Theme: 50D. What you can do to the last words of the answers to starred clues, with "the": SHOOT.
18A. *Second most populous city in Michigan: GRAND RAPIDS. Shoot the rapids. Whitewater rafting, for example.
24A. *1980 biopic about boxer Jake La Motta: RAGING BULL. Shoot the bull. Discussion of experiences in perhaps not an entirely truthful manner, in a testosterone-laden contest of one-upsmanship.
35A. *Beachgoer's relief, perhaps: OCEAN BREEZE. Shoot the breeze. Light airy conversation with no directed purpose.
48A. *Studio co-founded by Spielberg: DREAMWORKS. Shoot the works. Let it ride. Bet everything, holding nothing in reserve.
54A. *Phenomenon near the autumnal equinox: HARVEST MOON. Shoot the moon. A bid in several card games, such as Smear, Euchre, Hearts or others, meaning that you will attempt to take all tricks, points, etc, in some cases without the help of your partner.
Even though this was a Naddor Thursday, it didn't seem as difficult to me as the last couple weeks, or maybe I'm just on his wavelength finally.
Hi all, Al here on a very rainy night. For about an hour, I was actually the owner of riverfront property. Water entirely covered the road curb to curb and beyond, and it had quite a current. The poor guy down at the lowest spot in the neighborhood wound up with a basement full of water; it was almost waist-deep near the storm drain there. Luckily I'm located high enough, but my sump pump is still running almost continuously. Oh well, since I'm not going anywhere for a while, on to the puzzle.
ACROSS:
1. Indian title of respect: SRI. Sanskrit for beauty, and as a honorific prefix for kings, heroes, etc. Related to proto-indo-european "kreie" which gives: Kyrie, for Lord. Kyrie eleison means Lord, have mercy.
4. "My Life on the D-List" comic Griffin: KATHY. Brash comedian, she cleans up well.
9. Bowler's challenge: SPLIT. Any two non-adjacent pins with a gap between, as long as the headpin is not standing.
14. P.I.: TEC. A deTECtive, but not part of a police force. A Private eye (I).
15. Refrain from singing about a farm?: EIEIO. A musical refrain, not to suppress an urge. The noun refrain comes from French words meaning "repeat" and "break off", that is, a repeated interruption before a return to the main melody.
16. Low-budget prefix: ECONO. Economy, bigger, faster, cheaper.
17. Draft pick: ALE. Wasn't fooled. "Draft beer, not boys" is one of the slogans used to oppose war involvement, but it could have been a sports team draft.
20. Not follow a fixed route: ROAM. These kinds of charges are costly on a cellphone.
22. Consider: DEEM.
23. Bro counterpart: SIS.
28. Storm sound: CLAP. Of thunder.
29. Wreck, in a way: DERAIL. That would do it all right. In a big way.
30. Callas, for one: SOPRANO. Maria If you look up "diva" in a dictionary, you will find her picture. Had an affair with Ari Onassis.
32. Prenatal test, for short: AMNIO.centesis. Amniotic fluid is checked for chromosomal abnormalities, infections, and Rh blood type incompatibilities.
34. Stampeded toward: RAN AT.
38. Eyes: OCULI. Latin.
40. Kid's sandwich staple: JELLY. I prefer my sandwiches folded, not stapled.
41. Baseman's misplay, maybe: LATE TAG. Baseball, too slow.
44. Deliberately ignoring: DEAF TO. (hands over ears) I'm not listening, la la la la la la la.
47. Rights: DIBS. Children's word to express a claim on something, originally U.S., apparently a contraction of dibstone "a knucklebone or jack in a children's game", of unknown origin.
51. Laura Bush's alma mater: Abbr.: SMU. Southern Methodist University.
52. Hoodwink: FOOL. Literally to blindfold someone.
53. Ill-considered: RASH. German rasch (quick, fast), Old English ræsc (a bolt of lightning)
59. AFL partner: CIO. American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.
60. Beginning: ONSET.
61. "Fiddler on the Roof" dairyman: TEVYE.
