16. Big name in plant food: MIRACLE GRO.
28. "Despite my best attempts ... ": TRY AS I MAY.
43. Kitchen gadget: CAN OPENER.
Row 10 contains the reveal 56A, SPLIT LEVEL.
Across:
1. Like many a basement: DAMP.
5. Hold dear: VALUE.
10. Breakfast companion?: BED. Bed & Breakfast.
13. __ vaccine: ORAL.
14. As a companion: ALONG. That was tricky. "She came along/as a companion."
15. Soup du __: JOUR. French. "Made for a particular day," or "of the day."
18. Reverse: UNDO.
19. Also: TOO.
20. G.I. entertainment often featuring Bob Hope: USO SHOW. Anyone watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel? I re-watched from the beginning and am back to Season 3 where Miriam is performing at USO SHOWs. Season 4 is expected in early 2022.
26. Hollywood Walk of Fame symbols: STARS.
30. Bladed tool: HOE.
31. Enjoyed the buffet: ATE.
32. [as per the original]: SIC. “Intentionally so written.” When used after the quoted material, “sic” indicates that the words preceding it are an exact transcription from the original source, including any spelling mistakes, non-standard spelling, or grammatical errors.
33. First section of the "Divine Comedy": INFERNO.
40. Witticism: MOT.
41. Big bang letters?: TNT.
42. Keep __ distance: AT A.
47. Greek wraps: GYROS.
49. Take the floor: ORATE.
50. Unlike bikinis: ONE PIECE. Bathing suits. Bikinis are, of course, two pieces.
52. Handicraft worker: ARTISAN.
54. Something up one's sleeve: ARM. Haha.
55. Jackson family musician born Toriano: TITO. The third of the ten Jackson children.
62. Smooth (out): EVEN.
63. Events with kings and queens: PROMS.
64. Shade of blue: NAVY.
65. "__ Rosenkavalier": DER. German. The Knight of the Rose or The Rose-Bearer is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss.
66. Lathered up: SOAPY.
67. Slush Puppie parent company: ICEE. Have heard of Icee of course, but not Slush Puppie.
Down:
1. __ Pérignon: DOM.
2. "Hereditary" director Aster: ARI. Horror film. Which explains why I hadn't heard of it.
4. Missouri River feeder: PLATTE.
5. Heroism: VALOR.
6. Blonde beverage: ALE.
7. Part of a cord: LOG. Nice clue.
8. Like a mob scene: UNRULY.
9. They might clash on stage: EGOS. Off-stage, too.
10. Actress Helena __ Carter: BONHAM.
11. Email program named after writer Welty: EUDORA. A Eulogy For Eudora.
12. Half-asleep: DROWSY.
15. Supreme Court figure: JUSTICE.
17. Filmmaker Ethan or Joel: COEN. The Coen Brothers. Fans will enjoy this video, You Know It's The Coen Brothers IF ...
21. Davis of "Do the Right Thing": OSSIE. He played De Mayor. Do The Right Thing is often listed among the greatest films of all time. In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress, in its first year of eligibility, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry
22. "East of Eden" brother: ARON. Twins Aron and Caleb.
23. Sailing hazard: REEF. Below, the crew of Team Vestas Wind with their boat after it ran into a coral reef near Mauritius. How the Team Vestas Wind crash really happened, and the crucial things we can learn from it.
24. "Leave __ me": IT TO.
25. Exist: ARE.
27. Letter after upsilon: PHI.
29. Helper: Abbr.: ASST.
31. Payment before a deal: ANTE. Card games. A stake put up by a player in poker and similar games before receiving cards.
34. Sentiment: EMOTION.
35. Lures (in): ROPES.
36. Concerning: IN RE. Latin for "in the matter of."
37. Snitch (on): NARC. Used to mean someone who secretly gives inside information to the police, informing on others who are engaging in illegal activity.
38. Chiwere speaker: OTOE. Chiwere is a Siouan language originally spoken by the Missouria, OTOE, and Iowa peoples, who originated in the Great Lakes region but later moved throughout the midwest and plains.
