Store Closing: All Sales are Final.
I'll start with the unifier today:
56-Across. Going-out-of-business bargain event, and an apt description of this puzzle's circles: CLOSING SALE. Notice how there are fewer and fewer letters in-between the SA-LE as we progress down the grid. Crazy Eddie finally closed for good due to SEC violations. I remember the Crazy Eddie ads from my days in Connecticut.
20-Across. Muppet with blue feathers and a black unibrow: SAM THE EAGLE. 7 letters.
34-Across. Ceramic piece in a kitchen backsplash, say: MOSAIC TILE. 3 letters. Some of the most magnificent mosaic tiles can be seen at the Piazza Armerina in Sicily. Because the Roman ruins are so remote, they have been well preserved.
40-Across. Laryngeal projection: ADAM'S APPLE. 2 letters.
Here's the grid, so you can see the circled SALE.
Let's not forget this little homophone:
28-Down. Cruise (along): SAIL.
What else is for Sale in today's puzzle?
Across:
1. Lasting mark: SCAR.
5. Hairstyle with upturned ends: FLIP. A style favored by
Mary Tyler Moore.
9. Neckwear worn by Fred in "Scooby-Doo": ASCOT.
14. Worker's compensation: WAGE.
15. More than fix up: REDO.
16. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" spinoff: RHODA. [Name #
1.] // And 41-Down. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and 16-Across,
e.g.: SIT-COMS.
17. "Words fail me!": I CAN'T EVEN.
19. Mexican title: SEÑOR. Today's Spanish lesson.
Hi, Lucina!
22. __-la-la: TRA.
23. Flower bed tool: HOE.
24. Poems that may begin "For a ... ": ODEs. A crossword
staple. An Ode could also be musical.
25. __ before: deadline words: ON OR. I have to finish the
blog commentary on or before 3:30
a.m. each Tuesday.
27. "No seats" sign: SRO. As in Standing Room Only.
28. Access ticket at a snowy resort: SKI PASS.
31. Farm mom: MARE.
37. Burn soother: ALOE. A crossword staple. So is
this cartoon.
38. "Parlez-vous français?" reply: OUI. Today's French
lesson. The alternative answer could have been NON.
39. Cabbage dish: SLAW. Why is it called Coleslaw? Yummers!
44. Belief systems: -ISMS. Think Theism, or deism, or as
Waseeley gave us last Thursday, there is Darwinism.
45. Fill-in-the-blanks diversion: MAD LIBs.
46. Dudes: MEN.
48. Memory unit: BYTE. Computer memory.
49. Naval lockup: BRIG. Origin of the meaning of Brig as a naval prison.
51. Journalist Koppel: TED. Ted Koppel (né Edward James
Martin Koppel; b. Feb. 8, 1940) is a British-born American journalist.
He is probably best known for hosting Nightline.
[Name # 2.]
54. Good friend: PAL.
59. Vinegary stew of Filipino cuisine: ADOBO.
Apparently, countries all over the world have a variation of Adobo.
61. Zoom call, say: VIDEO CHAT.
62. "Attack!": SIC 'EM.
63. Genesis garden: EDEN. Another crossword staple.
64. Reusable bag: TOTE.
65. Lifts: TAKES.
66. Home made of sticks: NEST.
67. Zig or zag: VEER.
Down:
1. Sound of a clean jump shot: SWISH.
2. Crème de __: sweet liqueur: CACAO. Everything you
wanted to know about Crème de Cacao but didn't know to ask.
3. Athlete's best effort: A-GAME.
4. Tenant's monthly expense: RENT. Also the name of a
Broadway musical.
5. Liberty: FREEDOM.
6. Structure with high-water marks: LEVEE.
|
| Aerial view of the Levee in Baton Rouge. |
7. "Any more bright __?": IDEAS.
8. Early Atari release: PONG. Pong was first released over 50 years ago!
9. "__ and Old Lace": ARSENIC. Arsenic and Old Lace is a 1939 play, later made into a movie, about two old women who
begin murdering lonely old men by poisoning them.
10. That woman: SHE.
11. Air lines?: CONTRAILS. Everything you wanted to know
about Contrails but didn't know to ask.
