Theme: Hats Off! I mean Hats On! As the reveal helps to explain:
54A. "Shut your trap!" ... and, graphically, what the circled letters do: PUT A LID ON IT!
Three kinds of headgear in the circles: HAT, CAP and TAM, each sitting atop IT in the entry beneath.
This is one of those puzzles where the theme is more incidental than central. You solve as a themeless, then go back and look to see what you missed, which, honestly to my mind, is "not much". Three three-letter circled letters atop of three "IT" two-letter pairs.
The content is pleasing, two grid-spanners, two 11's and two long 10's in the downs, but the theme fell flat for me.
That out of the way, let's see what jumps out:
Across:
1. Distribute, with "out": METE
5. Jets and Nets: TEAMS
10. Kenan's comedy cohort: KEL
13. Like crazy: A LOT
14. Street thief: MUGGER
15. Bullring "Bravo!": OLÉ
16. Tennessee River city: CHATTANOOGA. "Pardon me, boy - is that the ..."
18. Luxury hotel facility: SPA
19. Places: SITUATES. Nice word. Just missing an "O" for the vowel grand slam.
20. Migratory herring: SHAD. High in Omega-3. Whatever that means.
21. Uni- + bi-: TRI-.
22. H.S. exam for college credit: A.P. TEST. Advanced Placement, I believe.
24. Longtime Bob Keeshan kids' character: CAPTAIN KANGAROO. Giving children frightening fashion advice since 1955.
30. Anatomical canals: ITERS. Not only is this a plural, but it also in the singular does not appear in a Google search at all - I gave up reading about nuclear reactors after at least six pages of hits. The word should not be in the puzzle in this form.
31. On the ship: ABOARD
32. Mediterranean peak: ETNA
33. Parts: ROLES
35. Actress Headey of "Game of Thrones": LENA
38. Home of college sports' Green Wave: TULANE. New Orleans school.
40. Certain tanker: OILER
41. Philatelist's pride: STAMP COLLECTION
45. Mass communication?: LITANY
46. Final: Abbr.: ULT. Ultimate? I suppose so.
47. Sounds of disgust: UGHS
48. Calming agents: ALLAYERS
53. "The Producers" screenwriter Brooks: MEL
57. Old __: PRO
58. Becomes used (to): INURES
59. Sinewy: ROPY
60. Common ID: SSN
61. Enclosed for security, in a way: GATED. Communities.
62. Choice word: ELSE. If - Or - Else.
Down:
1. Computers that may run Virtual PC: MACS. Not any more, unless you have a very old one. The Mac motherboard has an Intel chip which runs both the Mac OS and Windows. Your choice.
2. K-12: EL-HI
3. Precisely: TO A "T"
4. Famous final question: ET TU?
5. Pay attention: TUNE IN
6. Film directors' challenges: EGOS
7. Earlier: AGO
8. "A Wrinkle in Time" girl: MEG. Apparently a character in a series of novels first published in 1962. No clue. This might be a tad obscure.
9. Mme., in Madrid: SRA
10. Where to get gefilte fish: KOSHER DELI
11. Sun Bowl city: EL PASO. College Football post-season game.
12. Bring about: LEAD TO
14. Motherly start: MATRI- I've got "-archal" and "-cide". Any other offers?
17. Cheerios: TA-TAS
20. Twinkly, skywise: STARLIT
22. Muchos meses: ANOS. Many months equate to years. as long as there are at least 13 of them.
23. Links letters: PGA. Professional Golfer's Association
24. Fr. company: CIE.
25. Court fig.: ATT. Ball boy? Umpire? Baller? No, attorney.
26. Modern Olympic event one shoots for?: PENTATHLON. You also fence, ride, run and swim. No small feat. It was originally defined as the five disciplines that a cavalry officer must be more than proficient in to be considered one of the elite.
27. Emotional wounds: TRAUMAS
28. Krypton escapee: KAL-EL. AKA "Superman", he who wears his underwear outside of his tights. Truly from another world.
29. Presidential nickname: ABE
33. Somewhat blue: RACY
34. Artist whose apartment overlooks Strawberry Fields: ONO. The real Strawberry Field is in Liverpool, England, it was the garden of a children's home near to where John Lennon grew up.
36. Prefix for movement revivals: NEO-
37. Prince Valiant's son: ARN
39. ICU staffer: LPN.
40. Group of eight: OCTAD
41. Competitive dry spells: SLUMPS
42. Auburn or Princeton athletes: TIGERS
43. Soothed: LULLED
44. New York Harbor's __ Island: ELLIS. The Oracle head Larry Ellison's family name comes from the-then immigrants' journey through Ellis Island.
48. Bern's river: AARE
49. Auld lang syne: YORE. What? When does "Old time's sake" translate to "Past"? We should be told.
50. Carbon compound: ENOL
51. Tears: RIPS
52. Eye malady: STYE
54. Boar, e.g. PIG
55. Spanish article: UNA
56. Tsk relative: TUT
Quick in and out today - here's the grid!
