Day-O!
The Banana Boat Song
A downs theme grid. C.C. taught me about the pinwheel grid and gridded a down theme for me (I'm not sure it was published).
She's the best.
I wondered why I was pushed to Monday for this grid and, upon reading the byline,.. Sumdaze does it again!
We'll start with the unifier:
37. Head honcho, and a hint to the first word of 3-, 8-, 21-, or 24-Down: TOP BANANA.
The TOP word of each themer starts a BANANA phrase.
3. Features of dress slacks: BELT LOOPS. Banana BELT. Temperate swaths on the planet.
8. Disney pair who live in a big oak tree: CHIP AND DALE. Not the strip joint but wholesome cartoon characters. Banana CHIPs are delicious, sweet, potassium.
21. Fight to the finish: SLUG IT OUT. Banana SLUG - mascot of UC Santa Cruz.
24. Blink of an eye: SPLIT SECOND. Banana SPLIT. An over the top dessert to share w/ your honeybunch.
Across:
1. Credit's opposite: DEBIT. Always use credit; debit cards have little protection against fraud. #PSA
6. Like many an irate text: IN CAPS.
12. Marjoram kin: OREGANO. You'll notice when it's missing in a sauce.
15. Bright flowers native to Mexico: DAHLIAS.
 |
| (Army) Bro has these in his yard |
17. Came from behind: RALLIED.
18. Do some video game design, say: ANIMATE.
19. On the topic of: AS TO.
20. Quick meeting?: SESH. Session. Kids these days.
22. Freak out: PANIC.
23. In need of a map: LOST.
25. "Copacabana" showgirl: LOLA.
Barry Manilow
27. Southernmost Canadian prov.: ONT. YYZ (Toronto, ONT) is home of RUSH.
28. Couple: DUO.
30. Lima's country: PERU.
32. Geico's business: Abbr.: INS.
34. Gp. that boosts military morale: USO. Paternal Gramps met Grams at a USO dance. She was 6'1" and he was 5'6". They'd giggle telling the story about where his head was when they danced.
35. "Auld __ Syne": LANG.
36. Newspaper bigwig: EDITOR.
40. Coca-Cola alternative: PEPSI.
42. Act immorally: SIN.
44. Aircraft banned in Washington, D.C.: DRONE. Good thing I live in TX. I got my FAA drone license earlier this year. And then, on my first test flight, crashed the damn thing into the side of the garage :-).
45. Like a knockoff purse: ERSATZ. Fun word I learnt at The Corner.
47. "Bye-bye!": TATA.
49. Gp. that boosts school morale: PTA.
50. Agcy. that X-rays bags: TSA.
51. October birthstone: OPAL.
52. Jazz genre: BOP.
53. Detectives like Veronica Mars, for short: PIS. Private Investigators.
56. Light brown shade: ECRU.
58. Land formation on "The Road Runner Show": MESA.
60. Bit of monkey business: ANTIC.
62. "__ girl!": ATTA.
64. Column to the left of a decimal point: ONES.
67. Outerwear that may have anchors on its buttons: PEACOAT.
69. Country band named for its home state: ALABAMA.
71. Group artistically, as flowers: ARRANGE.
72. Backs off: RELENTS.
73. Took care of: TENDED.
74. Rubbish: TRASH.
Down:
1. Bilingual cartoon explorer: DORA.
2. Chapters of history: ERAS.
3. [See: theme]
4. Yeti alternative in the cooler aisle: IGLOO.
5. Mai __: rum drink: TAI.
6. Western state with a panhandle: IDAHO.
7. Grandma, to some: NAN.
8. [See: theme]
9. __ mater: ALMA.
10. Chopin's instrument: PIANO.
11. Glossy fabric: SATIN.
13. AriZona rival: NESTEA.
14. Respectful poem: ODE.
16. Religious splinter group: SECT.
21. [See: theme]
24. [See: theme]
26. Falsehood: LIE.
28. Hoodwink: DUPE.
29. App downloader: USER.
31. Hosp. caretakers: RNS.
33. Knight's title: SIR.
37. [See: Theme]
38. "I'm __ your tricks!": ON TO.
