Theme: Vowel Movement
17. Was armed, in old-fashioned slang: PACKED HEAT.
24. Making slow but steady progress: PECKING AWAY.
35. Eat every bit of meat from, as a bone: PICK CLEAN.
51. Small change: POCKET MONEY.
61. Prepared to be bussed: PUCKERED UP.
Simple vowel progression theme here: A, E, I, O, U. Nice tight theme with two-word phrases all beginning with P-words.
Across:
1. Italian province or its capital: PARMA.
6. Make an impression: ETCH. "To cut, bite, or corrode with an acid or the like." Bite?
10. Big mouths: MAWS. The mouth or gullet of a greedy person.
14. Acid used in soap: OLEIC. Good crossword word - 5 letters with 3 vowels. An omega-9 fatty acid. It can be made by the body. It is also found in foods. Highest levels are found in olive oil and other edible oils. Oleic acid is most commonly used for preventing heart disease and reducing cholesterol.
15. Terrible time?: TWOS. Haha. But it's also a very sweet time - I still miss it. Grandkids help ;).
16. Like neatniks: ANAL.
19. __-bitty: ITTY.
20. "Peter Pan" pirate: SMEE.
21. Scuttlebutt: DIRT. Slang for rumor or gossip. Deriving from the nautical term for the cask used to serve water (or, later, a water fountain).
22. Bickering: AT IT. Remember The Bickersons?
27. "Skyfall" singer: ADELE.
29. Italian cheese: ASIAGO.
30. Overhaul the lawn, maybe: RESOD.
31. Cake with a dish: SOAP.
34. Stimpy's sidekick: REN.
39. Pet rocks, once: FAD.
42. Evil alter ego of fiction: HYDE. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novella by Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, published in 1886. The names of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the two alter egos of the main character, have become shorthand for the exhibition of wildly contradictory behavior, especially between private and public selves.
43. Jumps (out): BAILS.
47. Black Sea port: ODESSA.
50. Under attack: BESET.
56. Absorbed, as a cost: ATE.
57. __ fixe: PRIX. A a meal consisting of several courses served at a total fixed price.
58. Med school subj.: ANAT. Anatomy. Massage school subject, too.
59. Lo-cal: LITE.
60. Arouse: STIR.
63. Pedal pushers: FEET. Great clue.
64. Wait at a light, say: IDLE.
65. Oklahoma Air Force base: VANCE.
66. What gamblers weigh: ODDS.
67. Financial aid criterion: NEED.
68. Smith, at times: SHOER. Ohh, blacksmith. Blacksmiths who specialize in forging shoes for horses are also known as farriers.
Down:
1. Mozart, in his day, e.g.: POP STAR.
2. Apple pie order: ALA MODE. How pie became à la mode.
3. Ebbs: RECEDES.
4. Stage prop with a different spelling nowadays: MIKE. I've only seen the spelling mic, short for microphone.
5. Big club: ACE.
6. Moral principle: ETHIC.
7. Shake it on the dance floor: TWERK.
8. Raccoon kin: COATI.
9. 18-Down predecessor: HST. Harry S. Truman.
10. Drink with an umbrella: MAI TAI.
11. Like doves: ANTIWAR.
12. Lightbulb measure: WATTAGE.
13. Canny: SLY. So is uncanny unsly?
18. Two-time ETO commander: DDE. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
22. Govt. prosecutors: AGS. Attorney Generals. More properly, Attorneys General.
24. Feet treat: PEDI. Pedicure.
25. Scruff: NAPE.
26. "__ light is not daylight": Juliet: YON. From Romeo and Juliet.
28. Cut (off): LOP.
31. It's up to you: SKY. Sneaky clue.
32. Neatnik's possible condition, briefly: OCD. ANAL and OCD in the same puzzle.
33. Brewpub order: ALE.
36. Talk in a virtual room: CHAT.
37. "Dear" adviser: ABBY. One set of Time Magazine's Top 10 Famous Twins: Ann Landers and Dear Abby.
