbor : ABE. Faces on the mountain.
55. Kitchen appliance : GAS OVEN.
58. Inflation fig. : PSI. I wanted CPI, but it's tire pressure, not economics.
64. Like battleships : ARMORED.
65. Get by the sentry : SNEAK IN.
66. Looked inside, in a way : X-RAYED. Medical imaging.
67. Show the ropes : ORIENT. Help someone get acclimated to a new position or circumstance.
67. Show the ropes : ORIENT. Help someone get acclimated to a new position or circumstance.
Down
1. It's a long story : SAGA. Or EPIC. Needs perps.
3. "The Cookie Never Crumbles" co-author Wally : AMOS. [b. 1936] Talent agent who started selling cookies in L.A. in 1975.
4. Alter the shape of : REMOLD.
6. Kukla cohort : OLLIE. Along with Fran Allison.
8. Portuguese territory until 1999 : MACAU. Autonomous region on the south coast of China, across the pearl River delta from Hong Cong.
9. Pitmaster's offering : BBQ RIBS.
10. Like dessert wines : FRUITY.
11. "... this skull has __ in the earth ... ": Hamlet : LAIN. Not to be confused with Nunckle Tim's shin.
1. It's a long story : SAGA. Or EPIC. Needs perps.
3. "The Cookie Never Crumbles" co-author Wally : AMOS. [b. 1936] Talent agent who started selling cookies in L.A. in 1975.
4. Alter the shape of : REMOLD.
6. Kukla cohort : OLLIE. Along with Fran Allison.
8. Portuguese territory until 1999 : MACAU. Autonomous region on the south coast of China, across the pearl River delta from Hong Cong.
9. Pitmaster's offering : BBQ RIBS.
10. Like dessert wines : FRUITY.
11. "... this skull has __ in the earth ... ": Hamlet : LAIN. Not to be confused with Nunckle Tim's shin.
Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow
of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath
borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how
abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at
it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know
not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your
gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment,
that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one
now, to mock your own grinning? quite chap-fallen?
12. Urban rtes. : AVES. AVEnues are routes, not rites. I was off in the wrong direction.
13. Membership drive gift : TOTE. carry-all bag.
24. "The Thin Man" role : NORA. Nick and NORA Charles, from the indicated 1934 comedy-mystery movie that was based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett.
25. Have what it takes : DARE. Having the courage to do something. If you have what it takes, you might succeed. Otherwise . . . ?
26. "The Goldbergs" actor George : SEGAL. A program that not only have I never seen, but before now never knew existed. Based on the childhood and 80's family life of the show's creator and producer Adam F. Goldberg.
27. Links legend, familiarly : ARNIE. Palmer
28. Conflicted : IN A DILEMMA. A choice between unpleasant alternatives.
30. Classic golf shoe feature : STEEL SPIKE. For gripping the turf.
31. "Haystacks" series painter : MONET. Claude [1840 - 1946].
32. Overcharges : SOAKS.
35. "That really depressed me" : I FELT SAD. Expression of woe.
37. Isolated communities : ENCLAVES. A place different in character form the surrounding area.
40. City south of Fort Worth : WACO.
42. Magneto's enemies : X-MEN. A group of superheroes from the Marvel Comic universe. Each is a mutant with a unique special ability.
47. Sharer of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize : AL GORE. [b 1948] Former U.S. vice-president.
53. Trojan War hero : AJAX. Fought with Hector several times.
54. "Hamilton" role : BURR. Aaron. [1756 - 1836] He was sitting vice president at the time of their famous duel.
56. Mocked : APED. Made fun of. Not so much fun on the receiving end.
57. Puzzlemaker Rubik : ERNO.
60. Hall & Oates' "Say It __ So" : ISN'T. Not a fan, so no link.
62. Son : BOY.
63. My __, Vietnam : LAI. That village that had to be destroyed in order to be liberated. Kind of a downer to end on.
Well, that wraps it up. Hope the silence wasn't oppressive.
Cool regards!
JzB
13. Membership drive gift : TOTE. carry-all bag.
24. "The Thin Man" role : NORA. Nick and NORA Charles, from the indicated 1934 comedy-mystery movie that was based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett.
25. Have what it takes : DARE. Having the courage to do something. If you have what it takes, you might succeed. Otherwise . . . ?
26. "The Goldbergs" actor George : SEGAL. A program that not only have I never seen, but before now never knew existed. Based on the childhood and 80's family life of the show's creator and producer Adam F. Goldberg.
27. Links legend, familiarly : ARNIE. Palmer
28. Conflicted : IN A DILEMMA. A choice between unpleasant alternatives.
30. Classic golf shoe feature : STEEL SPIKE. For gripping the turf.
31. "Haystacks" series painter : MONET. Claude [1840 - 1946].
32. Overcharges : SOAKS.
35. "That really depressed me" : I FELT SAD. Expression of woe.
37. Isolated communities : ENCLAVES. A place different in character form the surrounding area.
40. City south of Fort Worth : WACO.
42. Magneto's enemies : X-MEN. A group of superheroes from the Marvel Comic universe. Each is a mutant with a unique special ability.
47. Sharer of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize : AL GORE. [b 1948] Former U.S. vice-president.
53. Trojan War hero : AJAX. Fought with Hector several times.
54. "Hamilton" role : BURR. Aaron. [1756 - 1836] He was sitting vice president at the time of their famous duel.
56. Mocked : APED. Made fun of. Not so much fun on the receiving end.
57. Puzzlemaker Rubik : ERNO.
60. Hall & Oates' "Say It __ So" : ISN'T. Not a fan, so no link.
62. Son : BOY.
63. My __, Vietnam : LAI. That village that had to be destroyed in order to be liberated. Kind of a downer to end on.
Well, that wraps it up. Hope the silence wasn't oppressive.
Cool regards!
JzB
