Theme: Job Description - as the reveal tells us, all the jobs comprise nine letters, followed by five.
To wit:
20A. One reviewing challenges: APPELLATE JUDGE. There are a minimum of three of them in an appellate court.
24A. One who's got you covered: INSURANCE AGENT. I'm going to see my AAA agent on Friday, I think I can save almost $200 a month on my auto and homeowners if I bundle with them. Awesome!
41. One seen in a Hanes catalog: UNDERWEAR MODEL. Mark Wahlberg, in his "Marky Mark" days, famously modeled for Calvin Klein.
46. Predictable work ... and, in a way, what the other three longest answers are?: NINE TO FIVE JOBS. When I had a desk job in the US it was always nine to six. Where did I go wrong?
According to the blog history, this is Kevin's LAT debut, so congratulations for that. I liked this theme, it's a little unusual that the reveal calls out the letter count of the theme entries and ties the long entries together, so it's very elegant. None of the theme entries have appeared before in any of the major puzzles which is quite an achievement in itself.
The fill has some nice fresh entries too, so there's a lot to like about this puzzle. Let's go for a tour and see what pops out.
By the way, I Googled Kevin, and if this is the same gentleman, he blogs on "The Jeopardy! Fan" and he appeared on the show on March 14th this year. I know a lot of our regulars follow the show, so I think that's very cool.
Across:
1. "High" places?: SEAS
5. Flag down: HAIL
9. Caller ID?: IT'S ME
14. El __, Texas: PASO. Founded as El Paso del Norte - the northern pass. Paso Robles, in California, was founded as El Paso de Robles - the pass of the oaks.
15. Actor Idris who plays Heimdall in "Thor" films: ELBA. British actor, best known I think for playing a drug trafficker in the HBO series "The Wire". Also spent a year training as a kickboxer for a documentary and won his first bout in 2016.
16. Mozart wrote a lot of them: NOTES. Do you write a musical note? I suppose you do, it never crossed my mind before. Or do you write a manuscript? Would you say that Shakespeare wrote a lot of letters? Discuss.
17. Dungeness delicacies: CRAB CAKES. Food! The best crab cakes have very little filler. Maryland-style crab cakes combine egg, Old Bay seasoning, mayo, mustard and seasoning.
19. Omni rival: HYATT
22. Fish eggs: ROE
23. Brooding genre: EMO. Here's a great example of the genre from Green Day.
32. Pig's sniffer: SNOUT
33. Weep for: MOURN
34. See 27-Down: RAE. I prefer cross-referenced entries to come in order in the cluing, but this looks fine in the grid.
35. Sch. near the U.S.-Mexico border: U.T.E.P. Second reference to El Paso today - University of Texas at El Paso.
36. Law school subject: TORTS
37. Put on the cloud, say: SAVE. Data backups and the like to the cloud. I've got three cloud storage accounts, iCloud, OneDrive and Google Cloud. My phone automagically backs up my Photo Stream to iCloud, it's rather nice. Google Cloud gets involved in photo backups too, I'm not quite sure how.
38. Writer Deighton: LEN
39. "It Wasn't All Velvet" memoirist: TORMÉ. Mel.
40. Asks: POSES
44. Aromatic necklace: LEI. Typically plumeria, but can also be made from other flowers. Ginger flowers make one of the prettiest and most aromatic leis.
45. "How We Do (Party)" British singer Rita __: ORA. Crosses all the way, I've never heard of her. The official video on YouTube has more than 56 million views, so obviously some people have.
54. Implied: TACIT
55. Chain used by many contractors: HOME DEPOT
56. Courtroom pro: STENO
57. Take testimony from: HEAR. Our theme Appellate Judge would take testimony.
58. Depend: RELY
59. "The Ant and the Grasshopper" storyteller: AESOP. Not one of his most famous fables, but easy enough to deduce.
60. Philosophies: -ISMS
61. Fort SSW of Louisville: KNOX. Site of the James Bond "Goldfinger" attempted heist featuring the staggeringly-named Pussy Galore.
Down:
1. Shelter gp.: S.P.C.A. There's an R in front of it in the UK organization, it has a Royal warrant.
2. Big name in Tombstone: EARP
3. "By yesterday!": ASAP!
