Years on End.
4-Down. * Grayish time at dusk or dawn: HALF LIGHT. Half Year // Light Year. Did you know there are three distinct types of Half Light? There is Civil Dusk/Dawn, Nautical Dusk/Dawn and Astronomical Dusk/Dawn. These stages are determined by the position of the sun below the horizon.
18-Down. * Removed from the docket, as a legal hearing: OFF CALENDAR. Off Year // Calendar Year
28-Down. * Penultimate: SECOND LAST. Second Year // Last Year
37-Down. * Nontraditional: NEW SCHOOL. New Year // School Year The school year begins here on Thursday, August 7.
And the unifier:
10-Down: Like some annual accounting comparisons, or what can be found in the answers to the starred clues: YEAR ON YEAR. The word Year can be added to each of the words in the theme answers to give us a new concept.
Across:
1. Cashew, e.g.: NUT.
4. __-hop music: HIP.
7. Director Reiner: ROB. Robert Norman Reiner (b. Mar. 6, 1947) is probably best known as his portrayal of Michael Stivic from All in the Family. One of the earliest films he directed is This is Spinal Tap. He also directed When Harry Met Sally ...
10. Tuber in West African cuisine: YAM.
13. Nonsense refrain syllables: SHA LA LA.
15. Laudatory poem: ODE. A crossword staple.
16. Big bird: EMU. Emus appeared in last Tuesday's puzzle.
17. In full view: FOR ALL TO SEE.
19. Like Big Bird's name: APT.
20. Seaport's loading and unloading area: WHARF.
21. Opening of a never-give-up slogan: IF AT FIRST. This initially looked at this answer and saw I Fat First. What??!!
23. Unfriendly: ALOOF.
25. Editor's target: TYPO.
26. B'way musical set in Paris: LES MIS. Or more formally, Les Misérables. I see this shortened to Les Miz more often than Les Mis. The musical is based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo (1802 ~ 1885), which was about the June Rebellion of 1832 in Paris.
29. Spy org.: CIA. As in the Central Intelligence Agency.
31. Burden: ONUS.
34. Logger's tool: AXE.
 |
| Paul Bunyan with his Axe in Bangor, Maine. |
35. Brag: GLOAT.
37. "Bye Bye Bye" boy band: *NSYNC. The boy band that was active in the late 1990, and helped to launch Justin Timberlake's career.
38. Open __ night: MIC.
39. 1-800-555-2368 for Ghostbusters, e.g.: HOT-LINE.
41. Pilot's update, briefly: ETA. As in Estimated Time of Arrival.
42. Up in the air: ALOFT.
44. Hem again: RESEW.
45. Broadcast: AIR.
46. Silver State city near Tahoe: RENO. Reno, Nevada is the home of the National Judicial College.
47. Junior: SON.
48. Fish-eating hawk: OSPREY.
50. Unit of medication: DOSE.
52. Prom, for one: DANCE.
54. Brand of flour since 1880: GOLD MEDAL. Everything you ever wanted to know about Gold Medal flower.
57. "By the power of Grayskull" cartoon hero: HE-MAN.
61. Pen name letters: AKA. Also Known As.
62. "Fingers crossed!": I SURE HOPE SO.
64. Tax org.: IRS. As the Internal Revenue Service.
65. Fella: LAD.
66. Cock-a-doodle-do-er: ROOSTER.
67. "Unforgettable" singer __ King Cole: NAT. Sadly, Nat King Cole (né Nathaniel Adams Coles; Mar. 18, 1919 ~ Feb. 15, 1965), died of lung cancer at only age 45.
68. Lamb's mother: EWE.
69. No. on a resume: TEL. As in a Telephone number.
70. "A Change Is Gonna Come" singer-songwriter Cooke: SAM. The death of Sam Cooke (né Samuel Cook; Jan. 22, 1931 ~ Dec. 11, 1964) remains mysterious many decades later.
Down:
1. "Click this link at your own risk" letters: NSFW. Not Suitable For Work.
2. "Crikey": UH, OH!
3. "The Big Lebowski" actress Reid: TARA. Tara Reid (née Tara Donna Reid; b. Nov. 8, 1975) portrayed Bunny Lebowski in the film.
5. __-at-ease: ILL.
6. Barbecue spot: PATIO.
7. Santa __, California: ROSA.
8. Folk singer known as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement": ODETTA. Odetta (née Odetta Holmes; b. Dec. 31, 1930 ~ Dec. 2, 2008) makes occasional appearances in the puzzles.
