At least I think that's the theme! Hello, Cornerites. As you'll see when I insert the picture of the grid, it not only took me awhile to figure out the puzzle, (I FIW in two spots and needed red-letter help) but also to figure out the theme based on the five entries. Our constructor du jour chose five entries (count 'em!) whose first words were synonyms of "rotate", and then used a clue for each of these whose second words were the inverse synonym of the answer.
Still not getting it? Let's look more closely . . .
17-Across. YENOH: INVERT SUGAR. YENOH is HONEY spelled backwards. And HONEY is another word/synonym for SUGAR. Meh. The use of terms of endearment are getting a bit passe in our "politically correct" world
26-Across. GOC: REVERSE GEAR. GOC is COG spelled backwards. And COG is another word/synonym for GEAR
36-Across. TAR: TURNED TRAITOR. TAR is RAT spelled backwards. And RAT is another word/synonym for TRAITOR
50-Across. CBA: BACK CHANNEL. CBA spelled backwards is ABC. And ABC is the name of a TV CHANNEL
60-Across. NEMO: COUNTERSIGN. NEMO is OMEN spelled backwards. And OMEN is another word/synonym for SIGN
So, was I a fan of this puzzle? Not really. And that's not a rap on Mr. Levy. Was it clever? Somewhat. And again, that's not a rap on Mr. Levy. As I review the entries/clues, YENOH and GOC are not normal "words". But TAR and NEMO are. And CBA --> ABC is an abbreviation for American Broadcasting Company. That's my primary "nit". Could he have chosen other vague clues? Perhaps. LANAC (which is CANAL spelled backwards) could've replaced CBA for CHANNEL; SADUJ (JUDAS spelled backwards) could've replaced TAR for TRAITOR; and KRAM (MARK, spelled backwards) could've replaced NEMO for SIGN.
OK, rant over! On to the other clues and fill . . .
Across:
1. Hardly inept: ABLE. I was finally ABLE to solve this puzzle once I turned on the red letters. Still kicking myself for not knowing 34-Down. "Incidentally," in texts: BTW, and 33-Across. Q neighbor: TAB (OH! The "TAB" key on your keyboard, which sits just to the left of the letter "Q")
But ABLE in 1-Across fits nicely with (42-Across. Formerly held the position of:) WAS. How about a palidrome? ABLE WAS I ere I saw Elba. And with all of the backwards clues, a palindrome is quite appropriate!
5. Informal get-together: MEET UP. MEET UP is a new website app which encourages you to join a group to meet people, make friends, find support, grow a business, and explore your interests. Thousands of events are happening every day, both online and in person. Check it out!
11. UFO occupants: ETS. Extra TerrestialS. Folks from outer space
14. Law enforcement tactic: RAID. This kind of "law enforecment"??
15. Midsize Kia: OPTIMA. As you saw, I missed this one completely. I think I had ULTIMA before the red letters corrected me
16. Howard who directed "Willow" (1988): RON. Better known as Opie in the Andy Griffith sitcom of our youth
19. Pretend to be: APE. A crossword staple with many clues
20. Slangy denial: NAH. Nope? NAH
21. __ Plaines: DES. A suburb of Chicago, close to O'Hare aiport.
22. Eponym for a Queens stadium: ASHE. Arthur ASHE was an iconic tennis player. The tennis stadium in Queens, NY where the US Open Tennis Tournament is played is named for him
23. Support wear: BRA. Does anyone recall the sophmoric description for this? "Over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder". I don't envy women who need to wear these
29. Engine leak-preventing device: OIL SEAL. Not a widely used clue/answer, but effective
31. Arranges meaningfully: SORTS. Also a laundry day task
32. Storied bear name: POOH. As in Milne's Winnie the POOH
35. Greek T: TAU. And a letter used in many fraternities and sororoties on college campuses
41. McKellen knighted in 1991: IAN. This guy. Knighted in 1991 and recently famous for his role as Gandalf in LOTR, and he also played Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies. But his early years were spent acting in Shakespeare plays
43. E-reader option: iPAD. Kindle didn't fit
45. Basket willow: OSIER. Here is an old crossword answer! And since I've been solving crossword puzzles a long time, this one came easily. OSIER(n.) Synonyms: wicker, withe, willow twig.
