Theme: AND WHAT TO MY WONDERING EYES SHOULD APREAR? Theme answers are all on or two-word phrases that are [more or less] synonyms for AMAZED.
17 A. Amazed: TAKEN ABACK. Surprised or shocked.
39 A. Amazed: STUNNED So shocked that one is temporarily unable to react;
62 A. Amazed: GOBSMACKED. Utterly astonished.
11 D. Amazed: BOWLED OVER. Amaze, astonish, astound,
29 D. Amazed: DUMBSTRUCK. So shocked or surprised as to be unable to speak.
Hi Gang, the Amazing JAzzBumps here to shock and astound you. Or maybe not. Anyway, I'll lead you through today's AMAZNG puzzle. One might choose to quibble with these equivalences, but I'm just going to let them be. Let's see what surprises are in store.
Across:
1. Tomato used for paste: ROMA. Oval shaped, meaty variety with less liquid content than most.
5. Comic strip frame: PANEL.
10. Cookbook abbr.: TBSP. Tablespoon
14. Issue with a URL: E-MAG. Electronic Magazine
15. Colleague of Amy and Sonia: ELENA. Justice Kagan.
16. Roast, on le menu: ROTI. Is this French?
19. Wilson of "Zoolander": OWEN. [b 1968]. One of this actors that I find to be rather annoying.
20. Boring lecture feature: DRONE. A low continuous humming sound, or a semi-articulate speaker with little change in pitch or inflection.
21. Agatha contemporary: ERLE. Mystery writers Christie and Stanley Gardner, respectively.
22. Blue Bonnet, e.g.: OLEO. Can't believe it's not butter.
23. Small change: DIMES.
25. Swear off sinning: REPENT. Feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin. Does this mean I'll never do it again? Only maybe.
27. Shout from Speedy Gonzales: ANDALE. In context, a rather non-specific expression of enthusiasm.
30. Set, as a price: ASKED. To which a prospective buyer might counter with a bid.
31. Herr's home: HAUS. House auf Deutsch.
32. A or Ray, say: ALER. Baseball player in the American League. Inferior fill, IMHO.
35. Chip away at: ERODE. OK. Now I am going to quibble. "Chip away" implies some sort of percussive action removing discrete chunks, while "ERODE" means a gradual wearing away at a micro level. Not equivalent.
38. Branch: ARM. as of, for example, a body of water.
41. "101 Dalmatians" villain Cruella de __: VIL.
5. Comic strip frame: PANEL.
10. Cookbook abbr.: TBSP. Tablespoon
14. Issue with a URL: E-MAG. Electronic Magazine
15. Colleague of Amy and Sonia: ELENA. Justice Kagan.
16. Roast, on le menu: ROTI. Is this French?
19. Wilson of "Zoolander": OWEN. [b 1968]. One of this actors that I find to be rather annoying.
20. Boring lecture feature: DRONE. A low continuous humming sound, or a semi-articulate speaker with little change in pitch or inflection.
21. Agatha contemporary: ERLE. Mystery writers Christie and Stanley Gardner, respectively.
22. Blue Bonnet, e.g.: OLEO. Can't believe it's not butter.
23. Small change: DIMES.
25. Swear off sinning: REPENT. Feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin. Does this mean I'll never do it again? Only maybe.
27. Shout from Speedy Gonzales: ANDALE. In context, a rather non-specific expression of enthusiasm.
30. Set, as a price: ASKED. To which a prospective buyer might counter with a bid.
31. Herr's home: HAUS. House auf Deutsch.
32. A or Ray, say: ALER. Baseball player in the American League. Inferior fill, IMHO.
35. Chip away at: ERODE. OK. Now I am going to quibble. "Chip away" implies some sort of percussive action removing discrete chunks, while "ERODE" means a gradual wearing away at a micro level. Not equivalent.
38. Branch: ARM. as of, for example, a body of water.
41. "101 Dalmatians" villain Cruella de __: VIL.
42. __ Ludington, 1777 militia-alerting rider: SYBIL. Sybil Ludington[April 5, 1761 – February 26, 1839,] was a heroine of the American Revolutionary War. On April 26, 1777, at age 16, she made an all-night horseback ride to alert militia forces in the towns of Putnam County, New York, and Danbury, Connecticut, of the approach of British forces. I did not know that.
44. "Well done!": GOOD.
45. Widen, as a hole opening: REAM. to enlarge, shape, or smooth out (a hole) with a rotating finishing tool.
46. Attempts: STABS. Tries [which also fits, I discovered.]
48. Very: EVER SO.
50. __ music: orchestrates: SETS TO. Actually, this cold mean simply sitting a melody for a set of words. Orchestration wold be considerably more elaborate. Another iffy equivalence.
52. Ate: DINED.
54. End for soft or silver: -WARE. Sadly, I need perps.
55. GPS options: RTES. Routes to get you were you are going.
57. Bob Marley, e.g.: RASTA. Short fo Rastafari, also known as the Rastafari movement or Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion.
61. Lago contents: AGUA. Spanish lake water
64. Foul weather gear for Brits: MACS. Short for Macintosh - a full length waterproof coat.
65. Permeate: IMBUE. Fill with [something.]
66. A fisherman may spin one: TALE. About the one that got away.
67. Jet black: INKY. Ebon also fits.
68. Until now: AS YET. Will it continue?
69. British submachine gun: STEN. A family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War.
Down:
45. Widen, as a hole opening: REAM. to enlarge, shape, or smooth out (a hole) with a rotating finishing tool.
46. Attempts: STABS. Tries [which also fits, I discovered.]
48. Very: EVER SO.
50. __ music: orchestrates: SETS TO. Actually, this cold mean simply sitting a melody for a set of words. Orchestration wold be considerably more elaborate. Another iffy equivalence.
