SKYFALL
a gratuitous Daniel Craig for C.C.
A clever puzzle from a constructor I've had the pleasure to blog before, Juneteenth this year. The same "word" moving - that is, falling - through the grid, yet always in the same position relative to the edge of the puzzle. Not an easy task to accomplish without using the "word" as itself and stay within the vernacular, too. The grid has mirror symmetry, four unique fills (*) a handful of names ( but ones we see constantly in crosswords ) the same # of TLW & 4LWs (22), and a Moe ( per Splynter ) rating of 4 out of 5⭐. The theme fill falls thusly;
20. "Take time to consider ... ": * ASK YOURSELF
40. 1983 Tom Cruise teen comedy: * RISKY BUSINESS
47. Hangout for a long-distance couple: * SKYPE DATE
60. Chicken Little's warning, and an apt title for this puzzle?: THE SKY IS FALLING
ACROSS:
1. Lawyer Goodman in the "Breaking Bad" franchise: SAUL - With the spin-off series "Better Call Saul" - I have watched neither series, and reduced my TV bill from $105/mo. to $20/mo. by "dropping" Disney and ESPN - I just don't watch much TV
10. Deliberate loss: DIVE - TANK did not fit with my DOWNS
14. Workforce addition: HIRE - usually with "new"
15. New __, India: DELHI
16. Gulf States title: EMIR
17. Actor Idris: ELBA - name #1, but we see it all the time
18. City in Provence: ARLES
23. "Tiny Bubbles" singer: DON HO - we had this recently; name #2
25. Scepter companion: ORB - The Crown Jewels of the UK - more here
26. Under-the-sink piece: P-TRAP
29. "Looking for" shorthand: ISO - In Search Of . . . . also a TV series hosted by Leonard Nimoy and "Skinner" from the X-files, with its own spin-off (if you will ) called "Ancient Aliens"
34. Sunday __: dread of returning to work on Monday: SCARIES - I had the Sunday Scaries for school when I was a youngster - hearing the theme of the PBS show "All Creatures Great & Small" starting up for the closing credits meant bedtime, and I knew I hadn't done my book report . . . .
The theme song
36. Fossil-preserving spots: TAR PITS
38. Fast-__ restaurant: CASUAL - never heard of this; filled via perps
39. Shaped: MOLDED - I had FORMED first
44. NNW opposite: SSE
45. Tempe sch.: ASU - Arizona State University
46. Automated spammer: 'BOT
52. "Pokémon" protagonist Ketchum: ASH - no clue; the "S" was my last fill; name #4
56. Newcastle Brown __: ALE
57. Shearing day sound: BAA
64. Code with dits and dahs: MORSE
65. "The Batman" actress Kravitz: ZOE - Daughter of Lenny Kravitz & Lisa Bonet; name #5
66. Barista canvas: LATTE - canvas as in the "art" in the cream/froth atop an espresso
68. Stop: END
69. Pollinators that can see in the ultraviolet spectrum: BEES
DOWN:
1. Feminine pronoun: SHE -or "HER"~? I do the DOWNS first, but I WAGed correctly
3. Green spot in a concrete jungle: URBAN OASIS * - I see this is an HGTV show, too
4. Obedience school item: LEASH - I'm going to need me some dog food & supplies soon
5. Dec. 25, for Justin Trudeau: BDAY - Dah~! I was going to fill in "B-DAY", but I thought I was the only one who abbreviated it this way....
6. Digs into new digs, say: REROOTS - not MOVES IN
7. Magnetic power: ALLURE - my buddy Adam owns a restaurant of this name, sorta
9. Radiator sound: HISS - my house has baseboards, but they still "radiate" - much preferred over the forced-air system in my parents house
10. Gave a hand: DEALT - not AIDED -- a "hand" as in a poker game. Very clever
11. "Sorry, but it's true": "I'M AFRAID SO." - two of the last three clues fooled me~? I'm afraid so. . . .
12. Passing through: VIA
13. Hosp. triage units: ERs
21. Alaskan bear: KODIAK
22. Filmmaker Nora: EPHRON - I am sure you've seen at least ONE of her movies - her IMDb; name #6
23. __ jockey: DISC
24. Academy honors: OSCARS - I had the wrong academy in mind - see below, 37D.
27. Subj.-specific exam for the college-bound: AP TEST - Advanced Placement - I took the classes, but only one of the tests
28. Condition that may be treated with exposure therapy, for short: PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - George Carlin's take on the "words" - ** WARNING** may be considered "political"
31. Count (on): RELY
32. Roman of "The Ms. Pat Show": TAMI - no idea; filled via perps; her IMDb; name #7
35. Sly tactics: RUSES
37. Academy cadet: PLEBE
41. Christen: BAPTIZE
43. Decongestant brand: SUDAFED
48. Palmer of "Nope": KEKE - also no clue, her Wiki; name #8
49. "Woo-hoo!": "YAY~!"
50. __ mode: À LA
51. Bluffer's giveaway: TELL - more poker
52. Cash dispensers: ATMs
53. Wave away: "SHOO~!"
54. Foot-long sandwich: HERO - I just had one for the first time in a looong time for lunch Friday
57. Orthodontist's instruction: BITE - yeah. but meh.
58. Poker game starter: ANTE - and yet more poker
59. Range listed on board games: AGES - ah; did not make sense until it filled in
62. Daughter's brother: SON - did you have to "think" about this~? I did - too funny. How about this~? My aunt married the brother of her mother's second husband - try and figure that one out . . . .
