Good Morning, Cruciverbalists! Malodorous Manatee, here. Today, Betty Boop is kicking things off for us. This is appropriate as it seems to be Women's Day in puzzle-land. Betty is making certain that the occupants of that pink '57 Chevy are well fed prior to their road trip Down Route 66.
In an interesting twist, today's puzzle setter, our frequent visitor Jeffrey Wechsler, has placed the reveal at the last clue/answer - 66 Down. At eight other places within the grid Jeffrey has inserted the last names of well-known Mrses, er Mrss, er Missuses, oh heck, Mesdames and, just to make make sure that we don't miss any of the highlights along the route, the clues for the theme answers are starred at least in the source I use (L A Times Online).
The straightforward reveal: 66 Down - Title for eight puzzle answers: MRS.
Another fine feature of today's puzzle is that the theme answers are neatly placed completely across the first row and the final row The middle two rows are side to side except for the black squares. Nice symmetry.
*1 Across - Historic barn owner: O'LEARY. Although Mrs. Catherine O'LEARY denied the charge, her cow is, in legend and song, said to have started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 by knocking over a lantern in the shed . The cause of the fire has never been determined.
*7 Across - Screen seductress: ROBINSON. Mrs. ROBINSON from The Graduate (1967)
*38 Across - Dried spices brand: DASH. Mrs. DASH
*39 Across - 1993 Williams role: DOUBTFIRE. Robin Williams played Mrs. DOUBTFIRE in the eponymous motion picture.
*41 Across - Bart's teacher: KRABAPPEL. Bart Simpson was (is, perpetually) in Mrs. Edna KRABAPPEL's 4th grade class at Springfield Elementary School. Get it? Edna Crab Apple.
*43 Across - Frozen fish brand namesake: PAUL. Mrs. PAUL.
*69 Across - Virginia Woolf protagonist: DALLOWAY. Mrs. DALLOWAY
*70 Across - Big name in cookies: FIELDS. Mrs. FIELDS Original Cookies.
That takes care of our look at the themed answers. Here are the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
15. "Peter Pan" playwright: BARRIE.
16. Intimate: ONE TO ONE. ONE of two three-word answers in the puzzle.
17. Sells at a huge markup: SCALPS.
17. Sells at a huge markup: SCALPS.
18. Modernize, as a factory: AUTOMATE.
19. Sorbonne summer: ETE. Today's French lesson . . . . and one we have had many times before.
20. Sticker shock source, perhaps: Abbr.: MSRP. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price
22. ESPN analyst who was a three-time A.L. MVP: AROD. Alex RODriguez
23. Shakespeare's 154: SONNETS.
25. Small ammo: BBS
27. Tokyo's Yoko: ONO. She appears very often in xword puzzles.
28. Color variant: HUE.
29. Classic ref. work: OED. Oxford English Dictionary
32. "... some kind of __?": A NUT.
Sometimes You Feel Like A NUT -1980
35. Iridescent stones: OPALS.
37. Wages: PAY.
44. Continental trade org.: EEC. The European Economic Community was created by The Treaty of Rome in 1957. In 1993, The EEC was incorporated into the EU - the European Union.
45. Metal en una mina: PLATA. Today's initial Spanish lesson. Often clued as part of Montana's State Motto: Oro y PLATA (Gold and Silver).
46. General's domain: ARMY.
47. One of many on today's phones: APP.
48. Word with luck or hole: POT.
49. Price __: WAR. Price Club would not fit but Price Tag might be the three-letter answer on another day.
51. Qantas luggage tag letters: SYD. The code for the SYDney, Australia airport for Qantas, and all other, airlines.
52. Mediterranean language: MALTESE.
56. Give a heads-up: WARN. WARNing: You might laugh yourself silly:
Bill Maher's Classic Film Warnings
59. BLT component: MAYO. This mindless marine mammal initially thought that it had to be something to do with either Bacon. Lettuce or Tomato. But no, it's MAYOnnaise.
60. L.A. commuter org.: MTA. Metropolitan Transit Authority. In L.A. it is actually called the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
61. Ornamental shrub: OLEANDER. A popular shrub despite its toxicity.
64. Eastern philosophy: TAOISM.
67. Cloudy: OVERCAST. Since we did not see these guys earlier, even though it was teed up at the Mrs. Robinson clue, we'll visit them now.
CLOUDY - Simon and Garfunkel (1967)
68. Old-timey stable groom: OSTLER. By definition and, as pointed out in the clue, rarely heard these days.
Down:
1. Out of use: Abbr.: OBS. OBSolete, I suppose. Punt.
2. What slippers generally lack: LACES.
3. Bard's muse: ERATO. ERATO is the muse of lyric poetry.
ERATO - Francois Boucher (1703 -1770)
4. "Over the Rainbow" composer: ARLEN. Harold ARLEN wrote this little ditty.
5. Tear: RIP. Not tear as in to shed a tear.
6. Agreeable types: YES MEN. It should have been YES woMEN, today.
7. Crowd approval: ROARS. Or not.
8. "Come __!": loft dweller's invite: ON UP.
9. Raise, say: BET. A poker reference.
10. Skater Midori: ITO.
Midori Ito Conquers the Triple Axle
11. Eduardo's "Enough!": NO MAS. Today's second Spanish lesson. I would have gone with Roberto in lieu of Eduardo.
November 25, 1980
13. Aware of: ON TO.
14. Require: NEED.
21. Didn't draw a card: STOOD PAT. Another poker reference.
24. Discontented: NOT HAPPY.
25. Light source: BULB. . . . and often used to symbolize getting a new idea.
26. Majority (of): BEST PART.
28. Remove with trucks: HAUL AWAY. Also, a nautical reference.
Haul Away Joe
29. Kind of poppy: OPIUM.
The Wicked Witch of the West
30. Like an eager "bird": EARLY
31. Coloring agent: DYE.
32. Madison Ave. figure: AD REP. AD something-or-other (ad rep, ad man, ad fee, ad rate, etc.) has become almost as ubiquitous in our puzzles as E-something-or-other.
33. Spingarn Medal org.: NAACP. The award was created in 1914 by Joel Elias Springarn the then-chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
34. Modern sort of port: USB. Universal Serial Bus
A Universal Cereal Bus
36. Sappho or Pindar: POET.
40. Partner of away: FAR. "FAR and away" is an idiomatic expression for for having surpassed something, or someone, to a great extent.
41. Mauna __: KEA. We always have to wait a bit to see if the Hawaiian volcano is going to be KEA or Loa - but the A can go in immediately.
42. Walk with effort: PLOD.
50. Much: A LOT OF. Our second three-word answer.
51. Sound from a cornered cur: SNARL.
Betty Boop's Dog Bimbo
52. McFly in "Back to the Future": MARTY.
Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly
53. Overact: EMOTE.
Worst Informercial Acting Ever
54. Yet: STILL.
55. Simplified: EASED.
Ease His Pain
56. Timber: WOOD.
57. Part of TAE: ALVA. Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor and holder of 1,093 patents including forms of 25 Down and 58 Down.
58. Projection booth item: REEL.
59. Southwestern sight: MESA.
62. Cpl., e.g.: NCO. Non Commissioned Officer
63. Crow cousin: DAW. A bird not often seen in crossword puzzles.
A Western Jackdaw
65. Just-thought link: AS I. We have reached the end of today's recap . . . .
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