Theme: Watch Your Step!
17. Adjusted sales figure on which some royalties are based : NET RECEIPTS. SAFETY NET.
28. Wood-finishing tool : BELT SANDER. SAFETY BELT.
37. Brass instrument played like a trumpet : VALVE TROMBONE. SAFETY VALVE.
45. Long, narrow mollusks : RAZOR CLAMS. SAFETY RAZOR.
60. Motto for the cautious ... or a hint to the starts of 17-, 28-, 37- and 45-Across : SAFETY FIRST
Melissa here. Straightforward theme, although I needed 60A to get it. Kept wondering what a VALVET was before the rest of 37A filled in.
Melissa here. Straightforward theme, although I needed 60A to get it. Kept wondering what a VALVET was before the rest of 37A filled in.
Across
1. Pilothouse wheels : HELMS. Started off with an unknown - the clue meant nothing to me. A d'oh moment later.
6. Sphere in a library : GLOBE
11. Cheering syllable : RAH
14. Use a broom : SWEEP
15. Lubricate again : RE-OIL
16. Touchdown approx. : ETA
19. Bus. get-together : MTG
20. Gentle touch : CARESS
21. Letter that opens with a click : EMAIL
23. Headache treatment : ASPIRIN
26. Concerning, on memos : IN RE. In Regard.
27. Seasonal bug : FLU
33. Tennessee senator __ Alexander : LAMAR. Unknown.
36. Zoo critter with striped legs : OKAPI
42. "Sure, I'll give you a ride" : GET IN
43. Sleep audibly : SNORE
50. Hotel divs. : RMS. Rooms.
51. Poet Khayyám : OMAR
52. Place for meditation : YOGA MAT
55. Intense personality : TYPE A
57. Response to a clever put-down : OH SNAP!
59. Actress Hagen : UTA. Learning moment.
65. Washington MLBer : NAT. Washington Nationals.
66. Mount in Exodus : SINAI
67. Lucky break : FLUKE
68. Genetic info letters : DNA
69. Seagoing mil. training group : NROTC. Naval Reserve Officers Training Corp.
70. Spine-tingling : EERIE
Down
1. QVC rival : HSN. Home Shopping Network.
2. Baaing mom : EWE
3. Tennis do-over : LET
5. Hurled weapon : SPEAR
6. "The Heart of the Matter" novelist Graham : GREENE
8. "Uh-oh!" : OOPS
9. Stand-up routine : BIT
10. Besides : ELSE
11. Send back, as to a lower court : REMAND
12. Clothing : ATTIRE
13. "Marvelous" Marvin of boxing : HAGLER
18. Bed with high sides : CRIB
22. Yellow "Despicable Me" character : MINION
23. CIO partner : AFL
24. Balkan native : SLAV
25. Shoe company with a cat in its logo : PUMA
29. Doone of Exmoor : LORNA
30. Ref's ruling : TKO. Technical Knock Out.
31. Retired newsman Donaldson : SAM
32. LAPD alerts : APB'S
34. 1990s veep : AL GORE
35. Camper driver, for short : RV'ER
38. And so on: Abbr. : ETC
39. Shop __ you drop : TIL
40. Par : NORM
41. Clever Bombeck : ERMA
44. Contractor's fig. : EST
45. Portly : ROTUND
46. "The Joy Luck Club" novelist : AMY TAN
47. Mexican revolutionary played by Brando : ZAPATA
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48. Word before "Pizza" or "River," in film : MYSTIC
49. PlayStation maker : SONY. This was my one wrong entry - tried SE for SEGA. Nope.
53. Social faux pas : GAFFE
54. Lots and lots : A PILE
56. Part of AAA: Abbr. : ASSN
57. Point __ return : OF NO
58. Qualifying race : HEAT
61. __ conditioner : AIR
62. Capek's robot play : RUR. Another learning moment.
63. Slide down the slopes : SKI
64. Collarless shirt : TEE
40 comments:
{C, C+, B-, B+.}
LAMAR and OMAR at breakfast had a spat.
LAMAR said that bacon should crackle in fat!
The sound that was PAR
Was a pop, claimed OMAR!
When they tested, the noise was a sizzle! OH, SNAP!
The party was rolling, the band was on fire,
The VALVE TROMBONE wailed like a crier!
One GAFFE of elan
Was the Michelin man,
Who attended while dressed in his finest, A TTIRE!
Why do we say we're "happy as CLAMS"?
