Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here with an unambiguous puzzle from constructor Janice Luttrell.
Theme:
1. "Waves of grain" shade: AMBER. This is a reference to the song America the Beautiful.
26. Takes five: RESTS. Take five is an idiomatic phrase meaning to take a break (from work). It loosely refers to five minutes, but who's counting?
32. Greek salad fruit: OLIVE. and 55-Down. Greek salad cheese: FETA.
33. Sheep sounds: BAAS. Here are sheep sounds in other languages (I found these on the internet. Feel free to correct or add to them.):
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| (I hope I get some leeway with this one because we are officially in December now.) |
I'll be straight with you. I zipped through this one easy-peasy. My only correction was changing the final letter in PLAIN CLOTHES from a D to an S when I came across the MOOSE.
Here are the themers...
20 Across. Classic Allen Funt series with practical jokes: CANDID CAMERA. Allen Albert Funt (1914-1999) was an American television producer, director, writer and television personality, best known as the creator and host of Candid Camera from the 1940s to 1980s, as either a regular television show or a television series of specials. Its most notable run was from 1960 to 1967 on CBS. Here is a 1:46 min. clip.
27 Across. Shortest ways to travel: DIRECT ROUTES.
44. Like detectives sporting civvies: PLAIN CLOTHES. 
...and the reveal:
52 Across. "In all honesty, ... " and what the starts of 20-, 27-, and 44-Across might say?: LET ME BE FRANK.
CANDID, DIRECT, and PLAIN can all be FRANK because they are all synonyms for the word FRANK. 
Across:
1. "Waves of grain" shade: AMBER. This is a reference to the song America the Beautiful.
I liked this clue. It gets the puzzle off to a great start.
6. Exam: TEST.
10. Spiral: COIL.
14. Musical pace set by a conductor: TEMPO. and 40-Across. U2 lead singer: BONO.
6. Exam: TEST.
10. Spiral: COIL.
14. Musical pace set by a conductor: TEMPO. and 40-Across. U2 lead singer: BONO.
In the song Vertigo by U2, lead singer BONO sets the TEMPO with "Uno, dos, tres, catorce." (1, 2, 3, 14???)
15. Cuba, por ejemplo: ISLA. Translation: Cuba, for example, is an island. (The official language of Cuba is Spanish.)
16. Maui's scenic __ Highway: HANA. Sometimes called The Road to HANA, this is a 64.4- mile (103.6-km.) drive from Kahului (location of Maui's main airport) to just beyond HANA. They say it has 600 turns.
17. Proverb: MAXIM.
18. Stressfully close game: NAIL BITER. Here's a 1 min. example:
22. Extraterrestrial of 1980s TV: ALF.
25. Word with a maiden name: NÉE. and 48-Down. "Judy" star Zellweger: RENÉE.
15. Cuba, por ejemplo: ISLA. Translation: Cuba, for example, is an island. (The official language of Cuba is Spanish.)
16. Maui's scenic __ Highway: HANA. Sometimes called The Road to HANA, this is a 64.4- mile (103.6-km.) drive from Kahului (location of Maui's main airport) to just beyond HANA. They say it has 600 turns.
17. Proverb: MAXIM.
18. Stressfully close game: NAIL BITER. Here's a 1 min. example:
22. Extraterrestrial of 1980s TV: ALF.
25. Word with a maiden name: NÉE. and 48-Down. "Judy" star Zellweger: RENÉE.
There is an etymological connection. French née is the feminine of né, which means born, and is the past participle of naître (to be born) from the Latin nasci.
So RENÉE is a feminine name of French origin that means "to be reborn" or "born again".
I was named as an homage to my French grandmother but the accent mark was not included.
26. Takes five: RESTS. Take five is an idiomatic phrase meaning to take a break (from work). It loosely refers to five minutes, but who's counting?
