Men, Can't Live with Them, Can't Live without Them. A type of Man is right smack dab in the Middle of each theme answer. Most of the Men found in each clue are not Men you would want to be associate with.
17-Across. * Longtime Nabisco cookie: FIG NEWTON. As in a New Man, or as seen below, Newman.
21-Across. * Badgers' school: WISCONSIN. As in the Con Man, short for Confidence Man. Here is a list of 20 infamous con men, some of which you may recognize, most probably will be unknown.
33-Across. * Outback choice named for a bone: RIBEYE STEAK. As in the Yes-Man. A Yes Man is a subordinate who always agrees with his boss or political leader.
41-Across. * One on a "Most Wanted" list: PUBLIC ENEMY. Ice Man. In days of old, before people had refrigerators, the Ice Man delivered ice to homes. The Iceman Cometh, was a play be Eugene O'Neill, in which a man *** Spoiler Alert*** murdered his wife.
51-Across. * Pour on the criticism: DISH IT OUT. As in the HitMan, which is a contract killer. Here are some Infamous Hitmen, most of whom you probably never heard of.
And the Unifier:
60. Go-between ... and a hint to each set of circles: MIDDLE MAN. Notice that the "man" in the middle of each theme answer is exactly in the middle of the word or phrase.
This puzzle was in interesting combination of the Asterik-clued puzzle, which is my favorite type of puzzle, and the dreaded Circle-clued puzzle, which I am not so keen on.
This puzzle was in interesting combination of the Asterik-clued puzzle, which is my favorite type of puzzle, and the dreaded Circle-clued puzzle, which I am not so keen on.
Across:
1. Do sum work: ADD. Simple math.
4. What Santa's making and double-checking, in song: LIST.
8. Little nails: BRADS.
Or:
13. "__ out below!": LOOK.
15. Up the __: raise the stakes: ANTE.
19. Wafer named for its flavor: 'NILLA. Yummers! I haven't had a 'Nilla wafer in years.
20. Totally lost: AT SEA.
23. MD you don't need an appointment to see: ER DOC. As in the Emergency Doctor.
25. NYC's Park, e.g.: AVE. As in Park Avenue.
26. Verdi opera based on a Shakespearean play: OTELLO.
29. Like pre-revolution Russia: TSARIST.
36. California's Big __: SUR. The section along the California coast from Carmel to San Simeon.
37. Angry, with "off": TEED. Where did the expression originate?
38. Anthem contraction: O'ER.
39. "Twittering Machine" artist Paul: KLEE. Paul Klee (Dec. 18, 1879 ~ June 29, 1940) was a Swiss artist.
Twittering Machine
40. "Ben-__": HUR. Before it was an epic 1959 movie, starring Charlton Heston, it was a novel written by Lew Wallace (Apr. 10, 1827- Feb. 15, 1905). The book and the movie both follow the life of Ben-Hur was Judah Ben-Her, a Jewish prince who was enslaved by the Romans at the beginning of the first century. He later became a charioteer and converted to Christianity.
45. New car's bells and whistles, say: OPTIONS.
47. Overacts: EMOTES.
48. Hit the slopes: SKI.
49. Note above F: G FLAT. Musical reference.
55. Pisa place: ITALY.
59. Speechify: ORATE.
62. Roman robes: TOGAS.
63. Britney Spears' "Oops!...__ It Again": I DID.
64. Flood barrier: DIKE.
65. Bullish sound?: SNORT.
66. Many a phone message nowadays: TEXT.
67. "__ who?": SEZ.
Down:
1. __ Romeo: sports car: ALFA.
2. "Stop stalling!": DO IT!
3. Boxers and pugs: DOGS.
4. Practice in USA's "Suits": LAW. I never saw the show, but I understand that Meghan Markel (b. Aug. 4, 1981) was one of its stars.
5. Halved: IN TWO.
6. Unflappable: STOIC.
7. Bills with Hamilton: TENS. His face on the $10 was saved by a Broadway musical.
8. Ryan Howard portrayer on "The Office": B.J. NOVAK. B. J. Novak (né Benjamin Joseph Novak; b. July 31, 1979) is an American actor. He was also one of the writers for the American version of The Office.
9. Spoiler: RUINER.
10. Start of a Shakespearean title: ALLS. All's Well that Ends Well.
12. Bridge: SPAN. The Lake Ponchartrain Causeway in Louisiana was, for many years, the longest bridge in the world. It spans just under 24 miles and links New Orleans (technically Metairie, a NO suburb) to the northshore of Lake Ponchartrain. According to Construction Review, it has now dropped to #7 in length.
14. Prepared to propose: KNEELED.
18. Ahead of schedule: EARLY.
22. Hombre's house: CASA. Today's Spanish lesson.
24. Forest female: DOE.
26. Big name in garden products: ORTHO.
27. Bottleneck consequence: TIE UP.
28. Roger who wrote "Your Movie Sucks": EBERT. Robert Joseph Ebert (June 18, 1942 ~ Apr. 4, 2013) was the film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. He and Gene Siskel (né Eugene Kal Siskel; Jan. 26, 1946 ~ Feb. 20, 1999), who was the film critic for the rival newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, got together and co-hosted Sneak Previews on PBS. Sadly, both men are gone now.
29. Actress Hatcher: TERI. Teri Lynn Hatcher (b. Dec. 8, 1964) appeared in several Seinfeld episodes.
30. Archipelago part: ISLET. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Dec. 11, 1918 ~ Aug. 2, 2008) wrote The Gulag Archipelago about live in a Communist Soviet labor camp. It had nothing to do with islands.
31. "So I was wrong!": SUE ME!
32. Long shots, in hoops lingo: TREYS. As in 3-pointers, I suppose.
34. Sheds many tears: SOBS.
35. __ Aviv: TEL. Tel Aviv was founded in 1909. It is a city filled with wonderful buildings and architecture as well as beaches. It is a fun city to visit.
39. Secured with a bowline, say: KNOTTED.
41. Least speedy: POKIEST. The Pokie Little Puppy was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. I recently sent a copy of the book to my 1-year old niece.
42. Textbook section: UNIT.
43. Animation frame: CEL.
44. Phishing line?: E-MAIL.
46. Beatty/Hoffman flop: ISHTAR.
49. Museum escort: GUIDE.
50. N.J. army base: FT. DIX. The Base has an interesting history.
51. Trio in Fiji?: DOTS. Look at the dots over the letters "i" and "j".
52. Monopoly token replaced by a cat: IRON. I rather liked the Iron.
53. Palm starch: SAGO.
54. Cut out: OMIT.
56. French friends: AMIS. Today's French lesson.
57. Erie or Huron: LAKE.
58. Santa __ Valley: Cal. wine region: YNEZ.
61. Banned pesticide: DDT.
Here's the Grid:
QOD: One thing a person cannot do, no matter how rigorous his analysis or heroic his imagination, is to draw up a list of things that would never occur to him. ~ Thomas Schelling (né Thomas Crombie Schelling; Apr. 14, 1921 ~ Dec. 13, 2016), American economist and recipient of the 2005 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science
