GOAAAAAL! Last week, I had the Football QuarterBacks. This week I hit the soccer GOAL! The word GOAL can be found STRETCHED in the circles in each of the theme answers.
17-Across. Person announcing numbers in a hall: BINGO CALLER. GOAL.
26. Grammy Award won twice by CeCe Winans: BEST GOSPEL ALBUM. CeC Winans (née Priscilla Marie Winans; b. Oct. 8, 1964) has earned 15 Grammys. GOAL [Name # 1.]
45-Across. Notre-Dame de Paris, notably: GOTHIC CATHEDRAL. Since the massive fire at the cathedral in April 2019, the church has been closed. It is anticipated that the cathedral will reopen in early December 2024. What features make a cathedral gothic? According to Britannica, "the term Gothic was coined by classicizing Italian writers of the Renaissance, who attributed the invention (and what to them was the nonclassical ugliness) of medieval architecture to the barbarian Gothic tribes that had destroyed the Roman Empire and its classical culture in the 5th century CE." GOAL
And the Unifier:
59-Across. Crowdfunding target, and what can be found in three of this puzzle's answers: STRETCH GOAL. I had not heard this term, but have been the "recipient" of such a concept. A Stretch Goal is "a form of motivation that relies on challenging your team to push harder and reach for the proverbial stars."
Across:
1. Useful quality: ASSET.
6. "All __ Up": Elvis hit: SHOOK.
11. LED TV brand: RCA. The initials stand for Radio Corporation of America.
14. "¡Hasta __!": LUEGO. Today's Spanish lesson. See you later, alligator.
15. Satirical 2022 biopic about Al Yankovic: WEIRD. [Name # 2.] Quinta Brunson (b. Dec. 1989), who was featured in last Tuesday's puzzle, appears in the Weird Al biopic. Alfred Matthew Yankovic (b. Oct. 23, 1959) began his career when he was on the Dr. Demento Radio Show in 1976.
16. Pole worker: ELF.
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| Also known as Aerial Aerobics. |
19. "Houdini" singer Lipa: DUA. Dua Lipa is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Earlier this year, Time magazine included Dua Lipa (b. Aug. 22, 1995) in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. [Name # 3.]
20. Justice Dept. worker: ATT. As in an Attorney.
21. Rock groups: BANDS.
22. Many an early email user: AOLER. An AOLer is a person who subscribes to America On Line.
24. Dot on a domino: PIP.
25. Childish comeback: AM SO.
34. Canyon sound: ECHO.
35. __ protector: SURGE.
36. Workplace protection agcy.: OSHA. As in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
37. Opponent: FOE.
38. Scuff up: MAR.
39. Yogurt container: TUB.
40. Wallet bills: ONES.
42. Military trainee: CADET.
44. __ moments ago: MERE.
48. Floor protectors: MATS.
49. Bendy letter: ESS. Or, as we would write the letter, it is an "S."
50. Watercooler gurgles: GLUGS.
52. Poet T.S.: ELIOT. T.S. Eliot (né Thomas Sterns Eliot; Sept. 26, 1888 ~ Jan. 4, 1965) is considered to be one of the 20th century's greatest poets. [Name # 4.]
55. No. 1 pal: BFF. As in Best Friend Forever.
58. Apple's mobile platform: iOS. As in iPhone Operating System.
62. Luau gift: LEI.
63. Ram, in the zodiac: ARIES.
64. Privileged group: ELITE. We are an Elite group of crossword solvers.
65. "Not Dead Yet" TV network: ABC. Not Dead Yet is a sit-com about a woman who gets a job writing obituaries.
66. Undersized: DINKY.
67. Upscale watch brand: ROLEX. Did you know that a genie just "whispered" the name "Rolex" into the ear of the company's founder one day, hence the name of the company.
