18. Church official: PARISH CLERK. A church official charged with carrying out specific duties. This term was in much more common use in the 19th century.
24. Vermont senator since 2007: BERNIE SANDERS. From 1990 to 2006 he represented Vermont in the House of Representatives. He also served as mayor of Burlington from 1980 to 1999. If you ever think your vote doesn't matter, remember he won his first election by 10 votes. Deeper than that into politics we shall not venture.
And then the centrally located two-part unifier. 37. With 39-Across, seed money ... or what 18-, 24-, 48- and 58-Across each has: STARTUP.
39. See 37-Across: CAPITAL. Together, they indicate the initial investment needed to get a business going; and also, via word play, the CAPITAL city of a European country at the START of each theme entry.
The cities are --
PARIS, France;
BERN. Switzerland;
ROME, Italy; and
RIGA, Latvia.
Across:
1. Plane engine housing: POD. For wing mounted engines.
4. Hindu philosophy: TANTRA. Adherence to the doctrines or principles of the tantras, involving mantras, meditation, yoga, and ritual.
10. "Don't leave": STAY. Dog command?
15. Signals for firefighters: ALARMS.
16. Only state with a non-rectangular flag: OHIO. I knew this, since I am from there. Also - what's round at both ends and hi in the middle? Now - on to stuff I did not know.
20. "I'm game!": LET'S. And away we go!
22. Business abbr.: INCorporated.
23. Singer Mann: AIMEE. New one for me.
28. Gambling city on the Truckee: RENO. Nevada. The Truckee is the only outlet from Lake Tahoe, and it empties into Pyramid Lake in the great basin.
29. Golden Delicious, e.g.: APPLE. My absolute least favorite variety.
30. Hosp. recovery area: POST-OP. After surgery location.
32. Prepared: SET. Ready to go.
33. Add to the staff: HIRE. Bring on a new employee.
41. Jedi master with pointy ears: YODA.
44. Business losses, figuratively: RED INK. Debits are noted in red, so, if they exceed credits, the red dominates.
45. Biting desert lizards: GILAS. Large, slow moving, venomous lizards, native to the North American southwest
47. Buddhist temple bell: GONG.
Note the family hair
54. Youthful fellow: LAD.
55. Difficult journey: TREK.
62. "__ you alone?": ARE. Can I come over?
63. Flood-anticipation precaution, briefly: EVACuation. Also for wild fires.
64. Was nearly empty: RAN LOW. In short supply.
65. Fabric flaw: RIP. Tear.
66. Dollars for quarters: RENT. Living quarters. Clever!
67. Word from a poser: CHEESE. Induces a quasi-smile in a photographic subject.
68. Thus far: YET. Up to now.
Down:
2. Fantasy meanie: OGRE.
3. "Chin up!": DON'T BE SAD. Things could be worse.
4. Touch lightly: TAP. Or PAT. Needed perp help.
5. Harlem Renaissance writer Locke: ALAIN. Alain Leroy Locke [1885-1954] was an American writer, philosopher, educator, and patron of the arts. Distinguished as the first African-American Rhodes Scholar in 1907.
7. Bench press beneficiary: TRICEPS. Muscles in the backs of the upper ams.
8. White House's 132: Abbr.: RMS. Rooms.
9. Firepit detritus: ASH. Burnt wood residue.
10. Three-dimensional: SOLID. Having length, width and height.
11. __ park: THEME. An amusement park designed around a central or unifying concept - Disney World, for example.
12. Broadcaster: AIRER. Presenter of radio or TV programming.
13. Oxen connectors: YOKES. A YOKE is a crosspiece connecting the necks or shoulders of animals, so they can pull a load together.
19. Stick for a walk: CANE.
21. Nissan sedan: SENTRA.
25. Ginger or ginseng: ROOT.
26. Builder's guideline, briefly: SPEC. Specification - detailed instruction for the project.
27. Ring exchange place: ALTAR. Wedding rings.
28. __-Rooter: ROTO. Drain pipe and sewer cleaning device, and service company of the same name.
