Fire and Rain.
17-Across. * Spends time in the gym: WORKS OUT. Fire Works and Rain Out.
26-Across. * Upscale eatery service for topper wearers: HAT CHECK. Fire Hat and Rain Check.
65-Across. * When employment ends, formally: EXIT DATE. Fire Exit and Rain Date.
And the unifier:
38. James Taylor classic ... or, respectively, what can precede the two words in each answer to a starred clue: FIRE AND RAIN. The first word of each theme answer can be paired with Fire and the second word can be paired with Rain.
Across:
1. Sneaker feature: LACE.
5. Balance scale container: PAN. //
And 70-Across. Balanced conditions: STASES.
8. Plays the role of: ACTS AS.
14. Milky white gem: OPAL. Hi, Kazie! Opals come
in all different colors. I think of Opals as coming from Australia, which is a large
source of the stone, but they are also found in many other countries.
15. Focus of modern-day surfing: EGO.
16. Most achy: SOREST.
19. Shrimp entrée: SCAMPI. It's supposed to be
an easy dish to make.
20. Prime meridian std.: GST. As in Greenwich Standard Time. Also known as Greenwich Mean Time. Everything you wanted
to know about GST but didn't know to ask.
21. Make into law: ENACT.
23. Quaking tree: ASPEN.
24. One of the Coen brothers: ETHAN. Ethan Coen ( Ethan
Jesse Coen; Sept. 21, 1957) and his brother Joel ( Joel Daniel Coen; Nov.
29, 1954) are American filmmakers. Even if you don't recognize their
names, you probably recognize some of their films: Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, and Fargo are just a few
of their films.
|
| Joel (left) and Ethan (right) Coen |
28. Big-time celeb: A-LISTER. Not to be confused with
the Scottish name Alister.
31. P-like Greek letter: RHO. By now, we should all have
memorized the Greek alphabet because the letters appear with such
frequency in the puzzles.
32. ACLU issues: RTs. As in Civil Rights.
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in January 1920.
33. Smell really bad: REEK. // And 13-Down. Smells
really bad: STINKS.
34. Crosses (out): X'ES.
36. Antiquated: OLD.
42. "__ on my watch!": NOT.
43. Chaney of horror films: LON. Lon Chaney (né Leonidas Frank Chaney; Apr. 1, 1883 ~ Aug. 26, 1930) was a
versatile stage and film actor, however, he has been typecast as a figure
in horror films.
44. Where some surfers shop: EBAY. The history
of eBay.
The first item listed for sale was a broken laser pointer in 1995.
47. Nonprofit URL ending: ORG.
50. __ Lingus: AER. Aer Lingus is the flag carrier of Ireland.
52. Ophthalmologist's field: EYE CARE.
57. Calf-length skirts: MIDIs.
58. Like the sea when waves are crashing: AROAR.
Lions Roar
59. NFL Dolphins' home: MIAMI.
62. Bloodshot: RED.
63. Broadway's Ethel: MERMAN. Ethel Merman (née Ethel
Agnes Zimmermann; Jan. 16, 1908 ~ Feb. 15, 1984) was in many Broadway shows.
67. Cheese in some bagels: ASIAGO. Yummers! I
generally however opt for the Everything Bagel.
68. Freight weight: TON.
69. Old Spice competitor: AFTA. Old Spice and Afta are both aftershave products.
71. Aardvark's morsel: ANT.
72. Common flag symbol: STAR. You can see some flags
with stars here.
Down:
1. Transmission choice for steep ascents: LOW GEAR.
2. Biblical disciple: APOSTLE.
3. One driving the wrong way?: CAR THIEF. Fun clue.
4. Lodge member: ELK.
5. Menial laborer: PEON.
6. Océano filler: AGUA. Hi, Lucina! Today's
Spanish lesson. There is a lot of water in the ocean.
7. V-shaped slit: NOTCH.
8. Pack animal: ASS.
9. Pepsi rival: COCA-COLA. Coke vs. Pepsi. What's your choice? I would select Coke.
10. Vandalize: TRASH.
11. Start of the Marines' motto: SEMPER. The Marine
motto is Semper Fidelis, which is Latin for Always Faithful.
12. Appearance: ASPECT.
18. Dispatched: SENT.
22. Driveway material: TAR.
25. Welcome to one's home: ASK IN. Could also be parsed
as As Kin, which would be welcoming family into one's home.
27. Like rosebushes: THORNY.
29. New Hampshire prep school town: EXETER. I will be
near Exeter, New Hampshire next week.
30. Actor Stephen: REA. Stephen Rea (b. Oct. 31, 1946)
makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.
35. NBC weekend show: SNL. Saturday Night Live has become a crossword staple.
37. Cinque times due: DIECI. Today's Italian lesson.
5 x 2 = 10.
39. Blowup on the highway: ROAD RAGE.
40. Buck's partner: DOE.
41. Annual hoops player selection event: NBA DRAFT.
45. Short operatic solo: ARIETTA. Not a Tuesday word.
46. "Whatever you say, honey": YES, DEAR.
47. Trumps' White House predecessors: OBAMAs.
48. Least cooked: RAREST. Rawest also fits in the spaces
provided and is only 1 letter off.
49. Vocalist Estefan: GLORIA. Gloria Estefan (née Gloria
María Milagrosa Fajardo García; b. Sept. 1, 1957) was the lead singer in
the Miami Sound Machine.
51. CD follower: ROM. Compact Disc-Read Only Memory.
53. Radiate: EMIT.
55. Asian priests: LAMAs.
|
| 14th Dalai Lama |
56. Michelangelo masterwork: PIETÀ. The Pietà is housed in the Vatican. In 1972, a deranged man attacked
the sculpture and caused serious damage. The statue is now behind a
pane of bullet-proof glass. Interesting fact: This is the only
known piece of work actually signed by Michelangelo.
60. Neural transmitter: AXON.
61. Like new: MINT. Origin of the term Mint Condition.
64. Turndowns: NOs.
66. Courtroom figs.: DAs. As in District Attorneys. They would be in state courts in criminal trials.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
