Theme: Anagram Fun. 'Nuf said?
18A. Takes on a new responsibility, as of leadership: ASSUMES THE MANTLE. Who assumed Mickey's mantle? The Mick followed Joe DiMaggio, not exactly an easy mantle to assume. The Commerce Comet was followed in turn by Bobby Murcer.
28A. "Guys and Dolls" showstopper: ADELAIDE'S LAMENT. Showstopper? I think I must have a different idea of a showstopper than this solo dirge. I'd use it as an opportunity to go take a bathroom break and maybe grab something from the bar. I'd link it, but it's too depressing.
48A. Shelf for trophies, maybe: FIREPLACE MANTEL
63A. Complex reasoning that occurs literally at the end of three long answers: MENTAL GYMNASTICS
So MENTAL becomes three anagrams - two homophone and a dirge - I mean a lament. Nothing too challenging. The reveal is 16 letters long, so again we have a break from the "regulation" 15x15 - 15x16 last week, 16x15 this time around.
The spousal double of Roger and Kathy are back - I don't see a Kathy & Roger in the books yet - is this like Lennon & McCartney or Jagger/Richards?
Across:
1. Massage therapists' workplaces: SPAS
5. "Fiddlesticks!": P'SHAW!
10. Used room service: ATE IN
15. Largest city on Hawaii's largest island: HILO
16. Terminix target: ROACH. I'd link a nice picture, but I follow Rich's "yew!" rule for breakfast crossword solvers.
17. Piquant: ZESTY
21. Indigenous New Zealanders: MAORIS
22. Kind of artery: RENAL. Not AORTA then.
23. Key in a PC reboot combo: ALT. Where would we be without CTRL-ALT-DEL? My keyboard currently says DELETE though.
24. Evenly matched: CLOSE
26. Mosquito repellent: DEET. Terminix and Deet in quick succession. Not a good day to be a bug.
34. Sporty '60s Pontiac: GTO. Quick, we had this last week - what does it stand for?
35. __ out a win: EKE
36. Biopic about Charles: RAY. Very well portrayed by Jamie Foxx. Here's one of the originals.
37. "So that's it": I SEE
38. Threw a fit: RAGED
40. Capital of Oman: RIAL. "Capital" means "currency" in this context, for any newcomers.
42. Muscle: BRAWN
43. Superficially highbrow: ARTY
44. To and __: FRO
45. "So that's it!": AHA!
47. Orchestrated: LED. Why use 10 letters when one will do?
52. Cruising, say: ASEA
53. Stealthy warrior: NINJA
54. Movie SFX: CGI. All together now: "Special Effects: Computer-Generated Imagery".
56. Prince Harry's mother: DIANA
59. Word on the street: GOSSIP
66. "Inside the NBA" analyst: O'NEAL . Law-enforcement legend Shaquille, who holds the record for Clayton County's "Tallest Sheriff's Deputy"
67. In the back: AREAR. Please stop this. It's not a word "in the language". I know it's handy, but it's not a word.
68. Love god: EROS
69. Dweebs: NERDS
70. "Same Time, Next Year" has only two: ROLES. Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn played the roles in the movie.
71. Not a good impression: DENT. But it's a good impression if you make a dent in a task that's been sitting around waiting for your attention, right?
Down:
1. Pretense: SHAM
2. Tuscany town: PISA. They should fix that tower; it's a menace, that thing. Shoddy construction, it should be demolished before it hurts someone. They should sue the contractors and built a straight one. Pisans, Untie! I mean Unite!
3. Furthermore: ALSO
4. Lake Itasca, for the Mississippi: SOURCE
5. Laundry cycle: PRE-SOAK. This is weird - isn't pre-soak when the laundry is in the basket? I'm at a loss to what a washing machine will do that leaving the clothes on the floor, pre-soak, doesn't accomplish. Do they sit in the machine waiting for the "soak" phase? We should be told. I'm baffled.
6. Three-letter product with two periods: S.O.S You can buy two cans of this stuff online - used, apparently. You can't make this stuff up.
7. Animosity: HATRED
8. Feel yesterday's yoga class, maybe: ACHE
9. "Stop pouring": WHEN. Personally a word that has passed my lips very few times in the "pour" context.
10. Spring bloomer: AZALEA
11. Yellow bill in classic Monopoly: TEN
12. Event that may feature family heirlooms: ESTATE SALE. Funny how some words or phrases are new to the puzzle databases. This is one of them. It's been used in the plural, never in the singular.
13. "__ turn up": IT'LL
14. Dmitry's denial: NYET
19. Roamed (around): MILLED
20. At a frenetic pace: MADLY
25. Saw-toothed range: SIERRA. Is there a brand-name range of carpentry tools called "Sierra?" There should be. If not, I'm calling dibs on the idea.