4. Sleeps it off: SOBERS UP
5. Physician, ideally: HEALER. Ideally indeed. I wouldn't trust a physician who wasn't a healer.
6. Commercial word with Seltzer: ALKA
7. "Oh, suuure": I BET
8. Cut with a beam: LASE
9. Cruel: INHUMAN
10. Papillon, e.g.: TOY DOG. New one on me, I've never heard of the breed. Cute little fella though.
11. Deer sir: STAG. Nice clue.
12. Dole (out): METE
13. Ballpark fig.: EST. Estimated attendance figure. The "official" attendance tends to be inflated, as they count tickets sold, not "butts in seats." Season-ticket no-shows count as attendees.
18. Influence: CLOUT
21. Ballpark opinions, at times: JEERS. The jeers from the "phantom". attendees are rather muted.
24. One-__ chance: IN TEN
25. Incessantly: NO END
26. "When the moon hits your eye" feeling: AMORE
27. With 34-Across, Sally Field film: NORMA
28. More adorable: CUTER
29. Make blank: ERASE
30. Piercing site, perhaps: NAVEL. Gazing site too.
31. Scottish center?: TEES. The two T's in the middle.
32. Sci-fi navigator: SULU
36. Specifically: TO WIT
37. Float fixer: SODA JERK. Not because you get insulted when you order your soda.
39. Place with a bird's-eye view: TREETOP
40. Went carefully (over): PORED
42. Nickname of golfer Sergio García, who turned pro at age 19: EL NIÑO. I've always enjoyed watching Sergio play. I was happy for him when he finally won his first major at the 2017 Masters. He's a passionate Ryder Cup competitor.
43. Shakers' relatives?: MOVERS
46. "Mom" actor Corddry: NATE. Another unknown, thank you crosses. I don't recognize him at all.
47. Treats, as a sprain: ICES. Ouch.
48. Surprised greeting: OH, HI!
49. They're not on the same page: FOES. Peculiar clue. If two foes dislike each other equally, aren't they on the same page as far as that's concerned?
50. Religious scholar: IMAM
51. Premiere: OPEN
52. Simple tie: BOLO
53. Where Achilles was dipped for invincibility: STYX. Missed that pesky heel though, causing his downfall when he was shot in the heel with a poisoned arrow by Paris.
54. Org. operating full-body scanners: T.S.A.
I think that about wraps it up for today. I hope Kevin stops by to confirm or deny his appearance on Jeopardy!
Steve
To wit:
20A. One reviewing challenges: APPELLATE JUDGE. There are a minimum of three of them in an appellate court.
24A. One who's got you covered: INSURANCE AGENT. I'm going to see my AAA agent on Friday, I think I can save almost $200 a month on my auto and homeowners if I bundle with them. Awesome!
41. One seen in a Hanes catalog: UNDERWEAR MODEL. Mark Wahlberg, in his "Marky Mark" days, famously modeled for Calvin Klein.
46. Predictable work ... and, in a way, what the other three longest answers are?: NINE TO FIVE JOBS. When I had a desk job in the US it was always nine to six. Where did I go wrong?
According to the blog history, this is Kevin's LAT debut, so congratulations for that. I liked this theme, it's a little unusual that the reveal calls out the letter count of the theme entries and ties the long entries together, so it's very elegant. None of the theme entries have appeared before in any of the major puzzles which is quite an achievement in itself.
The fill has some nice fresh entries too, so there's a lot to like about this puzzle. Let's go for a tour and see what pops out.
By the way, I Googled Kevin, and if this is the same gentleman, he blogs on "The Jeopardy! Fan" and he appeared on the show on March 14th this year. I know a lot of our regulars follow the show, so I think that's very cool.
Across:
1. "High" places?: SEAS
5. Flag down: HAIL
9. Caller ID?: IT'S ME
14. El __, Texas: PASO. Founded as El Paso del Norte - the northern pass. Paso Robles, in California, was founded as El Paso de Robles - the pass of the oaks.
15. Actor Idris who plays Heimdall in "Thor" films: ELBA. British actor, best known I think for playing a drug trafficker in the HBO series "The Wire". Also spent a year training as a kickboxer for a documentary and won his first bout in 2016.
16. Mozart wrote a lot of them: NOTES. Do you write a musical note? I suppose you do, it never crossed my mind before. Or do you write a manuscript? Would you say that Shakespeare wrote a lot of letters? Discuss.
17. Dungeness delicacies: CRAB CAKES. Food! The best crab cakes have very little filler. Maryland-style crab cakes combine egg, Old Bay seasoning, mayo, mustard and seasoning.
