Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee, here, with the recap of a Wednesday puzzle by Mat Holmes. It's probably a good thing that today is Wednesday and not a Tuesday or a Thursday or I would not have the time to do the recap because I'd be doing this:
That said, this morning's puzzle offering is perfect for those of you who are always looking for new ways to get your kicks. Now, with that intro, you might be thinking something along the lines of:
Paul Revere and the Raiders - Kicks
Or, perhaps:
Asleep At The Wheel - Route 66
Or, perhaps, even a couple of Nissan automobiles or the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.
But, no. KICKS here is used in the slang connotation of athletic shoes. Perhaps not as much fun as any/all of the above but it works well for the puzzle. Let's start with the unifier:
59 Across: Trusted companions, or what the sets of circled letters in this puzzle literally are: SIDEKICKS.
At five places in the grid Mat has place brand names for sneakers/tennis shoes/athletic shoes. These are referred to as KICKS in contemporary slang and each name abuts a side of the puzzles. Get it? Side kicks. To help us out, or to irk those who profoundly dislike them, circles have been utilized to help us see what is fairly obvious once the theme is grokked. . . if one is familiar with the brand names involved.
Here are the places where the gimmick is employed (deployed?):
16 Across: Mark Twain lad who falls in love with Becky Thatcher: TOM SAWYER.
22 Across: Exclamation in "Tommy Boy": HOLY SCHNIKES. This solver was not familiar with this exclamation. "Tommy Boy" is a 1995 buddy flick starring Chris Farley and David Spade.
32 Across: Some family vehicles: MINIVANS.
40. Wonder Woman publisher: DC COMICS.
47 Across: Talk to: CONVERSE WITH. When this solver was in Junior High School, CONVERSE All Stars were the cool (neat, bitchen) shoe to have.
This is how everything lays out in the grid:
Here are the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
1. Opera star Nellie with a peach dessert named for her: MELBA. Nellie MELBA (Helen Porter Mitchell) took the pseudonym Melba from her hometown of Melbourne, Australia.
6. Commercial flop: DUD. BOMB was too long.
9. Outer layer: RIND. As of a watermelon.
13. Celestial hunter: ORION. The constellation.
14. Squeeze bunt result: RBI. A baseball reference. Run Batted In
15. "Same here": ME TOO. We all got this one.
18. English derby town: EPSOM. Those of you who watched Rocky & Bullwinkle might remember this:
28. Chance to stand for a spell?: BEE. Spelling BEE.
29. Keep out of sight: HIDE. If you HIDE well then folks will be unable to find neither hide nor hair of you.
30. Cover story: ALIBI. Not as in the cover story of, say, Time Magazine. A CYA story.
36. "The Biggest Little City in the World": RENO. Self-proclaimed.
37. Umami, for one: TASTE.
39. Furry Endor denizen: EWOK. A Star Wars reference. Specifically a reference to the planet Endor. EWOKs aren't meant to be left outside......they're Endor pets.
42. Japanese beer brand: ASAHI. KIRIN would also have fit the allotted space. Sapporo was too long.
43. Topple (over): KEEL. The phrase "KEEL over" originates from nautical terminology, referring to a ship capsizing or rolling so far on its side that its keel is visible.
44. Ocean Potion no.: SPF. A Sunscreen reference with a rhyming clue. Do we have a motion to salute that notion?
63. Elba of "Cats": IDRIS. A frequent visitor. Actor #2
64. In real time: LIVE.
65. Meditative discipline: ZEN. What did the ZEN master say to the hot dog vendor? Make me one with everything.
66. Connect with: TIE TO.
Down:
1. Grown-up silkworm: MOTH.
2. Greek Cupid: EROS.
3. Life partner?: LIMB. Not your soulmate. As in the expression:
4. KitchenAid alternative: BOSCH. Maybe not the first name to come to mind. Amana and Miele would both have fit the space.
5. "Blonde" star de Armas: ANA. Actor #3
6. Visine target: DRY EYE.
7. Rides with surge pricing: UBERS.
8. S, SW, or SSW: DIR. DIRection
9. Temporary stays: REPRIEVES.
10. Gentle reply to an apology: ITS OK. Several not-so-gentle replies come to mind.
11. Terrible turnout: NO ONE. The turnout cannot get much more terrible than this.
12. Geodesic structures: DOMES.
Buckminster Fuller
15. Body art that uses henna: MEHNDI. New to this solver. Thankserps.
17. Corduroy rib: WALE.
21. Yours, once: THINE. This above all....
23. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI. Another "Star Wars" reference
24. Debit slip: CHIT.
25. Football unit: YARD. An American Football reference.
26. Sir __ Guinness: ALEC. Actor #4
27. Nutrient in oysters: ZINC. The crossing YAZ helped. If y0u did not know that one then perhaps you tried IRON?
31. Car seller's concern: BOOK VALUE.
32. Ed.'s stack: MSS. Abbreviation for ManuScriptS
33. Not home: AWAY.
34. Nabe in L.A. and NYC: NOHO. Nabe = neighborhood. Abbreviated clue. Abbreviated answer.
35. Take a little off the top: SKIM. Not a haircut reference (TRIM). A monetary (or milk) reference.
37. Ranking groups: TIERS. There can't be a TIER list for knots because they would all be tied.
38. Knee parts commonly viewed with MRIs: ACLS. Abbreviated clue . . . Plural clue . . .
41. Limo driver in the airport, e.g.: MEETER. Cute. Someone who meets someone at the airport. For some reason, MEETER made me think of greeter which led to this (I apologize, in advance, and I will understand completely if some of you want to respond with the alternatives along the lines of those hinted at at 10 Down):
42. Astern: AFT. A nautical reference.
44. Norway neighbor: SWEDEN. It had to be either SWEDEN, Finland or Russia.
45. Evergreen tree: PINE.
47. Plotting group: CABAL. What do you call a secret CABAL of strippers who surreptitiously control the adult entertainment industry? The Illumi-naughty.
48. "SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI. Five letters, three of which are vowels. A constructor's friend. Actor #5
49. Channel for hoops fans: NBA TV. Hoops being a slang term for the game of basketball.
50. Motorized ride: E-BIKE.
51. Supermodel Klum: HEIDI. Actor #6
55. Farm unit: ACRE. 1 ACRE of land for sale, no house. That’s a lot.
56. Funny sketch: SKIT.
57. Canadian gas brand: ESSO. Derived from the initials of Standard Oil. S O
59. "__ who?": SEZ. Oh yeah?
60. Footballer's uniform: KIT. In the soccer world (or football as most of the world outside the USA calls soccer) KIT means the uniform that they players wear. So, the answer to this clue is "by definition" once one figures out the global nature of the clue.
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