49A. Thieves in the tombs of the pharaohs, say : GRAVE ROBBERS
58A. Early arcade game with pixelated aliens, and, in a way, what 20-, 27- and 49-Across all are : SPACE INVADERS
Argyle here. Just a Q short of a pangram. Everything worked out nicely; no strain to get words to pffft. A little step up from Monday.
Across:
1. Rhubarb desserts : PIES
5. Blue cartoon critter : SMURF
10. Spoiled one : BRAT
14. Mount of Greek myth : OSSA. A real mountain.
15. Old Testament prophet : HOSEA
16. Move like slime : OOZE
17. St. Bernard's bark : [WOOF!]
18. German WWII threat : U-BOAT. The submarine one.
19. Cowboy boot attachment : SPUR
23. '70s-'80s Olympic skier Phil : MAHRE. Remember?
25. Suffix with glob : ULE
26. "Just as I predicted!" : "SEE!"
32. Irish dance : JIG
33. Right triangle ratio : SINE
34. Minor quarrels : TIFFS
38. Egg cell : OVUM
40. "May the __ be with you" : FORCE
43. Fizzy drink : COLA
44. Hemmed in : BESET
46. Pop's Lady __ : GAGA
48. Flashlight output : RAY
53. Immigrant's subj. : ESL. (English as a Second Language)
56. Miss Teen __ : USA
57. "John Brown's Body" poet : BENÉT. Stephen Vincent Benét
63. 1974 Peace Nobelist from Japan : SATŌ. Eisaku Satō was the 39th Prime Minister of Japan and shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Seán MacBride in 1974.
3. Gullet : ESOPHAGUS. Whoa! Not a common word for any day of the week(but common enough for TV ads).
4. Jungle journey : SAFARI
5. Boarded up : SHUT
6. "__-Dick" : MOBY
7. Biennial games org. : USOC. (United States Olympic Committee)
8. Rise on hind legs, as a horse : REAR UP
9. Femme __ : FATALE
10. "Fiddlesticks!" : "BOSH!"
11. What rookies are shown, with "the" : ROPES
12. Sky shade : AZURE
13. To the point : TERSE
21. Radiation measures : REMS. Straight from the NRC Library, meaning.
22. Rockefeller Center muralist José María : SERT
23. Low-paying employment, slangily : McJOB
24. Partner of kicking : ALIVE
28. Peter Pan rival : JIF. Peanut butter.(#1 brand Jif)
29. Numero __ : UNO
30. Road sign with a double-tailed arrow : MERGE
31. Attack command word : SIC
35. "CSI" science : FORENSICS
36. Distress signal : FLARE
37. Speak, biblical-style : SAY'ST. "Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty, — that is all." - Ode on a Grecian Urn - John Keats
Theme: Desktop Adjunct - Multifunctional device that goes with a computer.
18A. Dodger pitcher with three 1960s Cy Young Awards : SANDY KOUFAX
31A. Friar from Assisi : FRANCISCAN. Friar Alessandro, the "Singing Monk" of Assisi.
41A. Short exercise dash : WIND SPRINT. Usually sprint to a point and sprint back; repeat.
56A. X-ray imaging technique : FLUOROSCOPY. FDA rap on the subject. LINK
46D. With 57-Down, multifunctional office machine suggested by this puzzle's circles : ALL-IN-. 57D. See 46-Down : ONE. I'm happy with my Brothers.
Argyle here with a debut constructor, I believe. Well done; a touch more difficult than our usual fare but fair none-the-less. The circles weren't necessary to solve it.
Across:
1. In addition : AND
4. Infielder's statistic : ASSIST
10. Mop for a deck : SWAB
14. "The Tell-Tale Heart" author : POE, Edgar Allan.
Theme: "I Owe You One" - I O is added to each theme entry, changing spellings when needed.
23A. Outdoor dining area with no chairs? : STANDING PATIO. Standing pat.
32A. Become adept at aerobic exercise? : MASTER CARDIO. MasterCard
55A. Spanish neighborhood known for its kisses? : CHOCOLATE BARRIO. chocolate bar.
80A. Contest to win an objet d'art? : RACE FOR THE CURIO. Race for the Cure.
101A. Brit's New York signoff? : BRONX CHEERIO. Bronx cheer.
112A. TV station mascot? : STUDIO CHICKEN. Stewed chicken. Is it a southern dish? I never had it. I was wondering what a "stud chicken" is. It's Argyle, who has been using this avatar for a long time.
16D. Contact a provisions room on a shortwave? : RADIO THE PANTRY. Raid the pantry.
50D. Buyer of "Gangsta's Paradise"? : COOLIO CUSTOMER. Cool customer. Coolio wrote "Gangsta's Paradise".
So, 3 IO's are added to the end of the first word, 5 to the end of the last word. Very consistent.
I love grids where theme entries intersect. Julian is very very good at it. Luck & skill. We wouldn't see chunky corners today had Julian put all his theme entries in Across.
1. Wax museum founder Marie : TUSSAUD. Easy start.
8. Many a Jordanian : ARAB
12. Pacts : ACCORDS
19. 1992 David Mamet play : OLEANNA. Nailed it. Ultra friendly letter combo for constructors.
20. Fancy drink garnish : PETAL. Not OLIVE.
22. Reveal : LAY BARE
25. __ trading : INSIDER
26. Link clicker's destination : SITE
27. Inter __ : ALIA
28. Man of steel? : ROBOT. Nice clue.
30. Suffix with 62-Across : IST. And 62. Exemplary : IDEAL
31. Thurman of "Kill Bill" : UMA
36. Santa __ : ROSA
37. Boxer with titles in eight different weight classes : PACQUIAO (Manny). I recognized his face when I googled.
39. Went hastily : HIED
40. "Curses!" : DRAT.
Hold your dominant
hand up & draw a capital Q on your forehead. Did the tail of the Q
fall towards your left or your right shoulder? You're a terrible liar if
it falls to the right. Good liars draw the tail to the left so the
person facing them can actually see it.
42. Sch. with the mustachioed mascot Hey Reb! : UNLV (University of Nevada-Las Vegas). Wiki said their sports teams are UNLV Rebels.
43. Kept the dance floor busy, briefly : DJed
45. Gets down : ALIGHTS
48. __ nod: acting honor : OSCAR
51. Biblical name meaning "hairy" : ESAU
53. Biol. majors' awards : BS DEGREES
59. CNN medical correspondent Sanjay __ : GUPTA. I like him.
60. Ring punch : HOOK
61. Pay ending : OLA. Payola.
63. Hertz opening? : MEGA. Megahertz.
64. Scale fifth : SOL
65. "Holy __!" : MOLY
66. Chaney of old horror films : LON
67. River of Germany : EDER
69. Put the cuffs on : NAB
72. Author Dinesen : ISAK
74. Refine, as ore : SMELT
76. Montréal moniker : NOM
77. Texas NLer : STRO. Julian lives in Singapore. No baseball there. (Correction: Astros moved to the American League in 2013).
78. Pained shrieks : YEOWS
83. Colluding : IN CAHOOTS. Love this entry.
85. User's reversal : UNDO
86. Ancient Indo-European : ARYAN
87. Canadian french fries dish : POUTINE. I knew it. I just don't know how to spell it correctly.
88. "Why not?" : LET'S
90. Mudville number : NINE
92. __ butter: cosmetic moisturizer : SHEA. Never tried it. I'm pretty happy with my coconut oil and Argan oil.
93. Ersatz : FAUX
95. Drug-induced hostility : ROID RAGE. Another great entry.
99. Book after John : ACTS
105. Sound file suffix : WAV. See here. Just remember wave.
119. Winter beverages : HOT TEAS. I really like the gunpowder green in Steve's Numi box.
120. Jewel case holders : CD RACKS
121. Rebel against : DEFY
122. Expand, as a home : ADD ONTO
Down:
1. 50-50 shot : TOSS UP
2. Last syllable : ULTIMA. Learning moment for me.
3. Northwest airport named for two cities : SEA-TAC. Seattle & Tacoma.
4. Sensible : SANE
5. Fish-chips link : AND. Fish and chips.
6. Down Under school : UNI
7. Emmy-winning sportscaster Patrick : DAN
8. Familiar fruit logo : APPLE
9. Show again : RE-AIR
10. Diplomat's case : ATTACHE. Attaché's attaché.
11. Tang dynasty poet Li __ : BAI. He drank a lot a lot and wrote this classic poem. Perfect for Mid-Audumn Festival, which will be celebrated tomorrow. Jayce & Yellowrocks would probably love this clip.
