17. Really terrible wine?: UNPARDONABLE ZIN. Sin.
27. Dad jokes?: POP ZINGERS. Singers.
46. Hardware store window feature?: DISPLAY ADZ. Ads.
56. Power nap?: MAINTENANCE DOZE. Dose.
Across:
1. Doing something: BUSY. Do something: Get busy. Now there's a word where the S really sounds like a Z.
5. Infatuated, old-style: SMIT. Raging dopamine levels clouding one's judgement.
9. "The Goldbergs" actor George: SEGAL.
15. First-rate: A-ONE.
16. Hardly in the dark: AWARE. Andre Ware (A Ware ?) would be known to longtime college football fans. He was the 1989 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback who played for the University of Houston Cougars. He was the first African American quarterback to win the honor.
20. Master's degree seeker's assignment: THESIS. Thesis title: “Membership of Subculture as Made Evident Through Referential Verbal Cues” Translated title: "Nerds say nerd things to other nerds."
21. Evaluate: ASSESS.
22. Hosp. area for critical cases: ICU.
24. Truck unit: TON.
25. PreCheck org.: TSA. TSA Pre✓® - Transportation Security Administration
26. Focus word in a Scripps logo: BEE.
30. Extensive periods: EONs.
31. "See ya": SO LONG.
32. Pork cuts: LOINs.
34. Beethoven wrote just one: OPERA. My eyes deceived me. I read "Beethoven just wrote one" and thought, "What ? That can't be right!"
35. Academic growth: IVY.
36. Indian silk region: ASSAM.
40. Trumpet sound: BLARE. To "blow one's own trumpet" is to talk openly and boastfully about one's achievements.
42. Mrs. King on "Scarecrow and Mrs. King": AMANDA. Kate Jackson starred as a divorced mother of two opposite Bruce Boxheimer as a spy. "Goodbye, PTA...hello, foreign intrigue!"
43. HUD financing gp.: GNMA. Ginnie Mae. The Government National Mortgage Association in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
48. Tanning line: RAY.
49. Mag. listing: EDs.
50. Some PCs: HPs.
51. Kitty alternative: KAY. Both can be short forms of Katherine.
52. Pertaining to a heart chamber: ATRIAL.
54. Facial feature named after an animal: GOATEE.
60. Location: PLACE.
61. Innocent, for one: PLEA.
62. Keypad predecessor, in some cases: DIAL.
63. Rent-a-car choice: SEDAN. Alamo ? No. Hertz ? No. Aha, now I see !
64. Cabs and the like: REDs. Wines. Other reds might be Medoc and Merlot. I learned they were reds in a USA Today puzzle last week. Wine Folly
65. Multinational range: ALPs. Eight Alpine countries: France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia.
Down:
1. A/C measure: BTU. Air Conditioning. British Thermal Unit.
2. Caterer's item: URN.
3. 35 to 5, say: SEPTUPLE. You know. Single, double, triple, quadruple etc. Do the math. This may be a debut for septuple. Crossword history ?
4. Slangy assent: YEAH.
5. "Teen Angel" or "Leader of the Pack": SAD SONG. Teenage tragedy songs of the early 60s era. Here's another:
6. Sounds from the pasture: MOOING.
7. Holiday places: INNs. Holiday Inns.
8. English cuppa: TEA.
9. Spicy condiment: SALSA. Spicy dance: Salsa.
10. Farm moms: EWEs.
11. Summerhouse: GAZEBO.
12. Out of bed: ARISEN.
13. They can make things clearer: LENSEs.
18. __ scan: ID method: RETINAL.
19. Soprani opposites: BASSI.
22. __ facto: IPSO.
23. Farm home: COOP.
25. Helen's home: TROY. We have an Irish Miss of Troy.
28. Kazantzakis title hero: ZORBA. Time magazine book review from 1953
29. Fabled mischief-makers: ELVEs. The Keebler elves make Uncommonly Good cookies with elfin magic in the Hollow Tree.
30. Montaigne work: ESSAY.
33. Yoga class greeting: NAMASTE. "... a respectful greeting said when giving a namaskar." That clears it up.
35. Greek rainbow goddess: IRIS.
37. Charlatan's curative: SNAKE OIL.
38. "__ pinch ... ": recipe direction: ADD A. A pinch of patience, a dash of kindness, and a spoonful of laughter.
