Title: As we approach summer it is time for PUN IN THE SUN!
One of our friends and a regular Paul Coulter is back. For those who do not remember, his first LAT TIMES PUBLICATION was 6 years ago. It makes me a bit sad to these all those we do not see here any longer. It was very hard introductory puzzle but we did get to see wonderful pics of our own Lucy Dale. This puzzle was not as difficult if you have the 'proper' sense of humor, the themers are sound-alike puns. And like all of this type of puzzle, the humor is subjective, so you all might not be amused, but I was. Not to jump on the negative bandwagon, but this was not my favorite of Paul's puzzles. There were sacrifices to have the five long themers with 57 blocks dedicated to theme. There was not much room for other sparkly fill. ISSUERS, MIDTOWN, UNCTION, NERVE ENDING and PAPER TRAILS do make the grid better but we do have an abundance of initialisms; it is time to move to the theme.
17A. Winter wear made from tusks?: IVORY COATS (10). The Ivory Coast is both a pun and an anagram.
30A. Routines for barbecuing?: WIENIE ROTES (11). Wienie Roast is a pun, but not an angram, but it does rhyme with 17A.
37A. Cuts back on one's livestock business?: GIVES UP THE GOATS (15). Gives up the Ghost must be the seed entry, and ta da also rhymes with...
60A. Useless castle defenses?: INNER MOATS (10). This also includes OATS, but is paired with yet a different rhyme Innermost. This an outlier, as it is one word, though I did find a clothing brand. I love that Paul found 5 different sounds that rhyme for his sound-alikes, but I am guessing some will say, "stop at four"and forget the outlier. But he would not have had the needed symmetry. Making puzzles is not for sissies.
Across:
1. Jokers: WAGS. Unlike our Wild Ass Guesses, this goes back to the 1550s "person fond of making jokes," perhaps a shortening of waghalter "gallows bird," person destined to swing in a noose or halter, applied humorously to mischievous children.
5. Small ball on a string: PEARL. Our Friday cluing begins here.I needed the perps. Followed by a gimme...
10. Emulated: APED. Followed by personal poetry...
14. Classic Langston Hughes poem: I TOO. LINK.
15. Portmanteau metal producer: ALCOA. No, no, no! AL CO A, aluminum company of america is not words mashed together.
16. Alley unit: LANE. Now we insult Boomer with a bowling non-sequitur.
19. __-FREE: contact lens solution: OPTI. Which actually may be a paortmanteau.
20. Asian holiday: TẾT Tết short for Tết Nguyên Đán, Spring Festival, Lunar New Year, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. While Asian cultures celebrate the lunar new year, only Vietnam calls it by that name.
21. Publishers: ISSUERS. A bit of a pun and they issue issues.
23. Onetime Tide competitor: RINSO.
15. Portmanteau metal producer: ALCOA. No, no, no! AL CO A, aluminum company of america is not words mashed together.
16. Alley unit: LANE. Now we insult Boomer with a bowling non-sequitur.
19. __-FREE: contact lens solution: OPTI. Which actually may be a paortmanteau.
20. Asian holiday: TẾT Tết short for Tết Nguyên Đán, Spring Festival, Lunar New Year, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. While Asian cultures celebrate the lunar new year, only Vietnam calls it by that name.
21. Publishers: ISSUERS. A bit of a pun and they issue issues.
23. Onetime Tide competitor: RINSO.
26. Less formal alternative to a toga: TUNIC. The toga was considered Rome's "national costume," but for day-to-day activities most Romans preferred more casual, practical and comfortable clothing; the tunic, in various forms, was the basic garment for all classes, both sexes and most occupations.
28. Like many AARP mems.: RETired. I guess 'mems' mean members...
29. "A Chorus Line" number: ONE.
33. Blows it: ERRS. But it is human, unlike...
35. Mythical monster: ORC.
36. Airport abbr.: ARRivals
28. Like many AARP mems.: RETired. I guess 'mems' mean members...
29. "A Chorus Line" number: ONE.
33. Blows it: ERRS. But it is human, unlike...
35. Mythical monster: ORC.
36. Airport abbr.: ARRivals
43. Classified ad abbr.: EEO. Equal Employment Opportunity
44. Charged item: ION. I always pay cash when I buy ions.
45. Respectful group address: SIRS. Sexist, too.
51. PC linkup: LAN. Local Area Network. A CSO to all of our techies.
52. Long, long time: EON. The largest unit of time. era = A unit of time shorter than an eon but longer than a period.
53. Loudly laments: KEENS. We are back to Friday, not a proper noun but "lament loudly over the dead, bitterly wail," 1811, from Irish caoinim "I weep, wail, lament," from Old Irish coinim "I wail." Hence "to utter in a shrill voice" (1893). We have seen it a few times.
