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
14 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?
Took 5:18 today to get out of the doghouse.
I knew the Actress of the Day (Angie), but didn't know the Spanish lesson (Los). I also had "prime rib" before "prime cut". Personally, I find prime rib to be overrated.
Years ago, when Jay Leno was still hosting the Tonight Show, he had Elton John as the first guest, then the second guest was Angie Harmon. While Leno was interviewing her, her boyfriend (an NFL player) came on stage and proposed to her.
The next day, Leno cracked a joke about how he had a high school flashback on the prior show as he had been enjoying talking to a beautiful girl, when a football player intervened, leaving Leno to end-up listening to Elton John.
Good Morning:
There was a bit of a crunch for a Tuesday, but the only truly unknown (to me) was Froyo. I needed the reveal to see the theme, which was very clever and creative, IMO. The fill was also impressive, as was the clean grid.
Thanks, Tennessee, and thanks, Anon T, for pinch-hitting and being our faithful guide. Your reward, I guess, is that great big CSO at Alfa.
RIP Robert Redford.
Have a great day.
Hola! I was awakened early by some kind of noise, possibly another MOUSE! So, what to do but solve the puzzle! Thanks to Tennessee Grimes for a very doable one. I had no idea about FROYO; oh, Frozen Yogurt! And it's too early to think about a SWEATER around here.
I've enjoyed watching ANGIE Harmon in "Rizzoli and Isles" many times.
Thanks for subbing, Tony! I liked your informative narrative.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
thought this one was a pretty quick and simple solve. RIP to robert redford, one of the all time greats
Like several other Cornerites, I found this puzzle a little more difficult than usual for a Tuesday. Once I got the reveal, which was easy to get, I knew what to do. Neat theme.
I had ADVIcE then the MOUSE, oops Lucina, set me straight.
My only unknowns were DIEGO and ANGIE. For a reason I cannot fathom, I knew FROYO. But I don’t know what a bachata crooner is.
Thank you Á-T for pitching in. Great review.
TIP Robert Redford. He was just 13 days older than DH.
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Tennessee and AnonT (I saw the CSO with ALFA) ( loved the crows nest/murder cartoon) ( Thanks for reminding us of that hilarious Canadian, Red Green)
I FIRed in just a little more time than the NORM for a Tuesday and saw the ANIMAL SHELTER theme.
Several inkblots to change Into to In on to UP ON., and MeLTEd to MOLTEN.
Did we all have PRIME rib before CUT?
I have learned FROYO doing CWs, but Pinkberry slowed me down.
Wishing you all a great day.
North end of the puzzle not Tuesday level but eased off going south. (Not too GNARLY as a “valley girl” might say.) Theme…“Types of animals and abodes” but who adopts these types of animals and from those places? I must be missing something 🤨
There’s a Dog Star? Are you Sirius? Oh like Lassie or Rin Tin tin
Inkovers: tds/YDS, cast/WADE
Didn’t know Maradona. it’s only Tuesday why not SoCal city: San ___. VIBES (how about “emotional states, oscillations” etc) anyway what’s the instrument? Ah vibraphone A familiar term for an unfamiliar item… “Watch out he says he has a GLOCK! Never mind it’s his glockenspiel” 🙄
Did Columbus introduce GENOA salami to the New World or did they eat it all on the way over?
Sheep’s pen or Los Angeles … RAMSHOME
Upper case 19th letter … LARGESSE
What Attila’s wife called him … HUN.
Such an interesting name, Tennessee Grimes, but no bio. Google came up with entries under Facebook, Twitter and Instagram but I don’t use these platforms… anyone?
Thanks T. I really enjoyed the Pic of the "radio controlled" REO Speedwagon. Very interesting. No problems with the puzzle.
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