Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here with a puzzle I am calling
That Old Clock On The Wall
Dean Martin ~ That Old Clock On The Wall ~ (1966)
Starting with the four themed clues, we have:
17 Across. Mistaken report of an emergency: FALSE ALARM.
23 Across. Contributing elements to a yawnfest: SNOOZE FACTORS.
38 Across. Anthony Doerr novel whose title comes from an Aristophanes play: CLOUD CUCKOO LAND.
This 626-page book was published in 2021. Goodreads link
49 Across. Exhortation during cold and flu season: WASH YOUR HANDS.
And the reveal:
61 Across. Getting paid for work, and what an element of 17-, 23-, 38-, and 49-Across may be: ON THE CLOCK.
Depending on the CLOCK, you might find ON it one or more of these: ALARM setting, SNOOZE button, CUCKOO bird, or hour & minute HANDS. Notice the careful wording here. The clue says element of, meaning any part of the phrase might be used for the theme.
Let's give a HAND* to Caroline Hand on her LA Times solo debut! (She collaborated with Katie Hale on this puzzle published Feb. 9, 2024.) I am impressed that the themed entries are 10-, 13-, 15-, 13- and 10-letters because this construction does not leave much wiggle room for the other fill. More transformation to the meanings of ALARM, SNOOZE, and even CUCKOO would have taken this puzzle up a notch. I clocked the theme at SNOOZE.
*Sorry for the bad pun, Caroline! In my defense, this is The Corner so I am contractually obligated to include as many bad puns as possible in my write-up. 🤓
Next we'll face the challenge of decoding the other clues:
Across:
1. Hooded snake: COBRA. The king COBRA is the world's largest venomous snake. They can climb trees and swim, too! This is a 1 min. video of a man working with a female COBRA. I would not try to do this in a million years!
1. Hooded snake: COBRA. The king COBRA is the world's largest venomous snake. They can climb trees and swim, too! This is a 1 min. video of a man working with a female COBRA. I would not try to do this in a million years!
6. In the distance: AFAR. This is A FAR cry from a deceptive clue.
10. Chimed: RANG.
 |
| As it turns out, Ted Cassidy's biography Lurching Forward: Ted Cassidy's Early Life from Cradle to Creature was released earlier this month. |
14. To no __: fruitlessly: AVAIL. "To no AVAIL" is an idiom that means "without success".
15. La __ Tar Pits: tourist attraction in L.A.'s Hancock Park: BREA. This is a 4:12 min. video of what it is like to visit the La Brea Tar Pits. I had no idea!
16. Israeli airline: EL AL. and 8 Down. __ Lingus: AER.
19. __ adieu: said farewell: BADE. BADE is the past tense of "bid".
20. Fashion magazine with a French name: ELLE.
21. Hasty escape: LAM. Def.: (noun) sudden or hurried flight, especially from the law. 
22. Aromatic spice in chili and curry: CUMIN. The Spruce Eats answers your CUMIN questions.
27. "The Raven" poet Edgar Allan __: POE. Here is author Neil Gaiman reading The Raven.
28. Eject from office: OUST.
29. Words on a cake in "Alice in Wonderland": EAT ME.
33. Paintings and sculptures: ART. I like this clever use of plurals.
34. Sailor's greeting: AHOY.
42. Store sign: OPEN. and 24 Down. Newspaper column: OPED.
43. Fury: IRE.
44. Old PC platform: MS-DOS.
45. All-__ cookware: CLAD.
22. Aromatic spice in chili and curry: CUMIN. The Spruce Eats answers your CUMIN questions.
27. "The Raven" poet Edgar Allan __: POE. Here is author Neil Gaiman reading The Raven.
28. Eject from office: OUST.
29. Words on a cake in "Alice in Wonderland": EAT ME.
33. Paintings and sculptures: ART. I like this clever use of plurals.
34. Sailor's greeting: AHOY.
42. Store sign: OPEN. and 24 Down. Newspaper column: OPED.
43. Fury: IRE.
44. Old PC platform: MS-DOS.
45. All-__ cookware: CLAD.
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| The suggested price for this 10-piece set is $1,500. |
47. Place for a facial: SPA.
55. Emerged from slumber: AWOKE. RISEN is being saved for 4-Down.
56. Slithery fish: EEL.
57. Timothée's "Call Me by Your Name" role: ELIO. IMDb link
60. Surrealist Salvador: DALÍ. (1904-1989) Going with the CLOCK theme, here is The Persistence of Memory (1931).
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| Click to enlarge. |
64. "__ go bragh!": ERIN.
