Theme: Geography Lessons, and geography expansions. As we travel through the locations, each located in the 2nd word of each theme fill, they get increasingly larger
16 A. Stop on a fall foliage tour?: LEAVES TOWN. Ordinarily, this means departing from a TOWN. Here, it suggests a TOWN with many colorful leafy trees.
30 A. Stop on a victory tour?: PARTY CITY. This was a retail chain stocking a wide range of themed party supplies, plus costumes & holiday decorations. It has gone out of business in the U.S., but is still active in Canada. Here, though, it is a city full of revelry. Note also, a city is larger than a town.
44 A. Stop on a wine tour?: DRY COUNTY. This is a county in the United States where the sale and public consumption of alcohol is prohibited. It's unclear why anyone on a wine tour would visit there, unless it's a place to stop drinking? At any rate, a county is generally larger than a city.
58 A. Stop on an apology tour?: SORRY STATE. This indicates being in a situation or condition that is poor, neglected, or unfortunate, often one that is deserving of pity or regret. Here, though, it is a place containing many counties where contrition is prominent.
Hi, Gang, JazzBumpa here with a puzzling travelogue. Let's embark, and see where it takes us.
Hi, Gang, JazzBumpa here with a puzzling travelogue. Let's embark, and see where it takes us.
1. Some cuff links: STUDS. Formal jewelry worn at the shirt cuff in place of a button. The stud portion is a short metal bar connecting a decoration to a fastener.
6. Passover mo., often: APR. April. Passover is a major Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
9. Genesis brother: ABEL. He was murdered by his twin brother Cain.
13. Number of strands in a simple braid: THREE.
14. Creative development: IDEA. The thought before the brainstorm.
15. Proper partner: PRIM. Stiffly formal and respectable; feeling or showing disapproval of anything regarded as improper.
18. Roman robe: TOGA. A loose flowing outer garment worn by the citizens of ancient Rome, made of a single piece of cloth and covering the whole body apart from the right arm.
19. The upper crust: ELITES. A select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society. Or so they would have you believe.
20. Packers' pts.: TDS. Touch downs. The Packers are the team from Green Bay in the National Football League.
22. "Don't know her": WHO? What or which person or people?
23. Shiny fender material: CHROME. Chromium plate as a decorative or protective finish on motor-vehicle fittings and other objects.
25. "Critique of Pure Reason" philosopher: KANT. Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central thinkers of the Enlightenment. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics have made him one of the most influential and highly discussed figures in modern Western philosophy.
27. "Well, shucks": AW, GEE. Expressing genial self-deprecation or gratified embarrassment.
33. Epic battles: WARS. A state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state. In a war there may be many distict battles.
34. Section of a race: LEG. A specific, defined part or section of the race.
35. Call from a treehouse: UP HERE. Telling you where to look
36. One day __ time: AT A. To deal with each day's problems as they come instead of worrying about the future.
37. "Restore + Strengthen" shampoo brand: FINESSE. Finesse shampoo, specifically the Finesse Restore + Strengthen Moisturizing Shampoo, is designed to rejuvenate dry, damaged, or stubborn hair by providing a moisturizing and strengthening treatment.
39. Announcement makers in HS classrooms: PAS. Public Address System, a system of microphones, amplifiers, and loudspeakers used to amplify speech or music in a large building or at an outdoor gathering..
40. Criticize harshly: REVILE. Criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner.
42. "Uh-uh": NAH. Nope, no way, aint gonna happen.
43. Treadmill setting: PACE. Consistent and continuous speed in walking, running, or moving.
46. Los Angeles restaurant with hot dogs named for celebrities: PINKS.
47. Overnight recipe: STEW. A stew is a hearty dish that consists of solid food ingredients, such as meat, seafood, and/or vegetables, cooked slowly in liquid and served in the resulting gravy or thickened broth.
48. Talk and talk and talk: YAMMER. Talk foolishly or incessantly.
50. Shutterbug's initials: SLR. Single Lens Reflex, a camera design where the photographer views the scene through the lens itself, using a mirror and prism system to direct the image to the viewfinder. This allows for accurate framing and focus, as you see exactly what the lens sees.
51. Mule on the Erie Canal: SAL. A reference to the mule featured in the American folk song, "Low Bridge, Everybody Down," also known as "The Erie Canal Song". The song tells the story of a mule named Sal who works on the Erie Canal, hauling barges filled with various goods. She is portrayed as a reliable and hardworking animal, and the song highlights the close relationship between the mule and its driver.
