What's the connection? The theme answers have absolutely Nothing in Common with each other. The circles show us that the connection is just NADA.
17-Across. 1965 Beach Boys hit whose B side was "Please Let Me Wonder": DO YOU WANNA DANCE.
29-Across. "Just part of the job": ALL IN A DAY'S WORK.
49-Across. Fruity cocktail: BANANA DAIQUIRI.
And the unifier:
63-Across. Lack of similar interests, and what the three long answers with circled letters have?: NOTHING IN COMMON.
Here's the Grid, so you can see for yourself that the three long answers have Nothing In Common (aka NADA).
Across:
1. __ off: gets smart: WISES. I wanted Mouth off, but the second part of the clue indicates a plural answer.
6. Online customer service option: CHAT.
10. Actor Daniel __ Kim: DAE. Daniel Dae Kim (b. Aug. 4, 1968) was born in Busan, South Korea. He moved with his family to the United States when he was just 1-year old. [Name # 1.]
13. Quaking trees: ASPENS.
15. Honolulu's island: OAHU.
16. Mos. and mos.: YRS. Months and Months add up to Years and Years.
20. Cry of disgust: UGH.
 |
| UGG. |
21. Field of greens?: GOLF.
22. "L'shanah __": Rosh Hashanah greeting: TOVAH. Technically, this phrase means "for a good year". Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year.
23. Stage accessory: PROP.
25. "Thor" role for Anthony Hopkins: ODIN. Although Sir Anthony Hopkins (né Philip Anthony Hopkins; b. Dec. 31, 1937) played Odin in Thor, he is probably best known as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. [Name # 2.]
27. "__ and Juliet": ROMEO. My father was a member of the ROMEOs (Retired Old Men Eating Out). [Name # 3.]
32. Honey liquor: MEAD. I wonder if Margaret Mead (Dec. 16, 1901 ~ Nov. 15, 1978) liked Mead?
33. Uber status: ETA. As in Estimated Time of Arrival. This answer usually refers to plane schedules.
34. Method: Abbr.: SYS. As in System.
35. Depilatory brand: NAIR.
38. Job detail, briefly: SPEC.
41. "__ your imagination!": USE.
44. Animated pic: GIF. As in Graphics Interchange Format.
46. Protective trench: MOAT.
54. Bonus: EXTRA.
55. Khaki alternative: ECRU. Both are shades of brown.
56. Simply must have: NEED.
58. Greek letter between rho and tau: SIGMA.
60. Slog away: TOIL.
62. Director DuVernay: AVA. Ava DuVernay (née Ava Marie DuVernay; b. Aug. 24, 1972) is probably best known for her 2018 film A Wrinkle in Time. [Name # 4.]
66. Letter opener?: ELL. As in the letter "L". I am not keen on this type of clue and answer.
67. Rex Stout sleuth Wolfe: NERO. Nero Wolfe was/is a fictional private detective created in 46 mystery stories written by Rex Stout (né Rex Todhunter Stout; Dec. 1, 1886 ~ Oct. 27, 1975). Stout's mysteries were later adapted into a television series that starred William Cannon (1920 ~ 1994). [Name # 5.]
68. "Cobra Kai" practice: KARATE. Cobra Kai is a martial arts comedy drama television series.
69. Digit on a foot: TOE.
70. Peabody-winning journalist Ifill: GWEN. Gwen Ifill (Sept. 29, 1955 ~ Nov. 14, 2016) hosted Washington Week in Review. She was the first African-American woman to host a nationally televised US public affairs program. Sadly, she died young of cancer. [Name # 6.]
71. Fees for overdue library books, e.g.: FINES. I have 2 overdue books from my local library that should have been returned when I was away. Oops!
Down:
1. Crumple into a ball: WAD UP.
2. Map line connecting points of equal value: ISOGRAM.
3. Small security opening in a door: SPY HOLE.
4. Job listing abbr.: EEO. As in Equal Employment Opportunity.
5. Warm and cozy: SNUG.
6. Disclose: CONFIDE.
7. __ Chinese: world's largest ethnic group: HAN.
