Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Friday puzzle by Matthew Luter. Matthew has his own website: Matthew Luter Crosswords .
Let's start right off with the reveal:
60 Across: Suffer disgrace, or what the starred clues must do as a set to match their answers?: LOSE FACE.
This solver had to ponder things for a while until the "gimmick" reared its not-so-ugly head. It turned out to be quite straight forward. We are asked to drop (LOSE) parts of the FACE from the following clues and to then use what remains as the hint. All of the answers to the starred clues are comprised of two words:
17 Across: *Evil eyes: SUPER BAD.
24 Across: *Stuffy nose: STRAIT LACED.
36 Across: *Smart mouth: WELL DRESSED.
50 Across: *Double chin: MIRROR IMAGE.
This is how it all looks in the grid:
Here are the other clues and answers:
Across:
1. Billiard table accessory: RACK.
 |
| Nice |
5. Natl. Pizza Mo.: OCT. Isn't every month?
8. Stay behind: SHADOW. FOLLOW would have fit the space and the OW would have worked but sent the solver off on a tangent.
14. Sultanate on the Arabian peninsula: OMAN. A frequent destination in our puzzles.
15. Massage: RUB.
16. Ford model named for a city: TORINO.
19. Less prosperous: POORER.
20. "Whenever you're done talking ... ": I'LL WAIT.
21. Word with cat or power: NAP.
20. "Whenever you're done talking ... ": I'LL WAIT.
21. Word with cat or power: NAP.
22. Course for intl. students: ESL. Abbreviated clue . . . English as a Second Language
23. Driving aid: TEE. A golfing reference.
27. Story that might be dark and creepy: ATTIC. Not a ghost story. The uppermost level of your house.
29. Unrefined resource: ORE. What did the Wicked Witch of the West say when she extracted metal from ORE? I’m smelting! I’m smelting!
30. Pays to play: ANTES. Amounts often paid up front in puzzles.
31. Closest pals: FAM. Not sure if FAM-ily equates to pals. Perhaps, slang-ily.
33. Channel that often airs films in letterbox format: TCM.
35. HS proficiency test: GED.
39. Cleveland pro: CAV. An National Basketball Association reference. Abbreviated clue . . .
39. Cleveland pro: CAV. An National Basketball Association reference. Abbreviated clue . . .
40. Sketch on a dust jacket: BIO. Not a work of art. A brief description (sketch) of the author's life.
41. Semisolid hair product: GEL.
42. Render unreadable, in a way: SHRED.
44. Grasped: GOT.
46. Yogurt-based dip: RAITA. Yogurt, cucumber, onion, herbs, spices.
53. Flash __: MOB. A relatively recent phenomenon.
54. __ whim: ON A.
55. After expenses: NET.
56. Party bites: CANAPES.
58. Ride for a few days: RENTAL. Hand up for first trying LOANER.
61. __ planning: ESTATE.
62. Electric guitarist's need: AMP.
63. Mathematician Turing: ALAN. A frequent visitor. ALAN Turing
64. Insect's legs, e.g.: SESTET. By definition.
65. "As I __ saying ... ": WAS.
66. Riveted: RAPT. Not as in Rosie The Riveter.
Down:
1. Guitar-playing "Sesame Street" Muppet: ROSITA.
2. Protective talisman: AMULET.
3. Coated pill: CAPLET.
4. "Who __?": KNEW. We did.
5. Go around: ORBIT. Scientists recently spent 24 hours observing the moon ORBIT around earth. Then they got bored and called it a day.
6. Dos y dos: CUATRO. Today's arithmetic lesson en espaƱol.
7. Short "We'll announce this later": TBD. To Be Determined.
8. Parade VIP: ST. PAT. Abbreviated . . .
9. Brouhaha: HOOPLA.
10. Person who prefers platonic relationships, for short: ARO. From AROmantic. An ARO person may never develop a crush on a person, or envision themselves entering a romantic relationship with someone.
