Top O' the Morning! The word Day "opens" up a new phrase when added it proceeds the each word of the theme answer.
17-Across. Classroom text: SCHOOL BOOK. Day School and Day Book.
28-Across. Twinkling in the night sky: STAR LIGHT. Daystar, also known as the planet Venus, and Day Light.
39-Across. Relief from the daily grind: TIME OFF. Day Time and Day Off.
48-Across. Office spot with a coffee pot: BREAK ROOM. Day Break and Day Room.
And the unifier:
63-Across. Start of a sports season, and what each half of 17-, 28-, 39- and 48-Across can have: OPENING DAY.
Across:
1. Barbecue glowers: COALS.
6. Priestly robes: ALBS. The word ALB comes from the Latin, Albus, which means White. // Not to be confused with 10-Across: Cobbler's Tools: AWLS.
Priestly ALB
Cobblers' AWLS.
14. Neighborhood map on a city map, e.g.: INSET.
Inset with an Inset
16. Former Iranian ruler: SHAH. The last SHAH of Iran was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Oct. 26, 1919 ~ July 27, 1980). He was deposed in the Iranian Revolution in February 1979. The word SHAH comes from an old Persian word meaning King. This coming Saturday will mark the 100th anniversary of his birth.
19. Deep sleep: COMA. Also the title of Robin Cook's first medical thriller.
20. Represent: DENOTE.
This scale begins and ends with a D-Note.
21. Like a bike: WHEELED.
23. Goes on to say: ADDS.
24. Summer on the Riviera: ÉTÉ. Today's French Lesson.
25. MLB Network analyst Martinez: PEDRO. Pedro Jaime Martinez (b. Oct. 25, 1971) is a Dominican professional baseball player who had a long career in Major League Baseball. He played for the Boston Red Sox from 1998 until 2004. He also played for 4 other teams. This Friday will be his 48th birthday.
34. On bed rest, say: LAID UP.
36. Lupino of "High Sierra": IDA. Ida Lupino (Feb. 4, 1918 ~ Aug. 3, 1995) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles. I learned of her from doing the crossword puzzles. In addition to being an actress, she was also directed films.
37. Bird's crop: CRAW.
38. Colorado native: UTE. A crossword staple.
42. "__ Am": Alicia Keys album: AS I.
43. Screen material: MESH. I was thinking of a movie screen, not a screen on a door or a window to keep the bugs out.
45. Sinus doc: ENT. As in an Ear Nose and Throat Doctor. These doctors make frequent appearances in the puzzles too.
46. Growing weary: TIRING.
51. Landlord's income: RENTS.
52. Tell tall tales: LIE.
53. Field of study: AREA.
55. Pays some of: DEFRAYS.
59. Closed in on: NEARED.
62. Cut __: dance, in old slang: A RUG.
66. Hightail it: FLEE.
67. Trait carrier: GENE.
68. Mozart's "Così fan __": TUTTE. With foreign subtitles for your reading pleasure.
69. Spill the beans: TELL.
70. Taiwanese PC maker: ACER. I learned about this PC from doing the crossword puzzles.
71. Most common roll of two dice: SEVEN.
Down:
1. Prefix with gender: CIS-. As in Cisgender, which is the opposite of Transgender. Cisgender is the term for people whose gender identity matches the sex that they were assigned at birth.
2. How software was once sold: ON CD.
3. Queens tennis stadium: ASHE. The stadium is named for tennis great Arthur Ashe (July 10, 1943 ~ Feb. 6, 1993). He won 3 Grand Slam Titles. He retired from tennis in 1980. He was older than 23 when he retired.
4. Johnny's "The Big Bang Theory" role: LEONARD. I never watched this show, so needed perps to help with the name.
5. Was conspicuous: STOOD OUT.
6. Convent leader: ABBESS. A famous movie Abbess.
7. Language of Southeast Asia: LAO.
8. Hard punch: BLOW.
9. Many a Punjabi: SIKH. Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that originated in the Punjab region of India during the 15th Century.
10. One leading a Spartan lifestyle: ASCETIC.
11. Healthy bread type: WHOLE GRAIN. I initially tried Whole Wheat.
12. Like a weak excuse: LAME.
13. Roe source: SHAD.
18. Inc., in the U.K.: LTD.
22. Slender aquarium swimmer: EEL.
25. __ bob: vertical measuring tool: PLUMB. A Plumb Bob is a weight with a pointed end suspended from a string. It is used for a vertical line reference, known as a plumb line.
26. Diner: EATER. Also the name of a 1982 movie.
27. Gas at a truck stop: DIESEL FUEL.
29. Connect with: TIE TO.
30. Big deal: ADO.
31. Whitewater ride: RAFT. I have never had a desire to go Whitewater Rafting.
32. "Who __?!": "Join the club!": HASN'T.
33. Small sticks: TWIGS. The Water Institute of the Gulf is sometimes referred to as TWIG.
35. Jetty: PIER.
40. 6, on a cellphone keypad: MNO.
41. Insects with a painful sting: FIRE ANTS. You don't want to step on a fire ant hill! They are called fire ants for a reason!
44. Stylist's supply: HAIR GEL.
47. Debate again: RE-ARGUE.
49. Hawaii's Mauna __: KEA. Mauna Kea, which makes frequent guest appearances in the crosswords, is a dormant volcano on the Island of Hawaii. It is also the highest point in the State of Hawaii. There is an observatory on the summit of the volcano.
50. Style: MANNER.
54. Camping gear brand: REI. I am not familiar with this company.
55. Inane: DAFT.
56. Mystery writer Gardner: ERLE. Erle Stanley Gardner (July 17, 1880 ~ Mar. 11, 1970) was an attorney, but he got bored in the courtroom and began writing legal thrillers. He is best known for creating Perry Mason.
57. Tranquil exercise: YOGA. It's harder than you might think.
58. On __: without a contract: SPEC.
60. 1999 Ron Howard film: ED TV.
61. Go out with: DATE.
64. WSW's opposite: ENE. East-NorthEast is the opposite direction of West-SouthWest.
65. Japanese money: YEN.
Here's the Grid:
QOD: Lazy people tend not to take chances, but express themselves by tearing down other’s work. ~ Ann Rule (née Ann Rae Stackhouse; Oct. 22, 1931 ~ July 26, 2015, American crime writer
40 comments:
I have been LAID UP of late.
On a gurney I was WHEELED to my fate!
I avoided a COMA
But can't do any YOGA,
Nor CUT A RUG when I'm out on a DATE!
An orthopedist is a doctor whom
Fixes legs and arms that go boom.
When it's TIRING work
For TIME OFF he can lurk
With plaster that's kept in the BREAK ROOM!
What if the SHAH were a SIKH?
Could he still be an emir or sheik?
Or would it stick in the CRAW
To genuflect to a shah
Who some other religion would seek?
GENE in his SCHOOLBOOK wrote a note
Of any fact, no matter how remote.
He was an ACER
On every paper,
His nerd creds that did DENOTE!
STARLIGHT, to dreamers intense
Is an palace for the creative sense.
Then Reality comes by,
The pragmatic guy,
And on palaces he collects RENTS!
PEDRO took a cruise ship to BALI
And taught natives to make hot tamales,
But coconut meat
Doesn't go with heat,
So the whole enterprise was a folly!
{A+, A, A, B-, B+, B+.}
Cute one today. I've been in BALI, so that was quickly filled. I actually thought I had "opening game", until I noticed the missing "g". Any reminder of "Something About Mary" makes my day.
Good morning.
Hand up for WHEAT. Also tried to spell ABBESS with just a single B -- didn't work. Otherwise this one went fast. After getting the reveal, I noticed that DAY fit with the first word of the theme answers -- failed to notice that it also fit with the second word. Nicely done, Paul. Enjoyed the tour, Hahtoolah.
BALI: Never quite made it there, but I visited Java many times.
