C-3PO
16. Margaret Thatcher biopic: THE IRON LADY - held office while this band was most popular in the United Kingdom - and the world. The song's intro is most appropriate, considering the theme. . . .
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Tunneling pests: ANTS - household pests, too, but they're not so bad in my home
5. T-shirt style: V-NECK
10. Hesitant sound: ERM.... - there was a lot of this in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
13. Bake or grill: COOK - generic food preparation verbs
14. Event that may begin at sunset: SOIRÉE
15. Highest number on an old clock: XII - Twelve, in Roman numerals, but not necessarily an "old" clock, technically
18. "60 Minutes" network: CBS - typically delayed due to an overrun of the Sunday NFL game. . . .
19. Had dinner: SUPPED - a "alternative" way to DINE
20. Many profile pics: SELFIES - I'll add a gratuitous one. . . .
22. Fra __: spicy Italian sauce: DIAVOLO - I've not heard of this; filled via perps
25. Course not requiring much effort: EASY A
26. Carded at a bar, informally: ID'ED
30. Affectionate treatment, for short: TLC - Tender Loving Care
31. Actress Tomei: MARISA - I always recall her "biological clock" ticking scene - name #1 I know
32. Like the sound of a double bass: DEEP - and 32ft Wood Bourdon Pipes, too
34. Provide food for: CATER
35. Misplaced: LOST
39. Greenery symbolizing victory: LAUREL - cannot see this word and not think of. . . .
41. Fox foot: PAW
46. Crumbly, briny cheese: FETA
47. Benefit: AVAIL
48. Carolina __: superhot peppers: REAPERS
50. Casual eateries: BISTROS
53. Obscure for security reasons, perhaps: REDACT
55. Degs. for English majors: BAs - Bachelor of Arts
59. Google Maps fig.: ETA
60. Opened for the doctor: SAID "AH"
61. One of the Gilmore girls: RORY - she was the daughter - played by Alexis Bledel; name #2 I know
62. Rehoboth Beach's st.: DELaware - I knew this because my buddy Mike P lived near Dover, and we all went down to visit the "Hamptons" of the state
63. PC key: ENTER - yes, it's nowhere to be found on a MAC
64. Skating jump with a forward take-off: AXEL - skating jump + blah blah blah = Ektorp
DOWN:
1. Play segments: ACTS
2. Football tactic for fast-paced offense: NO-HUDDLE - Football is here~! Summer is gone~! The Jets are 2-1~!
3. Ski binding part: TOE PIECE
4. Bypass button in some apps: SKIP AD - this option cannot show up fast enough, IMO
5. Fashion designer Diane __ Furstenberg: VON - All perps - amazingly, of all designers, sumdaze began her Monday blog with a dress from her - go figure~!; her Wiki
6. Soccer zero: NIL - A gripping soccer "football" match is typically ONE - NIL; my dad was a hard-core English FOOTBALL fan, and could watch hours on end, but the pace bores me - I prefer hockey
7. Historic times: ERAS
8. Turn over: CEDE - ah, not 'ROLL'
9. Like some ignition systems: KEYLESS - My 2020 Subaru Crosstrek was the only KEYLESS ignition auto that I have owned - and I sold it back to Carmax at a profit, despite it having problems, because the dealerships were desperate for hybrids
10. __ tax: EXCISE - DAH~! Not INCOME, which messed up my NE corner
11. Marbled beef cut: RIBEYE
12. Book in a pew: MISSAL - Double Dah~! I had HYMNAL
14. Biblical city: SODOM - Not Babel; I may need to brush up on my church readings. . . .
17. Go "vroom vroom": REV - I am a huge fan of the ABS Show "Castle" - vroom vroom made me think of this scene from Season 1
21. __ flaw: FATAL
23. Hedy of Hollywood: LAMARR - name #3 I know
26. "__ be my pleasure": "IT'D"
28. Part of a vague threat: OR ELSE~! - or else, what~?
29. Many a Christmas tree: FIR
33. Hair braid: PLAIT
That's a LOT of hair
34. Grizzly baby: CUB
36. Spot for Statler and Waldorf on "The Muppet Show": OPERA BOX - name(s) #4 & 5 I know
37. Fig. submitted with many a college application: SAT SCORE - Standard Aptitude Test
38. Pan Am rival: TWA - both defunct airlines
40. Courtroom cry: "ALL RISE"
42. Snagged: NABBED - a mere two letters difference, clue-to-answer
43. Take flight: AVIATE
44. Liege's tenant: VASSAL - Feudalism - the Wiki
45. Jazz singer Vaughan: SARAH - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Name #6, and I like HuskerG's "shrug" emoji from Saturday, so I am running with it; I had this Sarah confused with MacLachlan Sarah
46. Hat for Indiana Jones: FEDORA - another John Williams composed theme
49. According to: PER
51. Arabian Peninsula country: OMAN - sumdaze had a similar map on Monday as well. . . .
52. Fit of pique: SNIT - I had to wait and see if it was SNIT, SPAT, HUFF, TIFF. . . .
54. "bfn" reply: TTYL - Bye For Now = Talk To You Later
57. Tribute in verse: ODE
58. Hull sealant: TAR - Brett Hull SEALS the 1999 Stanley Cup final with a controversial 3OT goal
Splynter
21 comments:
I didn’t have too much trouble with this puzzle, except maybe for the Italian sauce and “erm.” Other than that, smooth sailing. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Managed to scrape up DIAVOLO from some memory crevice. I'm sure I've never had it. Failed to notice the theme on the way through the grid. Surprised? Still, finished in under 7, so it wasn't too difficult; nothing too obscure. Thanx, Kyle and Splynter.
