Theme: METEing out. Our four themers have a letter scramble as nicely explained by the reveal:
61A. Collectors' event, and a hint to what's hidden in the answers to starred clues : SWAP MEET
And here are the players:
18. *"Thinking ... " : LET ME SEE ... When I saw these together I thought there might be a theme here. Alas not. (Correction: 18A is a theme entry.)
20A. *Shakespeare play set on an enchanted island : THE TEMPEST. Source of much crossword angst trying to decide between "Arial" and "Ariel".
32A. *Busker's performance, perhaps : STREET MAGIC. David Blaine is the master of this genre. Quite amazing.
42A. *They may be crowned : WISDOM TEETH. Not mine. They were yanked at what I felt was a ridiculously early opportunity and left the rest of my teeth to spend the remainder of their lives rearranging themselves. Jokes about British dentistry are not misplaced. My first dentist (before numbing was invented) operated a drill with a treadle, much like a sewing machine. I was five. The trauma Dr. Cotton caused me still keeps me awake at night.
57A. *Proven longterm : TIME-TESTED. I have time-tested recipes. Feel free to inquire (enquire?) if you have a particular need.
OK, here we go! I liked the theme, I loved how the clue lengths allowed the blog entries to step down nicely - look upstairs and you'll see what I mean. Talking of upstairs, I was in an office building today which had its three-year fire drill. Walking down 21 flights seemed mean; but the posh folk upstairs had 35 to cope with.
Nice job from Craig. Let's see what else we've got!
Across:
1. Overlook : IGNORE
7. Monte Mario's city : ROMA Nice learning moment. I had **MA and guessed LIMA. Was wrong.
11. Gravy, on menus : JUS. OK, so, restaurant owners - when you say "Prime rib with au jus", you know you're saying "Prime rib with with juice"? You have been told.
14. At anchor : MOORED
15. Somber notice : OBIT
16. German direction : OST. Let's try this from memory - Nord, Sud, Ost, Oest, I think.
17. "Proceed as planned" : IT'S A GO
22. Period in ads : NITE
23. Lair : DEN
24. Bladed tool : AXE. Conveniently with or without the "E" for constructors.
25. Ancient Greek theater : ODEON
26. "Thought I should share," briefly : FYI. "For your information, Steve's blogs suck".
28. Pit gunk : TAR We have the La Brea (The Tar) Tar Pits here in LA. So let's go visit The Tar Tar Pits.
30. __-wolf : SHE
31. Candy heart word : LUV
38. Specialty : AREA.
40. Vital circulation component : AORTA. Fair enough, you're missing an aorta, your circulation is not working too well
41. Provocative : RACY
45. __ Alamos : LOS. "The Poplars". If you ever find yourselves in Los Alamitos (The Little Poplars) make a beeline for "The Fish Company" restaurant. Not many saplings to be seen, but the best Fish & Chips I've ever had.
46. "Forgot About __": Grammy-winning duet featuring Eminem : DRE
47. Actor Stephen : REA
48. Army crawler : ANT
49. Stale : PASSÉ
52. One in a cheering crowd : FAN
54. Moving wheels : VAN. Nice clue, U-Haul or equivalent.
56. Classic "You as well?" : ET TU, Brute?
63. Hot : ON FIRE
64. Wheels : CAR
65. First name at Woodstock : ARLO. Crossword enthusiasts know the lineup at Woodstock better than the musicians themselves.
66. Canadian coin : TOONIE. Two Canadian Dollars, eh Canadian Eh? It's aboot a buck fitty. (See what I did there? I'm tri-lingual)
67. Tick off : IRE. Pretty much hated this. "Let me ire you", "I'm sorry I ired you"? No. Flat-out no. Did you ire me with this clue? No, you irked me.
68. First queen of Carthage : DIDO
69. Performer with 20 Oscar nominations : STREEP Now there's some serious bragging rights.
Down:
1. Tag line? : I'M IT Usually not a good situation,
2. Many a black-clad teen : GOTH
3. Serious downturns : NOSE-DIVES. Not serious if you nose-dive into one of my dinners.
4. Talk with style : ORATE
5. University officials : REGENTS
6. Ancient Dead Sea kingdom : EDOM Thank you, crosses, Not really up on my Old Testament much.
7. Swiss luxury brand : ROLEX, Wimbledon sponsors since before sponsors were officially "allowed"
8. Quite heavy : OBESE. "Quite" heavy? Master of understatement there, I think.
9. Baker's protection : MITT
10. Bread machine? : ATM. "Machine" is in the name. So it's an ATM. Just as it's not a PIN number, it's a PIN. Rant over.
