Theme: Clecho Echo
The second Friday in recent memory where we have a single clue for five theme answers; this is a very ambitious offering with three grid spanners and 2 14s. This is my first time blogging one of Matt's works, though he is a regular contributor, with a number of Sunday puzzles, and a few collaborations, such as the recent one with Patti Varol which marti presented. Whenever you have such long fill and only the single, simple clue, you need the perps to get going. I found the theme well thought out, and the rest pretty straightforward, this is one time everyone knows the theme, so let's get to it.
17A. Crash : COMPUTER FAILURE.(15). Nothing more discouraging while writing the blog.
23A. Crash : MARKET COLLAPSE.(14). I was not around for the October 1929 crash, but I was in 1987.
38A. Crash : SHATTERING NOISE.(15). NOISE came easily, the rest did not.
46A. Crash : ENTER UNINVITED.(14). If you want an INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO. (1:25).
57A. Crash : BUNK FOR THE NIGHT.(15). Has to work hard for the BUNK, had the B and Bed at first.
On the the rest of the pieces....
Across:
1. Beachgoer's download : E-BOOK. It is Déjà vu all over again; can you believe we start with two (2) pf marti's LFBAW fill?
6. "Saving Private Ryan" setting : D-DAY.
10. Oz. sextet : TSPS. I was tempted to parse this as T-sps, to keep the game alive.
14. Does a Photoshop task : CROPS.
15. Became frayed : WORE.
16. Heaps : A LOT. An acceptable A word?
20. Cut off : LOP. What you have to do when alot becomes too much.
21. "The Book of ___": Denzel Washington film : ELI.
22. Cook's aid : TIMER. So many choices.
28. Garden tools : HOES. Do we still need Don Imus jokes here?
29. Modern joke response : LOL. Lots of Ls with LOP and
30. Eagerly accept, as praise : LAP UP. Good fill for this feline following.
32. ___ flakes : BRAN. Corn vs. bran.
34. Angle iron : L-BAR. Here we go again, LFBAW.
41. Some code tones : DAHS. Everyone knows this, duh!
42. A line may be drawn in it : SAND.
43. Gift ___ : OF GAB. Nice simple but fun fill.
44. Handle clumsily : PAW.
45. Bibliog. term : ET AL.
53. Reagan's second attorney general : MEESE. Not related to Bullwinkle. LINK.
54. ___ gratia : DEI.
55. Road service org. : AAA.
62. Acronymic French artist : ERTE.
63. Caboose : REAR.
64. One never seen in "Peanuts" : ADULT.
65. French ___ : DOOR. Kiss?
66. Its Old World Style label has a gondola on it : RAGU.
67. Art of verse : POESY. Not really a word I know, kept looking for the "T."
Noun
Poetry: "they were enamored of poesy and the fine arts".
The art or composition of poetry.
Down:
1. "To every thing there is a season" Bible bk. : ECCLesiastes 3:1. I like this VERSION..(3:56).
2. Cleaning tool : BROOM. Brush also fit.
3. Rhythmic song from "Oliver!" : OOM PAH PAH. What FUN. (2:17).
4. Something for nothing?: Abbr. : OPP. Something is the OPPosite of Nothing. (thank you).
5. Sch. near Topeka : KSU. Kansas State University.
6. Resided : DWELT.
7. Greek column style : DORIC. I could write a column on how often we have this fill.
8. Sound from a shelter : ARF. Animal shelter; I have many friends involved in rescue missions.
9. Pro vote : YEA.
10. She was Adrian in "Rocky" : TALIA. First name - first name. Yo!
11. Batter's rough patch : SLUMP. Sadly the Marlins manage to share theirs.
12. Skin features : PORES.
13. Cordwood measure : STERE. This was once a very common fill.
18. Casual shirts : TEES.
19. "___ take a miracle!" : IT'LL.
24. Big wins : ROUTS.
25. Continued, with "up" : KEPT.
26. Chan portrayer : OLAND. All of the Charlie Chan movies are available on You Tube. This oddly cast Swedish gentleman made a bunch of THEM.
27. Like most Michener novels : LONG. Funny way to clue a simple word; but if you read Hawaii or some of the others....
30. '60s hallucinogen : LSD. Speaking of Joe Cocker and Woodstock....
31. "Caught ya!" : AHA.
32. Strength : BRAWN. Loved it crossing BRAN.
33. ___ Tin Tin : RIN. My childhood was more Rin than Lassie.
34. Lite : LO-FAT. No-fat seemed so nice.
35. Foremost : BIG LEAGUE.
36. Mad-hatter connection : AS A.
37. Hardly a Yankee fan? : REBel. Johnny was his name.
39. Old Testament twin : ESAU.
40. "You've got the wrong person" : NOT I. I am grammatically correct and would never have split that infinitive.
44. Bk. intro : PREFace.
45. Songwriter Sands : EVIE. I cannot imagine how I missed this entertainer; I know some of the music. LINK.
46. Add to a website, as a video clip : EMBED. Or to a blog.
47. Prefix with ophthalmology : NEURO. So many choices, again.
48. A bit before the hour : TEN TO. This popped out as TEN OF until I saw our old friend RT.
49. Glacial ridge : ESKER. Every time we see this one, we all say, oh yeah, Last used by John Lampkin on a Sunday. LINK.
50. Conference attendee's wear : ID TAG. I wanted badge.
51. Indian independence leader : NEHRU. And he made cute jackets.
52. Writer Roald and others : DAHLS. If I were a nit picker, I would say gratuitous plural could have been avoided by saying Roald and Arlene.
56. Court fig. : ATTY.
58. "Catch-22" pilot : ORR.
59. Belfast-born actor Stephen : REA. First saw him in the Crying Game.
60. Day break? : NAP. Long fill also means short fill, and this one I find elegant.
61. Words often said in front of a priest : I DO. Or I did, and I am sorry.
Well we are deep into summer and schools are getting ready in Florida; where does it all go. Hope you enjoyed the journey, look forward to your take.
Lemonade out.
Notes from C.C.:
1) Will Shortz is visiting Minnesota next month. Click here for details. I hope to see some of you there.
2) Regular posters know that CrossEyedDave has been making pizzas in the woods for over 40 years and he's in constant search for a perfect pizza crust. Click here to read his recipe and musings. Please chime in in the Comments section if you have any secret trick to make the crust chewy & fluffy (Papa John's style).