48. "You can come out now": IT'S SAFE. But in baseball you can't be safe AND out at the same time
54. Spot for burners and beakers: LAB. As in Chemistry LAB. Not the canine
55. GPS displays: AVES.. Abbr for AVEnueS
56. Dating initials: BCE. Why is BC now called BCE? BCE/CE usually refers to the Common Era (the years are the same as AD/BC). ... The simplest reason for using BCE/CE as opposed to AD/BC is to avoid reference to Christianity and, in particular, to avoid naming Christ as Lord (BC/AD: Before Christ/In the year of our Lord). I hope this definition doesn't violate our blog's "no religion" rules
57. "__ Is Rage 2": Lil Uzi Vert album: LUV. LUV is also the ticker tape symbol on the NYSE for this airline
59. Needy cry from the playroom: MOM. But at 2:00AM when this cry comes from the bedroom, it's often DAD that gets up to see what's the matter! But in the movie "Wedding Crashers", it was an adult who cried out. Oddly, Will Ferrell was not shown in the credits for this movie
65. Altar constellation: ARA. This
66. Goes along: AGREES. And those who wish to be opposite can AGREE to disAGREE
67. Approve: OKAY. Yes! An easy Friday clue and answer!!
68. Case, for example: Abbr.: SYN. OK, Cornerites; help me out here, please! I had no clue what this clue was referring to
69. Crows: BOASTS. "MURDER" fits if it were relating to a group of the birds; but in this case, it refers to the mimicking of the sound a crow makes when it calls out in a squacking manner - as if to BOAST
70. Hall of Famer known as "O Rei do Futebol": PELE. PELE, "The King of Soccer". Another old-school crossword word/name
Down:
1. NFL's Cardinals, on scoreboards: ARI. CSO to those of us who live in the Grand Canyon State. Star WR played his college ball at my alma mater. He should've won the Heisman Trophy in 2003. He lost to Jason White. Yeah, remember him?
2. Prohibit: BAN. I'm guessing that they coined the eponymous deodorant that name because it prohibited a bad aroma?
3. Actress Tyler: LIV. Had this one before when I blogged
4. Paradise: EDEN. As in "The Garden of EDEN"
5. Full of holes: MOTH EATEN. Rarely seen in puzzles; nice clue and answer
6. Short mus. releases: EPS. Extended PlayS was all I could find for a musical reference to this clue, but "extended" doesn't mean "short", does it? Am I missing yet another clue??
7. Piece for practicing technique: ETUDE. Now THIS is a musical reference I get!
8. National animal of Malaysia: TIGER. THIS cat
9. It has a med school in Worcester: U MASS. U MASSachusetts has a main campus in Amherst and a med school in Worcester (pronouned "Wooster")
10. Expected result: PAR. What Phil Mickelson shot on his last hole to cement his PGA victory this past weekend
11. Writing tool: ERASER. Nice clue. Not one used by C Moe as he always solves in pen
12. Accessory for Mr. Monopoly: TOP HAT. And a token used in the board game Monopoly
13. Nasty looks: SNEERS. This? Harry Potter's foil
18. Not seen much: RARE. As opposed to this level of doneness that "finish" most of my steaks
22. Rabbitlike rodents: AGOUTIS. The AGOUTI or common AGOUTI is any of several rodent species of the genus Dasyprocta. They are native to Middle America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced elsewhere in the West Indies. Wikipedia
23. Rap on the head: BOP. Here's that word "BOP" again! BOP has been a popular "visitor" in our LA Times puzzles of late. But this definition is different; and what you do to score points in this arcade game
24. Real hoot: RIOT. When someone or something is a "real hoot", or funny, it's a RIOT. But a RIOT also has a negative connotation when referring to an insurrection. No politics, please
25. Baseball family name: ALOU. Another "Flashback Friday" clue and answer. Felipe, Manny, and Moises ALOU were MLB baseball players, all related, back in the day
27. Guerrero or Guerrero Jr. of baseball: VLAD. Not cool for those of you who dislike frequent Friday sports' names in our puzzles. Back-to-back baseball proper name clues. VLAD (short for VLADimir); Vladimir Guerrero Ramos Jr. (born March 16, 1999) is a Canadian-Dominican professional baseball first baseman and third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the son of former MLB player and Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr. He made his major league debut in April 2019. Wikipedia
