Title: Ring around the rosie....
The most recent champion solver of the 2016 ACPT, Howard Barkin bring us his third LAT creation since his DEBUT. This is another variation with a visual component added to the words in a puzzle. It is not uncommon to have a single word be the clue for all of the theme answers, but Howard gives us a symbol. Working backwards from the fill, it is easy to see that the little circle is a RING, and each of the three themers are distinct and different types of ring. This all tied up with a nice neat bow with the reveal which by its nature limited Howard to three theme answers. Not sure why, but I clicked with this puzzle and had a really fast Friday time for me. (Not in his less than 4 minute Friday league)Howard has lots of very common words like ARENA, SEE, OLEO, EASE. ERE and ERA. But he also gives us TROWEL, LEERER, RAINING, OARLOCK, NEW COKE, DOGLEGS, EASTER EGGS, ANSWERED TO. Okay, we had fun so let us see what is
Next....
20A. O : CRIMINAL NETWORK (15). Ring has so many connotations, picking only three must have been difficult.
32A. O : BOXING VENUE (11). A reminder of the recent passing of Muhammed Ali, the Champ.
43A. O : WEDDING BAND (11). With this ring, I thee wed...
And the reveal
56A. Site of confused activity, and a hint to 20-, 32- and 43-Across : THREE RING CIRCUS (15).
Across:
1. "I Love Lucy" airer: CBS. Love an easy 1A on Friday.
4. Search, in a way: GROPE. In the darkness, not your neighbor at the movies.
9. "I Love Lucy" role: ETHEL. Plunked this is without hesitation, and I was off.
14. Caucasian native: HUN. We are not talking racially but GEOGRAPHICALLY. I had no idea about any of this and filled in only because I did 1A, 1D, 2D and 3D to begin.
15. Havens: OASES. Very literal.
16. __ football: ARENA. This is the 29th season for the SPRING indoor football league.
17. Detergent in a red container: ERA.
19. More miffed: SORER.
23. Inca __: Peruvian soft drink: KOLA. My learning moment. LINK. Not to be confused with 45D. Widely criticized 1985 product introduction: NEW COKE.
24. Taxing people? : IRS. Funny?
25. Meet at the poker table: SEE. I will see your $10.00 and raise you $10.00.
26. Twitter follower, usually: FAN. Stalker, media person...
28. Horseshoe-shaped boat part: OARLOCK.
37. Garden pond fish: KOI. We have had this CARP before many times.
38. Crook's invention: ALIAS.
39. Meteor tail? : ITE. The word, not the phenomenon.
40. Ancient Greek physician: GALEN. Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus, often Anglicized as Galen and better known as Galen of Pergamon, was a prominent Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman empire. Wikipedia
42. Author Deighton: LEN. A spy novelist who gave us many books and movies with The Ipcress File one that comes to mind.
46. Angles for iron users: DOGLEGS. I love the fill, great for all of our golfers, but the clue seems awkward. Howard? Rich?
48. Course for newcomers: Abbr. : ESL. English as a Second Language. The course really helped Oo.
49. "... __ the set of sun": "Macbeth": ERE. A return of Will to Friday.
50. Seven-film franchise: SAW. I have not seen any SAW.
52. Smooth over: EASE.
61. Stockpile: HOARD. I think my uncle was one, but not as bad as seen on TV.
63. "Rumour __ It": 2011 Adele hit : HAS.
65. In need of change? : BROKE. Very cute, except when you go to buy gas in this town and all the panhandlers wait.
66. Spacewalk initials: EVA. ExtraVehicular Activity? HG, what did you think of Matt Damon and the Martian?
67. Brief copy? : REPROduction.
68. Spoke Abyssinian? : MEWED. I loved this clue/fill as my mind froze. We have done some work with an Abyssinian Church here.
69. "L.A. Law" actress: DEY.
Down:
1. It's always dated: CHECK. More fun cluing.
2. Grand Canyon animal: BURRO.
3. Spiral-shelled creature: SNAIL.
4. View from the Qilian Mountains: GOBI.
5. Coming down: RAINING.
6. Muppet in a can: OSCAR.
7. Strips off: PEELS.
8. "Outside the Lines" airer: ESPN.
9. Hidden DVD features: EASTER EGGS. Love this reference. An Easter egg is an intentional inside joke, hidden message, or feature in an interactive work such as a computer program, video game or DVD menu screen. The name is used to evoke the idea of a traditional Easter egg hunt. LINK.
10. Garden tool: TROWEL. Maybe rhyming with VOWEL? Owen?
11. Sub: HERO.
12. U.S. dept. with a windmill on its seal: ENERgy.
13. Escapade: LARK.
21. Classic 20-Across : MAFIA. No more omerta, maybe no more mafia.
22. Genesis name: ESAU.
27. Was supervised by: ANSWERED TO.
28. R.E.M.'s "The __ Love" : ONE I.
29. St. with a panhandle: OKLAhoma.
30. "Fargo" director: COEN.
31. Warmhearted: KIND.
32. Undisguised: BALD. I never saw this, and would not have gotten as clued? WT...
33. Toast topping: OLEO. Not anymore
34. Word seen under a deer silhouette: XING, Not a word...
35. YouTube clips, for short: VIDS.
36. RR schedule listing: ETD.
41. More capable: ABLER.
44. Hungarian wine region: EGER. Eger is mainly known for its castle, thermal baths, historic buildings (including the northernmost Turkish minaret) and, above all else, the best Hungarian red wines. When you plan your trip, it looks like a small town for which half a day is more than enough, but 3 days may not even be enough to enjoy it fully, even in the winter. Wikivoyage.
50. Bedroom noise: SNORE. Sorry. You should be...
51. Warmly lit: AGLOW. If only you
53. Yearned: ACHED. For her, with your
54. Polished: SUAVE. ways
55. SAT part that's judged: ESSAY.
56. Wielder of Mjölnir: THOR.
57. Perfect: HONE. People often hone their craft.
58. Grating sound: RASP. You can use a rasp to sharpen (hone) your tools.
59. SALT topic: ICBM. Inter Continental Ballistic Missile. Back to back days.
60. More than annoyed: IRED. A variation of IRE I have never seen anywhere but crossword puzzles.
I really enjoyed the creativity of the theme as well as the many witty clue/fill combos. There was some meh, but I had fun; thank HB and all of you. Lemonade back at ya.
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