17A. What an angry mermaid might do? : GO OFF THE DEEP END
26A. What an angry Santa might do? : HIT THE ROOF
46A. What an angry Humpty Dumpty might do? : GO TO PIECES
59A. What an angry witch might do? : FLY OFF THE HANDLE
Good morning everyone - Steve here with Mr. Blais' latest. Four solid theme entries and one possible unifier hidden away at 57D. I enjoyed the cluing style for the theme, and I had a couple of missteps here and there but nothing too dramatic. Let's see what else we've got.
Across:
1. Minor error : LAPSE
6. Catcall : JEER. Sports fans are prone to do this after a 1A.
10. Vishnu incarnation : RAMA. Just one of his ten avatars.
14. "This Old House" carpenter Norm : ABRAM
15. Like many a shoppe : OLDE. Often seen with "Ye" and "Gifte" also.
16. Color of Death's dart, in "Venus and Adonis" : EBON. Nice clue for the poetic "black". I didn't realize that Shakespeare wrote the poem.
20. Not many : SOME
21. Pop's bro : UNC. Do you cry "Uncle" if he's got you in a headlock?
22. Hard to figure out : KNOTTY
23. "Baseball Tonight" airer : ESPN. Originally the "Entertainment and Sports Programming Network". Pretty much just sports now.
25. Not good : POOR
30. Frozen dessert franchise : TCBY. All crosses, I'd never heard of this chain.
34. Part of NCAA: Abbr. : ATH. From the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
35. Don't exist : AREN'T
36. Pong developer : ATARI
37. Supermodel Cheryl : TIEGS. Multiple cover appearances for Sports Illustrated and Time magazines.
39. 1860s govt. for four years : CSA. This was my last fill in the grid - I had CIA for no good reason at first, and then saw that ONIET wasn't going to cut it.
40. Still in bed : NOT UP
41. Accustom : ENURE
42. Western Wyoming county : TETON. Home of the Grand Teton National Park.
44. __-Foy, Quebec : STE
45. Tabula __: blank slate : RASA
48. Opportunity, metaphorically : DOOR. "As one door closes another opens".
50. Backside : REAR
51. Verdict challenge : APPEAL
54. Spot for a facial : SPA
56. Pool float : RAFT
62. Undecided : TORN
63. Smallest Great Lake by volume : ERIE. Lake Ontario is the smallest by area.
64. Where subs are assembled : DELIS. Because "Naval Shipyards" doesn't fit.
65. __' Pea : SWEE
 |
| Scooner Seawell Georgia Washenting Christiffer Columbia Daniel Boom |
67. Skilled : ADEPT
Down:
1. Internet connectivity frustrations : LAGS
2. Peek-__ : ABOO
3. Titan who gave fire to humans : PROMETHEUS. Zeus was annoyed about this, and shackled him to a rock to have his liver eaten anew each day by a raven. Not one to be trifled with, that Zeus fellow.
4. Least risky : SAFEST
5. "Unbelievable" techno-funk band : EMF. This was their first single and topped the charts in many countries including the USA, but not their native UK.
6. Philosopher Locke : JOHN
7. Gas alternative: Abbr. : ELEC
8. Former "Tonight Show" announcer Hall : EDD
9. Be strongly pervaded with : REEK OF. Usually in a bad way.
10. Keep apprised of one's activities, as a superior : REPORT TO
11. Assist with a crime : ABET
12. Chamonix peak : MONT. I confidently filled in ALPE first. I've skied Mont Blanc from Chamonix. The village is pretty.
13. Garcia of "Ocean's Eleven" : ANDY
18. Pitch-changing pro : TUNER. I was thinking baseball for the longest time. Nice misdirection.
19. Brian who produced or co-produced several Talking Heads albums : ENO. Brian's been popular in recent puzzles.
24. Terrible twos, one hopes : PHASE
25. Chips-to-be : POTATO
26. Fan's opposite : HATER. Plenty of the anti-Lakers variety here in Los Angeles.
27. Turner memoir : I, TINA
28. Parish head : RECTOR
29. First stage : ONSET
31. String-pulling game : CAT'S CRADLE. It's been a long time since I played this game - I'd almost forgotten about it.
32. Ogre : BRUTE
33. "Holy mackerel!" : YIPES
36. Lennox of the Eurythmics : ANNIE. The foodie anthem: "Sweet dreams are made of cheese, who am I to dis a Brie? I Cheddar the world and the Feta cheese. Everybody's looking for Stilton"
38. Elementary level : GRADE ONE. Hmmm - not sure about this one as clued. Wouldn't "First Grade" be more correct? I think of "grade one" as "of the best quality".
43. Book club leader for 15 years : OPRAH
46. One following a course : GOLFER. Following very approximately in my case. I've seen parts of golf courses rarely visited by humans. I once had to climb down a cliff in Wales to retrieve my driver from the rocks below - my hands were so cold it flew out of my grip when I teed off. We repaired to the clubhouse for medicinal whisky and a fireside seat shortly afterwards.
47. Worked for : EARNED
49. Big ape : OAF
51. Times to call, in ads : AFTS. Afternoons.
52. Field machine : PLOW
53. Flammable pile : PYRE
54. Branch of Islam : SHIA
55. Hammer part : PEEN
57. Lose one's cool : FLIP. This could be the theme unifier, but it's not noted as such. I'm going to call it anyway.
58. Quiz : TEST
60. Do one's best : TRY
61. Aquafresh tube letters : ADA. Toothy smiles all round.
And with that, I'm done!
Steve.
Note from C.C.:
Here are a few beautiful photos from JD's Puerto Rico trip. (Correction: Costa Rica trip.) Please click here for more pictures and her notes. She made a whole album of 97 brightly-colored pictures.