39. Used to be: WAS.
41. Royal flush card: TEN. More with card games. An ace-high straight flush, such as A♦ K♦ Q♦ J♦ 10♦, is called a royal flush or royal straight flush and is the best possible hand in high games when not using wild cards.
43. Like many candies: COATED.
44. Get in: ARRIVE. What time did you get in/arrive?
45. Ramble on and on: NATTER.
46. Amateur: NONPRO. Not a term I've heard used before, but it works.
47. Birth announcement word: GIRL.
48. Sana'a native: YEMENI. Sana'a is the capital, and largest city in Yemen.
53. Egyptian slitherers: ASPS. Snakes.
57. Mauna __: LOA.
58. Little devil: IMP.
59. Device that may be wet or dry, briefly: VAC.
60. End of the day: EVE. Evening.
61. Cleaning ingredient: LYE.
FIRight and got a lot closer to solving the puzzle than yesterday. I found GROUND, ENTRY, & ENERGY on my own, but missed NOISE, and couldn't see the connection. Even tried "split ground" etc.
ReplyDeleteMy girlfriend wanted to wear a BIKINI,
But I told her it was just too teeny!
She says I'm controlling,
As ONE-PIECE I'm extolling.
She gives me a choice, "Top or bottom, you meanie!"
TRY AS I MAY, I don't see how
A HOE can a better tool than a plow!
Oh, you mean to infer
The "ho" is a her?
If that's the case, then I SEE NOW!
I write this ode to a CAN OPENER,
To be without it should never occur!
An innovation
To prevent starvation! --
And a LURE to cats who hear it whirr!
{B+, A-, A.}
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOOMER and many more. You look striking
ReplyDeleteI will be back soon
Thanks all
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThis was a nice themeless (for d-o) Wednesday. Got all the answers, but failed to read the full reveal clue and failed to see the split levels. Natch. Even tried NILE before NAVY. Green? Blue? What's the diff when you're color-blind? Noticed the CSO to Husker at PLATTE. Thanx for the diversion, Craig, and for the expo, Melissa Bee (Now, off to watch that Coen Brothers video.)
ARON: Do you suppose that's why Presley adopted that spelling. It is spelled with two a's on his gravestone.
Helena BONHAM Carter: I've always thought of her as that crazy British actress. This year we watched the BBC's Eden: Untamed Planet series. She was the narrator, and did a wonderful job.
Happy birthday, Boomer. Congrats on reaching another milestone.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteI missed the theme, too, but I do these for the puzzle challenge. To me the theme is a bonus.
Got it all without error. Easy, again (except for the theme). No help WAS needed. FIR.
Thought of 'Nile', TOO, until NAVY dominated.
PLATTE - CSO to Husker.
ARE, WAS - - Two parts of 'to be' conjugation in same puzzle.
Happy Birthday to Boomer. Have a great day.
Thanks MB for the fine re-cap.
43A had capopener, 45D patter seemed to make sense.
ReplyDeleteGood Wednesday level puzzle, maybe a bit easier than usual. I missed the theme. Melissa, thanks. Find a kind of level that is split by a black square. NOW I SEE it. I should have seen it with the designated rows.
ReplyDeleteI misread Breakfast COMPANION as CHAMPION, Wheaties, the breakfast of champions. Perps fixed it.
The SC section held me up just a bit until I came up with GYROS, which led to GIRL and ARM.
Something up one'sleeve - arm was my favorite today.
I saw just two of The Amazing Mrs. Maisel shows. Mildly entertaining. Generally I am not into series in books, TV shows or movies. 2 to 4 is my limit, even with the really good ones.
Happy birthday, Boomer. I admire your grit and positive attitude. Have a good one.
I lived in a bilevel for years, two floors instead of three.
Thanks, Craig, for a crafty puzzle that I FIR. All was filling smoothly until I put togaS/GYROS, Ace/ARM (you got me there!), and Das/DER. Those WOs caused me all kinds of trouble until perps finally led the way. Then I was about to start reading Melissa B's excellent review before finding the SPLIT LEVELs! Another minute to find them and I was ready. Whew! What a start to Wednesday....
