Monday, March 20, 2017 Bruce Haight

Theme: And it's a grand day to be sure!

17A. Change one's route to avoid heavy traffic, say: MAKE A DETOUR. Grand tour.

23A. Likely successor to the throne: HEIR APPARENT. Grandparent

37A. "You're confusing me": "I DON'T UNDERSTAND". Grandstand, verb or noun.

48A. Sprained ankle, often: SPORTS INJURY. Grand jury.

59A. Climactic show ending, and a literal hint to this puzzle's circled letters: GRAND FINALE. The word in the circles can follow GRAND and they are the final word in their entries.

Argyle here. We have a quick return of Bruce Haight, a grid spanner; we have circles, a tight theme, a very necessary reveal. I hope we all have great week on this first day of spring.

Across:

1. Negative attention from the press, briefly: BAD PR. (bad public relations)

6. Deep-voiced opera singer: BASSO

11. "I knew it!": "HAH!"

14. Blazing: AFIRE. AWORD.

15. Gossip spreader: YENTA

16. Abu Dhabi is its cap.: UAE. (United Arab Emirates) Visit Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, if you dare.

19. Org. for marksmen: NRA. (National Rifle Association)

20. "You __ here": ARE

21. Pipe-cleaning brand: DRANO. (Not recommended for tobacco pipes.)

22. Composer Stravinsky: IGOR. His wife's name was "Katya".

26. Magnificent: SUPERB

29. Epps of "House": OMAR. His IMDb page.

30. Have no doubt: KNOW

31. Fabulist mentioned by Aristotle: AESOP. (fabulist - a person who composes or relates fables.)

34. Soda: POP

41. Capitol Hill fig.: POL

42. Quarrel: ARGUE

43. Machu Picchu resident: INCA

44. "Me neither!": "NOR I!"

46. Sacred river of India: GANGES

53. "Peter Pan" beast: CROC. Tic-toc croc.

54. Safe place?: VAULT

55. Help in finding the hidden treasure: MAP

58. Kept under wraps: HID

62. Blanc who voiced Bugs: MEL

63. "__ bet?": WANNA

64. Kind of panel or system: SOLAR

65. Keats work: ODE

66. Annual celebrations, for short: B-DAYS

67. Plot surprise: TWIST

Down:

1. The Crimson Tide, familiarly: BAMA. (Alabama)

2. In the distance: AFAR

3. Storied water barrier: DIKE. Dutch boy story, perhaps.

4. Ante-: PRE-. Prefixes.

5. Page turner: READER

6. Way to play music if you can't read it: BY EAR

7. Insurance giant: AETNA

8. Busybody: SNOOP

9. Good name for a lover of hearty meals: STU

10. Paddle: OAR

11. Gut feeling at dinner time?: HUNGER PANG

12. Packers quarterback Rodgers: AARON. Green Bay Packers, Green Bay, Wisconsin.

13. EKG organ: HEART

18. Smidgen: DRIB. Often found as dribs and drabs.

22. Nest egg acronym: IRA. (Individual Retirement Account)

23. Previously cut, as timber: HEWN

24. Penniless: POOR

25. Gig equipment: AMPs

26. Decide not to go to: SKIP

27. Loosen, as a knot: UNDO

28. Cylindrical water toy: POOL NOODLE

31. Director Lee: ANG. Taiwanese-born Ang Lee, not "Spike" Lee.

32. School URL ending: .EDU

33. "Comprende?": "SEE?". Spanish to English.

35. Fairy tale starter: ONCE

36. High-tech appt. books: PDAs. (personal digital assistant)

38. Sharp-tasting: TART

39. "Exodus" author Leon: URIS

40. Minuscule: TINY

45. Tolkien beast: ORC

46. __ of Mexico: GULF

47. Whistler, but not his mother: ARTIST

48. Blockhead: SCHMO

49. Jimmied (open): PRIED

50. The first Mrs. Trump: IVANA

51. Mary Poppins, e.g.: NANNY

52. Biblical betrayer: JUDAS

55. Timbuktu's country: MALI

56. "__, poor Yorick!": Hamlet: ALAS

57. Cheeky: PERT

59. Pres. #43: GWB.(George Walker Bush)

60. "Cool!": "RAD!"

61. "Immediately!": "NOW!"

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to dear Spitzboov (Al), our always cheerful and knowledgeable imp (Spitzboov is Low German for "rascal/"imp".) Spitzboov served in the Navy Reserve for over 20 years & retired as Commander. He continues to support the Navy in any way he can. The Annin flag he sent to me after I got my US citizenship is from the Navy. Hopefully you and Betty can meet with Argyle again this year.

Argyle and Spitzboov

(August 23, 2014, Washington County Fair)

2) Happy Birthday to John28man as well! He pops in on the blog from time to time.

Sunday, March 19, 2017 Cheri Kedrowski and Victor Barocas

Theme: "Big Appetite" - The last words (all animals) are replaced by the bigger animals in the successive theme entries.

22A. Practice good web courtesy? : NOT HURT A SPIDER. Not hurt a fly (back to the reveal theme entry). Like the Jains. Fun clue. Made me think of Internet.

30A. Description of the start of some Road Runner cartoons? : ALONG CAME A BIRD. Along Came a Spider.

53A. Nibbles on Friskies? : EATS LIKE A CAT. Eats like a bird.

61A. Warning for a snoopy Snoopy? : CURIOSITY KILLED THE DOG. Grid spanner. Curiosity killed the cat.

73A. Treatment for a milk hangover? : HAIR OF THE COW. Hair of the dog.

95A. Line that might not calm down Richard III? : DON'T HAVE A HORSE. Don't have a cow. "My kingdom for a horse".

107A. Song that inspired this puzzle : I KNOW AN OLD LADY. I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,

C.C. here. Alas, I have no memory of this song, despite a Jeffrey puzzle a few years ago.

Asked Boomer. He started to sing "... I don't know why she swallowed a fly. Perhaps she'll die...". Then I checked the Wiki page and understood the rationale of Cheri and Victor's approach. Quite neat. Orderly increase of animal size. 

Google shows that Cheri Kedrowski is a manager with 3M. This seems to be her debut. Congrats, Cheri!

You all know Victor Barocas, the very  talented and self-effacing crossword constructor and editor of our local Minnesota Crossword Tournament.

 Victor Barocas, David Liben-Nowell & Michael David

The 7 theme entries are all fairly long. Total 101 theme squares.  Heavy themage. Cheri and Victor still managed to put two great 11's and five 9's in the Down slots.

Across:

       

1. Plymouth Reliant, e.g. : K-CAR

5. Spanish cathedral city : LEON. Here is the cathedral.

9. Yawner : DRAG

13. Flakes in geology class : MICA

17. Language that gave us "bard" : ERSE

18. Magazine founder Eric : UTNE. Our local Barnes & Noble carries Uten Reader. But no LA Times.

19. Graceful leap : JETE. Clue echo with 36. Graceful leap : AXEL

20. Wasn't plumb : LEANED. I read it as "Wasn't plump".

25. With merchandise, say, as payments : IN KIND

26. Snack cake that can be deep-fried : TWINKIE. I meant to ask. Have any of you had these Oreo pies before? 

27. Author Morrison : TONI. Also 89. Mystery author Grafton : SUE

28. Bening of "The Kids Are All Right" : ANNETTE

29. Proof-ending abbr. : QED

33. Foot bone : TALUS

37. Clarifying words : AS IN. V as in Victor.

38. Non-discriminatory hiring abbr. : EOE

39. Et __ : ALII. Put in ALI? then wait.

40. Cruised through : ACED

41. Cool play area, maybe : RINK. Nice clue.

43. "Erie Canal" mule : SAL

45. Frequent mother-and-child painter : CASSATT (Mary)

47. Last verb in the Gettysburg Address : PERISH. "... shall not perish from the earth". Victor always digs deep for different clue angles.

49. Bar game : LIMBO

56. Supreme Roman : EMPEROR

58. Pamplona's kingdom : NAVARRE. Forgot. We had this a while ago.

59. '70s extremist gp. : SLA. Symbionese Liberation Army.

60. Boast opener : VENI. "veni, vidi, vici"

68. Scads : A TON

69. Chilean pronoun : ESO

70. Cellphone setting : VIBRATE

71. Rock band member : BASSIST

78. 1921 Valentino role : SHEIK

79. Breastbones : STERNA. I learned this word from an Alan Cumming/Fresh Air interview.

81. Not let go of : BELABOR

83. __ Moines : DES

85. Jackie's designer : OLEG (Cassini)

86. Tobacco plug : CHAW

88. Record, in a way : TIVO

91. Distinctive flavor : TANG. Also the last major Chinese dynasty with capital in my hometown Xi'an. Zhou, Qin, Han & Tang. That's how I got my Mandarin name.

93. Like details you'd rather be spared : GORY

94. In the stars : FATED

99. Tool for Cinderella : MOP

100. Remove from the box : UNCRATE

101. The __: Horace works : ODES

102. Small detail : MINUTIA

106. 1958 hit that won the first Song of the Year Grammy : VOLARE. Learning moment for me. Wiki says it's Italian for "To fly".

110. Puts up : ERECTS

111. Level : TIER

112. Humor that evokes winces : CORN

113. Myrtle or hazel : TREE

114. Thing to do : TASK

115. Postulates : SAYS

116. Joint for jumping : KNEE. Another nice clue.

117. Large septet : SEAS

Down:

1. Surrey neighbor : KENT

2. Fox's fabled flattery victim : CROW

3. Italian sparkler : ASTI

4. Burger successor : REHNQUIST. The Chief Justice when I first came here.

5. Shocking : LURID

6. Kitchen extension? : ETTE. Kitchenette. Also  55. Trick ending? : ERY. Trickery.

7. Bump-log link : ON A

8. Snugly situated : NESTLED

9. Muslim spirit : DJINN. Also JINNI.

10. Make anew, as a trench : RE-DIG

11. Downed : ATE

12. Lang. of Luther : GER

13. Pretend : MAKE BELIEVE.Also 64. Advantage : INSIDE TRACK. Sparkly 11s.

14. Ab __: from the start : INITIO 

15. Middle of England? : CENTRE. Normally a clue for ELL.

16. Threw in : ADDED

20. Housekeeping concern : LINENS

21. Sicilian province or its capital : ENNA

23. Maui music makers : UKEs

24. Combine : POOL

28. Port-au-Prince pal : AMI

30. Pink-slip : AXE

31. "That's enough!" : CAN IT

32. Poses : ASKS

33. Middle X, in a game : TAC

34. Roman wings : ALAE. Learned from doing crosswords.

35. Hall of Fame WNBA star __ Leslie : LISA Incredible career.

36. Ones seeking change : ACTIVISTS

40. Books with legends : ATLASES

41. Warehouse job : RECEIVING

42. Savings plan letters : IRA

44. European peak : ALP

46. "This comes __ surprise" : AS NO

47. Leave in the garage : PARK

48. Kept down : HELD AT BAY. Great fill as well.

50. Sitcom with the episode "Stable for Three" : MR. ED. Mister Ed is the preferred spelling. Rich also prefers Doctor Who rather than DR WHO.

51. Lead singer on "The Joshua Tree" : BONO

52. Not a copy: Abbr. : ORIG

54. Green Hornet's driver : KATO

 

57. First book of the New Testament : MATTHEW

59. Feudal peasant : SERF

61. Pickup artists? : CABS. Not CONS. The driver can be the "Pickup artist". Not the car itself. 

62. Bountiful locale : UTAH. Bountiful, Utah.

63. Left the ground : ROSE

65. Turkish coin : LIRA

66. Corp. raider's ploy : LBO. Leveraged Buyout.

67. Cad : HEEL

72. Devastating 2008 hurricane : IKE

73. Comic strip mother of Hamlet and Honi : HELGA. Hagar the Horrible.

74. "You __": Lionel Richie hit : ARE

75. Launches : CATAPULTS. Love this word.

76. Departure notice? : OBIT

77. Emulated Arachne : WOVE

80. Word with musical or muscle : TONE

82. Reel partner : ROD

84. With 92-Down, Monopoly prop. bordering the Electric Company : STATES. And 92. See 84-Down : AVE

 

86. Russian Civil War fighter : COSSACK

87. Maximilian I's realm: Abbr. : HRE

89. Chihuahua neighbor : SONORA

90. Ben and Sam : UNCLES

 

93. Gathered steam : GREW

94. Affectionate : FOND

95. Bed cover : DUVET. Not SHEET.

96. Playwright Moss : HART

97. Baklava sweetener : HONEY. I recall Baklava is favorite at the Spitzboov household. Best wishes for Betty's quick recovery! Relieved to hear the good news for your son too, Wilbur!

Spitzboov, Betty and Argyle

98. Glade targets : ODORS

99. "The Wrong Sort of Bees" author : MILNE

102. Seconds : MORE

103. Shipping deduction : TARE

104. Planning session input : IDEA

105. Positive words : AYEs

107. "__ Not Easy Being Green" : IT'S

108. Soul seller : KIA. Not FAUST. Great clue.

109. Nantes negative : NON

C.C.

Saturday, Mar 18th, 2017, Bruce Venzke

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing F,J,Y,Z)

Blocks: 34

 Two constructors in a row named Bruce - a little over one year since our last Bruce Venzke Saturday puzzle, and another tough start to for me, but with only one cheat, I was able to get it finished, and within my personal allotted time.  Got deceived by the "easy" four-letter NW corner, and was unable to get any traction there - though I did have an inkling about what 1a was supposed to be.  My down run in the NE was quick, and that helped open up the grid.  Just the triple 10-letter corners and two 8-letter fills for the long answers today;

18a. Sharper : SCAM ARTIST - ah, new definition for me

25a. Showman named Phineas : P.T. BARNUM

47a. Disgruntled fans, slangily : BOO BIRDS

ahh, hockey fans....

65. Windows alternatives : AISLE SEATS - ah, planes, not computers.  Firefox has dropped support for Windows XP, which is tragic, since I think it was the best version of the software - now I have to buy a new computer....

onwarDE~!

ACROSS:

 1. Cleaning up a mess? : ON K.P. - I was thinking KP, but duty, not the other way around

5. Overcomes, as adversity : RISES ABOVE

15. River to the Laptev Sea : LENA

16. Beset by dire circumstances : IN EXTREMIS

17. Reach new heights : GROW - I am in Delaware this weekend to work out the details of getting three board games into production with my buddy's games company - I hope to reach new heights with them

19. Publication for pitchers? : ADWEEK

21. Paid : REMITTED

22. "I have a lady in the balcony" old radio/TV quiz show : Dr. I.Q. - the Wiki

24. Binge-watcher's aid : TiVO

29. Butterflies : NERVES

33. __ room : CHAT

34. Largest Italian lake : GARDA - my cheat

36. __ Valley, Calif. : SIMI - or NAPA~?

37. Court judgment : LET - tennis, not legal

38. Metaphorical social barrier : ICE - yeah, I need some work on my "ice breakers"

39. Salon substance : GEL - or DYE~? had to wait

40. They might be about nothing : ADOs

42. Gather in a mass : CLUMP

44. Self-named 1954 or 1964 jazz album : MONK - good WAG.  Thelonious

45. Expel : BANISH

49. Novelist O'Flaherty : LIAM

51. X-Ray __: U.K. punk band : SPEX

52. Socrates or Plato : ATHENIAN

56. Meditative discipline : TAI CHI

60. Agenda : THINGS TO DO - my list of 'things to do' is way too long - and I still haven't had the chance to wash and wax the new caravan~!

62. Kennebunk-based personal care products brand, familiarly : TOM'S - new to me; here's the website

63. Old crate : RATTLETRAP

64. Noodle bar order : UDON - filled via perps

66. Shady time, for some : PAST - mine contains 15 years of "wreckage": W. Charles - I know what the L.E.B.F.T. stands for~!

DOWN:

1. Wife of Igor of Kiev : OLGA - yeah, not too vague....

2. Socially awkward type : NERD

3. Recognize : KNOW

4. Handled carelessly : PAWED AT

5. Putting in jeopardy : RISKING

6. Like many beginners' piano pieces : IN C - all white keys, no sharps or flats

7. Burn slightly : SEAR

8. Keith Hernandez, e.g. : EX-MET - this one was in my wheelhouse

9. Marathoner's need : STAMINA

10. Succeed big-time : ARRIVE

11. Pool habitués : BETTORS - like football boxes, not swimming

12. Leave off : OMIT

13. It has two jaws : VISE

14. Storefront sign abbr. : EST'D

20. Miss an easy spare, say : ERR - ah, bowling....

23. Bobwhite, e.g. : QUAIL - a gimme once the "Q" appeared

25. Classroom with mice : PC LAB - computer mouse, that is

26. Old-time screen vamp Bara : THEDA

27. Track bar : BATON

28. Ernie Banks' sobriquet : Mr. CUB

30. Intensity : VIGOR

31. Fix, as copy : EMEND

32. Track apparel : SILKS - horse racing; I was thinking about running - sweats or sneak(er)s

35. Teaching methods : DEMOS

41. A quarter of a half? : SILENT L - clever

42. Some recliners : CHAISES - another kind of "recliner"

43. Beer openers : POP-TOPS

44. Scrap : MIX IT UP - ah, the fighting and not recycling kind of scrap

46. One of Pete Rose's record 3,215 : SINGLE

48. '80s-'90s co-star with Betty, Rue and Estelle : BEA

50. Far from shiny : MATTE - I refinished the floors at one of the restaurants - in gloss, not matte - came out great, but need to go back and do a buff and re-coat this coming week

