I thought we were in for a homophone puzzle after I filled in the first two theme answers:
20-Across. Really opens up : BARES ONE'S SOUL.
24-Across. Warrants another mention : BEARS REPEATING.
But the third one didn't fit the mold:
45-Across. Greed and jealousy are among them : BASER INSTINCTS.
Hmmm...but it did contain the same letters.
AHA!
51-Across. Threat of power, and a hint to the starts of 20-, 24- and 45-Across : SABER RATTLING.
The "rattling" indicates that the letters are shaken around, and a classic anagram theme is born.
This is Steve's third LAT puzzle this month, and the second one I have blogged. They are always fun and fresh, with some clever clues and nice juicy fill. Come with me and see what I mean...
Across
1. Stephen King title city : SALEM. "Salem's Lot." I never read his books or watch the movies. Waaaay too scary for me.
6. USS Enterprise android : DATA. I had to pause for a minute to come up with this guy's name.
10. Drinks slowly : SIPS. The way to drink scotch, right Tin?
14. Beethoven honoree : ELISE. "Für ELISE."
15. What may make the future tense? : OMEN. Fun clue!
16. Start of a solution : IDEA.
17. Steer catcher : RIATA.
18. Haboob, for one : WINDSTORM. One of them blew over Phoenix last Friday.
22. Circuit protector : FUSE.
23. Nashville awards gp. : CMA. Country Music Association.
31. Astrologer Dixon : JEANE. I always want to put two N's in her name.
32. MD for women : GYN.ecologist.
33. Falco of "Nurse Jackie" : EDIE.
34. River ends? : ARs.
35. Idealist : DREAMER.
39. Dark time in poetry : E'EN. And a semi-clecho at 55-down. Dark time in ads : NITE.
40. "What kind of a name is 'Wilbur' for a man?" speaker : MR. ED. He was a horse, of course...
42. Donation, say : AID.
43. Seating option : AISLE. I always prefer the window - no food carts banging into my ankles, or people crawling over me to get to the bathroom.
49. Trig. ratio : COS.ine.
50. "Bus Stop" playwright : INGE.
57. Autograph signing locale : STAGE DOOR.
59. Call, in a way : RADIO.
60. Ship that sailed to Colchis : ARGO. Jason and his Argonauts.
61. Humerus neighbor : ULNA. Then there is this type of humorous neighbor.
62. Draw together : UNITE.
63. Withdraw by degrees : WEAN.
64. Ingredients in some stews : PEAS.
65. Egyptian pyramid's eight : EDGES. Not "kings."
Down
1. Balkan native : SERB.
2. Latin "others" : ALIA. Usually abbr. as al. And 28-Down. Clarifier usually abbreviated : ID EST. i.e., like this. (Latin for "that is...")
3. One may be habitual : LIAR.
4. Miami Sound Machine singer : ESTEFAN. I hope you appreciate the fact that I linked this singer instead of Beethoven's "Für Elise."
5. Carefully considered : MEASURED.
6. It'll bum you out : DOWNER. I read it as BURN instead of BUM. I think crossword clues should be PRINTED ALL IN CAPS FROM NOW ON.
7. Henri's lady friend : AMIE. French "friend."
8. Arithmetic column : TENS.
9. Director's "Done with this segment!" : AND...SCENE. I wanted AND..."cut" but it was too short. I had never heard AND...SCENE, so I looked it up. Seems it was often used by someone auditioning, to let the director know they were finished with their piece. Now it is used in a facetious way. After ranting and raving about something, a person might say AND...SCENE, to indicate that whatever they just said was all an act.
10. Put in place : SITUATE.
11. False __ : IDOL.
12. A : PER. As in $5 PER dozen, or $5 A dozen. How much is corn on the cob in your state?
13. Yosemite __ : SAM.
19. "Brave New World" drug : SOMA.
21. WWII intelligence org. : OSS. Office of Strategic Services. Julia Child was in the OSS.
24. Three-time A.L. MVP : BERRA.
25. Lightens : EASES.
26. "Zounds!" : EGADS.
27. "Quartet in Autumn" English novelist Barbara : PYM. I only know the character in Poe's novel. There once was a PYM from Nantucket...
29. Bohr of the Manhattan Project : NIELS.
30. Code carrier : GENE.
31. It's perpendicular to a threshold : JAMB.
36. Lifted : RAISED UP.
37. A, in Germany : EIN.
38. Sounded right : RANG TRUE. Yep, sounds right to me!
41. Figure with 10 sides : DECAGON.
44. Republic formerly under Danish rule : ICELAND.
46. Court cover-up : ROBE. Cute - not the hiding of evidence, but the judge's covering. Why do they wear robes, anyway? I should think they could do the same thing in a tuxedo and look far more dashing...
47. Pageant symbols : TIARAS.
48. What a QB tries to avoid : INT.erception.
51. Multipart story : SAGA.
52. Auditioner's goal : ROLE.
53. Gossip columnist Barrett : RONA.
54. "Copacetic, man" : I DIG.
56. Exits : GOES.
57. Caught at the theater : SAW.
58. Amount past due? : TRE. HaHa! Irish Miss, did you get this one? Italian due = two and tre = three.
Marti, out!