Steve
54A. "Shut your trap!" ... and, graphically, what the circled letters do: PUT A LID ON IT!
Three kinds of headgear in the circles: HAT, CAP and TAM, each sitting atop IT in the entry beneath.
This is one of those puzzles where the theme is more incidental than central. You solve as a themeless, then go back and look to see what you missed, which, honestly to my mind, is "not much". Three three-letter circled letters atop of three "IT" two-letter pairs.
The content is pleasing, two grid-spanners, two 11's and two long 10's in the downs, but the theme fell flat for me.
That out of the way, let's see what jumps out:
1. Distribute, with "out": METE
5. Jets and Nets: TEAMS
10. Kenan's comedy cohort: KEL
13. Like crazy: A LOT
14. Street thief: MUGGER
15. Bullring "Bravo!": OLÉ
16. Tennessee River city: CHATTANOOGA. "Pardon me, boy - is that the ..."
18. Luxury hotel facility: SPA
19. Places: SITUATES. Nice word. Just missing an "O" for the vowel grand slam.
20. Migratory herring: SHAD. High in Omega-3. Whatever that means.
21. Uni- + bi-: TRI-.
22. H.S. exam for college credit: A.P. TEST. Advanced Placement, I believe.
24. Longtime Bob Keeshan kids' character: CAPTAIN KANGAROO. Giving children frightening fashion advice since 1955.
30. Anatomical canals: ITERS. Not only is this a plural, but it also in the singular does not appear in a Google search at all - I gave up reading about nuclear reactors after at least six pages of hits. The word should not be in the puzzle in this form.
31. On the ship: ABOARD
32. Mediterranean peak: ETNA
33. Parts: ROLES
35. Actress Headey of "Game of Thrones": LENA
38. Home of college sports' Green Wave: TULANE. New Orleans school.
40. Certain tanker: OILER
41. Philatelist's pride: STAMP COLLECTION
45. Mass communication?: LITANY
46. Final: Abbr.: ULT. Ultimate? I suppose so.
47. Sounds of disgust: UGHS
48. Calming agents: ALLAYERS
53. "The Producers" screenwriter Brooks: MEL
57. Old __: PRO
58. Becomes used (to): INURES
59. Sinewy: ROPY
60. Common ID: SSN
61. Enclosed for security, in a way: GATED. Communities.
62. Choice word: ELSE. If - Or - Else.
Down:
1. Computers that may run Virtual PC: MACS. Not any more, unless you have a very old one. The Mac motherboard has an Intel chip which runs both the Mac OS and Windows. Your choice.
2. K-12: EL-HI
3. Precisely: TO A "T"
4. Famous final question: ET TU?
5. Pay attention: TUNE IN
6. Film directors' challenges: EGOS
7. Earlier: AGO
8. "A Wrinkle in Time" girl: MEG. Apparently a character in a series of novels first published in 1962. No clue. This might be a tad obscure.
9. Mme., in Madrid: SRA
10. Where to get gefilte fish: KOSHER DELI
11. Sun Bowl city: EL PASO. College Football post-season game.
12. Bring about: LEAD TO
14. Motherly start: MATRI- I've got "-archal" and "-cide". Any other offers?
17. Cheerios: TA-TAS
20. Twinkly, skywise: STARLIT
22. Muchos meses: ANOS. Many months equate to years. as long as there are at least 13 of them.
23. Links letters: PGA. Professional Golfer's Association
24. Fr. company: CIE.
25. Court fig.: ATT. Ball boy? Umpire? Baller? No, attorney.
26. Modern Olympic event one shoots for?: PENTATHLON. You also fence, ride, run and swim. No small feat. It was originally defined as the five disciplines that a cavalry officer must be more than proficient in to be considered one of the elite.
27. Emotional wounds: TRAUMAS
28. Krypton escapee: KAL-EL. AKA "Superman", he who wears his underwear outside of his tights. Truly from another world.
29. Presidential nickname: ABE
33. Somewhat blue: RACY
34. Artist whose apartment overlooks Strawberry Fields: ONO. The real Strawberry Field is in Liverpool, England, it was the garden of a children's home near to where John Lennon grew up.
36. Prefix for movement revivals: NEO-
37. Prince Valiant's son: ARN
39. ICU staffer: LPN.
40. Group of eight: OCTAD
41. Competitive dry spells: SLUMPS
42. Auburn or Princeton athletes: TIGERS
43. Soothed: LULLED
44. New York Harbor's __ Island: ELLIS. The Oracle head Larry Ellison's family name comes from the-then immigrants' journey through Ellis Island.
48. Bern's river: AARE
49. Auld lang syne: YORE. What? When does "Old time's sake" translate to "Past"? We should be told.
50. Carbon compound: ENOL
51. Tears: RIPS
52. Eye malady: STYE
54. Boar, e.g. PIG
55. Spanish article: UNA
56. Tsk relative: TUT
Quick in and out today - here's the grid!
Steve
