Happy first Monday in August, everyone! I'm elated to be sharing with you this puzzle from our blogmistress, Zhouqin Burnikel. The theme is:
These are the four themers:
17 Across. Future time: LATER DATE. 
26 Across. Tank often found near a furnace: WATER HEATER. 
40 Across. Like some raisins and truffles: CHOCOLATE COATED. Simply masterful! Not only was this one a grid-spanner but it is also mouthwatering!
51 Across. Chamber that sends laws to the governor: STATE SENATE.
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| Click to enlarge. |
And now for the perfect unifier:
64 Across. Dined with a bun in the oven, or what can be found in 17-, 26-, 40-, and 51-Across: ATE FOR TWO. "Bun in the oven" and "eating for two" are idioms that mean a person is pregnant. I like the parallel construction of using an idiom in the clue to match the answer.
Furthermore ... all of the themed answers have ATE TWO times. If you are going to choose letters that must appear at least nine time in a puzzle, A, T, and E are good ones to pick. They help to disguise the pattern before arriving at the reveal.
As today's moderater, I will now relate the remaining clues....
Across:
1. Delicate trim on a gown: LACE. and 62 Across. Flared dress shape: A-LINE.
5. "The __ have it": "Motion carries": AYES.
9. Worshipper of Tláloc and Xolotl: AZTEC. The letters in those names point us towards a S. American civilization.
14. Norwegian saint: OLAV.
15. Cardinal's home: NEST. and 13 Down. Apple gadget: CORER.
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| an A-LINE wedding gown with LACE |
5. "The __ have it": "Motion carries": AYES.
9. Worshipper of Tláloc and Xolotl: AZTEC. The letters in those names point us towards a S. American civilization.
14. Norwegian saint: OLAV.
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| Memory trick: OLAV is the Very serious saint OLAF is the Fun snowman |
Both of these clues take advantage of the capitalize-the-first-letter-of-the-clue convention to possibly mislead the solver towards interpreting the first word as a proper noun.
16. Grand Canyon donkey: BURRO. As it turns out, I am currently reading Kevin Fedarko's book about the Grand Canyon.
19. Lipstick mishap: SMEAR. 
20. Country club figure: PRO. This is what I found regarding the difference between a Club Pro and a Pro Golfer:
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| Did anyone else first think of the MLB team? |
16. Grand Canyon donkey: BURRO. As it turns out, I am currently reading Kevin Fedarko's book about the Grand Canyon.
20. Country club figure: PRO. This is what I found regarding the difference between a Club Pro and a Pro Golfer:
Club professionals are employed by a club for the purpose of running the operation, teaching, directing tournament operations, or any other duties the club requires. They are employees of the club and their primary duties include any of the above. Professional golfers, by comparison, are independent contractors whose sole concern is their game. The vast majority of their days are dedicated entirely to practicing and playing golf.
21. Goes out with: SEES.
23. High-pH substance: BASE. "Alkaline" and "basic" are virtually synonymous in chemistry.
24. Suffix for Gator or hater: -ADE. I was unfamiliar with haterade. It is slang so it has different definitions for different demographics; but, to my understanding, it is a dark version of "drinking the Kool-Aid". That is to say, it is a figurative beverage representing a modality of thought that is filled with hate.
29. One of three in a triangle: VERTEX.
31. Key left of F1: ESC.
32. Disney queen born on the winter solstice: ELSA. She is friends with Olaf.
33. Biblical paradise: EDEN.
37. Lost traction: SLID.
44. Aware of: IN ON.
45. Cry like a baby: BAWL.
46. Rock from side to side: SWAY. It's also a song:
21. Goes out with: SEES.
24. Suffix for Gator or hater: -ADE. I was unfamiliar with haterade. It is slang so it has different definitions for different demographics; but, to my understanding, it is a dark version of "drinking the Kool-Aid". That is to say, it is a figurative beverage representing a modality of thought that is filled with hate.
29. One of three in a triangle: VERTEX.
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| A VERTEX is the point where two line segments (sides) meet. Do you remember what the sum of the three interior angles is? |
31. Key left of F1: ESC.
32. Disney queen born on the winter solstice: ELSA. She is friends with Olaf.
33. Biblical paradise: EDEN.
37. Lost traction: SLID.
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| Whoohooooooooo! |
45. Cry like a baby: BAWL.
46. Rock from side to side: SWAY. It's also a song:
Dean Martin ~ Sway ~ 1954
47. Bill Nye's subj.: SCI. Subject is abbreviated and so is SCIence.
49. At a discount: ON SALE.
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| PRO tip: Try to get the top 50%. |
58. Wild feline also called a catamount: PUMA. Today I learned that the PUMA holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the mammal with the most names in English. We call them mountain lions where I live. They sometimes show up on Ring cams.
