Theme: Unmasking an Icon! The theme entries gradually "unmask" the character named in the reveal.
16A. Home sound system : HI-FI STEREO. Increasingly being outmoded by Dolby 7.1 8-speaker surround sound. Two speakers? So last century!
23A. Memorable "Rocky" line : YO, ADRIAN! Not-quite believable punch-bag face and instant tear-jerking can be enjoyed here.
33A. Eloquent : SILVER-TONGUED. "Yo, Adrian!" to your dear spouse probably qualifies for silver-tongue status in some circles.
47A. Reason to pile onto the team bus : AWAY GAME. Another reason would be winning the away game by a street and having the home team fans chasing you.
and
55A. Hero whose catchphrase begins 16-, 23-, 33- and 47-Across : LONE RANGER. Has anyone seen the Disney flick?
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| "Somebody just told me what 'Kemosabe' really means - I suppose you think that's funny" |
Bom Dia from Rio de Janeiro! Steve here sitting by Copacabana beach sipping on a Café-carioca. I was a little peeved that a last-minute work trip caused me to withdraw from the Crossword Tourney held in Santa Monica last Sunday, but there are worse places to be. I had a fit when I brought up the blog editor to start this write-up - it was in Portuguese. Google is watching me ...
I enjoyed Jeff's puzzle - I got a little stuck in the middle and worked my way down the right and along the bottom and ran into the reveal when I had "RANGER" complete. Hoo Ya! Back up to the theme clues and everything fell into place.
Let's see what else we can find to talk about:
Across:
1. Big name in big trucks : MACK
5. Gunk : GOOP.
9. TV's Dick Van __ : DYKE. Something of a gimme!
13. When doubled, a Northwest city : WALLA. Walla Walla, Washington, home of the Walla Walla Wolves. There, I think I -ore out my - key.
14. Give a makeover : REDO
15. Line holder : REEL
18. Texts: Abbr. : MSGS. Could this have been clued as "Txts" and avoided the "Abbr."?
19. Decline from disuse : ATROPHY. My United Airlines frequent flyer card does not suffer from this fate.
20. Some Beethoven works : TRIOS. I never thought of a trio being a work, rather that a work would be written for a trio. A symphony isn't called an orchestra! What say ye, JzB?
22. "Veni, vidi, vici" man : CAESAR. Then he went off to chop a lettuce, crush an anchovy, grate some Parmesan, crack an egg and fry some bread. Talented chap, old Julius. Food!
26. Little Leaguer, say : KID
27. Automated intro? : ROBO. This was great - I thought "what on earth is a Robo-Automated?" then the penny dropped that Jeff was looking for a generic intro for automated stuff.
29. __ del Fuego : TIERRA. I recently met someone from this remote spot. When she was growing up, her Mom used to tell her that the closest place to where they lived was the Moon. Cute!
30. Stay a step ahead of : ONE-UP
32. Many millennia : AEON
38. "__ baby!" : ATTA. Boy, Girl are alternatives.
39. Zapped : NUKED
40. Rapper who played Left Ear in "The Italian Job" : MOS DEF. Thank you crosses! Even if I hadn't left my wheelhouse at home (I travel light) it wouldn't have found this in it.
43. Software test version : BETA. To remove every single bug before it's released for real. Yah, right.
44. Agnus __ : DEI
49. Promoting : HYPING
51. Botanist's study : FLORA
52. Nostalgic souvenir : MEMENTO
53. River in a 1957 Best Picture title : KWAI. Cue the plucky devil-may-care whistling!
57. Work on, as a popsicle : LICK
58. Q.E.D. part : ERAT. Quod erat demonstrandum - that which we have shown. Nil illegitimi carborundum - don't let the ba**ards grind you down.
59. Levels : TIERS
60. Tiny arachnid : MITE. I think we've linked magnified pictures of these little darlings before. I will refrain, I don't want to spoil my breakfast.
61. "Gadzooks!" : YIPE! Someone said this to me in earnest last week and I almost lost it.
62. Puts the kibosh on : ENDS. Verb.
Down:
1. Fruity cocktail : MAI TAI. Is it too early? I am almost on the beach. Tinbeni?
2. Butler in the Batcave : ALFRED. I had ALBERT first which slowed things up somewhat. Reason eventually prevailed.
3. Awards for ads : CLIOS
4. "How Life Imitates Chess" author Garry : KASPAROV. That's right, we see horses jumping over bishops and Queens moving rapidly in any direction every day.
5. Earl with a tea : GREY. Thank you for the recent "E for English A for American" advice from our erudite community.
6. Above, to Keats : O'ER and then
7. Start of some Keats titles : ODE TO. Take that, clue pairing!
8. Having little talent for : POOR AT
9. H.G. Wells' island physiologist : DR. MOREAU. The spelling took me a while. D-R- umm
10. "Darn tootin'!" : YES SIREE! I want someone to say this to me too.
11. Small cask : KEG
12. Golf star Ernie : ELS. Ernie should be sent a lifetime achievement award by the crossword constructor community.
13. Off, in mobspeak : WHACK. Note the slang clue, slang answer.
17. Royal seat : THRONE
21. Exiled Amin : IDI
23. Google-owned video site : YOUTUBE. This blog would be a poorer place without it.
24. Yank since 2004 : A-ROD. How much longer will he be invited for preseason pinstripe fitting, C.C? Here, showing his sartorial elegance, is New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez. (thank you, spellcheck!) (From C.C.: A-Roid is still entitled to the Spring Training, no matter what the appeal result is, right, Husker Gary?)
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| "It's A-ROD, not A-ROID, capiche?" |
25. Bert Bobbsey's sis : NAN. (Who she? Ed.) No idea.
28. Hot-sounding European capital : BERN. Capital of one of the 26 Swiss cantons.
31. Elbow : POKE. Verb.
33. Tuck away : STOW.
34. "I've got proof!" : IT'S A FACT! Can often be debunked with a quick Google search.
35. Elegantly feminine : LADY-LIKE
36. Infernal : NETHER. Completely new to me, and why I love doing crosswords. I thought it meant "behind" as in "nether regions". I will have a new respect for my infernal regions now.
37. Greeting from Down Under : G'DAY, MATE
38. Physicians' org. : AMA, that old stalwart, the American Medical Association.
41. Id controller : EGO. Sigmund Freud making simple things confusing.
42. Chris of "Tommy Boy" : FARLEY. I had FALLON first, never having seen this movie, but having FA---- to work with.
44. Dented : DINGED
45. Keys in : ENTERS. You leave your car in the parking lot and you come back to put your keys in a dented door. Shopping carts should be made of rubber.
46. Stravinsky and Sikorsky : IGORS. Here they are at the first public performance of "The Firebird Helicopter Suite" which they co-composed.
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| "Strav" |
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| "Sik" |
48. Native New Zealander : MAORI. And extremely frightening All-Black rugby player.
50. Enclose, as pigs : PEN IN. *Snort* when I was one letter short.
52. Parcel (out) : METE
53. Airline to Amsterdam : KLM. KLM is apparently short for "Royal Dutch Airlines" in some top-secret code.
54. Xbox 360 competitor : WII.
56. Quick snooze : NAP. I could use one of these myself - I'm timezone-challenged at the moment!
That's enough from me. Now it surely must be time for a caipirinha! Tenho que ir agora!
Steve