12. Skunkiness: ODOR.
13. Stanford basketball coach VanDerveer: TARA. Tara Ann
VanDerveer (b. June 26, 1953) has been the head women's basketball coach at
Stanford since 1985. [Name # 3.]
18. God of Thunder: THOR. Norse mythology. [Name #
4.] // And 21-Down. God of Mischief: LOKI. [Name #
5.] More Norse mythology.
26. Chooses to join: OPTS IN.
27. Appropriate: SEEMLY.
29. Grand __: bases-loaded homer: SLAM.
30. Fixes with thread: SEWS.
31. Hat-tipping word: MA'AM.
32. Actor Alan honored with a SAG Life Achievement Award in
2019: ALDA. Alan Alda (né Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; b.
Jan. 28, 1936) is probablybest known for his portrayal of Hawkeye Pierce on
M*A*S*H. [Name # 6.]
33. Highway barricade: ROAD BLOCK.
|
| A major road block. |
35. "Clumsy me!": OOPS!
36. Slangy greeting: 'SUP. This slangy greeting has made many
appearances in the puzzles recently.
42. Cain's brother: ABEL. A Biblical reference.
Cain, who was a farmer, slew his brother, Abel. (See Genesis
4:8). [Name # 7.]
43. Prestigious: EMINENT.
47. Waffle-maker: EGGO.
49. Less-played song, usually: B-SIDE. A list of B-Side songs that became hits.
50. Harley outings: RIDES.
51. Chevrolet SUV model: TAHOE. I've heard there is also
a lake with this name
on the border of California and Nevada.
52. Fill with joy: ELATE.
53. Turn aside: DETER.
54. Historian's field: PAST.
55. Sarah McLachlan ballad: ADIA. Not to be confused with
Aida, which is both an opera and a Broadway musical. [Name # 8.]
57. Pizza cooker: OVEN.
58. "SNL"-like show filmed in Canada: SCTV. As in Second City TeleVision.
60. Spelling contest: BEE.
That's all for this week.
חתולה
Passover begins tomorrow night with the first Seder. Chag Pesach
Sameach to all who celebrate.
Notes from C.C.:
Happy birthday to dear Agnes (Irish Miss), who helped me so much during
the last few years of Boomer's life. I can't imagine the mistakes I
would have made without her always prompt and practical advice. Thank
you so much for the love and care you've been so generously giving to
me, Agnes!
The sheets are spread upon the mast.
ReplyDeleteThe wind-blown ship is plowing fast!
Altho they were tattered,
Expenses mattered,
So they found a SAIL SALE at last!
A rally-racing woman named RHODA,
Always on her HARLEY SHE rode-a.
Till she hit a ROAD BLOCK,
And the speed they did clock
Meant she's now stricken off of the rota!
{B+, A-.}
Hi Y'all! Fun & fast puzzle, Sean, thanks! Lots to like in Hahtoolah's expo, thanks!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, dear Agnes! A treasure to us all.
The worst thing to happen to Cole SLAW was mayonnaise
ReplyDelete(Creme de)menthe wasn't cutting it
I had to WAG ADOBO
WC
Ps, hbd Irish Miss
FIW, missing my WAG @ ArOBO x ArIA. Didn't erase anything, but should have.
ReplyDeleteI know several dogs named LOKI. I'm sure most live up to their name.
I've only heard unSEEMLY. But I filed it correctly, so I must have been plussed.
SCTV is a lot like SNL, only funny.
We have a furniture store that seems to have a going-out-of-business sale every year. They must weasel-word the event to avoid trouble.
Big HBDTY to Irish Miss. You bring joy to this Corner. And thanks to Ha2La for another clever review.
As others have said, I too had trouble with Adia/ Adobo, but eventually WAGed it correctly. FIR, so I’m happy. And speaking of happy, Happy Birthday, Ms. Irish Miss! Your gentle wit and sparkling intelligence have definitely made this Corner a better one for me! May you have many more!
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteDidn't notice anything exceptional about this pzl, neither good nor bad. Managed to SALE through without difficulty. Thanx, Sean and Hahtoolah. (I enjoyed the "cider of knowledge").
