"Bird Idioms"
Each of these idioms feature members of our avian friends. The meaning of each idiom is well-defined by its clue. Simple and elegant.
20. Farewell performance: SWAN SONG.
26. Squinter's wrinkles: CROWS FEET.
44. Hidden danger: BOOBY TRAP.
56. Easy-peasy task: DUCK SOUP.
10. Keen-sighted sort: EAGLE EYE.
36. Big fat zero: GOOSE EGG.
Bonus birds in the fill:
12. Seagull kin: TERN.
56. Jackknifed into the pool, say: DOVE. Well, when pronounced differently, it is a bird. Dove is a heteronym: Dove DUV- a bird; DOEV- jumped off.
Across:
1. "The Big Bang Theory" network: CBS. The Corner has a number of fans of this sitcom. Sometimes seen as TBBT in clues and comments.
4. Uncertain: IFFY. I was a little iffy about the theme until I recognized that the theme answers were all idioms, and that tern and dove were just bonus birds.
8. Peek at someone else's test answers, say: CHEAT.
13. River to the Caspian: URAL.
15. Where to find a hero: DELI. I liked this clue / answer, despite it being so evident.
16. Rental document: LEASE.
17. Opera songs for one: SOLI.
18. Part of: IN ON.
19. Ready for action: EAGER. Eager beaver is another animal kingdom idiom.
22. Award-winning sci-fi author __ Ellison: HARLAN. The name is vaguely familiar. This NY Times article provided a little insight.
23. Chess match finale: END GAME. The point where I usually lost or conceded.
24. Summer camp craft: CANOE.
25. Neuter: DESEX.
30. Done with employment: Abbr.: RET.
32. Cathedral recess: APSE.
33. Go off course: YAW. Aviators, sailors and seamen probably use this word more often than the rest of us. Where's Dudley ?
34. Lively Irish dances: JIGS. Irish Miss won't be doing jigs anytime soon given her current foot ailment.
37. "Steppenwolf" writer Hermann: HESSE.
39. Lyre-playing emperor: NERO.
40. "Much __ About Nothing": ADO.
41. Broadway partner of Rodgers: HART. He later partnered with Hammerstein.
42. Reuben bread: RYE.
47. Honey-colored: AMBER.
51. Big rigs: SEMIs.
52. Track's inside track: LANE ONE.
54. Songs of praise: PAEANS.
57. Sports stadium: ARENA.
58. Jellystone Park bear: YOGI.
59. Actor Miller of "Justice League": EZRA. He played "The Flash"
60. Watchful period: VIGIL.
61. Keen: AVID.
62. Sets eyes on: SEES.
63. Lawn-trimming targets: EDGES.
64. Ballpoints: PENS.
65. Banned insecticide: DDT. The CDC's National Biomonitoring Program: Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) Factsheet
Down:
1. Used "colorful" language: CUSSED. Perhaps it is not a sign of a limited vocabulary.
2. "Doctor My Eyes" singer Jackson __: BROWNE.
3. Light lunches: SALADS.
4. Strong suit or weak sauce: IDIOM. This had me going until the perps helped. We have a bevy of idioms today.
5. African desert fox: FENNEC. New to me.
6. Criticize harshly: FLOG.
7. Yang complement: YIN.
8. Purify: CLEANSE.
9. Find out about: HEAR OF. Marvin Gaye used another idiom to tell us how he found out she loved some else.
11. Between ports: ASEA.
14. Won't go away, as an odor: LINGERS.
21. __-Coburg: former Bavarian duchy: SAXE. The dukedom ended in 1918. It began in 1826.
22. Mooring rope: HAWSER. New term for me. Spitzboov and Jinx would know.
24. Foes of robbers: COPS.
27. Many a reggae artist: RASTA. - a member of the Rastafarian religious movement. Rastafarians have distinctive codes of behavior and dress, including the wearing of dreadlocks, the smoking of cannabis, the rejection of Western medicine, and adherence to a diet that excludes pork, shellfish, and milk.
28. Corn serving: EAR.
29. Romantic dinner complement: TWO. Cute clue.
31. "To clarify ... ": THAT IS. "I meant ..."
34. Quick punch: JAB.
35. Swearing-in words: I DO.
38. Drops the ball: ERRS.
39. Formidable opponents: NEMESES.
41. Church books with many notes: HYMNALS.
43. Sudden pull: YANK.
45. Small skullcap: BEANIE.
46. Connect to an outlet: PLUG IN.
48. Drank to excess: BOOZED.
49. Hardened (to): ENURED.
50. Dinner, say: REPAST. late Middle English: from Old French, based on late Latin repascere, from re- (expressing intensive force) + pascere ‘to feed’. The word was more commonly used in the 1800s.
53. Corrosive compounds: ACIDS.
54. Cover with asphalt: PAVE.
55. Like the Mojave: ARID.
58. Chatter: YAP.