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| This diamond encrusted watch will set you back a few bucks. |
Down:
1. Actress and entrepreneur Jessica: ALBA. Jessica Marie Alba (b. Apr. 28, 1981) has been acting since the age of 13 when she appeared in the 1994 film Camp Nowhere. [Name # 5.]
2. Court filing: SUIT.
3. Shipped off: SENT.
4. Pancake batter ingredient: EGG.
5. Oversized: TOO BIG. David Byrne (b. May 14, 1952), of Talking Heads, was known for wearing a BIG suit.
6. White lake bird: SWAN. Does the King of England all the swans in England?
7. Grasped: HELD.
8. Paints on palettes: OILS.
9. Extracted resource: ORE. A crossword staple.
10. Subtitled TV show from Seoul, e.g.: K-DRAMA. Korean Dramas, or K-Drama, refers to Korean-language television shows made in South Korea. Complete unknown to me.
11. Chain known for Cheddar Bay Biscuits: RED LOBSTER. Apparently the company just hired a new CFO.
12. Whodunit game: CLUE. It's also a musical.
13. Hardly close: AFAR.
18. Guitar clamps: CAPOS. Everything you wanted to know about a guitar Capo but didn't know to ask.
23. Scandinavian capital: OSLO. The capital of Norway.
24. Compensated break from work: Abbr.: PTO. As in Paid Time Off.
25. Tavern beverage: ALE.
26. Enshroud in mist: BEFOG.
27. Thrifty, in brand names: ECONO.
28. Pianist's reference pages: SHEET MUSIC.
29. Poison __: SUMAC. Everything you need to know about Poison Sumac before you venture out into the wild.
30. Designer bag name: PRADA. Prada is an Italian high-end fashion house that specialized in leather handbags, shoes, and prêt-à-porter. The company was founded in 1913 by Mario Prada (d. 1958). [Name # 6.]
31. White marsh bird: EGRET. Egrets are such beautiful and elegant birds.
32. Communications officer on the Enterprise: UHURA. A Star Trek reference. [Name # 7, Fictional.]
33. Selena's "Only Murders in the Building" role: MABEL. Only Murders in the Building is a sit-com where three strangers share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. It stars Steve Martin (né Stephen Glenn Martin; b. August 14, 1945), Marty Short (né Martin Hayter Short, Mar. 26, 1950) and Selena Gomez (née Selena Marie Gomez; b. July 22, 1992). [Name # 8. ]
41. Thick carpet: SHAG. Shag Carpets were a big thing in the 1970s. Are they making a comeback?
42. Loops in via email: CCs. Originally CC stood for Carbon Copy from the days when a piece of carbon paper was placed between two sheets of paper in the typewriter so the sender could retain a copy. The term survives even though it is a far cry from the original meaning.
43. 2000s teen series set in Newport Beach: THE OC.
44. Surgeons' degs.: MDs. As in Medical Doctor.
46. "How tragic": IT'S SAD.
47. Old Testament queen: ESTHER. In Hebrew, she is known as Hadassah. Esther is the Persian version of the name. In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Esther tells the story of a young Jewish woman living in the Persian diaspora. She find with the king and becomes queen. She then risks her life to save the Jewish people from destruction when the court official Haman persuades the king to authorize a pogrom against all the Jews of the empire. The Book of Esther, which is read during the Jewish Holiday of Purim, is the only Biblical book that does not mention the name of G'd. [Name # 9.]
50. Arizona county or river: GILA.
51. "Feel What U Feel" Grammy winner Lisa: LOEB. I am not familiar with Lisa Anne Loeb (b. Mar. 11. 1968). [Name # 10.]
52. Olympic speedskater Jackson: ERIN. Erin Jackson (b. Sept. 19, 1992) was the first Black American to win a Winter Olympic gold medal in an individual sport. She won the gold medal in the Women's 500m speed skating event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. [Name # 11.]