Happy Birthday, IM. No celebratory falls, please.
Clever theme, just-right-difficulty-level for a Tuesday. DNK ADIA, all perps. Only W/O DEFER:DETER. Correct fill for 38A for me would be “nope” but that didn’t fit. I did see the theme which helped. Thanx for the fun, SZ. And thanx too for the outstanding (as always) write-up, Hahtoolah. HBD IM.
ReplyDeleteI knew ADOBO, but that crossing with ADIA has some Natick potential. Otherwise a standard Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteFun and fast Tuesday - I got the SALE but didn't get the added layer of less letters until I came here! thanks to Sean!
ReplyDeleteCONTRAILS is also the name of the cadet handbook for the Air Force Academy which has all sorts of information that the cadets have to memorize especially when they are basics- I remember out son had to carry it everywhere
https://shop.usafa.org/contrails-contrails
Happy birthday Agnes- hope you have a wonderful day!
Thanks Susan for the blog - I'm a fan of both the acapella group Six13 and Billy Joel- so I enjoyed the link to their Passover parody/ Billy Joel medley
FiR, but the crossing of adobo and Adia perplexed me for a while; brain fade set in temporarily.
ReplyDeleteThe theme was simple and made the solve go quicker.
Good Morning, Crossword friends: I hope everyone is safe from these devastating storms and tornados.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a very Happy Birthday, Irish Miss!
QOD: A book read by a thousand different people is a thousand different books. ~ Andrei Tarkovsky (Apr. 4, 1932 ~ Dec. 29, 1986), Russian filmmaker
Same Natick here.
ReplyDeleteLiked the Swiss Army Garden Tool
TARA VanDerveer began her college playing days at the University at Albany before transferring to Indiana.
My daughter's cat was named LOKI
You probably couldn't do a Crazy Eddie's commercial today - even if his prices were INSANE!!!
I SAw that it took me 4:42 to get the finaLE.
ReplyDeleteI knew Adia, but not the Filipino stew. I also didn't know contrails or the women's basketball coach.
Happy Birthday to Ms. Irish Miss! May you day be joyous and free of circles. Oh, too late.
Musings
ReplyDelete-A_IA/A_OBO. I may not be able to define a natick but I know one when I see it. I’ll take the letter I chose to my grave!!
-Great sales staff know how to CLOSE THE SALE
-Can you think of a SITCOM without a laugh track? Here are a bunch of ‘em..
-ALDA’s M*A*S*H eschewed them on some later episodes
-Uh, it’s August, you take the SKI PASS off your jacket now.
-My hearing aids get adjusted via a VIDEO CHAT with a nice audiologist from Ohio.
-The sloppy shot that caroms through the rim off the backboard counts the same as a SWISH
-This sport still has an abbreviated form of hat tipping in its game
-Our tiny lady friend drives a huge TAHOE to accommodate her six kids
-HBTY, Agnes!
-Fun job, Susan!
Good Morning! I SAILed through today’s puzzle! Thanks, Sean.
ReplyDeleteYea! No WOs today.
WAG for ADIA because I know of ADOBO from cooking shows, but thought it was Mexican fare.
I perped SAM then saw the theme as I worked my way down.
Loved the garden “Swiss Army” toolset.
Was Alfred E. Neuman drawn to resemble TED Koppel…….?
I thought EGGO was the waffle, not the maker….?
Echo Happy Birthday!! wishes to Irish Miss.
Thanks, Hah2Lah. Joyous Passover to you.
Happy Birthday Irish Miss!
ReplyDeleteyou never know what you might run into today...
Nice 'n EZ Tuesday. But once again, a no go on the theme.
ReplyDeleteA Christmas holiday drink in our family was a glass of eggnog topped with crème de cacao. (They called it "cream de coke"), yum
My favorite FLIP😅.
Thought it said "Burn smoother" 🙄. unseemly, so I guess there must be a SEEMLY, which whelms me... actually overwhelms me 😲
EMINENT...started but couldn't finish esteemed (too long). I useta think the Second City (SCTV) was Chicago.
