Friday April 26, 2024, Winston Emmons

 Theme: Mumbo Jumbo Idiom Jumble

Puzzling thoughts:

Today's idiomatic/anagram puzzle is presented by none other than Winston Emmons, no stranger to the LA Times crossword puzzles.  Winston uses 5 "theme" entries.  Each answer to these entries is an unscrambled word/phrase that comes as a result of answering the second part of the clue (as well as the first part)

Wait just a darn second, Moe.  That doesn't make any sense!  Well, you're right; it doesn't.  But if you carefully rearrange the letters in the theme answers, you can achieve both halves of the clue's meaning

Please look again at the cartoon above.  The carolers are singing "Listen Thing", which is an anagram for "Silent Night" (re-arrange the letters).  And while there is no clue associated with the cartoon, all we need to do is use that bit of logic to understand what's going on in each clue and answer:

15-across. Cleanliness is next to ... a minimalist approach?: DOING LESS.  

The obvious answer to the first part of the clue is "GODLINESS".  It was so obvious to me that I typed it into the white squares.  The phrase: "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" is a proverb that implies that practicing cleanliness is akin to worshipping or performing religious obligations

The obvious answer to the second part of the clue, "a minimalist approach", is DOING LESS.  I never thought of "doing less" as being a form of "Godliness", but when you rearrange the letters in doing less you can spell the word Godliness, and now we have answered both parts of the clue correctly

19-across. Going to hell in a ... damaged armored vehicle?: BASHED TANK.  

The phrase "Going to hell in a "HAND BASKET" is well-known idiomatic phrase that means "to be rapidly deteriorating - on course for disaster;" 

a BASHED TANK is indeed a damaged armored vehicle, but the phrase "bashed tank" is not one we often use ... but rearranging bashed tank also gives us handbasket

34-across. Don't throw the baby out with the ... decorative Halloween ring?: BAT WREATH.  

"Don't throw the baby out with the "BATHWATER" is an idiomatic expression for an avoidable error in which something good or of value is eliminated when trying to get rid of something unwanted. A slightly different explanation suggests this flexible catchphrase has to do with discarding the essential while retaining the superfluous because of excessive zeal."[wikipedia] 

Not this, I hope ...

 

 A BAT WREATH is not the most popular Halloween "ring", but I did find an image:

And as you might suspect by now, a quick rearrangement of bat wreath = bath water

50-across. The only thing we have to fear is ... feeling better quickly?: FAST RELIEF.  

The first half of the clue cites FDR's speech (featured below) with the iconic idiomatic phrase: "The only thing we have to fear is FEAR ITSELF."  

The second half of the clue (feeling better quickly) yields FAST RELIEF.  And if you really want "fast relief" you might want to take Brioschi 

Once again, the rearranging of fast relief = fear itself

And last, but not least, we have: 56-across. Famous ... weapon that would dissolve in water?: SALT SWORD.  

Unscramble SALT SWORD and you get (famous ...) "LAST WORDS".  

This is the only thing I could find for Salt Sword.  I am guessing it is a reference to Salt and Sanctuary (unfamiliar, to me), but I suppose that, literally, a salt sword could dissolve in water.  But it's a stretch, and of course, YMMV

Certainly, this was a very interesting puzzle and theme.  As always, your comments below will let us know how you liked or disliked this puzzle.  I floundered with it for over 20 minutes, but once I "got it" it made sense

BTW, this is a puzzle that is **admiral toe** for those who enjoy solving the daily Jumble™.  If only Old Man Keith was still alive he would have been smiling **area rote** 😁, as he was extremely fond of finding the diagonal anagrams of the daily puzzle

Here is the grid, and then "To depart ... or what might come with a bundle of shingles? **ROOF FACT SHEET** (let's see how many of you get this - as well as the other two anagrams I used in the intro!!)

 

Across:
1. Ointment amount: DAB. How many of you recall this old jingle?

4. PIN point: ATM.  Sometimes clues can get too cutesy.  But I get it ... an ATM is a "point" for where a PIN is entered ... meh

7. Prone to micromanage, perhaps: BOSSY.  Don't have a "cow" over this one!

 

12. Napping racer of fable: HARE.  The tortoise and the HARE

13. "Vive le __!": ROI.  "Long live the king!" [Frawnche]

14. Gas brand with a torch logo: AMOCO.  Shouldn't the clue have been: "Erstwhile gas brand with a torch logo?"  Didn't BP take over AMOCO?

17. More vast: WIDER.  A little contemporary music to soothe and relax the soul ... 

18. Muppet who had a meltdown over a rock named Rocco: ELMO.  

Elmo vs Rocco

21. Nabisco wafer cookies: NILLA'S.  Good old Vanilla Wafer cookies ... 

Here is a recipe for NILLA's in banana pudding

23. Like some receptions: ICY.

Speaking of an ICY reception ...

24. Architect who designed air traffic control towers for the FAA in the 1960s: PEI.  The only three-letter architect that I know of

25. Squalid: SEEDY.  

Might you call this, squalid squash?

