Saturday Themeless by Rich Norris
57. Island nation in Oceania: KIRIBATI - The horizontal part of my Natick
58. "Mic Drop" band: BTS - The vertical part of my Natick. Is this one of your favorite Korean groups?
Now let's move on to what I did get:
Across:
1. Mint: BRAND NEW - Name the 1966 hit with this lyric (answer at bottom of write-up): I just found me a BRAND NEW box of matches, and what he knows you ain't had time to learn!
9. "__ luck!": LOTSA.
14. Long way to go?: LIMO RIDE - Long refers to the length of the car not the length of the trip
15. Porter, for one: BEARER - This porter/BEARER is also called a sherpa and, of course, is the reason most people make it to the top of Everest.
16. Ancient language in which "ir" means "the": OLD WELSH.
17. Shaky: INFIRM.
18. Console with Party and Fit games: WII - A WII Fit with accessories
19. Briefly appeared: GLEAMED.
21. Go where one shouldn't: PRY.
22. Hitch: SNAG - Life is what happens after you make other plans
24. Dance company founder Ailey: ALVIN.
25. Belt: SWAT.
26. Superficial: GLIB.
29. River valley known for Riesling: RHINE - Riesling grapes on the banks of the Rhine
30. " ... to so __": Churchill: FEW - Winston's tribute the RAF for their efforts during The Battle Of Britain.
32. Part of an outmoded garage set: TIRE IRON - There are some still around
34. Exploit a position of trust: FEATHER ONE'S NEST.
38. Arranges for deferred payment: RUNS A TAB.
39. Symbolic 100%: PIE - If you can't get it all...
40. Waiting expectation: ORDER - 😀
41. Higher ed. hurdle: GRE - Graduate Record Exam
43. Smartwater rival: NAYA - bottled natural spring water, drawn from a spring in the Laurentian Mountains, in southern Quebec, Canada.
46. Mad magazine caricaturist Drucker: MORT - A literary mainstay of my yute
47. Stabilizing components: KEELS - This surfboard has what is called twin KEEL fins for stability
49. Stable gear: TACK - The TACK room for the Budweiser Clydesdales connotes a different sense of stable
51. Go __: APE.
52. Small sailing ship: CARAVEL - A model of Columbus's flagship CARAVEL the Santa Maria
54. First name of two Spice Girls: MEL = Here ya go.
55. Bit of needlework: TATTOO 😀
59. Very hot celestial orbs: O-STARS.
60. Generic confrontation: US VS THEM - This finally hit me
61. Lesser number?: B-SIDE - I Want To Hold Your Hand was a breakthrough hit for the lads but the B-SIDE, I Saw Her Standing There, became a bigger seller.
62. Ring-necked bird: PHEASANT - My friend has a business where hunters come to his farm to hunt ring-necks.
Down:
1. Squanders: BLOWS - Atlanta blew this lead in Super Bowl LI
2. Getting agitated: RILING.
3. Radio control: AM-DIAL - News radio saved this AM-Radio
4. "Spring the trap!": NOW.
5. Vestige: DREG.
6. Nabisco name since 1967: NILLA - Wafers, of course
7. Unpopular debuts of 1957: EDSELS - EDSELS were the wrong car at the wrong time but this 1958 EDSEL in Lake Havasu, AZ is now for sale for $60,000.
8. "This just isn't working": WE HAVE TO BREAK UP.
9. Advance: LEND.
10. Clod: OAF.
11. Security element that may be detected by Silly String: TRIP WIRE.
12. Peppers between jalapeño and tabasco on the Scoville scale: SERRANOS.
13. "M*A*S*H" unit: ARMY TENT - This is the actual M*A*S*H unit on which the movie and TV show were based
15. "Très __": BIEN - something nice that could be said of people in Nice 25. when they show mastery of: SHINE AT some skill.
20. Add: MIX IN.
23. Fragrance assortment, e.g.: GIFT SET.
27. "Joy Shtick" writer: BEHAR - Her 23 yr-old book
33. Missouri's Cori Bush, e.g.: Abbr.: REP.
34. First of many steps: FROM A TO B.
35. Continental rider's purchase, once: EUROPASS.
36. Big name in racing: ANDRETTI.
37. Wild party: RAGER.
42. Quenya or Sindarin, in fiction: ELVISH - Languages of The Middle Earth constructed by J.R.R. Tolkien. This came slowly.
44. Company whose logo is interlocking tuning forks: YAMAHA.
45. Blackjack combo: ACE TEN - Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
47. "Get Smart" org.: KAOS.
48. Be of use: SERVE.
50. "The Kiss" painter: KLIMT.
52. Workout focus: CORE - CORE exercises
53. "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" novelist See: LISA.
56. Bit: TAD.
Here's the earworm song with "BRAND NEW box of matches" in the lyrics:
Notes from C.C.:
2) Happy birthday also to Lemonade's beautiful wife Oo. This is a picture from their 2017 trip to Thailand.
1) Guess what? Today is also Rich's birthday. Thanks for the great puzzle, Rich! For those who are not aware, Rich was the previous editor for the L.A. Times crosswords. He's also one of the best themeless constructor in this country.
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| Rich and his wife Kim |
2) Happy birthday also to Lemonade's beautiful wife Oo. This is a picture from their 2017 trip to Thailand.
