17 A. *Place for an eruption in Hawaii: MAUNA LOA. This is our beleaguered planet's largest active volcanoe, and among the most active, having erupted 33 times since 1843. It's summit is about 17 km above its deeply submerged base, which had depressed the ocean floor by 8 km. [source]
19 A. *Place for memorabilia about the 44th President: OBAMA LIBRARY. On the south side of Chicago in Jackson Park, this is the first Presidential Library to be fully digitized.
54. *Place on "Desperate Housewives": WISTERIA LANE. This fictional setting is a real street inside Universal Studios, Hollywood. It has also been used for the original Leave It to Beaver series, Gremlins, The 'Burbs, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
59. *Place for a space cadet: LALA LAND. Originally, this was - and still is - a term meaning a location for someone out of touch with reality. Since about 1980 it's also been a disparaging nick-name for Los Angeles, for a variety of reasons. It's also the name of a 2016 movie I never watched that gets 4 1/2 stars from RottonTomatoes
36. Money ... and, in three parts, a hint to the answers to starred clues: WHEREWITHAL. The ability - usually based on available funding - to accomplish a stated goal. Here, we have specified locations - real or fictional - providing the WHERE, that also have the letter duo A-L prominently located within. I'm not delighted with the theme, but having each two-word combination split the A-L across the two words adds a touch of elegance. Alas, this is somewhat offset by having a scatter of vagrant A's, and in once case L's in the theme fill.
Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here, perhaps being a bit too critical. You may draw your own conclusions. Let's AL move on and see what else we can locate.
Across:
1. Big name in wax museums: TUSSAUD. Anna Maria [Marie] TUSSAUD [1761-1850] learned the art of wax modeling as a child.
8. Surpasses: TRUMPS. A term derived from card games where one suit is TRUMP and can win a trick irrespective of face value, under stated circumstances.
14. Worldwide law enforcement group: INTERPOL.
16. Eradicate: RUBOUT. By analogy to a rubber eraser.
18. Supreme Egyptian god: AMEN-RA. Shhh - no religion.
21. Eight British kings: HENRYS. Or this.
24. Disney doe: ENA. Bambi's mother-in-law, if we may ascribe such human relationships to forest animals.
25. Middling mark: CEE. In scholastic grading systems. I would give no higher mark to a spelt-out letter.
26. Cries of pain: OWS. Often accompanied by other, more colorful, word choices.
27. Lab work: TESTS.
30. Sondheim's "Sweeney __": TODD. The daemon barber of Fleet Street who first appeared in the Victorian era penny dreadful novel series The String of Pearls.
31. "Robinson Crusoe" novelist: DEFOE. Daniel DEFOE [1660 - 1731] also wrote several other novels, and was a prolific writer on many other subjects, including politics, which earned him some time in prison. So - no politics either!
34. Shooting star: METEOR. A chunk of space detritus that gets heated to a glow by friction as it races through the earth's atmosphere
39. Like some dress shirts: NO IRON. I wouldn't have any other kind.
40. Digital video files: MPEGS. An international standard for encoding and compressing video files.
43. Part of P.R.: RICO. The other part is Puerto. Together they mean Rich Port.
46. Dix plus dix: VINGT. Twenty in French.
48. Agua, across the Pyrenees: EAU. Across from Spain. More French. Water they talking about?
49. Smart-whip link: AS A.
50. Saigon New Year: TET.
51. Badger at the comedy club: HECKLE. Derisive and aggressive interruptions from the audience.
58. Put in a pyramid: ENTOMB.
63. Treeless tract: STEPPE. A flat, unforested grassland in eastern Europe or Asia.
64. Monty Python member: ERIC IDLE. [b. 1943] A British comedian, actor, author and musician.
65. Like many a salad: TOSSED. Mixed lightly until the ingredients are combined.
66. Record collection?: DATA SET. Not sound recordings, but rather a listing of recorded data.
Down:
1. Allen of TV's "Last Man Standing": TIM. [b. 1953] I was not even aware of this show's existence. I was astounded to learn that the Home improvement series ended 20 years ago.
