Hold On!
Blues Brothers Band covers Sam and Dave.
Today Barbara gives us four things one can hold. Only one you do for someone else...
20. Hard core exercise?: PLANK POSITION. It strengthens your "core."
27. Conference room activity: STAFF MEETING.
45. Portal to another level: ELEVATOR DOOR. Be nice; don't hit the close-door button.
53. Postgraduate pursuit: MASTERS DEGREE. One of my professors had this on his door:
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| Eldest just got her Masters on her way to a PhD. //if the characters look familiar that's because Matt [Letterman] is also creator of The Simpsons. |
58. "Not so fast!," or what one can do with 20-, 27-, 45-, and 53-Across: HOLD IT.
Across:
1. Make a splashy attempt: GO BIG or go home.
6. Cartoon cry of alarm: ACK.
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| IIRC, the last Cathy. |
9. Beer ingredient: MALT.
13. Expert in resolving tense situations?: EDITOR. Ha! Verb tense.
15. __ favor: please, in Spanish: POR.
16. Conversely, briefly: OTOH. On The Other Hand.
17. Mark in the margin: NOTATE. Not doodle.
18. Polish brand at a nail salon: OPI.
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| Cajun Shrimp is the color (for Lucina :-)) |
19. Egg on: URGE.
20. [See: Theme]
23. Syst. of hand symbols: ASL. American Sign Language.
25. Photographer Goldin: NAN.
26. Beehive State resident: UTAHAN.
27. [See: Theme]
30. Tofu source: SOYA.
31. Right-angle bend: ELL.
32. Actress Sarandon: SUSAN.
36. Daredevil Knievel: EVEL. As a kid, I loved his stunts.
37. Angioplasty tube: STENT.
40. Land unit: ACRE.
41. Succinct: TERSE. I would say more, but it defeats the fill.
43. Neither here __ there: NOR.
44. Oblong tomato: ROMA. Love 'em for sauce.
45. [See: Theme]
49. Sneezer's need: TISSUE.
51. Feel bad about: RUE.
52. Best 5K times, e.g.: PRS. Google says it means "Personal Records."
53. [See: Theme]
56. Constellation bear: URSA.
57. Buckeye State sch.: OSU. Ohio State University (not to be confused with Oklahoma State University).
58. [See: Theme]
61. Tart-tasting: SOUR.
62. Writing tool: PEN.
63. To the max: SO MUCH.
64. 13-Across's override: STET.
65. Yellowstone ruminant: ELK.
66. Matter of debate: TOPIC.
Down:
1. __ Z: Zoomers: GEN. My kids are. Keeps me young (at least insofar as the modern-day vernacular).
2. Automotive prefix with meter: ODO. The odometer measures milage (or kms for C, Eh!).
3. Performer with a small role: BIT PLAYER.
4. Slanted type, for short: ITAL. Italics.
5. Failed, in a way: GOT AN F. Most of my spelling tests in grade school. Spellcheck makes me look smarter than I am #dyslexia!
6. Informal pricing words: A POP.
7. Flimsy excuse: COPOUT.
8. Figure skater Yamaguchi: KRISTI.
9. Device that protects teeth and gums: MOUTH GUARD.
10. Bright and airy areas of some malls: ATRIA.
11. Connect after entering credentials: LOGON.
12. "And __ what happened?": THEN.
14. Gives a new handle to, as a rescue pet: RENAMES.
21. Prepared to propose, possibly: KNELT.
22. Writers McEwan and Fleming: IANS.
23. Money in the bank, say: ASSET.
24. Hot appliance: STOVE.
28. Sprinter's before-the-gun error: FALSE START.
Football False Starts
29. Kagan of the Supreme Court: ELENA. When she was 8yrs old, Youngest listened to Sotomayor's hearings on NPR in the back seat on the way to school. About a week later, she announced she was going to be a Supreme Court Justice. She's studying for the LSAT as I type.