11. Led: DIRECTED.
12. Bracket favorite: ONE SEED. A sports reference.
13. Best of both __: WORLDS.
18. Mischievous type: RASCAL. A dog comes limping into the old west saloon. The bartender asks if he can help the dog with anything. The dog says, "I'm lookin' for the low down RASCAL who shot my paw."
21. Female kin: NIECE.
25. School space that's full of drawers: ART ROOM. Not drawers as in your kitchen or bathroom - or drawers as underwear. Used here literally. People who draw pictures,.
26. Actress Bassett: ANGELA. One T is the hound.
28. "In the event that ... ": IF EVER.
32. Org. with a summer All-Star break: MLB.
34. Umami source, briefly: MSG. Umami is the fifth basic taste (bitter, sweet, salt, sour, umami). It is a complex and savory flavor that comes from glutamate-rich foods like cheese, seaweed, and mushrooms (or added MonSodium Glutamate).
36. Calls for: WARRANTS. As in this WARRANTS a closer look.
37. Numeral: DIGIT. Choose any number between 2 and 8. Multiply by 4, and then add 3. Now reverse the DIGITS and close your eyes. Dark, wasn’t it?
38. Pleasantly calm: SERENE.
39. One official language of the U.N.: CHINESE.
42. Gooey sandwiches: S'MORES.
39. One official language of the U.N.: CHINESE.
42. Gooey sandwiches: S'MORES.
43. Act charitably: DONATE.
45. Seattle's airport-sharing neighbor: TACOMA.
47. Chevy model named for an animal: IMPALA.
48. Steel part of a work boot: TOE CAP.
49. __-minded: ABSENT.
51. Sublease: RE-LET.
52. Shocked sounds: GASPS. A Tibetan monk was preparing his morning toast when he saw, in the margarine, the face of Jesus. He GASPED and said, "I can't believe it's not Buddha."
57. Nowhere near: AFAR. Whence the three kings traveled.
59. Ink spot?: TAT. ... and a good excuse for a song.
59. Ink spot?: TAT. ... and a good excuse for a song.
60. Grisham's field: LAW.
__________________________________________
46 comments:
I soldiered through this, not having any idea what the gimmick was, at least until the reveal. Then, it all made sense. I wouldn’t say this was the easiest puzzle in the world; not by a long shot. But, eventually, I got it. FIR, so I’m happy.
Well, there was a lot I didn’t know at first glance so I have to give major credit to the perps which got me a FIR in 17:59. Never did grasp the theme till MM explained it, STRAIT faced made sense, but face didn’t fit the other phrases š¤·♂️. And I thought STRAIT was missing a G so I LIU, it can be either. Drawers in a kitchen and drawers in an art room I would pronounce differently. DNK what a talisman is but I see a synonym for AMULET is “phylactery”, looks like a word we’d see in a Katie Hale puzzle. Had to change Santa to ST PAT. I’m glad I’m not ARO, sounds very boring. Thank you Matthew for the morning enjoyment.
MM ~ thanks for explaining it all in your fine review. I liked the vid of the printer feeding the SHREDder. The “ABSENT Minded Professor” movies were quite hilarious, who remembers Flubber?
Good morning!
"Whoosh," said the theme as it flew over d-o's head. Couldn't figure out which month is abbreviated using a Q -- "Oh, it's CUATRO," said Spanish-challenged d-o. D'oh. Also noticed the misspelling of GNU. This was definitely a Friday-worthy challenge. Thanx, Matthew and Mal-Man. (Loved "I'm smelting!")
FIR, but cautro->CUATRO. I can mispel in Spanish! DESATAR!
Most people don't listen, they just WAIT for the other to stop talking so they can speak. Root cause of a lot of our problems.
Closest pals = FAM? You sure about that Jethro?
IMO, TBA means "we know, we're just not telling yet." TBD means "we haven't nailed down all the (crossword favorite) deets yet."
Knee Deep in the HOOPLA was a huge commercial success for Starship, which meant, of course, that the critics and band members had to pan the song.
