Wow, John has made my first attempt to blog a puzzle a challenge. On the one hand it seems simple with a nice progression from ECONOMY-STANDARD-PREMIUM-LUXURY but there is no confirmation with a reveal. And then we have the words inserted by JL.
19A. Doppelgänger cast for a low-budget remake of "Ocean's 11"? : ECONOMY RAT PACK (14). The original from 1960 was a vehicle for the Sinatra PACK.
23A. Usual night in the old town? : STANDARD HOT TIME. (15).
42A. Quality marsh output? : PREMIUM SWAMP GAS (15).
48A. Gold dust lid cover? : LUXURY EYE LINER (14).
In addition to the 58 letters dedicated to the theme, JL includes SODA POP, BUOYANT, TEEN IDOL, LEMMINGS, ROADSIDES and ART DEALER as sparkly fill. I had a great time, but I must have lost my touch. UMMV.
Across:
1. "L'Arlésienne" composer : BIZET. Wow, not a gimme start but lots of challenging letters. LINK.
6. Nutrients in nuts : FATS.
10. Silent signal : NOD.
13. Surface : ARISE. An unexpected definition.
14. Facetious agreement : AH SO.
15. Litter pickup spot? : NAPE. Not only humans do this.
16. Parson's home : MANSE. I earned this word reading British mysteries or watching them on PBS like THIS.
17. Some shoulders : ROADSIDES. Lovely misdirection.
21. Speck in la mer : ILE. French,
22. Sweet climber : PEA. Very important in science RESEARCH. Next to....
32. Entomological case study? : COCOON. JL loves his moths and their stages of life.
33. Repeated number of curls, say : REPititions. Bicep curls.
34. Bust gp. : DEA. Drug Enforcement Administration. President Nixon consolidated the anti-drug efforts. This is not the group in charge of inspecting bras.
35. Whatever : AT ALL. Used to be one of my favorite catch phrases.
36. Fanny pack spot : HIP. I see them more in front or back, not on me.
37. Backing strips : LATHS. Not to confused with LATHE. Lath 1. a thin flat strip of wood, especially one of a series forming a foundation for the plaster of a wall or the tiles of a roof, or made into a trellis or fence.
39. Liszt's "__ Préludes" : LES. Pretty easy French to fill. This COMPOSER was very popular.
40. Fish house freebie : BIB. Usually with a drawing of a lobster.
41. Sympathize : RELATE.
46. Mayo is in it : ANO. Spanish trick Mayo = May- ANO = Year
47. Fan noise : HUM.
56. Theo van Gogh, notably : ART DEALER. A fun STORY.
57. Orange variety : NAVEL. Seedless and very haughty.
59. Couth he is not : OGRE.
60. Khartoum's waters : NILE.
61. Birds do it between thermals : GLIDE. JL also watches and films birds.
62. Place to take a dip : SEA. And the clecho, 64A. Place to take a dip? : SALSA.
63. Hits up (for) : TAPS. In beer halls you tap your friend next to the taps.
Down:
1. "Whap!" : BAM. Comic book talk.
2. "Dies __" : IRAE.
3. #30 on a table : ZINC. I keep forgetting to not put my glass on the periodic lead.
4. Canadian pump name : ESSO. Esso - Exxon.
5. "People" person, perhaps : TEEN IDOL.
6. Cain was one : FARMER. Sad, as he must have been driven mad by the methane gases.
7. Cry to a mate : AHOY.
8. Ruler that doesn't work anymore : TSAR. They all retired?
9. Gender-specific beverage? : SODA POP. Cute, you can have soda pop or ice tea mom.
10. Zilch : NADA.
11. Group with many barrels : OPEC.
12. Office staple : DESK. I found this tricky.
15. Bite playfully : NIP AT. Puppies!
18. Editorial override : STET.
20. Buck heroine : O-LAN. A well decorated book about the mysterious East. LINK.
23. It may be under a rug : SCALP. Rug here being a toupee- nice.
24. Bag carrier : TOTER. Yes it is! 29D. Travel bag attachment : ID TAG. More travel.
25. "__ in point" : A CASE.
26. Cambodia's Lon __ : NOL. LON NOL, a handy palindrome.
27. Bits : DRIBS. Or drabs?
28. In like an old cat? : HEP. Just ask Maynard G. Krebs.
30. Maestro Zubin : MEHTA. John is a most prolific pianist, explaining all the music this week.
31. Lightens up : EASES.
36. Gender-specific pronoun : HIM. All perps.
37. Non-suicidal migrants, contrary to myth : LEMMINGS. The MYTH?
38. Heidi got high on one : ALP. My friend, Heidi lived near the Devil's Millhopper no mountains..
40. Cheerful : BUOYANT. Maybe if you are sponge....
41. Julia of film : RAUL. He died much too young. LINK.
http://ak-cache.legacy.net/globalcontent/contenthub/contentitems/0b79e781-7616-4fa6-95a4-05b6d7b19120.jpg
43. "All in the Family" spin-off : MAUDE. Bea Arthur as a feminist.
44. About : IN RE.
45. Waldo forerunner? : WHERE'S? I think he is lost forever. Just words that come before Waldo.
48. Cambodia neighbor : LAOS. Both near Thailand.
49. Itch : URGE.
50. Bonus, in ads : XTRA.
51. Lamb's alias : ELIA. And a JL clecho 58D. Lamb's place : LEA. Not the writer but the baby that Mary had.
52. Sharp bark : YELP. Doggies.
53. Simba's love : NALA.
54. Far from harmless : EVIL.
55. Cabs, say : REDS. Not yellow taxis, but Cabernet wines.
Well it was fun to blog but still not 100%. 7 hospitals and 10 doctors so far this year. Glad to be back and to have a JL special was great. Lemonade out.
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