59A . Classic "Psycho" segment where one might see the starts of the answers to starred clues: SHOWER SCENE. Here it is, in all its screaming intensity.
25. *Response to wild applause: CURTAIN CALL. When the actors get another chance to bow after a great performance. But that is after a stage play, and we're at a movie. The CURTAIN is prominent in the scene, and afterwards Norman Bates, played by Tony Perkins wraps Marion's corpse in it, and sticks it in the trunk of her car.
37. *Political metaphor about dealing with bureaucracy: DRAIN THE SWAMP. Nope. No politics. The stage blood circling the DRAIN is a bit of cinematic brilliance.
50. *Market-based pollution-control policy: CAP AND TRADE. The junction of politics and economics is still of limits. Moving right along . . . One might have expected Marion's shower CAP to keep her hair neat - but all to no avail, since her corps ends up in an UNDRAINED SWAMP. But wait - she doesn't wear one! Am I missing something here?!?
Hi gang, a somewhat confused JazzBumpa here to direct today's excursion. Hope we don't get too bogged down.
Across:
1. Commerce pact to be replaced by USMCA when it's ratified: NAFTA. Trade deals, new and old. More politics, where we dare not venture.
6. __ circus: MEDIA. A news event with hyped-up or out of proportion coverage.
11. Cook quickly: ZAP. Use a microwave.
14. Fluffed-up dos: AFROS. Most popular X-word hair style.
15. Apple music players: IPODS. Portable player of digital audio and video.
16. Actress Longoria: EVA. Eva Jacqueline Bastón (née Longoria; born March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, director, activist, and businesswoman. [Wikipedia]
20. Iraq War concern: Abbr.: WMD. Weapons of Mass Destruction. There weren't any.
21. New beginning?: NEO-. A prefix denoting a new or [more likely] revived form of something.
22. Spine-tingling: EERIE. Like a scene depicting a murder in a shower.
24. Farm female: EWE. This answer makes me feel sheepish.
28. Almost on "E": LOW. Fuel gauge reference
29. Biblical mount: ASS. Here are 76 references.
30. Attend: GO TO.
31. "The Art of Loving" author Erich: FROMM.
33. Cubs' home: DEN. Animal offspring, not a sports team
34. Fort Collins sch.: CSU. Colorado State University. Home of the Rams. Our second ovine of the day.
41. Wild blue yonder: SKY.
42. Unagi, e.g.: EEL. Japanese fresh water eel.
43. Beyond angry: IRATE. Feeling great anger.
45. Membership fees: DUES. An obligatory payment
47. "Help!" at sea: SOS. A Morse code distress signal transmitted as an unbroken sequence of 3 dots, three dashes and three dots.
49. P-like letter: RHO. Rho (/roʊ/; uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ϱ; Greek: ῥῶ) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. [Wikipedia]
54. "__ Explain Things to Me": 2014 Rebecca Solnit essay anthology: MEN. Man-'splainin' is politically incorrect.
55. Yellow-and-white daisy: OX EYE.
57. Long of "Empire": NIA. [b 1970] American actress
58. A-lister: VIP. Very Important Person. I'm not sure who decides these things.
64. Canon SLR: EOS. Electro-Optical System. An autofocus single lens reflex mirrorless camera series.
65. Programmer: CODER. Software engineer.
66. Certain Jamaican, religiously: RASTA. A religious movement with distinctive and restrictive modes of diet, dress and behavior that honors people of African descent.
