Theme: "Oh Where, Oh Where ... "
Puzzling thoughts:
Today's play-on-words Friday-level puzzle was offered to us by none other than David Alfred, "one if by land, two if" Bywaters! This is now three-in-a-row for me recapping some of my favorite puzzlers (Rich, Patti, and now David). As many of you know, one of my partners-in-crime, waseeley, is also a fan of David's and regularly shares with us his fortnightly, crossword cavalcade
David often comes up with a fiendish connection in his puzzles, so I reached out via email to him to confirm (or deny) that these entries had anything more than what appears on the surface. David was honored to think that I had uncovered a secret code, perhaps ... but as he said, "it was by mere chance" that he came up with 5 phrases that have a double-meaning, all of which were framed by a clue question beginning with the words "where to find". Did you have the wherewithal to figure them out?
Let's explore each one and see if we can find out the meaning behind the clues:
17-across. Where to find a dogcatcher at the end of the working day?: BY THE POUND. David's first clue/entry was to explore the whereabouts of a dogcatcher (do these even exist anymore?) when his shift is over. By the dog POUND of course! Would this entry have been as exciting if it had been clued: "How bananas are sold?" Nope
But speaking of bananas, I find it interesting that Trader Joe's is a retailer who sells bananas individually as well as in a bunch. So, which is the better deal? Individual or by the pound? Well, if you allow that a single banana - on average (with the peel) - weighs about 8 ounces, then their selling price of 19 cents each (maybe it's now a quarter) is a pretty good deal. The by the pound price is usually around 69 cents per
31-across. Where to find a Tyrolean shepherd?: ABOVE THE FOLD. Normally, C-Moe uses the Thesaurus-saurus (see 70-across in the recap) to confirm synonyms. And while Moe has heard of the word fold in reference to a flock of sheep it took a while to confirm (open the link)
The phrase, above the fold, is a newspaper reference that applies to the headline (or major news story) that appears above the folded part of the paper. Maybe as this one so erroneously did back in 1948?
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Notice how the paper is folded |
38-across. Where to find an Iowa farmer in late summer?: BEHIND THE EARS. This was by far the corniest of the crop ... 😀
Too bad, though, that David didn't have a few extra squares in the puzzle grid to allow him to add an adjective to the phrase. Then the clue could've been:
How to find an Iowa farmer after a late summer thunderstorm?: ___ BEHIND THE EARS 💧💧💧
46-across. Where to find a Chicago suburbanite?: OUT OF THE LOOP. Fortunately for those who regularly visit the Crossword Corner, you are never out of the loop. Even when we are faced with trying to figure out certain actors, authors, places, or things; the bloggers here are always eager to do the googling for you and offer it in our comments ...
So why a Chicago suburbanite? Well, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the "landscape" "The Loop" is both a geographic reference as well as a pretty famous area in downtown Chicago (see the rectangular loop in the map below)
63-across. Where to find a lumberjack at lunchtime?: ON THE STUMP. David ends his quintet of quirky quips with a reference to political speeches and rallies. We steer clear of discussing politics here at the Corner ... but we do like to post cartoons!
Today's grid is brought to you by Sharpie®:
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| The Grid - My first time using a highlighter 😂 |
As an aside, there were 24 3LW's today ... again, a result of having 57 of the 225 available squares occupied by the theme entries ... we'll soon learn if Irish Miss minded these, or not ... I'm guessing, not!
As a further aside, David provided me (through our email correspondence) a couple more of the entries he had for this puzzle that didn't make the cut:
Clue: Where to find the lighthouse keeper on foggy Fridays?: BESIDE THE POINT.
Clue: Where to find the scientist who created the abbreviations for silver (Ag) and gold (Au)?: UNDER THE TABLE
My "grade" for this puzzle is a solid, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
6. Oscar season oversight: SNUB.
10. Org. concerned with lab safety?: SPCA. Cute clue; DAB's or PV's? In this case the "lab" is a dog; not a room for science experiments
14. Not haram: HALAL. Here's the difference
15. Potential London flat?: TYRE. Lots of play-on-words today! The London "flat" refers to an automobile tyre; not a rental unit (apartment)
16. Broccoli unit: HEAD. My partner, Margaret, advised me last week that broccoli is a man-made vegetable - Cauliflower, too as it turns out
19. Goals: AIMS.
20. Brief indication of flexibility: OBO. Or Best Offer. As in an ad (you'll see this on eBay) where an item is listed for sale for a price of, say, $50.00, OBO
21. Slender fish: EEL. GAR also fit, and it's a pretty slender fish IIRC
24. Quaint assent: YES'M. Contraction for yes, ma'am (also a contraction)
26. Out of harm's way: SAFE. Which supports (5-down. Away from the wind:) ALEE
29. "__ you asked ... ": SINCE.
