FINAL: ELEVEN - ZIP
17. Group that might enjoy a blowout: WINNING TEAM - there's a line about Brooklyn in Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" @1:35
30. Host who might throw a blowout: PARTY GIVER
Bobbi Flekman, the hostess with the mostess
48. Wheel that might experience a blowout: RADIAL TIRE - happened to me in my 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan doing 72mph on I-395 trying to make the Cross Sound Ferry in the summer of 2023 - I limped off the highway into a parking lot, determined not to miss the boat, and installed the spare in 13 minutes - and that's an accomplishment because the spare is on a chain you crank inside the van from the floor center to drop the donut beneath the vehicle 😜
And if it's rusted from non-use . . . .f$%^#@&~!
63. Professional who might provide a blowout: HAIR-STYLIST - Everything you wanted to know about a HAIR blowout - here
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Cry like a baby: BAWL - crossing BOWL
5. First game of a doubleheader: OPENER - I am sure C.C. can't wait
11. Appear onstage: ACT
14. Sandwich cookie: OREO - two weeks in a row for me
15. Not tricked by: WISE TO - quit cracking wise - I am reading the first book of the Robert Crais detective series - a great read, and there's 19 more in the series - a new one in 2025
at the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards
19. Band's sound booster: AMP - I'm told this is an acceptable "non-abbr" here at the corner
20. Sooner or __: LATER
21. Melancholy: SAD - four syllables :: one syllable
22. Shake hands (on): AGREE
24. Lingering amount: TRACE
26. All alternative: NONE - briefly thought we were looking for a laundry detergent, as in TIDE
28. Spanish "those": ESOS - Español #1
35. Auden's "Musée __ Beaux Arts": DES - filled via perps, the Wiki
36. Video game archaeologist Croft: LARA - name #2 - there was a movie, too - but I am not an Angelina Jolie fan - shocking, but true
37. Place: LOCALE
38. Davis of "Stuart Little": GEENA - name #3 - the IMDb
40. [Not my error]: SIC
42. Some nesting figures: DOLLS - e.g., Russian Matryoshka
Incredible Artwork - sold at 61D. here
43. "On it, Captain!": "AYE - AYE~!" - Picard~! Picard~!
45. Gym cushions: MATS
47. Gymnast Suni: LEE - name #4 - becoming the common clue for this answer
50. Landlord's income: RENT
51. "Puppy Love" singer Paul: ANKA - name #5
52. "Bad, Bad" Brown of song: LEROY - name #6
54. Head of cabbage?: HARD C - "C"abbage - I know some Cornerites don't much care for these kinds of ( meta ) clues, but I am OK with them
57. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI - name #6
59. Pond buildup: ALGAE
62. Many moons __: AGO - many moons ago, there were no names in a crossword
66. Mojito liquor: RUM
67. Discounted: ON SALE
68. "Battle Cry" novelist Leon: URIS - name #7
69. Atlas page: MAP - AND - 60D. Atlas section: ASIA
70. Far from fresh: ROTTEN
71. Theater production: PLAY
DOWN:
1. Many a New Year's Day football game: BOWL - The Buffalo Bills are out, so I am rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles, but I am not watching the Super Bowl for the second year in a row - I even canceled my live stream TV service to prove it.
2. "Tosca" solo: ARIA - three-vowel crossword staple
3. Became shabby: WENT TO SEED* - from whence we get the phrase - another link here
4. Reclusive sorts: LONERS - HERMITS didn't fit
5. Private: OWN - as in, "it's my _ collection"
6. Pork-based dog treats: PIGS EARS - sorry, Irish Miss, but I am still waiting on my new house mate - but I do have another lead on where to look for a rescue Schnauzer~!
7. "¿Cómo __ usted?": ESTA - Español #2
8. "You __ bother!": NEEDN'T - I am tiring of these kinds of fill-in clues
9. In-flight info, for short: ETA
10. Mercury and Saturn: ROMAN GODS* - name(s) #8, waited to see if we were looking for auto manufacturers
11. Letting in light, as a door: AJAR - Also in yesterday's grid - and Meh. I have a diamond window in my front door, and three "lites" in my sunroom door - they let in light, but they're not ajar- especially when it's -5° outside . . . .
12. "The best is yet to __": COME
13. Use a keyboard: TYPE
18. 401(k) kin: IRA - I have an IRA that changed banks literally five times since I opened it, and every time it does, I have to jump though hoops to verify it - so I figured it's time to be done with the nonsense....