ERLE: Also wrote mysteries under the pseudonym A. A. Fair.
IDA: I remember her from the Four Star Playhouse of my ute, along with David Niven, Dick Powell and Charles Boyer. One star would appear in each episode.
SIKH: A Sikh patrolman was killed in Houston last month during a routine traffic stop. The Houston PD later announced a change in the department's uniform policy.
Cisgender, that’s a new one for me. Used to be just boys and girls, but don’t want to go there on this blog.
Typical easy Tuesday, kind of a forced theme, but zipped through it quickly.
Good morning.
After yesterday's debacle, I feel better. To a point. I didn't read the reveal as the answer was evident. Saw the opening to the first half of each theme answer, but not the second half.
Oh well. Still a fun puzzle and a pleasing review by Hahtoolah.
The Truman Show movie (starring Jim Carrey) was a box office and financial success and quickly followed by ED TV a year later. Seemed to me that the genesis of the ED TV movie was something of a copycat. ED TV was a flop at the box office and by all accounts rated far lower.
FIR with no erasures. A Paul Coulter!
Craps, as played in most US casinos, offers the best odds in the house. The casinos are so watchful for blackjack card counters that a player can't get away with it for long, especially if the player varies the amount wagered with the favorability of the deck. Craps pass line odds favor the house by about 1 1/2%, but they offer a side bet called "odds". Odds bets pay true mathematical odds; the house has no advantage at all. Almost all casinos allow a player to make odds bets that are twice the amount of the pass line bet (called double odds), quite a few offer 10 times odds, and a couple even offer 100 times odds. The overall house advantage is very small, but the player's pockets need to be deep.
"Gas at a truck stop" is gas, or gasoline. A better clue would have been FUEL at a truck stop.
I think we've discussed FIRE ANTS before. Clever little devils don't sting until there are a lot of them in place, then they all sting at once.
Thanks to PC for the fun, easy puzzle. And thanks to Hahtoolah for the fun and funny narrative. I LOL at "...matches the sex that they were assigned at birth." I wish my mom were around so I could ask her who assigned me to be male, and did she argue the decision.
Thanks, Hahtoolah. Owen, your first stanza was so apt, it's certainly an A+. Desper-otto, I read the link you provided about the Sikh officer in Houston. It's a fine move on their part, but I think they should have allowed turbans in the first place.
Regarding the comment last time that I shouldn't read the review at Crossword Fiend, I already had. Criticism doesn't bother me. I expect some negativity, which is quite civil at Fiend compared to what many constructors get at "Rex Parker does the NYT." I've been the victim a number of times. It often centers on particular words in the fill. I'm more of a theme guy, and often get a laugh out of the vitriol there.
Thanks Paul C. for the puzzle. I enjoy knowing how you laugh at the vitriol over at Rex's.
Thank you also, Hahtoolah. I appreciate how you illustrate the puzzle and of some of the alternate references that are contained in the pictures. I got a bang from your HAIR GEL pick and I imagine many here will not get the joke because the movie, "There's Something About Mary" is not in there sphere of interest. I really like all of the Farrelly brothers' movies especially "Dumb and Dumber". Many are not aware that the brothers also were co-writers for the Seinfeld episode, "The Virgin".
For those who are interested: Article from Variety magazine about the iconic HAIR GEL scene and the 20th anniversary of the movie
Owen, your poems more than "cut a rug." How the heck can you continue to do it? Cheers!
If ASHE was born in 1943 and retired in 1980, he was 37, not 23.
Cosi fan tutte - “They (women) are all like that” (promiscuous), but so are men, or it wouldn’t work
Fun quick Tuesday puzzle. Had "says" instead of "adds," cut a "rag" instead of "rug" (hey before my time), and "timeout" instead of "off" ...all corrected with perps.
Not sure "mesh" is an appropriate response for screen material. Like saying "cloth" is sweater material. Had a hernia operation a few years ago. Surgeon put in mesh. Hope not from a screen door!