53. De-lightful time?: OUTAGE. A time period when electric power is disrupted. This is often due to storm-related infrastructure damage. But not always.
56. One struggling to face facts, maybe: LIAR. A teller of untruths. My universal theory of why this happens is that the truth is not compatible with the LIAR's agenda.
61. All-father of the Norse gods: ODIN. A prominent figure in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism, revered as a god associated with wisdom, magic, death, prophecy, and victory in battle. He is often depicted as an old, one-eyed man with a long beard, wearing a cloak and a wide-brimmed hat, and carrying a spear. Odin is known for his insatiable thirst for knowledge, his role as the leader of the Aesir tribe of gods, and his connection to Valhalla, the hall where fallen warriors reside.
62. Joint above an ankle: KNEE. The largest and one of the most complex joints in the human body, connecting the thigh bone (femur) and the shin bone (tibia). It's a hinge joint that allows for bending and straightening of the leg, and it's crucial for weight-bearing and movement. The knee joint is made up of bones, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, and muscles, all working together to enable a wide range of motion and stability.
63. Pamplona pooch: PERRO. "Dog" en Español. Pamplona is a city in Spain.
64. Implements in a lab coat pocket: PENS. For copious note taking.
65. Vane dir.: SSW. South, southwest, the compass point or direction midway between south and southwest.
66. Home to the annual Food & Wine Classic: ASPEN. Aspen, in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, is a ski resort town and year-round destination for outdoor recreation. It's also known for high-end restaurants and boutiques, and landmarks like the Wheeler Opera House, built in 1889 during the area’s silver mining boom. We missed this year's classic, but can try again next year.
Down:
1. Home of the Blues, for short: ST. L. St. Louis, Mo. is home to the Blues, a professional hockey team.
2. You, once: THEE. Archaic or dialect form of you, as the singular object of a verb or preposition.
3. Russian range: URAL. A mountain range in western Russia that forms a traditional boundary between Europe and Asia.
4. Tech gadgets: DEVICES. Things made or adapted for a particular purpose, especially a piece of mechanical or electronic equipment.
5. Stay mad: SEETHE. Be filled with intense but unexpressed anger, by analogy to a slow boiling liquid..
6. Big fuss: ADO. A state of agitation or fuss, especially about something unimportant.
7. Alloy in some costume jewelry: PEWTER. A gray alloy of tin with copper and antimony (formerly, tin and lead).
8. South African currency: RAND. The basic monetary unit of South Africa, equal to 100 cents. The rand takes its name from the Witwatersrand ("white waters' ridge" in English, rand being the Afrikaans and Dutch word for 'ridge'), the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found.
9. Fitting: APT. Appropriate or suitable in the circumstances.
10. Dessert tray?: BROWNIE PAN. A type of baking pan specifically designed for making brownies. It's typically rectangular, with a non-stick surface, and often features a removable bottom or a divider to help with even baking and easy removal of the finished brownies. The clue is a misdirection, since it usually refers to a collection of sweet treats, typically displayed on a tray or platter, served at the end of a meal as a final course.
11. Format before cassettes: EIGHT TRACK. A magnetic tape format popular for music distribution from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. It's characterized by a continuous loop of ¼-inch magnetic tape housed in a rectangular cartridge. Each tape contains eight tracks of audio, arranged in stereo pairs, allowing for four stereo programs on a single tape.
12. "Ur hilarious!": LMAO. Laughing My Ahem-buttocks Off, maybe. Cf. 31D.
14. "Come on in": IT'S OPEN. Open door invitation to enter.
17. __ and estar: Spanish 101 lesson: SER. In Spanish, both "ser" and "estar" translate to "to be" in English, but they are used in different contexts. "Ser" is used for permanent or defining characteristics, while "estar" is used for temporary states or conditions, location, and actions.
21. Service replaced by Microsoft Teams: SKYPE. An online platform that enables users to make voice and video calls, send instant messages, and share files over the internet. The name "Skype" is derived from "sky" and "peer-to-peer," reflecting its initial design as a peer-to-peer communication tool.
24. Fuchsia relative: MAGENTA. A light purplish red that is one of the primary subtractive colors, complementary to green. Fuchsia is a vivid purplish-red color like that of the sepals of a typical fuchsia flower.
26. "Bah," in Berlin: ACH. Expressions of contempt or disagreement.