52. First razor with a pivoting head : ATRA

53. Chiang Mai native : THAI - semi dupe with "Tai-Chi"

54. Battleship goals : HITS - "you sank my battleship~!"

55. Myrna's role in "The Thin Man" : NORA

57. Musical closing : CODA - and the title of Led Zeppelin's last album

58. Managed care gps. : HMOs

59. Exists no more : ISN'T

61. Brooklynese pronoun : DAT - oops, not "DEM"

Splynter 

Friday March 17, 2017, Paul Coulter

To celebrate St. Paddy's day, here's a beautiful version of When Irish Eyes Are Smilin' by the Irish tenor who was a foil for Jack Benny for years. It makes for lovely background music!

Now, for sure and begorrah, let's be gettin' down to the puzzle!

TITLE: BACK TO FRONT

On this St. Paddy's Day, Lemon has put himself on the injured reserve list and C.C. has brought me, Husker Gary, up from the minors to take the mound.

Paul's lovely offering dredges up memories of a recent Sunday puzzle I blogged where I also put the grid at the top. In that puzzle a word was put IN the middle of a silly phrase and had to be repositioned to the front to make sense. Today Paul forces us to take the last word of a silly phrase and transport it to the front to make a single, familiar word. 

Obviously the puzzle needed no reveal, so here are the theme entries

16. Laboratory scam? : SCIENCE CON/CONSCIENCE - Jiminy's counsel to Pinnochio took a while to sink in

28. Snubbing a testimonial? : TRIBUTE DIS/DISTRIBUTE - A good passer is called a good DISTRIBUTOR

45. John Deere rep? : TRACTOR PRO/PROTRACTOR - For some reason kids often ask for a compass when they really want a PROTRACTOR

61. Ordinary law office employee? : NORMAL PARA/PARANORMAL - JoBeth Williams confronts a PARANORMAL creature in Poltergeist 

Let's see what else our Literary Leprechaun has for us today

Across

1. "Oopsy" : MY BAD

6. Grand Prix component : ESS - Curve, here's one

9. In things : FADS - Joann, where's my Nehru jacket?

13. Adult insect : IMAGO - I've only heard it here

14. Prefix with data : META - It seems someone has lots of this on all of us

15. Subject preceder : IN RE

18. Saves, say : STAT - Usually accrued by soccer and hockey goalies 

19. Challenge : CALL OUT - Matt Dillon faced one of these at the start of every episode

20. Like some flushes : ACE HIGH

22. Missed the mark : ERRED

24. Spike TV, once : TNN - The Nashville Network

25. Nile threats : ASPS

33. Take for a while : LEASE

35. B to C, e.g. : SEMITONE 

36. Call off : END

37. Something shared on a plane : ARMREST - Sound right?

40. Pres. when Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was decided : DDE - Ike

41. "The Social Contract" author : ROUSSEAU - Jacques - "What wisdom can be greater than kindness?"

