Say Cheese! Each three word phrase FINISHes with a word that can mean a PHOTOgraph. In English, one is encouraged to say "Cheese", because that word is hard to pronounce without the mouth forming into a smile. Other languages use different words and phrases to elicit a smile.
17-Across. Drain a basketball three-pointer, say: MAKE THE SHOT.
Robert Parish makes the Shot!
26-Across. "Understand?": GET THE PICTURE. This phrase is usually said somewhat sarcastically.
41-Across. Mess up a football hike: FUMBLE THE SNAP.
And the unifier:
54-Across. Very close race, and what 17-, 26- and 41-Across have in common: PHOTO FINISH.
1. Fountain orders: COLAs. I tried Sodas, then Cokes, before settling on Colas.
6. Embarrass: ABASH.
11. Zig counterpart: ZAG.
14. Full of energy: ALIVE.
16. Rage: IRE. This has become a crossword staple.
19. Peter of Neverland: PAN.
20. Like a medium steak that was ordered rare: OVER DONE.
21. "We'll see": MAYBE.
23. __ Paulo: SÃO. São Paulo, Brazil is one of the largest cities in the world.
24. Richard's running mate: SPIRO. Spiro Theodore Agnew (Nov. 9, 1918 ~ Sept. 17, 1996) was Richard M. Nixon's running mate and became the 39th Vice President of the United States. He was the 2nd Vice President to resign the position, but the 1st to resign due to a scandal.
31. Beauty at a ball: BELLE.
33. Back forty's forty: ACRES.
34. Road furrow: RUT.
35. Brit's "Goodness!": I SAY.
33. Back forty's forty: ACRES.
34. Road furrow: RUT.
35. Brit's "Goodness!": I SAY.
38. Sibs, uncs, etc.: FAM. Siblings and uncles are members of a family.
39. Treasure holder: CHEST.
40. One of Chekhov's "Three Sisters": IRINA. Russian playwright Anton Chekhov (Jan. 29, 1860 ~ July 15, 1904) wrote Three Sisters in 1900. It was first performed in 1901. As the title suggests, it focus upon the 3 Prozorov sisters: Olga, Maria and Irina. There is also Andrei, the brother in the family, but the play isn't entitled Three Sisters and a Brother.
44. __-Turkish War, 1911-12: ITALO. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Italo-Turkish War, but were afraid to ask.
45. Prefix with center or dermal: EPI. As in Epicenter or Epidermal.
46. "Don't wimp out, bro!": MAN UP.
53. Bearskin floor covering, e.g.: RUG.
58. British noblemen: EARLS. More than you ever wanted to know about British Titles.
59. Juliet's love: ROMEO.
60. Super Bowl party bowlful: DIP. Yummers. I'll take the dip, but pass on the Super Bowl.
61. Harped (on): DWELT.
62. Rodeo ride: STEER.
Down:
1. Hunting outfit, for short: CAMO.
2. Norse king: OLAV. There have been several Norse kings named Olav (sometimes spelled as Olaf). The first was Olav I, who reigned from 995 to 1000. The most recent was Olav V (July 2, 1903 ~ Jan. 17, 1991), who reigned from 1957 until his death 33 years later.
4. In opposition: AVERSELY.
5. Fixed appointment: SET DATE. Once couples SET a DATE for their wedding, they often send out Save the Date cards to friends and family before sending the official wedding invitation.
7. Loyal political group: BASE.
9. HBO rival, briefly: SHO. Home Box Office vs Showtime.
10. They might capture embarrassing comments: HOT MICS. Often these are political comments, so we'll skip the videos.
11. "Shh!": ZIP YOUR LIP.
22. Museum collection: ART.
24. Lemon-lime drink since 1961: SPRITE.
25. Place to tie up: PIER.
26. Making more alluring: GLAMMING UP. David Bowie, Glamming it up.
27. Really would rather not: HATE TO.
28. PayPal payment, e.g.: E-CASH.
29. Spoil: RUIN.
Ruins of Ancient Rome.
30. James of blues: ETTA. Etta James (née Jamesetta Hawkins; b. Jan. 25, 1938 ~ Jan. 20, 2012), makes frequent appearances in the crossword puzzles. Here is a taste of her music.
31. "Back to the Future" bully: BIFF. Biff was played by Thomas Wilson (b. Apr. 15, 1959).
Biff, then and now.
32. Isaac's eldest son: ESAU. In the Biblical book of Genesis, Jacob and Esau were the fraternal twins of Isaac and Rebekah. Although Esau was older, he sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentils.
36. Author Silverstein: SHEL. Sheldon Allan Silverstein (Sept. 25, 1930 ~ May 10, 1999) was known for his cartoons and children's stories. Some of his best known books are The Giving Tree and A Light in the Attic.
37. "Sorry, no can do": 'FRAID NOT.
40. How ark creatures boarded: IN PAIRS. Did you know that there are actually two narratives in Genesis telling of Noah getting the animals on the ark? In the first narrative, Noah is commanded to bring two of every kind of animal, male and female, onto the ark. A few verses later, Noah is told to bring seven pairs of clean animals and one pair of animals that are not clean onto the ark.
43. __-esteem: SELF.
46. TV horse who "will never speak unless he has something to say": MR. ED. A horse is a horse, of course, of course ...
47. BMW rival: AUDI.
49. Driving around in circles, maybe: LOST.
50. Silent performer: MIME.
51. "Gotcha": I SEE.
52. Superhero with a hammer: THOR.
56. Iron __: ORE.
Here's the Grid:
Yesterday marked the end of the 2020 Hurricane season. It has been quite a season. There were 30 named storms in the Atlantic Ocean, the most ever recorded. Twelve of those storms hit the continental United States. Five of those 12 named storms hit Louisiana. Thirteen of the 30 named storms reached hurricane categories. After running through the 21 Atlantic list of names, we had to go to the Greek alphabet, where 9 of those letters became named storms.