They are as boring as toasts without jams!
Maybe it's simple,
They can't grow a pimple --
That at least works for Occam's RAZOR CLAMS!
The stripes on the legs of wild OKAPI
Are spills from the critter's eating so sloppy!
An even worse GAFFE
Is what they'll teach a calf:
"Do as I do, it's OK to o-copy!"
Greetings!
Good work, Patti and mb!
Really enjoyed this puzzle!
HAGLER filled itself in gradually.
Had bone density scan Monday afternoon.
Harv left his iPhone in the easy chair Sunday evening. It woke me up early and I couldn't get back to sleep!
Have a great day!
Morning, all!
Mostly all in my wheelhouse today. Never heard of a VALVE TROMBONE before, but that was about it. It was nice to see HAGLER in the grid (haven't heard or thought of him in years, but knew of him very well back in the day).
Had "sling" instead of SPEAR for a short time, otherwise very quick and easy.
I took the HELM on this one and kept full speed ahead until I came to OH SNAP. I had filled AMPLE for the down. Never heard the term 'oh snap' but A PILE replaced AMPLE to complete the puzzle.
VALVE TROMBONE, slide trombone, baritone horn- play the same range- I played baritone horn.
Good morning!
Thanx, Patti, for a smooth Tuesday outing. Only needed to change SERB to SLAV. Melissa, I'm surprised you weren't familiar with "Rossum's Universal Robots" -- that play has been a crossword staple for years.
My first employer in the awl patch was ZAPATA -- named after the movie, not the character. At that time the south tower of Pennzoil Place in Houston was named Zapata Tower. No more. The company's one-year anniversary award was a silver Cross pen decorated with the company's distinctive "Z" logo. The day I received it, Linda Zapp, the bartender at my favorite watering hole, saw that pen and glommed onto it. I never saw it again.
Good Morning, Melissa and friends. Fun puzzle, although HELMS didn't immediately come to me, and it didn't help that I didn't know HSN. It took the perps to give me enough letters to get both words.
I wanted Hop In before GET IN.
My favorite clue was Letter that Opens with a Click = EMAIL.
I enjoyed Joy Luck Club, but AMY TAN's novel The Valley of Amazement didn't live up to my expectations.
QOD: If you haven’t cried, your eyes can’t be beautiful. ~ Sophia Loren (b. Sept. 20, 1934)
Hi Y'all! Liked the theme and puzzle, Patti! Thanks, Melissa! Hope that woman thrashing around the snorer gets some rest soon.
The "M" in PUMA/LAMAR cross was the last to fill. I've never seen PUMA shoes except in cws and never remember it. Didn't know LAMAR.
OH SNAP? Weird thing to say in the clue context.
Didn't know HAGLER. ESP But I've know some people who have to HAGLE about every thing they buy.
AL GORE had me puzzled. I was racking my brain for a VP with a six-letter last name. Duh! Quayle? Not in the 1990's. More four or five-letter VP names. How soon I forget the veeps.
Thank you Patti and Melissa.
"Marvelous" Marvin HAGLER. Thomas "Hitman" Hearnes. Ray "Boom-Boom" Mancini. Yeah, I tuned in. Bought a few Pay-Per-View events to watch Boom-Boom. He was a local hero back home.
Never heard of RAZOR CLAMS and never heard the expression OH SNAP. Must have been from a more genteel time.
Then we had Social faux pas : GAFFE. Why did I think of... Oh, never mind. Not very genteel.
Loved the MINIONS movie. It's the gift I ended up with at Chinese Christmas last year.
Have been helping my buddy with his 35' Fleetwood Bounder. It's really nice. Even an experienced RV'er can make the mistake of forgetting to drain the plumbing lines before the first deep freeze. Usually just once, I'm told.
"Point Of Know Return" was Kansas' best selling album. In addition to the title song, it also contained another hit, "Dust in the Wind."
D-O, I've been in most of the Houston downtown skyscrapers multiple times. At least those built by 1987. I'm sure your neighbor has as well. Pennzoil Place was a favorite.
I got it all, but it wasn't nearly as easy for me as it was for those already commenting. Didn't know VALVE TROMBONE, RAZOR CLAMS, NROTC or ZAPATA. Kinda-sorta knew LAMAR Alexander, OKAPI and AMY TAN. I'm always gun-shy with RNA/DNA. I also erased HOP in. I think of OH SNAP as being a modern term. Many sites display the phrase if a bad link is clicked. First cousin of "404 - File not found."