27. Kuwaiti ruler: EMIR
28. Big name in games: ATARI
29. Animal behavior specialist: DOG TRAINER. Dog whisperer didn't fit.
30. New __: MLB baseball cap supplier: ERA. You'll see the logo in every dugout.
31. Deli choice: SALAMI
32. Staircase pillar: NEWEL. I recall that I got in all kinds of "Anon" trouble the last time I talked about the components of a staircase, so I'll pass on this occasion. I didn't know the staircase community was so touchy.
33. Work the bar: TEND
34. Five-time US Open champ: GRAF. Steffi, tennis.
39. Checks out: EYES
41. Org. with a five-ring logo: I.O.C. International Olympic Committee. They're a non-profit. They fairly and equitably distribute the billions of dollars accruing from each Olympiad. Yes they do. c.f. F.I.F.A., the org. tasked with fairly and equitably distributing the billions of dollars accruing from each World Cup. I don't know how they manage it.
42. Stringed instruments: BANJOS
44. Swing wildly: FLAIL
46. Airport parking facilities: HANGARS
49. Piano trio: PEDALS. The upright I learned on has two. PIANO and FORTE. I've no idea what the middle one on a grand piano does.
50. Protective coating: ENAMEL
51. Sampled: TASTED
54. "Get real!": C'MON
55. __ pool: GENE
57. Thickening agent: AGAR
58. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songwriter Laura: NYRO. She passed me by. I was amused to read that her first manager was a gentleman by the name of Artie Mogull. It just tickled me.
60. Stable stud: SIRE
61. Clickable image: ICON
62. "Hey, you!": PSST!
64. Abe Lincoln's youngest son: TAD. Now there's a bit of trivia I never knew.
65. Dundee denial: NAE. "If there's nae wind and nae rain, it's nae golf". The Scots have their own opinion about sunny, calm days on the links. For me, it's the only time I have a cat in hell's chance of a half-decent round. I once played at Easter on a course in Wales on the Irish Sea, it was so cold and I was so numb I swung my driver out of my hands and sent it helicoptering over a cliff.
And with that, here's the slightly portly grid!
Steve
Note from C.C.:
Happy birthday to Tinbeni, our always cheerful friend. Let's all toast him at sundown today!
18A. Takes on a new responsibility, as of leadership: ASSUMES THE MANTLE. Who assumed Mickey's mantle? The Mick followed Joe DiMaggio, not exactly an easy mantle to assume. The Commerce Comet was followed in turn by Bobby Murcer.
28A. "Guys and Dolls" showstopper: ADELAIDE'S LAMENT. Showstopper? I think I must have a different idea of a showstopper than this solo dirge. I'd use it as an opportunity to go take a bathroom break and maybe grab something from the bar. I'd link it, but it's too depressing.
48A. Shelf for trophies, maybe: FIREPLACE MANTEL
63A. Complex reasoning that occurs literally at the end of three long answers: MENTAL GYMNASTICS
So MENTAL becomes three anagrams - two homophone and a dirge - I mean a lament. Nothing too challenging. The reveal is 16 letters long, so again we have a break from the "regulation" 15x15 - 15x16 last week, 16x15 this time around.
The spousal double of Roger and Kathy are back - I don't see a Kathy & Roger in the books yet - is this like Lennon & McCartney or Jagger/Richards?
Across:
1. Massage therapists' workplaces: SPAS
5. "Fiddlesticks!": P'SHAW!
10. Used room service: ATE IN
15. Largest city on Hawaii's largest island: HILO
16. Terminix target: ROACH. I'd link a nice picture, but I follow Rich's "yew!" rule for breakfast crossword solvers.
17. Piquant: ZESTY
21. Indigenous New Zealanders: MAORIS
22. Kind of artery: RENAL. Not AORTA then.
23. Key in a PC reboot combo: ALT. Where would we be without CTRL-ALT-DEL? My keyboard currently says DELETE though.
24. Evenly matched: CLOSE
26. Mosquito repellent: DEET. Terminix and Deet in quick succession. Not a good day to be a bug.
34. Sporty '60s Pontiac: GTO. Quick, we had this last week - what does it stand for?
35. __ out a win: EKE
36. Biopic about Charles: RAY. Very well portrayed by Jamie Foxx. Here's one of the originals.
37. "So that's it": I SEE
38. Threw a fit: RAGED
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas
40. Capital of Oman: RIAL. "Capital" means "currency" in this context, for any newcomers.
42. Muscle: BRAWN
43. Superficially highbrow: ARTY
44. To and __: FRO
45. "So that's it!": AHA!
