"Paper Cutter"
16. *Killjoy: PARTY POOPER. A wet blanket.
20. *Face consequences for poor decisions: PAY THE PIPER. More on that in the review.
34. *Furniture restorer's chemical: PAINT STRIPPER. I've stripped more furniture than Carter has pills.
50. *Airborne unit member: PARATROOPER. All U.S. military paratroopers go to "Jump School" at Ft. Benning, GA.
55. Stationery supply with a blade ... and a hint to the answers to starred clues: PAPER CUTTER.
BTW, Frank created one of my favorite puzzles. It's one that every Chicago Cubs fan should solve and frame for their man cave or diva den.
Let's slice up today's puzzle and see what we got.
Across:
1. Tricky road curves: ESSES.
6. Too hasty: RASH. The upshot of making a rash decision might be paying the piper, possibly leading to the following self criticism:
10. "Boy, am I dumb!": DUH.
13. Bowl over: SHOCK. Technically, pins are inanimate objects, but Boomer shocks them and sends "ten in the pit" quite frequently.
14. Valpolicella wine brand: BOLLA. Where's Chairman Moe when you need him ? Selling wine of course. I'll leave descriptions to the oenophiles. Please chime in if you've tried this wine.
15. Suffix with project or percent: ILE.
18. Metro stop: Abbr.: STA. There are 242 stations served by Metra in the Chicagoland area.
19. State south of Wash.: ORE. I read the history of the Tucker Sno-Cat. It is made in Medford, Oregon.
22. Like Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial: SEATED.
24. Yom Kippur observers: ATONERS.
25. Italian wine hub: ASTI. Another Italian wine reference from Frank.
26. South African golfer Ernie: ELS. Nicknamed "The Big Easy" due to his physical size and fluid golf swing. CSO to our own Big Easy here at the Corner who also loves golf.
28. Make a wool cap, say: KNIT. Hello Madame ! Here's a link to William Safire's The Fumbelrules of Grammar. I had to look it up the other day after you mentioned it.
29. MLB exec Joe who was the Yankees' manager for 12 seasons: TORRE. Joe Torre bio at MLB.com
32. Wrangler's ropes: LASSOS.
37. Wild cards, maybe: DEUCES.
38. Arrive at: GET TO.
39. "At Last" singer James: ETTA.
40. Charged particle: ION.
41. Recipe amts.: TSPS. Teaspoons.
45. Polar expedition vehicles: SNO-CATS.
48. '70s-'80s FBI sting: ABSCAM. One U.S. Senator, five U.S. House Representatives, and five other state and local politicians paid the piper for accepting bribes in the undercover operation.
53. Tijuana gold: ORO.
54. "__ little teapot ... ": I'M A. short and stout.
57. Min. part: SEC. Minute (short i, stress on the first syllable) or minute (long i, stress on the second syllable) is an example of a heteronym. ie, same spelling, different pronunciation and meaning. I think Rich employs heteronyms for misdirection and to amp up the difficulty of clues when editing, especially later in the week. Do you recall the "Flower in la Seine" clue in C.C.s Sunday puzzle ? Here's a RECKord of heteronyms to diLIBerATE.
58. Companionless: ALONE. Again, naturally. Remember Biz Markie from the other day ? The judgement that changed the hip hop recording industry.
59. Quai d'Orsay's river: SEINE. Whoa ! Thank you perps. I learned that it's an area on the left bank of the Seine. There's a street there with the same name that houses many French government offices. Consequently, the French use Quai d'Orsay to refer to the French government, similar to the English referring to Downing Street for English government.
60. WNW opposite: ESE.
61. Swiss watch brand: RADO. Nice looking watches. I'm not a watch wearer and have no idea where they rank.
62. Trial rounds: HEATS.
Down:
1. Señor's wife: ESPOSA.
2. Stock market purchases: SHARES.
3. Furious with: SORE AT.
4. Outer: Pref.: ECT.
5. Video conferencing choice: SKYPE.
6. Carrot or turnip: ROOT.
7. Dominant dogs: ALPHAS.
8. Wintry pellets: SLEET.
9. Marx brother with a horn: HARPO.
10. Mete out, as PEZ candy: DISPENSE.
11. Hidden, as motives: ULTERIOR.
12. Publishing family: HEARSTS.
14. __ Wonder: Robin: BOY. The Dynamic Duo superheros Batman (Bruce Wayne) and the Boy Wonder Robin (Dick Grayson) thwart evil villains in Gotham.
17. Note-taking aid: PAD.
21. Classic '30s-'50s vocal quartet, with "the": INK SPOTS. I don't think I'm familiar with any of their songs. This one was apparently one of the famous ones:
While listening to it, I scanned the comments and came across this remark, "I remember the first time I heard this song: I was sippin' an egg cream with some doll at some greasy-spoon diner in the Bowery. Some mug came in and served me more lip than his face could handle. After a little chin music, I paid my nickel, grabbed the dame and took it on the lam." Sounds like lines out of a film noir.
23. Lake on the border of Bolivia and Peru: TITICACA. 10 Interesting Facts About Lake Titicaca
26. Critical-care ctrs.: ERs.
27. Release: LET GO.
30. Queen's "Another __ Bites the Dust": ONE.
31. Shares again on Twitter, briefly: RTS.
32. Set a match to: LIT.
33. Befitting: APT.
34. Love handles?: PET NAMES.
35. Grand Prix, e.g.: AUTO RACE.
36. Han and Leia's son Kylo __: REN. Star Wars stuff.
37. Loathe: DESPISE.
40. 14-legged crustacean: ISOPOD.
42. Nova __: SCOTIA. One of the Canadian provinces. Halifax is the capital and the timezone is AST. Crosswords reinforce some bits of knowledge.
43. Mother or father: PARENT.
44. Gooey campfire treats: SMORES. The Girl Scouts are selling cookies now. I don't understand why they sell them in January. I bought Thin Mints and whatever they call the peanut butter cookies. Not the S'mores though.
46. For face value: AT PAR. Typically used in accounting and finance. The face (stated) value of a stock, bond or financial instrument.
47. Song syllables: TRA LA.
48. NRC forerunner: AEC. Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Atomic Energy Commission. The AEC was responsible for both promotion and regulation of nuclear energy. Both critics and supporters of nuclear energy agreed that the regulatory function should be separated. In 1974, the NRC was created with the passage of the Energy Reorganization Act. - Paraphrased from NRC.gov-about-history.
49. Hair salon staple: BRUSH.
51. Winery prefix: OENO. A wine sub theme today.
52. Opposite of post-: PRE.
56. Shirt with a V-neck, perhaps: TEE.