9. Muscular: BEEFY.
11. Concert blasters: AMPS.
12. Pup without a pedigree: MUTT.
14. SoCal NFLer: LA RAM.
22. Wall St. debuts: IPOs. As in Initial Public Offerings.
24. Capital city near the North Sea: OSLO. The capital of Norway.
26. Rapper Kendrick: LAMAR. Kendrick Lamar (né Kendrick Lamar Duckworth; b. June 17, 1987) is a Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, songwriter and record producer.
27. One cast out: EXILE.
30. "Seriously?": IT IS.
32. Release, perhaps: UNTIE. Unite!
33. Frightening: SCARY.
36. Other, in Spanish: OTRO. Today's Spanish lesson.
40. Like much classic Las Vegas signage: NEON.
43. Sustenance: FOOD.
47. Teeter-totter: SEESAW.
49. Pals, in slang: PEEPS.
51. "Say cheese!": SMILE.
53. Warning signal: ALERT.
54. "Buy low, sell high" result: GAIN.
55. Creole pod: OKRA. Okra is a staple in Gumbo. It is also good fried.
56. "Bro!": DUDE.
58. New York MLB team: METS.
59. Sailing: ASEA.
60. Social standard: NORM.
63. Soil-turning tool: HOE.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
35 comments:
This puzzle wasn’t terribly difficult, though
the reveal seemed a little awkward to me. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Oops, guess who looked for the theme in the long across answers? Yup. The anvil finally dropped. HOTLINE began life as PHONE NO. No matter how many times I see LARAM, I find it hard to parse. Thanx Robbie and Hahtoolah. (Off The Mark was hilarious, but true. What was Minnesota's Paul Bunyan doing in Bangor?)
NEW SCHOOL: Starts tomorrow around here. Sure seems early. The traditional Tax-Free Weekend for buying school supplies won't happen until this coming weekend -- after school's already underway.
FIR, but year-to-year->YEAR-ON-YEAR, and all->MIC.
I've heard it LES MIz and second to last.
A Saturday clue for SHALALA would be "former U.S. Representative Donna _______."
OSLO has become the oboe/Oreo of European cities.
It seemed like an impossible feat back in the day when Natalie remade Unforgettable using the voice of her late father. AI has or soon will make such endeavors child's play.
Thanks to Robbie for the fun Tuesday puzzle, and to Ha2la for the funny review, especially the tiger playing in the box the trap came in.
Good Morning, Crossword friends. D-O, I agree that the beginning of August seems way too early for school to start, but then again, the school year here ends at the beginning of May.
QOD: Research means to investigate something you do not know or understand. ~ Neil Armstrong (né Neil Alden Armstrong; Aug. 5, 1930 ~ Aug. 25, 2012), American astronaut
Took 5:37 today to make the academic leap.
I didn't know the singer (Odetta). "Off calendar" seems clunky to me.
Seemed like a fine themeless puzzle.
Good Morning:
I like vertical themes and find them a tad harder to see early on, which adds some extra challenge to an early week offering. After yesterday’s fun fest, this was a more straightforward and less playful theme, although there were several fresh and lively entries, i.e., Second Last, New School, Half Light, For All To See, If At First, etc.
Thanks, Robbie, and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the usual fun and facts. Nat King Cole is always a treat, as is Sam Cooke. Favorite comics were the math-challenged accountant, the Em Ewes, an the playful Tiger in the box.
I’m going to my sister Peggy’s tonight for a celebration of her husband’s 99th birthday. Their eldest son surprised them by driving up from Florida for the occasion. Happy Birthday, Joe. 🎂🎊🎈🎁🎉
Have a great day.
FIR. I too looked for a theme in the long across answers. Nope, none there. I missed the theme completely.
At first this didn't seem very hard. A few names I didn't know, but the perps solved that dilemma. But it definitely wasn't an easy puzzle.
Overall a so-so puzzle.
I didn’t do very well with this puzzle. My first long fill SECOND LAST made me think to look for missing words in the other answers since I always say SECOND to LAST. When that didn’t pan out, I just filled the answers but never got the theme.
My other problem was keeping trA LA LA, and not being really sure what crickey means and not knowing TARA. So that looked bad.
I did finish the rest, but it all felt OFF to me. IF AT FIRST…………. I tried
GOLD MEDAL filled right off. That’s the flour I use.
