Rise and Shine. The first word of each theme answer is something that may lift you up, although in the case of the ladder, you have to work rise up.
17-Acorss. Seat with horizontal spindles: LADDER BACK CHAIR.
24-Across. One competent in many areas: JACK OF ALL TRADES.
43-Across. Concise promotional talks: ELEVATOR PITCHES.
And the unifier:
56-Across. Request from someone who needs a ride, or a request that can be made of the starts of 17-, 24-, and 43-Across: HEY, CAN I GET A LIFT.
Today's puzzle will LIFT your mood.
Across:
1. African tree snake: MAMBA. Mambas are fast-moving, highly venomous snakes. Four extant species are recognised currently; three of those four species are essentially arboreal and green in color. The fourth is the black mamba, which is largely terrestrial and generally brown or grey in color. All are native to various regions in sub-Saharan Africa.
6. Strappy tops, for short: CAMIs. Short for Camisole. You can even get them in camouflage.
11. Los Angeles NFLer: RAM.
14. "What worries me is ... ": I FEAR ...
15. Introvert's recharging period: ALONE TIME.
19. Some hosp. staffers: DRs. // And 3-Down. Stuff prescribed by 19-Across, for short: MEDS. Doctors and Medicines.
20. Moves to solid food: WEANS.
21. Quite wound up: TENSE.
22. Many a YA hero: TEEN. YA stands for Young Adult.
23. Spot for a tailgate party: LOT.
32. Kitchen garb: APRONS.
33. Helps: AIDS.
34. Antlered quadruped: ELK. The elk, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae. It is also one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia.
35. Golden yrs. funds: IRAs. As in Individual Retirement Account.
36. "Later!": BYE.
37. Surrealist painter with an iconic mustache: DALÍ. There is a beautiful Salvador Dalí museum in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. I hope it survived Hurricane Milton. I don't yet have any updates, other than to note the museum is temporarily closed. Salvador Dalí (né Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí Doménech; May 11, 1904 ~ Jan, 23, 1989) had, not only an iconic mustache, but a very unique style of painting. [Name # 1.]
38. Hr. division: MIN. Hours are made up of Minutes.
39. Clarinet kin: OBOE. Both the Oboe and Clarinet are reed instruments. The Oboe has a double reed.
41. Lemon meringue pan, say: PIE TIN.
46. Greenlights: OKs.
47. Additionally: ALSO.
48. Place to store decorations, maybe: ATTIC.
51. Capital of Nigeria until 1991: LAGOS. Today the capital of Nigeria is Abuja. It is located in the middle of the country; the former capital of Lagos is located along the coast.
53. Informal greetings: HIs!
59. Gives a glow up: MAKES OVER.
60. Jazz choreographer Bob: FOSSE. Bob Fosse (né Robert Louis Fosse; June 23, 1927 ~ Sept. 23, 1987) was one of the jazz hands and he incorporated them in nearly all of his Broadway and film musical choreography. [Name # 2.]
61. __ out a living: EKE.
62. Leg joints: KNEES.
63. __ salts: footbath additive: EPSOM. Everything you wanted to know about Epsom Salts but didn't know to ask.
Down:
1. Not spicy: MILD.
2. Way out there: AFAR.
4. Not good: BAD.
5. "Cameras rolling?": ARE WE ON?
6. Place to change for a dip in the pool: CABANA.
7. Ruck of HBO's "Succession": ALAN. Although Alan Ruck (né Alan Douglas Ruck; b. July 1, 1956) portrayed Connor Roy in Succession, he is probably better known for being Ferris Bueller's best friend in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. [Name # 3.]
8. Comfy shoes, briefly: MOCs. As in Moccasins.
9. Printer supply: INK.
10. Divisions of the economy: SECTORS.
11. "Knives Out" filmmaker Johnson: RIAN. Although I saw the movie, Knives Out, I did not know the director's name. Rian Johnson (né Rian Craig Johnson, b. Dec. 17, 1973) also directed one of the films in the Star Wars franchise. [Name # 4.]
12. French pals: AMIS. Today's French lesson. Since this is in the plural, it means either your male friends or a mix of male and female friends. If it referred only to your female friends, the answer would have been Amies.
