Theme: Where's _aldo?
Puzzling thoughts:
Well, this one didn't cause the Chairman to do shots at a bar, but it did take a while to figure out where (and why) the dubyas went. When you examine the grid, you see that two of them exited as a homophone (WRAP and WHOLE) and the other two exited to fulfill the play-on-words, (WHIP and WHEELS) as these two use the "W" sound
The "reveal" can be parsed two different ways but I think the constructors were referring to this one:
60-across. Accept victory, however dubious, and a hint to 17-, 24-, 37-, and 52-Across: TAKE THE W IN. Taking the W in (or from) the highlighted letters (see grid below) support the odd clues. However, if you add a W to the highlighted letters (see grid below) the four entries take on a much different meaning - and are actually the names of a brand of salad dressing (Miracle Whip), a type of packaging material (Shrink Wrap), the start of a refrain from a kid's song (Wheels on the Bus), and a very expensive grocery store (Whole Foods)
It is a clever concept and puzzle, but the reveal seems a bit of a stretch. I almost feel as if I wanted a fifth entry with both a whacky clue and answer that followed the vanishing double-u
Oh well. Maybe next time! Here are the four entries:
17-across. Replacement joint that's even better than new?: MIRACLE HIP.
24-across. Linguistic battle between psychologists?: SHRINK RAP.
37-across. Jerks riding public transit?: HEELS ON THE BUS.
52-across. Donuts, bagels, et al.?: HOLE FOODS.
So, Moe, if you were adding a fifth entry to this puzzle, what might it have been?
"What Hawaiian greeters do with a lei to an unruly visitor?": RING HIS NECK
For the record, I thought all of the entry clues were hilarious
Here is the grid:
Across:
1. Many Chi-town homes: APTS. There are some crossword puzzle editors who insist the word in 1-across be a complete word, not an abbreviation - this puzzle has nearly a dozen abbr's, if you are also counting contractions
5. Sore with: MAD AT. Having an abbreviated first word in the puzzle??? 😂😉
10. Sleep under the stars: CAMP. "What groupies do" was too long to fit into this space (re-read the clue!)
14. Grab and go?: LOOT. Clever clue
15. 14th century Russian ruler: IVAN I. Aka, Ivan Moneybags
16. Not even close: AFAR. "Cold" could fit, yes?
[theme entry]
19. __ Reader: UTNE. "Read all about it!"
20. Common lease period for 1-Across: ONE YEAR. Two-year also fits (without the hyphen, of course)
21. Support column: PILE. This is what my co-pilot says:
23. Journalist Lesley: STAHL. She, along with Walter Cronkite, provided the news in a very unbiased manner for CBS - I hear that they (CBS) are trying to revert back to that position with their newly appointed news editor in chief
[theme entry]
29. Location of une bouche: TETE. Tête
30. Actor Bridges: BEAU.
31. Safe havens: ASYLA.
32. Color TV pioneer: RCA. Three-letter and an abbreviation
34. Informed Delivery org.: USPS. United States Postal Service
36. Ref. that added "horror show" in 2024: OED. Oxford English Dictionary
[theme entry]
41. Novelty lips stuff: WAX. These? 42. "__ it obvious?": ISN'T.
43. Clinch: ICE. Friday worthy clue
44. Marshmallow spread: FLUFF.
46. Bluish green: TEAL. <== this was as close as I could come
48. Howard, for one: Abbr.: HBCU. Historically Black College or University
[theme entry]
54. "Oppenheimer" director: NOLAN. Looks a bit like Alec Baldwin here
55. Word with stress, or a common source of stress: TEST.
56. One who might take a stand: WITNESS. Can I get a Witness? (2:15 through 2:35, but listen to it all)
58. Like some contracts: ORAL. Unlike some toothbrushes that are ORAL B
[reveals the theme]
63. "La Brea" actress Skye: IONE.
64. Dark doings: EVILS.
65. Tech company that owns the Chinese microblogging app Weibo: SINA. Are there any Weibo followers here? Not I
66. Fantasy franchise letters: LOTR. Lord Of The Rings
67. Answer: REPLY.
68. Firebird roof option: T-TOP.
Down:
1. Nearly: ALMOST. Here is a trailer to a movie with the word "Almost" in it
2. Ballet class: POINTE.
 |
| I hope Splynter doesn't sue me for showing some "leg" 😀 |
3. Attempted to rip open: TORE AT. When I looked at crosswordtracker.com to see the frequency of the use of this phrase, the last 5 venues to accept it were LA Times Crossword - must be a favorite expression for Patti
4. "Don't leave!": STAY HERE. From what I am told, the length of a Minnesota "goodbye" is measured in hours (or even days), not minutes ...
You think the Chairman
Dislikes other's poetry?
