google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: February 8, 2023 Drew Schmenner

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Feb 8, 2023

February 8, 2023 Drew Schmenner

<>Theme: Vowel Sound Progression - With Z Sounds.  The final syllable of each them entry begins with the sound - though not always the spelling - of the letter "Z," and ends with the sound - though not the spelling - of a long vowel, in alphabetical order: A, E, I, O and U.  Let's check it out.

18 A. Small dog with a French name: BICHON FRI.   From French: bichon à poil frisé, (French pronunciation: ​[biʃɔ̃ fʁize], meaning 'curly haired dog') is a small breed of dog.  Although the Bichon breed type are originally Spanish, used as sailing dogs, also as herding dogs sometimes, the French developed them into a gentle lap-dog variety. 

The ending is pronounced ZĀ, or ZAY, if you prefer.  What are you gonna do - it's French!

23 A. Stopped worrying: RESTED EASY.  When you don't worry you can sleep well.

The ending is pronounced ZĒ, or ZEE.  This is the kind of thing that makes English as a 2nd language so hard.

41 A. Education activist who is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate: MALALA YOUSAFZAI.  (Urdu: ملالہ یوسفزئی, Pashto: ملاله یوسفزۍ, pronunciation: [məˈlaːlə jusəf ˈzəj]; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pakistani and the first Pashtun to receive a Nobel Prize.

On 9 October 2012, while on a bus in Swat District after taking an exam, Yousafzai and two other girls were shot by a Taliban gunman in an assassination attempt in retaliation for her activism; the gunman fled the scene. Yousafzai was hit in the head with a bullet and remained unconscious and in critical condition at the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, but her condition later improved enough for her to be transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, UK.  You can read more details here

The rendering of here last name into English results in the last syllable as written above, and pronounced ZĪ, or Z-EYE. 

54 A. Leader of the Pink Ladies in "Grease": BETTY RIZZO.  Portrayed in the movie by Stockard Channing, she is a tough and sarcastic leader of the Pink Ladies. She smokes, drinks, and does not care what others think of her. Rizzo is also a girl with a "reputation". 



The ending of her name is pronounced, for a nice change of pace, pretty much like it's spelt: ZŌ. 

64 A. To a great extent, informally: OUT THE WAZOO.  To an excessive degree.

The final syllable is pronounced ZŪ.  The long U is often pronounced "YOO," rather than"OO."  But sometimes not, I guess.

Hi Gang, JazzBumpa on the scene with today's lesson in phonetics.  Let's keep an ai out for what else we can find in tode's grid. Are oo with my?

Across:

1. Derisive cry: BAH.  Sometimes along with its partner, HUMBUG!

4. Open, as a 4-Down app: TAP ON.  Accessing an app on a touch-screen device.

9. Marshmallow treats: PEEPS.  

Read about them here.

14. In the past: AGO.  This was recorded some time ago.



15. Rock's __ in Chains: ALICE.

16. "The Martian" star: DAMON.   Matthew Paige Damon (b. October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among Forbes' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North American box office, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time.He has received various awards and nominations, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards and seven Primetime Emmy Awards.

In the movie, When astronauts blast off from the planet Mars, they leave behind Mark Watney (Matt Damon), presumed dead after a fierce storm. With only a meager amount of supplies, the stranded visitor must utilize his wits and spirit to find a way to survive on the hostile planet. Meanwhile, back on Earth, members of NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring him home, while his crew mates hatch their own plan for a daring rescue mission.

17. Earth __: DAY.   An annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. 

20. Inbox filler: E-MAIL.   On your computer or device.

22. Spending like there's no tomorrow: ON A SPREE.   A spell or sustained period of unrestrained activity of a particular kind.

26. Isr. neighbor: SYR.  Israel and Syria.

27. Wild guess: STAB.   Sort of like a shot in the dark.

28. Tool with teeth: SAW.  I can see that.

31. Blue-green hue: TEAL.   A dark greenish-blue color, named for a duck of similar hue..

34. Pyramid, often: TOMB.   The Egyptian ones are.

37. Canterbury pens: GAOLS.  British spelling of Jail.  As a kid, when I first saw this in a Sherlock Holmes story I was quite confused.

