Theme: Tread Carefully. Each of the three theme answers start with a quagmire. Don't get sucked under!
20A. Shooter of soft confections : MARSHMALLOW GUN
36A. Minor motoring mishaps : FENDER BENDERS
53A. Strains credulity : BOGGLES THE MIND
66A. Overwhelm, or a relative of the first syllable of 20-, 36-, or 53-Across : SWAMP
Steve here. A jolly good-day to you all from London. You should try to "leap" over the marsh, fen, bog and swamp and keep your feet dry today. I needed the unifier to see the theme once I'd finished the puzzle, my smart-o-meter is obviously reading on the low side this morning.
Across:
1. Defense lawyers' adversaries, for short : ADAS. Assistant District Attorneys.
5. Otherwise : IF NOT
10. Smidgen : DRIB. Has anyone ever used its cousin DRAB to describe a small amount? I've only ever used them together.
14. Certain : SURE
15. Motored : DROVE
16. Agitate : RILE
17. Member of Hook's band : SMEE. As in "Hey, Peter Pan, S'me again"
18. Ear-related : AURAL. I've always liked how this is a homonym of ORAL.
19. Time-half link : AND A. As I'm in London I'm blogging at 3AM - does this mean I get time-and-a-half rates today?
23. Gp. that issues canine pedigrees : A.K.C. The American Kennel Club. Argyle's trio of bed-squatters from yesterday are all breeds recognized by this group.
24. Blue wearer, usually : COP. I tried BOY first and then DEM!
25. In reserve : ON ICE. Our friend Tinbeni would argue when he puts his scotch on ice he's definitely not planning to keep it in reserve.
26. Satchel __, aptly named dog in the comic "Get Fuzzy" : POOCH. What would the AKC make of him?
28. Make fun of : RAZZ
31. Beatty of "Deliverance" : NED. I saw a bumper sticker in Atlanta recently that read "Paddle faster, I hear banjos".
32. Formal coif, perhaps : UPDO. I learned this word right here on this blog.
33. More sleazy : SEAMIER
40. Exercise popularized by Jim Fixx : JOGGING. Is it true that Mr Fixx ironically suffered a fatal heart attack while jogging?
41. Tennis do-overs : LETS. As in "Let's do that again, the ball hit the net cord"?
43. JFK alternative in NYC : LGA. Airport named for New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. It's a sight to see at evening rush hour when upwards of 30 airplanes can be in line for take-off. It's not a happy sight when you're sitting on the 30th, as I can attest.
46. Certain stove filler : WOOD
47. In a convincing way : BY FAR
48. Palmer with an army : ARNIE. Arnold Palmer was one of the first professional sports figures represented by Mark McCormack's agency IMG, and laid the foundations for marketing "talent" as we know it today.
50. Show about Capote : TRU. Biopic about "In Cold Blood" author Truman.
52. Avenues of access : INS. Contrast with avenues of egress, OUTS.
58. Rock's partner : ROLL
59. "... never see __ lovely as ...": Kilmer : A POEM. Verse by Joyce, not her distant cousin Val.
60. Build a tree house : NEST
62. Chevy subcompact : AVEO. There's a lot of these here in London - perfect for the narrow streets and tight parking spaces.
63. __ firma : TERRA
64. Mötley __ : CRUE. The umlaut provides the hint that we're not looking for CREW here.
20A. Shooter of soft confections : MARSHMALLOW GUN
36A. Minor motoring mishaps : FENDER BENDERS
53A. Strains credulity : BOGGLES THE MIND
66A. Overwhelm, or a relative of the first syllable of 20-, 36-, or 53-Across : SWAMP
Steve here. A jolly good-day to you all from London. You should try to "leap" over the marsh, fen, bog and swamp and keep your feet dry today. I needed the unifier to see the theme once I'd finished the puzzle, my smart-o-meter is obviously reading on the low side this morning.
Across:
1. Defense lawyers' adversaries, for short : ADAS. Assistant District Attorneys.
5. Otherwise : IF NOT
10. Smidgen : DRIB. Has anyone ever used its cousin DRAB to describe a small amount? I've only ever used them together.
14. Certain : SURE
15. Motored : DROVE
16. Agitate : RILE
17. Member of Hook's band : SMEE. As in "Hey, Peter Pan, S'me again"
18. Ear-related : AURAL. I've always liked how this is a homonym of ORAL.
19. Time-half link : AND A. As I'm in London I'm blogging at 3AM - does this mean I get time-and-a-half rates today?
23. Gp. that issues canine pedigrees : A.K.C. The American Kennel Club. Argyle's trio of bed-squatters from yesterday are all breeds recognized by this group.
24. Blue wearer, usually : COP. I tried BOY first and then DEM!
25. In reserve : ON ICE. Our friend Tinbeni would argue when he puts his scotch on ice he's definitely not planning to keep it in reserve.
26. Satchel __, aptly named dog in the comic "Get Fuzzy" : POOCH. What would the AKC make of him?
28. Make fun of : RAZZ
31. Beatty of "Deliverance" : NED. I saw a bumper sticker in Atlanta recently that read "Paddle faster, I hear banjos".
32. Formal coif, perhaps : UPDO. I learned this word right here on this blog.
33. More sleazy : SEAMIER
40. Exercise popularized by Jim Fixx : JOGGING. Is it true that Mr Fixx ironically suffered a fatal heart attack while jogging?
