"Re-duce, "Re-Use, "Re-Cycle"

Good morning, puzzle fans! Hope you are all set for the weekend!

Today's puzzle by Fred Piscop is called "Re-Pair Kit." The prefix "re" means either "again and again," or moving back to the previous position. "Re" also can be used as an abbreviation for such terms as  "real estate," "rotary engine," the game Resident Evil. "Re" is also the second note on the musical scale (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do), and is also the name of the ancient Egyptian sun god. The theme answers are below:

20A: Christmas-tree spray, e.g., FIRE RETARDANT. Dry and unwatered Xmas trees account for at least 200 fires each year. There are many steps that one needs to take to have a safe holiday season.

37A: Beta-test follower (SOFTWARE RELEASE). I found a Word Cloud featuring the stages of a software release. Notice that the prominent word is "testing." Testing, testing, and more testing. Very interesting.

48A: Good news for commuters (FARE REDUCTION). Ha! That'll be the day! The MTA proposes at least three fare hikes over the next five years.

Some other interesting notes:

6D: Put a strain on (TAXED) crossed with 15A: Heads for the hangar (TAXIS).
10A: Trio times two (HEXAD). I haven't really seen that term in a crossword puzzle.

The top corner actually stumped me a little bit. Initially, I thought that 1A: Scurry was SCAT, but it turned out to be DART. Made much more sense. It crossed with 4D: Fabric flaw (TEAR), which also means to take off.

Alphabet soup--not too much today:

55D: Corporation's computer exec. (CIO)

Today's cryptoquote by the actor Cary Grant (1904-1986) features good old-fashioned common sense:

My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between I occupy myself as best I can.

Born Archibald Leach, Cary Grant was quite the looker and had that oh-so-suave English accent. The American Film Institute named him the second-greatest male film star of all time. Even "The Flintstones" parodied him (Gary Granite). Cary Grant appeared in such classic films as "The Awful Truth," "Gunga Din," "His Girl Friday," "The Philadelphia Story," "Arsenic and Old Lace," "Suspicion," and "An Affair to Remember." Surprisingly, he never won an Oscar or Golden Globe but was finally given an honorary Oscar in 1970.

Grant had a rough childhood because his mother suffered from depression and was placed in an institution. He was expelled from school at 16 and joined an acting troupe. Grant spent many years learning his craft on stage before heading to Hollywood the early 1930s. Once he became a top box-office attraction, he often poked fun of himself with such quips as  "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant—even I want to be Cary Grant".

Cary Grant also had quite the personal life. He was married five times: Virginia Cherrill, Barbara Hutton, Betsy Drake, Dyan Cannon (with whom he had his daughter, Jennifer), and Barbara Harris. He died from a cerebral hemorrhage followed by a stroke on November 29, 1986. 

Now it's on to the JUMBLE. An overweight, middle-aged man is showing his wife an old calendar from his college days. The caption reads "The former male model's calendar photos were _____."

Word list (on the tough side today):

ASORE = AROSE
FONET = OFTEN
TIMSAG = STIGMA
SANDIU = UNSAID

Scambled solution "OEOFTTAUD"
Solution "OUT-OF-DATE"

Do men really age better than women? At my 30th high-school reunion, this proved to be false. Most of the women looked very well. However, most of the men--even the ones who were considered "gorgeous" back in the day--were bald, grey, and overweight. Women seem to be stronger when it comes to facing life's challenges and share emotions with their girlfriends. Men are babies when it comes to being sick and/or facing relationship issues. Also, guy-talk revolves more around activities than their personal lives. This is definitely something to think about.

This weekend, I am looking forward to seeing the Muppet movie, along with planning more puzzles for my Etsy shop.

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick