Theme: The In and Out Club - the four theme entries club together as follows:
17A. Heist that really puts a burglar on the map?: BREAKOUT BREAK IN
25A. Retro renege?: BACK IN BACK OUT
42A Unexpected visit from a hippie?: DROPOUT DROP IN
56A. Scene-stealing understudy?: STAND-IN STANDOUT
Very nice theme from Mr. Sessa. I like the variations in the one-word, two-word or hyphenated entries; it's not something you'll notice if you just fill in the grid, but when you write the solution out it adds another element.
I think my favorite was the stand-in standout, but they're all pretty cool. Nice job!
My theme title comes from the home of the Naval and Military Club on London's Piccadilly which acquired the nickname "The In and Out Club" for reasons which are obvious when you see the gateposts:
Let's see what else we've got to tickle one's fancy:
Across:
1. Free-speech inhibitor: GAG LAW
7. Rep.'s opponent: DEM. Dem democrats vs. dem Republicans.
10. Southwest art colony: TAOS. A pretty little town in New Mexico.
14. From the beginning: AFRESH
15. Blood type letters: ABO. Not a blood type itself, but the classification system.
16. Palindromic French pronoun: ELLE
20. Seeded: SOWN
21. Corrida cheer: OLÉ!
22. Cable network that airs vintage sitcoms: TV LAND
23. Place for rest and exercise: SPA
24. AFL partner: CIO. AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Nations.
32. "Me too": SO DO I. Tried "AS AM I" first, and was punished for my impatience.
33. Word with goal or detail: ORIENTED
35. Remote power sources: AAA'S. Clever. Batteries for remote controls.
36. Bucks: MOOLA
38. Top of le corps: TÊTE. Some more French for a diversion. The top of your body is your head. Is "haut" too unknown for the entire clue to be in French?
39. Purplish reds: CRIMSONS
41. Oil __: BARON. I had to wait a little while for some crosses before this one became apparent.
45. Two for dinner?: ENS. Two letter "n"s in DINNER.
46. Made a getaway: RAN
47. Performer with a record 21 Oscar nominations: STREEP. She won Best Actress for Sophie's Choice and Iron Lady, and Best Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer. I find the last one a little odd, wasn't she the lead in the movie with Dustin Hoffman? I guess not.
51. ESPN broadcaster Shriver: PAM. Tennis great and a good broadcaster to boot.
52. Energy units: ERGS
59. Sushi seaweed: NORI. I know it well. I buy in packs of 200 sheets, I use quite a lot of it!
60. Trauma ctrs.: ER'S
61. Delicate: DAINTY
62. Did 90, say: SPED
63. Took a load off: SAT
64. Relaxed: AT EASE
Down:
1. Speaks freely: GABS
2. Spherical hairdo: AFRO. I guess it is spherical, never really thought of it like that.
3. Went up a size: GREW
4. Low-fat: LEAN
5. Say "pretty please," say: ASK
6. Actress Goldberg: WHOOPI
7. Oasis fruit: DATE
8. Weaken: EBB
9. Wednesday's mom: MORTICIA. Characters from The Addams Family
10. Blue-green hue: TEAL
11. __-Seltzer: ALKA
12. Lena of "Alias": OLIN. She was a successful theater actress in her native Sweden before launching her film career.
13. Really excite: SEND
18. __ Bator: ULAN. A friend of mine from school joined the British intelligence service; she quit when she found out that her first posting was going to be to Ulan Bator. Mongolia didn't match her aspirations.
19. Call to mind: EVOKE
23. Master moguls: SKI. I never mastered the bumps, but I did ski. I lost count of the number of times I smacked myself in the chin with my knee skiing moguls.
24. Fenway great Yastrzemski: CARL
25. Corporate body: BOARD
26. Red who put out fires: ADAIR. Along with his partner "Boots" Hansen, he became known to me in 1977 when his team were brought in to deal with an oil rig blowout in the North Sea oilfields which had been spewing oil for seven straight days.
27. Jerry's neighbor: COSMO
28. Help for a child at a parade: BOOST
29. Like some bar offerings: ON TAP
30. Development sites: UTERI
31. Grand __ National Park: TETON
32. __ bunt: productive MLB out: SAC
34. Mink lair: DEN
36. Marshmallow-filled treats: MOON PIES
37. Burden: ONUS
40. Clip: SPEED
41. "__ appétit!": BON
43. "Shoot!": DRAT
44. Wyndham-owned chain: RAMADA. It's amazing the consolidation of hotel chains now. Hilton and Starwood seem to have most of the hotel world covered.
47. Taxpayer IDs: SSN'S
48. Firebird roof option: T-TOP. They don't make 'em anymore. The feathered paint job amused me when I first moved here.
49. More than pink: RARE. Food! I went to a restaurant in Manhattan recently which serves only one entrée - Steak Frites. There's only one cut of steak, and you can have it rare, medium, medium-well or well. You can't get medium rare. I went for medium, it was excellent.
50. City near Vance Air Force Base: ENID
51. Hissed attention-getter: PSST!
52. Pop singer Brickell: EDIE
53. "Mazes and Monsters" novelist Jaffe: RONA. Crosses filled this in for me. I didn't even notice the entry until now.
54. Inner workings: GUTS
55. Lid problem: STYE
57. FDR agency: NRA. The National Recovery Administration.
58. __ King Cole: NAT. A little late for a music link, so I'll save it for next time.
With that, here's the grid!