67. Brief reaction to oversharing: TMI. Too Much Information.
68. Newspaper essays: OP-EDS. Items placed opposite the editorial page.
69. Wild West movie: OATER. An allusion to horse feed.
Down:
1. "Don't think so": NAH. Slangy negation
2. Brief thing to say: A FEW WORDS. Literal
3. Basic structure: FRAMEWORK. Or supporting structure.
4. Lincoln in-law: TODD. Relative of Mary Todd Lincoln.
5. Shade of gray: ASH.
6. Ones who dig hard rock?: MINERS. Literal, not musical.
7. Florida theme park: EPCOT. At the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando.
8. Play-__: kids' clay: DOH. Colorful modeling material mostly made from flour, water and salt.
9. Wedding promise: I DO. But, alas, so many don't.
10. Agreement: ASSENT.
11. Striped equine: ZEBRA. Native to Africa.
12. To no __: useless: AVAIL.
13. Group of judges: PANEL.
18. Weight on one's shoulders: ONUS. From the Latin word for a load or burden.
23. Tesla Model X, for one: ECOCAR. An environmentally friendly vehicle.
24. "The Hobbit" being: ELF. ORC is also three letters, as is ENT.
25. Sleeveless top, for short: CAMI. Camisole, for long.
27. + or - particles: IONS. Atoms or molecules with an electron either added or missing.
32. "Help!" at sea: MAYDAY. This is repeated three times at the beginning of a transmission, to avoid any misunderstanding. The word was selected in 1921, and is derived from the French venez m'aider ('come and help me.') I did not know that.
33. UPS rival: DHL. Parcel delivery companies.
35. Most ingratiatingly earnest: SMARMIEST. In a way that is extreme and/or insincere.
36. Get serious, gambler-style: UP THE ANTE. Increase the stakes in a deliberation, conflict or dispute.
38. Can't live without: NEED. Must have.
39. Push to the limit: TEST. Can you do it?
40. Sage: WISE. I once met a sage named Herb.
44. Seemingly forever: EON. A long time of indefinite duration.
46. World Heritage Site org.: UNESCO. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
47. Civil War swords: SABERS. A SABER is a type of backsword [having a single-edged blade and a hilt with a single-handed grip] with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry.
48. Baking soda target: ODOR. It absorbs the odor causing substance.
50. Tenth Commandment verb: COVET. The desire to possess something.
51. Universal principle: AXIOM. A statement regarded as established, accepted or self-evidently true.
52. One side in the "cola wars": PEPSI. Preferred by some in my family. My lovely wife favors Coke. I am indifferent.
53. Crewed in a shell: ROWED. Shell is word with many meanings. It was my nickname for my daughter when she was little, based on her middle name, Michelle. Here it refers to a light racing boat used in the sport of crew.
57. College Football Playoff org.: NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
60. Sock __: HOP. An informal dance event, usually to popular recorded music, generally held in a high school gymnasium. Hard soled shoes had to be removed to protect the floor - hence the name.
61. Lyrical tribute: ODE. A lyric poem in the form of an address to a person or object.
62. "No seats" sign: SRO. Standing Room Only, indicating an at-capacity event.
63. Cup handle: EAR.
That wraps up another Wednesday. Crazy week so far. Nobody knows how dangerous the corona virus may be. We are having a snow event that closed all the schools today. Stay warm and safe. Take your vitamins. By low and sell high. And please be careful in the shower.
Cool regards!
JzB
Note from C.C.:
Dear Irish Miss (Agnes) lost her beloved brother James (Bud) last Sunday. Here's the obit page. Please accept our condolences, Agnes! Thanks for the link, Spitzboov!
Had FROMe and didn’t check the cross. DOH! I read his work as well.
ReplyDeleteFIR but had to erase ange for AGEE. I think I had to erase him just a day or two ago as well. Had to wait for BAr/BAN, WMD/ied, EWE/cow/sow/hen, ROWS/oars, SABER/SABRE and chi/DEN.
ReplyDeleteWhen EVA concurs, she puts the ASS in ASSENT.
The Racing Rules of Sailing used to contain several ONUS references to clarify which boat had the burden of proof in the event of a protest. A major rules rewrite eliminated the term entirely. It also outlawed intentionally hitting another boat, which was legal in some circumstances under the old rules. Spoilsports.