62. "Where did __ wrong?": I GO. Or the word for the game of GO, IGO in Japan,WeiQi in China, Baduk in Korea.
63. Big name in cosmetics: ESTEE. Lauder.
64. Floss brand: ORAL-B.
65. QB's stat: INT. Interceptions. One of the may records that Bret Favre holds.
DOWN:
1. Whitewater figure: STARR. Kenneth.
2. Prepare for more pictures: RELOAD. Camera memory cards and batteries now instead of film.
3. More than just a cold snap: ICE AGE. Scratt. The saber tooth squirrel.
4. Beer holder: KEG. Temporarily fooled into using MUG at first.
5. Broadcast: AIR.
6. Earl Grey, e.g.: TEA. A black tea with bergamot added, a type of orange, closer in taste to a lemon. Bergamot essential oil has been found to reduce excitotoxic damage (aspartame, MSG) to cultured human neuronal cells in vitro and may therefore have neuroprotective properties.
7. Caste member: HINDU.
8. Peak calls?: YODELS. Swiss, Austrian Alps.
9. Line of pants?: SEAM. This type of misdirection used to hoodwink me when I started doing x-words. Not any more.
10. Angel dust, for short: PCP. PhenylCyclohexylPiperidine
11. Frequently imperiled reporter: LOIS LANE. Anyone who hadn't the sense to recognize someone whose only disguise was removing a pair of glasses was bound to wind up in risky spots.
12. Notre Dame's locale: INDIANA. The city of Notre Dame, Indiana actually has three colleges. The University of Notre Dame (Fighting Irish), Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. The Notre Dame Cathedral is in Paris, France.
13. Hooch hound: TOSSPOT. Found in the closing song of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Beer/ale used to be served in ceramic "pots". Current use is as a British insult similar to "wanker" or "tosser".
19. Move, in Realtor-speak: RELO. Relocate.
21. The virgin birth and others: MIRACLES.
25. "Your call": NAME IT. Whatever you want, it's yours.
26. Actress Lollobrigida: GINA. A "pneumatic" brunette bombshell.
27. Crêpe-like Russian food: BLIN. Crepes do not use yeast. Blins are allowed to.
28. Gaga over: CRAZY FOR. I wonder how long ago Dan did this puzzle... Crazy and GaGa are certainly synonymous in music today. Actually, if you close you eyes and just listen, her music is kind of catchy...
31. Future attorney's study: PRE-LAW.
33. Vb. target: OBJ. Andy ate oranges. Ate is the verb, oranges, the object.
35. Courtroom interruption: OUTBURST.
36. Mark of Prynne's sin: RED A. The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, Adulteress.
37. Preteens' sch.: ELEM. Elementary, my dear Watson.
38. Part of a comfort simile: OLD SHOE.
39. Alligator relatives: CAIMANS. Scary teeth.
42. Hoo-has: ADOS. Isn't hooha slang for something else entirely?
43. Cave: GROTTO. From Italian grotta, from Latin crypta. Related: grotesque.
45. Gillette razor brand: TRAC II. Is it just me, or does it seem like Dan did a lot of puzzle creation while shaving?
46. Thumbs-up: OK SIGN. The Romans didn't turn their hands upside down, they merely hid or extended their thumb for down or up.
49. Whom Bugs bugs: ELMER. Bunny, Fudd.
52. Gala: FETE. Fest, feast. French en gala, in festive clothing.
55. A quarter of five?: VEE. The letter "V" is one of the four letters of the word "five". A quarter = 1/4.
56. In vitro cells: OVA. Latin eggs, in a lab setting. Literally "in glass".
57. Very thin Olive: OYL.
58. Colo. neighbor: NEB. Nebraska is the only state with a unicameral (one chamber) legislature. Colorado has spent the last century battling Wyoming for the coveted title of "Most Rectangular State".
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