38. Dundee denial: NAE. Woman embraces the way Australians say no.
39. Metrosexual: FOP. The difference between Fop and Metrosexual When used as nouns, fop means a vain man, whereas metrosexual means a man concerned with personal appearance, such as personal grooming, fashion, and aesthetics in general. (usually urban, heterosexual, often affluent).
40. Put into effect, as a resolution: ADOPTED.
41. Strongly disapproved of: DECRIED.
44. "To repeat ... forget it!": I SAID NO. Three words!
45. Part of a BLT: LETTUCE. Bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.
46. Harder to climb: STEEPER.
48. Gets around: SKIRTS.
49. Census datum: SEX.
52. "All in the Family" spinoff: MAUDE.
54. Like undisguised truth: NAKED.
55. High season on the Riviera: ETE. French word for summer.
59. Jacob's first wife: LEAH.
60. Airport near OAK: SFO. Bay area airports.
61. Brooch holder: PIN.
62. Campers, briefly: RVS. Recreational vehicles.
Melissa
Notes from C.C.:
Happy 75th birthday to Husker Gary's amazing wife Joann (right with a vest) and her twin sister
Joyce. Here they're with their mom Martha.
FIRight. I'll take a thumper on vowel progression theme: PACK, PECK, PICK, POCK, PUCK. A lot of linked answers -- PEDI/FEET/SHOER, OLEIC/SOAP/DIRT/CLEAN, TWERK/SEX/NAKED, ANAL/OCD/apple pie order, PARMA/ASIAGO, LOP/FOP, HST/DDE.
ReplyDeleteOLEIC ACID is monounsaturated,
Used as emollient, it's adulterated!
It's the dope
To emulsify SOAP,
And CLEAN out DIRT when agitated!
He liked his office to be neat as a PIN.
APPLE PIE ORDER everything should be in!
He wasn't ANAL retentive,
Nor by O.C.D. demented --
To see his home, its condition was a sin!
From the city of PARMA comes parmesan cheese
From the town of ASIAGO comes asiago cheese.
Of a similar ilk,
Made from cow's milk,
Think I'll write a silly l'ick about these!
A teenaged nympho loved to TWERK
So much, at times she'd go berserk!
She'd go to SEX Ed,
There strip NAKED,
And help the teacher with his work!
{C, C+, B, R.}
Good morning Cornerites.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kurt Krauss for your enjoyable Wednesday CW.
Carol and I FIR.
Thank you melissa bee for your excellent review.
Happy 75th birthday to Husker Gary's amazing wife Joann and her twin sister Joyce.
Ðavið
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThis one took a minute longer than yesterday, which took a minute longer than Monday. I see a pattern here. Noticed the P_CK pattern in the puzzle, but not that they were the vowels in alphabetical order. Can I get partial credit? Didn't think so. Still, it was an enjoyable romp. Thanx, Kurt and Melissa Bee.
5 letter singer? Inked ADELE right off. Helped fill the NW. But… I'm expecting a cry of "Foul!" on the 9d,18d combo. If 18d asked for "ETO Commander" I expect 9d to want ETO Commander predecessor. Yes, there wasn't one. But Ike became HST's predecessor later.
ReplyDeleteThat block was a mess from dent/dogma. I actually FIR but not easily.
More about Jacob today. This time about his wife(s).
WC
Owen's R reminds me of an affair between a HS classmate and teacher. I had heard through my friend, who specialized in gossip, that a pregnancy resulted that was handled in camera*
ReplyDeleteI started to mention this episode at a reunion and shut up quickly when I realized this was not known about. Also, "She" was there
WC
** OMK isn't this expression used in the theater as well as law?
FIR after a bit of sideways thinking. The themers helped once I saw the pattern. Lots of fun this puzzle. Thanks, Kurt!
ReplyDeleteA couple of WOs were needed. Started out thinking pocket money had something to do with "penny" but perps and the theme progression soon cleared that up. Had ikE/DDE. MIKE is the first way I think of spelling the short word for microphone. Guess that shows how old I am.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!
And thanks, Melissa B, as well!
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteI saw the vowel progression early on which made Puckered Up a cinch to fill in. I went astray with Pocket Change before Money, though, and my Twerk started out as Twist. As Owen noted, there were lots of fun duos, including Fop/ Lop, Anat/Anal, and DDE/HST. Also, several CSOs: Lucina (Pedi), Wilbur (Nae), and Ray O and Anon T (Parma and Asiago).
Thanks, Kurt, for a mid-week treat and thanks, Melissa, for the informative review.
Happy 75th Birthday to Joann and Joyce. Great picture of the ladies!
Lucina, you must have missed my inquiry the other day but I was curious to know if the annual Tamale marathon is scheduled for this year.
I saw two different neighbors yesterday in passing and, later in the day, I received a phone call from both suggesting we get together for drinks. I guess life is slowly getting back to normal!
Have a great day.
I picked through this one in 6:46, though I didn't notice the vowel progression.
ReplyDeleteI struggled with "prepared to be bussed," as I was thinking clearing a table. Unfamiliar with bussing as kissing.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to the amazing twins Joann and Joyce. All the best.
Mostly easy solve today; especially with the vowel progression theme. I was able to pre-fill POCK………... HS French helped with ONCLE and ÉTÉ, VANCE was a bit obscure but I'm sure all the airdales out there knew it.
MAUDE - Bea Arthur is a Marine veteran. Nice touch to include her today, anticipating Veteran's Day tomorrow.
DDE - Brings a smile on. During the time I served on her, my ship was designated a DDE. It reverted back to her WWII designation as a DD in 1962.
Thanks MB for helping to start my day.
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Kurt and melissa.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time with one inkblot to change Peeling to PECKING. (And I had not even filled TWERK and NAKED!)
Yes, seeing the vowel progression helped start those later themers correctly.
Owen and Irish Miss have already mentioned more duos and CSOs than I saw.
Like Spitzboov, I used my HS French today for ONCLE, ETE (and A LA MODE and PRIX).
We were AT IT and BESET.
Slight dupe with SKY (strange clue) and Skyfall clue for ADELE. Any of her other songs could have been used.
Happy 75th Birthday to Joann and Joyce.
Wishing everyone here a good day.
Hi Y'all! Another fun & fast one from Kurt, thanks. THanks also to Melissa.
ReplyDeleteI got the vowel progression fairly early. Kept trying to make more of it than there was.
My son took his military pilot training at Vance over 20 years ago. At least one of the classmate trainees crashed & died that year. Son later flew some hair-raising missions that I'm glad I didn't know about at the time.
Happy Birthday, Joann & Joyce. Joann, thank you for "letting" Gary spend time with us. We hear such good things about you.
Happy Birthday, Joann and Joyce!
ReplyDeleteThe solve went smoothly but thanks, Melissa, for explaining the theme I had overlooked and for the A LA MODE etymology lesson. I have occasionally wondered about that and it's fascinating, but not surprising, to note the fictions that have grown up around the nomenclature.
FLN for
ReplyDeleteIrish Mist - here's a "Wow" gift that Teri bought for a "Christmas Box" for a charity for overseas children.
Anonymous -T My son has 4 daughters and he's got your back.
Bill @ 8:46 - That certainly is a Wow gift that brought a huge smile to my face! Love the brush, a must-have implement for keeping this breed’s curls unsnarled. My husband would spend hours brushing Fluffy’s fur, much to her delight. Tummy rubs were a close second for keeping her happy and contented. Thanks for brightening my day and tell Teri she has exquisite taste! 😉
ReplyDeleteNice tight theme with the vowel progression and P_CK theme - all were verbs but one outlier noun - made for a quicker solve to see that evolving.
ReplyDeleteAlmost all of my son's fellow USAFA cadets who were heading to be pilots were stationed at Vance at one time or another. They train Navy and Marine pilots there too depending on the type of aircraft they are slotted for.
Thanks Melissa and Kurt!
Happy birthday to HG's wife and twin -somewhere in the back of my mind I was thinking her name was spelled Joan - but pronounced Jo-ann!