23. Insurance company with a spokeslizard: GEICO - my choice for car insurance
25. Tax pro: CPA - Certified Public Accountant - busy season is upon them - I just got my W-2
27. Olive in the comics: OYL - name #9
28. "The Dance Class" painter Degas: EDGAR - name #10
Oil, 1874, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
29. "Bye now": "SEE YA~!"
31. "Spider-Man" trilogy director: RAIMI - name #11, but we had him some time last week
32. Stereotypical Southern California teen of the 1980s: VALLEY GIRL* - Like I totally was going to insert Frank Zappa's "Valley Girl" clip, but I could not take a full five minutes of the dialect
33. Daytime talk show that ended in 2022: ELLEN - name #12, never watched
34. Button clicked by a password forgetter: RESET - ...part of the IRA fiasco was having to RESET my password with each acquiring bank, so I decided to cash out last week, penalties be damned
36. Secure a ship: LAY ANCHOR*
39. Water nymph: NAIAD - I knew this, but could not recall how to spell it; is there a "Y" in there~?
41. "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" singer Belinda: CARLISLE - Ha~! Same here - is there a "Y" in there~? She is the lead vocalist for the Go-Go's, too - and name #13
44. Antlered animal: ELK - I pondered RAM, but those are more like "horns"
46. Casual top: TEE - T-shirt
49. Disciple of Lao-tzu: TAOIST - name(ish) #14 - Taoism per Nat Geo
50. Prepare to store, as a sleeping bag: ROLL UP
"Sandwiches~!"
53. Beam: RAY
54. Damage: HARM
55. Lago contents: AGUA - Español #3
56. Frolic: ROMP
58. Pesky kid: BRAT
61. Retail site with art and collectibles: ETSY
64. "So that's __?": "A NO~?" - I tried ALL - still don't like this type of fill-in clue
65. Low card in a royal flush: TEN
There's nothing LOW about being a "TEN"
Splynter
44 comments:
Somehow, this puzzle actually seemed easier than the last two
days, because there was no “gotcha” obscurities in this one; at least none I could tell. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
I liked this one, even though I thought Mercury and Saturn were RETRO CARS. That's what Wite-Out is for. Newer cars don't come with a spare tire (and many have no spot to store one), so a blowout is more than a minor annoyance. D-o got 'er done in 9 minutes, which is par for a mid-week puzzle. Thanx, Paul and Splynter. (I can best you on that bowl record -- I've never watched a Superb Owl. Sorry to learn that you cashed out your IRA. It's a great way to save for your later years, though a bank wouldn't be my first investment choice.)
FIW, missing my WAG @ ELGAR x LES. I thought that EDGAR sounded better, but I liked LES. The only DES I know are Moines and Plaines. But I didn't erase anything today, so I got that goin' for me. Which is nice.
DNK Anya Taylor LEE, but I'm pretty sure that dresses showing that much cleavage and that much leg are the primary causes of astigmatism.
Tax pro. I filed my taxes February 1. Yesterday I received a reminder from the IRS that they paid me about $45 in interest last year, and that it is taxable. Everyone else has to provide tax info NLT January 31, but not the IRS. Guess I'll just wait for my small refund, and if they don't deduct the tax, I'll file an amended return.
I've never heard or said LAY ANCHOR. May be military, or something those rascally Brits say. Recreational boaters say "drop anchor." (I think I'll lay a note on the president suggesting a proclamation that our country's language from here forward is American, not English.)
Thanks for the fun puzzle, PC. I could have done without the EDGAR x DES cross, but we need fill like HARD C every now and again to keep us on our toes. And thanks to Splynter for another fine review.
Suni LEE, Anya Taylor JOY
Thanks, YP. I get my unknown celebs mixed up.
Took 5:11 today to blow out the candles.
I knew today's actresses (Joy & Geena) and writer (Uris). But, it still seemed like too many names and foreign-derived words (des, esta, esos).
At least there were none of those pesky circles.
Took me 11:30 for the FIR, about par for a Wednesday. Had to make a few corrections along the way, thought “Place” was a verb, so I had locate before LOCALE, last fill was changing the L to a D in the EDGAR/DES cross. Always takes a perp or two when I see a “Davis” clue with a work attached that I’m unfamiliar with for a five letter answer, is it Ossie, Bette, Sammy, Clive, or today’s GEENA. I knew Belinda CARLISLE right away, but for some reason thought she was a Dixie Chick 🤷♂️. Fine construction Paul, nice to see you back at the LAT after a years absence. Nice informative write up Splynter, and a really good time on that tire change, 13 minutes! It took me way longer than that to figure out the retrieval system on my truck, (similar to your van), and when I did, things didn’t get any easier 🤣
Fastest finish so far this week. Glad I knew LARA or would have been in trubble (SIC).