44. Raging mad: IRATE.   Seeing red.

45. Barbecue rod: SPIT.   A slender pointed rod for holding meat over a fire

46. Cough syrup amts.: TSPS.  Teaspoons.

47. Alter __: EGO.  A person's secondary or alternative personality.

49. Chem class rooms: LABS.  A laboratory.  I saw a sign in one stating that here should be more labor and less oratory,

51. Quinceañera attendee, maybe: TIO.  An AUNT might attend the celebration of a girl's 15th birthday. This has cultural roots in Mexico and Europe and is widely celebrated by girls throughout Latin America. 

60. Out early: ON PAROLE.  Parole is the release of a prisoner temporarily (for a special purpose) or permanently before the completion of a sentence, on the promise of good behavior.

63. Tatum of "Paper Moon": O'NEAL.   Tatum Beatrice O'Neal [b. 1963] is an American actress. She is the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award, winning at age 10 for her performance as Addie Loggins in Paper Moon opposite her father, Ryan O'Neal. She also starred as Amanda Wurlitzer in The Bad News Bears, followed by Nickelodeon, and Little Darlings.    



67. Spill preventer: LID.   As on a child's puppy cup.


68. Like overly rehearsed comments, probably: TRITE.    Overused and consequently of little import; lacking originality or freshness.  Said of a remark, opinion, or idea.  Overly rehearsed?  I dunno 'bout that.

69. Rework, as text: EMEND.  Make corrections and improvements.

70. Beats by __: DRE.  Brand name for pricey earphones and buds.

71. Dye used in mehndi decoration: HENNA.   A  dye prepared from the plant Lawsonia inermis, also known as the henna tree, the mignonette tree, and the Egyptian privet, the sole species of the genus Lawsonia.   Mehndi is a form of body art and temporary skin decoration from the Indian subcontinent usually drawn on hands or legs.

72. Fizzy drinks: SODAS.

73. __ Lingus: AER.  The flag carrying ail line of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of International Airlines Group. The airline's head office is on the grounds of Dublin Airport in Cloghran, County Dublin. 

Down:

1. The "B" of "Notorious RBG": BADER.   Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg [b. 1933] was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020.

2. Peak performance: A-GAME.   One's best possible performance,

3. Georgetown athletes: HOYAS.   According to Georgetown's Athletic Department Website, many years ago, when all students were required to take Greek and Latin, the athletic teams were nicknamed "The Stonewalls."  Rumor has it that one clever student chanted "Hoya Saxa!" which translates to "What Rocks!"  The cheer grew and students began to consistently yell "Hoya Saxa! Hoya Saxa!" Eventually, the "Saxa" was dropped and the cheer evolved to "Hoya!"

The name proved popular and all Georgetown teams were named "The Hoyas."  No, a Hoya is not a bulldog. It is not any animal, mascot, or creature of any sort. Hoya actually means "what."

So, if you ever ask: What is a Hoya? That's your answer. What? What. A Hoya is what.

4. Device with a touchscreen: TABLET.    A mobile computing device that has a flat, rectangular form like that of a magazine or pad of paper, that is usually controlled by means of a touch screen, and that is typically used for accessing the Internet, watching videos, playing games, reading electronic books, etc.

5. Wong of "Always Be My Maybe": ALI.  Alexandra Dawn "Ali" Wong [b. 1982] is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She is best known for her Netflix stand-up specials Baby Cobra, Hard Knock Wife, and Don Wong. She starred in the film Always Be My Maybe, on which she also served as a writer and producer.

6. Selfie, e.g.: PIC.  Photograph of one's self.

7. Golfer Lorena: OCHOA.   Lorena Ochoa Reyes [b. 1981] is a Mexican former professional golfer who played on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour from 2003 to 2010. She was the top-ranked female golfer in the world for 158 consecutive and total weeks, from 23 April 2007 to her retirement on 2 May 2010, at the age of 28 

8. Highlighter hues: NEONS.    Extremely bright or vivid colors, so named ny analogy to neon lamps.

9. Versatile docs: PDFS.  Documents in Portable Data File format, useable on any platform.

10. Wyatt of the Old West: EARP.   Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp [1848 - 1929] was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp was involved in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which lawmen killed three outlaw Cochise County Cowboys.

11. Dubai rulers: EMIRS.   A title of various Muslim (mainly Arab) rulers.

12. Seven-time MLB All-Star catcher Buster: POSEY.   Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III [b.1987] is an American former professional baseball catcher. Posey spent his entire twelve-year Major League Baseball career with the San Francisco Giants, from 2009 until his retirement at the conclusion of the 2021 season. In September 2022, Posey joined the Giants' ownership group.

