Tuesday, July 2, 2024 ~ Susan Gelfand

The Perfect Gift

G'Day!, Cornerites.

Today, Susan offers us jewelry apropos to one's occupation. Each phrase is "in the language" with the first word describing the position and the second a bit of bling. Let's take a look:

20. Custom timepiece for a meteorologist?: STORM WATCH.

33. Custom necklace for a chef?: FOOD CHAIN.

41. Custom brooch for a defensive back in the NFL?: SAFETY PIN.

Johnny can make a brooch out of it.

52. Custom band for a barista?: COFFEE RING.
I once had the idea that, if I ever went out on my own consulting, I'd call it "Coffee Ring Consultants" 'cuz every document I pre-produced for draft editing ended up with a coffee stain in the upper left corner.
//I always wore a mocha button-down when I did presetations for clients - that way spilt coffee wouldn't show. #ProTip

Cute theme, eh? Nicely done Susan. Thanks.

Across:
1. Passionate enthusiasm: ZEAL.

5. College concentration: MAJOR. Mine was Double-E w/ a Masters granted in CS. In my young ZEAL I thought I could build AI robots but, instead, I landed at DOD protecting networks which took all my hackin' skilz to the other side of the fence.
Tell us your major and why.

10. Dazzling figure skating feat: QUAD. Quadruple (14a) AXLE.

Ilia Malinin

14. Car bar: AXLE. Not a cocktail-box in the back, Double-O-7. Sorry to disappoint you, sir.
//I rewatched a few James Bond flicks while DW was in Japan :-)

15. Run off to wed: ELOPE.

16. "Do __ others ... ": UNTO...as you would have them do unto you - The Golden Rule.

17. Falafel wrapper: PITA.

Yummers!

18. Greased: OILED.

19. Fan favorite: IDOL. Billy is one of them.

Dancing With Myself

20. [See: theme]

22. Word on a door: PULL.

The Far Side

23. Agreeable answer: YES.
 

Roundabout - YES (a big influence on RUSH*)

24. Art studio stands: EASELS.

26. "Let's keep going!": ONWARD.

30. Spill the beans: BLAB.

32. Jeweled topper: TIARA.

33. [See: theme]

38. Still a contender: IN IT.

39. Robes at the Roman Forum: TOGAS.

Obligatory Animal House clip.
(It's in my contract)

40. Plot parcel: ACRE.

41. [See: theme]

43. Mountain lions: PUMAS.

44. Cathedral alcove: APSE.

45. Scout's discovery: TALENT. Talent scout not a Boy Scout.

46. Push and shove: JOSTLE.

50. Pointy leatherworking tool: AWL. Funny, I call my awl "pointy tool."

51. No more than: UP TO.

52. [See: theme]

59. Statistical average: MEAN.

60. Naturally bright courtyards: ATRIA.

61. Double-reed woodwind: OBOE.

62. Soft French cheese: BRIE.

63. Bird associated with babies: STORK.

64. Air conditioning outlet: VENT.

65. Rowboat pair: OARS.

66. Hefty books: TOMES. Asmov's Foundation Trillogy was one. It filled 80% of my backpack (sorry, history book). #Priorities

67. Previous partners: EXES.

Down:
1. Heats up in the microwave: ZAPS.

Percy Spencer accidentally discovered it.

2. Highway off-ramp: EXIT.

That's not real. This one is.
 

3. Silicon Valley city Palo __: ALTO. I think I mentioned they (the eponymous company) make pretty good firewalls.

4. Shakespearean ruler who divides his kingdom between two of his daughters: LEAR.

5. Cried like a calico: MEOWED.

6. Pseudonym: ALIAS.

7. Caffeine rush: JOLT.

8. Crude cartel: OPEC.

9. Conan O'Brien and Prince Harry: RED HEADS.

10. Witticisms: QUIPS.

11. Disproportionate, as influence: UNDUE.

12. Coral island that surrounds a lagoon: ATOLL.

How they're formed

13. Barbie and Skipper: DOLLS.

Barbie and kid-sister Skipper

21. British pianist Hess: MYRA.

25. "Abbott Elementary" network: ABC.

26. Redding of R&B: OTIS.

27. Simone of R&B: NINA.

28. Ragamuffin: WAIF.

29. Prado paintings: ARTE.

30. "Casablanca" star, familiarly: BOGIE.

Humphrey Bogart

31. Library offering: LOAN.

33. Fancy dressers: FOPS.

34. Transport: HAUL.

35. Pinnacle: ACME.

Wile E. Looking for the Perfect Gift.