27. Oscar, but not Elmo: AWARD. The "Oscar" is the common name for the Academy Award of Merit, a golden statuette awarded annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievements in the film industry. It's one of the most prestigious awards in the world of cinema. Also Oscar and Elmo are Sesame Street muppets.
28. Way to make an entrance at a pool party: WATER SLIDE. A slide into a swimming pool, typically flowing with water and incorporating a number of twists and turns.
29. Source of easy money: GRAVY TRAIN. Used to refer to a situation in which someone can make a lot of money for very little effort.
31. Bottom: TUSH. The buttocks - either of the two round fleshy parts that form the lower rear area of a human trunk. Cf. 12D.
32. Green lights: YESES. Grants permission or approval.
34. Stead: LIEU. The place or role that someone or something should have or fill (used in referring to a substitute).
37. Streams: FLOWS. Moves along or out steadily and continuously in a current or stream.
38. "I'm listening": SAY MORE. Yes, I'm interested. Keep talking.
41. Apply a cold pack to, say: ICE. Use cold therapy on an injury.
43. Home team at PNC Park: PIRATES. The Pittsburg team in the National League of Major League Baseball.
45. Pantyhose: NYLONS. Clothing for women made of thin material that fits closely over the feet and legs and goes up to the waist. Do they even exist any more?
46. Spot's grooming spot: PET SPA. A grooming service that offers more than just basic bathing and clipping. It provides a range of specialized treatments designed to pamper and relax pets, promoting their overall well-being. These services often include aromatherapy, calming music, and gentle handling techniques to create a stress-free environment.
49. Very, in Venezuela: MUY. Literal translation from English to Español.
50. Unappetizing plateful: SLOP. A derogatory way to talk about food that doesn't look very tasty.
52. Requests: ASKS. Says something in order to obtain an answer or some information.
54. Irving character: GARP. Protagonist in The World According to Garp. I read this book decades ago and have only vague recollections of a few scenes.
55. 17-Down, in French: ETRE. To be [or not, I suppose] in any language.
57. Some ER staff: RNS. Registered Nurses.
59. VCR button: REWind. It winds a tape or film back to the beginning.
60. Geologic age: EON. An indefinite and very long period of time.
So, after all that time, we've reached our destination. Travel broadens one, it's said, and this trip did grow on me Hope the journey enlarged your enjoyment. See you in September, a definite and rather short time period way.
Cool regards!
JzB
Skype is gone? Rebecca is a very consistent constructor who put together a very fun puzzle. The longish downs like BROWNIE PAN, EIGHT TRACK and WATER SLIDE, GRAVY TRAIN elevated the joy.
ReplyDeleteTh unknowns were fair and I enjoyed this as well as JzB’s recap. Happy Mittwoch
The crossing of “perro” and “etre” was a little
ReplyDeletetough. But it eventually yielded, as did everything else. No reveal was necessary as the various places escalated in size. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
My thought on 44A is that DRY COUNTY can have a secondary meaning by referring to dry wines, which have little or no sugar, so the "Stop on a wine tour?" would be the county where one could sample dry wines.
ReplyDeleteThe word SLOP reminds me of my first letter I sent home from a weeklong summer Boy Scout camp when I was 11 years old, an early attempt at original humor. I wrote that we had goop for breakfast, slop for lunch, and sludge for dinner on the first day, and for variety they changed it to slop for breakfast, sludge for lunch, and goop for dinner the next day. I got no comments from my family, but I thought it was a funny joke.
ReplyDeletesounds like this song is for you...
DeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteUntil recently d-o resided in a DRY COUNTY. Laws changed, and this summer two liquor stores opened within walking distance. Wite-Out changed THOU to THEE -- otherwise my grid is clean. The only thing I remember about Irving's Garp was "the under-toad." Thanx, Rebecca and JzB.
When I lived in Dallas, local option was on a precinct-by-precinct basis. You could drive down some streets and buy beer on one side but not the other.
DeleteFIR, but reel to reel->EIGHT TRACK, rear->TUSH, and okays->YESES.
ReplyDeleteToday's cars seem to be devoid of CHROME or other pizzaz.
One Day AT A Time was also one of my favorite sitcoms of all time, starring the late Bonnie Franklin, Valerie Bertinelli, and Mackenzie Phillips.
From PINK Floyd's Have a Cigar:
And did we tell you the name of the game, boy?
We call it Riding the GRAVY TRAIN.
The bearded boys in ZZ Top had a big hit with TUSH.
