Theme: size matters
first, the unifier:
54a. 19th-century American doctrine suggested by the phrase formed by the first words of the answers to starred clues : MANIFEST DESTINY
the first words of all the theme answers spell out the phrase go west young man, a quote by American author Horace Greeley concerning America's expansion westward, related to the then-popular concept of Manifest Destiny.
17a. *Stand to reason : GO WITHOUT SAYING
22a. *Show with Sharks : WEST SIDE STORY
36a. *Immature : YOUNG AND FOOLISH
47a. *"The Impossible Dream" musical : MAN OF LAMANCHA
from wikipedia: "The phrase "Manifest Destiny" is most often associated with the territorial expansion of the United States from 1812 to 1860. [...]During this time, the United States expanded to the Pacific Ocean—"from sea to shining sea"— largely defining the borders of the contiguous United States as they are today."
across:
1. "Survivor" host Probst : JEFF. does anyone still watch this show?
5. Dan Patrick's former employer : ESPN
9. Treble and tenor : CLEFS. musical symbols that indicate pitch in written music.
14. Leap on skates : AXEL. figure skating jump with a forward take-off, named after the Norwegian skater Axel Paulsen, who first performed the jump in 1882.
15. By way of, in verse : THRO
16. "Groundhog Day" director Harold : RAMIS
20. Product design dept. : R AND D. research and development. my former employer, bnr = bell northern research, the r&d side of the now bankrupt nortel.
21. Lace place : EYELET. example of eyelet lace.
26. Sunset feature : HUE
27. Frigid : ICY
28. Maritime military org. : USN. united states navy.
29. Liver, for one : ORGAN. an organ is made up of two or more tissue types.
31. Part of MoMA : ART. museum of modern art.
32. Move like a bee : FLIT
40. On a clipper, say : ASEA
41. "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!" video game console : NES. nintendo entertainment system.
5. Dan Patrick's former employer : ESPN
9. Treble and tenor : CLEFS. musical symbols that indicate pitch in written music.
14. Leap on skates : AXEL. figure skating jump with a forward take-off, named after the Norwegian skater Axel Paulsen, who first performed the jump in 1882.
15. By way of, in verse : THRO
16. "Groundhog Day" director Harold : RAMIS
20. Product design dept. : R AND D. research and development. my former employer, bnr = bell northern research, the r&d side of the now bankrupt nortel.
21. Lace place : EYELET. example of eyelet lace.
26. Sunset feature : HUE
27. Frigid : ICY
28. Maritime military org. : USN. united states navy.
29. Liver, for one : ORGAN. an organ is made up of two or more tissue types.
31. Part of MoMA : ART. museum of modern art.
32. Move like a bee : FLIT
40. On a clipper, say : ASEA
41. "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!" video game console : NES. nintendo entertainment system.
42. Salk vaccine target : POLIO.
43. Aleppo's land: Abbr. : SYR. aleppo is the largest city in syria.
44. It may precede a treaty : WAR
46. Swiss river : AAR. we get this a lot, should be a gimme by now.
51. Speedily : AT A RUN
53. __ male : ALPHA. the leader of the pack.
59. Turn __ ear : A DEAF
60. Place with slips and sloops : PIER. cute. a slip is a a ramp by which boats can be moved to and from the water, and a sloop is a certain kind of sailboat.
61. Juggle conflicting demands : COPE. another musical link, citizen cope's healing hands.
62. Word before bad news : SADLY
63. Canadian singer Murray : ANNE
64. Offended : HURT
down:
1. Binge : JAG. as in a crying jag, or binge.
2. Prefix with -thermic : EXO
3. Chosen number? : FEW. the chosen few.
8. "Kidding!" : NOT
9. Preschooler's writing tool : CRAYON
10. Coating : LAYE
11. Poet Dickinson : EMILY. we want our clear ayes back!
12. "Okay" : FINE
13. Army NCO : SSGT. non-commissioned officer, staff seargant (correct me if i'm wrong).
18. Subduing with a shock : TASING. don't tase me, bro!
19. Begins : SETS TO
22. "__ gonna call? Ghostbusters!" : WHO YA. hard to believe that movie came out in 1984. written by dan aykroyd and 16a harold ramis.
23. Bicolor coins : EUROS
24. Smooth transition : SEGUE
25. Go from blog to blog, say : SURF
30. Santa __ winds : ANA
31. Many craigslist postings : ADS. not all?
32. Mel's Diner waitress : FLO. polly holliday. she also played a secretary in all the president's men.
33. Purple shade : LILAC
34. Former hoops star Thomas : ISIAH. player and coach, a.k.a. zeke.
35. Birch of "Ghost World" : THORA. will always remember her for her role in now and then (third from left).
37. "__ else?" : ANYONE
38. Soft ball : NERF
39. __ Book Club : OPRAH'S. no comment.
43. Big Bird's mammoth friend, familiarly : SNUFFY. short for snuffleupagus, seen only by big bird until the 17th season.
44. Thoreau memoir : WALDEN. a great read.
45. Unit of current : AMPERE. from wikipedia: named after André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836), French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics.
47. Like lions and horses : MANED
48. Helvetica alternative : ARIAL. typeface. everything you ever wanted to know about helvetica vs. arial.
49. Like about half of American states' mottos : LATIN
50. "You bet!" : 'NATCH. slang for naturally.
51. Basic 49-Down word : AMAS. you love.
52. "I did it!" : TADA
55. Massage locale : SPA
56. Debtor's letters : IOU
57. "Morning Edition" airer : NPR
58. Thus far : YET
Answer grid.
melissa
