Tuesday, July 14, 2020

QOD:  No one’s just going to hand you a career.  I waited years for someone to had me one and it never happened.  ~  Jane Lynch (née Jane Marie Lynch; July 14, 1960), American actress

Epic Failure!  The last word of each theme answer can describe a failure or BOMB.

18-Across. *  Athletic brand for yoga class: LULULEMON.  Lululemon is especially known for its yoga clothes.  There is a Lululemon about a mile from my house.  I went in there once just for giggles.  I didn't walk out of the store with a pair of $200 yoga pants.  The $15 pair I got from Walmart work just fine.

24-Across. *   Beachgoer's footwear: FLIP FLOP.  Every summer we used to get a new pair of Flip Flops.  We lived near the beach, so we wore them every day.

39-Across. *   Stops smoking suddenly and entirely, say: QUITS COLD TURKEY.

51-Across. *   Raid with a K-9 unit, perhaps: DRUG BUST.

And the Unifier:
61-Across. Specialized unit seeking explosives ... or what the ends of the answers to starred clues comprise?: BOMB SQUAD.

Across:

1. Poindexter: DWEEB.  Apparently, the use of the word Poindexter as meaning a Dweeb or Nerd came from the cartoon Felix the Cat.

6. Co. known for music compilations: K-TEL. K-Tel appears occasionally in the crossword puzzles.  It's a Canadian company that was founded in 1962, so we have a CSO to CanadianEh!

10. Sign of things to come: OMEN.

14. Scarlett in love with a Butler: O'HARA.  No further comment necessary.

15. Folk singer Guthrie: ARLO.  Arlo Davy Guthrie (b. July 10, 1947) just celebrated his 73rd birthday.  He is the son of Woody Guthrie.

16. Funeral rite heap: PYRE.

17. __ spray: decongestant: NASAL.

20. Iron mine output: ORE.  A crossword staple.

21. Look creepily (at): LEER.

23. Get up: ARISE.

27. More, for Miguel: MAS.  Today's Spanish lesson.

28. Smidgen: BIT.

29. Like the simplest instructions: ONE STEP.  One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind.  Betcha didn't think I was an astronaut!

33. Portfolio item: ASSET.

36. Having all one's marbles: SANE.

38. Rap sheet abbr.: AKA.  As in Also Known As.

43. Coffee dispenser: URN.

44. Cheers for matadors: ¡OLÉs!  More of today's Spanish lesson.

45. Must-haves: NEEDS.

46. Kabul native: AFGHANI.   An Afghan is also a knitted or croched blanket.

49. PC-to-PC system: LAN.  As in Local Area Network.

50. Chair support: LEG.

56. "Let __ be light": THERE.  A Biblical reference found in Genesis 1:3.

58. "No __": "Beats me": IDEA.  Sometimes when I read a clue, I have No IDEA of the answer.

59. Whiskey barrel wood: OAK.

64. Poke fun at: TEASE.

66. Mine, in Montreal: À MOI.  Today's French lesson.

67. Chomp or nip: BITE.

68. Like recycled bottles: EMPTY.

69. Italy's capital: ROME.

70. Blacken on the grill: SEAR.

71. Medicine amounts: DOSES.

Down:

1. "__ harm": Hippocratic Oath principle: DO NO.  It is commonly believed that the first words of the Hippocratic Oath begins with the words "First do no harm ..."  These words, however, do not appear in the original Ionic Greek.  An English translation can be found here.  Interestingly, Millennial physicians are opting out of the Hippocratic Oath.

2. Pier: WHARF.

3. Canvas holder: EASEL.

4. Historic period: ERA.

5. Kids' play boxes with plastic spheres: BALL PITS.  Hand up if you knew what this is.

6. Superman's birth name: KAL-EL.  The name Kal-El comes from the Hebrew words קל-אל, which can be taken to mean "voice of God."  Superman had been portrayed by a number of actors over the years.

7. Cape Cod town: TRURO.  Truro is near the tip of the Cape.

8. Building wing: ELL.

9. Comical Costello: LOU.  Lou Costello (né Louis Francis Cristillo; Mar. 6, 1906 ~ Mar. 3, 1959) was half of the comedy team Abbot and Costello.  They are best known for their Who's on First routine.

10. Verdi works: OPERAS.

11. "I stand corrected": MY MISTAKE.

12. God with a bow: EROS.

13. Hawaii's state bird: NENE.  I learned of this bird from doing crossword puzzles in the Boston Globe back in the 1980s.  The word appeared with some frequency back then.

19. Poor, as an excuse: LAME.

22. Young salamander: EFT.  A crossword staple.

25. "Dream on!": I BET!

26. Lily pad habitats: PONDS.  We saw some giant lily pads in the Peruvian Amazon.

30. Ice hockey target: NET.

31. __ out a living: EKED.

32. Forks over: PAYS.

33. Color akin to turquoise: AQUA.

34. Steak : turf :: lobster : __: SURF.

35. Divorced female parent: SINGLE MOM.

36. State of matter: SOLID.

37. Part of IPA: ALE.  The history of India Pale Ale.

40. Fast one, so to speak: CON.

41. At full strength: UNABATED.

42. Contact lens solution brand: RENU.

47. Grammy-winning jazzman Hancock: HERBIE.  Time for a musical interlude with Herbie Handcock (né Herbert Jeffrey Hancock; b. Apr. 12, 1940).

48. Grows older: AGES.

49. L, on clothes: Abbr.: LGE.  As in Large.

52. Gaucho's rope: RIATA.  I learned this word from doing the crossword puzzles.

53. Milker's handful: UDDER.

54. Serialized daytime TV: SOAPS.

55. Sample, as food: TASTE.

56. Vanishing ski lift: T-BAR.

57. __ sapiens: HOMO.

60. They open doors: KEYS.

62. Gridiron VIPs: QBs.  As in Quarter Backs.

63. 180-degree turn, in slang: UIE.  Our least favorite clue and answer.

65. Fall Out Boy genre: EMO.

And now for the Grid:

Stay inside, Isolate, Practice Social Distancing, Clean Yourself.  Oh, no!  I've become a House Cat!!!