28. Morales of "Criminal Minds": ESAI. More of the old, stale crossword fill. But constuctor's LUV having four-letter proper names with 3 vowels
30. High-pitched cries: SHRIEKS. Have your computer or smart phone's volume turned down to listen
35. Unseasoned, maybe: TASTELESS. Salt and pepper works for me for most dishes, including my RARE steaks
37. Undercover figure: NARC. The use of the word "NARC" spiked in the 1970's; presumably with the increased use of illegal drugs/narcotics
38. Pour, say: RAIN. Remember this? "When it RAINs it pours"
39. Milky white kind of glass: OPAL. Also a reference to the milky white gemstone
40. "The King of Clay," familiarly: RAFA. Mohammed Ali - formerly, Cassius Clay - is known as the "King" in boxing circles. But today's "King of Clay" refers to the master of the clay court surface in tennis. Rafael "RAFA" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is ranked world No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals, has been ranked No. 1 in the ATP rankings for 209 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. His record of victories on clay surfaces is unmatched. RAFA Nadal has been the most successful player in history on clay courts. He has a 62–8 record in clay court tournament finals and has lost only twice in best-of-five-set matches on clay. He has won 13 French Open titles (and is unbeaten in finals and semifinals), 11 Monte-Carlo Masters and 10 Rome Masters, and won at least one of the three clay-court Masters Series tournaments every year between 2005 and 2014. Wikipedia
44. Ball honoree, perhaps: DEB. Short for DEBuntante, defined as an upper-class young woman making her first appearance in fashionable society
45. 2000s first family: OBAMAS. TRUMPS also fits, believe it or not; as does BIDENS and BUSHES. Take your pick!
46. Food Network adjective: SAVORY. Yet another "spicy" clue/fill in today's puzzle! SAVORY: (of food) belonging to the category that is salty or spicy rather than sweet
47. Nickname for a clutch player: ICEMAN. This guy was known as a "clutch player", but MAVERICK was equal to the task - remake due out this summer
49. Speak indistinctly: SLUR. As in SLURRED words. Was this guy the most famous one for doing that?
51. Former U.S. streaming option: HBO GO. HBO GO is an international TV Everywhere video on demand streaming service offered by the American premium cable network HBO for customers outside the United States. Launched in 2010. Unknown to me. I use ROKU now instead of cable. You?
52. Upscale auto: ACURA. ACURA is the "upscale" model of automobile created by Honda
53. Tijuana tots: NENES. Aren't these the state birds of Hawaii??
58. Cognac designation: VSOP. Ahh! A clue that's right up C Moe's alley! The designations you see on Cognac labels—VS (Very Special), VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale) and XO (Extra Old)—are a guarantee of how long a Cognac has been aged. VS indicates that the Cognac has been aged at least two years, VSOP at least four years and XO (Extra Old) at least six years. Here is more info on Cognac
60. Lyft alternative: CAB. UBER didn't fit, but who takes a CAB anymore? The only CAB I take is one poured in a wine glass
61. Hanoi holiday: TET. First popularized during the Vietnam War. TET Offensive
62. 34th prez: IKE. We are at #46 now. I was born when #34 was in office - early in his first term
63. "Wonder Woman" actress Gadot: GAL. GAL Gadot - a 36 year old Israeli actress - portrayed Wonder Woman in the superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Gadot received swordsmanship, Kung Fu, kickboxing, capoeira and Brazilian jiu-jitsu training in preparation for the role. Gadot's performance as the superhero, which was the character's first appearance in film, was singled out as one of the best parts of the film. She was also Miss Israel in 2004 and stands 5'10" tall. Wikipedia
64. Emmy-winning scientist: NYE. Funny clip from TBBT
And while we're at it, here is yet another clip with an equally renowned scientist
That's all I got. Comments are always welcomed. See ya in a couple weeks . . .