30. "Gangnam Style" musician: PSY. Erm. Here, if you're interested.
31. Festival in the month of Adar: PURIM. A Spring festival held on the 14th or 15th of the month to commemorate the defeat of Haman's plot to massacre the Jews as recorded in the book of Esther. Deeper than that into religion we shall not venture.
34. Travel plan: ITINERARY. A planned route, including stops, if any.
35. Hit the bell: RANG. Bonged the GONG
36. Caribou cousin: ELK. Cervus canadensis, one of the largest members of the deer family; but not as large as the moose. To muddy the waters, in British English, the moose is called the ELK. Go figure.
38. Sport for equestrians: POLO. A game similar to field hockey, played on horse back, using long-handled mallets.
40. Simon who co-wrote and co-starred in "Shaun of the Dead": PEGG. [b 1970] British actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Would he confuse ELK with moose?
43. Sun worshiper's mark: TAN LINE.
45. Nanny __: GOAT. A female of this animal variety. The male is called Billy. I don't know why.
46. Bread or butter: STAPLE. An important item in something, such as a diet. When the sword swallower lost his job with the circus, he fell on hard times and couldn't even provide STAPLES for his family.
48. Not so well-done: RARER. Meat cooking terms.
49. Salade niçoise morsel: OLIVE. From the city of Nice, in France, this salad also contains a variety of other ingredients, including tomatoes, hard boiled eggs and anchovies in an olive oil dressing.
50. Fox of "Transformers": MEGAN.
52. "Until next time": ADIOS. Buh-bye.
56. Cleveland's lake: ERIE. Where I come from, it's Toledo's Lake!
57. Held on to: KEPT. As, frex, the faith.
59. Tolkien monster: ORC. Evil cave dwelling creature that cannot abide the sun.
61. Little lamb's mom: EWE. A sheep in sheep's clothing.
And with that wool blanket we'll wrap up our tour. Hope you enjoyed the ride.
Cool regards!
JzB
desper-otto FLN at 7:08 AM, TTP at 9:24 AM, and Anonymous T at 7:41 PM,
ReplyDeleteMea culpa. I had two crosswords open when I was composing. I had just gone back to work 11-7, and it had the Natick of hejira and mao.
Ðave
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks to C.C. and Jzb!
Nice puzzle!
FIW, only hangups being ALAIN, PSY, PEGG, STAPLE and MEGAN.
C.C. enjoyed your other two puzzles yesterday!
Hope to see you tomorrow!
There was a young fellow in PARIS
ReplyDeleteWho by chance was also named Paris.
Paris of Troy?
Paris CAPULET?
Paris of Voyager?
No, a Texan, in full -- Paris Harris!
This cold-hearted lady from BERN
Decided English the language to learn.
Her choices were awesome,
But she turned to arson,
Saying she always had time to burn!
Vatican City is in the heart of ROME.
Only 800 people call it home.
Of that population
Females are a fraction,
It's where Sadie Hawkins wants to roam!
A pacifist young man from RIGA
Was reluctant to pull a trigger.
But it had to be done
There was no way, not one,
To open his umbrella any quicker!
{B, A, B, A.}
Really creative idea for the poems. I love it.
DeleteC. C. Is pumping out pleasing puzzles persistently
ReplyDeleteAided by her recent partner and regular Boswell the day is off to s great start
Always exciting for it is the anniversary of the birth of my oldest child
Still in Thailand so the celebration and thanksgiving will wait but I will thank C.C. and every constructor and every poster for ten plus years of fun and friendship and learning
i loved the tan line pic btw
ReplyDeletewell done Ron
Yesterday someone commended on keeping a Tampa newspaper just to get a hard copy of this crossword. You can print it on line from the LA Times or Washington Post web site.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning, JazzB and friends. Fun and RARE speed run for a Wednesday. I had a couple of answers filled in before I read the clue. My only hangup was with the Hindu Philosophy and the crossing of the White House's 132.
ReplyDeleteI never knew (or even thought about) how many rooms there were in the White House. Just a couple more than in why house!