8. At the drop of __: A HAT.
9. Some houses with exposed-beam exteriors: TUDORS.
10. Big bundles of energy: DYNAMOS. Also the name of the professional soccer team in Houston.
11. Target sport: ARCHERY.
 |
12. Opposite of WNW: ESE. Points on the compass.
14. Faint: SWOON.
18. "Bridge of Spies" actor Alan: ALDA. Alan Alda (né Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; b. Jan. 28, 1936) is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H. He'll celebrate his 87th birthday later this month. [Name # 7.]
19. Declare bluntly: AVOW. A crossword staple.
24. Strategize: PLAN.
26. Battle of the Beltways MLB team: NATS. [Name adjacent.]
28. Approves: OKs.
30. Mont. neighbor: IDA. Idaho is adjacent to Montana.
31. Shrill bark: YAP.
36. Swiatek ranked world No. 1 by the WTA in 2022: IGA. [Name # 8.] Hand up if you are familiar with Iga Natalia Świątek (b. May 31, 2001). She is a Polish professional tennis player.
37. Uber service: RIDE.
39. CGI bird in Liberty Mutual ads: EMU. I'll spare you these annoying adverts.
40. Nickel or dime: COIN.
 |
41. Purple yam from the Philippines: UBE.
42. Moment to shine at a jazz recital, perhaps: SAX SOLO.
43. Authorize: ENTITLE.
45. Political subgroup: FACTION.
47. Nameless local guy in The Onion headlines: AREA MAN. Total guess.
48. 50-50 in the Senate, say: TIE VOTE. Hmm... No politics on this blog.
50. Exasperated cry: ARGH!
51. New pet owner's task: NAMING.
 |
52. Wrinkle remover: IRON.
53. "Hurry up!": QUICK.
57. "Homeland" Emmy winner Claire: DANES. Claire Danes (née Claire Catherine Danes; b. Apr. 12, 1979) got her start in the teen drama My So-Called Life. In 2011, she began her role as CIA agent Carrie Mathison on Homeland. [Name # 9.]
59. From the top: ANEW.
61. Bread shape: LOAF.
63. Pickleball court divider: NET. Everything you need to know about Pickleball, but didn't know to ask.
64. Test for aspiring profs: GRE. As in the Graduate Record Examinations, which of often required for admission into graduate school.
65. CT scan kin: MRI.
חתולה
Many thanks to Anonymous T for filling in for me for the last several weeks while I had the opportunity to explore in Southeast Asia. Below are a few photos from my travels.
 |
| The Royal Palace Complex in Phnom Penh |
 |
| The Royal Palace Complex in Phnom Penh |
 |
| The Royal Palace |
 |
| Angkor Thom |
 |
| Angkor Wat |
 |
| At the Udon Monestery |
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteOnly went wrong with ISOBARS where ISOGRAM needed to go. Not a problem that Wite-Out couldn't solve. Had the circles and saw nothing. Thanx, Dan, Shannon, and Hahtoolah. (Are you the shorter woman in the photo taken at the Udon Monastery? Looks like you had a culturally significant visit to Cambodia.)
Welcome back, Hahtoolah! Although Anon T did a good job, you were definitely missed! Now, as to the puzzle, the hardest thing for me to remember was “GIF” (the perps were no help). The gimmick became obvious after the first themed solve ( in spite of what SS might say, I think the circles definitely helped with that) . Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning, Crossword friends. It has been a while since I have been here and it seems a lot has transpired in my absence. Desper-Otto, yes, I am the shorter person in the photo. The other woman is my sister.
ReplyDeleteI want to wish you all a very Happy and Healthy 2023.
QOD: We’re not getting any younger. ~ Donald Fagen (b. Jan. 10, 1948)
Hello again! Today is my 5th and Dan's first LAT so congrats DAN! Who also writes at https://xwordswithbabka.blogspot.com/ and has cute cat pics to go with each puzzle :) Thanks for solving and for the nice write up.