19. Omni rival: HYATT
22. Fish eggs: ROE
23. Brooding genre: EMO. Here's a great example of the genre from Green Day.
32. Pig's sniffer: SNOUT
33. Weep for: MOURN
34. See 27-Down: RAE. I prefer cross-referenced entries to come in order in the cluing, but this looks fine in the grid.
35. Sch. near the U.S.-Mexico border: U.T.E.P. Second reference to El Paso today - University of Texas at El Paso.
36. Law school subject: TORTS
37. Put on the cloud, say: SAVE. Data backups and the like to the cloud. I've got three cloud storage accounts, iCloud, OneDrive and Google Cloud. My phone automagically backs up my Photo Stream to iCloud, it's rather nice. Google Cloud gets involved in photo backups too, I'm not quite sure how.
38. Writer Deighton: LEN
39. "It Wasn't All Velvet" memoirist: TORMÉ. Mel.
40. Asks: POSES
44. Aromatic necklace: LEI. Typically plumeria, but can also be made from other flowers. Ginger flowers make one of the prettiest and most aromatic leis.
45. "How We Do (Party)" British singer Rita __: ORA. Crosses all the way, I've never heard of her. The official video on YouTube has more than 56 million views, so obviously some people have.
54. Implied: TACIT
55. Chain used by many contractors: HOME DEPOT
56. Courtroom pro: STENO
57. Take testimony from: HEAR. Our theme Appellate Judge would take testimony.
58. Depend: RELY
59. "The Ant and the Grasshopper" storyteller: AESOP. Not one of his most famous fables, but easy enough to deduce.
60. Philosophies: -ISMS
61. Fort SSW of Louisville: KNOX. Site of the James Bond "Goldfinger" attempted heist featuring the staggeringly-named Pussy Galore.
Down:
1. Shelter gp.: S.P.C.A. There's an R in front of it in the UK organization, it has a Royal warrant.
2. Big name in Tombstone: EARP
3. "By yesterday!": ASAP!
4. Sleeps it off: SOBERS UP
5. Physician, ideally: HEALER. Ideally indeed. I wouldn't trust a physician who wasn't a healer.
6. Commercial word with Seltzer: ALKA
7. "Oh, suuure": I BET
8. Cut with a beam: LASE
9. Cruel: INHUMAN
10. Papillon, e.g.: TOY DOG. New one on me, I've never heard of the breed. Cute little fella though.
11. Deer sir: STAG. Nice clue.
12. Dole (out): METE
13. Ballpark fig.: EST. Estimated attendance figure. The "official" attendance tends to be inflated, as they count tickets sold, not "butts in seats." Season-ticket no-shows count as attendees.
18. Influence: CLOUT
21. Ballpark opinions, at times: JEERS. The jeers from the "phantom". attendees are rather muted.
24. One-__ chance: IN TEN
25. Incessantly: NO END
26. "When the moon hits your eye" feeling: AMORE
27. With 34-Across, Sally Field film: NORMA
28. More adorable: CUTER
29. Make blank: ERASE
30. Piercing site, perhaps: NAVEL. Gazing site too.
31. Scottish center?: TEES. The two T's in the middle.
32. Sci-fi navigator: SULU
36. Specifically: TO WIT
37. Float fixer: SODA JERK. Not because you get insulted when you order your soda.
39. Place with a bird's-eye view: TREETOP
40. Went carefully (over): PORED
42. Nickname of golfer Sergio García, who turned pro at age 19: EL NIÑO. I've always enjoyed watching Sergio play. I was happy for him when he finally won his first major at the 2017 Masters. He's a passionate Ryder Cup competitor.
43. Shakers' relatives?: MOVERS
46. "Mom" actor Corddry: NATE. Another unknown, thank you crosses. I don't recognize him at all.
47. Treats, as a sprain: ICES. Ouch.
48. Surprised greeting: OH, HI!
49. They're not on the same page: FOES. Peculiar clue. If two foes dislike each other equally, aren't they on the same page as far as that's concerned?
50. Religious scholar: IMAM
51. Premiere: OPEN
52. Simple tie: BOLO
53. Where Achilles was dipped for invincibility: STYX. Missed that pesky heel though, causing his downfall when he was shot in the heel with a poisoned arrow by Paris.
54. Org. operating full-body scanners: T.S.A.
I think that about wraps it up for today. I hope Kevin stops by to confirm or deny his appearance on Jeopardy!
Steve
