Tuesday May 9, 2017, Victor Barocas

Theme: On the Fence. Each theme answer hides a word (in circles) for a type of fencing sword.

17. Gadget used on carrots : VEGETABLE PEELER

28. Deepwater Horizon catastrophe : GULF OIL SPILL

44. Inhales : TAKES A BREATH

58. Activity one might see at a circus ... or in the Across answers containing circles? : SWORD SWALLOWING

Melissa here. Clever theme - must have taken a lot of effort to come up with phrases that contained these hidden words. Reminds me of the Cross Swords puzzle in the Wordplay documentary.

Across     

   
1. TV drama whose title appeared on a California license plate : LA LAW

 

6. Beatrix Potter's "The __ of Peter Rabbit" : TALE
 

10. "Right away!" letters : ASAP
 

14. Yellow-and-white daisy : OXEYE

 15. Goat with recurved horns : IBEX
 

16. Circle dance : HORA (spelling variation HORAH)

20. Inventor Whitney : ELI
 

21. No-win situation : TIE. Favorite clue.
 

22. Expression of woe : LAMENT
 

23. Seasonal sack toter : SANTA
 

26. Whisperer's target : EAR
 

27. Utter : SAY

32. Slanted type : ITALIC
 

33. Bronze component : TIN. Damien Hirst's Verity sculpture.

34. "Baseball Tonight" network : ESPN
 

38. Swamp reptile : GATOR
 

39. Lobbying gp. : PAC
 

40. __ New Guinea : PAPUA
 

41. Mets' home through 2008 : SHEA
 

42. Roguish : SLY
 

43. Arcade machine inserts : TOKENS

47. Key near Caps Lock : TAB
 

50. Spy org. : CIA
 

51. Time to chill, briefly : R AND R. Rest and relaxation.
 

52. Dozing : ASLEEP
 

54. CDX x V : MML
 

55. Extinct New Zealand bird : MOA

62. Sharp flavor : TANG
 

63. Rummikub piece : TILE
 

64. React to pain : WINCE
 

65. Wraps up : ENDS
 

66. Attacking the problem : ON IT
 

67. Soft drink size : LITER

Down

1. Adore : LOVE
 

2. Skater's leap : AXEL
 

3. Make laws : LEGISLATE
 

4. Shipboard affirmative : AYE
 

5. Like an unfun blanket? : WET
 

6. Related to the shinbone : TIBIAL
 

7. Up to the task : ABLE
 

8. Calm side : LEE
 

9. Clarify : EXPLAIN
 

10. "If I may interject ... " : AHEM
 

11. Shoe undersides : SOLES
 

12. Sports venue : ARENA
 

13. New Year's Eve staple : PARTY
 

18. High point of a home tour? : ATTIC
 

19. British nobleman : EARL
 

24. Bobbing on the waves : AFLOAT
 

25. Gritty film genre : NOIR. Literally 'black film or cinema,' developed during and after World War II, taking advantage of the post-war ambience of anxiety, pessimism, and suspicion. It was a style of black and white American films that first evolved in the 1940s, became prominent in the post-war era, and lasted in a classic "Golden Age" period until about 1960. Classic Film Noir title screens.
 

26. "Iliad" or "Aeneid" : EPIC
 

28. Jobs for a band : GIGS
 

29. The Beehive State : UTAH
 

30. Corset stiffeners : STAYS. Corset vs. Stay.
 

31. Released without authorization : LEAKED
 

35. Gum flavor : SPEARMINT
 

36. Many a fourth-down play : PUNT
 

37. Singer with Crosby and Stills : NASH
 

39. Courtroom entry : PLEA
 

40. Lewd literature : PORN 

42. Reaches without reading the intervening pages : SKIPS TO
 

43. Pre-Little League game : T-BALL
 

45. Scored 100 on : ACED
 

46. Sleeve band : ARMLET

47. Sense of style : TASTE
 

48. Egypt's __ High Dam : ASWAN. New to me.

49. Fair-haired : BLOND
 

53. Work units : ERGS
 

54. The Niger River flows through it : MALI

56. "__ upon a midnight dreary ... " : ONCE
 

57. Stress, so they say : AGER 

59. Come out on top : WIN
 

60. Nocturnal hunter : OWL
 

61. Nintendo console : WII