06.24 Fri

F R I D A Y
June 24, 2011
James Sajdak

Theme: Down on the Farm — Each theme answer is a farm pun where the last word is a two-syllable word ending in DDER(s).

Theme answers:

• 20A: Thoroughbred farm slur? (SO'S YOUR MUDDER).
• 29A: Dairy farm proverb? (BE KIND TO UDDERS).
• 46A: Cattle farm commandment? (HONOR THY FODDER).
• 56A: Clydesdale farm boast? (HEAVY BREEDERS).

Cute theme. Of the theme answers, I got MUDDER first and then BREEDERS so I thought all the puns were going to be about horses. That made UDDERS pretty hard to see. Yes, I know the other clues make it clear that they're not about horses. I'm not saying my thinking process always makes sense.


Bullets:

• 15A: Recitative follower (ARIA). With the A in place, I tried AMEN.

• 18A: "The Case for Public Schools" author (MANN). I was thinking Thomas MANN, but then I remembered that's James Earl Jones's character in "Field of Dreams," which I just watched the other night with the PuzzleKids. This MANN is actually Horace.
• 19A: Nice head (TÊTE). Were you tricked by the word Nice? Remember we talked about that back when we discussed the crosswordese ÉTÉ?
• 23A: Schubert's "The __ King" (ERL). Learned it from crosswords.
• 35A: Tub filler (LARD). Hey! Someone here wanted LARD in their tub the other day, didn't they? Well, here ya go.
• 52A: "Jane Eyre" star Wasikowska (MIA). Wow. No idea.

• 54A: Valuable Ming (YAO). Professional basketball player YAO Ming. Not a vase.
• 5D: Shortwave medium (HAM RADIO). I think this is my favorite entry in the grid.
• 7D: Hora part (MINUTO). I kept think I was looking for part of the hora dance, not the Italian word for "hour."
• 11D: African evergreen whose leaves are chewed as a narcotic (QAT). Great Scrabble word. Always good to have those U-less Q words in your pocket.
• 14D: Muscle-contraction protein (MYOSIN). I feel like I really should have known this one. But I didn't.
• 30D: Man-to-boy address (KIDDO). Random.
• 31D: Former Jerry Marcus comic strip (TRUDY). Huh?
• 47D: Denmark's __ Gardens (TIVOLI). PuzzleParents took PuzzleSister and me to Europe back, like, a hundred years ago, and I remember our day at TIVOLI Gardens has the highlight of the trip.

• 59D: "Cannery Row" restaurant owner __ Flood (DORA). This is the late-week clue for Dora. Cluing DORA as the explorer would have been way too easy for Friday (darn).

Crosswordese 101 Round-up:

• 41A: European capital (OSLO).
• 21D: They articulate with radii (ULNAS).
• 43D: Big name in household humor (ERMA).
• 57D: Winged god (EROS).

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Everything Else — 1A: Drops a fly, say (ERRS); 5A: Web code (HTML); 9A: Patio parties, briefly (BBQ'S); 13A: Fiefdom, e.g. (REALM); 16A: "For sure!" ("YEAH!"); 17A: Test (ASSAY); 24A: '70s radical gp. (SLA); 25A: "Eternally nameless" principle (TAO); 26A: Fancy pond swimmer (KOI); 33A: Words before "Gave proof through the night" (IN AIR); 34A: It has pedals and stops (ORGAN); 38A: Loses interest (SOURS); 42A: Sweat (EXUDE); 44A: Half a "Star Wars" character (DETOO); 51A: Ruling party (INS); 53A: Business __ (END); 60A: Drop a line, in a way (MOOR); 62A: Some tributes (ODES); 63A: Capital at the foot of Mount Vitosha (SOFIA); 64A: Shared currency (EURO); 65A: Time to give up (LENT); 66A: Body (TRUNK); 67A: Things to pick (NITS); 68A: Eating up (INTO); 69A: Part of many a snail's diet (ALGA); 1D: Rub out (ERASE); 2D: Suck up again (RESORB); 3D: Fight in the boonies (RASSLE); 4D: Rub out (SLAY); 5D: Shortwave medium (HAM RADIO); 6D: Car for the pits? (TRAM); 8D: "Ed Wood" Oscar winner (LANDAU); 9D: Memory unit (BYTE); 10D: Microbrewery stock (BEER KEGS); 12D: Pirate's pronoun (SHE); 21D: They articulate with radii (ULNAS); 22D: Doofus (DODO); 27D: Spoken (ORAL); 28D: Money-object connection (IS NO); 32D: Dickens's Edwin (DROOD); 35D: City near Provo (LEHI); 36D: Neural transmitter (AXON); 37D: Not have enough (RUN SHORT); 39D: Mentions (REFERS TO); 40D: One may be skipped (STONE); 45D: Most curious (ODDEST); 48D: SDS co-founder Tom (HAYDEN); 49D: Hottie (EYEFUL); 50D: Ready and eager (RARING); 55D: Yodo River city (OSAKA); 58D: Out of shape? (BENT); 60D: Rooks, for example (MEN); 61D: Overseas agreement (OUI).