39. Labyrinthine: MAZY.
41. Disorient: ADDLE.
42. Andean animals: ALPACAs.
43. Dad's dad: GRAMPS.
44. Italian Christmas: NATALE.
45. Many: MYRIAD.
47. Contacted, in a way: PHONED.
49. Gobbled up: EATEN.
53. Ancient Peruvian: INCA.
54. Wind warning indicated by two red flags: GALE.
57. "Morning Edition" airer: NPR. National Public Radio. A number of fans here at the Corner.
58. Nuke: ZAP. Both slang for microwave.
59. Little League leaders?: ELs. Little League trailers: Ees.
Check your grid against this one:
RAY was an ADDLE-pated dope.
ReplyDeleteHe'd think of his prospects and mope.
He was SADLY AWARE,
Needed no trumpet's BLARE,
He was fit only as a politician to cope!
Cows, when they low, are MOOING.
Teens, to ZAP grass low, are mowing.
Guys with a loose belt,
And opinions deep-felt,
When their pants are low, are mooning!
{B+, B.}
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteCaught some Zs this morning and actually got the theme. That's twice in two days! Unheard of. Absurd. Stumbled a bit in Maine and Georgia, but still managed to cross the finish line. Yay. Thanx, D.A.B. and TTP (His name was actually Boxleitner.)
NPR: Morning Edition is playing on my server as we "speak," so to speak.
NAMASTE: Traditional greeting of Teal'c, the former First Prime of Apophis on Stargate SG-1.
THESIS: I relate this to pursuit of a doctorate rather than a master's degree. But, I have neither, so what do I know?
SAD SONG: Another from that era was Tell Laura I Love Her by Ray Peterson.
RETINAL: A retinal scan two years ago confirmed that about 20% of my retina was stroke-damaged and unrepairable. I didn't want to see that! I've learned to cope.
FIW, with SEsTUPLE x UNsARDONABLE ZIN. Couldn't a bad wine be sardonic? ZIN is, or course, a RED, and I liked it back in the day. Occasionally I would order a bottle and the server would bring out that sweet pink crap. No thanks; I'll catch a cab if white ZEN is all you have.
ReplyDeleteIf you are in the poultry business, isn't your COOP on a ranch, not a farm? Or maybe it's just that famous place in Nevada.
We used to call one red flag "good sailing weather". Two flags and we stayed in the harbor.
Thanks, David, for the fun, tough puzzle. I almost gave up after scanning the NW corner, but I'm glad I DABbled in the rest of it. And thanks to TTP for the interesting tour.
"Kitty alternative" = KAY = FOUL.
ReplyDeleteThe crossing of Mazy and Kay (or perhaps just the clue for Kay itself) is nearly an unpardonable sin. It took me 15 minutes to finish. The "N" in GNMA/Natale was the last man standing for me today.
ReplyDelete"Tanning Line" clued for "ray" isn't geometrically correct. A ray has a finite beginning, whereas a line doesn't. But yeah, I get it.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteHad trap before TREE, and pope before PLEA. Couldn't quickly think of the 4th camelid ALPACA so I LIU'd. Otherwise, solved the rest without a hitch. Finally sussed the S to Z shift.
SZ is called an Eszett in German and has its own grapheme - ß. Curiously the Swiss don't use it; only SS.
TROY - Helen's home. Also Irish Miss' home.
Tschüß.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI liked this fresh use of Zs and the resulting funny phrases. The cluing was tricky, as evidenced by my stumbles: Alamo/Sedan, Aortal/Atrial, Pope/Plea, Van Dyke/Goatee, and Grampa/Gramps. I wasn't keen on Smit (Smitten, Yes, Smit, No) or Mazy. But, these are tiny nits in an otherwise enjoyable solve. I didn't know Amanda or Namaste, although I have seen and heard of Namaste. My Troy is getting lots of grid time, lately.
