QOD: Maturity is only a short break in adolescence. ~ Jules Feiffer (né Jules Ralph Feiffer; b. Jan. 26, 1929), American cartoonist
A Horse is a Horse, of Course, of Course! What color is your horse?
17-Across. French national observance: BASTILLE DAY. Everything you wanted to know about a Bay Horse.
46-Across. Start without hesitation: PLUNGE INTO. Everything you wanted to know about a Pinto Horse.
And the unifier:
63-Across. Roughhouse, and a hint to each set of circles: HORSE AROUND. The circles spell out different types of horses.
Across:
1. Smacked into: RAMMED.
7. Window framework: SASH.
Anatomy of a Window.
11. Cabernet, e.g.: RED.
14. 1998 PGA Player of the Year Mark: O'MEARA. Mark Francis O'Meara (b. Jan. 13, 1957), is a professional golfer.
15. Snowman's smoke: PIPE.
16. Pitching stat: ERA. As in Earned Run Average.
19. Objective: AIM.
20. Davis of "Dr. Dolittle": OSSIE. Ossie Davis (né Raiford Chatman Davis; Dec. 18, 1917 ~ Feb. 4, 2005) was married to Ruby Dee. He portrayed Grandpa Archer Dolittle in the 1998 film.
21. Pitcher sans arms: EWER. Maybe this explains the difference between a Ewer and a Pitcher.
22. MLB semifinal: NLCS. The penultimate round of the Major League Baseball games before the World Series games are National League Championship Series and the American League Championship Series.
23. Army NCO: SSGT. As in Staff Sergeant.
25. Harold's "Ghostbusters" role: EGON. Egon Spengler was one of the ghostbusters in the 1984 film of the same name. He was portrayed by Harold Ramis (né Harold Allen Ranus; Nov. 21, 1944 ~ Feb, 24m 2014).
27. Humanities degs.: MAs. As in Master of Arts degree.
34. PC take-out key: DELETE.
36. McCarthy lawyer Roy: COHN. Roy Cohn (né Roy Marcus Cohn; Feb. 20, 1927 ~ Aug. 2, 1986) made his name as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy (né Joseph Raymond McCarthy; Nov. 14, 1908 ~ May 2, 1957) during the Red Scare.
37. Longtime label for Elton: MCA.
38. Georgia airport code: ATL. The Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is located in Atlanta, Georgia, hence, its ATL airport code. Hi, ALTGranny!
39. Kind of lamp: HALOGEN.
41. Sitcom co-star of Betty and Estelle: BEA. Bea Arthur (née Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 ~ Apr. 25, 2009), Betty White (née Betty Marion White; b. Jan. 17, 1922), and Estelle Getty (née Estelle Scher; July 25, 1923 ~ July 22, 2008) were three of the four stars of The Golden Girls. I never watched this show, but Betty White just celebrated her 99th birthday.
42. Plan (out), as a route: MAP.
43. Computer operator: USER.
44. Collect copiously: RAKE IN.
49. West end?: -ERN. As in Western.
50. Coarse file: RASP.
51. Burgundy brainstorm: IDÉE. Today's French lesson.
53. Future junior: SOPH. Today's Sophmore is Tomorrow's Junior in High School or in College.
55. Bit attachment: REIN. This fits in well with today's theme.
58. Surrey town known for salts: EPSOM. Epsom salts are a chemcal compound known as Magnesium Sulfate. It is believed to have health benefits.
62. Moody genre: EMO.
65. "Fill 'er up" fluid: GAS. I can't remember the last time I went to a full-service station. I always have to fill up the gas tank myself.
66. Knock about: ROAM.
67. Rummages (through): RIFLES.
68. Cal.'s northern neighbor: ORE. Oregon is north of California.
69. New newts: EFTs. A crossword staple.
70. Turn down: REFUSE.
Down:
1. "__Cop": ROBO. RoboCop was a 1987 Sci-Fi film.
2. Reddit Q&A sessions: AMAs. Ask Me Anything.
3. Handle carelessly, with "with": MESS.
4. "La Danse" painter Henri: MATISSE. Henri Matisse (né Henri Émile Benoît Matisse; Dec. 31, 1869 ~ Nov. 3, 1954) painted many versions of dancers.
5. Natives for whom a Great Lake is named: ERIES. This makes me think of our friend, Abejo.
6. NFL's Cowboys, on scoreboards: DAL. As in the Dallas Cowboys.
7. Gush forth: SPEW.
8. Adjutant: AIDE.
9. Eschew punishment, in an old saw: SPARE THE ROD.
10. "Listen up!": HEY!
11. Integer, e.g.: REAL NUMBER.
12. Clapton who sang "Layla": ERIC. Eric Patrick Clapton (b. Mar. 30, 1945).
13. River blockers: DAMS.
18. Jared of "Dallas Buyers Club": LETO. Jared Joseph Leto made an appearnace in the puzzle last Tuesday.
22. "__ any drop to drink": Coleridge: NOR. "Water, Water everywhere, nor any drop to drink" is a line from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Oct. 21, 1772 ~ July 25, 1834).
24. Like fat-repellent cooking paper: GREASE PROOF.
26. Fixin' to: GONNA. The first time I heard someone say "I'm fixin' to ...." I thought something was broken.
27. Copper or nickel: METAL.
28. Useful in many ways, as flour: ALL PURPOSE.
30. Some kind of a nut: ACORN.
31. Collie or cocker spaniel: DOG.
32. Strand at a ski lodge, say: ICE IN. Sorry, Tin!
33. Indian bread: NAAN. You, too, can make your own naan.
34. Like many cellars: DAMP. Not too many houses have cellars in Louisiana.
35. Tough guys: THUGS.
40. Floral necklace: LEI.
45. Lawn warning: KEEP OFF!
That's one way to say it.
47. "Don't think so": NAH!
48. Utensil sticker: TINE.
52. À la King?: EERIE. Think of the horror writer, Stephen King (né Stephen Edwin King; b. Sept. 21, 1947). He was born in Portland, Maine and is a graduate of the University of Maine. He was there several years before I attend, so we weren't classmates.
53. Utah lily: SEGO. It is a pretty flower.
54. "A Jug of Wine ... " poet: OMAR. Omar Khayyam (1048 ~ 1122) was a Persian mathematician, poet, philosopher and astronomer.
56. Q.E.D. word: ERAT. Today's Latin Lesson. QED is stands for the Latin phrase: Quod Erat Demonstrandum, which literally means "what was to be shown".
57. Doctrines: -ISMS.
59. "Star Trek" helmsman: SULU. Hi, Picard!
60. Change for a five: ONES.
61. Gds.: MDSE. Goods and Merchandise.
63. Charlemagne's domain: Abbr.: HRE. As in the Holy Roman Empire, which was neither Holy nor Roman.
64. LAX listing: ARR. As in Arrival.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