26. As much as: UP TO.  

What Merrium-Webster says

28. Angry: SORE.

29. Make a typo, say: ERR.

30. Genesis twin: ESAU.

32. Like an old mattress, maybe: LUMPY.  Or maybe like this character from Leave it to Beaver:

36. Bart in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: STARR. 

38. Mongolian desert: GOBI.  [Brittanica dot com]:

• The Gobi Desert is a great desert and semidesert region of Central Asia that stretches across large parts of Mongolia and China.
• Much of the Gobi is not sandy desert but bare rock.
• The Gobi is the 5th largest desert in the world, covering over half a million square miles.
• The Gobi’s fauna is varied and includes camels, kulan, and dzeren.
• The Gobi’s Yol Valley houses an ice field, even during summer.
• Ancient tales in Mongolia speak of lost cities buried beneath Gobi’s sands.
• The Gobi’s Taklamakan area is often called the “Place of No Return” due to its harsh conditions.
• The Gobi is surrounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands of Mongolia.
• The Himalayas block weather and starves the desert of rainfall from the South.

39. Altar constellation: ARA.  I know of the erstwhile Notre Dame football coach (ARA Parseghian) but not the constellation.  And further down the grid we had a similar sounding clue with a much different meaning (59-across. Alter __): EGO.

42. Arts and crafts bit: BEAD.  

Was Manhattan really sold for $24 worth of BEADs and trinkets?

43. Not covered: OPEN.  

Covered vs "OPEN"

45. Solitary sort: LONER.

47. Urgent care ctrs.: ERS.

48. MIT's domain: EDU.  [Oxford English Dictionary 3rd definition of domain]: 

• computing
  a distinct subset of the internet with addresses sharing a common suffix or under the control of a particular organization or individual

49. Grammatical gender: NEUTER.  As someone who studied German in HS and briefly in college, I became all to familiar with the grammatical "genders" ... In der deutschen Grammatik ist das Wort für Neutrum "das"

54. Pad __: THAI. Moe-ku:

Bangkok's Apple Stores
Pair street food with Tablets. Serve
Pad THAI with i-Pads

55. Monteverdi work: OPERA. [Britannica dot com lists these] "Notable Works: “L’Arianna”, “La favola d’Orfeo”, “Licoris Who Feigned Madness”, “Madrigals of War and Love”, “Movete al mio bel suon”, and “The Combat of Tancredi and Clorinda”

58. Some Redfin transactions: RELO'S.  

Find your RELO for sale here:

60. Ont. neighbor: MINN.  Four-letter state abbreviations went by the wayside when the USPS decided to further abbreviate them to two-letter ones ... MINN became MN because MICH laid claim to MI

61. L'Oréal polish brand: ESSIE.  Thank you, perps.  Maybe our resident mani-pediites can chime in on this not-so-famous-to-me brand ...

62. Icarus, to Daedalus: SON.  

63. Muddy pen: STY.

Down:
1. German auto pioneer: DAIMLER. 

DAIMLER story

2. "Baked the Right Way" bread brand: ARNOLD.  Also, the name of the pig on "Green Acres":

3. Beseech: BEG.  Applying this loftier clue word to an old phrase I came to know all too well:

"Tis better to beseech for forgiveness than to ask for permission ..."

4. Turf: AREA.  

Slang definition for "turf"

5. Throw: TOSS.  There is a certain skill involved in this relatively new game:

6. Out-of-bounds golf shot, e.g.: MISHIT.  TTP, HG, and any other golfers ... care to share one of your MISHITs that might have turned out to be positive?  

7. Ribald: BAWDY. Moe-ku #2:

A spotted horse was
Quite BAWDY with the fillies.
A ribald piebald??

8. Skip over: OMIT.

9. Diner drink: SODA POP. ICE CREAM SODA wouldn't fit; nor COFFEE.  ICED TEA did.  Anyone try that first?

10. Tourist's diversion: SCENERY. Perhaps Picard can provide us with some SCENERY that caused a diversion for him?

11. Long-haired terrier, familiarly: YORKIE.  My first thought - after viewing a few images of a YORKIE - was, "is Toto (the dog from Wizard of Oz) a Yorkshire Terrier??  [hepper dot com says]

"Toto’s breed is never mentioned in the books, and many scholars insist that he was supposed to be a mutt. He’s described as having long, silky hair — just like a Yorkie. One other thing worth noting is the fact that the book’s illustrator, W.W. Denslow, was the proud owner of a Yorkshire Terrier"

So now you know

12. More sacred: HOLIER.

15. Thick: DENSE.

16. Birth announcement abbr.: LBS.  Is there any proof that babies who are born weighing 7 lbs 11 ozs turn out to be great craps players??

20. Clean water company: ECOLAB.  

ECOLAB

22. Per annum: A YEAR.  This word seemed a bit "forced" to me - nitpick 

26. Detroit labor org.: UAW.  

Tennessee VW plant's workers join UAW

27. Rid (of): PURGE.  Something I do every time I move (which happened over 7 times the last 14 years), and yet I still have a lot of "stuff".  And another similar clue: (48-down. Get rid of): ERASE.

