This is one of the rare puzzles where the write-up is harder than the puzzle. But before we go there, let's welcome back David P. (my second straight David constructor) who has his 52nd LAT publication here. He was the first constructor I wrote up when I switched to Fridays in 2010. I think this is my 11th DP puzzle. Like the most recent one published two years ago, I need to begin by sharing the reveal.
40A. Hotel room amenity ... or one of the configurations that resolve four puzzle answers: MINIBAR. In retrospect, this explained the missing "MINI" in 29A/30A and 47A/49A. 21A and 57A just fit with adding the "MINI."
21A. Cornerstone phrase: ANNO DO (
29A. In a humiliating way: IGNO (
47A. Resident at Ottawa's 24 Sussex Drive: PRIME (
57A. Little versions: (
With the limited number of theme letters, there is room for much long fill and some Friday challenge.
CATSPAW, ENCORES, MARAUDS, NOB HILL, CARL SAGAN, RED ALERTS, ALGORITHMIC, and ISOMORPHISM
So it is time to go to work.
Across:
1. Really big show: SMASH. What else comes to mind?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaW7Y-gTsw8
6. Sharp bark: YELP. This a very common clue/fill.
10. Software product with a cup-and-saucer logo: JAVA.
15. Maintain: AVER. A favorite word of people who draft legal complaints.
16. Australian __: OPEN. Timely as the tennis is being played there now and the Williams sisters and the defending champion NAOMI OSAKA all lost in the first week.
17. __ Marbles: historic sculptures: ELGIN. I did not know about this HISTORY. Though I know this ELGIN
18. Serious warnings: RED ALERTS. Why Red? The phrase "Red Alert" comes from the naval tradition of "General Quarters" ("Action Stations" if you're British), where a ship prepares for battle. Much of the procedures are the same.
20. Narrow range: A TO B.
22. Plunders: MARAUDS. This is from the late 17th century: from French marauder, from maraud ‘rogue’.
24. Upper-class San Francisco area: NOB HILL. HISTORY.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTBFhKOYHMI
31. Old JFK lander: SST.
33. Takes pieces from?: UNARMS. Does he mean "Disarm" like taking a weapon or Aphrodite?
38. Beast hunted in Hercules' fourth labor: BOAR. I have a cute LINK that includes a Hercules crossword.
39. Can. sign letters: KPH. Kilometers Per Hour.
42. Fr. title: MME. The abbreviation for Mademoiselle. And the Spanish counterpart 69A. Span. titles: SRAS. Señoritas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-wqN2MXuCg
43. Arizona city: YUMA.
45. Horn of Africa native: SOMALI. It looks sort of like a Rhino horn, home to the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, whose cultures have been linked throughout their long history.
46. W. alliance since 1948: OAS. Organization of American States. MEMBERS.
51. Added numbers: ENCORES.
54. Unwitting tool: CATSPAW. Derived they say from this FABLE. Later used by Mark Twain.
59. Smoothie seed: CHIA.
60. "Cosmos" presenter: CARL SAGAN. He was so much more.
64. Baker's tool: WHISK.
65. Mayberry moppet: OPIE. I love me some alliteration.
66. 1920s chief justice: TAFT. He went to the Supreme Court after his Presidency. HISTORY.
67. Binary pronoun: HE/SHE.
68. 2001 Microsoft debut: X-BOX.
70. Financial guru Suze: ORMAN. Anybody watch her lectures?
Down:
1. Cook, as bao buns: STEAM. If you are not familiar, this dish originated in Northern China, where wheat, rather than rice was more prominently grown
2. Smallest European Union nation: MALTA. We are the closing agent for a transaction between a client and a company from Malta.
3. Like search engine ranking systems: ALGORITHMIC. A Friday word that is very relevant in your life now even if you do not know it. LEARN.
4. Winter luggage item: SKI BAG. I don't know much about this winter item as my skiing days are long over, but I was shocked/amused seeing this AD.
5. QVC sister station: HSN.
6. Tall tales: YARNS.
7. Tied: EVEN.
8. Deceived: LED ON.
9. Museum with Goyas: PRADO.
10. 10-Across: JOE. I love how wheeled the "J." WHY IS IT CALLED JOE?
11. Boston Marathon mo.: APR.
12. Boxer's fixer: VET. Doggie pun.
13. "Jeopardy!" ques., actually: ANS.
19. Timber wolf: LOBO.
21. Dreamboat: ADONIS.
23. One for the money?: UNUM. A Latin lesson from the dollar bill.
25. Center: HUB.
26. Type of mathematical equivalence: ISOMORPHISM. A shout out to our Mathematics whizzes, derives from the Greek iso, meaning "equal," and morphosis, meaning "to form" or "to shape." Formally, an isomorphism is bijective morphism. Informally, an isomorphism is a map that preserves sets and relations among elements. Easy, right?
27. Parent of a cria: LLAMA. Or a baby alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco.
28. Minstrel strings: LYRES.
31. FaceTime alternative: SKYPE.
32. Disdainfully reject: SPURN. Harsh, but it is time that you...
34. "I'll take that as __": A NO.
35. Canyon edge: RIM.
36. Wharton deg.: MBA.
37. Latin dances: SALSAS.
41. "Norma Rae" director: RITT. I now know this MAN's HISTORY.
44. Latin trio word: AMO. Amas, amat.
48. Jazz and Swing: ERAS.
50. Artist known for optical illusions: ESCHER. Maurits Cornelis Escher.
52. Les __-Unis: ETATS. USA.
53. 10-Down sweetener: SUGAR. The third reference for all of you who are drinking your coffee as you solve. I have my cup at hand.
54. Euro fractions: CENTS.
55. Tyler of "Criminal Minds": AISHA. Dr. Tara Lewis on the show. LINK.
56. Rouse: WAKEN.
58. Tennis nickname: RAFA. Nadal.
60. Crew chief: COX. A coxswain is also the helmsman of a racing crew, like a rowing crew in a competition. The swain part is from a word meaning "servant," and cox is from cok, meaning "a small boat."
61. PD heads-up: APB.
62. Kia subcompact: RIO.
63. Latin law: LEX. The translation and root word for Legal and many others. Or Superman rival Luthor.
64. Dr. Seuss' Cindy-Lou, e.g.: WHO. They lived in Whoville.
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