Saturday, October 23, 2021, Jamey Smith

 Saturday Themeless by Jamey Smith

I had a good time on this puzzle from our Lone Star State constructor, Jamey Smith: Here is what he had to say about this puzzle: 

Hi again everyone,

With so many possibilities to choose from, it’s no surprise themeless constructors tend to gravitate toward things they find pleasing and worthy to feature as marquee entries. And indeed many of today’s selections give me the warm fuzzies. 

CLEAN ENERGY, of course, and TONY BENNETT — who doesn’t love Tony? — as well as MOVIE PALACE and ORIGIN STORY. (The latter two bring to mind a fun visit to Santa Barbara, a highlight of which was seeing the exploits of young Han in "Solo: A Star Wars Story” at the gorgeous Arlington Theatre.)

Also glad to include a smattering of other faves from the entertainment world. Hope the proper names didn’t give anyone too much trouble. My thanks to Gary for his enlightening recaps, and to Rich for smoothing up my rough edges.

Until next time,

Jamey

I told Jamey I was still baffled by ECGTESTS even after I had filled in all the cells and then suddenly ECG and beating made sense and I had it. Jamey replied, "Ha! Forgive and forget, okay? I was just riffing on “heartbeats” with that one and thought it was a fun little misdirect. Luckily it looks like Rich agreed…"

Across:

1. Yellow __: LAB.

4. Keen: AVID - Describes our crossword interest here

8. Best Actress Oscar winner before Hepburn's last such award: SPACEK - We saw both of these movies, enjoyed them and wonder where such films are now

14. Wong of "American Housewife": ALI.

15. Elaborate theater: MOVIE PALACE - The Orpheum in Omaha is one but like most of these PALACES, it does not show MOVIES any more. We Just paid $315 to watch Omaha's Mannheim Steamroller perform there on December 22.

17. Yank: TUG.

18. Green juice source: CLEAN ENERGY.

19. Aptly nicknamed section of D.C.'s Massachusetts Avenue: EMBASSY ROW.

21. Campus cadet org.: ROTC.

22. Sniffish sort: SNOB - David Ogden Stiers played one perfectly in this cast

23. Research outpost co-developed by NASA: ISS - Click on this site, give it ten seconds to load and you'll see where the International Space Station is right now.

24. Rural expanse: LEA.

25. Hoaxes perpetrated by IRS impostors: TAX SCAMS - Jamey told me his cluing was, "25-A: Evasive maneuvers"

29. Not right: AMISS.

31. Sedimentary rock, from the Greek for "egg": OOLITE.

33. French toast part: SANTE - "To your health!" Great cluing!

34. Exposes: TELLS ON - A grade schooler's delight

37. Olds until 1999: CUTLASS.

39. Deep animosity: ODIUM.

40. Show deference, in a way: GROVEL.

42. "Law & Order" actor Jeremy: SISTO.

43. Lawless: ANARCHIC.

47. Wile E. Coyote's supply: TNT - That Acme Company had everything

48. "The Dutch House" author Patchett: ANN - The audio version read by some Hanks guy

50. Actress Chaplin: OONA - Mother: Geraldine Chaplin, Grandfather: Charlie Chaplin, Great Grandfather: Eugene O'Neill

51. "Ri-i-i-ght": I BET 

53. Test subjects: GUINEA PIGS.

57. Frank Sinatra School of the Arts co-founder: TONY BENNETT.

59. Tennis unit: SET.

60. Many a superhero adaptation: ORIGIN STORY - The most famous one

61. Sully: TAR.

62. Voiced: SONANT.

63. First-class seat, often: ONE A.

64. "It's a hit" letters: SRO - Standing Room Only. Not allowed on airplane above.

Down:

1. Cutting-edge: LATEST.

2. Barnard grad, e.g.: ALUMNA - The word for a female graduate. Since Barnard College in NYC is all women...

3. Walmart adjective: BIG BOX store

4. Hornets of the '70s: AMCS - The Pawn Stars bought the original AMC Pacer from the movie Wayne's World and then paid big money to have it restored

5. Knoxville-based SEC athletes: VOLS - Fans arriving for a Tennessee VOLunteer FB game do not "tailgate", the "sailgate" on the Tennessee River just below the stadium

6. "Hurlyburly" Tony winner Judith: IVEY - Here's a scene from that play 

7. Anne Frank, say: DIARIST - Nin gets the day off

8. Gushes: SPEWS.

9. Rave's opposite: PAN - Hilarious PANS of famous movies

10. Tiger or Twin, briefly: ALER - Jazzbumpa's Tigers, my Royals and Boomer's Twins all fared poorly in this year's AL Central

11. State name in a James Taylor classic: CAROLINA - Sweet Baby James singing this lovely ballad 52 years ago.

12. Beat reporters?: ECG TESTS  - JAMEY, I'm throwing a flag on this play! 😁 I put his response at the top of this write-up.

13. Accessories that preserve your access: KEY CASES.

16. 1961 space chimp: ENOS - Ham was put into a suborbital flight and then ENOS was put into orbit and then Allen Shepard's suborbital flight made him the first human American in space

20. Popular vodka brand: ABSOLUT  and 26. Vodka drink, briefly: COSMO. Here is a COSMOPOLITAN made with ABSOLUT Vodka

27. Teléfono greeting: ALO - Hello in many Spanish speaking countries

28. Artistic dynasty: MING.

29. Late bloomer: ASTER.

30. Shoplifter's concern: MALL COP.

32. B-school course: ECON - Students in Business Schools would certainly take ECONOMICS

34. Snack that comes in Rounds and Triangles: TOSTITOS  and...

35. Pennsylvania's __ University, home of the Fighting Scots: EDINBORO - EDINBORO and its university is a 1 hr and 49 min drive SW from Buffalo, NY along Lake Erie

36. Work with taps, maybe: LISTEN IN - During the Civil War, Lincoln ordered wire taps on telegraph lines

38. Where RFK got his LLB: UVA - Bobby Kennedy got his Bachelor of Law degree at the University of Virginia

41. Met unexpectedly: RAN INTO.

44. Lifting things: HOIST - Here a crane is shown HOISTING the first stage of a Saturn V rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC    

45. Engaged: IN GEAR - My mother's motivating phrase was "Get it IN GEAR!"

46. Julián __, HUD secretary under Obama: CASTRO.

48. Broker: AGENT.

49. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams played them in "Doubt" (2008): NUNS - 73% on Rotten Tomatoes

52. "Rack City" rapper: TYGA - Google his lyrics if violence and profanity will improve your day.

54. Noble gas: NEON.

55. To be, in Toulouse: ETRE - When doing Hamlet on a stage in Toulouse, France you might say "ÊTRE ne pas ÊTRE"

56. "Back __!": ATYA - Saying "Back AT YA!" when someone says "I love you" seems tacky

58. Storage unit: BIN - I love shopping here!