39-Across. School area workers, and what the four pairs of intersecting starred answers depict : CROSSING GUARDS.
Eight synonyms for GUARD cross each other in this puzzle. Here they are:
21-Across. *Former Ford compact : ESCORT. crossing 4-Down. *Hypnotist's prop : WATCH.
23-Across. *Orlando newspaper : SENTINEL. crossing 10-Down. *Janitor : CUSTODIAN.
59-Across. *German __ : SHEPHERD. crossing 49-Down. *Regulation-sized fish : KEEPER.
66-Across. *"Heaven Can Wait" (1978) Oscar nominee Jack : WARDEN. crossing 42-Down. *Lawyer, at times : DEFENDER.
70 theme letters is a whole ton, leaving very little wiggle room to sparkle with the fill.
Across
1. "__ go, into ... " : OFF WE. So yes, off we...
6. Top level : ATTIC.
11. Night school subj. : ESL. English (as a) Second Language.
68. __ Miss : OLE. Shout out to DH - his Alma mater.
69. Defamatory text : LIBEL.
70. Strip, as of rights : DIVEST.
71. Poetic adverb : E'ER.
72. Rodeo catcher : LASSO.
73. "Star Wars" title : DARTH. It is reserved for Sith Lords.
Down
1. Shocked letters : OMG."Oh My Goodness..."
2. Like much court evidence : FORENSIC.
3. More kittenish : FRISKIER.
5. This, in Toledo : ESTO.
6. JFK's UN ambassador : AES. Adlai Ewing Stevenson.
7. Barrette target : TRESS.
8. "Pencils down!" : TIME!
9. Coast-to-coast hwy. : I-TEN. The southernmost east-west hwy. in the continental US.
11. Blissful : EDENIC.
12. Star sometimes eclipsing Venus? : SERENA. The Williams sisters of tennis.
13. Stahl of "60 Minutes" : LESLEY. I can never remember if it is "ie" or EY at the end.
15. Fertile Crescent land : SYRIA.
20. Reward in a jar : TIP.
22. NFL six-pointers : TDs. Touch Downs.
24. Come to the rescue of : AID.
26. Prefix with biology : ETHNO-.
30. URL ending : ORG.
31. Actress Joanne : DRU. Born Joan Letitia LaCock. (Really!)
34. Steal ... or the one who catches the thief : COP.
35. War of 1812 commodore : ISAAC HULL. No clue.
37. Considered figures carefully? : OGLED.
38. Like some wit or wine : DRY. I like both that way. ;-)
40. "The Simpsons" disco guy : STU. I don't even have to think about these characters any more.
disco = STU
store = APU
bar = MOE
smart = LISA
etc etc etc...
41. Rankle : IRK.
43. Most unemotional : STONIEST.
46. "Help! We're sinking!" : SOS.
47. '70s-'80s tennis star Tanner : ROSCOE. He was not a huge star, and might be more well known to the police than to any tennis fan.
Theme - INTO THE WOODS. The theme answers are the names of trees, but clued differently, of course [though cluing as the trees' woods or fruits is only slightly different] and they are located at the puzzle's periphery, thus surrounding all the other fill.
1 A. Hearth dust : ASH. That is what is left of the wood when the fire is done burning. Sadly, the ASH tree is under attack from a green boring beetle. I thought this might be why fewer baseball bats were being made from ash and more from MAPLE, but that turns out not to be the case. The word is derived from Latin, via Old English, meaning spear in both languages, which can provide another hint as to one of its uses
4 A. Snapple's __ Madness : MANGO. A fruity beverage made of kiwi and vegetable juices, MANGO puree and other stuff. The eponymous tree is tropical and cultivated for its fruit.
9 A. Jet black : EBONY. A deep black color, named for the wood of the EBONY trees - several species of the genus Diospyrosnative to Africa and Asia. The wood is used for decorative and ornamental purposes.
65 A. Syrup type : MAPLE. Made by boiling down the sap of the tree of the same name. There are other syrups made from corn and sugar cane, but only pure MAPLE syrup will adorn my pancakes!
66 A. __ Rapids, Iowa : CEDAR. Iowa's second largest city straddles the CEDAR River, named for the red CEDAR trees that grow in its Minnesota and Iowa watershed.
67 A. C&W's __ Ridge Boys : OAK. They started in the 40's as country group Wally Fowler and the Georgia Clodhoppers [I am not making this up] who evolved into the OAK Ridge Boys [because that was where they usually performed,] a gospel singing quartet that changed their focus in the 70's, thus generating several country and crossover hits. Of course many personnel changes occurred over the years. The tree whose name is at the heart of all this is native to the northern hemisphere.
1 D. Jam fruit : APRICOT. Well, this could have been just about anything - but as is it is one of my favorites. Apricot trees are from the genus prunus - bearing fruits with a stone seed at the core.