33. Grabbed with both hands: SCOOPED UP.
34. Knight's suit: ARMOR.
35. Comes close: NEARS.
38. "The Hunchback of __ Dame": NOTRE.
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| Youngest was in Paris a few weeks back and snapped this. |
39. Slop holders on a farm: TROUGHS.
42. Otherwise: ELSE.
46. Liechtenstein's continent: EUROPE.
47. Boat or gravy boat: VESSEL.
48. Propagate anew: REROOT. The girls & I repotted our cacti yesterday. We rooted the "arms" of Bullwinkle that broke off in our effort.
49. Divination deck with 78 cards: TAROT.
50. Matter of debate: ISSUE.
53. Dishevel, with "up": MUSS.
54. Action with a basketball or a cookie: DUNK. Eldest bought Pepperidge Farm's London Fog w/ Earl Grey. They were delicious w/ milk. //so I got two more packages :-)
55. Ticklish Muppet: ELMO.
59. Here, in Quebec: ICI. I'm assuming that's French.
60. CBD-like compound in some edibles: THC. Can's miss the seemingly hundreds of CBD stores that have popped-up in the last few years. They're at every strip-center (along with a liquor store, a massage parlor, and a kids' learning center(?!?)). Tetrahydrocannabinol - the part of "the devil's lettuce" that makes one high.
The Grid:
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| The Grid |
WOs: N/A
ESPs: PRS, NAN, ICI
Fav: I'll go with ROMAs from ITALy :-)
Cheers, -T
28 comments:
I was starting to wonder what reveal could possibly tie all the themed answers together, but the constructor did it, and quite simply, too. Other than that, I don’t have too much to say about this puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
I was sure of EEK, but it didn't make the grade. Was less sure of OPI and PRS, but got 'em. (Thanx for 'splainin' PRS, Dash-T.) It took a moment to figure out how "Hold it" refers to a Masters Degree -- probably because d-o doesn't have one. This was a nice early-week romp. Thanx, Barbara and Dash-T. (The NFL quashed your "False start" link.)
FIR without erasure. It is, after all, the second Monday of the week.
Today is:
NATIONAL HAMBURGER DAY (c’mon, not on Tuesday, that’s cheap taco day. “Burger Monday” is the rule in the areas I frequent)
NATIONAL BRISKET DAY (turning this shoe leather into a tender, delicious treat is quite an art)
Didn’t hesitate with THC. I knew my misspent youth would come in handy someday.
Believe it or not, I HOLD a MASTERS DEGREE (an MBA.) I also hold a MASTERS certificate in project management. GTE wouldn’t pay to retake courses, and George Washington University wouldn’t accept some of the courses I took while getting my MBA.
Do you know why the Buckeye was embarrassed when she finally got her driver's license? To her chagrin, she saw that she GOT AN F in "Sex."
My favorite clue was “portal to another level” for ELEVATOR DOOR. Aerosmith had a big hit with the (somewhat suggestive) song Love in an Elevator (livin’ it up when I’m going down.)
Thanks to Barbara for the fun Tuesday romp, and to Bayou Tony for another successful pinch hit.
Good Morning:
This was a typical Tuesday breeze-through with only Nan being unknown and no stumbles. The themers were all solid, in-the-language phrases and the reveal was quite a surprise. The fill had some interesting entries, i.e., Scooped Up, False Start, Mouth Guard, Bit Player, Cop Out, and Go Big. Overall, a smooth and satisfying solve.
Thanks, Barbara, and thanks, Anon T, for pinch-hitting once again and especially for the updates on the girls. Sounds as if both are laser-focused on their future endeavors. You must be a proud papa!
Have a great day.
FIR. I had no problem with today's puzzle except for PRS. I've never, ever seen this abrieviation before. Thank goodness for perps.
The theme was clever and I noticed that the reveal could almost be applied to each part of three answers. I.e., hold a plank, hold a position, hold a staff, hold a meeting, hold an elevator, hold a door. Only masters degree doesn't work.