ReplyDeleteFIR. Nice easy Tuesday puzzle. Only confusion was areaman. What?
ReplyDeleteTook 7:23 for me to finish like Rafael NADAl, but I felt like a CaNADA Goose.
ReplyDeleteToughest Tuesday in a long time. That's not a bad thing.
I didn't know isogram, the Jewish/Yiddish phrase, or either side of the Beach Boys 45.
Interesting qualifier today with "Peabody-winning journalist Ifill," but even that didn't help me (the perps did).
Oh joy, circles.
I thought yesterday's puzzle was extremely easy. Today's took more time and thought. The circles helped to find the theme. IGA, DAE and UBE were new to me. Section before faction. I remembered TOVAH from the Rosh Hashanah greetings here.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but erased wakes for WISES, keyhole for SPYHOLE, sigh for ARGH, and mede for MEAD (Untie!).
ReplyDeleteWISES off? I've heard WISES up and tips off (and many others that aren't breakfast-friendly), but never that combo. I guess it could be when a WISE guy sasses someone. Like "smarts off".
Small town folks know IGA as a grocers' association and brand name. Probably more folks than know IGA of the LTA.
I didn't know Cobra Kai until that stupid commercial that has the same actor mugging Koala Kai, and my stepson explained why it was funny.
Claire DANES was great in Homeland and ROMEO and Juliet. But my favorite was Stage Beauty, where she played an actress trying to break the gender barrier back in the days when female and male roles were played by men.(BTW, give her natural red hair and an extra 15 pounds, and you have the woman I was talking about yesterday. Never saw it until today.)
Thanks to Dan and Shannon for the fun, and to Ha2la for the illustrative tour. Welcome back.
A FIR for today with little trouble once I got started. Some misdirection made it fun, for example "field of greens." A couple of missteps were fixed quickly by perps: moS/SYS and FINdS/FINES. And nice circles pointed out the theme, completed by the reveal. Yes, the themers had NADA in common. Thanks for stopping by to comment, Shannon. Come back soon, Dan.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you back on the job, Hahtoolah, with your fun additions to the review. Thanks also for sharing your pictures! My first thought was that WISES "off" should have been WISES "up" since I was thinking of the other meaning of "smart." Then I got it, or wised up.
KS @ 7:38 AM, I haven't read The Onion lately but can imagine one of their humorous headlines starting out with "Area Man ......"
Have a productive day, everyone!
I also never heard the expression “wises off”. Took perps to fill. And like D-O @5:35 had a W/O at ISOBARS:ISOGRAM, a word I DNK. I did figure NADA would play a role in the theme with the very first themed clue, which helped. Overall a bit of crunch for a Tuesday, but not too bad, thanx, DS&SR. Thanx too to Hahtoolah for the great write-up. My traveling friends David and Carmela are currently in Thailand, and visited that same temple!
ReplyDeleteThank you Dan and Shannon for a Tuesday FIR. The NADA's helped with the fill, but I didn't see the theme until the reveal.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you Hahtoolah for the sparkly review. It's great to have you back!
A few favs:
25A ODIN. A very versatile actor. In addition to S.O.T.L, he also played PAUL in the 1981 film "Peter and Paul" and in 1997 he's pursued by a bear in The Edge.
55A ECRU. TAUPE is another option.
67A NERO. Usually clued "Fiddled while Rome burned", but the STOUT detective has suddenly come back into fashion.
26D NATS. Their Beltway being US495. The other is the ORIOLES, up North a bit at US695. I believe they compete occasionally in inter-league play, but I don't recall if they've ever played in a World Series together. WC?
36D IGA. Last time I blogged this it was "Independent Grocers Association".
41D UBE. This is making a comeback too.
Cheers,
Bill
ONE THING IN COMMON could have also fit instead of NOTHING IN COMMON for a unifier today.
