Theme: Lawesome puns. Some of these are truly lawful, others are just a law deal.
17A. Fine print in Yogi's contract?: BEAR CLAUSE. (claws). A clause is an article or section of text; it originally meant conclusion, but lost that meaning over time.
25A. Court allegations requiring consideration?: ATTENTION PLEAS. (please) Plea from Old French plait: lawsuit.
42A. Product liability problems for Willy Wonka?: CHOCOLATE TORTS. (torte) Middle Latin tortum: injustice.
57A. Vague religious law?: LOOSE CANON. (cannon) From Latin "canon": straight line, rule.
Hi all, Al again, and another puzzle by one of our own, Marti. I think this should have been Lemonade's to blog though, I'm a bit out of order here.
ACROSS:
1. President known as "Big Bill": TAFT. William. At 5'11", he weighed about 335 lbs. at his peak.
5. Beat it: SPLIT. Scram, leave.
10. Shady growth: MOSS. Not exclusive to north sides, trees can shade other trees, and prevailing winds can dry out the "wrong" side as well. Keep your GPS handy.
14. Jamaican tangelo: UGLI. Cross between orange, tangerine, and grapefruit. The one time I tried one, it tasted like a grapefruit, so why bother? Anyone have one "in the wild" that tasted any better?
15. Stag: ALONE. Well, OK it can mean that, but I think of this term more as meaning male-only, like a men's club.
16. Wheelset piece: AXLE.
19. "Swell!": NEAT.
20. Body in a belt: ASTEROID. Between Mars and Jupiter.
21. Abby and Martha, to Mortimer, in "Arsenic and Old Lace": AUNTS.
22. Exempt attachment?: ION. Exemption.
23. Tab, for one: COLA. Sales declined sharply with the introduction of diet coke, but it is still available. Initially used cyclamates (banned), then saccharin(warning label), then aspartame (should be banned) as the sweetener.
32. Clip: SPEED. I worked through this puzzle at a good clip.
33. A lot of nothing: NILS. Normally, plurals evoke a "meh" from me, but the clue for this one made it better somehow.
34. Many a '50s-'60s pop act: DUO. Here are some, most I'm too young to know or remember...
35. Fine cotton: PIMA. Had not heard of this.
36. Moving aid: DOLLY. Applied from 1792 to any contrivance fancied to resemble a doll in some sense, especially "a small platform on rollers". Doesn't look like one to me, either.
38. Douglas and Fraser: FIRS. My wife seems to prefer Frasers at Christmas. I prefer artificial. Guess who wins?
39. Medium power?: ESP. A 4' tall psychic successfully eluded police after a bank robbery. The headline read: Small medium at large.
40. Show enthusiasm: RAVE.
41. Hershey's raw material: CACAO. Chock full of antioxidents, dark chocolate is actually healthful in small quantities, if only they don't use milkfat instead of cocoa butter. Milk in chocolate negates any benefit.
46. Biblical middle child: ABEL. According to Genesis 4:25, Seth was born after the slaying of Abel by Cain, and Eve believed God had appointed him as a replacement for Abel.
47. Jamaican spirits: RUM. Originally rumbullion, rombostion, of uncertain origin, perhaps from the ajective form of rum, meaning fine or excellent used approvingly by rogues in reference to one another.
48. Thin: SPARE. Old English, sense of frugal or absence of fat.
51. Get the most out of: MAXIMIZE. Latin maximum, largest, greatest.
56. America's first spy: HALE. Nathan. Symbol of bravery and patriotism.
59. Elects: OPTS.
60. Sat rocking, say: IDLED.
61. Ivory Coast neighbor: MALI. Today's geography lesson.
62. New Mexico resort: TAOS. I should have taken that left turn at albuquerque
63. Spanish filmmaker Almodovar: PEDRO.
64. Hardly at all: A TAD. Perhaps from a shortening of tadpole.
DOWN:
1. Big band wind: TUBA. I liked the crossing of big wind and a politician in the NW corner.
2. Gets along in years: AGES.
3. Place to take 27-Down: FLAT English Apartment, along with 27D. See 3-Down: TEA.
4. Turnpike roller: TIRE.
5. Oater joint: SALOON. Anglicized form of salon, a large hall.
6. Lament: PLAINT. Vaguely theme-related, from French plaintif (complaining).
7. More than just eye-catching, clotheswise: LOUD.
8. Good tennis returns: INS.
9. Where to start playing a round: TEE. Golf. The grassy area and the peg the ball is placed upon.
10. Guide: MANUAL.
11. Team with a lot of pull?: OXEN.
12. Blind section: SLAT.
13. Directors' milieus: SETS. Milieu is French for place, related: lieu (in lieu of).
18. Exclaimed: CRIED.
21. Range in seven countries: ALPS.
23. DNA shape: COIL. A double helix, actually.
24. Singular: ONLY.
25. Silly: APISH. Quit monkeying around...
26. A conductor sets it: TEMPO. Italian, literally "time".
28. Firth or fjord: INLET. a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.
29. Proclamation: EDICT. Theme related bonus word.
30. Subtle qualities: AURAS.
31. Not too hot: SO-SO.
32. What houses may be built on: SPEC.
36. Valley: DALE. Glen, vale.
37. Like the lenses on some granny glasses: OVAL.
38. Considerably: FAR.
40. Courtroom cover-up: ROBE. Judge's dress.
41. Book with drawings: COMIC. Manga too.
43. Tender touch: CARESS.
44. Test-taking tip?: ERASER. Cute, a pencil end.
45. Prom dress: TUXEDO. M/F bender. Lots of trickster clues today.
48. Tavern measure: SHOT. One ounce. A jigger is 1.5 oz.
49. Senior Smurf: PAPA and 52D. 49-Down's partner: MAMA. Before anyone complains about there not actually being a mama smurf character (Smurfette was the only female Smurf), the reference clue for 52 was to the answer for 49, not for the clue to 49.
50. Chorus line: ALTO. I assume because they stand altogether...
51. Bread concern: MOLD. Another Thursday and another clue not about money.
53. __ the finish: IN AT.
54. "J'accuse" author: ZOLA. An accusation of outrage against someone powerful. An open letter in the newspaper L'Aurore by the influential writer Emile Zola, was addressed to the President of France, and accused the government of anti-Semitism and the unlawful jailing of a French Army General Staff officer for espionage. Zola pointed out judicial errors and lack of serious evidence. The letter was printed on the front page of the newspaper. Zola was prosecuted and found guilty of libel. To avoid imprisonment, he fled to England.
55. City west of Tulsa: ENID.
57. Sass: LIP.
58. Writing on an urn: ODE. Ode on a Grecian Urn -- John Keats.
Al
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