36. Country on the Persian Gulf: IRAN.

37. Hummingbird's home: NEST. I remember the night before DW's water broke for Eldest. She was in fast-mode getting things in order and I was tidying up the garage. We fell asleep for about 20 minutes on the couch and spent the next morning in the Delivery Room.

Nesting Urge.

39. Stuck playing the same roles again and again: TYPECAST.

42. " Qu __?": Spanish "What's up?": TAL.

43. Muted, as colors: PALE.

45. Makes minor adjustments: TWEAKS.

46. Extra-large: JUMBO.

47. Met performance: OPERA.

48. One step: STAIR.

49. Earth __: natural shades: TONES.

50. Blazing: AFIRE. Hand-up if you thought Saddles immediately.

53. Nove minus uno: OTTO.

54. Email heading word: FROM.

55. Wander about: ROVE.

56. Mountain goat: IBEX.

57. Zilch: NONE.

58. Comprehends: GETS.

The Grid:

The Grid

WOs: AXIL [sic] -> QUAD
ESPs: MYRA, TAL
Fav: JOSTLE is such a fun word.

There you have it folks. Next week we'll be back to our regularly scheduled Hahtoolah. It was fun (for me anyways) filling in.
Cheers,
-T

*I think it's also in my contract to include RUSH. DW got home Sunday to IAH from NRT but didn't go through

YYZed

Monday July 1, 2024 Doug Peterson

  

Happy Monday, everyone and welcome to the start of July! sumdaze here with a puzzle I'm calling  

No, not the Disney theme park ride. Instead, puzzle setter extraordinaire Doug Peterson takes us on a tour of where we can see various types of stars.

We have four themed entries with no reveal. All are clued with the initial phrase, "Where to see stars".

17 Across. Where to see stars on an app: YELP REVIEW.  

Click to enlarge.

30 Across. Where to see stars after a blow: BOXING MATCH.  

I always thought this was a cartoon thing but it is real. About 20 years ago I fell and hit the back of my head while ice-skating. I literally saw stars.

47 Across. Where to see stars under a dome: PLANETARIUM.  

65 Across. Where to see stars in Hollywood: WALK OF FAME.  

Coincidentally, they just announced the Class of 2025 inductees last Monday.

Apparently I took this pic back in '06.

Thanks for the fun, Doug! You have earned a gold star!

Across:
1. "__ Lisa": Louvre highlight: MONA.  Highlight is an understatement. Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece attracts approximately 30,000 visitors each day to the Louvre.

5. Highly capable: ADEPT.

10. Squad car alerts, for short: APBS.  All-points bulletins

14. Unaccounted-for GI: AWOL.  GI is an abbreviation for an American soldier. Likewise, AWOL is an abbreviation for Absent Without Leave. This can land you in the brig.

15. "American Top 40" medium: RADIO. What a blast from the past! This radio program was co-created by its first host, Casey Kasem, in 1970. The program is currently hosted by Ryan Seacrest. How to Listen

16. Peek: LOOK.  

19. Assistant on Apple devices: SIRI.

20. New Year's Eve Potato Drop state: IDAHO.  Potato ... state ... has to be IDAHO. Here is a video for the 2024 drop:  

They drop it like a hot potato! <groan>

21. Mythical Himalayan beast: YETI.

22. Smart __: frozen food brand: ONES.  

I have not tried these. Are they good?

23. "The Golden Bachelor" network: ABC.  ABC has aired 28 seasons of The Bachelor and 20 seasons of The Bachelorette. These ten couples are still living happily ever after.

25. Motionless: INERT.

27. Carpentry tool: SAW.

35. "Frankly," in a text: TBH.  To Be Honest, my texts contain more semi-colons than periods.

36. Female pheasant: HEN.  Hunters in the area where I grew up called a male pheasant a rooster but I see now that some people say cock. Males establish a harem of as many as a dozen HENs.

The HEN is on the left.

37. Laughably silly: INANE.  Humor is in the mind of the beholder.

38. Org. that encourages flossing: ADA.  Four out of five dentists will tell you that "Organization" is abbreviated, so is the "American Dental Association".

39. Quick to prepare, like pudding or coffee: INSTANT.  I used to put these in DH's care packages when he was deployed.  

42. Ornamental pond fish: KOI.  KOI fish are a colorful version of the common carp. They have an average lifespan of 25-30 years.

43. Toned down: MUTED.  One way to tone down a color is to add gray to the color.

45. Moody genre: EMO.

46. Beings on UFOs: ETS.  The U.S. government now uses the initialism UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena). ETS are still extraterrestrials.  

