THEME: The Age of Aquarius, not Superman
17. Tied with a scrunchie, maybe: IN A PONY TAIL - An "UP" hairstyle
30. No longer on deck: AT THE PLATE - "UP" at bat - I saw this happen in a game on TV while down in VA
BACKSWING BAT CATCHES CATCHER
47. Taking time off: ON VACATION - "I
am AWAY from my desk..." - Technically, I was on vacation last week, as
I was supposed to be in between jobs - needed the time off to sort some
legal issues still pending from the sale of the house on Long Island -
went down there for two days, and that was enough to remind me why I
left....
And the connection -
62. Classic sunshine pop hit single with hot-air-balloon imagery, and what 17-, 30-, and 47-Across literally are: UP UP AND AWAY - Ah,
the 60s - this one is from 1967; I was born in 1971, but I heard this
"The 5th Dimension" hit on the radio, along with another one of theirs,
"Aquarius" - and born in early February, I am an Aquarius
Up, Up, ....
AND AWAY we go~!
ACROSS:
1. Make small adjustments to: TWEAK
"Pure Imagination"
15. Sports complex: ARENA
16. Series finale, e.g.: END
16. Series finale, e.g.: END
19. Director DuVernay: AVA - Not much one can do, but IMHO the proper names in crosswords are becoming too much
20. Italian ice cream: GELATO
21. Most coll. applicants: SRs - Twice in a puzzle row now for me
22. Thing: ITEM
23. Food __: lethargy after a big meal: COMA - Thanksgiving is a mere 15-1/2 weeks away; football starts in exactly one month - yay~!
25. Mosaic tile: TESSERA - Learned by doing crosswords, otherwise, a $2 Monday word
27. Stargazer's bear: URSA - My "bear" last week was "MAMA"
32. Election night backdrop for Steve Kornacki: MAP - No idea who we are referring to; filled via perps....no politics, please~!
33. Whispery video genre, for short: ASMR
- This is a 21st century crossword fill; not familiar with it, so I
went to YouTube, and I actually got that 'tingly' sensation.
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response
34. "Fiddlesticks!": "DRAT~!"
35. Big gulps: SWIGS
37. Word before salt or snail: SEA
39. "Know what __?": I MEAN
42. Pre-calc math class: TRIGonometry
44. YouTube diary: VLOG video web log; we here are merely a weB LOG
46. Irish actor Stephen: REA - Crossword staple
35. Big gulps: SWIGS
37. Word before salt or snail: SEA
39. "Know what __?": I MEAN
42. Pre-calc math class: TRIGonometry
44. YouTube diary: VLOG video web log; we here are merely a weB LOG
46. Irish actor Stephen: REA - Crossword staple
50. Car sticker amt.: MSRP - Manufacturer's Suggested Retail
Price - I bought a used Prius C for $12K, using my Amazon credit card -
what a rush that was; I paid it off immediately with money from the sale
of the LI house
51. [shrug emoji]: BEATS ME - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
52. Turner known as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll": TINA - Died 24 May this year
54. Wheel turner: AXLE
55. Donne couplet?: ENs - do N N e; Donne I believe refers to this guy
57. Forced from power: OUSTED
61. "The Real World" airer: MTV - Shows on this channel seem
contradictory - the "golden age" of the music video, the 80s, gave us a
lot to see, so what defines a good music video~? I threw this question
at my brother, and got the response below; a little bit of
story-telling, some performance, and some 'over-the-top' elements; what
would YOU choose~?
ZZTop Gimme All Your Lovin'
64. Gobbled up: ATE
65. Draped silk dresses: SARIs - or sarees
66. Mitt: GLOVE - more gratuitous baseball for C.C. 😁
67. Letters of distress: S.O.S.
68. Utopias: EDENS
69. Made less onerous: EASED
DOWN:
1. Small branch: TWIG and; 26D. Small branch: SPRIG - Rhyme time, too
2. Sonoma County product: WINE
3. Ben Gurion-based airline: EL AL - Crossword staple, Israeli Airline
4. South American kin of a camel: ALPACA
5. Japanese city with many shrines: KYOTO - WAG
6. Star Wars Day month: MAY - the Fourth Be With You
7. Review-heavy newspaper section: ARTS - I had OP-ED, my first incorrect DOWN fill
8. Scarcity: DEARTH - Vader~?
67. Letters of distress: S.O.S.
68. Utopias: EDENS
69. Made less onerous: EASED
DOWN:
1. Small branch: TWIG and; 26D. Small branch: SPRIG - Rhyme time, too
2. Sonoma County product: WINE
3. Ben Gurion-based airline: EL AL - Crossword staple, Israeli Airline
4. South American kin of a camel: ALPACA
5. Japanese city with many shrines: KYOTO - WAG
6. Star Wars Day month: MAY - the Fourth Be With You
7. Review-heavy newspaper section: ARTS - I had OP-ED, my first incorrect DOWN fill
8. Scarcity: DEARTH - Vader~?
9. Ouzo flavoring: ANISEED
10. "Bad" prefix: MAL - Latin
11. Carnivores: MEAT-EATERS - Reminds me of Jurassic Park - couldn't find a link to the scene I was thinking about
12. Turn upside down: INVERT
13. Whoopi's Oscar-winning role in "Ghost": ODA MAE
18. Spanish phrase equivalent to "¡Basta!": "NO MAS~!"
22. Five Pillars faith: ISLAM
24. Devices called "cashpoints" in the U.K.: ATMs - fresh cluing for a crossword staple; still didn't fool me
27. Sounds of hesitation: UMs - never can tell if it will be ERs or UMs
28. Uncooked: RAW
29. Trumpet parts that need to be drained: SPIT VALVES - JazzB
can fill you in - or maybe that's not the phrase to use in this
instance....I play the guitar and drums - usually, no spit involved
31. Fountain near Rome's Spanish Steps: TREVI - It's said that $1.5mil in coins was tossed in during 2016
33. Nike rival: ASICS
36. Storm drain cover: GRATE
38. Oodles: A LOT
40. __ Lingus: AER - Irish Airlines
41. Rest in a sleep pod: NAP - I figured it was "NAP", but the sleep pod part had me baffled; THIS or THIS~?
43. Xbox controller, for one: GAME PAD - Gaming for me was Atari 2600
45. Awesome Blossom vegetable: ONION
- The "bloomin' onion" appetizer from Outback is called the "cactus
blossom" at Texas Roadhouse - proprietary, as my brother gets agitated
when I use the "wrong" name at the wrong restaurant
47. 2000s first family: OBAMAs
48. Alongside of: NEXT TO
49. Academic job security: TENURE
50. Indian spice mix: MASALA - I did not know this; filled via perps
53. Gentle reminder: NUDGE - "shall I phone you or nudge you~?" - but again, couldn't find a link to this line from a scene in a great, underrated, all-star cast movie called "Sneakers"
56. Rotate: SPIN
58. Low poker pair: TWOS - meh. I went with TREY, since when I play cards, it's DEUCES
59. Roof trim: EAVE
60. Hid one's true colors, perhaps: DYED - har-har
62. "It's just no __!": USE
63. Mule kin: ASS - well, that's what you get when you reach the "bottom", I say....
Splynter