Around here, many of the local pizza joints have big sales on pi day, March 14.
Thanks to Matthew for the fun, easy-for-Friday puzzle, and to our MalMan for the fun review. BTW - I first heard the "shot my paw" joke listening to a Dodgers game on the radio. Vin Scully was trying to be entertaining in a game that was a runaway for the Dodgers, and told a version on the air. BTW, why do hillbillies know that the Three Wise Men smelled like smoke? 'Cause they came from a far.
Friday puzzle. Really enjoyed today’s challenge…many write overs, be damned. Follow/shadow, travel/rental put me in big corner jams. All in all better than most TGIFs.
Greet the day.
Took 9:10 today for me to be all ears.
Like SubG, the theme evaded me fora while. Like YooperPhil, I wanted to spell "Straight" not "strait". Like D-O, I originally had quatro, thus, I am a bilingual misspeller like Jinx.
I knew today's actress (Angela).
Enjoyable puzzle.
Another runaway baseball game story form Vinny (short version:) Dale Evans and Roy Rogers were out camping, and when they woke up, they found that the cowboy boots that Roy had just bought had been gnawed. Roy said "looks like a mountain lion got 'em," and put them on anyway. Dale said "I'll be right back," and rode away on Buttermilk. In a little while, Dale returns, throws the carcass of a mountain lion at Roy's feet, and said (here Vinny breaks out in song) "pardon me Roy, is that the cat that chewed your new shoes."
I got (grasped) the gimmick after the reveal, but I doubted I was correct. Meh!
The NW corner slowed me down. Superbad never occurred to me. I hadn't seen or heard of it, but now I see that it's commonly used as slang.
I had attic but wondered about it. Oh, that kind of story! Duh! But the attics I have seen are not creepy, except in books and movies. They all had lights.
FAM, another clue from textspeak.
"The slang term "fam" is short for "family" and is used to refer to a close friend or group of friends. It's often used in text messages, social media posts, and other online communication. "
I often use TBA for TBD. After I determine the info, I will announce it.
I remember the funny Absent Minded Professor and Flubber.
Fine review, MM.
Spoiler alert - If you play today's King Features Crossword by Eugene Sheffer, 22D "Indian yogurt dish" is RAITA.
TITT, although for a Friday, kind of enjoyed it (except for the theme). Actually finished everything except the NW, where I essentially struck out. It didn't help that I completely missed "sultanate" and was stuck on EMIR.
Anyway:
Moe: "I am an artiste!"
Larry: "I am an artiste too!
Curly: "Oh, a pair of drawers!"
To the tune of Chattanooga Choo Choo, of course.
Good Morning:
While the solve itself was trouble-free, I’m always frustrated and grumpy when I don’t understand the theme, as was the case today. I much prefer puzzles that challenge your knowledge, experience, and reasoning to those that try your patience with ambiguity or sleight of hand. I know the rules have changed and that anything goes in today’s crossword world, but change isn’t always for the better, IMHO.
Thanks, MalMan, for explaining what I failed to see and thanks for cheering me up with your wit and humor. I really enjoyed your review and the plentiful puns!
Have a great day.
This was a refreshing and delightful puzzle today. Thanks, Matthew (and no doubt, Patti). It was pretty much free of clutter like pop culture and so-called celebrities. And somehow you were able to construct it without recourse to "crosswordese" staples like ACAI and OREO!
Most important, I appreciated your cleverness in devising the theme. You actually presented us with a situation where the four 2-word theme clues were incorrect as written; i.e., they did not lead you to the answer unless you deleted the second word of the clue--as directed by 60A.
Thanks also for all your misdirections, particularly the dark and creepy story, and the school space full of drawers.
I note the appearance in the puzzle of the midsummer MLB break for the All-Star game. It is often said that the break days before and after the game are about the only time in the entire year when there are no professional sports taking place in the U.S.
Thanks, Matthew, for an enjoyable and instructive Friday challenge; and to MalMan for your usual entertaining and informative review.
.
