Friday, January 31, 2025, Ricky J. Sirois

 Theme:  Risible (rhyming) repetition 

Puzzling thoughts:

Just 12 short days ago, Ricky J. Sirois provided us with a Sunday puzzle: his 4th LAT submission, according to NaomiZ.  And as NaomiZ will be doing the Friday blog in Moe's absence while he heals, believe every word she says!! 😀 

So, let's explore Ricky's 5th LAT puzzle before I take a brief hiatus:

Today's offering, while not as tough as some Friday puzzles I've blogged, did have its Moe-ments.  Every time there is some play-on-words it takes a couple of solved ones before the theme reveals itself.  At least for me ... 

So how did today's theme of repetition come about?  Let's look at the entries:

21-across. Dorothy's musing before heading back to Kansas?: DO I HAVE TOTO?  

I am certainly curious to know how Ricky came to think of the four entries he offered today.  The first is a solid example of how both of the expressions work: "Do I have to?" is a lament that many kids use when they don't want to do something.  And maybe Dorothy didn't want to return to Kansas after spending her wonderful dream in Oz.  But I'm sure that she double-checked before she did return that her dog, Toto was by her side.  

A Moe-ku, perhaps?  Be sure to read this a couple of times to see the double meaning ... 

        "C'mon, Dorothy,

        Ship's leaving; TOTO can't come."
        Her Auntie Em barks

33-across. All-clear before the big dance competition?: GOOD TO GOGO.

Once again, Ricky found a clued entry that exemplifies both meanings.  "Good to go!" is an expression that means everything is ready, or all-clear.  The word go-go is synonymous with a style or type of dancing.  It also was a term used by Inspector Gadget when he wanted to summon something:

42-across. Advice on how to prevent undue interest from influencers?: MAKE IT SO-SO.

One of our regular board influencers is our one and only Picard.  Sometimes a picture captures more than my words can describe!

53-across. Enthusiastic reply from a certain bird impersonator?: INDEED I DODO.

What ultimately led to my rating this puzzle a bit lower was this entry.  If our resident grammarian, Yellowrocks happens to stop by today, I hope she will offer her comments and thoughts about it

The first part of the phrase could be written "I do indeed" as well as "Indeed, I do".  Maybe the word "enthusiastic" in the clue leads us to the proper position of the word, "indeed".  But I digress ... 

The whole concept of "indeed, I dodo" just seemed forced.  A dodo is not just a "certain" bird, but an extinct one.  And unlike the other three entries the plausibility of that phrase just isn't there

How might the fourth entry be a little more plausible?  Here is a possible substitute for 53-across:

"Words from a department store Santa on his first day on the job"? I AM GUNG HO HO

He does check out who's naughty or nice

Today, Ricky had some pretty good mojo.  I give this puzzle ⭐⭐⭐ and 3/4⭐s - congrats!!

The filled grid.  Notice the Natick at 1-down and 13-across

Across:

1. Decoupage, e.g.: CRAFT.  Knowing what the word decoupage means led to solving this

Decoupage: the art or technique of decorating something with cut-outs of paper, linoleum, plastic, or other flat material over which varnish or lacquer is applied

6. Stroller passenger: TOT.  

9. Substance: HEFT.

13. Dark matter?: HUMOR.  I stuck with rumor for too long in this spot.  I didn't get the play-on-words of its perpendicular (1-down. Ring leader?): CHAMP, either.  This was Moe's "Natick", as described in the grid image

14. Had regrets: RUED. I hope I won't rue having my cataracts replaced

16. Largest of seven: ASIA.  Seven = continents - can you name them all?

17. Suspect's story: ALIBI.  Really, I didn't make this up 

18. Plot size: ACRE.

19. Villain in "The Lion King": SCAR.  This guy:

20. Memory unit, informally: MEG.  Gig also fits - I had to erase it when some of the perps solved

24. Undertaking: PROJECT.

26. Persian Gulf nation: IRAN.  Iraq also fits but I used Iran, initially

Persian Gulf

27. Durham sch.: UNH.  My first thought was Duke - a university in Durham, North Carolina.  But since the word school was abbreviated in the clue, I knew the answer must contain initials.  The Wildcats of UNH reside in Durham, New Hampshire

28. Ellipsis trio: DOTS.  Something that C-Moe uses often when blogging ... would it surprise you to know that one of C-Moe's favorite movie theater candy is this?