28. Texter's "How disappointing": SMH. 🤦

31. Went boldly: STRODE.  

33. Practical: UTILE. Or, the clue could've been "Scrabble™ square worth 1 point": U-TILE

34. Base: BAD. It is better to show an antonym for "base" to know how this adjective can mean "BAD":

35. Proterozoic, e.g.: EON.  [Britannica dot com says]: "Proterozoic eon, the younger of the two divisions of precambrian time, the older being the archean eon. The proterozoic eon extended from 2.5 billion to 541 million years ago"

36. Colorful shawls: SERAPES.  As seen on ETSY:

37. Mortarboard attachments: TASSELS.  I somehow recall that a TASSEL on a mortarboard is in one position before graduation and another position afterward 

39. Ramos of "In the Heights": ANTHONY.  

He is just a kid ...

40. Gain again: RE-EARN.  As in someone's confidence, perhaps

41. Secret alternative: ARRID.  does TRYST also fit??! 😉 In this clue's case, it was referring to a woman's deodorant/anti-perspirant brand called "Secret".  But if you didn't get this one, don't sweat it ...

42. One side of a comparison ad: BEFORE.  Clever; the old before and after comparison ... the image below is of one that always seemed to be on the back cover of comic book magazines, back in the day:

My inspiration for getting a set of barbells

44. Signs of life: PULSES.  I just checked mine ... yep, still alive ... 69 bpm @ resting rate

46. Dupe: OUTWIT.  

One of the three basic strategies in this "game"


49. Asset on a blockchain, for short: NFT.  

It helps to know what a "blockchain" is

51. Starship Enterprise counselor: TROI.  Once again, I will defer to Picard to elaborate on Deanna TROI

52. Othello advisor: IAGO.  Another crossword staple proper name/fictional character.  Three vowels and one consonant 

53. Entrepreneur Musk: ELON. Another crossword staple proper name/actual person

57. Texting letters: SMS.  Short Message/Messaging Service abbreviation 

And we have come to the conclusion of today's blog.  Please add your thoughts below.  See you next month ... 

**For those who were unable to unscramble the words in my intro:**

admiral toe = tailor made

area rote = ear to ear

ROOF FACT SHEET = OFF TO THE RACES

Notes from C.C.:

Today we celebrate the 90th birthday of Parsan, who lives in the same area as Agnes. Happy birthday, Parsan!

Thursday, April 25, 2024 Sarah Sinclair & Kelsey Dixon

 GRWM

20. "Just decide!": MAKE UP YOUR MIND. 

30. Remedy known as "having a counter-beer" in German: HAIR OF THE DOG.

41. In great shape: FIT AS A FIDDLE.

55. Friend's invitation before a party, or a TikTok genre that shows off the starts of 20-, 30-, and 41-Across: GET READY WITH ME.  

So makeup, hair and fit.  Does fit mean outfit?

"GRWM is a slang term and acronym for Get Ready With Me that refers to a genre of vlog-style videos in which users show themselves doing their hair and makeup or dressing in an outfit, sometimes while talking with their viewers.   GRWM videos first became popularized on YouTube in 2011, becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the 2010s and 2020s on video-sharing sites like TikTok."

Who knew? 

Sarah and Kelsey did!    Congratulations to both of you on your LA Times debuts!

Across:

1. The hundred target, in Pilates: ABS.  Apparently there is also something called the 100 ABS challenge.  Who knew?

4. Wander (about): GAD. 

7. Bloke: LAD.  I think I may have learned these words reading Andy Capp.

10. "The Search for General __": food documentary: TSO.   I liked the General Tso cartoon that sumdaze posted on Monday, but FWIW, here's the trailer for the documentary:
 

13. Goal material: NET.

14. Pose: ASK.

15. Tussle over a 58-Down entry: EDIT WAR.  - The next time you pull up a Wikipedia article on a controversial issue,  explore the History and Talk tabs. 

17. Avenger in armor: IRON MAN.  A Marvel Comics character.  Iron Man is the superhero alter ego of the billionaire genius Tony Stark.

19. Foot fashion: TOE RING.   In many cultures of India, the groom puts a toe ring on the second toe  of  both feet of the bride.  An ancient tradition.   RiRi was seen sporting a toe ring with a large rock last May.

22. Stuck in one's craw: ATE AT.   Bugged.  Got on one's nerves. 

23. Sales channel: HSN.  Home Shopping Network.

24. Pokémon that evolves into Kadabra: ABRA.  No clue, but the perps were fair.  That's valid.

26. For fear that: LEST.

27. Rte. finder: GPS.

29. Around the clock worker?: GEAR.
 

35. Surfaces, e.g.: PCs.  Microsoft personal computers.

38. "So that's __?": A NO. 

39. Styled like: à la

40. Paramount+ partner, briefly: SHO time.

45. "That's valid": FAIR.

46. With 9-Down, traveling employee's allowance: PER.
       (9D) See 46-Across: DIEM. 
    - "Covered business expenses typically include accommodation, food, and incidental expenses such as fees and tips for services."

47. Body part with cinco dedos: MANO.

51. Cautionary __: TALE.    Aesop wrote many fables.  Some were cautionary tales.  

52. Landmark civil rights law acronym: ADA.  The Civil Rights Act was 1964.   The Americans with Disabilities Act was 1990. 

