Theme: RHYMES WITH BOOZE: Four chosen theme entries in pinwheel array all rhyme with CHOOSE, and all are spelt differently. Not much more to say about it. Let's round them up.
20 A. Classic country song with the lyric "I've lived my life in vain" : BORN TO LOSE. Here's a more urban version of the saddest song ever.
58 A. Writer/director known for his coming-of-age films : JOHN HUGHES. The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, etc. I guess he liked Molly Ringwald. Here he is [center] with Molly and Matthew Broderick.
11 D. Deduction on many paychecks : UNION DUES. Contrast 1 D.
34 D. 24/7 information provider : CABLE NEWS. Whether this is news or infotainment is open to interpretation.
Hi gang, JazzBumpa here, your tour guide for today. Straightforward theme. The cleverness is in finding alternative ways of representing the sound of OOZE. And then fitting them into the grid, of course. Rather an unusual grid, too, with two theme entries in the vertical. This leaves the center region without a long horizontal entry.
Across
1. Part of 10/29/14 : SLASH. Oh. Starting with a self-referential clue. How nice.
6. With the bow, to a violist : ARCO As distinguished from pizzicato, or plucked.
10. "The Godfather" novelist : PUZO. Mario.
14. Its strings are tuned in perfect fifths : CELLO. A perfect fifth is an interval such as A to E. Cello strings are tuned to C, G, D, and A. The vibrational frequencies are in the ratio of 3:2. Other perfect fifths: Pinch, Johnnie Walker, Talisker, Lagavulin.
15. Gulp (down) : WOLF. Here, unlike in Winterfell, WOLF is a verb.
16. Alternative to Windows : UNIX. Computer operating systems.
17. Geometric products : AREAS. Regions enclosed by shapes.
18. Patron saint of Norway : OLAF. Ólafr Haraldsson, (995 – 29 July 1030.) Not the most saintly saint ever.
19. Evening, informally : NITE.
22. Pass the welcome mat : GO IN. Enter and sign in, please.
23. Gambler's method : SYSTEM. An attempt to outsmart the random arrangement of the cards, and overcome the statistical advantage enjoyed by the house. Good luck with that.
24. Image handlers, for short : P R MEN. Public Relations, aka spin.
26. "Clueless" actress Donovan : ELISA. Not as clueless as I am on this clue. But I see she played Amber in both the movie and TV series.
29. Ice cream treat : SUNDAE. A scoop or two, covered with flavored syrup and/other other optional toppings, limited only by your imagination. Suitable for any day of the week.
32. L x XLVIII : MMCD. Roman Numeral math. How nice. 50 x 48 = 2400.
35. Support for a weak joint : TAPE.
37. Deforestation remnant : STUMP. Bottom part of a tree trunk.
38. __-Locka, Florida : OPA. Per Wikipedia, Opa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 15,219. The city was developed by Glenn Curtiss and was based on a One Thousand and One Nights theme. Opa-locka has the largest collection of Moorish Revival architecture in the Western hemisphere. Its streets have names like Sabur Lane, Sultan Avenue, Ali Baba Avenue, Perviz Avenue and Sesame Street. Opa-locka has an area of 4.2 square miles (11 km2) and is located in the northwestern area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
39. Manners expressed in letters : P'S AND Q'S. I don't think this is quite right, and it took me a long time and lots of perps to suss. Per the Urban Dictionary, the expression comes from the days of printing presses, when type was set one letter at a time. Since the the press letters were reverse images, it was easy to confuse the mirror image lower case letters p and q. So, mind your p's and q's means pay attention to details. Also, this just sounds better than saying, "Mind your b's and d's.
41. Queen Victoria's realm, e.g.: Abbr. : EMPire
42. Kibbutz teacher : RABBI.
44. Steady fellow : BEAU. As in courtship.
45. U.K. mil. awards : DSOs. Distinguished Service Order, generally presented to officers ranking Major and above..
46. Buzzard's grippers : TALONS. Bird claws
48. Big name in appliances : AMANA.
50. Les __-Unis : ETATS. United States in French. How nice.
52. California wine region : SONOMA.
56. Newsletter choice : FONT. A selected type face and size.
61. Genesis son : ABEL. Brother and murder victim of Cain.
62. Golden rule word : UNTO. More Bible
63. Showy flowers, for short : GLADs. Gladiolus.
64. "Deadliest Catch" narrator Mike : ROWE. This is another TV show I've never seen, or even knew about.