52. Long, long time: EON. The largest unit of time. era = A unit of time shorter than an eon but longer than a period.
53. Loudly laments: KEENS. We are back to Friday, not a proper noun but "lament loudly over the dead, bitterly wail," 1811, from Irish caoinim "I weep, wail, lament," from Old Irish coinim "I wail." Hence "to utter in a shrill voice" (1893). We have seen it a few times.
54. First signs of smoke: WISPS.
56. Manhattan theater district locale: MIDTOWN. A MAP
58. Blame: PIN. You can't pin that on me!
59. Others, in Latin: ALII.
66. Advance: LEND.
67. "Cool!": NEATO. With another similar made up word 38D. Smashing: SOCKO.
68. Google results: URLS. Uniform Resource Locators
69. Not at all cool: EDGY. I disagree, edgy can be way cool.
70. Midas' undoing: GREED. He had the touch.
71. What boors lack: TACT.
Down:
1. Popular console since 2006: WII. The active Nintendo console which you can buy used for $60.00 or so.
2. Off-roader's purchase, for short: ATV. All Terrain Vehicle.
3. Muck: GOO.
4. Varieties: SORTS.
5. Dispute resolution: PACT. Maybe music will help.
6. "Do Ya" rock gp.: ELO.
7. 2010 health law: Abbr.: ACA. Affordable Care Act. Not aqui.
8. Twisty pasta: ROTINI. It is Italian for twists, I believe.
9. Classic movie girl played by a boy: LASSIE. Fun and truthful clue. There are some very fun LASSIE FACTS.
10. 1966 N.L. batting champ Matty: ALOU. I can hear the grumbling already but the perps were fair.
11. Hard-copy evidence: PAPER TRAILS. If you watch Television crime drama the good guys are always looking for these.
12. Main course preceder, in France: ENTREE. A typical French lunch will consist of: a starter (une entrée), such as a mixed salad, soup, some terrine or paté. A main course, (le plat principal), typically a choice of meat or fish, with potatoes, rice, pasta and/or vegetables; a cheese course (often a selection of local cheeses) and/or a dessert. Desserts are sometimes not detailed on the menu, so you have to listen to the waiter.
13. Jefferson et al., religiously: DEISTS. The term is used chiefly of an intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that accepted the existence of a creator on the basis of reason but rejected belief in a supernatural deity who interacts with humankind.
18. "Ouch!": YEOW. So many sounds...
22. Scrawny one: SCRAG. One who is scraggly
23. "The Witches" (1990) director Nicolas: ROEG. His BIOGRAPHY; the movie
24. Calvary inscription: INRI. Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm
25. Source of feelings: NERVE ENDING. No namby pamby emotion here, just the literal site of feeling.
26. Md. athlete: TERP. Maryland = Terrapin.
27. Religious fervor: UNCTION. This was very hard as I associate the word with the act of anointing, but a deep dive shows this connection for the word.
31. Chit: IOU. And I want to get my money!
32. Top medals, in Barcelona: OROS. There's gold in them there Olympics.
34. Caught in the act: SEEN. Caught you.
39. Have the __ for: HOTS. This idiom has no known origin, except perhaps the literal autonomic response to extreme sexual attraction.
40. Chicago-to-Lansing dir.: ENE. Going to Michigan!
41. Trick, in a way: TRAP. In a lie for example.
42. IRS IDs: SSNS. Social Security NumberS.
46. Doe, for one: FEMALE. She is back!
47. Stirred up: ROILED. Why not riled? If you roil someone you're stirring them up but not necessarily annoying them. To rile someone is to deliberately provoke or antagonize them. Vocab.com
48. Wielding an axe: HEWING. Or a new HOTEL in Minneapolis.
49. One percent of a G: TENNER. .01 x $1,000.00 = $10.00
50. Dip: SWIM. You must get wet!
55. Two-way, as a door: IN/OUT. Important in restaurants for the servers.
57. Like some sums: TIDY. Some HISTORY.
48. Wielding an axe: HEWING. Or a new HOTEL in Minneapolis.
49. One percent of a G: TENNER. .01 x $1,000.00 = $10.00
50. Dip: SWIM. You must get wet!
55. Two-way, as a door: IN/OUT. Important in restaurants for the servers.
57. Like some sums: TIDY. Some HISTORY.
58. Egg on: PROD.
61. Dumfries denial: NAE. Scotland.
62. Automne preceder: ETE. Simple French seasons
63. Altar in the sky: ARA. Moe just had it in his May 28 write-up.
64. Help for a sad BFF: TLC. Best Friends Forever /Tender Loving Care.
65. Retired flier: SST. SuperSonicTransport. I here they are coming back.
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