Themeless Saturday by Doug Peterson and Brad Wilber
Today we have a tag team offering from Doug Peterson and Brad Wilber. This picture is from the NYT puzzle site about another of their collaborations.
The gentlemen left several very "gettable" Easter eggs around the grid which greatly facilitated solving and I managed to get through quite nicely. The NW and SE corners were full before I knew it. O HOLY NIGHT was a freebie but was counterbalanced by my complete ignorance of its neighbors of LANA DELREY and SLADE. Constructors giveth and constructors taketh away.
Off we go:
1. "Play it cool": ACT NATURAL - Ringo gets a chance on this cover of the Buck Owens ear worm
11. A cup's 48: Abbr.: TSPS.
15. One of a set of faddish toys that at its peak made up 10% of all eBay sales: BEANIE BABY
16. D-Day code name: UTAH - My bride's Uncle landed at UTAH Beach on D-Day+2
17. Staple of many Oktoberfest costumes: LEDERHOSEN - What my cousin in Eastern Switzerland had this to say about this apparel (his English is way better than my Deutsch): Lederhosen are not traditionally worn, LEDERHOSEN belong to the Bavarian costume. From time to time she sees with us at local Oktoberfests, which were looked at and copied by businessmen from the Bavarians. I have no Lederhosen. These are very expensive and cost about 400 to 500 $. My son Fabian owns one, because he goes to such festivals. I am not a fan of drinking a lot of beer and the music played there.
18. Casual gait: LOPE.
19. Superhero uniform symbol: ESS - I literally wore mine until it fell apart! Sometime I will tell you the story about wearing it while I was up on a roof...
20. Pipe section: TRAP.
21. Investigations with strange features: X-FILES - Mulder and Scully
23. Ferrari's former parent: FIAT - Both are now looking into making ventilators for Italy
24. Tuna __: Betty Crocker brand: HELPER.
25. Portico support: COLUMN - Here we are in front of COLUMNS that are part of a famous North Portico
28. "Prince of Motown": GAYE - Four minutes of social comment and "that voice"
29. Subj. of some 2015 WikiLeaks content: NSA - Here 'ya go
31. United hub: O'HARE - United Airlines hubs
32. Honeycomb holder: CEREAL BOX - Cute!
34. One-track: MONO - Even in MONO, the Everly Brothers sounded great
35. Declined: WANED.
36. Drip site: EAVE.
37. Fearmongers: ALARMISTS
39. Swiss city with suburbs in Germany and France: BASEL - BASEL sprawls out across both sides of the Rhine from Schwiez into Deutschland and Frankreich
40. Qantas baggage tag abbr.: SYD.
41. Greek war god: ARES.
42. Repair request recipients: SUPERS - Do you remember the name of this TV SUPERintendent?
43. Like many stored measuring cups: NESTED.
45. Dispatched: SENT.
46. Military lodging: BILLET - It used to not be optional
47. Breathing space?: LUNG - A real area of concern with COVID-19
48. Degree for a CFO: MBA.
51. Tourist mecca with a mausoleum: AGRA - Eight secrets of the Taj Mahal
52. Napoleon is a dictator in it: ANIMAL FARM - ...all are equal except some are more equal than others
55. Rid oneself of: SHED.
56. Main menace: PIRATE SHIP
57. Ocular inflammation: STYE.
58. Aids in coping with pressure?: SPACE SUITS - SPACE SUITS dealt with the LACK of pressure in the vacuum on the Moon (YES! WE WENT TO THE MOON!)
Down:
1. Proficient: ABLE.
2. The limits of chic?: CEES - ChiC
3. Wee ones: TADS.
4. Peoria-to-Green Bay dir.: NNE
5. Exposure, to a deejay: AIR TIME - Paul Simon gives credit to a Florida DJ for giving Sound Of Silence a lot of AIR TIME after many requests from kids and giving him and Art Garfunkel a big boost
6. World capital in 1979-'80 headlines: TEHRAN - The 52 hostages held in TEHRAN for 444 days were one factor that cost Jimmy Carter a second term
7. Lusitania sinker: U-BOAT - A fascinating, detailed story of America's delayed reaction
8. Gravelly utterance: RASP - RASPY-voiced Joe Cocker TV theme song
9. Japanese host of the 2019 G20 summit: ABE - Shinzo ABE will not host the Olympics for at least a year. The G20? Don't know.
10. Sharp-sighted: LYNX-EYED - They were forced into the open, easy prey for the first LYNX-EYED Mercutian. "Slaves of Mercury" by Nat Schachner. A variation of eagle-eyed that is new to me
11. Lily family flower: TULIP.
12. Theft not involving money or merchandise: STOLEN BASE - This baseball fan took too long to get this one
13. Explains too glibly: PAPERS OVER - A favorite of mine!
14. "__ Like the Wind": "Dirty Dancing" tune: SHE'S - Patrick Swayze sings the song and, uh, engages in Dirty Dancing
22. Circus hopper: FLEA - You really want to see one?
23. Public outcry: FUROR.
24. Leveret raisers: HARES - Leveret and mom HARE
25. Deep sleeps: COMAS.
26. Christmas song containing "a thrill of hope": O HOLY NIGHT
27. "Summertime Sadness" hitmaker: LANA DELREY - Here 'ya go!
28. Restroom label: GENTS - or...
30. Rink acrobatics: AXELS - A triple AXEL in a roller rink and 33. Did 30-Down: LEAPT.
32. Studied for a job?: CASED - Prepped for a bank job (robbery)
35. Bugs: WIRETAPS
38. Second sock: MATE.
39. Butchers: BUNGLES
42. 100-member group: SENATE - Rather than a 100-member group it can often be a 53/47 unit
44. Glam rock band: SLADE - Their top ten hits. Uh, I didn't know many (any)
45. Rash cause, maybe: SUMAC.
46. Sarastro in "The Magic Flute," e.g.: BASS - Franz Xavier Gerl sang this BASS role at the September 20, 1791 Vienna premiere under the direction of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
47. Italian bread that's no longer tender: LIRA - Italian LIRA ceased to be legal tender in Italy as of February, 28, 2002
48. Half a seafood dinner?: MAHI.
49. Liverpudlian, e.g.: BRIT - This house at 251 Menlove Ave. in Liverpool, England was where BRIT John Lennon was raised by his Aunt Mimi and her husband George Smith. His three band mates were also Liverpudlians
50. Bandstand boosters: AMPS.
53. Obedience school no-no: NIP - No, Fido, no!
54. Sch. with five Orange Bowl victories: FSU - When Husker Byron Bennett missed this FG in the 1994 Orange Bowl, FSU won 18 - 16 and the Husker lost a National Championship, sigh...
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