Wednesday, December 9, 2020, Catherine Cetta

Theme: NIGHTY NIGHT

17. *Core exercise starting from a lateral lying position: SIDE PLANK.

28. *Remote file-storage option: CLOUD BACKUP.

35. *"Balderdash!": HORSE FEATHERS.

43. *Hotel late-night meal source: ROOM SERVICE.

55. At night ... and where the starts of the answers to starred clues can go: AFTER DARK.

So clever ... AFTER DARK. DARK SIDE, DARK CLOUD, DARK HORSE, and DARK ROOM.

Across:

1. Single-handed rebuke: SLAP. Too many letters for wag.

5. Shopping spot: MART. Not mall.

9. "Oh, dear": AH ME.

13. Won by __: A HAIR. Not a nose.

14. Lotion additive: ALOE.

15. Wheel's partner?: DEAL.

16. Tan cousin: BEIGE. 

19. Gave the nod: OKD.

20. Aver: STATE.

22. Rowing tool: OAR.

23. Hung jury result, often: RETRIAL. New Netflix 8-part documentary series, Trial Four.

25. With "The," '80s British rockers who gave their group "the most ordinary name": SMITHS.

31. Chit: IOU.

32. Sargasso Sea spawner: EEL. The Sargasso Sea is a vast area of the northern Atlantic Ocean which is home to sargassum, a kind of seaweed. Also the name (Wide Sargasso Sea) of a prequel to Jane Eyre, about Mr. Rochester's wife, Antoinette, renamed by her husband as Bertha - mad and confined to the attic in Brontë's novel. 

33. "Baby back" morsel: RIB.

34. Consider: DEEM.

39. Balloon demise sounds: POPS. Speaking of balloons - I recently heard a great episode of the podcast Radiolab called A Very Lucky Wind, the first few minutes of which involves a very unlikely true story about a girl and a balloon. 

40. La-la preceder: TRA.

41. Rapper __ Nas X: LIL.

42. Java: JOE.

48. Actress Meryl: STREEP.

50. "Finally, it makes sense": I SEE NOW.

51. Director DuVernay: AVA. Director of another Netflix series, When They See Us, about the Central Park Five.

52. Page-bottom abbr.: CONTD.

54. "Yabba dabba __!": DOO. Fred Flintstone.

58. Like eta and zeta: GREEK.

60. Unwelcome look: LEER.

61. Fairy tale opener: ONCE.

62. Car service choices: UBERS.

63. Whirling current: EDDY.

64. Sign of sadness, maybe: TEAR.

65. Little drinks: NIPS. Not sips. In New England, the word “nip” is the regional slang for a tiny bottle of booze, usually 50 ml in size. It's thought that these bottles originated as tasters in the mid-1800s. The term nip likely comes from the Low German word nipperkin and was used as early as 1796.

Down:

1. Israeli coin: SHEKEL. Not to be confused with a schmeckle.

2. Stopped the ship by facing the wind: LAID TO. Nautical term, to lay to is "to bring a ship vessel into the wind and hold her stationary. A vessel doing this is said to be laying to." 

3. Bailed-out insurance co.: AIG. American International Group Inc. Falling Giant: A Case Study of AIG.

4. Chairs a meeting: PRESIDES.

5. Indian spice mix: MASALA. What Is Garam Masala?

6. Landed: ALIT.

7. Went by bike or horse: RODE.

8. Start of a golf hole: TEE.

9. '50s candidate Stevenson: ADLAI.

10. More robust: HEARTIER. "Hearty" refers to good health and ability, while "hardy" implies a boldness or capability to withstand tough conditions. Grammarist.

11. Outdated collective noun: MAN. Did you know the collective noun for butlers is a ‘sneer of butlers’? Harsh. 10 Most Offensive Collective Nouns.

12. Antlered bugler: ELK. Bull elk bugle (verb) as a sign of dominance, however, they also will bugle as a means to locate other elk. A bugle is also a way for a bull to call cows in to him. A chuckle is the series of grunts following a bugle.

13. Multiple choice choices: A B OR C. Tricky.

18. Elgar's "__ and Circumstance Marches": POMP.

21. Place for card games: TABLE TOP.

24. Ones with regrets: RUERS.

25. Hardest to spot: SUBTLEST.

26. Garden tools: HOES.

27. Bottom line: SUM.

29. Whipped __: CREAM.

30. Sportage automaker: KIA.

34. Probe (into): DELVE.

35. Real riot: HOOT. Oh, that kind of riot.

36. Performed surgery: OPERATED.

37. To and __: FRO.

38. Mercenary: HIRED GUN.

39. Nighties: PJS. Worn AFTER DARK.

43. Caboose's place: REAR.

44. Pitch that curves downward: SINKER.

45. Dangerously involved: IN DEEP.

46. Pigeons, e.g.: COOERS. Like the coo-coo Pigeon sisters ...

47. Furry "Star Wars" creatures: EWOKS.

49. __ so often: occasionally: EVERY.

52. Candy shape: CANE.

53. Killer whale: ORCA.

55. Part of IPA: ALE.

56. Central banking syst., with "the": FED.

57. URL bit: DOT.

59. Hitter's stat: RBI.

Notes from C.C.:

Happy birthday to dear Hahtoolah (Susan), whose humor and talent shine through in each of her posts and links. A bat called Guanita who does not sleep properly? Only she can find that. Hahtoolah loves traveling and has been everywhere, including my hometown Xi'an. Hope you can be on the plane again next summer, Susan!