Day-O!
The Banana Boat Song
A downs theme grid. C.C. taught me about the pinwheel grid and gridded a down theme for me (I'm not sure it was published).
She's the best.
I wondered why I was pushed to Monday for this grid and, upon reading the byline,.. Sumdaze does it again!
We'll start with the unifier:
37. Head honcho, and a hint to the first word of 3-, 8-, 21-, or 24-Down: TOP BANANA.
The TOP word of each themer starts a BANANA phrase.
3. Features of dress slacks: BELT LOOPS. Banana BELT. Temperate swaths on the planet.
8. Disney pair who live in a big oak tree: CHIP AND DALE. Not the strip joint but wholesome cartoon characters. Banana CHIPs are delicious, sweet, potassium.
21. Fight to the finish: SLUG IT OUT. Banana SLUG - mascot of UC Santa Cruz.
24. Blink of an eye: SPLIT SECOND. Banana SPLIT. An over the top dessert to share w/ your honeybunch.
Across:
1. Credit's opposite: DEBIT. Always use credit; debit cards have little protection against fraud. #PSA
6. Like many an irate text: IN CAPS.
12. Marjoram kin: OREGANO. You'll notice when it's missing in a sauce.
15. Bright flowers native to Mexico: DAHLIAS.
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| (Army) Bro has these in his yard |
17. Came from behind: RALLIED.
18. Do some video game design, say: ANIMATE.
19. On the topic of: AS TO.
20. Quick meeting?: SESH. Session. Kids these days.
22. Freak out: PANIC.
23. In need of a map: LOST.
25. "Copacabana" showgirl: LOLA.
Barry Manilow
27. Southernmost Canadian prov.: ONT. YYZ (Toronto, ONT) is home of RUSH.
28. Couple: DUO.
30. Lima's country: PERU.
32. Geico's business: Abbr.: INS.
34. Gp. that boosts military morale: USO. Paternal Gramps met Grams at a USO dance. She was 6'1" and he was 5'6". They'd giggle telling the story about where his head was when they danced.
35. "Auld __ Syne": LANG.
36. Newspaper bigwig: EDITOR.
40. Coca-Cola alternative: PEPSI.
42. Act immorally: SIN.
44. Aircraft banned in Washington, D.C.: DRONE. Good thing I live in TX. I got my FAA drone license earlier this year. And then, on my first test flight, crashed the damn thing into the side of the garage :-).
45. Like a knockoff purse: ERSATZ. Fun word I learnt at The Corner.
47. "Bye-bye!": TATA.
49. Gp. that boosts school morale: PTA.
50. Agcy. that X-rays bags: TSA.
51. October birthstone: OPAL.
52. Jazz genre: BOP.
53. Detectives like Veronica Mars, for short: PIS. Private Investigators.
56. Light brown shade: ECRU.
58. Land formation on "The Road Runner Show": MESA.
60. Bit of monkey business: ANTIC.
62. "__ girl!": ATTA.
64. Column to the left of a decimal point: ONES.
67. Outerwear that may have anchors on its buttons: PEACOAT.
69. Country band named for its home state: ALABAMA.
71. Group artistically, as flowers: ARRANGE.
72. Backs off: RELENTS.
73. Took care of: TENDED.
74. Rubbish: TRASH.
Down:
1. Bilingual cartoon explorer: DORA.
2. Chapters of history: ERAS.
3. [See: theme]
4. Yeti alternative in the cooler aisle: IGLOO.
5. Mai __: rum drink: TAI.
6. Western state with a panhandle: IDAHO.
7. Grandma, to some: NAN.
8. [See: theme]
9. __ mater: ALMA.
10. Chopin's instrument: PIANO.
11. Glossy fabric: SATIN.
13. AriZona rival: NESTEA.
14. Respectful poem: ODE.
16. Religious splinter group: SECT.
21. [See: theme]
24. [See: theme]
26. Falsehood: LIE.
28. Hoodwink: DUPE.
29. App downloader: USER.
31. Hosp. caretakers: RNS.
33. Knight's title: SIR.
37. [See: Theme]
38. "I'm __ your tricks!": ON TO.
39. Harvest: REAP.
41. Took a chair: SAT.
43. Short sleep: NAP.
46. Efron of "The Greatest Showman": ZAC.
48. Husk-steamed Mexican dish: TAMALE.
53. Bear with a too-big chair: PAPA.
54. Not active: INERT.
55. Look steadily (at): STARE.
57. Gave stars to, say: RATED.
59. Quite serious: SOBER.
61. Volunteer's words: I CAN.
63. Driveway goo: TAR.
65. Life-saving pros: EMTS.
66. Merit badge holder: SASH.
68. Grow older: AGE.
70. PC space bar neighbor: ALT.
The Grid:
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| The Grid |
WOs: N/A
ESP: DAHLIAS
Fav:LOLA alternative...
The Kinks
That's it from me in IL.
Cheers, -T