13. Snide smile: SNEER.   A contemptuous or mocking smile, remark, or tone.

19. Those opposed: NAYS.  

21. "Oof, look at the time": IT'S LATE.  Time to call it a night.

24. Target of some miners: DATA.  Data mining is the process of extracting and discovering patterns in large data sets involving methods at the intersection of machine learning, statistics, and database systems.

25. Some TikTok teens: E-BOYS.   E-girls and e-boys, sometimes collectively known as e-kids, are a youth subculture of Gen Z that emerged in the late 2010s, notably popularized by the video-sharing app TikTok. It is an evolution of emo, scene and mall goth fashion combined with Japanese street fashion and K-pop fashion.

29. Ottoman title: AGA.    A military or civil officer in the Ottoman Empire

30. Enters, as an aroma: WAFTS IN.  To WAFT is to pass or cause to pass easily or gently through or as if through the air.

31. "You've shared enough!": TMI.  Too Much Information.




32. AirPod holder: EAR.  The organ of hearing and balance in humans and other vertebrates, especially the external part of this.

33. Pie __ mode: ALA.  Literally, fashionable; in the current style or fashion.   Here in the U.S. it means the ice cream has a scoop of ice cream on it.

35. Swiffer product: MOP.   An implement made of absorbent material fastened to a handle and used especially for cleaning floors

36. Constructed: BUILT.  

38. Parts of lbs.: OZS.   Pounds and ounces.  Where does the "z" come from?  

39. Overtake and then some, on a track: LAP.  A LAP is one time around a race track.  To LAP another runner is to get one full LAP ahead of him

40. Family nickname: SIS.   Meaning sister.  I have one.

42. __ of lamb: LEG.   Lamb leg is a large and succulent cut from the hind legs that can be butchered into smaller cuts. Lamb leg is a popular Sunday dinner roasting joint, though, this is not the only way this tasty joint can be prepared.

43. Stick around: STAY.   Remain in a certain place.

48. Wind quintet wind: OBOE.   A woodwind instrument with a double-reed mouthpiece, a slender tubular body, and holes stopped by keys.




50. Stews (over): BROODS.  Thinks deeply about something that makes one unhappy.  Worries.

51. Sweet __: TOOTH.  A affection for confections.

52. Accustom: INURE.  Accustom (someone) to something, especially something unpleasant.

53. Decide to participate: OPT IN.  Choose to participate in something.

55. "As You Wish" memoirist Cary: ELWES.   Ivan Simon Cary Elwes [b. 1962] is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in The Princess Bride, Robin Hood in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in the Saw film series.





56. DÌa de San ValentÌn sentiment: TE AMO.  The Valentine's Day sentiment is, I love you."

57. Nintendo's The Legend of __: ZELDA.  The Legend of Zelda is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Capcom, Vanpool, and Grezzo.

58. Former name of the Congo: ZAIRE.   Officially the Republic of Zaire (French: République du Zaïre, [ʁepyblik dy zaiʁ]), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa (after Sudan and Algeria), and the 11th-largest country in the world. With a population of over 23 million inhabitants, Zaire was the most-populous officially Francophone country in Africa, as well as one of the most populous in Africa.

59. Not as up-to-date: OLDER.  I'm taking this personally.

61. Memo abbreviation: ATTN.   Attention recipient.

62. "Better Call Saul" Emmy nominee Seehorn: RHEA.   Deborah Rhea Seehorn [b. 1972] is an American actress and director. She is best known for playing attorney Kim Wexler in AMC's Better Call Saul, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards

65. Zoo opening in London?: ZED.   The first, i.e. opening, letter of the word in Brit-speak. We just call it Zee.

66. "Based __ true story": ON A.  Said of a fictional account involving real persons and/or events.

That's all, folks.  Hope you were able to pronounce all these words.  Happy Wednesday, everyone.

Cool regards!
JzB






40 comments:

Wilbur Charles said...

NE completely fooled me. I should have grok'ed "Docs" as not General Doctor Practitioners(GDPS). And yes I thought the dog was FRISE all along

Fat FIW for a fat head(I'm talking 'bout you Mr S.) Having said that and granted PDF is a great clue I don't like this style of xword with absurdly easy mixed with obscure pop-cul

There's a storm of contention re. TOMBS or something else

Jazz, which Sherlock had the GAOL?