39. Harvest: REAP.
41. Took a chair: SAT.
43. Short sleep: NAP.
46. Efron of "The Greatest Showman": ZAC.
48. Husk-steamed Mexican dish: TAMALE.
53. Bear with a too-big chair: PAPA.
54. Not active: INERT.
55. Look steadily (at): STARE.
57. Gave stars to, say: RATED.
59. Quite serious: SOBER.
61. Volunteer's words: I CAN.
63. Driveway goo: TAR.
65. Life-saving pros: EMTS.
66. Merit badge holder: SASH.
68. Grow older: AGE.
70. PC space bar neighbor: ALT.
The Grid:
 |
| The Grid |
WOs: N/A
ESP: DAHLIAS
Fav:LOLA alternative...
The Kinks
That's it from me in IL.
Cheers, -T
47 comments:
Not sure if I’ve ever heard of the “banana belt.” The other themers were well known, however. Anyway, it looked like another Monday “walk in the park.” FIR, so I’m happy
Good morning!
Hand up for unfamiliarity with BANANA BELT. Bible, yes, banana, no. Forgot to look for the theme, and failed to notice the reveal clue. Natch. My Levis have BELT LOOPS. Of course, I consider them to be dress pants. My casual pants are sweats. Went sideways with POOH instead of PAPA. Quickly fixed. Otherwise, my Wite-Out got a rest today. Congrats to Renee and C.C. on their second collaboration, and thanx to Dash-T for his yeoman service again today. (Was that the end of the drone? Or does it drone on?)
FIR, but erased SESs for SESH. Do I got it now? TBD. (Please don't cringe, CE) Like D-O, I didn't notice the theme.
I'm a (diet) Pepsi guy now.
I don't think I've ever worn pants that didn't have BELT LOOPS (unless sweats are pants.) Must be chick schitck, he says in his best Bobby Riggs voice.
The Corner is fortunate to have a world-class TAMALE maker in our midst. I've never had Lucina's TAMALEs, so the best I've ever had were in a Pacoima, CA restaurant. Whenever I would have lunch there without a Spanish-speaking coworker, they had to go find the guy who spoke English to take my order. They always sold as many as they could make to fill to-go orders during the Christmas holidays. You had to order by the dozen, and they usually stopped taking orders by Thanksgiving.
Thanks to sumdaze and CC for the fun romp, and to Bayou Tony for the quick review. I don't remember the entire ribald saying, but I'll bet Gramps and Grams heard it a million times. The part I remember is "when they wuz nose-to-nose his toes wuz in it, and when they wuz toe-to-toe his nose wuz in it."
Good Morning:
The newest dynamic duo strikes again, and this time, it's with a Monday powerhouse! The theme, which went unnoticed until the reveal clue, was cute and well-executed. Banana Belt is totally new to me and prompted a post-solve search which was quite interesting. I always enjoy a vertical-themed puzzle and CC and Renee gave us a terrific grid and some great fill that made this an above-average Monday solve, from both an enjoyment and challenge standpoint. In addition to the themers, there were several fresh and punchy entries, such as, Slug It Out, Split Second, Ersatz, Dahlias, Pea Coat, etc. I don't like Sesh, but I guess it's here to stay. CSO to our Tamale Queen, Lucina, and our Ontario Queen, CanadianEh.
Thanks, Renee and CC, for another winning collaboration and thanks, Anon T, for the fun commentary and the striking visuals, especially those gorgeous Dahlias. I have a great niece named Dahlia who is a Junior at Fordham University. Hope you had a great Father's Day with Pop!
We're in for a blistering heat wave this week. Thank God for air conditioning. Have a great day and stay cool!
B ested this one in 4:14 today.
R an through it with relative ease.
E xcellent Monday puzzle by two of our own.
A dd me to the group unfamiliar with "banana belt."
D ahlias was unknown.
MalMan, today's Connections' constructor was wearing the Demon's hat, me thinks! 🤣
FIR. Went through this puzzle rapidly and got to the reveal and started to scratch my head. Banana belt? And I'm unfamiliar with banana slug, but I guess it's a thing. Banana chip made some sense, and lord knows I like Banana splits. But the banana belt still baffles me?
Overall I really didn't need the theme for this to be an enjoyable puzzle. Great Monday fun!
