Monday June 18th, 2018 Peter A. Collins

Theme: FOREIGN LANGUAGE ( 37. What's left when you remove the first and last letters of the answers to starred clues)

20A. *Indiana university: PURDUE. Urdu.

22A. *Thin metallic layer: PLATING. Latin.

53A. *Raucous party: SHINDIG. Hindi.

56A. *Uniform top: JERSEY. Erse.

Boomer here.

The theme feels thin today. But the candidates are limited to start with.  Spent most of the weekend watching the U.S. Open golf tournament on TV.  I really don't care to see the best players in the world make double bogeys. My playing buddies and I make double bogeys all the time.  The difference being that we don't have some idiot yelling "Go in the hole" after every tee shot.  I don't mind that the rough is ankle high or there are ten bunkers around every green.  Accuracy is a must in golf.  But greens are the target.  Why make the surfaces of greens the consistency of my driveway?  Anyway, hats off to Brooks Koepka for his stellar performance !

Across:

1. "See ya!": TA TA.

5. Potato chip, to Mr. Chips: CRISP.

10. Barbershop singer: BASS.  We had two bass levels in my high school glee club.  I was a second bass.  But in baseball I played center field.  We also have bass in our Minnesota lakes.  Let's see, probably at least 200 bass each in 10,000 lakes, that's 2 million fish.

14. Israel's Abba: EBAN. This could be a forbidden use of e cigs, those nasty vapor things.

15. Book of maps: ATLAS.  Charles Atlas course, Roy Rogers horse and only the shadow knows.  Ah do you remember those...(Statler Brothers)

16. Shoot out: EMIT.

17. Classic theater name: ROXY.

18. Alabama march city: SELMA.Think of all the hate there is in Red China!

Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama!

Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space,

But when your return, it's the same old place,

We survived the eve of destruction.

19. Caesar's cover-up: TOGA. Get one for the party at Animal House, Delta Tau Chi!

24. Water vapor: STEAM.

25. Hex: WHAMMY.

27. Pacific cyclone: TYPHOON. I'll take their word for it.  I think we call them hurricanes in the US.

29. Yesterday's hit: OLDIE.  Oldie but a goodie.  But that was yesterday, and yesterday's gone.  Yes, I watch some of those Pat Boone, Time Life half hour commercials, but I have not purchased.

33. "Aladdin" monkey: ABU.

35. Museum filler: ART. Mr. Garfunkel

36. Sanctify with oil: ANOINT.

41. Yearly records: ANNALS.

42. Choice from a tap, for short: IPA.  This is an acronym for some kind of India beer.  I had to Google it to learn.

43. "If I Ruled the World" rapper: NAS.

44. Vermouth name: ROSSI. They make Vermouth and Wine.  You may make a martini after you finish this puzzle.

45. Employed full time: ON STAFF.

48. "You convinced me": I AGREE.

50. Shelter resident: POOCH. A pooch can be a small dog.  However in the NFL it is a kick that goes about 20 yards to avoid a threatening returner like Pharoh Cooper.

57. On the wall, as art: HUNG.

58. Home of the NBA's Heat: MIAMI.  Used to be pretty good when they had LeBron

61. Meat safety org.: USDA.

62. Caesar's surprised words: ET TU.  Brutus to Caesar "How many eggs did you have for breakfast, Caesar ?" Caesar - "Et Tu Brute"

63. Fruit served in balls: MELON. We just serve it in squares and triangles.  It tastes great, and doesn't roll off your plate.

64. Cross paths: MEET.

65. "__ Fiction": 1994 Tarantino film: PULP. Never saw it.  Not a big fan of John Travolta.

66. County near London: ESSEX.

67. Part of DOS: Abbr.: SYST.

Down:

1. U. of Maryland team: TERPS. A Terrapin is a sort of turtle.  Heckuva name for a football or basketball team.  Almost as bad as Gophers!  Maryland joined the Big 10 a few years ago.  I think there are 14 schools in the Big Ten, so four of them must be small. Sorry, Husker Gary, Nebraska is not small. A welcome competitor.

2. Close to: ABOUT.

3. Spring onslaught at the IRS: TAX RETURNS.  Interesting name.  I pay income tax every Spring, but so far, none of it has ever been returned.

4. Soon: ANY DAY.

5. Beer purchase: CASE.

6. 66, for one: Abbr.: RTE. So famous even a Northern lad has heard of this famous highway, although I don't think I have ever traveled it.  It runs from Chicago through St. Louis, OK City, Albuquerque and on into Los Angeles.  I think there was a famous TV show with Martin Milner about Rte. 66

7. Sick: ILL. Chicago may be ILL.

8. Chinese watercraft: SAMPAN.

9. One starts, "The Lord is my shepherd": PSALM.

10. Pig-tailed Muppet: BETTY LOU.

11. Mine, in France: A MOI.

12. "__ on the dotted line": SIGN.  I have not seen a dotted line to sign on, Has anyone?  Most lines are ______________

13. Buck: STAG.  We used to call these parties where you don't bring a date.

21. One working at home?: UMP.  Some of these guys get a theatrical kick out of calling strike three.  I can't stand it.  No one goes to a ball game to see an Umpire, (except maybe his Mom.)

23. In a crowd of: AMONG.

25. Unlike new clothes: WORN.  Also unlike our driveway.

26. Crisis telephone: HOTLINE.

28. Some Halloween figures: HAGS.  "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog, too" 

30. "Gorillas in the Mist" author: DIAN FOSSEY. 46. Subject for 30-Down: APE.  In the funny papers - Alley Oop

31. "Young Frankenstein" role: INGA.

32. Cézanne's summers: ETES.  Maybe we could get ETES at IHOb.

33. Way, way off: AFAR.

34. U2 frontman: BONO.  I prefer a clue of Cher's Hubby - I got you babe!

36. Vet school subj.: ANAT.

38. Relaxing, as restrictions: EASING UP.

39. Trojan War epic: ILIAD.  I think this was written by Homer.  Maybe when "All Rise" Judge hits one out, John Sterling can call "It is high, it is far...ILIAD"

40. Church area behind an altar: APSE.

45. Bacchanalian revelries: ORGIES.

47. Discussion platforms: FORUMS.

49. "I wannit!": GIMME. "a head with hair, long beautiful hair, shining gleaming, streaming, flaxen waxen",  Did I mention I do Karaoke

51. Surrenders formally: CEDES.  Don't give up, we're almost done.

52. Marriott alternative: HYATT.  Both are a bit pricey.

53. "George of the Jungle" elephant: SHEP. Shep was an original Stooge, see below.  I think he was replaced by Curly.

54. Native Rwandan: HUTU.  Heard on the basketball court.  "Throw the Ball" "HU TU ?"

55. IHOP's "I," originally: Abbr.: INTL. IHOP has become IHOb now.  Have a burger with your pancakes??

56. Hex: JINX.

59. Baseballers Kaline and Rosen: ALS. I am privileged to have watched Al Kaline play a few games against the Twins at Metropolitan Stadium

60. Head Stooge: MOE. Larry, and my favorite "Curly".  I had a bowling teammate named Carl and we called him Curly.  But he wasn't a stooge.

Boomer