Oops, another one. I had eNURE which has t G e sane meaning as INURE but I do know TIO as aunt

LID not bib. NAYS not anti. But not ores/DATA but I did have EBOts/EBOYS, MaP/MOP and kAZOO/WAZOO

I thought those beats were from Dr DRE

TABLET being a TAP ON Device it might have also been a displayer of PDFS

The remarkable story of Lorena OCHOA Who else quit at the top? Oh yeah, Jim Brown

Whole passel of Natick errors. TV Guide meets LaTimes

WC

Wilbur Charles said...

BTW, I had no clue re. Theme

Subgenius said...

Zounds and Zowee! Did a Saturday puzzle somehow get mixed up with a Wednesday one? After going through this puzzle, I thought “z’s” had something to do with it, though I couldn’t see what. As a consequence, I entered “frize*” instead of “frise*” for the dog’s name and consequently ended up with a big fat FIW. Oh well, I guess you can’t win them all!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Thought of IM when BICHON FRISÉ showed up -- thanx, JzB for correcting my "Bitchin' Freeze" pronunciation. Got through this one mostly unscathed. Chuckled when Otto-correct changed JzB/s "Sippy cup" to a "Puppy cup." Isn't TIO an uncle, rather than aunt? The theme made its usual whooshing sound as it flew past. Was there a reveal? If so, guess who missed it? Thanx, Drew and Jazz.

Big Easy said...

Good morning all. I managed to FIR only by solid perps and a WAG for the cross of POSEY and BICHON FRISE. I knew the dog, just not the correct spelling, the MLB player was unknown, and the ZZZZZ fills everywhere didn't help. Vowel progression- never noticed with the non-AEIOU endings.

MALALA YOUSAFZAI- hand up for those who really knew how to spell her name.
OUT THE WAZOO- I've heard that saying all my life but not as "To a great extent". More to describe an unlimited supply of something or coming from a certain body part.
BETTY RIZZO- I never saw 'Grease' but luckily I'd heard of ZELDA and knew ZAIRE.
ON A SPREE- "Spending like there's no tomorrow", perps wouldn't allow CONGRESS on the grid but it fit
TRITE- what you hear coming from any politician's mouth, always rehearsed and completely insincere.

ALI Wong, E-BOYS, ELWES, and RHEA- unknown people filled by perps. Tempted to fill EBOTS but didn't.

Anonymous said...

Tio is Spanish for Uncle, not Aunt (Tia)

KS said...

FIW. Is today Saturday? Seems this puzzle doesn't belong on Wednesday. Too many proper names and many of them crossing. Alice and Ockoa as an example. I had amend in the crossing with Elwes. No way for the perps to help. Never heard of that breed of dog. In general, I found this puzzle poorly created.

ATLGranny said...

FIR today but didn't notice the vowel change after the Z's. I had seen the preponderance of Z's in the themers, but didn't appreciate the cleverness of Drew. Thanks for today's puzzle!

As I filled the squares, much seemed EASY, though some crossings of names weren't perp friendly. My WAGs worked out well, so success in the end. WOs for bib/LID (Hi, WC) and tHEA/RHEA (it took a while to see PAROLE for getting out early as I wasn't thinking of jail). And so on, where names were concerned.

Thanks, JazzB for guiding us along today with your review, full of info. I first thought an aunt would be more interested in such a party, but I knew the Spanish spellings and saw we needed OPT IN for the perp which confirmed it was the uncle (TIO) instead.

Hope everyone's day gets better and better!

Malodorous Manatee said...

I was able to solve the puzzle with lots of help from perps. There were far too many proper nouns for my taste.

Never grasped the theme. Thanks. JzB, for the great explanation of that and for the very comprehensive review.

TTP said...


Thank you, Drew, and thank you, JzB.

I didn't find this one difficult at all, and I finished well within Desper-otto's allotted time. Didn't really notice a lot of names. The only name that I completely didn't know was RHEA. I knew we needed MALALA YOUSAFZAI, but needed perp help to spell her name correctly.

Drew, you made our Irish Miss's morning. Perhaps day. Possibly week or month. She will undoubtedly be ecstatic to see BICHON FRISE in the puzzle. Every year she'll provide us with summary updates of how the Bichon Frise fared in the Non-Sporting Group.

JzB, probably good that you didn't link any Alice in Chains songs. I personally like their heavy metal hard rock grunge sound, but I'm not sure that many here would. "Man in the Box" has dark lyrics but typifies their sound.

