Husker Gary here, taking you on a tour of Jeff's pleasant Humpday offering. He takes the word WIDE and spreads it out in two different arrangements (2/2 and 1/3) and then provides fill in the divide to literally cause WIDE to be SPREAD out as you can see in the grid below:
The clincher is his reveal
64. Far-reaching ... and a literal feature of the answers to starred clues : WIDESPREAD - The insatiable Emerald Ash Borer that arrived here in crates on the coast from Asia is WIDESPREAD and still expanding
THEME FILLS:
17. *Rain-X auto product : WIPER BLADE - This is not a Rain-X product but ya gotta love it!
21. *Manhattan theater district locale : WESTSIDE - So, you want to see Hamilton at The Richard Rogers Theater on Manhattan's WESTSIDE tonight? No problem, StubHub can get you in the very back starting at $965 per seat
54. *Many a military spouse : WAR BRIDE - Although told not to, Japanese women did fraternize with "the enemy" and tens of thousands of them became WAR BRIDES
Now let's see how Jeff filled in those WIDESPREAD spaces in the rest of the puzzles
Across
1. Anemic : WEAK
5. Dukes not among royalty : FISTS - Our cwd friend Burt Lahr dared anyone to put up their Dukes! I resisted putting in DAISY Dukes.
10. Huge production : EPIC - Ben Hur always leaps to my mind
14. Rod in a hot rod : AXLE
15. Kate's sitcom pal : ALLIE
16. Pilaf base : RICE
19. Like port, usually : AGED - If you can spring for those Hamilton tix, maybe this 70-year-old Port in a handblown bottle for $965 would also interest you
20. Lacking a key : ATONAL
23. Proofer's mark : STET
25. Feathery layer : HEN
26. Oomph : PEP
29. Set apart from the group : ISOLATE - The Amish practice of shunning even your own children seems particularly cruel to me
33. Org. with the staff of Aesculapius in its logo : AMA - This doctor's group might also call this the staff of Caduseus
36. Big name in gas : AMOCO
38. Slam-dance : MOSH - Ya gotta know going in what could happen!
43. See 22-Down : ELKS and 22. With 43-Across, fraternal order : THE
44. Mane area : NAPE
45. Like some buckets : OAKEN
46. Cotillion girl : DEB - An anachronism?
47. Move more product than : OUTSELL - Here's the rankings
49. Absorb, as a cost : EAT
50. Nonpro sports gp. : AAU - Kobe Bryant hates the Amateur Athletic Union BB program because it makes kids play all year long
52. Trapper's trophy : PELT - Something I could never do
59. Subtle difference : NUANCE - The NUANCED looks of Meryl
63. Continental coin : EURO
66. Brought up : BRED
67. Like nocturnally counted critters : OVINE - One sheep, two sheep...
68. Unrestrained party : ORGY
69. Cotton bundle : BALE - Tote that barge and lift this
70. Archibald and Thurmond of the NBA : NATES - "Tiny" NATE Archibald played here before they moved to Sacramento
71. Water testers : TOES - I have put my "TOES in many waters" with varying results.
Down
1. Bedtime drink, in totspeak : WAWA - Don't we all remember Gildna Radner when we hear this?
2. Freeway sign : EXIT
3. Chop House dog food brand : ALPO
4. Laments loudly : KEENS - An old Irish or Scottish term for screams of women heralding a death OR a card in a Duel Decks Game
5. Sources of morals : FABLES
6. Not in the pink : ILL
7. Cabbage dish : SLAW - KFC has some great SLAW
8. Laundry room brand : TIDE
9. Views : SEES
10. Dry-__ board : ERASE
11. Risky purchase, metaphorically : PIG IN A POKE - Have you ever used Craig's List?
12. Tea preference : ICED
13. Relinquish : CEDE - Land CEDED in my state
18. Be frugal with : RATION
24. Alley scavenger : TOMCAT
26. Handled clumsily : PAWED - "Honest, I was just reaching for the popcorn!"
27. Writer Zola : EMILE
28. Special-interest government spending : PORK BARREL - Some say he got as much as anybody
30. Aerial maneuvers : LOOPS
31. Not paying attention :
ASLEEP
ASLEEP
32. Howe'er : THO
34. Greek sorceress : MEDEA - The tale of her and Jason would make for a great soaper - Ημέρες των ζωών μας (Days Of Our Lives)
35. Cut taker : AGENT
37. Sue Grafton's "__ for Corpse" : C IS - In my last writeup, I posited Sue could have used C AS IN Corpse
39. 1988 Motown acquirer : MCA - ...and then there was a suit and then...
41. Safari grazer : GNU - There's a bottomless pit of these
42. Arrive by auto : ROLL UP
47. Sharer's word : OUR
48. You can see right through them : LENSES
51. Dwelling : ABODE
53. Deck that's worth a fortune? : TAROT
54. "Dragnet" star Jack : WEBB
55. Subtle glow : AURA
56. Triumphant shout : I WON - Said by 1 of every 76,000,000 lottery players
57. One who insists on the spotlight : DIVA
58. Ready for print : EDIT - Even Tom had to EDIT
60. Fictional sleuth Wolfe : NERO - Not the piano player or the Roman emperor
61. "La __ aux Folles" : CAGE
62. "Grand" ice cream brand : EDY'S
65. Denver-to-Des Moines dir. : ENE
Now, how 'bout some WIDESPREAD and far ranging comments:
A few pix from our trip last week to D.C.
This is Joann and I at the WWII monument with the Lincoln Memorial in the background. If you go to D.C. take the night tour as it is an entirely different world.
This is Joann and I with U.S. Senator Ben Sasse at the Nebraska Congressional Breakfast. We have known Ben since he was nine and I started calling him Senator Sasse when he was in grade school!
Here we are with our Congressman Jeff Fortenberry. Our daughter has had three of Jeff’s girls in fourth grade at St. Joe’s in Lincoln.
Now, how 'bout some WIDESPREAD and far ranging comments:
A few pix from our trip last week to D.C.
This is Joann and I at the WWII monument with the Lincoln Memorial in the background. If you go to D.C. take the night tour as it is an entirely different world.
This is Joann and I with U.S. Senator Ben Sasse at the Nebraska Congressional Breakfast. We have known Ben since he was nine and I started calling him Senator Sasse when he was in grade school!
Here we are with our Congressman Jeff Fortenberry. Our daughter has had three of Jeff’s girls in fourth grade at St. Joe’s in Lincoln.