Thanks, David, for a crunchy but doable Friday and thanks, TTP, for the great review. I especially enjoyed reading about the Italian Christmas traditions. The Christmas Eve Seven Fishes would be one I'd enjoy participating in. I'm sure our Tony is sampling lots of delicious Italian delicacies right this moment. 🍕 🍡🍾
FLN
YR, thanks for that Suburu/Lab link. I've seen most of these commercial, but the one where the cat steals the Lab's parking space is priceless. Too bad Flo and Jamie and Doug and Limu aren't as clever and entertaining.
Off to my doctor's appointment.
Have a great day.
Jinx, that famous chicken ranch was in La Grange, Texas. It was the inspiration for The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas.
ReplyDeleteDNF. Too many unknowns. But it was an enjoyable challenge. Thanks David. I loved IVY for Academic Growth.
ReplyDeleteTTP, thanks for filling in the bare spots.
D-O, thanks for the shout out to Teal’c. Chris Judge was a football player before he entertained in less brutal ways... but you knew that!
Owen, LOL !
Had MAZE instead of MAZY (wrong tense I guess), my only error. In my mind, 100% complete! Didn’t get the Kitty clue.
ReplyDeleteBetter than Sudoko today. Made a mistake early and had to start over from scratch. Hate it when that happens!
Now onto productive stuff, like getting my house ready for company this weekend.
Not too hard for a Friday. FIR. REDS was solid, but I had to come back to it to realize it meant wine. No unknowns,for a change. TTP, great post.
ReplyDeleteCar rental reminds me of National Car rental ads which I find to be a big turnoff.
Celebration of arrogance
We were warned that SMIT was old style, that is old fashioned. It still appears in period novels. Today we use smitten.
I just finished reading The Storyteller's Secret set in India. Plenty of Namastes. I enjoyed this story of an Indian/American woman who went back to India to find herself and her roots. She uncovered a family secret. Poignant and down to earth.
Around here chickens and other poultry grow on farms. Jinx led me to think of The Chicken Ranch brothel in Nevada, as others have said.
Many MAs in the liberal arts require theses. I wrote my thesis in the 90's. Years ago many students used to have their theses typed professionally, maybe two times. When I wrote my thesis we had to turn in our work weekly, so doing our own word processing was a must. The prof provided weekly suggestions. One student's computer "ate' his thesis during the last week before it was due and he hadn't saved it. He hastily reconstructed it and got a D. I loved doing the research and the writing.
Thanks for the CSO to me, Kitty, Kay, Kate, Kathy, Kathryn. So many different spellings and nicknames for Kathryn.
CELEBRATION OF ARROGANCE
ReplyDeleteBruce BoxLEITNer starred as Scarecrow with Kate Jackson
ReplyDeleteZinfandel is a black grape, 85% of US Zin wine is sold as "White Zin", really a blush, where the skin is removed earlier in the processing than with reds.
MAZY sounds like a made-up word, even if it isn't
Musings
ReplyDelete-Oh, I now see the clue is not Labyrinth but still… Cluing this town would be even more obscure
-85-yr-old George SEGAL is still working? Wow.
-I got a non-thesis Masters. Whew!
-The grounds of Highclere Castle (filming site of Downton Abbey) have follies, not GAZEBOS
-YR, I would have much preferred trying to retrieve your friend’s THESIS than trying to write one that no one would ever read :-)
Thesis: MA or MS; Dissertation: PhD
ReplyDeleteMy fellow student, just an acquaintance, lost his thesis due to lack of computer skills. He did not know how to retrieve it. From listening to him in class, I suspect it was going to be a C paper, even if he hadn't lost it.
ReplyDeleteNo, I did not offer to help him with his impossible task. "I loved doing the research and the writing," should have been a new paragraph.
I had paper copies of each of own my versions, because that is the only way I can proofread.
