17A. Leave in a huff : STORM OUT. Storm cloud. Not something you'd want to be flying into.
25A. Book keeper? : DUST JACKET. Dust cloud. Not something you'd want to be flying into.
34A. Steak topper : MUSHROOM SAUCE. Mushroom cloud. Not something ... you get the idea.
48A. Deep-fried carnival treat : FUNNEL CAKE. Funnel cloud. Not some .. OK, OK, enough already. Yikes!
58A. Virtual storage area, and a hint to words that start 17-, 25-, 34- and 48-Across : THE CLOUD
G'day everyone! Steve here with a C.C. Wednesday special. No baseball unless I missed something glaringly obvious, but plenty of food (!), technology and frilly things to ratchet up my interest level. The theme might have been written for me today - I'm looking down at the cloud tops on my way to Detroit to discuss one of my companies' cloud offerings with a customer.
Et alia:
Across:
1. Amin portrayed in "The Last King of Scotland" : IDI. Exiled Ugandan despot.
4. Arabic "son of" : IBN
7. Took out : ERASED
13. __ race : RAT
14. Lingerie tops : BRAS. Frills!
16. Turkey feature : WATTLE. Not the most attractive of birds.
19. Necessitate : ENTAIL
20. "Evil Woman" rock gp. : E.L.O. Founder member Roy Wood went on to odder things with Wizzard. If anyone cares to explain the bass guitarist's outfit of angel wings, cricket pads and roller skates I'd be interested to hear it.
21. Lode loads : ORES. Clue-tactic
23. Jalapeño topper : TILDE. The squiggly diacritical on the "n".
24. Chignon, e.g. : UPDO I learned this from crosswords. I've never heard it used otherwise, but then again I don't hang out in hair salons on the eve of special occasions.
27. Ultimate authorities : SAY-SOS
29. "Have some!" : EAT
30. Seattle-to-Reno dir. : S.S.E.
31. Stains on a record : BLOTS
32. One who woke up on the wrong side of the bed, say : CRAB. Marti sometimes confesses to wrong-side awakening, but I'd hesitate to ever describe her as crabby.
40. Neighborhood sale caveat : AS IS
41. Dishonorable fellow : KNAVE
43. Blissful sounds : AHS
46. Cherry core : PIT
47. Damaged : HARMED
52. One, to Goethe : EINS. This threw me - I confidently had EINE until EDE at 42D made no sense, as you can see from my final fill in the grid at the bottom.
53. Deceit : FRAUD
54. "Are we __ not?": "Is it a date?" : ON OR. Not exactly the most polite way to start out, in my ever-so-humble opinion.
55. Puerto Rico hrs. : A.S.T. The famous Atlantic Standard Time. Easterly bits of Canada (eh!) also use it.
56. TaylorMade parent : ADIDAS. I used to pronounce it "Addy-dass", as did the entire continent of Europe. I now pronounce it "Add-eee-das" due to the hilarity and mirth which ensued when I moved to the USA and my friends heard me say it. I use TaylorMade golf clubs, although similar hilarity and mirth often follows the witnessing of a shot played with them.
61. "Fighting" college team : ILLINI. Pah. Second-rate fighters. Irish first.
62. "Born Free" lioness : ELSA
63. Word after common or case : LAW
64. Starts over : RESETS
65. Pink Floyd guitarist Barrett : SYD. Or Roger Keith to his mom. If you've got 10 minutes to spare, here's "Shine on you Crazy Diamond" - the band's tribute to their former "madcap" member.
66. New Haven student : ELI
Down:
1. Govt. org. that may freeze assets : I.R.S. Not the warmest of agencies, that's for sure.
2. Desert fruit tree : DATE PALM
3. "See?!" : I TOLD YOU
4. "Big Blue" : IBM My first programming job was working on an IBM/370 mainframe using punch cards. Many years later, I had a meeting at the IBM offices in Frankfurt and was alarmed to see that the model of punch card machine I used every day was reverently displayed, under glass, in the building's lobby. Feel old, much?
5. Coop groups : BROODS
6. Tiny Pacific republic : NAURU. Small indeed - 9,200 people on 8.1 square miles.
7. Ma that baas : EWE
8. Go off on : RANT AT
9. Place to stick rarely used stuff : ATTIC. Basements and garages for the overflow. Then to the neighborhood sales.
10. Celery pieces : STALKS. STICKS first.
11. Fails to pronounce : ELIDES. I still shudder when I read "gonna" in print. I don't think I'll ever get used to that one.
12. Knock out, as a character : DELETE
15. Fr. holy women : STES
18. Dove bars? : ROOSTS. Cute! I had a couple of Dove squares last night, I like the little "fortune cookie" messages inside the foil wrappers.
22. Cooks, as dim sum dumplings : STEAMS. Oh boy!
24. iPad-to-PC port : USB. Universal Serial Bus, in case you wondered.
26. Ring punches : JABS
28. __Kosh B'Gosh : OSH. From Wuscaahnsun.
32. Store with a Kirkland Signature brand : COSTCO
33. Many a Louis : ROI. Many indeed. Louis dix-huit was the last. Neither English kings nor Popes come close in the XVIII stakes.
35. One way to travel : RAIL
36. Letters in an APB : AKA
37. Beyond belief : UNREAL
38. Lingerie top : CAMISOLE. More frills! No links from me, I'll leave that to others.
39. Ultimate : EVENTUAL
42. Vogue VIPs : EDS
43. Intense romance : AFFAIR
44. Steeplechase feature : HURDLE. The obstacles in the Grand National steeplechase, which is run annually at Aintree racecourse near Liverpool, England, might feel insulted to be called "hurdles". The fences are around 5 feet high and some are almost 12 feet wide.
45. Escargots : SNAILS. Garlicky deliciousness.
46. One fussy about minor details : PEDANT. Crossword constructors, editors and solvers? I hope not ...
47. Charge against Galileo : HERESY. Not public endangerment by dropping lumps of lead from the top of the Tower of Pisa? Odd.
49. Film with a minimal costume budget? : NUDIE. No-frills production!
50. Put in a chip : ANTE
51. JCPenney rival : KOHL'S. I thought JCP had disappeared with the Macy*s takeover, but apparently still going strong.
57. Paris, to Nicky : SIS. Ahhhh - the Hilton sisters. Things have been quiet with those two recently, thank goodness.
59. Dishonorable fellow : CAD. Egad!
60. MADD focus : DWI
Just enough time for the grid before my blog-meter time expires.
Steve
Note from C.C.:
Happy
Birthday to dear Creature, a very active member of our blog until an
accident took away her husband on her birthday three years ago. I hope
you've sold the farm and settled down on your city life. Leave us a note when you drop by, Creature. You're in my thought often, so is
Chickie, who's taking a leave from the blog to take care of her husband
Bill. Our best wishes also go to Misty, Dave and their loved ones.
I feel incredibly lucky that I have you guys to turn to when I need advice and guidance, and I hope this blog can be of some help and comfort when you are in need as well.
I feel incredibly lucky that I have you guys to turn to when I need advice and guidance, and I hope this blog can be of some help and comfort when you are in need as well.
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| Creature |
