18. *Safari head protector: PITH HELMET
26. *Traditional farm equine: PLOW HORSE.
47. *Baked pork cut that sounds perfect for a blanket in the park: PICNIC HAM.
60. *Lever for manual water extraction: PUMP HANDLE.
5D. *Kid's homemade topper: PAPER HAT.
39. Ordeal ... and a hint to the initials of the answers to starred clues: ACID TEST. - A rigorous and comprehensive test that proves or disproves the value of something. Here, we also get a hint to the theme answers with the acid test answer. The pH scale tells us how acidic or alkaline a substance is.
Across:
1. Source of spumante wine: ASTI. Asti (also known as Asti Spumante) is a sparkling white Italian wine that is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont but is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba.- Wikipedia
5. Mr. __: Former name of a Dr Pepper rival: PIBB. Until this puzzle, I did not know Mr. Pibb is now the former name. In 2001, a new formula was created and the soft drink was rebranded as Pibb Xtra. This video is coded to start at the 2:26 mark with a 1996 commercial. You can start from the beginning if you want to see the early '70's commercials.
9. Light model wood: BALSA.
14. Bore false witness: LIED.
15. Et __: and others: ALIA.
16. Provo native: UTAHN. If you look closely, you'll also see other Utah related crossword favorites like Salt Lake City, Uinta, Wasatch, and Orem.
17. Beige look-alike: ECRU..
20. Superficial, as beauty: SKIN DEEP.
22. Make possible: ENABLE.
23. Negative connector: NOR.
24. Packers quarterback Rodgers: AARON. The 34 year old star quarterback of the National Football League's (NFL) Green Bay Packers signed a 4 year $134 million contract extension in August of this year. I'd be smiling too !
29. Nervous twitches: TICS.
33. Vein discovery: ORE.
34. ... Venus, __, Mars ...: EARTH. “we are unique individuals with unique experiences” - Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
35. Like sea battles: NAVAL.
36. Column slant: Abbr.: POV. Point of view. Often revealed in (33 Down) - Pundit's piece: OP ED. I skip most of them and head to the important stuff. *
37. Overseas business abbr.: LTD.
38. Sheep's call: BAA.
40. Sister Sledge's "We __ Family": ARE. The four Sledge sisters from Philadelphia hit in big at the height of the disco era in 1979 with this song. The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) adopted this song as a theme song on their way to winning the 1979 World Series over the Baltimore Orioles.
41. Corp. bigwigs: EXECS. Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, ET ALIA.
43. Nike alternative: ASICs. Application Specific Integrated Circuits. No, wait. Never mind. Here it is the name of the the brand of running shoes and sports clothing.
45. __ showing: theater info: NOW.
46. Textile mill worker: DYER. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for dyers and finishers will decline by 24 percent between 2012 and 2022. I tried to find the job outlook for bakery icers for a comparison, but could only find de-icers. Ramp agents at the airports.
49. Whirlpool brand: AMANA.
51. Wee bit: DAB. Brylcreem. A little dab will do ya. Well then, Dippity-do !
52. Ship's chart: SEA MAP.
55. Air, mostly: NITROGEN.
62. Intricate garden feature: MAZE.
63. Medieval suit: ARMOR.
64. Backtalk: SASS.
65. Prickly husks: BURS. We had a chestnut in the treeline of the woods along the back of our property when I was growing up. When the bur (husk) opens, they're ripe. Remove the husk, then boil or roast for 20 minutes to soften the skin. Cool, peel and enjoy.
66. Nary a soul: NO ONE.
67. London rental: FLAT.
68. Blind part: SLAT.
Down:
1. Brewpub pints: ALES.
2. Under the weather: SICK. A possible side-effect of drinking too many brewpub pints.
3. Hatcher with a recurring role in TV's "Supergirl": TERI. Melissa Benoist stars as the series' titular character, Supergirl. Teri Hatcher played villain Queen Rhea. Supergirl and Queen Rhea duke it out:
4. [Shrug]: I DUNNO. I dunno why I linked that previous video. Is anyone here a fan ? Has anyone here ever been able to sit through an episode ? Maybe when the grandchildren are around ?
