Lou, Lou, Skip to My Lou! I didn't see the theme until I went searching after I finished the puzzle. The last syllable of each theme answer has the same "oo" sound.
17-Across. Was completely crushed by the competition: MET ONE'S WATERLOO.
39-Across. Actress who played Joan Watson on "Elementary": LUCY LIU.
61-Across. Is hopelessly confused: DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE.
3-Down. Catches a seasonal malady: GETS THE FLU.
27-Down. Threepio's companion: ARTOO.
32-Down. Stuffed with ham and cheese: CORDON BLEU.
Across:
1. Cleaning cloths: RAGS.
5. Branch of govt.: DEPT.
9. Suffers after a CrossFit workout, say: ACHES.
14. "Just gimme __!": A SEC.
15. Really, really enjoy a joke: ROAR. Followed
by: 16-Across. Enjoy a joke: LAUGH. And also: 26. "Good
one": HA HA! A comedian, a lawyer, and a war hero walk into
a bar. The bartender says: What can I get you Mr. Zelinskyy?
20. Orzo and ziti: PASTAs.
|
| Orzo |
|
| Ziti |
21. Grand total: SUM.
22. History: PAST.
23. Part of a server's income: TIPS.
24. __ soup: sushi bar bowlful: MISO. Yummers!
28. "La La Land" Oscar winner Stone: EMMA. Emma Stone (née
Emily Jean Stone; b. Nov. 6, 1988) and Ryan Gosling (né Ryan Thomas Gosling;
b. Nov. 12, 1980) co-stared in this film.
31. Chocolaty drink: COCOA.
35. Before, in classic palindromes: ERE. Napoleon never said what you thought he said.
36. Continent with most of the world's people: ASIA. Continents by population.
37. "Adios!": SO LONG.
38. Org. with bomb-sniffing dogs: ATF
. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is a law enforcement agency within a 5-Across.
41. __ de Janeiro: RIO. The name of this Brazilian city
literally means the River of January.
42. Blob: DOLLOP.
44. Asteroid formation: BELT.
45. Put on: DON.
46. "Gonna join us?": YOU IN?
47. __ the deal: SEAL.
48. Fair ride: PONY.
49. Number-picking bar game: KENO.
51. "__ open book": "Ask me anything": I'M AN.
53. A single time: ONCE. Also the beginning of many a fairy
tale.
56. "Maa" ma: EWE. What happens if you never shear a sheep?
58. Just okay: NOT BAD.
64. Spine-tingling: EERIE.
65. Yard sale caveat: AS IS.
66. Queen of Mount Olympus: HERA. Everything you wanted to
know about Hera,
but didn't know to ask.
67. Roofing stone: SLATE. The pros and cons of a slate roof.
68. Golf pegs: TEEs.
69. Chinese currency: YUAN.
Down:
1. Wheelchair access: RAMP.
2. Between ports on a cruise: ASEA.
4. Nova __: SCOTIA. Hi, Canadian, Eh! We visited Nova
Scotia quite often when we were kids.
5. Gets into character for Comic-Con, say: DRESSES UP. The
2022 Comic-Com International event will be in San Diego in July. I'll
pass.
6. Lip balm brand with egg-shaped containers: EOS. They come
in all sorts of flavors.
7. Bear feet: PAWS.
8. Damage that may be psychological: TRAUMA.
9. Smithwick's beer: ALE. I am not familiar with Smithwick, but apparently it comes from Ireland.
10. Commuting arrangement: CAR POOL.
11. Hip-moving Hawaiian dance: HULA.
12. Alter __: secret identities for superheroes: EGOs.
Superman was Clark Kent's alter Ego.
13. Completely worn out: SHOT.
18. Quick snooze: NAP.
19. "I could do without this knowledge," way less formally: TMI.
Text speak for Too Much Information.
25. Merit badge earner: SCOUT. I earned many badges when I
was a girl scout.
26. Stimulating: HEADY.
29. Open __ night: MIC.
30. "I'll think about it": MAYBE.