Quick little puzzle. Two unknowns, LAMAR took perps and wags, HAGLER took every single perp,otherwise nothing new. I wanted HOP IN, too. I've seen OH SNAP before, as Jinx said. Although I knew of RAZOR CLAMS, I learned today that they are abundant along the West Coast. Have any of you Californians dug for them?
I liked AMY TAN's Kitchen God's Wife, Joy Luck Club, and Bonesetters Daughter. I haven't read The Valley of Amazement. I choose to read many novels about the meeting and clash of two cultures and also about the immigrant experience. This interest helped me with my application for an all expenses paid fellowship to see Japan's education system and be a bi-cultural rep in my classroom at home.
My grandson is interested in the NROTC. It is quite a commitment for a freshman. If all goes well, maybe next year.
Good Morning! Fun puzzle. Thanks Patti! Did pretty well without the theme.
Barry, of course HELM(s) came easily--it's right in your "wheelhouse" where it belongs! ;-)
Thanks for the tour Melissa. I love Ellen. She is one funny lady!
Have a good day everyone.
Hello Puzzlers -
Zoomed right through, taking note of the long theme answers along the way but failing to see the connection. The reveal fixed that, of course.
It'll be interesting to hear what JzB says about valve trombones. They seem to take all the fun out of it.
From yesterday: I didn't watch Dobie Gillis back in the day - it was a trifle before my time - but the few clips I've seen on YouTube, including yesterday's, have led me to think that Bob Denver made a pretty darned un-convincing beatnik.
Morning, Argyle! I didn't get to say Arr even once yesterday. Snap.
Good morning everyone.
Melissa doing yeoman duty today. Thank you for a nice intro.
Easy Tuesday. One strikethrough, had hop IN before GET IN. Liked the SAFETY theme.
HELM - (Clue was fine.) All modern ships have power steering, so the 'wheels' have become quite small. Our destroyer's (WWII vintage) was the size of a McCormack-Deering 10-20 tractor steering wheel. Modern cruise ships' wheels are half the size of a car's.
Helm as a verb has been around since the 17th siècle, but is not used at sea to my knowledge. Just the noun. "Who has the helm?" "Mind your helm". "Bridge has lost the helm; after-steering take control". Otherwise, "Steer course 085", "Right standard rudder" "Meet her", and so on.
Greetings to all!
A pretty straight forward offering today. "Marvelous" Marvin HAGLER was 100% filled by perps. Have never heard the phrase OH SNAP, but in looking into it, I see that it's been around for a while.
Thank you for leading us through today's offering, Melissa.
Enjoy the day!
Good Morning:
This was a pretty straightforward Tuesday offering with no bumps or hiccups, although I wondered what a Valvet was, for a minute or two. The reveal brought an aha because, up until then, I was in the dark about the theme. The first time I heard "Oh snap" was on TBBT and I believe it was voiced by Sheldon. I've seen razor clams on some of the cooking shows but I don't think they're available in this area.
Nice job, Patti, and nice pinch-hitting Melissa.
For any Michael Weatherly fans out there, his new series, "Bull" premieres tonight. He plays a jury consultant which could be an interesting departure from the usual lawyer-centric shows. We'll see.
Have a great day.
Oh Snap! I see that I didn't catch on to the fact that today's elucidator was MBee. So, thanks Melissa!
:-)
Cute, clever theme from Ms. Varol. Thank you.
My late DH was an avid boxing fan so Marvin HAGLER came easily.
All smooth sailing. Thank you, MB, for your guidance at the HELM.
Have to go. Later.
Have a beautiful day, everyone!
A fun puzzle as is typically the case around here. Thanks Patti and Melissa.
I've heard or seen "Oh snap!" from time to time in the last year or so. It seems to be a modern, hip, with-it expression that serves no useful purpose since we've already got other tried and true words and expressions that convey the same meaning. Two favorites are "Oh crap!" and "Rats." Will I ever need or want to say "Oh snap" instead of those two old favorites? I think not.
Like many, I have never heard of a VALVE TROMBONE thinking the name trombone required a slide, but then I recall it being called a slide trombone..oh well, the perps filled it all.
Likewise RAZOR CLAM which look like fun. We used to go clam digging on Long Island Sound (Connecticut side) when I was young and gave away all we caught.
Patti, someone hit your productivity button and you are keeping busy.