2. Spanish "a": UNA. Or one.
3. Name spelled with an alphabet sequence: STU.
4. Tijuana title: SENOR. An honorific for a gentleman.
5. Sheikdom of song: ARABY.
7. Ruination: DOOM. A grim or calamitous fate.
8. Compact cars?: TRAIN SET. Presumably HO gauge.
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9. Latin dance: RUMBA. Or Samba. Needs perps.
10. Car service app: UBER. They lost an amazing $5.2 billion in the 3rd quarter. The vast majority of this was paper losses; but I wonder if their business model is sustainable. Through June and July their stock as trading in the low 40's. It's not around $27.
11. Mediterranean gambling mecca: MONACO. Speaking of gambling - this the world's second smallest country, after The Vatican, bordered on 3 sides by France, and with a Mediterranean coast line. It is also a tax haven.
12. Sounded content: PURRED. Like a kitten.
13. Hung around: STAYED.
15. A.L. West team, on scoreboards: LAA. Los Angeles Angels. They were 72-90 this year.
20. Allowing: LETTING. permitting.
21. Mortar carrier: HOD. A V-shaped poen trough on a pole. Best keep your balance.
22. Wool coat wearer: EWE. She said, sheepishly.
23. Brief warning accompanying a link: NSFW. Not Safe For Work, generally indicating some sort of obscene content.
28. Academic retirees: EMERITI. From Latin, meaning those who have earned their position in retirement through service.
29. Stitch into place: SEW ON. Attach with needle and thread.
30. Mouth, in slang: TRAP. As in, "Shut yer TRAP!"
32. Cry of woe: OH NO. Alas.
33. Fair-hiring abbr.: EEO. Equal Employment Opportunity.
35. Omega, to an electrician: OHM. Resistance measurment.
37. Area between banks: RIVER BED. The bottom of the river, probably not full of money.
38. Vichyssoise veggie: LEEK. A plant related to the onion with an elongated cylindrical bulb. Also the national symbol of Wales. I have no idea why. Vichyssoise is a creamy potato soup, generally served cold.
41. "Wonder Woman" actress Gadot: GAL. [b 1985] Model, actress, and Miss Israel in 2004.
43. Least refined: RAWEST. Most crude
44. Has a passion for: IS INTO. Indulges in.
45. Social strata: CASTES. Classes of society. The crudest people have no class.
47. Name shared by a Grace and a Muse: THALIA. The goddess [or muse] of comedy and idyllic poetry. The Three Graces are THALIA, Aglaea and Euphrosyne, goddesses of order and good conduct. In either case, the name Thalia indicated flourishing and abundance.
50. Phoenix neighbor: TEMPE. Cities in Arizona.
52. Put on the books: ENACT. Make into law.
53. Salsa singer Cruz: CELIA. Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (1925 – 2003) was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century.
55. Surpasses: TOPS. Does better than.
56. Smithwick's brew: ALE. An Irish Red Ale brewed in Kilkenny.
57. Fat used in baking: LARD. Comes from a pig, is free of trans-fats.
60. Free-app interrupters: ADS. ADvertisments. Small videos that shill for some product or service that you almost certainly do not need.
61. Div. won by the Braves in 2019: NLE. National League East. But after a dismal start, the 2nd place Washington Nationals, whose line up is stacked with aging veterans, went on to win the World Series
62. City of Lions and Tigers: Abbr.: DETroit. Speaking of sports - this is the city of perpetual sports disappointment. These cats have neither teeth not claws.
That's a sad note to end on, yet here we AL are. The Kitty City is blanketed with snow, and the temperatures are too small to be worth mentioning. Stay safe out there peeps. In the press of other things, I'm taking December off from blogging. See you all in the new year.
Cool regards,
JzB
