Theme: Triple Play. Not a baseball theme, but you can sing along with a Latin "cha cha cha" dance track.
19A. Trousers in the Liberace Museum?: CHI-CHI CHINOS. Probably covered in rhinestones and other sparkly stuff.
32A. Less colorful African carpet?: DRABBER BERBER. The Berber people are indigenous to North Africa. This traditional carpet definitely isn't drab:
39A. Surfeit of sweets?: BONBON BONANZA. Bonbons originated from the French in the 17th century, meaning "good-good".
53A. Made-to-order drum?: CUSTOM TOM-TOM. Officially, a cylindrical drum without snares.
Another nice puzzle from Jeffrey. The names in the long downs could have caused some conniptions, but that's what makes for skilled construction and editing - it's all about the crosses if the proper name is unknown to you, Claire Danes in my case. Throw in some crunch and some Thursday-level cluing and you've got yourself an enjoyable romp into Cruciverb-land.
What else have we got? Let's go and look:
Across:
1. Selfies, e.g.: PICS
5. Consumer protection org.: B.B.B. Better Business Bureau.
8. Grey Poupon variety: DIJON. Mustard. Grey Poupon is one of the better-known brand names.
13. "I must be cruel, __ to be kind": Hamlet: ONLY
14. Bar mixer: COLA. Coke and Pepsi are the cola heavyweights. Some think that Coke tried to trademark the word "cola" - not so, they trademarked Coca-Cola, the script of the name and the design of the bottle.
15. Slip away from: EVADE
16. __ all-time low: AT AN. David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes" just popped into my head:
17. "Beat it!": SCAT!
18. Bit of Blake: VERSE. The most well-known Blake is William:
22. Guffaw syllable: HAR. Har.
23. Estadio cheer: OLÉ
24. Hardware item: NUT.
25. Overalls part: BIB. The part covering the chest.
28. Aquarium fish: TETRA
30. Title for Maggie Smith: DAME. British actress of renown. Played the redoubtable Dowager in "Downton Abbey"
31. "Mr. Robot" TV network: USA. I'll take your word for it, I haven't seen the show
35. Morales of Netflix's "Ozark": ESAI. There's actress Natalie also.
37. Father of octuplets on "The Simpsons": APU. Must be a while since I've seen the show, I didn't realize he had any kids, let alone eight.
38. Not yet up: ABED
44. Many a craft beer: ALE
45. Folk singer Axton: HOYT. Thank you, crosses. Not my genre.
46. Scenic highway offerings: VIEWS. There are some fabulous ones in my part of the world, particularly from the Pacific Coast Highway.
48. "Absolutely": YES
49. Hose users: Abbr.: FDS. I had to think about this one for a second - Fire Departments
50. Holm of "The Hobbit": IAN
51. GI address: APO. Army Post Office
56. Cold dish: SALAD
59. Island off Tuscany: ELBA. "Able was I, ere I saw Elba".
60. Whodunit canine: ASTA. "The Thin Man" was the movie.
61. Interspersed with: AMONG
62. Nectar flavor: PEAR
63. User of black lipstick, perhaps: GOTH. There is an unofficial "Bat's Day" for Goths at Disneyland each year. It's quite an odd sight, all these supposedly gloomy folk riding "It's a Small World".
64. Gumption: MOXIE
65. Nursery purchase: SOD
66. "Orinoco Flow" singer: ENYA. Let's have a little New Age backing track.
Down:
1. Cook in hot milk, say: POACH
2. Since: IN THAT. In the causative sense - "I like a Riesling since it pairs well with spicy food"/"I like a Riesling in that it pairs well with spicy food". Food!
3. "Homeland" Emmy winner: CLAIRE DANES. Thank you, crosses.
4. Harmonized, with "in": SYNC
5. Lawn game: BOCCE. Most cultures seem to have a derivative of lawn bowls, be it crown bowls, bocce, boules, pétanque, even curling.
6. Vanilla: BLAH. "Meh" in modern lingo.
7. Drive someone home?: BAT IN A RUN
8. Fan: DEVOTEE
9. Composer Charles: IVES
10. 8-Across holder: JAR. I like the cross-references when the entries themselves cross. I've got a jar in my fridge, it goes into my home-made mayonnaise when I whip up a batch. Yum!
