Theme Whodunnit - the theme entries tell a short story.
17A. The con entered the bank under an __, ...: ASSUMED IDENTITY
27A. ... told the banker a __, ...: FABRICATED STORY
44A. ... opened an account with a __, ...: COUNTERFEIT BILL
56A. ... and cashed a check with a __: FORGED SIGNATURE
Hands up, straight off the bat, I'll confess, I'm not a fan of the narrative puzzle. This is cleverly done, four 15's across the grid is no small feat to pull off, but ... these kind of themes just don't work for me.
For crossword aficionados, Merle Reagle once ran two consecutive Sunday puzzles under the title "Kindergarten Crime Spree" and I was yawning by the end of the first one, let alone the second. Maybe that's what set me against the gimmick? I still, just my 2¢, we can agree to disagree. I'll take my Mr. Grumpy hat off now.
However, there were a couple of clues I'm still baffled by, maybe you can help me out. The first is 10D. "CV" is an abbreviation for "Curriculum Vitae", or "resumé" here in the US. The clue/answer makes no sense. "Vita" is not short for CV, and forms no part of the original phrase. I think there's just basic misunderstanding here, maybe? I don't want to spout all Latin genitive at you, but this is all wrong.
The second is 57D. "Apt answer for this puzzle location". What? "... clue location" I could understand, but "puzzle location"? I think wires crossed again. But, there are more important things in the world to worry about at the moment, so I'll park my irk and let's see what was enjoyable:
Across:
1. Jazzes (up): PEPS
5. "Let's open a window": I'M HOT
10. Musical riff: VAMP
14. Louver part: SLAT
15. Whistle blower: COACH. Nice clue, sometimes you don't see the obvious.
16. Retailer whose logo colors are the same as on its founder's national flag: IKEA
20. Sly critic: SNIPER. Someone who snipes.
21. Became frothy: FOAMED
22. Fertility clinic supply: OVA
24. Prefix with content: MAL
25. Not agin: FER
26. Amazon snake: BOA
31. Catching a break: IN LUCK
32. Iditarod runner: HUSKY
33. "High School Musical" extra: TEEN
34. Crouched behind a boulder: HID
35. This and that, say: PAIR. This had me thinking for a while. Nice clue for a simple word.
39. Jack of "The Great Dictator": OAKIE
42. Colorado's "Steel City": PUEBLO. The first steel mill was built to supply rail lines for the new Denver - Rio Grande railroad. It's still going strong. I didn't immediately associate Colorado with steel mills.
48. One in a tchr.'s key: ANS. The answer key for teachers. You'd think they'd know the answers without having to cheat :)
49. Canadian whisky: RYE. Odd clue, there's nothing to say that Canadian whisky has to be rye. It must be fermented, distilled and aged in Canada, but you can make it from pretty much whatever grain you like. Here's a collection of single malts. Cheers!
50. Old call letters?: MCI. The name stood for Microwave Communications Inc. Worldcom bought them in 1998.
51. "The Hollow Men" poet's monogram: TSE. Thomas Stearns Eliot on his driver's license. It's not the most cheery of poems:
52. Giggle: TEE HEE
54. It merged with CBS in 2019: VIACOM. Viacom need to make up their minds. CBS was spun off from the original Viacom in 2005. Now they're all smiles and back together again.
60. JFK part: Abbr.: INIT. This had me puzzled for a while. JFK is three initials, therefore an abbreviation of part of it.
61. Languid: INERT
62. Pic to click: ICON
63. Koppel and others: TEDS. Koppel best known as the "Nightline" anchor on ABC.
64. "Long time __!": NO SEE!
65. Like racehorses: SHOD
Down:
1. TV ad promoting water conservation, e.g.: PSA
2. Golfer Ernie from South Africa: ELS
3. Good enough: PASSABLE
4. Bowl over: STUN
5. Swell treatment?: ICE PACK
6. Classic Ford: MODEL A. It replaced the Model T, which seems a little peculiar.
7. Word with net or ball: HAIR
8. Anxious med. condition: O.C.D. Obsessive-compulsive disorder.
9. American agents, familiarly: THE FEDS
10. CV, briefly: VITA. See my comment in the intro on this.
11. With hands on hips: AKIMBO
12. Night streaker: METEOR
13. Bright spot in the workweek: PAY DAY. In my first job after school we were paid in cash on a Thursday. We were given a half-hour to pick up the pay packet from the pay window. There was a little corner of the envelope you tore off and counted the contents before you stepped away.
