Time to Trim That Tree !
17. "O Tannenbaum" and others?: PINE NUMBERS. Pin Numbers. I mostly use four of them, all between 0 and 9. Seems like too few possibilities.
24. One trying to photograph a partridge during the holidays?: PEAR SHOOTER. Pea shooter. So quaint. Wish it were now.
38. Muchacho working with wood?: ELM NINO. El Nino. Perfect clue / answer agreement with Muchacho / El Nino.
50. Boob tube yule log residue?: ASH SEEN ON TV. That's just funny ! One channel airs continuous loops of "It's a Wonderful Life", another of "A Christmas Story", and another of "The Yule Log" from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day. A television tradition.
60. Do some holiday decorating ... and what you need to do to four puzzle answers to produce familiar phrases?: TRIM THE TREE.
The Pine, Pear, Elm and Ash trees all need to drop a letter in Victor's imaginative creation, rather than the now more commonly accepted meaning of "trimming a tree", as in adorning.
More commonly accepted of course, unless you are old-school and still relish in the final pruning of the tree you and your family have just hewn from the local Christmas tree farm.
Across:
1. Innocents: LAMBs.
6. Uncool crime?: ARSON. Literally and figuratively.
11. "That cracks me up!": LOL. Laugh Out Loud
14. Video game giant: ATARI. Early successes were Pong, Asteroids and Missile Command.
15. Old-school: RETRO.
16. Leave breathless: AWE.
19. Resting place: INN.
20. Meal in a pot: STEW.
21. Meal in a pot: SOUP. Loved the consecutive clue duplication.
22. Styx home: HADES. They're not from Hades. They are from Chicago. You may not recognize their name, but you would most likely remember so many of their hit songs from the '70s and '80s.
27. Submerge: ENGULF.
30. Multilevel marketing giant: AMWAY. "Multilevel marketing" just seems to reek of a pyramid scheme to me. Caution flags go up.
31. Most Belgraders: SERBs. Belgrade, Serbia.
32. Playing with a full deck: SANE.
34. Free game version, perhaps: DEMO.
37. This answer's consonant count, aptly: TWO. Creative clue.
41. Title for Jagger: SIR. Mick Jagger.
42. NRA member?: ASSN. National Rifle Association
44. Actress Skye: IONE. Her father was Donovan, perhaps best known for mid '60s pop hits Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow.
45. Barely leading: UP ONE.
47. Lacrosse need: STICK. La crosse is of French Canadian origin. It literally means crooked stick.
49. Finds exciting: IS IN TO.
53. Fail to match: CLASH. Like plaid pants and a striped shirt. Or, The Clash. "The only band that matters." An English band that you may recall from the song "Rock The Casbah"
54. Air Force prog. that first admitted women in 1969: ROTC. Reserve Officer Training Corps.
55. Sworn statement: OATH.
59. Like rappers Jon and Wayne: LIL. Spotify now lists over 8,000 artists with “Lil’” or “Lil” at the beginning of their name.
63. Monopoly abbr.: AVE. Mediterranean Avenue, Baltic Avenue, Oriental Avenue, etc.
64. "Biography" channel: A AND E.
65. Toroidal bread: BAGEL.
66. Victorious shout: YES.
67. "Understood": ROGER.
68. Fair-haired: BLOND.
Down:
1. Track count: LAPs.
2. Fighting: AT IT.
3. Clydesdale feature: MANE. Perhaps Clydesdale was chosen on the off chance that someone might not know of the famous horses. But I would say that the most significant feature of the Clydesdale is their massive size. In the area where I grew up, there are various breeds of heavy horses still being used for farm labor, especially by the Amish and Mennonites. We called them Pennsylvania draft horses or just draft horses, regardless if they were Belgian, Percheron, or Clydesdale.
4. Craft beer server: BREW PUB. Budweiser was hardly a craft beer when August Busch Jr. presented his father with the famous hitch and first case of beer after the repeal of Prohibition. Busch Sr. saw the marketing potential and had the team sent by rail to NY and New England, delivering cases of beer to both Alfred E Smith and Franklin D Roosevelt. The rest, as they say, is history.
5. Serious code-breaking?: SIN.
6. Strong suit: ARMOR. The deck of cards clue had me thinking of card games.
7. Picture puzzle: REBUS.
8. Zimbalist of "Remington Steele": STEPHANIE. The show launched the career of Pierce Brosnan.
9. Hockey legend: ORR. Bobby. His primary role on the ice was as a defenseman, but he twice led the NHL in scoring. He scored the game winning goals in each of the two Boston Bruins' Stanley Cup victories in the early '70s. He remains the only defenseman to have ever won the scoring title.
10. Reason for an empty seat: NO SHOW.
11. Saw: LAID EYES ON. Have you seen the Peloton "The Gift That Gives Back" commercial ? Struck me as cringe worthy. I found it on YouTube and the comments were not favorable, and then comments were disabled as the story went viral.
Then Ryan Reynolds hired her for a commercial for his Aviation Gin product. In this take, she's having a different perspective after receiving a Peloton from her husband. I love how her girlfriends are trying to figure out what to say and how to help her.
12. "For sale by" sign poster: OWNER. Obvious, but cute. Gives me an idea for a practical joke to pull on a buddy.
13. Spyglass part: LENS.
18. Its Space Command has HQ in Colorado: USAF.
23. Not much at all: A TAD.
25. Otherwise: ELSE.
26. Sign to interpret: OMEN.
27. Cuban pronoun: ESTA.
28. Latest: NEWS.
29. Financial report line: GROSS SALES.
32. Caterpillar's exhalation in Disney's "Alice in Wonderland": SMOKE RING. I didn't specifically remember. Looked it up later. The caterpillar was lazing on a mushroom and smoking from a hookah pipe.
33. Andy's doll pal: ANN. The Raggedy siblings.
35. 36-Down flavor: MINT.
36. Classic cookie: OREO. Anyone ever try a mint flavored Oreo ?
39. Tiny parasites: LICE.
40. Drive from power: OUST.
43. Unnamed degrees: NTHs.
46. Indispensable: PIVOTAL.
48. Fictional title country in a 1987 film: ISHTAR. Roger Ebert said, "It's not funny, it's not smart and it's interesting only in the way a traffic accident is interesting." He gave it one star.
49. Foot fraction: INCH. Foot fracture ? You'll probably need the special boot. Been there, done that.
50. Still in the game: ALIVE.
51. __ plume: NOM DE. A pen name or pseudonym.
- David John Moore Cornwell ?
- Charles Dodgson ?
- Eric Arthur Blair ?
- Stanley Lieber ?
- Samuel Clemens ?
53. Art class medium: CLAY.
56. Ship to Colchis: ARGO. Perps.
57. Many a gamer: TEEN. Our language evolves. Before video games and RPGs, # 2 was # 1.
- a person who plays video games or participates in role-playing games.
- North American (especially in sports) a person known for consistently making a strong effort.
58. Kept: HELD.
61. '90s Indian prime minister: RAO. Perps.
62. Recede: EBB. Reseed: Sow (again).
PSA - Speaking of the clue at 2D. Fighting:
A flu shot is your best protection.
Check you answers here:
