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Dec 22, 2010

Wednesday December 22, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: Secret Panel - The end of each theme entry can precede PANEL.

17A. Escapes dramatically from prison : GOES OVER THE WALL. Wall panel, a lightweight decorative or protective panel which can be fixed directly to internal walls.

28A. Narrow defeat, e.g. : HEART BREAKER. Breaker panel, the main distribution point for electrical circuits in your home.

38A. Warning about wind chill, say : WEATHER ADVISORY. Advisory Panel, a group of persons selected to .. well .. advise.

46A. Steinbeck novel set in Monterey : TORTILLA FLAT. Flat panel, as in TV or computer.

61A. The lead pipe, the wrench or the candlestick, but not the rope: BLUNT INSTRUMENT. Instrument panel, on aircraft and automobiles, etc.

54D. Discussion group, and a word that can follow the ends of this puzzle's five longest answers : PANEL. Arguably, the most famous secret panel in the world.

Melissa here.

Another one from Dan Naddor. Clever as always, just a few unknowns for me. Had deja vu in several spots, and maybe i'm just in a musical state of mind, but i saw lots of musical references.

Across

1. Is down with : HAS. Fooled me, I was thinking the slang usage ...

4. Walk through puddles : SLOSH

9. Energize, as a crowd : AMP UP. As in amplify.

14. Mean Amin : IDI. Ha, rhymes. (♫ You're a mean one ...)

15. Nomo with two no-hitters : HIDEO. Born in Osaka, retired in 2008.

16. Europe's longest river : VOLGA. Nasa image.

20. Laurie of "House" : HUGH. TV drama on FOX.

21. Vitamin __: PABA : B-TEN. Vitamin B10, better known as PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid), is a water-soluble vitamin that is in the B family; often referred to as part of the B-complex.

22. Peke squeak : YIP. Pekingese. Great clue. Little yappy dog.

23. Torrid : STEAMY. Member this?

26. Impulses : URGES

33. Blubber : SOB

36. Potentially slanderous remark : SLUR

37. Boxer's wear : ROBE

43. Concerning, in memos : IN RE

44. 13 popes : LEOS. I'm one too. A leo, not a pope.

45. Part of UCLA : LOS. University of California, Los Angeles. Largest UC campus in terms of enrollment.

51. Computer data acronym : ASCII. Pronounced ASK-ee, it is an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, and is a code for representing English characters as numbers, with each letter assigned a number from 0 to 127. For example, the ASCII code for uppercase M is 77. Most computers use ASCII codes to represent text, which makes it possible to transfer data from one computer to another.

52. Sandal parts : STRAPS

56. Gumshoe : TEC. Detective.

58. "The Time Machine" race : ELOI

60. "Dies __" : IRAE. Deja vu.

66. Dogpatch's Hawkins : SADIE

67. "Silas Marner" author : ELIOT. T.S. Eliot.

68. Opposite of alt, in Augsburg : NEU. German for old and new.

69. Preferred option : PLAN A. Rarely executed ... always have a plan b.

70. "__ at 'em!" : LEMME. Put 'em up.

71. European peak : ALP (The hills are alive)

Down

1. Euphoric feelings : HIGHS. (Ain't no mountain ...)

2. One point from a service break : AD OUT. Tennis. Ad = advantage. “Ad-in” is if the server is ahead, while “ad-out” is if the non-server won the point after deuce (40-40). If the player with the advantage wins the point, he wins the game. If not, the score reverts to deuce – the only time a score ever goes backwards in tennis. The game keeps going until the player with the “ad” wins the point. In this way, a tennis match can last a very long time, much like baseball.

3. Prolonged attack : SIEGE.

4. HBO alternative : SHO. Home Box Office and Showtime.

5. Actress Tyler : LIV (♬ Steven Tyler's daughter)

6. Tribute that usually rhymes : ODE. Deja vu.

7. Belgrade native : SERB

8. Back porch luxury : HOT TUB

9. Right, as a wrong : AVENGE

10. Do some yard work : MOW

11. Mr. Potato Head maker : PLAYSKOOL

12. Wrinkly fruit : UGLI. Just sounds funny.

13. Insect feeler : PALP. New to me. Palp, labial palp, and maxillary palp.

18. Bygone Mideast despot : SHAH

19. Frau's partner : HERR. See this pretty regularly.

24. Dovetail : MESH

25. Where Bill met Hillary : YALE. Didn't know.

27. Canal zones? : EARS. Nice.

29. 1921 sci-fi play : RUR. Karel Capek's play. Finally got this one down.

30. Refrain syllables : TRA LA. Deja vu.

31. Longest river in Spain : EBRO

32. Husband-and-wife creators of Curious George : REYS. (♪ Jack Johnson did a great Curious George soundtrack.)

33. Houlihan portrayer on "M*A*S*H" : SWIT. Hot Lips Houlihan.

34. Vintner's prefix : OENO. Deja vu.

35. Sporty 1960s-'70s Plymouth : BARRACUDA (or Ann and Nancy Wilson's version)

39. Hanoi holidays : TETS.

40. Rock's __ Leppard : DEF. ♫♪♬ Gunter glieben glauchen globen ♫♪♬. My favorite Def Leppard tune is Photograph.

41. Encyc. units : VOLS. Volumes of Encyclopedias. So archaic now, everything's on CD or online.

42. "Time __ a premium" : IS AT

47. Summer cooler : ICE TEA

48. "Hi-__, Hi-Lo" : LILI Jimmy Durante's version.

49. Big name in small trains : LIONEL (♬ also Lionel Richie)

50. Svelte : TRIM

53. Gladiator's milieu : ARENA. (Musician's milieu, too.)

55. Frame : SET UP. Like Dr. Richard Kimball, in The Fugitive.

56. Recipe abbr. : TBSP. Tablespoon.

57. Airline to Ben Gurion : EL AL

59. Man, for one : ISLE. Isle of Man. Located in the Irish Sea, between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland.

62. Palindromic diarist : NIN

63. Tiny guy: TIM. Herbert Buckingham Khaury (April 12, 1932 – November 30, 1996), better known by the stage name Tiny Tim, was an American singer, ukulele player, and musical archivist. He was most famous for his rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." He died in 1996, after suffering his second heart attack - on stage.

64. Bulg. neighbor : ROM. Bulgaria and Romania.

65. Versatile vehicle, for short : UTE. Short for Utility Vehicle.

Answer grid.

Melissa