60. Most Grindr users: MEN. From their website: Since 2009, Grindr has grown into the world’s largest network for gay, bi, trans, and queer adults.
68. Comedian Kaling: MINDY.
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| You might recognize her as Kelly Kapoor from The Office (2005-2012). |
69. Mah-jongg piece: TILE. The standard Chinese set has 144 TILEs.
70. In the thick of: AMID.
71. Informal "What if ... ": S'POSE.
72. Slowest form of fencing: ÉPÉE. I looked up why ÉPÉE is "slowest". I learned that it is the only form of fencing which does not enforce the 'right of way'. In foil and saber only the 'aggressor' can score a point because they have the right of way. However, in ÉPÉE, if both fencers score a 'touch', they can both receive points. In other words, being the aggressor risks allowing the opponent to score. This leads to more hesitant attacks and slower action.
73. Drop in the mail: SEND.
Down:
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| When People Used the Postal Service to 'Mail' Their Children |
1. "U r 2 funny!": LOL. Texting in the clue hints at a textspeak answer.
2. Boeuf __ mode: French dish of wine-braised beef: À LA.
2. Boeuf __ mode: French dish of wine-braised beef: À LA.
3. Parent of a fur baby, perhaps: CAT PERSON.
5. "Your point being?": AND?.
6. Ingredient in challah: YEAST. Challah is a special bread in Jewish cuisine.
8. Guide: STEER. A bum STEER is an idiom which means to provide information, intentionally or unintentionally that is incorrect, was unhelpful, or caused one to be led astray. I would be giving you a bum STEER if I told you this idiom was cattle-related.
9. Muscles worked while planking: ABS. I cannot recall anyone saying planking when referring to holding a plank pose. Perhaps I am blanking on that. 😕
10. Dance-based fitness session: ZUMBA CLASS. Nice fill!
11. Reward for a pet: TREAT.
12. Backspace over: ERASE.
18. "Dirty Jobs" host Mike: ROWE. Michael Gregory Rowe was born March 18, 1962 in Maryland. Both of his parents were teachers. Now that's a tough job!
22. __/her pronouns: SHE.
24. French "with": AVEC.
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| Oui! Oui! |
25. New __, India: DELHI. At 33.8 million people, it is the most populous city in India.
27. Figure skating leap: AXEL.
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| Memory trick: AXEL has the vowels twisted around the X. Axle has the vowels outside the L, sort of like tires on an axle. |
28. Petro-Canada rival: ESSO.
30. Places to go for al pastor: TACO STANDS. Al pastor is a traditional Mexican meat dish that may be served in TACOs.
34. Dollop: DAB.
35. Due-in hr.: ETA. hour and Estimated Time of Arrival
36. Never-before-seen: NEW.
38. "I'm not to blame": IT WASN'T ME.
39. Handed out cards: DEALT. Clues and answers must be consistent when it comes to tense. Since handed is past tense, we needed the past tense of deal.
30. Places to go for al pastor: TACO STANDS. Al pastor is a traditional Mexican meat dish that may be served in TACOs.
34. Dollop: DAB.
35. Due-in hr.: ETA. hour and Estimated Time of Arrival
36. Never-before-seen: NEW.
38. "I'm not to blame": IT WASN'T ME.
39. Handed out cards: DEALT. Clues and answers must be consistent when it comes to tense. Since handed is past tense, we needed the past tense of deal.
41. Some time ago: ONCE. Some time ago, 18 years to be more precise, many of us fell in love with the film Once. You might be interested to know that Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová, and The Swell Season put out new music this past March.
This song is entitled People We Used to Be :
42. Form a clump: CLOT.
43. Turns blue, say: DYES.
48. AOL or MSN: ISP. Internet Service Provider
50. Lost fish found by Dory: NEMO. Finding Nemo was a 2003 Pixar film. They later came out with Finding Dory in 2016.
51. Pesters with junk messages: SPAMS. So annoying!
52. Flower from a bulb: TULIP. I took this photo this morning. They are not tulips but they are bulbs. Pink ladies, aka naked ladies, are bulbs in the amaryllis family. They grow foliage in early Spring. After that dies off they use the energy stored in the bulb to send up long, bare stalks with big, pink flowers. (The green leaves around their stems in this photo are different plants.)
