17. *Spot for a seaside stroll: BOARDWALK. Keyboard.
25. *Caller ID, maybe: RINGTONE. Keyring.
54. *Small computer: NOTEBOOK. Keynote.
66. *Center stage: LIMELIGHT. Key lime.
39. Hemingway's 1930s Florida home, and a hint to the answers to starred clues: KEY WEST.
Theme is self-explanatory, but tricky to get without the reveal - which was clever. The word KEY can be inserted to the left, or WEST, of each theme answer to form a new word or phrase. This felt more like a Thursday to me due to a few unknown and obscure words.
Across:
1. "Oh dear!": ALAS.
5. Instant: JIFF.
9. Harry's Hogwarts nemesis: DRACO. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.
14. Hay storage site: LOFT.
15. Puccini piece: ARIA.
16. Prepare for a bodybuilding competition: OIL UP. Bodybuilders use oil to accentuate their muscle definitions and the 'cuts' in their bodies when flexing under heavy stage lighting.
19. Tax audit docs.: RCPTS. Receipts.
20. Jag: SPREE.
21. Wisconsin city on Lake Winnebago: NEENAH. From Wikipedia: "Named by Governor James Duane Doty from the Hoocąk word for "water" or "running water." It was the site of a Ho-Chunk village in the late 18th century. It is Nįįňą in the Hoocąk language."
23. Actor Vigoda: ABE.
29. __ onion: BERMUDA.
33. Brigham Young's Utah settlement: DESERET. When the Mormons first came to the territory, they named
the area The State of Deseret, a reference to the honeybee in The Book
of Mormon. This was the official name of the colony from 1849 to
1850. The nickname, "The Deseret State," is in reference to Utah's original name. See here.
34. Corrida cheer: OLE. Corrida = bullfight. (Nice crossing with 30D, Corrida snorter.)
35. Prime-time time: NINE. The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period – for example (in the United States),
from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. (Eastern and Central Time) or 7:00 p.m. to
10:00 p.m. (Mountain and Pacific Time). In India and other Middle East
countries, prime time consists of the programs that are aired on TV
between 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. local time.
37. Hardly prudent: RASH.
38. Overseas business abbr.: LTD. The abbreviation "Ltd." stands for "limited," and a company carrying this abbreviation has the same limited liability feature as an LLC. Partners and owners in the company are protected from personal responsibility for debts and lawsuits.
43. UPS Store item: CTN. My best guess is that this is an abbreviation for carton, or container. Anyone?
44. Broadway barber: TODD. Sweeny Todd.
46. Leave rolling in the aisles: SLAY.
47. Summer sign: LEO. Astrological sign.
48. Sets right: ORIENTS.
52. Title role for Gary Cooper and Adam Sandler: MR. DEEDS. The original is a 1936 Frank Capra film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. The remake received poor reviews.
56. Tummy muscles: ABS.
57. Like most customers: PAYING.
59. Opinion pieces: OPEDS.
63. Charter: LEASE. As a verb, reserve (an aircraft, boat, or bus) for private use.
68. Respected figure: ELDER.
69. Document sent online: E-FAX. Interesting distinction, I guess you send an E-FAX from your computer, and a FAX from a fax machine.
70. Hungarian wine region: EGER. The 61D crossing makes this tough for people who don't follow baseball.
71. 7UP and Sprite: SODAS.
72. Comfy hangouts: DENS.
73. Extinct bird: DODO.
Down:
1. Clerical vestments: ALBS.
2. Stunt flier's stunt: LOOP.
3. Not nigh: AFAR.
4. Water under the bridge, maybe: STREAM. Nice.
5. Shoot the breeze: JAW.
6. OPEC member: IRAN.
7. Manicurist or secretary, at times: FILER.
8. Minor document?: FAKE ID. Great clue.
9. Hip-hop tops: DO-RAGS.
10. Seismologist with a scale: RICHTER. Charles Francis Richter; April 26, 1900 – September 30, 1985 was
an American seismologist and physicist.
Richter is most famous as the creator of the Richter magnitude scale,
which, until the development of the moment magnitude scale in 1979,
quantified the size of earthquakes.
11. European peak: ALP.
12. Shorten, as hair: CUT.
13. Covert doings: OPS. A shortened version of operations and considered a word by itself. Others in today's puzzle are ABS and OPEDS.
18. Prove false: DEBUNK.
22. 22.5 deg.: NNE.
24. Singer Brickell: EDIE. Married to Paul Simon since 1992.
26. Software giant: ORACLE.
27. Settled in: NESTED.
28. Group with a common culture: ETHNOS.
29. Crooner Michael: BOLTON.
30. Corrida snorter: EL TORO. (Nice crossing of 34D, Corrida cheer.)
31. Social website with "AMA" sessions: REDDIT. Ask Me Anything.
32. "__ takers?": ANY.
36. Grossed-out sounds: EWS.
40. Blight-stricken tree: ELM. Dutch elm
disease, widespread fungoid killer of elms and certain
other trees, first described in the Netherlands. Spread by bark beetles,
the disease has decimated elm populations throughout much of Europe and North America.
The leaves on one or more branches of a stricken tree suddenly wilt, turn dull green to yellow or brown, curl, and may drop early.
The leaves on one or more branches of a stricken tree suddenly wilt, turn dull green to yellow or brown, curl, and may drop early.
41. "Water for Elephants" novelist Gruen: SARA.
42. Bathroom brand: TY-D-BOL. Tricky if you're not familiar with the brand spelling.
45. Like some diving: DEEP SEA.
49. Cavs and Mavs: NBA-ERS.
50. Cracker Jack bonus: TOY. Collector's items.
51. Dirty: SOILED.
53. Saw: ESPIED.
55. Roast carver: KNIFE.
58. Guy with the FBI: G-MAN. Short for "government man" is an American slang term for agents of the United States Government. It is especially used as a term for an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
60. Waffle made without an iron: EGGO.
61. Batted but didn't field, in MLB lingo: DHED. From the MLB glossary - A designated hitter is a player who bats in place of the pitcher. The pitcher still handles his
regular duties when his team is on defense, so the designated hitter
does not play in the field.
62. Texas MLBer: STRO. Houston Astro.
63. Guitar great Paul: LES.
64. "Evil Woman" gp.: ELO.
65. Put in: ADD.
67. Strait's "All My __ Live in Texas": EXS. Unexpected spelling, but it's what all the lyrics show.