Thank you, Matthew. I enjoyed it. I too had to ponder the reveal before understanding the theme. I've bookmarked your website so I can solve more of your crosswords.
Thank you, MM. I enjoyed the humor in the review, and laughed at the SHREDder gif.
What Yellowrocks said about FAM. Gen Z slang for a young person's close friends.
Back later.
FIR. This was a struggle for me all the way through, but persistence paid off.
I have to admit the theme escaped me, and even after the explanation I'm still sort of scratching my head.
But it's done, so there's that.
Despite 2 (!) guitar-related clues, I still found this difficult. For a while I even thought that "dos y dos" was a square dance move! FIR but with multiple erasures. Didn't help that I couldn't suss the theme until I got here.
Is there a term for when the revealer modifies the clue rather than the answer? Like a clue-skew or something.
KS--
Delete the second word of each starred clue, as directed by the reveal (lose the "face" portion of the clue--eyes, nose, mouth, chin). So the 17A clue is just "Evil" (SUPERBAD), 24A is "Stuffy" (STRAITLACED), etc.
DNF. The NW got me. I didn’t know the Muppet and I held on to tAbLET. There were several cute clues like the ones for ATTIC, SHRED, ART ROOM, but the theme went over my head. In fact, even after reading MM’s nice review, I’m stumped by the theme once again as I go back over it. Already forgot how it goes. Silly me.
I appreciated that there were so few names and the ones there were, were well known like ALAN or easy to guess.
FAM for friends?
I’m sorry you’re “grumpy” IM☘️.
Fun Friday! I had no trouble with the theme, and it helped my solve, kinda because it was in my face... the rest of it was quite challenging, and clever!
MM! I LOL'd at 5. Go around: orbit, and I groaned at your Buddha. Still thinking that "im smelting" would be great fodder for a comic, if I could figure out how to draw it. Also, thank you John M27 for "a couple of drawers!"
The muppet guitarist was a learning moment, I thought it was Dr Teeth, but it turns out he plays keyboard. it was Janice who played the guitar... hmm, same number of letters, would have been a toughie if I knew either one...
Which reminds me of Abraham Lincoln...
Why? Do you ask?
Because, once, when giving a speech, a heckler from the crowd yelled out, "you're two faced!" To which he replied,
"If I had two faces, do you think I'd be wearing this one?"
:)
Ken, I was going to object to your "It is often said that the break days before and after the game are about the only time in the entire year when there are no professional sports taking place in the U.S.," then I remembered that Major League Soccer kinda stretches the definitions of "professional" and "sports."
Monkey, MalMan’s humorous puns cured my grumpiness! Thanks for commiserating, though. ☘️
Big leap in the Mohs scale from yesterday. Small parts of the NW just wouldn’t give up their secrets. Why won’t capsule fit š ? until the portmanteau CAPsule/tabLET bottle hit me in the head V8 style and everything fell into place
Theme? No idea.
Inkovers: remain/Shadow, Spanish/CHINESE, TMC/TCM, Roscoe/ROSITA, sextet/SESTET, GPS/TEE (wrong kind of “driving”) š️♂️⛳️
TACOMA, Haven’t seen the Seattle airport SEATAC in a CW for awhile but wouldn’t perp anyway. “Dos y dos” not a Spanish square dance move? š
ORIGINAL CANAPĆS
Almost put qUATRO, Gothic wouldn’t fit for the “story” but great clue for ATTIC
TORINO, Piemonte, Turin, capital of Piedmont (foot of the Alps) whence came the House of Savoy, the Italian monarchy booted out by referendum after WWII for supporting Il Duce
“School space full of drawers”, Why would there be underwearin an ARTROOM? š
“Female kin” … ANTES
60’s ask, “Can you ___ ?” … DIGIT
What Saweetie did … RAPT
Little hat … CAPLET
“Shot my paw” “not Buddha”. š¤£… Manatees have such a sense of humor. Whaddayah call a female manatee? A womantee!