30. Terr. divided in 1889: DAK.  My preferred clue for this would be: "Oft-injured QB Prescott of the Cowboys"

37. Stack: PILE.

38. Hierarchy levels: RUNGS.

39. Hockey's Bobby: ORR.  Oops - Ricky used one of the dreaded crossword-ese names

40. Civic, for one: SEDAN. Honda also fits, and I had to erase this before completing that section of the puzzle

41. "Ohhhh": I SEE.  Hopefully what Moe will say after he gets some new eyeball lenses

44. School org.: PTA.

45. Lean (on): RELY.

46. Foldable bed: COT.

47. Abbr. on an ESPN crawl: NCAA.  This usually applies to the NCAA as a whole. Right now, you'll see "WCBB" (for example) when ESPN is offering the scores of women's college basketball games on their "ticker" (crawl)

49. School papers: REPORTS.  The business world might refer to "reports" as those who work for their manager

57. One with a platonic partner, for short: ARO.  This was unknown by me but to be fair, it showed up recently in another LA Times puzzle

[ note: I wrote this recap before seeing ARO (in last Saturday's August Miller puzzle, e.g.) and then came back to edit it ... ]

58. Thoroughfare: ROAD. 

59. Leave out: OMIT.

60. Polling booth figure: VOTER.

62. Vegetable in the cabbage family: KALE.  I notice this vege being used in a lot of prepared salad mixes found at the grocery store 

63. Say hello quietly: WAVE.

  

64. __ planner: EVENT. 

65. Pizza joint in "Do the Right Thing": SAL'S. Sal's Pizza is a regional chain in NH and MA (surprisingly, there is none located @ UNH - see 27-across).  Sal's Pizzeria is found in Brooklyn, NY and was a venue in the movie, "Do the Right Thing".  And now you know, because prior to looking this up, I had no clue

66. Souvenir from an animated film: CEL.

67. Worshipper of Jah: RASTA.  I don't know about Jah but I do know that Joboo is for real.  Enjoy this clip! [rated PG-13 for a few choice words]

Down:

2. Help in keeping things straight: RULER.  I am guessing that Ricky/Patti meant one of these?

Notice the straight edge on the RULER

3. Compadre: AMIGO.  Would you use amiga if the clue was "Com-madre"??

4. Keyless key: FOB.  Moe-ku:

        Dick Van Dyke's TV 

        Wife said this before driving:

        "Lob me the FOB, Rob"

5. Weapons for Neptune and Shiva: TRIDENTS.  Many of us are aware of the god, Neptune 

I was unaware of the god, Shiva

6. Aspect: TRAIT.

7. "That sounds painful": OUCH.

8. Mega- squared: TERA.

9. "__ mañana": HASTA.

10. San Diego suburb whose name means "hidden": ESCONDIDO.

11. Italian automaker: FIAT.  Alfa fit but I didn't bite

12. Primary ingredient in poi: TARO.

15. Danny of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia": DE VITO.  A series on FX network.  The trailer:

22. Cuatro y cuatro: OCHO. [translation from Spanish to English] Four and four = eight

23. Hosp. sections: ERS.  ORS also fit.  Again, I chose the correct one initially

25. 2022 and 2024 AL MVP: JUDGE.  "Here comes the JUDGE"!  As in, Aaron Judge the center fielder of the NY Yankees

28. Not at all cool: DORKY.

29. Fairy tale baddie: OGRE.

31. "Too bad": ALAS.

32. Casino game: KENO.  How to play, courtesy of WikiHow

33. Golf clinic topic: GRIP.  Step-by-step guide to the perfect golf GRIP

34. Depose: OUST.

35. Everybody: ONE AND ALL. Not a phrase that we see a lot of in crossword puzzles

36. Hoped-for result: GOAL. 

37. Sauce made with pine nuts: PESTO.  Here is a simple recipe:

40. Short stay: STOPOVER.

42. Grazing location: MEADOW.

43. Coffee order: ICED.

45. "Run Away With Me" singer Carly __ Jepsen: RAE.

48. Gives way: CEDES.

49. Brand of canned chiles: ROTEL. My favorite of theirs, and one I use often in a variety of recipes:

Try this with black-eyed peas

50. Going prices: RATES. 

51. Reznor with two Oscars for Best Original Score: TRENT. His biography, courtesy of Wikipedia

52. "More or less": SORTA.

