Welcome back to Friday, Jeffrey. Today we have another variation of the single clue theme, where each clue is an alternate form of a base word - BIRD. He uses the expanded grid - 16 across by 15 rows - to give us 4 grid spanning themers. Then his skill really goes on display as he sets out a perfectly symmetrical and consistent pattern. 1 is singular - BYRD. 2 is plural - The BYRDS. 3 is plural - The BIRDS. 4 is singular. BIRD. Even "the" is in harmony in 2 and 3. I know many of you do not concern yourselves with themes but they are an integral part of modern puzzles. For any of you who have tried to create one, you understand how much skill all that takes. With 64 spaces dedicated to the puzzle's theme, there is not much room for long sparkle but he does add CASSAVA, ORIGINS, SHEARER, TIGRESS, ENGINEERS, and OH SUSANNA.
18A. Byrd: SOUTH POLE AVIATOR (16). But not the North Pole? Byrd.
26A. The Byrds: TURN TURN TURN BAND (16). More biblical history this week. TURN
49A. "The Birds": HITCHCOCK CLASSIC (16). Loosely based on the 1952 story of the same name by Daphne du Maurier...
BIRDS.
62A. Bird: FLIER IN BADMINTON (16). Shuttlecock? A shuttlecock (also called a bird or birdie) is a high-drag projectile used in the sport of badminton. It has an open conical shape: the cone is formed from 16 or so overlapping feathers, usually goose or duck and from the left-wing only, embedded into a rounded cork base. The cork is covered with thin leather.
Now that you know all of that new stuff, on to the rest of the story.
Across:
1. For that reason: ERGO. I am sure you love COGITO ERGO SUM.
5. Mekong River land: LAOS. It goes alongside Thailand, Mynamar meeting at the Golden Triangle. I am no Picard but that is my picture from 2018.
9. "Settle down!": COOL IT.
15. "Banjo on my knee" song of 1848: OH SUSANNA. I had no idea how controversial this BALLAD was. If you are easily offended, please do not listen. This was not the version I learned.
17. Weapon for Spain's Philip II: ARMADA. One of my favorite chapters in HISTORY.
20. Frivolous: GIDDY. Another celestial euphemism; Old English gidig ‘insane’, literally ‘possessed by a god’, from the base of God
21. Female beast that sounds like a river: TIGRESS. Euphrates to put in that fill?
22. Strengthen: AMP UP. History - 1886 as an abbreviation of ampere; 1967 as an abbreviation of amplifier.
25. __ chi: TAI. T'ai chi ch'üan 太極拳.
35. Top often with an image: TEE. From an August 10, 1979 concert.
36. Showing presently: ON NOW. What are you watching while you solve it? I watch GMA.
37. Power source: SOLAR.
38. Gp. with related interests: ASSN. A fancy group.
40. Provides a buffet, say: CATERS. Who catered your wedding?
43. Disease namesake: LYME. Do we have another puzzle here? Lime Rickey; Lyme Connecticut? You could sneak in "caused by bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi."
44. Staff figures: CLEFS. Music, cute. LEARN.
46. Object of a detective's quest: PROOF. CLUES? OK, not a plural.
48. D.C. VIP: SENator.
53. Organ with a hammer: EAR. Ear bone, also called Auditory Ossicle, any of the three tiny bones in the middle ear of all mammals. These are the malleus, or hammer, the incus, or anvil, and the stapes, or stirrup.
54. Unwilling: LOATH.
55. Root that's a source of tapioca: CASSAVA. A very interesting but complicated ROOT VEGETABLE. In Florida, they are called YUCA and are in all Publix supermarkets. Not to be confused with the Casaba melon
59. Hip-hop star Green: CEELO.
67. Butcher's offering: CUTLET.
68. Many in Caltech's faculty: ENGINEERS. But not Sheldon.
69. Like troublesome mascara: SMEARY. Meh.
70. Forest grazers: DEER. Not around here.
71. Indian music: RAGA.
Down:
1. Aurora's Greek counterpart: EOS. Did the answer finally dawn on you? There was a time I had this fill often.
2. P-like letter: RHO.
3. Atlanta sch. fielding the Panthers: GSU. GEORGIA STATE U.
4. Defeat: OUTGUN. One word, hmm.
5. "Major Crimes" force, briefly: LAPD. A SPINOFF from THE CLOSER.
6. "And giving __, up the chimney ... ": A NOD. Our quotation today is not Shakespeare.
7. Without siblings: ONLY.
8. Encl. to an editor: SAE. Self-addressed envelope.
9. Eggs on crackers, perhaps: CAVIAR. Fishy, not birdy.
10. Starting places: ORIGINS.
11. Little on "The Wire": OMAR. Very strong series.
12. Running behind: LATE.
13. Loving exchanges: I DOS.
14. Works on a route: TARS.
16. Mailing label words: SHIP TO.
19. Westernmost Aleutian Island: ATTU.
22. Join: ATTACH.
23. Granola relative: MUESLI. The main difference between muesli and granola is that while both are made up of grains, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, muesli is unbaked while granola is baked along with a sweetener and oil to bind the ingredients together.
24. Like some hotel thermostats: PRESET.
27. Sch. with an Asheville campus: UNC. University of North Carolina.
28. Genetic molecule: RNA.
29. Insensitive, in a way: NOT PC.
31. Neighbor of Arg.: BOLivia. I have a friend from there who keeps going back and forth but no flake. (Bolivian flake was a very popular cocaine product when I was defending drug dealers. No personal experience.)
32. Actress Milano: ALYSSA. In the NEWS.
33. "Whatever you want": NAME IT.
34. Spray with a hose: DRENCH. Ray, maybe "what do you use when a C wrench doesn't fit?
39. It has Giants but not Titans: Abbr.: NFC. National Football Conference.
41. Mythical aerial menace: ROC. Were they a menace? Roc, also spelled Rukh, Arabic Rukhkh, gigantic legendary bird, said to carry off elephants and other large beasts for food. It is mentioned in the famous collection of Arabic tales, The Thousand and One Nights, and by the Venetian traveler Marco Polo, who referred to it in describing Madagascar and other islands off the coast of eastern Africa.
42. Roman sun god: SOL. I mythed studying this ONE.
45. Woolgatherer?: SHEARER. Norma?
47. Order to soldiers: FALL IN.
50. Hollowed-out area: CAVITY. Often in your teeth...
51. Algerian port: ORAN.
52. With less delay: SOONER. Than later.
55. Ozone-depleting chemicals, briefly: CFCS. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are anthropogenic compounds that have been released into the atmosphere since the 1930s in various applications such as in air-conditioning, refrigeration, blowing agents in foams, insulations and packing materials, propellants in aerosol cans, and as solvents. Bad?!?
56. Donor drive target: ALUM.
57. Browser's find: SITE.
58. Ward of "House": SELA.
59. Candy __: CANE.
60. Periphery: EDGE.
61. Burnoose-wearing leader: EMIR.
63. Word with sea or seed: BED. I never saw the clue until now, but as written I think it is hard.
64. Leaves for a spot: TEA. Pip, pip and all that; right Steve and Pedant Brit and the rest.
65. 38-Across relative: ORG.
66. CIA relative: NSA.
Wow! Another JW is in the books. In preparing for my write-up two comments came to mind. 1. it is amazing how many puzzles JW has published here. 2. C.C. has over 300 puzzles in major newspapers since her first collaboration with Don G. This does not count her new run in USA Today. Check them all out. Thanks, Jeffrey and all who read. Be safe.