"Parlez-vous français?" Reply....OUI
"Ne parlez-vous pas français?" Reply...Si
MAD LIB.....hey what happened to "No politics"!! 😄
Rejected donkey to his ex. "What does that _____ that I dont?".....ASCOT
Not ostentatious....LOKI
Found among some thieves....ONOR
Moreover....BSIDE
Mud brick Filipino stew...ADOBO.
Bloodhounds follow them...CONTRAILS
Happy Passover H2LH..🔯
Happy Birthday IM! ☘🎂☘
I
Like many other posters, I didn’t know ADIA, but nothing else would fit.
ReplyDeleteThank Hahtoolah for pointing out the progression of letters between SA and LE. It makes that CW, even more stylish.
Loved your little jokes also, and the picture of BR.
Happy Birthday to IRISH MISS☘️🎉🍰🍷
Thank you Sean for this (to me) slightly crunchy Tuesday puzzle. You really SOLD me on the theme.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you Hahtoolah for the usual fun and for pointing out the converging SA-LE level to the theme. It SALED right over my head!
Some favs:
1A SCAR. And as we've also been taught here, the name of an emotionally SCARRED lion from the Lion King.
17A I CAN'T EVEN. Not a problem for me, but my friends always keep their fingers crossed.🙄
34A MOSAIC TILE. The Baltimore Museum of Art has a beautiful collection of 2-6 century MOSAICS from Antioch in Asia Minor.
45A MAD LIBS. My youngest granddaughter is MAD about MAD LIBS.
4D RENT. The title is taken from the translation of a single line ("Affito!") in Act I of La Boheme, the opera on which the musical is (very) loosely based.
7D IDEA. Crossword editors could give preprinted handicap fill, with crosswordese like ALOE, EDEN, ORCA, and OREO. Think how much we'd save on INK (that too).
8D PONG. I recall seeing this game for the first time at the local campus watering hole in College Park, MD. I remember it was very slow, as it probably used an 8 bit (1 BYTE) CPU.
42D CAIN. After his parents were kicked out of 63A, CAIN raised vegetables for a living. God was presumably a CARNIVORE as he preferred the sacrifices of CAIN'S sheep herder brother ABEL.
Cheers,
Bill
HBD Agnes. I hope you enjoy your soft crab sandwich! 🎂🎁🎈🎉
Happy Hanukah to Susan, Joseph, Robert, Lemonade, and anyone I might have missed. 🕎🕎🕎🕎🕎🕎🕎🕎
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the very kind words and birthday wishes (a day early, no less!) CED, thank you for the charming cake and the comical canine. DO, I’ll certainly try to avoid any falls, celebratory or not! And a very sincere thank you to CC, a very special lady, for those very special words.
Because of the circles, a Sale theme was obvious but the reveal was a nice surprise and was strengthened by the gradual separation of the letters, which I didn’t see until Hahtoolah pointed it out. Tara, as clued, was unknown and I wasn’t familiar with Mad Libs or Sam The Eagle, either. Arsenic and Old Lace conjured up happy images of the one and only Cary Grant.
Thanks, Sean, for a fun solve and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the usual chuckles and interesting commentary. Today’s favorite funny-bone ticklers were: Swiss Arm Garden Tool (Hoe), The “Yelp” Pigeons (SRO), and the Alphabetical Ark Animals (Ideas). I also enjoyed the André Rieu performance. I saw him in person several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the show.
Have a great day.
Bill Seeley Thank you for the holiday wishes! But it is Passover, not Hanukah!
ReplyDeleteHahtoolah Thank you for explaining the CLOSING part of the CLOSING SALE. I knew there was something in the theme that I was missing. Interesting to have SAIL and SALE.
We saw this fascinating hanging NEST above a river in Madagascar.
DW occasionally makes ADOBO.
Picard @10:56 AM [BLUSH] - well that SALED right over my head! 🙄 And to think that we live in Pikeville, the center of Judaism on the East Coast, and Easter among other things is a celebration of Christ's last Passover on Earth.
DeleteNice, easy, Tuesday level puzzle. A dose of ARSENIC changed my SCARF into an ASCOT, and then I SAILed directly into the Bermuda Triangle for a FIW at the junction of unknown song, unknown food. Made the same wrong WAG as Jinx. Oh, well, as she said at TARA, "Tomorrow is another day." -And a very happy bday to you, IM!