STRAIT vs. STRAIGHT. Until I finished the puzzle, I've never seen strait used for anything other than a waterway except for somebody in 'dire straits' and that's the straight truth.
Musings
-Once I saw the gimmick was in the clues, I finally got it, fun! OCD me was not giving up!
-TORINO/Turin, Milano/Milano, Roma/Rome…
-I’LL WAIT: I’m not listening so keep talking
-RAITA is an unknown to me but its three vowels would seem to make it useful
-My dealership once gave me a brand-new Cadillac for a loaner
-I see where you were going, MM, but a lunar ORBIT of Earth takes 27 Earth days.
-Discussing ARO relationships from When Harry Met Sally
-My BASIC computer programming suggested IF THEN
-The MLB All-Star Game is the only one where the players all try their best
FIW. That Northwest Territory did me in, too. That being said, I enjoyed the challenge this morning. Good clues, clever misdirection, and very little dreck. Could not get the theme to appear on my radar screen, so thanks to Mal Man for 'splainin!
I FIR with only one unknown-RAITA and one change quatro to CUATRO. I don't know Spanish and looked it up after I finished. a CUATRO is a musical instrument that doesn't need an AMP. Most have four strings, but others have five or six, like ROSITA'S guitar.
Even after LOSE FACE was filled I still didn't figure it out until MM's explanation.
IMPALA- no longer made
ARO-learned from crosswords
MM- I was in Weeki Wachee two weeks ago and went to take a tour to see real manatees in Crystal River. The strangest thing was watching them swim up to the boat and chew on the anchor line.
I gave up on the theme, so thanks MM. Otherwise, no problems. "...who shot my paw". LOL
A Saturday struggle on a Friday, but eventually I managed to FIR in about 18. For once, remembered to go back and try to find the theme, but looking in the fill instead of the clues yielded nothing. It took MalMan for the V-8 can to hit. 13 names, DNK 6 as clued. Also DNK ARO or RAITA, thus, the struggle with this CW. Once explained, I gotta admit this is a very clever construction. Also some especially clever clues: 27A, 8D. National Pizza Month should be March, since it has Pi day, but ORBIT was obvious and the only month that start starts with an "O" is OCT. So there's that. Very clever CW overall, ML, thanx. MalMan I loved your write-up, good explanations, good jokes worth a grin. Thanx for all the work you put into entertaining us all.
Gotta disagree with Big Easy. Strait-laced is one of those things copy editors are supposed to know. It's only "straight-laced" in the sense that "alright" and other out-and-out errors are starting to gain acceptance.
Hola! Ok. I'm grumpy because I stayed up until two watching a movie (The Night Agent) on Netflix. It was worth it and after five hours it still isn't done. I'll need a NAP later. More of it tonight.
DOS Y DOS = CUATRO and ESL are in my wheelhouse. ONE SEED is definitely not. Luckily it perped but then I had to change GRE to GED.
When we travel to CA our RENTAL car is usually from Alamo.
RACK forced me to change TABLET to CAPLET.
ARO might as well be in an unknown language for me, and it is.
CSO to YR's son ALAN.
It's been years since I watched Sesame Street but ROSITA emerged unscathed.
CSO to my late aunt ANGELA who was a riveter.
Have a beautiful day, everyone! Stay warm!
I FIR, and I found several clues and answers delightful, but there were a couple of absolute stinkers.
The clue for ATTIC was very clever, and the driving aid-TEE entry was rather clever. Those two finally helped me break through in the NW, the most difficult part of the puzzle. I got TORINO early on, remembering that the Italian version of Turin got a lot of exposure during the 2006 Winter Olympics. IMPALA assured me that TORINO wasn’t too obscure for Matthew and Patti. I also liked seeing TACOMA, and CANAPES in the mix.
I completed the SE first, so I was able to deal with the gimmick in the theme fairly early. I liked the theme overall, but the first part of SUPER BAD was green-paintish, and there was a bit too much of that in the puzzle. RE-LET as clued, and the second part of ART ROOM were especially lame, and the two entries containing CAP constituted at least one too many.
