Recognizing the theme requires locating the target letters, then reading them backwards to find the theme word. This could be quite a problem if you didn't have the circles in your grid. Let's have a look.
17 A. Spread some gossip : DISH THE DIRT. Slangy expression. I think RIDE goes a bit beyond good-natured teasing into domineering or harassing territory
24 A. Hybrid toaster oven snacks : PIZZA ROLLS. A variation on the won ton - pierogi theme, this mini dough pillow is filled with PIZZA flavored food-like substances. To RAZZ someone is to tease them playfully [though one may always wonder about motivation.]
38 A. He has a nest at 123½ Sesame Street : BIG BIRD. This fowl is large, but not foul. To RIB someone is pretty close in meaning to RAZZING them.
52 A. Stayed on : HUNG AROUND. Loitered or lingered. RAG, to me, seems closer to RIDE than to RAZZ or RIB, so we have a kind of symmetry.
And the reveal -- 63 A. Young player on the rebound ... or, in another way, what each set of circles in this puzzle represents : COMEBACK KID. Indicates an athlete who showed promise, faded, then regained his former prowess. COMEBACK is a coded hint that the theme entry is to be read retrograde, while KID is a synonym for the thus revealed words. So our reveal takes the form of a cryptic clue. I'll admit that it took me a few minutes to suss this one. Fiendishly clever concept put forth by our fearless leader.
Hi, gang. JazzBumpa on duty. Lets see what else is in store. Is there any more teasing hidden in today's entry?
Across
1. Divers' destinations : REEFS. Coral formations that are habitat for many types of underwater life.
6. Japanese cartoon art : ANIME. In Japan, the word refers to any animation. Most other places, it refers to a more or less specific cartoon genre associated with a style that originated in Japan. Examples.
11. "Shoot!" : ASK. Slangy way to encourage a question.
14. Send to cloud nine : ELATE. Make someone happy.
15. Sir Arthur __ Doyle : CONAN. Late night host or barbarian warrior? Nope - the author of the Sherlock Holmes tales.
16. Traffic court letters : DWI. Driving While Intoxicated. A serious and dangerous traffic violation than can cost you a lot of strife and dollars. Don't do it. And I'm not KIDDING!
19. Chow fixer? : VET. This chow is a dog, and fixing means neutering it to prevent the appearance of unwanted puppies.
20. Emphatic affirmation : OH, YES I DO. Imagine someone jumping up and down while clapping. Now imagine the last time you saw a four-word fill consisting of only 8 letters.
21. Paperless tax return option : E-FILE. File electronically, and hope you don't get hacked.
23. Original "Veronica Mars" airer : UPN. United Paramount Network. A TV network that ran from 1995 through 2006, when it was replaced by the CW, a joint venture venture between CBS and Warner Brothers.
27. Surrealism pioneer Max : ERNST. [1891 - 1976] German painter, sculptor, graphic artist and poet. Gallery here.
29. That being the case : IF SO. Then some conclusion ensues.
.
30. "... Mr. Tambourine Man, __ song for me" : PLAY A. Bob Dylan.
32. __ standstill : AT A. Like rush hour traffic. Your oxymoron for the day.
33. Birch or beech : TREE. Deciduous trees of the families Betulacaea and Fagacaea, respectively.
37. Buns and flips : DOs. Hair styles. A bun is a gathered style, while the flip is loose and turned up at the ends.
43. Racing legend A.J. : FOYT. [b. 1935] Retired American driver with 159 wins in a variety of motor sport genres.
45. "Later!" : BYE. See ya'!
46. Absolute : UTTER. Complete and total, as in, for example, a lack of milk.
48. Sharif of "Doctor Zhivago" : OMAR. Michel Dimitri Chalhoub [1932 - 2015] an Egyptian actor, fluent in Arabic, English, Greek, French, Spanish and Italian. He was also an avid horse racing enthusiast and one of the world's top-ranked contract bridge players.
50. Prophets : SEERS. Predictors of the future.
56. Dutch banking giant : I N G. Internationale Nederlanden Groep, involved in all aspects of banking, plus insurance and asset management.
58. Homeric epic : ILIAD. Set during the Trojan war, a 10-year siege of Troy [aka Ilium] in what is now the Anatolian region of Turkey.
59. Philips electric toothbrush brand : SONICARE.
62. "Teen Wolf" network : M T V. Originally Music TV. Now, I have no idea what the M is supposed to stand for.
66. Iron source : ORE. Rust filled DIRT, that the miners must dish out.
67. Go off-script : AD LIB. Speak or perform in an improvised manner. Would I ever do that?
68. Mix : BLEND. Co-mingle.
69. Baby goat sound : MAA. What - no love for paa?
70. Like mosquitoes : PESTY. I had pesky. Made my grid like the next fill.
71. In disarray : MESSY. Not neat and tidy.
Down
1. Second try : REDO. A do over, and for some, a Mulligan.
Well, that wraps up another Wednesday. Hope you were able to tease out all the answers, between my lame attempts at humor.