53. Bothers: IRKS.

54. U.S. weather agency: NOAA.  NOAA and NCAA were a bit too close to each other in the grid for my liking ... 

55. Apple desktop: IMAC.  I am a PC guy (laptop) with an iPhone

56. Deep __: DIVE. 

61. Eggs, biologically: OVA.  Not sure how much they'd charge for an ova, but a dozen hen's eggs were $6.99 this past week, and that was for the "store" brand

I'll close with a -ku:

    Manicurist earned

    Vet School degree. She now can

    Give a pet a cure

The Chairman has left the building ... see you in March or April

Thursday, January 30, 2025, Zachary David Levy

 Missing the Point

Today's constructor (and neurosurgeon) Dr. Zachary David Levy, presents us with 3 three theme clues filled by two word metaphors ...

17A. Complicated and potentially sensitive subjects: THORNY QUESTIONS.

28A. Shrewd one: SHARP COOKIE.

46A. Fruity drink with a kick: SPIKED PUNCH.

... and this reveal ...

60A. Failing to grasp the obvious, maybe, and what 17-, 28-, and 46-Across are?: MISSING THE POINT.  The reveal was not at all obvious to me and I consulted 2 other other Cornerites before Malodorous Manatee came up with a plausible and quite subtle interpretation -- the reveal is a meta clue: "All three answers contain an element of sharpness (thorn, sharp, spike - things that can jab/stab someone) but they are idioms that do not, in and of themselves, have anything to do with being jabbed/stabbed (difficult, smart, laced with alcohol). so they are missing the point."  Thank you Joseph!

Here's the grid ...
 

Here's the rest ...

Across:

1. "When __ fly!": PIGS.  "When pigs fly" is an adynaton, a way of saying that something will never happen. The phrase is often used for humorous effect, to scoff at over-ambition.  But then never say never -- on November 4, 1909 British aviation pioneer (and humorist!) John Moore-Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara made a flight in his aeroplane with small pig in a waste-paper basket tied to a wing-strut, proving that indeed "pigs can fly".  The Baron's porcine pioneer was named Icarus II, who for this feat saved his bacon ... 😀

Icarus II

5. Religious offshoot: SECT.  There are approximately 10,000 religions in the world.  Christianity alone has an estimated 45,000 sects; in Genesis 1:28 the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob said "Be fruitful and multiply", but I don't think that is what He had in mind!

9. Celebrate: LAUD.  Clever clue.  "Celebrate" here doesn't mean to throw a party, but rather to "praise",  LAUD being a word from Latin meaning praise -- e.g. "Today we laud the Roman poet Ovid for his contribution of the word ODE to crosswordese".  Lauds is also the old name for Morning Prayer, a set of Psalms and scripture readings that many Catholics begin each day in praise of God.

13. Each: A POP.

14. Pale as a ghost: ASHEN.

16. "Sesame Street" regular: ELMO.  ELMO made some news recently when he asked on Twitter "How is everyone doing?"  CNN reported that he received over 180 million responses  ...

17. [Theme clue]

20. Events with mutton busting: RODEOS.  A CSO to Chairman Moe for reminding me about Crossword Tracker, a database of clues and answers that reveals that this may be the first time this clue has ever been used for this fill. Google however does know about it --  Mutton busting is an event held at rodeos similar to bull riding or bronco busting, in which children ride or race sheep.  Here are the Mutton Bustin' highlights from the San Antonio Rodeo on Feb. 10, 2024 ... 

21. Color: DYE.

22. Shoe front: TOE.  -- or P. Martin Shoemaker, the front (or editor) of the Treetops Tatler, a popular liner for the floors of bird cages. 😀

P. Martin Shoemaker

23. Aquatic mammal: OTTER.  Otters are one of the more adorable species of crosswordese.  And of course English otters are the most adorable 😀...

24. Intimidates: DAUNTS.  

27. Lav: LOO.  Britspeak -- the LAV is where you'll find the LOO.  The first is a place, the second is a euphemism, which may or may not have originated in Victorian times.

28. [Theme clue]

33. Trimmer's target: BEARD.

34. Civil rights org.: NAACP.  The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey, Ida B. Wells, Lillian Wald, and Henry Moskowitz.  Over the years, leaders of the organization have included Thurgood Marshall and Roy Wilkins.
 

35. Flight assignment: GATE.

38. __ couture: HAUTE.  Haute couture (French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design.  In France the creation of Haute couture is actually regulated by the state to insure the quality of clothing products, much like the Appellation system insures the quality of French wines.  Here we see Haute couture fashion models walk the runway during New York Fashion Week.

Haute couture models

41. __ bargain: PLEA.  

42. Graphic that typically has HI and AK in insets: US MAP.  Here's a contiguous US MAP with HI and AK not shown as insets ...