65. Cost of a taxi ride: FARE.
66. River mammal: OTTER. We have some animal lovers on this blog who I think will very much enjoy this video someone took of a dog playing with a river OTTER (1:17 min.). At first I was concerned that they were fighting but they really are playing. The OTTER has opportunities to flee but comes back to play some more. The person who posted the video wrote, "Every evening a river otter comes to play with our daughter's dog Rio. What was once an acquaintance on the other side of the fence has now become a friend who comes to play through the fence. It has been interesting to watch as their trust of each other has developed over the past several months."
Note: I scrolled through the comments and learned that the video was filmed in Jacksonville, FL in 2007.
67. Chianti, merlot, etc.: REDS. I think of chianti as the wine that comes wrapped in straw baskets but that is not always the case. Chianti article
68. Marvel hero played by Chris Hemsworth: THOR. Chris was born on August 11, 1983 in Melbourne, Australia. Between 2011 and 2022, he played Thor in seven Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
69. Rapper/actor __ Jackson Jr.: O'SHEA. He is Ice Cube's oldest son.
Down:
1. Bistro: CAFE.
2. Shape of a presidential office: OVAL.
 |
| a face that can stop a CLOCK?? |
69. Rapper/actor __ Jackson Jr.: O'SHEA. He is Ice Cube's oldest son.
Down:
1. Bistro: CAFE.
2. Shape of a presidential office: OVAL.
3. Black-tie galas: BALLS.
4. Like dough that's ready to bake: RISEN. Yesterday we had 118A. Puts sourdough in the fridge overnight, say PROOFS.
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| The "over" example shows the dough beginning to collapse on itself. |
6. On fire: ABLAZE.
7. Photograph holder: FRAME.
9. Hit hard: RAM. A hard hat can protect you if you are hit hard.
10. Counterarguments: REBUTTALS.
11. Rental car company: ALAMO.
12. Lowest point: NADIR.
13. Narrow valleys: GLENS.
18. __ gobi: potato and cauliflower dish: ALOO. ALOO means "potatoes" when it comes to Indian food. Memory trick: both have two O's.
22. Loops in via email: CCS.
25. Split in the road: FORK.
Green Day ~ Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) ~ 1997
"Another turning point, a FORK stuck in the road." 𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮
Note: This one is a twofer with "time" in the title.
26. Car: AUTO.
29. Green prefix: ECO-.
30. Jungfrau, for one: ALP. At first I thought Jungfrau might be a phone ApP. It turns out it is in Switzerland. The photos on its tourism website are breathtaking.
31. Foot part: TOE.
32. Donut holes, at Dunkin': MUNCHKINS. Spoiler alert: donut holes are not actually made from cutting out holes in donuts. Why Donuts Have Holes
33. Unreturned serve: ACE.
35. "You __ one job!": HAD.
36. Artist Yoko: ONO. Back in 1988, Be My Yoko Ono was the debut single by the Canadian band, Barenaked Ladies. <Hi Canadian-Eh!>
37. QB's gains: YDS. Football --> Quarterback --> Yards
39. Italian goodbye: CIAO.
40. Lahore language: URDU. Lahore is a city in Pakistan. This an "URDU goodbye":
41. Saudi Arabia neighbor: OMAN. Arabic is the official language of OMAN. This is an "OMANi goodbye":
46. Caustic cleaner: LYE. What LYE is and Why it is in our Soaps
47. Pronouns in some bios: SHE/HER. I liked this clue! Pronouns in autobiographies are I/me. On the other hand, biographies are written about someone else's life so they require third-person pronouns. (BTW, bio is not an abbreviation in this clue. It means "a biographical sketch".)
48. The "P" of IPA: PALE. India PALE Ale
49. Shorebird: WADER. "WADER" is a synonym for "shorebird", as opposed to a specific type of bird. This link will take you to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Aviary Cam where you can see WADERs flitting about their enclosure.
50. In the know: AWARE.
51. Not flimsy: SOLID. think, "a SOLID excuse"
52. Back in style: RETRO.
53. Shoulder muscles, briefly: DELTS.
54. Couch potato's sin: SLOTH.
58. Slushy drink brand: ICEE.
59. Gumbo-thickening pod: OKRA.
61. Poet's "many, many times": OFT. OFT is an adverb that means "often".
62. "No way!": NAH.
63. Dove's sound: COO. Contrary to popular belief, COO is not half the sound a CUCKOO bird makes. 😜
29. Green prefix: ECO-.
30. Jungfrau, for one: ALP. At first I thought Jungfrau might be a phone ApP. It turns out it is in Switzerland. The photos on its tourism website are breathtaking.
