Ahoy, cruciverbalists! Today's puzzle setter is August Miller who has been seen here quite often lately. I recapped one on his puzzles on June 17th of this year. That effort was followed with puzzles on September 3rd, September 29th, October 13th and, just a bit more than two weeks ago, on November 3rd. Apologies if I missed any.
The theme of today's puzzle made all marine creatures feel right at home. At six places within the grid, the names of six SEAS are placed, as anagrams, within circles. If your publication chose not to print the circles then you may have found yourself in a bit over your head, underwater, or, at least, up to your neck. . . theme-wise.
The explanation is found at 33 Down: Dramatic shift . . . or what's literally found in each set of circles?: SEA CHANGE. The vocabularic ancestor of Paradigm Shift.
PAINSCA - CASPIAN
EAGANE - AEGEAN
YLOWEL - YELLOW
LITBAC - BALTIC
INGERB - BERING
ICRADIAT - ADRIATIC
The phrase The Seven Seas" is a merely a figurative term so having six is okay. Seas differ from oceans in that they are found on the margins of oceans and are usually located where the land and ocean meet.
Because there are no themed answers, per se, let's dive right in:
Across:
1. Apply softly: DAB. Also, a small amount . . . and a flatfish. Oh, and a puzzle constructor.
4. Indy 500 leader: PACE CAR. Only on at the start of the race.
11. About 40 gallons of it usually makes a gallon of syrup: SAP.
14. GPS calculation: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival
15. Mollusk with a nacreous shell: ABALONE. We often saw NACRE as a crossword puzzle answer back in the day.
16. Gp. for moms and dads: PTA. Parent Teacher Association. Abbreviated clue with GP for group.
17. Particles from far, far away: COSMIC RADIATION. High energy charged particles , x-rays, and gamma rays produced in space.
20. Burger topping: ONION. Relish wouldn't fit. See 23 Across.
21. 23andMe subject: DNA. 23andMe is a company that offers genetic testing. See 28 Across.
15. Mollusk with a nacreous shell: ABALONE. We often saw NACRE as a crossword puzzle answer back in the day.
16. Gp. for moms and dads: PTA. Parent Teacher Association. Abbreviated clue with GP for group.
17. Particles from far, far away: COSMIC RADIATION. High energy charged particles , x-rays, and gamma rays produced in space.
20. Burger topping: ONION. Relish wouldn't fit. See 23 Across.
21. 23andMe subject: DNA. 23andMe is a company that offers genetic testing. See 28 Across.
22. Lena Dunham TV show: GIRLS. One of several actor/actress references, today.
23. Dog topping: RELISH. Onion wouldn't fit. See 20 Across.
25. To wit: NAMELY.
26. Wind-driven clouds: SCUD. Also the name of a missile.
25. To wit: NAMELY.
26. Wind-driven clouds: SCUD. Also the name of a missile.
SCUD Clouds
28. Hereditary unit: GENE. See 21 Across. Might have been clued as _____ Simmons or Autry.
29. Riddle end, maybe: WHAT AM I. You can see me once in a year, twice in a week, but never in a day. What am I? The letter e.
32. 2001 NBA MVP Allen: IVERSON. A basketball reference.
36. Goal: AIM. Alternatively: We ___ to please. You ___, too, please.
37. Student, ideally: LEARNER.
39. Runner Down Under: EMU. Down Under being slang for Australia. EMUs are flightless.
40. Zoom alternative: SKYPE. A bit of present-day technology. Fixed focal length lens was not going to fit.
42. Race part: LEG. Sometimes, a racer's part, too.
43. Over: AGAIN.
45. Brazilian soccer great: PELE. Ne Edson Narantes do Nascimento.
46. Responds to a phone solicitation, perhaps: GIVES. I first thought of YELLS, RANTS, RAVES. Neither HANGS UP nor CURSES would fit.
48. Improvs, e.g.: ACTS. I guess IMPROV is now an "official" word.
49. Eye-bending genre: OP ART. An example:
51. Fiennes of "The Grand Budapest Hotel": RALPH. Another of several actor/actress references, today.
53. Drops off before midday?: DEW. Clever. The drops of dew come off the grass before noon. We were, I suppose, meant to think of something sleep-related,
55. Easy throw: LOB.
56. "Later": BYE. As in "See you later."