44. Gets rid of: OUSTS.

46. [Theme clue]

49. Topper: CAP.

52. Better half: SPOUSE.  This expression has been around at least since the 1500's.  My favorite diminutive for a SPOUSE is used by Welshmen who throughout their lives refer to their wives as "my new bride".  Perhaps it has gone out of fashion, as Google's AI was unable to find it.

53. "I'm at your disposal": USE ME.  59A me!

55. Notable time: ERA.

58. Autograph, briefly: SIG.  Here are some famous autographs. 

59. Bring on: EMPLOY.

60. [Theme reveal]

64. Notion: IDEA.

65. Gather, as information: GLEAN.  Long before information was gleaned, the poor used to gather grain left over for the harvest, as shown in this famous painting.  Can you find the Easter egg in the artist's last name?😀

The Gleaners
Jean-François Millet

66. Tropical tuber: TARO. Taro is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in African, Oceanic, East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cultures (similar to yams). Taro is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.  Here are some things you should know if you want to try it.

Taro roots

67. Used books?: READ.

68. Circular current: EDDY.  An eddy is a miniature whirlpool or whirlwind resulting when the current of a fluid doubles back on itself. 

An eddy

69. Look over: SCAN.

Down:

1. Reconnaissance group: PATROL.  As has been reported here before, the first known reconnaissance mission is reported in the Old Testament book of Numbers chapter 13.  But the skills and technology at the disposal of recon teams has improved considerably since then.  Probably the most famous modern recon patrol was Operation Neptune Spear conducted by Navy Seal Team 6 to assassinate Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. 

2. Bygone picture-editing app: IPHOTO.  iPhoto is a discontinued digital photograph manipulation software application developed by Apple Inc. It was included with every Mac computer from 2002 to 2015, when it was replaced with Apple's Photos application

3. Treating properly: GOOD TO.   Practicing the Golden Rule, common among many religions.  

4. Free-for-all: SPREE.

5. Blurts out: SAYS.

6. Letters on some business cards: ESQ.  In the United States, esquire (often shortened to Esq.) is a title of courtesy, given to a lawyer and commonly appended to his/her surname ( e.g. , John Smith, Esq. or John Smith, Esquire) when addressing the lawyer in written form.  A CSO to Jason and Susan!

7. "Crazy Rich Asians" director Jon M. __: CHU.  Crazy Rich Asians (note -- no comma after Crazy) is a 2018 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jon M. Chu, from a screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, based on the 2013 novel of the same title by Kevin Kwan. The film stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, and Michelle Yeoh. It follows a Chinese-American professor, Rachel, who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick and is shocked to discover that Nick's family is one of the richest families in Singapore ...

 
 8. Got ready for a drive: TEED UP.  A golf ball TEED UP and ready to drive ...

9. Aloha shirt accessory: LEI.

10. Tons: ALOT.

11. "Yeah, I don't think so": UM NO.  Would you make up your mind!?

12. Rx information: DOSE.

15. Bass group?: NSYNC.  Clever clue. This perped in, but I didn't know that Lance Bass was a singer in the boy band 'N Sync.  Here's their It's Gonna Be Me ...

18. Like Loki: NORSE.  The god Loki is a trickster in Norse mythology. 

Loki

19. Wyoming peak: TETON.  The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately 40 miles (64 km) in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park, and most of the east side of the range is within Grand Teton National Park. 

The Tetons and the Snake River
Ansel Adams

24. Olympic swimmer Torres: DARA.  Dara Grace Torres (born April 15, 1967) is an American former competitive swimmer, who is a 12-time Olympic medalist and former world record-holder in three events. Torres is the first swimmer to represent the United States in five Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008), and at age 41, the oldest swimmer to earn a place on the U.S. Olympic team.

Dara Torres

25. No walk in the park: ARDUOUS.

26. Some dailies: SOAPS.  Not news publications but soap operas, daytime dramas or soaps for short -- long-running radio or television serials, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by "horse opera", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns.  The longest running American soap was the Guiding Light, with a combined run on radio and television from 1937 to 2009 with a total of 18,262 episodes.  See 51D for more about soaps.

29. Sarcastic laugh: HAH.

30. Penn of "House" and the White House: KAL.  Kalpen Suresh Modi (born April 23, 1977), known professionally as Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration as the Associate Director of the Office of Public Engagement.

Kal Penn

31. Solid block: ICE.  BRICK and CONCRETE didn't fit so it had to be ICE right?.

32. Ecol. watchdog: EPA.

33. Egg crackers: BEAKS.  Among the birds that eat the eggs of other birds are the Fish Crow, the American Crow, and the Blue Jay.