Thanks to Blake for the fun challenge. My favorite was "top brass" for HEAD HONCHOS. And thanks to JzB for the interesting and informative review.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteNo, d-o didn't get the theme. Again. I saw the H-H, C-C, S-S and thought alliteration...then the other two theme answers blew that out of the water. There was some nice stuff though, like SMARMIEST and DRAIN THE SWAMP, but there seemed to be an awful lot of 3-letter fill, some of it dreck. Thanx, Blake (is that last name a comment on your courtship technique?) and JzB.
OBO: I've never liked the idea of "or best offer." Wouldn't you have to wait forever in case the best offer hadn't yet been made? How 'bout, "I'm sick of waiting, so OK." ISOWSO.
HOP: I emceed weekly sock HOPS back in my H.S. days.
DOH: I eschew the play variety, but often resort to the Homerism.
IM: You've had a calamitous run of bad luck and sad news lately. I'm sorry to hear about James, as well as your continuing shingles agony.
The College Football Playoff is owned by BCS Properties, LLC. The NCAA recognizes but does not sponsor the FBS Championship.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteEasy solve again. FIR. No erasures.
I think HEAD means 'bathroom' in this theme context. HEAD is the word for Bathroom on a ship (and in our house). Probably comes from the old days when the most forepart of a ship was used for this purpose because it was the most downwind.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteQuick and fun puzzle today! Thank you, Blake Slonecker. And thank you, JazzB for your detailed commentary.
Nothing obscure or unknown in the grid enabled me to finish it rapidly. I love OXEYE daisies and grew them one year. They don't do well in the extreme heat.
EWE came after a mental debate with cow and sow. ZEBRA emerged when all the NE column was filled.
MINERS had the best clue and I liked all the long downward fill.
Irish Miss:
I am so sorry for your loss and I hope you soon return to good health.
Have a happy day, everyone!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteNo real stumbling blocks but the theme was a complete mystery until the reveal, which is my preference, anyway. I must have been in la la land because I filled in Ox Bow, then Ox Ear before coming up with the correct Ox Eye. I liked the clecho clues for May Day and SOS and, also, seeing my favorite soft drink, Pepsi. Ash is apropos as today is Ash Wednesday.
Thank you, Blake, for a mid-week treat and thanks, JazzB, for the detailed and witty review.
DO @ 6:48 ~ Thank you.
Spitz, thank you for sending the link to CC.
Have a great day.
I liked this puzzle. Except for my trying to fit some of the the answers in the wrong spaces, it was not difficult.
ReplyDeleteJazz, great expo. IMO , the theme answers like head, drain, cap etc. did not have to fit the movie, just the word shower. It was cool, though, that you could apply most of them to the movie.
Head as bathroom would not fit the theme. I call the fixture where the water comes out in a shower the shower head. I think my plumbing supply store called that, too.
My son does a lot of mansplaining. When I said that, he was IRATE and called it a liberal trope.
I have seen OATER a few times in movie reviews and often in puzzles. I can't remember ever having heard it said in conversation. IMO WESTERN is more common.
COKE or PEPSI? Could the proponents pass a blind taste test? I Knew a young boy who would eat only BALL PARK bologna and hated every other brand. He was an avid baseball fan. I began passing all bologna off as Ball Park and he never knew the difference.
On most of my trips we visited UNESCO sites.
Ingratiatingly earnest? I have a nit with that. To me earnest means intense and serious. "I really mean it." One definition is sincere. SMARMY is patently insincere and manipulative. I have always thought the word smarm was apt. It just oozes insincerity.
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Blake and JazzB.
ReplyDeleteStraight-forward solve today with only one inkblot.
I was straining to find the theme until the reveal clue - oh, SHOWER is the unifier. (Spitz, I thought theme from 17A was referring to SHOWER HEAD. Oh, YR beat me.)
My inkblot was in the SW corner with Shalt before COVET. (I'm sure that a more of you will have a hand up for that fill!) I had all the letters except the V and that took an alphabet run to find.
NIA and EVA make frequent guest appearances here. (Yes, I did notice a lot of 3 letter fill.)
