Remember When We Had Life Without Computers? The "start-up" of each theme answer is the name of a computer Tech company.
18-Across. South American home of many pink dolphins: AMAZON RIVER. About 10 years ago we took an expedition in the Peruvian Amazon. We saw several of these pink dolphins, but I was not able to take any good photos of them. It was exciting to see these creatures, though. This year, the Amazon has experienced from a severe drought and water levels are the lowest they have been in over 120 years.
24-Across. Scientific studies of pooled data: META ANALYSES.
40-Across. Diner dessert topped with a scoop: APPLE PIE À LA MODE.
52-Across. Bowlful of letter-shaped pasta: ALPHABET SOUP. According to Globaldata.com "Alphabet Inc (Alphabet), the holding company of Google, is a global technology company. It offers a wide range of products and platforms including Search, Google Maps, calendar, ads, Gmail, Google Play, Android, Google Cloud, Chrome, and YouTube."
63-Across. New venture that may collaborate with Y Combinator, and what 18-, 24-, 40-, and 52-Across each literally has?: TECH START-UP. The "Start" of each theme answer it the name of a Tech company.
Across:
1. Ballplayer's hat: CAP.
4. Bygone Persian rulers: SHAHS.
9. Under: BELOW.
14. Baton Rouge sch.: LSU. Louisiana State University makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles. We saw this school in last Tuesday's puzzle. Several of our regulars also have ties to this university. Geaux Tigers!
15. Certain Tuscan: PISAN. A citizen from Pisa. Rumor has it that this Tuscan city has a tower that leans.
16. Suspect's excuse: ALIBI.
17. Feel ill: AIL.
20. At one's leisure: IDLY.
22. More current: NEWER.
23. Potato spot: EYE.
28. "Don't believe the __": HYPE.
29. Make a mistake: SLIP UP.
33. Very small: WEE.
35. Healing ointment: SALVE.
39. Top of the line: A-ONE.
44. "Star Wars" heroine: LEIA. Princess Leia was portrayed by Carrie Fisher (née Carrie Frances Fisher; Oct. 21, 1956 ~ Dec. 27, 2016), who sadly died early at age 60. [Name # 1, fictional.]
45. Sing the praises of: EXTOL.
46. Snapchat snicker: LOL. Textspeak for Laughing Out Loud.
47. Court game: TENNIS.
50. "Knives Out" filmmaker Johnson: RIAN. Knives Out was a very funny movie. I generally don't keep up with filmmakers, however, so was not familiar with Johnson Rian (né Rian Craig Johnson; b. Dec. 17, 1973). Apparently, he also directed the 2017 film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was the last film of Carrie Fisher. [Name # 2.]
58. Grampa Simpson: ABE. His full name is Abraham Jebediah Simpson II, but he usually just goes by Grampa Simpson. [Name # 3, fictional.]
61. Feudal lord: LIEGE.
62. Fire truck item: HOSE.
67. "With all __ respect ... ": DUE.
68. "West Side Story" role for Rachel Zegler: MARIA. Rachel Zegler (b. May 2, 2001) starred in the 2021 adaptation of West Side Story, which is essentially an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. [Name # 4.]
69. Sierra __, Africa: LEONE.
70. Place for a napkin or a cat: LAP.
71. Hit the books: STUDY.
72. Spanish mister: SEÑOR. Today's Spanish lesson.
73. Above-the-street rumblers: ELs.
Down:
1. Call one's own: CLAIM.
2. "All kidding __ ... ": ASIDE.
3. End a project due to lack of funding, say: PULL THE PIN. Pull the Plug seems a more common phrase. According to Quora: "The phrase 'pull the pin' has its origins in military terminology, specifically in reference to hand grenades. When a soldier is ready to throw a hand grenade, they must first pull the safety pin before releasing the grenade. Over time, the phrase "pull the pin" has been used more broadly to mean taking a decisive action or initiating a process that cannot be easily undone."
