18. Shepherdess' movie role? : LEADING LADY. The star of the show; and a shepherdess is leading in a different sense. Ironically, Little Bo Peep didn't have that role.
39. Horse trainer's movie role? : BIT PART. A BIT is a piece of apparatus used by the trainer. It sits behind the teeth and is used to control the animal. Since BIT also refers to some small thing, a BIT PART is one filled by an actor who interacts with the main roles, but has five or fewer lines of dialog.
52. Weightlifter's movie role? : SUPPORTING ACTOR. This actor fills a role less important that that of the lead, but more filling than the BIT PART. The importance of this SUPPORT [see image below] is recognized by the separate awards [not pictured] granted in this category.
And the unifier --- 58. What 18-, 23-, 39- and 52-Across exemplify? : TYPE CASTING. This occurs when an actor repeatedly gets relegated to similar roles, and may have difficulty getting other types of roles. Incredibly, this list omits Sean Bean, always a failed near-hero who meets a violent end.
Alas, poor Sean - not for the faint-hearted - and they missed Boromir
Hi gang, it's JazzBumpa cast in the role of usher, to lead you through this theatrical blockbuster. Just have a seat here and we'll get the roles rolling.
Across
1. Mutinous Kubrick computer : HAL. A SUPPORTING ROLE in 2001, A Space Odyssey.
4. High-end violin : STRAD. Short for STRADivarius, any string instrument made by various members of the STRADivarius family, particularly Antonio, during the 17th and 18th centuries. AMATI also fits.
9. Sextet for Henry VIII : WIVES. Henry had six wives. A sextet - oh, my.
14. British verb suffix : ISE. We Americanize, They Anglicise [though spell check disagrees.]
15. "Some glory in __ birth ...": Shak. : THEIR. From Shakespeare's Sonnet 91.
16. Ginsburg associate : ALITO. Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.
17. Sprightly dance : JIG.
20. Sharp-wittedness : ACUMEN. The ability to make quick judgments and good decisions.
22. Gore, once : VEEP. Al was the Vice President at the end of the previous century. He was not related to Leslie, who passed away on 2/16/15. RIP songstress.
29. Met previously : KNEW. I knew I knew you.
30. "I'm listening ..." : GO ON. Keep talking
31. Delta deposit : SILT. Fine granular high silica material suspended in river water then deposited at the river mouth.
32. False flattery : SMARM. Insincere ingratiating behavior.
34. Robbins' ice cream partner : BASKIN.
36. ER personnel : M.D.s. Medical Doctors in the emergency room.
41. Org. concerned with the AQI : EPA. Environmental Protection Agency and the Air Quality Index
42. Crankcase component : OIL PAN. The bottom section of the crankcase acting as a reservoir for the engine oil.
44. Sends out : EMITS.
46. Boyfriend : BEAU.
47. Bearing : MIEN. A person's physical demeanor, especially as it relates to attitude and personality.
48. Meat pkg. letters : USDA. U. S. Dept. of Agriculture stamp on meat packaging.
56. Chamber group often including a piano : TRIO. An ensemble of three instruments.
6 min: 20 sec
57. Under control : IN HAND. Like a violin.
63. Loafer front : TOE. Shoe part
64. Madison Square Garden, e.g. : ARENA. Sports venue.
65. Cookbook verb : SAUTE. I'm not sure how this differs from frying.
66. Decorative vase : URN.
67. H.S. hurdles : PSATs. Pre-SATs. S.A.T. originally stood for Scholastic Aptitude Test, but in 1990, when it became obvious that it was no such thing, the name was changed to SAT, which evidently stands for nothing. Just one more educational scam? You decide.
68. Heavy metal cover : ARMOR. Medieval personal protection gear, not a rerecording of Led Zeppelin Hits.
Another 6 minutes well spent
Down
1. Take by force : HIJACK. Usually the thing taken is a vehicle of some sort.
2. "... based on my abilities" : AS I CAN. Is this an in the language phrase?
3. Peanut, for one : LEGUME. A dry dehiscent one-celled fruit developed from a simple superior ovary and usually dehiscing into two valves with the seeds attached to the ventral suture. If that seems a bit obscure, just think about peas and beans.
4. Fifth cen. pope called "The Great" : ST. LEO. He negotiated with Attila the Hun at the gates of Rome and persuaded the Vandals not to pillage the city, which actually is pretty great.