65. Not quite dry : DAMP. Not quite wet, either.
66. Eagle's hideaway : AERIE. In Old Latin, a level piece of ground, but in English, probably via medieval French, an eagle's [or other raptor's] nest high in a tree or on a cliff. Funny how that works. Or for American Eagle, this.
67. Place for private dining? : MESS. Military jargon, and a clever misdirection. Privates are low ranking, and eat in the mess hall. Is cleaning up the mess corporal punishment?
68. First name in mysteries : ERLE Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author, of Perry Mason fame.
69. Political essay : TRACT, aka monograph, a short treatise on a single topic, often political, or religious.
Down
1. Picket line crossers : SCABS. Union busting.
2. "Bad, Bad" Brown of song : LEROY.
3. A's and Jays : ALERs. American League baseball teams, the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays.
4. Not on the level : SLANTED. Literal.
5. Inexpensive lodging : HOSTEL.
6. Missing reveille, perhaps : AWOL. Absent Without Official Leave.
7. Chewy candy brand : ROLO.
8. Purse fastener : CLASP.
9. Bids : OFFERS.
10. Strong-smelling : PUNGENT. A fellow with stinky word plays is a PUN GENT.
12. Rigatoni alternative : ZITI. Pasta by any other name.
13. Field team : OXEN. Former bulls.
21. Drops : OMITS. Leaves out.
25. Rumple, with "up" : MUSS. The other kind of mess.
27. "Born From Jets" automaker : SAAB. Per Wikipedia: "Svenska Aeroplan AB (aktiebolag)" (Swedish for "Swedish Aeroplane Company Limited") (SAAB) was founded in 1937 in Trollhättan, with the merger of Svenska Aero AB (SAAB) and Linköping based VASJA the headquarters moved to Linköping. The style "Saab" replaced "SAAB" around 1950.
Originally manufacturing aircraft, the company sought ways in which to diversify its business. In the late 1940s the company began manufacturing cars at its Saab Automobile division was based in Trollhättan. The first car was the Saab 92; full-scale production started December 12, 1949, based on the prototype Ursaab.
Probably more than you wanted to know.
28. Sleep __ : APNEA. Suspension of breathing.
30. Arsenal supply : AMMO. Bullets, frex.
31. "Love & Basketball" actor Omar : EPPS.
32. Media mogul Zuckerman : MORT. U.S. News and World Report, among many other things.
33. Film-rating org. : MPAA. Motion Picture Association of America.
36. Mild cheese : EDAM. I keep waiting for Stilton or Jarlsberg.
39. Colada fruit : PINA. Actually, Piña, Spanish for pineapple. The piña colada, made with rum, piinaple juice and coconut cream is the national drink of Puerto Rico.
40. Suppress : QUASH. Stifle.
43. Pop holders : BOTTLES. Here in the midwest, carbonated soft drinks, known as sodas in other places, are called pop.
45. Pendant earring, say : DANGLER. It hangs and swings.
47. Children's hosp. co-founded by Danny Thomas : ST JUDE. The patron saint of hopeless cases.
49. Chewy candy : NOUGAT. A confection of honey or sugar with roasted nuts and whipped egg whites.
51. Sub tracker : SONAR. SOund Navigation And Ranging, a system for detecting underwater objects by emitting a sound and tracking the echo.
53. "BUtterfield 8" novelist : O'HARA. John. His 1934 novel was made into a movie in 1960. Elizabeth Taylor won her first Acadamy Award for her leading role as Gloria Wandrous.
54. Physician at the front : MEDIC. Military Dr.
55. It's a good thing : ASSET.
56. Growing concern? : FARM. Clever clue. Concern, as in business, growing as in vegetables.
57. Double-reed woodwind : OBOE. Here they are, along with a couple of cor anglais, playing Swan Lake. In less capable hands, the oboe sounds more like a duck.
59. Standard Web page code : HTML. Hyper Text Markup Language.
60. "You wish" : NOPE. Slangy denials.
There you have it. Rather a nice romp with a musical sub-theme and some tasty treats along the way. Hope it was satisfying.
Cool regards!
JzB
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