4. Place to take it easy: SPA.
5. He/__ pronouns: HIM.
6. Yoga posture: ASANA.
7. Witch __: astringent lotion: HAZEL. Everything you wanted to know about Witch hazel but didn't know to ask. [Name adjacent.]
8. Like some winter nights: SNOWY. I'm glad these snowy days are behind me. The northeast is getting a lot of snow this month.
9. Wooden wine container: BARREL.
10. Yale student: ELI.
11. Reside (in): LIVE.
12. Follow orders: OBEY.
13. Undercover agent's device: WIRE. The Wire was also the name of an HBO crime drama that ran in the early 2000s.
19. Loch __ monster: NESS.
21. "Great news!": YAY.
25. Altar area: APSE.
26. Half-moon tide: NEAP.
27. Former name of Thailand: SIAM.
30. Simple flotation device: POOL NOODLE.
31. Reverse: UNDO.
32. Kumquat coat: PEEL. I have a Kumquat tree in my backyard. We just eat the fruit, peel and all.
33. Poet Whitman: WALT. Walt Whitman (né Walter Whitman, Jr.; May 31, 1819 ~ Mar. 26, 1892) is considered by many scholars to be one of the most influential American poets. He was considered controversial in his time. He is probably best known for his poetry collection Leaves of Grass. [Name # 5.]
34. Fencer's blade: ÉPÉE. A crossword staple.
36. Untruth: LIE.
37. Irk: VEX.
38. Gulp down: EAT.
41. "Blue Banisters" singer-songwriter Del Rey: LANA. Lana Turner (née Julia Jean Turner; Feb. 8, 1921 ~ June 29, 1995) was the inspiration for this singer's stage name. Lana Del Rey's given name is Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (b. June 21, 1985). [Name # 6.]
42. Ancestral stories, e.g.: LORE.
43. Settled on a branch, as a bird: ALIT.
48. "Darn tootin'!": I'LL SAY.
 |
| Ever watch Ghosts? Darn tootin' it's a funny show. |
49. Rotisserie rod: SPIT.
51. __-blond: grayish shade: ASH.
53. Recovers: HEALS.
54. Share an opinion: AGREE.
55. Pick to win at the track: BET ON.
56. Regular's order, with "the": USUAL.
57. Marshmallow treats shaped like baby birds: PEEPS.
58. Cash dispensers: ATMs.
59. Score more points than: BEAT.
60. Beige shade: ECRU.
 |
| Such a subtle difference. |
64. Camouflaged: HID. Can you find the hidden critters in these photos?
65. Game in which a player may get a red or a yellow card: UNO. This card game has become a crossword staple.
66. According to: PER.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
 |
Notes from C.C.:
Chairman Moe has today's Universal crossword. Click here to solve. Congrats, Chris!
34 comments:
I will admit I had no idea what tied the themed answers together until the reveal - then I got it. But this puzzle, in a way, seemed easier than yesterday’s. The themed answers were all well-known, in-the-language phrases, which is more than I can say about Monday’s puzzle. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Managed to get the theme. Surprised? PULL THE PIN and POOL NOODLE were nice non-themers. No Wite-Out required this morning. Thanx, Kevin. Welcome back, Hahtoolah.
Brrr. Only 23 degrees here this morning. That's cold for redneck country. All of the area schools and many businesses are closed today. Yeah, we're wimps.
FIR, but erased idle for IDLY, and his for HIM.
Today is:
NATIONAL CLASSY DAY (the late Queen Elizabeth II comes to mind)
POPEYE® THE SAILOR MAN DAY (eat your spinach. You can have mine too)
NATIONAL BOOTLEGGER'S DAY (the roots of NASCAR)
NATIONAL HOT BUTTERED RUM DAY (a club I belonged to had an annual cold-weather Hot Ruddered Bum regatta)
RIAN/Ryne/Ryan/Rine - C'mon boys, pick one. Right Sheryl/Cheryl? Right LEIA/Leah?
DNK that "pull the pin" had come to mean "irreversible." Actually, you CAN put a grenade pin back in. It is releasing the lever that is irreversible.
Witch HAZEL can be put on slot car tires to improve traction.
