Theme: FROM LEFT TO RIGHT (35A. How most reading is done, and this puzzle's title) - Letter L (after F) in the first word of each common phrase is changed into R.
17A. Halloween tricksters' route? : FRIGHT PATH. Flight path.
23A. Best place to watch "Animal House"? : FRAT SCREEN TV. Flat screen TV.
45A. Feathers? : FROCK OF BIRDS. Flock of birds.
56A. Work the late shift at the diner? : FRY BY NIGHT. Fly by night.
C.C. here, pinch-hitting for Lemonade.
No BLAND TASTE/DIET to BRAND TASTE/DIET change. I like the extra layer of letter F in front of the L. It tightens up the theme.
Also, letter L and R are all common letters, very easy to overlook a straying letter in the conversion process, as David mentioned in his interview. He had to give up his seed entry. A bit tougher than it looks to come up with a set of consistent theme answers.
Favorite clue today is ACTRESS (25. Close, for instance). Took me a minute to realize he's talking about Glenn Close.
Across:
1. Shoots the breeze : CHATS
6. 1940s-'50s Israeli UN ambassador : EBAN (Abba)
10. Game __ : PLAN
14. "The Wolf and the Crane" author : AESOP. Very crossword-friendly name.
15. Cross off : X'OUT
16. Piece of one's mind? : LOBE. Plays on "peace of mind".
19. Awestruck : AGOG
20. Roy Halladay stat : ERA. With the Phillies. He's got one perfect game. Cliff Lee has low ERA too.
21. Sister of Calliope : ERATO
22. It may be icy : STARE. Icy stare. Tiger's stare used to be icy and intimidating. Not any more.
28. Unburden : RID
29. Kate of "Ironclad" : MARA. Good actress. I've never seen the movie though.
30. Soften by soaking : MACERATE. New word to me. So close to lacerate.
39. Sherry alternatives : MADEIRAS. Portuguese wines.
40. Albany's father-in-law : LEAR. Had no idea that Albany is Goneril's husband.
41. "Piers Morgan Tonight" channel : CNN
42. Eisenhower library site : ABILENE. Kansas.
50. Nigerian seaport : LAGOS. Nigerian's former capital. Current capital is Abuja.
51. Noted Beethoven interpreter : ARRAU (Claudio). From Chile. Rich plays piano, nuts about baseball, has a handicap of 6, so he won't overlook any clue mistake in those areas.
52. CIA's ancestor : OSS
55. Cancel : UNDO
58. "__ no kick from Champagne": song lyric : I GET. What song?
59. Steady : BEAU. Oh, "steady" is a noun here.
60. Response to a skeptic : NO LIE
61. Gets into : DONs
62. Employee IDs : SSNS
63. Third shift hr. : ONE AM. How are shift divided?
Down:
1. Champs Élysées feature : CAFE. Lots of. "Give me a reason to love you..". Sophie Marceau is so pretty.
2. Bach title? : HERR. German "Mister".
3. Land east of the Urals : ASIA
4. Dress finely, with "out" : TOG
5. Field of influence : SPHERE
6. Americans in Paris, maybe : EXPATS. Nice clue. I liked "An American in Paris".
7. Tug and junk : BOATS
8. Overlord : AUTOCRAT. Great answer.
9. Ultimate : NTH
10. Home at the park? : PLATE. Home plate at a ball park.
11. Airport whose code is BOS : LOGAN
12. Decide not to finish : ABORT
13. Desert bordering the Sinai Peninsula : NEGEV. What does this word mean?
18. Choral syllables : TRAs
22. Feast in the month of Nisan : SEDER
23. Position in a viewfinder : FRAME
24. Moneyed, in Monterrey : RICO. "Rich". Meet Carlos Slim, the rico-est man in Mexico, in the world too.
25. Like some switches : AM/FM
26. Word spoken with amore : CARA. Italian for "Dear". Roberto used to call me "Bella". I thought he liked me.
27. Put one's foot down : TROD
30. Summer escapes: Abbr. : MTs
31. Little streams : RILLS. Learned from doing Xword.
32. "The African Queen" co-screenwriter : AGEE (James)
33. Instead of : THAN
34. Raison d'__ : ETRE
36. Trounces : LICKS. So many colorful sports phrases for "routs".
37. Cube creator Rubik : ERNO
38. Royal introductions : FANFARES. Another great answer.
42. France-based jet maker : AIRBUS. Their Boeing.
43. Sound from Eeyore : BRAY
44. "Beats me!" : I DUNNO
45. Not fixed : FLUID
46. Title chameleon voiced by Johnny Depp in a 2011 animated film : RANGO. No idea. Here is a poster. Not a Johnny Depp fan either.
47. Osmonds' hometown : OGDEN. Somewhere in Utah.
48. Codgers : COOTS
49. Two-time loser to McKinley : BRYAN. Stumper. William Jennings Bryan.
52. Look like a creep? : OGLE. Oh, don't ogle then!
53. Branch of Islam : SHIA
54. Check : STEM
56. NFL ball carriers : FBs (Fullbacks)
57. Fluoride, for one : ION. Good to know.
Answer grid.
