Theme: Hash-Slinging - as the reveal tells us, the theme entries have the word ORDER reading upwards:
40D. Diner call ... and what the answer to each starred clue literally contains : ORDER UP!
2D. *One of a romantic dozen : RED ROSE
8D. *Neighborhood TV host? : FRED ROGERS. Here he is with a model of his bailiwick:
17D. *Computer network component : WIRED ROUTER. Routers were just plain routers until wireless routers came along.
26D. *Many a dorm accommodation : SHARED ROOM
This is a neat theme from Neville with the four "ORDER"s breaking at the same place in each two-word answer. The theme answers are all downs, as obviously you need to have the word reading upwards. The central 11 creates the blocky feeling with the two black squares top and bottom which are required. The grid must have been a little tricky to fill because there are six more helper squares in addition to those four. However, there's a lot of fresh fill here, nice work.
There were quite a few unknowns in here for me, but solid crosses made everything fall into place. Let's see what jumps out:
Across:
1. Letter from school : GRADE. Nice clue!
6. Tabloid fodder : AFFAIR
12. Pop singer Spektor : REGINA. Russian-born American singer-songwriter.
14. Safari guide's weapon : DART GUN
16. Saws with wisdom : ADAGES
17. Auburn University's avian battle cry : WAR EAGLE! Who knew? (Well, apart from Auburn alums). The mascot is a tiger.
18. Jewish ceremony for a newborn son : BRIS. Yikes.
19. Photographer's buy : TRIPOD
21. Elastic wood : YEW
22. __ fide : BONA
23. Four-time discus gold medalist : OERTER. Al took the gold in four consecutive Olympic Games (from 1956 to 1968), the first track and field athlete to do so.
24. "The Gold-Bug" author : POE. This came courtesy of crosses, but I read the fascinating synopsis of the book here on Wiki. Now added to my reading list.
25. Admin. aides : ASSTS.
27. Bentley of "Ghost Rider" : WES. Nice looking chap. He had a bad heroin problem for a while but appears to have got that particular demon out of his system.
28. 1930s N.Y. Giants star Lefty : O'DOUL
30. Earn : GET
31. Pay attention to : HEED
33. Land mentioned in the spiritual "Go Down, Moses" : EGYPT
34. 1959 Gidget player : SANDRA DEE.
36. Classic V-8 : T-BIRD. Cue The Beach Boys. Did Gidget drive a T-Bird?
38. What the nose knows : ODOR
39. "That's amazing!" : WOW!
42. Blow one's top : GO APE
43. Chum : BUD
44. Alarm : SCARE
46. Remote button : REC. RE and wait for the cross.
47. Ohio aviation city : DAYTON
50. Literary alter ego : HYDE. Dr. Jekyll's dark side in Robert Louis Stevenson's novella.
51. Comic strip outburst : ACK!
52. Matures : RIPENS
53. Treated with a pack : ICED
54. Nabisco chocolate treat : MALLOMAR. News to me. I must have walked past these things thousands of times in the store and never noticed them.
56. Extra number : ENCORE
58. Hose connections : SPIGOTS
59. Tottenham tint : COLOUR. North London soccer rivals of my club Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur play in white at home, blue on the road. We beat 'em 4-2 last weekend in the FA Cup semi-finals. Yay!
60. John of "Fuller House" : STAMOS
61. Gives a hand : HELPS
Down:
1. Source of party gifts : GRAB BAG
3. Versus : AGAINST
4. Tries to unearth : DIGS AT
5. Storm's dir. : E.N.E.
6. Learns new technology, say : ADAPTS
7. __ Islands: Danish archipelago : FAROE. Although part of Denmark, they have their own soccer association and as such enter the World Cup and European Championships independently. The players are all part-timers and they play their international fixtures in Sweden because there are no grass pitches on the islands.
9. __ crossroads : AT A
10. The Stooges frontman : IGGY POP. His "Lust for Life" was used as the theme to the movie "Trainspotting". Not for the weak of stomach.
11. Remove from consideration : RULE OUT
13. Regarding : AS TO
15. Banister post : NEWEL
20. Took another plunge? : RE-WED. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, for example.
29. Vat filler : DYE
32. Last part : END
33. Istanbul : Constantinople :: Tokyo : __ : EDO. Where Noh was performed.
34. Nurse : SIP. As one's drink. Cheers!
35. Extra purchase : ADD-ON
36. Boot reinforcements : TOECAPS
37. Like some e-readers : BACK-LIT
39. "Outstanding!" : WAY COOL!
41. Gardening tools : WEEDERS. I wasn't quite sure what one of these was, so I went to look:
42. Lab units : GRAMS
43. Way around the city : BYPASS
45. Chewing gum ingredient : CHICLE. Natural gum sourced from trees.
48. "We __ please" : AIM TO
49. Tiny bit of time: Abbr. : NSEC.
55. Airport near Citi Field: Abbr. : LGA. La Guardia in New York, a few miles from the Mets' ground in Flushing Meadow.
57. Masked drama : NOH. Japanese cultural staple dating back to the 14th century.
That's about it from me. Time to post the grid, and then a stroll down the Strip. I'm in Las Vegas for a convention.