"Ida" know.
BTW. The subtitles on the Cosi Fan Tutte stream are in French not Italian.
Good morning everyone.
No problems with the solve. Forgot to dwell on what the theme might be. Fun puzzle anyway. Hahtoolah's 'fleshing it out' made it better.
PLUMB bob - Comes from the Latin Plumbum, for 'lead', which was used for early plumb bobs.
DIESEL - Agree with Jinx. Gasoline is primarily heptane with some octane. These are chain compounds. "Petroleum-derived diesel is composed of about 75% saturated hydrocarbons (primarily paraffins including n, iso, and cycloparaffins), and 25% aromatic hydrocarbons (including naphthalenes and alkylbenzenes). The average chemical formula for common diesel fuel is C12H24, ranging approximately from C10H20 to C15H28."
Winter mixtures are mostly kerosene. Gasoline is ignited by spark plugs; Diesel is ignited by high compression. Diesels can run on jet fuel.
To say 'gas' for DIESEL FUEL is , at best, a very imprecise statement. I think 'gas' in the clue should have been in quotes.
I have MESH imbedded in my body at 3 locations; right and left groin and navel area. (Probably TMI.)
Musings
-OPENING DAY was a fun gimmick and is a true harbinger of spring for us baseball fans
-LAID UP – Neighbor’s son got broken ribs and a broken clavicle after trying to put a tarp on his semi grain trailer in a 40mph wind last week.
-5’8” Bogart probably preferred working with 5’4” Ida rather than 5’ 9” Ingrid Bergman
-Two years ago my ENT got me into hearing aids and a CPAP machine
-Big Bang Theory was wonderful until the cast and the premise got stale
-Doesn’t Thoreau leap to your mind when you hear the word ASCETIC?
Hahtoolah: Good job on the write-up. Very informative.
Needed ESP (Every-Single-Perp) to get CIS & REI ... both learning moments.
With the NY YANKEE'S eliminated ... I'm wondering who to root for in the Series.
Cheers!
Good Morning:
Breezed through this rather quickly with only one stumble over Whole Wheat instead of Grain. The fill was pretty straightforward but I needed the reveal to see the theme. I, too, didn't catch on to the second word's relevance but I blame that on not reading the clue thoroughly. (I call that lapse DOitis! 😈)
Thanks, Paul, for a Tuesday treat and for stopping by and thanks, Hatoolah, for your fancy-tickling visuals and commentary.
Tin, I'm with you on who to root for in the Series. Without my Yankees, my heart just isn't in it. Maybe because our Anon T is such a mensch, we should root for his Astros.
PK, I hope you can solve that mold issue as we miss hearing about your antics and anecdotes.
Have a great day.
Good morning, folks (again), Thank you, Paul Coulter, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Hahtoolah, for a fine review.
Already stopped in once to report on the Monday puzzle. So, here I am again.
Once again, cruciverb was out to lunch. Printed from the L A Times site.
Hahtoolah, really enjoyed your review and all the photos, etc. Nice one of the Shah. Every public and business building had that photo or one similar hanging on the wall until he left. I still have a whole wad of money with his picture on each bill.
Caught the theme. Very good.
CIS was a new word, or partial word, for me. I do like it.
I heard Arthur ASHE died from bad blood in a blood transfusion.
SEVEN was easy. I just started counting the dice roll possibilities on my fingers and came up with seven.
Just had SHAD the other day. ( in the puzzle, not to eat )
Never heard of EDTV.
Anyhow, lots to do today. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Rex Parker is one depressing dude. I gave up on his blog years ago. I think he hates everything, even his own self.
Hola!
Thank you, Paul Coulter. I sensed a religious undertone today with ALBS, ABBESS, ASCETIC and SIKH. And like others I got part of the theme but didn't realize both words complemented DAY. Clever!
My PC is an ACER and a frequent CWD fill.
One year when visiting my sister and her family in Charlotte, NC, we went white water RAFTing. It was tremendous fun! My late BIL always had entertaining plans for us when we visited.