Good Morning! Great Monday puzzle! Thanks, sumdaze & CC. You definitely earned a 62A: ATTA girl(s)!
It all fell into place in an orderly, if crisscross, fashion – top to bottom.
I needed the reveal, 37D, to see the theme, and BANANA SLUG is new to me, eww yuck!
One WO: SESs -> SESH.
Thanks, Dash-T, loved your commentary, tunes and those pretty DAHLIAS.
Older West Coast Cornerites will remember when Hughes Air West flew jets that looked like TOP BANANAs. But my favorite commercial (and slogan) of that era was from Continental, from back in the day when airlines at least pretended to care about customer service. Check out that food service!
Congrats to Renee and CC for another collaboration
I like to guess who the sub blogger is by the style of blogging - I wasn't sure at first but once the band Rush was mentioned I knew it was AnonT
WEES about knowing BANANA BELT - I knew the more literal definition as a climate where bananas grow well e.g. in Central America but not the topologic/meterologic definition
We have friends who grow DAHLIAs and enter competitions- we went to a Dahlia show once with them- very striking flowers
I have 2 friends who have Mexican heritage as part of their roots and they get together in the holiday season to make TAMALEs together- get to enjoy the finished product
Gotta get to work!
Seeing today’s collaboration was by our Corner matriarch and our esteemed Monday blogger, I figured it would be a Monday treat and it didn’t disappoint! Only a few names which I knew all of them, and friendly perps got me the FIR congratulatory message in under 10. I’m surprised nobody seems familiar with BANANA BELT, I hear it quite often referencing a few areas of the UP that are typically warmer and drier (meaning less snow) than surrounding areas, and when I looked up the definition, it is exactly that. SESH seems to be standard puzzle fare these days. Thanks C.C. and sumdaze for the nice start to the week! And thanks to Dash T for filling in for Renee!
Hola!
Alas, the real TAMALE Queen, my mother, is gone but we, her surviving surrogates try our best to carry on the traditions. We cherish the hope that all the lessons she taught us result in a top notch product. Nothing less than perfection would satisfy her.
Thanks to Renee and C.C. for this enjoyable Monday puzzle. It was a quick solve as Mondays are but the lovely BANANA theme added some flavor to this endeavor. Yum. I used to love BANANA SPLITS but haven't had one in many years. And while I'm at it I'll mention that PEPSI is my favorite soft drink.
I'll take a CSO at DALE and throw in MESA as well.
I hope you are all faring well this Monday. Please take good care, everyone!
Thank you, Tony, for your recap.
Parsan, I've answered your email twice, so please check your Spam folder if you haven't received either message. 😉
I love your gesture to Canadian Eh at 27A, CC and sumdaze. Couldn't be easier, but maybe it's a gentle start for those of us who scratch our heads at Canada-related clues. Who knows the name of Canada's second biggest air carrier (that ArizonaJim and I flew from Phoenix to London). CanadianEh: how about those Oilers, eh? They finally won a game. And in clobbering fashion! Three to go.
Today's puzzle could be a primer for those who are learning puzzle construction. It is pleasant to look at, for one thing. And that includes the reveal and themes, all of which are vertical. It is educational in at least one of the themes: Banana Belt. That one will draw me to the encyclopedia.
And the puzzle even gave us the requisite number of minor clues to gripe about: such as SESH, which deserves to be taken up before a firing squad; and at least in my case, 3D: features of dress slacks. I have many kinds of pants, from Levis to shorts to casual slacks. They ALL have belt loops.
On that happy bur minor note, thanks, CC and sumdaze for a satisfying and clever puzzle to get the week off to a good start.
A triple thrill today with Renee and C.C. doing the puzzle and Tony doing the recap. Thanks to all three of you. I didn't get the theme until Tony explained it, but as there was no place to fill it in I still consider this a FIR.
Here are some of my favorites ...
27A ONT. When I read the reviewer's commentary on this I knew right away that it had to be -T.
34A USO. Sounds like Grams was a lot of fun to dance with -- Gramps must have had his head right in her 47As. 😁
44A DRONE. My grandson Ben lost two in the woods before one finally landed where he could find it.
45A ERSATZ. Today's German lesson. Like they say -- "Accept no substitutes."
1D DORA. She does a lot of CODE-SWITCHING.