Thanks to Rebecca for te hump day challenge. Not quite a WITP for me, but doable. And thanks to JzB for another informative review, except that you gave me a start on your grid with gLR x gLOP.
Forgot to add: I've never heard of PINK'S. When I lived in LA, by favorite hotdog restaurant was Tommy's, the one across the street from Anheuser Busch brewery. I used to stop in on my way home from Dodgers games. (My favorite all-purpose restaurant was the Apple Pan on Pico, and my favorite pizza place was Perry's on Santa Monica beach. Sometimes I miss LA, but that can be easily cured by flipping over to an all-news station.)
DeleteFIR. As I went through the grid from top to bottom it appeared to me that it got harder as I went along. The SE was definitely nasty, especially with perro crossing etre.
ReplyDeleteThe best part of today's presentation was the theme. I got the gist early on and that helped a lot when I was able to fill in sorry state in that corner.
Overall a fairly enjoyable puzzle.
Seeing Rebecca’s byline always tells me the puzzle will be challenging, I’ve had some late week and themeless failures constructed by her. She took it a little easier on us today on a mid-week grid. Not a name fest as there are only a few, and none that I would call obscure, (except PINKS for me). Lots of foreign words needed perps, SER, MUY, PERRO, and ETRE as clued. Not familiar with the shampoo FINESSE. FIR in 13:22. The finished grid in the expo has GRL/GLOP which should be SRL/SLOP, although GLOP also sounds like an unappetizing plateful 🤢. Thank you Rebecca for the morning fun, and to JzB for the informative write-up.
ReplyDeleteTook 10:02 today to get to a free country.
ReplyDeleteI didn't care for this puzzle, despite the clever theme. The foreign cross of perro and etre (as noted earlier) was regrettable, as were the clues and answers for "ach" & "ser". "Muy" wasn't appreciated either.
I didn't know the mule of the day (Sal).
I feel like I went to bed on Tuesday and woke up on Saturday. I seem to be in the minority here, but this did not play like a Wednesday puzzle at all for me. I usually bang out a Hump Day puzzle in under nine minutes, but today's offering took me a whopping 16.
ReplyDeleteBest clue was Oscar, not Elmo.
Worst, by far, was De-lightful time?
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThe theme was clever and well-executed, as indicated by the geographic progression. Party City as a chain store is unknown to me, as is Perro and Muy. I knew Pink’s from being featured on a Food Network show. My only w/o was Thou/Thee (Hi, DO!). I never read Irving’s Garp novel, but I loved his A Prayer For Owen Meany and The Cider House Rules.
Thanks, Rebecca, and thanks, JazzB, for a very thorough and enlightening review.
Have a great day.
Musings
ReplyDelete-PER_O/ET_E cost me one bad cell but the puzzle was very entertaining and I will manage to soldier on. :-)
-Lynchburg, TN, home of Jack Daniels distillery, is in the DRY COUNTY of Moore. How ‘bout, “Stop on a teetotaler’s tour”?
-PRIM and proper conjures up the image of the “school marm” to me
-The ELITES of my childhood turned out to have feet of clay
-YAMMER: The “news” channels have to fill 24 hours of programming and can beat an IDEA to death
-We had a three-day OUTAGE after an icy blizzard in March. We couldn’t charge our DEVICES and improvised a lot.
-My friend loves to tell phishing callers to SAY MORE before laughing at them
-Washington Irving was not in the lineup today
My first impression of this puzzle was negative because of the number of phrases I hate seeing as clues. Once I calmed down, I appreciated many of the other clues like WATER SLIDE, GRAVY TRAIN, BROWNIE PAN.
ReplyDeleteI got the theme at first by seeing the location words, then the rest filled easily.
My only real unknowns were PINKS and LMAO (grr).
I too decades ago read all of John Irving’s novels, starting with Setting Free the Bears which I loved. By coincidence when I was at the library yesterday on á nostalgic whim I picked up Irving’s The Hotel New Hampshire.
Who is this Anonymous who beat Subgenius to the first spot on the blog?
Thank you JZ for á very nice review. All good.
I'm guessing that you would really dislike the full texting acronym - ROTFLMFAO.
DeleteHi, Gang -
ReplyDeleteI think Anon at 5:09 had a better take on DRY COUNTY. Odd that I missed it, since I only drink DRY wine. Oh, well, I guess.
The GLR for SLR swap will forever remain an unsolved mystery of the universe.
Cool regards!
