Theme: Those aren't mole hills - Three peaks in the NW and the range they're part of.
17A. Beer named for an American patriot : SAMUEL ADAMS. Mount Adams 12,277'
24A. Girl who found a wolf in her grandmother's clothing : RED RIDING HOOD. Mount Hood 11,240'
47A. Monaco ruler married to Grace Kelly : PRINCE RAINIER. Mount Rainier 14,410'
56A. Pacific Northwest range, three of whose peaks end 17-, 24 - and 47-Across : THE CASCADES
Argyle here with the latest Corner Combo. They have given us a nice tight theme and an easy Monday. Good job.
Across:
1. Royals and Giants, e.g. : TEAMS
6. Tehran native : IRANI
11. More, in Mexico : MAS
14. Top-drawer celeb group : A-LIST
15. "Say no __": peace slogan : TO WAR
16. Do something : ACT
19. Attempt : TRY
20. Summer in Paris : ÉTÉ
21. Pass along : RELAY
22. Kismet : FATE
27. Movie lioness : ELSA. "Born Free"
28. Temper tantrum during a flight : AIR RAGE
31. Toy soldier : GI JOE
34. Clock radio letters : AM/PM
35. PC memory unit, briefly : MEG. (megabyte)
36. Responsibility : ONUS
37. Barely beats : EDGES
39. Hawaiian coffee region : KONA
40. Bus depot: Abbr. : STA. (station)
41. Narrow cut : SLIT
42. Worked in a shaft : MINED
43. Big shots : HONCHOs
45. Birth announcement subject, about half the time : GIRL. ("It's a GIRL!")
52. Fabled Himalayan creature : YETI
53. Makes the first bet : OPENS
54. Abbr. for a person with only one given name : NMI. (no middle initial)
55. In favor of : FOR
59. Big flap : ADO
60. Continental coins : EUROs
61. Skirt named for a letter : A LINE
62. Darken at the beach : TAN
63. Iowa or Ohio, e.g. : STATE
64. Calls for : NEEDS
Down:
1. Shocking weapon : TASER. Shocking toy : joy buzzer
2. Bring great joy : ELATE
3. Zeroed in : AIMED
4. The Spartans of the Big Ten: Abbr. : MSU. (Michigan State University)
5. Like operating rooms : STERILE
6. Roma's country : ITALIA
7. Flying movie monster : RODAN
8. Sports contest, to the visitors : AWAY GAME
9. '60s-'70s war zone, for short : NAM
10. 1040, for one : IRS FORM
11. Will Hunting portrayer : MATT DAMON
12. Farm measure : ACRE
13. Pig's pad : STY
18. Watch readouts, briefly : LEDs
23. "__ b?": "Choose one" : A OR
25. Vintage autos : REOs. Founded by Ransom E. Olds.
26. Swiveled joints : HIPS
29. Trait transmitter : GENE
30. "Golly!" : "EGAD!"
31. "Gee!" : "GOSH!"
32. Gung-ho about : IN TO
33. "Evita" role : JUAN PERON
34. FBI employee : AGT. (agent)
37. SpaceX founder __ Musk : ELON
38. Period of strobe lights and the hustle : DISCO ERA
39. Brickmaker's oven : KILN
41. Certain Muslims : SHIITEs
42. Med. diagnostic test : MRI SCAN
44. Old PC monitor : CRT. (cathode ray tube)
45. Rock 'n' roll musical : GREASE
46. Writers McEwan and Fleming : IANs
48. Spaceship Earth site : EPCOT. How did that get in here?
49. Low-budget film, often : INDIE. (independent)
50. Improve, as text : EMEND
51. Goes up : RISES
52. "Star Wars" sage : YODA
55. Chew the __: gab : FAT
57. Crude home : HUT. These three entries bring to mind Jabba the Hutt.
58. Bass in a glass : ALE
Argyle
Notes from C.C.:
Notes from C.C.:
1) Today's Gary is our Husker Gary, who came up with the great idea. I cannot tell you enough how hard-working, modest & creative he is.
Rich changed the middle right part of our submitted grid. We had MONEY for 42A, GONE for 29D, EBAY for 30D & KOLN for 39D. I haven't figured out why. Maybe Rich was concerned about the K crossing of KONA and KOLN?
2) Congratulations also to Dennis on his NYT debut. He's my first blog collaborator. Working with him on that puzzle was particularly fun, whimsy and pressure-free.
