Rich gives us a very doable puzzle where the long fill served as lifelines all around the pinwheel style grid that has 98 open squares.
Across
1. Hustle: MAKE TRACKS.
11. Back in the day: ONCE.
15. Be fashionable, in a way: ARRIVE LATE - Who came up with the idea that this is fashionable and not rude?
16. Rock, paper, or scissors: NOUN - A meta clue, not a game that is also called Roshambo 😀
17. Planter's purchase: SEED PACKET - A sure sign of late winter/early spring
18. Defense mechanism: FORT - No one died in the bombardment of this FORT. However, one Union soldier died firing a ceremonial salute as they evacuated.
19. Web ending: CAM.
20. Online service since April 1, 2004: G-MAIL - I've used this service for 20 years
21. Asleep, say: IDLE.
22. Woodstock performer between Melanie and Joan: ARLO - They're all on this poster, just not in that order
24. Chemistry suffix: ENE - One of many possibilities
25. Earn: PULL IN - "Take in" and "Rake in" suffered deletion
27. No longer usable: RUINED - Sumter was RUINED and never reused and is now a historical site. I toured it on an incredibly cold March day in Charleston Harbor.
29. Event for day traders?: SWAP MEET - A SWAP MEET at Orange County College
31. __ Dei: AGNUS.
32. Even slightly: AT ALL.
33. Beats Electronics co-founder: DRE - Dr. DRE sold his company to Apple for $3B
34. Classic CIA-vs.-KGB spoof: SPYS.
36. Some 1990s GM subcompacts: GEOS.
38. Continent with aardvarks: Abbr.: AFR.
41. Stand rituals: OATHS - Perry closes in on the witness who is on the stand
43. Gulf of Guinea capital: ACCRA - It is a day trip along the Gulf Of Guinea from ACCRA to the Cape Coast Castle which was a big part of the slave trade.
47. Words of gratitude: BLESS YOU.
49. Really relished: ADORED.
50. Barrel racing events: RODEOS - Barrel racing events are not RODEOS, they are an event IN a RODEO.
Our small school has five girl barrel racers
51. "Crocodile Rock" label: MCA.
53. __ of Maine: TOMS - I've never seen this label on shelves around here
54. Bit: IOTA.
55. "WarGames" org.: NORAD.
57. Santa __ winds: ANA - a few weeks ago we had 33. Ortiz of "Love, Victor": ANA 🙄
58. Word with lots and straws: DRAW.
59. Fallible one: MERE MORTAL.
61. Inverse of nano-: GIGA Nano = 10-9 and Giga = 109
62. Convenience one can bank on, familiarly: ATM MACHINE - Just outside a casino area. Hmmm...
63. Website for artisans: ETSY.
64. Spots that rarely offer good views: CHEAP SEATS.
Down:
1. L'Oreal product: MASCARA.
2. Provider of partial coverage?: AREA RUG.
3. Russian government metonym: KREMLIN
4. Fast break for millions: EID 😀 The end of the month-long fast of Ramadan
5. Letters to alert moms and dads: TV PG.
6. Bawled (out): REAMED.
7. Highway through Whitehorse: AL CAN.
8. Most thick, as cosmetics: CAKIEST 🙄
9. "Power Hits" series record co.: K-TEL - Crocodile Rock (51 Across) made it onto this K-TEL Album
10. Three of a kind, say: SET - Three of a kind in poker is called a SET
11. Like most older movies: ON FILM.
12. Improvised: NOODLED - Noodling is the musical equivalent of doodling. It is mostly uninspired, and lacking in direction or inspiration, but on occasion the result is beautiful and meaningful.
13. Even less straight: CURLIER - Curvier went in first but...
14. Informal alliance: ENTENTE - WWI
23. "Drinks are __": ON US - Yesterday, I got charged $2.00 for a glass of water in a bar
25. Faint: PALE.
26. Data transfer: UPLOAD.
28. Married hombre: ESPOSO.
30. Source of tail winds?: WAGS 😀
32. Regarding: AS TO.
35. Celebratory chorus: YAYS.
37. Macbeth, for one: SCOT - Shakespeare's Macbeth is not an historically accurate play about this actual monarch
38. Shorten: ABRIDGE.
39. Gas use exhortation?: FLOOR IT 😀
40. Discount showers: RED TAGS - Here, showers rhymes with mowers not towers
42. Request to a skeptic: HUMOR ME.
44. Dalmatian's home: CROATIA - Ancestral home to two and four-legged Dalmationas
45. Leftover: REMNANT.
46. Product promotion vehicle: AD SALES.
48. Inland passage: SEAWAY.
49. Traveler's aid: AAA MAP - I don't have to fold up my GPS app.
52. Rajas topping: CREMA - Rajas (strips) Poblanos (peppers) topped with CREMA (a cream sauce)
55. First country to legalize same-sex marriage: Abbr.: NETH.
56. Medics: DOCS.
59. Jake and Amy's baby, on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine": MAC. - Of all the MAC's in all the world, Rich or Patti chose this one.