32. Greek salad fruit: OLIVE. and 55-Down. Greek salad cheese: FETA.
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| Other common ingredients include cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and green bell pepper. |
33. Sheep sounds: BAAS. Here are sheep sounds in other languages (I found these on the internet. Feel free to correct or add to them.):
34. Beaver creation: DAM. This is a time lapse video of an industrious beaver family building a DAM at Hallam Lake, Colorado (2:55 min.). Keep an eye on the rocks to the right. They start to disappear as the water rises. The video notes say, "Beavers build dams in order to create more swimmable areas in their environment. This becomes very important during the winter months when surface water freezes, and moving on land becomes more difficult."
Nature and the instinctual behaviors of animals are so amazing!
37. Assign stars to: RATE. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
38. Like pet parakeets: CAGED.
41. Prefix with system: ECO-. An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscapes, work together to form a bubble of life.
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| I used to have one of these self-sustaining EcoSpheres. |
42. Greasy: OILY.
43. Tropical fruit: MANGO.
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| What's not to love? |
47. Sandwich slices: BREAD. and 61-Down. Type of 47-Across: RYE.
My favorite Stitch character is Reuben, a.k.a. Experiment 625. He is the last failed prototype of Stitch (Experiment 626) and possesses all of Stitch's powers but prefers to make really good sandwiches.
50. __ Lingus: AER. This airline was founded by the Irish government in 1936. It was privatized between 2006 and 2015 and is now wholly owned by International Airlines Group.
51. Spanish "Bravo!": OLE.
57. Received from an estate: INHERITED.
58. Conclude by reasoning: INFER.
62. Banana covering: PEEL. Apparently monkeys start at the bottom when they PEEL a banana. Does anyone here do it that way?
63. Opposed to: ANTI.
64. Requiring constant validation, perhaps: NEEDY.
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| "Reuben" is a great name for a sandwich aficionado! |
50. __ Lingus: AER. This airline was founded by the Irish government in 1936. It was privatized between 2006 and 2015 and is now wholly owned by International Airlines Group.
51. Spanish "Bravo!": OLE.
57. Received from an estate: INHERITED.
58. Conclude by reasoning: INFER.
62. Banana covering: PEEL. Apparently monkeys start at the bottom when they PEEL a banana. Does anyone here do it that way?
64. Requiring constant validation, perhaps: NEEDY.
65. Blood bank fluids: SERA. SERA and serums are both plural forms of serum.
66. Old car from Sweden: SAAB. General Motors bought out SAAB Automobile in 2000. It went defunct in 2011. Today the Swedish SAAB company is active in defense and security.
(4 min. read)
67. Honking birds: GEESE. Here are GEESE sounds in other languages (I found these on the internet. Feel free to correct or add to them.):
67. Honking birds: GEESE. Here are GEESE sounds in other languages (I found these on the internet. Feel free to correct or add to them.):
1. 24/7 money source: ATM.
2. "Give __ break!": ME A. This one made me think of those old Kit Kat candy bar commercials.
3. Sport with wheelies, for short: BMX. bicycle/bike motocross
4. "Awesome, dude!": EPIC.
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| I thought IM☘ might like that this guy ran out of superlatives. |
5. Genre for novelists Colleen Hoover and Emily Henry: ROMANCE. I shelve a lot of Colleen Hoover books when I volunteer at my library but I am unfamiliar with the second author.
6. Dating app with a flame logo: TINDER.
8. Lost traction: SLID.
9. Mineral no longer used in bath powder: TALC.
10. Wind __: tinklers on porches: CHIMES. In Japan, the sound of a ふうりん, or "wind-bell" has a cooling effect during the hot Japanese summers. I like that a sound can make one feel cooler.
11. Hall's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame partner: OATES. Hall & Oates were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Oates co-wrote this song and is the one playing lead guitar.
12. Chemically inactive: INERT. For example, an INERT gas does not readily undergo chemical reaction with other chemical substances.
13. "__ Theme": "Doctor Zhivago" music: LARAS. Such gorgeous, stirring music -- and fun instruments, too!
19. Exposes: BARES.
21. Pickleball court divider: NET.
22. Think the world of: ADORE.
23. Shrub with lavender flowers: LILAC. I cannot remember if I already shared this. I used to live in an old neighborhood in Colorado with a lot of old LILAC shrubs. I was told that the homes in the area used to have outhouses and the spring-blooming LILACs helped offset the smell when 'things' thawed out.