33. French __ soup: ONION. Yummers!
34. Anguish: AGONY.
36. Flying solo: ALONE.
37. Inanity: SILLINESS.
40. __ & Perrins steak sauce: LEA. The bottles of Lea & Perrins are wrapped in paper. It is a hold-over from the days when the sauce was shipped from England in the 1800. The paper wrapping helped to protect the glass bottles from breaking.
43. Gives something a thumbs-up: LIKES IT.
47. "Big deal": SO WHAT.
48. Uneven, as fog: PATCHY.
50. Badminton court divider: NET.
52. Extinct emu-like bird: MOA. The Moa is believed to have gone extinct in the 1200s.
53. Poetic tributes: ODES.
54. Yule tune: NOEL.
55. "Superbad" actor Michael: CERA. Michael Cera (né Michael
Austin Cera; b. June 7, 1988) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.
He co-starred with Alia Shawkat (née Alia Martine Shawkat; b. Apr. 18,
1989 ) in Arrested Development.
57. Simplicity: EASE.
59. Mystical glow: AURA.
60. Campus official: DEAN.
62. Alumna bio word: NÉE. Today's French lesson.
63. Compete (for): VIE.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
Where is autocorrect when you need it?
ReplyDeleteSusan, your links made me forget the puzzle, awesome job locating and linking. I do feel bad for the T-Rex.
Mr. Gangi, who introduced himself at the NYT as "an attorney, musician, and curler from Minnesota" perhaps can stop by and tell us his curling stories. When he had his debut puzzle here November 23, 2020 he did not.
I enjoyed the theme but thought ARTOO was an outlier.
From yesterday, MORINGA is known in Thailand also and grows in Florida. My wife clipped some and added to a meal and I spent about 3 hours enjoying a body cleanse not knowing it was coming. YMMV.
Enjoy
I certainly never heard of "Eos," but that's what the perps indicated so I went with it. Other than that, it was pretty smooth sailing. FIR, so I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteFor me, this CW seemed easier than yesterday, yet I still managed to take two minutes longer to FIR: 17. DNK EOS or LUCYLIU. Completely missed the theme until Susan 'splained it. Thanx JG for the fun CW. And Hahtoolah, what a marvelous, interesting write-up! Thank you so much for all the time you put in to keep us entertained. The picture of Christopher Reeve reminds me of why I don't ride horses: if they can kill Superman, what chance do I have?
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThought the theme was WATERLOO, LIU, CLUE. Didn't consider FLU and BLEU (isn't that pronounced close to "bluh?") No matter, this one goes into d-o's win column. Was looking for a specific Branch of govt. Not simply DEPT. Visited Nova SCOTIA back in the '80s and found it less than balmy in February. Also visited China in the '80s, and knew YUAN. You had to plan your currency exchange carefully -- you couldn't change 'em back to dollars, and you weren't allowed to take YUAN out of the country. Thanx for the amusement, Joseph, and for the explication, Hahtoolah.
Good Morning, Crossword friends. Like Lemonade, I questioned whether ARTOO truly fit the theme, but decided to toss it in so there could be an even number of theme answers.
ReplyDeleteQOD: Life is too short to miss out on the beautiful things, like a double cheeseburger. Channing Tatum (né Channing Matthew Tatum; b. Apr. 26, 1980), American actor
Hahtoolah Thanks for the exceptionally amusing and illustrated commentary and explanations. Favorite was the grand finale with the flamingos and T Rex.
ReplyDeleteHand up finished the whole thing before seeing the ending OO sound theme.
Perfect timing to share my EMU video from yesterday.
The Santa Barbara ZOO has a new "Australian Walkabout" where you get into the exhibit and walk among the kangerOOs and wallabies and EMUs. Quite a treat! Objects in the video are closer than they appear!
From Yesterday:
ReplyDeleteTTP, Jinx, AnonT I loved the nerdy talk. My father had a Simpson 260 meter that I just realized is lost to the world now. It was a coming of age when he would let me use it. Good to see you can still buy them, but that sure is expensive!
