Theme - The opposite of hanging by a thread. To explain, let's start with the unifier.
10 D. Remain uncertain until the very end, and what the answers to the starred clues do?: GO DOWN TO THE WIRE. As explained by the clue, there's some question how things may turn out. This term comes from horseracing, where it was long the practice to stretch a wire across and above the track at the finish line. It was extended to figurative use about 1900. A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Let's see how that is relevant to the other clues. The theme entries are all vertical, so the use of "DOWN" in the unifier clue is key.
3 D. *"You should be ashamed!": THATS DESPICABLE. Said to someone who did something beyond the pale. Real life incidents of this sort are plentiful. There are different types of CABLES, but some types are wires used as electrical or communications connections. So we can see that the vertical fill does, indeed, go down to the WIRE. Pretty clever, eh!
5 D. *Ability to show restraint: SELF DISCIPLINE. This is the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses. As an executive function, it is a cognitive process that is necessary for regulating one's behavior in order to achieve specific goals. A LINE is a length of cord, rope, wire, or other material serving a particular purpose.
15 D. *Recent entry in Guinness, say: NEW WORLD RECORD. This is the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. A CORD is a thin, flexible string or rope made from several twisted strands.
Hi Gang - JazzBumpa here to unravel the skein. Each theme fill ends in a synonym or near synonym for a WIRE. This is an extremely clever hidden word them, and a nut I had to get some help to crack. So thanks to my fellow blogger for the assistance.
Let's get down to it and see what other paths we will be led down.
1. Address letters: HTTP. Hyper Text Transfer Protocol - The beginning of an Internet web address.
5. Skyrocket: SOAR. Here, "skyrocket" is a verb meaning to fly high.
9. Old-timey "OMG!": EGAD. This is a softened oath, dating from the late 1600's, probably derived from "Oh, GOD!"
13. "Fancy seeing you here!": OH - HI. One of my long ago work colleagues told the story of his brother who was walking through a shopping mall holding hands with his girl friend, when his wife came walking in the other direction. This is what he said.
14. Disgraced energy firm: ENRON. The corporation, founded in 1985, engaged in massive fraud, and got away with it for years. This house of cards came tumbling down from 2000 to 2001. You can read all about it here.
16. Zigzagged: WOVE. Moved in a side to side forward motion.
17. Ring loudly: PEAL. As a bell.
18. Do not disturb: LET BE. Leave it alone.
19. Barbara who played a TV genie: EDEN. Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970). IIRC, Jeannie's belly button was always covered.
20. Trip, as an alarm: SET OFF. Actuate.
22. Cry of pain: YOWL. Owie!
24. Goblin kin: ORC. Tolkien monters. Here is more info, if you're that kind of nerd. [Full disclosure - I am.]
25. Simple earrings: STUDS. A stud earring features a gemstone or other ornament mounted on a narrow post that passes through a piercing in the ear or earlobe, and is held in place by a fixture on the other side.
27. Number of players in a chess game: TWO.
28. Cry from a crib: WAH. Baby's complaint.
Alternatively
29. Say further: ADD. Tell us more.
31. Problems picky people pick: NITS. Little issues of little import.
33. Outstanding: OWING. As an unpaid debt.
35. Word after film and before cut: CREW. A film CREW is a group of people working off camera to make a motion picture, such as the producer, camera operators, stage managers, etc. A CREW cut is a type of haircut in which the upright hair on the top of the head is cut relatively short, graduated in length from the longest hair that forms a short pomp (pompadour) at the front hairline to the shortest at the back of the crown so that in side profile the outline of the top hair approaches the horizontal.
37. Energy option involving roof panels: SOLAR. Solar power works by converting energy from the sun into power. There are two forms of energy generated from the sun for our use – electricity and heat. Both are generated through the use of solar panels, which range in size from residential rooftops to 'solar farms' stretching over acres of rural land.
39. Branch out (from): STEM. To derive from some origin.
41. Steep-walled formation: MESA. Also known and table land. Mesa is the Spanish word for table.
42. Move at a snail's pace: CRAWL. Literally, move forward on the hands and knees or by dragging the body close to the ground. Figuratively, move forward or make progress very slowly.
43. Personal charisma: MOJO. Literally, a magic charm, talisman, or spell. Figuratively, a powerful personality.
44. "College GameDay" network: ESPN. Originally, in 1979, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, shortened to ESPN in 1985.
Alternatively
45. "That makes my blood boil!": I'M MAD. Expression of anger.
46. Word to opt out of a text subscription: STOP. Unless it's ignored.
47. Ab-crunching exercise: SIT UP. The last time this came up in a puzzle I blogged, I pointed out that it is a worthless, and potentially harmful exercise. I got some push back. I guess anything can be a controversy. Anyway, here it is again.
