Theme: Office Space - Four corners, four varieties of offices - as the reveal succinctly explains:
38A. With 41-Across, corporate status symbol ... and a hint to the circled letters : CORNER
41A. See 38-Across : OFFICE
Four corners, four offices and two paired reveals across the center. The four offices are clockwise from noon: HOME, TICKET, POST and OVAL. Quite lovely. A couple of years ago I tried to construct a circle puzzle based on OFFICE in an oval shape. I messed around with that idea for way too long and then abandoned it. Peter went in another direction and nailed it.
A "hidden" theme like this is extremely hard to pull off. Kudos to Peter for that - and let's see what else jumps out.
Across:
1. Sheepish? : OVINE. Bugger. Why do I always confidently go with USINE which has nothing to do with sheep? First misstep at 1A. Go Steve! Now this is a thing of beauty! Those border collies are quite amazing,
6. Seeks information : ASKS. "Excuse me, what is the descriptive adjective for sheep?"
10. Wave back? : ECHO. Nice. Was playing with EVAW for a while.
14. Fashion flap : LAPEL
15. Eliza Doolittle's creator : SHAW. George Bernard. "Pygmalion" and thence "My Fair Lady". The wonderful Audrey Hepburn.
16. Noah's firstborn : SHEM. Confidently tried SETH first. That didn't help a lot.
17. __ blank (was stumped) : DREW A
18. Big East hoopster : HOYA. If you'd have told me 25 years ago I'd even know that there was a thing called College Basketball I'd have been stumped. 25 years later, not even a thought about the Georgetown U athletics program.
19. One of many on a sweater? : PORE. Great clue. That was me yesterday at my periodontist. Google British Dentisty 1960's and you'll know why my pores were getting a workout. My first dentist (I was five years old) drilled my teeth with a foot-treadle-operated drill and no anesthetic. This was way before Novocaine was available.
20. Headshot, e.g. : PIC
21. Rapper-turned-actor in "NCIS: Los Angeles" : LL COOL J
24. Tiny, made tinier : LIL. Rapper designate also. 'Sup, Cool J?
25. Collect : REAP. As ye sow. so ye shall reap ....
27. Cake grain : OAT ... cake grain? No thanks, I'm inventing vodka!
28. Decadent : EFFETE
30. Perceived Hollywood oversight : OSCAR SNUB. Loved this. Unhappy that Daniel Day Lewis decided this week to hang up his boots. What a fantastic actor. Never snubbed.
33. Gold standard : KARAT
34. Univ. aides : TAS
35. Luau fare : POI. FOOD! It's really good if it's made well. That's a big caveat.
37. Joyful dances : JIGS
43. Hindu title : RANI
44. Modeled for a portrait : SAT
46. See 54-Across : OUT. Cross-reference haters rejoice! Here's one with the second word first! Have at it in the comments section!
47. Tennyson's "__ Arden" : ENOCH. Crosses all the way.
49. Character who debuted in "First Blood" : JOHN RAMBO. I can never remember his first name.
54. With 46-Across, quit working : CONKED. See 46A. Personally, I like it.
56. Fam. member : REL. We say "relation" here. Brits say "relative". Discuss.
57. Spotted : SEEN
58. Terminate : END
59. Genuine, for real : SYNONYM. LOVED this clue. I wish I was so original when I'm cluing a crossword.
62. Bloke : LAD
63. "Rich men sin, and __ root": "Timon of Athens" : I EAT. Obscure? Yes. Gettable with crosses? Yes.
65. Princes, but not princesses : SONS
66. Advice to sinners : ATONE. Not "Don't be a knucklehead and don't it again"? That would be my advice before starting the whole atonement process.
68. __ stick : POGO
69. "Beetle Bailey" pooch : OTTO
70. Slice-and-dice product suffix : -MATIC. Don't. REALLY don't. REALLY DON'T order anything from the TV called -MATIC anything. Period.
71. Crimean War leader : TSAR
72. Lamp gas : NEON
73. Walter White's Pontiac model in "Breaking Bad" : AZTEK Easily one of the ugliest cars designed - ever.
Down:
1. Hardly a neophyte : OLD PRO
2. Fluctuates : VARIES
3. Emetic drug : IPECAC. Completely ineffective and, as it transpires, quite dangerous.
4. Never used : NEW
5. Airline since 1948 : EL AL. "To the skies" et al. Sorry, I meant el al.
6. Rubbish bin : ASH CAN. Do we have these anymore? Genuine question.
7. Have a growth spurt : SHOOT UP
8. Drop to the canvas : KAYO. Variations on Knock Out, KO or crosswordese KAYO. Sorry, didn't like this.
9. Marshy hollow : SWALE. I'm not seeing this. A marsh is flat, wet and reedy. A swale is a lovely dry haven in a meadow. Ne'er the twain shall meet.
