I am never sure how this crowd will react to a sounds like pun puzzle but for me the theme fill is especially fun. I have blogged many of Mark's Friday creations and they all seem to have some sound element, and a very light-hearted approach. If you want to go to the archives, you will have solving them all. We also had so many sparkly fill like BASS DRUM, GAG RULES, SHOELACE, SKI SLOPE SMALLEST and STUNTMAN.
So let us see where the puns take us.
17A. Religious text for a Texas senator? : CRUZ MISSAL (10). CRUISE MISSILE. The hardest one, as while most know Ted Cruz,the book containing the prayers and rites used by the Roman Catholic priest in celebrating Mass over the course of the entire year.
24A. Pet for a Spanish surrealist? : DALI LLAMA (9). DALAI LAMA. Salvatore and the two L.
53A. Underage child of a German chancellor? : KOHL MINOR (9). COAL MINER. I also am not sure if many remember HELMUT.
62A. Household help for a 19th-century president? : TAYLOR MAID (10). TAILOR MADE. My grandfather was a tailor. Zachary, old Rough and Ready was the 12th President who was secon one who died in office in the 1840s.
Across:
1. Like "le" in Fr.: MASCuline.
5. Degrade: ABASE.
10. There's no money in it: SWAP. I love this clue; there are even barter companies who broker professional services without money.
14. Prefix with syllabic: OCTO. This is pretty random, though a real word.
15. Starbucks offering: LATTE.
16. Cap with a flat, circular top: KEPI.
19. Flex ending: IBLE.
20. Home of Amboseli National Park : KENYA.
This PARK.
21. Pennant race mo. : SEPtember.
22. Tied accessory : ASCOT. This gets its name fro, the racetrack but historically was part of very formal wear. LINK.
23. Cause of a sleeve movement : TUG.
26. More uneven : BUMPIER.
29. Puts in a vault, in a way : ENTOMBS.
30. Dos Passos trilogy : USA. Do you like reading about the GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL?
31. Mild rebuke : TUT. Does anyone use a single tut?
33. With 44-Across, Hanna-Barbera feline : TOP. 44A. See 33-Across : CAT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NToYkBYezZA
34. Cravings : YENS.
36. Sidekick : AMIGO.
38. Glimpse : ESPY.
42. Not a good start? : MAL. A bad prefix.
45. Shade : HUE.
46. Michigan neighbor : ONTARIO.
50. Baptized boys, often : GODSONS.
55. Milk source : EWE. Sheep milk.
56. Whac-__ : A-MOLE. Are you a CHAMP?
57. Heating stat : BTU. British Thermal Unit
58. Finnish architect Alvar __ : AALTO. I had not heard of this MAN.
61. Look closely (over) : PORE.
64. Bank offerings : IRAS. Much more than a bank offering.
65. Resort WSW of Denver : ASPEN. My first trip to Colorado was to Denver and thenon to a condo in Snowmass at Aspen. 10D. 65-Across feature : SKI SLOPE. They have lots to do THERE.
66. __ coffee : ICED. Aha, not tea today.
67. Titillating message : SEXT.
68. Silly ones : GEESE.
69. Cong. period : SESSion.
Down:
1. Sham : MOCK.
2. Israeli port : ACRE. A change for this fill, but very tricky. Acre is the holiest city of the Bahá'í Faith, and as such receives many Baha'i pilgrims. In 2016, the population was 47,808.Acre is a mixed city, that includes Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Baha'is. Wiki.
3. Nonspeaking movie role : STUNTMAN.
4. Ingratiate oneself (to) : COZYUP.
5. "When We Were Kings" subject : ALI.
6. It takes a beating : BASS DRUM.
7. Befuddled : AT SEA.
8. Basic : STAPLE. you need to stockpile these around hurrican season here.
9. Sushi selection : EEL. CSO to C.C.
11. Interoffice connection : WEBCAM. Not in my office, but many use them when they are nationwide.
12. Poise : APLOMB.
13. Madonna portrayals : PIETAS.
18. Crèche trio : MAGI.
22. Glee club member : ALTO.
25. Completely : IN TOTO. Funny letters into to.
26. Accept : BUY. That;s your story? I guess I buy it.
27. Consumption : USE.
28. List ender : ET ALII.
32. Idiosyncratic contraction : TIC.
35. Of least significance : SMALLEST. Hey, good things come in small packages.
37. They squelch discussions : GAG RULES. This has a bad HISTORY. By statute or court rule, gag orders are often placed on grand jury participants.
39. It goes over the tongue : SHOELACE. You have to think about this one.
40. "Piano is not my forte," e.g. : PUN. I guess we understand where Mr. Feldman's head was when he built this puzzle.
41. With 51-Down, sometimes-sighed line : YES. 51D. See 41-Down : DEAR.
43. French weapon : ARME. Inferrable but I have never heard it used.
46. Congo natives : OKAPIS. The okapi also known as the forest giraffe or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal native to the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. Wiki.
47. "That's enough already!" : NO MORE.
48. Middle section of an insect : THORAX. I wish I had John Lampkin to pick a picture.
49. Hoping to get home : ON BASE. Baseball season started yesterday.
52. Religious ascetics : SWAMIS. More religion.
54. Common blood group : O-TYPE.
59. Connections : TIES. I have used facebook to restablish ties with so many with whom I had lost touch.
60. Chances : ODDS. Chances are that most are not very happy with...
62. Identify on Facebook : TAG.
63. Unified : ONE.
I enjoyed this one very much, and hope you all did as well. Happy Passover to those celebrating Passover this evening; we get to cook for my local son and his family after going to Colorado the last few years. Good Friday and Easter also are this weekend and the best to those who celebrate. Thank you Mark, and who come and share. Lemonade out.
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