Theme: YOU'RE CONFUSED. The letters of the contraction YOU'RE are scrambled in the theme entries. Or, as the unifier has it --
55 A. Judge's words ... and a hint to this puzzle's circles: YOU'RE OUT OF ORDER. This indicates the mixing up of the letters. Outside of the puzzle, the sentence indicates that YOU'RE not following the prescribed or established procedures for a meeting, legislative assembly, debate, or - in this case - a court of law.
Let's see how it works.
17 A. University offerings: FOUR YEAR DEGREES. Typically, it takes FOUR YEARS as a full time student to earn a bachelor's degree in most fields of study. Here the subject letters are scattered over the first two words of the fill.
26 A. Bob Dylan title lyrics that follow "in my heart you'll always stay": FOREVER YOUNG. Here, the letters span both words.
26 A. Bob Dylan title lyrics that follow "in my heart you'll always stay": FOREVER YOUNG. Here, the letters span both words.
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42 A. "The Wrestler" Oscar nominee: MICKEY ROURKE. Again the letters span both words of his name.
Hi Gang. JazzBumba here. The theme, though mixed up, is pretty straight forward. Let's unravel the rest of today's puzzle.
1. Bits of trash often swept up with popcorn: STUBS. Ticket scraps in movie theaters. Ahh - the nostalgia.
6. Outdoor party rental: TENT. Protects the guests from direct sunlight, but - we hops - not from rain.
10. Creek croaker: TOAD. Could have been a FROG. Needed some perps to hop into place.
14. Like much beer: ON TAP. Draft beer. In a tavern. Sadly, these location are primary virus spread hazards.
15. "Dude!": BRAH. Probably derived from "bro," which is probably derived from brother.
16. Nashville highlight: OPRY. It's grand, and it's old.
20. Open patio: ATRIUM. An open-roofed hall or court.
21. Original angel on "Charlie's Angels": SABRINA. played by Kate Jackson.
22. Driver's role in "Star Wars" sequels: REN. Adam Driver played Kylo Ren, the dark side son of Han Solo and princess Leia.
23. Easiness exemplar: PIE. Figuring out why is not as easy.
25. Johns in Scotland: IANS. The name "John" in Scottish dialect. It has nothing to do with the loo.
31. Hopeless, as a situation: NO WIN. When all the alternatives are bad.
34. Tears to shreds: RENDS.
35. Cause of some royal insomnia: PEA. For a fairy tale princess on a stack of mattresses.
36. Leave out: OMIT.
37. Ties together: BINDS.
38. Go no further: STOP. Hatl!
39. Hill worker: ANT. Not a congress critter.
40. Works in Silverstein's "Where the Sidewalk Ends": POEMS.
41. Provided light: SHONE. A word rarely seen in the past tense.
45. Gets moving: HIES. Goes quickly. A good old Anglo-Saxon word seldom seen in any tense.
46. Luau finger food: POI. Made from the tuber of the taro plant.
47. Lead-in to a texter's afterthought: BTW. By The Way - now that I have your attention.
50. Words said in disbelief: WHAT THE . . . The next word in the sequence is open to considerable variation.
53. Canadian metropolis: OTTAWA. Ottawa is Canada’s capital, in the east of southern Ontario, near the city of Montréal and the U.S. border.
57. MM and MMXX, for two: ANNI. The years Y2K and 2020, respectively, in Roman numerals. Let's face it: MMXX has not been a good year; but it is nothing compared to DXXXVI.
58. Tire (out): WEAR. This word has a variety of meanings; here it is to diminish by use, as happens when on tires. Not also that tires wear from use, which is also the same meaning.
59. Beat, with "out": WIPED. Another word with many possible interpretations. Here it is WIPING out an opponent.
60. Enzo's eight: OTTO. The number, in Italian.
61. Where Southwest Airlines is LUV: NYSE The company's symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.
62. Puts in like piles: SORTS. Arranges by type or some characteristic.
Down:
1. Words often suggesting unmet goals: SO FAR. We have a way to go, but we're on our way.
2. Fed. security: T-NOTE. Treasury NOTE, a marketable U.S. government debt security with a fixed interest rate and a maturity between one and 10 years.
3. One-eighty: U-TURN. A rapid turn to go back into the opposite direction. We seldom see it spelt out completely
4. Port on Italy's "heel": BARI. Located near the top of the heel, BARI is a port city on the Adriatic Sea, and the capital of southern Italy’s Puglia region.