52. Ate: DINED.
54. End for soft or silver: -WARE. Sadly, I need perps.
55. GPS options: RTES. Routes to get you were you are going.
57. Bob Marley, e.g.: RASTA. Short fo Rastafari, also known as the Rastafari movement or Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion.
61. Lago contents: AGUA. Spanish lake water
64. Foul weather gear for Brits: MACS. Short for Macintosh - a full length waterproof coat.
65. Permeate: IMBUE. Fill with [something.]
66. A fisherman may spin one: TALE. About the one that got away.
67. Jet black: INKY. Ebon also fits.
68. Until now: AS YET. Will it continue?
69. British submachine gun: STEN. A family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War.
Down:
1. Collecting Soc. Sec., maybe: RET'D. No longer working, like, frex, me.
2. Sharif of "Che!": OMAR.
3. Great white shark relative: MAKO. A fast and dangerous predator.
4. Ulterior motives, perhaps: AGENDAS. Sometimes considered hidden.
5. Patch veggie: PEA. The small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit,[2] since they contain seeds and develop from the ovary of a (pea) flower.
6. "Three Tall Women" Pulitzer playwright: ALBEE. Tis play by Edward Albee [1928-1916] won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1994.
7. Approaches: NEARS.
8. Something in addition to the letter: Abbr.: ENCL. An ENCLOSURE.
9. Celtic rivals: LAKERS. U.S. Professional basketball teams,
10. State cop: TROOPER.
12. Dutch painter Jan: STEEN. [1626 - 1679] From the Dutch golden age, he was one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century. His works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humor and abundance of color.
13. Burgundy grape: PINOT. Fro wine-making
18. Astronaut Armstrong: NEIL. [1930-2012] He was the first person to walk on the moon.
24. Protein provider: MEAT. Nutrition.
26. Barely managed, with "out": EKED.
27. Cries of discovery: AHAS. Eurekas doesn't fit.
28. __ a one: NARY. Totally absent.
30. River near Arezzo: ARNO. In the Tuscany region of Italy
33. Carries with effort: LUGS. Schlepps
34. "Another Green World" musician: ENO. Brian [b 1948] was a pioneer in ambient music. This was his 3rd studio album, released in 1975.
36. "Buenos __": DIAS. A good gad in Spain.
37. Red Muppet: ELMO.
39. Bed board: SLAT. It supports the box springs.
40. Biblical plot: EDEN. The early garden.
43. "Piece of cake": IT'S EASY.
45. Censors for security reasons: REDACTS. Conceals portions of a text.
47. Noble Italian house that produced two popes: BORGIA.A Spanish-Aragonese family that rose to prominence during the Italian renaissance. The Borgias became prominent in ecclesiastical and political affairs in the 15th and 16th centuries, producing two popes: Alfons de Borja, who ruled as Pope Callixtus III during 1455–1458, and Rodrigo Lanzol Borgia, as Pope Alexander VI, during 1492–1503.
Especially during the reign of Alexander VI, they were suspected of many crimes, including adultery, incest, simony, theft, bribery, and murder (especially murder by arsenic poisoning).
49. Aloe __: VERA. An evergreen perennial cultivated for commercial products, mainly as a topical skin treatment.
50. Hindu ascetic: SWAMI. Read about it here.
51. Eddie __, Olympic gold-medalist in boxing and bobsledding: EAGAN. He [1897 - 1967] is notable as being the only person to win a gold medal at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in different disciplines.
52. Disney Channel star __ Ryan: DEBBY. She [b 1993] started acting in professional theatres at the age of seven, and has since starred in several Disney productions.
53. It's debatable: ISSUE. An important topic or problem for debate or discussion.
56. Whiskered males: TOMS. Cats, I suppose. But most males can be whiskered, and so are female cats. So - ???
58. 32-card game: SKAT. A three-handed trick-taking card game with bidding, played with 32 cards. It is the official game of Germany.
59. Marketing leader?: TELE-. Cutesey affix clue.
60. Yemeni port: ADEN. Its natural harbor lies in the crater of a dormant volcano, which now forms a peninsula joined to the mainland by a low isthmus.
63. Bumped into: MET. With a little luck, nobody was harmed.
49. Aloe __: VERA. An evergreen perennial cultivated for commercial products, mainly as a topical skin treatment.
50. Hindu ascetic: SWAMI. Read about it here.
51. Eddie __, Olympic gold-medalist in boxing and bobsledding: EAGAN. He [1897 - 1967] is notable as being the only person to win a gold medal at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in different disciplines.
52. Disney Channel star __ Ryan: DEBBY. She [b 1993] started acting in professional theatres at the age of seven, and has since starred in several Disney productions.
53. It's debatable: ISSUE. An important topic or problem for debate or discussion.
56. Whiskered males: TOMS. Cats, I suppose. But most males can be whiskered, and so are female cats. So - ???
58. 32-card game: SKAT. A three-handed trick-taking card game with bidding, played with 32 cards. It is the official game of Germany.
59. Marketing leader?: TELE-. Cutesey affix clue.
60. Yemeni port: ADEN. Its natural harbor lies in the crater of a dormant volcano, which now forms a peninsula joined to the mainland by a low isthmus.
63. Bumped into: MET. With a little luck, nobody was harmed.
That wraps up another Wednesday. I had my nits, but over-all not too bad.
Cool regards!
JzB