60. MLB scoreboard heading: RHE - Don Larsen's perfect World Series game in 1956.
First off, please accept an apology for the expletive in the theme title. But if you solved the theme of this puzzle - its reveal - you should easily see that it makes sense; and isn't a cuss word, after all
I relied on several of my colleagues (fellow bloggers) to assist me in tying the reveal, clues, and entries together. The reveal's clue didn't register with me at first; even after finally figuring out how the clues fit the three entries. Were you as confused as I?
17-across. TEN?: TANGLED WEB. This perhaps?
My "Spidey-sense" had not yet kicked in
27-across. DIS?: SHUFFLED CARDS. Maybe these?
This is what I envisioned
48-across. ORE?: SCRAMBLED EGGS. Did you see what I saw?
I prefer eggs either poached, "over", or as an omelet
OK, Moe; so far all you've shown us is a mildly vulgur title, a picture of a book of anagrams, and three stock pictures of the entries. So, what gives? Here is what gives:
1) Each of the clues - when anagrammed - reveals the entry answer:
a) TEN = NET - a net can also be a tangled web (think of a fishing net)
b) DIS = ID'S - ID'S can be an abbr. for identification cards
c) ORE = ROE - roe is both the singular and plural of fish eggs
2) The reveal is: 63-across. BAN, and an apt title for this puzzle?: GET MIXED UP. In this case, BAN = NAB - nab is a synonym of the word "get", and if you extrapolate the reveal to all of the clues, it forms "the title". Each of the clues are mixed up (literally), and each of the entry answers are synonyms of the word MIXED:
TANGLED
SHUFFLED
SCRAMBLED
As you know, my ultimate source to confirm all of this is the Thesaurussaurus. If he agrees then I agree:
When I checked the verb formof the word "mixed", it still disagreed with all three
As I reflect back to when I originally solved the puzzle, I was totally mixed up (confused). The puzzle solved easily enough, no issues there. Perps were fair, so the entries/reveal all emerged despite the odd clues. It was a few minutes after - as I was emailing my fellow bloggers - that I saw that each of the clues was just an anagram. I thought there was more to the reveal (that the word "nab" had some broader function) but my colleagues said I "got it"
Their comments also confirmed my thoughts:
1) Yes, people who post here/solve the LAT puzzle will be mixed up (confused) about this one
2) I think it's way too much of a reach to get from the theme and reveal clues to the answers
My biggest "nit" is that the second entry clue used an abbreviation (IDs) instead of an actual word
Here is the filled-in grid. I don't recall why I had a different letter in the crossing of OMAN and EMAIL but that was my lone mistake
Oh, and for those who are still seeing the "Theme" title containing a curse word, the unscrambled version: What? Is? This?
Across: 1. __ code: MORSE.
6. Birthstone between sapphire and topaz: OPAL.
10. With 49-Down, creator, writer, and star of HBO's "Insecure": ISSA (49. See 10-Across:)RAE. Ms. RAE is becoming the "Mel Ott" of the 21st century crossword puzzles
14. @ home?: EMAIL. Another stretch of a clue - guessing this means where the @ symbol makes its home (in an EMAIL address)
15. "I Love Me" singer Lovato: DEMI. Lots of proper names in today's puzzle; so, what else is new?
16. Brick baker: KILN.
19. Juul, e.g.: ECIG. I don't smoke e-cigarettes, so I am unfamiliar with this brand
20. Country music?: ANTHEM. What's with all of the misdirection clues today? Must be a Friday puzzle. In this case, the word "country" refers to - for example - the US. And our ANTHEM is aka "The Star-Spangled Banner" ... speaking of which, please don't forget that today is Flag Day (sorry Jinx, didn't mean to steal your thunder) ... which coincided with (8-down. The "thee" of "of thee I sing"): AMERICA. This is a fitting video to play today:
21. Updated versions of classic video games, e.g.: REMAKES.
23. Former Indian prime minister Gandhi: INDIRA.
26. "All __ is but imitation of nature": Seneca: ART. Thankfully, this answer did not have a clue that made it a proper name ... I guess Carney, Garfunkel, and Linkletter were too old
67. Latin for "bear": URSA. I checked; we have only seen the word "URSA" in xword puzzles for about 16 years, so clearly, this Ursa is a minor ...