I loved the photo showing the various tan lines! The computer programer was amusing.
Lots of preparation today for tomorrow's feast with friends.
Stay warm.
QOD: Shun idleness. It’s a rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals. ~ Voltaire (né François-Marie Arouet, b. Nov. 21, 1694 ~ d. May 30, 1778)
Thanks CC and Jzb
ReplyDeleteFIR in good time.
No look ups or write overs.
Neat page . Teacher would be pleased.
Hope to find time this winter to pay for some TAN lines. :-)
Cheers
FIW, with RiNG x CAPITiL. Bad spellers of the word, UNTIE!!! Erased ort for ORC and sirens for ALARMS.
ReplyDeleteLike fermatprime, DNK ALAIN, PSY, or PEGG. Also AMIEE Mann, and NARNIA (sounds like one of those lion fills I never get). Salade nicoise? If you say so, just don't eat the Caesar salad.
I wanted Larry David for the Vermont senator. I wanted quotes around "musician" for PSY. When I lived in San Pedro, CA I went to Abalone Cove beach most every day. Nary a tan line for those couple of years.
OK Lemonade, what's a "regular Boswell"? I saw a commercial yesterday for IRregular boswell syndrome, or something like that.
Thanks for the clever puzzle, CC. I especially liked RANG / GONG and GOAT / GILAS. And thanks to JzB for the fun review. I wouldn't have believed that RIGATONI PIE was a thing had you not included the picture. But you may want to lay off the bong for a day or two. Munchies and cornucopia don't mix.
C.C., what are you doing to me. When I don't know 1A-POD-and have to fill a 3-letter with perps I cringe. Then the next across is unknown fill-TANTRA crosses another unknown writer ALAIN Locke, and I have to make a WAG to finish the puzzle as my last fill. With the clue for START UP CAPITAL in the center, I had to ignore the clue and it was finished by perps. Never notice the theme.
ReplyDeleteFlag- either UTAH or OHIO. PSY, AIMEE Mann, MEGAN Fox, & PEGG were other perp fills.
After filling BERNIE SANDERS my first thought to fill 45D was STATE but it was too long so Nanny GOAT had to fit. For if you're one of his fans, DON'T BE SAD. Free stuff bought with OPM ain't free. Somebody's gotta pay.
JzB- still have the hair and the Levolor blinds?
ROTO-Rooter. On Monday water started backing up into my utility sink when the washing machine was draining. Not good. I poured a quart of a drain cleaner that contains H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) down the washing machine's drain and that took care of it in about 15 minutes. Followed up by using an entire gallon of a lye based drain cleaner in the other three drains that feed into the same line on that side of the house and left it overnight. No need for Roto-Rooter (I hope).
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteHad a few missteps this morning: TAP, HIDDEN and GRAN (didn't see the line after Nanny). Nothing a little Wite-Out couldn't fix. The only singer named Mann I could come up with was Manfred of the immortal Do Wah Diddy Diddy, but it didn't fit. TANTRA sounds like the plural of tantrum. Thanx, C.C. and JzB (great tan-line photo). Jinx were you altogether happy with that beach?
D-O I was eventually altogether happy, but at first I was Blinded by the Light. BTW, just up the cliff there was a church named St. Peters by the Sea. Like Dave Barry, I am not making this up.
ReplyDeleteHi gang -
ReplyDeleteFun romp today.
Had to search quite a bit for a tan line pic that was both good enough and socially acceptable.
Big Easy - Only some of the hair remains, alas. And the incipient greying has proceeded apace. The blinds were replaced with wooden ones years ago. Granddaughters Alexa and Rebekka are now freshman honors students at Central Michigan U.
Per Wikipedia, James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck, was a Scottish biographer and diarist, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for the biography he wrote of his friend and contemporary, the English literary figure Samuel Johnson, which is commonly said to be the greatest biography written in the English language.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Cool regards,
JzB
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI was on the right wavelength today. Unknowns filled themselves in. Great fun. Thanks,C.C.
