Theme: Four by Fore! Golf-related punning.
17A. Duffer's flaw from the tee? : RECKLESS DRIVING. That's me. I've lost count of the times I've walloped my first drive out of bounds and onto the road at my local club.
26A. Duffer's impossible dream? : ACE IN THE HOLE. I've hit the flagstick a couple of times and holed-in-one once on a Par-3 course for my single career ace.
48A. Duffer's cry after botching a putt and settling for par? : BYE BYE BIRDIE. I think I've birdied every hole on my course, just not all in the same round. I've also double-bogeyed or worse every hole, on a bad day all at in the same round.
63A. Duffer's sad 18th-hole reply to "Bogey for you?" ... and 19th-hole request to the bartender? : MAKE MINE A DOUBLE. See above.
Nice enough theme, maybe your mileage may vary depending on your knowledge of the golf game and the lingo. It took me a couple of laps around this one, there were a few unfamiliar proper names and some challenges in other places, but as long as the crosses are solid I can usually figure everything out. Let's see what attracts further attention:
Across:
1. Waldorf __ : SALAD. Does "Astoria" have anything to do with the Astor family? I need to go and look that up.
6. Crawford of the Timberwolves : JAMAL. Tried JALEN for no good reason at all. Wrong last name, wrong team.
11. Rx watchdog : FDA
14. Cast out : EXILE
15. Where glasses may be raised? : OPERA. Technically, it should be "the opera" but I'll let this one slide, I'm feeling charitable today.
16. Standee's lack : LAP. Nice. It's why you can't use a laptop standing up. There's no lap to top.
20. Wingless parasite : FLEA. Two "wingless" clues today.
21. "Cheers" actor Roger : REES. I never associate him with Cheers. I saw him on stage in London in an adaptation of a quite amazing treasure-hunt book called "Masquerade" by writer and artist Kit Willliams. Williams created a bejeweled gold sculpture of a hare and buried it in a ceramic container beyond the reach of metal detectors. The book contained the clues to find it. It went undiscovered for more than three years. Many of the audience went to see the production hoping to get some additional clues.
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22. Approximately : CIRCA
23. Speech characteristic of Dustin on "Stranger Things" : LISP
25. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" newsman : BAXTER
31. Family dinner entrée : ROAST
32. __ de guerre : NOM. An assumed name.
33. It may be sharp : NOTE
37. Pageant VIPs : MCS. Masters of Ceremonies.
38. Handyman's tasks : ODD JOBS
42. Each : PER
43. Bean used in Asian sauces : SOYA
45. Classic auto : R.E.O.
46. Cutting : ACERB
52. Yelp piece : REVIEW
55. Move, in Realtor lingo : RELOcation
56. They have pHs below 7 : ACIDS
57. "Let It Go" singer in "Frozen" : ELSA. Known from crosswords.
59. Landing : QUAY. Took me a while to see the clue wanted a noun, not a verb. Nice.
66. Miner concern : ORE
67. Make __: rake it in : A MINT
68. Deal with : SEE TO
69. '60s activist gp. : S.D.S. Students for a Democratic Society. I can never seem to remember this. The first S was my last fill, crossing an unknown actress in Sarah Ramos.
70. Help for the graveyard shift, maybe : NO-DOZ
71. Slurpee insert : STRAW
Down:
1. Lowly worker : SERF
2. Winter Olympics jump : AXEL. The Winter Olympics are coming soon. Matt Lauer appeared in almost all of the promo spots that had been produced, NBC spent quite a chunk of change reshooting or editing them.
3. Wingless parasites : LICE
4. They have pHs above 7 : ALKALIS. Very nice job to get ACIDS in the puzzle as well.
5. Second-smallest U.S. state : DELaware. It's quite a bit bigger than Rhode Island, the smallest.
6. Nativity figure : JOSEPH. I tried SERAPH when I had the PH. I'm not quite sure why I sometimes overlook the totally obvious sometimes.
7. Church area : APSE
8. Rx specifications : MEDS. I was looking more for something along the "dosage" lines at first.
9. Itinerary abbr. : ARR.
10. Not of the cloth : LAICAL. Slow to emerge. I was thinking on the right lines, but neither LAIC nor LAITY was working.