68. Dimple maker: SMILE. Hmm ... which actor with a dimple(s) should I choose? Irish Miss, is this guy ok??
Dimples galore
69. Slog (through): WADE. I don't associate the word wade with "slog through"
70. Network that airs the Slippery Stairs World Championships: ESPN. I am speechless ...
71. Brandish: WIELD. I had a co-worker once whose last name was spelled WEILD (pronounced the same) and at the time was dating a gal named Brandice ...
2. Country on the Strait of Hormuz: OMAN. Now I recall my mistake. I realize I was thinking of Oran a city in Algeria. E-rail had no meaning, but at the time, the clue "@ home?" was not making any sense
3. All-caps post, probably: RANT.
4. Long exhale: SIGH.
5. "The Great" actress Fanning: ELLE. ELLE Fanning is currently the #1 most famous actor named ELLE
6. Uneven?: ODD. Speaking of odd ... are you noticing lately that the word eerie is not being used as often as it used to be in crossword puzzles?
7. Laser tag sound: PEW. I'm pretty sure I can find an appropriate video clip with this sound
9. Left-leaning voters: LIBERALS. Another eight-letter word fits but political discussion here is verboten (also an eight-letter word)
10. Maker of Sektion cabinets: IKEA. Somehow, the "k" in the word "Sektion" gave it away (maybe they should have used Ektorp, instead?).
It's been a while since Margaret and I took a trip to Ikea. I know that one item we bought - oddly - was a better performer than we expected: their "ziplock" freezer/storage bags!
11. Really under the weather: SICK AS A DOG. To Steven Tyler's credit he put this song out there to admit to and identify his struggles with drug addiction. Any Aerosmith fans?
12. More foxy: SLIER. Aidan Deshong was perhaps a bit slier today with his anagrammed clues
22. Render imperfect: MAR. Or, by anagramming the answer, you could have this clue and answer: Rear-ender imperfect: RAM
24. Actor Beatty: NED. Discussing his first movie ...
Note: the preview for this indicates that it might not open. If that's the case, try this link
25. Pres. between HST and JFK: DDE. Former PsOTUS
27. __ butter: SHEA.
28. Round up: HERD.
29. To be determined: UNRESOLVED. I almost came into today's blog with an unresolved description of the puzzle
30. Swiss cheese?: FRANC. In this case, the word "cheese" is slang for money. The Swiss currency is the franc, currently trading @ 1 CHF fr = $1.10 USD
31. Word at the end of some films: FIN. More Frawnche ... I wonder if the French translated version of the movie "Jaws" ends with the word "Fin"?
36. Hanging instrument: GONG. Any Chuck Barris fans here??
37. Is in the red: OWES. I am briefly back in the red as car payments returned to my "budget"
39. Back-and-forth: DIALOGUE.
41. Got behind something, maybe: HID.
44. Backyard chef's array: SMOKERS. I can see having one SMOKER maybe: not an array of them. BTW, were all of the chef's guests smokers, too? Were they vaping an e-cig named Juul??
And playing off of the Jumble from Saturday June 8 (and the clue for 10 down): Where is it OK to use an ecig @ Ikea? In the Smoker's Sektion
45. "Frankly," in texts: TBH.
46. Rio greeting: OLA.
50. Actor Morales: ESAI. Issa / Rae / Esai => all "crossword-ese"
51. Tendon: SINEW.
52. Fauna counterpart: FLORA.
55. High scorer on a pH test: BASE. Interesting clue; acids and alkalis (bases) make up the numbers on the pH scale (1-14). Numbers above 7 are considered the bases
57. Annual Austin festival, familiarly: SXSW. Short for "south by southwest"
58. Big rig: SEMI. We had both DEMI and SEMI in the same puzzle, and neither was referred to as a number (in the clueing)
59. Actress Falco: EDIE.
60. Prog rock band Jethro __: TULL. One last video
61. Raced: SPED.
64. Recipe amt.: TSP.
65. __ cave: MAN. It could've been clued "Cave follower" with the same answer
See you in July. I probably won't be answering too many questions on the blog today as I am visiting family, but please feel free to add comments below
