45 D. *What makes Guy a guy?: LITTLE G. Referring to upper and lower case lettering. A bit strained, in my opinion.
37 D. *Post-apocalyptic Will Smith film: I AM LEGEND. A virus has wiped out most of man-kind and the hero, Robert Neville, played by Smith, searches for a cure while battling nocturnal mutants.
10 D. *346-piece Big Ben, e.g.: LEGO SET. Here's a 9 1/2 minute video if you're interested.
9 D. *Telegraphed message: CABLEGRAM.
And the unifier -- 66 A. Competitive edge, as illustrated in the answers to starred clues from left to right: A LEG UP. This phrase means some sort of boost, assistance or circumstance that gives one an advantaged position relative to the competition. In the puzzle grid the LEG letters climb from left to right, each time advancing by exactly one square - all the while maintaining perfect rotational symmetry. This is an unusual construction in a couple ways. Having the theme in the vertical fill isn't unknown but it's also not common. Further, a phrase of the type "LEG UP" generally indicates that the letters would be climbing within the fill, so they would be reversed in the answer word(s). Here, the upward motion is within the grid, from one theme fill entry to the next. This is, in my experience, unique. So, high marks for both technical virtuosity and creativity!
Hi, Gang, JazzBumpa here with both feet firmly on the ground. Let's high step through the rest of this puzzle and see what tickles our toes.
Across:
1. Keepsake containers: CHESTS. Large storage boxes, typically made of wood.
7. Biological pouch: SAC. A cavity enclosed by a membrane that contains air, liquid, or solid structures.
10. "I'm up for it!": LET'S. We should do this.
14. Change in a big way: REWORK. I guess changing in a small way would be a revision.
15. Santa __ winds: ANA. Hot, dry, downsloping winds that originate inland and blow toward the coast in California. They seem to be named for the Santa Ana Canyon in Orange County.
16. Singer Adams: EDIE. Probably most famous for this.
17. World's largest peninsula: ARABIA. Perhaps it should be considered a sub-continent since it lies on its own tectonic plate.
18. Antagonist in many le CarrÈ novels: KGB AGENT. Spy stuff
20. Nemesis: BANE. A cause of great distress or annoyance.
21. Teeny-tiny fraction: TRILLIONTH. 1/10^12. Less than miniscule.
23. "Better Call Saul" actress Seehorn: RHEA.
25. Wrigglers sought by snigglers: EELS. Rhyme time in the EEL creel.
26. Demean: ABASE. Degrade or belittle.
29. Floating ice hazard: BERG. Properly, ICEBERG - a large piece of freshwater ice broken from a glacier or ice shelf floating in open salt water.
31. Hearing things?: EARS. Interesting word play. EARS are things that hear. If you are hearing things that are not there, the ears are not involved - it all in your head.
35. Leader of a flock: Abbr.: REV. An ordained minister leading her/his congregation.
36. Remote precursor: DIAL. Playing with parts of speech again - in the past, the various DIALS on your TV set performed the functions of the various buttons on your remote control unit.
38. Hooch: ROTGUT. Bad whiskey.
40. Sport-__: UTE. Utility vehicle
41. Oatmeal-crusted treat: DATE BAR. A baked item containing chopped fruit.
43. 12 meses: AÑO. 12 months make a year in Spain, same as here.
44. Uproarious confusion: BEDLAM. Named for an infamous British asylum for the insane.
46. Places to shoot hoops: GYMS. Basketball venues.
47. Big kahuna: VIP. Very Important Person.
48. Jai __: ALAI. A sport involving a ball bounced off a walled space with a hand held device [cesta.]
49. Places, as a bet: LAYS. Probably because you LAY your money down.
51. Signs of the future: OMENS. Events considered to announce or predict some good or evil thing that will happen soon.
53. Those opposing us: THEM. Always us vs THEM.
55. Counting-out word: EENY. Meeny, miney, moe.
57. Seven-sided: HEPTAGONAL. Literal, if you know Greek.
61. Saintly glow: HALO. A circle of light around or above the hear of a saint to signify her/his sanctity.
65. "Madame Bovary" subject: ADULTERY. The ultimately tragic story of a young French woman who lived extravagantly beyond her limited means. Bored with her dull husband, she sought pleasure and adventure though affairs with two men who eventually grew tired of her.
68. Steady look: GAZE.
69. Bridal bio word: NEE. Referring to the bride's original surname.
70. Excitedly unwrapped: TORE AT.
71. Layer over some cities: SMOG. A combination of fog with smoke and other atmospheric pollutants.
72. Mar.-to-Nov. hrs.: DST. Daylight Savings Time - the clock is moved forward by one hour to extend daylight into the evening.
73. Genesis follower: EXODUS. Second book in the Bible.
Down:
1. __ bisque: CRAB. A rich creamy soup, typically made with shell fish.
2. Mount Olympus queen: HERA. Sister wife of Zeus in the olympian pantheon. She was jealous of his many lovers and offspring.
3. McGregor of "Christopher Robin": EWAN. The actor portraying a now grown-up boy who once was the playmate of Winnie the Pooh.
4. Sleeps it off, with "up": SOBERS. Recovers from non-fatal alcohol toxemia.
5. Prefix with atomic: TRI-. Referring to a molecule composed of three atoms. The clue is weirdly specific for a prefix with many other, more common applications.
6. Circle the rink: SKATE. Ice or roller SKATING.
7. H.H. Munro's pseudonym: SAKI. [1870 - 1916] A British master of the short story form who satirized Edwardian society.
8. One opening a can of worms?: ANGLER. A fisherman getting into a container of bait.
11. Paradise: EDEN. The biblical home of Adam and Eve, before they got kicked out for disobedience.
12. Salon treatment: TINT. Hair coloring.
13. Meyers of "Late Night": SETH. [b 1973] American comedian, writer, actor and television host.
19. Have a bug: AIL. Be sick from a viral or bacterial infection.
22. Moroccan capital: RABAT. Located along the Atlantic coast along the Bouregreg River.
24. Gossip columnist Hopper: HEDDA. [1885 - 1966] American actress and gossip columnist for the L.A. Times, known for feuding with her rival Luella Parsons.
26. Dutch-speaking Caribbean island: ARUBA. One of the 4 countries comprising the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. It is located off the coast of Venezuela, about 1000 miles west of the Lesser Antilles.
27. Asian palm nut: BETEL. Because of the materials it is prepared with, it is a serious health hazard in Asia, where it's use is very common.
28. "Plant-powered" hair care brand: AVEDA.
32. Tequila source: AGAVE. A succulent plant native to arid regions of Mexico and the American southwest.
33. Scrap: RUN IN. A disagreement or fight, especially with someone in an official position.
34. Puts an end to: STOPS.
39. Welles who played Kane: ORSON. [1915-1985] An American actor, director, writer and producer who worked in theatre, radio and film.
42. What "two" meant to Paul Revere: BY SEA. Paul Revere [1734-1818] was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, and Patriot in the American Revolution. He is best known for his midnight ride to alert the colonial militia in April 1775 to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord. The warning signal placed in the tower of the North Church indicated British troop movement by land with one lantern and by water with two. [Wikipedia]
50. Ovid collection: AMORES. Ovid [b 43 BC] was a contemporary of Virgil and Horace during the reign of Augustus. AMORES is his first book of poetry, in an erotic mode, but often humorous, subversive, and sometimes even absurd.
52. "You saved me!": MY HERO.
54. Tipped top: HAT. Tipping one's hat is a sign of respect.
56. Make very happy: ELATE.
57. Fairy tale crones: HAGS. Witches.
58. Paraffin-coated cheese: EDAM. From the Netherlands part of the Netherlands.
59. "The Godfather" novelist: PUZO. Mario [1920-1999]
60. Nureyev's no: NYET. Literal, if you speak Russian.
62. On in years: AGED. I'm getting there.
63. Tropical party: LUAU. Traditional Hawaiian party or feast featuring local foods and entertainment.
64. Chooses: OPTS. Decides either for or against.
67. Bagel topper: LOX. Fillet of brined salmon.
On that tasty note, we end up another Wednesday. Hope you found the leg lifts exhilarating.
Cool regards!
JzB
FIRight easily enough (I think FOES > THEM was my only non-spelling w/o), and saw the LEG part of the theme very quickly, but didn't get the stair-step until I took a shot of the grid in a graphic app and colored the LEGs in!
ReplyDeleteI did have a problem parsing 45d. The difference between a guy and gal is euphemistically called a "third leg", but I doubted "little leg" would be acceptable.
Kangaroos, below their CHESTS,
Have a SAC where things are kept.
A crumpled up CABLEGRAM,
A LEGO thrown from a pram,
A LITTLE joey, with his wombat pet!
SETH wanted to pick up a LITTLE bird,
But was having no luck in a new burg.
He tried a DATE BAR
But didn't get far,
The lettuce and ladies were all ice-BERG!
There's reports teenage seals
Have been found snorting EELS.
Are they drunk on sea ROTGUT?
Just don't get out much?
Looking icky, to hear she-seal squeals?
{B-, B-, B.} (Can you say 'she-seal squeal' out loud?)
I believe I composed this comment just before supper on 4-23. I failed to post it, but supper was good, so FLN it's Tuesday Night Live, taped before an audience who were breathing.
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks at 8:30 AM, Isn't the universe amazing. After lunch a man and I were discussing causes of Global Warming, and methane from cows was one possible cause.
I had never heard of Zits, and when I LIU I found today's panel.
Thanks for your research.
OKL, and OMK, If the following were original you would have to watch out. Here comes Ðave!
Beans, beans the musical fruit
The more you eat
The more you toot
The more you toot
The better you feel
So let's have beans for every meal
And to Hell with the Ozone layer
Ðave
Dr. Ed continues to offer fair and creative grids and JzB takes us by the hand for a nice tour through the fill. I have no skill at gridding so I am in awe of Ed for conceiving and then presenting this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI also loved the fishing mini-theme with EELS and ANGLER and refreshed my understanding of SNIGGLER .
I wonder what they would think of LOX at a LUAU ?
Happy humping all.
Well the Zits panel is gone, replaced with the one for today. It was for 4-23. I searched for it, but could not find it.
ReplyDeleteÐave
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteD-o actually read the reveal and was able to see all those legs. Didn't notice the carefully constructed staircase, though. Well done, Ed. JzB, you were brimming with educational tidbits this morning.
I never caught the vertical staircase theme for the LEG UP. I would think it would be GEL, with the LEG spelled bottom to top. Anyway I found this puzzle tough for a WED. I had no idea what "meses" were and until JzB informed us. I wasn't thinking of "Scrap" as a fight. Just a lucky WAG to fill RUN IN & ANO because no other letter made sense. It was BEDLAM and I had to REWORK quite a few letters today.
ReplyDeleteAVEDA, LEGO SET, RHEA, AMORES, I AM LEGEND were other unknowns filled by perps.
Professor to law student: Can you explain the difference between ADULTERY and fornication?
Student: I don't know. Tried them both and can't tell the difference.
ReplyDeleteI'll second what Lemonade said. I especially like that:
1) None of the LEGs overlap into another's row.
2) Each LEG is separated by 1 column.
3) The bottom LEG is indented from the left the same amount the top leg is indented from the right.
4) The reveal perfect describes the theme.
A perfectly illustrated grid by JzB.
C.C. has a puzzle over at the USA Today website. The puzzle title is High Impact
ReplyDeleteEd, Your ladder construction is AWESOME. TTP, your further explanation made me even more stunned.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Wonderful summation, Jazz for seeing the LEG forest midst the LEG trees
-LEG LIFTS were the BANE of my existence in high school FB practices
-Miss Ella - Birds do it, bees do it, Even educated fleas do it, LET’S do it, let's fall in love
-NASA had to really REWORK the Apollo 13 mission from 240,000 miles away
-A Yankees nemesis
-We always referred to our retired minister next door as The REV
-Did anyone else ever use pliers to change channels?
-Using UTE to describe any vehicle is not common in my world
-I guess you can use either word
-Of all the TRI words in all the puzzles in all the world, Dr. Sessa picked TRIATOMIC (A variation of a line from a movie about another Moroccan town)
Hi Y'all! Very neat theme, Ed, thanks! Very informative expo, Jzb, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI got the theme after reading the reveal and found all the entries. Needed Jzb to show the progression up the wall. With ANGLER so close, I spent some time looking at the mixed up LEG in that & searching for other variations. Nope.
Hand up for FOES before THEM.
Tried HExAGONAL before HEPTAGONAL.
TRIatomic? Really? Whazat?
Sorry to have spoiled Jeopardy! for some last night. I posted so late, I thought everyone surely had seen it by then. You could see who was probably going to win halfway thru the first round anyway. He doesn't leave much room for other contestants.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteAlthough I finished in normal Wednesday solving time, there were several unknowns that needed perps: KGB Agent, Rhea, Aveda, Lego Set and Amores, both as clued, and Tri as a prefix for Atomic. Sati/Saki was my only w/o but Little G gave me pause for a moment. Trillionth and Heptagonal are unusual entries. The theme was well hidden until the reveal and the ladder effect was unnoticed until seeing it highlighted in the expo.
Bravo, Dr. Ed, for a clever theme and impressive execution and thanks, JazB, for the elucidating and thorough explanation, particularly the rising legs graphic.
My Wellness visit tests were all favorable, so that was good news. (I'm glad that my awkward post yesterday about the Wellness visit and my car's dead battery gave a few chuckles!)
Have a great day.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Ed Sessa, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteWow! This puzzle was something. I got through most of the clues fairly easily. A few tough ones and some misdirection.
I was amazed at the theme and the LEG arrangements. I did not realize it all until I came here. That must have been a bear to construct.
I thought RUN IN was some sort of trash. Not a fight. Until I got it. Then I realized. Sometimes vertical words or phrases are tough for me to spot. Same for LEGO SET. I got it, but did not see the two words. I got it with perps and let it be.
ANGLER was a good one. I liked that.
Remember EDIE ADAMS and ERNIE KOVACS well. Great people.
EXODUS was a good word for the day. We just went through Passover and then Easter.
Today is my wife's and my 43rd Anniversary. We both forgot until late this morning. It was also my mother's birthday. She would have been 95 today. Died about four years ago. Time flies.
I discovered this morning that I have Poison Ivy. I was clearing some branches, etc, about a week or so ago. I have been itching for a while. Finally looked it up. My wife looked it up and found that a salve called Cort Aid should help. I will pick some up.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteFLN - TTP. I agree with you about Holzhauer's ability. Phenominal. BTW, his name means 'wood whacker' in German.
A good grind today. Finally got it all without help. LITTLE G clue was kinda quirky. TRILLIONTH and HEPTAGONAL provide a spelling challenge since I hardly ever have a need to write them down. RHEA came from perps.
Very clever how the LEG rises in a NE slant as JzB pointed out.
Thanks Ed for a fine challenge.
I really liked this puzzle. I missed the clever way that LEG climbed the stairs. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteSports ute is common enough here.
images
Bedlam Hospital. For centuries the treatment of mental illness was far from humane and is shocking according to today's standards. No wonder the word bedlam came to mean pandemonium, confusion, uproar. When I hear the word I picture the insane incessantly crying out in loud voices.
Some years ago we toured the first hospital for the insane built in the US in Williamsburg, VA in the 1700's. The same erroneous theories and maltreatment occurred there.
Nellie Bly, a reporter, schemed to get herself admitted to an insane asylum in the 1880's, staying for 10 days. Her exposé of horrific conditions there is still famous today.
Happy Anniversary Agejo and the Mrs.
IM, good news. I am glad your battery is still going strong.
Well, I had to work hard on this fun but slightly tough Wednesday puzzle, but in the end got it all except for one letter. Couldn't remember the exact 'Godfather' name and HECTAGONAL game me CUZO instead of PUZO. But other than that everything worked, even though I didn't know SETH or RHEA, and never heard of AVEDA. Liked a lot of the names that appeared, like ORSON and HEDDA. I also got the LEG theme, but like others, I would not have noticed that brilliant stair climb without JazzB's wonderful illustration. So, a really neat puzzle, Ed, many thanks, and great commentary, JazzB.
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary, Abejo.
So glad your Wellness visit went Well, Irish Miss.
Have a great day, everybody.
Doh! That is Abejo. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteAnd I see my images of sports utes did not survive.
sports utes
ReplyDeleteD4E4H @ 6:26am: If you want to see ZITS comics from different days, click on the little calendar icon next to the date and you will be able to pick the date you want.
Fun run today, didn't know saki, but perps filled it in
ReplyDeleteWhy is it LEG UP if all of the LEGs run down?
ReplyDeleteLoved this puzzle!
ReplyDeleteFrom left to right each word, LEG, is up a little higher than the one before, as though climbing stairs. See Jazz's highlighted grid
ReplyDeleteand his excellent explanation in his intro.
oc4beach at 11:53 AM, Thank you for your tip. Here is the panel.
ReplyDeleteÐave
I liked this puzzle and was able to fill it without any write-overs except for entering SUB as the atomic prefix. I wanted a specific KGB AGENT, such as George Smiley, for the Le Carré antagonist but from the perps I knew it was wrong before even trying to squeeze it in. I did a double take at LITTLE LEG before I realized it was LITTLE G. Like many of you, I didn't see the step ladder positioning of the word LEG until coming here, and now I appreciate Ed Sessa's construction ever so much more, as many of you also did.
ReplyDeleteSpitzboov, interesting that Holzhauer means 'wood whacker' in German. I love it! I wonder what Eisenhower 'whacked'. And is Rutger Hauer (yes, I know he's Dutch) just plain 'whacked'?
Glad you are in good health, Irish Miss.
Happy anniversary, Abejo, and good wishes to you all.
OwenKL at 3:42 AM, I would like to perform a "Parse Nip" from your words "The difference between a guy and gal is euphemistically called a 'third leg', but I doubted 'little leg' would be acceptable."
ReplyDeleteThe answer to 45 D -- is LITTLE "g", which is What makes Guy a guy? To make the confusion worse this answer is in the theme with LITT (LE G) one of the leg lifts.
Big Easy at 6:59 AM, Do adults have as much fun in ADULTERY as infants do in infancy?
Ðave
OKL, I swear that Jayce and I didn't plan to have our posts published one after the other.
ReplyDeleteÐave
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Ed and JzB.
ReplyDeleteNo newspaper delivered today and no Cruciverb but Mensa worked. A little crunchy but I saw the laddered LEGs.
My flock was led by a Ram before a REV (is Rev. not an abbreviation requiring an abbrev. in the clue, or is it so commonly used as not to be considered an abbreviation???).
Korea was not long enough and ARABIA fit. I did not LIU to compare sizes.
I started with Sept before HEPT.
Happy Anniversary Abejo.
Wishing you all a great day.
Seeing the word ADULTERY made me think of a solve word from this past Sunday’s puzzle:
ReplyDeleteIf rapper Nicki
Had a tryst with twins, is that
A MINAJ a trois?
Hola!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ed Sessa, for a clever puzzle! And thank you, JazzB, for the lovely illustration of the ascending LEGS which I failed to see. You entertained us as well.
I really liked this grid though it was a bit tough in a few places but FIR without a LEGUP to help.
I'll read you all later.
Have a splendid day, everyone!
ReplyDeleteThis Wednesday Sessa Special was a clean solve for me. Not often I can go through a Sessa crossword, just one of those times when I’m on the same wavelength.
So no markovers today.
The construction was really neat the way the “leg”s go up perfectly spaced.
On to Thursday.
Abejo, happy anniversary to you and your wife. May you celebrate many more years together.
ReplyDeleteHadn't realized the perfect diagonal formed by Mr. Sessa's LEG array until I saw them on the Corner grid. I am all the more impressed.
ReplyDeleteAbejo ~
Congratulations! But how can you (and your wife) have forgotten your anniversary?
Late posting today, as I had yet another Mohs surgery this morning--this time on my scalp. Fortunately, my hairline has receded so far by now that I didn't have to worry about my head getting shaved!
The doc was kind enough to finish by giving me an extra number of deep sutures, so I won't have to go back to have regular stitches removed. I am done--for now.
Still, I'm pretty sure I'll be going back. This was my fifth facial surgery in the past 18 months. It's the price I pay for all my carefree years in the SoCal sun.
~ OMK
Again I congratulate Ed Sessa on this brilliant puzzle.
ReplyDeleteThis morning my friend, Kathy and I met for our monthly breakfast which lasted until 11:30 A.M. We of course solve the world's problems during our lively conversations but no one listens. Sigh.
Earlier I had finished half the puzzle and found it challenging with surprising fill like TRILLIONTH and HEPTAGONAL. Also I wasn't familiar with Ovid's AMORES. AMORES is loves or lovers in Spanish. Easy to see where that etymology originated.
Speaking of James Holzhauer, he mentioned on one of the interviews with Alex that his grandmother was Japanese. Now, that's a powerhouse of mental acuity, German + Japanese.
Lemonade:
I believe LOX would be welcome for any occasion, a LUAU, wedding or other.
I imagine others were stymied by the LITTLE G. Something to do with Guy's leg and an oat with a tip. Not his left leg, ACAI was solid with the I.
ReplyDeleteI'm in became LETS and AURA, HALO.
I very much enjoyed TTSS and #2 " The Honorable Schoolboy". The latter maybe his best.
Gotta post, maybe later
WC
IMO
ReplyDeleteHolzhauer, wood whacker?
Is someone pulling our leg? Hee, hee, it sounds like the third leg.
Whacker for hauer is a very loose translation. Hauer in names means hewer.
Eisenhauer or Eisenhower is iron hewer. Holzhauer is literally forest hewer or lumberjack. Steinhauer is stone mason or stone cutter.
Maybe the post means they whack at the iron, the trees, or the stone.
YR - It depends on context. The verb hauen translates into hew or whack.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your surgery, Ol'Man Keith, but am glad to hear it went well. I have little things on my scalp too, so I'd best get them checked out soon. Thank you for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteSo the context is wrong. Whacker is inapproptriate in the names of occupations. I am an iron whacker is not the same as I am an Eisenhauer.
ReplyDeleteIt was not intended to be translated as an occupation. The two elements of the compound word were translated into an alliterative English meaning which was meant to be a bit punny. When a German does "Hau den Lukas", he/she is trying to ring the bell on the hi-striker at a carnival midway. Many would term the manner of mallet use as 'whacking'.
ReplyDeleteI thought we speaking of James's surname. Holzhauer is a lumbejack. I did laugh at the pun, giving us a teehee at wood whacker, a third leg, but some have seruously asked about Eisenhower. There is the pun and there is the answer. Thanks for the laugh.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Smiley was the British agent, Karla the KGB Mastermind. I've got a xword I've been tackling since Sunday edited by Will Shorts. But it doesn't say NY times.
ReplyDeleteBut, FLN it had TINTINABULAR as an answer. Jayce used that word.
It must be NY times because I can't grok the theme
I'm behind because I did everything on my cell phone and I cracked the screen.
WC
Hi All:
ReplyDeleteAwful, Awful, Awful! No, not the puzzle, Ed - my performance. //And all the names in the puzzle :-)
Thanks Ed for the LEGgy puzzle. I couldn't finish it w/o THREE! lookups but I really liked the theme's execution.
Thanks for the excellent expo JzB.
LOOKUPS:
AVEDA which finally made UTE obvious and fixed BEDLAM
PUZO to get me PT in HEPTAGONAL
HEDDA to help me get DATE and finish of RABBAT & ELEGY
WO: I had -DT waiting for Mountain, or Pacific Daylight Time.
Fav: Clue for HAT.
{B, B+, B}
Happy Anniversary Abejo!
Who's a fan of Terry Pratchtt's Good OMENS?. Got AmazonPrime?
Cheers, -T
-T @ 10:18 pm
ReplyDelete"Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures" ???
@10:50 - I'm not sure to what you're referring, but CVE means to me Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures -- MITRES' Database. //enter a vendor's name (e.g. Adobe) or a product (e.g. FireFix).
ReplyDeleteThe taxonomy is CVE-Year-Number, where Number is the ++count of vulns found this year.
Cheers, -T