Cool regards!
JzB
Down
1. Second try : REDO. A do over, and for some, a Mulligan.
2. Philanthropist Yale : ELIHU. [1649 - 1721] A British merchant, president of the East India Company settlement at Madras, and benefactor of the university for which he is the Eponym.
3. "No sweat" : EASY PEASY. A piece of cake.
4. 1862 Tenn. battle site : FT. HENRY. Site of the first important victory on the western front of the American civil war for The Union forces and General U. S. Grant.
5. Match makers? : SETS. In tennis and other sports, a match is divided into some number of sets. The winner of a designated number of sets wins the match.
6. Nailed the test : ACED IT.
7. Brand for serious last-minute preparation : NODOZ. Caffeine supplement to forestall drowsiness.
8. Italian food ending : -INI. As in tortellini, etc.
8. Italian food ending : -INI. As in tortellini, etc.
9. Tarnish : MAR. Inflict damage on.
10. Comes in : ENTERS.
11. Pain reliever sold in Liqui-Gels : ADVIL. Brand of ibuprofen. Some people swear by it. This is called ibuprofenity
12. "Peachy" : SWELL. Groovy, man.
13. Windy weather fliers : KITES.
18. Arms-akimbo joints : HIPS. I would have preferred elbows, but they don't fit. "Akimbo," indicating a hands-on-hips posture, does not look and feel like a native English word, but it does trace back to Middle English "in kenebowe, " "kene" meaning [among other things] sharp, and "bowe" meaning bent. So it's all good.
22. Arch site : FOOT. The longitudinal and transverse arches of the FOOT are formed by the tarsal and metatarsal bones. The arched construction is inherently stronger than a level arrangement, and aids in supporting body weight.
25. Oft-baked pasta : ZITI. In the form of large tubes.
26. Miles away : AFAR. Proper location for loving in a pure and chaste manner.
28. Arrest : NAB. To grab, therefore to catch someone in the act or aftermath of wrong doing.
30. Adobe file format : PDF. Portable Document Format - an electronic file form that is compatible across a variety of platforms and operating systems.
31. Head of a pub? : LOO. Compatible British words indicating a tavern and a comfort station.
32. Prez on a fiver : ABE. Lincoln [1809-1865] the 16th President of the United States.
34. Rodent-eating reptiles : RAT SNAKES. Common in North America, these snakes feed primarily on rodents and birds. Though they can grow quite large, they are docile and make lovely pets.
35. Day before a big day : EVE. The day before Adam's RIBBING was the EVE of Eve.
36. Shucker's unit : EAR. Of corn. Rather like my earie humor.
39. Letter-shaped beam : I-BAR. Named for it's cross-section profile.
40. Pita sandwich : GYRO. Pronounced yeeroh, not homophonic with the the first two syllables of a spinning disc-plus-axis device. The meat is a dense lamb-based meat loaf cooked on a vertical spit. It is served on a pita with diced tomatoes and tzatziki sauce [made from yogurt and cucumbers.] IMHO, the Senate Coney Island in Livonia has the best GYROS in the Detroit metro area.
44. Frat party wear : TOGA. What could I possibly add?
47. Barely flow : TRICKLE. But more than seep or ooze.
49. Wild : MADCAP. Like a TOGA party.
50. Hoity-toity : SNOBBY. Like a social climbing elite wannabe.
51. Flamboyant Dame : EDNA. Everage. One of the on-stage alter egos of Australian comedian, author, actor, artist and satirist John Barry Humphries.
52. Handmade bleachers sign : HI MOM. This year's Hall of Fame Football Classic got cancelled because of field conditions, but 3 years ago it occurred on my Lovely Wife's birthday, and her son Doug, who was in attendance, did this, taking it up a level --
53. Hyper : ULTRA. Taken to the highest level.
I captured this fuzzy image from the TV screen
53. Hyper : ULTRA. Taken to the highest level.
54. Skin "Creme" in blue tins : NIVEA. The blues.
55. Workout buff's motto opener : USE IT. Or lose it!
57. Impish looks : GRINS. Do any of these qualify?
No granddaughters were harmed in the making of this photo
60. SALT weapon : ICBM. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks/Treaty started with a meeting between LBJ and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin 1967. Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles and defensive weapons [ABMs] to counter them were items of concern. President Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty and interim SALT agreement on May 26, 1972, in Moscow.
61. Whirlpool : EDDY. If my name were EDDY, I wouldn't travel in those circles.
64. Metered praise : ODE. Laudatory poem.
65. Portland Timbers' org. : MLS. Major League Soccer.
65. Portland Timbers' org. : MLS. Major League Soccer.
Well, that wraps up another Wednesday. Hope you were able to tease out all the answers, between my lame attempts at humor.
Cool regards!
JzB
I had a really great comeback to one of these. Of course by the time I read the entire fun post, I had forgotten.... Cheers to you JzB ps. miss your haiku
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