ReplyDeleteHappy Passover to Susan, Robert, Joseph, Naomi, and Jason, and anyone I may have overlooked. 🔯
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteFIW in the SW :-(
Thanks for the quick Tuesday puzzle, Sean. Thanks for the LOL review Hahtoolah (and the SLAW article).
WO: fRA->TRA
ESP: TARA
FIW: AsIA seemed good enough and I have not heard of ADOBO before today.
Fav: SCTV - John Candy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Adrea martin, Harold Ramis, Joe Flaherty, Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas (McKenzie Brothers)
Happy Birthday Irish Miss! I always enjoy your Corner posts. I hope your day is all that and a bag of Gibbles.
//so wait, we're a day early?
{B+, A}
MAD LIBS (LOL Ray-O): Buddy & I programmed a version of Mad Libs on an Apple ][e using their books. We sent the publisher a copy of our code hoping for, maybe $100 each. They sent back a nasty-gram telling us we infringed on Intellectual Property, instructed us to destroy all copies of the software and, that they were already working on the eVersion. I still have my floppy and I don't ever recall seeing Mad Libs The Computer Game.
HG - Funny how we don't need to be reminded to laugh when the SITCOM is actually funny.
RosE - Yeah, I was also thinking Kellogg's makes EGGOs.
Y'all have a great day!
Cheers, -T
Ray-O-Sunshine, I've long been meaning to say, your homophones (?) are hilarious! 😂 I look forward to them every day. Sometimes it takes a minute or two, but then the aha moment. 🤣 Your efforts are appreciated!! 👌
ReplyDeleteRosE @11:47 AM Yeah, we've been trying to get Ray - O to join the blogging team for years, but he has suffered from chronic stage fright ever since someone once told him, "You oughta be on the stage! There's one leaving town in 10 minutes -- be on it!
DeleteAnon T @ 11:05 ~Yes, tomorrow is my actual birthday. 🤭
ReplyDeleteRosE Can you please explain the meaning of "RosE"?
ReplyDeleteFun Tuesday puzzle, many thanks, Sean. And always enjoy your commentary, Hahtoolah, thank you for that too.
ReplyDeleteWell, I've started to first look for food in puzzles, and this one got a party started with some CACAO. For snacks, we got some waffles from an EGGO, along with some SLAW, and an APPLE. Wouldn't need an OVEN if you have an EGGO.
The entertainment part of the puzzle was fairly varied this morning, though maybe addressed to MEN and their PALs? Well, of course a puzzle has to have IDEAS, and its always nice to get some ODES, though I gather you have to go to a ballpark for an A GAME. But you can always have a VIDEO CHAT at home, and listen to an ARIA--OOPS, I meant an ADIA. Still, this party with that food and games and music still sounds like a kind of EDEN.
Have a good day, everybody!
Hola!
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle today, thank you, Sean Z!
I haven't seen the Muppets in a long time so SAMTHEEAGLE is a new one for me.
MAD LIBS along with other GAMES were a necessity on our cross-country travel in the days when we drove to visit my sister in Charlotte.
How I loved RHODA, Maude and all the other SITCOMS that were so entertaining. These days MOM provides some humor but it tends to be dark.
I've given up on shopping at a CLOSING SALE. Usually what is left is not worth buying.
My brother makes really tasty ADOBO.
Thank you for the SO at SENOR. I really miss speaking Spanish but a trip to Mexico is out of the question with so much unrest there. Maybe to Costa Rica. That's a beautiful country!
The flower beds under my front windows need a HOE and some plants. I might do that today.
Have a lovely day, everyone!
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFIW, with a mishap at the crossing of I CANT EVEN and PONG. I stayed attached to I CANT EVER and PORG (which made no sense, but then, I am not a video game player ...)
I began reading the hugely witty and informative blog (thanks, Susan!) and immediately went down the rabbit hole regarding the "Crazy Eddie" gang. After spending a good half hour+ reaading through Sam E Aldar's testimony, I didn't have much additional time to launch the videos ...