Wilbur Charles, you are correct. Beats by Dre is the company created by Dr Dre and his partner. Sold it to Apple for $3.4 billion.


Dash T, FLN - thanks for the SNL clip. I tried to stay up to watch it. Funny. If you like a COLD OPEN, try to solve this Evan Birnholz puzzle: Sunday, January 29 - Freezer Packs. Fair warning, it's a head scratcher until you figure out what's going on, and even then ...

Parsan said...

Nope! First Wednesday puzzle I could not finish in a coons age. A well deserved Nobel, but Malala Yousafzai in the middle of the week? Remembered her but not how to spell her name, or how to pronounce it. Didn’t see the theme.

BE@ 6:46 I agree on 64A OTW

Liked LID instead bib, NAYS instead anti, and ATTN instead ASAP. BICHON FRISE, beautiful dogs.

KS@8:41 Also AMEND.

Kudos JzB on a very informative write-up!

TTP said...


Non Sporting Group at the Westminster Kennel Club. She'll be tuned in on May 8th. You can bank on it.

Lucina said...

Hola!

"Never grasped the theme" thank you, MalMan for giving me a starting phrase.

My daughter's former boss owned a pair of white BICHON FRISE dogs which she always brought to the office.

Yawn. I should have stayed in bed longer. My grid looks like ink spilled on it.

Though I read her book I could not recall MALALA'S surname.

TIO is Spanish for uncle.

When my daughter was born ZELDA was one of the names for her on my list and many years later she thanked me for not naming her that. By then the GAME had used it.

The first time I heard the name, RHEA, was that of an assistant principal at my school.

Thank you, JazzBumpa, for your thorough analysis!

Have a beautiful day, everyone!

inanehiker said...

This was a fun puzzle - so glad for the blog to get the theme- I just knew there were a lot of Zs!
BICHON FRISE is a great family dog. No dog is completely - but it is one of the least allergenic dogs - many a kid with allergies to dogs can do well with this breed.

I read MALALA's memoir - quite the inspiring young woman!

They have been pre-showing some of the Super Bowl ads this week - OUT THE WAZOO reminded me of this Super Bowl ad for E-trade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3PTAD40W28
In medicine we say the GI docs are making money OUT THE WAZOO- which is true literally and figuratively.

In the past year I read "The HENNA Artist" by Alka Joshi - about a woman who made her living as one in the early years of India after the Raj(British rule) in the 1950s - I would highly recommend.

Thanks JzB and Drew!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
- REST EASY, MALALA YOUSAFZAI will take care of itself
-ELWAS/AMEND and ELWES/EMEND did not.
-The Martian was a nice story despite the license it took with the science.
-I can still see GAOL on the top line of a Sunday crossword from years ago
-How ‘bout an earworm/time capsule for IT’S LATE
-DATA mining – “Here’s the DATA, now make it prove my point no matter what!”
-WAFTS IN – The aroma of popcorn at a movie theater!
-When you’re a timer for a 3,200-meter run, you have to remember who got LAPPED
-Was Brando the greatest BROODING actor?
-TRITE – Any sentence by a politician that starts with, “The American people all know…”

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

A tough Wednesday.....lots of unknowns EBOYS, ALICE, POSEY, OCHOA but FIW I had the ridiculous answer UP THE KAZOO instead of WAZOO. I should have known Cary ELWES but only as an actor. If Saturday puzzles had themes this would be one. Hadn't a clue. "Up the wazoo" is actually the official surgical terminology for how an endoscopic coloscopy is performed, 😲

Inkovers: Imlate/ITSLATE, tia/TIO, bib/LID, asto,inre/ATTN

ZED? GAOL? why can't we stop with the foreign language words 😠

Guess I'm the only one who started filling in s'mores only to run out of squares? I have a "sweet" TOOTH but not for PEEPS. (When offered I SNEER at them 🧐). Matt DAMON played an OK Martian but this was "My Favorite Martian"....
RHEA (pronounced "Ray"), NAYS (not cons) BAH (not boo) ...Sometimes I need perps to choose the correct O'NEAL (O'Neil) spelling as well.

___ face!!...INURE
NEW York's ____ zee (or ZED) Bridge.....TAPON
Ruth Ginsberg: Bill Clinton ____ become a Supreme Court judge....BADER

Went to our local Best Buy store to replace my lost Garmin GPS. They only had 3 models and only one in stock in a dusty dark abandoned corner of the store. I was led back there by a clerk named Igor carrying a torch who brushed away the cobwebs and scared off the bats...(Yeah I know everyone uses their cell phone but liked my unit permanently in place on the dash). 😏


CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Drew and JazzB.
I FIRed but only due to several correct WAGs. I saw the ZED (65D was the reveal/Easter Egg), but missed the vowel progression.