FIR, but erased tsa for ATF. DNK EOS, Smithwick, or that KENO is played in bars (except in casino bars). In my ute, a lot of bars had punch boards, which worked like scratch-off lottery tickets, except that you unrolled paper slips instead of scratching off concealer.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was switching insurance companies, the agent called to ask about the house. "How old is the roof?" "Oh, just a little more than 100 years." "Oh, SLATE, then?" "Yup."
My asteroid formations usually respond well to Preparation H.
Thanks to Joseph for the fun puzzle, even though I forgot to look for the theme. And thanks to Hahtoolah for the funny tour. Hand up for loving the flamingosaurus.
Took 4:04 today to go through without ado or hullabaloo.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why R2D2 is referred to as Artoo, rather than Artwo, but so it is.
Very clever images in the write-up today.
FIR, but I too never saw the theme till I got here and read the blog.
ReplyDeleteAnother FIR in my recent string. An enjoyable puzzle, Joseph. Hope you do stop by and I look forward to your next puzzle. Saw the across themers ending in loo, liu, lue and thought to check the downs. Yes, there we had lu and leu. Consistency!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hahtoolah, for your humorous as well as educational review. Always a treat on Tuesday.
I too noticed the humor mini theme: ROAR, LAUGH, and HA HA. Appropriate for Hahtoolah's day.
Hope everyone has a happy day!
I never stopped this dash to the finish to look for a theme. About the easiest ever.
ReplyDeleteSS I thought you'd break 4.00 min
Re. Comic con A tbbt fixture
EOS was UNK.
EGO-One of hahtoolah 's links brought me to the doppelganger episode of Frasier . Hilarious
I filled LIU from LUCY without checking the clue or perps
Picard some mini farms in FL raise EMU. Eggs are tasty; one will do.
WC
Ps, Blogspot has a new android interface and no more preview functionality. Did someone think they were improving it?
Jinx, you’ve done it again. “Astroid formation”. CW WAS easier today, at least for moi. – Never check my times as some mornings I really need to check my “asteroid belt” also.
ReplyDeleteWC - Lots of EMU farming in Texas, too. My buddy grew them, but I think his main farm business was selling live birds to wannabe EMU farmers. (He was also an aerospace engineer, a really good one. He would do contract work for one of the bigs, then they invariably would give him an ultimatum - become an employee or else. Then he would go to another firm . Lather, rinse and repeat. He would even circle back sometimes to firms that expelled him. He made a lot more as a contractor, never had trouble finding his next gig, and had no interest in climbing the corporate ladder.)
ReplyDeleteCow tipping and an ADA-accessible gallows. What better way can there be to start a Tuesday!?
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a very easy and enjoyable solve, a perfect Tuesday. My only w/o was FDA/ATF and that was a silly mistake due to not reading the clue carefully enough and EOS, as clued, was unknown but perps filled it in. I don’t keep track, but today’s A Team entries may be a record: Ha Ha, Emma, Cocoa, (Imogene Coca, anyone?), Asia, Hera, Asea, Scotia, Trauma, Hula, Lea, Cera, Moa, and Aura. Also had a mini mini creature theme with Seal, Pony, Ewe, Paws, and Roar. Fun pairings include Past/Pasta, So What/So Long, Roar/Laugh/Ha Ha, Asia/As Is, Aches/Agony/Trauma, and Née/Net. CSOs to CC (Yuan/Asia/Lucy Liu), DO (Asea), All Golfers (Tees), Owen (Odes), and CEh (Nova) Scotia).
Thanks, Joseph, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, Hahtoolah, for an outstanding, as usual, review and hilarious cartoons. I am still laughing at the Tipped Cow/Waiter and the Hot Cocoa-drinking Snowman! Thanks for bringing us some much-needed humor!
FLN
PK and Anon T, your brisket comments reminded me of a recent visit to the supermarket where a just-shy of 4 lbs. corned beef brisket was $35.00+ change. 🫢
Have a great day.
Jinx, somewhere in the 80s the IRS eliminated mileage for contractor commuting
ReplyDeleteI think contractors got imaginative for making up that lost deduction.
