Theme: "Amendment Needed" - The circled letters orderly spell out "THE FIFTH". And each circled letter is the 5th letter in the theme entry.
25. *Accidentally scorch the appetizers?: CHART A COURSE.
31. *"You can't wrestle a chimney sweep and come out clean," e.g.?: SOOTH SAYING.
44. *Mission of the Blue Origin rockets carrying William Shatner and Michael Strahan?: STARES INTO SPACE.
56. *Finish a crossword with a spelling error?: GO OFF THE GRID.
82. *Say no to a date?: PASSION FRUIT.
92. *Run-ins with soft cheese?: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS.
108. *Exhale in a game of hide-and-seek?: SIGHT UNSEEN.
115. *Florists who specialize in purple bouquets?: IRISH SETTERS.
Reveal:
130. With this puzzle's circled letters, exercise a certain constitutional right, and how to answer each starred clue: TAKE.
Our blog tag shows this is John's first Sunday puzzle. Congrats, John!
After
reading the reveal clue and strung together the message, I still did
not get into the 5th letter aspect. Talk about layers. Amazing.
Across:
5. Casino convenience: ATM.
8. Model plane wood: BALSA.
13. Motor City pro: PISTON. Detroit Pistons.
19. State with an astronaut on its quarter: OHIO. An early "Happy Birthday" to Jeff of Pepper Pike, Ohio!
20. Aunt, in Acapulco: TIA.
21. Lures: BAITS.
22. "Knock, knock!": I'M HERE.
23. Tactful one: DIPLOMAT. And 93. 23-Across's base: EMBASSY. My former boss James, now a diplomat. Do you like my hair then?
 |
| James & C.C. |
27. Basket maker, e.g.: SCORER.
29. Gibbs of "The Jeffersons": MARLA.
30. Stomped (on): TROD.
36. D.C. VIPs: POLS.
37. Typeface word: SANS.
38. Displace: UPROOT.
39. 3D ring shape: TORUS.
41. Amarillo-to-Austin dir.: SSE.
43. Very small: ITTY.
51. Unknown degree: NTH.
52. Burn soother: ALOE. Was trying to reach a bag of dried white
fungi from the cupboard over our stove last week. The hot pot burned my
belly button. Ouch. But the soup was good.
54. "Only Time" artist: ENYA.
55. Fervency: ARDOR.
61. "The Hangover" role for Ed Helms: STU.
63. "Eureka!" elicitor: IDEA.
64. Golden Fleece seeker: ARGONAUT.
65. Colleague: PEER.
66. Drawbacks: CONS.
67. Unlikely to be discussed: TABOO.
69. Classic Ford, familiarly: T-BIRD.
71. Takes turns?: SPINS.
73. Credit: CITE.
74. Airbnb alternative: VRBO. Vacation Rentals by Owner.
77. Twice-monthly shoreline occurrence: NEAP TIDE.
80. Minnesota representative Ilhan: OMAR. 49. "True Grit" filmmakers: COENS. They grew up in
St. Louis Park, MN.
81. Aquaman's domain: SEA.
86. Arctic seal refuges: BERGS. Hello cutie.
88. __'acte: ENTR.
90. Lamb mamas: EWES.
91. Package opening?: PRE. Prepackage.
97. Watery defense: MOAT.
98. "Srsly!?": OMG.
99. Corp. hierarchy modification: RE-ORG.
100. Like: AKIN TO.
102. Fitbit unit: STEP.
106. Darlin': BABE.
111. Posh: LUXE.
112. Not just once: AGAIN.
114. Pan-fries: SAUTES.
119. Took control of, as a competition: BLEW OPEN.
123. Olympic projectile: DISCUS.
124. Sarnia's lake: HURON.
125. Simu of "Barbie": LIU. He was born in Harbin, China.
126. Hostile: UGLY.
127. Tangible thing: ENTITY.
128. Sewing kit item: SPOOL.
129. Mo. before May: APR.
Down:
2. Pacific tuna: AHI. Want some?
3. Paper problem: RIP.
4. "War and Peace" novelist: TOLSTOY.
5. Tops: AT MOST.
6. Pageant crown: TIARA.
7. Chum on a boat?: MATEY.
8. Telly channel: BBC.
9. Apt rhyme for spa: AAH.
10. Youngest Hemsworth brother: LIAM. Liam, Chris and Luke.
11. Gets ready for a ride: STRAPS IN.
12. Space City pro: ASTRO. Tony's team.
13. Cubism pioneer: PICASSO.
14. Texter's qualifier: IMO.
15. Closes: SHUTS.
16. Earth, in some sci-fi: TERRA.
17. Director Welles: ORSON.
18. Cries out for: NEEDS.
24. Calle __: street in Miami's Little Havana: OCHO. Learning moment for me.
26. "You're in good hands" sloganeer: ALLSTATE.