5. Watch surreptitiously: SPY UPON. I see what you are doing!
6. Sched. uncertainty: TBA. Something To Be Announced.
7. Shows one's humanity?: ERRS. To ERR is human.
8. Zip: NADA. Nothing.
9. Hitchcock thriller set in Bodega Bay: THE BIRDS.
10. Piemonte city: TORINO. More commonly known to us as Turin.
11. Confides in: OPENS UP TO. Shares personal information.
12. Region: AREA. Location.
13. Start to function?: DYS-. This prefix indicates abnormality or impairment.
18. Bahrain bigwig: EMIR. A tittle applied to various Muslim rulers.
19. Charcoal pencil shades: GRAYS. Available in a set of 50, I suppose.
24. Like "Halloween," and then some: EERIER. Feast your eyes upon the comparative degree of a word meaning weird and frightening, because you're unlikely to be seeing it again any time soon - or possibly ever. If I ever see: "More like a Great Lake: Erier," I'm just going to give up.
26. In good shape: FIT. In good health, especially when due to physical exercise. One can get fitter.
27. Mobile payments app owned by PayPal: VENMO. An easy way to electronically transfer funds.
28. Finally arrives (at): ENDS UP. Reaches some sort of conclusion.
29. Second-lightest noble gas: NEON. The lightest is helium. The lightest ignoble gas is hydrogen.
30. Stare slack-jawed: GAPE. Wide open as, in this case, the jaws.
31. Linguist Chomsky: NOAM. [b 1928] Linguist - sure; but so much more.
32. Luxury hotel name: OMNI. Omni Hotels & Resorts is an American privately held, international luxury hotel company based in Dallas, Texas. The company operates 60 properties in the United States, Canada, and Mexico,
33. Prejudiced investigation and harassment: WITCH HUNT. A search for something to prosecute.
37. Father Flanagan's orphanage: BOY'S TOWN. An organization dedicated to the care, treatment, and education of at-risk children.
38. "__ sells seashells ... ": SHE.
40. Actress/author Holly Robinson __: PEETE. [b 1964] She is known for her roles as Judy Hoffs on the Fox TV police drama 21 Jump Street, Vanessa Russell on the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, and Dr. Malena Ellis on the NBC/WB sitcom For Your Love.
41. Mountain resort aids: SKI TOWS. Various types of ski lifts, each having a moving rope or bars suspended from a moving overhead cable. This gets you up the hill, so you can slide back down again.
43. South Korean subcompact: KIA RIO. A subcompact car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Kia Motors since November 1999 and now in its fourth generation. Body styles have included a three and five-door hatchback and four-door sedan, equipped with inline-four gasoline and diesel engines, and front-wheel drive.
44. Solar panel spot: ROOF. Because that's where the sunlight is.
47. Reason for spin, briefly: BAD PR. Some problem with Public Relations and the resulting projected image, perhaps caused by foot-in-mouth disease.
48. Limited message: TWEET. A post on Twitter. I do that. Does it make me a twit?
49. Hospital sections: WARDS. Separate rooms or designated areas in a hospital, typically allocated to a particular type of patient.
50. Refuses to: WON'T. A contraction of "will not," indicating unwillingness or inability to do something.
51. Newsman Lewis?: HUEY. Hugh Anthony Cregg III (b.1950) known professionally as Huey Lewis, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was frontman for the pop/rock group Huey Lewis and the News. And so much more. He now suffers from Ménière's disease, which is tragic for a musician.
52. LAX postings: ETAS. Estimated Time of -- Arrival or Departure. Always needs a perp.
54. Rock's Ben Folds Five, surprisingly: TRIO. Maybe Ben folds something 5 times? Or maybe two other guys quickly quit? Anyway, this group was active from 1993 to 2000; and again erratically from 2008 to 2013.
54. Rock's Ben Folds Five, surprisingly: TRIO. Maybe Ben folds something 5 times? Or maybe two other guys quickly quit? Anyway, this group was active from 1993 to 2000; and again erratically from 2008 to 2013.
55. NBA great Ming: YAO. [b1980] After playing in China, he was the first overall pick by the Houston Rockets in the 2002 NBA draft. His successful career was cut short by injuries, and he retired in 2011 after several years of foot and ankle problems.
56. Minecraft material: ORE. Clever clue for this mundane fill. Minecraft is the best selling video game ever. Players explore a blocky, procedurally-generated 3D world with infinite terrain, and may discover and extract raw materials, craft tools and items, and build structures or earthworks.
That wraps up another Wednesday. Hope you made it through in an orderly fashion.
Cool regards!
JzB
