Theme: Stock Exchange. Common two words phrases used on Wall Street are clued with wacky new definitions. This puzzle is also a pangram, using every letter of the alphabet - a rare gem for constructors!
20A. Chicken, beef, or fish? : STOCK OPTION. Stock options are offered to employees as a non-cash compensation, and as an incentive to make the company profitable. Chicken stock, beef stock and fish stock are different options a chef can choose, when preparing his delicious recipes.
58A. Expensive bottle of wine? : LIQUID ASSET. Liquid assets are those which can be sold easily, without loss of value. Wine is a liquid that can really be an asset, especially at a party!
11D. Shop specializing in Winnie the Pooh merchandise? : BEAR MARKET. A bear market is a general decline in the stock market, leading to investor pessimism. Winnie the Pooh is a cute little bear who has been merchandised to excess. Does anyone have a WTP watch?
29D. Money set aside for garden mazes? : HEDGE FUNDS. A hedge fund is a special investment that is aggressively managed to offset losses in a bear market, often by using fluctuations in currency exchange rates or commodities. A maze hedge requires frequent trimming and upkeep, so you'll need that money to pay for all the gardeners!
Marti here, and I chuckled as soon as I filled in the first theme entry. I have many stock options in my pantry, liquid assets in my wine cellar, and 100 feet of hedge in front of my house. I do not, however, own a Winnie the Pooh watch...
Across
1. Beatles film : HELP. Four letters, Beatles didn't make many movies. Easy peasy lead in to this delightful puzzle, and BAM, a chance for a musical link right off that bat. Did you know the inspiration for this film was the Marx Brothers classic "Duck Soup", and was a take-off of the James Bond films?
5. Globetrotter's need : VISA. Passport wouldn't fit.
9. TV choice : CABLE.
14. x, y and z, in math : AXES. Plural of "axis".
15. Israel's Barak : EHUD. Ehud Barak, for those who were wondering if "Barak" was his first or last name. He is the Minister of Defense.
16. Curved moldings : OGEES. O, gee...crosswordese, and plural, no less. But these types of entry give us a "freebie fill", so you can use the perps to fill in other answers. Don't complain!
17. Hard to spot : TINY. Is this "tiny"?
18. Muddy up : ROIL. Stir up the waters and get them all muddy.
19. Chestnut-hued horses : ROANS
23. Bar order : RYE. OK, hands up for all of you who put in "ale", "ice", "gin", "nip", "pop" or "rum" before RYE emerged from perps?
24. Sweetie : HON. My favorite nickname for DH.
25. Three-time Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film : BERGMAN. Were you thinking of Ingrid? She did win three Oscars, but not for best foreign film. The winner here is Ingmar Bergman, one of the great directors our our time. The films? "The Virgin Spring", "Through a Glass Darkly" and "Fanny and Alexander".
27. Saw : APHORISM. An old saw is a saying that teaches a lesson, like "A penny saved is a penny earned."
32. Membership list : ROTA. Mainly a British term (Nice Cuppa?), but it is also used in the Catholic Church to mean a tribunal of prelates in an ecclesiastical court.
33. Slangy morning cup : JOE. Some people have a cuppa tea, others need their cuppa Joe (coffee).
34. Tabloid exclusive : SCOOP. Or, what I do in the litter box every day. (Where does it all come from???)
36. Inferior : WORSE
39. Director of the last episode of "M*A*S*H" : ALDA. Alan Alda. He was also the first person to receive Emmy Awards for acting, writing and directing for the same series.
41. Concerning : ABOUT
43. Hershey's toffee bar : SKOR. Yumm!
44. First name in daytime TV : REGIS. Regis Philbin. Did you know that he holds the Guinness world record for the most time spent in front of a TV camera?
46. World-weariness : ENNUI. General feeling of boredom.
48. Gin maker Whitney : ELI. The cotton gin, of course. But I really wanted Bombay. What's your poison?
49. Jazz and swing periods : ERAS. (And a shout-out to our own "bumpa"!)
51. Word with crew or key : SKELETON. Skeleton crew is the bare essential staff needed to keep things afloat. (Or, it could be the members of the Black Pearl?) Skeleton key is an old-fashioned master key for locks.
53. Gridiron call : OFFSIDE. American football...it's complicated, but basically it's a five yard penalty if a member of the offensive team is over the line of scrimmage at the snap.