But I enjoyed this puzzle and it gets a thumbs up.
Took 4:33 to water.
Rough looking North-Central area today with ack, por, & opi. I knew por, but not "ici", so I went 1/2 on today's foreign language exam. I didn't know the photographer (Nan).
Go Buckeyes!
For a Tuesday didn’t eggzackly find this puzzle ICI…Didn’t know NAN “Goldin” though I’m sure we’ve had her before. If twasn’t for the mother bear URSA I mighta put mess b 4 MUSS. Required more perpaid than usual for so early in the week to complete fill. The theme took a couple beats but found it clever.
🤚 for hops b 4 MALT (so far I’m the only one 😲)
Guess a “hot appliance” is not an iron (or a stolen refrigerator? 🤨)
Enjoyed doing balloon and expandable STENT “angioplasty” when the technology first surfaced but as the equipment got more complex happily turned it over to the newly trained young whippersnappers
Yesterday we had IONS, today IANS. That just leaves EONS…..COPTO yesterday, today COPOUT
KNELT… my SIL proposed to DD on a park bench in Boston Commons when a streaker coincidentally raced by. For a second she thought it was a weird part of his proposal 😳.
There was a time I could do a PLANK POSITION (HOLD IT!!!) at the gym. If I tried it now they’d have to carry me out on a PLANK 🥹 . I guess an “expert in resolving tense situations” is not a < i >masseur. Cool clue for EDITOR
When she was little our other DD asked my friend Duncan if he owned DUNKin DONUTS
At least it wasn’t an F minus🤓
Extra in a vampire movie….BIT PLAYER
“ ____!! But I hardly know you….TISSUE.😲
“Didn’t think I noticed but I ___ “….. SOYA. 🫣
Memorial Day ended with torrential rains and downed power lines driving home from camp in the Adirondacks as I listened to an NPR report on the severe drought in Mexico City
Good Morning! I made it through today’s puzzle piecemeal with a lot of help from perps. Some clues were difficult to suss on the first attempt, but with a few letters to build on it eventually came together. The NW was the last to fill with GO BIG crossing GOT AN F crossing the unknown NAN. I knew the other names clued.
The theme appeared as I got to HOLD IT. Thanks, Barbara.
WO: KNEel -> KNELT
ESP: PRS and the above noted NAN.
Thanks, Anon-T. Good start to the day.
Another Tuesday romp. Only NAN and PRS were ESP. Dash T, thanks for explaining PRS.
Our super market has a big display of OPI nail polish.
EEK before ACK, which immediately brought mind the Kathy comic strip.
POR FAVOR and ICI. I am glad I live in the multicultural east coast. I like the breadth of experiences. Also it helps with crosswords.
To the max is much stronger than so much. Last evening we had moderate to light rain while taking Alan home. We went through a heavy rain squall for just two minutes. There was SO MUCH rain and low visibility that I was looking for a spot to pull over. Then it turned to drizzle.
Rainfall TO THE MAX: Réunion in the Indian ocean has the record for highest 24 hour rate of rainfall - 71.8 inches!!
I am an OTOH type of person. There are two sides to most issues. Usually there is some truth and some error in both. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Life is complicated.
Thanks, Barbara and Dash-T.
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Barbara and AnonT (thanks for the SO to acknowledge ODO ‘s Canadian measurement) and yes ICI is French, as is NOTRE).
I FIRed in good time, but almost forgot to look for the HOLD IT theme. Great themers illustrating four different meanings of HOLD. (Yes, you HOLD a degree.)
Several inkblots.
Hops changed to MALT (I had questioned the plural S). (I’m joining you Ray-o)
Mess changed to MUSS.
APRS changed to A POP with perps and parsing.
Speaking of parsing, SO MUCH took a while to register. I still think it is a little Meh.
Thanks AnonT for explaining PRS.
Several names, but either well-known or adequate perps. I did have to change Kristy to KRISTI.
I also changed my failure mark from E to F with perps.
Favourite was the clue for EDITOR.