Also, I took literally the fact that today (not tomorrow, as I now know having read the ENTIRE blog) is Irish Miss's birthday. So of course, I sent her an email to offer my kind regards!! Agnes, if you're reading this here, just enjoy another day of your birth ... I know some ladies that celebrate the entire month!! ;^)
Ditto to not seeing the "closing gap" between the letters SA and LE. What might have had a bit more appeal - minor nit - is if each successive phrase closed the gap by "equal" parts. E.g., The first entry had 5 letters between; second entry had 3 letters between; third entry had 1 letter separating SA and LE. Not sure I would have "seen" the reveal then, but it would satisfy my OC tendencies ... ;^)
Another good early-week puzzle today. FIR. Thanks Sam and Hahtoolah for a pleasant start to the day! I found the circles helpful to locate the SALE , especially since the gap was CLOSING. I filled the unknown ADIA using perps and remembering we had ADOBO before.
ReplyDeleteSo, your birthday is tomorrow, Irish Miss. Celebrate early and often. You deserve it. Happy Birthday!
Keep smiling, everyone!
Hahtoolah brings the case for today's Ziebarth PZL.
ReplyDeleteWhile the theme is not particularly clever, the clues & fills provide a steady challenge throughout
Fave fill? ADAM'S APPLE. Because it is always funny, bobbing up & down.
~ OMK
____________
DR: One diagonal, near side.
Its anagram (13 of 15) speaks of an unexpected glibness.
Most of those who imbibe to excess find their speech becoming slurred or choppy. It is the rare person who overindulges and discovers an unusually clear and golden eloquence.
Such is the lot of the...
"ULTRASMOOTH SOT"!
RosE@11:47.I second your remark about Ray-O-Shine’s pun. I too look forward to them.
ReplyDeleteI always appreciate all the posts I read on this blog; everyone has a unique style. I usually don’t need to see the name to know who wrote the post.
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Sean and Hahtoolah.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time and saw the SALE theme (and the Easter Egg SAIL in the middle. But I was looking for CLOSING to mean closing up the ends of the reveal clues, and missed the letters closing in.
Ah well. I am just lucky to be here today, as I have been AWOL after a rough week. Things are settling down somewhat, but then may arise again, so expect future absences.
Quick post to accept a CSO for SCTV (and thanks from yesterday to sumdaze, for the Hamilton, Ontario recognition)..
Sarah McLachlan is a Canadian singer. She may be better known to Americans for I Will Remember You or Angel, than ADIA.
Happy Birthday tomorrow Irish Miss.
Wishing you all a good evening.
I liked this puzzle. I liked Hahtoolah's write-up, too, and all of your comments.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Irish Miss.
LW and I have spent hours yesterday and today doing TurboTax. Jeeez, you almost need to be a tax preparation expert to answer all the arcane questions they ask. We think we have everything right, but it was much more difficult this year than it was last year. Tomorrow we will finish the job by e-filing. No refunds for chez Jayce.
Good wishes to you all.
I forgot to say I know and love ADOBO. When I was still working, a couple colleagues of mine would bring the most delicious-smelling hot lunches to work, and a couple of times they made an extra one just for me. Very tasty!
ReplyDeleteGotta love a good SALE!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hahtoolah for pointing out the extra layer. Your write-ups are so fun! FAVs: I CAN'T EVEN video and séance meme.
Happy pre-birthday, Irish Miss! It's almost tomorrow in the EDT zone. So happy real-birthday, too! You bring your A-GAME every day and we soak in the benefits.
I wish we could all have a piece of CED's cake!
C, Eh! Did you see my link to Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas? Those hosers can rip.
ReplyDeleteWhat's going on that (you might) need to vent about? It's OK, eh?
++1 to Ray-O hosting The Corner blog. Lord knows he can do better than I.
//sorry to say, I'm this coming Sunday. Deal with it; C.C. needs a break.
Cheers, -T
Thanks AnonT. Great link. That is Barbara Frum, an iconic Canadian broadcaster, at the beginning. All those who came through SCTV were or became great at ad-libbing. Bob and Doug were some if the best.
ReplyDeleteI’m currently walking through end of life with an elderly relative. Tough journey. Thanks for caring.