Theme: Wacky Business Slogans. In each theme answer (all phrasal verbs in *ing + adv format), a pun is made about a type of business or job activity. No unifier clue.
17. "So I hear your job as exercise class instructor is __": WORKING OUT.
29. "So I hear your job as a burlesque dancer is __": TAKING OFF.
46. "So I hear your trash removal business is __": PICKING UP.
62. "So I hear your scuba diving business is __": GOING UNDER.
This was kind of fun. I couldn't find one, but there must be a name for these, right? I hear running your muffler business is exhausting. I hear the awning business is kind of shady. I hear the window business is kind of a pain. I hear that sod farm salesmen are easy to get a lawn with.
And the rest:
ACROSS:
1. Thread bearer: SPOOL.
6. Classic name in shoes: MCAN. Thom. Now owned by CVS/Caremark but sold at Kmart (which is owned by Sears) and Wal-mart.
10. Dressed: CLAD. Past participle of clothe.
14. Aquarium concern: ALGAE.
15. Fabled craft: ARGO. Jason and the Argonauts.
16. Old: YORE. Related word: year.
19. Word with belly or blast: BEER. Cerveza, (spanish for beer), sounds so much more refined, doesn't it?
20. "Forget it, comrade!": NYET.
21. Ancient Andean: INCA. From Quechea: "lord, king." Technically, only of the high Inca, but it was used widely for "man of royal blood."
22. Davenport shopper, probably: IOWAN. Right across the river from Moline, Illinois. There are also cities named "Couch" in TX, FL, WV, and MO.
23. Artist Magritte: RENE. Surrealist.
25. Branch honcho: Abbr.: MGR. Manager, as in a bank.
26. Pops (out): FLIES. Baseball?
35. Choice: SELECT. Used in the sense of "quality" (select cuts of meat), not the sense of "option" as it appears, because that would have to be "selection".
37. Big, outmoded piece of equipment: DINOSAUR.
38. Paris pronoun: TOI. You.
39. Accountant, at times: AUDITOR. From Latin, "a hearer", related to audience, "a hearing". Auditing was formerly done and vouched for orally.
41. Airport safety org.: TSA. Transportation Security Administration.
42. Carousing: ON A SPREE. Likely from French esprit, lively.
44. Shiny fabric: SATEEN.
48. Revenge seekers in a 1984 film: NERDS.
49. Dollar sign shape: ESS.
50. Baltic resident: LETT. Of Latvia. The other Baltic states are Lithuania and Estonia.
52. Early afternoon hr.: ONE PM.
55. Disease attacker: DRUG.
57. Helps out: AIDS.
61. Demagogue's delivery: RANT.
64. Wine region south of the Matterhorn: ASTI.
65. "Got it, Daddy-o!": I DIG. Peter, Paul, and Mary.
66. Party person: GUEST.
67. DEA agent: NARC. Because NARCO was too long an abbreviation for narcotics agent.
68. Frosty's button: NOSE. With a corncob pipe and a button nose...
69. Honshu city: OSAKA.
DOWN:
1. Felled, in a way: SAWN.
2. Queen sacrifice in chess, e.g.: PLOY.
3. Shrek or Fiona: OGRE.
4. Yellow ribbon site of song: OAK TREE. Obligatory link.
5. Island welcome: LEI.
6. Lodestone: MAGNET. From Greek Magnes lithos (Magnesian stone). Magnesia, region of Thessaly where magnetized ore was obtained.
7. Hook nemesis, for short: CROC. Characters in Peter Pan.
8. Monterrey water: AGUA. Spanish.
9. "__ a chance!": NOT.
10. Bionic beings: CYBORGS. Portmanteau of "cybernetic organism" could explain how this is possible.
11. MGM co-founder: LOEW. Marcus. On November 3, 2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
12. Field of expertise: AREA.
13. "Coming Home" actor: DERN. Bruce. OK, now I recognize who this is.... He always seemed to play the nut-job character.
18. "Delta of Venus" author: NIN. Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell
22. "Everybody is __, only on different subjects": Will Rogers: IGNORANT. I never read a Will Rogers quote I didn't like.
24. Watching "Avatar," say: ESCAPISM. The blue guy (Sam Worthington) without makeup.
25. Cretan king of myth: MINOS.
26. SLR setting: F-STOP. Single Lens Reflex (camera). The F-number indicates "speed". The larger the number, the longer you need for exposure. An F number twice as large as another one takes four times as long to get enough light.