ReplyDeleteNew word Tuesday for me. I knew ISOBARS and ISOTHERMS but ISOGRAM took perps to finish. PEEP HOLE was too long so SPY had to do. After you have finished constructing a puzzle and have a three letters left over that you can't change, "USE your imagination" and look up a foreign language and voila- UBE makes it on the grid. AREA MAN, GWEN, DANES- other unknowns today.
WISES off- a better clue would be "becomes a smart ass"
A tie in a race to the bottom for a reliable news source-The Onion, Babylon Bee, or Facebook. Which wins?
ARCHERY- I always wondered how ancient people made arrows that were perfectly straight without modern equipment. Tree limbs don't grow that way.
IGA must be sponsored by some expensive watch brand. After every match the first thing she does after sitting down is put on a gold watch and then give a televised interview.
MRI and CT scan? Not even closely related. Xrays and Magnetic Resonance totally different.
Close one...the lower third west corner confused me. Only daiquiri I could think of was strawberry. Plus erred with siGH (ARGH) and forgot the Filipino fruit. But FIR when EXTRA finally popped into my head and the rest fell into place...😌... (but ENTITLE for "authorize"?...meh.)
ReplyDeleteNot sure what NADA has to do the the long answers it's inside of though. Aha...I guess... nothing..🙉
SPYHOLE, speaking of spies, just finished the latest season of "Jack Ryan". How is it they can go into a unknown dwelling and always find what they're looking for within minutes while I can't find something like forever in a house I've lived in for 25 years. 🤔 If they live long enough to retire they should start a rent-a-spy business; come to your house and you simply tell them to find your glasses or keys.
GOLd a field of dollars (greens)? But finally perped GOLF, cute clue. YAP is a "shrill bark" (ain't that a YiP?)...
Claire DANES was terrific in the recent "Fleishman is in Trouble" limited series.
Knew GWEN but not "The Onion" headlines guy or "Świątek" (world in Polish). IGA (why not a usual Tuesday-like clue "grocery chain"? Agree with Jinxy and Waz).
Exposed beam exterior house with a front and back entrance.....TUDOR
With NAIR ____ hair in site.....NADA.
Can't sail a ship without one....ECRU
Knew from the funny cartoons...H2LH was baaaack.
😃.
Bill, it's "Independent Grocers Alliance", not Association.
ReplyDeleteBE - That's like comparing Time, US News and World Distort, and National Lampoon. The Onion's reason for 'living' is funny fake news, the others just offer fake news by accident.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle. Great commentary. Welcome back, Hahtoolah!
Good memories. My late uncle Ray used to make me a strawberry DAQUIRI every time I visited him when he was still in good health.
IDA is also a woman's name.
I'm still sleepy so I'll be back later.
Have a great day, everyone!
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Dan
ReplyDelete(Add an A and get an anagram of NADA) and Shannon (thanks for dropping by), and Hahtoolah (welcome back & thanks for the great photos).
I got the theme early, but officially a FIW. I persist in calling AVA DuVernay Ida. UGH! I knew TIED OTE was wrong but wanted the past tense rather than TIE. (Actually I wanted Deadlock but it wouldn’t fit)
Yip changed to YAP.
I learned GIF and its pronunciation here recently.
ELL was meh (gluey fill C.C. calls it) but GOLF clue was great.
I noted CHAT crossing A HAT.
We had OKS and ENTITLE, UGH and ARGH.
It was AVOW today, not Aver.
Is “ALL IN A DAY’S WORK” considered TOIL?
Wishing you all a great day.
Ray-O, I am with you on Rent A Spy. I'm always searching for things in a small apartment.
ReplyDeleteThe kinship of MRI and CAT scan may be a little stretch, but they both take pictures of the inside of the body. Last week I had an MRI of my right shoulder area. An old, full rotator cuff tear and a lesser one. Biceps tendon detachment. Arthritis. Ganglion cyst. The doctor says my functioning is way over what you would expect from the MRI. I have been using my left hand to assist in lifting dishes above my head to put them on the shelf. I am now letting the right hand do more of the work. My left shoulder has similar problems, but not quite as severe. I have been fastening my bra in the back until just recently.
Susan, welcome back. I always enjoy your cartoons and pics.