10D. PIANO. Today's Italian lesson: "SOFT" - shortened from "Forte Piano" ("LOUD SOFT"), which the piano's predecessor the Harpsichord couldn't do very well. Here's Chopin's mostly PIANO Nocturne in C sharp minor from the film The Pianist
67A PEA COAT. We used to call them "Pea Jackets" -- the perfect outer ware when the weather is "Pea Soup".
Cheers,
Bill
Dynamic duo, indeed. Great CW, just right for a Monday. I loved it.
At first I thought it would be themeless, then got to the TOP BANANA. However I scratched my head because I am not familiar with BANANA BELT, nor BANANA SLUG. Regardless I enjoyed the solve.
Thanks A-t for that recap.
I loved this puzzle. Although it was an easy Monday solve, the constructors gave us a clever theme. I always thought the BANANA BELT was that area of latitude where one found BANANA republics -- those tropical, fruit growing countries dominated by rich landowners and foreign exports. Today I learned that banana belts occur all over the place, even in Michigan! But I doubt you can grow bananas there.
Congratulations, Renee and Zhouqin! Many thanks, -T.
Acknowledge! I'm logged out. Puzzle lover above is NaomiZ.
Ha ha! Spell check! I said AAACK! Not acknowledge.
What a nice way to start the week! A real crossWord puzzle from CC and Sumdaze, with an enjoyable tour by -T. Took a couple of minutes for the light to dawn after the reveal, but the Aha! came at last. More familiar with BANANA REPUBLIC than BELT, but it makes sense. Love the word ERSATZ. Have a couple of old pair of pants without belt loops from my cowboy action shooting days...suspenders were more common in the old west. Coke VS Pepsi...I'll take a Coke, please!
Try try again
Went along horizontally without a fill till I sprinkled some OREGANO on the puzzle plus had accumulated debts not DEBITS until I took a sip of “mai” TAI and…. But I momentarily hadda go ape instead of PANIC. I finally remembered the nonsense word SESH. 😃. Then it took two attempts to suss DUO otherwise once passed the first few clues the rest was a breeze ‘Cept realized I forgot to suss the theme 😳 yikes! (“Yes we have no 🍌🍌🍌s”)
Read somewhere that Dr Pepper has surpassed Pepsi as number two soft drink (why is it a “soft” drink? Cuz it ain’t hard likker?)
Actually ONT is south of the border of around 12 continental US states. Heard said that “The Roadrunner Show” country is actually Sedona AriZona
“Driveway goo” reminds me: need to call the guy who resurfaces ours
____ upon a time….ONES
Stove…ARRANGE
sharpshooter Frank Butler…. ANIMATE
Urologists outerwear? ….PEACOAT 😁
See you all TAMALE! 😉
Good morning.
Another fine collab by sumaze and C.C.
Learning moment about Banana Belt. The Wikipedia article explains it.
I knew about the Banana Slug as the mascot of UC Santa Cruz. After reading about the banana belt, I read the Wikipedia article on the slug. I'd always assumed they were small. They can grow to almost ten inches and can live up to seven years. I also liked the article Dash T linked to the history of UCSB making the slug their mascot.
From time to time, I'll watch old movies on Screenpix. An actor on "Odds Against Tomorrow" (1959) looked familiar, but I couldn't come up with the name. It was a younger Harry Belafonte. A week or so later, I paused for a bit on "Angel, Angel, Down We Go", also known as "Cult of the Damned" (1969). Same thing. Looked familiar, but couldn't quite place him. It was Lou Rawls. Belafonte had the better role in a much better movie.
Wikipedia revealed that it was Rawls' first movie, and that it was Belafonte's fifth. Also that he commissioned the script for Odds, and his company, HarBel Productions produced it. No wonder he got the starring role.
Terrific Monday level (unclefred's level!) CW. Got 'er done, FIR in 10. And, wonder of wonders, I even looked for, found and understood the theme. But not until the reveal filled, and I went back and looked. Cute theme. Only W/O ERZATS/ERSATZ. Hmmm. Say the word, it sounds more like ERZATS. Thanx RT&CC for this fun creation. And thanx too to -T for the fun and informative write-up. On the Coke/Pepsi, I am a long time drinker of Diet Coke/Coke Zero. Recently Coca-Cola brought Coke Zero Spiced to market. I tried it thinking, "Well, you probably won't like it, but give it a chance." I discovered that I like it a lot.