27. Téa of "Spanglish": LEONI.
28. Of a pelvic bone: ILIAC.
30. Gascony good-bye: ADIEU. Gascony, France.
31. Caboodle partner: KIT. The whole thing, tools and possessions. Likely why we have the word "oodles".
32. Lash LaRue film, e.g.: OATER. Alfred (Lash) Larue, a Western film star in the 40s and 50s. He was very skilled with a bull whip, thus "Lash".
33. Joined by melting: FUSED. Parts is parts, Wendy's commercial. Fused at about :23 in.
34. Artist __ Hals: FRANS. Dutch Golden Age painter, mostly portraits.
36. Parts of directions: TURNS. Google maps makes a funny at the driving directions for step 17 of this route. You need to scroll down to see it.
40. MBA, for one: DEG. Master of Business degree.
43. One looking askance: SKEPTIC. "Skeptic does not mean him who doubts, but him who investigates or researches as opposed to him who asserts and thinks that he has found." [Miguel de Unamuno, "Essays and Soliloquies," 1924]
45. Lockjaw: TETANUS. More properly, trismus, which can be caused by tetanus, but also by MDMA, Meth, Ritalin, radiation therapy, infection, anesthesia, needle prick, several other diseases and drugs.
47. Drop dramatically: PLUNGE. Like a neckline.
51. Breakfast fare: EGG. Only humans habitually eat specifically designated foods at different times of the day.
52. Algerian port: ORAN. Across from Spain.
53. Apollo 13 gp.: NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
54. __'acte: ENTR. Between the acts, as during a play. Could be an intermission or just an interlude piece of music.
55. Bygone bird: DODO. Another shout-out to our bloggers?
56. Teddy Roosevelt biographer: RIIS. Jacob. A Danish American social reformer, muckraking journalist, and documentary photographer. Was dedicated to helping the impoverished in NY City.
58. "I have an __!": IDEA.
59. Student's spot: DESK.
60. Arg. miss: SRTA. Argentina, senorita.
62. Cry while showing one's cards: GIN. Rummy.
63. Actor Tognazzi: UGO. I'm not sure a crossword answer gets any more obscure than this, an Italian actor. The only movie I recognized was La cage aux folles, but he was in a lot of films.
Answer Grid.
Al
17. "So I hear your job as exercise class instructor is __": WORKING OUT.
29. "So I hear your job as a burlesque dancer is __": TAKING OFF.
46. "So I hear your trash removal business is __": PICKING UP.
62. "So I hear your scuba diving business is __": GOING UNDER.
This was kind of fun. I couldn't find one, but there must be a name for these, right? I hear running your muffler business is exhausting. I hear the awning business is kind of shady. I hear the window business is kind of a pain. I hear that sod farm salesmen are easy to get a lawn with.
And the rest:
ACROSS:
1. Thread bearer: SPOOL.
6. Classic name in shoes: MCAN. Thom. Now owned by CVS/Caremark but sold at Kmart (which is owned by Sears) and Wal-mart.
10. Dressed: CLAD. Past participle of clothe.
14. Aquarium concern: ALGAE.
15. Fabled craft: ARGO. Jason and the Argonauts.
16. Old: YORE. Related word: year.
19. Word with belly or blast: BEER. Cerveza, (spanish for beer), sounds so much more refined, doesn't it?
20. "Forget it, comrade!": NYET.
21. Ancient Andean: INCA. From Quechea: "lord, king." Technically, only of the high Inca, but it was used widely for "man of royal blood."
22. Davenport shopper, probably: IOWAN. Right across the river from Moline, Illinois. There are also cities named "Couch" in TX, FL, WV, and MO.
23. Artist Magritte: RENE. Surrealist.
25. Branch honcho: Abbr.: MGR. Manager, as in a bank.
26. Pops (out): FLIES. Baseball?
35. Choice: SELECT. Used in the sense of "quality" (select cuts of meat), not the sense of "option" as it appears, because that would have to be "selection".
37. Big, outmoded piece of equipment: DINOSAUR.
38. Paris pronoun: TOI. You.
39. Accountant, at times: AUDITOR. From Latin, "a hearer", related to audience, "a hearing". Auditing was formerly done and vouched for orally.