Il “Lago” di COMO contiene acqua 💦 non AGUA
Couldn’t remember JOY. And it’s not spelt Carlyle (Splynt) perps to the rescue
VALLEY GIRL : “Grody (var. groady, groaty) to the max” “Gag me with a spoon” . Bet she thought Edgar’s painting was “de Gas!”
Beer drinker’s need at a double header … OPENER
What Hertz provides to not just “reclusive” drivers … LONERS
Drifting dieties … ROMAN GODS.
Cafeteria staples … TRACE
Fate of lit birthday candles …. BLOW OUT 🌬️ 🎂
Finally stopped snowing. Don’t know what’s worse shoveling snow or chopping ice.😰
FIR. Seems today's puzzle was filled to the gills with proper names. In some cases it took a WAG to get there.
The theme was clever and it certainly made me think when it came to solving.
But overall, this puzzle was just so-so.
Good Morning:
It was nice to see Paul back after such a long absence. I usually like definition-type themes but I was a little disappointed with the theme answers today. They all seem a little banal. I’m glad someone else (Splynter) finds those fill-in-the-blanks clues just as annoying as I do. Carlisle was the only unknown and I, too, fell into the Les/Des trap, but only briefly. The solve was otherwise smooth and rapid.
Thanks, Paul, and thanks, Splynter, for a fair critique and lively commentary. Good luck with the canine project and thanks for keeping us apprised of your search status.
I had a medical procedure yesterday which necessitated answering a battery of questions, some relevant, some of dubious importance. Imagine my surprise (shock) when I was asked if my Defibrillator and Pacemaker had been removed. How such erroneous information got into my chart is a mystery, but it does give you pause about the accuracy of other medical records.
Have a great day.
I counted 20 proper nouns. I knew 9. Way too many for a Wed.
Today's entry struck me as a worthy Wednesday entry, well-constructed and containing an interesting theme and variation (sans reveal) on "blowout."
There was one clue/answer that set my teeth on edge, however, and Jinx has alluded to it: LAYANCHOR, with its clue of "Secure a ship." No, the answer to this clue should be to SETANCHOR or to DROPANCHOR, or simply ANCHOR ("Anchor," after all, is a reputable verb). To "lay anchor" is an idiomatic expression that means to disembark, or set foot on dry land.
Setting that rebuke aside, I enjoyed Paul's challenge today. Except for OREO, he managed to dodge the normal onslaught of unoriginal vowel-rich staples. Yes, there were a lot of proper names and foreign words, but they were adeptly scattered about to minimize Natick situations.
I don't keep count of 3LWs and 4LWs; I figure as long as the word is fresh and interesting, I don't particularly care how long it is.
I enjoyed seeing OPENER at the top of the puzzle. It was a happy reminder that we shall soon be hearing those magical four words of early spring, "pitchers and catchers report".
Thanks, Splynter, for your usual helpful and amusing review; and Paul, for providing us with a pleasant Wednesday-appropriate challenge.
Usual Wed level for me. Lee Joy, Lara Carlisle, Raimi needed all perps. I never remember directors.
I know Carlisle, PA for its Indian Industrial School where native American children were forced to reject their tribal culture and adapt to white society. Jim Thorpe, the Olympic gold medalist, went to school there.
LAY anchor seems fine with me. "Crew members lay anchor, winched the cage into place on the starboard side of the boat, baited lines, and scattered chum — minced fish and shark liver blended with brine." NYT
I knew Edgar very well and just couldn't dig it up for so long. LES instead of DES didn't help.
Did you like that award winning purple dress in the blog? Even when I was young and slim, I wouldn't wear such a thing.
I believe you can transfer your IRA to an investment company like T Rowe Price without penalty. I did.
FIR. Fair perps led to a somewhat easier than normal Wednesday. I guess I'm showing my age, but I always considered a tire blowout to actually have a "BOOM." My thoughts harken back to the bad-old-days of inner tubes and retreads (yep, had both at one time.) Radial tires almost eliminated those, but I guess flat and blowout are now synonymous.
Hope you haven't acted on that IRA yet. I would encourage you to roll it over to a brokerage account. Never-say-never, but I suspect Vanguard and Fidelity are going to be around forever, and you have a large selection of CDs to invest in at both brokerages if you don't feel like rolling the dice on stocks or bonds. (Pssst...don't repeat this, between you and me, I know it's not best practice but I've had the same PW at Fidelity for over 10 years. Shhh, mums the word.)