Half of our Dynamic Duo makes his second Saturday appearance for the
LAT, to the best of my knowledge, with an impressive low block count of
only 26, no less. Big chunky 8x5- and 9x6-letter corners, two 10-letter
fills in the middle, and one 15-letter climber, which I did not see at
first glance. Have to admit, had to cheat with red-letters for ONE
lousy cell, and it was NOT in the SE corner, I might add. Still, there
was a gratuitous shoutout to yours truly, and so I am pretty happy
overall. The longer answers;
7. Flying cartoon hero, formally : ROCKET J. SQUIRREL - Before my time; must be hard up for work these days as he's appearing in Geico commercials now
31. Gang leader of old comics : BAZOOKA JOE - The Joe that you will no longer find in the comics wrapped around your Bazooka Bubble gum; the Wiki
43. Stewed : LIQUORED UP - ah, now this is a phrase that I AM familiar with....
10d.~!!!!!
ACROSS:
1. Some daily activities : HABITS
- Let's see; coffee, cigars, Monster energy, cursing, bathing, brushing
teeth - but I did not drink, just for today - but there's a toast to
all at sunset, right Tin~!?
7. Restored vigor to, in a way : REPOTTED - Maybe for the marijuana plant, but most of the people I know who get "re-potted" don't usually show much vigor
15. Big Sur retreat : ESALEN - Sounds like a place I might like to visit; spirituality, holistic healing, and education - more from their website
16. Chef's assortment : OVENWARE - because CUTLERY was too short
17. Philosopher de Beauvoir : SIMONE
18. 1992 Michelle Pfeiffer role : CATWOMAN
19. Wright-Patterson, e.g.: Abbr. : AFB - Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
20. Certain laundry load : DARKS - my first fill
22. "This is just __" : A TEST
23. Titicaca feeders : RIOs - Educated WAG; lake in South America
25. Forest mom : DOE
26. Turning points : CRISES
27. __ Lodge : ECONO - who else went with MOTOR~?
29. "Fats" Waller piano style : STRIDE
33. Trick : RUSE
37. Goethe's "The __-King" : ERL - I think I have seen this before in crosswords, but it was all perps today
38. To begin with : FIRSTLY
40. Yvette, e.g. : NOM - Frawnche
41. Soup vegetable : LEEK - My first guess, but I left it blank
45. "Free," in "land of the free" : ADNOUN - New to me - the Wiki says it's an adjective used as a noun
47. Wheat used in health food : SPELT - Nailed it
48. Gets clean : BATHES - nothing to do with "sobriety" getting clean
51. 19th/20th-century civil rights leader __ B. Wells : IDA
53. Marching band? : ARMY - har-har....could've flown without the "?", too, IMO
54. On the wrong side (of) : AFOUL - "He ran afoul of the law."
55. Ceremonial lineup : GRADs - meh
57. Disallow : BAN
58. Common ore of mercury : CINNABAR
- My high school paper was called this; not sure picking an ore of a
poisonous metal is such a good choice in terms of 'what's good for you'
60. Pin down : LOCATE
62. Form a union : ORGANIZE - Nailed it; but then again, I'm at UPS....
63. Sees the light, maybe : AWAKES - Sorry, but a BIG MEH here - either WAKES, or AWAKENS, but halfway in between~? meh.
64. Like many sales : SEASONAL - Like "Peeps" half off the day after Easter
65. Devote, as time : INVEST
DOWN:
1. 1962 Crystals album with cover art of a biker : HE'S A REBEL - The REBEL part came from perps; the rest was an educated WAG - before my time
2. "Whatever" : "AS IF I CARE"
3. Hoodwink : BAMBOOZLE - Got it with "---OO-E" in place
4. Workers' rights gp. since 1919 : ILO - Dah~! I tried CIO, then AFL; we are looking for the International Labour Organization - and the "O" was "A" for me - my bad cell; in hindsight, SimAne does sound a bit off....
