Jess returns after a nine month hiatus and brightens our Saturday with a wonderful puzzle. I sailed through in good time and was slowed only to be amazed and amused by her skill. I found Jess on FaceBook and can't tell you what a bright, engaging person she is. She and her family recently drove through Lincoln and wanted to make a connection with me but couldn't make it work.
Jess has separated from the Air Force after five years of service where she told me served as an Urdu linguist, not interpreter. She now lives in Colorado Springs with her husband who serves in the U.S. Space Force. This is a picture with her and her then 5-year-old son having a good time on the playground. Jess assures me this is Urdu for, "I hope you enjoyed Jess's puzzle."
مجھے امید ہے کہ آپ نے جیس کی پہیلی کا لطف اٹھایا
Across:
1. Music genre with roots in swing: BEBOP.
6. Observation deck?: TAROT 😀 Oh, a deck of TAROT cards!
11. Record label for P!nk and Cat Burns: RCA.
The RCA logo is in there somewhere.
14. Vegan beauty brand headquartered in Minnesota: AVEDA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
15. "Should I be worried about us?": ARE WE COOL?
17. Monopoly property based on a historical monopoly: READING RAILROAD - The READING (pronounced redding) RAILROAD became a huge company because it owned the mines in NE Pennsylvania and also the railroad that hauled it to Philadelphia and points south. This monopoly was broken up.
19. Write alot, say?: ERR 😀 Oops, nospace!
20. Hound: DOG.
21. Instrument whose name comes from the Latin for "heavenly": CELESTA.
Celesta are keyboard glockenspiels
22. Anatomical pouches: SACS.
24. "Mary Poppins" chimney sweep: BERT.
26. Team that retired Willie Mays's No. 24: METS - Willie was one of the best to ever play the game but will always be a NY/SF Giant.
27. Banjo ridge: FRET.
29. Clear for takeoff?: DE-ICE.
31. Pong consoles: ATARIS - I remember being amazed with this "cutting edge" technology in the 70's!
33. Third of a cappuccino: FOAM.
34. Choose: OPT.
37. "Great, now I'm scared of this" hashtag: NEW FEAR UNLOCKED -it implies a sudden realization of a previously unknown vulnerability.
MY FIRST THOUGHT!
40. Not virtually, virtually: IRL - In Real Life, a shark is not likely to ever threaten you
41. Once menos ocho: TRES - In Mexico 11 - 8 = 3
42. Lilikoi and lychee: FRUITS - Lilikoi are also know as passion fruit
43. Rips into: HAS AT.
45. Electric __: EELS.
46. Painter Thomas of the Hudson River School: COLE.
49. Entreaty: PLEA.
51. Gin berry: SLOE.
53. Island home of the Ka Hula Piko festival: MOLOKAI - The name intimated Hawaii and I just went through the names of the islands until one fit.
55. Tiny issue: NIT.
57. Coder's concern: BUG.
58. Elaboration intro: AND ANOTHER THING - Ya gotta love Clouseau!
61. "Voilà!": I'VE DONE IT.
62. Best: OUTDO.
63. Scand. land: NOR.
64. Tries out: TESTS.
65. Garlic __: PRESS.
Down:
1. Uncovers: BARES and the opposite 12. Covers: COATS.
2. Drew Barrymore film promoted as "A Cinderella Story": EVER AFTER.
3. Strength exercise done on all fours: BEAR CRAWL.
4. "Huh": ODD.
5. Part of PTO: PAID - Out here in farm country, it will much more likely mean Power Take Off than Paid Time Off
6. Reached a friend on the playground?: TAGGED 😀
7. Timetable abbr.: ARR.
8. Big stink, e.g.: REACTION - George Brett had a bad REACTION when a home run he hit was declared illegal because of too much pine tar on his bat
9. Baby bump, in baby talk: OWIE.
10. Invitation to elaborate: TELL ME MORE - It's a four minute clip but this is a fun song and ear bug where TELL ME MORE is a oft repeated lyric.
11. Crow bar?: ROOST 😀
13. "Clear+Vivid" podcast host Alan: ALDA - Science and Alan ALDA, what's not to like?
16. "Spirit Rangers" voice actress Summer: CREE - She's very big in the voice actor genre
18. Noodle: NOB - Euphemisms for someone's head
23. Peasant: SERF.
25. No: REFUSAL.
28. Join a union?: TIE THE KNOT - Very uniquely in some cases.
30. Leg muscle: CALF.
31. Righteous Babe Records founder DiFranco: ANI.
32. Singer-songwriter Bareilles: SARA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A Saturday SARA
34. Cautious invitation to elaborate: OK I'LL BITE 😀
35. 1966 pop album with cover art of band members feeding goats: PET SOUNDS.