54. Try to buy from Ebay: BID ON.

59. Prep roses for "The Bachelor," say: DETHORN.

60. Spot far from the nosebleeds: VIP SEAT.

61. Tums, e.g.: ANTACID. 

62. Scrape (out): EKE.

63. Like much omakase: RAW.   Omakase - "the expression is used by patrons at sushi restaurants to leave the selection to the chef, as opposed to ordering à la carte."

64. Benefit that may be rolled over: Abbr.: PTO.  Paid time off, or personal time off.

65. Peele's partner: KEY.  Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key.  So many hilarious skits.

66. Sloth in "Ice Age": SID.  - Ice Age is a 2002 computer-animated movie.  Sid is a talkative and positive minded ground sloth who stands and walks like a human. 

67. Genre with intense lyrics: EMO.   This song is more rock than emo, but it captures the feelings of angst of a young person having to make a tough life decision.   In this case as the video depicts, as the teenage young woman decides to leave her family to pursue her dream of becoming a ballerina.   The band is typically more grunge, but the lyrics and intense strain in the vocal are somewhat evocative of emo.  To me, anyway. 
  

This song, Sound of Madness, is more typical of the musical style of Shinedown, if you want to hear a prime example of grunge.  

Down:

1. Cracker shape: ANIMAL.    Muppet wild drummer: ANIMAL.    And then there's George "The Animal" Steele. 

2. Scold: BERATE.

3. Tends a fire: STOKES.   Not sure why I thought of this song:

4. Spectrum: GAMUT.

5. "Now!" letters: ASAP.

6. Be Delicious perfume co.: DKNY.  Donna Karan, New York.  "Top notes are Cucumber, Grapefruit and Magnolia; middle notes are Green Apple, Lily-of-the-Valley, Tuberose, Violet and Rose; base notes are Woodsy Notes, Sandalwood and Amber."

7. "We'll take it from here": LET US entertain you.  Actually, let the regular bloggers entertain you.  My blogs are lame.

8. Add sparkle, say: ADORN. 

10. Places to sleep tight?: TWIN BEDS.

11. "Killing Eve" star: SANDRA OH.   Perhaps better known from her Grey's Anatomy role as Dr. Cristina Yang.

12. Agcy.: ORG.

16. Priority system: TRIAGE.

18. Not o'er: 'NEATH.

21. Très: OH SO.  Meaning very. 

25. Best Picture winner set in Iran: ARGO.  Also, Jason's Ship.

27. Torres of "9-1-1: Lone Star": GINA.   Gina perped in for me.

28. TA overseer: PROF.  I recall one very earnest TA that seemed to have had a mastery of the subject matter.   I'm sure his delivery got better with time. 

31. Wall clock inserts: AAs. 

32. Taper: FADE.

33. "In short" initialism: TLDR.   Too Long Didn't Read.  A summary.  Usually a bullet list of key takeaways gleaned from the lengthy article that follows. 

34. "2001" supercomputer: HAL.   HAL9000 first achieved consciousness in 1991 at the HAL laboratories in Urbana, Illinois.  Hal malfunctioned and became paranoid in a deep space mission.   

35. "As if!": PFFT.    "Not a chance!"    Or, in another sense, "Pfft, and it was gone!"

36. Role in many a spy thriller: CIA AGENT.  

37. 120mm Louboutin feature: STILETTO.  TY perps.  I had no idea what a Louboutin was before solving this answer.   I'll guess that it is a brand name for a shoe.

42. "Queen of Soul" Franklin: ARETHA.  She deserves her props.   That's all she's askin' in return, honey. 

43. Tipping point on a counter?: IPAD.  I scanned an article the other day that suggested that tipping is out of control. 

44. Puts off: EMITS.  I was getting nowhere thinking of defers, delays, postpones ...

48. Hold fast (to): ADHERE.   In woodworking, a holdfast (one word) is a tool used to secure a work piece to the bench.   
 

49. "Nuh-uh!": NO MAAM. 

50. Punch recipe?: ONE TWO. 

52. Bird of prey's nest: AERIE.    An ever growing eagle aerie

53. Hunky-dory: DANDY. 

54. Ostrich or emu: BIPED.  The two largest living (non extinct) birds.  Neither can fly, but they both can run very fast.  An emu tops out at just over 30 MPH while an ostrich can reach speeds of 43 MPH. A Cassowary is also flightless, and slightly slower than an emu. 

56. Giant diamond: ROCK.  Slang.   So many slang meanings for rock.   BTW,  did you link to the URL above and see the size of the rock that was mounted to the toe ring that RiRi was wearing? 

57. First name in haute couture: YVES  Saint Laurent.   See yesterday's review by Jazzbumpa for a worthwhile brief on this answer.

58. Collaborative site: WIKI.   This is not the abbreviation for Wikipedia.

59. "The Sacred Art of Giving __": Ta-Nehisi Coates essay about a friendly greeting: DAP.   - An essay from 2008 in which the author comments about the co-opting of giving dap.   He points out that although whites have adopted the dap, it's done primarily in sports related settings,  and that it doesn't carry the same weight of a much deeper meaning that it does among African Americans.    A much more recent article in Salon adds additional historical context and point of view.   Both were good reads for me.