JzB
Wacky Wednesday. Thanks for the workout Rebecca and JazzB
ReplyDeleteOfficially a DNF as there were too many American clues and Spanish for this Canadian. But I did get the theme. (Although I still don’t get DRY County as a Stop.)
TUSK and LMAO - Tsk, Tsk.
My iPad is about to have an OUTAGE as I need to charge it.
Wishing you all a great day.
Welcome back AnonT.
SORRY STATE must have been the seed entry. It was far more clever than the others. I did like the progression from town to state, though. I agree with Anonymous that the DRY portion of the COUNTY referred to dry wines, but that doesn’t strengthen it much.
ReplyDeleteLoved that good old worker, good old pal SAL. . . I also thought “stead” was a wonderfully succinct clue for LIEU.
Did anyone else have a quibble with the Requests/ASKS entry? The two verbs are not totally interchangeable, because request means “ask FOR.” However, requests and asks ARE interchangeable as nouns, distasteful though I find “ask” as a noun to be.
Not bad for a Wednesday puzzle. Managed to FIR, and after getting past the annoying paraphrase non-clues, actually enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rebecca for knocking me down a peg on a Wednesday ;-) The solve was a slow-roll out of the gate with me in NOLA, Memphis, then Chicago at 1d - I didn't get to STL until 13 & 16a filled.
Another educational expo, JzB. I had no idea SAL's story.
WOs: Ditto: THou -> THEE, Era -> EON
ESPs: SER, PINKS, SAL
DNF: PE__O xing GA_P and ET_E //HG - I was thinking of the wrong Irving (Berlin) too.
Fav: AWARD's Oscar not Elmo clue. OUTAGE's clue was cute too.
I had Queen's Night at the Opera on EIGHT TRACK.
KANT is the first mentioned in Bruce's Philosophers Song [Monty Python - 1:30]
Jinx, just last night I listened to Have a Cigar.
CED - I also thought of "Hello Muddah" while reading Anon's SLOP letter from camp.
CopyEd - I wanted to add FOR too...
Thanks for the welcome back, C,Eh!
Cheers, -T
Interesting Wednesday puzzle, many thanks, Rebecca. And we always enjoy your commentaries, JazzB, thanks for those too.
ReplyDeleteWell, it looks as though one of those ELITES living in that great mansion in the big city LEAVES TOWN for a couple weeks in APRIL every year, and comes to our DRY COUNTY to have a good time. He clearly loves our PARTY CITY where he can enjoy the ADO at our picnics, and have fun riding our WATER SLIDE, and participating in an 8 TRACK race where he won an AWARD last year. He also loves the snacks from our GRAVY TRAIN and our BROWNIE PAN, and we notice he always takes a few treats to hand out at the PET SPA. He's in no way in a SORRY STATE and never STEWS or SEETHES or YAMMERS, and we'd be perfectly happy if he'd come and live with us here.
Have a lovely, sunny summer day, everybody.
This puzzle took me a while to solve, but the work was fun and worth doing.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Rebecca for today's work-out! Nice progression from TOWN to STATE! FAV themer was SORRY STATE but I did not catch on to DRY COUNTY. (Thx to Anonymous@5:09 for explaining that one!) FAV clue was "Oscar, but not Elmo."
ReplyDeleteThanks, also, to JzB for all the deets! I finally understand what SLR is. Learning moments about SAL the mule and how the RAND got its name. I appreciate the time you spent putting this together!
I was wondering why me, of all people, knew PERRO. The V8 can reminded me that one of the few Spanish phrases I know is "agua para mi perra, por favor." I use that a lot since I like to dine with Zoё who is a perra, not a perro, by my side on the patio of Mexican restaurants. Before I quit drinking alcohol, I was fluent in two more - "uno mas cervesa, por favor," which inevitably led to "donde esta el baño." (BTW - the lady's room is also el baño, not la baña as I would have expected.)
ReplyDeleteNot my best effort. 58.A I had SORRYWORLD. Turned the red letters on, I had a lot of red. Fun puzzle anyway.
ReplyDeleteThere were mentions of the cross between PERRO and ETRE, which I totally agree with.
ReplyDeleteBut the cross reference between 17D and 65D was just as bad…one foreign language into another.
Just generally ugly.
I liked Rebecca's puzzle and flew through it this morning. I noticed "in the language" phrases that could be tour stops -- and yes, I like my wine DRY -- but I failed to notice the growing demographic entities. Good thing JzB was here with an excellent review to make me stop and appreciate the tour stops a little better.
ReplyDelete