20-Across. * Island known for its bars?: ALCATRAZ.
Alcratraz was once a Federal Penitentiary. It is now a museum.
35-Across. * Tom Sawyer's creator: MARK TWAIN. See
also 29-Across. Mark Twain was the Pen Name of Samuel Langhorn Clemens (Nov. 30, 1835 ~ Apr. 21, 1910).
Mark Twain was actually a term that was used by Mississippi River
steamboats crew, which measures the depth of the water. The term literally
means "mark number two", which signifies 12 feet: the safe depth for a
steamboat on the river.
45-Across. * Highest peak in the Alps: MONT BLANC.
A Montblanc Pen is an expensive writing instrument.
And the unifier:
58-Across. What the answers to starred clues are, in different ways: PEN NAMES.
And, we have an additional theme clue posing as a French lesson:
29-Across. __ de plume: NOM.
An another interesting definition of the word Pen. Did you
know a Female swan is called a Pen?
Across:
1. Conservatives' foes, briefly: LIBs. As in Conservatives
and Liberals. 'Nuff said.
5. Word with run or drive: TEST. As in a Test Run or a Test
Drive.
9. More than nudge: SHOVE.
14. Inactive: IDLE. Not to be confused with 2-Down.
Adored singer, say: IDOL. Since these two words cross, does
this make the Idol Idle?
15. Muppet who doesn't use the pronoun "I": ELMO.
16. One faking it: POSER.
17. Frame of mind: MOOD.
18. Landed: ALIT. This has become a crossword staple.
19. Student's measuring stick: RULER.
22. Windshield shades: VISORS.
23. Homer's neighbor: NED.
24. Thrill: ELATE.
26. Part of a play: ACT. Hi, OMK!
31. Polar masses: ICE CAPS.
38. In a wistful way: SADLY.
39. Soft French cheese: BRIE. Yummers!
40. Dunks, Blazers and Jordans: NIKEs. All are models of
Nike athletic shoes.
42. Corned beef specification: LEAN.
43. Happening: EVENT.
47. Bureaucratic sticking points: RED TAPE.
49. Sign of a sellout: SRO. Standing Room Only. The Fire Marshal might have something to say about a SRO
performance.
50. __ Vegas: LAS. Sin City. Las Vegas has a very interesting history.
51. Slides uncontrollably: SKIDS.
53. Not online, for short: IRL. Text-speak for In Real Life.
55. Best of the hits: TOP TEN. Casey Kasem (1932 ~ 2014) can
still be heard on some oldie radio stations.
63. Opera solos: ARIAS. I have to include this aria
from Carmen. The first post-Covid live performance of the
Houston Grand Opera will be Carmen.
64. Steep rugged cliff: CRAG.
65. Indianapolis NFLer: COLT. The team began in Baltimore, then in the 1980s, moved to Indianapolis.
Logos of the team over the years.
66. Linguistic group that includes Zulu: BANTU.
67. Bee home: HIVE.
68. Green smoothie green, perhaps: KALE. This is a very
trendy leafy vegetable. The idea of putting Kale in my morning smoothie,
however, is not for me.
69. Somnology study: SLEEP.
70. Mellowed in a cask: AGED.
71. Winter fall: SNOW.
Down:
1. Peruvian capital: LIMA.
3. Voting unit: BLOC.
4. Family car: SEDAN. More families in my neighborhood are
apt to have an SUV over a Sedan.
5. Remove, as the wall in Reagan's demand to Gorbachev: TEAR DOWN.
6. Jazzy Fitzgerald: ELLA. Ella Fitzgerald (née Ella Jane
Fitzgerald; Apr. 25, 1917 ~ June 15, 1996) make occasional guest appearances
in the Crossword Puzzles.
7. Tyra Banks portmanteau for happy peepers: SMIZE. How
to Smile with your Eyes.
8. Little one: TOT. Followed by 9-Down: Little
ones: SPRITES.
10. Obsolescent doctor visit: HOUSE CALL. When we were kids,
the family pediatrician made house calls. My sister was sick once, too
sick for my mother to feel comfortable taking her to the doctor's office, so
Dr. Wilson came to the house. When he went into my sister's room, she
was under her bed and holding tight to the slats, so couldn't be pulled out
from under the bed.
11. Viking trading post now a world capital: OSLO.
33. Opening strategy: PLAN A. In 2020, I was on a committee
planning a region conference. That was our Plan A. When Covid came
along, we had to go to our Plan B and hold our conference via Zoom.
34. Lip-__: mouths the words: SYNCS.
36. Campus setting for Neil Young's "Ohio": KENT STATE. Ohio
is the anti-war protest song.
37. When repeated, classic New Orleans refrain: IKO. The
history of the Mardi Gras song Iko Iko.
41. Like guitars and sitars: STRINGED.
44. Starts to learn, as a hobby: TAKES UP.
46. Delivered: BORN.
48. ATM user's need: PIN. As in a Personal Identification Number.
52. Parsley piece: SPRIG. What is a Sprig, anyway?