I noted a plethora of OU combos - COP OUT, SOUR, MOUTH GUARD, TROUGHS. But there was no OU in ARMOR!
I also noted TISSUE crossing ISSUE.
FLN- good to hear from you OAS. Come back soon.
Wishing you all a great day.
Smooth enough. A few hiccups like eek changed to ACK and HOLD on changed to HOLD IT.
I really like the clues for EDITOR and ELEVATOR DOOR.
I’m on my way to the gym, but I don’t plan to HOLD the PLANK POSITION.
Thanks A-T for that fine recap.
I realize that TO THE MAX is a hyperbolic colloquialism and is used for any large amount, but it just struck me literally.
Thank you Barbara for a fun Tuesday -- I got all the fill but really didn't get a HOLD of the theme until Tony 'splained it.
And thank you -T for a fun review. I'm glad to see you subbing for the Cat. With all the bad weather news coming from the Lone Star State, it's good to see that you are alive and punning.
A few favs:
All the cartoons, most especially the one for Pirate Yoga.
9A MALT. Coulda' been HOPS -- had to wait for the T in 12D.
13A EDITOR. Favorite clue.
32A SUSAN. We have to thank SUSAN and GEENA for introducing themselves and the world to Brad Pitt.😁
41A TERSE. I'm unclear on the concept.
10D ATRIA. Also the two upper chambers in the heart. Mine flutter, and as result I'm an indentured servant to the pharmaceutical firm E___ L___.
60D THC. I know that say it's not habit forming, but it seems that crosswords have become addicted the stuff.
Cheers,
Bill
A quicker FIR than yesterday. SO MUCH was a tad meh, and PRS a bit of a stretch, but no worries. Enjoyed -Ts tour.
Hola!
Thanks, Barbara Lin, for the fun and Tony for the amusing analysis. You do GO BIG and it's enjoyable.
I find UTAHAN awkward and not sure about the pronunciation.
I love SUSAN Sarandon in any role. She has an unusually expressive face. I believe I have mentioned that my dad had two first cousins named Thelma and Louise.
The movie ROMA was very strange.
These days the only place I encounter an ELEVATOR DOOR is at the airport.
I'll take a CSO at MASTERS DEGREE because it was hard work to achieve it.
I hope you have all recovered from the holiday; enjoy today as well!
Well I did FIR but forgot to time myself. Best guess: 15 minutes. Would not know PRS, but never saw the clue, since it filled with perps. For once, I took the time to search for the theme after finishing the CW, since I didn't see it while DOING the Cw, and, whadayaknow, actually got the theme. Clever. WEES, EEK:ACK, HOPS:MALT. Thanx BL for the fun CW. Anon-T another outstanding write-up, thanx for all the time and effort you put into it!
Thanks to Barbara for her clever puzzle! The reveal came as a surprise to me. FAVs: clues for EDITOR and DUNK
FLN: Thanks to Picard for his photos. I should have know you'd already traveled there.
= )
Thanks to -T for the fun sum-up and the family newsletter! It's good to hear good things about good people.
Delightful Tuesday puzzle, many thanks, Barbara. And much appreciated your helpful commentary, Anon T, thanks for that too.
Well, as soon as I saw EDITOR, I figured we might be in sort of a professional or academic atmosphere here. And it was clearly going to be a busy day with a STAFF MEETING, where we might run into people at the ELEVATOR DOOR, unless, of course, we were going to meet on Zoom or here. Are we going to be discussing candidates for a MASTERS DEGREE, or maybe even a Ph.D., or maybe just some students who GOT AN F? Well, if so, I'd better be ready to LOG ON.
Have a great meeting, and a good day, everybody.
