We are back under the magic spell of the creative mind of Jeffrey Wechsler. For this opus, he has combined two favorite themes - letter substitution and sound-alike. Of course, his goal is humor with the cluing. He pulls it all together with a very classic grid-spanning reveal smack dab in the middle [etymology is a bit vague- LINK] of the puzzle. Since JW's mind works differently than most, I am not sure what came first, the "T" changing to "V" or the sound changes in the new phrases. Such is the joy of solving. As is usual with JW, he builds a consistent grid with the change in the first word in themer 1/5 and the second word for 2/4. Overall, the puzzle is not one of his most difficult ones with many 3 and 4 letter-fill to keep the solving going. He does add GYM SHOES, VANTAGES and SALES SLIP and introduces LINE C and PAPARAZZO to our vocabulary list. JD, if you are solving, do you still keep a list?
The theme:
17A. Street stand with full permits?: LEGAL VENDOR (11). Legal TENDER is the base phrase.
23A. "Who wants to visit Muscle Beach?"?: VENICE ANYONE (12). TENNIS anyone. Venice Beach California.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG8WlZH9DlE
45A. Dumps litter in the woods, e.g.?: VEXES RANGERS (12). Baseball's TEXAS Rangers.
57A. King's pulse, BP, etc.?: ROYAL VITALS (11). Royal TITLES.
And the reveal:
37A. Got ready to binge-watch ... or a hint to phonetic changes in four puzzle answers: SWITCHED ON THE TV (15).
On to the specifics:
Across:
1. Skip: BYPASS. Not the easiest of starts, but straight forward once you see it. The word has morphed from simply not doing something (I will bypass dessert) to become a significant medical term and procedure.
7. Say good things about: LAUD. Straight from the Latin laudare: to praise. We get our academic cum laude but not Lauderdale.
11. Umami source, briefly: MSG. MonoSodium Glutamate. We have discussed this new taste sense recently.
14. City grid feature: AVENUE. Perps are streets, among others.
15. Detective's need: INFO. A bit unfair as the phrasing does not suggest an abbreviation, but CLUE.
16. "So there it is!": AHA. Our moment.
19. Filch: ROB. Played by Dick van Dyke when he was young.
20. Tee preceder: ESS. ARR ESS TEE
21. Sufferer cleansed by Jesus: LEPER. Too clearly a religious topic but can find it in the KJV, Mark 1:40-45
22. See 35-Down: GIRL. 35. With 22-Across, proud parent's cry: IT'S A. One of two for those who hate this paired fill.
26. AFC South athletes: TITANS.
29. Sen. Warren, e.g.: DEM. Senator - Democrat,
30. "... for none of woman __ / Shall harm Macbeth": BORN.
31. Receipt: SALES SLIP.
40. Shutterbug who bugs: PAPARAZZO. The singular of Paparazzi and the topic surrounding the death of Princess Di.
41. Brewer's kiln: OAST. Owen will host a poem about a boast from a brewer's oast?
42. VW Golf model: GTI.
43. Considered to be: SEEN AS.
51. Stout choices: ALES. Some beer punning.
52. Violate a truce: REARM.
53. Onetime part of Portuguese India: GOA. There much to learn about Portuguese Estado da Índia
56. Drug injector: PEN. Linked to 18D. 56-Across prefix: EPI.
60. Tokyo-born artist: ONO.
61. Group with pledges: FRAT.
62. "Quit it!": ENOUGH.
63. Was the boss of: RAN.
64. Numbers game: KENO. Sid Caeser in a Chevy Chase Vacation Movie, or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V4mr7S_UNI
65. Pinball wizard's reward: REPLAY.
Down:
1. Farm storage unit: BALE. Not related to Christian.
2. First name in couture: YVES. St. Laurent.
3. Categorizes: PEGS.
4. Carrier with Tokyo HQ: ANA. All Nippon Airways.
5. In a dark mood: SULLEN.
6. Winning slot machine line: SEVENS. More gambling. Hmm JW lives near Atlantic City?
7. Where to claim a W-4 head-of-household allowance: LINE-C.
Form W-4 2020
Employee’s Withholding Certificate
Enter Personal Information
(a) First name and middle initial Last name
Address
City or town, state, and ZIP code
(b) Social security number
▶ Does your name match the name on your social security card? If not, to ensure you get credit for your earnings, contact SSA at 800-772-1213 or go to www.ssa.gov.
(c) Single or Married filing separately
Married filing jointly (or Qualifying widow(er))
Head of household (Check only if you’re unmarried and pay more than half the costs of keeping up a home for yourself and a qualifying individual.)
8. Author Gide: ANDRE.
9. Airborne mystery: UFO.
10. Palme __: film award: D'OR.
11. Super __: MARIO. The co-star of the great NES games.
12. Cut off: SHORN.
13. Gothic architecture feature: GABLE. Yes, they use Clark's picture on all the throwback buildings.
22. Fitness training apparel: GYM SHOES.
23. Superior positions: VANTAGES. Ad?
24. Port SSE of Sana'a: ADEN.
25. Source of tweets: NEST. Not the one from Google, but nature.
26. Culinary meas.: TBSP.
27. "Field of Dreams" locale: IOWA.
28. Vacation option: TRIP.
31. "__ who?": SEZ.
32. Hatchet relative: ADZ.
33. John in Albert Hall: LOO.
34. Steakhouse order: LEAN.
36. Low mil. ranks: PVTS. And part of a Howard Stern book title.
38. Old PC monitors: CRTS. Cathode Ray TubeS.
39. '60s musical: HAIR. A musical that began in 1968 reflected the hippies and anti-war and NUDITY! Still talked about it was a show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADNbtAID5wM
43. Sommelier, e.g.: SERVER. In America often called the Wine Steward.
44. White weasel: ERMINE. White weasel, while alliterative, does not sound appealing. Popular in the pre-PETA days and appearing twice this week in the LAT.
45. Steam, for one: VAPOR. Hence vaping.
46. John Paul's successor: ELENA. Justice Stevens and Justice Kagan. Not Popes.
47. Element from the Greek for "strange": XENON. Also, Xenophobia.
48. Indo-__ languages: ARYAN. How many have watched MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE on AMAZON? Tiny spoiler alert.
49. "Peachy!": NEATO. Keen!
50. 128 fl. oz.: GAL. Right next to...
53. Conquest for Caesar: GAUL. "Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est." Six years of Latin should not go to waste.
54. Lingerie brand: OLGA. This is a deja vu moment for me, but perhaps I saw their products while shopping at Kohls with my wife. LINK.
55. Grayish: ASHY. We have many variations of this word lately.
57. '60s A.G.: RFK. Robert F. Kennedy was the Attorney General of the US-appointed by his brother.
58. Natural resource: ORE. A natural resource is defined as a resource that cannot be replaced in our lifetime. They include metal ores, fossil fuels, earth minerals, and in some in certain situations groundwater
59. Word with dollar or dog: TOP. Once again we reach the bottom of the puzzle, but come out on top from a very entertaining roller coaster ride.
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