That's all for today.

Here's the grid:   

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 Alex Rosen & Brad Wilber

Theme:  I Get A Rise Out Of You [or maybe not.] We have a circled letter theme, where the circles are contiguous, but not aligned - except for the last one.  And 4 of the 5 spell words with something in common.  The last one is the opposite.  Let's start with the 80% unifier.

7 D. Unlike bread on Passover, and like four of the five sets of circled letters in this puzzle:  LEAVENED.   Containing yeast or another substance that will cause the dough to rise - we'll get back to this.  I understand the best place to get a fast food Passover diner is Seder Rapids.

17 A. Hoodwink: FOOL.  Trick somebody, out of playfulness, malice or greed.

and

20 A. Fad toy with unruly hair: TROLL.  A troll doll is a type of plastic doll with furry up-combed hair depicting a troll, also known as a Dam doll after their creator Danish woodcutter Thomas Dam. The inspiration came from trolls in old Scandinavian folklore. The toys are also known as good luck trolls.

Reading left to right across the two lines, the red letters [circled in the grid] spell ROLL.  A bread roll is a small, usually round or oblong individual loaf of bread served as a meal accompaniment. 

19 A. Analogous: AKIN.  Of a similar nature or character.

and

23 A. Impertinence: CHEEK.  lack of respect; rudeness.

Reading these in a manner akin to that used with 17 and 20A, we get CAKE.  Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked.  The most common ingredients include flour, sugar, eggs, fat (such as butter, oil, or margarine), a liquid, and a leavening agent, such as baking soda or baking powder. 

49 A. Lack of waste: ECONOMY.   A careful management of available resources.

and

56 A. Amplify, as on social media: SHARE.  To repost on a social media platform.  Often this is done to broaden the audience.  Sometimes I'll do it to ridicule the original post.
The red letters here give us a tasty SCONE.   A scone is a traditional British baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans.

52 A. Not just irks: ENRAGES.  Incites extreme anger.

and

59 A. Court for King James, briefly: B-BALL.  LeBron and Basketball, no doubt.  Clever clue.

This combination gives us a BAGEL.  A bagel is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. Bagels are traditionally made from yeasted wheat dough that is shaped by hand into a torus or ring, briefly boiled in water, and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior.

Now, last, but not yeast --  61. Passover cracker: MATZO.  Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz [leavening] is forbidden.  So this is a bread that does not rise.

Some features of this very elegant grid --

Perfect bilateral symmetry;

Perfectly symmetric placement of the leavened theme entries;

Central location of the vertical unifier;

Central across placement of the 5th, unleavened theme entry.

And the most clever of all - each of the leavened entries, located in two adjacent across lines, rise in the middle, as good leavened fill should.   And the MATZO, of course, does not.  WOW!

By the way, Passover this year started at Sundown on Monday.  Chag Pesach kasher vesame’ach.

Hi, Gang - an awestruck JzB here to illuminate this highly elevated puzzle.    Let's see what else comes up.

Across:

1. Doughy: SOFT.  Well, this was an extremely doughy puzzle, but I thought it was kind of hard, or maybe bagelish.

5. Ramsey of "The Last of Us": BELLA.   Isabella May Ramsey [b 2003] is a non-binary English actor. They are known for their break-out role as young noblewoman Lyanna Mormont in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones and Ellie in the HBO drama series The Last of Us. They received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the latter. 

10. Actor Epps: OMAR.  Omar Hashim Epps [b 1973] is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. Epps's film roles include Juice, Higher Learning, The Wood, In Too Deep, and Love & Basketball.

14. On a bye week: IDLE.  Said of an NFL team with no game scheduled on a given week.

15. Squad suiting up for opening day, presumably: A-TEAM.  The best players on a particular team.

16. Bahama __: MAMA.  A tropical drink made from mixed fruit juices and rum.

18. Shampoo target: SCALP.   Soft tissue layers that cover the cranium. It is an anatomic region bordered anteriorly by the human face, and laterally and posteriorly by the neck. It extends from the superior nuchal lines and occipital turbulences to the supraorbital foramen.

22. Actress Mendes: EVA.

23. Impertinence: CHEEK.  Being sassy

24. Old-Fashioned choice: RYE.  Rye whisky is the characteristic component of the classic Old Fashioned cocktail.  

25. Hill, in Hebrew: TEL.  Literal.

26. Hem and __: HAW.  To stop often and change what one is saying during speech because one is not sure of what to say or because one is trying to avoid saying something.

27. Org. with flag bearers?: NFL.  Officials in the National Football League have flags used to indicate rule infractions.

29. Third No. 1 hit for Bruno Mars: GRENADE.

32. "The Gilded Age" airer: HBO.  Home Box Office, an American pay television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

35. "Sorry, but ... ": ALAS.   Used to express unhappiness, pity, or concern.

37. Olympic sprinter Szewinska: IRENA.  Irena Szewińska [1946 - 2018] was a Polish sprinter who was one of the world's foremost track athletes for nearly two decades, in multiple events. She is the only athlete in history, male or female, to have held the world record in the 100 m, the 200 m and the 400 m. 