11. Toy (with) : FLIRT
12. Hula or hora : DANCE
13. __ score: neonatal measure : APGAR. New one on me. I now learn it is "a method to quickly summarize the health of newborn children. Dr. Virginia Apgar, an anesthesiologist at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital, developed the score in 1952 in order to quantify the effects of obstetric anesthesia on babies.". Thank you, Wikipedia.
18. Once, quaintly : ERST
19. Kit's mom : VIXEN. A kit is another word for a fox cub. I didn't know that until today. Cute little guys, aren't they?
24. Absorbed by : INTO
25. Fall flat : BOMB
26. Readies for battle : ARMS
27. 2017 Pixar film set in Mexico : COCO. I was looking at "LOCO" first. ALE IN THE HOLE is another thing entirely.
28. Like Sunday morning, in a Commodores title : EASY
29. "Have a nice time!" : ENJOY
30. "Woo-__!" : HOO!
34. Newspaper page : OP-ED
35. Actress Garr : TERI
36. Kathryn of "Law & Order: C.I." : ERBE. Another unknown.
39. Used charcoal pencils, say : DREW
40. Society newcomer : DEB. Debutante, to use the posh term.
41. Glide (through) : SAIL
44. Bear : ABIDE
47. Alice had to play it with flamingos as mallets : CROQUET
49. Sycophant : YES MAN
50. Not authentic : ERSATZ
51. Rosary unit : BEAD
52. "Parenthood" actress Sarah : RAMOS
53. Digital greeting : E-CARD
54. Twin Cities team, familiarly : VIKES. Minnesota's Vikings.
57. Oklahoma city : ENID. Nailed it, due to crosswords past.
58. Carson's successor : LENO
60. Taxi alternative : UBER. No umlaut on the company name.
61. Utah ski resort : ALTA. I always forget this one too, then kick myself when the rather obvious answer emerges.
62. "Ouch!" : YEOW!
64. Texting qualifier : IMO. In My Opinion. My opinion is always humble, therefore IMHO.
65. CIA predecessor : OSS.
Stick a fork in me, I'm done!
Steve
17A. Duffer's flaw from the tee? : RECKLESS DRIVING. That's me. I've lost count of the times I've walloped my first drive out of bounds and onto the road at my local club.
26A. Duffer's impossible dream? : ACE IN THE HOLE. I've hit the flagstick a couple of times and holed-in-one once on a Par-3 course for my single career ace.
48A. Duffer's cry after botching a putt and settling for par? : BYE BYE BIRDIE. I think I've birdied every hole on my course, just not all in the same round. I've also double-bogeyed or worse every hole, on a bad day all at in the same round.
63A. Duffer's sad 18th-hole reply to "Bogey for you?" ... and 19th-hole request to the bartender? : MAKE MINE A DOUBLE. See above.
Nice enough theme, maybe your mileage may vary depending on your knowledge of the golf game and the lingo. It took me a couple of laps around this one, there were a few unfamiliar proper names and some challenges in other places, but as long as the crosses are solid I can usually figure everything out. Let's see what attracts further attention:
Across:
1. Waldorf __ : SALAD. Does "Astoria" have anything to do with the Astor family? I need to go and look that up.
6. Crawford of the Timberwolves : JAMAL. Tried JALEN for no good reason at all. Wrong last name, wrong team.
11. Rx watchdog : FDA
14. Cast out : EXILE
15. Where glasses may be raised? : OPERA. Technically, it should be "the opera" but I'll let this one slide, I'm feeling charitable today.
16. Standee's lack : LAP. Nice. It's why you can't use a laptop standing up. There's no lap to top.
20. Wingless parasite : FLEA. Two "wingless" clues today.
21. "Cheers" actor Roger : REES. I never associate him with Cheers. I saw him on stage in London in an adaptation of a quite amazing treasure-hunt book called "Masquerade" by writer and artist Kit Willliams. Williams created a bejeweled gold sculpture of a hare and buried it in a ceramic container beyond the reach of metal detectors. The book contained the clues to find it. It went undiscovered for more than three years. Many of the audience went to see the production hoping to get some additional clues.
