My wife and I are in Ireland right now, for Christmas and to start off the New Year with family. I just managed to slip away to solve the puzzle, and write up this abbreviated post. I will get to the full post just as soon as I can.
1 “Shoot!” : GOSH DARN IT!
11 It’s turned down at a hotel : BED
14 Living under a rock, say : OUT OF TOUCH
15 Language that Minecraft was written in : JAVA
16 How hors d’oeuvres are served : ON A PLATTER
17 Squeezed (out) : EKED
18 1996 horror classic originally titled “Scary Movie” : SCREAM
19 Major upsets, e.g. : STUNNERS
21 “Yikes!” : EEK!
22 Only chemical element whose name fits this answer’s length : TIN
24 Bell of the synth-pop duo Erasure : ANDY
25 Cone head? : SNO-
26 Die-hard enthusiasts, and then some : ADDICTS
29 Moisten, in a way : MIST
33 Eco-centric college class, informally? : ITALIAN LIT
35 At some previous point : ONCE
36 Produced, as digital currency : MINED
37 Wild-tasting : GAMY
38 He’s a mensch : STANDUP GUY
40 J. M. Barrie boatswain : SMEE
41 Something people trip on, informally : SHROOMS
42 Half of a classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon duo : TOM
44 ___ Aarnio, interior designer who created the bubble chair : EERO
45 Refuse to settle, say : SUE
46 A-line line : HEM
49 Early flat screen : PLASMA TV
53 Capital in Lewis and Clark County : HELENA
55 “I thought of a joke about ___, but it’s too corny” (groaner) : IOWA
56 Here, to locals : THESE PARTS
58 Urge : COAX
59 Chores, typically : MENIAL WORK
60 Word on either side of “vs.” : SPY
61 Some sleeveless frocks : SUNDRESSES
Down
1 Kids’ game cry : GOOSE!
2 Unit of measure that has a shared etymology with “inch” : OUNCE
3 Striking : STARK
4 Word at the center of Rhode Island’s flag : HOPE
5 They’re just above C’s : D-FLATS
6 If not more : AT A MINIMUM
7 Go green, perhaps? : ROT
8 “Shoot!” : NUTS!
9 Founder of the label Rhyme Syndicate Records : ICE-T
10 See-___ : THRU
11 Bit of casino restaurant fare? : BAKED CLAM
12 “Ugh, this always happens to me!” : EVERY TIME
13 Longtime A&W competitor : DAD’S
15 He hosted the first “Jeopardy!” in the post-Trebek era : JENNINGS
20 Squat : NADA
23 Policy at some bars and eating establishments : NO TIPS
26 People of Unalaska : ALEUTS
27 Start of some juicy gossip : DID YOU HEAR …?
28 Ophthalmologists call it a hordeolum : STYE
29 What might surround a trunk : MOSS
30 Having been informed : IN THE LOOP
31 Drive off : SCARE AWAY
32 Bill Clinton played one on “The Arsenio Hall Show” in 1992 : TENOR SAX
34 Namibia neighbor: Abbr. : ANG
39 Downfall : DOOM
43 Human-shaped board game piece : MEEPLE
46 ___ journey (literary archetype) : HERO’S
47 Parisian preposition : ENTRE
48 Guy Fawkes Night accessories : MASKS
49 Many posts, informally : PICS
50 Things of use to note takers? : ATMS
51 Miami school, casually : THE U
52 John who was a pioneer in set theory : VENN
54 Code components : LAWS
57 Cookie Monster’s real name : SID
