Use It Or Lose It by Zhouqin Burnikel
After blogging over 400 consecutive Saturday puzzles, C.C. asked me to trade with her for the weekend as I am sure she did not want to "toot her own horn" for this lovely construction. Of course, like the rest of us here, I was happy to agree to do anything for our blogmistress. I had to reorient myself to doing a themed puzzle but I will give it my best shot.
C.C.'s fun gimmick was to add or subtract "IT" to a common phrase to make a silly expression for our entertainment. Added to the complexity is the fact that the IT going IN and IN going OUT alternate all the way down.
My first reorientation is to suss out her theme fills which of course I do not have to do on a themeless Saturday.
23. Fair amount of time?: LEG(IT) STRETCH - LEGIT is a synonym for fair and a stretch of time is also familiar. They modify LEG STRETCH.
32. Shady place?: VIS
40. A-list actor with A+ manners?: POL(IT)E STAR - A fun invention. There are lots of famous but well-mannered actors. The POLE STAR is also called Polaris and stays in the same spot all night and all year round if you are above the equator. Columbus always made sure it was on the starboard side of his Santa Maria as he headed west.
56. Source of the wisdom of the ages?: ANCIENT BR(IT)AIN - Aristotle or...
83. Cronus, at birth?: INSTANT T(IT)AN - This took the longest but was so clever. I did not know Cronus but I sussed him out. In Greek mythology, he was the King Of The Titans and assumed that title at birth.
99. Elegant partner in some split decisions?: GRACEFUL EX(IT) - A party to a divorce can choose to be a GRACEFUL EX during the split or even make a GRACEFUL EXIT
106. Copper thief, e.g.?: METAL BAND(IT) - Copper thievery off center pivots a big issue around here. I'm assuming C.C. meant the METAL BAND below and not a heavy METAL BAND but...
122. Tent event with a "members only" policy?: CLOSED CIRCU(IT)S - My favorite! This shows a ticket to watch the Indy 500 Race via CLOSED CIRCUIT TV in the Ryman Auditorium (Grand Ole Opry) in 1968.
1. Stick on the grill: SKEWER.
7. Swipe without swiping a card: STEAL - No baseball larceny for C.C.
12. Part of a foot: ARCH - _ _ C H and it is not INCH
16. Dict. entries: WDS.
19. Behind the times: OLD HAT - Here is an OLD HAT John Wayne wore but for some, his movies are considered to be OLD HAT
20. Electric coil inventor: TESLA - Nikola TESLA sitting inside one of his coils
21. Person pleased to take orders: SALES REP - Waitress fit but...
25. Streetcar tracks, in Sheffield: TRAMLINE.
26. Specifics, informally: DEETS - When you just can't bring yourself to type all of details 😔
27. Complete stranger: RANDO - I still don't know who you are...
28. Gazelle, to a cheetah: PREY.
29. Actress Rae: ISSA - She's on our marquee a lot.
30. Arm joint: ELBOW.
35. Composer who wrote his first minuet at age five: MOZART.
37. Frost creations: POEMS - My favorite and one I think of often at my age
39. Structured gps.: ORGS.
42. Social standing: STATUS.
45. Pro Bowl stats: TDS.
48. Never-before-seen: ALL NEW - You have to look pretty close...
49. Almond __: toffee candy: ROCA.
51. Mutt: CUR - I don't see them as synonyms. A mutt can be a great pet, but a cur...
52. Dolphin's color: GRAY.
53. __ gow poker: PAI - Sometimes called double hand pair poker. History and how to play
54. Lamb's mother: EWE.
60. Olympian who loved war and battles: ARES.
62. Lawn tool: RAKE.
64. Thompson of "Creed": TESSA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
65. Error in judgment: LAPSE.
66. Escape room finds: KEYS - They're in there somewhere
70. 126-Across ingredient: OATS - It's in the list below. 126. Active Naturals skin care brand: AVEENO.
72. Raga instrument: SITAR.
75. Low point: NADIR.
75. Low point: NADIR.
77. Like a bad twin: EVIL - It's a TV trope we've all seen before.
86. Jolly little helper: ELF.
87. Money left on the table: TIP - An awkward situation.
89. Latin primer verb: AMO - Ego te AMO (I love you)
90. Matching twosome: PAIR - Speaking of ACES, this hand in Texas Hold'em wins 85% of the time against only one other player but that goes down and is only 35% successful against nine others.