28. EGOT winner Moreno: RITA.
31. Taking to court: SUING.
32. Decide one will: OPT TO.
33. Gardening brand: ORTHO.
34. Neither companion: NOR.
35. Ph.D. seeker's test: GRE.
40. Cheaper, perhaps: USED.
42. Hockey great Tikkanen: ESA. Finnish hockey player.
44. West End district: SOHO.
45. Many a YA hero: TEEN.
46. Where Ferrari is RACE: NYSE. Very cool.
47. Like business vis-à-vis coach: PRICIER.
48. Extra option: ADD ON.
50. Historical chapters: ERAS.
52. Prefix with futurism: AFRO.
53. Newsom and Hochul, once: Abbr.: LT GOVS. Kathy Hochul, the New York governor.
57. Jeweler to the Romanovs: FABERGE. 96. Many pieces by 57-Down: EGGS.
58. Spanish cat: GATO.
59. Spice mixture: RUB.
60. Turner memoir: I TINA.
62. Bearlike: URSINE.
65. Smartphone precursors, for short: PDAS.
67. Proctor's tool: TIMER.
68. Nintendo rival: ATARI.
70. Hi-__ audio: RES.
72. Many e-forms: PDFS.
73. __ salad: COBB. Do you guys like microgreens?
75. Come back to the table: RE-ENGAGE.
76. Judge's seat: BANC.
78. Fishing spot: PIER.
79. Helps to water-ski: TOWS.
82. Leith of "The Great British Baking Show": PRUE.
:strip_icc()/BHG-Prue-Leith-Portrait-18938_PRUE_ZSISKA_23_06_236849-1-dd292cc1f83f446688f340b8da90c972.jpg)
83. Barely leading: UP ONE.
84. Seeing red: IRATE.
85. "Grand" peak: TETON.
87. Airport near San Jose, Calif.: SFO.
89. Did exceedingly well: TORE IT UP. Great fill.
94. Many stats: NOS.
95. TNT start: TRI.
97. Skip an epic party, say: MISS OUT.
100. Filmmaker with a distinctive style: AUTEUR.
101. Was sure: KNEW.
102. Playground feature: SLIDE.
103. Italy's first capital: TURIN.
104. Be: EXIST.
105. Joe of "Bupkis": PESCI.
107. Jacuzzis, e.g.: BATHS.
109. "Se __ español": HABLA.
110. Spring bloom: TULIP. So pretty.
113. Fictional sleuth Wolfe: NERO.
116. Modest digs: HUT.
117. Down Under hopper: ROO.
118. NBC skit show, for short: SNL.
120. Tour gp.: PGA.
121. Large deer: ELK.
122. Bill for education?: NYE. Bill Nye.
Some of you might still remember the friendly challenge Splynter and I had back in January. He'd like to lose 10lbs by Easter and I wanted to swim fly for a lap sans fins.
I was able to swim only a length last month and I have not even tried once since then.
Splynter
has lost 6lbs so far, He actually lost 8, but gained 2 more back. The
most important thing is that he joined CrossFit and he now goes there
regularly. So proud of your achievement, Splynter!
 |
| Splynter |
I had to do an alphabet run to get “Lt. Govs.” At first, I thought they were talking about “Lt. Gens” but “taboo” dissuaded me from that notion. Anyway, after reading the circled letters sequentially I finally understood what the gimmick was (“Take the Fifth.”). FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteZipped through this one under 20, which is just about as fast as d-o can write. I realized early on that the circled letter should be removed from the theme answer. Later I realized that those letters spelled THE FIFTH. And even later I realized that each circle was the 5th letter of the theme answer. Cute theme, well executed, JMC. Enjoyed your tour, C.C. Sounds like you and Splynter are making progress -- keep at it.
I hadn’t realized that each circled letter was the FIFTH in its sequence. THAT really makes the puzzle clever!
ReplyDeleteThe number of proper names in this puzzle is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteFIW, missing the tense in BLoW OPEN. Erased matie->MATEY, bate->BAIT, gold->IDEA, twice->AGAIN, upgrade->PRICIER, and peer->PIER.
ReplyDeleteToday is:
NATIONAL BEER DAY (for me, this was every day that ended in “y”. Can’t believe I’m such a quitter)
NATIONAL NO HOUSEWORK (hard to do housework when you drink too much and pass out on the couch)
NATIONAL COFFEE CAKE DAY (not sure this pairs well with beer)
"Tangible" is a squishy term these days. It used to be that if you couldn't touch it, it wasn't tangible. Everyone agrees that a hard-bound user's manual for a product is a tangible deliverable, but what if it is provided via access to the vendor's web site?