13. Robin Hood's bow wood : YEW. Again, the wood and its tree. "The secret to the Yew bow’s strength and beauty is it’s natural laminate of heartwood and sapwood. The heartwood is where the power comes from, it’s ability to be compressed and return back to its original shape is almost unmatched in any other wood. The sapwood of the tree is superior under tension and protects the heartwood from being able to break, but also adds beauty. This is why some Native North American tribes believe this tree was put on earth for the making of bows and referred to it as the chief of the forest, being a small tree mostly almost vine-like under towering Old Growth forests."
27. Cookie fruit : FIG. Fruit and tree - an Asian species in the mulberry family, cultivated since ancient times.
39. Trident, e.g. : GUM. Well - this is different - and confusing. Trident is a brand name for sugar-free chewing gum. People have been chewing gum made from various tree bark extracts for millennia. In recent decades, though, natural gums have been replaced by polybutadiene, a synthetic polymer (yum!) GUM tree can refer to various types of trees from the eucalyptus, angophora or corymbia genera, native to Australia and/or Tasmania. The American Sweet GUM tree is completely different, native to the southeastern U. S., Mexico and Central America.
46. Poison drunk by Socrates : HEMLOCK. Here, we have a case of mistaken identity. Socrates' bane, corium maculatum, is a poisonous biennial herb of the carrot family, also known by several other names such as carrot fern, poison parsley and devil's bread. These plants contain several chemically similar highly potent alkaloids that attack the nervous system leading to paralysis of resperitory muscles. The completely unrelated and nontoxic HEMLOCK tree includes several species of the genus tsuga, tall conifers in the pine family, pinaceae. The crushed foliage exude an aroma similar to that of the poisonous plant, hence the name.
58. Common street name : ELM. Many American cities once had shady tree-lined streets - hence the name transfer from the tree. In the mid 20th century, elm growth in North America and Europe was devastated by dutch ELM disease, an affliction caused by three related fungus species spread by the ELM bark beetle. It's ben a mightmare.
And the unifier: 36 A. Like a shady boulevard ... and like this puzzle, in terms of its 12 border answers : TREELINED. Which by this time should need no further explanation.
Hi gang, it's JazzBumpa, back after a long hiatus. Despite what you may be thinking, I was neither lost in the woods nor up a tree. Wood you like to go exploring in today's sylvan adventure? I wood, so let's discover if we can find the forest for the trees.
But beware -- there may be danger!
Across
14. Shade of green : PEA. Like olive drab, but slightly less exciting.
15. Exemplary : IDEAL. Serving as a good example. Am I exemplary when I DEAL at the poker game?
16. "Irma la __" : DOUCE. Sweet Irma, the central character in a 1956 romantic comedy about prostitution, intrigue and moral degradation, starring Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemon. Sweet, indeed!
17. Flock member : RAM. Likely to be an old goat.
18. Intimate : CLOSE. I guess this explains white intimate apparel is close fitting.
20. Provence pronoun : ILS. Google translate tells me this means "they."
21. Structures with many layers? : HEN HOUSES. Would you like more of this kind of yolk? Do you think I'm egging you on? Are you shell shocked? [Extra credit for anyone who can make a pun involving "albumin."]
23. "My Antonia" novelist : CATHER. Willa, 1873 - 1947. After growing up first in Virginia, which her family left in 1882 to avoid a TB outbreak, and Nebraska, she graduated from Nebraska U, thus becoming an official Husker! She then lived in Pittsburgh for 10 years and finally settled in New York City, though "settled" is probably a bit misleading, since she traveled extensively and spend her summers in New Brunswick.
25. To some degree : SORT OF. So you might say she SORT OF lived in New York.
28. Situation before a two-run homer : ONE ON. Baseball! The condition of having ONE runner ON base - any base.
29. "Barnaby Jones" star : EBSEN. Buddy (1908-2003.) I remember him as Holly Golightly's [Audrey Hepburn] abandoned husband, Doc, in Breakfast at Tiffany's, a thoroughly ghastly movie, in a way that only something from the early 60's could be. But that gives me an excuse to link to this wonderful Henry Mancini song featuring Dick Nash on trombone, from the score album. Mysteriously, the song is never heard in the movie.
32. Lilly of pharmaceuticals : ELI. (1838-1898) He was a successful pharmacist, Union army hero in the Civil War, and unsuccessful plantation owner after the war. He returned to pharmacy and became wealthy by making several advances in the manufacture of medicines.
33. Hardly talkative : TERSE. And that's all I have to say.
34. Strange: Pref. : XENO-. From the Greek
35. Take down __ : A PEG. Reprimand someone for being arrogant.
39. Long-jawed fish : GARS. No hint that a plural is needed.
42. Order in the court : WRIT. Clever, but I'm not sure it's correct. A WRIT is an order issued by a court, but generally sent to a recipient outside of the court. That may be a lower level court, but still. I rest my case
43. "Happy Pills" singer Jones : NORAH. Ravi Shankar's daughter.
4. Author of "Hawaii," "Alaska," and "Texas" : MICHENER. James Albert (1907 - 1997) His novels are too big and sprawling for me.