Steve
40D. Diner call ... and what the answer to each starred clue literally contains : ORDER UP!
2D. *One of a romantic dozen : RED ROSE
8D. *Neighborhood TV host? : FRED ROGERS. Here he is with a model of his bailiwick:
17D. *Computer network component : WIRED ROUTER. Routers were just plain routers until wireless routers came along.
26D. *Many a dorm accommodation : SHARED ROOM
This is a neat theme from Neville with the four "ORDER"s breaking at the same place in each two-word answer. The theme answers are all downs, as obviously you need to have the word reading upwards. The central 11 creates the blocky feeling with the two black squares top and bottom which are required. The grid must have been a little tricky to fill because there are six more helper squares in addition to those four. However, there's a lot of fresh fill here, nice work.
There were quite a few unknowns in here for me, but solid crosses made everything fall into place. Let's see what jumps out:
Across:
1. Letter from school : GRADE. Nice clue!
6. Tabloid fodder : AFFAIR
12. Pop singer Spektor : REGINA. Russian-born American singer-songwriter.
14. Safari guide's weapon : DART GUN
16. Saws with wisdom : ADAGES
17. Auburn University's avian battle cry : WAR EAGLE! Who knew? (Well, apart from Auburn alums). The mascot is a tiger.
18. Jewish ceremony for a newborn son : BRIS. Yikes.
19. Photographer's buy : TRIPOD
21. Elastic wood : YEW
22. __ fide : BONA
23. Four-time discus gold medalist : OERTER. Al took the gold in four consecutive Olympic Games (from 1956 to 1968), the first track and field athlete to do so.
24. "The Gold-Bug" author : POE. This came courtesy of crosses, but I read the fascinating synopsis of the book here on Wiki. Now added to my reading list.
25. Admin. aides : ASSTS.
27. Bentley of "Ghost Rider" : WES. Nice looking chap. He had a bad heroin problem for a while but appears to have got that particular demon out of his system.
28. 1930s N.Y. Giants star Lefty : O'DOUL
30. Earn : GET
31. Pay attention to : HEED
33. Land mentioned in the spiritual "Go Down, Moses" : EGYPT
Go down, Moses,
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go
34. 1959 Gidget player : SANDRA DEE.
36. Classic V-8 : T-BIRD. Cue The Beach Boys. Did Gidget drive a T-Bird?
38. What the nose knows : ODOR
39. "That's amazing!" : WOW!
42. Blow one's top : GO APE
43. Chum : BUD
44. Alarm : SCARE
46. Remote button : REC. RE and wait for the cross.
47. Ohio aviation city : DAYTON
50. Literary alter ego : HYDE. Dr. Jekyll's dark side in Robert Louis Stevenson's novella.
51. Comic strip outburst : ACK!
52. Matures : RIPENS
53. Treated with a pack : ICED
54. Nabisco chocolate treat : MALLOMAR. News to me. I must have walked past these things thousands of times in the store and never noticed them.
56. Extra number : ENCORE
58. Hose connections : SPIGOTS
59. Tottenham tint : COLOUR. North London soccer rivals of my club Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur play in white at home, blue on the road. We beat 'em 4-2 last weekend in the FA Cup semi-finals. Yay!
60. John of "Fuller House" : STAMOS
61. Gives a hand : HELPS
Down:
1. Source of party gifts : GRAB BAG
3. Versus : AGAINST
4. Tries to unearth : DIGS AT
5. Storm's dir. : E.N.E.
6. Learns new technology, say : ADAPTS
7. __ Islands: Danish archipelago : FAROE. Although part of Denmark, they have their own soccer association and as such enter the World Cup and European Championships independently. The players are all part-timers and they play their international fixtures in Sweden because there are no grass pitches on the islands.
9. __ crossroads : AT A
10. The Stooges frontman : IGGY POP. His "Lust for Life" was used as the theme to the movie "Trainspotting". Not for the weak of stomach.
11. Remove from consideration : RULE OUT
13. Regarding : AS TO
15. Banister post : NEWEL
20. Took another plunge? : RE-WED. Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, for example.
29. Vat filler : DYE
32. Last part : END
33. Istanbul : Constantinople :: Tokyo : __ : EDO. Where Noh was performed.
34. Nurse : SIP. As one's drink. Cheers!
35. Extra purchase : ADD-ON
36. Boot reinforcements : TOECAPS
37. Like some e-readers : BACK-LIT
39. "Outstanding!" : WAY COOL!
41. Gardening tools : WEEDERS. I wasn't quite sure what one of these was, so I went to look:
43. Way around the city : BYPASS
45. Chewing gum ingredient : CHICLE. Natural gum sourced from trees.
48. "We __ please" : AIM TO
49. Tiny bit of time: Abbr. : NSEC.
55. Airport near Citi Field: Abbr. : LGA. La Guardia in New York, a few miles from the Mets' ground in Flushing Meadow.
57. Masked drama : NOH. Japanese cultural staple dating back to the 14th century.
That's about it from me. Time to post the grid, and then a stroll down the Strip. I'm in Las Vegas for a convention.
Steve