Hi-RES audio? LIU, and it seems that it refers to the quality of a digital file, not the hardware as in 4K TVs.
My FIWs usually fall into two categories, either bad WAGs at Naticks, or tense / number errors from not reading the clues correctly. I don't mind the bad WAGS, but missing the tense today made me tense. UGLY.
In spite of my FIW, I enjoyed the workout today. My favorite was Ferrari's ticker, which was a learning moment. If I remember it. Thanks to John for the challenge, and to CC for the solid explanation.
C.C., swimming the butterfly is not on my bucket list. It's not a natural stroke and you have it pegs correctly- BUTTER-CRY. James the DIPLOMAT is looking at you with some lustful eyes.
ReplyDeleteI noticed what I thought was the theme immediately but I'll 'TAKE THE FIFTH' on the real theme. So should Subgenius. I didn't notice that all the circles were the FIFTH letter added to a saying. But I did FIR with the second F if GO OFF THE GRID as the last fill. My mind was stuck on the one word GOOF instead of GO OFF. I wanted GOOFS THE GRID but knew that would be incorrect.
Changed BLEW AWAY to BLEW OPEN.
BABE is a lot better than BAE.
PRE, PRUE, OCHO, COENS, HURON, LIU, LIAM, ESA, PESCI, TURIN- did I really know them? NO. Perps and guesses.
FIR, but it was a struggle. It's no surprise to anyone that I don't like circles, and this puzzle is no exception.
ReplyDeleteThe last circle to fill for me was goof the grid. I just couldn't see go off as two words. And I didn't see it till I got here.
Too many unknowns for me to make this puzzle enjoyable. Hopefully I will remember them for the next time they appear. But for now it's done, so I'm pleased.
Your picture shared in 23A is so cute! Love the hairstyle.
ReplyDeleteTook 16:16 today for me to plead.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see ("nor" did I look for) the theme until coming here.
Esa, Prue, & Liu were unknowns. I'm familiar with Pesci, but not "Bupkis."
I didn't care for "banc" and "ocho," but even I knew the rest of today's Spanish lessons (tia & habla).
Oh joy, circles!
Anon@9:51 -- BANC isn't Spanish. It's the English word for a judge's bench.
ReplyDeleteWow! Quite a puzzle with many layers. I struggled annd almost finished. I was not smart enough to see TAKE as in THE FIFTH. I kept thinking vote.
ReplyDeleteI don’t get AFRO as answer to prefix for futurism.
I figured the governors had been lieutenant governors but I didn’t think the Airbnb alternative could start with the letter v not knowing this abbreviation. In addition I had ruler instead of TIMER, so that little nest was my first downfall after the TAKE.
In any case I really liked this puzzle.
It’s good to have goals so congratulations to Splynter and C.C.
Wow! I thought today's puzzle was a three layer cake, but desper-otto showed me the fourth! 1) answer the question, with an extraneous letter in a circle; 2) the answer including the circled letter is a familiar phrase; 3) the circled letters spell THE FIFTH, which answers the last Across clue; and 5) the circled letter is always the fifth, which you TAKE away to answer the question in step one! Mind boggling. Brilliant. Kudos to John Michael Currie! Thanks to Patti for editing and to C.C. for blogging. Great start to the day.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Amazing works for me too, C.C.!
-The Detroit Pistons of 30 years ago were known as the NBA’s Bad Boys for plays like this
-I’m diggin’ the hairdo C.C.!
-Over twelve million people will tune in to see a woman who is the #1 SCORER in collegiate basketball today
-The UCONN men BLEW OPEN a close game last night near the end as their 7’2” center TORE IT UP
-My uncle’s alternate use for a SPOOL
-A bull rider really STRAPS IN for his ride
-Is there an AUTEUR whose style is more recognizable than Alfred Hitchcock?
-Good luck to C.C. and Splynter as they chase their goals.
The Coens are recognizable to me
DeleteMissed it by one… at the cross of NE_PTIDE & PD_S. Narrowed it down to NEEP or NEAP and guessed the wrong one. They look equally ridiculous as far as I’m concerned… And of all the precursors to the iPhone; flip phones, pagers, land lines, telegraphs… passenger pigeons, I don’t ever remember hearing of PDAs. LIU and it stands for Personal Digital Assistant, FYI.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of the cw was the theme. It was cleverly unique and helpful. Wasn’t crazy about all the strange people names though: Prue… Liu… Esa… Blech…
Interestingly, the AZ Republic has a couple typos in the clues today. It seems their printer doesn’t like letters with accent marks: In ‘vis-a-vis’ (47d) the ‘a’ is invisible but the accent mark (above it) IS there. And 109d reads; “Se __ Espa-ol”
Thank you John and congrats on your debut. I figured out the theme, but boxed myself into a tight Corner down in the SSW. Not a big fan of "educator" NYE, despite our sharing a common nickname. Anywho ...
