Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here, once again, after an extended sabbatical, with the recap of a Friday Puzzle by veteran constructor Kathy Lowden. Let's jump right in with the reveal:
73 Across. Stop by unannounced, and how to make the starred clues match their answers?: DROP IN. We are asked to drop the letters I and N from the starred clues. What then remains are the clues-to-be-solved.
Here are the four places where the gimmick is employed:
21 Across. *Hot point: SHABU SHABU. Hot Pot.
27 Across. *Main event: MOTHERS DAY. Ma Event. No, not the cellist YoYo. Yo Mama.
50 Across. *Chain-chain-chain: CUBAN DANCE. Hmm, a reference to Aretha Franklin? Nope. Cha-Cha-Cha. But, wait . . .
56. *Rhino: PI FOLLOWER. Rho. A Greek Alphabet reference.
This is how it all looks in the grid:
. . . and the rest of the story:
Across:1. Number with 101 digits: GOOGOL. The number 1 followed by 100 zeros. The tech behemoth got its name from a misspelling of GOOGOL.
7. Tenerife, por ejemplo: ISLA. Spanish language clue, Spanish language answer.
11. Oft-torn knee pt.: ACL.
14. Prisoner: INMATE. When INMATEs fall in love do they finish each others sentences?
15. Speak indistinctly: SLUR.
16. Fish eggs: ROE. Does the search for caviar require a ROE boat?
17. Cardiology implants: STENTS.
18. Song for one: SOLO. Anybody first try ARIA?
19. "That tastes go-o-o-od": MMM. Punt!
20. Work on one's abs, say: TONE. As in to TONE up one's muscles.
24. Broccoli part: STEM.
26. Psyched: EAGER.
33. Wine category: REDS. Reds, whites and rosé.
34. Disciplines: AREAS. AREAS of study or expertise.
35. Hoped: WISHED.
37. Cross piece?: PEN. Cross has several meanings and is also, as used here, a brand of writing implements. One of those clues that "trades on" the convention that all the clues start with a capital letter.
38. Patti with a plaque on the Apollo Theater's Walk of Fame: LABELLE.
41. Rank in judo: DAN.
44. Within the realm of possibility: DOABLE.
46. Future oak: ACORN.
48. Bakery worker: ICER. A specialist frequently found working in our puzzles
53. Mushroom with a honeycomb-like top: MOREL.
53. Mushroom with a honeycomb-like top: MOREL.
55. Burst of wind: GUST.
60. "¿Cómo __ usted?": ESTA. Spanish language clue, Spanish language answer.
64. "It's __-brainer!": A NO. This was an easy one.
65. European automaker: AUDI. OPEL, MINI and FIAT would have fit the space (among others).
66. Benders: SPREES. As in to go on a Shopping SPREE.
68. Lav: LOO. Please excuse me. I have to go powder my nose.
69. Hard-to-break plates: MAIL. As in chain mail.
70. Van Gogh's "The Potato __": EATERS.
71. Fitting: APT. Yes, it is.
72. Princess Anne, to Prince William: AUNT. This solver will confess to not really following this family's activities in any detail.
Down:
1. Crux: GIST. What do meteorologists, biologists, and archaeologists have in common? They all get the GIST of their field.
2. Not fooled by: ONTO.
3. Portentous sign: OMEN.
4. Elephant-headed god: GANESHA.
5. Mel in the Baseball Hall of Fame: OTT.
6. Secondary: LESSER.
How to choose the LESSER of two weevils.
7. Emmy nominee Rae: ISSA. A frequent visitor.
8. Messy type: SLOB. What’s the difference between a well dressed man on a bicycle and a slob on a unicycle? A wheel and attire.
10. Came up: AROSE. By any other name . . .
11. 1998 Michael Bay disaster film: ARMAGEDDON.
12. Systematically searched (through): COMBED.
As In "Comb The Desert"
13. Animals found only in Madagascar: LEMURS.
22. Letters for the Royal Navy: HMS. His or Her Majesty's Ship.
23. Rabbit's larger cousin: HARE.
25. Inventor Nikola: TESLA. The feud between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison, known as the "War of Currents," revolved around their competing electrical systems: Tesla's alternating current (AC) and Edison's direct current (DC). This rivalry included public debates and business conflicts, ultimately leading to the widespread adoption of AC as the standard for electrical power transmission.
27. Document with a key: MAP. "Document" is, perhaps, a bit of a stretch.
28. Vein contents: ORE. A mining, and not a circulatory system, reference.
29. Novice: TENDERFOOT.
30. Dorky type: DWEEB.
31. Feel poorly: AIL.
32. Designer bag monogram: YSL.
36. Chairs: HEADS. Not the things we sit in. Leaders of a meeting, panel or group of people.
39. "The View" network: ABC.
40. __-ray disc: BLU.
42. Rainbow shape: ARC.
43. San Diego-to-Palm Springs dir.: NNE.
45. Sweet sandwich: OREO. A pretty straightforward clue for this food very often found in our puzzles.
47. Indulge: CATER TO.
48. Zambezi Valley antelope: IMPALA. Might have been clued with a Chevy reference.
49. Like many laundromats: COIN-OP.
51. "Just a number," so some say: AGE. Would that it were true.
52. Breastfed: NURSED. What kind of bees make milk? Boo bees.
54. Alpaca kin: LLAMA.
57. Island banquet: LUAU.
58. Norse god of war: ODIN. He's been around far longer than the Marvelverse.
59. Droop: WILT. Might have been clued with the single-word - Chamberlain.
61. Ooze: SEEP.
62. Garr of "Tootsie": TERI. This solver would have referenced Young Frankenstein (but you probably already guessed that).
63. Org.: ASSN. Abbreviated clue . . .
67. Nice round number?: PAR. After first thinking that the constructor was employing the Nice, France misdirection it slowly dawned on me that the reference was to a round of golf.
Well, that will wrap things up for now. Have a great weekend, everyone!
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