A plethora of names again, which necessitated my WAGs. O or E in DAMON/POSEY cross, guessed at the WA in WAZOO.
Favourite was the clue for GAOLS.
In Re changed to As To and then to ATTN.
I Gotta Go changed to IT’S LATE.

Busy day and previous line fits.
Wishing you all a great day.

Monkey said...

DNF. I couldn’t get into this puzzle at all. I usually like a challenge, but this one was drudgery for me. I had to look up MALALA’s last name. Never heard OUT THE WAZOO as clued. I’m afraid I’m not as up to date, therefore OLDER. BAH. And I’ll add Humbug.

JZbumpa was the right person for this review to sort out the Z’s from the S’s. I never noticed the sound progression.

I wonder how much grooming BICHON FRISÉs requires. They are adorable bundles of white fur.

CrossEyedDave said...

1st, Ray-O?
How do you lose a GPS that is permanently affixed to your dash?
(I sense I bigger story here...)

Never saw the theme, thank you Jzb!
Also enjoyed the clips, including the Oboe, which gave me an idea!
I cannot sing vibrato...
(I cannot wiggle my ears,)
(I cannot roll my "R"s)
I have tried for 67 years (on and off) and the only vibrato I can get is in the middle of a yawn. So I looked up on YouTube how to get vibrato on an Oboe! Very informative, with excercises to try that are a bit different from singing excercises..

The theme kinda gave me pause for thought,
(Always a dangerous endevour)
I wondered if adding circles to the ends of the themers, and then clueing "up the wazoo" as a circle hint?
(Nah, probably would annoy people even more...)

Oz for ounce, made me look it up even before your query.

The word ounce has been abbreviated as oz. since at least the 1500s. The abbreviation oz. comes from a shortening of the Italian word onza, meaning “ounce.”

Followed by;

"The word "pound" comes from ancient Roman when the unit of measure was libra pondo, which meant "a pound by weight." The English word "pound" draw from the pondo part of the phrase, according to the BBC. However, the abbreviation "lb" is derived from the libra part of the word."

Nuff said...

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Four (4) wrong squares?!? On a Wednesday? Oy!

Thanks Drew for the puzzle. Thank you JzB for the fine review.

WOs: how do you spell FReze? AYOUeFZAI? Inre -> ATTN
FIW: ZiLDA, ZeIRE, OUT THEir ZOO (who knows what slang is anymore?)
Fav: GAOLS was cute.

Hand-up: IM came to mind at 18a.

Jinx - did Igor say "walk this way" and you shrugged, said OK, lurched over, and drug your left foot like he was doing? :-)

Y'all have a good day.
Cheers, -T

Get Your Wazoo Straight said...

Utterly absurd for any day of the week to cross ELW?S and ?MEND. Not to mention all of those other crossed names. I am sure it was our defiantly ruinous new editor who wrecked an otherwise interesting theme.

And it IS "UP THE WAZOO". Here is the rest of that story.
https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2010/09/wazoo-story.html

CrossEyedDave said...

Yes, there has never been a mummy found in any pyramid. And so their purpose is open for interpretation. As well as their age...

Except,

Wood has been found in pyramids zoom in here to see two huge cedar logs built in, that have been carbon dated to between 4 & 5,000 BcE.

But what if the wood was just a repair?

Well, little known is that some mortar was used between stone blocks, containing miscellaneous stuff, including seeds, which date back to the same period.

Yesterdays Chulpas are intriguing also...
Here is a damaged Chulpa showing its internal structure. Not only was the stone stone carved into curved shapes, (incredibly difficult) you can see if you zoom in that each stone has a hollow, as if it was poured cement with something inside to reduce weight.
But No...
If you peruse the stones littered around, you will find stones with "dimples" carved into to them that mate perfectly with the hollows, making the stonework even more earthquake proof. Simply amazing masonry!

No,
Every mystery has been satisfactorily splained, (except my spelling)
Except!
What has Praveen found in a temple that is dated to be 800 years old?!?!
evidence of rock melting technology?

(The mystery continues...)

Lucina said...

