Our 2016 frequent Friday filler JW is back for his first of the new year. He circles his wagons to give us 4 themers, 2 grid-spanning wrapped around a middle reveal which is a must to locate the theme if you did not have circles. With circles, this solved itself.
17A. "Epic fail!" : THAT WAS TERRIBLE (15).WASTE Management dominates the collection business in SoFla.
25A. Like some cheddar : EXTRA SHARP (10). TRASH to me doesn't have the smell.
52A. Electrical backup supplies : SPARE FUSES (10). REFUSE is an old fashioned word, and somewhat timely. This is not a political comment but a quotation. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Emma Lazarus, the base of the Statue of Liberty.
60A. Two of the three founders of the Distilleria Nazionale di Spirito di Vino : MARTINI AND ROSSI (15). DROSS is also fancier, and brings to mind dregs, or mineral waste, scum formed on the surface of molten metal. (various sources).
The reveal:
36. "I don't believe a word!" ... or, the truth about this puzzle's circles : IT'S ALL GARBAGE (13).
As with all JW puzzles, we have some new stuff like SETTERS, TANGLES, THE TIDE,
MAHI MAHI, AT A LIMIT, GET UPSET and ENCLOSES.
Barry G., where are you, I have some circles for you? For the rest, here is what I see.
Across:
1. Suggests, with "of" : SMACKS. Really tough place to start, it smacked of Friday difficulty.
7. Cashbox feature : HASP.
11. Wagner's "__ Rheingold" : DAS. Morse loved this music.
14. Uses Blue Apron, say : EATS IN. This COMPANY has created a niche for the millennials to feel good about eating at home.
15. Baseball family name : ALOU.
16. Space bar neighbor : ALT. Both sides.
20. Lady Gaga's "__ It Happens to You" : TIL. An emotionally charged topic, which you may want to AVOID.
21. Presidential nickname : IKE. My earliest memories are of this non-politician as president. I have a vivid mental picture of his photo on the wall of Big Brother Bob Emery's wall.
22. Makeup remover : TISSUE. Simple and probably factually correct.
23. Put out : EMIT.
28. "Ghostbusters" actor : RAMIS. This enormously talented man wrote many of the best comedies. LINK. He also appeared in many of them. TRIBUTE.
30. Shanghai-born ex-NBA center : YAO. At seven feet six inches he stood out even in the NBA.Sadly his feet could not support his 311 pounds-running and jumping, even as size 18.
31. German : Kopf :: French : __ : TETE. A heady clue for sure.
32. Does really well : SHINES.
34. U.S. intelligence org. : NSA.
42. Deborah's "The King and I" co-star : YUL. I got to see him perform in a revival of the King and I on Broadway. It was awesome.
43. Clearly presented : COGENT. Law school is intended to teach the ability to present cogent arguments.
45. Removed : SHED. Picture a child coming in from the cold removing his garments, or for the romantic, the trail of clothing leading to the bedroom.
49. Nation SE of Cyprus : LEB. Anon? Is the SE a clue that this is an abbreviation?
51. Item on a chain, perhaps : WATCH.
55. One may be broken : RULE.
56. Afghanistan's national airline : ARIANA. My learning moment, as despite past experience with owning a travel agency, I was not aware of this AIRLINE.
57. Northwest Passage explorer : RAE. A pioneer and the SUBJECT of controversy.
59. Word with hole or holder : POT. So sweet.
64. Bridge action : BID.
65. Brown family shade : ECRU.
66. "I'm on board" : AGREED.
67. Década division : ANO.
68. Food buyers' concerns : DYES.
69. Scary flier : TSETSE. The return of the dreaded fly. See 2D. Polynesian catch : MAHI MAHI.
Down:
1. English hunters : SETTERS. There are many kinds but the ENGLISH are hunting dogs.
3. Unable to increase : AT A LIMIT. New fill, but I am not sure.
4. Mo. hours : CST. Central Standard Time.
5. Christchurch native : KIWI. New Zealand.
6. Common animal kingdom tattoo subject : SNAKE.
7. Bowler, e.g. : HAT.
8. Cakes go-with : ALE. Only because I have blogged so much of JW did this make sense. His love of Shakespeare dredged this LINK from memory.
9. In a way, in a way : SORTA.
10. One unlikely to experiment : PURIST.
11. Uses a 22-Across on, as tears : DABS AT. Yes many a tissue gets used with certain movies. What are your favorite tearjerkers?
12. Come-hither quality : ALLURE.
13. Dear : STEEP. Really needed perps; we do not use dear to mean expensive much any more.
18. Hot : SEXY. Do you all watch the Victoria Secret TV specials?
19. "__ serious?" : IS HE?
24. Pantry stack : TINS. More from across the pond, as in the USA we stack cans..
26. Picks a fight (with) : TANGLES.
27. Civil rights icon Parks : ROSA.
29. Red __ : SEA.
33. Calculating : SLY.
35. Chip shot path : ARC. Anyone watching Tiger playing in the desert?
37. Ripsnorter : LULU. Two old fashioned words.
38. Bit of Christmas morning detritus : BOW. Ribbons, boxes etc.
39. Thickening agent : AGAR. Time to refresh our recollection of this secret AGENT.
40. Flip : GET UPSET.
41. Goes around : ENCLOSES. Another harder to parse until it is filled by perps.
44. SEC powerhouse, familiarly : THE TIDE. The Crimson Tide from Alabama. One of the schools i mentioned in first ever Corner post.
45. Runner's woe : SPRAIN.
46. Shag, e.g. : HAIRDO. Same # of letters as CARPET. I blame Dorothy Hamill.
47. Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT.
48. Like some court motions : DENIED.
50. "Feel the __": 2016 campaign slogan : BERN. Now this is clearly political.
52. Iconic Rio carnival activity : SAMBA. They have an annual competition where they appear to spend all their money n the headdress, and not on any other clothing. R-RATED.
53. Like : FANCY. More old fashioned fill that you may or may not fancy.
54. Nasser's successor : SADAT. Anwar Sadat, here is a LIST.
58. Physics units : ERGS.
61. Fight cause : IRE.
62. Mozart's birthplace, now: Abbr. : AUStria. He was born in Salzburg. LIFE.
63. Natural resource : ORE. There's gold in them thar hills!
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