11. Leader of the animated Pussycats : JOSIE
12. Was of __: helped : USE TO
13. Dutch Golden Age artist : STEEN. Fond of a lot of people,brawling, dogs and wine.
19. Make lovable : ENDEAR
21. Echo : PARROT
25. Electrical unit : OHM.
Schrodinger, Heisenber and Ohm are in a car.
They get pulled over. Heisenberg is driving and the cop asks him "Do you know how fast you were going?"
"No, but I know exactly where I am" Heisenberg replies.
The cop says "You were doing 55 in a 35." Heisenberg throws up his hands and shouts "Great! Now I'm lost!"
The cop thinks this is suspicious and orders him to pop open the trunk. He checks it out and says "Do you know you have a dead cat back here?"
"We do now, you idiot!" shouts Schrodinger.
The cop moves to arrest them. Ohm resists.
26. Glitch : FLAW
27. Cosmonaut Gagarin : YURI. First man in space.
29. "... love hath made thee __ snake": "As You Like It" : A TAME
30. Put into words : STATE
33. Poetic adverb : ERE
34. Endless, poetically : ETERNE. A poetic double
35. Aspic-coated French chicken dish : GALANTINE. Food! Here's a classic (and, frankly, not very appetizing-looking) rendition:
36. Tappable image : ICON
37. Dermatologist's concern : CYST
39. Accumulates : ADDS UP
43. Mine output : ORE
44. One without : HAVE NOT
49. "Casino" co-star : PESCI. I missed the "I", I always want to call him Joe PESCE. Corrected finally, when ERE didn't make much sense. "My Cousin Vinnie" - a must-watch every time I'm channel-hopping
50. In conflict, seriously : AT WAR
51. Gawk : STARE
52. Specialty : FIELD. We had "AREA" earlier. Similar enough.
53. Defensive retort : AM TOO. More playground antics.
55. Concerning : AS FOR
57. Actress Hatcher : TERI
58. Wee ones : TOTS. Taters? Yum.
59. Lackawanna's lake : ERIE
60. Word with freeze or fry : DEEP
62. Ticked off : MAD. Not IRE. Now I'm happy.
I started a new consulting gig this week, and so far so good. Hope you all have a great Thursday!
Aaaaaannnnd *drum roll* ........ here's the grid.
Steve
61A. Collectors' event, and a hint to what's hidden in the answers to starred clues : SWAP MEET
18. *"Thinking ... " : LET ME SEE ... When I saw these together I thought there might be a theme here. Alas not. (Correction: 18A is a theme entry.)
20A. *Shakespeare play set on an enchanted island : THE TEMPEST. Source of much crossword angst trying to decide between "Arial" and "Ariel".
32A. *Busker's performance, perhaps : STREET MAGIC. David Blaine is the master of this genre. Quite amazing.
42A. *They may be crowned : WISDOM TEETH. Not mine. They were yanked at what I felt was a ridiculously early opportunity and left the rest of my teeth to spend the remainder of their lives rearranging themselves. Jokes about British dentistry are not misplaced. My first dentist (before numbing was invented) operated a drill with a treadle, much like a sewing machine. I was five. The trauma Dr. Cotton caused me still keeps me awake at night.
57A. *Proven longterm : TIME-TESTED. I have time-tested recipes. Feel free to inquire (enquire?) if you have a particular need.
OK, here we go! I liked the theme, I loved how the clue lengths allowed the blog entries to step down nicely - look upstairs and you'll see what I mean. Talking of upstairs, I was in an office building today which had its three-year fire drill. Walking down 21 flights seemed mean; but the posh folk upstairs had 35 to cope with.
Nice job from Craig. Let's see what else we've got!
Across:
1. Overlook : IGNORE
7. Monte Mario's city : ROMA Nice learning moment. I had **MA and guessed LIMA. Was wrong.
11. Gravy, on menus : JUS. OK, so, restaurant owners - when you say "Prime rib with au jus", you know you're saying "Prime rib with with juice"? You have been told.
14. At anchor : MOORED
15. Somber notice : OBIT
16. German direction : OST. Let's try this from memory - Nord, Sud, Ost, Oest, I think.
17. "Proceed as planned" : IT'S A GO
22. Period in ads : NITE
23. Lair : DEN
24. Bladed tool : AXE. Conveniently with or without the "E" for constructors.
25. Ancient Greek theater : ODEON
26. "Thought I should share," briefly : FYI. "For your information, Steve's blogs suck".