13. For a __ pittance: MERE.
16. Letter before iota: THETA. By now, we should all know the Greek alphabet.
18. Coral-based ecosystems: REEFS. Reefs appeared in last Tuesday's puzzle when we learned that they are threatened by coral bleaching.
22. MMA decisions: TKOs. As in Technical Knock-Outs.
23. U.K. business abbr.: LTD.
24. Pressly of "Mom": JAIME. Jaime Pressly (née Jaime Elizabeth Pressly; b. July 30, 1977) was also a regular on the short-lived sit-com My Name is Earl. [Name # 5.]
25. __ : showers :: May : flowers: APRIL. If April showers bring May flowers, What to Mayflowers bring?
26. Origami bird: CRANE. In Japanese folklore, the crane a strong majestic bird that mates for life and is said to live for a thousand years. It symbolizes honor, good fortune, loyalty, and longevity. These characteristics give the crane such special meaning and why the Japanese believed that anyone with the patience and commitment to fold 1,000 origami cranes would be given good fortune and granted a wish.
27. Seven-__ cake: LAYER.
28. Falsehood: LIE.
29. __ Valley, California: DEATH.
30. Grammy nominee Goulding: ELLIE. Elena Jane Goulding (b. Dec. 30, 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. [Name # 6.]
31. Onion peels: SKINS.
36. "You need new glasses, ump!": BOO! Think baseball.
37. Geometric art style of the 1920s: DECO. Our crossword friend, Erté (né Romain Petrovich de Tirtoff; Nov. 23, 1892 ~ Apr. 21, 1990), is probably the best known Art Deco artist. The term Art Deco is short for French Arts décoratifs.
39. Wooden vat: OAK CASK.
40. "Dynamite" K-pop group: BTS. BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010.
41. Cockpit figure: PILOT.
42. "There's no danger": IT'S SAFE.
44. Express aloud: VOICE.
45. Beepers: PAGERS. That's so 1990s.
48. Melodramatic sigh: AH, ME!
49. Decking wood: TEAK. Why Teak is good for decking.
50. Tot: TYKE.
51. Like most Twitch streams: LIVE. Twitch is an American video live-streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esports competitions.
52. Actor Steve of "Peacemaker": AGEE. Peacemaker is a black comedy on HBO. Steve Agee (né Steven Douglas Agee; b. Feb. 26, 1969) portrays John Economos who is the bumbling but well-meaning warden of Belle Reve Penitentiary on the show. Steve Agee is also a guitarist. [Name # 7.]
53. Cat's warning: HISS.
54. "Assuming that's true ... ": IF SO.
55. Flute part: STEM. Think wine glass, not a musical instrument.
57. Persona __ grata: NON. Today's Latin lesson. It is a Latin phrase that means unwelcome person.
58. Chop (off): LOP.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
I didn’t find this puzzle terribly difficult, and
ReplyDeletethe reveal was a pleasant surprise. True, there were a few obscure names, but nothing the perps couldn’t handle. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteNo nits, no problems, no drama, no Wite-Out. Perfect for an early-week puzzle. Thanx, Elly and Hahtoolah. (Cute Jack-o-Lantern cartoon.)
FIR, but erased alas for AHME.
ReplyDeleteI have a DVD of a 60 Minutes segment with Mike Wallace interviewing DALI. Both were smoking cigarettes during the interview. That was way back when. (Wallace died of lung cancer, btw.)
I'm guessing that "glow up" is a thing???
JAMIE was Jill in Mom, one of my favorite sitcom of all time. Jill was a rich but lonely alcoholic. (My other favorites were Married... With Children and All n the Family.)
I love the exploding PAGERS that Hezbollah leadership wore. Tres chic!
Thanks to Elly for the fun, easy Tuesday puzzle, and congrats for sneaking "ELLIE" in as fill. Too bad you couldn't work in Ely, Nevada, an old stagecoach town. And thanks to Ha2la for the fun review. I especially liked the spoon lift, the Lot of salt on the fries, and the APRONS. We once got our son an apron decorated with The David.