57. Words With Friends, for one: APP.
60. Post-teaching title for some: EMERITA. Female equivalent of EMERITUS.
62. Latvia neighbor: ESTONIA.
64. Fluorescent element?: SILENT C. We have seen this type of c/a before. It "gets me" less often than it used to.
65. Like many a wedding planner: ENGAGED. For those who plan their own weddings.
66. "It's just a flesh wound": ILL BE OK. A staple of OATERS.
67. Repair crew with tiles: ROOFERS. TILERS was too short and FLOORERS was too long.
Down:
1. Interior designer's specialty: DECOR.
2. Make reparations: ATONE. Afterwards, one can be at one with their conscience.
3. Margherita pizza herb: BASIL.
2. Make reparations: ATONE. Afterwards, one can be at one with their conscience.
3. Margherita pizza herb: BASIL.
4. It tops out at ten in a doctor's office: PAIN SCALE. It has been argued that the PAIN SCALE was used to inappropriately market opioids. Pain Scales And The Opioid Crisis
5. "Mixed-ish" airer: ABC. Another TV show.
6. Calling or playing follower: CARD. Pick a CARD, ANY CARD.
7. Stylish vigor: ELAN.
8. Musical symbol resembling a set of crosshairs: CODA.
9. Young Darth: ANI. Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are characters in the Star Wars series of films.
10. When the Cold War ended: REAGAN ERA.
11. Pinnacle of religion?: SPIRE. A nice play on words.
12. Coral island: ATOLL. I always forget if it's two tees and one ell or vice versa.
13. Violet hybrid: PANSY. Violet could refer to a color, a flower, or her:
18. Like eyes starting to tear up: MOIST.
19. Dingy kitchen item?: TIMER. Dingy means dirty or unclean. A dinghy is a small watercraft. In this case, though, the puzzler maker (or editor) wants us to think of something that makes the sound "ding". Ding-y, if you will.
24. "A Treatise of Human Nature" author: HUME.
25. Campbell of "Scream" films: NEVE. Another of several actor/actress references, today.
27. Ease up: DIAL IT BACK. Idiomatic expression defined in the clue.
27. Ease up: DIAL IT BACK. Idiomatic expression defined in the clue.
28. Spiced brew: GINGER BEER. Hands up for first thinking of some kind of tea.
29. Paper-nest builder: WASP. Did wasps invent paper?
30. Backpack, e.g.: HIKE. Noun or verb? Verb.
31. 1926 Pulitzer-winning poet: AMY LOWELL.
29. Paper-nest builder: WASP. Did wasps invent paper?
30. Backpack, e.g.: HIKE. Noun or verb? Verb.
31. 1926 Pulitzer-winning poet: AMY LOWELL.
34. Neglect to mention: OMIT.
35. Sisters in the 2017 film "The Little Hours": NUNS.
38. Excite, with "up": REV. The first of three three-letter answers in sequence.
41. Exuberance: PEP. The second.
44. Gender __: GAP. The third.
46. Underground recess: GROTTO.
41. Exuberance: PEP. The second.
44. Gender __: GAP. The third.
46. Underground recess: GROTTO.
Grotta Azzurra
47. Declines: SAYS NO. PASSES would have fit the space and two of the letters would have worked out.
50. Flared dress style: ALINE. One can see whence the name was derived.
52. Released: LET GO.
53. Arnaz of early TV: DESI. Another of several actor/actress references, today.
Babalu
54. Painter Nolde: EMIL. One of the early Expressionists.
58. Place to drop a line: PIER. Another play on words. "Drop a line" is idiomatic for writing. In this case, though, fishing.
59. Paw parts: PADS.
61. 1860s gray: REB. A Civil War reference. The soldiers of the Confederacy wore gray uniforms and re referred to as REBs (rebels).
63. Klutz: OAF. So, this shark swims into a bar . . . "Arrrgg", he yelled. I'm such a klutz!
. . . and with that, the completed grid:
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