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Boomer. Enjoy the day! Thanks for the fun picture, C.C.
FLN: I always check the late posts first thing before starting the new day's blog. We cover so many time zones that new ones trickle in after my early bedtime. Now it's time to get on with the day. Hope you all have a good one!
Ah, Eudora. I still use it. Best ever email client. FWIW, it is still being kept alive by devoted fans, and soon to be reintroduced as Hermes.
ReplyDeleteHBDTY, Boomer. May your balls always hit your pockets.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but also erased toga for GYRO and speak for ORATE. Waited for ace/ARM.
The "bi" in bikini doesn't mean "two" of course. Although it is fun to refer to a topless lady as wearing a monokini, she's not. (I gotta get back to South Beach some day.)
I remember a Frank and Ernest cartoon where Frank asks "What's soup du jour?" Ernest answers "I dunno, but they have it every day!"
A Saturday clue for UNDO would be "Ctrl-Z"
I've used the EUDORA email program, but didn't know how it got its name. I'm an Outlook guy now. The link seemed odd to me, but I had the volume down.
Couldn't get the sailboat-on-the-reef to work at all.
Thanks to Craig for the solidly mid-week challenge, and to Melissa Bee for narrating it.
I would think the NARC is "snitched" to not the snitcher
ReplyDeleteLee Harvey Oswald was the most famous PATSY
Re. Elvis ARON Pressley. I believe the misspelling was on the birth certificate and attempts were later made to correct it.
Oops, FIW. I had STepS/STARS and never noticed EUDOpA and BONHeM. A bit Hasty.
I found the splits but didn't notice they went with LEVEL. Especially since GROUND is part of a Split Level.
Hbd to that spry youngster Boomer. Sorry you can't be part of the 1944 club. 47 began that postwar Yankee domination of 15 pennants.
WC
I like TV series where each episode stands alone even though they have ongoing characters. I didn't like Downton Abbey because I needed to know what went before to make sense of it.
ReplyDeleteI can stay interested in a very good book series for up to 4 books, but then it feels repetitious and I get bored. I liked Auel's Earth's Children, starting with Clan of the Cave Bear, but did not like the last two books.
Amazon Prime lets us get a monthly book free of extra charge, usually #1 of a series. They are trying to sucker us to buy the others. The books you can borrow there are also just the beginning of a series.
Some authors arrange to have each book stand alone, as well as being part of a larger story. Others are interdependent.
Thanks Craig for a fine puzzle; after all what are Wednesdays FIR? I won't SPLIT HAIRS, the theme on this flew right over this CUCKOOS NEST.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you MB for a TOP-LEVEL review and for 'splainin it all. I found the themers and the SPLITS and even the reveal, but didn't suss them as LEVELS. DOH!
Some favs and not so favs:
16A MIRACLE GRO. Don't use it. I prefer EPOMA GARDEN TONE, an organic fertilizer.
43A CAN OPENER. SWISS ARMY KNIFE wouldn't fit, but they WILL do the job.
49A ORATE. To give a pic 1/15th of a STAR?
50A ONE PIECE. Why would somebody UNLIKE BIKINIS? And what IS a KINI anyway?
65A DER. ROSENKAVALIER is a great intro to RICHARD STRAUSS (no relation to JOHANN, the WALTZ king). But the WALTZES from Der Rosenkavalier are a great intro to the opera, and I'll bet you've heard some of this music already.
10D BONHAM. CARTER was the HUSSY who stole KENNETH BRANAGH from EMMA THOMPSON.
37D NARC. Another verbification victory.
51D PATSY. And here's the Queen of Country singing CRAZY.
59D VAC. There must be a sale on these in LA, as we had this just yesterday, clued with "Little sucker." I'm going with Ray - O's guess that "little" is a new meta-clue for "abbreviated".
And Happy Birthday BOOMER! Here's wishing you make all your SPLITS!
Cheers,
Bill
Happy Birthday, Boomer! I was going to offer up a really bad bowling pun but I have decided to spare you.
ReplyDeleteDER ROSENKAVALIER: Those of us suffering from opera-aversion are likely more familiar with this piece by Richard Strauss.