Thanks to our all female presentation, PV and mb
Thanx, PV, for a terrific CW!! Thanx, MB, for a fun write-up! Did the CW much earlier today but couldn't come here 'till now. Went to the custom shoe maker with my wife, to argue with the guy. We wanted a pair of custom built shoes, but we ended up O.K.ing want he wanted to give us because we are just worn out with trying to find someone who will do it the way we want. Pretty grumpy for the rest of the morning after that, too grumpy to come here. Anyway, hope everyone has a good day. At the moment getting hit with a really violent thunderstorm here in Fort Lauderdale, I hope there's no tornado, but it sounds really ominous at the moment.
Musings
-A $78M SAFETY NET being considered on this famous structure
-Is Mr. Sulu the most famous officer of the HELM?
-Old GLOBES still have U.S.S.R.
-My GI Doctor says yes to FLU shot, no to shingle shot
-Since 2001, volleyball serves that hit the Net are now in play
-Many people wondered why he risked his eyesight to fight HAGLER
-After passing his “point of NO RETURN”, it was then Lindberg said he was struck by his arrogance in attempting such a flight.
I found this a bit crunchy for a Tuesday, and in the end had to look up Pilothouse in order to get HELMS. But the rest filled in slowly, and so, many thanks, Patti!
Nice expo, Melissa, and it's great to finally see a photo of UTA Hagen after the kazillion puzzles in which she's appeared. Also the first time I've learned what R.U.R. stands for.
Have a great day, everybody!
After working the puzzle early this morning I took off to play golf with our normal group of 40-50 players. Starting on the 18th hole with the scramble start, we got word to let some 'celebrities' play through. And who was it? The movie premiere for 'Deep Water Horizon' about the BP rig explosion was last night.
Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell. I saw Wahlbergs tee shot go a long way. He thanked us for letting him play through. I just looked up their handicaps.
Russell- 8.2 Wahlberg 8.7 Big Easy ( not Ernie Els) 17 Kate Hudson wasn't with them.
Safety net? Arr...
Safety Belt!
Safety valves sometimes come in pairs...
Hmm, methinks the pic for Safety razor, could be better used under Safety First...
Hi, again. My granddaughter asked me to accompany her to take care of her speeding ticket, yikes, and as always, there was more waiting than contact time. They assigned her a court date or the option to take a class, which she will do.
Misty:
My thoughts exactly about UTA Hagen. When filling it I thought to myself as often as I've seen her name, she would never be recognizable to me. Aha! Her photo appeared. Thank you, MB. The same for R.U.R. which I'm sure I've seen before, just don't recall it easily. It will go into my CW dictionary.
OHSNAP is new to me as is so much current cultural knowledge.
Yes, I'm looking forward to Michael Weatherly's new show and hope it's good.
Sptizboov:
Thank you so much for the seafaring knowledge you so consistently impart. That's an area of which I know only from books so it's quite limited.
This is the kind of puzzle I wish I had thought of. Patti, that's a compliment.
A good friend who was a retired Naval Commander lived in Washington State. His son had a beach house on the Pacific Coast. My friend used a walker but he loved to go to his son's place, crawl around on the sand and dig RAZOR CLAMS. He was happy as the proverbial CLAM doing this for hours with his little shovel and pail. Sounded like a kid again to me. The family liked to eat them so he felt productive. Don't know for sure, but I think they smoked them on the barbeque.
My son planned to take NROTC but decided on AFROTC which had a better program at the school he chose for mechanical engineering. Never regretted the choice.
I had the same thought about the picture of UTA. I was surprised at the era she was popular. I thought she was more recent.
Same here, Melissa - only I kept wondering what a VELVET was before filling the rest.
I was interested in the response to both UTA and R.U.R., as they are strong memories for me. As a teacher, UTA Hagen is remembered as one of the outstanding exponents of a modified Stanislavsky "method." I saw her only once--in Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf--but that performance is one of my most powerful theater memories.
As for R.U.R., I recall reading it as an undergrad and thinking then how dated it seemed. The basic idea is predictable, that when robots become more sophisticated, they become spiritually more human than their human creators. For many years I had no reason to re-visit it, but then one of my students decided to stage it about ten years ago. I have to say it held up rather well. Nice to see it re-appearing in a Xwd after some months of absence.
Happy Tuesday!
Thank you for the great puzzle and write up Melissa!
Mystic Pizza was one of my favorites in high school. A cute love story with several characters and lots of random people in it - here's a clip with a very young Matt Damon. Vincent D'Onofrio was also in it...