38. "I'm convinced!": SOLD.  I agree with what you're proposing.

39. Gas station station: PUMP.  A two-sided fuel dispensing station, generally customer operated.

40. Family nickname: DADDY.  Affectionate term for one's father.

41. Lip balm additive: ALOE.   The juice extracted from the leaves of the ALOE plant.

42. Dramatic segment of 44-Across: EXPOSE.   A video, report or piece of writing that reveals the truth about a situation or person, especially something involving shocking facts. 

44. David Muir's field: TV NEWS.   Scheduled programming designed to report on significant current events

46. Cassini of fashion: OLEG.   Oleg Cassini [1913 -2006] was a fashion designer born to an aristocratic Russian family with maternal Italian ancestry. He came to the United States as a young man after starting as a designer in Rome, and quickly got work with Paramount Pictures. Cassini established his reputation by designing for films.

48. Dom Pérignon maker, informally: MOET.   Moët & Chandon, also known simply as Moët, is a French fine winery and part of the luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. Moët et Chandon is one of the world's largest champagne producers and a prominent champagne house.

57. Bolted: RAN.   Suddenly and quickly run away from something.

60. Diving position: PIKE.   The body is bent at the waist with legs straight, lower legs in front of the diver's face. 

63. "Angel eyes" band: ABBA.    a Swedish pop supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names arranged as a palindrome.

64. __ Saint Laurent: YVES.   Yves Saint Laurent SAS, also known as Saint Laurent and YSL, is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1962 by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. The company specializes in haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather accessories, and footwear. Its cosmetics line, YSL Beauty, is owned by L'Oréal.   Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent [1936 - 2008] referred to as Yves Saint Laurent or YSL, was a French fashion designer who, in 1962, founded his eponymous fashion label. He is regarded as being among the foremost fashion designers of the twentieth century.

65. Express in words: UTTER.  Speak.

66. Dollop: BLOB.  A small indefinite quantity of a viscous or semi-solid substance.

67. Message status: SENT.  Transmitted from the writer.

68. Many holiday events: MEALS.  Events where people eat food together.

69. Some evergreen shrubs: YEWS.  Any of a genus (Taxus of the family Taxaceae, the yew family) of evergreen gymnospermous trees and shrubs with stiff linear leaves and seeds surrounded by a fleshy red aril

Down:

1. Aerate, as flour: SIFT.  Move a granular material through a sieve.

2. Impetus to clean the fridge: ODOR.  A quality of something that stimulates the olfactory organ, in this case unpleasantly. 

3. Torchiere, for one: FLOOR LAMP.   A lamp with a tall stand of wood or metal.

4. Sesame Street worrywart: TELLY.  Telly Monster is a furry pinkish-purple monster with an orange nose from Sesame Street. He is a recurring character from 1979 to 1990, a major character from 1991 to 2015 and a minor character from 2016 to present.

5. Humanities degs.: BAs.  Bachelor of Arts Degrees.

6. "You get the idea": ET CETERA.  Meaning "and other things," used to indicate not everythign relevant has been mentioned.

8. Film mistakenly announced as Best Picture at the 2016 Oscars: LALA LAND.   Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) are drawn together by their common desire to do what they love. But as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.

9. Psych (up): AMP.  To excite, arouse, or work up a person's emotions.

10. Nebraska city: OMAHA.   Omaha is a city in the U.S. state of Nebraska, on the Missouri River close to the Iowa border. A stop on the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, it's known for its pioneer history, museums and cultural centers. 

11. Pay restitution: MAKE WHOLE.  Financially compensate the victim of a crime or recipient of another legal settlement.

12. Paris pal: AMIE.  Friend in French.

13. Relative standing: RANK.  A position in an ordered hierarchy.

21. Journey segment: LEG.  A portion of a journeym generally between two stopping points.

23. "Weekend Update" comic Michael: CHE.   Michael Che Campbell [b1983]  is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Che is best known for his work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, where he has served as co-anchor on Weekend Update alongside Colin Jost, and the two were co-head writers from 2017 until 2022.

27. Part shaded by a backward cap: NAPE.  The back of one's neck.

28. State of change: FLUX.  The action or process of flowing. 

30. Rodeo cry: RIDE 'EM.   Shout of encouragement to one riding a rodeo animal.

31. Burial city of the Wright brothers: DAYTON.  Dayton is a city in western Ohio. It’s home to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, with a vast collection of aircraft from early 1900s planes to a space shuttle exhibit. Carillon Historical Park contains a Wright Brothers plane, 19th-century buildings and antique trains. 

33. Squander: BLOW.   Waste something, especially money or time, in a reckless and foolish manner.

34. Poems to things: ODES.   A lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject, often elevated in style or manner and written in varied or irregular meter.

36. One with a supporting role in the kitchen?: SPOON REST.    A piece of kitchenware that serves as a place to lay spoons and other cooking utensils, to prevent cooking fluids from getting onto countertops, as well as keeping the spoon from touching any contaminants that might be on the counter.   Another clever clue.