8. Some NASA missions : EVAs - Extra-Vehicular Activities; in other words, space walks ( I know, it's more than just that, HuskerG)
9. Favorite : PET
10. Ahead : ONWARD~! - Thank you, kind sir~!!!
11. Wedding cake specification : TWO-TIER
12. Tones down : TAMES
13. Backspace, usually : ERASE
14. Reasons for as-is sales : DENTS
21. Actress Dawson of "Men in Black II" : ROSARIO - Good movie, but not as good as the first Men In Black - and I am ashamed to admit I have NOT seen "III" yet
24. Wintry commercial prefix : SNO - Sno-Cat, e.g.
26. Spanish sky : CIELO
28. Doubled-over reaction : "`OOF`!"
30. Capitol center : ROTUNDA - Nice slight mis-direction
32. Where some artists' firings occur : KILNs
34. Cook poorly, in a way : UNDERBAKE
35. Ideal pairing : SOULMATES - I sometimes think I have already met her....now for the next step
36. 1980s-'90s Richard Mulligan sitcom : EMPTY NEST - I liked him in "SOAP", and this show was pretty good, too - featuring Kristy McNicol and "Isuzu Joe"
39. Age abbr. : YRs
42. Hawaiian priests : KAHUNAs - I must link Pulp Fiction~!
44. AQI monitor : EPA - Air Quality Index, and the Environmental Protection Agency
46. California city near Bakersfield : DELANO
48. Salad bar items : BACOs - Mmmm, Baco's....did anyone else try TONGS, and then get to 50D~?
49. Burning : AFIRE
50. Pacific island nation : TONGA
52. Grover's 1890s vice president : ADLAI - Stevenson, the "I"; I am more familiar with "II", who was 20th century
55. Troubled Mideast region : GAZA - Timely
56. Ready to grow : SOWN - It's harvest time for the sod farms here on L.I.
59. Garbage holder : BIN
61. James, again, briefly : CAV - this one was super MEH - I had to dig deep to get the reference, which is LeBron James, who played for the Cleveland CAValiers, twice - with a stop in Miami in between - and I do NOT like Basketball~!
I often complain that constructors do not use enough imagination to add the letter "J" to their creations, being prejudiced by my name. This puzzle by our new Friday fixture, JW, takes out all of the stops and uses a really cute reveal to explain all the Js
'popping in' the four in the language phrases, each of which is clued
with wit and becomes a fun visual. Mr. Wechsler seems to be on a good
Friday run with his usual array of fill such as KNELLED, SEXISTS, ST
JAMES, WII MINI, IN A STATE, MILLINER, SOMEWHAT, TO AND FRO. TOOL
SHED, UNBURDEN. Like yesterday's puzzle, the reveal is really
entertaining and fair and no Naticks, though a few Massachusetts ties. So let's unburden ourselves and see what this First Friday in September has to offer.
16A. Exceptional practical joke? : GREAT JAPE.(9).
Am I alone in wondering about the oxymoronic concept of a "practical"
joke? Certainly the great ape friend of Cesar had no sense of humor.
Jape appears in so many of the British mysteries I read, but it is not a
word I would use.
23A. What bearded men get in blizzards? : SNOWY JOWLS.
(10). Being a bearded man who is getting more jowly with age, this was
easy and revealed the theme quickly. For obvious reasons, the beautiful BIRD does not make it to Florida.
34A. Short hike for a beginner? : MAIDEN JAUNT.
(11). This seemed so perfect, especially with my mental picture of the
Maiden Aunt out in the woods with her binoculars, looking for Snowy
Owls.
48A. Jack's friend resting on the hill? : JILL AT EASE.
(10). While this is the outlier, with the J added to the first word, I
wonder if it wasn't the seed entry to the theme. The question always
remains unanswered; why DID they really go up the hill?
And the reveal:
57A. Pretentious showoffs, or, another way, what one would do to create 16-, 23-, 34- and 48-Across : POPINJAYS. (9). I just love a well thought out reveal like this which make the theme so cool. Another nice word from British mysteries.
And the gratuitous bonus fill
5D. NBA legend, familiarly : DR J. Julius Erving, UMass graduate and NBA hall of famer. 63 here.
Across:
1. How an airport shuttle travels : TO AND FRO. Because Back and Forth would not fit.
9. Savors, with "in" : BASKS. In the sun, to...
14. Take a load off : UNBURDEN. from the days stresses.
15. Hwy. paralleling I-95 : US ONE. I live one block west of US 1 and two miles east of 95.
17. Wrist brand : TIMEX.
Back in the early days TV commercials never pitted products by name, it
was always PRODUCT and brand X, with brand x a poor substitute. I
wonder if that inspired the name of this timepiece?
18. Condos, to the management : UNITS.
19. Arrest readings: Abbr. : RTS. An accepted abbreviation of rights, but clued on a Friday level.
21. Lunch spot : DELI.
22. Michelangelo's "David," e.g. : NUDE. 2nd time we have had this recently, and of course fitting that it adjoins...
26. Place to luxuriate : SPA. where people often parade around naked.
27. Band from Birmingham, Eng. : ELO. Electric Light Orchestra. LISTEN.(3:43)
28. Glorifying work : ODE.
29. Distressed, with "up" : HET. They say it derives from situations which 'heat up'. In modern usage, HET refers to a heterosexual person.
30. Cast aspersions : SNIPE. Not my definition.
32. Plenty : SCADS.
37. Goodman's forte : SWING. Benny and his licorice stick.
39. Prepare for a siege : DIG IN. because stock up would not fit.
40. "Voices Carry" pop group '__ Tuesday : TIL. Not in my knowledge bank. They did not last. Their lead singer was names Aimee MANN; they were from the Boston area.
41. 1964 Nobelist's monogram : MLK. Martin Luther King. There are so many famous initials, but few reach his level. If you think only of scientists, this was a very tricky clue.
44. Destroy, in a way : GUT. Once owned a duplex, rented half to a client/friend and he gutted the place. Lesson learned.
51. Pull up stakes, briefly : RELOcate. I am not a fan of this form of abbreviation: 7D. Dupe : REPROduction.
52. 1975 Pure Prairie League hit : AMIE. No relation, just french for girl friend. The band keeps working thought the line up of players has changed many many times; they help Vince Gill to become a star.
53. Comfy room : DEN. This room has gone through more changes without ever changing.
54. "A Few Good Men" playwright Sorkin : AARON. My oldest son's name and a prolific and successful WRITERwho also created the TV drama the West Wing.
55. Supply near the register : MINTS.
60. War need? : ENEMY. An ironic clue, juxtaposed with...
61. Perturbed : IN A STATE. For which one might need a
62. Warning sound : SIREN. to let the world know of the impending danger.
63. Storage place : TOOL SHED. Do they build these with houses any more? I loved ours growing up, it was dark and dank and a fun place.
Down:
1. Appear : TURN UP.
2. Iroquois League tribe : ONEIDA. One of the Six Nations: Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora.
3. Wane : ABATE.
4. "Shoot!" : NUTS.
6. Org. that regulates vaccines : FDA. Food and Drug Administration.
8. Damaging combination : ONE TWO. Really nice misdirection with boxing the hidden ingredient.
9. On the other hand : BUT. and, 11D. To a degree : SOMEWHAT.
10. "Just like me" : AS I DO. Do as I do. 49D. "I'll take a shot" : LET ME. What do you have to lose?
12. Rang tragically : KNELLED. The ringing of a bell to signal a death (Death Knell) goes back centuries; bells also toll for the dead.
13. Some discriminators : SEXISTS. Damn those people who send naked pictures in the cloud!
16. Tries (for) : GUNS.
20. Barrett of Pink Floyd : SYD. He was a founder, the lead singer and guitarist who did not make it past the second album with Pink Floyd.
23. Lost one's footing : SLID. Rhymes with Syd.
24. "Uh-uh" : NOPE. Rhymes with Pope.
25. Pope Francis, e.g. : JESUIT. This religious order was a logical response to the reformation efforts of the Protestants.
27. Brain teaser : ENIGMA. Wrapped in a riddle inside a crossword puzzle.
30. __ Jose : SAN. On my way....
31. Word with living or bitter : END.
33. "The Situation Room" airer : CNN. Cable News Network.