92. File menu choice: RENAME.
95. Avril follower: MAI.
96. Smoothed (out): EVENED.
101. Depend (on): RELY.
103. Beep or boom: NOISE.
105. Like some Netflix subscriptions: AD FREE - I like my $7.99 Netflix plan and can tolerate a few ads.
110. Mosaic artist's binder: GROUT.
111. Some PC ports: USB'S - My current iteration of MacBook has no USB-A ports. I have to use a dongle for USB-A and HDMI connections. They connect to the computer via a USB-C connector.
112. People unlikely to fall in love, for short: AROS
113. Heraldic shade of blue: AZURE.
116. Deluxe hotel room: SUITE.
120. Cause of anxiety: STRESSOR.
124. Garden party frock: TEA DRESS.
125. Hint of color: TINGE.
127. "Of course I'll marry you!": YES.
128. "Ah, of course!": I SEE.
129. Current setting: OCEAN 😀 Oh, I SEE, it's about the OCEAN current
130. Untidy states: MESSES.
Down:
1. Off the market: SOLD.
2. "Fish Magic" painter Paul: KLEE.
3. Slight advantage: EDGE.
4. RosÈ variety, for short: WHITE ZIN - WHITE ZINfadel
5. Has dinner at 10, perhaps: EATS LATE.
6. ACLU focus: RTS.
7. Tube in a boba tea: STRAW.
8. "T," in video game ratings: TEEN.
9. Cornerstone abbr.: ESTD.
10. Nook for reading: ALCOVE.
11. __-di-dah: LAH.
12. Amazon's home robot: ASTRO - FWIW, it's also the name of Leroy Jetson's dog
14. Surface dominated by Rafael Nadal: CLAY COURT.
15. Bottom of bell-bottoms: HEM - Kids in my 1970's classes ripped out the HEM and let them drag in the mud and dirt.
16. Feature of some small purses: WRIST STRAP.
17. Thick: DENSE.
18. Weapon on Kenya's flag: SPEAR - Kenya flag building in Nairobi
22. Gin cocktail: SLING.
24. Rounds the bases after a homer: TROTS - Now we get baseball from C.C.!
28. "Hey, over here!": PSST.
31. Pitcher of beer?: BREWERY 😀 Yes, a BREWERY does pitch its beer
33. Chats on Discord, for short: IMS - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ This app has an Instant MessageS system. This took me a long time to suss out.
34. Triage ctrs.: ERS.
35. Grinding tooth: MOLAR.
36. Basic skateboard trick: OLLIE.
37. Kung __ shrimp: PAO.
38. Predator that hunts in pods: ORCA.
40. Baby Bear's dad: PAPA - Goldilocks is often found guilty of Breaking and Entering in these mock trials. (Also, see cartoon at bottom of page)
43. Some fighter pilots: ACES.
 |
| Col. Francis Gabreski |
44. Omega-3 source: TUNA OIL.
47. "Auld Lang __": SYNE
50. Collector under a sink, perhaps: ANT TRAP.
52. Hold tightly: GRASP.
55. "I'm innocent!": WASN'T ME.
57. Head of cabbage?: CEE - Meta clue - Cabbage starts with the letter CEE
58. Castaway's home: ISLE - I'll bet you can name all of these castaways.
61. Enjoy a rink: SKATE.
63. Eid al-Fitr cash gift: EIDI - During the Moslem holiday of Eid al-Fitr, the tradition of giving cash gifts, known as "Eidi" or "Eidiyah," is a common practice in Middle Eastern and Muslim cultures.
67. Notable span: ERA.
69. Petty criticism: NIT.
71. Fettuccine sauce: ALFREDO.
72. Thailand, before 1940: SIAM.
73. Empire centered at Cuzco: INCA.
74. Lingerie pieces with smooth cups: TSHIRT BRAS - New to me and the TS starting letters made it tougher
76. Bajillions: A TON.
78. Wang of fashion: VERA.
80. Hardly original: STALE.
81. "Save Me" singer Mann: AIMEE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What a bonanza of vowels
82. X-ray __: novelty wear: SPEX.
84. Ports of call for sailors: NAVY BASES
85. Badgers: NAGS.
91. Deep anger: IRE.
93. Not reserved at all: EFFUSIVE.
94. Helps grow: NURTURES.
96. Pipe bend: ELL.
97. Fades to black: ENDS.
98. "How __ look?": DO I - Be careful with your answer
100. Gave a hoot: CARED.
102. Made simpler: EASED.
104. Bold alternative: ITALIC.
106. Like many a summer cabin after a long winter: MUSTY - Name this wonderful movie where Norman and Ethel Thayer had to deal with this issue. * Answer below
107. Lauder of cosmetics: ESTEE.
108. Became apparent: AROSE.
109. Like Vikings: NORSE.
110. Color of mint, moss, and money: GREEN.
114. Lose focus, with "out": ZONE.
115. Org. that runs the Opens: USGA.
117. Coats with frosting: ICES - Coats as a verb not a noun
118. Pull some strings?: TUNE.
119. Those, in Spanish: ESOS - Esos son los descansos mi amiga (Those are the breaks my friend)
121. __ Lanka: SRI.