Sometimes I don't BET ON the horse I think will win, especially if it is an odds-on favorite (pays less than even money, or 1:1.) If I see a longshot that looks like it may do well, I'll BET ON it to place and/or show instead.
Thanks to Kevin for the fun Tuesday romp, and to Ha2la for the morning chuckles.
Good Morning, Crossword friends.
As D-O noted, it is extremely cold here in the South. It was 21F when I awoke. Tomorrow promises even colder weather. It's so cold that schools and businesses have closed for the day. I hope you are all warm and safe.
QOD: I envy paranoids; they actually feel people are paying attention to them. ~ Susan Sontag (née Susan Rosenblatt; Jan. 16, 1933 ~ Dec. 28, 2004), American writer and political activist
FIR. This seemed a lot more like Tuesday fare, and much easier than yesterday's puzzle. Got the theme halfway through, but missed the start concept until I got here. With only one proper name, Rian, which I did not know, I breezed through with ease.
Hola!
Thank you, Kevin Curry and Hahtoolah, for the day's entertainment. YAY!
PULL THE PIN. I only know PULL THE PLUG.
I loooove APPLE PIE ALA MODE! I can't EXTOL it enough.
Many, many years ago for my Spanish lit class I read a book called La Voragine (The Maelstrom) about the AMAZON RIVER and I still have an image of moisture, mosquitoes and other creatures as depicted in the book.
Although I've never seen a single episode of The Simpsons, I know several of the characters from crossword puzzles.
The Saturday Evening Post magazine still has cartoons of HAZEL.
Time for me to return to bed. Have an exceptional day, everyone!
Took 4:24 today for me to intuit this puzzle.
Nice, themeless early-week puzzle.
Oh, there's a theme?
I knew Leia, which is apparently as close as we get to the "actress of the day" for this puzzle.
I haven't heard "pull the pin." "Pull the plug"? Yes.
Nice Monday-On-A-Tuesday CW! Only two W/Os: EXALT/EXTOL, HOOK/HOSE, other than that, smooth sailing. Thanx KC for this terrific CW. Hahtoolah, we can always count on you for an informative and fun write-up: thanx.
Good Morning! What a nice puzzle for a snowy day. Thanks, Kevin. We have about 5-6” which may not be alot for a lot of folks, but after a snowless winter last year, Mother Nature is sending the message, “it’s Winter!!”
One WO: Idle – IDLY when YAY appeared.
I saw where the theme was headed when APPLE appeared after AMAZON. META, meh. It’ll always be Facebook to me. I was not familiar with ALPHABET as a tech company, but I do remember the SOUP!!
Perps for RIAN, another creative spelling name….
Thanks, Hah2Lah, for another fun romp through the recap. Loved the potatoes and the reindeer fireman.
FIR today. Ran this one at a steady pace. Got confused by the theme reveal but H2H cleared that up.
Enjoyed the illustration of Egyptian alphabet soup. No esoteric clues today, either. Big fan of "Knives Out". Most interesting is the role change for Daniel Craig. Loved the southern accent he used.
Thanks to Kevin for his submission and welcome back to Hahtoolah and his hippy reviews.
Don't be a fool, just fool around.
Shake
Easy fill like yesterday's puzzle, but Tuesday is usually easy. I got the theme, omitting "may collaborate with Y combinator." What does that mean? What does it add?
In NJ we do not close schools for temps in the 20's and teens. Today we have delayed openings and all day closings due to ice with many crashes on the roads. Some towns have been flooded by repeated rains plus a snow storm in the last two weeks. The rivers do not recover before they are hit again. We had flooding in December, also. Some roads are still impassable. Last week most of the roads here in Denville were closed for a day or two by flooding. Last Tuesday most of our staff spent an extra 45 minutes or more to get here, wending their way around the closures with no detour signs.
Good Morning:
This was a Monday on a Tuesday offering, an easy, breezy solve, no unknowns, no w/os, no junk, no complaints. I wasn't aware of the theme until the reveal, probably due to my typical lack of observation skills, plus an unfamiliar tech name of Alphabet. Also, Meta doesn't automatically signal a company name to me. Pull The Plug is my preference, also.
