I am back and so is Jeffrey. Our other resident cruciverbalist, JW, joins PC this week in giving us another UP-DOWN puzzle. This one is the reverse - the theme is an added AM (morning) to the beginning (the "top") of four phrases two of which are grid-spanners, as is the reveal TOP OF THE MORNING. Showing off his mad gridding skills, he wraps the theme in double stacks of 7 and triple stacks of six in the middle. Despite 69 spaces of theme, he includes such sparkly fill as BARCODE. BLOOPER, CURATOR, DEAFENS, DO A DEAL, EDAMAME, EURASIA, PINENUT, STAMENS, and UNIFIER. Much to say, so away we go.
3D. Chronicles of Sodom and Gomorrah?: AMORAL HISTORIES (15). While the Torah is an early written history, it likely is based on Oral histories handed down.
4D. Group of stealthy attackers?: AMBUSH LEAGUE (12). This is fun; bush league comes from a baseball term.
7D. Act like a court jester?: AMUSE AS DIRECTED (15). My favorite repurposing.
Across:7D. Act like a court jester?: AMUSE AS DIRECTED (15). My favorite repurposing.
23D. Flashy jewelry for a stroll in the park?: AMBLING BLING (12). A bit of a stretch but maybe I just do not like the term bling.
And the reveal:
And the reveal:
11D. Supposedly Irish greeting ... or a hint to four long answers: TOP OF THE MORNING (15).
Probably top o' the mornin'.
1. Org. monitoring wetlands: EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. No politics.
4. Reachable: AT HAND. This was NEARBY until it wasn't.
10. Wall support: STUD. Stud is an ancient word related to similar words in Old English, Old Norse, Middle High German, and Old Teutonic generally meaning prop or support. In case you wondered.
14. Like the dawn's early light: DIM. No Star-spangled banner here.
15. "Old MacDonald" sound: MOO MOO. ... a moo moo there.
16. One might be commanding: TONE. Also not my first thought.
17. Year, in Seville: AÑO. Just straight Spanish, though the newspaper did not give you the hint.
18. Caviar fish: BELUGA. Beluga caviar is caviar consisting of the roe (or eggs) of the beluga sturgeon Huso huso. Not related to Beluga whales- they are being trained by the Russian MILITARY.
19. Capital of Samoa: APIA. With all the nice vowels I am surprised we do not see this more.
20. Debussy's "La __": MER. The Sea in French.
21. Purposes: USES.
22. July 4th or December 25th, for many: DAY OFF. Some misdirection and holiday did not fit.
24. With 64-Across, "Henry and June" author: ANAIS. We get her full name in parts. 64A. See 24-Across: NIN.
26. Request at the bar, with "up": SET EM. A partial, I think.
28. Old-style "Tsk!": FIE. Fee fie fo fum?
29. Gardener's supply: MULCH. You really do not need mulch, but it is pretty and all.
30. Many a southwestern Asian: ARAB. Many forget that Arabs, Indians, and others are Asian. They all have booths at the annual Asian Festival in Fruit and Spice Park in Miami (the Redlands). You missed this year but there is still an Orchid Show and Fruit Festival coming up.
31. The "1" in 15, really: TEN. Base ten math.
32. Lucy's TV pal: ETHEL. Ethel Mertz is not related to yesterday's Zach Ertz.
33. Move using eBay: SELL.
34. Shop sign nos.: HRS.
35. Cause to boil: IRE. Not a favorite word, po'd appealed to me more.
36. '60s campus org.: SDS. My old friend is back to vote with your feet.
37. Chem. class suffix: IDE. This is a bit of classic fill.
39. Small shot: BBS. Almost funny. So big shot could be a cannonball? Damn, I just wasted a great new potential clue/fill. Or even a clecho - Big shots:CANNONBALLS the Not big shots: BBS.
41. When "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" is spoken in "Macbeth": ACT I. JW gets his obligatory Friday Will Shakespeare into this week early.
43. Identifies: NAMES. J'accuse!
46. PC key: ALT.
47. __ gum: thickening agent: GUAR. More than that it may be GOOD for you.
48. Tile space-filler: GROUT. Not to be confused with GROOT.
49. Friend of Tigger: ROO. The joey of Kanga.
50. More than asks: URGES.
53. Pupil covering: CORNEA. I wonder if this is a tortured CSO to me since I have had so many Cornea operations? Nah.
55. "Sweet!": COOL.
57. "Platoon" setting, briefly: NAM. Viet-
58. Ronny Howard role: OPIE.
59. Teahouse mat: TATAMI. A tatami (畳) is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Traditionally made using rice straw to form the core, the cores of contemporary tatami are sometimes composed of compressed wood chip boards or polystyrene foam. wiki
61. British suffix: ISE. Instead of IZE.
62. Divided trio?: DEES. There are three "D"s in that word.
63. Type of band: ONE MAN. Is this one word or two? What do you think?
65. Once, quaintly: ERST. Also, not related to Zach, at least not for a while.
66. Equestrian's forte: RIDING.
67. Empty talk: GAS. Stop gassing me was once popular.
Down:
1. Sushi bar side dish: EDAMAME. This is just a fancy name for boiled green soybeans.
2. Pesto morsel: PINE NUT. So much to know about this little GUY.
5. Ring holders: TOES. No, thank you.
6. Tiger's targets: HOLES. Woods, not cat variety.
8. Seasonal quaff: NOG.
9. Negotiate successfully: DO A DEAL. No politics.
10. Obedience school word: STAY.
12. One promoting togetherness: UNIFIER. Is that like a reveal?
13. Overwhelms with sound: DEAFENS.
25. Writer of sweet words?: ICER. Oooo, many hate the idea of calling one who decorates a cake an icer. Where is Tinbeni? Perhaps back on vacation at Hedonism, or off to Eastern Europe again now that it is warming up there.
27. Chic modifier: TRÈS. More accents.
36. Buck: STAG.
38. Take the risk: DARE.
39. Checkout facilitator: BARCODE.
40. Outtake, often: BLOOPER. 50 all-time FAVORITES.
42. Museum manager: CURATOR. Why since he doesn't cure anything? In Ancient Rome, curatores were senior civil servants in charge of various departments of public works, overseeing the Empire's aqueducts, bathhouses, and sewers. By the end of the 20th century, 'curator' came to describe a broad category of exhibition makers such as those who run museums.
44. It borders four oceans: EURASIA. This is the combined landmass of the continents of Europe and Asia - a portmanteau. It also is home to 71% of the world's population.
45. Pollen producers: STAMENS. Stamens are the units of androecium which are the male reproductive whorl of the flower.
51. "Ditto!": SO AM I.
54. Aerie, for one: NEST.
56. Arabian Sea nation: OMAN. One of the Oceans above.
60. Darth, when he was young: ANI. Anikan Skywalker sends off until next week.
What more fun can you ask on a Friday morning in spring? Well, ok a lot more but not in solving a very entertaining return from JW and his Boswell. Be well all. Lemonade out.
Note from C.C.:
Happy 75th birthday to Dave (D4E4H), who went through quite a
few health issues last year, but he remained optimistic and cheerful
through the whole deal. Did Lynn bake you another special cake pie, Dave?
