Theme: "Red Wine Makes Me Awesome..."
I feel like I hit the jackpot with this theme!
17-Across. Wine enthusiast's list of killer reds? : SEVEN DEADLY ZINS. (Seven deadly sins.) Zin is the short term for Zinfandel, one of California's leading grapes.
I cracked up when I figured this one out, because there actually is a wine called by that name. In fact, I think I have some in my cellar...
36-Across. Wine enthusiast's "That's how it goes"? : QUE SYRAH SYRAH. (Que sera, sera.) Syrah grapes originated in SE France, in the Rhone wine region.
57-Across. Wine enthusiast's philosophy? : LIFE IS A CABERNET. (Life is a caberet.) Cabernet is one of the most ubiquitous grapes in the world.
There were a couple of other gratuitous wine-related entries:
48-Across. Effervesce, as some wine : SPARKLE.
61-Across. Champagne choice : BRUT. A term meaning "dry" in the oenophile world.
A theme near and dear to my heart! And I do believe it is Gregory's debut. Congratulations!
Across:
1. Hollywood special effects, briefly : CGI. I'm pretty sure it means Computer Generated Imagery, but I'm open to suggestions.
4. Did, but doesn't now : USED TO.
10. 1970s-'80s sketch comedy show : SCTV. Second City Television.
14. "Prince Valiant" prince : ARN.
15. Brian McKnight/Vanessa Williams duet with the line "It conquers all" : LOVE IS. Here's the video, if you care to listen.
16. Chain with stacks : IHOP. International House of Pancakes.
20. "I __ Symphony": Supremes hit : HEAR A. Sorry: I'm already at my self-imposed one-link-limit!
21. Hoover underlings : FBI MEN.
22. Stands the test of time : ENDURES.
25. Out to lunch, so to speak : IN A DAZE. (...another gratuitous wine reference??)
28. Shed tears : WEEP. (Unlike milk, it is OK to weep over spilled wine...)
29. Kaput : SHOT.
31. Mineo of film : SAL.
32. Barcelona bar bites : TAPAS. (With a nice Rioja wine, of course!)
34. Dust particle : SPECK.
40. Bankrolls : FUNDS.
41. Man-to-boy address : KIDDO.
42. Feel ill : AIL.
43. It's saved in bits : DATA.
44. Stinging insect : WASP.
52. Helter-__ : SKELTER.
54. "Uh-oh" : WHOOPS. ("I just spilled wine all over the rug!")
56. Sierra __: Freetown's country : LEONE.
62. First novel in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle : ERAGON.
63. Take steps : ACT.
64. Eggs sprinkling : SALT.
65. Levels of society : STRATA.
66. __ down the law : LAY.
Down:
1. Nut used in Asian cooking : CASHEW.
2. Novelist Graham : GREENE. He wrote "The Third Man."
3. Overrun : INVADE.
4. Arm bone-related : ULNAR.
5. Lawn maker : SOD.
6. Celebration time : EVE. (Time to break out the champagne!)
7. Fall on __ ears : DEAF.
8. Choice piece : TIDBIT.
9. Singer K.T. : OSLIN.
10. Judged, with "up" : SIZED.
11. Waters off Taiwan : CHINA SEA. Nailed it, C.C. !!
12. Cargo unit : TON.
13. Cheney and Biden: Abbr. : VPS.
18. Lost one's temper : ERUPTED.
19. Sumac of Peru : YMA. She lives on in crossword puzzles.
23. Glimpse : ESPY.
24. __-Pei : SHAR. Who could resist a face like this?
26. Golfer Johnson : ZACH.
27. Antlered animal : ELK.
30. Neighbor of Kobe and Kyoto : OSAKA.
33. Mule parent : ASS.
34. "Sammy the Seal" author Hoff : SYD. From the "I Can Read" children's series.
35. Cat burglar : PROWLER.
36. Bon mot : QUIP.
37. Illicit : UNLAWFUL.
38. Google goals : HITS.
39. Minn. neighbor : S. DAK.ota.
40. Scale notes : FAs.
43. Hit the road : DEPART.
45. Like many a John Cage composition : ATONAL. Avant garde composer, perhaps best known for his 4'33" (four minutes, thirty-three seconds) piece, in which the musicians on the stage sit and do not play. The "music" is actually the environmental sounds the audience hears during that time.
46. Largest of New York's Finger Lakes : SENECA.
47. Comely : PRETTY.
49. Butler of fiction : RHETT.
50. Ornamental pond fish : KOI.
51. Draws the short straw, say : LOSES. (It's OK, I never drink wine with a straw, anyway!)
53. Justice Kagan : ELENA.
55. Lasting mark : SCAR.
57. Lots of ozs. : LBs.
58. Keogh plan kin : IRA. Individual Retirement Account.
59. Ottoman dignitary : AGA.
60. Sci-fi sidekick, often : BOT.tle of wine? (Oh, I think they mean RO-bot...)
It has to be 5:00 somewhere: Cheers! (^0^)
Marti
Note from C.C.:
1) Do you still remember Andrea Carla Michaels from this picture I showed on the blog in June? She is very witty, warm, bubbly and encouraging. She's one of the constructors for Crossword LA. She's also teaming up with Tom Pepper for our MN Crossword Tournament next year. I googled her co-constructor Gregory Cameron, but found a bishop?
2) For those of you who don't have a blue profile in the Comments section, please can you click on the Name/URL button, see below. Then put your name there. Alias is fine. It's just hard for others to respond to you if you choose the Anonymous option.
Note from C.C.:
1) Do you still remember Andrea Carla Michaels from this picture I showed on the blog in June? She is very witty, warm, bubbly and encouraging. She's one of the constructors for Crossword LA. She's also teaming up with Tom Pepper for our MN Crossword Tournament next year. I googled her co-constructor Gregory Cameron, but found a bishop?
Left to right: Tom Pepper; Marcia J. Brott; George Barany; David
Hanson; DK, C.C.; Andrea;
Boomer & Victor Barocas