I loved Dollars for Quarters for RENT and Word from a poser for CHEESE.
Great tour, JzB. Loved all the music.
Happy thanksgiving Everyone! Don’t eat too much turkey.
Jazz: Nice write-up.
ReplyDeleteI've been to Jamaica 54 times, always stayed at Hedonism II ...
NEVER came home with ANY Tan Lines ... Oh well ... guess that happens when you go to a place with a Nude Beach ... LOL
Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Cheers!
Wednesday workout. Thanks for the fun, C.C. and JzB.
ReplyDeleteC.C. got me today and I FIWed in more than one location.
I could not remember that "Gangnam Style" musician's name (fame is fleeting eh!) and having ROTA instead of ROTO-Rooter did not help. And I did not do a complete alphabet run to reach the Y or I would have finally recognized YODA.
Then I arrived here to see that in moving from Pat to Dab and getting the P from PARISH CLERK, I did not correct the D to TANTRA.
I also searched in vain for the theme, having PC, BS, RM, RP capitals in the themers but not seeing the cities in front of my face. D'uh!
I changed Ring to RANG when I realized the clue was past tense. I changed the French Adieu to the Spanish ADIOS when perps required it.
ROMEO filled in quickly but I had to count the remaining spaces to decide whether he was a Capulet or a MONTAGUE.
Like SwampCat, "I loved Dollars for Quarters for RENT and Word from a poser for CHEESE."
ERIE again, after it won yesterday's contest for the most used CW entry. LOL! Lake Erie is not frozen yet and Buffalo is predicted to get snow today. Snow squalls may created difficult driving conditions for American Thanksgiving travellers.
Which brings me to TAN LINES (great photo) which are only for Canadian snowbirds this time of year. LOL Jinx re Abalone Cove beach stories.
Re: "in British English, the moose is called the ELK." This is one Britishism that did not cross the ocean. Canadians differentiate ELK and Moose.
Wishing you all a great day, and safe travels for those who are on the move.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Can you see the white flag I’m waving. TANTRA, NARNIA and ALAIN were never going to come. I’ll take 3 blank cells and move on!
-A fun theme and write-up! I love the TAN LINES, Jazz!
-The plot of this movie took them to RENO
-A RIP in jeans is now haute couture
-Bemidji, MN and Bangor, ME both claim PAUL Bunyan
-C.C. declined this ASH cluing
-My dentist has a machine that produces a 3-D crown in about a half-hour
-Tolkien has ENTS and ORCS and I picked incorrectly at first
-I had a lovely Thanksgiving Dinner at school yesterday prepared by the Home Economics class, er, Family Consumer Science class.
-BTW, the FCS teacher is also a young and very muscular wrestling coach. As another famous son of Minnesota, Robert Zimmerman, sang – The Times, They Are A Changin’
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI continue to be amazed by CC's creativity in theme development. This one was well-hidden (CC's forte) until the completely surprising reveal. The term Parish Clerk is unfamiliar to me, as is a Rigatoni Pie. But, certainly, Bernie and Romeo are gimmes. My only stumbles were Adieu before Adios and needing perps for Pod and Tantra, and the completely unknown Alain. Erie strikes again, eh, Abejo! I, too, liked the Gong ~ Rang duo.
Thanks, CC and JazB, for a fun solve and fact-filled summary. That's a sweet picture of you and Alexa, Ron.
It's very cold here today and I think tonight's temp will be down around 10. Tomorrow is supposed to be 22 and very windy which does not bode well for the Macy's Parade. My brother's step-son and daughter-in-law are among the marchers; I don't envy them. Some of the famous floats may have to be grounded, due to the high winds.
Have a great day.
TANTRA, ALAIN, AIMEE, PEGG were my unknowns and PSY was perped because I do know POST OP.
ReplyDeleteI object heartily to GILAS. It is an adjective, GILA monster, and should not stand alone.
Dollars for quarters, RENT, is cute.
NARNIA is a must read for fourth and fifth grade classes.
Thank you, C.C., for this clever puzzle and thank you, Jzb, for a CAPITAL review.
ADIOS for now, everyone, and have a happy day!
After reading the comments, it looks like I'm the only one that didn't get the TWADDLE=ROT connection. Did an alphabet run to try get the "R", but to no avail. DNF because of that.
ReplyDeleteHAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!
Tinbeni- No tan lines from your multiple stays at Hedonism-II? About 25 years ago one of my employees came to work with strange clothes and shoes. He had flown down there for a four day vacation, couldn't remember where his room was, never found his clothes and shoes, and got some ill-fitting things from other people, flew back early in the am and came straight to work.
ReplyDeleteTosh O- I'm glad you said it because my employee said people left their room curtains opened and invited him to 'share'. I didn't ask anything other than did you ever ask anybody their real name and he said NO.
Fun puzzle, but alas, DNF...
ReplyDeleteTantra/Narnia/Alain got me.
(Oh, & also Paris, because I had Pat before Tap...)
Actually, it was a tough go from the outset.
1a = pod
I really wanted the only (French?) I knew for this,
& I only knew it because of StarTrek. Nacelle...
Ya couldn't just clue it Okra, E.G.:
(Wednesdays, Sheesh!)
So, if anyone wants to donate to the CED fund...
I promise to use the funds wisely...
Although, I thought the puzzle was a Capital Idea,
You have to be careful where you step looking for silly links for it...
I liked this puzzle. When I got BERNIE SANDERS and ROMEO MONTAGUE I thought the STARTUP CAPITAL meant that the first letters of the words were capitalized, so I scratched my head wondering why the first letters of PARISH CLERK and RIGATONI PIE would be capitalized. By the way, I wanted PARISH PRIEST at first but it obviously wouldn't fit. I learned that rigatoni pie is really a thing. I agree with Lucina about GILA. And finally, or rather, to start things off, I learned that POD can apparently refer to a nacelle.
ReplyDeleteExcellent commentary, JazzB. Thank you.
Our son and his wife and son are going to spend Thanksgiving afternoon and night with her mother in Puerto Peñasco in Mexico. Her husband (our DIL's father) just died last week from massively metastatic esophageal cancer, so I'm sure she'll appreciate the company.
Good wishes to you all.
Re. Romeo and Juliet. There was a musical. West Side Story? My sister loved that. Which sister? One liked Beach Boys the other Beatles. I didn't like any of it but love it all now.
ReplyDeleteBtw, I was going along and said "Self, I tink I tee a CC"*. Yup. Clueing is Wednesday level but so clever I always fall for the misdirections. Actually... I didn't have the reading glasses on, in fact my progressive sunglasses. So...
I mixed up 46d and 48d inking SLOPPY where STAPLE was needed. Result: SLOPPY mess.
But. CC has achieved artistry in cruciverbalism
Let's see. It's Wednesday. I think that's ...no it's Jazzb.
Ah, there's another one of my messes. DON'T WORRY. Talk about feeling the BERN.
Aaarrgghhhh!!! I never saw anything but Simon and inked in Paul. I see there must be a Simon PEGG out there. Oh, she done got me good*. This after acing the weekend. OMG, we already had PAUL. I'm blaming it on that moron. "Self"
Actually, Saruman's orcs were bred to abide the sun. Snaga wisely kept his distance from Boromir and killed him with arrows* after seeing a bushel of orc heads at B's feet.
My Mann was Errol. Who is he? I'll LIU if no one knows
Boswell was a poet in his own right.
He talked about"The Templar Secret". For which he abstained from alcohol for fear of revealing it. ***
I hope to see kudos from PVX for CC not using circles
Big Easy, hilarious story.
WC
* I'm blaming it on the wrong glasses
** To parallel Isuldur's demise who also trifled with the Ring.
*** I stumbled upon his diary
Ps Lucina, Gilas is so "in" the lexicon that horse has left the barn
WC:
ReplyDeleteNot in Arizona it isn't!
Wilbur....I have no real issue with circles, it’s “giveaway” themes that I don’t care for.
ReplyDeleteNo giveaway today, nicely done.