43. Hindu ascetics : YOGIS - Did any of them catch for the Yankees?

48. Old Nair rival : NEET

49. "You betcha!" : YEP

50. Mozart opera ending : TUTTE - Cosi Fan TUTTE (Women are like that). Like what?

52. Spendthrift : WASTREL

56. Hospital test : MRI SCAN - I just listened to talk shows on my iPhone

60. Large deep-water fish : OPAH






63. Actor Auberjonois : RENE - Fr. Mulcahy in the 1970 movie M*A*S*H

64. Relaxed : EASY

65. Refresh, as a cup of coffee : TOP UP - Is this also a Mardi Gras tradition?

66. Participants in some awkward meetings : EXES

67. Case breaker, perhaps : DNA - Uh, Number 2, you might wanna have a seat

68. Flower holders : STEMS - Not a vayse or a vahze

Down

1. Category for non-recurring pd. bills : MISC

2. 1979 disco classic : YMCA

3. Payment that's posted : BAIL - Remember who sponsored The Bad News Bears? Now you can order a jersey!

4. Eternal : AGELESS - Dick Clark's middle name for years

5. Philanthropist, e.g. : DONOR

6. Common Market letters : European Economic Community

7. Ancient colonnade : STOA

8. Sacred sites : SANCTUMS

9. Stocking stuff : FISH NET - Maybe Splynter will have some for us tomorrow

10. Not backing : ANTI

11. Party pooper : DRAG

12. First family member : SETH 

14. Poet's concern : METER

17. Short : CURT

21. Being : ENTITY

23. Throw into turmoil : DISRUPT

25. On the ball : ALERT

26. Monterrey title : SENOR

27. "The Taming of the Shrew" setting : PADUA - The Montana Shakespeare In The Park Troupe chose a different setting but used Elizabethan English (mostly) 

32. Notice from Shakespeare? : SEEST - Didst thee SEEST the setting for Taming Of The Shrew cameth ere?

29. Obsessive idea metaphor : BEE - Busy as a...


30. Caravan assembler : DODGE - The original minivan - 1984

31. Common Sundance entry : INDIE

34. Time for eggs : EASTER

38. Worked on, as a cold case : REOPENED - They haven't REOPENED the Cain and Abel case. How many witnesses could there have been?

39. Fold, spindle or mutilate : MAR

42. Crop cutters : SCYTHES

44. Buck : ONESPOT - Really?

46. Gin __ : RUMMY - Remember this Bond Villain who cheated at Gin RUMMY using a spy with binoculars and an earpiece? 

47. Other, in Oaxaca : OTRA - No, descartar la OTRA tarjeta (No, discard the other card)

51. Slopes : TILTS

52. Had on : WORE 

53. Top : APEX

54. Fit to be tried : SANE - Two psychiatrists testified as to whether this Omaha man was SANE enough to stand trial for his four murders.

55. Student's request : LOAN 

57. Vacation spot : CAPE

58. Jack-in-the-pulpit family : ARUM

59. Gets caught off guard : NAPS

62. The ANC's country : RSA - Republic of South Africa

Now before you start celebrating reasonably (let your conscience be your guide), how 'bout some comments:

Thursday, March 16 2017 Bruce Haight

Theme: RRepeats - the second letter in each theme entry is doubled and the resulting phrase clued according to the first three-letter part

17A. What Dobermans do for dinner? : GRRAB A BITE. Grr!

24A. Super-cold concoction at Baskin-Robbins? : BRRAIN FREEZE. Brr! Combining the two, here's a cold Doberman:

41A. World's stealthiest detective? : SHHERLOCK HOLMES. Shh!

52A. Cutest Baby contest champion? : AWWARD WINNER. Aww!

65A. Massage epiphany? : AHHA MOMENT. Ahh!

Brruce brrings us a nice Thursday offering. A solid 59 letters of theme entries and a generally pleasing fill around those. I might have tried to not repeat the RR with the first two themers as it could indicate all the following entries will follow the same convention. Not a major nit though, the idea is fun. Let's see what jumps out in the rest of the entries.

Across        

1. The Miners of the Lone Star St. : UTEP. University of Texas, El Paso.

5. Eurasia's __ Mountains : URAL

9. Fundraising gps. : PTAS. I had the P and tried PACS first until nothing would fit around it and forced a change of mind.

13. Caesar's France : GAUL. We studied Caesar's book "Conquest of Gaul" in Latin class at school. Cracking stuff for schoolboys.

14. Marner of fiction : SILAS. Great book. The movie adaptation starring Ben Kingsley as the eponymous weaver was excellent also.

16. Hindustani language : URDU. Hindi has given us quite a few English words, but I can't find any examples from Urdu.

19. Innocent : BABE

20. Retro wall unit : STONE. Retro? Pretty sure we still build with stone.

21. Titanic undoing : BERG. Least accurate damage assessment ever: "We've just stopped for a short time to take on some ice".

23. Not very bright : DIM

28. Yale alum : ELI

31. Longtime Yankees announcer __ Allen : MEL. No clue. Thanks, crosses.

32. First to play James : SEAN. 007-portrayer par excellence Connery. Dr. No was the first movie in the franchise, released in 1962.