11. Goes overboard (on): OD'S
12. Wedding notice word: NÉE
14. Forensics facility, briefly: CSI LAB. I wanted DNA LAB first, but resisted the urge.
20. Circle dance: HORA
21. Unfeeling: NUMB
25. Masters champ in 2012 and 2014: BUBBA WATSON. A lefty, he hit an incredible hook shot out of the trees onto the 10th green in a playoff with Louis Oosthuizen to secure his first major.
26. "That's clear": I SEE
27. Meter writer: BARD. He of "Henry V" fame, above.
29. Twin Cities daily, familiarly: TRIB. The Star Tribune.
30. Home __: DEPOT
33. Slow-but-steady progress: BABY STEPS
34. Demolish: RAZE
35. Former Skype owner: EBAY. I didn't know that. We use Skype for Business, it saves a ton of money when you have a lot of international conference calling and presentations.
36. Dover fish: SOLE
40. "Dang!": OH FUDGE!
41. Some assents: NODS
42. Video game figure: AVATAR
43. Spanish lad: NIÑO. Now, here's a thing - the letter Ñ in Spanish is a completely different letter, it's not just an accented "N". Which leads the pedant in me to suggest that you should not cross it with a regular "N" as is here - Ian Holmes does not spell his name i-a-eñe.
47. Inconsistent: SPOTTY
50. Boast in a 1987 Michael Jackson hit: I'M BAD
52. Lincoln neighbor: OMAHA. Nebraskans, both.
53. "__ help you?": CAN I
54. Muffin spread: OLEO
55. Sorcerer in fantasy games: MAGE
56. "Grace and Frankie" actor Waterston: SAM. More crossing help. Thanks!
57. Latin trio word: AMO, Amas, Amat
58. Cured salmon: LOX. Lox is salt-cured. The stuff most people call "lox" nowadays is actually "nova" and is a smoke-cure. Whatever the debate, it's Food!
And with a drum roll on the tom-tom and a pic of the grid, and with a very cool explanation of lox, nova, smoked salmon and gravlax, that's all from me!
Steve
19A. Trousers in the Liberace Museum?: CHI-CHI CHINOS. Probably covered in rhinestones and other sparkly stuff.
32A. Less colorful African carpet?: DRABBER BERBER. The Berber people are indigenous to North Africa. This traditional carpet definitely isn't drab:
39A. Surfeit of sweets?: BONBON BONANZA. Bonbons originated from the French in the 17th century, meaning "good-good".
53A. Made-to-order drum?: CUSTOM TOM-TOM. Officially, a cylindrical drum without snares.
Another nice puzzle from Jeffrey. The names in the long downs could have caused some conniptions, but that's what makes for skilled construction and editing - it's all about the crosses if the proper name is unknown to you, Claire Danes in my case. Throw in some crunch and some Thursday-level cluing and you've got yourself an enjoyable romp into Cruciverb-land.
What else have we got? Let's go and look:
Across:
1. Selfies, e.g.: PICS
5. Consumer protection org.: B.B.B. Better Business Bureau.
8. Grey Poupon variety: DIJON. Mustard. Grey Poupon is one of the better-known brand names.
13. "I must be cruel, __ to be kind": Hamlet: ONLY
14. Bar mixer: COLA. Coke and Pepsi are the cola heavyweights. Some think that Coke tried to trademark the word "cola" - not so, they trademarked Coca-Cola, the script of the name and the design of the bottle.
15. Slip away from: EVADE
16. __ all-time low: AT AN. David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes" just popped into my head:
"Ashes to ashes, funk to funky
We know Major Tom's a junkie
Strung out in heaven's high
Hitting an all-time low"
17. "Beat it!": SCAT!
18. Bit of Blake: VERSE. The most well-known Blake is William:
"To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower,
hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour."
22. Guffaw syllable: HAR. Har.
23. Estadio cheer: OLÉ
24. Hardware item: NUT.
25. Overalls part: BIB. The part covering the chest.
28. Aquarium fish: TETRA
30. Title for Maggie Smith: DAME. British actress of renown. Played the redoubtable Dowager in "Downton Abbey"
"I couldn't have electricity in the house, I wouldn't sleep a wink. All those vapors floating about."