5. "Come to think of it ..." : THEN AGAIN.
6. Stephen of "Breakfast on Pluto" : REA.
7. Succor : AID. And comfort.
8. Hungry for success, say : DRIVEN. Type A personality.
9. Track transaction : WAGER. You want to bet? Or are you just horsing around?
10. "No thanks" : I'LL PASS. Me too. I'm not a gambler.
11. Google Maps directions word : VIA. By means of a particular route.
12. Sea-Tac approx. : E.T.D. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Estimated Time of Departure. Yes, this sent me agoogling.
13. Protein-rich bean : SOY. Another LEGUME.
19. Org. that funds cultural exhibitions : N. E. A. National Endowment for the Arts.
21. Litter peeps : MEWS. Kitty litter - no, wait . . .
24. Cruise stop : PORT.
25. Italian archaeological attraction : POMPEII. City annihilated by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD.
26. Puma competitor : NIKE. Athletic shoes.
27. Paper holder : CLIP.
28. Italian tourist attraction : ETNA. Another Italian volcano.
33. CFO's degree : M.B.A. Masters in Business Administration.
34. Invite as a member of : BRING INTO.
35. Verizon competitor : A.T.T. Once upon a time, American Telephone and Telegraph.
36. Unruly groups : MOBS.
37. The Lord, in Lourdes : DIEU. French for God.
38. Response to freshness? : SLAP.
40. "You got that right!" : AMEN.
43. Campsite sight : PUP TENT.
45. Very : SUCH. As in "of such importance . . ." Still, a clumsy fit.
47. Peak near Olympus : MT. OSSA. Not to be confused with the one in Tasmania.
49. Lincoln Memorial feature : STATUE.
50. Bloodmobile visitors : DONORS. Not vampires.
51. Zealous : ARDENT.
53. Black-and-white sea predators : ORCAS. Killer whales
54. Narrow inlet : RIA. A coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea.
55. __ management : ANGER. For those with hostility issues.
58. Bug on the line : TAP. Eavesdropping equipment, not insects.
59. Timeline parts: Abbr. : YRs. Years.
60. Shooter lead-in : PEA. A PEA shooter is a blow gun for propelling small objects, such as peas. By extension, any small bore weapon or trombone.
61. Sealing goo : TAR. For roads or roofs.
62. Periodic table suffix : IUM. As in helIUM.
69. Del. clock setting : E.S.T. Eastern Standard Time in Delaware.
OK, folks. That draws the curtain on the final scene. Among other things, we visited outer space, had mountainous terrain and a number of musical interludes. I'll give this production two thumbs up. How about you?
Cool Regards!
JzB
40 comments:
Morning, all!
Fun puzzle. I figured out the theme right away and that certainly helped. It would have been a speed run, but things slowed down considerably when I got to the SE corner. SUCH and BRING INTO just wouldn't come to me on their own and I needed to wait for a lot of perp help. Also, the tricky clue for ARMOR, well, tricked me for awhile and it took awhile to think of IUM.
I'm afraid to look out the window and see how much more snow we got last night...
The show's printer, to add extra zing
To his posters, thought fonts were the thing.
So he molded the form
And new letters were born,
Thus began the theater's TYPE CASTING!
When a fishing rod arcs on its swing
To plop lures of flies tied with string,
So they don't float away
Lead weights come to play,
For best fishing, use recycled TYPE CASTING!
Good morning!
My over-confidence bit me again today with ACUITY, ISLE and WAX. But these were just minor speed bumps. I got the theme, for a change, and it helped quite a bit.
JzB, cooks fry and chefs saute. That's why in fancy restaurants they ask, "Ya want sautes with that?"
I did not realize there was a second I in POMPEII. No wonder Mayor Shin pronounced it POM-PEA-AYE.
Good Morning, Jazzbumpa and friends. Easy and fun Wednesday theme. I immediately got LEADING LADY, but somehow initially thought the Shepherdess in clue referred to Cybill Shepard. It wasn't until after I got the next theme answer that "got" the Leading Lady pun.
I'm listening was my final fill and it read as GOON.
Still very cold, so stay warm.
QOD: The nicest thing is to open the newspapers and not find yourself in them. ~ George Harrison (Feb. 25, 1943 ~ Nov. 29, 2001)
Good das everyone,
An enjoyable Wednesday puzzle for the most part. The theme fills were never an issue, but did rely on perps to give me a jump start.
