The word (?) AGE is added to the final word of an in the language phrase to create a completely new, unrelated phrase, with ensuing visual hilarity. It feels so right to have a C.C. (and company) puzzle on Thursday and then a divine miss m on Friday, and I am the lucky guy to expose her humor. Many original clues like EXPECTED AT, COLADAS and STOPGAP as well as much of the wit we have come to expect. We also get a bit of proper names and a slew of initialisms and of course no "J." I promise ladies, next week's write up will be for you, but this week to honor Dennis and his first puzzle, the links lean to the male side. Meanwhile, let us get to it.
17A. Somnambulist's icebox raid? : SLEEPING PILLAGE. I wanted sleepwalking to start, but once I got a few perps this Pill to Pillage transformation, and the mental picture of someone like Dagwood at the frig in his sleep set me on the theme.
27A. Personalized gauze? : ONE MAN BANDAGE.What a great marketing idea, band aids with your kid's names already there! Much more fun than most one man bands, though I did hire one once for a party. They work hard for their money.
47A. Big problem at KFC? : CHICKEN OUTAGE. I hope you did not back away from this cute clue.
63A. After-hours spa service? : MIDNIGHT MASSAGE. The perfect product to go with Dennis' business, to insure all have happy endings, which is as far away from the religious root as can be imagined. I hope I do not offend here.
Across:
1. Drop : OMIT. So we can see marti was in one of her tricky moods.
5. Watery, perhaps : WEAK. which contrasts perfectly with 65D. Strong joe : MUD. One of my favorite characters was Mrs. Slocombe on Are You Being Served who was forever telling her male co-workers, they were weak as water. She also loved her Kitty.
9. Informal eateries : CAFES. A real coffee sub-theme.
14. Volkswagen brand : AUDI. VW bought them in 1966.
15. Staff addition : HIRE.
16. Acid used in soap-making : OLEIC. And so much MORE.
20. Dollhouse plaything : TEA SET. Hmm, here in Miami, we have a different
PERSPECTIVE on Doll Houses.
21. Neither esta nor esa : OTRA. Our Spanish lesson; Other.
22. King's value, sometimes : TEN. In cribbage, black jack and so many more card games.
23. Hot porridge ingredient : PEA. Another old SAW. Not to be conflicted with 68. Easy-peasy thing : SNAP. Not a snap pea
25. Work requiring oversized shelves, briefly : OED. Oxford English Dictionary.
26. Otto I's realm: Abbr. : HRE. Holy Roman Empire.
33. Like some still-life items : WAXY. Which one is real?
34. Stately tree : ELM.
35. Power problem : SURGE.
38. Channel watched in many a bar : ESPN. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. Where I learned all about Australian rules football, back in the day.
39. EZ or MT, e.g. : REBUS. Easy or empty; the early form of text talk, also can be pictures.
42. Bridge beam : I-BAR.
43. Bundle : SHEAF.
45. WWII craft : LST.
46. Anderson of "WKRP In Cincinnati" : LONI. Madame Tussaud was going to create a wax image of Loni and Dolly Parton, but they ran out of wax.
51. Derby-wearing Addams : ITT. The dapper hairy one.
53. La-la leader : TRA la la.
54. Likely : APT.
55. Justice Fortas : ABE. One of the more interesting members of the Supreme Court; he was appointed by his good friend LBJ, who convinced Arthur Goldberg to resign his life appointment to become Ambassador to the UN. Abe ended up leaving under a bit of a cloud, but his work on the GIDEON vs. WAINWRIGHT case where the Court acknowledged the right to counsel of all people even the poor, was a world changing opinion.
56. Array in many an NBA game : TATS. Tattoos.
58. Old oddball : GEEZER. Thanks for the shout out marti.
66. Intellectual : BRAIN. Mensa densa.
67. "Me next!" : I'M UP. Baseball reference or late night plea?
69. Airport freebie : ID TAG. The cheap paper kind for your luggage.
70. Airport data, for short : ETDS. Estimated Time of Departures. The senior partner is at the airport with her flight delayed 3 hours, so far.