Ovivorous Blue Jay

35. Gloomy guy: GUS.  The term Gloomy Gus originated from a comic strip character created by Frederick Burr Opper, an American cartoonist. The term was first used in 1904.

36. Nile reptile: ASP.  Legend has it that Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt committed suicide by subjecting herself to the bite of an ASP.  This famous painting shows her trying out different methods of execution on condemned prisoners, ostensibly to find the least painful method, should she ever need to take her own life.

Cleopatra testing poisons
on condemned criminals
 Alexandre Cabanel 1823-1889

37. Short "Didn't need to hear that!": TMI.  

39. Adjust: TUNE.

40. Top-left keyboard key: ESC.  Among the many advantages of being a leftie. 😀

43. One side in the cola wars: PEPSI.  We're non-aligned in these wars -- we don't drink colas. 

45. Dull sound: THUMP.

47. Not just talking about: DOING.  "Actions speak louder than words, but not nearly as often" -- Mark Twain, et alia.

48. Designer dog crossbreed with a black snout: PUGGLE.  A puggle is a portmanteau of PUG and BEAGLE. The official breed originated in the 1990s in the United States, but it wasn't initially by design.

Puggle

49. __ disease: gluten intolerance: CELIAC.  Celiac disease is an illness caused by an immune reaction to eating gluten. Gluten is a protein found in foods containing wheat, barley or rye.

50. Detroit Lions Pro Bowl receiver __ St. Brown: AMONRA.  Amon-Ra Julian Heru John St. Brown (born October 24, 1999) is a German-American professional football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the Lions in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft. St. Brown was voted to the Pro Bowl from 2022 to 2024, and was a first-team All-Pro in 2023 and 2024.  

Amon-Ra St. Brown

I'd never heard of an actual saint with the surname of Brown, but the Wikipedia reveals that there were several in Europe called Bruno, which is Italian for Brown.

51. Place name in 1960s TV: PEYTON.  As in Peyton Place, an American prime-time soap opera that aired on ABC in half-hour episodes from September 15, 1964, to June 2, 1969, for a total of 514 episodes It had an all star regular cast and many guest stars.  With Peyton Place, ABC hoped to bring the success of the British serial Coronation Street to America.  The latter started in 1960 and as of this post it's still running, with a total of 11,474 episodes.  The next longest Brit soap is Emmerdale, which started in 1972 and is currently at 10,193 episodes.  The Brits love their soaps!

54. Blemishes: SPOTS.

55. Doha dignitary: EMIR.  Doha is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar, an Arabic country located on the Persian Gulf.  Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani is Emir of Qatar, reigning since 2013.

Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani
Emir of Qatar

56. Lift: RIDE.

57. Way out there: ASEA.

59. Wee: EENY.

61. Down in the dumps: SAD.

62. "Ideas change everything" org.: TED.  Sometimes for the better, sometimes to no effect, and sometimes for the worse.

63. Bamboozled: HAD.

Cheers, 

Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proofreading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

Wednesday, Jan 29th, 2025 ~ Rebecca Goldstein

 What~!?  No Country AND Western~!?

More Music Family Trees Here

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR~!  We move into the Year of the Wood Snake -- C.C. and I are Chinese Zodiac 'Pigs', but as far as I am concerned, the year ahead does not bode well;  all the horoscope reviews suggest I be cautious in everything I do - and I already hurt my knee.  Sigh.  

The full link here

ANYWAY, as for the crossword, it's been a while since I had an RG puzzle, but another 15 x 16 grid, with a melodious theme of "music" genres spanning four "rows" of the grid.  Forty-Two 4LWs, the circles were in yesterday's grid, and for a change very few names; I did not get my "ta-DA~!" right away, so it took a few minutes to find my error in the SE ( I'm looking at you LIBS ).  The centered reveal:

41A. Nashville district with historic recording studios, or what can be found four times in this puzzle: MUSIC ROW - there's a newsletter of the same name

The theme word rows alone:

SOUL  - - - - - ALTERNATIVE

BLUES - - -TRAP - - - SWING

METAL - - - FUNK - - - SALSA

ROCK AND ROLL - - - FOLK

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Fireplace fuel: LOGS - I raid the wood shop at work for scraps to make kindling, too

