Wednesday, March 29, 2017, Jeff Stillman

TITLE - BROADWAY

As you can see below, Jeff's pleasant Humpday offering takes the word WIDE and spreads it out in two different arrangements (2/2 and 1/3) and then provides fill in the divide to literally cause WIDE to be SPREAD out as you can see in the grid below:

The clincher is his reveal

64. Far-reaching ... and a literal feature of the answers to starred clues : WIDESPREAD - The insatiable Emerald Ash Borer that arrived here in crates on the coast from Asia is WIDESPREAD and still expanding

THEME FILLS:

17. *Rain-X auto product : WIPER BLADE - This is not a Rain-X product but ya gotta love it!

21. *Manhattan theater district locale : WESTSIDE - So, you want to see Hamilton at The Richard Rogers Theater on Manhattan's WESTSIDE tonight? No problem, StubHub can get you in the very back starting at $965 per seat

40. *Electrician's basic knowledge : WIRING COLOR CODE - The only one I know is black to black, white to white and ground to ground. BTW, I always turn off the breaker!

54. *Many a military spouse : WAR BRIDE - Although told not to, Japanese women did fraternize with "the enemy" and tens of thousands of them became WAR BRIDES

Now let's see how Jeff filled in those WIDESPREAD spaces in the rest of the puzzles

Across

1. Anemic : WEAK

5. Dukes not among royalty : FISTS - Our cwd friend Burt Lahr dared anyone to put up their Dukes! I resisted putting in DAISY Dukes.

10. Huge production : EPIC - Ben Hur always leaps to my mind

14. Rod in a hot rod : AXLE

15. Kate's sitcom pal : ALLIE

16. Pilaf base : RICE

19. Like port, usually : AGED - If you can spring for those Hamilton tix, maybe this 70-year-old Port in a handblown bottle for $965 would also interest you

20. Lacking a key : ATONAL

23. Proofer's mark : STET

25. Feathery layer : HEN

26. Oomph : PEP

29. Set apart from the group : ISOLATE - The Amish practice of shunning even your own children seems particularly cruel to me

33. Org. with the staff of Aesculapius in its logo : AMA - This doctor's group might also call this the staff of Caduseus 

36. Big name in gas : AMOCO

38. Slam-dance : MOSH - Ya gotta know going in what could happen!

43. See 22-Down : ELKS and 22. With 43-Across, fraternal order : THE

44. Mane area : NAPE

45. Like some buckets : OAKEN

46. Cotillion girl : DEB - An anachronism? 

47. Move more product than : OUTSELL - When parents get involved

49. Absorb, as a cost : EAT

50. Nonpro sports gp. : AAU - Some of their programs are more professional

52. Trapper's trophy : PELT - Something I could never do

59. Subtle difference : NUANCE - The NUANCED looks of Meryl

63. Continental coin : EURO

66. Brought up : BRED

67. Like nocturnally counted critters : OVINE - One sheep, two sheep...

68. Unrestrained party : ORGY

69. Cotton bundle : BALE - Tote that barge and lift this

70. Archibald and Thurmond of the NBA : NATES - "Tiny" NATE Archibald played here  before they moved to Sacramento

71. Water testers : TOES - I have put my "TOES in many waters" with varying results.

Down

1. Bedtime drink, in totspeak : WAWA - Don't we all remember Gildna Radner when we hear this?

2. Freeway sign : EXIT

3. Chop House dog food brand : ALPO

4. Laments loudly : KEENS - An old Irish or Scottish term for screams of women heralding a death OR a card in a Duel Decks Game

5. Sources of morals : FABLES

6. Not in the pink : ILL

7. Cabbage dish : SLAW - KFC has some great SLAW

8. Laundry room brand : TIDE

9. Views : SEES

10. Dry-__ board : ERASE

11. Risky purchase, metaphorically : PIG IN A POKE - Have you ever used Craig's List?

12. Tea preference : ICED

13. Relinquish : CEDE - Land CEDED in my state

18. Be frugal with : RATION

24. Alley scavenger : TOMCAT 

26. Handled clumsily : PAWED - "Honest, I was just reaching for the popcorn!"

27. Writer Zola : EMILE

28. Special-interest government spending : PORK BARREL - Some say he got as much as anybody

30. Aerial maneuvers : LOOPS

31. Not paying attention : 
ASLEEP

32. Howe'er : THO

34. Greek sorceress : MEDEA - The tale of her and Jason would make for a great soaper

35. Cut taker : AGENT

37. Sue Grafton's "__ for Corpse" : C IS - In my last writeup, I posited Sue could have used C AS IN Corpse

39. 1988 Motown acquirer : MCA - ...and then there was a suit and then...

41. Safari grazer : GNU - There's a bottomless pit of these 

42. Arrive by auto : ROLL UP

47. Sharer's word : OUR

48. You can see right through them : LENSES

51. Dwelling : ABODE

53. Deck that's worth a fortune? : TAROT

54. "Dragnet" star Jack : WEBB

55. Subtle glow : AURA

56. Triumphant shout : I WON

57. One who insists on the spotlight : DIVA

58. Ready for print : EDIT - Even Tom had to EDIT

60. Fictional sleuth Wolfe : NERO - Not the piano player or the Roman emperor 

61. "La __ aux Folles" : CAGE

62. "Grand" ice cream brand : EDY'S

65. Denver-to-Des Moines dir. : ENE

Now, how 'bout some WIDESPREAD and far ranging comments:

A few pix from our trip last week to D.C.

This is Joann and I at the WWII monument with the Lincoln Memorial in the background. If you go to D.C. take the night tour as it is an entirely different world.

This is Joann and I with U.S. Senator Ben Sasse at the Nebraska Congressional Breakfast. We have known Ben since he was nine and I started calling him Senator Sasse when he was in grade school!

Here we are with our Congressman Jeff Fortenberry. Our daughter has had three of Jeff’s girls in fourth grade at St. Joe’s in Lincoln.