Had one nit however, and it may be only because I haven't kept up with]h all the changes in Corporate America. In these parts Verizon's competitor is still referred to as AT & T, not ATT. Maybe it's a crossword exception type rule or ATT is now the corp name.
I was sure SMARM was wrong, but the perps looked good. Like D-O, I did not realize there were two I's in POMPEII.
I don't think SMARM is as common as smarmy. Let's see what GoogleFight has to say.
Good Morning.
Thanks Jeffrey for a pleasant solve. I didn't get the theme entries right away, until my second run through with LEADING LADY when the rest fell into place. Henry's wives: divorced, beheaded,died, divorced, beheaded, lived: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. Of course, when you own the Pope, it's not divorce, it's annulment.;-)
I liked ARMOR, and I was fooled by something so simple as TOE.
Thanks, JazzB, for the expo and all the links. Hoping the Lion comes in on Sunday since the Ground Hog was of little use. . . .
Link saute vs fry
Good Morning:
An enjoyable Wednesday romp, especially so close to the Oscars, with the theme.
Thanks, Jeffrey, and thanks, JzB, for the witty and informative expo.
Sunny, but still very cold.
I watched The Judge last night; Robert Duvall and Robert Downey, Jr. were superb. Next on my list is St. Vincent with Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy.
Have a great day.BERL
BERL was part of the captcha. Sorry.
Good blog today, Jazz--I bet the reason there are only 10 comments so far at this late hour is that so many of us are enjoying all the links!
My only erasure was RIO/RIA, and that didn't take too long either. On the whole a nice fit for a Wednesday.
As I enter this puzzle on HAL ( yes I named it that years ago), I found this Wednesday's very smooth going.
HAL-move each letter to the next letter and you get IBM.
My only hiccups were the always unknown Shakespeare fill-in-THEIR and SMARM. But we wouldn't give the constructor any false flattery, but I liked the puzzle Jeffrey.
I initially put PISA for ETNA, ISLE for PORT, and UNDER for ANGER. The two word 'GO ON' had me thinking for a second.
Periodic Table is very familiar due to the fact that I have been helping the granddaughter with her chemistry lately. What I don't get is that this late in the school year they are just getting around to learning valences and naming ionic and covalent compounds, along with naming acids.
So thanks JAZZBUMPA for being a SUPPORTING ACTOR to our LEADING LADY C.C. and please excuse my CAMEO APPEARANCE as I only have a BIT PART in this blog.
Good morning everyone.
Jeffrey delivered another enjoyable puzzle. Liked the theme. Nice mix of mostly ordinary words and phrases intertwined in a way to make it both challenging and solvable. Like the inclusion of idiom: THEN AGAIN.
Sub-theme of legumes: PEA and SOY.
Nice intro, JzB. Thanks.
Off to play some bridge.
I was too busy scratching my head at 2D = asican to notice that i put baste for 66A cooking verb.
(Why go to Mt Osba when I am still trying to climb Mt Asican...)
Typecasting?
True, typecasting refers to having an actor repeatedly relegated to similar roles making getting other types of roles hard, but I'm sure many actors would also call this being employed.
Hi gang -
Fun puzzle, great theme.
I couldn't see the Lincolm memorial pic using either Safari or Firefox. Surprised nobody mentioned it.
Put a different pic in.
Happy Wednesday, everyone.
Cool regards!
JzB
A perfect puzzle après Hollywood’s self aggrandizing night of excess
Musings
-Lovely write-up and Mendelssohn background music, Jazz
-Variety documents LEADING LADY woes
-Sheldon Cooper, PhD, is a human depiction of HAL
-Just because I KNEW a student’s name in 1986 doesn’t mean I KNOW it now
-So Mr. Ponzi, you can get me 30% per month. GO ON…
-Do you remember Liza’s pronunciation of GO ON in My Fair Lady?
-50’s TV King of SMARM
-You can buy a device that EMITS this sound (:59). Try it on your dog or teen.