I was thinking of Ararat or Sinai before ASS became the mount.
LOW filled the spot but I was thinking of music (a somewhat "flat" or "low" E) but gas gauge makes much more sense. DOH (and that's not the play kind!)
SMARMIEST is a great word. (Yes, YR - oozes comes to mind.)
Picard and I have been having email conversations about the new NAFTA (otherwise known as USMCA - or CUSMA in Canada!). Interesting to share views from either side of the border.
But I do not want to share views about 37A or 50A (might be TMI for the blog rules!)
Speaking of borders, this Canadian did not know DHL (although it looks like they do ship in Canada).
And of course you know that this Canadian had a nose-wrinkle entering ODOR right after SABERS. (SABERS was correct for Civil War clue; in the War of 1812, the American side used SABERS, while the British side used SABRES! LOL)
Thanks for the link for IM's brother, C.C. and Spitzboov. A live well-lived. Continued thoughts and prayers for IM and the family.
Wishing you all a good day.
Enjoyed the puzzle. The right side with: p-like letter, _ explain things...,& Long of Empire, were all beyond me & since they were all together that right side was unsolvable by me. Otherwise smooth sailing. Oh, what is the Cap clue, she wore no cap.
ReplyDeleteToday is Ash Wednesday
ReplyDeleteIt is written:
“Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.”
"Remember man, thou art dust and thou's wife hath a dust mop and dust bin"
FIR but had bar for BAN...nah for NAW...ied for WMD...aster for OXEYE (looks like an ordinary daisy to me). And what an ASS was looking for Biblical mountain. EWE would think I'd learn by now!!
... Didn't know the Brits pronounced ZEBRA like "Debra" till Sherlock pronounced it that way on an episode of "Elementary".
Isn't a cup handle a handle ...thought jugs had EARS?
"Thou shalt not COVET thy neighbor's goods" ...(so it's a sin to borrow his lawnmower?)
Avoiding the politics proscription I simply quote an ancient curse from the Egyptian god Ham-Ahn-Rye. " Thou shalt not drain the Nile and fill it with alligators lest thy face turn orange and hair fly over thy pate."
"Hey Dad it's 1960, 7pm, let turn on the TV to the two whole stations we get and watch a Warner Brothers OATER!" (I don't think so). I agree with YR, the only place I've seen OATER is in crosswords.
Happy Hump day ( Igor's Day)
Musings
ReplyDelete-I too will not go down any of the political trails here
-Speaking of which, many VIP’s think I NEED their political opinions
-Speaking (or not) of politics, SMARMIEST fits right in
-Universal Studios Florida used to have a live reenactment in their tour
-What did we do before we could ZAP food?
-A book that was BANNED in Boston usually guaranteed a best-seller
-There’s always some kid who will TEST the new sub
-Nice Job, Jazz!
Addendum
ReplyDelete-One of my students did a great project where he took two identical bottles of PEPSI, ripped off the labels and sat them side-by-side on cards marked A and B. He then had 100 people taste a sample from each bottle in a paper cup and asked whether they preferred A or B. Well over 90% chose one or the other instead of saying they were the same.
I reread the reveal and now agree with Jazz and Sherry. "Classic 'Psycho' segment where one might see the starts of the answers to starred clues: SHOWER SCENE." It does say you might see the answers in the scene. You won't see a shower cap there. Thanks, Sherry, for causing me to reread that.
ReplyDeleteCOVET means want, not borrow and in biblical terms I believe it means "want intensely".
ReplyDeleteAn extra layer to the theme is that each starting word pairs with the word SHOWER. You have SHOWER HEAD, SHOWER CURTAIN, SHOWER DRAIN, and SHOWER CAP.
ReplyDeleteLuc @ 10:30 thanks for your correction.
ReplyDeleteNot only does COVET not mean borrow. coveting thy neighbor's wife does NOT refer to wife swapping.
