Theme: Ham and Jeez. Four cross-referential answers that hinge on the unifier for definition.
17A. See 38-Across : RADIO ENTHUSIAST. Ham radio operators are amateurs without any monetary interest, as opposed to commercial broadcasters.
26A. See 38-Across : SCENERY CHEWER. A ham is one who acts melodramatically. They "chew up the scenery" by focusing all attention on themselves, rather than the stage set or other actors.
43A. See 38-Across : HOLIDAY ENTREE. Most popular entrées for Christmas are ham or turkey. For Hanukkah (or Chanukah), I think it would be brisket? But I defer to Hahtool for that one.
57A. See 38-Across : NOAH'S WAYWARD SON. Noah begat Ham, Shem and Japheth when he was 500 years old. Wow! I want to know where he got his Cialis?
And the unifier:
38A. Clue for 17-, 26-, 43- and 57-Across : HAM. Jeez, how simple!
How about "GREEN EGGS SIDE"? Can you think of others to fit this theme?
Marti here, signing in for this Thursday's theatrics.
Across:
1. Utah's state gem : TOPAZ. November birthstone, and also a symbol of friendship. So gals, if he gives you a topaz ring instead of a diamond...better start looking elsewhere.
6. Stable newborn : FOAL
10. Emblem : ICON
14. "Don't try to be ___" : A HERO. "Billy, don't be...". That song was released by Paper Lace in 1974, so many thought it referred to the Vietnam war. It was actually a reference to the Civil War.
15. ___ jure : IPSO. "By the law itself"
16. Slicer's warning : FORE. Does a hooker also yell this?
20. Passed down, as folk mus. : TRAD itional. Abbr. of "music" suggests the correct answer.
21. Shop gripper : VISE. Workshop. Not a security guard in a store.
22. Four Holy Roman emproers : OTTOS. Starting with Otto I who died in 973, and ending with Otto IV who died in 1218.
23. '40s-'50s pitcher Maglie : SAL. He was known as "Sal the Barber" because he gave close shaves: i.e., he pitched inside to hitters. So, another baseball name to add to my ever-growing list!
24. Tangle of hair : MAT. Sometimes found on the bath mat.
25. P.D. alert : APB. "Police Department" All Points Bulletin.
33. Silver and gold : METALS. Anyone else fill in "medals"?
35. Absorb, as a loss : EAT. Eat it. Just too "Weird" for me to link...
36. Via, à la Burns : THRO. "Comin' thro the rye...". Did you know that the book by J.D. Salinger was named after this poem?
37. "___ you clever!" : AREN'T. Me? No. Jerome? Definitely, yes!
39. Intersect : CROSS. Like "perps".
40. Unlike Wellesley College : CO-ED. One of the "Seven Sisters" colleges in the Northeast. Without looking on Wiki, can you name any of the other six?
41. Board partner : BED. I usually think of "room and board", so this one eluded me for a while.
42. Downloadable media player : I-TUNES
46. Clunker : DUD
47. Cruet fluid : OIL. "Vinegar" wouldn't fit...
48. Corn serving : EAR
51. That and that : THOSE. Clever clue!
54. Proverbial equine escape site : BARN. To "close the barn door after the horse has bolted" means doing too little, too late.
56. Sharp part : EDGE. Like a knife edge.
60. Plotting : UP TO. Whenever we were quiet, my mother would always yell from the other room, "What are you kids up to?"
61. Head start? : IDEA.
62. Neutral shade : BEIGE
63. Dry run : TEST
64. No sweat : EASY...peasy lemon squeezy.
65. Being pulled : IN TOW
Down
1. Knave of Heart's loot : TARTS.
"...The Knave of Hearts
He stole those tarts,
And took them clean away..."
2. Fictional plantation owner : O'HARA. Frankly, I don't give a damn...
3. Guitar played with hands and feet : PEDAL STEEL. This was a total unknown for me. Maybe Jazzbumpa knows?
4. Dry : ARID.
5. San Diego attraction : ZOO. J.D. just visited it with her grandsons last week on her birthday visit. How was it?
6. Having limits : FINITE
7. Makes a choice : OPTS
8. U.S. Open stadium : ASHE. Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, NY.
9. Rickey broke his stolen base record in 1991 : LOU. Lou Brock was outdone by Rickey Henley Henderson, known as "The Man of Steal". His 1,406 career steals record is 50% higher than the previous record of 938 by Lou. (Did I get it right, C.C.??) (From C.C.: Just one short of 50% more than Brock's. Rickey Henderson holds quite a few MLB records, including leadoff home runs, stolen bases in a single season.)
10. "Assuming that's accurate," biblically :IF IT BE TRUE.
11. Winter garb : COAT. We don't need them so often this year, but I can live with that!
12. Guesstimate words : OR SO.
13. Takes home : NETS
18. Rogers's partner : EVANS. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. "Hammerstein" wouldn't fit...
19. Last year's frosh : SOPH
24. Hot sandwich : MELT. Yummm, tuna melt!
25. Sequence of scenes : ACT
27. It's not posed : CANDID SHOT. Like this?
28. Aptly named author : READE. Charles, best known for "The Cloister and the Hearth". Has anyone reade it?
29. Holiday tuber : YAM. To go with the ham?
30. Dismissive bit of rhetoric : WHO NEEDS IT?
31. Highland tongue : ERSE
32. Legendary seamstress : ROSS. Betsy, famous flag seamstress.
33. Eponymous physicist Ernst ___ : MACH. Austrian physicist who studied shock waves. You wanna mach something of it?
34. Switch add-on : EROO. Ah yes, the old switch-eroo.
38. "I'm talking to you!" : HEY! (Yes, you!)
39. PC key below Shift : CTRL. On my Macbook, it's "Fn"
41. Wicked : BAD. Not the play...
42. Turner memoir : I, TINA
44. Member's payment : DUES
45. Where kroner are spent : NORWAY
49. Disco era term : A-GO-GO
50. Sign up for more : RENEW
51. Letter-shaped fastener : T-NUT. C-clamp, U-bolt, L-bar, S-hook, I-beam...???
52. Optimism : HOPE
53. Granola grain : OATS
54. ___ Bing!: "The Sopranos" nightclub : BA-DA
55. Some votes : AYES
56. First lady's garden site? : EDEN. Not this "rose" garden.
58. Golfer Michelle : WIE
59. Hitter's stat : RBI. Ha! Nailed this one. Hitter = Runs, ergo: Runs Batted In.
So, I hope this puzzle was a home run for you solvers? Friday is coming, and may not be so easy peasy lemon squeezy.!
Hugs,
Marti
Note from C.C.:
Re: Marti's comment on 5-Down: Here is wonderful picture from JD's visit to Safari Park on Jan 14. She said "The baby gorilla is playing with some kind of rodent who keeps coming out of his little hole. The baby touched him several times...no fear with either of them."
Here is a picture of the cute little Cameron looking at a sea turtle.
Note from C.C.:
Re: Marti's comment on 5-Down: Here is wonderful picture from JD's visit to Safari Park on Jan 14. She said "The baby gorilla is playing with some kind of rodent who keeps coming out of his little hole. The baby touched him several times...no fear with either of them."
Here is a picture of the cute little Cameron looking at a sea turtle.