Ray-O, from Wikipedia:
Middle Island is the southernmost point of land in Canada. It lies in Lake Erie, just south of Pelee Island, and is part of the province of Ontario. The southernmost point of Middle Island is at a latitude of North 41°40′53″, which is at a slightly lower latitude than the southernmost point in Michigan and slightly farther south than downtown Chicago.
Twenty-seven U.S. states lie fully or partly north of this point. Thirteen states are entirely north of this latitude (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine). California, Nevada, and Utah, albeit only their northernmost edge, are amongst the states that lie partially north of Middle Island, as their northern border is at the 42nd parallel north.
Thanks to -T for his fun write-up! I love that you started with the Banana Boat song and I also noticed the yellow highlighting.
I'm glad so many of you enjoyed this puzzle. Thank you for your generous words.
Thanks, also to C.C.! I have learned so much working with her. I hope this is translating to my Monday blogger role.
I was happy to include BANANA SLUG because I see them when I hike in this area. Their skin has a shimmering yellowish beauty -- not that I want to see one on my dinner plate, but they really are beautiful when stretched out in a bed of pine needles. Yes, as TTP said, they can get quite big.
We had a couple of other fun ideas that did not make the final cut. One was PANCAKE MAKE-UP and another was DRIVER'S SEAT. Hand up for having a Schwinn bicycle with a BANANA seat back in the day.
C-Echo @ 10:34. "Cowboy action shooting days"??? I don't recall you mentioning that before. I'm picturing John Wayne in True Grit with his reins in his teeth, shooting with both hands.
TTP @ 11:51. That is interesting about Middle Island. I would have never guessed 27 states. That's more than half!
Delightful Monday puzzle, many thanks, Renee and C.C.. And I always enjoy your commentary, Anon T, and especially loved hearing Harry Belafonte sing "Day-O" this morning--a total treat.
A few snacks this morning, with some OREGANO, a BANANA, and some PEPSI and TEA for drinks.
And with a bit of art in the background, including a PIANO playing and someone reciting an ODE.
It all made for a fun morning.
Thanks, everybody.
Musings
-What a lovely exercise presented by two lovely members of our puzzle klatch.
-BANANA CHIP and BELT were perfectly fine but less familiar to me
-How I know BANANA SLUGS
-RALLIED: The first three games of Omaha’s College World Series this year were won by walk-off hits in the bottom of the ninth
-Hilarious PANIC attacks
-Loved to see and hear Barry Manilow!
-Police are using DRONES very effectively. Hard to hide in a cornfield now. :-)
-You are really old if you know the PI Perry Mason used in his TV show (answer below).
-I’ve heard, “ATTA boy, girl!” before that was verboten
-I bought a PEACOAT once for some reason
-Lynyrd Skinner sang Sweet Home Alabama, not ALABAMA
-ALMA MATER: Our 60th yr. H.S. anniversary will apparently pass without any notice.
-At some point looking at a lovely woman becomes a STARE and then devolves into an ogle
-Perry’s PI in Gardner’s novels and TV was named Paul Drake
🎼 “South of the Border down Ontario wayyyy!!!🎶
I wonder if any of our cornerite buds who get their LAT puzzles published ever rail against the content….then suddenly realize it’s, oops, their puzzle. 🤣
Anyway I enjoy seeing CW’s show up from our neighbors here. 😁
Husker, it ain't "Skinner."
Useta think his secretary was Dellas Treat
desper-otto - yes the band is Lynard Skynard, but they took their name from a teacher at one of their schools whose name was Leonard Skinner.
Oh oh and the DA his nemesis: Hamilton Burger (wonder if when he was a kid they called him ham burger 🍔 😃 )
Sumdaze...back in my less decrepit days, I did a lot of matches with SASS. (Single-Action Shooting Society) Great fun, and friendly folks!
H.Gary, methinks the band 69A refers to is ALABAMA, of Mountain Music fame.
Oh, and one of those walk-off homers was by Kentucky. They are now 1-0 over the 77 year history of the CWS.
Yeah, I checked twice to get Lynyrd right and the blew off the last name.
Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, sumdaze and C.C., and AninT.
I FIRed in good time, but neede$ the reveal to get the theme. I was seeing baseball or golf in BELT, CHIP, SLUG, SPLIT. I smiled at BANANA. (AnonT- am I really supposed to share a BANANA SPLIT with DH. Haha, he knows better and will order his own!)
The Niagara area of ONT is known as the BANANA BELT since we are often warmer than other areas of ONT (and sometimes Canada) due to our southerly location and surrounding lakes.
But I am not familiar with BANANA SLUGs.
One inkblot to change Two to DUO (I was entering Downs and only had the O.)
Two other silly inkblots to change Tens to ONES (read the clue!), and Baby to PAPA (read the clue!).
I thought of Retreat, but RELENTS fit.
I know ERSATZ from WWII novels when rationing and shortages created the need for replacements for coffee, butter etc.
I’ll take my CSO with ONT (thanks sumdaze and C.C.). (Yes, TKen, that would be WestJet.)
You Americans got IDAHO, ALABAMA, and AriZona (in a clue).
TTP- Middle Island is not inhabited, but closeby Point Pelee is the most southerly mainland point.
TKen - truly, I thought those Oilers were finished. But I think they could not fathom having their loyal fans watch the Stanley Cup being presented to Florida in their Edmonton arena. But they sure did play an amazing game. Three more wins is an uphill battle, but who knows.
Double CSOs to Lucina with TAMALE (should the dish be plural?) and DAHLIA (I pronounce with long A, but I presume some of you say DAHlia). Maybe a Triple CSO with MESA (and four with DALE!)
Wishing you all a great day.
Our panhandle state, IDAHO, has a BANANA BELT called the “Snake River Plain.” It is the agricultural region of the state partly due to its milder weather. And on a map it is roughly shaped like a BANANA!
Here is a link to a map of IDAHO showing its BANANA BELT. Hope it works.
https://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/states/amp/idaho/physical-map-of-idaho.html
Hi All!
Glad to read everyone enjoyed the expo. Even though I was in IL visiting family, I had to take time to do Sumdaze and C.C. some justice.
D-O: only one blade got cracked and those are easily replaced. It still "drones on" *snicker*
C, Eh! - I really do share. If I ate all three scoops of ice-cream ++toppings, I'd have a tummy ache and not enjoy the after-share ;-)
Sumdaze - Originally, I was going to kick-off the blog with "It's nuts!" or "Gone Bananas!" or maybe even a reference to Woody Allen's Bananas.
It wasn't until Saturday when my (Army) Bro and Eldest told me about Beetlejuice II [trailer] that "Day-O! (The Banana Boat Song)" became apparent and perfect.
Travel Tribulations: this morning Eldest woke to a text that our train from SPI to CHI was going to be 2 hours late; we'd miss our flight! She found an earlier train and we hied it to the station. She was able to catch an earlier flight from Midway to DCI but I've been stuck in United's lounge for two hours and have another two to wait. You may not have heard the last of me today :-)
At least I've got xwords to do. WSJ is done and NYT is "in-progress."
Cheers, -T
If you get email updates of posts to the blog, I’m afraid you will see a big mess from me. I apologize!
Charlie Echo @ 2:10 We have a friend who used to do single action shooting. He started his own little group in Lake Charles. They would dress the part, even had “western” names. He even went to apprentice with someone in Arizona I think. That was quite a few years ago.
I liked this puzzle.
Prof M, it doesn't work that way, so no worries.
Dash T, it's too bad you got stuck. Was that at Midway also, or is your flight out of ORD?
C-Eh, true, that article was about the southernmost land point of Canada - even though it's an island - rather than the southernmost point of inhabited Canada. I remembered that trivia from something I read probably six months or so ago, but I forgot the part that the island was once owned by an Ohio auto dealer. Anyway, it's fun trivia, and Ray-O's comments spurred me to look it up again.
Ray-O, BTW, I came across the email exchange I had when I reported to Google about the problem of mobile users being able to submit a comment without an HTML Tag being properly being closed. That's your italics bug. It was May 1st, 2022. Maybe one of these days they'll fix it. :>)
Thanks I get busy but I just need to pay more attention before and after I print and delete a comment with open italics
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