63. Bunsen burner setting: LAB - ah. Not "LOW"
Splynter
One Week 'til Christmas~!
17 comments:
“Ash” “Ale” - totally obscure clues for common three letter words drive me nuts. They distract from what is otherwise a pretty clever puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
Actually, I misspoke. That should be “detract” rather than “distract” (although, that too!)
Good morning!
Not so good, actually. D-o experienced a mid-week crash and burn. It's been ages since I've seen the Muppets, and have never seen The Pat Show. There were several options for the crossing consonant, and d-o went with the S. Bzzzzzt. On the plus side, it took under five minutes to reach the abasement. Thanx, Daniel and Splynter.
FIR, but stat->SOON, custard->SHERBERT, and ephram->EPHRON (UNTIE!)
I thought the puzzle had some bright spots, but that every ounce of fun was extracted by all the pop culture / A&E crap.
The late, great Jimmy Buffett was also born on 12/25. An educated guess would be that about 0.3% of us were born on that day. That's a lot of folks.
Age ranges are also listed on jigsaw puzzles, The old, tired joke: Why was the Valley Girl so proud when SHE finished the jigsaw puzzle? Because it only took her a month, and the box said 3-6 years!
CSO to my sweet greyhound ZOE.
FLN: NYC vs Chicago pizza: I thought this was a no-religion zone.
Thanks to Splynter for another fine review.
Oh, I forgot - she married her step-uncle?
FIR. There were a lot of tricky clues, and way too many proper names, but in all cases the perps saved the Wednesday.
When i got all done I failed to see the theme. Once here, and seeing it explained, I went back and did a head slap. Never noticed it first time around. Guess it didn't matter to the solve.
But overall, a fair puzzle. And it's done, so there's that.
Or could be her uncle - don't know from the story if her father was her mom's DH1.0 or DH2.0. Your grandfather or step-grandfather.
And it's not as creepy as it sounds. I've known people who were born before their uncle/aunt. Still got that "family tree with only one branch" thing goin' for her.
Wednesday puzzle. Several clues and answers seemed out of place in their relationship….just me??
Greet the day.
Took 5:42 to avoid being a buttinSKY.
Luckily, we had none of those peSKY circles.
Well, my view was quite obscured by clouds, namely SAUL, DR TEETH, ASH, ZOE, TAMI, and KEKE, but thanks to perps the sun eventually popped out in 15:53 for a FIR. Quite the challenge for a Wednesday IMO. Thank you Daniel for your fine work.
Splynter ~ I was in NYC last week and thought of you when I saw the most beautiful pipe organs at St, Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity Church, St. Mary’s Episcopal, and the twins at Radio City Music Hall, was wondering if you ever worked on any of those?
Musings
-This may have set a Wednesday record for easy fill with odd cluing
-SAUL Goodman came from the character frequently saying “It’s all good man”
-Debate continues on whether Sonny Liston took a DIVE in his fight with Cassius Clay
-I am subbing for a shop teacher who has been fired, uh, allowed to resign. The search is on for a new HIRE. FWIW, no one seems to know what he did.
-My wife’s AAA purchases come in packs of 60
-SHERBET joins the ranks of “most misspelled/mispronounced words”
-Teddy’s TELL in the movie Rounders that let Matt Damon’s character beat him
Good Morning:
This had a bit of crunch, but nothing too onerous. I needed perps for Dr. Teeth, Tami, and Ash and I tripped over Noel/BDay and Formed/Molded. I noticed the Sky repetition, but the reveal was still a nice surprise. All in all, a Wednesday-worthy solve.
Thanks, Daniel, and thanks, Splynter, for your keen analysis and observations. Is a dog still on your wish list or has it become a reality? The newer theme song of ACGAS is much more melodic and befitting to the story, IMO.
I am suffering (silently) with a miserable head cold, sore throat and cough. I had to cancel two appointments today but, hopefully, this bout will be short-lived and won’t interfere with Christmas.
Have a great day.
Well done, Daniel. You not only have the word "sky" in four answers, but you somehow had the skill and patience to place them directly over each other, in squares 4-6.
There were quite a few proper names in the puzzle, which generally raises my hackles. But these were for the most part not obscure folks. I am always delighted to see the talented wriiter and director Nora Ephron in a puzzle: "Silkwood," "When Harry Met Sally" ("I'll have what she's having"), "Sleepless in Seattle"....
I enjoyed the misdirection clues like "Gave a hand." Thanks again, Daniel, for a fun and clever Wednesday solve that showed great diiligence.
Wounded Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Daniel and Splynter.
Count me in with d’otto as a crash and burn. I guessed DR mEEcH, which gave me REROOmS (which matched one definition of “digs”). I had fOLDED instead of MOLDED (origami anyone?), which renamed the unknown-to-me TAMI as cAFI.
But I did see the SKY FALL (DIVE), although for symmetry, I really would have liked another SKY at 34A).
This Canadian knew Justin’s BDAY is Christmas Day. His younger brother, Alexandre, was born on Christmas Day two years after him.
(He may not be celebrating this Christmas as he ponders stepping down after the last few chaotic days. And will you please tell your POTUS-elect to stop calling him Governor, and musing about Canada as your 51st state. We are NOT amused.). No more politics!
CSO to Misty with WOOHOO.
Wishing you all a great day.
A LOT of us are not amused either, and your taking offense is justifiable 😊.
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