By adding a vowel to the beginning of a word or phrase, also in progression like Bernice Gordon's wonderful Wednesday, we have five very different phrases, clued appropriately. I am not sure if they all create hyphenated words, but it looks cleaner to me that way. David has been on our radar many times and my last time blogging his work being a rather controversial effort, VIEW. This is a much tamer theme with two old favorites, the 'add a letter' and the 'vowel progression' in play. This is like a casserole of Bernice's vowels and marti's letter words. The fill had some fun like BARRELS, CURACAO, LEONIDS, MINARET, BETHESDA, PRORATED and TAXI DRIVERS. There seemed to be quite a few initialisms, but maybe that was deliberate in light of adding the letter. Okay, let's do it.
17A. Cost to join the elite? : A-LIST PRICE. (10) Does the concept of an "A" list bother anyone?
25A. Kindle download that's too good to delete? : E-BOOK KEEPER. (11). I think this is cute and it is consistent with 58A by breaking the word in two when the letter is added.
35A. Origami tablet? : I-PAD OF PAPER. (11). Cute but confusing clue.
49A. Expert on circular gaskets? : O-RING MASTER. (11). The circus meets mechanics, as the torus shaped ring appears.
58A. List of reversals? : U-TURN TABLE. (10). A table is like a list, but that only confuses me.
Across:
1. Hitching aid : THUMB. This answer stuck right out for me.
6. Journalist Paula : ZAHN. One time rising news star at most network news shows, she now hosts a show on Investigative Discovery channel. She left CNN after major scandal about her affair and marriage breaking up. In looking for her link, I ran across a site called wikifeet; most disturbing.
10. Silo occupant, briefly : ICBM. InterContinental Ballistic Missile. To qualify, the missile must have a minimum range of 3,400 miles.
14. Place to practice pliés : BARRE. Is a practice bar a place?
15. Arab League member : OMAN. Oh man, I learned CHAD is not a member, nor is IRAN (Persian, not Arabic); the choices were Oman or Iraq and that Q is pesky.
16. __ Tea Latte: Starbucks offering : CHAI. I like a Chai tea now and then, but no lattes for me.
19. "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" composer : KERN. Jerome. Time for a musical interlude.
20. Pay for, in a way : CHARGE. no extra credit for getting this one correct.
21. Wonder Woman accessory : TIARA.
22. Stroke gently : PET. Most women resent being petted.
27. Like some felonies : CLASS A.
29. Seuss pond-ruling reptile : YERTLE. Interestingly, this turtle is now available in an E-Book. (7:49). Yertle does appear to be unrelated to 63A. Feigned : MOCK, and the Mock Turtle.
30. Ready for FedEx, perhaps : BOXED.
31. Yahoo : BOOR. Calling someone a Yahoo seems outdated but I guess Boor is also.
34. Only 20th-century president whose three distinct initials are in alphabetical order : HST. This is interesting because Truman's middle name was "S."
39. Common HDTV feature : LCD. Liquid Crystal Display.
41. Basic water transport : RAFT. Ask Tom Sawyer.
42. French royal : REINE. Queen, en Française.
45. California city on Humboldt Bay : EUREKA. from Archimedes, right Bill G. and Fermatprime?
48. Certain allergy sufferer's bane : POLLEN. That is why they are seasonal allergies.
53. Induced : LED. At least it is not another initialism.
54. Places for pews : NAVES.
55. Places for sweaters? : SAUNAS. Really cute reversal clue, because you start out with cold places where you need to put on a sweater, then...
57. Makes certain of : ICES. And there was the cold place.
62. Jeanne __ : D'ARC. French for Joan of Arc.
64. Inventor Howe : ELIAS. The sad story of the man and the Sewing Machine.
65. Fair : SO SO.
66. Bellicose god : ARES. Bellicose is such a nice word.
67. They may be hammered out : DENTS. So can plans.
Down:
1. TV Guide abbr. : TBA. To Be Announced.
2. McRae of the '70s-'80s Royals : HAL. He became a manager and his sone played in the majors as well. LINK.
3. Ocean State sch. : URI. University of Rhode Island. Not far from where I grew up; main campus is in Kingston, I believe.
4. Richie's mom, to Fonzie : MRS.C. Cunningham.
5. National Institutes of HealthHealth home : BETHESDA. Maryland.
6. Don Diego de la Vega's alter ego : ZORRO. I liked this ONE (1:47) better than the movies.
7. Pal of 6-Down : AMIGO.
8. Czech diacritical : HACEK. No clue, the perps filled the spaces, but I looked it up. Way more than you wanted to KNOW.
9. Terre Haute-to-South Bend dir. : NNE.
10. More repulsive : ICKIER.
11. Event offering superficial pleasure : CHEAP THRILL. Awful, who would want a superficial pleasure? Dennis, Lois where are you when I need you.
12. Crude containers : BARRELS. Not badly made, but crude oil.
13. Muezzin's tower : MINARET. I am unfamiliar with the clue, but I know the tower, so...
18. Early sunscreen ingredient : PABA. Para-AminoBenzoic Acid.
21. Tapered support item : TEE.
22. Chem. pollutant : PCB. PolyChlorinated Biphenyl. This Bad Boy.
23. "Evil Woman" rock gp. : ELO. Electric Light Orchestra.
24. Hacks : TAXI DRIVERS.
26. "The Closer" star Sedgwick : KYRA.
28. Libra's mo., perhaps : SEPtember. My youngest is one.
31. Glitzy wrap : BOA. The feathery kind, not the crush and eat you kind.
32. On vacation : OFF. Cute how on leads to off.
33. Stop wavering : OPT.
36. Wee bit o' Glenlivet, say : DRAM.
37. Apportioned : PRORATED. What needs to be done with real estate taxes at closing.
38. Unagi, at a sushi bar : EEL. A C.C. favorite.
39. November meteor shower, with "the" : LEONIDS. 2013. I just watched a PBS show, I think.
40. Liqueur named for an island : CURACAO. One of the ABC islands in the Netherland's Antilles.
43. Once known as : NEE. Referencing the female birth name, before marriage. From the French.
44. "The World's __": 2013 sci-fi comedy : END.
46. "Romanian Rhapsodies" composer : ENESCO. A very accomplished violinist as well.
47. Metric wts. : KGS. Kilo grams, 1000 grams, or 2.2 pounds.
48. One of the Ivies : PENNsylvania.
50. Fur tycoon : ASTOR. John Jacob
51. Ristorante potful : SAUCE. Well, it depends because many Italians call it 'gravy' even if it I a red sauce.
52. Iraqis' neighbors : TURKS.
56. Word with white or fire : SALE.
58. Thurman of film : UMA.
59. Recycling vessel : BIN.
60. Delt neighbor : LAT. Muscles, deltoid (shoulder)and latissimus dorsi (back).
61. Superhero symbol : ESS. The big S for Superman.
I guess it is time for me to head off into a phone booth and fly out of here for another week. Hope you had a good time. Lemonade out.
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