Thanks, Kevin, for a fun and smooth solve and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the cheery and fact-filled review. All of the visuals were terrific and the winning comics today were the ones for Idly (laughed out loud!), Wee, and Spit. The camouflaged animals were fascinating, the most impressive being the Eastern Screech Owl. The human was impressive, too, but he needed nature's help.
As a counterpoint to the all-encompassing, frenetic high tech world of the puzzle's companies, I read a refreshing restaurant review this morning that pleased me no end. A few of the attractive enticements, to me, were Telephone Reservations Only, No Cell Phones, A Handwritten, Cursive Menu, a Tranquil" Noise Level, and "Enough Space Between The Tables To Hold A Square Dance!" The reviewer, Pete Wells of The New York Times, gave a 3 Star Rating (Excellent), the highest rating being 4 Stars (Extraordinary). My favorite feature is the Cursive Menu! Long live the Palmer Method!
Have a great day.
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Kevin and Hahtoolah.
I FIRed in very good time and saw the TECH theme (although I have the same question as YR re the clue?).
I will LIU.
One inkblot to change Idle to IDLY .
I waited for perps to decide between Exalt or EXTOL.
Hand up for wanting Plug, but it wouldn’t fit.
SPOILER ALERT: Today’s Wordle is found in the clue for 51D.
sumdaze- thanks for clarifying re your Easter Egg comment yesterday.
We had a literal (but out of season) Easter Egg today with those PEEPS.
Wishing you all a great day.
Stay safe in the cold and SNOWY areas. We have two inches more snow overnight, and are a little warmer than yesterday, with -10C (14F), feels like -14C (7F).
Here is the Wikipedia info re Y Combinator.
“Y Combinator Management, LLC (YC) is an American technology startup accelerator launched in March 2005[1] which has been used to launch more than 4,000 companies.[2] The accelerator program started in Boston and Mountain View, expanded to San Francisco in 2019, and was entirely online during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] Companies started via Y Combinator include Airbnb, Coinbase, Cruise, DoorDash, Dropbox, Instacart, Reddit, Stripe, and Twitch.[4]“
I like the spit roasted meat cartoon.
Spit roasted meat reminded me the tasty shawarma street food in Israel. Our guide knew which street vendors' stands were clean and healthful, as well as serving tasty food.
Shawarma is meat roasted on a vertical spit from which the vendor slices thin pieces to be served in a pita with salad veggies and tahini sauce. I like lots of tahini, a slightly thick sesame based sauce.
I am having my living ceiling repaired today. It leaked during the wind driven downpour we had last Tuesday. The water only landed on my floor. In other apartments it rained on beds and other furniture and into closets, damaging clothing. We pay hefty fees here, but the repair work is at no extra charge. All I needed to do was phone the concierge.
I meant living room ceiling. The water just missed my TV and my entertainment console by a few inches. I was so lucky. One of my mottos is, "I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet."
Easy FIR today, my only stumble was IDLE/IDLY. Didn't catch the theme until Ha2la 'splained it. "Pull the pin" is actually railroad slang dating back to the days before automatic couplers, the "link and pin" days, and meaning "I quit". Re: hand grenades- "remember, once the pin has been pulled, Mr. Grenade is no longer our friend!"
Old Tech StartUp?
Stupid joke: what do you do if a Blonde throws a grenade at you?
(Rather than print the answer, I need to follow several crossword write up links...)
B/back l8r
Uncomplicated puzzle this morning, except, except, for that expression Y Combinator that C-eh! was nice enough to explain. No matter, I didn’t need it. It took a while to see the startups but notice them I finally did and said YAY.
Over a few years, some time back, when I still lived in southwest LA, a pink dolphin would make its appearance in our lake. We might go a year or two without seeing him and then he would appear again. No one has been able, that I know of, to determine where he/she came from or if it was always the same one.
I knew Hahtoolah was back early on in this nice recap which I always enjoy as much as the puzzle.