36. Scores that often result in dances: Abbr.: TDS.
38. Timeouts: RESPITES 😀
39. Signs to act?: CUES.
44. Principles: TENETS.
46. Chat sesh: CONVO - Slang for conversation
47. "The __ I get, the better I used to be": John McEnroe: OLDER 😀
48. Mutual fund fee: LOAD.
50. Make public: AIR.
52. Some quick toasts?: EGGOS 😀
53. Primary: MAIN.
54. Prime: A-ONE.
56. Muscle car roof: T-TOP.
59. Hot single: HIT.
60. "Ben-__": HUR - An 1880 first edition with an autograph - $8,950.
Today's puzzle is a collaboration between two crossword puzzle assistant editors, Amanda Cook and Katie Hale. Ms. Cook and Ms. Hale filled our goodies bag with five different types of snacks (although I would argue that NOODLES are not a snack) that are found at the end of five familiar phrases:
15-across. Internet cafe snacks?: BROWSER COOKIES. [Microsoft dot com] describes cookies as "... bits of data that are sent to and from your browser to identify you. When you open a website, your browser sends a piece of data to the web server hosting that website. This data usually appears as strings of numbers and letters in a text file." How about a Moe-ku and cartoon to further explain?
Beware logging on
To the Girl Scouts' website; they
Use BROWSER COOKIES
22-across. Billiard hall snacks?: POOL NOODLES. Pool noodles are flotation devices, or as this Moe-ku and cartoon describe:
What might you call brains
That work while swimming? Of course,
They are POOL NOODLES
34-across. Arbitration snacks?: BARGAINING CHIPS. [dictionary dot com] describes a bargaining chip as: "a potential concession or other factor which can be used to advantage in negotiations"; as described in yet another Moe-ku (and image):
When Lay's and Pringles
Decide to merge, I heard they
Used BARGAINING CHIPS
44-across. Travel snacks?: AIRPORT BARS. Despite the nearly flawless record of airplane travel, airport bars are still found in most concourses as a haven for nervous travelers to secure a drink (or two, or three) before boarding. Or, as this Moe-ku and image suggest:
Where might one find a
Place to have a flight before
A flight? AIRPORT BARS
53-across. Moving day snacks?: PACKING PEANUTS. Packing peanuts are those nut-shaped Styrofoam objects that help cushion your shipment by filling the voids in a package. Or, as this Moe-ku and image might suggest:
The preferred item
Shippers use for elephants
Are PACKING PEANUTS
They will cushion his trunk!
Perhaps this one was left on the editor's desk. Clue: Bank heist snacks? SAFE CRACKERS. Ok, so this one didn't make the cut but that doesn't mean there's no Moe-ku or cartoon!
Parrot's owner is
A bank thief. I guess, Polly
Wants a SAFE CRACKER
Here is the grid:
My "score" for this puzzle is ⭐⭐⭐and 1/4⭐ It could have been higher, but there were far too many three-letter words (TLWs) and abbreviations. I am sure they were needed to support the large number of entry letters (65), but many of the 17 TLWs were also abbr's (7). I will point them out below. Also, there were a couple of forced entries (green paint) but again, the use of 5 entries which averaged 13 letters apiece creates filling problems
Across:
1. Hoffmann of "Transparent": GABY. I wonder if our Crossword Corner regular, desper-otto, found this 1-Across entry as a stumbling block today?
Ms. Hoffmann's acting career began at an early age, and she's not that well-known now, methinks. [wikipedia] lists this as her bio intro: "Gabrielle Mary Antonia Hoffmann is an American actress. She made her film debut in Field of Dreams (1989) and found success as a child actress in Uncle Buck (1989), This Is My Life (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and then later as a teenager with Now and Then (1995), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Volcano (1997), All I Wanna Do (1998), and 200 Cigarettes (1999)"