56. Respectful title : SIR
57. French vineyard : CRU. "Cru" indicates a specific growth place, or it's wine.
64. River including Livingstone Falls : CONGO. Dr. Livingstone, I presume?
66. Major in astronomy? : URSA. Ursa major, the "Big Dipper". Cute clue.
67. Balm ingredient : ALOE
68. Milk dispenser : UDDER. And here is one for the guys...
69. Hardly handsome : UGLY.
70. Loads : TONS
71. Run for the __: Kentucky Derby : ROSES. Run for the Roses is a nickname for the Kentucky Derby, so called because of the blanket of roses that is draped over the winning horse.
72. Understands : SEES. Oh, I see it now.
73. Gusto : ZEST
Down
1. Boaters and bowlers : HATS. Your weren't thinking sports, were you?
2. Auditorium sign : EXIT
3. "Leading With My Chin" author : LENO. Jay Leno, who else?
4. Film with a creepy motel owner : PSYCHO. One of Hitchcock's finest, starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh.
5. Archie's heartthrob : VERONICA. Comic book from the 40's. Were you thinking Edith Bunker?
6. Denny's competitor : IHOP
7. Diamonds, but not emeralds : SUIT. Playing cards.
8. Robin Williams forte : AD LIB.
9. Tight braid : CORNROW. These look painful.
10. Gone by : AGO
12. Lotte who played Rosa Klebb in "From Russia With Love" : LENYA. Call her "Colonel". We have had her before...it is Lotte Lenya, and she was married to Kurt Weil, who wrote "Mack the Knife" for her to sing. Remember? (I won't link it again...)
13. German steel town : ESSEN
21. Fashion designer Michael : KORS. I'm not much into fashion: jeans and a t-shirt are fine for working in the garden.
22. Anthem contraction : O'ER...the ramparts.
26. Pontiac muscle cars : GTOs. I bet Dennis, Windhover or Bill G. could fill us in!
27. Slightly cracked : AJAR. Hand over the V-8 can: I was thinking "loony".
28. Angler's need : POLE. Not reel, line, fish, bait, pier...
30. Drink brand with a lizard logo : SOBE. Pepsi brand of teas and juice blends named for South Beach.
31. Mars pair : MOONS. Phobos and Deimos. Memorize them. You never know when they will show up in a puzzle!
35. __ rock : PUNK. Not folk, hard, acid, soft...
37. Alone : SOLO. Not many chances for music links today, so I give you this solo...
38. Joyce's homeland : ERIN. OK, how many times have we had "Erin" in xwords? So, here is the scoop on the name:
The Irish word for the homeland is "Éirinn". "Erin" is the Irish-English derivative of that name. So poets and Irish Nationalists use the word "Erin" as a romantic name for Ireland. Got it? (There will be a quiz later...)
Oh, and James Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, who likely used the name "Erin" for his homeland. Clear Ayes?
40. Ostentatious behavior : AIRS
42. "__ With Morrie": Albom best-seller : TUESDAYS. Subtitled "an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson". An incredible non-fiction novel about a beloved professor with Lou Gehrig's disease. If you haven't read it, put it on your list!
45. Salts on the ocean : SAILORS. We all know that "salt" is a nickname for a sailor, right? But, do you know why?
47. Hip bones : ILIA. And what are dem bones connected to?
50. Star Wars prog. : SDI. Strategic Defense Initiative, proposed by President Ronald Reagan.
52. German sub? : ERSATZ. I loved this clue/answer. Ersatz means "substitute", and is the literal German word for "substitute", derived from the word "ersetzen", meaning "to replace".
53. Present itself, as a thought : OCCUR. It just occurred to me, that I have to go get a snack. Don't go away, I'll be right back....
...OK, I'm back now.
54. Tolkien ringbearer : FRODO. Frodo Baggins, bearing the ring to Mordor to destroy it, in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. (But you all knew that.)
55. 1975 Tony-winning play about a stableboy : EQUUS. A very disturbing play.
59. The munchies, e.g. : URGE. I have my snack, so I'm good!
60. Cruise stop : ISLE. Port, dock, pier...I have to stop over thinking these things!!!
61. Dark purple fruit : SLOE. Why did "sloe" pop into my head, and not "plum"? ("Because it's Thursday!!")
62. Eternities, seemingly : EONS
63. Midterm or final : TEST. I always think of midterm "exams" or final "exams", not tests.
65. "Golly!" : GEE. Gee, I think I am done. Goodnight, all!
Answer grid.
Marti