71. Slippery swimmers : EELS.
Down:
1. Commercial building with a conical roof, traditionally : OAST. The place that makes all brewers hoppy.
2. Backless shoe : MULE. Of course it was from the LATIN.
3. Start of a project : IDEA. Cute.
4. They bind : TIES. The ties that bind, another old saw.
5. Dentist's recommendation : WHITENER.
6. German article : EIN.
7. Golden Fleece vessel : ARGO. Ah, my ship, have not seen this clue in a while. Anyone seen the MOVIE? (2:32).
8. Didn't quit : KEPT ON. You have to keep on keeping on, another old saw.
9. Rum concoctions : COLADAS. Oh yes, sing along. LINK. (4:12).
10. Have it ___ : ALL.
11. Burlesque accessory : FEATHER BOA. Take it off, take it all OFF.
12. Peak near the Jungfrau : EIGER. I think you use this Alp reference every puzzle miss m. I do not want to make a
13. Public row : SCENE. but really, I am going to have to sanction you if I see Eiger again.
18. Rap's Salt-n-___ : PEPA. This SONG (3:28) sound familiar?
19. Mightily miffed : IRED. Argggh.
24. Qualified : ABLE. Add an "M" and 31D. Take it slow : AMBLE.
27. Is shy, in a way : OWES. Really cute, tricky clue, like when your light in the pot. My father used to tell people I was shy; shy a few brains.
28. Graham ___, co-founder of the Hollies : NASH.Of course we also have Crosby, Stills and Young out there waiting for their due.
29. Scheduled to go to : EXPECTED AT. When the boss tells you to go to a fund raiser....Nice long, original clue/fill.
30. Winged chatterbox : MYNAH. Cute bird clue.
32. Therapy subject : GUILT. Also what happens to the Psychiatrists portfolios.
36. Bunch of buds : GANG. Six pack just would not fit.
37. Pennsylvania port : ERIE.
40. Md. institution since 1845 : USNA. U.S. Naval Academy, I bet you know what the US stand for in this abbreviation.
41. They're good enough for the time being : STOP GAPS. More nice long crunchy fill.
44. Appropriate : FITTING.
48. Bit of a bluff : CRAG. Very deceptive clue.
49. First name in '80s-'90s morning talk : KATHIE. Do you remember this VERSION? (3:19).
50. All-purpose vehicles : UTES.
51. Literary feet : IAMBI. Not the kind of feet Splynter likes.
52. Classic V-8 : T-BIRD. Fun, Fun, FUN.(2:54)
57. Monthly acct. update : STMT. Statement.
59. Latin 101 verb : ESSE. To be.
60. Billy of "Titanic" : ZANE. The bad boyfriend. I went to high school with Lloyd Zane.
61. Even, to Yves : EGAL. Our French, Liberté, égalité, fraternité,
62. Crunches, e.g. : REPS.
64. Peeples in pictures : NIA. A complete PERFORMER. (4:09).
And it is time for my weekly Friday performance to come to end and to wish you all a very Happy 2013; with health for all, my best to each of you, regulars, lurkers, those who have come and gone and those who are waiting to join. Many of you newbies have been quiet; do not hesitate, jump in the pool and tell us your thoughts. You never know where it will lead us. I especially want to thank C.C., for another year of the joy of the Corner.
L714 out.
Notes from C.C.:
1) My sincere thanks and gratitude to you, Lemonade. Your passion, wits and warmth in blogging are truly unparallelled. Like Rich, you always make me look better.
2) This is from Parker Lewis, a NYT crossword constructor. He said:
"Hope you are enjoying the holidays! Thanks for keeping your blog going strong!
Not sure if you've heard yet but the team at Puzzazz has been busy lately. We're in the midst of a cool Kickstarter campaign to construct a year-long puzzlehunt. We though you might be interested so if you'd like to take a look, you can check out the details here.
1) My sincere thanks and gratitude to you, Lemonade. Your passion, wits and warmth in blogging are truly unparallelled. Like Rich, you always make me look better.
2) This is from Parker Lewis, a NYT crossword constructor. He said:
"Hope you are enjoying the holidays! Thanks for keeping your blog going strong!
Not sure if you've heard yet but the team at Puzzazz has been busy lately. We're in the midst of a cool Kickstarter campaign to construct a year-long puzzlehunt. We though you might be interested so if you'd like to take a look, you can check out the details here.
We're thrilled at the amount of support so far (73% of our goal and
counting!) and are very excited to get started with the production of
the puzzlehunt. Feel free to spread the word to anyone else who might be
interested.
Happy New Years!"
