Puzzling thoughts:
Today's puzzle is a clever POW (play-on-words) that has three spots where the reveal (54-across. Demand from a suspicious bartender, and an apt title for this puzzle: "LET'S SEE SOME ID") is supported:
19-across. Matchmaker who's popular in all 50 states?: AMERICA'S CUPID. Remove the "ID" from this entry and you're left with "AMERICA'S CUP" - the erstwhile popular yacht race
27-across. Barriers on the ocean floor?: DEEP SEA DIVIDERS. Snip the "ID" from this and you have "DEEP SEA DIVERS" - and a SO of sorts to my gorgeous partner, Margaret, who in an earlier life was a certified SCUBA guide
48-across. Tearing the felt while attempting to put spin on the ball, e.g.?: ENGLISH ACCIDENT. Interesting clue; (and for me, a diversion) I believe the clue refers to how you'd apply backspin (aka "ENGLISH") to a cue ball (billiards/pool), but cause an "ACCIDENT" by tearing/ripping the felt from the pool table surface while trying. Here is a short video that shows the proper method for jumping the cue ball. Sorry, I couldn't find an instructor with an ENGLISH ACCENT ...
Today's puzzle is from the LA Times Crossword Puzzle Editor, Patti Varol. Maybe she will stop by to say "hello", and tell us what was her "seed" entry ...
Of course, Chairman Moe loves these kind of puzzles ... and couldn't help but wonder if these were other possible choices that Patti considered (remember to remove the "ID"):
Clue: Straight person who was accepted by their gay friend?: PRIDE APPROVED.
Clue: Fundraisers whose faces are plastered on billboards?: EVIDENT PLANNERS.
Here is the grid, and then on to the other clues/words:
Across:
1. Dexterous: DEFT. Not a word used often, but it fits
5. __+Zoe: fashion brand named for the founder's children: NIC. Perps to the rescue
8. Grills, briefly: BBQS. We just had one of the busiest BBQ days of the year this past Monday
12. Geometric reference line: AXIS. This (note, AXIS showed up this past Tuesday):
13. Former frosh: SOPHS. "Frosh" gave it away - Patti wanted an abbreviation. Freshmen = SOPHOMORES. Frosh is the abbr. of freshmen
15. Prado display: ARTE. Italian word for "art"
16. Small pie: TART. Would the Italian word for this be "tarte"? No, it's "crostada"
17. Prove useful: AVAIL.
18. Lean: LIST. Not lean as in slender; lean as in "tilt" - or when on a cruise liner, "LIST"
22. Credit card fig.: APR. Mo. for filing taxes would also fit as a clue
23. Initials for William or Kate: HRH. His or Her Royal Highness
24. Transcript fig.: GPA. I got mine above a 3.0 in my senior year in college ... after my SOPHomore year it was in the low 2's
33. Record producer Gotti who created the BET series "Tales": IRV. More perps; total unknown to me
34. Scent: ODOR.
35. Travels to an away match?: ELOPES. Sports fans ... "home" teams generally wear white ... so, at an "away" event (in this case, a wedding) would the bride wear gray?
36. Soho stroller: PRAM. Baby buggy in Britain
38. Shaver: LAD. Why is a little LAD called a shaver?
40. "By __!": JOVE. "I think he's GOT it!"
41. Pacific Rim nation: PANAMA. Nice clue mis-direction ... the southern border of PANAMA lies on the Pacific Ocean
44. Pastoral chorus: MOOS.
47. Transgression: SIN.
51. HST successor: DDE. Harry S Truman preceded Dwight D Eisenhower
52. UPC kin: SKU.
53. __ carte: à la. Frawnch. Unlike Splynter (who subbed for Melissa on Wednesday) I spell MY Frawnch without the "e" at the end ... ;^)
61. Texter's hedge: FWIW.
63. Midwest hub: O'HARE.
64. Plus: ALSO.
65. Flow slowly: OOZE.
66. __ friends: FURRY. Cats or dogs - our pets
67. Deck chair piece: SLAT. Found in these: (the wood thingies)
68. Honey bunch: BEES.
69. Counterpart of "thx": PLS.
70. "Lonely Boy" rock band the Black __: KEYS. Perps, again; I did not know this rock band ... I DO know that there are 3 dozen black KEYS on a piano, though
Down:
1. Cellular plan component: DATA. Mine are unlimited
2. Prof's preparation: EXAM. QUIZ could've fit here
3. Marshmallow blackener: FIRE. How do YOU like your toasted marshmallows? My level of "toast":
4. Sandal style: T-STRAP.
5. Bossa __: NOVA. NOVA = "new"
6. Brewpub pours: IPAS. ALES also fits
7. Affectedly elegant: CHI CHI. On Wednesday we had just one "CHI" in the puzzle (Tae CHI). Today we get two CHI's. With the phrase "CHI CHI", though, you gotta be careful when using the plural term (CHICHIs) in certain Latin American countries ... CHICHIs is the slang term for breasts
8. Westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands: BALI. Another SO to my beautiful partner Margaret ... she lived in BALI back in the early part of the 21st Century in UBUD
9. Yoga backbend also called Setu Bandha Sarvangasana: BRIDGE POSE. This filled with perps, but the word "POSE" was easily sussed ... a bit of a nit here ... the letters "ID" are also found in this entry ... but to my knowledge, there is no such thing as "BRGE POSE" ... I guess the editor let Patti get away with this one ... ;^)
10. Liq. measures: QTS.
11. Firm: SET.
13. Revered: SACRED.
14. Hybrid breaking pitch: SLURVE. A Major League Baseball term
20. __ facto: IPSO. [Wikipedia] "IPSO facto is a Latin phrase, directly translated as "by the fact itself", which means that a specific phenomenon is a direct consequence, a resultant effect, of the action in question, instead of being brought about by a previous action. It is a term of art used in philosophy, law, and science. A CSO to all of our resident lawyers here
21. Genesis name: PHIL. I kept thinking of ESAU, ADAM, CAIN, ABEL, et al ... until it dawned on me ... GENESIS is a name of a rock group, and PHIL Collins was their drummer and lead singer ... clever
25. Musician Andre with four Oscars and 11 Grammys: PREVIN. [Wikipedia] "André George PREVIN (KBE) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved success, and the latter two were part of his life until the end. In movies, he arranged and composed music"
26. Approval: ASSENT. OK!
27. Went down a bit: DIPPED. "Tobacco" related clues are generally not allowed, so we wouldn't have seen "sampled some SKOAL" for this ... but it works!
28. Gofer trip: ERRAND.
29. Preach: EVANGELIZE. This one took me a few stabs before filling in. This word is not a first-timer, but it rarely appears in xword puzzles
30. Classic ISP: AOL. Oddly I was never an AOL user
31. Gossip fodder: DRAMA. Meh; but on Friday there needs to be more clues that are vague. Which also applies to a similar clue today: (49-down. Keep from spreading:) HUSH UP.
32. Org. headquartered at the RFK Building in D.C.: D.O.J.. Department Of Justice
37. Lousy start?: MAL. A CSO to my co-Friday blogger, MALodorous Manatee
39. OB or GYN: DOC. If the clue had been OB AND GYN the answer would be DRS
42. Fine spray: MIST. I use a MISTing spray device on my patio here in AZ ... it helps
43. Requests from: ASKS OF.
45. Sean whose first play debuted at the Abbey Theatre: O'CASEY. Another one solved via perps. [Wikipedia] "Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes"
46. Dairyland structure: SILO. Wisconsin skyscrapers
50. Fabric named for an Asian capital: DAMASK. [schumaker dot com] "DAMASK gets its name from the ancient Syrian city of Damascus and is one of the five basic weaving techniques from early Middle Ages-era Byzantium and the Middle East. Historians have pinpointed damask's origins to Tang Dynasty China, circa 300BCE (Asia reference)
55. Some sheep: EWES. RAMS also fits
56. Bluegrass legend Scruggs: EARL.
57. Isn't perfect: ERRS.
58. Actress Fanning: ELLE.
59. "My stars!": "I SAY".
60. Ellipsis trio: DOTS. A CSO to yours truly ... the "master" of the three DOTS ... found ad nauseum in Chairman Moe's blogs ...
61. Electric key: FOB. [businessnewsdaily] "A key FOB is a physical device small enough to attach to a keychain that opens or unlocks doors electronically. A mainstay of keyless electronic door lock systems, the key fob has gone through many iterations since its inception in 1983." So now you know that the electric key FOB has been around for 40 years!
62. Heartache: WOE. WOE is you ... no Moe-kus today :-( ... but LOTS of ellipsises ...
Despite the few unknowns (clues/words) this one filled fairly easily. The theme and entries weren't too difficult. So, in keeping with my MOES [sic] Hardness Scale rating ... (and since our editor's first name begins with "P" and ends with an "I") I will give this a 3.14159265359 ... see you in a couple weeks ... please offer your thoughts and comments below ...