I can't say I enjoy that photo of Cameron Diaz; having seen the movie I know the subject and don't find it amusing.
CIS is a new term for me. REI stores sell all kinds of sports merchandise.
Hand up for WHOLEWHEAT before WHOLEGRAIN emerged.
Thank you, Hahtoolah. I enjoy your narrative style!
OwenKL:
Your last one really made me laugh!
Relish your day, everyone!
Wonderful Wednesday puzzle-- had to work on a few items, but I got the whole thing without any problem. Thank you for this gift in the middle of the week, Paul--you've cheered up what is otherwise a depressing day for me (not feeling well, etc.). But lots of fun moments, and my favorite was the crossing of ALB and ABBESS and Hatoolah's always terrific pictures. As soon as the pictures started, I knew you were our supporter today--thank you so much, Hahtoolah. Have a great day, everybody!
I've heard CIS as in CISalpine Gaul vs Transalpine Gaul. Places that J Caesar went to.
On ASHE, my math says he retired from tennis at about age 37.
Limericks: The first two lines have eight beats while the third and fourth have six, and the last line again has eight.
Hi everybody!
Thanks Paul and Hahtoolah.
I agree with Lucina about the 'hair gel picture.' I saw the movie and I'm not a fan.
Cisgender? I'm just too old to give it much attention.
Once I got the 'reveal,' I though I had the theme sussed out. But I tried to make sense of Daybook, Daystar and Dayroom, and I figured I was still kinda lost.
I support Hahtoolah and her choice of posting the picture of a beautiful Cameron Diaz. The picture is harmless and if you are aware of its backstory, well, then you have already been exposed to the raunchy humor. I think it was a clever decision to post a picture that has a interesting inside joke associated with it.
Susan, you go girl!
Some days the puzzles are easy,
and some days...
I liked this puzzle and the review. Some nifty fill, such as ASCETIC and DEFRAYS. Hand up for going with WHOLE WHEAT at first. Thank you Paul Coulter and Hahtoolah.
To be clear, I had no problem with Hahtoolah including that picture in her write up. Very clever on her part. I just didn't like the movie that much.
There are still folk who venerate the SHAH, who saw him as the descendant of ancient Persian rulers. We have a few old-timers here in Irvine who fit that description. Our city seems to be home to one of the largest concentrations of Iranian ex-pats following the revolution. I had a long talk on the subject with a cab driver last year, and my endocrinologist, a professor in UCI's medical school, is of the older generation.
Sorry you aren't feeling so well, Misty. I'm glad the Xwd helped to boost your spirits a bit.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Just one diagonal, on the leeward side.
It offers a 13-letter anagram: When a committee postpones, or puts off indefinitely, dealing with a sensitive subject because members are near equally divided over their interests in the matter and are not prepared to RE-ARGUE it.
We call this a…
“TENSE DEFERRAL.”
Thanks Paul for a lovely, quick early week puzzle. Thanks, Susan for all your interesting pics and articles. You must spent hours on finding all of this.
I don't care for the negativity on some of the other puzzle comment sites. I love this blog.
REI was new to me, although I tent-camped for more than 40 years and bought a great deal of equipment, I did not know REI. This subject reminds me how nostalgic I am for those days since I gave it up camping at age 77. Too old to tent camp, too old to drive and care for an RV. I still enjoy our favorite B&B.
Susan's picture of Carmen Diaz was okay, but I am sorry I looked up the reference someone gave. Yeech!
Tin and IM, with our Yankees out of the series, I have sorta lost interest.
HG, my sympathy to the guy with the tarp. Such bad injuries caused by the wind for an otherwise normal job.
I agree about gas vs diesel. Seeing the diesel pumps beside the gas pumps leads some of us just to call all of it gas, erroneously.
OTOH, the material a dress, suit or lingerie is made of is cloth. So I think the material many window screens are made of is mesh. Quality Window Screen advertises mesh screens.
