Super Heroes
They all started here ...
This was the first issue of the original run of the comic book/magazine series Action Comics. It features the first appearance of several comic-book heroes—most notably the Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster creation, Superman—and sold for 10 cents (equivalent to $2 in 2023). On April 7, 2024, a copy of Action Comics #1 was auctioned for $6 million, becoming the most expensive comic book ever. In the intervening years since 1938 the market for comics, animation, and gaming that originated with that $2.00 publication has exploded, and will reach an estimated $400 billion dollars by the end of this year.
Today our veteran constructors Gary Larson and Amy Ensz take us on a brief tour of the super hero universe that got its start on that day in June 2023 (although I doubt that they'll be getting any of the aforementioned largesse!). Each themer is clued with a punny reference to the alter ego of a famous super hero and then filled with a two word play on the superhero's name, the first word of which can be followed by MAN or WOMAN giving the hero's name ...
They all started here ...
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| Action Comics #1 June 1938 |
Today our veteran constructors Gary Larson and Amy Ensz take us on a brief tour of the super hero universe that got its start on that day in June 2023 (although I doubt that they'll be getting any of the aforementioned largesse!). Each themer is clued with a punny reference to the alter ego of a famous super hero and then filled with a two word play on the superhero's name, the first word of which can be followed by MAN or WOMAN giving the hero's name ...
17. Window treatment for Tony Stark's house?: IRON CURTAIN. Tony Stark is the alter ego for the superhero IRON MAN.
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| Iron Man |
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| Spider Man |
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| Wonder Woman |
64. Vivid mental image for Clark Kent ?: SUPER VISION. Clark Kent is the alter ego for the superhero SUPERMAN. Here are the opening credits and some snippets from the 1953 series starring George Reeves ...
Here's the rest ...
Across:
1. Digital whiz: TECHIE. A CSO to Tony.
7. Greeting on deck: AHOY.
11. "Bright Dead Things" poet Lim贸n: ADA. Ada Lim贸n became the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States in July of 2022. She is the author of several poetry collections, including The Hurting Kind (2022); The Carrying (2018), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry; and Bright Dead Things (2015), a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Books Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Here are 5 poems from Bright Dead Things.
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| Ada Lim贸n |
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| Arachne and Athena |
16. Not gross: NET.
17. [Theme clue]
19. ISP option: DSL. Digital Subscriber Line is a family of telecommunications hardware and protocols for transmitting Internet Services over telephone lines.
20. "Bleeding Love" singer Lewis: LEONA. Leona Louise Lewis OBE (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. She won the British talent show The X Factor in 2006, and was awarded a £1 million recording contract. The following year her debut studio album Spirit was certified 10× platinum in the UK and became the fourth best-selling album of the 2000s, and one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. Here's the lead song from the album, Bleeding Love, which spent seven weeks at number one in the UK and was the best-selling single of 2007 ...
21. Make: EARN.
22. Number of divas: ARIA. Here are nine of the greatest divas (a couple of the ARIAS don't open).
23. Ear part: CANAL. My Mother taught me that "you should never put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow". 馃榾
25. Nautical equilibrium: SEA LEGS. If you don't have them you might get SEA SICKNESS. Here are some WebMD recommendations for dealing with any kind of motion sickness.
27. Shade of blonde: ASH.
29, [Theme clue]
31. Singer Celine: DION. C茅line Marie Claudette Dion CC OQ (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer (CSO CanadianEh!). Referred to as the "Queen of Power Ballads", she is noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals. Her music has incorporated genres such as pop, rock, R&B, chanson, and classical music. Her recordings have been mainly in English and French, although she has also sung in several other languages including Japanese, Italian, German, Mandarin, Spanish and Neapolitan. She has had a number of health problems in recent years, but recently returned to center stage at this year's Paris Olympics with a stunning performance of Hymne 脿 l'amour. But the biggest hit of her career was My Heart Will Go On from the 1997 film Titanic.
33. Merch item: TEE.
34. Wrap (up): SEW.
35. Prepared to sing the national anthem: STOOD.
37. Broadcast-monitoring org.: FCC. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction over the areas of broadband access, fair competition, radio frequency use, media responsibility, public safety, and homeland security. It does not however have jurisdiction over content transmitted over the Internet. Tis a pity.
43. Alley-__: OOP. A very versatile clue ...
- An alley-oop in basketball is an offensive play in which one player passes the ball near the basket to a teammate who jumps, catches the ball in mid-air and dunks or lays it in before touching the ground;
- Drop the dash and we get a comic strip created December 5, 1932, by American cartoonist V. T. Hamlin, who wrote and drew the strip through four decades. It is in still in syndication to this day;
- And from the sublime to the ridiculous (and with apologies to all the musicians cited above and below) ... a 1957 song by the Hollywood Argyles based on the comic ...
47. Qdoba bite: TACO. Qdoba (kew-DOH-b蓹), operating under that name since 1999, is a chain of fast casual restaurants in the United States and Canada serving Mexican-style cuisine.
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| Qdoba Mexican Eats |
53. Gym unit: REP.
54. Asylum seeker, perhaps: EMIGREE. If perhaps one is granted asylum, only then does one become an EMIGREE.
55. NPR weekend host __ Simon: SCOTT. Scott Simon, was born in Chicago, Illinois, in March of 1952. He has been with NPR for over four decades, beginning in 1977 as Chicago bureau chief. His career also encompasses writing and television. He has hosted the Saturday edition of Weekend Edition since its inception in 1985, excepting a period in 1992 and 1993 when Alex Chadwick hosted the show.
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| Scott Simon |
57. Croupier's tool: RAKE. I guess that's where the term "rake in the money" comes from.
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| Croupier's Rake |
60. __ cotta: TERRA. Today's Italian lesson: "Baked Earth" -- low-fire, typically unglazed pottery, aka EARTHEN WARE. Fired terra cotta is porous and is ideal for flower pots and planters ...
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| Terra cotta planters |
63. Ambient music pioneer Brian: ENO. In addition to his major contributions to crosswordese, Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno is for some reason a member of the mononymous entertainers club馃榾 Eno is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and visual artist. While he describes himself as a "non-musician" he has experimented with many musical genres, and has been a major influence on other musicians. Eno co-produced The Unforgettable Fire (1984), The Joshua Tree (1987), Achtung Baby (1991), and All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) for U2, with his frequent collaborator Daniel Lanois. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2019 for his contributions as a synthesizer sideman to the band Roxy Music. Here is one of early experiments with minimalism -- By This River from his 1977 album Before and After Science ...
64. [Theme clue]
66. Engine need: OIL.
67. Handwriting on the wall: OMEN. This phrase originated from the Biblical story in Daniel 5, where, during a feast held by King Belshazzar, a hand suddenly appears and writes on a wall the following Aramaic words: 诪ְ谞ֵ讗 诪ְ谞ֵ讗 转ְּ拽ֵ诇 讜ּ驻ַ专ְ住ִ讬谉 (m蓹n膿 m蓹n膿 t蓹q膿l 奴p̄ars墨n, “numbered, numbered, weighed, and they are divided”). It was not a good OMEN for King Belshazzar, who was killed that very same night.
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| Belshazzar's Feast National Gallery, London Rembrandt, 1635 |
69. Secretive group, initially: NSA. If this keeps up they'll be investigating the LA Times next. 馃榾
70. Pointy-headed Muppet: BERT. Bert and his buddy Ernie go fishing ...
71. Tennis great who won four Australian Opens between 1995 and 2003: AGASSI. You can read all about those matches and many others in Andre Agassi's 2011 entry in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
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| Andre Agassi |
1. Part of a cat costume: TAIL.
2. Raison d'__: ETRE. Today's French lesson #1: "Reason for being". Some people think we have none, but IMHO we do.
3. Tot's name for a train: CHOO CHOO.
4. Medium for the body art of mehndi: HENNA. Henna is a reddish dye prepared from the dried and powdered leaves of the henna tree. It has been used since at least the ancient Egyptian period as a hair and body dye, notably in the temporary body art of mehndi (or "henna tattoo") resulting from the staining of the skin using dyes from the henna plant. After henna stains reach their peak color, they hold for a few days, then gradually wear off by way of exfoliation, typically within one to three weeks.
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| Mehndi designs |
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| A few varieties of potatoes in modern day Peru |
7. Wasatch Mountains ski resort: ALTA. Alta is a ski area in the western United States, located in the town of Alta in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, in Salt Lake County. With a skiable area of 2,614 acres (10.58 km2), Alta's base elevation is 8,530 ft (2,600 m) and rises to 11,068 ft (3,374 m) for a vertical gain of 2,538 ft (774 m). One of the oldest ski resorts in the country, it opened its first lift in early 1939.
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| Little Cottonwood Canyon, Alta |
9. Editorial writers, e.g.: OPINERS. A fancy name for "talking heads" -- which reminds me of this song by the eponymous band, a cover of the Al Green classic ...
10. Urge: YEN.
11. "We Need To Talk" co-host Kremer: ANDREA. Andrea Kremer (born February 25, 1959) is a multi-Emmy Award-winning American television sports journalist. In 2014, Kremer joined the team of We Need to Talk, the first all-female nationally televised weekly sports show. Airing in prime time, the weekly show featured a rotating group of female panelists discussing all topics and news in sports. At the conclusion of the program's inaugural season, the show won a Gracie Grand Award for On Air Talent: Sports Program.
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| Andrea Kremer |
13. Classic song with the line "My love has come along": AT LAST. While Etta James didn't write the song, she made it a hit, and torch singers have been covering it ever since ... 18. __ pitcher: RELIEF. Mariano Rivera is at the top of this list for the top 10 relief pitchers of all time. Here he is with tip of the cap to the crowd with his 602nd career save coming in a 6-4 win over the Twins on Sept. 19, 2011, breaking the record previously held by Padres closer Trevor Hoffman.
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| Mariano Rivera |
24. Just right: APT.
26. Pretended to be: APED.
27. Revenue sources for freemium apps: ADS.
28. Take a load off: SIT. What you do after you finish the reason you 35A.
30. Home style: DECOR.
32. Pest: NOODGE. Today's Yiddish lesson:
36. Go-getter: DOER. St. James famously told his readers to be DOERS in Chapter 1:22-24 of his Epistle.
38. Salad often made with anchovies: CAESAR. Here's Natasha's recipe for a CAESAR salad.
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| Caesar Salad |
40. Road excursions: CAR TRIPS.
41. Untouched serve: ACE. Andre Agassi scored 4,082 ACES during his career.
42. Hack (off): LOP. This week's dose of Monte Python (WARNING: the following scene contains acts of violence and loss of blood馃槯) ...
44. Suppose: PRESUME.
46. Washington's Sea-__ Airport: TAC. Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is the primary international airport serving Seattle and its metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington.
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| Seattle Tacoma International Airport |
48. "That's our cue!": WERE ON.
49. Muscat residents: OMANIS. Muscat is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was 1.72 million as of September 2022.
50. Inventor Tesla: NIKOLA. Nikola Tesla (10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943) was a Serbian-American engineer, futurist, and inventor. He is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system and for the invention of an early AC induction motor, the patents for which made him a wealthy man.
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| Nikola Tesla |
52. Overly indulgent: DOTING. I know a grandmother to whom this adjective might be applied. Hint -- if the preceding statement doesn't appear in the final copy, you'll know who it is.馃榾
56. Thompson of "Westworld": TESSA. Tessa Lynne Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. She began her professional acting career with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica College, appearing in productions of The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet. Following her role in Veronica Mars (2005–2006), her breakthrough came with leading roles in Tina Mabry's independent drama film Mississippi Damned (2009) and Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls (2010). The trailer for Westworld was Rated R, so you'll just have to settle for this JPEG ...
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| Tessa Thompson |
61. Outback hoppers: ROOS. Like this denizen of the Hundred Acre Wood ...
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| Roo |
64. Cry noisily: SOB. Often because of abuse by some SOB!
65. By way of: VIA. Today's Latin lesson: "By way of".
Cheers,
Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
31 comments:
Cute puzzle. And just right for Halloween. And not too difficult, in spite of some obscure names (and what about that cross of Ada and Andrea? Not very fair play, I thought). Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
'Twas not to be. Couldn't get my SEA LEGS, though at one time I had 'em. The whole New England area remained snow-covered. Bzzzzzt. At least d-o saw the theme and completed the themers. Not the same as reaching the brass ring, though. Thanx, Gary, Amy, waseeley, and Teri.
Yay, we got over an inch of much needed rain yesterday. And there's more on tap for today.
FIR, but erased msn for DSL and end for SEW.
Guess today it is the eerie CANAL.
I've never seen a croupier's RAKE that looks like Bill's example. The ones I've seen look like an "L." At the casinos they call the person who wields the rake the "stick man," even when it is a woman. They call all the people who staff a craps table "dealers," which sounded odd to me when I first started playing.
BEEPERs are handy when you suspect that the good guys are monitoring tour cell phone conversations. At least until your pager blows up! (Hand up for once carrying one. Pre smart phones, SMS was difficult, and voice coverage had plenty of dead zones.)
This was an unusual puzzle for me. Usually when I FIR I find a way to like it. Not so today - far too much showbiz stuff. Would be a great Entertainment Tonight puzzle.
Yesterday's game had the look of the infamous Black Sox. Judge dropping a ball that no pony league outfielder would drop, the current Golden Glove SS throwing the ball in the dirt from 15 feet away, and a major league pitcher "forgetting" to cover 1st base on a grounder to the right side of the infield? That is drilled into pitchers starting in Little League.
Thanks to Bill 'n' Teri for the very fun review. BTW, Take Me To The River has been covered by a bunch of big name performers. But the performer generating the most royalties for the author is the great Billy Bass, that dorky novelty mounted fish that "sings" it and moves its head and tail to the rhythm.
Are there “themes” across multiple puzzles? I daily do the LA Times and the USA Today puzzles. I frequently notice esoteric words that “coincidentally” are used in the same day. Today, however, was over the top. Both puzzles used the answer “spider plant” - not exactly a common phrase in crossword puzzles. What are the odds that two different constructors for two different newspapers used the same atypical word/phrase in the same day with no prior collusion?
Took 6:04 today for me to heroically finish.
Like the sage SubG, I didn't care for the intersection of Ada & Andrea. I didn't know the hosts: Scott & Andrea; nor did I know "noodge." But, I knew today's actress (Tessa).
Happy Halloween, everyone.
FIR. My only misstep was to throw down gas instead if oil. I guess I associate cars with gasoline and not plugs. I like going places without long charging pauses.
The theme was clever but I must admit I missed the reference to super heroes. That's probably because I've never been a fan.
But the cluing was fair for a Thursday puzzle. Several proper names I didn't know, but perps filled them in.
Best clue for me was "number of divas". Loved it.
Overall, a quite enjoyable puzzle.
Wasn't too difficult after I looked up 4 of the names. Never heard of noodge.
Musings
-A nice puzzle adds joy to our much needed 1” of rain yesterday!
-We lived two miles from our phone company and our attempt to use DSL was very frustrating
-RAKE provided an embarrassing Jeopardy moment for Ken Jennings
-The incomparable ETTA supplied a lovely interlude today
-“Full of beans” was something my Dad used frequently
-I’m still waiting to hear anyone use APE, APED or APER in a conversation with me
-Our 1984 CAR TRIP from Eastern Nebraska to Southern California with two teenage daughters was a herculean undertaking
-A prime example of British understatement: ”Dr. Livingston, I PRESUME”
-A father of a student is kept very busy these days selling and servicing BEEPERS, mostly in Omaha hospitals
-Time for me to dig out my orange, NASA jumpsuit and lawn chair to greet our 250 annual trick or treaters outside tonight.
I too found it easy enough once I looked up the first three names to get the long answers. Apart from SCOTT, DION, AGASSI, I didn’t know most of the other proper names, but perps came to the rescue for those. Neither did I know NOODGE.
No Qdoba restaurant in this neck of the woods, but taco was a good guess.
So all in all fun puzzle. When I saw Gary Larson and Amy Ensz’s names, I thought I had seen the handwriting on the wall, but I was happily surprised with my results.
Husker @8:26AM Great links Gary -- one of the interesting things about the Corner is how commenters extend the reviews. I learned quite a bit from your link re PRESUME, a clue I didn't bother to elucidate.
Good Morning:
Well, I’ve heard (barely) of Peter Parker (not his alter ego, though), and I definitely know Clark Kent, but Diana Price was unknown and, somehow, Tony Stark, in my mind, was the skateboarder, Tony Hawk, which made me wonder what Iron had to do with skateboarding. Therefore, I “got” part of the theme, but not the full breadth of it, especially the first word preceding Man/Woman. I had only two unknowns to deal with, i.e., Scott and Andrea, so the solve was easy and smooth.
Thanks, Gary and Amy, for a fun Thursday and thanks, Bill, for the usual mind-boggling facts and information, not to mention the lovely interludes from Ms. Fleming and other divas. I most enjoyed the beautiful Celine Dion’s beautiful voice singing the beautiful Hymne 脿 l’amour. A tour de force, IMO. Thanks to Teri, also.
Have a great day.
Have a great day.
I found today's puzzle to be mildly enjoyable: some clever clues, well-constructed, but way too many "celebrities" and other names.
The NE section, in particular, was Natick Central for me with ADA , ANDREA, and a song title battling it out with DSL.
A few other nits: I'm weary of APED or APER, and OPINERS is a new one for me to gripe about. Oh--and what's with "merch item"? Used twice! If it's short for merchandise, it's an impossible clue, because virtually everything in the world has been for sale at some time.
In other news, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series last night. They defeated the NY Yankees four games to one. I was fortunate to attend Dodger Stadium sixty-one years ago for Game 4 of the 1963 World Series. Same two teams, and the Dodgers swept the Yanks in four games, so I witnessed the last game of the 1963 season. Sandy Koufax pitched a complete game, giving up only one run, a home run to Mickey Mantle. Both rosters were filled with legendary players: Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Roger Maris, Don Drysdale, Maury Wills, Koufax. Mantle....
Thanks, Gary and Amy, for your fun review of some memorable comic-book heroes.
Happy Halloween!
Great theme which I realized before the reveal. My downfall was having to look up ADA and ANDREA in the NE.
I have heard full of beans used to mean all wet, you don't know what you're talking about, as well as meaning full of energy.
I suppose the verb ape is not used much in everyday conversation, but I see it often in print. The lower classes sometimes ape their betters.
Verizon is closing its messaging app and we must change to a new one. The prompt didn't work for me.
At the Verizon store the tech had to consult with a colleague and play around until he succeeded. How could a lil ole me do this?
The 5th inning of last night's World Series was an embarrassment for this Yankee fan. Their fielding errors were astonishing. I must admit that the Dodgers are this year's best team in baseball,
I, too, thought of "Dr. Livingstone I presume." Thanks, Gary. Your article brought back the interesting book our book club read about the source of the Nile.
I forgot to thank Waseeley for your usual informative review. So much to check out. Nice.
The level of difficulty has remained low all week but I look for that to change the next couple days. FIR in 11:56 with only a few unknowns, names as usual, ADA, ANDREA and LEONA, I knew all the others. I may have seen NOODGE before but it required perps. Thanks to CWs my Yiddish vocabulary has expanded quite a bit! Thank you Gary and Amy, I liked the theme.
Bill & Teri ~ thanks for the very detailed expo, always a learning experience! I PRESUME you’ve seen the 1939 classic,”Stanley and Livingstone”? Spencer Tracy delivers a most memorable soliloquy to convince the non believers that he really did find the doctor in remote Africa.
T Ken ~ what a great memory you have of being at that WS game in ‘63, great players on those rosters!!
Good Morning! I might have liked this puzzle if it weren’t for the NE, my downfall.
When I wasn’t connecting with the north, I went to the south, worked my way up and had more success. I had to look up ANDREA which helped me to the finish line.
Not a fan of the clue merch, used twice!
Perps for LEONA, SCOTT, TESSA.
BEEPER: Yes, at Panera and Olive Garden. Kinda icky, grungy to hold before going in to eat. I need hand sanitizer.
Thanks to Bill & Teri for a most enjoyable recap.
Good morning. Well this comic book tour was easy to FIR, BUT the proper name fest took some perps. Clark and Peter were known but Tony (and Iron Man) and Diana's names weren't. Neither were ADA, ANDREA, TESSA, LEONA, or SCOTT.
At least I knew BERT, NIKOLA, AGASSI, Celine.
Like anon@@6:04- I didn't care for the cross of ADA and ANDREA- both
NOODGE- never heard of it
DECAL for 'Merch'- doesn't register for me. Anything could be merchandise.
I had to buy some candy this am. Rain was predicted but the forecast has dropped it to 10-15%. Let's hope the kids don't get ALL WET tonight.
I'm not a Yankee (or any MLB team) fan but somethings never change. For the last 100 years they have had the ability to buy the best talent. They had to pay a "luxury tax" of over $48 million in 2024. I think the Dodgers outspent them this year.
I agree with Tehachapi Ken and others that "Merch item" was a terrible clue for "any object sold in stores." I kept waiting for a reveal to tell me whether the store was a golf shop, or whatever. The rest of it was easy going, although I didn't remember WONDER woman's alter ego name, didn't know ANDREA, and thought the clue for SEW was ALL WET.
Bill and Teri gave us so much information right from the get go! Thank you for the LEONA Lewis (DNK) bio and link. I've heard the song, of course, but now have a context for it. Bravo!
Happy Halloween
Happy Dilwali
A fun puzzle with a few clever clues and a few nits. Thanks Gary and Amy.
A fun puzzle, and an excellent review, Bill and Teri, with a lot of interesting info.
ANDREA Kremer is a very knowledgeable sportscaster. I have watched her for years but still didn’t;t recognize her here because I have always thought her name was Krame,r . Pretend/PRESUME, end/SEW, setREP, MSN/DSL. Can never remember: Ida/ADA.. ALL WET—full of beans. Beans also in full of —-, hill of—-, spill the—-.
A CAR TRIP(s) from Italy to France with an overnight in Switzerland. Ate breakfast mid-morning as the only customers in a restaurant with our rental car the only car in the large parking lot. A car pulled in and hit it. Pouring rain at the Brenner Pass. Couldn’t find the papers the guard wanted. We stood out in the downpour (no umbrella) until we are able to proceed. Some CAR TRIPS are more fun than others.
Prepared unnecessarily for about 50 Halloweeners tonight. We had 4 last year. Guess who will eat the left-over candy!
Happy day, all!
Hola!
What an interesting cast of characters in this puzzle! As an avid comic book reader in my childhood, memories flooded back of me lying on the floor reading, then swapping with my siblings for another one. I'm sure all that contributed to my life-long love of reading.
Yummy! TACO was an easy fill though I've never heard of Qdoba but guessed correctly. WONDERBREAD reminds me that I used to drive past the PLANT and was overwhelmed by the wonderful aroma drifting out.
Luckily NOODGE emerged as I would not have known it otherwise. And ADA Limon has also made appearances in previous CWDs.
I have great memories of visiting Seattle with my sisters so SEATAC came easily. Also in my memory are the many CAR TRIPS I've made going across the country. I don't expect any night visitors so I didn't buy candy; most of the children attend a community party hosted by our city. It's safer and keeps them all in one place. Happy Halloween, everyone!
Fun theme - apropos for Halloween when many of the littles will be dressed up like superheroes if they celebrate
I just landed at SEA TAC a few days ago to help my daughter & SIL with a newly hatched granddaughter and high energy 2 1/2 year old grandson, so doing the puzzle at random times and not much time to get to the blog
Generally fast puzzle for a Thursday - somewhere I had heard of ADA Limon once it filled - but tried ANA and AVA first
Thanks Bill & Teri for the interesting blog and Gary & Amy for the puzzle
Fun Thursday puzzle, Gary and Amy--very enjoyable, many thanks. And Bill, your commentary is always delightful and helpful, many thanks to you and Teri for that too.
As soon as I saw TECHIE I thought we might have a teenager wanting to shout AHOY as he went sailing on a CANAL, and exercising his SEA LEGS for a swim. When he was a kid I bet he had a toy train that made him yell CHOO-CHOO, and maybe he asked for a SPIDER PLANT for Christmas while chewing on his WONDER BREAD. His folks got him a lot of helpful SUPERVISION, and he's now traveling around the world as an EMIGREE to different countries, enjoying seeing the world. (and doing crossword puzzles).
Have a sunny, happy day, everybody--if possible.
Did not care for this CW: far too many names, 16 plus 4 more name-adjacent. DNK 6 of the 16, or 3 of the 4. Did not understand MERCH clues. Did not understand "Wrap up" = SEW. All-in-all, not a fun CW. Also DNK NOODGE. Thanx for the fine write-up Bill, all your time and effort are appreciated.
My exact thoughts on game 5.
I don't hear merch used for regular merchandise. It is goods sold to fans of a particular band, film, sports team, etc. often with their logo. I hear it all the time. You can buy Oprah merch online. Merch has been in use for decades. I am surprised so few have encountered it. "Dodgers fans rush to buy World Series Championship merch."
Hi All!
Love the hero puzzle, Gary & Amy! Good consistency with the themers (man/woman).
Thanks for the informative expo, waseeley. //so that's what Scott Simon looks like :-)
WO: CURTiaN [UNTIE!]
ESPs: ADA, LEONA, ANDREA, TESSA
Fav: ATHENA [The Who]
Runner-up: Number of divas clue was nice.
FLN: Congrats on the LAT debut, Marshal. A mighty-fine puzzle to start with.
There's a saying among IT admins: Follow the "Peter Parker Principle." //"With great power comes great responsibility."
Speaking of IT, Cybersecurity Month is finally over and I get to stop giving talks every week. It was quite grueling coming up with one or two talks / week while still doing my day-job.
NOODGE - I learned that word from comedian Gary Gulman [@2:26/7]
@6:39 Anon - our brains love to try to make connections / patterns, don’t they?
HG - LOL Ken Jennings clip!
unclefred - (up) is in parentheses so add it to Wrap and SEW. SEW it UP means to finish.
RosE - Connotatively, Merch is modern day vernacular for all the goodies sold at shows. I have a They Might Be Giants [Birdhouse in Your Soul* - 3:16] DECAL [sticker] I bought at their recent concert on my laptop.
T-Ken: it was the NE corner that made the puzzle feel like a Thursday. When I fixed curtain, SEA LEGS fell, DESIGN filled and... done.
My uncle convinced Grandma it was a SPIDER PLANT until she found the "How to Grow Pot" book under his bed :-)
Happy Halloween & Start of Diwali! //I only had 5 batches of multiple kids tonight. Watching the Ring Doorbell on my iPhone gave me a heads-up the ghouls come up the walkway while I keept working / writing this post
Cheers, -T
*if you listen to the lyrics, you'll figure out the point of view is from a nightlight in a child's bedroom.
Didn't refresh b/f posting say...
YR connoted Merch way better than I. Thanks, YR!
-T
My great nephew was/is in a altrock metalcore band formed in Costa Mesa, CA. They've toured the world multiple times. They've produced 5 or 6 albums. I was surprised to learn from my nephew (his father) that they've made more money selling MERCH than they make from album sales and concert tickets.
We had 58 trick or treaters tonight. Some of those children were oh so precious. There's something so special about that look in their eyes and in their demeanor, when they are just a bit uncertain, but buoyed by the anticipation of the treat that is coming. I love it, and I try to make certain that every child feels special.
I still think that C.C.'S Halloween crossword, In Costume, was the best Halloween themed puzzle. If you missed it, it was published Monday at the Universal Crosswords daily site.
Press the link to go to the site, press the crossword icon in the upper right corner. Then select the Oct 28th puzzle.
No goblins, ghouls or ghosts at my door tonight but I didn't expect it. All was quiet. Our enclosed community is not conducive to outsiders entering. Only those making deliveries usually come in and there is very little foot traffic.
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