53. __ acid: AMINO. I like how this article uses a letters in the alphabet analogy to explain AMINO acids.
54. More than just tickle: ELATE. half of an Easter egg???
55. Option on a coffeehouse payment screen: NO TIP.
56. "Someone Like You" singer: ADELE. It feels like we get a lot of Adele on Mondays. I'm OK with that. This video was filmed in Paris.
61. Divisions in time: ERAS.
63. Calm center of a cyclone: EYE. A tropical cyclone is a generic term used by meteorologists to describe a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed, low-level circulation. The weakest tropical cyclones are called tropical depressions.
65. Extra charge: FEE. Wouldn't it be nice if every ONCE in a while it said FREE?
66. Come out on top: WIN.
67. Like a quirky "duck": ODD.
43. Turns blue, say: DYES.
48. AOL or MSN: ISP. Internet Service Provider
50. Lost fish found by Dory: NEMO. Finding Nemo was a 2003 Pixar film. They later came out with Finding Dory in 2016.
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| Memory trick: Dory has Yellow fins. Dora is an Adventurous explorer. |
52. Flower from a bulb: TULIP. I took this photo this morning. They are not tulips but they are bulbs. Pink ladies, aka naked ladies, are bulbs in the amaryllis family. They grow foliage in early Spring. After that dies off they use the energy stored in the bulb to send up long, bare stalks with big, pink flowers. (The green leaves around their stems in this photo are different plants.)
53. __ acid: AMINO. I like how this article uses a letters in the alphabet analogy to explain AMINO acids.
54. More than just tickle: ELATE. half of an Easter egg???
55. Option on a coffeehouse payment screen: NO TIP.
56. "Someone Like You" singer: ADELE. It feels like we get a lot of Adele on Mondays. I'm OK with that. This video was filmed in Paris.
61. Divisions in time: ERAS.
63. Calm center of a cyclone: EYE. A tropical cyclone is a generic term used by meteorologists to describe a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed, low-level circulation. The weakest tropical cyclones are called tropical depressions.
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| Click to enlarge. |
66. Come out on top: WIN.
67. Like a quirky "duck": ODD.
The grid: 
"Farewell matey", said the pirate!
Well, our dear C.C. has
ReplyDeletegiven us what I can only describe as a
WITP (and, by the way, I’ll take Sumdaze’s CSO on that.)
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteZipped right through this one, Wite-Out-free. Thanx, C.C. and sumdaze. (Today's writeup didn't sound like you, though the cartoons did.)
WATER HEATER made me think of the old oil-burning Iron Fireman furnace in the house where I grew up. It was a huge monster, and it included an internal water heater.
Dean Martin's SWAY was a little too early, I remember Bobby Rydell's 1960 version better.
Rather than Boeuf A LA Mode, our H.S. French class concluded with a dinner of boeuf a la bourguignon in the Home-Ec kitchen -- no English permitted during the dinner.
FIR, but onto->IN ON.
ReplyDeleteThe boiler that runs the radiators in my 111-year old house also provides domestic hot water. No tanks to me.
"Grindr" sounds like some app that rates "gentlemen's" clubs. I wondered why I hadn't heard of it until sumdaze clued me in.
I've heard of "planking," but in the context of a couple that are making the sign of the beast with two backs.
Before he took on Dirty Jobs, Mike ROWE sang professionally with the Baltimore Opera Company.
RIP Loni Anderson, who ONCE graced WKRP in Cincinnati as Jennifer Marlowe, the brains behind the operation.
I always thought that Rod Stewart sang Someone Like You, but the actual title of his song was Reason To Believe.
Thanks to CC for the nice, easy Monday puzzle, and to sumdaze for another fine review.
Took 4:41 today to get a belATEd checkmATE.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know either of today's French lessons (avec and ala), but I knew the Actress/Comedian of the Day (Mindy).
Definitely a WITP.
Echos from yesterday's discussion: Today's Penny/Dell crossword clues "component" for ELEMENT.
ReplyDeleteFIR. Thanks to CC for a nice Monday crossword. I had no problems with this at all. The cluing was fair and the theme was clever.
ReplyDeleteOverall a very enjoyable puzzle.