Your name shows up as “Jim” on my iPad, as “Unknown” on my iPhone 😂
DeleteACK! It's really Jinx in Norfolk
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elly Zupko, and congratulations on your LA Times debut!
ReplyDeleteI didn't read the review yet. Just the comments.
Welcome to the blog, Jim.
Back later.
Good Morning, Crossword friends.
ReplyDeleteJinx: AI defines "Glow Up" as a slang term used to describe a significant transformation, typically in physical appearance, that is perceived as an improvement. It's the process of turning yourself into a better version of yourself and becoming more confident, attractive, and successful.
QOD: He who cannot put his thoughts on ice should not enter into the heat of dispute. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche (né Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche; Oct. 15, 1844 ~ Aug. 25, 1900), German philosopher
"...turning yourself into a better version of yourself and becoming more confident, attractive, and successful." So in my case, "glow up"="miracle."
DeleteJinx you are having an easy week solving and a hard week posting. I know the feeling.
ReplyDeleteI gave up on HBO and never heard of Mr. Agee or the show, didn't know Nigeria left Lagos for ABUJA ; as clued I didn't know RIAN or ALAN and once again am amazed at your cartoon selection. I doubt that they had potatoes back in the day to make French fries from but the is not aLot to complain about. Thank you Elly and Susan
Yeah, I got this spiffy new laptop to replace my failing one, and I bought Office 2021. Little did I know that Outlook 2021 doesn't support POP3, which I want to use because 1) when I travel I sometimes need access to emails, and acquiring an internet link can be difficult, and B) I have acquired 15 email addresses over the years, and I want to see them all in one mailbox. So I downloaded Thunderbird, but I'm struggling to get GMail to work with it in POP3 mode. It took me a while to get POP3/GMail/Yahoo mail to work on Outlook 2019 but I finally got it going. I just need time, but that is in short supply while caring for DW and interacting with the medical professionals from the hospice service. Long way of saying that I think I can lick the anon/jim/jinx problem fairly easily, but haven't gotten a round tuit yet because of higher priority interrupts.
DeleteWriting that made me realize that the easiest way might be to move the Office 2019 from my old laptop to this one, and figure the rest out later when Microsoft ends support for that product in about a year.
DeleteJinx- I've also had a few email addresses but I am down to exactly one-gmail. I have Outlook on my desktop; it came with office. I don't use it.
DeleteThe multiple address problem comes from ISP provided addresses. Switch and you acquire a new one. I've had addresses from Cox, ATT, Yahoo, BellSouth, work and a few others.
Most teens don't bother with email or text. They use Instagram, TikTok, and talk on Face Time or What's APP.
Yeah, Cox is out of the email business, and Yahoo hosts my several cox.net addresses, even though they still end in "cox.net". I know that email's importance has greatly diminished, but it is still a necessity sometimes. My aim is to do away with all but two or three, but that's time consuming too. Gotta figure out who still has each of the ones to be terminated, and sometimes those can be pretty obscure - like the ones you use when completing a form, but you don't get email from unless there is a problem.
DeleteI don't really care about the young-uns. My brood are eligible for AARP, and my grandson still uses text.
Took 5:09 for me to get a leg up.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure of today's French lesson or today's actress (Jamie) or one of the actors (Agee), but I knew the other actor (Alan) and the director (Rian).
Death Valley National Park is a great place to go, despite the name.
Jinx/Jim's reference to Ely, NV is close to Great Basin National Park, which has some great views.
This was a quicker solve than yesterday for me with an amusing theme - congrats on the debut Elly
ReplyDeleteFun blog as usual Susan with all the silly cartoons
From yesterday, I recorded the NCIS:Origins pilot last night but haven't watched to give a review
FIR. This was an incredibly easy puzzle. I got the theme early on and literally threw down the reveal without a thought.
ReplyDeleteThe cluing was fair for the most part. A few proper names, but nothing unmanageable.
Overall an enjoyable offering.
A fairly easy solve today thanks to perps which gave me the unknown names ALAN, AGEE, JAIME, RIAN and ELLIE, I guess I don’t watch enough TV or see enough movies. I did know FOSSE and DALI. Never heard of ELEVATOR PITCHES. FIR in 9:39. Thanks Elly, and congrats on your LAT debut!