Yep, it was cold here at LSU’s home town. We have crepe Myrtle’s in our front yard and early this morning they were brilliantly bejeweled as ice clung to the little balls that these trees carry in the winter. I stepped out to take a picture and regretted that move instantly..
Most people don't follow the stock market and don't realize Facebook changed its name to META and Google changed its name to ALPHABET a few years ago because they wanted investors to realize they had other businesses. Most Facebook users are old and their Instagram users are younger. Their Whats App users are worldwide. Google? You can't hide from Google's businesses, which seem to know where you are, what you buy, how you drive, what you eat,...etc.
PULLED THE PIN- never heard anything other than Pulled The PLUG
A friend called this morning and told us she was cutting a POOL NOODLE to insulate some exposed pipes around her pool. Current temp is 27F.
RIAN, LANA, PISAN- unknown as clued and filled by perps
Don't know anything about Zegler but "I once knew a girl named MARIA"
Grampa Simpson? That would be me (George) but I'm not on TV so ABE had to do. And like Lucina, I've never seen any episodes of my namesake.
Yellowrocks- in South LA schools and bridges are closed because there is no de-icing equipment for the roads and it's the only way to keep stupid drivers from causing auto wrecks. My son is a policeman and and his entire force went in early today to escort hospital workers to and from the hospitals.
Musings
-The only unknown was Y Combinator which didn’t matter. RIAN took care of itself.
-We will not be BELOW zero today. Our high temp will be 9F, heck we’d celebrate if it got up to 21F. Our wind chills have been around -35F for a few days.
-ALIBI: Al Capone was in Florida during the St. Valentine’s Day massacre he ordered
-Can something be current and newer at the same time?
-You can see where this fire station dries their HOSES
-STUDY and memorize are not synonyms
-To get to a Cubs game from The Loop, take the EL’s Red Line up to the Addison St. station
-When I had my kids at Cocoa Beach at NEAP tide, they picked up lots of shells
-The fact that Breaking Bad’s Walter White had the same initials as Walt Whitman was his UNDOING
-LORE has it that grandma’s family came to Nebraska from Kentucky around 1910 to try to grow tobacco here.
-For PP&M fans: “I BET ON the gray mare, I BET ON the bay, If I’da BET ON old Stewball, I’d be a free man today.”
Puzzle easier ‘n yesterday but only partially understood the new start-up theme. Is it an ALPHABET SOUP of acronyms? Other than an APPLE computer didn’t get it. Aaah Now that I see the reveal….Never heard of Alphabet Inc and forgot FB is now called Meta. (Used it for a few months maybe 5 years ago then trashed it)
We always had a bottle of Witch HAZEL in the bathroom. Mom put it on everything.
First time I asked a PISAN directions I knew I must be in Tuscany. Same Florentine accent. They pronounce the letter “C” like an English “H” (the joke was if you want a 🥤Coke, ask for a Hohah Holah 😀).
I wonder if you break the rules at LSU do they BEAT you with a BÂTON till you’re ROUGE. 😖
EXTOLL, exult was perp averse. Had IDLe first which made “eAY” good news? PULL THE PLug, (on a project) was a letter too short. WEES: Never heard PULLTHEPIN used that way, so stick a pin in it 😊
”In case of a water landing, your seat cushion becomes a flotation device”. How about the plane becomes a boat!!
I was fascinated by the pink dolphins
Why the pink color? LIU, one source says diet another says surface blood vessels. A third says battle scars (though from the pictures they look uniformly pink) I’d guess it was the first and second, they flush pinker when excited. Unfused cervical vertebrae so they can turn their heads 180 degrees. Brain capacity 40% greater than us. So solve the global warming problem already guys!!
Thanks, Canadian Eh for the info. It added nothing to the reveal, only muddied the waters. Without it, I would have seen the the sooner.
I have been a part of quite a few TECH STARTUPs, so I enjoyed the theme. META ANALYSES are part of my current world. Hand up never heard of Y COMBINATOR. Hand up it is PULL THE PLUG. I think PIN clue is just wrong and easily could have been clued properly. FIR.