Just alerting all Cornerites that the constructor of today's NYT puzzle is LAT Puzzle Editor, Patti Varol ... and it's a good one.
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats CC on today's LAT. I'm looking forward to doing it after returning from some morning errands.
I came here to see if anyone noticed Patti Varol's puzzle in the NYT. I agree it is a great puzzle with a theme that I didn't fully grasp until I read the comments over there.
DeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis may have been a WITP to solve but, IMO, the theme is an excellent example of a very creative constructor’s talents and craftsmanship, namely, our own CC. Who else would think of a common, ordinary phrase such as Eating For Two and build a puzzle around it, using the letters of E A T, repeated twice in strong, solid phrases? Added bonuses for the solver include a clean as a whistle grid with no dreck, no obscurities, and little to no pop culture references. No w/os, no unknowns, no complaints, just a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction.
Thanks, CC, for another creative gem and thanks, sumdaze, for the always informative and entertaining review. Your visuals were striking, as usual, with the favorite comic being the Quirky Duck.
Have a great day.
Aztecs were a civilization in Mexico, not S. America.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: The correct letter sequence was E A T, note A T E. My apologies.
ReplyDeleteMore apologies! A T E not E A T. Seems as though someone is a tad confused this morning! 🤣
DeleteI echo Irish Miss ☘️. Perfect Monday puzzle. My only unknowns were MINDY, ROWE, and haterADE but not hard to guess of fill anyway.
ReplyDeleteThank you sumdaze for another fine review. What á nice way to start the week.
It's always comforting to see C.C.'s name at the masthead as Constructor. Her puzzle today was predictably fair, clever, and enjoyable. She always has the best interests of the solvers (us) at the forefront. C.C. is no rank amATEur (sorry).
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting--five of the eight embedded ATEs in the crossword are not pronounced "ATE."
Wait a minute--there is no baseball in today's C.C. puzzle! Say what? To paraphrase the kid confronting Shoeless Joe Jackson, "Say it ain't so, Zhouqin!"
Thanks, sumdaze, for your enjoyable and informative recap. Some of those cartoons are hilarious.
Leave it to Zhouqin to give us a pleasant start to the CW week with a grid showcasing her talents as a constructor, IM ☘️ described it perfectly! My only unknowns were VERTEX and MINDY, but they easily perped. Easter egg with a vertical backwards ATE in the center. I saw a lot of ESSO stations in Ontario last week, where they are sometimes referred to as ‘gas bars’. Thanks Zhouqin for the puzzle and to sumdaze for the picturesque review. In these parts we commonly refer to a PUMA as a cougar, and I encountered one while driving in the woods a few years ago, bounded across the dirt road in two leaps. It stopped about 50 feet away, staring at me through the greenery. My phone (camera) was in my pocket under the seat belt and I wasn’t quick enough to get it out (would have been a Nat Geo worthy photo) before the cat calmly walked away. Coolest but scariest thing I’ve ever seen in the woods! DNR says there is no breeding population, only transients, which show up occasionally on trail cams
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-It’s always a pleasant puzzle from C.C. no matter the day of the week!
-WATER HEATER: Ours developed a leak ten days ago and so I called my plumber. A plumber who is a former student works for them and he was here in 45 minutes. Two days later we were up and running. We did have to turn down the temp!
-STATE SENATE: Our unique unicameral does not have one.
-My good friend and I have different political views on some topics but our lunches never include HATERADE
-I was on an icy incline in Lincoln and SLID for half a block knowing for five seconds I couldn’t avoid hitting the car in front of me
-Our new neighbor’s corgi would not come to me, so neighbor gave me a TREAT to give her. Now she seeks me out!
-When I want to say IT WASN’T ME, I say, “In the words of Bob Dylan, ‘It Ain’t Me Babe.”
-Some can do this so fast you can’t tell you're being DEALT the second card in the deck
-When you go to an Omaha Stormchaser AAA baseball game you can only use credit cards. The vendors are VERY friendly and the first thing that greets you when paying on their tablet are TIP options.
-Husker FB fans are in the third year of the Matt Ruhle ERA and expect a lot of improvement this fall.
-A just right write-up, Sumdaze.
Even though it was a WITP, it still took 10:13. Amazed at the construction! What genius!
ReplyDeleteStarted out rapid fire slowing down toward the bottom but an eventual FIR. All the theme answers ATE twice but suspect there’s more to the theme than that?