Oh, my goodness! So much unhappiness. I know this puzzle was weird but puzzles should be challenging and like so many other solvers here, we've seen it all. Maybe.

Some of my former students, usually those from Africa, used HENNA on their fingernails and I just could not get used to it. It gave me shivers when I saw it and I tried really hard not to make them feel uncomfortable.

I feel so much better with more sleep.

sumdaze said...

Any puzzle with Buster POSEY is a constructer's A GAME! Thanks, Drew!

I had 2 wrong squares at aMEND and ?AOLS. But that's OK because 12D was Buster POSEY!

I enjoyed JaZZBumpa's write-up. Like others, I saw the Zs but not the vowel progression. Great intro!

Is it OK to have both WAFTS IN and OPT IN on the same grid? (not a rhetorical question)

Did I mention I love, love, love Buster POSEY? (yes, a rhetorical question) He retired to his home state of Georgia but was back on the West Coast last week for the Pebble Beach ProAm. A big crowd of orange & black followed him around the course. He is much loved out this way.

Yuman said...

Made a lot of mistakes, never heard of “E-Boys”
Wilbur, I liked your “TV Guide meets LA Times”
I am currently reading “Hail Mary” written by Andy Weir, the author of “The Martian” It is the story of a lone astronaut that must save the earth from a disaster and if he fails humanity and earth will perish. It is currently in development to be a motion picture staring Ryan Gosling.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

CEW @ 11:22

1st ..I mistakenly said it was Wednesday, not Tuesday ,and today is DW's 73 birthday. I remain much younger (at 72 till May..)

My GPS always sits on but not permanently attached to the dash. I take it with me on trips and misplaced it on the last one. But can't install the new software, need administrator privileges, (UN & PW?) it's a home computer and I've never had this issue with other other installs. If anyone has any suggestions.

..."Ounce" in Italian oncia (AWN-cha) not onza. BTW "inch" is pollice (POLE-ee-cheh) the word for "thumb" because an inch is roughly the distance from the bent thumb joint to the thumb tip.

No mummies in pyramids cuz they're out haunting and cursing those who have disturbed them obviously

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Been a crazy morning,..it's Wednesday

Irish Miss said...

Hi Everyone:

Late to the dance because of an unusually busy morning.* I’ll start by saying TTP (9:47) used the exact word, Ecstatic, to describe my reaction when I filled in Bichon Frisé, and without a moment’s hesitation, either. And I was further pleased by DO’s and Anon T’s recognition of my Bichon-mania! As far as the puzzle goes, I finished w/o any help, in normal Wednesday time, but the unknown proper names caused more difficulty than a mid-week offering should; Malala’s last name, Betty Rizzo, Posey, Zelda, and Henna, as clued. I thought the cluing see-sawed between obvious and oblique and the theme remained a mystery until reading the expo. I thought I was in for another ecstatic moment at 55D but Cary Grant lost out to Cary Elwes.

Thanks, Drew, especially for the Bichon Frisé moment and thanks, JazzB, for another fact-filled commentary and, most of all, for explaining a not-so-easy theme, at least IMO not-so-easy!

TTP @ 9:50 ~ I wonder why the Westminster Show is in May, rather than the usual February time slot. It was held outdoors last year, I believe, because of COVID, but this year it’s back at MSG. Maybe a scheduling issue with other Garden activities.

Tante Nique @ 10:45 ~ Bichons require intense grooming, including daily brushing and frequent trips to a professional groomer, but, believe me, they are worth every minute of it!

My morning started with attendance at a Mass that was offered for the first anniversary of my best friend, Anne’s, passing. I and two other of our other life-long friends (AKA the Mischievous Four) went to the Mass which was at the Church where we went to daily Mass every morning during the elementary school year. After Mass, we went to breakfast at the same dinner where we had coffee every morning of our secondary school years, while waiting for the bus. Reminiscing about those long ago years when we were young, healthy, adventurous, and there were 4 of us together was poignant and cathartic.

The next stop on my agenda was for hair cut by a new hairdresser. I’m not happy with the results, but I’m taking it in my stride. I’m also not getting too annoyed by the 3 missing cases of water from my Shop Rite delivery. I’m still in the state of Bichon Bliss!

Ray O @ 1:11 ~ Happy Birthday wishes to your DW. 🎂🎁🎊🎈🎉

Have a great day.

Irish Miss said...

Diner, not dinner!

Anonymous said...

When will constructors stop using so many proper names?!