-Fires on the Cuyahoga River helped spur the creation of the EPA
-Saying “HI JACK!” to my friend Jack always sounds odd
-“Me play Mendelssohn? Okay, I’ll do as well AS I CAN”
-A truly DRIVEN person
-Winning the Power Ball odds - 1 in 175,223,510. I’LL PASS
-Erotic art on the walls of POMPEII bordellos were a sort of menu in a universal
-MOBS we all like
Hello Puzzlers -
Easy romp today. The theme made sense early on, and spec things along. I was never clear on the use of Smarm and smarmy until today - learned something.
Morning JzB, loved the musical links! It never occurred to me that three compact people could be stationed at a single marimba...makes sense now. And young Hilary Hahn, wow.
JW really is always on the mark, a puzzle with wit and so much interesting fill; PUP TENT, LEGUME, POMPEII, MT OSSA, HIJACK all words that you could sink your teeth into.
Being able to pair the two gridspanning themers made this a perfect Oscar season puzzle, perhaps the realization (realisation?) theta SUPPORTING ACTOR was 15 letters inspired the effort.
JzB, your write up was also a gem, but I am saddened to learn Leslie Gore died, and disappointed it took a week for me to learn the news.
Thank you Jeffrey and Ron
Let me take another minute to thank once again all those who were so kind as to send me birthday greetings on Monday. I wasn't on line during the day itself, so only caught up today--and I thank you, C.C., for the email prompt.
This is truly a pleasant community of puzzlers, and I am so happy to be included in the fellowship.
Jazz: What an amazing write-up and links. Took almost as much time to enjoy them all as it did to solve this wonderful puzzle.
Good job!
Jeffrey: Thank you for a FUN theme!
OK, my fave today was MT.OSSA ... since moving to Tarpon Springs I'm really enjoying everything Greek.
NIKE was a close second.
Off to acquire a new couch as the finishing touch to the new Villa Incognito.
Downsizing has been wonderful.
A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!
A fun theme today. It was a little tougher than usual for a Weds pzl, and it really helped to get the first long answer: LEADING LADY. That helped me to fill in the other TYPEs of CASTING when perps alone would not have done enough.
I enjoyed the inclusion of MT OSSA. I remember that Greek peak from a Shakespearean quotation (when Hamlet challenges Laertes to pile up so much bulls**t to "make OSSA like a wart") and from my surprise connection some years later to actually see OSSA as we were lost for a while in Greece while driving up neighboring Olympus.
Well, I digress. I'll end by adding my appreciation too for getting straightened out about the spelling of POMPEII.
Theme answers especially fun -- after figuring out CAMEOAPPEARANCE, I had things INHAND and solved this at a decent CLIP. As I said the other day, I am somewhat of a newbie to all this .. could some please expain why some letters are highlighted in the blog's reproduction of the puzzle?
Greetings, puzzlers! What fun! A doable Jeffrey puzzle and Jazzbumpa's amusing review. Have to watch the links later.
For the most part I sashayed right along and even got the theme! Learned that POMPEII has two I's and ANGER management not UNDER. I see mon DIEU often so that helped. TESTS at 67A held me up a BIT but then PSATS emerged to finish it all.
Thank you, Jeffrey Wechsler and JazzB!
Have a wonderful Wednesday, all!
AS I CAN?.... WHAT? Never heard of it...don't understand it.
Very enjoyable theme for today. Got all the relating answers in, but didn't fill in the unifier until the end.
Cookbook verb..BASTE or SAUTE? Did not know MT OSSA, so no help there. Had to wait. Guessed periodic table suffix IUM, so that made SAUTE the right word. The rest just fell into place.
The word SMARM makes me feel icky just saying it. It's a yucky word.
No sports references today. Thanks for the break.
Read that Tinbeni lives in Tarpon Springs, Florida. I lived there several years ago and love this Greek populated city. There is a tourist area called the Sponge Docks, by the water. It has all types of shops and attractions and the greatest food ever!
I live only a short distance away now, but haven't been there in a long time.
The weather on Florida's West Coast is warming up again. Not soon enough for me. Spring will be here for the rest of you shortly. It will get better, I promise.
Keep your spirits up. Enjoy.
Hi everybody. I worked on this late last night and enjoyed it very much; right up there with the best stuff from our Corner puzzle meisters. I found myself smiling several times when crossing letters help some long answers emerge.I had no trouble with STRAD but I was surprised that there wasn't some indication of an abbreviation or nickname. I suppose STRAD can be considered 'in the language' but I hear Stradivarius just as often. Litter peeps = MEWS seemed a little off to me but I fumbled around and got it OK.