33. Tall and lean : LANK

35. "Sadly ... " : ALAS

38. Box : CRATE

44. Got out of bed : AROSE. I arose early this morning to try to shake myself out of time-change clock-lag. I can fly across 11 or 12 time zones and get no jet lag, but that hour in Spring messes me up. It was nice and peaceful at the top of the Hollywood sign though - I'll find out tomorrow if my body clock is reset.

45. "So __ say" : THEY

46. Crowd-sourced review site : YELP. Can be useful if you ignore the obvious outliers (and the reviews obviously written by the buddies of the establishment).

47. Asian takeout option : THAI

49. Little trickster : IMP

51. See 56-Down : SLY. Sylvester Stallone of the movies. I've met him, his brother plays jazz at my local Italian restaurant. He's not as short as people seem to think. However, he's listed at 5'10" on Wikipedia, but I think that might be a little generous.

57. Security briefing org. : CIA

58. Clothing part that might split : SEAM. Especially if you're wearing a size to small or you've eaten a big dinner.

59. Epic tales : SAGAS

63. Singer James : ETTA

68. Agenda detail : ITEM

69. Gets mud on : SOILS

70. Phi __ Kappa : BETA

71. Banks of 2000s TV talk : TYRA

72. Doing business : OPEN

73. "The Osbournes" patriarch : OZZY. Quite the character. I saw Black Sabbath play in London once with Motorhead and Hawkwind. Quite the eardrum assault. Fun through. Here's Hawkwind - imagine this cranked up to 11. Awesome.

Down

1. Brand of sheepskin boots : UGGS. Australia's finest.

2. Biting : TART

3. Italian capital : EURO. No more Lira. It's a shame a lot of the European currencies disappeared with the introduction of the Euro.

4. Fallback option : PLAN B

5. __ Today : USA. Their distribution network is amazing. I'm always astonished how early the paper is delivered to the various hotels I've stayed in across the USA, even in remote locations.

6. Tease : RIB

7. "I was out of town," e.g. : ALIBI

8. Approach midnight : LATEN. Hmmm. I looked sideways at this one when it appeared. I'm still looking askance at it. Not a word I would use.

9. Place to hoist a pint : PUB. I've seen the inside of a couple of these. I pulled pints at the Queen's Arms in Kilburn, north London when I was 19. A lot of Guinness and shots of Bushmills - most of the patrons were Irish demolition workers. Tough crowd.

10. DBA followers : TRADE NAMES. "Doing Business As".

11. Madison Ave. field : AD BIZ

12. In-your-face challenge : SUE ME

15. Feudal laborers : SERFS

18. Protective barrier : BERM. There were a lot of berms bulldozed out of the sand here in Southern California last winter to protect the beach cities with the expectation of major storms. They're very effective.

22. El __ : GRECO. "The Greek". Doménikos Theotokópoulos was born in Crete, but spent most of his life in Toledo in Spain.


25. Authentic : REAL

26. Dole out : ALLOT. If you hand out a large amount you allot a lot.

27. Like birds with worms, so it's said : EARLY. The Early Bird was me this morning. No worms caught though, probably a good thing.

28. Designer Schiaparelli : ELSA

29. Cowardly Lion portrayer : LAHR. Bert in The Wizard of Oz

30. Facing serious trouble : IN HOT WATER

34. Singer who formerly stylized her name with a dollar sign : KESHA, or rather KE$HA

36. "__ du lieber!" : ACH. "Oh, my dear!"

37. Yarn purchase : SKEIN. I misread the clue as "yam" at first which had me puzzled.

39. Squeal : TELL. As in rat someone out.

40. Catch sight of : ESPY. I'd clue this as the sports award, being more "in the language".

42. Raises : REARS

43. Many a gospel song : HYMN

48. Brainstorms : IDEAS

50. Uruguayan money : PESO

52. Nail a test : ACE IT

53. Like Oscar Wilde : WITTY

54. Mackerel relative : WAHOO

55. Beatnik's "With ya" : I'M HIP

56. Repeating movie role for 51-Across : RAMBO. Sly's character.

60. "Sheesh!" : GEEZ

61. Animated bug film : ANTZ

62. Time at a hotel : STAY. I've had quite a few of these in my time.

64. Org. for docs : AMA. American Medical Association.

66. Pint to drink : ALE. In the pub too.

67. AOL alternative : MSN

Short blog today, a lot going on for me. Hopefully no more explications required. The regulars in the comments section can handle any gaps. Here's the grid!

Steve