Wednesday, September 19, 2012 Gareth Bain

Theme:  BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH THE HONEYMOONERS.   No that's not some sort of glaring error.  After the 1960 success of the Flintstones - which was the Honeymooners, reset in cartoon creationist pre-history - the same formula was applied two years later to a space-age toon family, giving us our reveal, which will be revealed at the appropriate moment.

17A. Leader for whom Houston's airport is named : GEORGE (JETSON) BUSH.  Poppy or W?

24A. "The Chimpanzees of Gombe" writer : JANE (JETSON) GOODALL.  A British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and author.

34A. "Superfudge" novelist : JUDY (JETSON) BLUME.  Writer of children's books and racy adult novels.

49A. Pro Football Hall of Famer nicknamed "Crazylegs" : ELROY (JETSON) HIRSCH.  As an amateur, he was a football running back and receiver with the University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan.  As a pro, he played for the Chicago Rockets of the old All-America Football Conference, and then with the L.A. Rams.  He is a member of both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

And the reveal, since now is the appropriate moment. 58A. TV series that first aired 9/23/1962 whose family shares first names with 17-, 24-, 34- and 49-Across : THE JETSONS. And here is the THEME theme.

Hi gang, It's JazzBumpa, reunited with Gareth.  Once upon a time, three of my consecutive blogging dates corresponded with three consecutive publications of his puzzles - a coincidence beyond all probability, since my blogging dates were irregular.   I always enjoy Gareth's puzzles.  Didn't we have one just last Wednesday?  I thought that would be a near miss.  Let's see what he has for us this time.

Across

1. 1983 movie about a taxi company : D.C. CAB.   A cheesy, B-grade comedy starring Mr.T.

6. Place for a sala : CASA.  A Spanish room in a Spanish house.  ¿Entienden?

10. Home on the range : CAMP.   A temporary home, I guess.

14. Kukla's dragon friend : OLLIE.  Back to the past, with these TV puppets from my childhood.

 15. Israeli weapons : UZIS.  A family of Israeli open bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns.  I have no clear idea what that means.

16. Optic layer : UVEA.  The middle of three concentric layers that make up the eye.  Per Wikipedia, "it is traditionally divided into 3 areas, from front to back, the iris, ciliary body, and choroid."  Now you know.

19. Really tired : BEAT.  Like I feel, and I'm just getting started.

20. Highlands honey : LASS.  Sure.

21. Narrow-bodied river fish : GAR.  Not her.

22. Intrinsically : PER SE.  Latin. That's going way back.

23. Christmas __ : EVE.

27. Fixed, in a way : GELDED.  Ouch!  I had WELDED, at first, which is another way to be fixed.

29. Farm feed item : OAT.   Feed bag morsel.

30. Salon supply : GEL.  For me, this was slow to set. 

31. Saloon orders : RYES.  This took lots of perp help. Ironically, I am sipping a snifter of Ole George Whiskey, a genuine Michigan RYE from the Grand Traverse Distillery as I write this.

32. Hot tub reaction : AAH.  Or reaction to a sip of Ole George.

33. Bit of background in a Road Runner cartoon : MESA.  I tried SAND at first. 

38. Nick and Nora's pooch : ASTA.  The crossword canine mascot.

41. Cold War agcy. : A.E.C.  Atomic Energy Commission.  Now the Nuclear Regulatory Acency.

42.Shell propellers : OARS. At The Free Dictionary, definition 3b is "A light, long, narrow racing boat propelled by rowers." Definition 4 is "A small glass for beer." AAH!

45. Starfish arm : RAY. 

46. WWII craft : L. S. T.  Landing Ship Tank.  Frequent fill item these days.

47. Not a good thing to be at the wheel : ASLEEP.   Unless you're on Rt. 66.

53. Traffic cops gp.? : D.E.A.  Drug (traffic) Enforcement Agency.  Tricky!

54. Maxim : ADAGE.  For example: "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, and then as farce." The actual quote goes like this: "Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce." Extra credit, if you can identify the source.