Yesterday I mentioned the outstanding "Letters From an American" posted by Heather Cox Richardson regarding Memorial Day. I suggested folks would find it quite good, and recommended everyone read it. It is very well done, and once again, I if you didn't have a chance to read it yesterday, I still highly recommend it:
https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/may-26-2024?r=2vi92r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
Uncle Fred @ 2:22. thank you for the reminder to read this lovely and profound tribute.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR; hand up (Ray-O) for HOPS b4 MALT; hand up (d-otto) for EEK b4 ACK
Dash T: can't wait until your daughter is selected as a member of SCOTUS! I hope I am still alive when she is
Barbara Lin gave us a very doable puzzle with many familiar words and phrases. There will almost always be a few letter combos that appear "forced" in a crossword puzzle; today's was virtually free of them
At 57A: OSU also refers to OREGON State University (The “Beavers.”)
Musings
-18 in some tough wind! How can it always be in my face?
-The subtle differences in the gimmicks was very cool
-One golf partner is TERSE and the other is verbose
-BIT PLAYER: aka spear carrier or villager
-One boy from far western Nebraska made the 450 miles to Omaha for the state tournament and got too anxious at the start of the 3,200-meter (avg time around 10 minutes) race. DQ.
-Little bunny Foo Foo, Hopping through the forest, SCOOPING up the field mice, And bopping them on the head.
-PR’S and MR’S (Meet Records) are common in all track meet data
-My nephew the high school principal had to tell some parents that their darling little girl was high on THC gummies. “What? She never takes drugs!” :-)
-Nice job and “catch up” on the fam, Tony!
I loved the theme!
ELENA Kagan recently wrote an extremely clear, logical, well-thought-out dissent to the latest Supreme Court decision. She included actual evidence to support her argument. I very much enjoyed reading it.
I got a MASTER'S DEGREE, then wasted 7 years of my life pursuing a PhD that only years later I realized I really had no interest in achieving.
To me, OSU refers to Oregon State University. It's where my brother-in-law got his MASTER'S DEGREE (in animal husbandry).
I actually GOT AN F once. I deserved it because I simply did not attend more than 1/10 of the classes because I found it unbearably boring.
Thanks for the write-up, T.
I think my only F was in PE because I am completely and undeniably unathletic and do not participate well in sports. Once, though, I ran in a relay race but that was the total extent of my PE effort.
Lucina, at least you used to do yoga!
Hi All!
So,... Saturday, I picked Sam & Dave to kick off the blog... Sunday, Jinx mentions Sam & Dave in an aside. And!, last night I was listening to Fresh Air and they talked with studio musicians from Stax Records -- 3 times in 3 days! I didn't even know Friday that Hold On was a Sam & Dave song!
Glad y'all enjoyed today's effort - don't expect it in the future ;-)
//what's our IRAs say? Past performance isn't....
And I'm glad y'all don't mind me doting on the Girls. They have my warp'd sense of humor and, obviously, DW's brains & good looks.
Lucina - I was in track until I met a black guy who was nothing but legs. I won't say he was Usain Bolt, but, to me, he was.
//seriously, I was the anchor, got the baton, and was about an 1/8th of a lap ahead before he got his stick; Dude passed me like I was standing still, he did. I went back to playing baseball.
Ray-O: Always love your word plays.
Y-R: you don't remember mid-80's valley-speak? Grody to the max.
Jayce - After grade-school, I only got one less than OK grade. That was in Physics II; Wank held the class at 7:30a when no respectable college student would be awake with more than one blood-shot eye (#LouisBlack) trying to follow the math.
D-O: you weather the storm OK? Eldest was going for a trapeze class in Santa Fe (TX - about 15 min from Galveston) and turned around on 45 when it started hailing. Somehow, she ended up on Allen Parkway which was flooded. Took her almost two hours to get home and a defibrillator for DW to come 'round.
I enjoy'd reading y'all!
Cheers, -T
Jayce
Yes, that's true. I also attended exercise classes for a few years. It seems that as I grew older I was more in control of my limbs. I loved doing yoga.
My daughter inherited her dad's grace and rhythm. She and her husband started taking ballroom dancing last year. I believe I have mentioned that. And my granddaughter is very graceful and loves dancing.
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