122. Exec at an AI startup: CTO.
123. Vid recorder: CAM.
*Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn were opening their cabin On Golden Pond
I couldn't resist:
25 comments:
What was it, those on the
left of the puzzle added “it” while those on the right side took “it” away? Something like that, anyway. And, anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Yay, d-o read the title, for a change, and saw the IT gimmick. Went astray in a few places with IRONED/EVENED, OFF-ON/OCEAN, TRACE/TINGE. That's what Wite-Out's for. Like Husker, that TS in T-SHIRT caused some consternation...until it didn't. Nicely done, C.C. and Husker.
FIW, missing with AVEENa (close enough for me and the girls I dance with) and ESaS (figured feminine ending for feminine products.) Erased obese for DENSE.
Where are the anti-bulling people at the Ivy League anti-Jewish protests?
I flicked my paper to make sure the "é" in rosé had an accent, not eraser dust.
Is there a drink called a SLING? I've only heard of a Singapore SLING. Kinda like calling a Mai Tai a "Tai."
NAVY BASES came easy. since Norfolk is home to the world's largest one.
FLN - TTP, thanks for clarifying the client/server issue.
Thanks to CC for the clever and fun challenge. And thanks to Gary for slipping over for Easter Sunday duties. 'Cept that you misplaced the "U" in CLOSED CIRC(IT)US.
Took 17:09 today for me to get with it. Or, without it.
I knew today's actresses (Issa & Tessa).
I didn't know eidi, roca, pai, or amo (I wish to note my continued dislike of "foreign language part of speech" as an actual clue).
Good work, C.C. and H.G.
Happy Easter!
Congratulations C.C. on you puzzle. I noticed the added IT after I filled POL-IT-E STAR but didn't catch the missing until I'd filled CLOSED CIRCU- S to FIR.
How DO I look? You look great, those pants don't make your butt look big, I like your new hair style, I like your choice of clothes, and all the other 'forced' answers men use.
The EIDI (unknown) fill for the EID clue has me staring at what I had done. Just didn't seem right.
T-SHIRT BRA- that's a new one. Looking a Gary's photo, I see many young women and girls wearing something similar in various colors without the T-shirt. You don't need those X-ray SPEX to imagine what's under; it's staring you in the face.
I didn't know Amazon had a robot-ASTRO was perps.
Never heard of Almond ROCA. No 'joy' in that.
RATED T is new to me, as I don't play video games.
TUNA OIL- it seems like every company touts everything as a cure for something.
I see C.C. managed to put three fills I've only seen in crosswords-ARO, DEETS, and RANDO. But my granddaughters ( 19 & 25) will say words I've never heard and look at me strangely because I don't understand what they said. They'll show up in future puzzles.
Not too difficult today once I figured out which themers were missing the IT or adding the IT. EIDI and ROCA were all perped. I knew Kung PAO shrimp, and thought PAI gow poker must be some Chinese dish also 🤷♂️. Last fill for the FIR was to correct pram line to TRAM LINE, as Amazon’s robot was also unknown. TESSA Thompson visited the other day. T SHIRT BRA was unknown, asked DW if she knew what it was, says she has one. Thank you C.C. for the morning fun, and to HG for your extended write-up on a Sunday puzzle, see you in your normal slot next Saturday!
I always like á CC puzzle, this one was no exception. I caught on to the theme with POLITE STAR, but it took me á while to notice the removal of IT.
Fun fills like STEAL and BLT. I see the guys don’t know about T-SHIRT BRAS. I got that right off since I’ve bought some.
Weird DEETS filled itself in unobtrusively. I remembered ARO from previous CWs. (I don’t know why we feel it necessary to label people based on so many categories). I have seen, or maybe heard, RANDO outside of á CW.
I didn’t know ROCA but the ANT solved it. The hardest fill was GRACEFUL EX but it’s my favorite.
Thank you HG for gracefully getting out of your comfort zone of themeless puzzles to provide us with á great review.
Happy Easter from Miss Carrol’s 1957 second grade class. Roscoe Conkling School Utica NY The kid in the front of the Easter parade is me. (Air raid instructions are posted on the wall)
FIW. Not familiar with the almond taffy and I just got too set on the undersink thingy having something to do with a J-trap (JESSA/TESSA? A random pick for me). Missed the after-the-fact obvious ANTTRAP. In addition to the above mentioned AROS, RANDO, etc (managed to get them all, but...), BLT as-clued took me a while to resolve. Agree that EIDI looked funny and seems to me that clue/answer pair violates some sort of cluing convention.
