Creature Comforts
Hi All!Our normal relief pitcher, RustyBrain, is getting some well earned R&R so I'm stepping in [read: you're stuck with me] for Hahtoolah today.
Today's gimmick: Phrases that critters may call housing.
17. Fraternal organization venue: ELKS LODGE.
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| The Possum LODGE |
24. Desk accessory that might coordinate with a wrist rest: MOUSE PAD.
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| Jerry Mouse's Pad |
34. Place to adopt a new pet, or what is found in 17-, 24-, 49-, and 59-Across?: ANIMAL SHELTER.
49. Emphasizes passionately: RAMS HOME.
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| Ramming it Home? |
59. "Land ho!" caller's spot: CROWS NEST.
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| Keepin' the crows out of the Crow's Nest (so there's not a murder up there). |
Across:
1. ABC show for early risers, briefly: GMA. American Broadcasting Company airs Good Morning America at 7am.
4. Cut, as logs: SAWED. Cut is past-tense here.
9. Button on a job listing website: APPLY. Oy! These are the bane of hirning managers (that actually read all submitted resumes) 'cuz folks / bots submit resumes w/o even reading the requirements.
14. Grammy winners __ Tigres del Norte: LOS. No clue. Their WikiP. I would link a video but I don't know enough Spanish to figure out if #Politics.
15. Muscat resident: OMANI.
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16. Celtic priest of old: DRUID.
Stonehenge had Druids
[Spinal Tap (ft. Sir Elton) -- The End Continues]
17. [See: Theme]
19. Musical instrument similar to the xylophone, familiarly: VIBES. I'm assuming vibraphone.
20. On the line: AT STAKE.
21. Gloomy: GRIM.
23. Device at a parking spot: METER.
Sir Paul going on about Lovely Rita
24. [See: Theme]
28. Oscar hopeful: NOMINEE.
31. Turn into: BECOME.
32. Functions: USES.
33. Knowledgeable about: UP ON.
34. [See: Theme]
40. Latch (onto): GLOM.
41. Mystical glow: AURA.
42. Kenya's continent: AFRICA.
Toto's Africa
45. Knotty: GNARLED. I love this word - it's onomatopoetically visual.
49. [See: Theme]
51. Salami choice: GENOA. A very yummy Italian salami.
53. Shoe bottom: SOLE.
54. Ugly garment at many a holiday party: SWEATER. There's a whole store dedicated to this.
56. Pinkberry dessert, familiarly: FRO-YO.
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| [site cite] |
59. [See: Theme]
61. Starts of some renovation projects, informally: DEMOS. Demolition: out w/ the old. Renovation: in w/ the new.
62. __ Major: constellation with Sirius, the Dog Star: CANIS.
63. Many ICU pros: RNS. Intensive Care Units are staffed by Registered Nurses.
64. Rascal: ROGUE.
65. Actress Harmon: ANGIE.
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| Angie's WikiP |
66. Pigpen: STY. Not Charlie Brown's friend.
Down:
1. Twinkle: GLEAM. Think eyes.
2. Liquefied by heat, as lava or metal: MOLTEN.
3. Invites out for: ASKS TO.
4. Room with a lot of natural light: SOLARIUM. I kept trying to stretch out atRIUM.
5. Frenzied: AMOK.
6. Get ready to start fly-fishing, say: WADE.
7. U.K. part: ENG.
8. Soccer great Maradona: DIEGO. I didn't know of Maradona until last week when I heard The Engineer [25m] on This American Life.