10. Mentalist's gift : ESP
11. Ill-tempered : CHOLERIC. Word of the day.
12. Ancestry : HERITAGE. Wine style of the day: Meritage. C'mon, I have to get my food/wine hat on sometimes!
13. Morning orders : OMELETS. Food! Mushrooms, cheddar cheese, spinach. Thank you.
22. Setbacks : LOSSES
23. 35th pres. : JFK
26. Indy racer Danica or sportscaster Dan : PATRICK. I watch the Dan Patrick Show most mornings on NBC Sports. Dan has a life-sized stand-up of Danica in his studio. There was an ongoing debate about whether it was Danica, or a stock model of a guy with Danica's face Photoshop'ed onto it, due to the size of the hands. The jury was out - either it was Danica, who has "Man Hands", or it was a Photoshop fake. Very entertaining.
29. Sizzling Tex-Mex dish : FAJITAS. Food! SoCal favorite.
31. Conducted : RAN
32. Didn't say __: had no comment : BOO
36. Words of regret : IF ONLY
38. Camera named for a goddess : CANON EOS. I gave my daughter one for Christmas one year, I made sure it worked first, She almost didn't get it.
39. Five Nations tribe : ONONDAGA. Thank you, crosses
40. "The Big Bang Theory" astrophysicist : RAJ. Thank you, crosses, I know this is a show I should have watched but .....
42. Pelt : FUR
43. Register printout : RECEIPT
45. Home city of Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper : TORONTO. One of those two better be syndicating the LA Times puzzle, or there will be trouble, eH? Don't have any doot aboot it. Canadian Eh! may need to mediate..
48. Cock and bull : HES. Masculine plural - wasn't sure how to punctuate it, so you get it in the raw form.
50. Muppet master : HENSON
51. Giant in Cooperstown : MEL OTT
52. Small cap : BEANIE
53. Next up : ON DECK. Lemonade, tomorrow
55. Bagless vacuum pioneer : DYSON. I love how he sounds so British. And all balls, too.
60. Staff member? : NOTE
61. Crib cry : MA-MA
64. Craggy peak : TOR
67. Tornadic Looney Tunes spinner : TAZ
It's been a long day, so I'm done (put a fork in me) . Grid below. I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thursday. Those of you in tornado territory - be careful. Those of you in insanely hot territory - look after yourselves.
Steve
38A. With 41-Across, corporate status symbol ... and a hint to the circled letters : CORNER
41A. See 38-Across : OFFICE
Four corners, four offices and two paired reveals across the center. The four offices are clockwise from noon: HOME, TICKET, POST and OVAL. Quite lovely. A couple of years ago I tried to construct a circle puzzle based on OFFICE in an oval shape. I messed around with that idea for way too long and then abandoned it. Peter went in another direction and nailed it.
A "hidden" theme like this is extremely hard to pull off. Kudos to Peter for that - and let's see what else jumps out.
Across:
1. Sheepish? : OVINE. Bugger. Why do I always confidently go with USINE which has nothing to do with sheep? First misstep at 1A. Go Steve! Now this is a thing of beauty! Those border collies are quite amazing,
6. Seeks information : ASKS. "Excuse me, what is the descriptive adjective for sheep?"
10. Wave back? : ECHO. Nice. Was playing with EVAW for a while.
14. Fashion flap : LAPEL
15. Eliza Doolittle's creator : SHAW. George Bernard. "Pygmalion" and thence "My Fair Lady". The wonderful Audrey Hepburn.
16. Noah's firstborn : SHEM. Confidently tried SETH first. That didn't help a lot.
17. __ blank (was stumped) : DREW A
18. Big East hoopster : HOYA. If you'd have told me 25 years ago I'd even know that there was a thing called College Basketball I'd have been stumped. 25 years later, not even a thought about the Georgetown U athletics program.
19. One of many on a sweater? : PORE. Great clue. That was me yesterday at my periodontist. Google British Dentisty 1960's and you'll know why my pores were getting a workout. My first dentist (I was five years old) drilled my teeth with a foot-treadle-operated drill and no anesthetic. This was way before Novocaine was available.
20. Headshot, e.g. : PIC
21. Rapper-turned-actor in "NCIS: Los Angeles" : LL COOL J
24. Tiny, made tinier : LIL. Rapper designate also. 'Sup, Cool J?
25. Collect : REAP. As ye sow. so ye shall reap ....
27. Cake grain : OAT ... cake grain? No thanks, I'm inventing vodka!
28. Decadent : EFFETE
30. Perceived Hollywood oversight : OSCAR SNUB. Loved this. Unhappy that Daniel Day Lewis decided this week to hang up his boots. What a fantastic actor. Never snubbed.