Hahtoolah Thanks for the many amusing illustrations. Loved the CAMOUFLAGED HIDden animals. I have seen many in real life. Also enjoyed the Egyptian ALPHABET SOUP.
Here I got a photo of the PINK DOLPHINS on the AMAZON RIVER.
Not as squeaky pink clean as the one in your photo. Mostly, wildlife watching on the AMAZON RIVER is disappointing and sad in my experience out there for two weeks. Wildlife there has been terrorized by humans for hundreds of years. You have to go to very inaccessible areas to see much wildlife.
From Yesterday:
sumdaze Thank you for the comments about my mule-drawn BARGE ride in DC. Sorry to hear the mules and BARGEs are gone. Good to know they allow bike camping. One time I did an ambitious bike ride from the MD suburbs down to Georgetown and then out the C&O Canal path in a big loop. A lot for one day on my father's 1950s Royce Union three speed.
Sorry for being dense: Where do you see a teen looking at a cell phone? Obviously in 1968 not many of those!
MalMan What year(s) were you a student at Berkeley? Glad you didn't let it interfere too much with your real education.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR with no understanding of what was tying all of the entries together until the reveal
Thanks to Kevin and Susan for the fun solve and recap
Hand up for being one of the Corner's LSU shout-outs (my daughter graduated there 20 yrs ago)
While others are feeling the cold, our current weather in AZ is forecasted to hit 70 this afternoon - will be taking a nice desert hike with my better half
Thanks for solving my puzzle today if you choose to; it's easy-peasy
I just noticed in my post one of my pet peeve spelling errors, the ‘s in place of plural. I assure you that was not my doing. As IM☘️ likes to refer to it, it was smarty pants spell check that thought I didn’t know what I was doing.
C-Moe. Nice puzzle.
Today's theme jumped out at me right away. Thanks, Kevin, for the fun. FAV: clue for UNO.
I so enjoyed your write-up, Hahtoolah! FAVs: Loch Ness, potholes, & POOL NOODLE chair. I especially liked the link to the hidden animals. No. 15 (the Marine) reminds me of the time my friend and I were doing a very long trail run in the woods at Quantico. We stopped to "go" behind a tree. When it was too late, my friend said, "You know, this place could be crawling with Marines right now and we would never know." She was a former Marine so she knew what she was talking about!
Picard @ 11:53. I think you missed my "wink" symbol. I was only kidding. The boy's head was down like I see teens today when they are engrossed in their phones.
sumdaze Thanks! I did catch that you were joking. I suspected he was the one you meant, but I was not sure. I guess that posture predates the phone addiction!
Thanks also for the CAMOUFLAGE story at Quantico.
Thanks for solving it!
I just did C-Moe's Universal puzzle. I could see your personality in a couple of the clues. Two thumbs up!!
I enjoyed solving this puzzle, but I have two nits to pick:
(1) LOL literally stands for Laugh Out Loud. Not a snicker by any stretch of the imagination.
(2) As Hahtoolah explained in her write-up, Over time, the phrase "pull the pin" has been used more broadly to mean taking a decisive action or initiating a process that cannot be easily undone." Initiating a process does not mean ending it.
Thanks for all your comments.
"Pull the pin" might be more easily understood in a military setting or by military vets but why would non-military people be expected to understand it? I did so only after it was explained. Or is it just me?
Yellowrocks
Could you email me..msk566@outlook.com.
Mark S
Hi All!
Thanks Kevin for the nice & smooth Tuesday grid light on proper names.
Excellent expo as always, Hahtoolah!
WOs: N/A
ESPs: RIAN
Fav: 65a's clue made me think soccer before I saw 3 squares.
Hand up "Pull the plug."
Y Combinator - I've heard of it because of the companies C, Eh! mentioned.
I also knew Meta is FB's parent and Alphabet is Google's.
LOL QOD, Hahtoolah.
Covid killed "snow-days." Now, it's just "office is closed, work from home."
CED, you going to finish your joke?
Cheers, -T
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