DNF, revealing POPSTAR. TOD? I think Disney should UNTIE!
ReplyDeleteNoticed "soap" as clue and answer.
I think that I'm addicted to cheese, and that's the reason my weight seems to have plateaued. I blame big PARMA.
Local restaurants get together for a PRIX fixe week. It draws the customers in for some reason, but it seems to me that everything is more expensive that week.
I read somewhere (maybe here) that the "butt" in scuttlebutt meant "barrel", which is how "pork butt" was named. It isn't from the rear end of the animal.
Smith, at times? It wasn't "alias" after all.
Off to DWs bone density test. Read ya later.
Thank you Kurt for a slightly crunchy puzzle that surprisingly I found more difficult than yesterday's, but FIR nevertheless [PRECOGNITIVE ASIDE - nor as easy as tomorrow's] However once I got through the Northwest Passage, things started to warm up a bit.
ReplyDeleteDidn't really see the theme (as I wasn't looking for it), but it became crystal clear after Melissa 'splained it in her excellent review.
Liked OCD/ANAL.
1A Had PADUA before PARMA, which wouldn't have worked anyway as the former is in the province of TUSCANY.
10A MAWS. Started with BASS, but couldn't land it.
17A PACKED HEAT. I guess new-fashioned would be CARRIED, at least in states with carry laws, assuming of course the citizens are law abiding.
20A SMEE could have been HOOK, but nothing bit.
57A PRIX. Had IDEE first, but then couldn't have SEX.
1D POP STAR. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's father recognized his son's prodigious musical talent at an early age and gave up his own career to promote his son's. Like many of today's pop stars Mozart died tragically young, but not before leaving us with over 600 compositions, including 41 symphonies 25 piano concertos, numerous chamber works, and several full length operas. The only comparable talent was the much later Camille Saint-Saëns, who lived to a ripe old age, but whose debut piano recital was at age 10, offering as an encore to play any of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas from memory. And some people say there are no such things as miracles!
Cheers,
Bill
Jinx @9:31 AM LOL "Big PARMA"! I'm a cheese head too (but not from Wisconsin), but that's only partially to blame for my plateau. Teri and I have resolved to start doing some hiking. Need a PEDI first though.
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kurt Krauss, for the challenge. I finished most of this in good time but was stuck at POCKET because IDEE was in the way. PRIX is a new term for me and cruelly misleading, IMO. unless, of course, you know French, which I do not.
I liked seeing PUCKERED UP because, I'll confess, I like to kiss!
IrishMiss:
Forgive me for not answering your question yesterday. So far I have not heard any plans for the tamale marathon but I am sure we will discuss it this coming week when we observe (not celebrate because they have Covid)my sister's birthday. A big party was planned but had to be canceled.
I love ADELE's voice!
PARMA and ASIAGO in the puzzle!
Did anyone else read the ODESSA Files? That was one of my first introductions to Ken Follet's mesmerizing style.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Musings
ReplyDelete-Heads, I play golf. Tails, I sub in high school English. It came up tails.
-“Mr. Schlapfer, can we leave for lunch 5 minutes early?” “Forget it!”
-I had an early struggle and then it all came together. I’m sure I’m not the first to talk about PECKING AWAY
-A girl I worked with one day picking strawberries called POCKET MONEY “pin money”
-Jonah was said to have been drawn into the MAW of the giant fish/mammal
-SMEE, you’re in for HOOK
-Scary food facts about an ASIAGO fast food item
-Replacing our 100 WATT bulbs with lower WATTAGE LED lights made my garage bright enough for surgery!
-Thanks for posting that great picture, C.C.
-Just back from a signing ceremony where our little high school had a girl who was the 3rd best high jumper in America last year signed with Iowa State.
Adding my birthday wishes to Joann and Joyce, Happy Three-quarters of a Century!, definitely a special birthday for the two of you. Husker Gary, I hope you have plans for them to celebrate!
ReplyDeletePedal pushers: FEET. Great clue I agree!