Our local NBC affiliate is following the trials and tribulations of a woman who has been declared (incorrectly) dead. No Medicare, no social security, can't work (because her SSN comes back "invalid,") can't get credit. It's not as easy as showing up alive at the SSA building, it's a daunting process. Another local "dead" person responded to the TV coverage, saying he's dead to and doesn't know how to fix it. Further research determined that this happens to about 10,000 people every year. Although it's not a done deal yet, it looks like these two are on their way to rejoining the living.
After some erasures, FIR. The most troubling was hanging on to LOCAtE too long. So many names……….. some I knew, many I didn’t. W H Auden is one of my favorite poets.
Last week I got á blowout from my HAIR STYLIST which resulted in á new hairdo I really like.
DH has read all of Robert Crais’ detective books even the very latest 2025 issue and really liked them. So Splynter you’ve got lots of fun reading ahead of you.
Hi All!
WEES in re names! Nevertheless, thanks Paul for a fun diversion during the weekly change control meeting.
Great write-up, Splynter! Loved Spinal Tap at the top and Frank Zappa while reading.
WOs: Claude - > EDGAR (brain-fart), GEaNA (how my cousin spells it)
ESPs: JOY, DES, RAIMI
Fav: VALLEY GIRL [Frank & Moon Unit on Letterman]
Yikes!, IM. That's an odd mixup.
JohnM27 - I advise you to get MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) setup with your Fidelity account (after you reset your password). If your account were to be breached, your money is not FDIC insured. Opt for the Symantec app on your phone (SMS MFA is not very secure).
Cheers, -T
IM☘️ I hope your procedure went well after that SNAFU.
Yeah, the key word is "rollover." If you take possession of the dough-re-me instead of doing an institution-to-institution transfer, the entire amount will become taxable. It's OK to have a check go through your hands, as long as it isn't cashed or find its way into a non-IRA account. (You can also transfer a 401(k) into an IRA using the same rules.) I think the 10-year old password is great, as long as it is something unguessable like "Pa$$w0rd."
Thanks, Monkey, all is well, except for a few minor lingering after effects. 😉
Definitely good advice. Both Fidelity and Vanguard do use double authentication, but they "remember" my home computer. Even with that, I have to authenticate sometimes depending on what kind of update comes through from Microsoft. Has anyone tried looking up their PWs on those "breech" sites? I'm afraid to type my passwords into those even though they appear to be legitimate. It would be nice if you could just type in something like the first three characters and go to the right part of the list to check.
Welcome to my November-December-January. It took me all of November to get my first Required Minimum Withdrawal set up with Vanguard without ever learning that the corporation that co-sponsored our group 401K plan was planning to abandon us 73-year-olds. I learned Dec. 11 that Vanguard would be issuing checks for the full amount of my account, tax liability and all, if we did nothing by Dec. 13. Fortunately, the brokerage people who had consolidated my IRAs helped me with the rollover, but Vanguard lacks electronic transfer wherewithal and it took until yesterday for my 401K money to reach my brokers. Drove me bonkers.
In a former life, IT demanded everyone have a "strong" password. They made the requirements cumbersome and required a change every three months. So alot of people just ended up writing their PW on a Post-it Note and sticking it to their computer terminal.
Lots of names, but yay! The perps were kind...
I hope everybody got a piece...
Musings
-The west section took a little time.
-Last night our girls’ team were the blowouters and the boys’ were the blowoutees
-I don’t start watching the Super BOWL until there is an actual kickoff. Pregame patter is not for me.
-KC is an easy drive from here and I like Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.
-Letting your dandelions GO TO SEED will not make you popular in our neighborhood
-Is “church key” still known as a euphemism for an “opener”?
-I hope everything is all right, Irish. You can’t keep a good woman down!
I think that is a terrible looking dress. But she does get a lot out of it and keeps it out.
Fun Wednesday puzzle, many thanks, Paul. And thanks, too, for your always helpful commentary, Hahtoolah.
Well, this puzzle ended with the word PLAY, and that made me think of how a theatrical performance might have an OPENER with a VALLEY GIRL who was SAD and began to BAWL about a crisis in her life. But the first ACT ended with having her become WISE TO her problem, and so ended with an ARIA that celebrated her new-found JOY. That might be a pretty interesting play, I'd say. Afterwards folks would go out to a diner and get a snack with some OREOS and a glass of RUM, and then say "SEE YA" and go home. Makes me realize I should get myself some breakfast.
Have a cheerful and happy day, everybody.
