Theme: WITH APPROPRIATE ACTIONS. The word WITH is inserted into familiar 2-word phrases, yielding a new 3-word phrase. In each instance, the first word, originally functioning as a noun, is verberized in a way that is synonymous the verb "tweak" in its respective clue. "Tweak" means to make some kind of adjustments to something. As an exercise, the interested reader might want to reimagine yet another set of meanings, in which the first words are reverted back to noun status. Thus endeth my longest ever theme exposition.
17. Tweak some violin holders? : FIDDLE WITH CASES. Musical instruments are fragile and have specially designed cases to protect them. One may tweak them, I suppose. And violins are FIDDLES, so it's all good.
27. Tweak some church chimers? : TINKER WITH BELLS. So - what does this bring to mind? TINKER BELL or Quasimodo? And what does this say about you? No need to answer.
49. Tweak some ski parkas? : MESS WITH JACKETS. A MESS JACKET is a formal waist coat. One may tweak it, but the connection to skiing is lost on me.
63. Tweak some business outfits? : MONKEY WITH SUITS. Remember dress for success - navy blue suit, white shirt and rep tie? [Too often worn by human rep-tiels, but that's another story.] This is known in the vernacular as a MONKEY SUIT. You can change his coat and alter its pants.
Well, these are cleverly constructed, and all four theme answers are grid-spanning. Three of the four make a tight set. Maybe there's a point to MESS JACKET that I'm missing; but it doesn't seem to quite fit the pattern.
Hi gang - JazzBumpa here. Let's FIDDLE WITH this puzzle, see if anything rings a BELL, and hope it's not a MESS that makes MONKEYS of us all.
Across
1. Just open : AJAR. Opened slightly, not recently.
5. Hot under the collar : ANGRY. Perturbed.
10. Loot from a heist : HAUL. Slang for a robbery and the stolen goods.
15. West Indies volcano : PELEE. On the Island of Martinique, 4583 foot elevation.
16. Site of Napoleon's first exile : ELBA. Able was I ere I saw ELBA.
20. Maker of many kitchen rolls : ALCOA. Aluminum foil, that is, not little bread-like items.
21. Wall St. deal : Leveraged Buy Out. This is the purchase of a controlling share of a company, by its management or an outside investment firm using borrowed money.
22. Baking soda targets : ODORS. Keeps your fridge fresh.
23. Like used fireplaces : ASHY. A word you may well never see again.
25. Tach nos. : RPMs. Revolutions Per Minute, a measure of the rotational speed of a mechanical component. In an automobile, the RPMs of the crank shaft are displayed by the tachometer.
34. Brit. record label : EMI. Originally an acronym for Electronic and Musical Industries.
35. A few bucks? : DEER. Male animals of the family Cervidae. Finding this answer did not take a lot of doe.
36. Fuss over : DOTE ON. Treasure, cherish and be uncritically fond of.
37. Part of a sitcom farewell : NANU. Poignant clip.
39. Pulled off : DID. Accomplished
41. Spot for a 48-Across : SOFA. Not a NAP spot for me. Puts a crook in my neck.
42. Representatives : AGENTS. A person who acts on behalf of another.
45. Nintendo rival : SEGA. They went out of the game console business in 2001, but remain the world's most prolific arcade producer.
48. Short snooze : NAP. Not for me. I sack out for at least an hour.
52. __ helmet : PITH. AKA the sola topi, a light weight cloth covered head covering made originally from the pith of the sola, an Indian swamp plant of the pea family. Cork-like substances from other plants may also be used
53. Pre-coll. catchall : EL-HI. Referring to ELementary and HIgh school education, my dear Watson.
54. Torch job : ARSON. The crime of burning down a bulding.
57. And such: Abbr. : ETC. And so on, yadda, yadda, yadda. Abbr. for ET Cetera, from Latin for "and the rest."
59. Trims, as a lawn : EDGES. Along the walkways, ETC.
66. Arctic formation : FLOE. A sheet of ice that calves off a glacier.
68. Scientology guru Hubbard : L. RON. Famous writer and highly influential charlatan. Notably, he briefly commanded two ships during WW II, but each time was relieved of this duty because his superiors found him to be incapable.
69. Like most fairways, daily : MOWN. Short cut grass.
70. Some Parliament members : LORDS. House of Lords and House of Commons.
71. A whole bunch : TONS. Slang for lots and lots.
Down
Down
1. NATO alphabet starter : ALFA. This exists so that "critical combinations of letters and numbers can be pronounced and understood by those who exchange voice messages by radio or telephone regardless of language barriers or the quality of the communication channel." See the whole series here.