I remember IDA on Four Star Playhouse on early TV. We can still find her Hollywood movies, made before our time, on Netflix and DVD and other places. I prefer many old movies to current ones.
The first written use of CIs gender seems to be in 1994, but I see it frequently these days.
Anon @ 12:04, I enjoy limericks because of their rhythm. To me it is the sine qua n
Oddly enough, jet pilots talk about "gassing up" their planes, even though Jet A is just about the same as kerosene.
Last line @3:11 should read, "To me it is the sine qua non of limericks."
A 69 year old friend who was always active and bright was advised a few months ago that he had end stage cancer. It has been all downhill from there and now he is gone. So suddenly. The funeral is on Saturday. What a knowledgeable generous friend he was, always good company. Life seems so chancy, especially for seniors.
Anon, FLN, thx for info on Lovee.
Re. 45A, we also have the Tolkien tree herders.
Wow, to think that when I saw Arthur Ashe at Longwood in 1965 playing doubles vs Emerson and Stolle he was only eight.
I have a DEISEL(BMW). The delta between regular and deisel is fascinating. The latter doesn't move as much. The former obviously manipulated for gauging purposes. In fact, how about "Non-Regular at the pump" for the clue. Or, Bane of Thomas the Tank Engine.
Root for Houston all you want but they are hardly "Scrappy little underdogs". Let's check: Vegas odds
I had to overwrite WHEAT. GRAIN is far APTER.*
As Paul says, take the Rex blog with a grain of salt and Rex himself as an entertainer, not to be taken to literally serious. I wish there was a blog for the Sunday Post, Paul Birnholz XW.
Then again, my TBTimes didn't carry it this week with some LAME excuse. I think the hard copy world underestimates the drawing power of actual paper for certain solvers.
We had an informal poll in here and about half like smell of the paper, the roar of the ink.**
WC
** Ok, previous xword
*** Ask OMK
And... Misty, I hope you shake off whatever it is.
Nice set of l'icks from Owen today
WC
Misty:
I'm sorry that you are not feeling well and hope you can find something to alleviate it.
Anon@12:04 on limericks --That's why I and others call my verses l'icks (Lorion's ickiness) instead. I stick to limerick rhyme pattern, but use whatever meter is convenient, although I do strive to have lines 1,2,& 5 match, and 3 & 4 match each other and be shorter than the rest.
cis- ... a prefix meaning “on the same side of,” referring to the alignment of one's gender identity with one's biological sex assigned at birth (cisgender; cissexual).
Why do they say "assigned at birth"? It's "assigned" when the chromosomes get together 9 months ahead of that, except for the 1 in a million hermaphrodites.
WC, please don't jinx us by linking Vegas odds. :) Sorry, Jinx in Norfolk.
OKL, I see what you're saying. And that would mean that one is assigned blue eyes, red hair, male pattern baldness and all other inherited traits. To me, "being assigned" implies that there is an assigner (beyond random chance), and I know that there are a lot of folks who are religious enough to believe that they have a maker who is into that level of every being's makeup. Could be - that stuff is WAY above my pay grade.
"Assigned at birth" is when the doctor/nurse/midwife says, "It's a boy"/"It's a girl", and that's what they put on the birth certificate.
Hi All!
Fun puzzle Paul. Lovely illustrated expo Hahtoolah. Thanks both of you.
WO: N/A
ESPs: ERLE, ASCETIC, IDA
Fav: STOOD OUT xing LAID UP kinda tickled me.
{A+, A, A, A+, B, B+} //I might have just been getting tired near the end :-)
Loved the DR OMK.
TTP - I remember thinking the same thing re: ED TV - derivative. (I've never seen either though).
Misty I hope you feel well soon - maybe by tomorrow (Wednesday) :-)
If the clue read 'Semi gas?' would that end the DIESLEFUEL kerfuffle? :-)
IM I had to lookup 'mensch' to see if you were teasing me... I didn't expect something so kind. Go 'Stros!
Cheers, -T
Roy@ 8:21, Wikipedia agrees.
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