41. Tennis do-overs : LETS. As in "Let's do that again, the ball hit the net cord"?
43. JFK alternative in NYC : LGA. Airport named for New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. It's a sight to see at evening rush hour when upwards of 30 airplanes can be in line for take-off. It's not a happy sight when you're sitting on the 30th, as I can attest.
46. Certain stove filler : WOOD
47. In a convincing way : BY FAR
48. Palmer with an army : ARNIE. Arnold Palmer was one of the first professional sports figures represented by Mark McCormack's agency IMG, and laid the foundations for marketing "talent" as we know it today.
50. Show about Capote : TRU. Biopic about "In Cold Blood" author Truman.
52. Avenues of access : INS. Contrast with avenues of egress, OUTS.
58. Rock's partner : ROLL
59. "... never see __ lovely as ...": Kilmer : A POEM. Verse by Joyce, not her distant cousin Val.
60. Build a tree house : NEST
62. Chevy subcompact : AVEO. There's a lot of these here in London - perfect for the narrow streets and tight parking spaces.
63. __ firma : TERRA
64. Mötley __ : CRUE. The umlaut provides the hint that we're not looking for CREW here.
65. Greenhorn : TYRO
67. Overdone publicity : HYPE. Arnie's agency IMG might be accused of starting this phenomenon.
Down:
1. Obstinate beast : ASS
2. Dolt : DUMMKOPF. I doltishly tried DUMBKOPF before I realized I mustn't mix my languages in one word.
3. Alaska's 907, e.g. : AREA CODE. If you have friends in Hyder, Alaska (rather unlikely as only 97 people live there) you will need to dial 250 instead. Now you know.
4. Clairvoyant : SEER
5. Where Moscow is : IDAHO. 3D was tempting, but now I REALLY want to make a Sarah Palin joke.
6. Dowdy dresser : FRUMP
7. Author Ephron : NORA
8. Racetrack : OVAL. Not only are British racetracks not ovals, but it's up to local custom as to whether the horses (or cars, or motorcycles) race around them clockwise or counter-clockwise. American horses (or drivers, or riders) tend to get confused about this and don't do well here. Thankfully, the running track in the new Olympic stadium is an oval.
9. Tattle : TELL
10. Sketched : DRAWN
11. Welcome, as a new year : RING IN. Quasimodo gets Time-And-A-Half at New Year, what with all the ringing out the old and ringing in the new that he's responsible for.
12. Moniker for Mussolini : IL DUCE. "The Leader".
13. Hit with a pitch, in a way : BEANED. Were Columbia Pictures executives "Billy Beane'd" when they were "hit by the pitch" for the movie Moneyball?
21. Academic inst. : SCH. You can go to school on this abbreviation.
22. Seeped : OOZED
23. Kwik-E-Mart proprietor on "The Simpsons" : APU. It seems like a while since we've seen him in these parts - has he been on vacation?
27. "And" or "or," e.g.: Abbr. : CONJ. Conjunction.
28. Overly enthusiastic : RABID. I enjoy thinking about using figures of speech the "other way around" as in "Doctor, I'm rather alarmed, I think I was bitten by an overly-enthusiastic squirrel".
29. "I'm all for that!" : AMEN
30. Pizazz : ZING
33. Bell-shaped lily : SEGO
34. Therefore : ERGO. Cogito Ergo Sum - "I think, therefore I am". Roseus Ergo Caro Hormellus - "I'm pink, therefore I'm Spam"
35. Depend (on) : RELY
37. Fastening pin : DOWEL
38. Oil plant : REFINERY. Olde English proverb: "Redde skye at night, ye refinery's alight".
39. Gets to one's feet : STANDS UP
42. Jun. grads : SRS. Seniors graduate in June. My daughter is graduating in October, British universities do some very odd things.
43. Maze runner : LAB RAT. When I was transcribing the answers today I read this as "L.A. Brat" and wondered why I didn't remember seeing a clue for "Valley Girl"
44. Old-style "Cool!" : GROOVY. You can't hear this and not be humming it all day!
45. Rod-and-reel wielder : ANGLER
47. Mooch, as a smoke : BUM. Not here in London you don't, that's something quite different.
49. Domed home : IGLOO
50. Heat unit : THERM. Hopefully you can generate a few of these to warm your igloo.
51. Plot anew : REMAP
54. Welcome sign for a hungry traveler : EATS
55. Eject, as lava : SPEW. This seems to be in unfortunate proximity to the previous answer.
56. When tripled, a 1970 war film : TORA
57. Waistline unit : INCH. When my waistline unit expanded from inches through feet into more than a yard, I decided I needed to cut down on the EATS.
61. Golf bag item : TEE. My golf bag is also full of slices, hooks, shanks, pulls and muffs. I'll be using them all when I get back to California this weekend.
Answer grid.
Have a great leap day, everyone. Remember it only comes around every four years, so use it wisely!
Steve