53. Onion kin: LEEK. Everything you wanted to know about leeks and onions.
54. Teeny: ITSY.
55. Bubble, as water: BOIL.
56. Destiny: FATE.
57. Show off, in slang: FLEX.
60. Bi- plus one: TRI-.
61. Day-__ colors: GLO. DayGlo might also glow in the dark.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
Today is National Cat Day! It's my lucky day!
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| Fang, my neighbor's cat that adopted me. |
35 comments:
I didn’t find this puzzle to be very strenuous. It
was about the usual Tuesday level of difficulty, which is to say, not really difficult at all. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Had the circles, saw the embedded GOALs, allowed the Wite-Out to rest. Thanx, Doug and Hahtoolah.
Poison SUMAC: It took three weeks, but I finally found a pharmacy that could/would fill my prescription for the new Neffy nasal epinephrine spray, alternative to the needle-in-the-thigh EpiPen.
FIR, but erased cup for TUB. I've seen tubs of Jello, tubs of baby oil, and tubs of mud. Mostly in the same places I've seen pole workers. Don't recall ever seeing a tub of yogurt though.
I first thought chest protector, seeing as it's World Series time. The Yanks are in deep yogurt.
I remember when our official letters had to have various copies, all in different colors. White was to the recipient, blue to Legal, yellow to the engineering library, and grey to the signer. The typists kept various shades of correction fluid at the ready.
You can always tell a Phoenix newcomer because they say GILL-ah instead of HE-la. Around here, we can easily identify non-Virginians because they pronounce the "u" in Staunton.
Thanks to Doug for another fun puzzle, and thanks to Ha2la for the review. I had no idea that people have been trying to exterminate Jews since the time of Esther. By the way, what was she doing with the king? Is "find" a euphonism?
Took 4:09 today to GO to the formAL.
I am unfamiliar with "stretch goal", the Biblical queen, and the speedskater, but I knew today's actress (Alba).
Oh joy, circles!
FIR. This was an easy Tuesday puzzle, despite the circles. I went through it so fast that I misread the clue for "ess" and thought it was brandy letters, not bendy letters. That stumped me for a second. And then, aha!
Two unknowns for me were K drama and stretch goal. Fortunately neither was needed for the solve.
Overall a very enjoyable puzzle.
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Doug and Hahtoolah.
I FIRed in good time with no inkblots, and saw the STRETCH GOAL easily. (We may not have needed the circles.)
My Spanish is limited - I hesitated over the spelling of LUEGO. Thank you perps.
KDRAMA was unknown but easily perped and WAGged. Same for MABEL.
Did we all think of Pole dancing with that ELF clue?
WEIRD Al for AnonT.
RCA for Misty.
You all know that there are no ONES in my wallet, but Tens would not perp.
Today’s clue for GLUGS was an improvement over last week’s olive oil stumper.
I noted DINKY and ITSY, which if STRETCHed might become TOO BIG.
The book of ESTHER is a great read. Also an insight into the status of women in that society.
Esther
Wishing you all a great day.
Not too difficult for a Tuesday. I encountered lots of unknowns either as fills or clues, but all solved with perps. Really, not much to say about this CW.
When I got up this morning we were BEFOGged.
Thank you Hahtoolah. Fang is a handsome dude.
With the circles GOAL was an easy theme but what is a STRETCH GOAL? Never heard of that one. As for "A Stretch Goal is "a form of motivation that relies on challenging your team to push harder and reach for the proverbial stars"- probably makes the team think the boss is an idiot.
It was a FIW today. I had no idea what a K DRAMA was or Al's movie name. Guessing it was Korean, I filled KORAMA and forgot to recheck the across and filled WEIR-O. Duh!
After the snake decided to kill itself in the elec. company's cabinet and ruined a lot of my electronics, I had a SURGE protector installed.
After my mother (a piano and organ teacher) died, I had to find people who would take all the SHEET MUSIC she had accumulated. Wasn't easy. Very few piano players try to play Liszt or Paganini.
ABC, RED LOBSTER (just went bankrupt), MABEL, ERIN- other unknowns filled by perps.