Markovers....UTAH/OHIO, ONION/OLIVE, ADIEU/ADIOS and that was it.
I was a computer programmer in my working life, never had much of a tan but now my skin is unaged by the sun.
Jinx...really funny comment about the bong, but I must disagree, Thanksgiving is MADE for the bong, or similar. Just eat real food.
My dentist has the Crown Printer, but I didn’t use it....I already had a 2nd molar crown in gold, so I went with gold for the 2nd bicuspid. Aaaargh.
That rigatoni pie looks good....my late Mom made something called Lazy Lasagna that blew that picture away though.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, enjoy the (Turkey) day.
I wish you all a healthy, joyful and peaceful Thanksgiving Day! Avoid talking about politics and all will be well.
ReplyDeleteThe temptation is great, but I will resist!
DeleteThanks.
Did you know there is a Cornucopia, Wisconsin? Funny how a word will not appear for a longtime and then it is there twice in one day. I was reading a Sherlock Holmes pastiche and Mrs. Hudson prepared Cornucopia to bring to dinner at John and Mary Watson’s house
ReplyDeleteAs Ron said Boswell is known as a diarist and I see what we do in blogging C.C.’s incredible body of work as a similar endeavor.
Happy Thanksgiving all
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteA crunch-fun puzzle C.C.! I missed the THEME because I didn't stop to look for it before checking my WAGs. Sneaky getting THEME in there too.
Thanks JzB for the delightful expo. Funny photo: I have the Computer Programmer TAN LINE.
WOs: AmMEE Mann, put SPEC in and had to ROTO them out of the wrong squares. Peperoni b/f RIGA-me Pie*
ESPs: POD (Hi BigE!), ALAIN, TANTRA, PEGG, PUsIN.
FIW: JJM - I went right past R and settled on SOT; Twaddle sounds like a drink Tweeter...
Fav: c/as for RENT and CHEESE
{C, A+, B+, A}
HG - I've seen PAUL and Babe in Bemidji. If I were as organized w/ my photos as Picard, I'd link it.
Anyone else think of CSNY [5:16] at OHIO?
Cheers, -Tony
*Never heard of it, Baked Ziti sure, Rigatoni Pie, not so much.
It’s raining in Northern California. Reason enough for THANKS giving!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous T.... I didn't think of the CSN&Y song until you mentioned it. But, I have never forgotten the event or the ensuing Neil Young song either. I was 13 but the baby in my family. With older siblings We live in Chicago and my father, who had been at the Democratic National Convention in '68 and came away from that experience with negative attitudes toward young people,, couldn't believe it when he heard the news. He was in incredulous... as were we all. He called up my older brother immediately and asked if he was OK even though he was at ND in school. I remember it well.
ReplyDelete"Four dead in Ohio"
WC:
ReplyDeletePlease bear with me. When teaching about the desert in Arizona a teacher can't overemphasize the dangers out there so labeling the GILA monster properly and describing its potential threat might save a curious child from picking one up. They have a nasty bite and can do serious harm. And though more and more housing development is increasingly taking over the desert, the danger still lurks out there.
Good evening, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteGot this puzzle late last night, via cruciverb. Could not report in earlier due to working at the election commission all day today. Then pie fellowship tonight at church. Wow, what a day!
Puzzle was very good. Liked the theme.
Liked ERIE in the puzzle. My favorite lake.
Liked OLIVE in the puzzle at 49D. I have learned to love olives in recent years. Not sure why it took me so long. I buy olive oil three bottles at a time via mail order.
Anyhow, I can sleep in tomorrow. No crossing guarding and the election commission is closed until Monday.
Hope you are feeling better, Boomer.
A Great Thanksgiving to all!
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Another fine CC puzzle, and another great JzB writeup. Thanks for the (Cool) Kenton. I love how they can be so tight and so loose at the same time. My first college teacher, Ward Cole, was an alumnus (trumpet). They don't make them like that any more.
ReplyDeleteBTW I have once again have seen some magnificent gongs in the Thai Temples
ReplyDelete