6. Nastase of tennis: ILIE. Physically gifted and deftly skilled Romanian-born professional tennis player during the 1970s and early 1908s. An International Tennis Hall of Fame member, he ranked as high as World # 1 in late 1973 and most of 1974. Enfant terrible. Nicknamed "Nasty" and the "Bucharest Buffoon" because of his on court antics and histrionics. John McEnroe was a choirboy compared to Nastase. In July 2017, the 72 year old Nastase received a 4 year ban by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for his actions and racist comments. The World Tennis Association (WTA) probably has him on thin ice as well.
7. Minor role: BIT PART. Erased "BIT role" as quickly as I entered it because role was in the clue.
8. Scrooge's "Dang!": BAH. Humbug.
9. Good, in Guatemala: BUENO.
10. Hawks' home: ATLANTA. The Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
11. Ewe kid: LAMB.
12. "A Light in the Attic" poet Silverstein: SHEL. I know this name only from crosswords. I had Shul until I changed Helmut to Helmet. Don't know where that U came from. Maybe Canada ?
13. Penny-__: unimportant: ANTE. I like Wikipedia. It's not unusual to find a few penny-ante errors in articles every now and then. But then sometimes I run into obviously vandalized articles, like this one, which has since been corrected:
I also first thought this was a Wikipedia error, but it's a Google knowledge panel error:
19. Roll call answer: HERE. An appropriate answer for a roll call to, "How many of you were wondering where TTP was going with those comments about penny-ante ?"
21. Woodworking rods: DOWELS.
25. Rubbish container: ASH BIN. I used a galvanized metal pail as an ash bin. I used it when I emptied the ash tray at the bottom of the pot bellied stove.
26. Stockholder's agent: PROXY.
27. Protective embankment: LEVEE. A musical interlude is needed.
28. Install, as a cleric: ORDAIN.
30. Eric Trump's mom: IVANA.
31. Off-the-cushion pool shot: CAROM.
32. Large quantity: SLEW.
35. Daytona 500 org.: NASCAR. The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing. The Daytona 500 is the top event in NASCAR. Racing began at Dayton Beach in 1903 with a race between Ransom E Olds and Alexander Winton. Richard Petty has the all-time record of 7 Daytona 500 wins. AJ Foyt won it once. Mario Andretti won it in 1967, and remains the only foreign-born racer to ever have won it.
42. Ice-climber's boot attachment: CRAMPON.
44. Tabloid fodder: SCANDAL.
47. One of the Three Bears: PAPA. Can't help but thinking of George "Papa Bear" Halas of the NFL Chicago Bears when I hear or see Papa Bear, but in this clue it's about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. As an aside, blogging the puzzle can broaden one's knowledge base. e.g. I had no previous knowledge of the origins of the Goldilocks tale until reading the Wikipedia article.
48. Cold War threats: H-BOMBS.
50. Skiing champ Phil or Steve: MAHRE. In the Olympics: 1976 Innsbruck, 1980 Lake Placid, and 1984 Sarajevo. The Mahre brothers: Twin skiers who won gold and silver in slalom.
52. Cross over: SPAN. The UFO Bridge spans the Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia.
53. Tipperary tip jar coin: EURO. The town and county in Ireland, and their current currency. Learned of this song watching some old movie.
54. Hunter's need: AMMO.
56. Victor's wife in "Casablanca": ILSA. Victor Lazlo and Ilsa Lund, played by Paul Henreid and Ingrid Berman, respectively. Here's a memorable scene from that movie. Sam is played by Dooley Wilson.
57. Ancient France: GAUL. And present day Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, northern Italy, parts of the Netherlands and of Germany west of the Rhine. About a third way through its existency, Julius Caesar had the unmitigated gall to invade and conquer almost all of Gaul.
58. Poet Pound: EZRA. Annenberg Learner - Voices and Visions - Ezra Pound
59. Branch home: NEST.
61. Bad check letters: NSF. Non-Sufficient Funds. Why ? Why did they come up with this term ? Why not insufficient funds ?
* Where's that crossword puzzle ? 😀
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to Big Easy (George Simpson). Hope Diane is recovering quickly from her knee surgery, George!
