LA Times Crossword Puzzle Blogging

Wednesday, November 27, 2013 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme:  Mr. Mostel, or Dash it all, or Nothing, really.

So many pictures, so hard to chose

17 A. Line on an envelope : CITY STATE AND ZIP.  Part of an address, but not Mr. Lincoln's at Gettysburg.

 23 A. Pago Pago's land : AMERICAN SAMOA.  City on an island; also the Capital.

 40 A. Paul Hogan role : CROCODILE DUNDEE.  Australian adventure movie.

 52 A. Classic cartoon shout : YABBA-DABBA-DOO.  Fred Flintstone.

And the unifier --  62 A. Zero in Morse code, any part of which will finish the title of the Oscar-winning song found at the ends of 17-, 23-, 40- and 52-Across : DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH.  If you think of Morse Code in terms of dots and dashes, DAH is the dash.

Hi gang, JzB here, totally in awe of this seemingly nothing theme, and its execution.  Until the unifier, I was clueless.

Here is today's theme song, from the 1946 Disney movie, Song of the South.






Across

1. One-on-one contest : DUEL.  It's a dual confrontation.

5. Pub orders : ALES. 

9. Creator : MAKER.  Often met by the loser of 1A.

14. Sicilian smoker : ETNA.  The most populat X-word volcano.

15. Shout to a storeful of customers : NEXT.  Many stores are refusing to open tomorrow.  I'm NEXT to applaud them.

16. Elegant headgear : TIARA.  Hat for a princess

20. Noel beginning : O COME.  Christmas is less than a month away, now.

21. Current to avoid : RIP.  Ocean current, lest you earn an R.I.P. and meet A9.

22. Gives the nod : OK'S.  I give the nod to Marti's fine puzzle.

28. Dudley Do-Right's gal : NELL. 

29. Green prefix : ECO-.  Environmentalism.

30. Golfer Woosnam : IAN.  Don't know him

33. Down __: Maine region : EAST.  Regional slang.  In the Detroit area, it's down river.

36. "Gotta run!" : LATER.  Later, later; must push on for now.

44. Side of the 1860s : UNION.   Civil War, of course.

45. __ Lisa Vito: "My Cousin Vinny" role : MONA.  Played brilliantly by Marisa Tomai. Excellent movie

46. Cold-sounding commercial prefix : SNO-.  SNO-cone, SNO-Caps, SNO-cat.  Sno-others?

47. "I'm not impressed" : MEH.  Homer.

49. '60s White House daughter : LUCI Baines Johnson.  Everyone in the family was LBJ.

58. NYSE overseer : SEC.  Securities Exchange Commision

59. Green roll : SOD.  Lawn order.

60. Tropical trees : PALMS.  Will you be my frond?

67. Stopped lying? : AROSE.  Woke up and got up

68. MBA seeker's first hurdle : GMAT.  Graduate Management Admission Test.

69. Napa prefix : OENO.  Wine related.

70. Array for a Boy Scout : KNOTS.  Do you know the difference between a square knot and a granny?

71. Comes to a stop : ENDS.  Some of them are loose.

72. Quick cut : SNIP.

Down

1. Rectilinear art form : DECO.  There are plenty of curves in art deco, but I won't quibble.

2. City east of Syracuse : UTICA.  Also a city north-east of Detroit.

3. Sci. of insects : ENTOMology

4. Nonprofessionals : LAY MEN.

5. Pantry pest : ANT.  What about a formica counter top?

6. Green expanse : LEA.

7. Cast-of-thousands member : EXTRA.  I read all about it.

8. Pub order : STEIN.  Clecho!

9. High-elev. spot : MTN.  One place to get high, briefly.

10. A leg up : AID.

11. Sung-into instrument : KAZOO,

12. Slezak of "One Life to Live" : ERIKA.  Never watched it.

13. Shoots the breeze : RAPS.  Retro definition.  In the 60's we had RAP sessions.

18. Plagued by drought : SERE.

19. Church recess : APSE.

24. "Where Is the Life That Late __?": Cole Porter song : I LED.





25. Forty-niner's stake : CLAIM.  Last night they CLAIMED a big win over the Washington team.

26. Rights gp. : ACLU.  American Civil Liberties Union.

27. Ghostly sound : MOAN.   Ghost walks into a bar.  Bartender gives him a quizzical look.  "What," the ghost says, "You don't serve spirits here?"

30. Post-ER area : I.C.U.  Intensive Care Unit.  Bet Marti knows all about it.

31. Son of Prince Valiant : ARN.

32. "There's __ in 'team'" : NO I.  George Carlin's response: "Maybe not. But there is an "I" in independence, individuality and integrity.'"

34. __-mo : SLO.  Slow motion camera trick.  Rhymes with SNO-.

35. Potato sack wt., perhaps : TEN LB.  Mash 'em up.

37. B. Favre's career 508 : TDS.  Touch Downs.  American football.

38. Velvet finish? : EEN.  Silly Wabbit.

39. Collectible car : R. E. O.  Speedwagon, by Ransom Eli Olds.

41. Search everywhere in : COMB.

42. Front row seat : ONE B.  First class?

43. Apply amateurishly : DAUB.

48. It may be slung at a diner : HASH.

50. Matador's cloak : CAPA.  Spanish for cape.

51. Oft-baked veggies : IDAHOS.  P'daydahs.  Yes, a tuber is a vegetable.

52. Long (for) : YEARN.  Always reminds me of this, from the Maxims section of the 9th Century Exeter Book; doubly appropriate during Thanksgiving week.

Longað þonne þy læs þe him con leoþa worn,
oþþe mid hondum con hearpan gretan;
hafaþ him his gliwes giefe, þe him god sealde.

He longs less who knows many songs
Or can touch the harp with his hands
He has his gleeful gift that God gave him.

Be thankful for what you have. [/sermon]

53. Blessed outburst? : ACHOO.  Gesundheit.

54. Evade : DODGE, as a bullet.

55. Butler's last words : A DAMN.  From a man who wouldn't give.

56. Of yore : OLDEN.  Back in the day.

57. Muscat native : OMANI.

58. Where to find Pierre: Abbr. : South DAKota.  Unlike Waldo, it's on the map.

61. Class with tools : SHOP.  Machine or wood.

63. Mar.-Nov. hours : D.S.T.  Daylight Saving Time.  I save time in a bottle.





64. Two-time loser to DDE : AES  Dwight David Eisenhower and Adlai Ewing Stevenson

65. Owned : HAD.  Possession being 9 points of the law.

66. Boozer's syndrome : DT'S.  Delerium Tremens.  I had this last month in C.C.'s puzzle; Latin for shaking frenzy, a symptom of withdrawal from alcohol or other sedative hypnotics.  Can be fatal if not treated.

But there's nothing fatal about Marti's terrific puzzle.  A few abbrvs, but no zeros.  Hope you enjoyed it all as much as I did.

Cool [but not wintery] regards,
JzB