Theme: "Before and After" by Kevin Christian
(Kevin is a veteran constructor, and he appears here often. C.C. interviewed him back in 2015.)
TTP emailed me last week asking if I'd be willing to sub for him this morning. That could mean only one thing – everyone on his a-list had already turned him down. I don't often get a shot at late-week puzzles, so I was happy to take this opportunity to make a fool of myself.
Methinks Kevin may be a Wheel of Torture fan. Each 3-word themer is a mash-up of two common phrases. The middle word can cleverly be expressed as a word or as a single letter. That gives us…
17a. One studying the waters near England
IRISH SEA STUDENT – Irish Sea / C Student (I can relate!)
27a. Communication device with a fancy patterned case
TIGER EYE PHONE – Tiger Eye / iPhone (I cannot relate.)
47a. Part of a Chinese restaurant’s expenses?
OOLONG TEA BILL – Oolong Tea / T-Bill
62a. Nutrition for a leading insect?
QUEEN BEE VITAMIN – Queen Bee / B Vitamin
As an added bonus (at least for me), there is no reveal that someone might miss in his haste to solve.
Here’s what else Kevin served up for our breakfast crunch today.
ACROSS:
1. Conference giveaways: SWAG
5. Tampa NFLers: BUCS I was thinking “Bucks” but nope, “Buccaneers.”
9. Place for a phone no.: ID TAG
14. Capital of Cuba: PESO
15. Drama honor: OBIE
16. “Odyssey” enchantress: CIRCE
20. Cool kin: NEATO
21.Loud sound:ROAR.
22. Comprehends: GETS
23. Jackson of country: ALAN. You might remember Midnight in Montgomery.
25. Namesake of a speed ratio: MACH. Named for Austrian physicist Ernst Mach (1838-1916). Mach I is the speed of sound – about 767 mph. Of course, 0 mph is known as “Mach’s nichts.”
32. Benefit: AID
33. Equine parent: SIRE
34. People pairs, say: ITEM. People magazine. Didn’t last.
36. Dinner party insert: LEAF. in the dining room table.
38. There are two pennies in a classic one. ADAGE
41. Word with wing or life: SPAN
42. Value system: ETHIC. I’m never sure if it’ll be Ethic or Ethos. Perps will decide.
44. Irritated: SORE
46. Be indisposed: AIL
51. Unpleasant look: LEER. Sometimes it’s OGLE.
52. Bloom support. STEM
53. Radio switch: AM/FM
56. Lush: WINO. The noun, not the adjective.
58. Swindles: REAMS. I was not familiar with this usage. Now I am.
65. Old Northwest competitor: US AIR
66. Nixon or Agnew, once: VEEP
67. Storage structure: SILO. In my ute, dairy farmers filled them with chopped corn stalks.
68. Insurance giant: AETNA. Named after our old cw friend, Mt. Etna.
69. Misses the mark: ERRS
70. “That hurts!”: YEOW. I thought of several colorful possibilities for this 4-letter answer.
DOWN
1. Public relations specialty: SPIN
2. Are in the past?: WERE. Tense answer.
3. “Heat of the Moment” band: ASIA. You Tube’s got it, if you’re interested.
4. Attend alone: GO STAG
5. Only 21st-century four-time World Series champs, on scoreboards: BOSton. (C.C. would’ve known this immediately. Moi, not so much.)
6. Geekiest of geeks: UBERNERD. I believe it’s a single word.
7. “Buh-bye!”: CIAO
8. Street on TV since 1969: SESAME
9. IV site: ICU (I tried ARM first.)
10. Imbibed in small doses: DID SHOTS. I learned many years ago that this can be a recipe for close-range sidewalk inspection.
11. Playhouse locale, perhaps: TREE
12. Unwanted spots: ACNE. Could’ve been SPAM.
13. Comprehends: GETS (I tried SEES first.)
18. Donut features: HOLES
19. Speed ____: TRAP
24. “Nessum dorma,” e.g.: ARIA. I’m not much of an opera fan (surprise, surprise), but I found Nessum Dorma to be particularly moving near the end of The Sum Of All Fears as the co-conspirators get their comeuppance.
26. Antepenultimte Greek letter: CHI. I first became acquainted with this 64-dollar word back in ‘61 when the Limeliters performed Have Some Madeira, M’Dear. You’ll hear “antepenultimate” – second from last -- at the 4:21 mark. If you’ve never heard the song, it’s a real treat. If you have heard the song, it’s still a real treat.
27. Connect with: TIE TO
28. State with a Sawtooth Range: IDAHO (I suspect Ray-O-Sunshine will have some fun with this one.) Looks pretty.
29. Beer-making ingredient: YEAST (I thought it was just grain, water, malt, and hops.)
30. Country between China and India: NEPAL
31. Office chore: EMAIL (I don’t think of it as a chore.)
32. Newcastle Brown ___: ALE
35. NBC show with many Second City alumni: SNL. Saturday Night Live. From day one. Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and Dan Aykroyd to name a few.
37. “I’d like to know more.” FILL ME IN
39. Peruses: GOES OVER
40: Part of Q.E.D.: ERAT What was to be shown.
43. Iowa campus: COE. It’s in Cedar Rapids on First Avenue S.E., just up the street from the former KHAK studios. Now how did I know that?
45. Roeper’s former partner: EBERT. Richard Roeper became the co-host after Gene Siskel died.
48. Rookie, briefly: NEWB. I think it’s pronounced “Noob,” though it could be New-B.
49. Lament: GRIEVE
50. “Whatevs”: I’M EASY
53. Ocean shade: AQUA
54. Erato, for one: MUSE
55. Exploit: FEAT (Could’a been DEED.)
57. “In thy dreams!” NEER. “Thy” clues us that it’ll be old-timey.
59. Parisian friend: AMIE
60. “The Phantom Tollbooth” protagonist: MILO. Not a clue! Plus, I misread Tollbooth as Toothbrush.
61. “The Hunger Games” president: SNOW. Donald Sutherland played him in the movie.
63. FDR “fair practices” agency: NRA. No, not that NRA, the National Recovery Administration.
64. URL addresses: IPS. The only IPS I’m familiar with is “Inches Per Second“ from the old tape-recorder days. Feel free to educate me in the comments.
That does it! C.C. will now make the completed grid magically appear. Desper-otto out.