Are there no others who like researching and writing? Maybe, Misty? Thesis writing was one of my favorite classes in college, except for the footnotes and bibliography. Research papers and essay writing, in addition to pre-algebra were my tutoring specialties.
Good morning as I comment using one of my HPS. I caught the S to Z switch at the DISPLAY ADZ (ADZE anybody?) but the 35 to 5 clue had me stumped. SEDTUPLE & UNDAR cross- UGH. I knew YEAH was correct but UNDAR & SEDTUPLE made no sense. Couldn't finish but got the rest correct. I wanted KAT for Kitty's alternative but MAZT isn't a word so KAY filled the bill. I agree with Anon@7:52 on the KAY for Kitty. Never heard it before.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I knew Ginny Mae's abbr- GMNA-or the SW would not have been completed. NAMASTE- only know from X-words.
TSA- for some reason DW is usually TSA-Pre but not me. Last week I was TSA-Pre in Buffalo,NY but it really didn't matter because there were very few people in line.
VICUNAs OR ALPACAS- wait for the crosses to fill. AMANDA & SEGAL- unknowns filled by perps.
Jinx & D-O- somewhere outside of Las Vegas there's the REAL Chicken Ranch and it doesn't have fowl. Maybe some foul play and I'd bet the chickens cost more than the ones found in a COOP.
Hey Jinx, check out today's "Bizarro" comic strip!
ReplyDeleteGood morning, folks. Thank you, David Alfred Bywaters, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, TTP, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteGot a great start with BUSY, BTU, and URN in the NW corner. I thought I had it made. Well, things slowed down quickly.
I bounced around and got the easy ones, which gave me a little foothold here and there.
Caught the theme with POP ZINGERS. Now I knew the Z and S switch. That helped me with the rest of them.
KITTY and KAY made sense. Just two different ways to say a lady's name. That gave me MAZY instead of MAZE.
Tried GRAMPA and then GRAMPS worked better which gave me SEDAN.
Tried LLAMAS before ALPACAS worked better because it fit and blended with the perps.
NAMASTE is totally unknown to me. Thank you seven perps.
Liked SNAKE OIL.
Got EDDA easily at 55D. That has been a crossword staple for as long as I can remember.
DIAL reminds me of being able to simulate the dial and make a call by hitting the hook switch quickly. Seven times for a seven, for example. I used to make calls like that all the time. Knowing how the equipment works helped.
Now I have to go to yesterday's blog and report in because I did not get that done until late last night and I went to bed.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
ReplyDeleteThanks, D-O. Boxleitner.
TTP Nice write-up.
ReplyDeleteA "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!
Woohoo! I almost got this whole Friday puzzle with just a tiny bit of cheating! Many thanks, David. I started by getting the northeast corner, and bravely left in GAZEBO even though I worried about that Z. Had no idea it would turn out to be ZINfandel. Then got THESIS, of course (Anonymous is right--you need to write a dissertation for a Ph.D.). INCA, EDDA, and NPR helped on the bottom. And yes, I too put POPE for the "Innocent" before changing it to PLEA. Thanks for the fun commentary, TTP--especially the picture from "The Sound of Music"--a sweet memory.
ReplyDeleteJfromvt, I too had trouble with this morning's Sudoku and had to erase it and start over to finally get it. They seem to be making them tougher these days.
Yellowrocks, yes, I too still enjoy researching and writing, even now in my retirement. Right now I'm working on an essay on "War and Gender" for a book someone is publishing on "War an Literature".
Have a good weekend coming up, everybody.
Bluehen, where do I pick up my sighn? I miss Bizaro. Our paper dropped most of my favorites, and added lame ones (or maybe CHEAP ones) like The Middletons.
ReplyDeleteAbejo, I used to make calls with the tapping method too. Mainly at places with phones that did't have dials or touch pads. Our crossbar brethren probably can't do it.
I KNEW that I should have consulted with a subject matter expert before posting thoughts about the brothel. I apologize to DO and BE for not doing so!