18. Copycat: MIMIC
19. Language of Oslo, in Oslo: NORSK
22. Make the most __: OF IT
23. Barn topper: VANE. The antique ones go for quite a lot of money.
25. Clash of clans: FEUD
28. Sentence that should be two or more sentences: RUN-ON
29. Crook: THIEF
30. Laid-back sort: TYPE B. Do type-b people drive Model A Fords?
34. New employee: HIRE
36. Over the top: A BIT MUCH
37. Societal woes: ILLS
38. What a hat may symbolize: ROLE. A little puzzlement at first, but "wearing my sales hat" for example.
40. Trapped, after "up": A TREE
41. Entered: KEYED IN
42. Salsa option: PICANTE
43. New York college town: UTICA
44. Tantrum: CATFIT. Never heard of it. I'd like to tell you if it is one word or two, but Google didn't help a whole lot. I did find an article about cat seizures, which is not what I expected, and I found some workout programs.
45. Pre-shoot-out score, perhaps: ONE-ONE
46. Cyberhandle: USER-ID. My first thought was "AVATAR", but that's your pictorial persona.
47. Political fugitive: ÉMIGRÉ
53. Driver's lic. stats: HGTS
54. Competes: VIES
55. Blues singer Redding: OTIS. Who can't resist a couple of minutes to listen again to this?
57. __-cone: SNO
58. Hundred Acre Wood denizen: ROO. Here's one of the original illustrations of Kanga and Roo. Don't talk to me about the Disney cartoonification of the books and their commercialization beyond.
59. Apt answer for this puzzle location: END. Another bit of clue bafflement, as I mentioned at the top.
Which brings me to the grid! Stay safe and make smart choices. Shelter-in-place is a smart choice, whether or not mandated in your specific area.
Steve
17A. The con entered the bank under an __, ...: ASSUMED IDENTITY
27A. ... told the banker a __, ...: FABRICATED STORY
44A. ... opened an account with a __, ...: COUNTERFEIT BILL
56A. ... and cashed a check with a __: FORGED SIGNATURE
Hands up, straight off the bat, I'll confess, I'm not a fan of the narrative puzzle. This is cleverly done, four 15's across the grid is no small feat to pull off, but ... these kind of themes just don't work for me.
For crossword aficionados, Merle Reagle once ran two consecutive Sunday puzzles under the title "Kindergarten Crime Spree" and I was yawning by the end of the first one, let alone the second. Maybe that's what set me against the gimmick? I still, just my 2¢, we can agree to disagree. I'll take my Mr. Grumpy hat off now.
However, there were a couple of clues I'm still baffled by, maybe you can help me out. The first is 10D. "CV" is an abbreviation for "Curriculum Vitae", or "resumé" here in the US. The clue/answer makes no sense. "Vita" is not short for CV, and forms no part of the original phrase. I think there's just basic misunderstanding here, maybe? I don't want to spout all Latin genitive at you, but this is all wrong.
The second is 57D. "Apt answer for this puzzle location". What? "... clue location" I could understand, but "puzzle location"? I think wires crossed again. But, there are more important things in the world to worry about at the moment, so I'll park my irk and let's see what was enjoyable:
Across:
1. Jazzes (up): PEPS
5. "Let's open a window": I'M HOT
10. Musical riff: VAMP
14. Louver part: SLAT
15. Whistle blower: COACH. Nice clue, sometimes you don't see the obvious.
16. Retailer whose logo colors are the same as on its founder's national flag: IKEA
20. Sly critic: SNIPER. Someone who snipes.
21. Became frothy: FOAMED
22. Fertility clinic supply: OVA
24. Prefix with content: MAL
25. Not agin: FER
26. Amazon snake: BOA
31. Catching a break: IN LUCK
32. Iditarod runner: HUSKY
33. "High School Musical" extra: TEEN
34. Crouched behind a boulder: HID
35. This and that, say: PAIR. This had me thinking for a while. Nice clue for a simple word.
39. Jack of "The Great Dictator": OAKIE
42. Colorado's "Steel City": PUEBLO. The first steel mill was built to supply rail lines for the new Denver - Rio Grande railroad. It's still going strong. I didn't immediately associate Colorado with steel mills.
