Good morning, cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap.
History seems to be repeating itself or, as Yogi Berra once said, "It's like deja vu all over again." The puzzle that I recapped two weeks ago was constructed by Chris Sablich and so is today's puzzle. He, like the Labrador Retriever above, seems to be on a roll.
ONE TWO BUCKLE MY SHOE, THREE FOUR KNOCK AT THE DOOR, FIVE SIX . . .
With that lead-in what can we do except to start with the unifier (drum roll, please):
54 Across. Game requiring fine motor skills ... and what people do before playing 19-, 26- and a 49-Across?: PICK UP STICKS. At three places in the grid Chris has inserted activities that require humans to pick up and use sticks of one kind or another
Here are the identified theme answers:
19 Across. Game in which Willie Mosconi holds the competitive record run of 526 points: STRAIGHT POOL. A POOL cue. It would have been nice if this was called a "pool stick".
26 Across. National summer sport of Canada: LACROSSE. A LACROSSE stick, or CROSSE.
49 Across. Rock concert highlight: DRUM SOLO. A DRUM stick (but not a piece of fried chicken).
. . . and here is how this all looks in the grid:
1. Horse known for its endurance: ARAB.
5. Fitzgerald specialty: SCAT.
Ella and The Duke
9. Block: CLOG. Also a wooden shoe. My nose was CLOGged the other day. A Dutch woman kicked me in the face.
13. Lingerie brand: BALI.
14. Sport with mallets: POLO. This also could have been clued as a garment brand.
15. Now, in Nogales: AHORA. Today's Spanish lesson (also 9 Down and 28 Down).
16. Big drink of water: SWIG. Water?
17. Mathematician Turing: ALAN. Sometimes referred to as "the father of modern computer science".
18. Actionable words: LIBEL.
22. Guarantee: ASSURE. Looks a lot like 43 Down.
25. London district: SOHO.
29. Gambler: BETTOR. A local casino is offering marijuana-infused beef to their best BETTORs. Them's pretty high steaks.
33. "So that's it!": OHO. Hands up for filling in the H and then checking the perps to see if it was going to be OHO or AHA.
34. Spills: TELLS. As is "to spill the beans."
36. Coeur d'__: ALENE. A city in Idaho
37. Blemish: MARK. "You're a blemish, Mark." "I'm a wart?"
39. Fastening hardware: TACKS. Not usually referred to as "hardware".
41. __ Timor: EAST.
39. Fastening hardware: TACKS. Not usually referred to as "hardware".
41. __ Timor: EAST.
42. Concert site: ARENA. ARENA Rock has almost, but not quite, run its course. Hey, it's preferable to Yacht Rock.
44. Local life: BIOTA.
46. Something to shoot for: PAR. PAR for the course.
47. Salad veggie: RADISH. Why couldn't the RADISH finish the race? He was just a little beet.
51. Forensic detectives, for short: CSIS. Crime Scene Investigation S
53. Easier to swallow, as pills: COATED.
59. "The King and I" group: HAREM. I used a "King and I" clip in the last recap to illustrate ETC. Chris, or Rich, might have watched it.
60. __ Tuesday: TACO. Alliterative. The first use of the phrase is attributed to the August 20, 1973 edition of the Rapid City (South Dakota) Journal.
61. Sound partner: SAFE. As in SAFE and sound.
65. Love abroad: AMORE. That's what Dino told us. Today's Italian lesson.
66. Sailor's direction: ALEE.
67. Blue-pencil: EDIT. A blue pencil is traditionally used by a copy editor because the color will not show in some lithographic and photographic reproduction processes.
68. Recipe amts.: TSPS. TeaSPoonS Abbreviations, both in clue and answer.
69. Foxx whose real last name was Sanford: REDD. It was fairly obvious that REDD Foxx was a stage name but I did not know that his real last name was Sanford.
70. Lavish affection (on): DOTE. When I get sad, my dad's sister really knows how to cheer me up. She's the perfect auntie-dote.
Down:
1. Six-pack makeup: ABS. An ABdominal muscleS reference.
2. Not even rare: RAW. A cooking reference.
3. Frazier foe: ALI.
4. California coastal destination: BIG SUR.
A Lesser-known Beach Boys Tune
5. Extra keys, say: SPARE SET. Now, where did I put those?
6. Soda order: COLA. Coke also starts with C O.
7. Kyrgyzstan range: ALAI. Not the best-known range. Often clued with Jai.
8. Drinks table accessory: TONGS. Swizzle stick would not fit but it would have been fun given the theme.
9. Qdoba competitor: CHIPOTLE. Both are Mexican-style eateries.
10. Gray wolf: LOBO.
11. Nabisco brand: OREO. Needs no comment - but I will anyway. I have sometimes wondered if it would be possible to construct a puzzle using only the word OREO clued seventy different ways,
12. Chutzpah: GALL. Chutzpah is Yiddish. From the Aramaic ḥu ṣpā via the Hebrew hutspah.
15. Tennis Hall of Famer Gibson: ALTHEA.
July 6, 1957
20. Variable pace: TROT. Pace was helpful but I'm not at all certain about the use of "variable" to clue this answer.
21. Fireplace food-warming shelf: HOB. A flat metal shelf at the back of a fireplace. Manatees are unfamiliar with this.
22. 12-time MLB All-Star Roberto: ALOMAR.
23. About 30% of Africa: SAHARA.
24. Made a point: SCORED. In sports and in debate. There are other uses for the word, too. Stick that in your pipe.
27. Big piece: SLAB. Or, in motorcycle jargon an Interstate Highway.
28. Castilian hero: EL CID. You no doubt remember LE CID from Chris's last puzzle.
30. Tempest site?: TEAPOT.
31. Reduced: ON SALE.
32. Went over again: RETROD. Never have I ever used this word. Retread? Yes.
35. HEATH Bar rival: SKOR.
38. Fashion trademark of old-time golfer Gene Sarazen: KNICKERS.
40. Covered with plaster: STUCCOED. I just watched a movie about a woman having her broken leg set. What a great cast.
43. Presuppose: ASSUME. Looks a lot like 22 Across. My girlfriend constantly complains that I don't listen to her. Or, at least I ASSUME she does.
45. One way to run: AMOK. Although I am pretty certain that we have seen it before it is still clever cluing.
48. With it: HIP. Not the body part.
50. Talked back to: SASSED. This type of behavior is often exhibited in x-word puzzles. That must be because of all the vowels and esses.
52. Cool red giant: S-STAR. An astronomy reference. An S-type STAR is a cool giant (they said that) with approximately equal amounts of oxygen and carbon in its atmosphere.
54. Cool, in dated slang: PHAT.
55. Dog food brand: IAMS.
56. Corn, e.g.: CROP. Very ambiguous cluing. Corn could be a type of humor . . or liquor. It could be something on your foot and there must be hundreds of types of CROPs that are grown.
57. "Cautionary" account: TALE. A Cautionary TALE is a story told in folklore to warn its listeners of a danger.
58. __ tea: ICED. CHAI? PUER? DARK?
62. Big fuss: ADO. Misspelled?
63. Tailor's concern: FIT.
64. Summer in France: ETE. A French lesson. It is often ETE time in our puzzles. Et la vie est easy . . .
As you read this, Valerie and I will likely be on a road trip to Oregon for a gathering with my motorcycle riding friends of many years. On the slab but not on a motorcycle. The excuse for this gathering? A Reuben Sandwich.
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