After writing up hundreds of Friday puzzles, it is unusual to fill in all the spaces and not know the theme. But that is exactly why I love crossword puzzles, and it took staring at the reveal and fill positioned in all the regular theme locations (e.g. 17A) to have the light bulb come on. A classic V-8 can in the forehead. I will bet that Steve and others who love the classic British puns and anagram puzzles featured in the London Times etc. will adore this theme. Once I saw the concept, it was so easy. Robin took four very different types of oils- ESSENTIAL, COD LIVER, VEGETABLE, and LAVENDER and repurposed the letters into fanciful but legitimate alternate fill. This built on a 2018 PUZZLE that Steve stared at, just like I did today. Finding combinations that included all the letters of the oil was most impressive.
Robin has appeared in the LAT since 2009 but has ramped up her mainstream publications with this being her 5th of 2020. Here is a quick LOOK at her construction history. Today, she crammed the grid with 7 letter fill like ACADEMY. ATINGLE, CARTELS, EVASIVE, ICE FLOE, LA PLATA, MASONIC, ODDBALL, OVERRAN, PESETAS, RATRACE, REPTILE, SEASIDE, SO HAVE I, SOLACES , and SOVIETS.
17A. *Bargain on the last day of Oktoberfest?: STEIN SALE.
ESSENTIAL. What makes it essential? The ESSENCE.
26A. *Singer Damone, vis-à-vis actor Morrow?: OLDER VIC.
COD LIVER. Damone was only about 8 months older. Cod Liver Oil was a big threat to kids wanting to stay home from school when I was young.
38A. *Snoopy's specialist?: BEAGLE VET.
VEGETABLE. I was stumped on 36A trying to make it a variation of Olive Oil. Some OILS that didn't make the cut.
53A. *One who'll talk your ear off about osso buco and saltimbocca?: VEAL NERD.
LAVENDER. The silliest of the fill.
and, the reveal:
65A. Basic auto maintenance, and how each answer to a starred clue was created: OIL CHANGE. This is one time I may not have gotten the theme without the reveal.
Across:
1. Incite: PROD. Prodding sounds much meaner, but I grew up in cow country so my mental picture may be wrong.
5. Modern "methinks": IMHO. In My Humble Opinion. Language changes the words not the thoughts.
9. Pink flowers in a van Gogh still life: ROSES. He painted this while in the asylum at St.Remy. The color has faded.
14. Water-diverting feature: EAVE. The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls. Wiki.
15. It's not optional: NEED. Nice clue.
16. Brigham Young University city: PROVO. Read its HISTORY.
19. Urdu for "palace": MAHAL. Urdu تاج محل (tāj mahal, “crown of palaces.
20. Blunder: ERR.
21. Barbarian in Dante's Seventh Circle: ATTILA. In the river of boiling blood are the violent sinners, such as Alexander the Great and Attila the Hun, Ghibelline tyrants and 13th-century robber barons, "are paying for their heartless crimes" (XII.106). Michael Delahoyde.
23. Butterfield of "Ender's Game": ASA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP0cUBi4hwE
24. Cartomancy deck: TAROT. This is a stretch because cartomancy uses a real deck (or part of one) of cards. This is what my grandmother TAUGHT.
29. Starfleet school: ACADEMY. Star Trek.
32. Record holder: SLEEVE. I love this misdirection, especially now that they are producing albums again.
33. Ship: SEND.
34. Accessories for a Red Hat Society lunch: BOAS. This ORGANIZATION is appropriate for many Cornerites.
37. Bond and Bourne: SPIES.
41. Scratching post material: SISAL. Cats prefer woven sisal because their claws do not get caught in the sisal rope. It is a natural fiber derived from the 'agave sisalana' cactus plant and is not the same fiber as coir or jute.