Auto fills. Lipa=DUA, Lisa=LOEB, Jessica=ALBA
Ha2La- our outdoor cat adopted us 16 years ago and is looking through the glass, waiting for food, every afternoon about 4:00. You can set your clock to it.
You can find TUBs of plain yogurt in 16oz or 32oz sizes. I don't eat the stuff but people buy it in those sized and add their own blueberries or other fruit.
Thanks for counting the names for us. I also counted the proper nouns so in addition to 11 proper names there was 13 proper nouns. Way too many for me. Many filled with no issues.
Musings
-Easy puzzle with a foreign-to-me gimmick
-Only the plethora of obscure names offered even a DINKY, ITSY bitsy problem
-I still call student teachers CADETS. There is a trend to get them into a classroom situation earlier and earlier to see if they have the skills.
-Yes, CE, I remembered Hahtoolah had GLUG a week ago as a measure of olive oil
-Paying thousands for a watch tells us more about you than it tells time.
-K-DRAMA is one of those words that makes me wonder if the constructor knew this phrase or simply found it on a website that offers fill for certain letter configurations
-CAPOS allowed me to pitch a song down to accommodate the high notes
-PTO in farm country is the Power Take Off on a tractor
-Nebraska has a mandatory PTO on the ballot to force employers to pay for sick days
-PRADA: Speaking of paying thousands for a mundane item…
-I’m on my way out to get Lily something for National Cat Day. Frankly, that’s every day around here.
Stretch goal had to set them every year. You had your goals, say reduce reject production off paper machine by 3%. Stretch goal might be 5%. Making your goal was was meeting expectations. Making the stretch goal might get you a pay raise. Bosses had other ways to make themselves look like idiots.
just because its cat day...
Jinx: The Pharaoh tried to eliminate the Jews and he predates Esther.
A pleasant puzzle, Mr. Peterson! I would not have seen the STRETCHing GOAL without the circles, which also gave me a boost with four letters in the grid at 45 across, so that was nice. Had not heard of STRETCH GOAL before, but it's easy to understand.
Hahtoolah, I always enjoy your reviews, and the carefully curated cartoons! Many thanks.
FIR. An enjoyable solve, and also happy to see glug properly clued.
Jinx: WRT to place pronunciations, if you visit Eastern PA on the edge of Pennsylvania Dutch country, be sure to pronounce New Tripoli as "New Trip-oh-ly," Germansville with a hard G, and Greenwich Twp. as "Green-witch" Twp.
Zipped through this one, but guess I wasn't very goal oriented today. Never saw it 'til Ha2la 'splained it.
Hola! Of course, LUEGO was my first fill. All the rest filled easily. My mother loved to play BINGO. Actually, she loved any game of chance. I favor my dad's side of the family, cautious and thrifty. In fact, since my trip, I have money in my wallet. That is very unusual as I don't need it for every day use. It will be spent when I go grocery shopping later today.
CSO to Misty at RCA in honor of her father.
Many, many years ago when she was just starting, CECE Winans (I think that's who it was) sang at an event in Phoenix. She was introduced by Steve Allen.
Easy Tuesday level. I made a mindless error in the SW corner. Ouch! Having
----TCH GOAL, the reveal was easily inferable.
PRADA reminds me of The Devil Wears Prada, one of my favorite movies, with the great Meryl Streep.
Since extra virgin olive oil has become trendy I see EVOO in many online recipes. I think Rachel Ray has popularized EVOO.
So many people think staghorn sumac, with its toothed leaves and large red upright cone of flowers, is poisonous. No, the poison sumac lives in swampy areas, has smooth leaf edges and drooping white flowers.
Student teaching showed my older sister who loves math and is great at it that she didn't like teaching. She became very successful in the business office and later in computer programming trouble shooting. She did enjoy tutoring college level statistics.
There is also Bogota, NJ, which they pronounce Buh goat uh.