35. Morales of Netflix's "Ozark": ESAI. There's actress Natalie also.
37. Father of octuplets on "The Simpsons": APU. Must be a while since I've seen the show, I didn't realize he had any kids, let alone eight.
38. Not yet up: ABED
"And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
Henry V, Act IV sc iii
44. Many a craft beer: ALE
45. Folk singer Axton: HOYT. Thank you, crosses. Not my genre.
46. Scenic highway offerings: VIEWS. There are some fabulous ones in my part of the world, particularly from the Pacific Coast Highway.
48. "Absolutely": YES
49. Hose users: Abbr.: FDS. I had to think about this one for a second - Fire Departments
50. Holm of "The Hobbit": IAN
51. GI address: APO. Army Post Office
56. Cold dish: SALAD
59. Island off Tuscany: ELBA. "Able was I, ere I saw Elba".
60. Whodunit canine: ASTA. "The Thin Man" was the movie.
61. Interspersed with: AMONG
62. Nectar flavor: PEAR
63. User of black lipstick, perhaps: GOTH. There is an unofficial "Bat's Day" for Goths at Disneyland each year. It's quite an odd sight, all these supposedly gloomy folk riding "It's a Small World".
65. Nursery purchase: SOD
66. "Orinoco Flow" singer: ENYA. Let's have a little New Age backing track.
Down:
1. Cook in hot milk, say: POACH
2. Since: IN THAT. In the causative sense - "I like a Riesling since it pairs well with spicy food"/"I like a Riesling in that it pairs well with spicy food". Food!
3. "Homeland" Emmy winner: CLAIRE DANES. Thank you, crosses.
4. Harmonized, with "in": SYNC
5. Lawn game: BOCCE. Most cultures seem to have a derivative of lawn bowls, be it crown bowls, bocce, boules, pétanque, even curling.
6. Vanilla: BLAH. "Meh" in modern lingo.
7. Drive someone home?: BAT IN A RUN
8. Fan: DEVOTEE
9. Composer Charles: IVES
10. 8-Across holder: JAR. I like the cross-references when the entries themselves cross. I've got a jar in my fridge, it goes into my home-made mayonnaise when I whip up a batch. Yum!
11. Goes overboard (on): OD'S
12. Wedding notice word: NÉE
14. Forensics facility, briefly: CSI LAB. I wanted DNA LAB first, but resisted the urge.
20. Circle dance: HORA
21. Unfeeling: NUMB
25. Masters champ in 2012 and 2014: BUBBA WATSON. A lefty, he hit an incredible hook shot out of the trees onto the 10th green in a playoff with Louis Oosthuizen to secure his first major.
26. "That's clear": I SEE
27. Meter writer: BARD. He of "Henry V" fame, above.
29. Twin Cities daily, familiarly: TRIB. The Star Tribune.
30. Home __: DEPOT
33. Slow-but-steady progress: BABY STEPS
34. Demolish: RAZE
35. Former Skype owner: EBAY. I didn't know that. We use Skype for Business, it saves a ton of money when you have a lot of international conference calling and presentations.
36. Dover fish: SOLE
40. "Dang!": OH FUDGE!
41. Some assents: NODS
42. Video game figure: AVATAR
43. Spanish lad: NIÑO. Now, here's a thing - the letter Ñ in Spanish is a completely different letter, it's not just an accented "N". Which leads the pedant in me to suggest that you should not cross it with a regular "N" as is here - Ian Holmes does not spell his name i-a-eñe.
47. Inconsistent: SPOTTY
50. Boast in a 1987 Michael Jackson hit: I'M BAD
52. Lincoln neighbor: OMAHA. Nebraskans, both.
53. "__ help you?": CAN I
54. Muffin spread: OLEO
55. Sorcerer in fantasy games: MAGE
56. "Grace and Frankie" actor Waterston: SAM. More crossing help. Thanks!
57. Latin trio word: AMO, Amas, Amat
58. Cured salmon: LOX. Lox is salt-cured. The stuff most people call "lox" nowadays is actually "nova" and is a smoke-cure. Whatever the debate, it's Food!
And with a drum roll on the tom-tom and a pic of the grid, and with a very cool explanation of lox, nova, smoked salmon and gravlax, that's all from me!
Steve