47. Orchestrated: LED. Why use 10 letters when one will do?
52. Cruising, say: ASEA
53. Stealthy warrior: NINJA
54. Movie SFX: CGI. All together now: "Special Effects: Computer-Generated Imagery".
56. Prince Harry's mother: DIANA
59. Word on the street: GOSSIP
66. "Inside the NBA" analyst: O'NEAL . Law-enforcement legend Shaquille, who holds the record for Clayton County's "Tallest Sheriff's Deputy"
67. In the back: AREAR. Please stop this. It's not a word "in the language". I know it's handy, but it's not a word.
68. Love god: EROS
69. Dweebs: NERDS
70. "Same Time, Next Year" has only two: ROLES. Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn played the roles in the movie.
71. Not a good impression: DENT. But it's a good impression if you make a dent in a task that's been sitting around waiting for your attention, right?
Down:
1. Pretense: SHAM
2. Tuscany town: PISA. They should fix that tower; it's a menace, that thing. Shoddy construction, it should be demolished before it hurts someone. They should sue the contractors and built a straight one. Pisans, Untie! I mean Unite!
3. Furthermore: ALSO
4. Lake Itasca, for the Mississippi: SOURCE
5. Laundry cycle: PRE-SOAK. This is weird - isn't pre-soak when the laundry is in the basket? I'm at a loss to what a washing machine will do that leaving the clothes on the floor, pre-soak, doesn't accomplish. Do they sit in the machine waiting for the "soak" phase? We should be told. I'm baffled.
6. Three-letter product with two periods: S.O.S You can buy two cans of this stuff online - used, apparently. You can't make this stuff up.
7. Animosity: HATRED
8. Feel yesterday's yoga class, maybe: ACHE
9. "Stop pouring": WHEN. Personally a word that has passed my lips very few times in the "pour" context.
10. Spring bloomer: AZALEA
11. Yellow bill in classic Monopoly: TEN
12. Event that may feature family heirlooms: ESTATE SALE. Funny how some words or phrases are new to the puzzle databases. This is one of them. It's been used in the plural, never in the singular.
13. "__ turn up": IT'LL
14. Dmitry's denial: NYET
19. Roamed (around): MILLED
20. At a frenetic pace: MADLY
25. Saw-toothed range: SIERRA. Is there a brand-name range of carpentry tools called "Sierra?" There should be. If not, I'm calling dibs on the idea.
27. Kuwaiti ruler: EMIR
28. Big name in games: ATARI
29. Animal behavior specialist: DOG TRAINER. Dog whisperer didn't fit.
30. New __: MLB baseball cap supplier: ERA. You'll see the logo in every dugout.
31. Deli choice: SALAMI
32. Staircase pillar: NEWEL. I recall that I got in all kinds of "Anon" trouble the last time I talked about the components of a staircase, so I'll pass on this occasion. I didn't know the staircase community was so touchy.
33. Work the bar: TEND
34. Five-time US Open champ: GRAF. Steffi, tennis.
39. Checks out: EYES
41. Org. with a five-ring logo: I.O.C. International Olympic Committee. They're a non-profit. They fairly and equitably distribute the billions of dollars accruing from each Olympiad. Yes they do. c.f. F.I.F.A., the org. tasked with fairly and equitably distributing the billions of dollars accruing from each World Cup. I don't know how they manage it.
42. Stringed instruments: BANJOS
44. Swing wildly: FLAIL
46. Airport parking facilities: HANGARS
49. Piano trio: PEDALS. The upright I learned on has two. PIANO and FORTE. I've no idea what the middle one on a grand piano does.
50. Protective coating: ENAMEL
51. Sampled: TASTED
54. "Get real!": C'MON
55. __ pool: GENE
57. Thickening agent: AGAR
58. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songwriter Laura: NYRO. She passed me by. I was amused to read that her first manager was a gentleman by the name of Artie Mogull. It just tickled me.
60. Stable stud: SIRE
61. Clickable image: ICON
62. "Hey, you!": PSST!
64. Abe Lincoln's youngest son: TAD. Now there's a bit of trivia I never knew.
65. Dundee denial: NAE. "If there's nae wind and nae rain, it's nae golf". The Scots have their own opinion about sunny, calm days on the links. For me, it's the only time I have a cat in hell's chance of a half-decent round. I once played at Easter on a course in Wales on the Irish Sea, it was so cold and I was so numb I swung my driver out of my hands and sent it helicoptering over a cliff.
And with that, here's the slightly portly grid!
Steve
Note from C.C.:
Happy birthday to Tinbeni, our always cheerful friend. Let's all toast him at sundown today!
