Tuesday, June 24 - Barry C. Silk

Is it my imagination...or are Barry Silk's puzzles becoming more frequent? One thing I know for sure...he's become one of my favorites.

The theme was revealed at 67A: Something you can do to the starts of 17-, 21-, 37-, 53- and 60-Across (draw)...and the theme answers are:

17A: Hotel offering (bath towel).

21A: Bow-taking occasion (curtain call).

37A: Poker face (blank expression).

53A: Cinema offering (picture show).

60A: Flintlock need (gun powder).

I drew four of the five today...it's probably fairly easy to guess which one wasn't part of the day's activity.

I didn't have to resort to Google, but there were a couple of answers I wouldn't have gotten but for crosses...9A: Valuable violin (Amati), 16A: French-speaking African nation (Gabon), 46A: Grier of "Jackie Brown" (Pam), 34D: __ City (Baghdad district) (Sadr), and 38D: Home of Mammoth Cave (Kentucky).

My favorite clue...or, more precisely, clues...64A: With "and" and 47-Down, Lawrence Welk's intro (a-one). The second answer, of course, is a-two.

Other favorites include 27A: Blown away by (amazed at), 42A: Novelist Zola (Émile), 49A: Dress store section (petites), 59A: Like some committees (ad hoc), 62A: Actress Aimée (Anouk), 1D: Internet-on-the-tube company, formerly (Web TV), 8D: Syllables before "di" or "da" in a Beatles song (obla), 9D: Has a tough time deciding (agonizes), 10D: Friend of Peppermint Patty (Marcie), 32D: Patio parties, briefly (BBQs), 35D: Leaf-to-branch angle (axil), and 50D: Henry VIII's house (Tudor).

That's all for tonight. Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G