But the absolute stinkers were SESTET, which threw me in the SW, and especially the brouhaha clue for HOOPLA. A brouhaha is a disturbance, not fanfare. Hall of fame lousy clue.
Getting back to the Winter Olympics and city names, it still bugs me that CBS insisted on pronouncing the Japanese city of Nagano as NAW-guh-no in 1998. Although Japanese pronunciations are rather subtle where accented syllables are concerned, every Japanese-American speaker I asked would have preferred Naw-GAH-no. I was in a position in those days to implore CBS to reconsider, but it didn’t. Since then, the concept of “the American pronunciation” of foreign words AND NAMES has come into prominence, and if I say any more about that, it will become too political for the Corner.
Enjoyed all the corny jokes from MalMan and others!
MalMan, your narrative was a treat, especially the jokes but I appreciated your overall explanations as some fill went over my head, i.e., the theme.
CopyEditor:
If you are annoyed by certain pronunciations you can appreciate my irritation at Spanish mispronunciations, most pointedly PEREZ which should be PE-rez but is usually wrongly said as Pe-REZ. Ugh!
Just an fyi, can't see original canapƩs, sez album is empty-works better in the app... can't download any apps on this obsolete iPad as its giving me enough trouble already.
P.s. love your posts!
I got it MM! They watched it for 24 hours, and Called it a day... LoL!
Got it. “Pardon me, boys, is that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?” started ringing in my head as soon as I read your riddle!
Well, this was a bit of a toughie, but that's what weekend puzzles, including Fridays, are allowed to be. So, many thanks, Matthew. And I always enjoy your helpful commentary, MalMan, thanks for that too.
So, as I said, this puzzle wasn't SUPER BAD, but still took a bit of work and I decided I'LL WAIT and take a NAP, before I finish it. When I got up, I noticed that the puzzle sort of DIRECTED us to be WELL-DRESSED, maybe even wearing an AMULET and putting some GEL on our hair. Got us to look at our IMAGE in a MIRROR in the ART ROOM, where we can DONATE to help out, if we want. Anyway, time for me to get some S'MORES.
Have a lovely weekend, everybody.
Here in SoCal, there is street named CaƱon as in the English version: canyon. Despite the tilde, if you refer to the street with a pronunciation other than canon (as in the camera) or cannon (as in the weapon) almost no one will get the reference.
Thanks, all for your kind comments. Have a great weekend, everyone.
As my mom was from Brooklyn and I am an L.A. native, there is a good chance that I heard Scully tell the joke many moons ago. On my transistor radio, of course.
TK - there are now 2 professional sports taking place at the time of of the MLB All Star break MLS and the WNBA. During the Olympics the WNBA took a break so the players could compete in them, but generally they play through July
MalMan, lesser announcers try to make a runaway game seem interesting. Vin had better ways to pass the time until the final out. Best sports announcer I've ever heard.
If you followed baseball, your head would explode because of all the mispronunciations of Hispanic/Latino names, especially their pronouncing esses like zees instead of vice-versa, accents on the wrong syllables, English pronunciations of vowels, and so much more. I'm so tired of hearing Jesus pronounced HAY-zeus instead of hay-SEUSS, and Americanized pronunciations of names like Wander and Framber.
I’ve been making that mistake. “Lo siento”
Does the accent on all Spanish names that end in “EZ” follow that rule? CORT-ez not Cort-EZ? etc
Speaking of mispronunciations, a well-known anchor on a cable station just recently announced that some ne’er-do-well got off “Scotch-free” from all charges.
Did that mean that the ne'er-do-well had to make do with Bourbon?
When I lived in SoCal, I hated hearing folks call that beautiful city north of Picard "San Looie Obispo." Luis is SPANISH, dodos, not Frawnch. 'Course I have no problem with the 23 places in the US named Paris and pronounced like an American. And I'm thankful that the Hilton heiress doesn't pronounce her name "pairEE."
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