ReplyDeleteYR @8:00 AM Don't know if you like murder mysteries, but if you do, "New Tricks" on Prime might be to your liking. It's about the "Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad" (UCOS), a trio of funny, quirky geezer-aged ex cops, usually working for a personable blond female DCI. They solve cold cases, with each episode being a different crime. There is some carry over, but most of that has to do with the personal lives of the characters. We are nearing the end of the 12th and final series and will sorely miss it. IMHO it's the best procedural crime series ever.
ReplyDeleteD-O @8:55 AM. I just didn't want to throw that dog a bone! 🦴 Not that Also Sprach Zarathustra is a dog, just that it gets more than its share of air time.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I know about the Big Bang Theory is what I read in the pop-physics rags. I can say this about opera and classical music in general, if you step into that universe you'll never want to leave it. BTW is music considered religion or politics, or maybe both?
Happy Birthday Boomer. I'm right behind you on mine.
ReplyDeleteI was flying on Craig's Wed. offering until I hit the SW and misread 'Candies' as 'Candles'. The newspaper print for "i & l" requires a microscope to tell the difference. I didn't know the email program's name or the actress in the NE but the perps took care of it. And how many Weltys have your heard. BONHAM, NARC, and ARI Aster were the only other unknowns.
I've seen puzzles with a SPLIT LEVEL which had the end of the split on the line below.
ARTERIAL- never heard it used as a noun, only artery. Never heard NARC used as a verb.
TITO- didn't know his real name but it was an easy guess
Melissa- since the YEMENIs have been having a civil war for many years your Sana'a photo might not show Sana'a the way it looks today I remember when there was a North Yemen and a South Yemen. Aden in one country and Sana'a in the other.
Today is Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Craig and melissa.
ReplyDeleteQuick post as I am on my way to Craig’s hometown, Toronto.
I had a fast solve, FIRed and saw the SPLIT LEVELs. I wanted to continue with house levels though after GROUND and ENTRY.
WE did have a DAMP basement and BEDrooms.
Read you all later.
Happy Birthday Boomer.
Wishing you all a great day.
I grew up in a split level house but we always referred to it as a tri-level, bedrooms upper, kitchen/living room middle, and large family room lower. FIR in a little under 10 mins, which was wayyy less time than it took me to do last Wednesday’s mind bender. Like Big Easy said, I also misread “candies” as “candles” and wouldn’t have known otherwise unless he had pointed it out, just figured they were coated with wax :). Thanks to Craig and Melissa (I really enjoyed the Coen Bros. link) and all the commenters for helping me pass the time on a 4 hour layover at ORD en route to SRQ. Happy b/day to Boomer, quite the resume you have on the lanes, impressive!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU ALL for the birthday wishes. I am happy to be one year older and enjoy being associated with all of the fine people on this clever blog. C.C. and I went on a fun trip to the St. Croix Casino in Turtle Lake Wisconsin yesterday. A beautiful landscape trip across the St. Croix River about 90 minutes drive among all the fall colors. The Casino was a bit of a disappointment, with some tight slot machines, no gift shop, and the restaurant was not open on Tuesdays. You would not believe how many people were there on a Tuesday morning. We had a good time and as far as gambling goes, all I lost was some SPARE change. See you Monday !
ReplyDeleteFor all of you sidelined by the theme..I second that EMOTION. Flew higher above my head than the honking Canada geese heading South.
ReplyDeleteInkover drowzy/DROWSY, aide/ASST, (it said abbr!), noobie/NONPRO(really?) ace/ARM (grrr)
The only other male Jackson 5 I've heard of is TITO anyway. VAC, same as yesterday, abbr. answer with no abbr. in the clue. Guess "briefly" takes care of that 🤔. Event with "king & queens"..almost wrote poker😁
Our first house was a SPLITLEVEL, locally known as a raised ranch. Enter the front door you must either go upstairs or downstairs. Two levels Yooper, no middle level that we call that a tri-level too
VALOR is not a necessary VALUE of heroism.
DO: Bonham-Carter did a great Princess Margaret in "The Queen" as well.