5. Psychologist Alfred : ADLER. Alfred (1870-1937) founder of individual psychology, a post-Freudian method influential in counseling.
6. Lamp gas : NEON. It glows.
7. Cut that may need stitches : GASH.
8. Parkay, say : OLEO. Ersatz butter. What do Hungarians put on their toast? Magyarine! [Actually, we're pretty big on bacon grease.]
9. New Jersey township named for an inventor : EDISON. Thomas Alva (1847-1931.)
10. Silly blunder : BONER. Probably derived from making a bone-headed play.
11. Walk faster than : OUT STEP. I wanted OUT PACE, which seems more in-the-language.
12. PX shopper : NCO. Non Commissioned Officer at the Post Exchange.
22. Try to tempt with : USE ON. You can use all your charms on your next victim.
24. Party throwers : HOSTS. Etymology, via Wictionary: From Old French oste (French: hôte), from Middle Latin hospitem, accusative of hospes (“a host, also a sourjourner, visitor, guest; hence, a foreigner, a stranger”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰóspot- (“master of guests”), from *gʰóstis (“stranger, guest, host, someone with whom one has reciprocal duties of hospitality”) and *pótis (“owner, master, host, husband”). Used in English since 13th century.
26. "Hip, hip, Jorge!" : OLE. Spanish cheer, here presented as a ghastly pun and a reach too far.
29. Wield : EXERT. As force, as in using a weapon.
30. Prove otherwise : BELIE. Debunk.
31. Piques : SNITS. Little anger episodes. Aren't they cute?
35. Beautify : ADORN. Decorate.
37. "The Seven Year Itch" actor Tom : EWELL. Star of the stage play and the movie.
38. Jeopardize : ENDANGER. As one's marriage, per the above clip.
40. Anti-apartheid org. : ANC. African National Congress, the ruling national political party of the Republic of South Africa since 1994.
41. 1987 title law-enforcing cyborg : ROBOCOP.
44. Meets, as a challenge : RISES TO.
45. "Anne of Green Gables" community : AVONLEA. A fictional community on Prince Edward Island
54. Old Norse explorer : ERIC. (Eiríkr Þorvaldsson; 950 – c. 1003) The turn-of-the-millennium Norse had spent the previous couple of centuries earning a reputation as nasty people. Þorvald Ásvaldsson was so nasty that the other Norse could not tolerate him. He was exiled from Norway and settled with his family on the West coast of Iceland. Continuing the family tradition, his son Eric - called "The Red" due to his Marxist leanings the color of his hair and beard - was exiled in turn for committing "some killings" in Iceland, ca. 982. Per Wikipedia, he spent his three years of exile exploring Greenland, and established the first successful Norse settlement there. Lovely fellow.
55. Marketing leader? : TELE. TELEmarketing is a rude intrusion. This type of affix clue always annoys me.
56. Nudge : PROD. As with an elbow.
59. Pastoral expanse : LEA. From Middle English for a grass land, and what you might find when you emerge from the woods. Well, here we are on the lea-ward side, safe and sound. IMHO we had a successful excursion. We were able to branch out a bit, and I only barked my shins a couple of times. Hope you enjoyed it, too. [Full disclosure: I used Wikipedia and Mr. Google to root out the information contained herein.] Cool regards! JzB
Theme: AR rears - Both parts of the theme entries end in 'AR'.
17A. *Arctic carnivore : POLAR BEAR
31A. *1969 #1 hit used in a cereal promotion : "SUGAR SUGAR". A picture is worth a 1000 words.
48A. *Puréed fruit drink : PEAR NECTAR
66A. *Period between consecutive spring equinoxes : SOLAR YEAR
11D. *Gelatin made from algae : AGAR AGAR. (alternate name)
40D. *"Well said!" : "HEAR, HEAR!"
47D. Unpaid debts ... or, read differently, what both parts of the answers to starred clues have? : ARREARS. AR rears.
Argyle here. When IS talk like a pirate day? 'Ar matey, 'tis a fine offerin' from Cap'n C.C. Six theme entries with a properly hidden reveal. A couple of columns longer than the theme entries but it wasn't confusing due to the stars.
Across:
1. Somewhat : A BIT
5. Garter material : LACE
9. Level of learning : GRADE
14. Entitled to the entire estate, as an heir : SOLE. (unique clue/answer)
15. Org. with a "Speak Freely" blog : ACLU. (American Civil Liberties Union) Easy guess.
16. Seth of "Pineapple Express" : ROGEN. 2008 movie with no pear nectar.
19. Texas mission : ALAMO
20. Outward flow : EBB
21. Shout from a knocker : "IT'S ME". It's Dave, man.
22. Postal motto word : NOR, 46A. Post office buy : STAMP
Say "Hello" to Kazie's granddaughter Mila Josephine! Kay said that Mila was born Thursday in Germany and she weighed in at 3340 grams and 78 cm.
Kay further said that "I love Lea's smile in the first one--she looks so delighted. But Geoff told us Friday that she thought it was "her" baby. Maybe the delight will wear off now Mila is home, though I hope not."
