Thursday, September 3, 2015 C.C. Burnikel

Theme:"In the Hood"

No reveal today. Just four entries that could be sites for hoods.

17-A. Hood sites : KING COBRAS. [shudder]

 26-A. Hood site : SHERWOOD FOREST. Robin, I presume?

46-A. Hood sites : GANGSTER MOVIES. Are they hoods?

61. Hood site : SWEATSHIRT. New England's favorite hood.

This was a fine offering from our fearless leader.  Should I confess that I only realized it was her after finishing my write-up, while entering the title for this post? As always, she has given us a nice clean grid with some zip.

Across   

1. iTunes Store category : SOUL.

5. Reach for the stars : GO BIG.

10. Ones dealing with deductions, briefly : CPAs.

14. Fit : ABLE.

15. Surpass : TRUMP.

16. Jessica of "Machete Kills" : ALBA. Oof. Not my cup of tea.

19. George H.W. Bush, once : VEEP.

20. Type of infection : STAPH. I always hesitate between STAPH and strep.

21. One eavesdropping, perhaps : SPY.

22. Royal decrees : FIATS.

23. "Cool!" : RAD.

25. Lesage hero Gil __ : BLAS. L'Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane. A picaresque French novel published  in the early 1700s.

33. Bourbon bigwigs : ROIS. More French.

34. "Trust me!" : I SWEAR!

35. Shad delicacy : ROE.

36. Fidgety : ANTSY.

38. Raggedy character : ANN.

39. Theatrical device : ASIDE.

41. "Friday" actress Long : NIA.

42. Enter carefully : EDGE IN. And a partial clecho at 56-A. Enters, in a way : TYPES (in).

45. Pet-adoption ads, briefly : PSAs. Public Service Announcements.

49. Mafia bosses : DONS.

50. Busy mo. for FedEx : DEC.

51. On hold, with "in" : LIMBO.

53. Fuel efficiency stat : MPG.

60. One of a classically opposed pair : EVIL.

63. Peony holder : VASE.

64. North Dakota home of the Roger Maris Museum : FARGO.

65. '60s sitcom boy : OPIE.

66. Technical sch. : INST.itute.

67. "Dude!" : OH, MAN!

68. Overflow : TEEM.


Down

1. Lord and Taylor competitor : SAKS.

2. Departure notice? : OBIT. Nice misdirection.

3. Bone involved in Tommy John surgery : ULNA. Named after the major league pitcher who first had the surgery. It involves replacing an injured elbow ligament with one from a different part of the body.

4. Weight training exercise : LEG PRESS.

5. Pontiac muscle car : GTO.

6. Spheres : ORBS.

7. Dining faux pas : BURP.

8. Reply offering hope : I MAY...or I may not.

9. Rental car feature, briefly : GPS. Our rental car in Austria will certainly have GPS.

10. Fancy spread : CAVIAR.

11. Standing order? : PLEASE RISE. Courtroom.

12. Harbor after a heist, say : ABET.

13. Gullible sorts : SAPS.

18. Scorch : CHAR.

22. Native plants : FLORA.

24. Post-Breathalyzer-test charge: Abbr. : DWI. I fill in the d and i, then wait for perps to tell me if it will be "u" or "w" in the middle. Once convicted, the driver might go through 43-Down. Drying-out hurdle : DTs.

25. Dancer's deg. : BFA. Bachelor of Fine Arts.

26. Colleague of Elena and Ruth : SONIA. Supreme Court.

27. Not reliable : HIT AND MISS. I always say "Hit or miss." You?

28. "August: ___ County": 2008 Pulitzer-winning play : OSAGE.

29. Pro sports VIP : OWNER.

30. GUESS material : DENIM.

31. Party supplies : SODAS.

32. Pro shop pickups : TEES.

33. Buzzed : RANG.

37. Kind of question : YES / NO.

40. Like Kung Pao chicken : SPICY HOT.

44. Subtle acknowledgment : NOD .

47. Wine holder : GOBLET.

48. Docs using cones : VETS. The cone of shame:

51. Son of Leah : LEVI.

52. "Terrible" ruler : IVAN.

53. [Air kiss] : MWAH. Nice.

54. Wave maker : PERM.

55. Lady __ : GAGA.

57. Water conduit : PIPE.

58. Home port for the USS Niagara : ERIE.

59. Peony part : STEM.

61. W. Coast airport : SFO. San Francisco.

62. Huge number : TON. I had a ton of fun, but now I'm done. Until next week!

Marti