Thanks Jeffrey and JzB.
Count me in the minority these days of those who like the SAT exams. They always seemed like a good measure of a person's thinking ability. Your ability to figure out something; to use what you'd been taught to figure out the answer to a problem you'd never seen before.
Well, first of all, two thumbs up to JazzB for all those amazing pics and links this morning! And what a delightful puzzle, Jeffrey--many thanks to you too! I loved that this movie theme was introduced with a reference to an invisible movie figure: HAL. Then RAE came along and soon we were in the middle of show biz.
Never heard of Sea-Tac but thank goodness the perps took care of that. My only hang-up for a long time was caused by thinking of Ginsburg as a poet rather than as a Supreme Court judge, but at some point the light came on.
Thanks for giving us all those WIVES, Madame D.
Have a great Wednesday, everybody!
Speaking of Anne Boleyn.
Cheers!
JzB
coneyro @11:37
The Greek Food here (as you said) amazing.
Whereas the Sponge Docks are interesting to visit, I am learning what a wonderful jewel Tarpon Springs has to offer.
Since I live on the North Side of the Anclote River ... I can walk about a half mile to the North Anclote River National Park.
(Geez, you live in a county for practically your whole life and learn there are fantastic places you never knew about).
And the OUZO is flowing at Villa Incognito.
Cheers!
BillG:
It's good to see you!
Sea-Tac is familiar only because I was there with my sisters last summer. Seattle only, not Tacoma.
Agree about SMARM it's eerie to say it.
Misty:
I also had poetry in mind but then Ruth Ginsburg made her APPEARANCE. And also it's Allen Ginsberg.
SUCH a good time today.
Another Ossa.
Thank you Jeffrey and Jazz.
Jazz - You've established a new standard for write ups. Wow!
Abandoned the puzzle with about a half-dozen strays remaining. Just didn't feel compelled to revisit it. Must be a Wednesday kinda thing.
Greetings!
Nice work, Jeffrey and Jazz! Thanks!
Haven't had a chance to read the comments. Soon, I hope.
No problems with puzzle. Smooth Wed. offering.
If you have a chance, take a gander at the Monday Wash. Post. Harder than our Sat. That means impossible.
Cheers!
Argyle 2:36 - the Ossa brings back memories! That was the first motorcycle I ever rode. My buddy's older brother had one, and we took the notion to try it out one day, kinda unauthorized-like. The old sawmill down the street had a maze of roads well away from anyone's view, and that's where we went. Considering our youth and inexperience we did remarkably little damage.
Ah, Lucina--you're a much better speller than I am! Thanks for clearing the Ginsburg/berg confusion up for me!
Misty:
It occurred to me that the distinction might lie in the spelling so I looked it up. Berg and burg as endings are confusing.
Lucina, it's good to be seen. :>)
JzB, I enjoyed the flash mob. I almost always do. I've never experienced one; maybe because I don't frequent malls and such.
Several of you recommended the biography of Richard Feynman. I'm enjoying it very much. So here's one back at you. It's "What if? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions" by Randall Munroe. My son gave it to me and it's great! What if everybody on earth aimed a laser pointer at the moon? Would it light up the dark side? What if everybody in the world took the SAT exam and marked in completely random guesses as answers to every multiple-choice question. How many perfect scores would there be?
G'Eve all!
It took me a BIT to catch-on, but I'll WAGER it was still my normal (slow) Wed. time. Thanks Jeffery for a fine puzzle. JzB - you and Steve always enlighten a Wed.
W/Os - 55d - uppER before ANGER, 30a i see b/f GO ON. Almost had Colosseum at 25d but fortunately (for today) didn't know how to spell it :-). BIT PART was my 1st them answer and the rest fell from there.
Favs: 14a ISE (that always messes me up when I get a .doc from the UK and re-underlines everywhere when I edit it!) and 68a - clue brought forward images of AD/DC LPs, Manhole covers, and metallic blankets :-)
Thanks everyone for the links and keeping up the fun.
Cheers, -T
Bill G: I loved What If. Munroe is smart, funny, and meta. Like today's info-graph. Look at where the past & future intersect...
Cheers, -T
Anon -T -
I've been looking at that info-graph. Somebody put a lot of effort into the thing! It's darned interesting.
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