YR, I’ve been a writer all my life, which almost always involves research of one sort or another. And, like you, I love it.
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle kept me BUSY for a while but was fairly easy for a Friday. Thank you, David!
The misdirections kept me on my toes and I soon saw the clever Z transfer. I love seeing ZORBA and thinking about Anthony Quinn. Bruce Boxleitner, too, who is not only a good actor but easy on the eyes.
What fun to see words like GAZEBO, SEPTUPLE, MYRIAD, NATALE and even GOATEE after yesterday's extensive discussion about beards.
My Master's degree was also one without a THESIS though I love to research and did plenty of it for the many term papers required in many of my classes. Today's students would likely be astonished at the methods we used back then, like index cards to note resources. I had dozens, maybe hundreds of them over the course of my studies. They were carefully organized by author, subject and other features followed by a time line generated by the information. Does anyone else remember that?
I am not used to the references cab, REDS, ZIN for wine but I'm learning them through CWDs.
NAMASTE is said with a bow after each yoga session.
Thank you, TTP. I recognized your style and appreciate your terrific commentary.
SO LONG, everyone and have a splendid day!
DW's name is Catherine, so I know all the possible nicknames, but she'll only tolerate Cathy. And never K! only C.
ReplyDeleteI'm with IM @ 8:29 --
ReplyDelete"Aortal/Atrial, ... Grampa/Gramps" got my vote, too.
And also a thumbs-down for 'smit' and 'mazy' -- we all know that cwds have to have some flexibility to operate within their narrow universe, yet even for a Friday both of these seemed forced, and the perps didn't welcome us with open arms.
Easy for a Friday. We'll be in for it mañana, surely. ("Don't call me Surely.")
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thank you, Mr. Bywaters. This was both entertaining--and funny, with the Z-ADDLEd theme.
Yellowrocks & Misty ~ My THESIS submitted many, many years ago was in two volumes, nearly 1,000 pp.
In the days before photocopy, I had to submit 5 copies. So I rented a Selectric and hammered out one original plus five carbons.
And of course every typo had to be Wited-out (Wite-Outed?) on every copy.
Think about it: Prior to Xerox and computers, this was our only real improvement since Gutenberg's movable type.
Yarrggh...
~ OMK
____________
DR: One mirror-side diagonal.
Today's anagram honors the symbol of the god of an African skunk, the...
"ZORILLAS DEI"!
My thesis weighed about 20 pounds and 15 was due to the weight of my excessive use of white out 😂 thanks to a final copy at Kinko’s it looked when I turned it in. Ah the days of old.
DeleteMontaignes work could have been ESSAI , If my French memory is correct
ReplyDeleteDid Owen get his J poem idea from 37d or is it more "prescience"?
Jinx, I know you'll like
Today's Bizarro. Aaarrrggghhh!!! Bluehen beat me to it
I'm always late getting here
Before I got the theme I assumed that it was VIN/ZIN. Misty just straightened me out
Ok, that bicicle was built for DAISY not MAISY
OMK, on the 80 char keypunch there was no wite-out. Just a do-over
Mr Bywater with his usual,clever xword same same for the write-up. FIR.
WC
Yes, Lucina, I remember all the note cards. I would take the cards and arrange and rearrange them in the order I planned to use them. Each had a code for the book it came from and the page(s) used. I also literally cut and pasted (really taped) parts of pages to fit them into new places. I crossed out and drew arrows, etc. By the time I did my thesis, I was happy to have word processing available. It was so much easier and it freed the brain to be more creative. I was more willing to be picky and change my work many times. You could endlessly revise without retyping whole pages.
ReplyDeleteI have found many references to MAZY runs or dribbles in English football. Steve?
SMIT is not really a stretch, just archaic. We have had other archaic fill from time to time.
Off to another square dance in a bit.
Word processing! The salvation of students' nightmares! I thought I had died and gone to Heaven when word processing was introduced.
ReplyDeleteFootnotes were among the most difficult parts to type. Our college required them to be very specific in the number of spaces allotted to them. It makes me dizzy just thinking about all that.