Other errors in my post:
The Latin translation might be off
Historians argue whether the Egyptians actually worshiped a god called Ham-ahn-rye
And
The use of the term OATER is in fact quite common especially in perfumeries. (Wait...maybe that was ODOR.)
Mea culpa
Do Circuit judges
ReplyDeleteMake their district rounds,
Riding PANEL trucks?
Here's Jimmy Buffet's take on the seven deadly sins, from Bank of Bad Habits:
ReplyDeleteNow let me tell you about the 7 Deadly Sins:
1. Pride...Thou shalt not have pride in thy neighbor.
2. Coveting...Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
3. Lust...Thou shalt not lust after his neighbor's wife.
4. Anger...Do not be angry with your neighbor's wife.
5. Gluttony...Do not eat thy neighbor's wife's ........popcorn.
6. Envy...Do not envy your neighbor's wife.
7. Sloth...Do not be a slob.
And the eighth deadly sin is............PIZZA!
Condolences to Irish Miss. May all pleasant memories prevail.
ReplyDeleteA good pzl today. just the right difficulty for a humpday.
Off to have my taxes done today. Not looking forward to it.
~ OMK
____________
DR: One diagonal on the far side.
The anagram is quite clear. What is a Queen?
Ans. - The...
"TOP HONEYBEE"!
ReplyDeleteThis Wednesday go went quickly with no issues.
Write-over....FROME/FROMM. Should have waited a bit.
IM, my sympathy to you and yours.
On to Thursday.
Had a doctor's appointment this morning, so am late posting, although I did the puzzle before I left. Really enjoyed it, Blake--many thanks. Was delighted that all those long across items filled in without any problem, and only had a bit of trouble in the southwest. Fun to see the SHOWER SCENE contained a shower head, a shower curtain, a shower drain, and a shower cap--looks like most of our bathrooms, I bet. The Biblical mount threw me off a bit, and I'm still not exactly sure I understand how the answer works. But perps filled it in readily. OP EDS are showing up a lot in puzzles these days, aren't they? Anyway, enjoyable puzzle and commentary on this Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad we had a chance to read your brother's life story, Irish Miss. What a sweet, kind man he was. Makes losing him that much more sad.
Have a good day, everybody.
FIR,
ReplyDelete(Although I had Smarmiest circled as a WAG...)
The clue yellow & white daisy brought an image
of a Black Eyed Susan to my mind...
(said CrossEyedDave, go figure...)
If the stage blood circling the drain was cinematic brilliance,
was the drain fade out to her dead eye overkill?
Ham-ahn-rye LOL!
Well, this theme desperately needs some humor,
but I am afraid Googles shower scenes are not that funny...
here is one possibility...
This one is scarier than the film clip!
And,
An obligatory Kitty Pic...
Only mistake was using TANK for a sleeveless top. As in tanktop.
ReplyDeleteJazz: Outstanding write-up. Very informative.
ReplyDeleteThis may be my favorite "Theme" of 2020.
Caught on early with the CURTAIN answer @ 25-A.
Well it is raining "Cats-n-Dogs" ... but at this time of the year FLORIDA needs a good soaking.
Some good news, I applied "On-Line" with the Supervisor of Elections for a "part-time" job on Monday.
They called @ 8:45 am on Tuesday for a "training session" at 1:00 pm yesterday.
For the next 4 weeks I will be operating a "Mailed in Ballots" counting machine.
These things are FAST they can count 200+ ballots per minute.
We "start" counting ballots this Friday at 9:30 am.
Will probably be tied up through the election. Florida's primary is March 17th.
Should be an interesting election.
Cheers!
I liked this puzzle, especially DRAIN THE SWAMP and FRAMEWORK. Fave clue was for MINERS.
ReplyDeleteMisty ~
ReplyDeleteI am not sure why you're unsure about the "biblical mount" fill. Jazzbumpa gave us 76 bible references, showing the frequency with which ASS appears in the sacred text.