Flaunting orders ....UNRULY
Viagra...MIRACLEGRO (😉)
" ______ or your life!!" .....YEMENI
Happy Birthday Boomer...🎂
I agree with Lemony..you look striking 🎳
Hola!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Boomer!
Craig Stowe's puzzles are always fun. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for your insight.
In my youth I wore a bikini but in later life a ONE PIECE swim suit.
When studying American Literature, our list of reading included 30 books and EUDORA Welty's was one of those authors. It's when I first heard of hr. Some others were Faulkner, Steinbeck, and some I can't recall.
For the Hawaiian volcanoes I always wait to see if it's Mauna LOA or Kea. It's eerie to walk on the wide expanse of lava on the Big Island.
Last night I finally watched the Rita Moreno story and was mightily surprised at the details of her life. She was filled with EMOTION as she revealed how she came to be an actress with a STAR on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It wasn't easy. I learned she has a daughter and a grandson.
Have a marvelous day, everyone!
FIR but found the clue for the theme too obscure to figure out IMHO. A fun Wednesday and always enjoy Craig’s puzzles. A nice expo Melissa.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-I solved the puzzle du JOUR and now I have to solve the reveal without circles? Cool!
-Teachers have to decide what NOISE LEVEL they are willing to tolerate and work to maintain it
-Sunday was and today is a DAMP day on the prairie
-A great Bob Hope line from a USO SHOW
-My “floor taker” had to ARISE before she could ORATE
-Film goers will vividly recall what happened after Carrie got PROM Queen
-In 2019, our golf course was the PLATTE River with 18 little raised islands. River and course shown here
-“Leave _____ Beaver” is probably too easy for humpday
-Aptly named Chris Moneymaker was the first NONPRO to win the World Series Of Poker
-Happy Birthday, Boomer! I love how you manage to remain upbeat here despite all your medical issues.
ReplyDeleteFinished the puzzle without ever getting the theme. Nice expo, MB.
The clue for 56 Across is actually the description of a Split Foyer home, not a SPLIT LEVEL. I owned a SPLIT FOYER home built by Levitt & Sons in Maryland and lived in it for 17 years. Some people also called it a High Ranch or Raised Ranch. You don't see many being built anymore.
Have a great day everyone.
happy birthday!
ReplyDeleteBoomer,
may you level all your splits!
I went looking for mor info on "kini's",
But I am sorry I did..
Hmm,
Could this be an example of
yesterday's puzzle bleeding into today's?
Fun Wednesday puzzle, many thanks, Craig. And I loved your picture of Sana'a, Melissa--thanks for that too.
ReplyDeleteI usually have trouble with names, but couldn't believe I remembered Helena BONHAM Carter and EUDORA Welty--right next to each other in the northeast corner. Woohoo!
And, to make things even better, I also got OSSIE Davis.
Nice to see Marilyn Monroe's STAR in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Melissa.
And have a wonderful birthday, Boomer. You're one of the great delights on our blog!
Have a nice middle of the week, everybody.
Hi Y'all! Liked the puzzle, thanks, Craig. There was a theme? Are you on the LEVEL about that?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Melissa, for guiding us through.
Happy Birthday, Boomer. Thank you for sparing time from celebrating to join us.
Ray-O Viagra...MIRACLEGRO 😆 LOL, literally! 😆 !
ReplyDeleteThank you Mr. Craig Stowe for a delightful and enjoyable puzzle. I didn't get the SPLIT LEVEL, Thank you melissaB for the explanation and the charming review.
ReplyDeleteWe lived in a split level in our first house ... it seemed bigger than it actually was, and we were forever climbing stairs. ;-)
Happy Birthday, Boomer and best wishes, for many more to come. So glad, you're doing well. Loved the pun on your sweat shirt...
We loved Ms. Maisel, and binge watched the shows. She was truly mahvellous !!! Looking forward to the next episodes.
I had Anil before NAVY for blue... EUDORA reminded me of Endora, the Bewitched mother in law.
I also read Candies as Candles .... So glad, I was not the only one, .... misery loves company !! Years ago, in college, I worked part time in a industrial pill coating company ... alas, it was wax coating of a bitter tasting chemo drug tablet.
