Theme: LUCK OUT
20. First, Lucky plays the lottery and buys the __: WINNING TICKET.
25. Then, Lucky goes to court and is awarded a __: HUGE SETTLEMENT.
47. Finally, Lucky joins March Madness and fills out a __: PERFECT BRACKET.
52. What Lucky got, literally and figuratively, when his alarm clock put an end to a very pleasant dream: RUDE AWAKENING.
Melissa here. Interesting looking grid, and a clever theme, the way it took a turn at the end there. To be honest, I wasn't paying enough attention to the clues at first, just the answers, trying to figure out how they all related. As soon as I slowed down and read the clues it was obvious. I think we've all had those RUDE AWAKENINGS on occasion. On the other hand, waking up from a bad dream can be a real relief.
Across:
1. Roster entry: NAME. Bueller?
5. Opens, as a car hood: POPS.
9. Letter-shaped opening: T-SLOT.
14. Foundry by-product: SLAG. Glass-like by-product left over after a desired metal has been separated from its raw ore.
15. Army outfit: UNIT.
16. __ squash: ACORN. Great for the Thanksgiving table. I like it this way. ➡
17. Long tooth: FANG.
18. Will of "The Waltons": GEER. Call me a DWEEB or a NERD, but I've been watching the entire series on Amazon Prime. Geer's portrayal of Zebulon Walton was perfect. He combined his passion for acting and plants by forming a most unusual
repertory theater situated in rustic Topanga Canyon in California's San Fernando Valley.
He named it "Theatricum Botanicum."
19. Vinaigrette holder: CRUET.
23. "Price negotiable," in ads: OBO. Or best offer.
24. Soft drink choice: COLA.
32. Put up, as preserves: CAN.
33. "Winter Song" musician John: TESH. Couldn't find that one on Youtube, but I'm partial to early Lightfoot anyway.
34. Post-quake rumbling: TREMOR.
35. Bear up?: URSA. Nice clue.
37. Pride youngster: CUB. Anyone see the new live action Lion King? The $20 price on Prime was worth it just for the extra features. I think it's going to Disney+, if it hasn't already.
39. "That's that!": DONE.
40. Tennis great Graf: STEFFI. Married to another tennis great, Andre Agassi.
43. Goya subject: MAJA. Francisco de Goya painted the Maja both clothed and unclothed. The word maja is the feminine form of majo,
a low class Spaniard of the 18th and 19th century. The model is
identifiable as a maja by her costume, but her identity is not known; it
has been suggested that she looks like Godoy's mistress Pepita Tudó.
46. Second-largest U.S. state: TEX. Largest four in order: Alaska, Texas, California, Montana.
50. Lascivious look: LEER.
51. Letter after phi: CHI.
58. Geeky type: DWEEB. Guilty.
60. Unresponsive state: COMA.
61. Like a cloudy London day: GREY.
62. "Laughing" critter: HYENA. Speaking of Lion King.
63. Pre-event periods: EVES. We have a few coming up 🦃🎄🎉
64. Old-time teacher: MARM.
65. Giant opening?: SOFT G.
66. Rooms with TVs: DENS.
67. Fades to black: ENDS.
Down:
1. "Careful where you open this link" shorthand: NSFW. Not Safe For Work. Also, POS for Parent Over Shoulder, to warn the sender before sending.
2. Jai __: ALAI.
3. Grammy winner Aimee: MANN.
4. Yuletide mugful: EGGNOG.
5. Doglike facial feature: PUG NOSE.
6. Universal donor's type, briefly: O NEG. Red blood cells from O- donors can be transfused to anyone, regardless of the person’s blood type. Only 7% of the population has O- blood.
7. Artist Mondrian: PIET. See some of his abstract art here.
8. Not at all lenient: STRICT.
9. Touchdown preventer, often: TACKLER. Oof.
10. Reacted to a scare: SCREAMED.
11. Ill-mannered type: LOUT.
12. Tramcar filler: ORE.
13. Source of blowups: TNT.
21. "Fat chance": I BET.
22. Future stallion: COLT.
25. "Tennessee's Partner" story writer: HARTE. Short story first published in the Overland Monthly in 1869, which
has been described as "one of the earliest 'buddy' stories in American
fiction."
26. Racing family name: UNSER.
27. PC abort key: ESC.
28. Rule of __: THUMB.
29. Put on quite an act: EMOTE.
30. Large chamber group: NONET. Musical composition for nine voices or instruments.
31. Monopoly token since Mar., 2017: T-REX.
32. Transition point: CUSP.
36. Rolling in dough: AFFLUENT.
38. MacLaren's on "How I Met Your Mother," e.g.: BAR.
41. Holder of oats: FEEDBAG.
42. Drink with a polar bear mascot: ICEE.
44. Jenny's mate: JACKASS. A jenny is a female donkey.
45. Post-CrossFit woe: ACHE.
48. Tracked down: TRACED.
49. Checkers cry: KING ME.
52. Atoll barrier: REEF.
53. Zigzagged: WOVE.
54. "When you're right, you're right!": AMEN. So be it.
55. Caspian Sea land: IRAN.
56. Geeky type: NERD. A few of us here.
57. Places with elliptical trainers: GYMS.
58. Dept. that includes the TSA: DHS. The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security that has authority over the
security of the traveling public in the United States.
59. Old Faithful's st.: WYO.
