Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a puzzle co-constructed by a couple of extemely talented folks - and you know them both very well: CC and Renee (sumdaze). Brava!
It did not take long for this solver to figure out that something out of the ordinary was going on with the themers because, as they filled in, not a single one of them even began to make sense. Not only in the way of answers, but in any sense. Complete gibberish. Could this puzzle really be that bass-ackwards? Well, as it turns out, yes. The reveal at 61 Across helped to sort things out:
61 Across: Classic film with a time-traveling DeLorean, and an apt description of 17-, 24-, 38-, and 52-Across: BACK TO THE FUTURE.
Ah ha! "On The Horizon", which was used as the clue for every themed-answer (repetition seems to be a recurring motif in this puzzle's clues)was meant to be taken as "in the future". And the use of the word BACK in the reveal tipped us off that we might want to look at the emerging answers backwards. With these bits of enlightenment the perps, read right to left, began to reveal the answers. Eventually, the correct responses all fully emerged.
To wit:
17 Across: On the horizon: RENROCEHTDNUORA - - - > AROUND THE CORNER Pete Seeger and The Weavers give a more literal example.
Early 1950's
24 Across: On the horizon: NOOSYADEMOS - - - > SOMEDAY SOON Judy Collins will illustrate its usage.
Smothers Brothers Show - 1969
38 Across: On the horizon: EMOCOTTEY - - - > YET TO COME As in "The Best is Yet to Come"
Frank Sinatra
52 Across: On the horizon: ESRUOCEUDNI - - - > IN DUE COURSE continuing with the "dinosaur" motif . . .
This is how it all looks in the grid:
.... and now for the rest of the story:
Across:
1. Golfer's vehicle: CART.
5. Lingerie purchases: BRAS. Repetition seems to be a recurring motif in this puzzle's clues.
9. Lingerie purchase: SLIP. Repetition seems to be a recurring motif in this puzzle's clues.
13. 21-Across in Spain: AGUA. and
21. 13-Across in France: EAU.
Both AGUA and EAU, in English, mean water. Clever. A Spanish clue for a French answer and vice versa.
14. __ Raton, Florida: BOCA. I have always wondered how a town named Mouse Mouth could be deemed to be a desireable place to reside.
15. Buenos __: AIRES. A geography reference. Neither buenos DIAS nor buenos NOCHES was going to fit in any event.
20. Permit: ALLOW. Used as a verb. As in Please ALLOW me . . .
the Jagger clip
was too long
22. Zip: NIL. Nothing.
23. Spy-fi org.: CIA. Interesting clue in that the CIA exists in the real world and is not merely a staple of spy fiction. Of course, CIA does often appear in works of fiction. KAOS or SMERSH, for example, would be Spy-fi (fiction) only organizations.
29. Counter attacker: ANT. Cute. Not a counterattack. Something that attacks food items left on your kitchen counter.
30. Oft-redacted fig.: SSN. Social Security Number
31. Burrito option: ASADA. Repetition seems to be a recurring motif in this puzzle's clues. For those among you who may be unfamiliar with certain aspects of Mexican food, ASADA is grilled, sliced meat.
32. "I've __ better": SEEN. Close enough:
34. Mouth pieces?: LIPS. Not as in the colloquial for attorney. Literally, pieces of mouths. Labios de boca de raton?
37. Hosp. caregivers: LPNS.
41. Fish tacos fish, familiarly: MAHI. A missed opportunity for repetition 😄
43. Foil kin: EPEE. Not a Reynolds Wrap reference.
44. Wound covering: SCAB. Today's "let's skip the image" moment.
48. One of five competitive figure skating disciplines: PAIRS. Men's Singles, Women's Singles, PAIRS, Ice Dancing, Synchronized Skating.
49. Grilled fish in kabayaki: EEL. I was not familiar with kabayaki beforenI solved this puzzle but the answer easily perp'd. It turns out that kabayaki is aka EEL sauce and, of course, kabayaki appeared in last Sunday's NYT puzzle. Learning new stuff is one reason we all enjoy puzzling.