55. Do lunch, e.g. : EAT.

56. Speaker with a .345 career batting average : TRIS.  Frequent visitor to crosswords, this center fielder played for the Red Sox, and Indians from 1909 to 1926.

57. Stallion feature : MANE.  The line of hair on the back of a horse's neck. 

61. Henry VIII's fourth : ANNE.  The marriage lasted from Jan. 6 to July 9, 1540. Henry demanded an annulment, which she granted, thereby keeping her head and gaining a generous settlement, including a castle formerly occupied by the Boleyns.

 
63. Squander : WASTE.  ANNE chose not to Squander her life.

64. Ponies up : PAYS, as, frex, to a former wife.

65. Office furnishing : DESK.

66. Some McFlurry ingredients : OREOS.  A frozen yogurt confection from McDonald's, with pieces of candy or cookies mixed in.

Down

1. Zigzag hole feature : DOGLEG.  Golf. So named because of it's sharp bend. I was fixated on a zigzag shaped perforation.  D'OH!

2. Chop chopper : CLEAVER.  Meat!

3. __ held: in few hands, as stock : CLOSELY.  Like most of Ford.

4. Snob's affectations : AIRS.  The best I could do.

5. Avoid, as an issue : BEG.  I assume this refers to the logical ploy of BEGGING the question, which I will not attempt to explain.

6. Like many Miamians, by birth : CUBAN. 

7. Clear blue : AZURE.  Like the Miami sky.

8. Girl sib : SIS.  I have one.

9. Campfire remains : ASH.

10. Like ice or dice : CUBED.  Clever clue.

11. Run-of-the-mill : AVERAGE.

12. Spotty condition? : MEASLES.  One of the dreaded childhood diseases.

13. Kneecap : PATELLA.  Knees like these, if you please.

18. "I say!" : EGAD.  Zounds!

22. Patio planter : POT.  Our patio pots are only AVERAGE.  They contain flowers.

24. Savior in a Bach cantata : JESU.   This one.

25. Purpose : GOAL.  Gareth's purpose is to entertain; my goal is to inform.  How we doin'?

26. Interstate H-1 locale : OAHU.  Map.

28. __ vu : DEJA.   I think I've seen this clue before.

32. "Modern Family" network : ABC. 

33. Square food? : MEAL.  Three square meals a day.

35. Salt sprinkle : DASH. 

36. Himalayan myth : YETI.  He has an odd fondness for Ole George.

37. Dance in a pit : MOSH.  Knock yourself out.

38. Visitors center handout : AREA MAP. 

39. Zoe of "Avatar" : SALDANA.  Better without the CGI.

40. Abuse of power : TYRANNY.

43. Flower for one's honey : RED ROSE.  If she is your cup of tea.  Or is this putting on AIRS?

44. Foreknow, as the future : SEE INTO.  I see me sleeping in tomorrow.

46. Caustic stuff : LYE.  And that's the truth!

47. Part of a Molière comédie : ACTE.  Play acting, in French.   Est-ce donner des airs?

48. Avoids an F : PASSES.  Scholastic.  Whether this is acing or eking out a D is unspecified.

50. Arches with pointed tops : OGEES.  More DEJA vu.

51. Oboist's supply : REEDS. O GEE, we don't usually see oboes in the clue.  They use double reeds.

52. Noted vowel seller : SAJAK.  Wheel.   Of.    Fortune.   I wanted VANNA.

56. Nicholas II, e.g. : TSAR.  Back to the past, again.  The last one, reigning from 1894 to 1917.

58. Wee bit : TAD.

59. Hotfoot it, old-style : HIE.  Soon I will hie off to bed.

60. Pair : TWO.  Gareth and I, together again.

We had some fresh fill and some old familiar friends, and a bit of trickery along the way,.  Hope you enjoyed it.