Maître d'
Today, let's start with the the reveal:56. Restaurant or theater staffers who work with patrons, or where the starts of 20-, 28-, 36-, and 48-Across can be found?: FRONT OF HOUSE.
The front of house, in restaurant parlance, are the customer-facing staff -- the host, servers, and bartenders. However, in this puzzle, the FRONT of the themers are also things on the FRONT of your HOUSE. Cute, eh?
20. One who is easily awakened: LIGHT SLEEPER. Think: your FRONT porch LIGHT.
28. Alley oops?: GUTTER BALL. Um, OK sure, many houses have GUTTERs.
//and Boomer will appriciate this being called an Alley :-)
36. Aerobic session with a small platform: STEP CLASS. Your FRONT STEPs.
48. Price-slashing event with early hours: DOOR BUSTER. But you get the picture by now...
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| For folks slow on the uptake ;-) |
Across:
1. Wears a long face: POUTS. I know you've heard this one: A horse walks into a bar. The bartender asks, "Why the long face?"
6. Designer Wang known for bridal gowns: VERA.
10. Tears roughly: RIPS.
14. Insider vocabulary: ARGOT. Argot: the jargon or slang of a particular group or class.
15. Lab flunky of cinema: IGOR. "It's Frankenschteen." "Your putting me on."
16. Quod __ demonstrandum: ERAT. Didn't we just have this Friday?
17. Chevy model that shares a name with an alpine lake: TAHOE.
18. Soft drink: SODA. Pop up east and "coke" down south.
19. Constellation in the southern sky also known as the Sails: VELA.
20. [See: Theme]
23. Pierce of "Mamma Mia!": BROSNAN.
26. Better than good: GREAT.
27. Container weight: TARE.
28. [See: Theme]
32. Piques, as an appetite: WHETS.
34. Billion suffix: AIRE.
35. Golf peg: TEE.
36. [See: Theme]
40. NYC summer hrs.: EDT. New York City is on Eastern Daylight Time in the summer.
43. Prefix meaning "both": AMBI. Ha! Cute. ///Think AMBIdextrous.
44. Dark-colored beer: STOUT. I used to brew my own beer. I made a Russian STOUT once. Once.
48. [See: Theme]
52. "Joy of Cooking" writer Rombauer: IRMA.
53. Ancient Greek region: IONIA.
54. Sack with letters: MAIL BAG.
56. [See: Theme]
60. __ of March: IDES. Et tu?
61. Landed on a perch: ALIT.
62. Reference book with maps: ATLAS.
66. "__ kleine Nachtmusik": EINE.
67. Lavish party: FETE.
68. Pioneering gaming company: ATARI.
69. Cincinnati MLB team: REDS.
70. Cheeky talk: SASS.
71. Space object with a tail: COMET.
Down:
1. Butter serving: PAT.
2. "You & I" singer Rita: ORA.
3. "Gross!": UGH.
4. Kits with wrenches and hammers: TOOL SETS.
5. Biergarten mug: STEIN.
6. Four-armed Hindu deity: VISHNU.
7. Four-award acronym: EGOT. Mel Brooks got 'em all. Right?
8. Fishing poles: RODS.
9. Central Asia's North __ Sea: ARAL.
10. Echo effect in a recording studio: REVERB. I know Splynter can do this.
11. "Let me stress ... ": I REPEAT.
12. Light-colored brew: PALE ALE.
13. Take by surprise: STARTLE. So, sorry folks, story follows, I was at a hacker meetup and someone dropped their water bottle. I was STARTLEd. I was told by a lady-hacker that folks that STARTLE easily are empathetic. Is that true?
///I think it's just Army training :-)
21. Practical joke: GAG.
22. Way out: EGRESS.
23. Brief "And another thing ... ": BTW.
24. Sidelines cheer: RAH.
25. Mine output: ORE.
29. Unspoken: TACIT.
30. Shop __ you drop: TIL.
31. Slice of history: ERA.
33. Take a __: try: STABAT.
37. Outback bird: EMU.
38. Airer of Ken Burns documentaries: PBS.
39. High heel: STILETTO.
40. One who bestows wisdom: EDIFIER.
41. Like a last, desperate effort: DO OR DIE.
42. Without success: TO NO END.
45. Poetic globe: ORB.
46. Actress Thurman: UMA.
47. Label: TAG.
49. Hoses off: RINSES.
50. Acts big, so to speak: EMOTES.
51. "Home to India" writer Santha Rama __: RAU.
55. Violinist Stern: ISAAC.
57. Clumsy boobs: OAFS.
58. Pet collar target: FLEA.
59. "Billboard" entries: HITS.
63. Go on the __: skip town: LAM.
64. "__ we good?": ARE.
65. Gain a lap: SIT.
The Grid:
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| The Grid |
My breakdown:
WOs: TOOL boxe (oops), VESHrU
ESPs: BROSNAN (duh!), ISSAC (as clued), VELA (I bet HG knew that at first read!)
Fav: I can't not ignore IGOR
Sorry for the lack of Hahtoolah's comics today, but that's all I got folks. See you on the 18th! Tip your waitstaff.
Cheers, -T