FIW. Missed BLT and had no idea oats were in Aveeno. Also failed to see ancient Britain as one of the theme answers.
I got the gimmick early on and that helped a lot. I had more trouble adding it to the answers than removing it.
Overall not a puzzle that was my cup of tea at all.
Way back in the dark ages before J&J bought Aveeno, Aveeno's only produce was Aveeno colloidal Oatmeal people would put in their bath to treat certain skin conditions.
ANCIENT BRAIN is my dad!
A TRAM LINE on a CLAY COURT is also know as "the alley", a strip along the EDGE of a court that widens it for doubles play. It's out of bounds in singles.
In the first season, the last two ISLE castaways were simply known as "and the rest." Bob Denver, aka Gilligan, lobbied the studio for the Professor and Mary Ann to be included in the theme song when they were renewed.
Everyone knows that a Dolphin's color is aqua! In Miami anyway...
And for those who celebrate, Happy Easter!
So which kid is Ray-o?
A very nice puzzle on a rainy Easter morning. Nice clues, clever phrases, helpful perps, and a few WAGS brought me across the finish line to a satisfying and enjoyable solve. Theme? Oops. Forgot to look! Thanks for the entertainment, HG & CC.
The dark kid in the front on the left is me.
I'm here to post an EFFUSIVE comment about C.C.'s clever puzzle, and HG's excellent review! How on earth does a constructor come up with these phrases with and without IT? IT was pretty tough for a Sunday, and I struggled a bIT in the northeast, not knowing ASTRO the robot. Luckily, our reliable friend ISSA was up there, and SALES REP was a neat answer. Alphabetical order (BLT), later in the puzzle, was a funny clue. The T-SHIRT BRA will be familiar to half of us; good to see the guys are figuring IT out. Many thanks for this enjoyable workout for my ANCIENT BRAIN!
I was thinking that Easter was a week late. I've been told for as long as I can remember it is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
I LIU, and it turns out that full moon @ 8:00 pm or so on Saturday the 12th in the US is Sunday the 13th in Jerusalem, the location for determining Easter. (The Church defines the vernal equinox as March 21st, regardless of the actual date, but that didn't affect Easter's date this year.) So today is the first Sunday following the first full moon (as measured in Jerusalem) following the vernal equinox. Now, will I remember it next year? Or tomorrow?
Thank you CC, for a pleasant Sunday morning romp. And HG for the write up, and splainin' alphabetical order = BLT... (and for making me hungry even tho I just had a big breakfast....) as to the theme, I had a much easier time removing the "It's" than I did trying to re-insert them. It took much sussing to train my brain into Britain, but the AHA moment was very satisfying, and finally made me move on to the other It adds...
silly theme link seems more appropriate for yesterdays blog screwy format. I could not get to the comments, so went to my phone which has comments built into the blog, signed in and everything, and still got classified as anonymous. Even weirder, later 8n the day the iPad format was the IPhone format, with the built in comments. Never seen that before.
But today, everything is back to normal. So, take it or leave it....
A fun Sunday puzzle. It’s ALWAYS a pleasure to solve one of CC’s Puzzles!
Yes, always a pleasure to solve CC's puzzles. Great job on this one. Very clever. My favorites, "Alphabetical order" and "Current settings". And nice job on the recap HG.
How wonderful to get this delightful Sunday puzzle from you, C.C.--many, many thanks. And thank you for you helpful commentary and neat pictures, Gary, another Sunday pleasure.
It was thrilling to find those early references to MOZART and POEMS and the painter KLEE to have us begin the puzzle with some art. Wish we could hear the music and the poetry and see the paintings, but that's not easy in a crossword puzzle. Still, it was sweet to see the reference to SITAR music and to "Auld Lang Syne". Then it was time to go on a TREK and get some lunch beginning with a visit to the BREWERY. A GIN COCKTAIL was nice to sip with a STRAW, or some ALMOND ROCA or a SLING, something I'd never heard of. And it was really great to then go on and get some KUNG PAO shrimp. All in all, a delightful day and maybe we should see if we could then get tickets to that CLOSED CIRCUS.
Have a wonderful Easter Sunday, everybody.
LLN TTP reported that there was a server issue, which has been resolved.
Terrific puzzle, C.C.! And wonderful write-up, H.G. -- thank you both, and a blessed Easter!
The theme was very clever, but the rest caused me to ZONE (out).
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