28. Pit gunk : TAR We have the La Brea (The Tar) Tar Pits here in LA. So let's go visit The Tar Tar Pits.
30. __-wolf : SHE
31. Candy heart word : LUV
38. Specialty : AREA.
40. Vital circulation component : AORTA. Fair enough, you're missing an aorta, your circulation is not working too well
41. Provocative : RACY
45. __ Alamos : LOS. "The Poplars". If you ever find yourselves in Los Alamitos (The Little Poplars) make a beeline for "The Fish Company" restaurant. Not many saplings to be seen, but the best Fish & Chips I've ever had.
46. "Forgot About __": Grammy-winning duet featuring Eminem : DRE
47. Actor Stephen : REA
48. Army crawler : ANT
49. Stale : PASSÉ
52. One in a cheering crowd : FAN
54. Moving wheels : VAN. Nice clue, U-Haul or equivalent.
56. Classic "You as well?" : ET TU, Brute?
63. Hot : ON FIRE
64. Wheels : CAR
65. First name at Woodstock : ARLO. Crossword enthusiasts know the lineup at Woodstock better than the musicians themselves.
66. Canadian coin : TOONIE. Two Canadian Dollars, eh Canadian Eh? It's aboot a buck fitty. (See what I did there? I'm tri-lingual)
67. Tick off : IRE. Pretty much hated this. "Let me ire you", "I'm sorry I ired you"? No. Flat-out no. Did you ire me with this clue? No, you irked me.
68. First queen of Carthage : DIDO
69. Performer with 20 Oscar nominations : STREEP Now there's some serious bragging rights.
Down:
1. Tag line? : I'M IT Usually not a good situation,
2. Many a black-clad teen : GOTH
3. Serious downturns : NOSE-DIVES. Not serious if you nose-dive into one of my dinners.
4. Talk with style : ORATE
5. University officials : REGENTS
6. Ancient Dead Sea kingdom : EDOM Thank you, crosses, Not really up on my Old Testament much.
7. Swiss luxury brand : ROLEX, Wimbledon sponsors since before sponsors were officially "allowed"
8. Quite heavy : OBESE. "Quite" heavy? Master of understatement there, I think.
9. Baker's protection : MITT
10. Bread machine? : ATM. "Machine" is in the name. So it's an ATM. Just as it's not a PIN number, it's a PIN. Rant over.
11. Leader of the animated Pussycats : JOSIE
12. Was of __: helped : USE TO
13. Dutch Golden Age artist : STEEN. Fond of a lot of people,brawling, dogs and wine.
19. Make lovable : ENDEAR
21. Echo : PARROT
25. Electrical unit : OHM.
Schrodinger, Heisenber and Ohm are in a car.
They get pulled over. Heisenberg is driving and the cop asks him "Do you know how fast you were going?"
"No, but I know exactly where I am" Heisenberg replies.
The cop says "You were doing 55 in a 35." Heisenberg throws up his hands and shouts "Great! Now I'm lost!"
The cop thinks this is suspicious and orders him to pop open the trunk. He checks it out and says "Do you know you have a dead cat back here?"
"We do now, you idiot!" shouts Schrodinger.
The cop moves to arrest them. Ohm resists.
26. Glitch : FLAW
27. Cosmonaut Gagarin : YURI. First man in space.
29. "... love hath made thee __ snake": "As You Like It" : A TAME
30. Put into words : STATE
33. Poetic adverb : ERE
34. Endless, poetically : ETERNE. A poetic double
35. Aspic-coated French chicken dish : GALANTINE. Food! Here's a classic (and, frankly, not very appetizing-looking) rendition:
36. Tappable image : ICON
37. Dermatologist's concern : CYST
39. Accumulates : ADDS UP
43. Mine output : ORE
44. One without : HAVE NOT
49. "Casino" co-star : PESCI. I missed the "I", I always want to call him Joe PESCE. Corrected finally, when ERE didn't make much sense. "My Cousin Vinnie" - a must-watch every time I'm channel-hopping
50. In conflict, seriously : AT WAR
51. Gawk : STARE
52. Specialty : FIELD. We had "AREA" earlier. Similar enough.
53. Defensive retort : AM TOO. More playground antics.
55. Concerning : AS FOR
57. Actress Hatcher : TERI
58. Wee ones : TOTS. Taters? Yum.
59. Lackawanna's lake : ERIE
60. Word with freeze or fry : DEEP
62. Ticked off : MAD. Not IRE. Now I'm happy.
I started a new consulting gig this week, and so far so good. Hope you all have a great Thursday!
Aaaaaannnnd *drum roll* ........ here's the grid.
Steve