49. Many a retired racehorse: SIRE. Used to produce the next generation of horses from a valuable blood line.
51. Snicker syllable: HEE. Along with TEE. Comic book laughter.
52. PC panic key: ESC. On computer keyboards, the Esc key (named Escape key in the international standard series ISO/IEC 9995) is a key used to generate the escape character (which can be represented as ASCII code 27 in decimal, Unicode U+001B, or Ctrl+[). The escape character, when sent from the keyboard to a computer, often is interpreted by software as "stop"
53. Org. for Twins: MLB. The Minnesota Twins team of Major League Baseball.
55. Poke fun at: TEASE. Have fun at someone's expense. Often not nice.
57. "I knew it!": AHA. Syllable of recognition or enlightenment.
58. Spot to fish from: PIER. A platform supported on pillars or girders leading out from the shore into a body of water, used as a landing stage for boats.
60. Stands too close to: CROWDS. Violates one's personal space.
63. Cries noisily: SOBS. Nobody looks good doing it.
51. Snicker syllable: HEE. Along with TEE. Comic book laughter.
52. PC panic key: ESC. On computer keyboards, the Esc key (named Escape key in the international standard series ISO/IEC 9995) is a key used to generate the escape character (which can be represented as ASCII code 27 in decimal, Unicode U+001B, or Ctrl+[). The escape character, when sent from the keyboard to a computer, often is interpreted by software as "stop"
53. Org. for Twins: MLB. The Minnesota Twins team of Major League Baseball.
55. Poke fun at: TEASE. Have fun at someone's expense. Often not nice.
57. "I knew it!": AHA. Syllable of recognition or enlightenment.
58. Spot to fish from: PIER. A platform supported on pillars or girders leading out from the shore into a body of water, used as a landing stage for boats.
60. Stands too close to: CROWDS. Violates one's personal space.
63. Cries noisily: SOBS. Nobody looks good doing it.
65. "Super cool!": NEATO. That's rad, man!
67. Quite urgent: DIRE. Extremely serious or urgent, possibly dangerous.
68. App with crowdsourced reviews: YELP. Yelp Inc. is an American company that develops the Yelp.com website and the Yelp mobile app, which publishes crowd-sourced reviews about businesses. It also operates Yelp Guest Manager, a table reservation service. It is headquartered in San Francisco,
69. Diamond flaw?: ERROR. Not a mar in a gemstone, but a misplay on a baseball field - usually misplaying a batted or thrown ball or throwing inaccurately.
70. Neck of the woods: AREA. Nearby region.
71. Cruising, say: ASEA. On a ship. Our oldest granddaughter is wrapping up her third gig entertaining on a Disney Cruise Ship. This time she got to dance on the main stage.
72. __ money: startup funds: SEED. Money allocated to initiate a project.
73. Stitched together: SEWN. Attached by using thread and needle.
Down:
1. Short flights: HOPS. Boing!
2. "Beautiful Mistakes" rapper Megan __ Stallion: THEE. Megan Jovon Ruth Pete [b. 1995] known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper. Originally from Houston, Texas, she first garnered attention when videos of her freestyling became popular on social media platforms such as Instagram.
4. Flight school graduate: PILOT. One in control of an aircraft.
6. Undivided: ONE. Unified.
7. Pseudo-sophisticated: ARTY. Making a strong, affected, or pretentious display of being artistic or interested in the arts.
8. High-tech worker: ROBOT. A machine that does a job formerly done by a person.
9. Farm female: EWE. Lady sheep.
11. Everyman: AVERAGE JOE. Typical guy, man on the street.
12. Judi who plays Queen Victoria in "Mrs Brown" and "Victoria & Abdul": DENCH. Dame Judith Olivia Dench [b. 1934] is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage. Inexplicably, she also wound up in this thing.
21. Amusing: FUN. Providing mirth and/or enjoyment.
23. Blue: LOW. Sad. possibly prone to sobbing.
26. Seattle's WNBA team: STORM. The Seattle Storm is an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerley and her husband Barry ahead of the 2000 season.
29. Highest point: ACME. Apex.
30. Formal footwear: DRESS SHOES.
32. Shuts with a bang: SLAMS. A forceful exit, perhaps.
34. Philosophies, informally: ISMS. Belief systems.
36. Have a yen for: WANT. Desire something. Alternatively - I thought about going to Japan, but didn't have the yen to travel.
38. Look for: AWAIT. Anticipate.
40. Have the blues: MOPE. Be blue or low.
48. Ballpark figure?: UMP. Not a statistic. Short for umpire - a person with no clear idea of where the strike zone is located.
50. Musician's gift: EAR. Melodic ability.
52. GPA booster: EASY A. A class that is not challenging.
54. Stout and porter: BEERS. Beer varieties.
56. Cola and ginger ale: SODAS. Carbonated soft drinks.
59. Red in the center: RARE. As cooked beef.
61. Did some doodling: DREW. Made random sketches.
62. Actor Gunn who plays Kraglin in the MCU: SEAN. Sean Gunn [b. 1974] is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Kirk Gleason on The WB series Gilmore Girls, and Kraglin Obfonteri in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
64. Hot tub: SPA. A large tub filled with hot aerated water used for recreation or physical therapy.
66. Stubbing victim: TOE. Any of the five digits at the end of the human foot. They exist to locate furniture in dark rooms.
A lot of puzzles have their ups and downs. This one was mostly down - in a good way. It didn't let us down, and I'm down with that.
Cool Regards!
JzB