ReplyDeleteInkovers: Gay/MEN, doled/DEALT,
OLAf or OLAV only the perps know. Oh I get it: OlaV is a Various serious snowman and OlaF is a Fun saint. Wait What? No?
“French for with” AVEC, “Italian for brides” SPOSE (SPOSE you wouldn’t know that)
TV’s 5 yr “The MINDY project” a classic
From GREASE: “Rizzo got a bun of in the oven”!
When their dog ___ they “turned blue” …. DYED
The head ____ is the usually the “guide” of the stampede …. STEER
The “New” ____ makes better sangwidges… DELHI
Has a pet ___ , …. _____ big PUMA , CATPERSON
Have a good week
What a nice puzzle to start the new week, and a sparkling sumdaze recap for dessert!
ReplyDeleteThanks, CC, for a grate start to the week and thanks, moderater the first rate recap.
ReplyDeleteHola! I echo all that has been said above. This was a sterling puzzle, fun to solve and satisfying in the end. Congratulations and thank you, C.C. I loved the ATE FOR TWO theme.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful day, everyone!
842! Lots of fun!
ReplyDeleteWell I see that C.C. went on a 'double-ate' with us today, unlike the clue for 60A, we didn't find her there. Both "al pastor" and Kating were unknowns. The TACO STAND and MINDY took a few perps.
ReplyDeleteBURRO- the only ones I saw in the Canyon were MULES.
PUMA- the few around here are called mountain lion or cougar. In Florida they are called panther.
Rowe- before he started Dirty Jobs he was an opera singer. So was Meatloaf.
I ALWAYS enjoy C.C’s puzzles, and also enjoy the Recaps and Cornerite’s comments. You ALL are the highlight of my day! THANKS
ReplyDeleteAlways wonderful to get a C.C. puzzle, and this morning one was just delightful. So, many thanks for this treat, C.C. And I always appreciate your commentary, Sumdaze, so thanks for that too.
ReplyDeleteWell, it looks like this puzzle had us on a farm today, where the wife was a real CAT PERSON, while her husband enjoyed more time with his BURRO. They also loved their PUMA, and feeding all the birds in their different NESTS. At some LATER DATE they hope to open a TACO STAND so they can earn a bit more money to help feeding all those critters, and also to buy them the WATER HEATER that they need. But all in all, we can think of this farm as a kind of EDEN.
Have a wonderful week coming up, everybody.
Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, C.C. and sumdaze.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in very good time and saw the double ATEs.
(Great catch, sumdaze, on the half Easter Egg, elATE. 2A slid the tense from EAT to ATE in the second half - IM was trying that out too.)
One inkblot to change the TACO STore into a STAND. I’m not used to seeing either around here (and have never heard of “al pastor”).
This Canadian had no clue about the governing body in 51A, but STATE’S SENATE came easily with perps. I did know ESSO (and will take a CSO).
I started to enter DiES for “turns blue, say”, but rescued myself with DYES. (Lol, Ray-o saw it too!)
ROWE and MINDY required perps.
Wishing you all a great day.
Late to the party, just got home from my Aqua Zumba class. With our 110°+ temps the water is getting hot.
ReplyDeleteToday’s paper had story about a beloved lion, Blondie, in Zimbabwe that was killed by a trophy hunter.
. “A Walk in the Park” is an amazing, fun informative read.
Today’s puzzle great way to start the week!
Well, I did FIR in 10, so got 'er done. Embarrassed to say I (again) forgot to look for the theme. I would have seen it had I remembered to look. Only W/O: TACOTRUCK/TOCOSTAND. Never heard of HATERADE, so hesitated to fill ADE, but perps settled that. VERTEX also took perps: SIDES = too short, ANGLES = right number of letters but perps hated it. Finally VERTEX showed up via perps. OLAV/OLAF will forever need perps, I will not manage to remember anything to keep it straight. Anyway, a fun, witty Monday CW. 10 minutes is about my average Monday time. Thanx C.C., great way to start the week. Great write-up, too, Sumdaze, thanx for all the time and effort you put into it.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the hints to remember the difference between OLAV/OLAF, kind of like the "saint and the sinner" in a way. So, one is a cartoon and the other an actual saint.
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle overall, but I do have one problem with it.
ReplyDeleteI don't get why Olav is the correct answer, when the English spelling is Olaf. What's the point of clueing if we're just going to go with whatever spelling we want? As a nonnative speaker, it is already hard enough to keep track of all the Americana clues and all the weird spellings that come up between the different shades of English. :(