I liked this puzzle. Putting in MULTIPLE instead of SEPTUPLE impeded my solving that corner. Having GRAMPA made me wonder for a brief moment what a AEDAN is. Last to fill was that pesky Y at the ends of MAZY and KAY. My mom, whose name is/was Katherine, was always called Kay. So far my RETINAL scans show no sign of diabetic retinopathy.
ReplyDeleteSending good thoughts to you all.
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you, Lucina !
Jayce, I liked it, too.
Misty, if you hover your cursor over the picture from "The Sound of Music", you should see a triangular arrow. If you press that arrow, the video of the song should play. I hope it works for you.
My DW is a Katherine, and her mother was Katherina. My friend elongates her short name Katie as Kaaaay Teeeee.
Re: Spitzboov, Irish Miss and Misty
ReplyDeleteClue 61 Across = Innocent, for one
Is "pope" a synonym for "plea" ?
Anon @ 1953 - - The clue was Innocent, for one. There were several Pope Innocents:
ReplyDeletePope Innocent may refer to:
Pope Innocent I, saint (401–417)
Pope Innocent II (1130–1143)
Antipope Innocent III (1179-1180)
Pope Innocent III (1198–1216)
Pope Innocent IV (1243–1254)
Pope Innocent V (1276)
Pope Innocent VI (1352–1362)
Pope Innocent VII (1404–1406)
Pope Innocent VIII (1484–1492)
Pope Innocent IX (1591)
Pope Innocent X (1644–1655)
Pope Innocent XI (1676–1689)
Pope Innocent XII (1691–1700)
Pope Innocent XIII (1721–1724)
I think the actual plea regarding innocence is "not guilty". Maybe one of our barristers could weigh in on this?
Fantastic Friday. Thanks for the fun, David and TTP.
ReplyDeleteThis was a workout for me, but expected for Friday. I did see the Z replacing S theme.
I think MAZY was "gluey" fill to fit the theme, but I did smile at KAY (nothing to do with cats!). (Ah, a CSO to YR)
Unknowns included the Scripps logo (for spelling BEE), Kazantzakis (but ZORBA filled in).
TSA (I should remember it) and GNMA filled with perps thankfully.
Numerous misdirections - those cabs were REDS not cars. Really terrible wine, maybe???
Academic growth=IVY brought a smile.
Llamas was too short; ALPACAS fit. (hello Abejo)
I too smiled at GOATEE after the beard discussion yesterday. I don't mind beards but am not a fan of GOATEEs.
Yes, I saw the CSO to IM with TROY. And where is Nice Cuppa?
The clue for ASSAM had to be about silk because TEA was already used.
I'll take a CSO with MAINTENANCE DOZE. A Loading dose may be used with medication (especially antibiotics) to get an effective level of the drug into the bloodstream as quickly as possible. But then the dose is lowered to a MAINTENANCE dose for continued usage.
PHONED could have been clued as "Contacted in a Retro way", since everyone texts now. . . and DIAL is really retro.
Good evening to you all.
Spitzboov, I'm pretty sure that you are correct that, at least in the US, there is no such thing as a plea of "innocent," only "not guilty." That could have been tightened up.
ReplyDeleteAnd for that matter if one gets formal, Innocent is not the same as "Not guilty". Many a jury that doesn't convict do not necessarily consider the person "Innocent".
ReplyDeleteSimply NOT Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Additionally, I recall my father answering my question about sentencing. I innocently said that the length of sentence would correspond to the relative certainty of guilt.
He corrected me but never quite convinced me.
WC
Sweet suggestion, TTP. I did press on the arrow but I'm afraid the song didn't play. I'll try it again later, and thanks for the suggestion.
ReplyDeleteTTP, I just tried it again, and this time it worked. What a sweet song and what a sweet performance by those children--a lovely treat--thank you so much.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMisty, I am glad it worked for you. That song came to the forefront when I solved that answer in the puzzle, so I thought I would include it. Glad you liked it.