31. Foot part: TOE.
32. Donut holes, at Dunkin': MUNCHKINS. Spoiler alert: donut holes are not actually made from cutting out holes in donuts. Why Donuts Have Holes
33. Unreturned serve: ACE.
 |
| Venus Williams, serving up an ACE |
36. Artist Yoko: ONO. Back in 1988, Be My Yoko Ono was the debut single by the Canadian band, Barenaked Ladies. <Hi Canadian-Eh!>
37. QB's gains: YDS. Football --> Quarterback --> Yards
39. Italian goodbye: CIAO.
40. Lahore language: URDU. Lahore is a city in Pakistan. This an "URDU goodbye":
 |
| Now you know why we never see this as a crossword clue. |
41. Saudi Arabia neighbor: OMAN. Arabic is the official language of OMAN. This is an "OMANi goodbye":
46. Caustic cleaner: LYE. What LYE is and Why it is in our Soaps
47. Pronouns in some bios: SHE/HER. I liked this clue! Pronouns in autobiographies are I/me. On the other hand, biographies are written about someone else's life so they require third-person pronouns. (BTW, bio is not an abbreviation in this clue. It means "a biographical sketch".)
48. The "P" of IPA: PALE. India PALE Ale
49. Shorebird: WADER. "WADER" is a synonym for "shorebird", as opposed to a specific type of bird. This link will take you to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Aviary Cam where you can see WADERs flitting about their enclosure.
50. In the know: AWARE.
51. Not flimsy: SOLID. think, "a SOLID excuse"
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| This one is my favorite comic today. |
54. Couch potato's sin: SLOTH.
58. Slushy drink brand: ICEE.
59. Gumbo-thickening pod: OKRA.
61. Poet's "many, many times": OFT. OFT is an adverb that means "often".
62. "No way!": NAH.
63. Dove's sound: COO. Contrary to popular belief, COO is not half the sound a CUCKOO bird makes. 😜
Today's grid: 
We've beat the clock and made it to closing time. Thank you for clocking in!
We've beat the clock and made it to closing time. Thank you for clocking in!
29 comments:
There were one or two obscurities. But, on the whole, I’d say this was another Monday “walk in the park.”
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
For the fourth day in a row my ISP has shut down about midnight and not fired back up until mid-morning. I'm sure there must be a good reason for this behavior, and it would be nice if they'd notify their customer base just what it is. Grrrrrrr.
With both LAM (lamb cartoon) and LYE (soap) in this one, I couldn't help but think of the '52 Johnny Standley comedy record. He analyzes Little Bo Peep on one side, and sings of Grandma's Lye Soap on the reverse. If you're interested, you can look it up on YouTube. This was an easy Monday romp, but a fun one. Thanx, Carolyn and sumdaze.
CLAD: I've got a few pieces of All-Clad cookware -- a couple sauce pans and a 12" skillet. Great stuff!
FIW, but at least without erasure. SHE/HEs was my downfall, and yes, I;ve known a few SHE/Hes over the years. But I did get my WAG at NAH/THOs right, so I got that goin' for me. (I had it narrowed down to NAH, NAw or NAe.)
DNK Timothee, Call me by Your Name, or ELIO; Anthony Doerr, Aristophanes or CLOUD CUCKOOLAND; Chris Hernsworth or THOs; Lahore; All CLAD; MUNCHKINS (as clued;) or ALOO gobi. But if we get ALOO gobi a couple of dozen more times over the next month, which seems quite likely, I'll probably catch on.
Thanks to Caroline for the Monday workout. And thanks to sumdaze for another excellent review. I love Barenaked Ladies' big hit If I Had a Million Dollars, but the Yoko song was cute too.
FIR. I found this Monday puzzle to have a little bite to it. Several clues/answers seemed more like Wednesday or Thursday fare. Especially when one of the long answers was a book title most would not know. If not for perps this title would have been impossible.
Overall this was not an enjoyable endeavor for me. But it's done so there's that.
Took 4:32 today for me to Face the music.
I had the same issues Jinx had, and agree with KS's assessment about some of the clues being more difficult than the standard Monday-level.
Is "all-clad" a brand name? I didn't "get" that one, nor did I know Timothee or his role, nor the novelist/playwright and the titles.
Have a good week.
By a weird coincidence I just finished the novel “Cloud Cuckoo Land” last Friday. A fascinating story spanning nearly 1000 yrs from the siege of Constantinople to a space ship hurtling to a far off planet all connected by the title. Doerr wrote “All the Light We Cannot see” which some of us saw as a Netflix miniseries.
