Theme: PRICE BREAKS (60. Good retail deals ... and what the three other longest answers literally exhibit). PRICE bookends each theme entry.
17A. Public relations arm: PRESS OFFICE.
11D. Steamed breakfast cereal: PUFFED RICE.
28D. Nectar that's high in fiber: PRUNE JUICE.
Boomer here.
You
caught me last week. I suggested that a gallon of gasoline in
Minnesota was $1.75. Of course my fat fingers hit the one instead of
the two and it should have been $2.75. However we do have a HyVee
grocery in our area and they offer discounts on gas if you buy certain
promotional items or spend a lot of money on food. A few weeks ago I
bought gas there for $1.56 per gallon. They also have a friendly
convenience store near the gas pumps where you can buy snacks and
lottery tickets. AND if you want, they have the New York Times for sale
for about the same price as a gallon of gas, in case you need to see
the latest offering by Mr. Shortz.
Across:
1. Ancient Mexican: AZTEC. Caused me to remember the Pontiac SUV. A bit big and ugly but I liked its look.
6. Spirited horses: ARABS.
11. __-per-view: PAY.
14. Ballerina Shearer: MOIRA.
15. '80s-'90s TV legal drama: LA LAW. I preferred NY "Law & Order".
16. Mod or nod suffix: ULE.
19. Hector, to Achilles: FOE. I believe Hector kicked Achilles in his heel in the Trojan war and Achilles walked with a limp from then on.
20. First lady before Abigail: MARTHA. Washington.
21. Send-ups: TAKEOFFS. I expect in the movie "Airplane" Captain Over (Peter Graves) may have left in a "sendoff".
23. Grandmaster's game: CHESS. A legendary game that requires great skill that I do not have.
25. Pearly whites: TEETH. My teeth are like stars, they come out at night. Years ago, I used to think Fixodent was an auto body repair shop.
26. Abundant: COPIOUS.
30. Booby or loon: BIRD. "Ahwella everybody's heard, about the bird." The Minneapolis Trashmen gave us the "Surfin' Bird."
31. One-way marker: ARROW.
32. Smooth transition in conversation: SEGUE. I always thought this was spelled Segway.
35. Video replay user: REF. Just a way to allow more commercials in basketball games on TV.
38. Acht und eins: NEUN. I spent time in Germany in the Army. I could count to ten but never knew how to spell it.
39. Bricklayer: MASON. Lawyer, Perry.
40. The Emerald Isle: EIRE. So many ways to spell Ireland.
41. L-o-o-n-g time: EON. How long a ref takes looking at a replay.
42. Authority: SAY SO.
43. Foil giant: ALCOA. I don't see this name on foil, but over the years, sold tons of Alcoa Aluminum cable.
44. Building additions: ELLS.
46. Least becoming: UGLIEST.
48. Common movie theater name meaning "jewel": BIJOU. There's a name out of the past. Not too many Bijou theatres any more. Most are now Multiplex. So what is a "plex" anyhow?
50. Test versions: BETAS.
52. Home for pet fish: AQUARIUM.
54. Arrive in a car: ROLL UP. "Roll up for the mystery tour. The Magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away."
59. Him, in Le Havre: LUI.
62. [not my mistake]: SIC.
63. Conger catcher: EELER. Odd word. Reminded me of Gopher/Vikings Hall of Fame "Purple People Eater" Defensive end Carl Eller.
64. Venezuela-to-Chile range: ANDES.
65. Tucked away: ATE. I never heard any one say they tucked away a pizza. Nor did I heard them say they tucked away some cash and then ate it.
66. Skin care name: ESTEE. Ms. three E's appears in quite a number of puzzles.
67. Explosive tryout, briefly: NTEST. A Minneapolis Company. I think they deal with fiber cables.
Down:
1. Alarm clock toggle: AM PM. And it plays "I got you Babe" repeatedly.
2. Author __ Neale Hurston: ZORA.
3. Wedding cake section: TIER. I found it hard to believe that the Supreme Court was called to settle a Wedding cake dispute.
4. Once, quaintly: ERST.
5. Good moneymaker: CASH COW. I have a cousin-in-law who is a dairy farmer. I believe he may have a few of these cows.
6. Furry sitcom ET: ALF. I wonder if Spanky ever called his friend by this nickname.
7. River transports: RAFTS.
8. Nom de plume: ALIAS. "Smith and Jones". Sort of a sitcom western that lasted about 2 years on TV.
9. Give support to: BACK.
10. Honeybunch: SWEETIE.
12. Up in the air: ALOFT. Result of a "Sendup".
13. "What a pain!": YEESH. I wish crossword puzzles would display real words.
18. Honolulu's island: OAHU.
22. Anthem contraction: OER. the land of the free and the home of the brave.
24. Long exam answer: ESSAY.
26. Sugar crop: CANE. Ain't no more cane on the Brazos my boy, they all ground it all in molasses, Oh, Oh, OH.
27. Sandwich cookie: OREO. A most famous crossword cookie. You seldom see Hydrox or Dagwood's daughter in the squares now.
29. Charged particle: ION.
30. Hot dog holder: BUN. Remember a fifties" hairdo ?
33. Slalom shape: ESS. Also the direction some of my putts go.
34. Do dinner and a movie, say: GO OUT.
36. Cupid counterpart: EROS.
37. Notable achievement: FEAT.
39. Pas' partners: MAS.
40. New Haven Ivy Leaguer: ELI.
I thought this might be Eli Manning but he played college ball in
Mississippi, and now with the Giants. Nowhere near New Haven.
42. 7-Eleven frozen treat: SLURPEE.
Southland pulled out of Minnesota years ago, but I never enjoyed a
Slurpee while they were here. Ice slush gave me a headache.
43. Loser: ALSO-RAN.
45. Mauna __: LOA.
47. Apparel: GARB.
48. Modeling wood: BALSA. We used to fly airplanes made of balsa wood.
49. Terse resignation: I QUIT. No! Not yet! your almost done.
50. Put together from the ground up: BUILT.
51. Roast host: EMCEE. Loved the Dean Martin Roasts! (Except Don Rickles),
53. Riles up: IRES. Sometimes a crossword clue ires you.
55. Pre-Easter fast: LENT. Forty days and forty nights. Not so much fasting anymore.
56. Put in a hold: LADE.
57. Luau strings: UKES. Tiptoe through the tulips with Tiny Tim.
58. Library attention-getter: PSST.
61. Now or long lead-in: ERE.
Boomer
Note from C.C.:
Click here for a few pretty flower pictures from TTP's garden. His beautiful wife Katie is an avid gardener.