34. Top designer? : MILLINER. Cute, a top (a hat) designer, NOT a TOP Designer. Did this have you spinning?
35. Reel relatives : JIGS. YR must have eaten this clue up about Virginia Reels and Irish Jigs; started me thinking about old movies and old music.
36. Fever with chills : AGUE.
37. Place in Monopoly's orange monopoly : ST. JAMES.
One of the boring properties along with New York and Tennessee, not
cheap but not exciting unless you can get the aqua and red to make the trip hell for your opponents.
38. Lower-cost Nintendo offering : WII MINI. Their PROMOTION. Never saw one, let alone played one, though I have many WII hours logged.
42. Relative of Inc. : LTD. Many other countries use this designation for privately held companies.
43. "Consider that a gift" : KEEP IT. Usually said after someone has either taken a bite or a sip of your drink/food.
45. Dress down : BERATE. With employees this should always be done in private.
46. Was too sweet : CLOYED. I am used to cloying, so I guess CLOYED should not have been hard.
47. Pen occupants : CONS. many of whom are pros.
50. Reprimand ending : A NO NO. Charlotte is learning about no nos.
51. Hindustan ruler : RAJAH.
54. Single-file travelers, at times : ANTS. Where do those damn sugar ants come from?
56. Numbers for songs?: Abbr. : SYNonym. A nice deception asking to compare the words.
58. Kung __ chicken : PAO.
59. Alcatraz, e.g.: Abbr. : ISLand. Now open for tourists? LINK.
Thanks JW, lots of nice clues and musical inspiration. I thought the theme was great and overall a smooth Friday. Fall is coming and I am out. Lemonade.
17-Across. Keep one's landlord happy : PAY THE RENT. Even better, pay in cash!
23-Across. Box instruction : OPEN OTHER END. And the instruction there? "Open Other End..."
37-Across. Optional learning : HIGHER EDUCATION. For my sisters and me, it wasn't optional!
46-Across. Usually not a good way to get married : ON THE REBOUND. Uh, not even a good way to date.
57-Across. "You listen to me," and an instruction about what to look for in 17-, 23-, 37- and 46-Across : NOW SEE..."HERE."
HaHa!! You got me, Bruce! I had absolutely no clue what the unifier would be, and I chuckled when I finally "saw" it. I believe this is Bruce's LAT debut, although he has several NYT puzzles under his belt. This was a very typical Thursday solve for me. Some gimmes, some question marks and a couple of "Huhs?" Let's see how it goes.
Across
1. Gusto : ZEST. Elan? (Check perps: has to start with "Z.") Zing? (Nah, that doesn't work with EL AL...) Z-E-al? (Nah, the 4-letter vodka has to be SKYY...) Z-E-S-... (Bit of ink? Hmmm...) AHA! TAT!! Z-E-S-T. And so it went...
5. Reynolds Wrap maker : ALCOA. Gimme.
10. Reptile house attractions : BOAS. Asps? (Check perps: Has to start with "B"...)
14. __-Seltzer : ALKA.
15. Luxury hotel with a YouFirst rewards program : LOEWS. Tough one. There are only 20 locations in the US and Canada, so it might not be the first hotel that solvers would think of.
16. Nothing but : ONLY.
19. Cross the threshold : GO IN.
20. Tricky : SLY.
21. Big name in dangerous stunts : EVEL. Knievel, the late motorcycle daredevil. You'd think he would have died in one of those crazy stunts. But no, he died of pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 69.
22. Sierra follower, in the NATO alphabet : TANGO.
26. Not familiar with : NEW AT.
29. Staff symbols : RESTS.
30. Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT. Quod Erat Demonstrandum.
31. __ Belt : ORION'S. Were the pyramids purposely situated to align with it?
40. Suffix with concert : INO. Hands up for filling "ina" at first?
41. "__ Fideles" : ADESTE.
42. Back in the day : ONCE. upon a time...
43. They may be counted : NOSES.
45. Golden number? : OLDIE. Great clue!
51. Exposed : BARED.
52. Film with talking bugs : ANTZ. It's the only movie with Woody Allen (the voice of "Z") that I ever enjoyed.
53. NFL's Jaguars, for short : JAX. Jacksonville, FL.
56. "The Year of Magical Thinking" author Didion : JOAN. It won the Pulitzer prize for autobiography. It chronicles her grief during the year following her husband's death in 2003. It is a heart-wrenching account, and a must-read for anyone grieving the loss of a loved one. Her only daughter died in 2005, and led to a second book, "Blue Nights."