51. In the style of: A LA. A LA Mode. A LA carte. A LA King.
56. "Miracle Workers" channel: TBS.
57. Fed. health law: ACA.
58. "I knew it!": HAH. Something that someone might say. See?
59. Lessens: EASES.
66. Cookies with a Sour Patch Kids flavor: OREOS. How do I clue thee? Let me count the ways.
67. Mystical glow: AURA.
68. Fielder's need: MITT. A baseball MITT.
69. Mangyshlak Peninsula's continent: ASIA. This solver was not familiar with Mangyshlak but it sounded ASIAn and the answer was quickly perep'd. The Mangyshlak Peninsula is located in western Kazakstan. All you'd like to know: Mangyshlak Peninsula
70. More __ meets the eye: THAN.
71. 64-Down, for one: STAT. STATisitc
Down:
1. Capital city with BolÃvar Square: CARACAS. Venezuela.
2. Botox target: AGE LINE. WRINKLE had the right number of letters.
3. Go long?: RUN LATE. Not a football reference. As in the event ran long (did not finish in it's originally allotted time)
4. Root in the Hawaiian dessert kulolo: TARO. If it's a root it's very often TARO.
5. Television network created by royal charter: BBC. No abbreviations in the clue. The "royal" bit was the tip off.
6. Sushi topper: ROE.
7. Feels sore: ACHES. Did you hear about the students complaining of aches and fatigue when they did math homework? They're calling it fibromyalgebra.
8. Thai skewers: SATAY. What is the best type of food to eat while wearing a suit? Thai food.
9. Japanese title of respect: SAN.
10. Actor Simu: LIU. Simu LIU is the first Asian lead in a Marvel movie, a sitcom star, a memoir writer and a Ken doll in "Barbie".
11. Big name in endurance events: IRONMAN. Triathlon. Swim, bike, run.
12. Stretches: PERIODS. Not something you do pre-workout. PERIODS of time.
16. Burrito option: SALSA. Repetition seems to be a recurring motif in this puzzle. You can put the SALSA (sauce) on your carne ASADA.
18. Doesn't rent: OWNS. My friend OWNS a pen that can write under water. It can write other words, too.
19. "Radical Optimism" singer __ Lipa: DUA. A frequent visitor these days.
25. Northern European capital: OSLO. Frequently visited.
26. In reserve: ON ICE. As in keeping something ON ICE in case that it is needed in the future.
27. Valley: DALE. Over hill, over DALE, as we hit the dusty trail . . .
33. Indira Gandhi's father: NEHRU. Significant figures in the history of India.
35. Soda: POP.
36. Trusty horse: STEED. We had a government-employed doctor in our area who was half STEED and half man. We called him the centaur for disease control.
39. Japanese soup: MISO. The waitperson at my local soup restaurant recently greeted us with "Chowder you all doing today? MISO sorry for the puns. What can I get phở you folks today?"
40. Suffix with ump-: TEEN. IRE was too short.
41. Lash lengthener: MASCARA.
42. Decorated fighter pilots: AIR ACES.
45. Form-fitting garment: CATSUIT.
46. Columbia Icefield province: ALBERTA. Canada.
Photo By MM (many moons ago)
47. Angela of "9-1-1": BASSETT. An actress. One T is the hound.
48. Soul singer Bryson: PEABO. An occasional, if not frequent, visitor.
50. "In __ of gifts ... ": LIEU.
53. Comedian Margaret: CHO.
1993
54. Patronize, as a restaurant: EAT AT. What's a single vowel between friends?
55. Casual agreement: UH HUH. Yup.
60. Devices loaded with cash: ATMS. Oh, cash!
62. Fish in an ornamental pond: KOI. Frequent swimmmers
63. LAX safety team: TSA.
64. Young fig.: ERA. Earned Run Average. A baseball reference. The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitcher in each league.
65. Booster: FAN. This solver is a big FAN of today's puzzle. YMMV.
