"Needlework"
17. How something precarious may hang: BY A THREAD.
29. How a good comedian leaves the audience?: IN STITCHES. A ham sandwich walks into a bar and orders a beer. The bartender says, "Sorry, we don't serve food in here."
47. Difficult time: ROUGH PATCH. "Just don't unpack and live there."
64. Care: GIVE A DARN.
53. Clinched, and a hint to the four longest Across answers: SEWN UP.
Hope you didn't get a pinprick - or worse - solving Bruce's offering. If you did, put a band-aid on it or let be. Whatever you want. Suture self.
Across:
1. "Big Board" that lists GM and GE: NYSE. General Motors, General Electric, and New York Stock Exchange, respectively.
5. Strauss of jeans: LEVI.
9. Scam using spam, say: PHISH. An excellent primer from IT professionals: Make smarter decisions to avoid being scammed I'm impressed. Well worth the time.
14. Fireworks cries: OOHS and aahs.
15. Eye layer that includes the iris: UVEA.
16. Roman robes: TOGAE. Latin plural for toga. Fashion in ancient Rome
19. Love, to Casanova: AMORE.
20. Soft toss: LOB.
21. "Out with it!": TELL ME.
23. List-ending abbr.: ET AL.
24. Diplomatic office: EMBASSY.
26. "No more for me, thanks": I'M SET.
28. Simon __: SAYS. A child's game and a bubblegum pop hit from 1967
33. Farm layer: HEN.
35. Lamp-to-plug line: WIRE. Linecord or simply cord in many circles.
36. Little mischief-maker: IMP.
37. Marisa of "My Cousin Vinny": TOMEI.
40. Asian New Year: TET.
41. Very unpleasant: NASTY.
43. "It's __-win situation": A NO.
44. Clinton's veep: GORE.
46. Fifth scale note: SOL. Solmization
50. Queries: ASKS.
54. Schlepped: TOTED.
55. Eats a little: HAS SOME.
57. "Verrrry funny": HA HA. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix plays free safety for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. His first name is really Ha'Sean. His grandmother gave him the nickname when he was an infant. "Verrry funny, grandma !" Truth be told, he likes his nickname.
59. Stem (from): DERIVE. Clinton-Dix's nickname stems from the fact that family friends and some family members couldn't properly pronounce his birth name.
61. Opposite of "yep": NAW. Not nope today.
62. Overplay the part: EMOTE.
66. Career employee: LIFER. I first learned this definition in the Army to describe a career soldier.
67. New __: modern spiritualist: AGER.
68. Rebuke from Caesar: ETTU.
69. Put off: DEFER.
70. Gridiron throw: PASS. American and Canadian rules football. A throw on the football field. Most often by a quarterback, but occasionally by another player, such as on this trick play Sunday:
Updated Oct 9 at 7:20 AM, to provide a video of Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints throwing the 62 yard pass to set the NFL record for Most Career Passing Yards
71. Stinging insect: WASP. I've been stung by wasps, bees and fire ants. And an almost by a scorpion.
Down:
1. Aristocrats: NOBLES. They play polo and love guns, horses and hounds.
2. Grammy-winning cellist: YOYO MA.
3. "Not too __!": "Good work!": SHABBY.
4. "To the max" suffix: EST. The superlative suffix.
5. Slyly attracts: LURES IN. Entices. Baits. On the internet, it's called clickbait when a title or image entices you to satisfy your curiosity gap. Especially nefarious with clickbait that promises one thing and the accompanying link delivers something else, like malware. I also find it annoying on this blog when a troll makes inflammatory or specious comments trying to lure regulars into a war of words. Please don't feed the trolls.
6. "Brideshead Revisited" novelist Waugh: EVELYN. Never read the book saw the movie, but learned that Evelyn Waugh was a man, and that his first wife was also named Evelyn.
7. Wiener schnitzel meat: VEAL.
8. Words of confession: I ADMIT IT.
9. School fundraising gp.: PTA. "Founded in 1897 as the National Congress of Mothers by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst, National PTA is a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education."
10. Household skills class, for short: HOME EC.
11. "Let me handle it": I GOT THIS.
12. __ Lee desserts: SARA.
13. Canine command: HEEL.
18. Elevs.: HTS. Elevations / Heights
22. Mideast chieftain: EMIR.
25. Arthur of tennis: ASHE.
27. Dictation pro: STENO. Professional / Stenographer. How Much Do Stenographers Make?
30. Like dessert wines: SWEET.
31. Ambulance pro: EMT. Emergency Medical Technician
32. 007, e.g.: SPY. In Ian Flemming's novels, an MI6 agent granted the 00 designation has a "license to kill". James Bond is the 7th agent that received the 00 designation, thus he is code-named 007.
34. Figure skating figure: EIGHT.
37. Sticky subject?: TAR. Should be sealing the cracks in my asphalt driveway before Old Man Winter wreaks havoc with his freeze thaw cycles. Got a quote of over $400 to have ~ 200' ft. hot-sealed. I'll spend a few hours and fill them myself.
38. Musical Yoko: ONO.
39. Get sassy with someone: MOUTH OFF.
40. Import-export imbalance: TRADE GAP.
42. "Sadly ... ": ALAS.
45. Newspaper opinion page: OP ED.
46. Norelco products: SHAVERS. One of these might be useful to perfect the look of your...
48. Pointed beard: GOATEE.
49. Baked potato topping paired with sour cream: CHIVES. They're still doing well in our garden. Time to snip and freeze them before Mother Nature does.
51. Piano piece: SONATA. 8 hours of Mozart linked for your listening pleasure:
52. Some big box stores: KMARTS. "Attention Kmart shoppers" and "Blue Light Specials" are blasts from the past that you may recall. .
56. "... and two if by __": SEA. Events of April 18, 1775
57. __ up: robbed: HELD.
58. Parisian gal pal: AMIE.
60. Latvian capital: RIGA.
63. Blow it: ERR.
65. "Do the __": soft-drink slogan: DEW. "Do the DEW is more than just an advertising slogan for Mountain Dew – it represents the attitude of a community that really seeks to live life authentically," said Simon Lowden, Chief Marketing Officer, Pepsi Beverages North America. The commercials are primarily aimed at millennials and "are designed to thrive in the mobile environment". They're onto something. Mountain Dew is a billion dollar brand for Pepsi Co.