WC
I was working on Sunday's LAT Sudoku with America;s Newsroom on in the background. They teased an upcoming segment on Musk's takeover of Twitter, which kind of went in one ear and out the other. Then they left for commercial, playing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird", which got my attention. First thought "that's clever", then I thought more about the lyrics:
ReplyDelete"And this bird you'll never change.
And the bird you cannot change.
And this bird you cannot change."
I wonder if it was just some intern being clever, or if it was just a lucky connection.
(REGARDLESS of what you expect Musk to do or try to do - it ain't politics, it's humor.)
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Joseph and Hahtoolah. (ROAR/LAUGH/HAHA describe my reaction to that CrossFit cartoon!)
ReplyDeleteI finished and saw the LOU theme (although I missed the Easter Egg, ARTOO), but arrived here to discover that I FIWed. In my haste to finish in the SE corner, I did not notice that I had the Anglicized Blue instead of BLEU (d’o, you are correct that it is pronounced like bluh, so BLUE fits the theme better!). Proof-reading would have caught Hura and Yean. Sheesh!
DOLLOP is such a great word. Almost onomatopoeic.
This Canadian can never remember ATF. Why would that DEPT. have that strange combo of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms? Bombs are included in Firearms? I just think of guns and rifles.
I’ll take a CSO with SCOTIA, although it is far East of me. Anyone there want to chime in and take the CSO. Maybe Mattea Roach, who hails from Halifax will join us. Currently with 15 Jeopardy wins, she won big on a double Jeopardy question last night re the third N maritime province, New Brunswick. Canadian advantage there, I thought with a big smile!
I had a nit with that EWE saying Maa. Goats say Maa and sheep say Baa, but Nanny wouldn’t fit.
Great Emu video, Picard. I was expecting a Comic-Con photo.
Wishing you all a great day. SO LONG.
Other than LOO and CLUE rhyme from the 2 full lenfth answers...is there a theme? O I C now.. well I didn't GET THE FLU or have a kloo about adding the other shorter answers, like LIU Quite BLEU (sad, not risqué) missing ART2 ..too. The sarong is SOLONG! SOWHAT? (I thought maybe this was part of the theme 😂)
ReplyDeleteYesterday's puzzle gave me PAWS, today for real. H2HL you made me LAUGH, ROAR and even "HAHA"... love the 'toons
So The MOA was no moa after 1200 AD (hunted to extinction by flamingoes? When ASEA the anchor must be aweigh from the ocean floor.
Is it the soup or the ONION that is French 😉LIKESIT, (hey Mikey).
If you're an "Antiques Road Show" addict you know the KENO twins. (They're from down the valley, Mohawk NY)
DIDN'T care for IMAN, Liked "fair ride"
Inkovers: angst/AGONY, lee/LEA,
When repeated 4 times TVs "Dragnet" warning tune....DON.
Eliot's comic brother....SILLINESS
Between 10 and 12 in Granada....ONCE
Be quite familiar with....NOEL.
Koi pond...CARPOOL
Get dressed up all fancy-like...DOLLOP
Mr. MacGregor ....YOUIN.
My avatar shows up but not my name, have to pick it out from a drop down menu...sumpthin's awry.😡
Musings
ReplyDelete-Five themers, a do-it-yourself reveal and a mini-theme of comedy. Gotta love it!
-A lesser man would call this a LULU but I wouldn’t! :-)
-Granddaughter says TIPS at the ice cream shop are proportional to the age of the customer
-For my lovely bride, pudding without a DOLLOP of whipped cream (Cool Whip) is unthinkable
-“Ask me anything” – Uh, no, don’t…
-Upcoming NFL draft? “Just okay” doesn’t cut it in the first rounds.
-What’s a four-letter sport that starts with a TEE and is played around the world? Right, it’s GOLF.
-The ODES I know are ON a Grecian Urn and OF a guy named Billie Joe
W. Charles, I'm sorry to have let you down. I'll try to go faster next time.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 7:19 (aka SS).
I've had SMITHWICK. It's pronounced as smit-ick
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, Joseph Gangi! I sashayed through this very quickly.
I don't have the FLU but something gave me chills last night. All is well this morning, though.
I'll take a CSO at LUCY.
