Friday, April 19, 2019, David Alfred Bywaters

Very Punny!  Today's puzzle uses puns, rhymes and homophones to twist common phrases.  In the first three theme answers, the rhyming word is found at the front of the phrase, and in the last two theme answers, the rhyming word is found at the end.

We also have a very special remembrance of our dear friend with 9-Down (ARGYLE) and 12-Down (SANTA).

17-Across. Flatfish family founders?: SOLE MATES.  The common phrase is Soul Mates.

25-Across. Barbershop levy?: POLE TAX.  The common phrase is Poll Tax.  A pole tax is essentially a tax placed on an adult without consideration of income or resources.  In the United States, the poll tax had been a pre-requisite for voting.  The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished poll taxes as a pre-requisite for voting in federal elections.  A few years later, the Supreme Court ruled that States could not use the poll tax as a prerequisite for voting in State elections.  (Never have an attorney explain a legal matter.  I'll just send you all a bill.)

Why is the Barber Pole Red, White and Blue?  It comes from the Middle Ages when men went to the barber not only for a hair cut and a shave, but also for medical treatment.  Bloodletting was a well known medical treatment for curing all sorts of illnesses.  The red represented the blood, and the white represented the bandages used to stop the bleeding.  The blue is said to be the color of the veins that were cut during this whole bloodletting process.

38-Across. Rabbit monopolizing the entrance to the warren?: HOLE HOG.  The common phrase is Whole Hog.  This clue threw me off because the clue contains one animal and the answer contains a different animal.

51-Across. Part in a Humpty Dumpty biopic?: EGG ROLE.  The common phrase is Egg Roll.

62-Across. Mutant tree trunk with extraordinary powers?: SUPER BOLE.  The common phrase is Super Bowl.  The answer made me laugh.

Across:

1. Bonkers: LOCO.  What a crazy way to begin this puzzle!

5. Raucous animal sound: BRAY.

9. Sambuca flavoring: ANISE.

14. Not up: ABED.

15. Ire: RAGE.

16. Trio in the logo of a national motorists' group: RED AS.  As in the three red A's of the American Automobile Association.  I found this to be a devious clue.

19. Acquires: GAINS.  The word "gets" is too short.

20. Shirt with a slogan: TEE.

21. "Metamorphoses" poet: OVID.  An ancient Roman poet.

22. Mindless way to learn: BY ROTE.

23. When doubled, a German spa town: BADEN.  Baden Baden is a spa town in Southwest Germany.

26. Broadway restaurant founder: SARDI.  Sardi's is a famous restaurant in Manhattan's Theater District.  It began as a modest little eatery, known as The Little Restaurant in 1921.  The founder was Melchiorre Pio Sardi and his wife Eugenia Pallera.  He was known in New York as Vincent Sardi (Dec. 23, 1885 ~ Nov. 19, 1969).  A few years later, the restaurant moved down the block and re-opened as Sardi's.  Because the restaurant is in the Theater District, Vincent Sardi hired a sketch artist to draw caricatures of actors and other celebrities, which adorn the walls of the restaurant.

28. Energizes: GOOSES.  To goose up: To cause something to become stronger or more intense.  For example:  Listen to him rev up his car.  It sounds like he really goosed up his engine.   Geese at the park can be energizing.

30. Upscale: CLASSY.

32. Go bad: ROT.

33. Pairs: TWOS.  In go the animals, two by two ...

37. NFL pass, complete or not: ATT.  As in an Attempt.

41. Fez or fedora: HAT.  Hi, Abejo!

42. Pedi concerns: TOES.

44. Day in Durango: DIA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

45. N, in a TV content warning: NUDITY.

47. Directions: TRENDS.

50. Laconic: TERSE.

54. Come to: TOTAL.  Think of the tab on your bar bill.  The total came to how much!!!

56. Turf grippers: CLEATS.  Crabby cleats.

57. Die, e.g.: CUBE.  The singular of Dice.

58. Pet's attention-getter, perhaps: PAW.

61. Great deal of, slangily: LOTTA.  Led Zeppelin and Whole Lotta Love

64. Concerning: ABOUT.

65. God with a quiver: EROS.  It's Greek to me.

66. Carrot (always) or stick (sometimes): ROOT.

67. On edge: TENSE.

Oops, different spelling!

68. Used to be: WERE.  The way we were.

69. Tavern array: ALES.

Down:

1. Final: LAST.

2. Vowel-rich woodwind: OBOE.

3. Have a party, say: CELEBRATE.

4. One was written on an urn: ODE.

5. Valorous: BRAVE.

6. Five stars, e.g.: RATING.

7. Like fine Scotch: AGED.

8. Fist-pumper's cry: YES.

9. Sock pattern: ARGYLE.  // And, just 3 clues over we have 12-Down. One-night-a-year flier: SANTA.  A double CSO to our beloved Santa.

10. Minimally distant: NEAREST.

11. Jerk: IDIOT.

13. County not far from London: ESSEX.

18. Fashionable: MODISH.  I initially tried Modern.  At least some of the letters were correct.  

22. With 52-Down, paper since 1872: BOSTON.  //  And 52-Down.  See 22-Down: GLOBE.  Together we get The Boston Globe.

I read the Globe when I lived in Boston, but that was years ago.  Recently I have been getting weekly emails from the Globe urging me to subscribe.

24. Sunday paper barrage: ADs.  Does anyone really ever look through all the ads in the Sunday paper?  I stopped getting my local newspaper when there were more ads than news/articles, and when the sports section was longer than the news sections.

25. Friend of Tigger: POOH.  Winnie the Pooh and his friends were the creations of A.A. Milne (ne Alan Alexander Milne; Jan. 18, 1882 ~ Jan. 31, 1956).  His son, Christopher Robin Milne (Aug. 21, 1920 ~ Apr. 20, 1996), was the basis of the character of the same name in the books.  Sadly, Christopher Robin became estranged from his parents, believing that his father had exploited his childhood in writing the books.  I have fond memories, however, of the these books from my childhood.

26. "Go away!": SCAT.

27. Choir voice: ALTO.

29. Mountain nymph: OREAD.  More Greek in today's puzzle.

31. Mountain melodies: YODELS.  You don't even have to go to the mountains to heard yodeling.  Just go to your local Walmart.

34. Draining effect: WHIRLPOOL.

35. Equine eats: OATS.  Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy ...

36. Eyelid problem: STYE.

39. Triangle side, say: LINE.

40. Site of unwanted suburban vegetation: GUTTER.

But that's my vegetable garden!

43. Low cloud: STRATUS.

46. Trafficking org.: DEA.  As in the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is tasked with preventing drug trafficking.

48. Go around: ROTATE.

49. Daze: STUPOR.

51. Dazzling effect: ÉCLAT.  The word comes from the French, which means "splinter", or "burst".  Also the name of an eau de toilette for men.

53. Mount: GET ON.

55. More than a little plump: OBESE.

57. Medical research objective: CURE.

59. Natural soother: ALOE.  We had this clue the last time I on a puzzle.

60. Dampens: WETS.

62. Put in stitches: SEW.

63. Product of Bali: BRA.  Not the island, you silly goose!  The lingerie company.

Here's the Grid:

Today is a special day in the religious communities.  Today is Good Friday.  It also marks the beginning of Passover, which begins as sunset today.  For those who observe the these events, I wish you a Happy Easter or a Happy Passover.