5. Bath and body work locations?: SPAS

9. Carne __: ASADA - Yummers~!

Most of the recipe sites were blown up with ads

14. Hardly working: IDLE - I have kept working, and kept aggravating my knee muscles

15. Bucks: CASH

16. __ roll: KAISER

17. Animating spirit: SOUL - soul music = The "other" OTIS; see 25D.

18. Backup plan: ALTERNATIVE - alternative music = growing up, there were so many choices in the 1980s that qualified as 'alternative' - the group in the clip below was among them, but this is their only song I PREFER

The Cure - Open

20. Like better: PREFER - hey, I just said I preferred . . . .

22. Personalizable cookie: OREO - I did not know this - here's the website to 'design your own'

23. Orator's platform: DAIS

24. __ facto: IPSO - Latin for "the fact itself"

26. Spot for a backyard barbecue: PATIO

28. St. Louis team: BLUES - blues music  = Stevie Ray Vaughn, ZZTop, so many others; I am learning the solo in this masterpiece from 1969, a remake of classic Delta Blues with the AMP set to "eleven"

Led Zeppelin - You Shook Me

31. Catch in a cage: TRAP - trap music = The Wiki, which is the closest I get to this style of music

33. Playground fixture where pushing is encouraged: SWING - swing music = before my time, but I did enjoy this one as a "revival"

Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Zoot Suit Riot

37. House mems.: REPS - oh, that House - in the Capitol; I was thinking BROs, DADs, etc.

38. Epitome of ease: PIE

39. Red-letter: BANNER - as in memorable, a " - " day

40. Tiebreakers, briefly: OTs - sports Over Times

44. Blvd. kin: AVE - abbrs for street-like pavings 

45. Titania's husband: OBERON - from Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream

47. Quick snooze: NAP - spent most of Saturday napping icing and resting my knee

48. Dart: FLIT - usually with "about"

49. Gold or silver: METAL - metal music = my most beloved genre, but to pick "a" song . . . hmm OK, as far as I am concerned, here are the Godfathers of Heavy Metal, what with the image on their first album, the opening rain and thunder, the church bell, the "devil's interval" of the diminished fifth in the main riff, and the dark lyrics - I give you BLACK SABBATH

Black Sabbath

50. Feature of some cheeses: FUNK - funk music = this is the song that comes to mind

Kool & The Gang - Jungle Boogie

52. Chip dip: SALSA - salsa music = Marc Anthony is cited as the best-selling Salsa Artist per Wiki

53. Some viral content: MEMES

55. Devilish: EVIL

57. Sheer delight: GLEE

Delightfully sheer

60. Bills tracked at WheresGeorge.com: ONES - Interesting; the website

62. Sunset hue: ORANGE

66. Get the show on the road: ROCK AND ROLL - This one was tough - I chose to narrow it down to a  three-minute length, with a catchy riff, lyrics you can sing to, and some hint at a guitar solo - and the winner is, well, self-titled

Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers - I Love Rock N Roll

69. People: FOLK - I will not do this injustice; folk music = you pick your favorite

71. "Sure about that?": "IS IT~?"

72. Coastal Pennsylvania town: ERIE - home to Organ Supply Industries - I did not have a chance to respond to some comments last week - T-Ken, I am working on the drawings for a NEW organ that is to be installed in the Nave triforium at the National Cathedral - an extremely narrow chamber of only 3ft.

73. Double take?: STUNT - the star of a movie's stunt double

74. Pointillism units: DOTS - I did a painting like this, using Q-tips . . . . 

More about the movement here

75. 2024 WNBA champs: LIBS - meh.  The New York LIBerty defeated the Minnesota Lynx


DOWN:

1. Speech therapy subject: LISP

2. Smell: ODOR

3. Modeling supply: GLUE - I tried CLAY first

4. Mirror images?: SELFIES - first time appearing in a crossword per the analysis site

5. Lasting signs of damage: SCARS

6. Buddy: PAL

7. Regarding: AS TO - or IN RE~?  I guessed correctly this time

8. Tibetan ethnic group: SHERPA - filled via perps

9. Org. offering tows: AAA - The American Automobile Association - I'm A guy in AA and AAA 😜

10. "This may be hard to hear": "SIT DOWN."

11. Most populous continent: ASIA  - AND - 70A. Second-most populous continent: AFRICA

12. Hindu goddess: DEVI - Literally "goddess" in Sanskrit

Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth fortune, prosperity - I might just pray to her this year

13. Fighting spirit?: ARES - meh.  The God of War -- or -- maybe this site~?

16. Shoelace tangle: KNOT

19. Cut and collect: REAP - I had SNIP, like coupons - I could add a bonus of (Don't Fear) The Reaper

21. Podcast installments, briefly: EPs - I am guessing episodes - I have never actually listened to one

25. Elevator name: OTIS - Elisha, the inventor of the safety "brake" on elevators 

27. "We were all there": "I SAW."