KEYLESS: My car has keyless entry. Part of a bundle which included a very expensive and totally useless moonroof.
SAT: Never took it. UW wanted ACT scrores, instead.
CAPTCHA: If you've gone "blue," you can skip the CAPTCHA. One of the few blogger features that I really like.
FIR, but erased hymnal for (the unknown) MISSAL, and open a box for (the unknown) OPERA BOX.
FLN - At least during the original blog format era, I think we discovered that most of the folks who comment here do check for late comments before reading the current review. I still do so, and I'll bet that the new format hasn't deterred many.
How old do I have to be before I stop crushing on MARISA?
The Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) hockey team begins the season on October 18th.
Greyhounds Reach the Beach® is held every year on Columbus Day weekend at Rehoboth Beach. I tried to link https://grtb.org but Blogger doesn't like it. It's safe - I promise.
Anyone else catch DEL next to ENTER?
Maybe Kyle and Patti should have left out the "old" reference to clocks and used it for "hull sealant." I'm sure TAR hasn't been used for that purpose in their lifetimes, except maybe for historical restoration projects.
Home sweet home today. Cutting the trip a couple of days short because of forecasts of some pretty bad weather on Friday, and I hate arriving home when it rains all day.
Too easy for a Wednesday.
FIR. I guessed diavolo and skip ad; I wasn't really sure of either.
The theme seemed a stretch to me. Even after coming here and reading the explanation I'm still not sure I get it. I expected the reveal to be about metals since we had iron, steel, and brass. But robot? Hmmmm!
This was a typical Wednesday puzzle. Perhaps a tad on the crunchy side, but doable. However, I did not find it enjoyable.
A fairly EASY puzzle from Kyle with just a few unknowns-DIAVOLO, RORY, DEL, MISSAL, bfn as a clue. I was expecting a metal unifier after IRON and STEEL.
i AM NOT A ROBOT (although made of metal parts) doesn't seem connected to the theme fills, IMHO.
I just realized that there is no "blue." It's gone. I also don't see the CAPTCHA, either, but maybe it's there for non-formerly-blue folks.
Took 5:38 today for me to a gold digger.
I knew diavolo (tried it recently - very good), but struggled to spell it. I didn't know this Von or Rory, but I knew today's actresses (Marisa & Lamarr).
I continue to object to "textspeak" in the puzzles, such as bfn and ttyl. It's almost as annoying as those pesky circles. I also dislike "erm."
*Oops. ... to BE a gold digger.
Well, I found the reveal to be a clever and unexpected key to the three theme entries. Well done, Kyle.
Two of my favorite actresses made the puzzle today, Hedy Lamarr and Marisa Tomei. And they crossed each other! People should know that as accomplished an actor as Lamarr was, she was also a brilliant inventor.
Unfortunately, the dreaded ERM made an appearance today. Please, constructors, these are crossWORD puzzles, not cross-ANNOYING-CLEARING-OF-THROAT-SOUND puzzles.
Splynter, I note that you are refurbishing the organ at the National Cathedral. Two questions: what is the make of the organ; and is the cathedral organless for the duration?
My alma mater, the University of Redlands, has had a Casavant pipe organ since the 1920's. We call her Cassie. Well, she started showing her age about twenty years ago, and so we shipped her to the Casavant Freres in Montreal for a little (2-year) R & R. Having returned to her home in Redlands, she is again sounding glorious.
Thanks, Kyle, for a satisfying Wednesday exercise.
Got an EASY A on this puzzle, the simplest so far this week with a crystal clear theme. (Wait they forgot the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz.)
NAVy sounds better than NAVAL BRASS (A belly button ring?). The Brit ERM (they don’t pronounce R’s after a vowel so kinda like our American UM.) Always wanna fill ON A roll but know it’s always wrong ergo perpwaited.
Made the mistake of taking the fam to Rehoboth Beach in April. Yikes it was cold. At least they had an indoor pool
So those are the names of the two muppet wiseacres. 😊
SAIDAH: kinda goofy but at least not a Proper Name like RORY (Lorelei) Gilmore, an unknown, if you didn’t see the 2000-07 series. Finally got around to it last year.
Fra DIAVOLO 😈 as opposed to “Frangelico”, 😇 a liqueur/cordial
Pastor familiarly…. REV.
A new mixed sport: singing an aria while sparring….OPERABOX
Letter added to S and L clothing labels to denote extremes….EXCISE
Happy humpday🙂
Oh joy, ERM again, which was actually my first thought upon reading the clue. Frequent appearances as of late tells me it’s now part of the CW lexicon. That aside, I thought this was a fair, nicely clued, doable midweek puzzle with a solid theme and reveal. FIR in 11:57. I knew all the names except RORY and the Muppet characters. OPERA BOX, DIAVOLO and REAPERS were all perps. Hedy LAMARR was one very impressive woman. Since the new format arrived at the Corner I have not had to prove I’M NOT A ROBOT before my comment is published. Some of those captchas were ridiculous ie; “check all boxes with traffic lights”, and then offered a dozen blurry pictures. Thanks Kyle, enjoyed the solve.
Splynter ~ nice write up today and I agree with you on two points - that Shrimp Fra DIAVOLO looks delicious (I saved the recipe), and yes that IS quite the PLAIT!
Good Morning:
I don't understand the reveal's relationship to the themers, either. Can someone please explain? Anyway, it was a smooth and rapid solve with only one unknown, Reapers, and only one w/o, Van/Von. I think Erm is here to stay, as is text speak, whether we like it or not.
Thanks, Kyle, and thanks, Splynter, for your chatty review and personal tidbits. Marisa Tomei is a fine actress who proved her dramatic strengths in the gut-wrenching film, In The Bedroom, and her comedic chops in My Cousin Vinny.
Have a great day.
Good Morning! Nice tour today for the middle of the week. It flowed pretty smoothly with only a few guesses.
All the names were known to me, and perps filled OPERA BOX for the unknown Muppet characters.
ON A TEAR was the last to fill to complete the O in the spicy DIAVOLO and the R in REAPERS.
I thought I had the theme with LADY and MAN, but NAVAL BRASS threw me off until I came to the Corner. OH!! LOL! I was looking at the wrong word! Now I get it!! Good one!
Thanks, Splynter! I enjoyed your fun and fact-filled review.
I thought this was Monday. An easy, smooth CW this morning. Cute theme.
I’m surprised some people aren’t familiar with MISSAL. I guess you have to be Catholic?
I hope bloggers in Florida will be safe from hurricane Hélène. That was my dear mother’s name.
Thank you Splynter for nice recap and congratulations on making a profit on your Subaru.
ERM, I guess that will have to add ERM to my CW lexicon (as YP mentioned, above) although, ERM...it rubs me the wrong way. Still, its no worse than snood or anoa or any of the E- words, I suppose.
This was an amusing puzzle with all the themers having a metal paired with a person and/or persons but not actually made of a metal like a robot would be - hope that helps Irish Miss. IRONically our Captcha went away with the new format - at least on my computer YMMV
I dodged a few of the 2 options like hymnal/MISSAL because I had already filled in the M. My kids went to a Catholic school in Wisconsin so I learned about MISSALs there.
Also learned pretty quickly practicing in towns near farmland to ask about what people had for SUPper for the evening meal, because dinner for many was the noon meal instead of lunch
My kids loved The Gilmore Girls during their teen years- so that was a gimme
Thanks Splynter for the blog - enjoyed the John Williams tunes and the link to the Sip& Feast blog for the Fra DIAVOLO. The pic of Rehoboth beach in DELaware was a good reminder never to go there - I avoid like the plague packed beaches - which you might get the plague at
FLN: thanks TTP for letting me vent a bit
Someone in Britain uttered “ERM” in 1911, so it’s fair game for a CW.
Desper-otto, I saw what you did there.
Also, not that it matters, but it is reCAPTCHA rather than CAPTCHA. This newer commenting UI uses reCAPTCHA badge. Some users may get a simple, one-time, "I'M NOT A ROBOT" checkbox, and they may not even get that again. Think cookies. Only the most suspicious traffic gets challenged to solve the picture puzzles.
As for being Blue... It still exists in the Comments Archive. For today, the link is:
https://crosswordcorner.blogspot.com/2024/09/wednesday-sep-25th-2024-kyle-dolan.html
But most people are commenting on current blogpost's comment page. For today, that is:
https://www.blogger.com/comment/fullpage/post/5995532066584316410/907080252707519243
I may have found a way to get revenge on captcha...
Anywho,
It was a crossword puzzle that enlightened me that Douglas Adams wrote more than just just "hitchhikers guide to the galaxy." In my search for more inanity, I came across a free YouTube movie called "Absolutely Anything".
I watched it last night simply because I like the comedic actor, Simon Pegg, an enjoyed it immensely.
Wanting to share my good fortune, I wanted to link it here. But quite honestly, in looking for a short clip to generate interest, I found nothing that would titillate the breakfast/coffee club here. (Might even turn you off...)
So, here is a link to he entire movie, (if you would wish to watch it.)
absolutely anything
If you can get past the introduction, and get to the beginning of a schoolteachers very bad day, I can promise you that you will forget all your problems for an hour and a half by watching some one else's problems...
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