34. Opening stake: ANTE.
36. Pitching superstar: ACE. Walker Buehler may have been the ACE in this year's World Series
37. Marker: IOU. PEN also fit
43. Rx provider: DOC. With 24 3LW's you're bound to get several that are abbrs.
44. Delighted cry: OOH.
45. In addition: ELSE.
51. Not just glance: STARE. How good are YOU at a starting contest??
52. Many a Saudi: ARAB.
53. Jazzy improvisation: SCAT. Ella was one of the best
57. Attempts: TRIES.
59. Coded plea for help: SOS. Morse code. Dit dit dit, dah dah dah, dit dit dit (... --- ...)
61. Nev. neighbor: ARI. CSO to me, Lucina, Yuman, et al
62. "Despicable Me" voice actress Kristen: WIIG. This actress pronounces her last name the same as an artificial hairpiece: "wig". But if you look at it again, what if she pronounced it like a video game platform + the last letter, might you get this?:
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Wii - G |
68. Core supporters: BASE. This term was used ad nauseum during the Presidential campaign
69. "Booped" body parts: NOSES.
70. Acute: KEEN. The Thesaurus-saurus agrees!
71. Roe source: SHAD. I prefer mine from sturgeon
2. Perhaps: MAYBE. Do you think maybe there'll be a Moe-ku today? Perhaps ...
3. Some flutes: ALTOS.
4. "Caught you!": HAH. See! There was a Moe-ku; hah!
7. Greenwich Village sch.: NYU. Right in the heart of Greenwich Village
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Washington Square Arch near NYU |
8. Large container: URN. A large-sized container (urn) is often used for coffee; a small-sized container (urn) is often used as an alternative to a coffin
9. Hotel capacity: BEDS. Same answer applies to a hospital's capacity
10. "Doctor Zhivago" star: SHARIF. Aka, Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub
11. Lingerie array: PEIGNOIRS. I wondered if this word had been used before in a major crossword puzzle - apparently, yes
12. Almost had it: CAME CLOSE. For some reason, this brought to mind a quip I wrote some ten years ago (October 2014). Not sure if those here are familiar with the racehorse I reference, so when you get to the last word click on the link ...
13. Spots: ADS. So here, all along, the images on a Dalmation's coat are actually ads?? 😉
18. Uruguayan coin: PESO. We had this word entry on Tuesday; Susan gave us the list of those other countries who use the peso as their currency of choice ...
23. Call upon: USE.
25. Class that brings problem after problem?: MATH. Why is it that I have a problem with this clue and its answer?? Maybe, because I couldn't find a Moe-ku to fit the answer ... how about a Moe-l'ick instead, that is sorta related ...
27. Part of a boa: FEATHER. SPLEEN and SCALE didn't fit. And when I found this image, I couldn't see any feathers ...
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Where the heck are its feathers??? |
28. Inscribe with acid: ETCH. Could've been clued: "___ a Sketch"
30. Part of a prof's address: EDU. Only since 43-across (DOC) was already used
32. "__ mir bist du schoen": 1937 hit: BEI. Who here remembers the Andrews Sisters? Let's see. In 1937 my future parents were in grade school ...
33. Little snicker: HEE. We gave out these little "snickers" for Halloween this year
34. "At last!": ABOUT TIME. This clue/entry would've been more appropriate if it were at the end of my blog!! 😂😂
35. Peach kin: NECTARINE. Here's the difference between the two
39. "Au contraire!": NOT. The clue was in Frawnch
40. Qatar's capital: DOHA. Coin flip here: If you chose the capital as in currency, then rial fits. But in this case it refers to the government center
41. Job listing letters: EEO. Except on Old MacDonald's farm, where jobs there are listed E-I-E-I-O
42. Italian ski destination: ALPS. Where you just might run into that Tyrolian shepherd fellow from 31-across
43. Bobs and buns: DOS. I hear that pre-Windows computer technicians chose MS-DOS for their haircut styles ...
47. Root: ORIGIN.
48. Charge: FEE. The noun; not the verb form
49. __ out at: LASHED. My twisted brain saw this image as someone who might resemble this:
50. Slender woodwind: OBOE. Played by that slender fish in 21-across, maybe??
54. Make happen: CAUSE. How did this happen? Just 'cause
55. On, as an alarm: ARMED. Once again, my brain went in a different direction when I saw the word armed. I wondered if there were any cartoon images of an octopus holding 8 alarm clocks, but this one is funnier:
56. A bit buzzed: TIPSY. I swear I was cold stone sober when I wrote this blog ... (which, FTR, was done on Monday the 4th)
58. Sounds of woe: SOBS. "There's no crying in crossword puzzle blogging!"
60. U.S. IDs: SSNS. See 65-down; you need one of these to apply
62. Stir-fry need: WOK. How about another Moe-l'ick?
64. "Pass": NAH. Oh, you don't want another Moe-l'ick or Moe-ku??
65. PreCheck org.: TSA. PreCheck for frequent travelers is a must - I got mine as part of Global Entry
66. Foot part: TOE. Toe, which rhymes with Moe, who is now going to bid you à bientôt! 😃
11 comments:
Not an easy puzzle, but then, I wouldn’t expect one on a Friday.
I note “OBO” and “oboe.” And I had to replace “also” with “else.” Also, it took me a while to get the spelling of “peignoirs.” But eventually, I figured it out. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Went sideways with VAT [URN] and OSHA [SPCA], but everything worked out with a judicious application of Wite-Out. Clever puzzle from D.A.B. Clever write-up from C-Moe. What's not to like? (Yes, I remember the Andrews Sisters. Rum and Coca Cola was somewhat risqué back in '44, or so I've read. My sisters collected several of their records.)
Finished while boarding our Boston to Ft Myers flight before I lost WiFi and needed to turn on airplane mode. Fun puzzle with easy with repitiitous clues
TTYL
Double the fun today with a creation from DAB, and an equally enjoyable blog from C-Moe. FIR in 14:34, three entries - PEIGNOIRS, HALAL and BEI were entirely perped. New to me was an alarm being ARMED and NOSES being booped. Thank you David for the puzzle and C-Moe for your in depth report, your Moe-ku fit nicely with todays theme!
The flight path from DOHA to Dallas, arcing SSW, is directly overhead my house in Michigan (I often track flights on the Flightradar24 app).
FIR. This was a struggle, but to be expected on a Friday. Last to fall was the NE, mostly because of peignoirs. When I figured it out I didn't remember how to spell it.
The theme was clever and I had fun trying to figure them all out. The cluing was tough, but mostly fair.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
I didn't know several of the long answers, but the many short ones filled in all the blanks. So a tough Friday ended in the win column.
As our Chairman noted, BEHIND THE EARS seems to be missing something, like WET. All the rest double as stand alone phrases.
Had no idea on PEIGNOIRS. Gonna have to look that up in case it comes around again.
Looking forward to what will probably be a Saturday buzzsaw, lol.
Mr Bywaters gave us some real Friday level cluing for mostly simple answers, along with a cute theme. I liked it! I changed OLAf to OLAV, and NOn (French like the clue) to NOT (English). Only unknowns were BEI and DOHA.
This puzzle felt like a special treat, and so did Chairman Moe's commentary. Thanks much!
Took 7:59 today, somehow. Felt longer than that.
I had a very similar solving experience as my neighbor, YooperPhil. And, like SubG, I had to switch also for else.
Peignoirs was unknown, as was the foreign word titled song from the 1930s, and halal/haram. But, I knew today's (voice) actress (Wiig).
I agree that "behind the ears" doesn't sound like a phrase (at least comparatively to "by the pound", "above the fold", and "out of the loop"), nor does "on the stump".
FIR, but erased rah for OOH and also for ELSE.
There were three things I greatly enjoyed this week, and two of them were DAB crossword puzzles. My favorite today was "brief indication of flexibility" for OBO. Of course, seeing the obligatory OBOE was comforting, especially in the absence of Oreo.
Old Bailey, I also plan to do a little internet research on PEIGNOIRS, although I fully know what they are.
Thanks to DAB for another fine puzzle, and to our Chairman for another punny review. But I don't get the "BITCH PLEASE" message on the eyebrows.
Fun themers - with DAB's creativity - I have mostly heard of "wet BEHIND THE EARS" for a novice
Not sure if CM was joshing us with the Boa constrictor anatomy - but the feather was on BOA that would be like a puffy scarf around the neck
I think of PEIGNOIR as a word my grandmother would say or in older novels
Late to a meeting - so thanks CM and DAB!
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