I am not AVERSE
7. Mark longer than a dit: DAH. As in Morse Code characters ... the "dit" represents the dot, and the dah represents the dash
7. Mark longer than a dit: DAH. As in Morse Code characters ... the "dit" represents the dot, and the dah represents the dash
8. Padm 's beloved: ANI. First off, the clue refers to a character in Star Wars - Padmé Amidala. Don't follow Star Wars? You're SOL, because you're likely then to not know that she was married to Anakin Skywalker (Ani is his nickname) and is the mother of both Luke Skywalker and his sister Leia
9. Hedren of "The Birds": TIPPI. Quite the cast of actors
10. Doesn't let anything fall through the cracks?: CAULKS. Hah Hah. Moe-ku:
"Home Alone" actor's
Nickname inspires plumbers:
Macaulay CAULKS-in
11. "Please, go first": AFTER YOU. Just being polite
12. Guy: MAN.
13. Start to check?: PRE-. If pre means before (as in pre-check), and post means after (as in post-script), what would it mean if both of these were used together? Why, it would be pre-post-erous
18. Goofy frame: CEL.
22. "Be right there!": IN A SEC.
25. Plagued: HAUNTED. Halloween is coming soon
26. Sign of aging: RUST. As in rust bucket
27. Drafts that are lighter than stouts: ALES.
28. Sketchy area?: PAD.
30. Striped __: BASS. In the Cheasapeake Bay, these swimmers are known as Rockfish
28. Sketchy area?: PAD.
30. Striped __: BASS. In the Cheasapeake Bay, these swimmers are known as Rockfish
33. Precipitous drops: CLIFFS. Moe-ku:
Book report grade took
Precipitous drop. Teacher
Found I used CLIFFS Notes
35. Alpine skier Mahre who won 27 World Cup races: PHIL.
37. Virtuous circle: HALO.
35. Alpine skier Mahre who won 27 World Cup races: PHIL.
37. Virtuous circle: HALO.
38. Thrilled: EXULTANT.
 |
| I suppose I can accept "thrilled" as a synonym (adj.) |
39. Glom __: ONTO. Seems to be a British phrase
40. "I can handle the truth!": BE HONEST.
41. Skip the daily commute, for short: WFH. [sigh] It seems that there is a text shortcut for everything these days ... Work From Home
45. Tentative inquiry: FEELER. Moe-ku:
45. Tentative inquiry: FEELER. Moe-ku:
Crustaceans would make
Great detectives. They're equipped
With many FEELERs
47. Too: AS WELL.
49. Choked: BLEW IT. Back when Europe actually lost the Ryder Cup (on American soil) this was known as one of the all-time choke jobs ... Langer would go on to become the most winning golfer on the Senior/Champions PGA Tour, and still regularly shoots a score lower than his age (68) for 18 holes. The Chairman regularly shoots 68 or lower when golfing, but then has to play the remaining 5 or 6 holes
47. Too: AS WELL.
49. Choked: BLEW IT. Back when Europe actually lost the Ryder Cup (on American soil) this was known as one of the all-time choke jobs ... Langer would go on to become the most winning golfer on the Senior/Champions PGA Tour, and still regularly shoots a score lower than his age (68) for 18 holes. The Chairman regularly shoots 68 or lower when golfing, but then has to play the remaining 5 or 6 holes
50. Sin City attraction: CASINO. Sin City = Lost Wages, NV
51. Open up: UNSNAP. I wonder how many takes that scene took?? 😀
53. Marine scamp: OTTER.
54. Some degree: NTH. BFA fits, yes?
57. Teeny: ITSY.
58. Frying need: OIL. Make mine extra virgin olive
59. Kanga's kid: ROO. Milne character
61. St. crosser: AVE. BLVD was too wide to fit
62. Currency of Laos: KIP. Do you remember how I felt about the clue/answer for 1-across? No different for 62-down. All perps
See you next month
7 comments:
I got the theme right from the start, which gave me
a “leg up” on this challenging puzzle. It definitely allowed for some amusing wordplay.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Apparently Merriam-Webster's first definition of PILE is the "column" sense that was used in the clue. Surely "pile" as in "heap" is a lot more common. I can see how you would think that POLE makes a million times more sense, Moe. Especially if you're not familiar with ASYLA, which is the Latim plural for asylum.
WHEELS ON THE BUS is not a crossworthy standalone base phrase. Even if it was somehow acceptable to use an incomplete sentence from the "start of a refrain" in a crossword grid, there's a THE in the song.
I can definitely see the similarity between PILE and PILLAR, though.
What a pile driver does
Good morning!
D-o thought of a PIER -- those concrete thingees, buried in the ground to support a structure before PILE barged in. Noticed all the missing Ws, though. "Take the W" is the modern way to say TAKE THE WIN. Lesley STAHL got her on-air start with CBS during Watergate. She's been a 60 Minutes correspondent for more than 30 years. This puzzle was a worthy Friday challenge. Thanx, Katherine, Laura, and C-Moe. (Whacky clue?)
A finely crafted puzzle fitting for a Friday IMO, had to get the third themer down before I sussed the clever theme. Amicable perps helped to overcome the unknowns ANI, NOLAN, IONE, KIP, and SINA. Pole became PILE. Favorite entry was HOLE FOODS. FIR in 16:04. Thanks Katherine and Laura for the enjoyable solve, and to C-Moe for your entertaining blog, I know you put a lot of time and thought into your write-ups, and it is much appreciated by this PHIL.
FIR. Typical Friday puzzle with the expected difficulty. Just a few unknowns, HBCU and Sina for example, but the perps were fair.
I got stalled in the middle so I started to fill up from the bottom. That gave me the reveal and then I had my "aha" moment and the theme became clear. That really helped a lot and finished the solve.
So overall quite an enjoyable puzzle.
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