ReplyDeleteHahtoolah ~ your cartoons always evoke some grins, you have a knack for finding apt ones! I went to the DALI Museum in St. Pete a couple years ago which also had a traveling Picasso exhibit. I really enjoyed the works of DALI, but Picasso was a little too “out there” for me to grasp.
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Elly and Hahtoolah.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time and saw the LIFT theme. (I too thought LADDER was a bit of an outlier.)
One inkblot to change oh ME to AH ME.
All the unknown-to-me names perped.
I was misdirected by Flute, and thought STEM was odd when it perped. We did have an OBOE for music.
We had TEAK and OAK CASK. I wanted a cedar deck; we don’t see many TEAK decks here - maybe because of the cost
I smiled at the cross of the umps who were BOOed and ELEVATOR PITCHES.
Hahtoolah’s MILD illustration answers the question from yesterday re Salsa only being Hot?
Wishing you all a great day.
The WWII-era aircraft carrier I served on had a TEAK flight deck.
DeleteGood Morning! What a fun puzzle today! Congrats Elly, on your debut. I hope to see you back on the Corner.
ReplyDeletePretty smooth fill in crisscross fashion, relying on perps for ALAN, RIAN, JAIME, LAGOS, ELLIE and AGEE.
Favorite word: CABANA for its sound, spelling and visions of poolside.
Thanks, Hah2lah, for your cheery review. Loved the sleeping pumpkin!
I filled it in a normal Tuesday time but didn't notice the LIFTs. The were the usual proper name unknowns (ALAN, RIAN, JAIME, ELLIE, AGEE) filled by perps but ELEVATOR PITCHES and MAKES OVER ( "glow up") were also all perps. I've never heard of either. The only elevator where I worked was a freight elevator.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad HIS, FOSSE, and EPSOM were filled because until Ha2la's explanation STEM had me stumped.
YA hero? No idea but TEEN was easy to guess.
Today's puzzle was straightforward and well-constructed. It is one of those crosswords that is pleasant to look at, especially because all four of the theme entries are 15-letter grid-spanners. And each has something to do with rising. Well done, Elly!
ReplyDeleteHey, what's with all the K's? There are seven, and a typical weekday puzzle averages around one K. I approve of today's ubiquitous K's, of course, given my name.
The proper names (RIAN, ALAN, JAIME, BTS, AGEE, ELLIE, and a few others) would have had me biting the dust without neighboring perps.
I understand, Elly, that today's was your first LAT crossword. Well done; it was clever, satisfying, and had a freshness to it. I hope to see you back!
I inadvertently FIW. I left PIE paN. Otherwise fun puzzle. I liked the theme, certainly not too hard to figure out, except maybe for the LADDER. I didn’t know any of the proper names, but perps came to the rescue.
ReplyDeleteI never got the word when Nigerian changed its capital. Will I ever remember the new one?
Thanks Hahtoolah for the nice review. That salt cartoon is evil. LOL.
Jinx: you have your work cut out. I appreciate that you can find time to comment. I always enjoy your posts.
That should read Nigeria. ( I don’t know why spell check keeps correcting my spelling)
ReplyDeleteHola! MAMBA always reminds me of the gym instructor who said MAMBA instead of MAMBO. Nicely done, Elly Kupko, for the puzzle and getting a variation of your name in there. A different kind of CRANE is seen at construction sites.
ReplyDeleteI learned there is another AGEE!
Neither did I get the memo when LAGOS changed its name.
My daughter loves APRONS so I buy her many different styles as gifts.
Jinx, again I will say how much I admire your dedication to your DW.
Have a lovely day, everyone!
Any news on how Irish Miss' surgery went yesterday?
ReplyDeleteRealized that to parse the theme and finish off the SE for the win I hadda change HEYCANIGETARIDEto LIFT (which is also the Brit term for ELEVATOR). Then there’s “Lyft” the Uber alternative.