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| WikiP |
9. Counsel: ADVISE.
10. Quality piece of meat: PRIME CUT. I had PRIME rib.
11. Irish tavern: PUB.
12. Falsehood: LIE.
13. NFL gains: YDS. Yards gained in football.
18. Originate (from): STEM.
22. Create friction: RUB.
24. Email, e.g.: MESSAGE.
25. Title for Robert Prevost since May 8, 2025: POPE. Leo is Frank's successor.
26. Common topic for a bachata crooner: AMOR. Bachata is music from the Dominican Republic. I sussed AMOR from "crooner" :-)
27. Lair: DEN.
29. Govt. intel org.: NSA. National Security Agency - "The only part of government that actually listens." :-)
30. Skinny swimmer: EEL.
34. Automaker __ Romeo: ALFA.
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| My '86 Spider Veloce |
35. Par for the course: NORM.
36. Words of longing: I MISS YOU.
37. Roman Empire raider: HUN.
38. Stretch of history: ERA.
39. Philanthropist's quality: LARGESSE.
40. Skinny swimmer: GAR. Another 3-letter thin aquatic animal.
43. Cast a ballot, say: CHOOSE.
44. Pioneering ISP: AOL. America On Line was an early Internet Service Provider.
46. Like a small, efficient team: LEAN.
John Candy in Stripes
47. Goes through an open door: ENTERS.
48. "That __ seem right": DOESN'T.
50. Site where the Quran was first revealed to Muhammad: MECCA.
52. Overly intellectual, maybe: ARTSY.
54. Spotify selection: SONG.
55. 1940s conflict, for short: WWII. World War II
56. U.S. pres. for most of 55-Down: FDR. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
57. __ Speedwagon: REO. The band [Keep on Rollin'] named themselves after the car that Neal Doughty (keyboardist) saw written on the blackboard in his History of Transportation class at U of IL.
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| A soup'd up REO Speed Wagon |
58. Texter's "No way!": OMG. Oh, My Gracious!
60. Published: RAN. The reporter RAN with the story: "The senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity." [WKRP Intro @0:24]
The Grid:
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| The Grid |
WOs: heWED -> SAWED, PRIME rib => inON => UP ON, GNARLEy [sic]
ESPs: LOS (as clued), DIEGO, ANGIE
Fav: GNARLED is just too fun to ignore.
Cheers, -T
6 comments:
Not to tough, although
I will say it took me about half an hour to get through everything, for some reason. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
I could tell from the gecko that Tony was stepping in as today's guest lecturer. There was some crunch in this breakfast offering, but nothing undigestible. Didn't know ANGIE -- the only Harmon d-o is familiar with is Mark "Leroy" Harmon. I like that during the rerun season CBS has opted to air previous-season episodes rather than regurgitating the current year's schedule. Thanx, Tennessee (not familiar with your name, is this a debut? Good one.) and Dash-T.
Thought this was harder than usual for Tuesday but enjoyable. Thanks -T for the Possum Lodge pic - it led me to find out about this Canadian comedy series that I'm looking forward to checking out.
FIR, but saw up->SAWED, bait->WADE, melted->MOLTEN, papa->POPE, and hand up for prime rib before PRIME CUT. Also had to fix uni(versity, as in kentucky wildcats) to ENG.
The only VIBES player I can think of is (Kentucky native) Lionel Hampton. Here is on the Sullivan Show showing his incredible versatility with his cover of the Duke Ellington classic It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing).
LEAN is also a manufacturing management system developed by Toyota to decrease cost and improve quality. The gist is to stop doing stuff that doesn't add value in the customers' eyes.
It's time for my periodic respite break. Kind of a working break for me, in that I'm taking my RV to the factory service center in Gaffney, SC. In better times we turned this three-day trip into a 10-day mini-vacation. I'm making it a 5-day trip for safety and comfort. Should be able to check in tomorrow from Advance, NC (pronounced AD-vance.)
Thanks to Tennessee (an SEC rival of Kentucky) for the challenging Tuesday puzzle, and to Bayou Tony for another fun tour.
FIR. I wasn't pleased with vibes as clued. Somehow that seems wrong.
I too threw down prime rib, my favorite choice of steak, before prime cut.
But the theme was clever and getting it helped with the solve.
For a Tuesday puzzle it seemed to have a bit more bite than expected for the day.
But overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Great subbing, Tony. Cute, easy to guess theme after the first one. Normal Tuesday level for me. I got caried away with SSS's in largesss. ANGIS??? Finally I realized he last S was an E. Can anyone explain why artsy is the answer for overly intellectual?
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