ReplyDeleteI found it to be a very easy Wednesday, with only TOD a lost memory, but not a slowdown.
I once dated a twin and became paranoid that they would try to fool me. Of course I was younger then...
Very happy birthday and many more for the 2 fellow J birds, Joyce and Joanne
So my Dermatolgist called to advise that my odd bump on my chest is a basal cell carcinoma. Do I get an invitation to breast cancer awareness month? Sorry, that was horrible but the C word is not fun and I must go next month for excision. Ah well...copy and paste
ReplyDeletefile:///C:/Users/jason/HP/Pictures/Saved%20Pictures/Lemonade%20and%20lemons.jpg
ReplyDeleteNice to see USMC vet Bea Arthur in Melissa's write-up: Happy Birthday, USMC!
And Happy Birthday, Joyce and Joanne!
Lemony, we are so different:
ReplyDelete"I once dated a twin and became paranoid that they would try to fool me. Of course I was younger then..."
When I was in my early 20s I dated a twin and PRAYED that they would try to fool me. They lived together in an apartment while attending UK. The relationship fizzled because neither of us had a phone. (She's also the only woman who has ever walked up to me and asked "what's your sign?".)
Lemon @ 1242 - - I've had basal cell on my forehead. Dermo guy used MHOS surgery to shave off the cancer cells. I believe Basal doesn't metastasize like other cancers.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your treatments.
ReplyDeleteLemonade714 @12.42 ...So sorry, to hear of your diagnosis, but good that it was hopefully, discovered in time. Sincere prayers and best wishes for a quick recovery and resolution of the problem. Hopefully, this may be a silver lining for the resolution of all your multifaceted medical difficulties...
Best wishes and Happy Birthday, to JoAnn and Joyce. The beautiful picture shows that longetivity runs in the family ... May the good news continue. My wife is also a twin, one of fraternal twins who look very much different in looks, size, and mental faculties and professions and hobby interests...
Thank you Kurt Krauss for a very nice puzzle, with the charming progression, and Ms. MelissaB for a very nice and informative review.
PARMA, is the largest suburb of Cleveland, OH and the most populated since the late 1890's. Its about as middle class as you can get ... infact a soviet spy who wrote his memoirs, recommended that other prospective spies shoud consider it a prime city 'to settle down, in obscurity...'
OLEIC ... what Popeye's grilfriend says when she gets mad.
AS IA GO .... When I was much younger
ADELE ... may not necessarily be one ...
PRIX FIXE ... recruit a guard for a harem.
Thanks for the explanation for METROSEXUAL .... I thought that was an aroused City slicker.
I wonder when Ray-O-Sunshine will start chiming in...
Have a nice day, all.
Spitz, they started by shaving it and ended up decided to send off for biopsy and now want to go deeper to remove any future threat.
ReplyDeleteA cool PZL from Mr. Krauss!
ReplyDeleteSome write-overs: word/DIRT, ethos/ETHIC, idee/PRIX
~ OMK
__________
DR: A single diagonal, far side.
Its anagram (12 of 15 letters) puts me in mind of Hamlet's subtext when responding to his mother Gertrude's several challenges of his sanity.
More than once, she accuses him of narcissism, and his subtext (what he thinks, depending on the actor's interp, NOT necessarily what he says) can be this thought...
"AYE, EGOTISTIC"!
Lemon @ 1424 - - I see. Well, Hope everything turns out OK. It's good that the biopsy will let another set of eyes look at it and make sure about the appropriate treatment.
ReplyDeleteWilbur @7:01 ~
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm not aware of any widespread use in theater of the expression "in camera."
I'm sure some individuals have used it, but not in any general "theatrical" way.
~ OMK
Re: dating twins -- I dated twins for a couple of years. Dated both alternately for much of that time, and occasionally as a threesome (most were to group activities at church, so bussing wasn't involved). They weren't identical, but very similar, and I have prosopagnosia -- face blindness -- so on more than one occasion got confused about which one I was with!