IMAN could be clued as a beautiful model.
PATCHY or not, fog is not fun to drive through.
My daughter and s-i-l love comicon and sometimes they DRESS UP in costume.
A late friend and I had a CARPOOL for many, many years until she retired.
SO LONG, everyone! Have a wonderful day!
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFIR with an almost perfect grid. I lightly penned in HEAVY/HEADY before seeing the DOLLOP in 42-across
Welcome back, Susan! Thanks Joseph for the "looney" puzzle
I also think that ARTOO is not part of the "theme"; just coincidental
From the archives - and in LIEU of none from Owen today:
During flight, when he summoned the crew,
Pilot asked if there's anything new
To eat. Perhaps some cheese.
May I have Stilton, please?
"How 'bout Swiss?" They said, [out of the BLEU ... ]
FLN:
ReplyDeleteJinx and Lucina: thanks again for the TIPS on possible hiking trails near Jinx's former residence. And while it probably didn't make the "Tidewater Times" ('t would be an appropriate name for your local newspaper), there was an unfortunate drowning this past weekend at Lake Pleasant
C-Moe, I hadn't heard of the death. Looks like it happened when someone tried to swim from the boat to shore and back. Water temp is about 70, so that shouldn't have been a factor.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I kept my boat on a mooring there. I would sometimes find my cockpit cluttered with beer cans from folks treating it like a swim platform, but the cabin was never broken into and nothing was ever vandalized. I also had a resident bat that lived under the mainsail cover next to the mast. After being startled the first time by it flying away, I started being noisy and slapping the mainsail cover, to no avail. But when I started to remove the cover, bye-bye bat.
BTW, our fish wrapper is the "Virginian Pilot". I thought it would be interesting if Honda bought it. But Tribune Publishing snagged it. They also own the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sentinel, and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. They have sold off all of the real estate that our paper once owned, except for one printing plant. Their main building is now being converted to condos.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason they are sending me hard copy of the Sunday paper at no extra cost. I'm not sure I care about it, and is one more thing to tote out to the recycle bin.
Delightful Tuesday puzzle, Joseph--many thanks for this gift. And thank you, Hahtoolah, for your always helpful and neat write-ups.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was fun to have us both ROAR and LAUGH right there in the second row. But we weren't done yet--there was still HA HA down the road. Glad we got those before the AGONY came along.
Had no trouble getting TIPS as a server's income. My first job, when I was in my first years of high school, was working as part of a clean-up crew in a restaurant. Every now and then a kind and sympathetic customer would give us a TIP. Boy, was that a welcome surprise!
I too liked the critters, PONY and EWE, and--well--SEAL.
Have a fun day, everybody.
Hi Y'all! Fun & easy puzzle, Joseph!
ReplyDeleteHilarious comics, Hahtoolah! Just realized that your "alias" is a big HAHAH! if we get rid of the "tool" in the middle.
Forgot to look for a theme. Does this mean I BLEU it? Groan.
IM: $35 for a corned beef? Yikes! We considered brisket more or less waste meat after the more desirable choice steaks.
Pretty good PZL for a Tuesday from Mr. Gangi. Smooth sailing, easy enough to allow for a steady solving rhythm.
ReplyDeleteMy pen never paused.
And well answered by Hahtoolah.
I gotta kick outta the dinosaur/flamingo photo! Not on my lawn!!
~ OMK
_____________
DR: Just one diagonal, on the near side.
It contains only three vowels and a 'Y."
But we managed to find a decent anagram anyway (11 of 15 letters), which reminds us of what sometimes may occur in a teapot.
That would be a...
"TINY TEMPEST"!
A typographical error prevented the "finish" of this delightful puzzle. It took me quite a while to find I type M instead of N in MET ONES WATERLOO.
ReplyDeleteHatoolah, I love love love that Zelenskyy joke.
ReplyDeleteCMoe:
ReplyDeleteOver the years many drownings have occurred in Lake Peasant. Some are greatly investigated and others are immediately closed when VIPs are involved. Almost always drinking alcohol is found to be the reason.
Gotta 'nother kick, Hahtoolah, outta the wheelchair RAMP to the gallows.