Steve
Note from C.C.:
Happy 81st birthday to dear Lucina, who's been with our blog since Feb 2010. Lucina travels to CA once a year. Not sure if she met with our Californian Coven there this year.
17A. Heist that really puts a burglar on the map?: BREAKOUT BREAK IN
25A. Retro renege?: BACK IN BACK OUT
42A Unexpected visit from a hippie?: DROPOUT DROP IN
56A. Scene-stealing understudy?: STAND-IN STANDOUT
Very nice theme from Mr. Sessa. I like the variations in the one-word, two-word or hyphenated entries; it's not something you'll notice if you just fill in the grid, but when you write the solution out it adds another element.
I think my favorite was the stand-in standout, but they're all pretty cool. Nice job!
My theme title comes from the home of the Naval and Military Club on London's Piccadilly which acquired the nickname "The In and Out Club" for reasons which are obvious when you see the gateposts:
Let's see what else we've got to tickle one's fancy:
Across:
1. Free-speech inhibitor: GAG LAW
7. Rep.'s opponent: DEM. Dem democrats vs. dem Republicans.
10. Southwest art colony: TAOS. A pretty little town in New Mexico.
14. From the beginning: AFRESH
15. Blood type letters: ABO. Not a blood type itself, but the classification system.
16. Palindromic French pronoun: ELLE
20. Seeded: SOWN
21. Corrida cheer: OLÉ!
22. Cable network that airs vintage sitcoms: TV LAND
23. Place for rest and exercise: SPA
24. AFL partner: CIO. AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Nations.
32. "Me too": SO DO I. Tried "AS AM I" first, and was punished for my impatience.
33. Word with goal or detail: ORIENTED
35. Remote power sources: AAA'S. Clever. Batteries for remote controls.
36. Bucks: MOOLA
38. Top of le corps: TÊTE. Some more French for a diversion. The top of your body is your head. Is "haut" too unknown for the entire clue to be in French?
39. Purplish reds: CRIMSONS
41. Oil __: BARON. I had to wait a little while for some crosses before this one became apparent.
45. Two for dinner?: ENS. Two letter "n"s in DINNER.
46. Made a getaway: RAN
47. Performer with a record 21 Oscar nominations: STREEP. She won Best Actress for Sophie's Choice and Iron Lady, and Best Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer. I find the last one a little odd, wasn't she the lead in the movie with Dustin Hoffman? I guess not.
51. ESPN broadcaster Shriver: PAM. Tennis great and a good broadcaster to boot.
52. Energy units: ERGS
59. Sushi seaweed: NORI. I know it well. I buy in packs of 200 sheets, I use quite a lot of it!
60. Trauma ctrs.: ER'S
61. Delicate: DAINTY
62. Did 90, say: SPED
63. Took a load off: SAT
64. Relaxed: AT EASE
Down:
1. Speaks freely: GABS
2. Spherical hairdo: AFRO. I guess it is spherical, never really thought of it like that.
3. Went up a size: GREW
4. Low-fat: LEAN
5. Say "pretty please," say: ASK
6. Actress Goldberg: WHOOPI
7. Oasis fruit: DATE
8. Weaken: EBB
9. Wednesday's mom: MORTICIA. Characters from The Addams Family
10. Blue-green hue: TEAL
11. __-Seltzer: ALKA
12. Lena of "Alias": OLIN. She was a successful theater actress in her native Sweden before launching her film career.
13. Really excite: SEND
18. __ Bator: ULAN. A friend of mine from school joined the British intelligence service; she quit when she found out that her first posting was going to be to Ulan Bator. Mongolia didn't match her aspirations.
19. Call to mind: EVOKE
23. Master moguls: SKI. I never mastered the bumps, but I did ski. I lost count of the number of times I smacked myself in the chin with my knee skiing moguls.
24. Fenway great Yastrzemski: CARL
25. Corporate body: BOARD
26. Red who put out fires: ADAIR. Along with his partner "Boots" Hansen, he became known to me in 1977 when his team were brought in to deal with an oil rig blowout in the North Sea oilfields which had been spewing oil for seven straight days.
27. Jerry's neighbor: COSMO
28. Help for a child at a parade: BOOST
29. Like some bar offerings: ON TAP
30. Development sites: UTERI
31. Grand __ National Park: TETON
32. __ bunt: productive MLB out: SAC
34. Mink lair: DEN
36. Marshmallow-filled treats: MOON PIES
37. Burden: ONUS
40. Clip: SPEED
41. "__ appétit!": BON
43. "Shoot!": DRAT
44. Wyndham-owned chain: RAMADA. It's amazing the consolidation of hotel chains now. Hilton and Starwood seem to have most of the hotel world covered.
47. Taxpayer IDs: SSN'S
48. Firebird roof option: T-TOP. They don't make 'em anymore. The feathered paint job amused me when I first moved here.
50. City near Vance Air Force Base: ENID
51. Hissed attention-getter: PSST!
52. Pop singer Brickell: EDIE
53. "Mazes and Monsters" novelist Jaffe: RONA. Crosses filled this in for me. I didn't even notice the entry until now.
54. Inner workings: GUTS
55. Lid problem: STYE
57. FDR agency: NRA. The National Recovery Administration.
58. __ King Cole: NAT. A little late for a music link, so I'll save it for next time.
With that, here's the grid!
Steve
Happy 81st birthday to dear Lucina, who's been with our blog since Feb 2010. Lucina travels to CA once a year. Not sure if she met with our Californian Coven there this year.
Left to Right: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina.
June 3, 2015