41. Airport safety org.: TSA. Transportation Security Administration.
42. Carousing: ON A SPREE. Likely from French esprit, lively.
44. Shiny fabric: SATEEN.
48. Revenge seekers in a 1984 film: NERDS.
49. Dollar sign shape: ESS.
50. Baltic resident: LETT. Of Latvia. The other Baltic states are Lithuania and Estonia.
52. Early afternoon hr.: ONE PM.
55. Disease attacker: DRUG.
57. Helps out: AIDS.
61. Demagogue's delivery: RANT.
64. Wine region south of the Matterhorn: ASTI.
65. "Got it, Daddy-o!": I DIG. Peter, Paul, and Mary.
66. Party person: GUEST.
67. DEA agent: NARC. Because NARCO was too long an abbreviation for narcotics agent.
68. Frosty's button: NOSE. With a corncob pipe and a button nose...
69. Honshu city: OSAKA.
DOWN:
1. Felled, in a way: SAWN.
2. Queen sacrifice in chess, e.g.: PLOY.
3. Shrek or Fiona: OGRE.
4. Yellow ribbon site of song: OAK TREE. Obligatory link.
5. Island welcome: LEI.
6. Lodestone: MAGNET. From Greek Magnes lithos (Magnesian stone). Magnesia, region of Thessaly where magnetized ore was obtained.
7. Hook nemesis, for short: CROC. Characters in Peter Pan.
8. Monterrey water: AGUA. Spanish.
9. "__ a chance!": NOT.
10. Bionic beings: CYBORGS. Portmanteau of "cybernetic organism" could explain how this is possible.
11. MGM co-founder: LOEW. Marcus. On November 3, 2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
12. Field of expertise: AREA.
13. "Coming Home" actor: DERN. Bruce. OK, now I recognize who this is.... He always seemed to play the nut-job character.
18. "Delta of Venus" author: NIN. Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell
22. "Everybody is __, only on different subjects": Will Rogers: IGNORANT. I never read a Will Rogers quote I didn't like.
24. Watching "Avatar," say: ESCAPISM. The blue guy (Sam Worthington) without makeup.
25. Cretan king of myth: MINOS.
26. SLR setting: F-STOP. Single Lens Reflex (camera). The F-number indicates "speed". The larger the number, the longer you need for exposure. An F number twice as large as another one takes four times as long to get enough light.
27. Téa of "Spanglish": LEONI.
28. Of a pelvic bone: ILIAC.
30. Gascony good-bye: ADIEU. Gascony, France.
31. Caboodle partner: KIT. The whole thing, tools and possessions. Likely why we have the word "oodles".
32. Lash LaRue film, e.g.: OATER. Alfred (Lash) Larue, a Western film star in the 40s and 50s. He was very skilled with a bull whip, thus "Lash".
33. Joined by melting: FUSED. Parts is parts, Wendy's commercial. Fused at about :23 in.
34. Artist __ Hals: FRANS. Dutch Golden Age painter, mostly portraits.
36. Parts of directions: TURNS. Google maps makes a funny at the driving directions for step 17 of this route. You need to scroll down to see it.
40. MBA, for one: DEG. Master of Business degree.
43. One looking askance: SKEPTIC. "Skeptic does not mean him who doubts, but him who investigates or researches as opposed to him who asserts and thinks that he has found." [Miguel de Unamuno, "Essays and Soliloquies," 1924]
45. Lockjaw: TETANUS. More properly, trismus, which can be caused by tetanus, but also by MDMA, Meth, Ritalin, radiation therapy, infection, anesthesia, needle prick, several other diseases and drugs.
47. Drop dramatically: PLUNGE. Like a neckline.
51. Breakfast fare: EGG. Only humans habitually eat specifically designated foods at different times of the day.
52. Algerian port: ORAN. Across from Spain.
53. Apollo 13 gp.: NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
54. __'acte: ENTR. Between the acts, as during a play. Could be an intermission or just an interlude piece of music.
55. Bygone bird: DODO. Another shout-out to our bloggers?
56. Teddy Roosevelt biographer: RIIS. Jacob. A Danish American social reformer, muckraking journalist, and documentary photographer. Was dedicated to helping the impoverished in NY City.
58. "I have an __!": IDEA.
59. Student's spot: DESK.
60. Arg. miss: SRTA. Argentina, senorita.
62. Cry while showing one's cards: GIN. Rummy.
63. Actor Tognazzi: UGO. I'm not sure a crossword answer gets any more obscure than this, an Italian actor. The only movie I recognized was La cage aux folles, but he was in a lot of films.
Answer Grid.
Al