Anyhoo. Typical monday
Inkover: aflame (was thinking of an old girlfriend)/ABLAZE
Keep fergittin’ that “gobi” dish. “Split in the road?” ‘round here we call ‘em potholes
Was that “cake” angry at Alice? 😉.
SHEHER (someone backed themselves into a corner. Should have reworked that part of the puzzle instead of relying on a nonsense clue/answer combo)
“All” CLAD but with what. (When I was a resident we had an attending MD named Caldwell who always dressed real spiffy-like. We called him Dr. CLADwell.
To no AVAIL I was tryna squeeze in “cover your cough” (cubra su tos) …signs peppered all over our facility during the worst COVID days.
What you need to create a trail…ABLAZE
Ovine terminology… RAM, LAM
Plays the manservant over again….REBUTTALS
Uncommon cause of a flat tire “a ___ in the road”…. FORK
The cost of a taxi ride should be ___ FARE
”A frequent poetic” way of having terminated a mobster ….. OFT
‘Twas a nice 2 weeks off especially this past weekend at the lake… now back to work.🤓
Good Morning:
I saw the clock references early on, but the reveal was still an unexpected phrase. Cloud Cuckoo Land and Elio were unknown but the perps were very fair. I think Patti allows deviations from the normal difficulty level if the perps are fair. This seems to be the pattern, at least to me, and I don't have a problem with it. My first instinct when I see Ice Cube, Jr. or Sr., is to enter O'Hara instead of O'Shea, both very common Irish surnames. As Subgenius is fond of saying, this was a pleasant walk in the park Monday solve.
Thanks, Caroline, and congrats on your solo debut and thanks, sumdaze, for the fun and facts, especially the Rio and Otter play date video and the cute comics illustrating the Retro and Sloth entries.
Have a great day.
Unlike some days*, Mondays are almost always a rather stress free solve with lots of familiar crosswordese in the cluing and the answers, very little misdirection, and unknowns are usually easily perped, and that was the case today, FIR in 9:29. DNK ELIO, OSHEA, or the book title, but I have committed ALOO to memory. We have BALLS again today, no number attached. Donut holes at Tim Hortons are called “Tim Bits” Visited the DALI museum in St. Pete FL a couple years ago which also included a traveling Picasso exhibit, well worth the time, I was more impressed by Salvador. Thanks Caroline ✋ for the fine construction!
sumdaze ~ sorry about the bad pun 🤦🏼♂️. Very enjoyable critique/write-up today, liked the tour of La BREA Tar Pits, and the video of Rio and the otter. DW keeps a watchful eye making sure her bread dough is sufficiently RISEN, and I’d bet that you do too.
Good Morning! Thanks, and Congrats 👍 to Caroline on your debut!
I sailed along the top, but then found some Wednesday-ish content in the middle for the unknown (to me) Jungfrau crossing the Anthony Doerr novel.
FORK brings to mind Yogi Berra: If you come to a FORK in the road, take it!!
I’m a hand washer regardless of the season, especially working in the kitchen.
ESP: ELIO, THOR, O’SHEA
One WO: a vowel, of course… CUMIN crossing NADIR, not an “e”
Thanks, sumdaze. You add joy to Mondays! What a fun video of the otter & dog playing.
Hi All!
Thanks Caroline for a quick Monday fill and congrats on the solo debut.
Thanks sumdaze for an informative and funny review (yes, contract stipulates at least two bad puns ;-))
WOs: N/A
ESPs: ELIO, OSHEA
Fav: I'll go with an Indian PALE ale though it's rather early :-)
D-O: I'm with you on All CLAD* pans. Pop got me a 12" skillet for Christmas and it is my go-to for everything now. A little Barkeeper's Friend and a Scrub Daddy makes it look like new again (even if you accidentally put it on a rag with nylon in it). My only complaint is trying to remember I CANT! touch the handle after putting it in a 425F oven. //had to lath w/ aloe but still blisters for days. But those pork chops were worth it.
*Anon@7:33a - yes, a brand name of quality stainless-steel pans.
Jinx - If I Had a Million Dollars is fun but One Week is my fav BNL song.
Y'all have a great Monday. I think the week of rain (and minor flooding) is finally over here.
Cheers, -T
Just read FLN says...
Michael - STANS is a portmanteau of "Stalker Fans" who I'd guess is "is super into" something / someone.