60. Qatari bigwig : EMIR.
61. Chicago's __ Planetarium : ADLER. America's first planetarium.
28. Top-rated evening TV show of 1961-62 : WAGON TRAIN. My parents used to love this show. Me, not so much...
31. Turkey on rye, e.g. : ORDER.
32. Actress Witherspoon : REESE. She's such a cutie.
33. Some badges : IDs.
35. Centers of activity : LOCI.
36. Seat for a dummy : KNEE. Dummy, as in Mortimer Snerd.
38. Relaxed : EASED.
39. Ratted (on) : TOLD.
44. Literary award named for a writer : O'HENRY.
45. Dix et un : ONZE. 10 + 1 = 11 in French. (Funny...it adds up to the same thing in English!)
46. __ d'art : OBJET. More French.
47. Wynonna's mom : NAOMI. The Judds.
48. Cries : BAWLS.
49. Commencement : ONSET.
50. In __: unborn : UTERO.
53. Sudden movement : JERK.
54. __ Sea : ARAL.
55. Lawless character : XENA. Lucy Lawless, that is.
57. Go out in the afternoon? : NAP.
58. Keats poem : ODE.
59. "The Leftovers" airer : HBO. No clue. Oh, I see that it just premiered on June 29th, and "The Leftovers" are those people left after the "rapture" took 2% of the world's population.
Theme: GET IT IN GEAR. The first word of each two-word theme answer is the name of one of the gear selections for an automatic transmission shift lever. 17. Canadian natural resource manager : PARK WARDEN. An unlikely looking clue, but sussable with perp help and a little head scratching. You can read about them here.PARK is the selection for keeping the vehicle stationary. 24. Dramatic backwards hoops move : REVERSE DUNK. Better seen than explained. A car in REVERSE goes backwards.
36. Photon, e.g. : NEUTRAL PARTICLE. Protons and neutrons are polarized, photons go lightly down the middle of the road. NEUTRAL is a resting position between REVERSE and DRIVE. 46. Push one's buttons, and then some : DRIVE INSANE. Is there someone who knows how to push your buttons? I can be maddening. DRIVE is the selection for actually going somewhere. 56. Like many diets : LOW CALORIE. Weight watching strategy. LOW gear is for low speed and controlled power. 64. Shift letters spelled out in 17-, 24-, 36-, 46- and 56-Across : P R N D L Vide infra.
Strangely, in the following video London gets it right - at least that part of it. In the industry this bit of apparatus is indeed called the PRNDL, just as she pronounces it.
Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here, your chauffeur for the day. Let's DRIVE on through Ned's puzzle and see if we can avoid pot holes and speed bumps. Across 1. Plentiful : RIFE. This old Anglo-Saxon word might have originated with the Old Norse word for "acceptable." 5. Green-lights : OKAYS. Allows or permits. Looks odd spelt out. 10. Fruit-bearing trees : FIGS. They are native to the Middle East and Western Asia, now cultivated throughout the temperate zone. 14. "Tiger Beat" cover subject : IDOL. As in pop star. Per Wikipedia, Tiger Beat is an American fan magazine marketed primarily to adolescent girls.
19. Desi Arnaz's birthplace : CUBA. More specifically, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha, III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was born in Santiago, where his father was the mayor.
20. 10 to the 100th power : GOOGOL. Just a really big number. 21. Party amenity : FAVOR. A trinket given to party guests. 22. Get on : AGE. No comment. 29. Play to __ : A TIE. 30. "Carmina Burana" composer : ORFF . Carl ORFF composed this cantata in 1935-6, based on 24 poems from a medieval manuscript of the same name containing 254 poems in Latin and vernacular languages. The entries are ribald, irreverent and satirical. Here is the most famous segment.