ReplyDeleteAnd one more from the cow-TIPping cartoon.
You have a real knack for selecting these gags! Thank you for the many laughs.
BTW, I have to wonder how good Napoleon's English was.
Remember, those were the days when the lingua Franca was indeed French.
I doubt he wouldda been up for any Anglopalindromes at all--before the Brits put him in permanent exile.
~ OMK
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteWEES re: Theme spotting. Thanks for the puzzle, Joseph; some fun fill in there.
Thanks for the LOL expo, Hahtoolah. Zelenskyy joke was great but your parting shot w/ the T-Rex.... *chef's kiss*
WOs: N/A
ESP: EOS
Fav: DOLLOP is a fun word (C, Eh! agrees!) we used just last night putting Daisy sour cream on our tacos
Cute DR, OMK.
Nice limerick, C. Moe.
Thanks for keeping the laughs going, Ray-O.
Nice EMU video, Picard.
MManatee - they didn't have ADA-accessible gallows in the old west but still hung guys in wheelchairs and, my favorite, guy & horse (@:54). [Blazing Saddles]
Jinx - That is clever-bumper music for the story. It's funny -- the last two days it seems 1/2 of all of Twitter is Tweets of folks claiming they'll leave, pointing to other "social" sites we can go to (or that they are going to), etc. because of the sale. Musk hasn't even closed on the deal yet much less change policies.
Cheers, -T
Hi everybody,
ReplyDeleteOK, I think I said before that 'Casablanca' is one of my all-time favorite movies. 'Citizen Kane' is many critic's favorite but I've never been able to get emotionally involved with the story or any of the characters.
But, while looking at the lineup of some cable offerings, I stumbled across another HUGE favorite of mine: 'Robin and Marian.' It's another telling of the Robin Hood classic tale starring Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn as middle-aged Robin Hood and Maid Marian. It's a wonderful adventure story and emotional love story with a hauntingly beautiful musical theme. I get tearful just writing this brief description. Have any of you seen it? Opinions? I think I'll watch it all over again after the news and Jeopardy.
~ Mind how you go...
Bill G
Speaking of Jeopardy, have you noticed how the champ uses her hands? I can't tell if it's cute or affected.
ReplyDeleteBillG: I've noticed Mattea's use of her hands also. Some people "talk" with their hands. I suspect she is one. I keep trying to decide if that is a tattoo on her left arm or what. She is unbelievable smart on a lot of subjects one wouldn't expect her to be.
ReplyDeleteMy granddaughter remarked on Mattea's use of her hands today and we both agreed it's highly distracting. I wonder if she's nervous and that's why she does it.
ReplyDeleteNo problems today. I only had a couple spots where I needed Wite-Out, but that was because some dummy wasn't paying attention to what his hand was writing in the squares. Proofreading took care of those problems, for an FIR.
ReplyDeleteI meant to go back and check the theme, but I forgot. No, I also don't think R2D2 was supposed to be part of the theme.
FLN --- -T, I really don't remember whether the beer went into both the chefs AND the brisket or not. I kinda doubt it, because we were using a smoker --- but we might have rubbed a little on it. That's not really why we had the beer there!
Thanks, Joseph and Susan. I enjoyed both the puzzle and the expo!
No idea who Mattea is except C, Eh! mentioned she's Canadian and y'all said she's on Jeopardy!
ReplyDeleteSo I Googled. She doesn't look Italian.
//everybody knows how to stop an Italian from talking... You tell 'em to sit on their hands :-)
Nice to see you at The Corner, Bill G. I never heard of 'Robin and Marian'. [Trailer] Doesn't look as funny as Brook's Men in Tights [Trailer].
So, what'd you think of the puzzle?
LeoIII - cooking on the grill is an excuse for a beer. A smoker makes it an all-day affair.
//Bossman say: "You can't claim to drink all day if you didn't start when you woke up." :-)
Cheers, -T
Here's Mayim Bialik re: Mattea Roach. Seems Canadians also talk w/ their hands?.?
ReplyDeleteWhat say you, C, Eh!?
Nite! -T