ReplyDeleteMy wife is an identical twin, but I never met her sister until years after we were married, and they didn't look much alike any more.
Since "in camera" means in secret, while "on camera" means seen by multitudes, it really doesn't seem they'd share usage. 😜
Is that what you meant, Wilbur?
ReplyDelete"ON camera," not "IN camera"?
Of course the expression "On camera" is often used by those in cinema/film work. I would still say "on camera" is not used in theater work, understanding "theater" to cover live stage performance, versus "movies."
FYI, a good number of artists, work in both film and theater, but many stick to just one medium. My own experience was very much on stage only, by my choice.
I was involved with four films in my entire career, three of them in small roles only.
~ OMK
Nice puzzle today, and excellent write-up by Melissa Bee. I loved the clues for TWOS, FEET, and ODDS. Who the heck would name a fox TOD? I'm not going to look up what the hound's name is.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's official. Dupes like "Feet treat" in a clue and FEET as an answer, and as Jinx pointed out, and "Acid used in soap" in a clue and SOAP, and as CanadianEh pointed out, "Skyfall singer" in a clue and SKY as an answer are apparently no longer to be avoided.
Happy birthday to Joann and Joyce.
Keith, I enjoyed reading your observations yesterday about Madonna's and Patti LuPone's renditions of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina."
Good wishes to you all.
CAMERA is from the Latin for CHAMBER. A CAMERA OBSCURA is a darkened room with a tiny round opening in the wall, which can be used to project an inverted image of the scene outside the wall onto the opposite wall. Some have suggested that Leonardo Da Vinci may have used this technique to project the photo-realistic image of a crucified man on the Shroud of Turin, but there are many reasons for doubting this.
ReplyDeleteYes, I looked on my phone and voila! 11/10 The Marine Corps Birthday. Bob Evans has free lunch for Veterans tomorrow. Kelly, thanks for remembering
ReplyDeleteI can find no corroboration but I seem to recall the use of the term, in camera (what's done outside of the court(legal))* used to mean "Off" camera in film direction.
Hbd to the J twins and thanks for nice write-up Melissa B.
** ie outside the jury hearing it
Waseeley since you said it, yes Thursday seemed difficult. Then again I thought this was difficult for a Wednesday
WC
FLN: CW Responder warned people preparing for a colonoscopy not to eat red or yellow Jell-O. I was instructed not to eat anything red, but yellow? So today I got my box of lemon-flavored Jell-O and examined the ingredients. Lo and behold, my mellow yellow Jell-O contains red 40. Red 40? I knew they found a problem with red 2, but didn't know it took them up to 40 to get it right. Back to the grocery tomorrow and I'll read the ingredients before I buy the replacement.
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kurt for the P-CK puzzle. Thank you mb for the fine review and link to ALA mode.
WOs: PACKEs [sic] HEAT, enacTED -> ADOPTED
ESPs: OLEIC, TOD, ONCLE
Hey: 14a: Acid used in [31a] SOAP. (Hi Jinx! I didn't catch FEET, Jayce)
Fav: I'll go with MAUDE; I enjoyed that show growing up.
{B, C+, B, B}
Funny DR, OMK.
Lem - sorry to hear about the C-word. Happy thoughts your way.
Happy Birthday Joann & Joyce!
Nice to read you D4.
LOL Big PARMA, Jinx.
Waseeley - Yep, that shirt pretty much sums it up.
Camera Obscura is a theory behind Vermeer's work too. [Trailer]
MARINES - I have FIL's old key-chain with the Marine emblem on a leather fob.
Happy Corps Birthday to all who served in the Marines.
Cheers, -T
FIR, but it took some trial and error in places. The P_CK progression certainly helped solidify things.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kurt and Melissa Bee! Happy Birthday, Joann and Joyce!
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, Lemon, but glad it was discovered.
Guess I didn’t realize that MAUDE was the first spinoff of ALL IN THE FAMILY. I knew that THE JEFFERSONS and ARCHIE BUNKER’S PLACE were.
Happy 246th Birthday, United States Marine Corps! SEMPER FI!