C.C.
17A. Halloween tricksters' route? : FRIGHT PATH. Flight path.
23A. Best place to watch "Animal House"? : FRAT SCREEN TV. Flat screen TV.
45A. Feathers? : FROCK OF BIRDS. Flock of birds.
56A. Work the late shift at the diner? : FRY BY NIGHT. Fly by night.
C.C. here, pinch-hitting for Lemonade.
No BLAND TASTE/DIET to BRAND TASTE/DIET change. I like the extra layer of letter F in front of the L. It tightens up the theme.
Also, letter L and R are all common letters, very easy to overlook a straying letter in the conversion process, as David mentioned in his interview. He had to give up his seed entry. A bit tougher than it looks to come up with a set of consistent theme answers.
Favorite clue today is ACTRESS (25. Close, for instance). Took me a minute to realize he's talking about Glenn Close.
Across:
1. Shoots the breeze : CHATS
6. 1940s-'50s Israeli UN ambassador : EBAN (Abba)
10. Game __ : PLAN
14. "The Wolf and the Crane" author : AESOP. Very crossword-friendly name.
15. Cross off : X'OUT
16. Piece of one's mind? : LOBE. Plays on "peace of mind".
19. Awestruck : AGOG
20. Roy Halladay stat : ERA. With the Phillies. He's got one perfect game. Cliff Lee has low ERA too.
21. Sister of Calliope : ERATO
22. It may be icy : STARE. Icy stare. Tiger's stare used to be icy and intimidating. Not any more.
28. Unburden : RID
29. Kate of "Ironclad" : MARA. Good actress. I've never seen the movie though.
30. Soften by soaking : MACERATE. New word to me. So close to lacerate.
39. Sherry alternatives : MADEIRAS. Portuguese wines.
40. Albany's father-in-law : LEAR. Had no idea that Albany is Goneril's husband.
41. "Piers Morgan Tonight" channel : CNN
42. Eisenhower library site : ABILENE. Kansas.
50. Nigerian seaport : LAGOS. Nigerian's former capital. Current capital is Abuja.
51. Noted Beethoven interpreter : ARRAU (Claudio). From Chile. Rich plays piano, nuts about baseball, has a handicap of 6, so he won't overlook any clue mistake in those areas.
52. CIA's ancestor : OSS
55. Cancel : UNDO
58. "__ no kick from Champagne": song lyric : I GET. What song?
59. Steady : BEAU. Oh, "steady" is a noun here.
60. Response to a skeptic : NO LIE
61. Gets into : DONs
62. Employee IDs : SSNS
63. Third shift hr. : ONE AM. How are shift divided?
Down:
1. Champs Élysées feature : CAFE. Lots of. "Give me a reason to love you..". Sophie Marceau is so pretty.
2. Bach title? : HERR. German "Mister".
3. Land east of the Urals : ASIA
4. Dress finely, with "out" : TOG
5. Field of influence : SPHERE
6. Americans in Paris, maybe : EXPATS. Nice clue. I liked "An American in Paris".
7. Tug and junk : BOATS
8. Overlord : AUTOCRAT. Great answer.
9. Ultimate : NTH
10. Home at the park? : PLATE. Home plate at a ball park.
11. Airport whose code is BOS : LOGAN
12. Decide not to finish : ABORT
13. Desert bordering the Sinai Peninsula : NEGEV. What does this word mean?
18. Choral syllables : TRAs
22. Feast in the month of Nisan : SEDER
23. Position in a viewfinder : FRAME
24. Moneyed, in Monterrey : RICO. "Rich". Meet Carlos Slim, the rico-est man in Mexico, in the world too.
25. Like some switches : AM/FM
26. Word spoken with amore : CARA. Italian for "Dear". Roberto used to call me "Bella". I thought he liked me.
27. Put one's foot down : TROD
30. Summer escapes: Abbr. : MTs
31. Little streams : RILLS. Learned from doing Xword.
32. "The African Queen" co-screenwriter : AGEE (James)
33. Instead of : THAN
34. Raison d'__ : ETRE
36. Trounces : LICKS. So many colorful sports phrases for "routs".
37. Cube creator Rubik : ERNO
38. Royal introductions : FANFARES. Another great answer.
42. France-based jet maker : AIRBUS. Their Boeing.
43. Sound from Eeyore : BRAY
44. "Beats me!" : I DUNNO
45. Not fixed : FLUID
46. Title chameleon voiced by Johnny Depp in a 2011 animated film : RANGO. No idea. Here is a poster. Not a Johnny Depp fan either.
47. Osmonds' hometown : OGDEN. Somewhere in Utah.
48. Codgers : COOTS
49. Two-time loser to McKinley : BRYAN. Stumper. William Jennings Bryan.
52. Look like a creep? : OGLE. Oh, don't ogle then!
53. Branch of Islam : SHIA
54. Check : STEM
56. NFL ball carriers : FBs (Fullbacks)
57. Fluoride, for one : ION. Good to know.
Answer grid.
C.C.
