Two of the Minnesota crossword clan (see George Barany and the rest of his friends at Facebook) collaborate on this Friday punfest. Five places where people may congregate are revealed in clues which re-purpose words or phrases to give us whimsical answers. All are clued with "HANGOUT." I thought some of the theme fill was very funny and the long non-theme fill are especially sparkly. DARTH VADER, AXIS OF EVIL, DON QUIXOTE are an impressive triumvirate. The rest of the fill is a bit easy for a Friday, but lets peel this grape and see where the seeds are.
17A. Hangout for Hyacinth in "Fantasia"? : HIPPO CAMPUS (11). We begin with a brainy pun. How many recalled that her name was Hyacinth?
37A. Hangout for Heckle and Jeckle? : CROW BAR (7). Oh those wacky BIRDS (6:04).
42A. Hangout for Mickey and Minnie? : MOUSE PAD (8). In California.
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Across:
1. Call of the wild : ROAR. Nice simple 1A.
5. Shade : NUANCE.
11. '80s defense prog. : SDI. Strategic Defense Initiative.
14. Competent : ABLE. Which brings to mind 19A. Poetic preposition : ERE.
15. Walk down the aisle, maybe : ESCORT. A nice safe clue.
16. Dough unit : WAD. Money not Dunkin'
20. Condescend : STOOP. How could you stoop so low?
21. "__ Louise!" : GEEZ. An expression that skirts blasphemy and rhymes.
22. Agreeable word : LET'S.
23. Moon observation : MARE. A Friday piece of info that we have not seen in a very long time. The lunar maria /ˈmɑriə/ (singular: mare /ˈmɑreɪ/) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for "seas", by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas. Wiki.
25. Bk. before Job : ESTHer. A mini-version animated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93utdG9ulAs
26. "Skyfall" singer : ADELE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-gLRp5bSpw
32. Dendrite counterpart : AXON. Neurons have specialize cell parts called dendrites and axons. Dendrites bring electrical signals to the cell body and axons take information away from the cell body. Neurons communicate with each other through an electrochemical process. Wiki.
33. Mediterranean country : GREECE.
35. Hoop holder : EAR. Backboard?
36. Pewter part : TIN. Another CSO to our always shiny toastmaster.
38. iPhone, e.g. : PDA. Personal Data Assistant.
39. Lawyer letters : ESQuire.
40. Warm to the max : NICEST. No clue.
41. Runs out of gas : DIES. Sorry honey, my car died.
44. Pep squad output : CHEER.
46. Panda maker : FIAT. Cars; and 57D. Soul from Seoul : KIA.
47. __ ed : PHYS.
48. Explicit message : SEXT. It is back; you know there is a cache of all your texts.
49. Eleanor's successor : BESS. Truman. A classy first LADY.
52. Rub the wrong way : PEEVE. Not usually thought of as a verb.
56. Ab __: initially : OVO. Repeat of the week.
59. Like a fiddle? : FIT. This may be the ORIGIN.
60. Still together : INTACT. After 56 years of marriage...
61. Tenderfoot : TYRO.
62. Something for the inn crowd : ALE. Cute in/inn pun.
63. 1979 title role for Vanessa : AGATHA. If you watched the movie or know the story and watch CASTLE you can see where those writers get their ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO8FjkULpQ4
64. Simon __ : SAYS. Let us reveal the downs now.
Down:
1. 44-Across cries : RAHS. Rah rah ree, kick 'em, in the knee...
2. Story of a lifetime : OBIT. Nicely clued.
3. Canine filler : ALPO. Not the tooth, but the puppy.
4. Some bank agents : REPO MEN. Most banks use independent contractors.
5. Japanese IT services giant : NEC. Yes they are BIG.
6. Linguistic practices : USAGE.
7. Maker of earthquake pills and dehydrated boulders : ACME. Free shipping on orders over $50.00
8. "Ain't gonna happen" : NOPE. Not prudent.
9. Oscar winner Penelope : CRUZ. Pictures tell it all.
11. Honey alternative : SWEETIE PIE. Sappy names for loved ones. My wife uses honey all too often.
12. AFI's third-greatest movie villain : DARTH VADER. Can you name the other two? Hint, both were played by actors first name Anthony.
13. Bad day for Caesar : IDES. Coming soon. It means he middle of the month, not necessarily the 15th.
18. Hydrated gemstone : OPAL. Also a small car maker.
22. '60s trip cause : LSD. Ah, those days.
24. Maintain, as golf clubs : RE-GRIP. Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you. Not to be confused with this horror.
25. U.S. dept. with a lightning bolt on its seal : ENERgy.
26. War on Terror epithet : AXIS OF EVIL. One from George W. LINK.
27. "Ingenious gentleman" of classic fiction : DON QUIXOTE. The very important myth is reality work by Cervantes.
28. Basted, say : SEWED. Not a chicken but a hem.
29. Entanglements : WEBS. We weave, when first ....
30. Some kind of trick : A CATCH.
31. Baroque and Classical : ERAS.
32. "Lemme __!" : AT'EM.
34. Portuguese cape : ROCA.
37. Tech news website : CNET.
41. Leaves high and dry : DESERTS.
43. Met : SAT.
45. Shot provider : HYPO. Not confused with HIPPO.
47. "Gotcha!" : PSYCH.
48. Couch potato's spot : SOFA.
49. Cherry variety : BING.
50. Sundance Kid's gal : ETTA. What a face.
51. Strikeout-to-walk ratio, e.g. : STAT.
53. Irish New Ager : ENYA. LISTEN. (3:41)
54. Not just somewhat : VERY.
55. Boy with a bow : EROS.
58. Windy City transit initials : CTA. Chicago Transit Authority.
Some music, beautiful people and a challenge that was great. Thank you Tom and Marcia. Lemonade out.
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