I filled it based only on my memory of Sunday School classes where we were told how Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
(Our S.S. teachers were generally wise enough to say "donkey"--most of the time--but occasionally one would mention an ASS, thus triggering our giggles.)
~ OMK
Eddie Haskell was the poster child for SMARM.
ReplyDeleteSW Gave trouble. I needed a foothold. PEPSI gave me it. EOS is one of my conures.
Ease of solving was the same as Mon,Tue..
MINER / MINoR almost got me a FIW. But NOO / NEO was so obviously wrong. All apologies to Anon-T but I can't stand that loud, cacophonous post 70s Rock.
I did like the Traveling Wilburys. Great name.
.
I'm a fan of Balaam's ASS. I find when horse's asses speak it may be worth hearing. Stop right there, Wilbur.
Speaking of "gas gauge". We had another one last week. Is deisel price less than regular price a sign of the Apocalypse?
.
I vividly remember seeing Psycho when it came out. Still the scariest movie I've ever seen. I was 11. It was the screeching sound of the SHOWER SCENE - especially in the theatre.
WC
I think the reference is not to the Palm Sunday donkey, but to Balaam's talking ass.
ReplyDeleteLink text
I've taught Sunday school for 50 years.
Ass is in the Palm Sunday story in all four Gospels, but I always think of Balaam.
ReplyDeleteIsn't there a brand of pool sweeper called a Wilbury?
ReplyDeleteBalaam's ASS is certainly a rich and instructive tale. The clue, however, does not specify which part of the Bible is being referenced.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought happened to be different from that of others, but this doesn't make my idea any more correct than yours.
I think Jazzbumpa was on the right track, making note of the very many instances an ASS appears in the good book.
The equine, ASS, appears quite clearly throughout the Bible and is therefore typically a "biblical mount."
~ OMK
I happened to be in Germany--in Berlin--when Psycho came out. I first saw it in a cinema off the Kurfürstendamm.
ReplyDeleteI have seen it a couple of times since in English.
I think watching the dubbed German version was much scarier.
"Blut, mutter, Blut!!"
~ OMK
The American taboo against ASS developed when the pronunciation of "arse" shifted to "ass." Received Pronunciation of arse is still "ahss."
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteLate, late, late. Makeup session at the gym, work (for both me & DW*) got nuts, and Youngest needed help with stats p-value calculations... #longDay
Fun puzzle Blake. Excellent expo JzB. I solved & read earlier this am.
WO: Wrong Iraq war w/ IED b/f WMD.
ESPs: NIA, EVA, FROMM. CAMI took 3/4ths [kept thinking Crop]
Fav: EERIE fits the theme :-)
Runner-up: NEO but for the REEVES reason.
Funny DR OMK!
HG - Brilliant kid / PEPSI v. PEPSI study. Follow-up: Feed 1/2 A before B and 1/2 B before A and see if it's a perfect curve.
Ray-O: you're on fire today...
CED: better luck w/ tomorrow's theme :-)
Cheers, -T
*DW is to head a trip of 60 students to Barcelona come Sunday. Covid19 is causing some serious consternation - not that anyone will catch it but they will be caught-up in quarantine during or post-trip. Lots of moving parts she's dealing w/
Oh, me - yeah, I always have my own viri [computer kind] I'm monitoring.
Must be my Catholic upbringing, Ol'Man Keith that lets me think only of donkeys, not the other (giggle) word.
ReplyDeleteWell, as I say, Misty, even in the Presbyterians, they tried to keep us kids from hearing the technical term, the full-on Equus africanus assinus.
ReplyDeleteThey knew we were easily amused.
~ OMK
Daniel and I FIR in 16:56 min.
ReplyDeleteGood night Cornerites.
Thank you Blake Slonecker for your enjoyable Wednesday CW.
Thank you Jazzbumpa for your excellent review.
Daniel is my nephew who pilots planes for Southwest Airlines. He books a flight to Louisville as often as he can so he can visit me. We had a short, enjoyable visit.
Ðave