Happy Monday, everyone!
Theme: 
Today we have three themed answers. Each begins with a type of HUMBLE ABODE (modest home):
16 Across. Choose as a live-in romantic partner: SHACK UP WITH.
24 Across. Loose frocks with wide bottoms: TENT DRESSES.
38 Across. Count in a marching command: HUT, TWO, THREE, FOUR.
These are tied together with a two-part reveal:
47 Across. With 59-Across, what one might say when entering the starts of 16-, 24-, and 38-Across?: WELCOME TO MY.
59 Across. See 47-Across: HUMBLE ABODE.
These add up to an impressive 59 themed letters!
Sidebar: Do people say "Welcome in" when you enter a shop in your town? I mostly hear it in retail stores but last month the greeter at an art museum said it to me. It always throws me for a bit. Humorist and author David Sedaris in not a fan. In his book The Best of Me, he wrote about going shopping after the Covid lockdown:
The clerk said, "Welcome in". Civilization as we know it ends, but "Welcome in" survives? I realized I should have been grateful everyday I didn't have to hear that.
Across:
1. "Why __ I think of that?": DIDN'T.
6. Word after folk or fairy: TALE. The Dewey Decimal System assigns 398.2 to both folk TALEs and fairy TALEs.
10. PD alert: APB. Police Department and All Points Bulletin
13. Frozen drinks with spoon-straws: ICEES.
14. __ boom: SONIC.
15. Big bucks or the Bucks, for short: MIL. a MILlion dollars or the MILwaukee basketball team
19. New Year's popper: CORK.
20. Fashion designer Anna: SUI. unknown to me
This is her Spring line.
21. Desert watering hole: OASIS.
23. Hosp. areas: ORS. I spent several hours waiting outside of a hospital's Operating Room last Monday. I found a chair next to a window with a view of a beautiful pepper tree. That helped.
27. Med. condition treated by Ritalin: ADHD.
29. Board game played on a map: RISK. I noticed RISK crossed 26-Down RISE.
30. Sleep study subject: APNEA.
32. Foamy lather: SUDS.
34. Winter flakes: SNOW.
41. Letter-shaped beam: I-BAR.
42. Flower holder: VASE.
21. Desert watering hole: OASIS.
23. Hosp. areas: ORS. I spent several hours waiting outside of a hospital's Operating Room last Monday. I found a chair next to a window with a view of a beautiful pepper tree. That helped.
27. Med. condition treated by Ritalin: ADHD.
29. Board game played on a map: RISK. I noticed RISK crossed 26-Down RISE.
30. Sleep study subject: APNEA.
32. Foamy lather: SUDS.
34. Winter flakes: SNOW.
41. Letter-shaped beam: I-BAR.
42. Flower holder: VASE.
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| Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers (1888) Vincent van Gogh more info. |
43. Dorothy nickname: DOTTY.
44. Share a border with: ABUT.
46. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.
52. Fall over: TIP.
55. Simply must: HAS TO.
56. Sundial numeral: III. The II other possibilities were VII and XII.
57. Short skirt: MINI.
58. "Kings & Queens" singer Max: AVA. unknown to me
This is the 2020 song referenced in the clue:
63. Replayed tennis serve: LET.
64. Great Plains Natives: OTOES.
65. "Zip your lip!": CAN IT. Neither of these exhibit good manners.
66. Mag staff managers: EDS. Magazine EDitorS
67. Brewer's oven: OAST.
68. Book report, e.g.: ESSAY.
Down:
63. Replayed tennis serve: LET.
64. Great Plains Natives: OTOES.
65. "Zip your lip!": CAN IT. Neither of these exhibit good manners.
66. Mag staff managers: EDS. Magazine EDitorS
67. Brewer's oven: OAST.
68. Book report, e.g.: ESSAY.
Down:
1. 1970s music genre: DISCO.
2. Blood of the Greek gods: ICHOR. This one was another learning moment for me. Merriam-Webster's first definition is "(noun) a thin watery or blood-tinged discharge". The second definition is "(n0un) an ethereal fluid taking the place of blood in the veins of the ancient Greek gods." The adjectival form is ichorous. I wondered if it was connected to Icarus (the character who flew too close to the sun), but I did not find a connection (in my very brief search).
3. Start of a letter to the North Pole: DEAR SANTA.
4. Head twister: NECK. Fun clue!
6. "Namely ... ": TO WIT.
7. Singer DiFranco: ANI. Today we had SUI, ANI, AVA, and UTA ... but not Uma.
8. Like an amazing party, slangily: LIT.
9. Canyon comebacks: ECHOES.
10. Accumulate: AMASS.
11. Playful sprite: PIXIE.
12. "__ your heart": BLESS.
14. Like a spiderweb: SPUN.
17. Like most donated clothing: USED.
22. Requests: ASKS FOR.
24. Defrost: THAW.
25. Beats Electronics co-founder: DR DRE. AVA sports a pair of this brand of headphones in the 58-Across video.
26. Get out of bed: RISE. ...and shine! 🌞
28. Take away (from): DETRACT.
30. Tuna variety: AHI.
31. Alehouse: PUB.
32. Illinois or California: STATE. Hmmmm, could these be Janice's and Katie's home states?
33. Sounds of uncertainty: UHS.
35. Jottings in the margins: NOTATIONS. article about doodles in medieval margins
36. No longer cool: OUT. The answer was not hot because hot would also be cool.
37. Dryly humorous: WRY.
39. Egg cell: OVUM.
40. Jittery: EDGY.
45. Sarcastic "So sad": BOO-HOO.
46. Parisian friend: AMIE.
47. Ocean giant: WHALE. This video of a mother humpback WHALE and her calf was taken in Monterey Bay last October.
48. Like a roof with an overhang: EAVED.
49. Exams for future attys.: LSATS.
50. Bhutan neighbor: TIBET. and 53-Down. Bhutan neighbor: INDIA.
54. Saintliness: PIETY.
57. Degs. sometimes paid for by corps.: MBAS.
60. Tony Award winner Hagen: UTA. (1919-2004)
61. Mar. and Sept.: MOS. Hmmmm, could these be Janice's and Katie's birthday MOnthS?
62. Low card in gin rummy: ACE.
The grid:
My apologies for the slim pickings today. DH had (crossword favorite) ENT surgery last Monday for a deviated septum. All went well but my priority this past week was to be a good caregiver so I did not have much time for solving, commenting, or blogging. Today I am taking him back to (another crossword favorite) Palo Alto so his doctor can remove the little breathing tubes in his nose -- which I expect will unleash more ICHOR. 😬
Have a good day! I'll read you later....