Nice to see Hahtoolah back with the cute little jokes and lovely pictures.
ReplyDeleteAnother walk In the park for me today. I started from the bottom, so got the theme right off, making the rest easy. There were a few unknowns like UBE AREAMAN and ISOGRAM, but perps helped. I too wanted peep hole.
I miss GWEN Ifill on PBS News shows.
Musings
ReplyDelete-I’m a Beach Boys fan but I’ll take Bobby Freeman’s version any day.
-Here’s Bobby’s version in a time capsule video featuring Dick Clark, Tony Randall, Bobby and a dancing elephant.
-A map of part of OHAU found on a midget submarine on 12/7/41
-NEET not NAIR was a speed bump
-The AVA I know was famously married to Mickey, Artie and Frank in turn
-The Library Cop ranks up there with Taxi’s “What does a yellow light mean?”
-December ISOGRAMS showed we Huskers sharing Canadian Eh’s weather for a long stretch
-Getting to the IDAHO/MONTANA/WYOMING intersection point is a real trek
-Two masters in a comedy bit about LOAFING
Not much to say, other than it was an enjoyable puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI did get a little sidetracked with "Mont. neighbor." As I had blank DA, and tried north and South Dakota before Idaho.
although it could have been Wyoming.
(Or Can,Sas,Alb, or British Columbia...)
Big Easy struck a nerve with the "ARCHERY- I always wondered how ancient people made arrows that were perfectly straight without modern equipment. Tree limbs don't grow that way." As I have always been fascinated with this subject. My 1st introduction to this was making arrows out of reeds, which have terrible bends at each notch of segmented growth. Ancient people simply used a piece of bone with a hole drilled in it to manhandle the reeds into shape! This rather overlong video shows the same method using just wood. see between 9 and 12 minutes...
I once built a wooden sailboat model and the 3 foot mast was horribly bent. I soaked it in the bathtub, and then clamped it to the footboard of my bed overnight. That mast has been straight as an arrow for over 40 years now!
This led to how to make walking sticks, which led to cane making, a fascinating subject for me. There are tons of videos out there, but I highly recommend this guy, for his old school approach, And enjoyed learning how to curve not only wood into walking cane handles, but also bending "animal horns!" Check out his channel, woodlandsticks.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your LAT debut, Dan! Thanks for stopping by The Corner, Shannon. Fun puzzle.
Welcome home Hahtoolah! I missed your comics laden expos.
ESPs: UBE, IGA, AVA | DANES,
WOs: started peep-HOLE, SWaiN -> SWOON, YiP->YAP, tAMING->NAMING
Fav: AREA MAN
//from Slate: The Onion's “area man” tends to be a little low on self-awareness. He's often the butt of a joke that everyone gets except him.
FLN - I'll have to find GPTZero - thanks TTP.
CED - interesting wood-working tips. Thx.
Back at it - Cheers, -T
Nice comments.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I forgot to tell you how much I enjoyed your photos. It must have been a nice trip. That was on my bucket list but never made it and it's too late now.
MEAD features very noticeably in the history of Great Britain in the early days.
UBE is unfamiliar to me but I have noticed some unusual vegetables at the store lately.
AVA DuVernay was featured in one of Ken Burns' programs, so it was interesting to hear her speak and to learn about her.
Wow. I just received a call that i almost didn't answer because it was a strange number but turned out to be someone I hadn't heard from since my friend and her aunt, Marilyn, died. We had a wonderful conversation. She and her husband live in Payson, a town in the mountains just northwest of here and with a much cooler climate.
I don't SWOON over Alan ALDA but he really entertains and makes me laugh.
Here is an example of the AREA MAN in THE ONION
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theonion.com/area-man-passionate-defender-of-what-he-imagines-consti-1819571149
Anon@12:13- per The Urban Dictionary, which advertises itself as “Written by You”
ReplyDeleteWISE OFF-
When you act like a smart ass, give attitude, Act as if your are better then everyone around, or to brag.