5. Feature of the ROFL emoji: TEAR. 😂 <== this
9. Intel org.: NSA. TLW #1; abbr. #1
12. Tony kin: OBIE. One of the EGOT categories
13. Foot massage target: ARCH. Who doesn't love a foot massage?
14. Does a bit of tailoring: SEWS. Did this one leave you in stitches?
18. Vientiane's country: LAOS.
19. "Industry" network: HBO. TLW #2; abbr. #2
20. Symbol that can mean "approximately": TILDE. ~<== this
21. Blow up: Abbr.: ENL. TLW #3; abbr. #3
25. Lecture without caring if one's words are heard: TALK AT. Green paint?? Rarely used entry; seems semi-forced
43. Part of a relay team: ANCHOR. Usually, the fastest runner on a four-person relay team, and the person who anchors (runs the final leg)
49. Gershwin brother: IRA. TLW #6 (and if clued as an investment option, this, too could have been an abbr.)
50. __ mail: SNAIL. The last time I bought a "Forever" stamp from the USPS it cost $0.69 - and when I send a letter from AZ to GA it usually takes a week or more to get there ... SMH
51. Fury: IRE. TLW #7
52. Eyeliner perfector: Q-TIP. Unusual clue for this item, but glad to know that Amanda and Katie didn't refer to it as an implement for removing ear wax
57. Fencing gear: EPEE.
58. Voicemail cue: BEEP.
59. Latin day: DIEM.
60. Big podcast producer: NPR. TLW #8; abbr. #4
61. Classical closing: CODA. "Classical", as in classical music
62. Borrowing figs.: APRS. Abbr. #5; and worse, it pluralizes a TLW
10. Rutabaga, to a Brit: SWEDE. Learning moe-ment for me: Rutabaga is also known as swede (in the UK), Swedish turnip, wax turnip, or neep. It is a winter root vegetable with edible roots as well as leaves that's closely related to the turnip and the cabbage [everyday healthy recipes dot com]
11. Beasts of burden: ASSES. I can't do a blog without at least one video!! Am I an "ass" for using this one?
14. Hydroplanes: SKIDS.
16. Cocktail measure: SHOT. Nice use of the clue to soften an otherwise "nasty" word entry. OTOH, when I measure alcohol in a cocktail (or when drinking neat) I use fingers (two are the minimum)
17. Chiwere speakers: OTOE. I didn't know who the Chiwere speakers were, but this one filled via perps, IIRC
18. "__ real": LET'S BE. OK. That is usually what I am (real) when I blog a puzzle; there's no holding back!
23. Peas and carrots: NOUNS. Forrest Gump would be happy to know that
24. Designer Cassini: OLEG.
26. Tavern delivery: KEG. TLW #12
29. Boopable pet part: SNOOT. Another clue that was chosen to help soften a negative word
30. Played sardines, perhaps: HID. TLW #13
31. Silver Slugger awardee: BIG HITTER. Not sure that I fully agree with this. A big hitter, as defined, is an important or powerful person. It can also refer - in baseball terminology - to a sportsperson who is capable of hitting the ball long and hard. And while the Silver Slugger award is an honor given for the top position players on various baseball teams, it is not what I would define as a big hitter (YYMV)
32. "Better safe than sorry" and "Actions speak louder than words": APHORISMS. My favorite is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"
33. Feature of some dance shoes: T-STRAP. Splynter gave me permission to use this image, but he removed the stockings:
35. "The Firebird" composer Stravinsky: IGOR. My kids' HS sports teams were nicknamed the "Firebirds". Both of my kids were in band, and of course the band director had to feature movements from this iconic symphony during performances, including halftime shows at football games. Enjoy!
BTW, the bassoon solo at around the 5:00 mark is one my daughter has played many, many times (and better than this one, IMO)
36. Tennis ball containers: CANS. As this blog is being written, the Australian Open Tennis Tournament is underway - wonder how Ons Jabeur is doing?
37. Juice box brand named for its vitamin content: HI-C. TLW #14; abbr. #8 (technically)
41. Sudden surge: SPIKE.
42. Celebration on the last full moon of Phalguna: HOLI. Another entry that filled via perps
43. District: AREA.
44. Poplar kin: ASPEN.
45. Like some add-on purchases: IN APP. I am betting that as crossword puzzles become more "modern", this phrase will become crossword-ese as well as the word "app"
46. Speed climbing entrant: RACER.
47. Kangaroo, e.g.: BIPED.
48. Filled cornmeal flatbread: AREPA.
52. Bon mot: QUIP. Final Moe-ku:
A witty remark
Made by certain cotton swab's
Called: a Q-TIP QUIP
54. Network with a three-note chime: NBC. TLW #15; abbr. #9
See you on the 31st but will probably be on hiatus after that. Gonna have cataract surgery and one of the recovery "no-no's" is working on a computer ...
