The Third Rock from the Sun. The rearrange the letters in the circles and you get the word EARTH.
17-Across. Creator of unique gallery pieces: NICHE ARTIST.
24-Across. "Louder, please": I CAN'T HEAR YOU.
51-Across. Free on request: FOR THE ASKING.
63-Across. Motorcyclist's state-of-the-art gear: SMART HELMET.
And the Unifier:
39-Across. TV soap for 54 years ... and a hint to the puzzle circles: AS THE WORLD TURNS.
The unifier was my last fill. I don't know soap operas. My grandmother used to watch The Young and the Restless, so that is the only one I am familiar with. I had heard of As The World Turns, however. The circled letters spell the word HEART, so I was trying to come up with a soap opera that includes some reference to a heart. I laughed when I realized that letters in the circles also spell EARTH.
Across:
1. Pete Seeger's instrument: BANJO. Pete Seeger (May 3, 1919
~ Jan. 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. You
can learn to play the Banjo with Pete Seeger.
6. Biblical song: PSALM. The biblical Book of Psalms is made
up of religious verses and songs, many of which are attributed to the biblical
King David.
11. Chocolate dog: LAB. The Labrador Retriever, not the
candy.
14. Hunter in the night sky: ORION. When you connect the
stars, it is easy to see the constellation.
15. Radio station, e.g.: AIRER.
16. Physicians' gp.: AMA. As in the American Medical Association.
19. Jake Tapper's channel: CNN. Jack Tapper (né Jacob Paul
Tapper; b. Mar. 12, 1969) is the Chief Washington correspondent for CNN.
He is also the host of a weekly show on the channel.
20. Adam's first home: EDEN.
21. Neptune's domain: SEA. In addition to being the name of
a planet, Neptune was the Roman god of the sea. The Greek counterpart
was known as Poseidon.
22. "Amen": SO BE IT.
27. Cry out loud: SOB.
30. Make a choice: OPT.
31. Ctrl+Z, in Windows: UNDO.
32. Ruin's companion: WRACK.
34. Blonde or pale beverage: ALE. Your guide to Beers and Ales and a CSO to Lemonade's son.
35. Slime: GOOP. Also the name of a company founded by
Gwyneth Paltrow.
43. Mug for a selfie: POSE.
44. Nile viper: ASP. Legend has it that an ASP killed
Cleopatra.
45. Race prelims: HEATS. Ever wonder why the term Heat?
46. Behaves: ACTS.
48. One of two for a downhill run: SKI. Because just 1 ski
would be a snowboard.
50. Movie filming site: LOT.
56. Playground bully, e.g.: ABUSER.
57. Butter square: PAT. How much is a Pat of Butter?
58. Waikiki Beach location: OAHU. I would really like to be
on the beach about now.
62. "Little Birds" author Anaïs: NIN. Her full name
was Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmel (Feb. 21, 1903
~ Jan. 14, 1977). She was a French-Cuban diarist and novelist. She
is best known for her short stories and erotica. Little Birds falls into the latter category. It is a collection of short
stories. Although the book was published in 1979, it was written in the
1940 when she was known for writing pornography. She pops up in
crosswords with some frequency. In fact, she visited us just yesterday.
66. First day of spring, in Hanoi: TET.
67. Conical plains shelter: TEPEE.
68. Car alarm sound: BLARE.
69. Biblical beast of burden: ASS.
70. Scornful look: SNEER.
71. Modern storage units: BYTES.
Down:
1. Tibia or humerus: BONE. One from the leg and the other in
the arm.
2. Dry as a desert: ARID. I love this photograph. If
you look closely, you will see that the "camels" are actually their shadows.
The photo is looking directly down on the camels.
3. Naughty's opposite, to Santa: NICE. A NICE CSO to our
dear Argyle.
4. First of 21 Popes: JOHN I. Apparently, there is
considerable confusion as to the actual number of Popes named John. The number varies according to how one counts, and there were
numbering errors in the middle ages.
5. Number that's its own square root: ONE. When was the last
time you needed to know the square root of a number?
6. Mother or grandmother, e.g.: PARENT.
7. Occupy, as a desk: SIT AT.
8. Phoenix MLB team, on scoreboards: ARI. The team is known
as the Diamond Backs.
9. Eased: LESSENED.
10. "The Wind in the Willows" amphibian: MR. TOAD. The Wind in the Willows is a classic children's novel. It was written in 1908 by Kennety
Grahame (Mar. 8, 1859 ~ July 6, 1932). The novel focuses on 4 anthropomorphised animals: Mr. Toad, Rat, Mole and Mr. Badger.
11. Cagney's TV partner: LACEY. Mary Beth Lacey and Chris
Cagney were NYPD officers in a detective serise that ran in the 1980s.
Lacey was played by Tyne Daly (née Ellen Tyne Daly; b. Feb. 21, 1946).
Cagney was actually played by several actresses, but for most of the
series, was portrayed by Sharon Gless (née Sharon Marguerite Gless; b. May 31,
1943).
12. OB/GYN procedure: AMNIO. As in an amniocentesis, which is a medical procedure used to diagnose chromosomal
abnormalities, fetal infections and sex determination.
13. African language group: BANTU.
18. "Instantly!" letters: ASAP.
23. Irish accent: BROGUE. You, too, can learn to speak with
an Irish Brogue.
25. Pepsi rival: COKE. I don't drink much soda, but I would
go with Coke.
26. Main body of the Constitution?: HULL. My favorite clue
of the puzzle. The USS Constitution, also known as Old Iron Sides
, is sitting in Boston Harbor.
27. Give and take: SWAP.
28. Thereabouts: OR SO.
29. Ones hanging out in caves: BATS.
33. Ignores the rules: CHEATS.
34. Dada co-founder: ARP. Our old friend Jean Arp
(né Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp; Sept. 16, 1886 ~ June 7, 1966) is back.
We haven't seen him in quite a while.
36. Like some traditions: ORAL.
37. Not fooled by: ON TO. I am not fooled by this clue and
answer.
38. Hissed "Over here!": PSST!
40. Guys in the fishing business, e.g.: WATERMEN. Waterman
is the name of a company that makes fine writing instruments.
41. Mount of Greek myth: OSSA.
42. Pizza crust order: THIN. Yummers!
47. Places for ribs: CHESTS.
48. One doing axels: SKATER.
49. Kin's partner: KITH. Kith and Kin is becoming a
crossword staple.
51. Fruity soda brand: FANTA. Lots of fruit flavors.
52. Village Voice awards: OBIES. The Obies are the
Off-Broadway Theater Awards.
53. Littlest littermates: RUNTS.
54. "Shop 'til you drop" affair: SPREE.
55. "Wowie!": GOLLY.
59. Amo, amas, __: AMAT. Today's Latin lesson.
60. "Take it!": HERE.
61. Tribe with a state named for it: UTES. Can you guess the
State?
64. Impersonate: APE.
65. Tidal flow: EBB.
Here's the Grid:
But please, do not light your cat's whisker's on fire!
Notes from C.C.:
Happy birthday to Jazzbumpa (Ron), who's been entertaining us with his wit
and wisdom for many years. Ron spends enormous time on his each write-up,
explaining each theme in details and trying to extract every bit of
wordplay. He's also quietly endured many blog glitches over the years. Just
a few weeks ago, he lost his whole write-up due to a Copy/Paste glitch and
had to start all over again. Thanks for all you do for us, Ron.