YooperPhil said...

I may be in the minority on this one but I thought this was a masterful construction, just to have that many Z’s or Z sounding endings with the progression of vowel sounds, and to fit BICHONFRISE, MALAYLAYUSAFZAI, and BETTYRIZZO in the same grid is brilliant, not to mention OUT THE WAZOO. That said, TGFPs or I never would have FIR, as I did in 12:44. Thank you Drew for the fun challenge in which I learned a few things along the way.

JzB - outstanding in-depth reporting today, I knew there were a lot of Z’s in the puzzle but the theme of progressive vowel sounds escaped me till you pointed it out, like CED said, maybe if there were circles at the end I would have figured it out 🤷🏼‍♂️

Lucina said...

I did not know the literal meaning of "wazoo' and now I'm sorry I looked it up. Sometimes a little learning is a dangerous thing!

IrishMiss:
I can relate. Two of our close friends have also passed and they are missed, especially at our regular gatherings where they were once lively contributors to the conviviality. Now there are four of us left and we get together as often as possible. Two other good friends join us and though they are not part of the original group they add to the jovial companionship. We all share the same background of having once been in the same religious Community.

Jayce said...

Parts of this puzzle I liked and parts of it I didn't.

What I liked:
The fill BICHON FRISÉ (and yes, I immediately thought of you, Irish Miss)
Clue and answer ON A SPREE
Clue and answer SAW
Clue and answer BADER
Clue and answer PDFS
Clue and answer DATA
The fill WAFTS IN.

What I didn't like:
SYR
Crossing EMEND and ELWES
EBOYS
So many names.

I didn't get the theme at all, until reading your excellently clear explanation, Jazzb. Thank you for that.

Big Easy, my hand is not up.

Frankly, the Beats brand of audio products really isn't very good, soundwise. Sony "beats" them by miles.

Get Your Wazoo Straight, thanks for the Up the Wazoo story. It does say: As the OED explains, the phrase “up (also out) the wazoo” came to mean “in great quantities, in abundance, to excess.”

CrossEyedDave, thanks for that info. Very interesting.

I'll match your Buster POSEY with Parker POSEY, sumdaze.

Good wishes to you all.

sumdaze said...

Jayce. Wasn't Parker POSEY fabulous in "Best of Show"?

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIW, missing my last SWAG at ELWaS x aMEND. Had _MEND on the first pass. I'm so glad I'm not the first to have filled kAZOO. Erased BAtER, inre for ATTN, and TuAMO.

So Mom always said if you can't say something positive, don't say anything at all. OK, I really liked "zoo opening in London?" for ZED.

IM - I am sorry for the loss of your dear friend Anne. I'm sure you have lots of fond memories to help mitigate the pain.

-T, yes, I have been known to do the Igor walk (and say "the bells, the bells"). I'm also quite big on "don't call me Shirley."

I was busy packing, driving and unpacking the RV for today's short trip from Tampa to Silver Springs, and thought maybe that had clouded my judgement of this puzzle. Nope, I reviewed it after relaxing for a while, and I still didn't like it. Life's too short to waste on unenjoyed enjoyment, so Drew goes on my "don't bother" list.

Ol' Man Keith said...

A Schmenner PZL, brought to us by Jazzbumpa...

I suppose solvers who are familiar with the particular proper names don't mind them at all. Not at all.

Wilbur does a fine job (above) identifying all the fills that coulda/shoulda been.

My fave fill? 37A. No contest.
~ OMK
___________
DR:
One diagonal only, near side.
Its anagram (13 of 15) speaks of the foreign leader who had a choice of the radio station over which his required "state of the union" speech would be carried.
He knew he had come up with a truly lousy speech. So, in hopes of preventing many people from listening to it, he chose the station with the reputation as the most...

"BORINGLY AIRER"!

Jayce said...

Dang, I missed "Best in Show" and the opportunity, I assume, to see lots of dogs, as well as Parker Posey again.

Brian said...

I noticed the clue for 65 Down contained the word "ZOO" and the last three letter of the answer for 64 Across were "ZOO".

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Very fitting that JaZZbumpa should expo this big ZZZ's puZZle. Thanks. Buzz on!

MALALA had a last name? Thought they just sneezed or something after her first name.

Haven't we all had enough of unknown names OUT THE WAZOO?

Michael said...

I see that i am joined with the crowd of Olympians resident here. Id est, ElwAs 55D crossing Amend 69A.