48. One in a tchr.'s key: ANS. The answer key for teachers. You'd think they'd know the answers without having to cheat :)
49. Canadian whisky: RYE. Odd clue, there's nothing to say that Canadian whisky has to be rye. It must be fermented, distilled and aged in Canada, but you can make it from pretty much whatever grain you like. Here's a collection of single malts. Cheers!
50. Old call letters?: MCI. The name stood for Microwave Communications Inc. Worldcom bought them in 1998.
51. "The Hollow Men" poet's monogram: TSE. Thomas Stearns Eliot on his driver's license. It's not the most cheery of poems:
Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death's twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.
52. Giggle: TEE HEE
54. It merged with CBS in 2019: VIACOM. Viacom need to make up their minds. CBS was spun off from the original Viacom in 2005. Now they're all smiles and back together again.
60. JFK part: Abbr.: INIT. This had me puzzled for a while. JFK is three initials, therefore an abbreviation of part of it.
61. Languid: INERT
62. Pic to click: ICON
63. Koppel and others: TEDS. Koppel best known as the "Nightline" anchor on ABC.
64. "Long time __!": NO SEE!
65. Like racehorses: SHOD
Down:
1. TV ad promoting water conservation, e.g.: PSA
2. Golfer Ernie from South Africa: ELS
3. Good enough: PASSABLE
4. Bowl over: STUN
5. Swell treatment?: ICE PACK
6. Classic Ford: MODEL A. It replaced the Model T, which seems a little peculiar.
7. Word with net or ball: HAIR
8. Anxious med. condition: O.C.D. Obsessive-compulsive disorder.
9. American agents, familiarly: THE FEDS
10. CV, briefly: VITA. See my comment in the intro on this.
11. With hands on hips: AKIMBO
12. Night streaker: METEOR
13. Bright spot in the workweek: PAY DAY. In my first job after school we were paid in cash on a Thursday. We were given a half-hour to pick up the pay packet from the pay window. There was a little corner of the envelope you tore off and counted the contents before you stepped away.
18. Copycat: MIMIC
19. Language of Oslo, in Oslo: NORSK
22. Make the most __: OF IT
23. Barn topper: VANE. The antique ones go for quite a lot of money.
28. Sentence that should be two or more sentences: RUN-ON
29. Crook: THIEF
30. Laid-back sort: TYPE B. Do type-b people drive Model A Fords?
34. New employee: HIRE
36. Over the top: A BIT MUCH
37. Societal woes: ILLS
38. What a hat may symbolize: ROLE. A little puzzlement at first, but "wearing my sales hat" for example.
40. Trapped, after "up": A TREE
41. Entered: KEYED IN
42. Salsa option: PICANTE
43. New York college town: UTICA
44. Tantrum: CATFIT. Never heard of it. I'd like to tell you if it is one word or two, but Google didn't help a whole lot. I did find an article about cat seizures, which is not what I expected, and I found some workout programs.
45. Pre-shoot-out score, perhaps: ONE-ONE
46. Cyberhandle: USER-ID. My first thought was "AVATAR", but that's your pictorial persona.
47. Political fugitive: ÉMIGRÉ
53. Driver's lic. stats: HGTS
54. Competes: VIES
55. Blues singer Redding: OTIS. Who can't resist a couple of minutes to listen again to this?
57. __-cone: SNO
58. Hundred Acre Wood denizen: ROO. Here's one of the original illustrations of Kanga and Roo. Don't talk to me about the Disney cartoonification of the books and their commercialization beyond.
Which brings me to the grid! Stay safe and make smart choices. Shelter-in-place is a smart choice, whether or not mandated in your specific area.
Steve
