Top-Level Domains
◆ · By Wendy Walker · Published 2024-07-07T08:34:31.281Z
Meta Prompt
The meta answer, which would be a good sixth theme entry, is someone who leads a rich existence.
Welcome, friends, to this week's Smooth Sailing Sunday meta puzzle. This one is called "Top-Level Domains."
The photo shows the spectacular Liriodendron Mansion in Bel Air, Maryland. We had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful domain last summer for a bluegrass concert.
NUDGES
Nudge 1: What is a top-level domain, anyway?
Nudge 2: Do you see any of them in the asterisked answers?
Nudge 3: Is there another common one that is missing from the five themers?
Nudge 4: There's a word that's used three times in the clues -- far more than chance! -- that might serve as a useful signpost.
Nudge 5: There's also a number in the clues that appears far more than three times. What is it?
Nudge 6: And how should you use it, you ask? Why, reread the clue for 36A.
My deep thanks to Alan Kennan, Bob Harris, Cap'n Rick, and an incognito test-solver -- their suggestions greatly improved this puzzle. And where would we be without Joe Ross, who has been a paragon of patience while teaching all of us constructors how to format our puzzles for publication? (That is a rhetorical question. Where we would be is in deep trouble.)
Checking for previous play data...
1A
Retort to a name-caller
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Across
- 1ARetort to a name-caller
- 7AIn military jargon, some NCOs
- 11ABig bird
- 14AYou might start a musical game with 10 of these if there are 11 players
- 15A* Member of the hoi polloi
- 17AOverly concerned with status and possessions
- 18A"That is just a tragedy!"
- 19AWhat I reveal in the confessional
- 20A"Clause 10. ___ any time either party wishes to terminate this agreement"
- 21AFinal member of the radio alphabet
- 22A* Untainted by pesticides
- 24AThey may be humble or apple
- 25AEtheridge who proclaimed "Yes I Am"
- 27AActor Chaney
- 28A"Bravo!"
- 29ATrigonometry term, unabbreviated
- 35ABuckeyes' sch.
- 36A* Teach (about powers of 10, perhaps)
- 37AMotorists' org.
- 38ADigital pet from Japan
- 40AServing size for Macallan
- 41APlayground game
- 42AFashionable
- 45AProd
- 47A* Gadget reputed to ease sinus problems
- 49ABuddies
- 50A___ me tangere
- 51AOne-time Mouseketeer Lindsay
- 54AList of useful commands like "cut" and "paste"
- 56A"___ a channel of your peace"
- 57A* Ruled
- 58AHouston baseball team
- 59ASault ___ Marie
- 60AFrench head
- 61ABlacksmiths, often
Down
- 1DLong-range weapon (abbr.)
- 2DMarina greeting
- 3DImpressive place to rest one's bones
- 4DDish comprising sushi rice topped with raw fish
- 5DRound gaskets
- 6DMao ___-tung
- 7DJemisin's genre, for short
- 8DAnswered only 7 of 10 questions correctly on a quiz, say
- 9DTexter's term for a troll who seems to be online 10 hours at a stretch
- 10DTexting format (abbr.)
- 11DResult
- 12DFor military personnel, these might be ready to eat
- 13DPakistani language
- 16DWeeping
- 20DBound by routine
- 23DFood poisoning can make you sick ___
- 24DFried corn bread
- 25DWord before point or court
- 26D"Frozen" queen
- 27DClass in which you learn words like 52D
- 30DNew Deal org. that provided outdoor jobs
- 31DSouth Pacific island
- 32D"Whoa, Nelly! Slow down!"
- 33DTo someone with a hammer, everything looks like one of these.
- 34DGift-wrapping necessity
- 36D"Zooks and zounds!"
- 39D___ of Honey ("Boogie Oogie Oogie" band)
- 43DPropel water at
- 44DOn "Green Acres," Lisa Douglas ___ country living like a duck to water. Not.
- 45DIsraeli actress Gal
- 46D___ drab (also known as military green)
- 47DMusical group with 10 members, if one's absent
- 48DAvoid
- 49DCribbage pieces
- 50DHawaiian bird
- 52DOmnia vincit ___
- 53DLoch ___ monster
- 55DHe wore chains and didn't like fools
- 56D"¡No ___!" (I've had enough!)