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tasty review C.C. and for all the delicious pictures. Yes, I'd love some AHI, if you could figure out how to ship it!
Some favs:
23A DIPLOMAT. I think your hair was kind of cute then!
52A ALOE. I'm TAKING THE FIFTH on your belly button C.C.! 😀 Glad you liked the soup!
125A LIU. LIU is from the same town as my grandson Ray and he looks like it. When I told the tiny shopkeeper down in Guangzhou where the little 3 year old was from, she rolled her eyes skyward and said, "They grow tall up there!".
26D ALLSTATE. "You may be in good hands" with them, but GEICO gives you the same coverage for a lot less.
65D PDAS. PDAS were around long, long before smartphones -- people were just a lot more discreet about them then. 😁
73D COBB. Loove micro-greens. Our local supermarket (GIANT) regularly carries them along with fresh ready to each greens (salad and steaming). We have a salad and greens with our meal every night.
103D TURIN. Did not know this. It's also the home of The Shroud of Turin, which we saw on our last visit to Italy. Whatever it is, and however it was created, it's a fascinating artifact.
110D TULIP. Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore is also famous for its TULIPS as well and many other blooms. It will be peak season in about a month.
Cheers
Bill
I hate to be indiscreet, but I guess it's what I do. Great final game today, with SC coming out on top. But it seems odd to me that they are the "Gamecocks." Would have thought they would be "Gamehens," but I'm glad they aren't the "Lady Gamecocks," similar to SC State women's teams' "Lady Bulldogs."
ReplyDeleteIt will be great to see Caitlin Clark at the next level. Maybe I'll even know some of Patti's WNBA clues. She kinda reminds me of when I was in college and attended the UK-LSU game in Lexington. Pistol Pete Maravich was unstoppable, scoring 55 points in the days before three point shots. But UK won the game 109 - 96. I don't think she's a female Steph Curry, but she'll be a big asset in the WNBA. Guess I'd better look for some Indiana Fever (crossword favorite) merch before it becomes official.
I greatly appreciate the theme. I was able to FIR without looking anything up, for a change. Some answers filled from the perps and I didn't even see them until reading the write-up.
ReplyDeleteTook me a while to figure out SCORER. Also took me a while longer to figure out what "Decide one will" meant.
PICA --> FONT --> SANS.
DALI --> ERTE --> ENYA (I shoulda known that right off the bat.)
JAVELIN didn't fit where DISCUS did.
(Dennis) HAYSBERT did fit where ALLSTATE also did.
TROD reminds me of Ol'Man Keith, who has trod the boards many times.
I love Ferrari's stock symbol. Also Harley-Davidson's.
I like COBB salad but not microgreens. LW, I, and family had terrific Sunday dim-sum today at a very large, very noisy, Hong Kong style "Palace" restaurant.
Congratulations to C.C. and Splynter. Good wishes to you all.
Congratulations on your debut, John! Your puzzle was 5(th) stars! Please keep them coming!!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun solve because I needed to the circle hints and some of the cross references to help fill boxes.
FAVs: PASS ON FRUIT; Package opening?; and LIU Simu (Someone on the corner (CanEh! maybe?) recommended his bio so I read it. I am now seconding that recommendation.)
Thanks for your review, C.C.! I liked seeing the pics, getting the update on you & Splynter (well done!), and the food pics. That seared AHI looks so 'ono.
My computer had a major battery fail this afternoon. The fix required I update my BIOS and uninstall/reinstall my ACPI battery control. Happy to report it's already made it up to 80% and increasing. Whew!!
Most of the top crossword solvers were in Stamford, CT for the 46th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament this weekend. The results are in.
ReplyDelete23 year old Paolo Pasco is the Winner of the 46th ACPT. Congratulations, Paolo!
Results:
Paolo Pasco
David Plotkin
Will Nediger
The top 10 out of the 750 entrants were:
Paolo Pasco 1
Will Nediger 2
David Plotkin 3
Tyler Hinman 4
Andy Kravis 5
Stella Zawistowski 6
Joon Pahk 7
Al Sanders 8
Dan Feyer 9
Ryan Judge 10
The top 3 solved the 8th puzzle on stage in the championship round solve-off.
There were ~ 750 entrants, of which 129 completed all 7 puzzles correctly, including our LA Times editor, Patti Varol.
The full results can be found here:
https://www.crosswordtournament.com/2024/index.htm
Figured out the hook of the themers, but (as usual) ignored the circles, so didn’t “get” the reveal thing until I read it above.
ReplyDeleteFavorite: Ferrari being RACE on the NYSE. Not-so-favored:
• Circles
• Foreign words
• Proper names
• Foreign proper names
I rest my case…
====> Darren / L.A.