ReplyDeleteSome heft to the puzzle for a Tuesday with not a few unknown PNs
A piece of “Seven” LAYER “cake” wound disarticulate my jaw. But worth it if chocolate 😮
During residency 1978-80 PAGERS were a step up from the overhead calls for “Dr. Howard, Dr Fine, Dr Howard.” But whoever needed to contact you still had to call the operator and ask them to page you. The PAGER would “beep” to alert you to call the operator to find out who it was……We would do rounds with a stack of bulky patient charts. Now I see every resident cradling their own laptop.
Next it will be “Alexa/Siri, what’s wrong with the patient in 205A”
Gettin’ chilly
Easier than yesterday's offering. Some nice clues, but I don't subscribe to premium channels or pay-per-view, so those references fly right over my head. I find myself echoing Jayce on "paraphrase" entries...very annoying. Ha2la, LOL at the salt 'toon!
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle would be good to do while travelling...
ReplyDeleteAnd just for old times sake...
FIR in good Tuesday time. Easier than yesterday. 11 names, DNK 6, but perps rescued me. DNK what a YA is, but teen seemed obvious. Also DNK what a "glow up" is, coulda been TAKESOVER or MAKESOVER; AHME to the rescue once I figured out it was not ALAS. Thanx EK for the fun, and I hope to see more of your creations in the future. Thanx Hahtoolah for the outstanding write-up and cartoons, I especially liked the aprons. That kitten yawn made ME yawn. Funny how that works. Anybody hear from IM about her surgery? Hopefully she'll be up to posting an update herself tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteOh, I meant to comment that the cartoons typically open larger than they are in the blog, but not today, where they opened same size or perhaps a tad smaller. Is it just my computer, or did others see this today, too?
ReplyDeleteAs you can see, I survived the surgery! Doctor said everything went well and I was back home around 11:30. The pain and soreness are tolerable, aided by a pain pill, when needed. I’m still paying for that 3:15 am awakening yesterday, but a catnap here and there helps.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the many well wishes and kind words, which are greatly appreciated. ☘️
YooperPhil here ~ nice to see you back here this soon! Glad everything went well, rest up!
DeleteGreat news, IM. Thanks for letting us know. Now just take it easy for a few days.
DeleteGet well fast🫶🏼
DeletePrayers answered! Glad to hear you are on the mend. Margaret had hers out a few years ago so she can empathize with you. Now, if only my Cleveland 'Dians prayers can be answered, too ...
DeleteYes, it is nice to see you back here so quickly. Get well soon!
DeleteGreat news. Cat naps are wonderful. I greatly believe in the healing power of sleep. ☘️☘️☘️☘️
DeleteGood to hear from you Irish Miss. I’m glad that the surgery went well, and you are recovering without too much pain. Rest and get well soon.
ReplyDeleteYeah!!!
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-A very pleasant puzzle for crisp, autumn day!
-Some of us long time NFL fans never accepted the St. Louis Rams and still think of the Baltimore Colts
-The University has GREEN LIGHTED selling alcohol at Husker FB games this next fall
-MILD sauce is about as daring as we go
-Cameras rolling? A lot of people should have asked that of Diddy and Epstein.
-The farm SECTOR is so dependent on weather. Our current drought is less of a problem now than in the spring.
-The high temp in Death Valley today is only 100F
-Early editions of Law and Order had the police use call boxes on the street, then desktop phones, then pagers and then cell phones. I remember Jack Webb using pay phones in Dragnet. I suspect Matt Dillon used the telegraph.
-Wonderful cartoons today, Susan!
I liked this puzzle. Fun to see TEAK crossing EKE next to TYKE.
ReplyDeleteGreat catch, Jayce. I missed that.
ReplyDeleteHatoolah, it took me a couple of moments to "grok" the cartoon but Lot salting his french fries has got to represent a new high point, or low point, in cartoon wit. 😀
ReplyDeleteThat was my favorite cartoon of the puzzle.
DeleteI was busy catching up at work today, and also caring for my daughter following her surgery yesterday, so I filled in the puzzle in bits and pieces throughout the day. I thought it was delightful, although I couldn't make sense of the connection between the theme entries.
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled to see Irish Miss up to the task of joining us here.
Hahtoolah never disappoints. That apron cartoon was weird and wonderful, and I liked the sleeping Jack O'Lantern, too.