Theme: AT ANY RATE. Each theme answer is the name of a hit song, the first word of which can be used to rate quality.
18. #1 hit for Jerry Lee Lewis: GREAT BALLS OF FIRE. Released in 1957, and also a 1989 film.
28. #1 hit for the Beach Boys: GOOD VIBRATIONS.
49. #1 hit for Johnny Rivers: POOR SIDE OF TOWN.
64. #1 hit for Jim Croce: BAD BAD LEROY BROWN.
Melissa here. I'm impressed with this GREAT theme - two grid-spanners and two near-grid spanners, and ALL hit songs. I wonder which was the seed - perhaps Peter A. Collins will pop in and enlighten us.
Across:
1. Starbucks orders, casually: JAVAS. Java is often used interchangeably with "coffee," although technically, it refers to arabica coffee beans of plants grown in Java, Indonesia that produce a usually full-bodied coffee of low to medium acidity. Now you know.
6. Carnival staples: RIDES. The first thing that popped into my head was cotton candy, so I was looking for some kind of food treat.
11. Chance: SHOT. Take one.
15. Perform better than: OUTDO.
16. Scandal-plagued energy company: ENRON.
17. Witness' promise: OATH. "To witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says."
21. Squealed on the bad guys: SANG.
22. Oscar winner Kazan: ELIA. Kazan won directing Oscars for 1947's Gentleman's Agreement and On the Waterfront, the 1954 film that starred Marlon Brando, and a controversial Special Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 1999. There are lots of good movies about the Hollywood Blacklist.
23. Lemonlike fruit: CITRON.
24. Grocery chain with a red-and-white logo: IGA. Independent Grocers Alliance.
26. Like the Ninja Turtles: MUTANT.
33. Vornado product: FAN. Never heard of this brand - logo similar to above.
34. Landscaping tree: PIN OAK. See here.
35. Peter was the first one: POPE.
37. Application: USE.
38. Federal retirement org.: SSA. Social Security Administration.
39. Couple of million?: ELS. Two L's.
42. Farm food: HAY.
43. Justice __ Bader Ginsburg: RUTH. Appointed by President Clinton and took the OATH of office on August 10, 1993. Health update.
45. Get going: BESTIR. Not sure I've heard this word before - tricky,
48. Have bills: OWE.
53. "Let's get together": MEET ME.
54. Best-liked, briefly: FAV.
55. Kite carrier: BREEZE.
58. Italy's Villa d'__: ESTE. So pretty.
60. One of 12 on a die: EDGE. Another tricky one.
67. Brit's kitchen floor: LINO. British LINO is same as American LINOleum.
68. Abates: EASES.
69. Threw in: ADDED.
70. Dispatch, as a dragon: SLAY.
71. Oboist's supply: REEDS.
72. Hired thugs: GOONS.
Down
1. Easy runs: JOGS.
2. General feeling: AURA.
3. Dodge Viper engine: V-TEN.
4. Slowly, in music: ADAGIO.
5. Drunkard: SOT.
6. Genuine: REAL.
7. Undecided: IN LIMBO. Interesting. The word is of Teutonic origin, meaning “border” or “anything joined on.”
8. Advice giver on SiriusXM Radio: DR. LAURA. Had no idea she was still on the air.
9. Canon camera named for a dawn goddess: EOS. Hm. Well ... Eos was a Titan goddess in Greek mythology, but the Canon EOS stands for Electro-Optical System.
10. Winter vehicle on treads: SNO CAT.
11. Convertible type: SOFT TOP.
12. Tiny margin of victory: HAIR. Haha.
13. Another, in España: OTRO.
14. "__ what?": THEN.
19. One of a pair of cartoon slackers: BEAVIS.
20. It's over in France: FINI.
25. National econ. stats: GDPS. Gross domestic products.
27. Grow fond of: TAKE TO.
28. Go from E to F?: GAS UP.
29. __ a customer: ONE TO.
30. "Soon": IN A BIT.
31. Emphatic word of refusal: NOHOW. Didn't realize this was one word.
32. What salmon do upstream: SPAWN.
33. Stole from a coat store?: FUR. Very clever. Shawl, wrap, stole, scarf - what's the difference?
36. __ contact: EYE.
40. River through Dublin: LIFFEY. Flows through Dublin.
41. Span. miss: SRTA. Señorita.
44. Neighborhood pal, in slang: HOMEBOY.
46. Attorney general under Ronald Reagan: ED MEESE.
47. Blows one's stack: SEES RED.
50. Mohammad __ Pahlavi: last shah of Iran: REZA. Perped.
51. Farm contraption: SEEDER. Used to plant seeds for beans, cotton, rice, wheat, canola and many types of vegetables.
52. Engage in to excess: OVERDO.
55. OPEC units: BBLS. Barrels. One barrel equals 42 US gallons
One barrel equals 42 US gallons
Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/barrel-bbl.html
Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/barrel-bbl.html
One barrel equals 42 US gallons
Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/barrel-bbl.html
Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/barrel-bbl.html
One barrel equals 42 US gallons
Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/barrel-bbl.html
Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/barrel-bbl.html
56. Mass transit option: RAIL.
57. Barry Humphries alter ego Dame __: EDNA. Australian comedian.
59. Mix, as salad: TOSS.
61. Extinct bird: DODO.
62. __ Stacy: Spider-Man love interest: GWEN.
63. They might be loose or tight: ENDS.
65. Ka __: southernmost Big Island point: LAE. The area is also known for its strong ocean currents and winds and is the home of a wind farm.
66. Purse: BAG.