33. Gold standard : KARAT
34. Univ. aides : TAS
35. Luau fare : POI. FOOD! It's really good if it's made well. That's a big caveat.
37. Joyful dances : JIGS
43. Hindu title : RANI
44. Modeled for a portrait : SAT
46. See 54-Across : OUT. Cross-reference haters rejoice! Here's one with the second word first! Have at it in the comments section!
47. Tennyson's "__ Arden" : ENOCH. Crosses all the way.
49. Character who debuted in "First Blood" : JOHN RAMBO. I can never remember his first name.
54. With 46-Across, quit working : CONKED. See 46A. Personally, I like it.
56. Fam. member : REL. We say "relation" here. Brits say "relative". Discuss.
57. Spotted : SEEN
58. Terminate : END
59. Genuine, for real : SYNONYM. LOVED this clue. I wish I was so original when I'm cluing a crossword.
62. Bloke : LAD
63. "Rich men sin, and __ root": "Timon of Athens" : I EAT. Obscure? Yes. Gettable with crosses? Yes.
65. Princes, but not princesses : SONS
66. Advice to sinners : ATONE. Not "Don't be a knucklehead and don't it again"? That would be my advice before starting the whole atonement process.
68. __ stick : POGO
69. "Beetle Bailey" pooch : OTTO
70. Slice-and-dice product suffix : -MATIC. Don't. REALLY don't. REALLY DON'T order anything from the TV called -MATIC anything. Period.
71. Crimean War leader : TSAR
72. Lamp gas : NEON
73. Walter White's Pontiac model in "Breaking Bad" : AZTEK Easily one of the ugliest cars designed - ever.
Down:
1. Hardly a neophyte : OLD PRO
2. Fluctuates : VARIES
3. Emetic drug : IPECAC. Completely ineffective and, as it transpires, quite dangerous.
4. Never used : NEW
5. Airline since 1948 : EL AL. "To the skies" et al. Sorry, I meant el al.
6. Rubbish bin : ASH CAN. Do we have these anymore? Genuine question.
7. Have a growth spurt : SHOOT UP
8. Drop to the canvas : KAYO. Variations on Knock Out, KO or crosswordese KAYO. Sorry, didn't like this.
9. Marshy hollow : SWALE. I'm not seeing this. A marsh is flat, wet and reedy. A swale is a lovely dry haven in a meadow. Ne'er the twain shall meet.
10. Mentalist's gift : ESP
11. Ill-tempered : CHOLERIC. Word of the day.
12. Ancestry : HERITAGE. Wine style of the day: Meritage. C'mon, I have to get my food/wine hat on sometimes!
13. Morning orders : OMELETS. Food! Mushrooms, cheddar cheese, spinach. Thank you.
22. Setbacks : LOSSES
23. 35th pres. : JFK
26. Indy racer Danica or sportscaster Dan : PATRICK. I watch the Dan Patrick Show most mornings on NBC Sports. Dan has a life-sized stand-up of Danica in his studio. There was an ongoing debate about whether it was Danica, or a stock model of a guy with Danica's face Photoshop'ed onto it, due to the size of the hands. The jury was out - either it was Danica, who has "Man Hands", or it was a Photoshop fake. Very entertaining.
29. Sizzling Tex-Mex dish : FAJITAS. Food! SoCal favorite.
31. Conducted : RAN
32. Didn't say __: had no comment : BOO
36. Words of regret : IF ONLY
38. Camera named for a goddess : CANON EOS. I gave my daughter one for Christmas one year, I made sure it worked first, She almost didn't get it.
39. Five Nations tribe : ONONDAGA. Thank you, crosses
40. "The Big Bang Theory" astrophysicist : RAJ. Thank you, crosses, I know this is a show I should have watched but .....
42. Pelt : FUR
43. Register printout : RECEIPT
45. Home city of Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper : TORONTO. One of those two better be syndicating the LA Times puzzle, or there will be trouble, eH? Don't have any doot aboot it. Canadian Eh! may need to mediate..
48. Cock and bull : HES. Masculine plural - wasn't sure how to punctuate it, so you get it in the raw form.
50. Muppet master : HENSON
51. Giant in Cooperstown : MEL OTT
52. Small cap : BEANIE
53. Next up : ON DECK. Lemonade, tomorrow
55. Bagless vacuum pioneer : DYSON. I love how he sounds so British. And all balls, too.
60. Staff member? : NOTE
61. Crib cry : MA-MA
64. Craggy peak : TOR
67. Tornadic Looney Tunes spinner : TAZ
It's been a long day, so I'm done (put a fork in me) . Grid below. I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thursday. Those of you in tornado territory - be careful. Those of you in insanely hot territory - look after yourselves.
Steve