Do not wise off mother or you'll be in loads of trouble.
by Natsu's_Bae_foreva January 29, 2018
So somebody, somewhere in the more recent history of the English language has used the phrase. Most of us here probably don’t know the term, but some in the generation that uses Bae and foreva in their moniker obviously do. And since it appears that our new editor is trying to be multigenerational, I think she will let the clue stand (or perhaps she even wrote it).
OTOH, perhaps you already know this, and your post was a perfect example of the definition!
AnonT- thanks for the link re AREA MAN. This Canadian had no clue about The Onion.
ReplyDeleteGood work, Hahtoolah!
ReplyDeleteDiagonal Report: 8x8 = black square = no diags.
~ OMK
Lucina @11:39 AM IIRC MEAD was the favorite quaff of Beowulf and his kindred. I'll be he had to drink a lot of it to get up the nerve to tear Grendel's arm off.
ReplyDeleteThank you to Dan and Shannon! I enjoyed your puzzle! Also, nice to read you this morning, Shannon. I couldn't find the door in the NW so I started at 12:00 and worked my way clockwise through the grid. Ended by changing YiP to YAP. I did not think of peepHOLE but wanted eyeHOLE at first.
ReplyDeleteFAVs: Nickel or dime, Letter opener? and Field of greens
DKN the word ISOGRAM even though I enjoy studying relationship maps. Happy to have a word for that now!
Welcome back, Hahtoolah! Thanks for your terrific write-up! Your Seinfeld clip was LOL.
FLN, thanks to mwv for posting. Good to know there are others out there. Did you see "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special"? Rhett Miller is in it.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the great advancements of out time is the….front fastened bra.
No, I never wore one, but I used to date and liked them a lot, so convenient.
@Ray - O - Sunshine
ReplyDelete"Knew GWEN but not "The Onion" headlines guy or "Świątek" (world in Polish)."
Actually, "world" in Polish is "świat". "Światek" would be a diminutive form ("little world"), but Iga's surname is "Świątek", with an additional hook under "a". "Świątek" in Polish is a type of a religious figure made by a folk artist. The word is derived from the adjective "święty" ("holy").
A funny coincidence: last Sunday, Iga won the "Polish Sports Personality of the Year" title in our annual contest in Poland :)
I liked parts pf this puzzle. Other parts, not so much.
ReplyDeleteWhat I especially liked:
The clue "Field of greens".
What I didn't especially like:
The clue for WISES.
Fill like SYS, YRS, OKS, and ELL.
I've always known it as a PEEP HOLE, but I see it is also called a SPY HOLE.
I guess the main thing a CT scan and an MRI have in common is that your supine body is inserted via a movable table into a toroidal shaped scanning machine, or order to, as Yellowrocks pointed out, make images of your insides.
Welcome back, Hahtoolah, and thank you for the photos and your puzzle review.
Good wishes to you all.
I meant in order to
ReplyDeleteMRI & CT are and are not "cousins". The way images are generated is completely different. CT uses ionizing radiation (Xray). MR, radiowaves in a magnetic field. But with both modalities the images are presented in a similar way, basically axial, sagittal,(lateral slices) and coronal (frontal). The degree of image intensity can be changed digitally by the operator and reader with both.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a resident CT was rudimentary and MRI was pie in the sky. My 40 something colleagues have no idea what xray film is.
Wise off is neither obscure nor modern. I have heard it all my life .
ReplyDeleteYes, isn't interesting how not infrequently a poster will say some response is obscure, when probably what they could more accurately say is that they're unfamiliar with it.
ReplyDeleteDespite the clear evidence of a wide range of knowledge -- and knowledge gaps -- among posters, some still seem to equate their personal lack of knowledge with a lack of knowledge among all potential solvers. "I have never heard of ..." often seems to mean "Nobody has ever heard of ..., so it's unfair.". Interesting and strange confusion, IMHO.
Sandyanon @ 7:47: But there are still some people who equate their personal knowledge with its omnipresence in everyone, so this also seems to be interesting.
ReplyDelete