Didn't know what a VALVE TROMBONE was but found this and thought you guys might enjoy it. Maynard Ferguson from 1959.
Not a fan of OH SNAP. Been around forever, but its never crossed these lips. Of course, what I am more likely to say in place of OH SNAP would commonly be heard at the HELM.
Wishing you all a lovely evening!
tawnya
Tawnya @ 5:43 - My oh my, did you nudge the memory bank for me with Maynard Ferguson. My LH was a huge MF fan. I never heard of him until Hubby talked about him and the likes of Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Dave Brubeck, Ziggy Elman, Buddy Rich, Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, Gene Krupa, et al. Being ten years my senior, he was well beyond my limited musical exposure and, to be truthful, jazz gives me a headache.
Quick, easy romp for me today. Never heard of OHSNAP but perps convinced me. I also had Hop IN before GET IN, but it was easily fixed. Thanks all. It was a fun outing .
Owen, I loved them all!
It's fun to read all of the clever stuff you guys find to write about. I enjoy hanging out listening to the conversation...
PROPER USE OF EMOTICONS
It was the best of times :>)
It was the worst of times :>(
I agree with a few others it was crunchy for a Tuesday.
Maybe cause is was soooo early in the AM and then had to finish later after a nap.
Naturally HELM was in many of my wheelhouses since I was a offshore boat captain in the gulf of mexico. Not trying to steal your glory Barry G LOL Also HELM is seen in crosswords often. As Captain Picard says often Data you have the HELM !!!
Hands up for VELVET Got OH SNAP easy. I always say OH SUGARS in front of my granddaughter instead of OH SH!!!!!
I know of ZAPATA Haynie when they bought out Seacoast as a pogy fish operation in the gulf of mexico for fish oils used in makeup, fertilizers and chicken feed.
Nice review Melissa B !!!
Plus Tard from a starting to dry out Cajun Country. ~!~!
Lets hope it lasts for a few days ~!~!
Hi all:
Late to the party. I had an epiphany and re-wrote 80% of my presentation for tomorrow tonight. Seems silly to chunk a weekend's worth of work at the 11th-hour but it's much better and I'm happy w/ it.
Thanks Patti for a bit of fun in my day. Thanks Melissa B stepping in/up for Argyle.
FIRST, I FIW - AMY nAN sounded good and I had no idea who 59a was. Also I left ASOc in place @56d and didn't check the perp :-(
WOs: tigOR CLAMS [sic] b/f ROTUND showed the way. Serb b/f SLAV. HSN was The SN for far too long and I almost lost control of the HELM.
ESPs: HAGLER and OKAPI.
Fav: MINION - I've not seen that movie; but they were LOL in Despicable Me. Since then, when the dishes need done, I just yell "Minions" to get the Girls to do their chore.
Confused on OH, SNAP! ? [TV-MA; Key & Peele - The first few min are just "yo' mama jokes" - gets raunchy after @2:35]. For those not braving the link... "Did you just drop that dis?" " Ooooh, Snap!" OR "He got you! Daaaang!"
{B, B, C+, B+}
Jinx - I think "Oh, Snap" is just a 404 in Chrome. It Oh Snap also has "dang, dawg, sucks for you" connotations ;-)
Time to wind down - our two days of presentations starts tomorrow at 8a and ends around 9p (including dinner). If you don't hear from me by Saturday, let it be know I died by death of PowerPoint.
Cheers, -T
It was more fun in 3-D... DM Minions. I'm wound down-ish. Nite. C, -T
Enjoy the time off from the blog, Anon T!
We're going to miss the late night banter between you and your mom.
Well I finally have some time. I just realized I have to refresh this blog.
Thx Patti and Mbee.
Hagler followed in the Brockton footsteps of Rocky Marciano. I see Google knew Rocky but not MM.
Owen. I liked No 1. Nothing like bacon humor.
HELM threw me because couldn't recognize Pilothouse with my progressive lenses. My cataract surgery resulted in farsighted ness vs nearsighted.
And apparently it's not working so well. I'm probably better off with cheap bifocals.
Signing out from the ETHERial plane
I knew it. Started the post at two and ended 14 hours later.
But, I'm back because noticed QODs to Mme De(The best...) and the recently departed Edward Albee. Not to speak of RUR's connection to Picard and Data's spiritual development
Oh well. Maybe somebody will read this. Argyle, Lemony? 😊
Me... -T
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