Hola! This was a fun outing by Paul Coulter whom we haven't seen in a long while. It's not SAD or anything to BAWL about as the WINNING TEAM spread some JOY. Many, many years AGO on my way to work I had a FLAT TIRE and stood there wondering what to do (it was before cell phones) when a nice man stopped, removed the spare tire and changed the FLAT one. I was quite young and I'm sure that the fact i was wearing a mini skirt had nothing to do with it. I thanked him and we both went off on our way.
I miss the ELLEN SHOW. She had interesting guests and they discussed some good topics and provided entertainment. I was really sorry to learn about what happened to "Twitch", her MC.
NAIAD or NAYAD. I've seen it both ways.
Time to et going. That laundry isn't going to load and wash itself. Have a great day, everyone!
As I noted recently, I am not fond of themes where the theme is in the clues rather than in the answers. The theme does not help with the solve. But I did enjoy the puzzle with its creative fill.
ELLEN used to live here in Santa Barbara. I just looked her up and it seems she and her wife moved out of the country after the election.
Splynter Thanks for sharing the Royal Flush ladies who indeed all seem to be a TEN. And thanks for sharing your BLOWOUT story. I was on my way to a hike ten days ago and discovered a two inch nail in my tire. With Merlie's help, I managed to swap in the spare and make it to the hike. Not as dramatic as your ferry story, though.
Here I saw super star swimmer Diana NYAD up close after her heroic WATER achievement.
Splynter Maybe that is where you got the idea that NAIAD has a Y in it? An aptronym is a case like this where a person's name is related to their occupation. I am sure we all know people like that. It really is a thing.
CopyEditor, most of our investments are with Vanguard, and we routinely use electronic transfers to/from our bank. It takes a couple days for initial set up -- Vanguard will make a couple of small amount (less than $1) deposits which you must acknowledge. Then they'll back out those amounts, and you're good to go with electronic transfers. They do that so they (and you) can be sure you listed the correct routing and account numbers.
WRT to aptronyms, one of my favorites was the German hair stylist who was referred to formally as "Herr Dryer."
Try Have I Been Pwned. You put your email in and it tells you if it ever showed up (with password) in a data breach. Unfortunately, it won't tell you what password was used (it would have to crack them to know).
Also, it's never a good idea to put your password in a site that wants to "check" -- that would be a fun way to harvest passwords, now that I think about it :-)
Yes, I nearly always call the beer bottle opener "church key."
oc, that reminds me of the old quip "it feels good out. I think I'll leave it out."
My experience with Vanguard is like D-O's. But I seem to remember that I had to get a check from GTE to me, but made out to Vanguard, when I opted for a lump-sum retirement. Otherwise, my Vanguard experience has been great.
Like
HG, Everything is fine, thanks! 😉
John M27 Thanks for the aptronym to follow up on my NYAD/NAIAD example. Was there really a Herr Dryer or were you just making a joke? "Nominative determinism" is another name for this phenomenon.
Growing up, I had an optometrist whose last name was "Doctor"...and his first name was "Ivan." Dr. I. Doctor.
I always chuckled at the Goodbody Mortuary in San Diego.
What would you call this: many years ago there was á Catholic prelate in the Philippines called Cardinal Sin.
When I worked for Merck I called on a urologist. Irving Paul Nicely, M.D. He listed his name as I.P. Nicely. WEES about names, 18 by my count, including 8 DNKs. Also did not like how many were in the west, several crossing each other. Other than that, a fair enough Wednesday CW, FIR in 12 which is very good time (for me) on a Wednesday. (Every time I write "Wednesday", I wonder who put the "d" in there. If you pronounce the "d" it sounds like a day for weddings.) Thanx PC for the fun CW (other than all the names), and thanx Splynter for the fine write-up. As soon as I saw those nice legs, I knew it was you! Please continue this tradition of yours.
Winning Wednesday - Not! Thanks for the fun, Paul and Splynter. (Those poor Oilers! At least in youth hockey they stop keeping track of the score if one team is ahead by 7 goals or more at the start of the third period. It’s called a mercy game. )
I was travelling along at a good pace, but had a blowout at the cross of ELLEN, LEE and LOCALE. I had Locate, WAGged LEE, and ETLEN did not bring a daytime show to mind.
Hand up for trying to get a Y into NAIAD.
I really wanted Drop ANCHOR. When I tried to LIU to see if Jinx was correct in thinking LAY ANCHOR was Brit-speak, but all I can find is “Lay an anchor” and an Urban Dictionary definition that Jinx might like.
Wishing you all a good evening
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