Very pleasant Tuesday puzzle, many thanks, Doug. And always appreciate your helpful commentary and pictures, Hahtoolah, thanks for those too.
How sweet of you to remember that my Dad worked for RCA for all those years, CanadianEh! and Lucina. He started working there at the time color television came on the scene, although I remember the black-and-white TV programs more than the color ones of that era. Our family was not very hip, but we did play BINGO pretty regularly. I'm also not sure we listened to BAND or GOSPEL albums, but we did attend Sunday mass at the CATHEDRAL. And my Mom did play SHEET MUSIC on the piano. Our family was not very ELITE, as you can tell, so we never had RED LOBSTER for dinner. Bur Mom did BOIL EGGs for weekend breakfasts. Enough about my family. I just wish I could have had a SWAN as a pet.
Have a sunny Tuesday, everybody.
Now I remember that lesson from bible studies more than a half century ago! Do I remember correctly that Pharaoh's attempt triggered the exodus? We sang "tell old Pharaoh, let my people go."
That's an agile cat!
Yeah, and in Central Kentucky you pronounce Versailles "ver-SALES," which tickles the tourists. But they think pronouncing Paris the way most Americans do is just fine. In Dallas I lived in a very nice community called Monticello, pronounced Monte SELLO. Around here they pronounce it like Jefferson - Monte CELLO, as in the big fiddle.
And don't get me started on the big cities of Bangor.
Very nice Truly Tuesday CW. I saw the theme with the first GOAL clue, which helped FIR in typical (for me) Tuesday time. WEES re DNKs. No W/Os. Thanx, DP I enjoyed solving your creation. And thanx too Hahtoolah, as always, an outstanding write-up. Well it's off to see the wizard...in this case, the wizard of dermatology, so he can freeze all the things popping up on me, and make sure none are another melanoma.
Thanks to Doug and Hahtoolah for the fun diversion! FAVs: white bird clechos and David Byrne clip. Happy National Cat Day!
For those who aren't softheads, "hit my sprint goals by the end of the cycle" is language from a software development methodology called agile. The sprints never run late; anything that isn't complete by the scheduled end date gets put back into the project "to-do" list, called "the backlog." Those leftovers may get completed in future sprints, or just not completed at all.
I liked this puzzle.
I think I've written about my sister's cat. She used the toilet by squatting on top and urinating into it. I guess she observed someone using it, as no one taught her. Sadly she met her end when she was run over by a car.
Lucina@5:15. I had a cat that started doing that -- just out of the blue. My roommate and I both thought the other was forgetting to flush, but no TP in the bowl seemed odd. Then one day we witnessed the cat in action. To my dismay, the cat stopped doing it after a few months.
Actually, Red Lobster has emerged from bankruptcy.
It's still Tuesday, right? Funny how everyone except me found this easy. I had many answers on hold waiting for a cross to confirm or deny my guess. That's why we all have wheelhouses, and today was my turn not to be in one.
sumdaze
My sister's cat also flushed the toilet!
Hi All!
Another fine puzzle by Doug that I finished before reaching my GOAL of drafting a slide-deck for an internal talk I'm giving. Thanks Doug for kinging the brain in gear. Also, nice touch STRETCHing the GOAL further and further down the grid.
Another fun expo, Hahtoolah!
WO: LObe -> LOEB
ESPs: N/A
Fav: WEIRD Al - if you are even a passing fan of his, the movie is a riot.
Lucina & Sumdaze - I've seen videos of cats using the commode. Mom's never did. The box was always nasty.
Jinx - LOL Agile comment to CED's cat. //to get the joke, Agile is a programming methodology antithetic to the pre-planned Waterfall model.
Enjoyed reading y'all when I had a few minutes between meetings & taskings. So thanks to the peanut-gallery too :-)
Cheers, -T
Dash T, great catch on the GOALs being stretched further and further. I did not notice that while solving.
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