51. Earn after taxes: NET.

52. Neckwear worn with mittens: SCARF.  

53. Threaded fastener: NUT.  Threaded misdirected me into thinking about clothing fasteners but it refers to those inside ridges.  

55. Effect in a tunnel: ECHO. 

57. Brutish Tolkien characters: ORCS.  I know this one from doing XWDs.

60. "__ Attraction": Glenn Close thriller: FATAL.  It was impossible to ignore the moral of this 1987 movie.  

64. Hamperful of laundry: LOAD. Nice!

67. Equivalent: SAME.

68. Paperless message: EMAIL.

69. Not occupied: FREE.  

70. Wood choppers: AXES.

71. "I wanna have a turn!": LEMME.  A phonetic spelling representing the pronunciation of let me in continuous rapid speech.

72. Pull hard: YANK.

Down:

1. "Please allow me": MAY I?.

2. Carried a balance: OWED.  Did you think of Lady Justice?  

Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong

3. Mardi Gras city, informally: NOLA.  CSO to our New Orleans, Louisiana Cornerites!

4. First Greek letter: ALPHA.  

5. "__ we good?": ARE.  Yep. I think so.  

6. Folk hero Crockett: DAVY.  In 1827 he became a U.S. Congressman representing Tennessee.

7. Emmy winner Falco: EDIE.  She won three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series during her time on The Sopranos. 

8. Cobbler container: PIE TIN.  Cobblers come in various shapes and sizes. My recipe uses a 9X13 Pyrex.

9. Service provided by a wrecker: TOWING.

10. Unsuccessful candidate: ALSO RAN.

11. "I see where you're coming from": POINT TAKEN.  Excellent bonus word!

12. Real snooze: BORE.

13. Winter resort rentals: SKIS.

18. AnnaSophia of "Bridge to Terabithia": ROBB.  AnnaSophia Robb played Leslie Burke in this 2007 movie, based on the 1977 Young Adult novel by Katherine Paterson.

24. "SportsCenter" anchor Linda: COHN.  Linda has anchored ESPN's SportsCenter since 1992.  

26. Issue forth: EMIT.

27. Notary public's mark: STAMP.  Notaries can act as impartial witnesses to various legal documents.  more info.

a notary public with her STAMP

28. "Opposites Attract" singer Paula: ABDUL.  The video for this 1989 song surprised me. I think you might like it!  

more info. from Paula's website  

29. "Ah, too bad": WHAT A SHAME.

31. "Hollywood Squares" symbols: XES.  

32. Prefix with face or lace: INTER-.  INTERlace and INTERface

33. 100 bucks: C-NOTE.  C is the Roman number for 100.

American paper currency comes in seven denominations:  $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100.

On July 14, 1969, the Department of the Treasury announced that currency notes in denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 would be discontinued immediately due to lack of use.

Which bill do you think was printed most in 2023?  Go here to find out.

34. Major caper: HEIST.  HEIST is a fun word. Let's listen to some groovy HEIST music:  

The Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini  (1963)

featuring Plas John Johnson Jr. on saxophone

39. Concept: IDEA.

40. Calais chum: AMI.  Calais is a city in France, where your male friend is your AMI and your female friend is your amie.

41. Word such as "word": NOUN.  

44. Converts into a secret message: ENCODES.  

I learned a lot of interesting history from this book.

48. Small spade: TROWEL.

49. House with a sharply sloping roof: A-FRAME.  Apparently, A-FRAME also acts as an apt and appropriate adjective. Awesome!

50. Bungle: MUFF.  

54. Stretchy candy: TAFFY.

55. "Frozen" sister with a French braid: ELSA. When I see the movie Frozen, I try Anna and ELSA ... or OLAF (if I think it is the snowman).

56. Gently persuade: COAX.  

COAXing us to try Cokes?

58. Seafood in a shell: CLAM.  Approximately 2% of the U.S. population is allergic to shellfish.  9 Most Common Food Allergies

59. __ milk: SKIM.  Cow's milk is #1 on the above list, affecting 2-3% of babies and toddlers.

61. "Teen Titans Go!" voice actress Strong: TARA.  her IMDb page

62. "So true!": AMEN.

63. Scallion relative: LEEK.  Try substituting LEEKs for the onions in your soup recipes for a flavorful change.

66. La Liga cheer: OLE.  This sounded like a European sports clue so ¡OLE! immediately came to mind.  La Liga website

The last stop on this star tour is the grid:

Hmmm..., this puzzle has me thinking about a hot cuppa at STARbucks. See you there!