38. Eartha Kitt song with the lyric "Been an angel all year": SANTA BABY.

43. Fruit in the liqueur Bargnolino: SLOE.   Prunus spinosa, called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, and the Pacific Northwest and New England regions of the United States.

45. Cast or oil, sometimes: VERB.   This seems a bit strained to me, for the sake of a pun.  I'm never fond of a part-of-speech reference clue.

47. Use a hula hoop: GYRATE.   Move in a circle or spiral, especially quickly.

48. Tony winner Idina: MENZEL.   Idina Kim Menzel [b. 1971] is an American actress and singer. Particularly recognized for her work in musicals on Broadway, she has been nicknamed the "Queen of Broadway" for her commanding stage presence, powerful mezzo-soprano, and reputation as one of the most influential stage actors of her generation.   Here is a list of her awards

49. Best Play and Best Game, for two: ESPYS.  An ESPY Award is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC except 2020, and previously ESPN, to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony.

50. Leek kin: CHIVE.   Chives, scientific name Allium schoenoprasum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae that produces edible leaves and flowers. Their close relatives include the common onions, garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and Chinese onion.

51. Like cognac barrels: OAKEN.   Make from oak wood.

53. Triangular part of a house: GABLE.   The generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesthetic concerns.

54. Recommended spot to catch a sneeze: ELBOW.   I would think a tissue in one's hand would be more effective.

55. Marble hunks: SLABS.  Large, thick, flat pieces of stone, concrete, or wood, typically rectangular.

58. "__ girl!": ATTA.   An informal expression of encouragement or admiration to a woman or girl.

61. Kate Middleton, to Prince George: MUM.   One's mother.

62. Suturing ctrs.: ORs.   Operating Rooms in hospitals or surgical centers.

So ends this clever and timely puzzle.  And speaking of hospitals, I have my first cataract surgery next Monday.  Rally looking forward [so to speak] to seeing more clearly.

Cool regards!

JzB

Tuesday, April 23, 2024 Matthew Stock and Wendy L Brandes

Home is where the heart is.  The last word of each theme clue describes a type of living space.

16-Across. Digs for a member of a string quartet?: CELLO SUITE.  Suite:  a set of rooms designated for one person's or family's use or for a particular purpose.

26-Across. Digs for a gym rat?: MUSCLE BUILDING.  Building:  a structure with a roof and walls, such as a house, school, store, or factory.

42-Across. Digs for a Greek mythology buff?: OEDIPUS COMPLEX.  Complex:  A building complex consists of a large building or series of interconnected buildings that fulfill a specific purpose.

56-Across. Digs for a dancer?: BALLET FLAT.  Flat:  A term predominantly used in the United Kingdom to describe a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building.  The etymology of flat originates from the Old English word “flett,” dating back to the 1300s.  The term means level and in one plane.  Hence, the term flat is used to describe a one-level apartment.

Across:

1. Dynamism: PEP.

4. Eatery with a chalkboard menu: BISTRO.  Bistro: a small, casual restaurant with a relatively inexpensive, simple menu. Though often a French restaurant, it doesn't have to be, and not every bistro serves French food.  I was just reading something about the defeat of Napoleon and learned about the word Bistro came into the French language.  It was first used in the early 1800s following the 1814 occupation of Paris by Russian soldiers.  It seems that it was a mispronunciation of a Russian word that meant hurry.  Russian soldiers would shout Hurry at restaurant owners while waiting for their food.  Small restaurants began to pop-up that could quickly serve food ~ the original fast food restaurants!

10. Free TV spot: PSA.  As in Public Service Announcement.

13. "Origin" writer/director DuVernay: AVA.  Ava Marie DuVernay (b. Aug. 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer.  She has been involved in many movies, including Selma, and A Wrinkle in Time.  Origin is based on Isabel Wilkerson's book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. [Name # 1.]

14. Off-the-cuff performance: IMPROV.  Short for Improvisation.

15. Final push?: CRAM.  Cram:  Study intensively over a short period of time just before an examination.

18. Roll-call call: HERE.

19. "At Wit's End" writer Bombeck: ERMA.  Erma Bombeck (née Erma Louise Bombeck; Feb. 21, 1927 ~ Apr. 22, 1996) was an American humorist.  She wrote over 4,000 newspaper columns which gave a humorous view on family life.  She also published 15 books.  At Wit's End, her first publish book, came out in 1967. [Name # 2.]

20. Spherical body: ORB.

21. "Ant" on a celery "log": RAISIN.

23. Scand. land: NOR.  Norway is a Scandinavian country.

25. Flakes on plans: BAILS.  This clue appeared in last Tuesday's puzzle as Flake (on): Bail.  [See 68-Across in last week's puzzle.]

32. Lauder in the cosmetics aisle: ESTÉE.  Estée Lauder (née Josephine Esther Mentzer; July 1, 1908 ~ Apr. 24, 2004) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.  She was an American businesswoman. She and her husband, Joseph Lauter co-founded her eponymous cosmetics company.  [Name # 3.]

33. Measurement given in degrees: ANGLE.

34. __ Lanka: SRI.  Sri Lanka is the tear-drop island off the south-east coast of India.

