The Chairman's still "en vacances," so you're stuck with me for one last Friday. C-Moe promises to be back in two weeks, rested and refreshed.
Some folks get crabby over cutesy-poo clues. Others have nits over too many proper names. Still others object to too many abbreviations. Well, settle back, today's your day. Zero cutesy clues, only a few proper names (two first, four last, and one manufacturer), and I count only seven abbreviations (I may be proven wrong). Most of what you'll encounter today are straight-forward definitions. Well, it is Friday, so they're not too straight-forward. There's not a lot to complain about here. But I didn't find a lot to like, either. There's nothing too original. The longest non-themers are only eight characters, and there's only two of those. C.C. says that's the nature of this type of layered-up theme. Sorry, Winston, I usually like your offerings, but this one fell flat. Never noticed the theme while solving, and thought perhaps this was one of those rare Friday themeless puzzles. Then I went hunting and found the reveal:
59. "Enough of the pity party!" ... and what appears four times in this puzzle?: GET OVER IT. Only in the reveal do you "hear" the hard-G sound.
Across:
4. Show of affection, in Acapulco: BESO. Paul Anka
8. Chuck and others: CUTS. of meat. Bet you were expecting a link to Shirley Ellis' The Name Game.
12. Word that agrees with you: ARE. I am, he is..
14. Fireplace collection: ASHES. TOOLS also fit...until it didn't.
16. Cabbage, e.g.: VEGETABLE. Seems too obvious for a Friday. The other day it was MONEY.
18. Get the point: SCORE.
19. Move like a startled chipmunk: SKITTER. Good name for a nervous cat.
20. Extent: DEGREE. There are lotsa synonyms for "extent."
21. Expression of recognition: OHO. Seems more like an expression of "Gotcha!" Dw says her German grandfather, (13D) OTTO, was always called OHO.
22. Maker of Tundra coolers: YETI. The Tundra 45 will set you back a "cool" $300.
26. Grounded: SANE. SSTs came to mind.
28. Engage in some risky evasion: DODGE TAXES. It's downright patriotic to avoid taxes, but it's a felony to evade taxes. What a difference a couple of vowels make.
31. Not seen a lot: SCARCE.
33. Tiny arachnids: MITES.
34. Free: RELEASE. Many have recorded it, but Esther Phillips did it best.
36. Bad way to swear: FALSELY. Is there a good way? I keep
practicing but don't seem to be getting any better at it. I've read
that Mark Twain was a master.
40. Film director Kurosawa: AKIRA. The first of our first names today. Seven Samurai is rated his best film.
42. Reacted to a blow: REELED. Barfed would also fit, but would probably fail the breakfast test.
43. All-out effort some might call old: COLLEGE TRY. Let's give it the old college try...
47. 1969 MLB upstarts: METS. Why "upstarts?" They started up in '62.
48. Big swinger: APE.
49. Silents star Naldi: NITA. Winston struggled to find a good "IT" word for this spot. Starting under the E, it breaks pattern with the other themers.
50. Original "Peaky Blinders" airer: BBC. With that B from ASSEMBLE, this could've been ABC, NBC, or CBS, but it wasn't.
51. Condition: STATUS.
54. Protected space: SHELTER.
58. Longtime photo lab supplier: KODAK. How the mighty have fallen.
61. "I was wrong. So what": SUE ME.
62. Slovenia neighbor: ITALY. Not the first country I thought of, but they do meet at the north end of the Adriatic Sea.
63. Valuable deposit: ORE.
64. Very French?: TRES. French for short hair -- instead of tress, tres.:)
65. Sometimes least, sometimes not: LAST. And now, last but not least...
66. Super __: NES. Ninetendo Entertainment System, complete with 16-bit operating system.
Down:
2. Level for 4-yr-olds: PRE-K. At least it's not the dreaded ELHI.
3. Local tournament: REGIONAL. That doesn't sound all that "local" to me.
4. Highland hillside: BRAE. Gimme for d-o. Before moving up to redneck land, we lived on BRAEwick Dr.
5. Early life stage: EMBRYO. Very early.
6. Cantina condiment: SAL. Lucina got this one immediately -- Spanish for salt.
7. Eight bits bill: ONE. I was thinking computers, not that there
are eight bits to a dollar. For those of you under 60, a quarter is
two bits. Remember "Shave and a haircut, two bits?"
8. Good argument: CASE. Good lawyers make their CASE, case you didn't get that reference.
9. Mil. branch: USCG. Let's see hands for those of you who tried USMC first.
10. Chest: THORAX. Technically, the part of the vertebrate body between the neck and the abdomen. Now isn't that esoteric?
11. Chill: SERENE. In this case, "Chill" is an adjective:
She looked just like Joey Potter … Really young and super chill. — Emma Pearse
13. Enzo's eight: OTTO. Italian eight, and dw's grandfather, and an SO to moi.
15. Bed starters: SEEDS. Oh, that kind of bed.
17. Otherworldly: ETHEREAL.
20. Like many supplements: DIETARY.
23. Gretzky's original NHL team: EDM. I'm guessin' that means Edmonton. Stopped at the airport there many years ago on my way to Ft. McMurray.
24. Weary worker's sigh: TGIF. Why "weary?" Why not happy?
26. Lith., once: SSR. Lithuania was once a Soviet Socialist Republic.
27. It has a big heart: ACE. Suits me. No need to take a spade and club me over the head.
28. Self-serving intent: DESIGNS. Is that why the TV show was called Designing Women?
29. Distant prefix: TELE.Telegraph, telephone, telescope.
30. Gather: ASSEMBLE.
32. Candle holder: CAKE. Only on birthdays.
35. "I'll speak a prophecy __ go": "King Lear": ERE I. When there's nae Shakespeare quote there's nae crossword. The fool makes the prophecy in Act 3, Scene 2.
37. Basic particle: ELECTRON. Also proton and neutron -- beyond that they become even more basic.
38. Word with fly or go: LET.
39. NFL stats: YDS. Yards.
41. ABA member: ATT. Attorney of the American Bar Association. I've never seen the ATT abbreviation outside of cw's.
43. Wine holders: CASKS.
The Limeliters:
"Have some madeira, m'dear,
I have a small cask of it here.
And once it's been opened,
well, you know it won't keep.
Do finish it up.
It will help you to sleep." [Evil chuckle]
44. Skip it: OPT OUT. Amy on TBBT as an OP Tout
45. Chief: LEADER.
46. Dreadlocks wearers: RASTAS. Can't be all bad. They believe that marijuana is a sacrament.
50. Quail gathering: BEVY.When does a covey become a bevy? Or is it the other way round?
52. Not threatening: TAME.
53. Luau strings: UKES.In my ute I was shocked to learn that my MouseGetar was really a ukulele.
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55. Gothic romance novelist Victoria: HOLT. Just one of many literary aliases of Eleanor Alice Hibbert.
56. Word on Irish stamps: EIRE.
57. GPS recommendations: RTES.
59. Jazz pianist Evans: GIL.The second of our first names.
60. Due-in hr.: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.
I'm looking forward to hearing what you thought about this one. Desper-otto out.
