Theme: "Pop" goes the weasel. This was an unusual theme, which would be almost impossible to suss without the unifier: 45D. Asked, burst open, extracted, or broke, as the ends of this puzzle's four longest answers : POPPED. Or, as my title for the theme suggests "Jumped out". Can you think of any other meanings?
17A. "Will you marry me?" is one : YES OR NO QUESTION (I would, Gareth, but DH might object!)
"Popped the question" uses the first unifier verb, meaning "asked".
32A. Steak au poivre flavoring : PEPPERCORN. "Poivre" is French for "pepper". And "popped corn" demonstrates the second unifier verb, for "burst open".
41A. Administrative area on Ireland's south coast : COUNTY CORK. A "popped cork" uses the third unifier verb for "extracted".
59A. Bit of wedding toast effervescence : CHAMPAGNE BUBBLE. A "popped bubble" is the final unifier verb, meaning "broke".
Marti here, with what I hope was a logical explanation for this puzzle.
Across
1. English horn, e.g. : REED. And clecho 47. __ anglais: English horn : COR. Cor Anglais is the French term for English horn. But it is not from England, and is not a horn. It is a double-reed woodwind in the oboe family.
5. No Doubt lead singer Stefani : GWEN. Their first ska-pop album failed to make any waves. Gwen went on to launch a solo career with her successful album "Love. Angel. Music. Baby". "Hollabak Girl" from the album was one of the most popular songs of 2005. Judge for yourself.
9. Hard stuff : BOOZE. Did anyone want "cider"?
14. Old apple treatment : ALAR.
15. Gaelic tongue : ERSE.
16. Part of A/V : AUDIO. 50/50 shot of getting this one right..
20. Play flawlessly on the green : ONE PUTT. I'd rather pitch in for eagle.
21. Gets ready for market, as livestock : FATTENS
22. "Stillmatic" rapper : NAS. "One Mic" from the album (released in 2002), samples a portion of Phil Collins's "In the Air tonight". Can you hear it?
23. Commoner : PLEB
25. 4:00 English drink : TEA. I guess that would be 11:00 AM in Boston?
26. Levi's alternative : LEE. Both popular brands of jeans.
27. Big pitcher : EWER. Weighing in at 270, NY Yankees pitcher Andrew Brackman would also qualify.
29. General Arnold of WWII : HAP. The only five-star general in both the Air Force and the Army, he was instructed how to fly by the Wright brothers.
36. Danish toy brand : LEGO.
37. Sacha Baron Cohen alter ego : ALI G. He also portrays Borat and Bruno in his whacky comedy routines.
38. See red? : OWE. Great clue.
39. Orenburg's river : URAL
40. Elizabeth of "Jacob's Ladder" : PENA. I can't watch thriller/horror movies like this. You?
44. Street sign abbr. : AVE
45. Shroud of gloom : PALL. "McCarthy got drunk at Sullivan's wake, fell off the bar stool and broke his leg...threw a pall over the entire funeral!"
46. Much : WAY. As in, "I've had WAY too much to drink..."
48. Fall short : FAIL
50. GI entertainers : USO. "United Service Organizations"
53. Bit of moral fiber : SCRUPLE. From the Latin "scrupulus", meaning "pricking of conscience"; literally, "small stone". Like a pebble in your shoe, giving you anxiety.
57. Skateboarder's wear : KNEEPAD
61. Peregrine's place : AERIE.
62. Reason to warn boaters : GALE. Does anyone remember the old sitcom "The Gale Storm Show"?
63. Caramel candy brand : ROLO. Yummm. Who doesn't like chocolate and caramel?
64. Pollster's find : TREND
65. Sardine's cousin : SHAD
66. Wilson of "Drillbit Taylor" : OWEN. Is this Friday? That was one of his more obscure (and poorly rated) movies, as I remember him better for "The Royal Tenenbaums", "Marley and Me", "Zoolander', "Starskey & Hutch" or "The Wedding Crashers".
Moving on...
DOWN
1. Lustrous synthetic : RAYON. As I have said before, nylon, orlon, rayon...just wait for the perps.
2. 2010 tennis retiree Dementieva : ELENA. She won the singles gold at the Beijing Olympics. Interesting website.
3. Alleviates : EASES. Aleve alleviates arthritis pain...
4. Pearl __ earring : DROP. I think of this painting by Vermeer.
5. Less violent : GENTLER
6. Authored : WROTE
7. Lawyer's letters : ESQ. Why are they "esquires"?
8. Bordeaux ball team? : NEUF. HaHa..."NEUF Ball". Get it? (Nerf ball?)...oh, never mind. I think Gareth meant there are nine on a ball team, and neuf is French for nine. (This is getting WAY too complicated, so I'll move on now).
9. Turkey-roasting tool : BASTER. That little syringe-y think that sits in your drawer all year, and comes out only on Thanksgiving. Remember?
10. "I'm __ here!": "Bye!" : OUTTA. Not yet! I still have more 30 more clues to unravel!
11. Comic strip dog : ODIE. One of my favs, from "Garfield".
12. Mount sacred to Judaism : ZION
13. Geologic periods : EONS
18. Indian capital : RUPEE. One of these days, they are actually going to be looking for "Delhi" as the answer.
19. Unlike leftovers : EATEN. Why, that's true! My leftovers usually sit in the 'frig for about two weeks, and then they are tossed.
24. Old English epic poem : BEOWULF. Did anyone see the 3-D version with Anthony Hopkins?
26. Org. for Paula Creamer : LPGA. Ladies Professional Golf Association.
28. Birdhouse songbird : WREN
29. Po' boy relative : HERO. Or Hoagie, sub, grinder, torpedo, blimpie...
30. Ice cream thickener : AGAR. Much better image than "bacteria-growing medium".
31. Mexican War president : POLK. James Knox Polk, served 1845-1849. The victory in this war gave the USA much of the present southwest.
32. Bear with a hard bed : PAPA
33. Mountain sign no. : ELEV. Elevation.
34. Turpentine source : PINE
35. Not nerdy : COOL
36. "Peanuts" fussbudget : LUCY
41. "Cheers" barmaid : CARLA. Her full name was Carla Maria Victoria Angelina Teresa Apollonia Lozupone Tortelli LeBec.
42. Hotel room choice : TWIN BED. Make mine a double...
43. New Eng. school since 1701 : YALE U. Hard to suss this one. I think of it as simply "Yale".
47. Curry flavoring : CUMIN
49. "The Jungle Book" pack leader : AKELA. Not familiar with this lone wolf.
50. Violin stroke : UP BOW. The player pushes the bow from tip to the frog (bottom of the bow), moving it towards the left shoulder.
51. H�tel room : SALLE. More french. I wanted "chambre".
52. Cineplex name : ODEON
53. Gibberish singing style : SCAT. Ella Fitzgerald was one of the greats.
54. Mother of Chaz : CHER. Chaz is a transgender advocate, having completed a female-to-male gender transition in 2010.
55. A bit beyond raw : RARE. I like both raw tuna and rare steak.
56. Breakfast order : EGGS. These, I like cooked!
58. River to the Mediterranean : EBRO. Northern Spain. Want some monster catfish? Map.
60. Slangy dismissal : NAH. Yeah, now I'm OUTTA here!
Marti
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to our blog matriarch (good one, Dennis) Clear Ayes. Thanks for being here for us.
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to our blog matriarch (good one, Dennis) Clear Ayes. Thanks for being here for us.
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