36. OPS or RBI: STAT.  Both OPS (On-base Plus Slugging) and RBI (Runs Batted In) are baseball Statistics.

37. Prunes: TRIMS.

38. Sparks or Fire: TEAM.  The Los Angeles Sparks are a WNBA Team and the Chicago Fire is a soccer Team.  This clue is immediately followed by 39-Across. Like sparks and fire: HOT.

40. __ Monica Pier: SANTA.

41. Mazda roadster: MIATA.

45. Entrepreneur __ C.J. Walker: MADAM.  According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Madam C J Walker (née Sarah Breedlove; b. Dec. 23, 1867 ~ May 25, 1919) was the first female self-made millionaire in America.  That's a pretty amazing feat considering she was an African-American woman who born in Louisiana a year before the State was readmitted into the Union.  Her older sibling were all born enslaved.  She made her fortune by developing and marketing a line of cosmetics and hair care products for black women.  [Name # 4.]

46. Language in which to order larb: LAO.  Larb is certainly not a Tuesday word.  Larb is a spicy and sour meat salad and is the national dish of Laos.

47. Puts one's feelings on display: EMOTES.

49. Woebegone: SAD.  //  And 52-down. Woebegone word: ALAS.

51. Hand-held coolers: FANS.

55. Checkout lane purchase: TOTE.

59. Starchy snack bites, for short: TOTS.  Think of Tater Tots.  Yummers!  //  And 40-Down: 59-Across, perhaps: SIDE.

60. Tennis star Andre: AGASSI.  Andre Kirk Agassi (b. Apr. 29, 1970) was briefly married to actress Brooke Shields (b. May 31, 1965) in the 1990s.  [Name # 5.]

61. Periodontists' gp.: ADA.  As in the American Dental Association.

62. "Without further __ ... ": ADO.

63. Like some work from home: REMOTE.

64. "__ your piece": SAY.

Down:

1. Four-minute mile, for one: PACE.

2. CCR's "Have You __ Seen the Rain": EVER.  This song was first released in 1971 by Creedence Clearwater Revival.  Can it really be over half a century ago?

3. Acai tree, e.g.: PALM.

4. Info on a profile page: BIO.  As in a Biography

5. Post-triathlon lament: I'M SORE.

6. Barrel racer's accessory: SPUR.

7. Chi-Town paper: TRIB.  As in the Chicago Tribune.  Film critic and journalist Gene Siskel (1946 ~ 1999) wrote for the Tribune.

8. Turn brown, maybe: ROT.

9. Clothes with bibs and braces: OVERALLS.

10. Film similar to cling wrap: PRESS'N SEAL.  A bit unfair, since cling wrap is a generic term and the answer is the name of a product.

11. Garment that may be nine yards long: SARI.

12. Grace ender: AMEN.

15. Cook-off entry: CHILI.

17. Small surgical knife: LANCET.  Another déjà vu from last Tuesday.  Also the name of a medical journal.  The Lancet, which was founded in England in 1823, is one of the oldest medical journals.  [See 30-Down from last week.]

22. Congressional staffer: AIDE.

24. "Rah," in fútbol: OLÉ.  Today's Spanish lesson.

25. Signature Golden Arches offering: BIG MAC.  I understand it has a special sauce.

26. Sports bib material: MESH.

27. "We totally agree": US, TOO.

28. "Liberty and Prosperity," for New Jersey, e.g.: STATE MOTTO.  Louisiana's state motto is Union, Justice and Confidence.  What's yours?

29. Bailey's circus partner: BARNUM.  As in P.T. Barnum (né Phineas Taylor Barnum; July 5, 1810 ~ Apr. 7, 1891) and James Anthony Bailey (né James Anthony McGinnis; July 4, 1847 ~ Apr. 11, 1906).  [Names # 6 and 7.]

30. Curriculum parts: UNITS.

31. Shred, as cheese: GRATE.

35. Big big-screen format: IMAX.

37. Eatery with small plates: TAPAS BAR.  A tapa is an appetiser or snack in Spanish cuisine. Tapas can be combined to make a full meal, and can be cold or hot. In some bars and restaurants in Spain and across the globe, tapas have evolved into a very sophisticated cuisine.  Yummers!

38. WNBA game start: TIP OFF.

41. UFC sport: MMA.  As in Mixed Martial Arts and Ultimate Fighting Championship.

43. eHarmony matches: DATES.

44. Like Yellowstone, among National Parks: OLDEST.  Yellowstone National Park was established by and Act of Congress and President Ulysses S Grant () signed it into law on March 1, 1872.  Not only is Yellowstone National park the first National Park in the United States, but it is also believed to be the first national park in the world.

47. "At Last" singer James: ETTA.  Etta James (née Jamesetta Hawkins; Jan. 25, 1938 ~ Jan. 20, 2012) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.  [Name # 8.]

48. Atmosphere: MOOD.

49. Shut with a bang: SLAM.

50.  Additionally: ALSO.

53. Nothing at all: NADA.

54. "Hang around a bit longer!": STAY.

57. Just a number, for some: AGE.  Age is just a number.  It might be a big number, but it is just a number.

58. Cause for overtime: TIE.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Happy Passover for all who celebrate.  Enjoy the Second Seder tonight.