Finally, YEMENI ... at the turn of the early 20th century, the british had converted ADEN into a fantastic seaport, which was like Beirut, and in turn, the Switz. of the East. Now, unfortunately the civil wars have ruined both the cities, into a despicable misery. No politics.
Have a nice day, all.
hi all - thanks to owen for NOISE level, which i had missed. i spent waaaayyyyy too much time trying to make the SPLIT across two *rows* instead of two words.
ReplyDeleteboomer! you are looking so dashing, happy, happy, birthday!
Managed to FIR in my usual slowest-of-the-blog time of 25. Could not suss the theme, too obscure for my simple brain, thanx, Melissa for ‘splainin’ it, and for your outstanding write-up. Still,even though I didn’t get the theme, a fun CW, thanx, CS. I have a hand-cranked can opener, one that opens the can by cutting the side of the seal on top, which leaves no sharp edges, and also a lid you can put back onto the can as a top. I really like this can opener. Happy Birthday Boomer!!
ReplyDeleteFred - I also use that type of can opener. Bought one just to check it out. Took me a while to get comfortable with it, but then I bought another one for the RV and threw the old ones away.
ReplyDeleteI liked this puzzle even though I didn't fully get the LEVEL gimmick until reading Melissa's exposition. Waited for perps to determine if it was DANK or DAMP, Mauna KEA or LOA, AXE or HOE, OTOH or OTOE. Changed PITAS to GYROS. For some reason I got ARM right away, and by the way I liked how it was clued. I still wrinkle my nose at MOT as clued, rather than BON MOT. Interesting to see VAC again today.
ReplyDeleteCED, you really picked a good one to show yesterday's puzzle bleeding into today's. Thank you for that.
Happy birthday, Boomer!
YR @8:00 AM et. al. Husker has pointed out that "New Tricks" is not a Prime freebie, but requires an extra subscription to Britbox, which uses Prime as a service provider in the US.
ReplyDeleteHBD, Boomer !
ReplyDeleteGood PZL from Mr. Stowe, although too broken up to allow any diagonals.
Yes, Melissa, I have seen the first two seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and enjoyed them.
I guess I need to catch up!
AM also a big fan of the COEN Bros.!
~ OMK
Thanks Bill and Gary. I have not heard of nor do I use New Tricks. I have regular Amazon Prime, with unlimited shipping, even to my gift list addresses, a no extra charge monthly book and borrowing of ten books at a time. It also includes Prime music and videos. I can buy some books at a lower cost. I do not choose to pay for UNLIMITED.
ReplyDeleteJayce @ 3:09
ReplyDeleteAgree..a witticism is a "bon mot" MOT would have been better clued as " A Nice word"..the usual French misdirection..
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOOMER !!!
Happy Birthday BOOMER. We share a medical issue. I gotcha by 2/12 trips around the sun.
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Boomer!
You bring joy to The Corner and we are better for eKnowing you.
Fun puzzle, Craig. Like others, I didn't see the "LEVELs SPLIT" until mb's wonderful expo. Thanks for kicking-off the after-party, mb.
WOs: COhN, iron (out) to EVEN
ESPs: ARI, BONHAM, OSSIE
Fav: EUDORA. Used it back in the day but never knew it was named for the author of "Why I Live at the P.O." which is cute since it's a mail program.
{B+, A, B+}
From Monday INRE: ATHENA smart & sexy... DW was a cheerleader in HS and has a PhD in English Lit.
From today: Athena is just a GIRL [The Who]
BOHNHAM - I'd have known if clued "Zeppelin's drummer John or Jason."
//Jason sometimes drummed for his dad after he (John) died
Great links, CED. Thanks for my morning laugh.
Unclefred & Jinx - Pop has the same model CAN OPENER. I just use the electric one we've had for years (I do wish you didn't have to stand there holding the button down while the can spins - I could be prepping something else in that 20 seconds).
ATLGranny - do you follow baseball? Your Braves are taking on our 'Stros. Hopefuly we tie the series tonight.
Cheers, -T
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteHBTY Boomer!