28. Dustpan partner: BROOM

29. Didn't bother: LET BE

30. One-seed loss, e.g.: UPSET - Did this happen~? I hope so

32. Outdoorsy outlet: REI - Crosswordese - Recreational Equipment, Inc

34. Taken together: IN ALL

35. St. Kitts and __: NEVIS - I did not know this name

36. Director Gerwig: GRETA - I had a tie-in to her last week with "Lady Bird" more here

38. Bit of wordplay: PUN

39. Catchy song: BOP - I pondered "HIT" 

41. Star-nosed __: MOLE - I have had this before in crosswords - here's a link, but it's not pretty

42. Channel HQ'd in Atlanta: CNN

43. Accessory for fall collections?: RAKE - har-har

46. Creme brulee dish: RAMEKIN - I was this years old when I learned that this is literally "the" dish

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

  48. Pita filling: FALAFEL - fried chickpeas and seasonings

50. Ward (off): FEND

51. Login need: USER I.D.

52. Round Table title: SIR

54. "A Sister's Eulogy for Steve Jobs" essayist Simpson: MONA - biological sister of - more here

56. Electricity units: VOLTS - Dah~! I went with WATTS

57. Mardi __: GRAS

58. Raised bed, maybe: LOFT

59. Greige hue: ECRU - Grey / Beige portmanteau; the common color of McMansions

61. Only okay: SO-SO

63. Seaweed snack: NORI

64. Insincere: GLIB - we have GLEE, GLUE, GRETA, GRAS, GREIGE and GLIB today

65. Squeaks (by): EKES

67. Do something: ACT - "don't just do something, stand there~!"

68. Course with a long reading list, for short: LIT - as in "English Lit(erature)"

Or maybe this~?  I like this one better

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

 

1) Happy Year of the Snake!

2) ORCA season is here. Voting is now open until February 17th for the 1^3th ORCA. You can read more here and cast your ballot.

Tuesday, January 28, 2025 Wendy L Brandes

The Art of Being Graceful.  In today's puzzle, an ODE gracefully slides down and across the grid.

20-Across. Wide receiver who was the 2014 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: ODELL BECKHAM, JR.  Odell Cornelious Beckham, Jr (b. Nov. 5, 1992) was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and played football at Louisiana State University.  His plays were Poetry in Motion.

33-Across. Literary movement for Vonnegut and Pynchon: POST-MODERNISM.  Postmodernism is a movement that challenged modernism in the arts, culture, and philosophy.  Postmodernism is known for its skepticism, irony, and critiques of objective reality and universal truths.  Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (Nov. 11, 1922 ~ Apr. 11, 2007) was known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels.  The only Vonnegut novel I read was Slaughter House-Five.  Thomas Pynchon, Jr. (b. May 8, 1937) is known for his dense and complex novels.  I have never read any of his works.

40-Across. Pushes one's game to the next level: GOES BEAST MODE.

53-Across. Epitome of grace, and an apt title for this puzzle: POETRY IN MOTION.  See how the Ode (Poem) gracefully moves (Motion) down and across the grid.

See how the ODE gracefully moves down the Grid.

Across:

1. Long, long time: AGES.

5. Important ingredient in Toll House cookies: CHIPS.  Yummers!  The history of the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie.  My mother had a chocolate chip cookie that was ever so much better than the Toll House version.

10. Touch: ABUT.

14. U2 lead singer: BONO.  Bono (né Paul David Hewson; b. May 10, 1960) is also a founding member of the band.  He took his name, Bono, from an Irish hearing aid company.

15. "__ and Juliet": ROMEO.  What if Shakespeare wrote a different ending to Romeo and Juliet?  That's the premise of & Juliet.  We just saw the show and it was so much fun and very high energy.

16. Friction fighter: LUBE.

17. Indian flatbread: ROTI.  Not the expected Naan!  What's the difference?

18. No longer together: APART.

19. Neighborhood: AREA.

23. Show on television: AIR.

24. Photo __: OPS.

25. Punk subgenre: EMO.

26. Loved by: DEAR TO.

28. Protagonist: HERO.

30. __ Moines, Iowa: DES.  A brief history of Des Moines.

36. Bombard (with): PELT.

38. MSNBC host Melber: ARI.  Ari Naftali Melber (b. Mar. 31, 1980) is an attorney and a journalist.  He hosts The Beat with Ari Melber.