We had LAMAR and LA RAM.
Than you Hahtoolah for the fun review.
Got 'er done, but it seemed a tad clunky in spots. I always saw BRAG and GLOAT as two different things, but that might just be me. Not a bad outing today, and I also liked the "tiger in a box".
theme today was tenuous at best, but on the other hand I def saw the matrix with somehow getting "I SURE HOPE SO" with no crosses
Bonn, Germany never makes it. It's not a capital anymore.
GAIN. To many people buy high and sell low, resulting in a loss.
HE MAN and the cartoon were both unknowns. That was the only speed bump on the way to FIR.
I definitely remember the GOLD MEDAL Wondra flour.
Pleasant puzzle this morning, thank you, Robbie. And your commentary is always helpful, Hahtoolah, thank you for that too.
Well, looks like this puzzle started off with some HIP guy enjoying his FOOD, like orders of NUT and YAM, and a little OKRA. Looks like he may also have taken care of a LAD, and together they tended some of the animals, like the ROOSTER and that EMU, always interesting FOR ALL TO SEE. Afterwards, it was probably time to take a break on the PATIO, before heading off to go out to SEA before heading off to join a DANCE that night. Sounds like a pretty good day, doesn't it. Would have been fun to join them.
Have a wonderful, pleasant day, everybody.
Dear friends,
It is with a sad heart that I inform you my wife of almost 60 years passed away late Sunday night, unable to survive the throat cancer for which she had been treated for the past year. I miss her dearly.
Jayce
Jayce, I so very sorry for your loss. You had her in your life for almost 60 years and that is a blessing. Please be assured of my prayers.
As for the puzzle, it was fun to complete, and I won't GLOAT about it.
When we drove through SWEDEN we stayed in OSLO for a couple of days and had time to shop. I wore those clothes for a long time.
Sweden is a sharp contrast from other parts of Europe; its stark architecture of red brick is so different from the gothic lines in France and Italy. It was interesting to see the sunken ship, which was lifted, intact, out of the harbor.
Have a wonderful day, everyone, and stay cool. It's 104 degrees here!
Another rocket scientist, Wernher von Braun: 'Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.'
Jayce, I'm very sorry. You've got many friends here who feel your loss. Feel free to reach out if you need anything...or maybe just to talk.
Jace, so sorry to hear of your loss. May the memories of your long romance comfort you.
Jayce, my sincerest and heartfelt condolences on your immeasurable loss. Please know that we’re here for you, always.
Charlie Echo
Jayce, my heart goes out to you.
Jayce, may your wife be at peace, and may you be comforted. Requiescat in pace, dear lady.
So very sorry for the loss of your dear wife. 60 years together is á life time. May you be comforted by happy memories.
I just did the puzzle. It was fun. Hahtoolah, your write-up was a pleasure to read, as usual. Thank you. And thank you all for your good wishes.
Jayce, I am so sorry to hear your devastating news. A 60-year romance must provide a world of memories for you. And feel free to reach out if it helps; Cornerites are here to support you!
Jayce ~ so sorry to hear the sad news of your dear wife’s passing, it’s probably been very tough on you watching her decline with that type of cancer, but she suffers no more and that’s a good thing. Peace be with you at this time.
So sorry, Jayce. No words can provide comfort at this point, so I shan't try.
17 names, but only DNK 3, so whistled to a FIR in 12 minutes. As someone who has been in the stock market for over 50 years, "Buy low, sell high" sounds like timing the market, which is nearly impossible. Thus my first thought for 54D was "PAIN", but perp gave me GAIN. Not much else to say about this CW, thanx RC for the entertainment. And thanx Hahtoolah for the, as always, terrific write-up, and good selection of cartoons. That's some history for Gold Medal Flour.
Dear Jayce, my heart also goes out to you for the loss of your dear wife after so many decades together. I lost my sweet husband Rowland ten years ago, and still think of him in my heart when I wake up every morning.
CONDOLENCES, Jay !!
Anonymous above is Monkey.
Jayce, please accept my deepest condolences. Even though I never met Christina, I know how much she means to you.
Dear Jayce: I am so sorry for your loss. May your beautiful wife's memory be a blessing to you. Know that we are all here for you, especially in your time of sorrow.
Oslo is in Norway, west of Sweden. A delightful happy town. Sweden is more dour and formal.
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