24. __-Lay snacks: FRITO. Frito-Lay is a subsidiary of PepsiCo. They make all these...and more.
28. New Year's __: EVE. 
29. Reproductive health doc: OB/GYN. Doctor is shortened, so is obstetrics/gynecology.
30. Persian Gulf fed.: UAE. United Arab Emirates
31. Smidgen: TAD.
34. "Tiny Bubbles" singer: DON HO. (1930-2007) Né Donald Tai Lloyd Ho was a Hawaiian entertainer best known for this song, written by Massachusetts-born Leon Pober.
10. Wind __: tinklers on porches: CHIMES. In Japan, the sound of a ふうりん, or "wind-bell" has a cooling effect during the hot Japanese summers. I like that a sound can make one feel cooler.
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| The piece of paper ensures is will make a sound in even the slightest breeze. |
11. Hall's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame partner: OATES. Hall & Oates were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Oates co-wrote this song and is the one playing lead guitar.
Daryl Hall & John Oates ~ I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) ~ 1981
<complete with an 1980s-style sax solo>
The lyrics are said to be about the music business and being pushed around by big labels.
12. Chemically inactive: INERT. For example, an INERT gas does not readily undergo chemical reaction with other chemical substances.
13. "__ Theme": "Doctor Zhivago" music: LARAS. Such gorgeous, stirring music -- and fun instruments, too!
19. Exposes: BARES.
21. Pickleball court divider: NET.
22. Think the world of: ADORE.
23. Shrub with lavender flowers: LILAC. I cannot remember if I already shared this. I used to live in an old neighborhood in Colorado with a lot of old LILAC shrubs. I was told that the homes in the area used to have outhouses and the spring-blooming LILACs helped offset the smell when 'things' thawed out.
24. __-Lay snacks: FRITO. Frito-Lay is a subsidiary of PepsiCo. They make all these...and more.
29. Reproductive health doc: OB/GYN. Doctor is shortened, so is obstetrics/gynecology.
30. Persian Gulf fed.: UAE. United Arab Emirates
31. Smidgen: TAD.
34. "Tiny Bubbles" singer: DON HO. (1930-2007) Né Donald Tai Lloyd Ho was a Hawaiian entertainer best known for this song, written by Massachusetts-born Leon Pober.
35. __ hair pasta: ANGEL. Probably not a first choice for people with trichophobia.
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| It's fine (like one might imagine an angel's hair to be) so you only need to boil it for 3-4 minutes. |
38. Spy org.: CIA.
39. Boxer Muhammad: ALI.
40. Baseball club: BAT. Perhaps a bit of misdirection here, sending some solvers toward searching for three-letter abbreviations for names of MBA teams (clubs).
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| SLC atop a BAT |
42. More mature: OLDER. For a fruit fly, that would be 40-50 days. Age really is relative.
43. Break of day: MORNING. Sunrise here today is not until 7:02 a.m. Oof!
44. Anderson of "Baywatch": PAMELA.
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| Pamela played C.J. Parker for five seasons (1992-97) on the TV series, Baywatch. |
45. "Invasion of Privacy" rapper: CARDI B.
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| Cardi B is a 32-year old American rapper. She is married to Offset. #H-Gary'sShrugEmoticon |
46. __ & Perrins steak sauce: LEA. Lea & Perrins is in Worcester, England and is best known as the producer of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce. It is a United Kingdom-based subsidiary of Kraft Heinz (an American company).
47. Radar screen flashes: BLIPS.
49. Bygone anesthetic: ETHER.
53. Objectivity spoiler: BIAS.
54. Sicilian volcano: ETNA. Speaking of Italian volcanos, did you happen to read this recent news story about DNA and Pompeii?
56. Leg joint: KNEE. We use our KNEEs to kneel.
59. Service charge: FEE.
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| This comic isn't that funny because it is probably true.... |
60. Magazine VIPs: EDS. Editors are very important people in the magazine world.
I will be forthcoming with today's grid:
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| All four of the themed entries have 12 letters. |
Outspoken readers are welcome to join the comments below...