44. Jai __: ALAI.
45. Its first version was egg-shaped: iMAC.
49. Spotted cat: OCELOT.
51. Argentina's "City of Diagonals": LA PLATA. A CSO to OMK and this CITY.
56. Norse group that fought the Vanir: AESIR. The Aesir (pronounced “ICE-ir”; Old Norse Æsir for multiple gods, Ásynjur for multiple goddesses, Áss for one god, and Ásynja for one goddess) were one of the two main tribes of deities venerated by the pre-Christian Norse.
57. Hypotheticals: IFS.
58. Part of AC/DC: DIRECT. Current.
61. Minn. neighbor: ONTario. We have many visitors from Ontario here in Pompano Beach.
62. A-listers: ELITE.
67. "Who's on First?" catcher: TODAY. You have to be a real fan to recall that position.
First base Who
Second base What
Third base I Don't Know
Leftfield Why
Centerfield Because
Pitcher Tomorrow
Catcher Today
Shortstop I Don't Give a Darn! or I Don't Care!
69. While away: KILL. Ah, while away not while away!
70. Note next to a red F, maybe: SEE ME. Since we have so many teachers who read this blog, this may be an ultimate gimme.
71. __-Navy game: ARMY.
72. Downfall of many kings?: ACES. Also a fun clue.
Down:
1. Old Iberian coins: PESETAS. Woth 100 centimos.
2. Grind: RAT RACE. I loved the Lucys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FPN8H9jiXY
3. Exceeded, as a budget: OVERRAN. I like "waves of barbarians overran the Roman Empire" and "he must not overrun his authority as governor" better.
4. Agnus __: DEI.
5. MIT center?: Abbr.: INSTitute.
6. Substantial content: MEAT. What a meaty tome.
7. Sun: Pref.: HELIO. We had this in January.
8. The "O" in football's OBJ: ODELL. Beckham Junior.
HIGHLIGHTS.
9. Tach readout: RPM. Revolutions Per Minute.
10. 60 minuti: ORA. Italian lesson.
11. "Me too": SO HAVE I.
12. Hard to follow: EVASIVE. I like this clue.
13. Says "There, there," say: SOLACES. Middle English: from Old French solas (noun), solacier (verb), based on Latin solari ‘to console’.
18. Silver of FiveThirtyEight: NATE. The POLLING PLACE.
22. Spots: ADS.
25. Eccentric: ODDBALL.
27. "What __ can I do?": ELSE.
28. Snake, for one: REPTILE.
30. MIT Sloan deg.: MBA. Master of Business Administration was created in the US.
31. Class with mats: YOGA.
35. Entirely: ALL.
36. Authenticating symbol: SEAL. Now we use stamps for seals on legal papers.
39. North Carolina university: ELON. Where my friend the late Roger Staley studied is a selective, average-sized private university eminent as a national model for connected and experiential learning.
40. Through: VIA.
41. Khrushchev and Gorbachev: SOVIETS.
42. Baffin Bay hazard: ICE FLOE. Baffin Bay is the body of water between Baffin Island in Canada's Nunavut and Greenland's southwestern coast. It lies north of the Arctic Circle, connecting the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, and is frozen for most of the year.
43. Coastal region: SEASIDE.
46. Like some lodges: MASONIC.
47. Goose-pimply: ATINGLE. An "A" word.
48. Price-fixing groups: CARTELS. In the United States, virtually all cartels, regardless of their line of business, are illegal by virtue of American antitrust laws. Cartels have a negative effect on consumers because their existence results in higher prices and restricted supply. In South Florida, they are WORSE.
50. "Chopped" host Allen: TED. I really did not know this MAN.
52. Way to go: PATH.
54. Spanish red wine: RIOJA. Rioja is a wine region in North Central Spain, 120 Miles south of Bilbao.
55. Less rainy, as a climate: DRIER.
59. Oater actor Jack: ELAM. What a face.
60. Harlem sch.: CCNY. City College of New York.
63. Bagpiper's hat: TAM. Oh the one from shanter!
64. London __: Ferris wheel: EYE.
66. Letters in an APB: AKA. I guess, but they are not mutually inclusive. An All Points Bulletin does not need an Also Know As.