Kinda like me (or these guys) with RUSH. [Funny or Die - 5:57]
Cheers, -T
I loved this CW. Except for a couple of small unknowns like ELIO and OSHEA, I was familiar with the answers and appreciated the theme. Since retiring 14 years ago i have not had to set the dreaded alarm on the clock, unless i had a plane to catch.
i read CLOUD CUCKOOLAND sometime last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Ray-O gave a good synopsis of it.
Sumdaze, thanks for the dog/otter video, and the rest of your fine recap.
I enjoyed this Monday walk in the park, and was glad that sumdaze shared a video of the LA Brea tar pits at Hancock Park. Having grown up around the tar pits, and raised my kids visiting that park almost every week, it always surprises me that solvers in the Corner are unfamiliar with the site. Thanks, sumdaze!
When I reached the reveal, I looked back and found all those CLOCK parts, but not in time to help with the solve. DNK ELIO or OSHEA, but happy to FIR. Thanks, Caroline!
Usual Monday walk in the park. Nice theme. It took a few perps to remember Cloud Cuckoo Land. I have seen ALOO before but needed all perps. Elio and O'shea were new to me but easily perped and wagged.
I, too, thought of Berra's fork in the road.
That picture of over-risen dough reminded me of one time when I made bread. I had just set the dough to rise for the last time before I could punch it down and form loaves. My two year David was playing in the back yard with with a 10 year old neighbor. She ran to tell me David fell just a few inches and was crying. His leg looked okay but mother's intuition told me he broke his leg. We spent hours in the ER where he eventually was given a cast. When I returned home the dough had risen at least 18 inches. I punched it down and made loaves, but I didn't expect much. The bread was awful.
I didn't realize aloe could be used in cooking until it was in a puzzle this month and back again today.
Typo in my post: its La Brea, not LA Brea. Spanish for "the tar."
I always thought munchkins were holes from making doughnuts. Surprise.
My mom made doughnuts with yeast, so they had to rise. She made slashes in the middle for the same reason doughnuts have holes. It makes the inside cook faster so the inside and the outside get cooked in the same amount of time.
In our PA German tradition we only made these on the day before Ash Wednesday and called them fastnachts (fast night.) The idea was to use up the fat, sugar and butter before Lenten fasting began on Wednesday.
Hola!
Quick Monday solve and it's time to go. I'll et back later to read you all. Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Jinx @6:13 and -T @ 9:53. Both fun BNL songs but I might go with "The Old Apartment" for my fav.
Refreshing FIR to open the week, with a nice write up from Sumdaze! A few curve balls, but kindly perps took care of them. Enjoyment, instead of frustration. Hurrah!
Anon-T, a remedy I have used and really works for minor kitchen burns is to cover the burn with yellow mustard. Or a remedy for a burn with threatening blisters is to immerse the burn in soy sauce. I hope you don't have to go through that experience again but know there are handy treatments available. For a wonderful source of home remedies, see People's Pharmacy website.
No time to read all the comments, so sorry if I repeat. There were a few DNKs in this CW but all filled effortlessly by perps, so I managed to FIR in perhaps record time (for me) for a Monday. I love it when CW fill just flows like today. I got the theme, so although I never heard of "CLOUDCUCKOOLAND" it filled easily between perps and knowing it was about clocks, figuring CUCKOO was in there. I even had no W/Os today. Thanx CH for this easy-peasey Monday fun filled and witty effort. I enjoyed it very much. Sumdaze you never disappoint, thanx for once again presenting a fun write-up. At one point I decided to memorize all of "The Raven". Never managed the whole thing, just too long. Someone should make a movie about Poe's life. It would be an interesting movie, since he lived at bit of a bizarre life.
Bayou Tony and sumdaze, that there's some great tunes too. I listened to a live version of The Old Apartment from a Detroit concert. Looked like fun for all.
Musings
-18 holes on an oppressively hot day. As always, I liked Sumdaze’s review and what Irish had to say.
Yellow rocks, a family in my hometown had the surname “Fachnacht,” but they pronounced it “Fastnight.” I tried to find a German translation of Fachnacht with no luck (nein Gluck?).
I enjoyed solving this puzzle and reading everyone's comments.
Does "The sheep are on the lam" merit a "Baa, humbug"? Neigh.
sumdaze - thanks for The Old Apartment suggestion. Very poignant longing (and why you can never go "home" again).
Thx Jinx for directing me to their Detroit show.
MManatee - save those baaaa-d puns for your expo :-)
Cheers, -T
-T , I'll try but I watched a whole bunch of Rocky and Bullwinkle as a kid,.
Dear -T @10:04. Thanks for the explanation of :STANS." I think that I've got to find a crossword that caters to 45+ year olds -- if even the clue is unsolvable, the fun and challenge are in short supply.
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