2. Monopoly corner : JAIL. Neither Free Parking, Go nor the awful Go To Jail square fit.
3. Adapter letters : AC-DC. Alternating and Direct electrical Current.
4. New Jersey's state tree : RED OAK. Michigan's is Eastern White Pine. I'll let you guess Ohio's.
6. One recently hitched : NEWLYWED. Successful chest thumper, perhaps.
7. Smooth-talking : GLIB.
8. Parting shot : RETORT. Not necessarily parting. Could be any sharp or wittily incisive response.
9. Slangy "Sure" : YEH. Uh-huh.
10. Hands-free devices : HEADSETS. Devices that hold earphones and a microphone in place on a user's head.
11. To boot : ALSO. Originally, something extra thrown into a bargain, from Old English bōt, meaning "advantage" or "remedy." Ultimately of Germanic origin.
12. Lyft rival : UBER. Both are app-based ride sharing protocols connecting passengers with available drivers.
13. Scottish miss : LASS. A young lady, Not to be confused with Swiss Miss, a chocolate-flavored drink.
18. Performed light surgery on? : LASED. Performed surgery with a laser.
19. Jazz club performers : COMBO. Small group of musicians.
24. Eur. power until 1806 : HRE. I had no idea that the Holy Roman Empire existed that long. It reached its greatest geographic extent in the 13th century, and had been losing bits and pieces since.
26. Third deg.? : PHD. After B.S [everyone knows what that stands for;] and MS [more of the same;] comes PHD [Piled Higher and Deeper.] The cynical view is that one advancing in specific studies gets to know more and more about less and less, until s/he knows everythign about nothing.
27. Midmorning hr. : TEN AM. Time for a coffee break.
28. Reflection : IMAGE. What you see in the mirror. But the mirror sees you!
29. Little League teams : NINES. For a baseball team at any level, the synecdoche is a NINE.
30. Like Oscar Wilde : IRISH. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde [1854-1900] was a playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet. His most famous works are The Importance of Being Earnest and The picture Of Dorian Gray. He spent time in prison for being homosexual, a crime at that time. After his release he felt London for Paris, where he died, destitute.
31. Big name in spaghetti westerns : LEONE. Sergio, [1929 - 1989] an Italian film producer, director, and screen writer, made famous in the mid 60's by his low budget, Italian-made movies about the American old west starring Clint Eastwood.
32. OK for dieters : LO-FAT. Or lo-cal. Needed perps to tweak my answer.
33. Breaks like a branch : SNAPS. As a branch from a tree in high wind. Or, sometimes, even the trunk.
38. Implied : UNSPOKEN. Or, at least, not spoken of directly.
40. Down in the dumps : DEJECTED.
43. Shipping department supply : TWINE. To tie things up.
44. Lab order? : SIT. Command to a Labrador Retriever.
46. Milk purch. : GALlon. Note Abrvs.
47. Feels the pain : ACHES. Remember when Bill Clinton said, "I ACHE with you?"
50. "My Generation" band : THE WHO. KIDULTS?
51. Portmanteau for a grown-up who hasn't yet grown up : KIDULT. Not familiar with this term. But my motto is, "What I lack in youth, I make up for with immaturity. " I did grow up once, didn't like it, and I'm never doing it again. So maybe I qualify.
54. Switch on a boom box : AM FM. Note that "switch" here is a noun not a verb. Toggling it actuates either of two different radio frequency bands.
55. Caramel-filled candy : ROLO. Shaped like an inverted bucket, this candy is chocolate coated caramel.
56. Put one over on : SNOW. An attempt to fool or mislead somebody.
58. Stadium ticket specification : TIER. A seat grouping at some range of elevation.
60. Copter's forerunner : GIRO. More formally, autogiro or autogyro - a type of aircraft with both a powered propeller, as in a typical airplane, and an unpowered set of rotor blades that rotate in the slip stream to provide lift. One was first flown in January, 1923. The first operational helicopter was built in Germany in 1936.
61. David Cameron's alma mater : ETON. Any hint of a 4-letter British school, plug it in.
60. Copter's forerunner : GIRO. More formally, autogiro or autogyro - a type of aircraft with both a powered propeller, as in a typical airplane, and an unpowered set of rotor blades that rotate in the slip stream to provide lift. One was first flown in January, 1923. The first operational helicopter was built in Germany in 1936.
61. David Cameron's alma mater : ETON. Any hint of a 4-letter British school, plug it in.
62. Three-part figs. : SSNS. Social Security Numbers, portrayed as 123-45-6789.
64. Monogram on some pricey handbags : YSL. The initials of Yves Saint Laurent. I never understood why putting some foreign guys name or initials on an article could inflate its purchase price by some high multiple.
65. Store door nos. : HRS. Hours that they are open for business.
That wraps it up. I had my nits, but this is a fine puzzle, brought to you by two of the best names in the field. Hope you enjoyed it.
Cool regards!
JzB
That wraps it up. I had my nits, but this is a fine puzzle, brought to you by two of the best names in the field. Hope you enjoyed it.
Cool regards!
JzB
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This is a fun blog. Light-hearted banter is welcome. Snark is not. If you want to fight, find my other blog.
Play nice, and we'll all have fun.
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Cheers!
JzB