22. Approximately : CIRCA
23. Speech characteristic of Dustin on "Stranger Things" : LISP
25. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" newsman : BAXTER
31. Family dinner entrée : ROAST
32. __ de guerre : NOM. An assumed name.
33. It may be sharp : NOTE
37. Pageant VIPs : MCS. Masters of Ceremonies.
38. Handyman's tasks : ODD JOBS
42. Each : PER
43. Bean used in Asian sauces : SOYA
45. Classic auto : R.E.O.
46. Cutting : ACERB
52. Yelp piece : REVIEW
55. Move, in Realtor lingo : RELOcation
56. They have pHs below 7 : ACIDS
57. "Let It Go" singer in "Frozen" : ELSA. Known from crosswords.
59. Landing : QUAY. Took me a while to see the clue wanted a noun, not a verb. Nice.
66. Miner concern : ORE
67. Make __: rake it in : A MINT
68. Deal with : SEE TO
69. '60s activist gp. : S.D.S. Students for a Democratic Society. I can never seem to remember this. The first S was my last fill, crossing an unknown actress in Sarah Ramos.
70. Help for the graveyard shift, maybe : NO-DOZ
71. Slurpee insert : STRAW
Down:
1. Lowly worker : SERF
2. Winter Olympics jump : AXEL. The Winter Olympics are coming soon. Matt Lauer appeared in almost all of the promo spots that had been produced, NBC spent quite a chunk of change reshooting or editing them.
3. Wingless parasites : LICE
4. They have pHs above 7 : ALKALIS. Very nice job to get ACIDS in the puzzle as well.
5. Second-smallest U.S. state : DELaware. It's quite a bit bigger than Rhode Island, the smallest.
6. Nativity figure : JOSEPH. I tried SERAPH when I had the PH. I'm not quite sure why I sometimes overlook the totally obvious sometimes.
7. Church area : APSE
8. Rx specifications : MEDS. I was looking more for something along the "dosage" lines at first.
9. Itinerary abbr. : ARR.
10. Not of the cloth : LAICAL. Slow to emerge. I was thinking on the right lines, but neither LAIC nor LAITY was working.
11. Toy (with) : FLIRT
12. Hula or hora : DANCE
13. __ score: neonatal measure : APGAR. New one on me. I now learn it is "a method to quickly summarize the health of newborn children. Dr. Virginia Apgar, an anesthesiologist at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital, developed the score in 1952 in order to quantify the effects of obstetric anesthesia on babies.". Thank you, Wikipedia.
18. Once, quaintly : ERST
19. Kit's mom : VIXEN. A kit is another word for a fox cub. I didn't know that until today. Cute little guys, aren't they?
24. Absorbed by : INTO
25. Fall flat : BOMB
26. Readies for battle : ARMS
27. 2017 Pixar film set in Mexico : COCO. I was looking at "LOCO" first. ALE IN THE HOLE is another thing entirely.
28. Like Sunday morning, in a Commodores title : EASY
29. "Have a nice time!" : ENJOY
30. "Woo-__!" : HOO!
34. Newspaper page : OP-ED
35. Actress Garr : TERI
36. Kathryn of "Law & Order: C.I." : ERBE. Another unknown.
39. Used charcoal pencils, say : DREW
40. Society newcomer : DEB. Debutante, to use the posh term.
41. Glide (through) : SAIL
44. Bear : ABIDE
47. Alice had to play it with flamingos as mallets : CROQUET
49. Sycophant : YES MAN
50. Not authentic : ERSATZ
51. Rosary unit : BEAD
52. "Parenthood" actress Sarah : RAMOS
53. Digital greeting : E-CARD
54. Twin Cities team, familiarly : VIKES. Minnesota's Vikings.
57. Oklahoma city : ENID. Nailed it, due to crosswords past.
58. Carson's successor : LENO
60. Taxi alternative : UBER. No umlaut on the company name.
61. Utah ski resort : ALTA. I always forget this one too, then kick myself when the rather obvious answer emerges.
62. "Ouch!" : YEOW!
64. Texting qualifier : IMO. In My Opinion. My opinion is always humble, therefore IMHO.
65. CIA predecessor : OSS.
Stick a fork in me, I'm done!
Steve