39. Roadie's gear: AMPS.  A crossword staple.

45. Actress de Armas: ANA.  Ana de Armas (née Ana Celia de Armas Caso; b. Apr. 30, 1988) is a Cuban and Spanish actress.  I first saw her in the 2019 film, Knives Out.

46. "General Hospital" actress Rylan: EMME.  Apparently, Emme Rylan (née Marcy Faith Behrens; b. Nov. 4, 1980) has appeared in a number of soap operas, including General Hospital and The Young and the Restless.

47. Long-armed shaggy apes, familiarly: ORANGS.  As in an Orangutan.

50. Hon: BAE.  This is becoming a crossword staple.  It appeared in last Wednesday's puzzle.

51. E-file org.: IRS.  As in the Internal Revenue Service.

52. Sign of a hot ticket on Broadway: SRO.  Standing Room Only.

58. Slangy coffee: JAVA.

59. Irritated: GOT TO.

60. Oblong tomato: ROMA.  The Roma tomato is a plum tomato that is commonly used for tomato paste because of its slender and firm nature.  They grow well in the United States, Mexico, Australia, and Great Britain.

61. Receiving customers: OPEN.

62. Burstyn of "The First Lady": ELLEN.  Ellen Burstyn (née Edna Rae Gillooly; b. Dec. 7, 1932) has been in numerous films during her long career.  She earned an Oscar for her portrayal of Alice Hyatt in the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More.

63. Condo, e.g.: UNIT.

64. Places to find fuzzy navels: BARS.  Nice misdirection.  A Fuzzy Navel is a mixed drink made with peach schnapps and orange juice.

65. American Girls, e.g.: DOLLS.  American Girls is a line of dolls, many of which are based on historical characters or figures.

66. "¿Cómo __ usted?": ESTA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

Down:

1. Overseas: ABROAD.

2. Unexpected treat: GOODIE.

3. Respond to court charges: ENTER A PLEA.

4. Bed component?: SOIL.

5. Underwater trap: CRAB POT.

6. Aspirations: HOPES.

7. Apple desktop: iMAC.

8. Free lunch on Fridays, e.g.: PERK.  Why Friday?

9. "Told ya!": SO THERE!

10. Budget competitor: ALAMO.  Both are car rental companies.  

11. __ Khalifa: world's tallest building: BURJ.  The Burj Khalifa stands at 2,717 feet.  The Burj Khalifa is in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  The building is named after Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Sept. 7, 1948 ~ May 13, 2022), the second president of the UAE.  The tallest building that I have ever been in is the third largest building, the Shanghai Tower, which stands at a mere 2,073 feet.

12. Big name in food delivery: UBER.  

13. Spills the __: gossips: TEA.  //  And 50-Down. Spills the __: blabs: BEANS.  While both idioms have similar meanings, “spill the tea” typically refers to gossip, while “spill the beans” typically refers to an unintentional disclosure of private or secret information.

21. Quite a few: LOTS.

22. Cupid's domain: AMOR.

27. Becomes compost: ROTS.

28. Seabiscuit, for one: HORSE.  Seabiscuit (1993 ~ 1947) was a famous American Thoroughbred.  He was born in 1933 and raced from 1935–1940.

29. Work periodically?: EDIT.  Cute clue.

30. Part of a design spec: DIMENSIONS.

31. Seer's gift: ESP.

32. Texting format: SMS.  As in Short Message Service.

34. Polite term of address: MA'AM.

35. Zippo: NADA.

36. Links org.: PGA.  As in the Professional Golfers' Association.

37. Long, long time: EON.

41. Edged out: BEAT.

42. Came out of hiding: EMERGED.

43. Church members who are encouraged to do missionary work: MORMONS.

44. Roughly: OR SO.

48. Wallace's claymation pal: GROMIT.  Wallace & Gromit is a British claymation comedy franchise.  The stories all come have a hidden meaning: they tell the story of a class struggle.  Wallace, the human, represents the privileged upper class, while Gromit, his faithful dog, represents the lower class that supports his master.

49. Hyundai sedan: SONATA.

51. Dirt dug up by moles: INTEL.  Good misdirection!  As intelligence gathered by a spy.

53. Grandad's nickname: PAPA.  This is just one of many of nicknames for Grandfather.

54. Finished: OVER.

55. "I'll never have this chance again, so why not!" letters: YOLO.  You Only Live Once.

56. "__ all work out": IT'LL.

57. Immodest response to "You're the best!": TRUE.

58. Occupation: JOB.

חתולה

Uluru, also known as Ayres Rock.