Tuesday October 18, 2022 Amie Walker

I'd Like To Buy a Vowel.  Sorry, but you can only get a U.  The only vowel in each of the theme answers is a U.

17-Across. *   Busy stretch at a sandwich shop: LUNCH RUSH.

25-Across. *   Crumple, as notepaper filled with bad ideas: SCRUNCH UP.

36-Across. *   Fare that pairs well with beer: PUB GRUB.  Rhyming answer.

38-Across. *   Ticket marketplace with a FanProtect Guarantee: STUB HUB.  Rhyming answer.

52-Across. *   Source of bribe money, perhaps: SLUSH FUND.

And the unifier:

62-Across. "I'm handing this off now," and a phonetic description of the answers to the starred clues: IT'S ALL YOU. (U).  At first I thought the answer might be rhyming, but that fit only 2 of the answers.

Across:

1. "Barbaric" cry in Whitman's "Song of Myself": YAWP.  Not a good start for a Tuesday puzzle.

5. Departed: LEFT.

9. Stockpile: AMASS.

14. Actress Falco: EDIE.  Edie Falco (née Edith Falco; b. July 5, 1963) portrayed Carmela Soprano on the HBO series The Sopranos.  We binged on this show during the first weeks of the Covid shut-down.     Edie Falco made a guest appearance in the puzzle just last Sunday.  [Name # 1.]

15. Thin batteries: AAAs.  Tiny rods.

16. "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" host Peter: SAGAL.  Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me is a weekly radio game show where contestants are quizzed about the week's news.  Peter Sagal (né Peter Daniel Sagal; b. Jan. 31, 1965) is a humorist who hosts the show.  We attended a live-taping of this show several years ago.  [Name # 2.]

19. Dish: PLATE.

20. Snuck a look: PEEKED.

21. Clock readout: TIME.

23. Shoe front: TOE.

24. Verbalize: SAY.

27. Lets off steam: VENTS.

29. Lightbulb unit: WATT.

30. "Fiddlesticks!": RATS.

31. Brief "If you ask me": IMO.  Textspeak for In My Opinion.  This had become a crossword staple.

32. Letter-shaped support: I-BAR.

34. Provençal pal: AMI.  Today's French lesson.

42. Farmyard oinker: PIG.

43. Worrisome grades: DEEs.

44. Actress de Armas: ANA.  Ana de Armas (née Ana Celia de Armas Caso; b. Apr. 30, 1988) is a Cuban actress.  She portrayed the nurse in the movie Knives Out.  She appeared in a previous crossword that I commented on.  [Name # 3.]

45. __ facto: IPSO.  Today's Latin lesson.  This phrase a term-of-art in law which translates as "by the fact itself."

48. "__ sesame!": OPEN.  Open Sesame is the magical phrase that opens the cave in the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

50. Otherwise: IF NOT.

54. Scoundrel: CAD.

55. Used to be: WAS.  I have a friend who refers to her ex-husband as her Wasband.

56. Natural hairstyle: AFRO.

57. Infomercial disclaimer: PAID AD.

60. College application part: ESSAY.

64. Revise: AMEND.

65. __ as a pin: NEAT.

66. Watch over, as sheep: TEND.

67. Odorless gas: RADON.  Everything you wanted to know about Radon but didn't know to ask.

68. Tacks on: ADDS.

69. Poems of praise: ODES.  How about a Limerick to a sheep instead?

Down:

1. [You stepped on my paw!]: YELP.

2. For two voices, in music: A DUE.  Today's Italian lesson.  This term appears occasionally in the puzzles.

3. Connoisseur who likely scoffs at boxed Merlot: WINE SNOB.  I may not be drinking Bordeaux, but I like my Cardbordeaux.

4. Eat like a bird: PECK AT.

5. Baker's fat: LARD.

6. __ de toilette: EAU.

7. Tracy Chapman hit with the line "Won't have to drive too far": FAST CAR.  Fast Car is one of Tracy Chapman's (b. Mar. 30, 1964) best known songs.  [Name # 4.]

8. Summer top: T SHIRT.

9. Colorado ski resort: ASPEN.

10. Prefix with practice: MAL-.  As in Malpractice.

11. "Death on the Nile" novelist Christie: AGATHA.  In addition to writing crime novels, Dame Agatha Christie (née Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller; Sept. 15, 1890 ~ Jan. 12, 1976) is known for her own mysterious disappearance.  [Name # 5.]

12. Stayed on the sidelines: SAT OUT.

13. Snoozes: SLEEPS.

18. Activation phrase for Apple's digital assistant: HEY, SIRI.

22. Change genetically: MUTATE.

25. DNA test kit item: SWAB.

26. High-sided bed: CRIB.

27. Big shot, briefly: VIP.

28. Ostrich kin: EMU.

33. "Scram!": BUG OFF.

35. Broadway offering: MUSICAL.  Some of the top Broadway musicals in 2022.

37. Main mail ctrs.: GPOS.  As in General Post Office.  //  Followed by:  38-Down. Put in the mail: SEND.

39. Like some small-batch textiles: HAND DYED.  Back when I was in high school, we tie-eyed our t-shirts.

40. Card game with an American Girl version: UNO.  Who knew?

41. Belfry critter: BAT.

43. Stood for: DENOTED.

45. "Cross my heart!": I SWEAR.

46. Blood component: PLASMA.

47. Figured (out): SUSSED.

49. Fancy Feast maker: PURINA.  [Name adjacent]

51. "I __ see the humor here": FAIL TO.

53. Composer known as the "Father of the Symphony": HAYDN.  Franz Joseph Haydn (Mar. 31, 1732 ~ May 31, 1809) was known as Papa Haydn.  [Name # 6.]

57. Butter portions: PATS.

58. Top of the line: A-ONE.

59. Disappointing fireworks: DUDS.

61. "It's __-win situation": A NO.

63. Glum: SAD.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

 

Notes from C.C.:

 

1) Boomer and I went to the bowling center yesterday morning to say goodbye to his friends. He gifted his remaining boxes of golf balls to the league's end-of-the-season banquet. Here's Boomer with the league secretary Bruce.

Bruce and Boomer, 10/17/2022

2) Boomer's 75th birthday is coming up on Oct 27. Can you guys do me a favor? Send him a card or a note.

Here's our address. Thank you!

Doug Burnikel
5503 - 84 1/2 Ave N.
Brooklyn Park, MN 55443