31. Polio vaccine developer : SABIN. Albert Bruce Sabin (August 26, 1906 – March 3, 1993) developed an oral polio vaccine. 33. Bk. after Galatians : EPH. The letter to the EPHesians, traditionally attributed to Saul of Tarsus [aka Paul the Apostle] is the 10th book of The New Testament. 40. Photo lab prod. : ENLargement. When a right click is not enough. 41. Words said while folding : I'M OUT. Of a poker game, not putting away the laundry. 42. Outer Banks st. : N. CAR. North Carolina. 43. Island near Corsica : ELBA. Everyone knows this as the site of Napolean's exile, but he spent his final six years confined at the British island of St. Helena. 44. Result : EFFECT. 51. Facial feature above la bouche : NEZ. The mouth and nose on le visage. 52. Fluttered in the breeze : WAVED. 53. Passionate : ARDENT. 55. School where part of "The Madness of King George" was filmed : ETON. British school, four letters, fill it in and move on. 60. Dubliner's land : EIRE. Or ERIN. Always need perps. 61. The Little Mermaid : ARIEL.
65. Ripoff : SCAM. Down 1. Mending target : RIP. Sew it up. 2. St. with a panhandle : IDAho. I wanted FLA. Can we use that pan to fry up some potatoes? 3. Absent-minded : FORGETFUL. Again, no comment. 4. Nevada county or its seat : ELKO. In the North-east corner of the State on the Humboldt River. 5. Oklahoma natives : OSAGES. Originally from the Ohio River valley, they migrated West of the Mississippi by the mid 17th century to avoid the invading Iroquois. 6. Renamed Russian ballet company : KIROV. Earlier the Imperial Russian Ballet, now the Mariinsky. 7. Throw for a loop : ADDLE. Confuse, befuddle. 8. "__-haw!" : YEE. I wanted HEE. Eiher way a western or rural expression of joy or exuberance. 9. Form 1040 ID : SSN. Social Security Number. 10. False front : FACADE. 11. Sweet tweet : I LUV U. I somehow misread this as sweet treat, and was thoroughly ADDLED. 12. Equatorial African country : GABON. On the West coast, below The Gulf of Guinea. 13. Snide commentary : SNARK. 18. Apple invader : WORM. Of the pome, not the computer. 21. Fencing ploy : FEINT. A deceptive or distracting movement intended to create an opening. 22. Do a makeup job? : ATONE. To make amends, and thus make up for some transgression. I love this kind of clue. 23. Bridge immortal Charles : GOREN. Charles Henry Goren (March 4, 1901 – April 3, 1991) was a player who wrote many books about the game and did much to popularize it. He was the leading American bridge personality in the 1950s and 1960s. 25. Moroccan capital : RABAT. Just up the road from Casablanca. 26. The hoosegow : STIR. Alternate slang words for jail. 28. Immature newt : EFT. 31. Memorial __-Kettering: NYC hospital : SLOAN. The world's oldest and largest cancer center. 32. Manjula's husband on "The Simpsons" : APU. 33. Quirky : ECCENTRIC. Literally, off-center, into English from Greek. 34. Venue : PLACE. 35. Alamo competitor : HERTZ. Car rental, not the Mexican-American war. 37. Rankled : RILED. 38. Both: Pref. : AMBI-. Could be ambiguous. 39. Like Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 : IN F. The Key of F Major. 43. Reached equilibrium, with "out" : EVENED. 44. Final goal : END ALL. 45. Experience : FEEL. I'm trying to experience the equivalence here, but don't quite feel it. 46. One who may be "adorkable" : DWEEB. Dork, DWEEB, nerd - a socially inept intelligent person. Think Sheldon Cooper. 47. Proportional relation : RATIO. Math. It represents for some quantity of thing A how much there is of thing B. It can look suspiciously like a fraction. 48. Target of elephant poachers : IVORY. Tusks. 49. Politely admitted : SAW IN. Escorted to one's seat, frex. 50. Parabolic, e.g. : ARCED. The classic arch.
54. Yuletide quaffs : NOGS. Eggy drinks. 56. Race unit : LAP. Once around the track. 57. Bruin great : ORR. Bobby, the Boston hockey player. 58. Tax shelter initials : IRA. Individual Retirement Account. 59. Spreading tree : ELM. Are there any left? Okay, folks, the DRIVE is over. No traffic jams nor detours, and only a couple of minor bumps along the way. Hope you enjoyed the journey. Now it's time to put it in PARK. Cool regards! JzB
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