Theme, revealed in 55 Across: Decide once and for all, and what one can do to the ends of 17-, 22-, 36- and 47-Across: MAKE-OR-BREAK.
17A. Romantic evening components, perhaps: DINNER DATES. Ask someone out, break their heart.
22A. California Gold Rush staple: SOURDOUGH BREAD. Earn money, start eating a meal.
36A. Alien statutes: IMMIGRATION LAWS. Aliens, of course, meaning foreigners, rather than ETs from outer space. Make legislation, break a rule.
47A. Wurlitzer whirlers: JUKEBOX RECORDS. Make a musical recording, best a formerly unsurpassed accomplishment.
Hi all, Al here, with the honor of blogging a Thursday puzzle with a very well known co-author, at least well-known around this particular blogosphere anyway... I hope I don't have to spell it out for you all. There's a note at the end from said co-author which explains the structure of the theme better than I could.
ACROSS:.
1. Soaking spots: BATHS. The original meaning was to heat, not to immerse. Bath, in Somerset England, was named because of its hot springs.
6. Mideast ruling family name: ASSAD. Syria.
11. Field call: CAW. Corn field, not sports.
14. Language that gives us "kayak": INUIT. Inupik Eskimo inuit "people," plural of inuk "man."
15. Abu __: DHABI. The richest city in the world. Today's geography lesson. Fabulous architecture.
16. She played Beatrix in "Kill Bill": UMA. Thurman
19. Strain: TAX. To put a burden on...so the same meaning, really.
20. Reason-based faith: DEISM. A point of view that states a supreme being exists, but without interfering in human affairs, and without any organized religion.
21. Film in Cannes: CINE. French.
27. Watering hole: PUB. Where people gather and don't drink water, and 52A. 27-Across offerings: ALES.
28. 23-Down was one: Abbr.: SEN.ator with 23D. 2009 Peace Nobelist: OBAMA and also 49D. Homeland of 23-Down's father: KENYA.
29. "Able was __ ...": palindrome start: I ERE I saw Elba.
30. Try in court: HEAR.
32. Came around regarding: AGREED TO.
40. It can make a star shine: LEAD ROLE.
41. 4-Down titles: SRIS. An honorific prefix meaning "beauty" along with 4D. Gandhi, for one: HINDU.
42. Stadium take: GATE. Short for "gate money" collected from selling tickets.
43. Like sashimi: RAW. A sushi terminology and pronunciation guide.
46. Cause of star wars?: EGO. S.W. is not capitalized, so this does not refer to the movie nor Reagan's SDI. Literally meaning in-fighting amongst actors because of their swollen sense of self-worth. Possibly clue-related to 2D. Darth, at one time: ANI. Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars movies.
53. Plant moisture buildup: EDEMA. A swelling, not necessarily limited to plants.
54. Quaint stopover: INN. Old English "inne" inside, within.
61. Hens do it: LAY.
62. Novelist Jong: ERICA. Fear of Flying, which wasn't about flying.
63. Blue Cross competitor: AETNA. Originally sold fire insurance, thus the "Etna" name to invoke the image of a fiery volcano.
64. Yellow __: SEA. Bonus geography lesson.
65. He passed Lou in 2009 to become the Yankees' all-time hit leader: DEREK. Lou Gehrig, Derek Jeter, baseball. I sense C. C.'s influence here...
66. Pulitzer writer Kidder: TRACY. The Soul of a New Machine, about Data General Corporation designing a new machine under high pressure and an impossible schedule so that they could compete with Digital Equipment Corporation's VAX. Set in the 70's.
DOWN:
1. Certain eBay click: BID.
3. Large cask: TUN. Originally 256 gallons, and related to the ton weight measure.
5. Directs: STEERS.
6. Attaches to the house: ADDS ON.
7. SeaWorld performer: SHAMU.
8. Did nothing: SAT.
9. Symbol of honesty: ABE. A political rarity. He didn't like the nickname, though.
10. Bad-mouth: DIS. Shortening of "disrespect".
11. Sweetie pie: CUTIE. For the ladies...
12. Whirlpool brand: AMANA. Once owned by Raytheon, the inventors of the microwave oven way back in 1947. Home use wasn't available until 20 years later.
13. Like some slippery floors: WAXED.
18. Sally in space: RIDE. The first woman in space. I always think of this song when I see her name.
21. Anglers' baskets: CREELS. And they say men don't like wicker.
22. "So I was wrong": SUE ME. I was just watching Guys and Dolls again for the umpteenth time tonight...
24. Leslie Caron title role: GIGI.
25. Sub: HERO. Hoagie, grinder, blimpie, po' boy, others.
26. British weapon designed in Czechoslovakia: BREN. A light machine gun. The name was derived from Brno, the Czechoslovak city where the Zb vz. 26 was originally designed, and Enfield, site of the British Royal Small Arms Factory.
27. Three-time Masters champ Mickelson: PHIL. Golf.
31. Ruffles features: RIDGES.
32. Had: ATE.
33. Challenged: DARED.
34. Campfire base: TWIGS. Or steel wool connected to a battery...
35. __ buco: OSSO. Italian for "Bone with a hole", veal with vegetables, and wine sauce.
37. Snatch: GRAB.
38. __-Rooter: ROTO. That's the name, you just flush your troubles down the drain.
39. "A Clockwork Orange" narrator: ALEX. The main character. Anthony Burgess, writer, Stanley Kubrick, director of the movie adaptation, who left the final "redeeming" chapter from the book out of the movie, because it didn't feel like it "fit" with the rest of the story.
43. New Jersey's state tree: RED OAK.
44. Top server: ACER.
45. Burrowing marsupial: WOMBAT. The wombat lives across the seas/Among the far Antipodes./He may exist on nuts and berries,/Or then again, on missionaries; /His distant habitat precludes/Conclusive knowledge of his moods,/But I would not engage the wombat/In any form of mortal combat. -- Ogden Nash
47. Puts in the can?: JAILS.
48. Radii neighbors: ULNAE. Both Latin plurals.
50. Volleyball great Gabrielle: REECE.
51. More elusive: RARER.
55. Dr.'s study: MED. Abbrevs in clue and answer.
56. Were now?: ARE. Present tense.
57. Cassis apéritif: KIR. Blackcurrant liqueur topped up with white wine.
58. Seventh Greek letter: ETA.
59. Mandela's org.: ANC. African National Congress.
60. Mary __ Ash, cosmetics company founder: KAY. Pink Cadillacs for the top sales people.
A note from C.C. about today's puzzle:
This puzzle was accepted last November. Don and I tried to engage MAKE & BREAK in a different context in each theme entry. We also felt it was necessary that certain ending words in the theme answers be plural to consistently apply MAKE & BREAK. Gridding was a bit of challenge due to the theme phrase length & the letter combination in JUKEBOX RECORDS. The wonderful clues for STAR ROLE & EGO are Rich's creation.
Don was very open to the idea of collaborating on puzzles. He feels that the process is inspirational for both sides, no matter the experience of either. It is fun to see the evolution of thought processes as they are explored through e-mail exchanges. I am very lucky to have him as a Lao Shi (teacher).
Don was very open to the idea of collaborating on puzzles. He feels that the process is inspirational for both sides, no matter the experience of either. It is fun to see the evolution of thought processes as they are explored through e-mail exchanges. I am very lucky to have him as a Lao Shi (teacher).
Al
