BOO! MalMan here...not! That's your trick. It's actually RustyBrain and I hope the rest of this review is a treat!
In between constructing crosswords, Wendy L. Brandes uses her words to make sentences, them into whole books! But today she has offered us a Human Resources job. Wait a minute (or an hour), it's not that HR. It's the Halloween witching hour, in which we add "HR" to each answer to create a Humorous Result.
20. Tees off closer to the hole in mini golf?: SHRINKS A PUTT. Sinks a Putt. I'd be teed off if I missed this tap-in. Since it's teed up, I probably should call it a drive-in.
28. Place to get rid of broken furniture and pictures of exes?: THROW AWAY ZONE. Tow Away Zone. This place is a dump.
42. Cars used to transport boxwoods and hydrangeas?: SHRUB COMPACTS. Sub Compacts. I think this used to be a Nissan Leaf.
48. Benefited from the end of daylight saving time, or a hint to 20-, 28-, and 42-Across: GAINED AN HOUR. Spring ahead; fall back. When you turn back the clocks in the fall, you get an extra hour's sleep. You're welcome. Don't forget to reset them this weekend! It's embarrassing to show up an hour late for church. (Don't ask me how I know.)
This puzzle has been haunting me into the wee hours of the night...
Across:
1. Oscar winner Sorvino: MIRA. MIRA Sorvino is an American actress, activist, and U.N. Goodwill Ambassador. She is best known for her Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning role in Mighty Aphrodite.
5. Tanqueray, Bombay, et al.: GINS.
9. Rugby formation: SCRUM. Soap formation: SCUM. Here's where soap scrum comes from:
14. Scott Turow work: ONE L.
15. "Let me do it": I CAN. These aren't exactly equals.
16. Word with party or guest: HOUSE. "Look, honey, there's light on. Maybe they have some gas. I'll be right back..."
17. Phishing line?: SCAM. What's your mother's maiden name? Just curious.
18. "99 Luftballons" singer: NENA. Lufballons are Air Balloons in English, but it was changed to Red Balloons since we simply call them "balloons" and an extra syllable was needed.
19. Country singer Keith: URBAN.
20. [theme]
23. "Bad Romance" singer Lady __: GAGA.
24. Land on the sea?: REEL IN. Winner of "Best Clue" today...and 4th album in a row. It's a record!
28. [theme]
31. Borders on: ABUTS.
33. Bedtime story, e.g.: TALE. I'm creating my own sub-theme for All Hallowed Eve.
34. Catch: SEE. As in catch a movie.
35. More than a few: MANY.
36. Food for finches: SEEDS. This guy got dressed up but took his date to a seedy place and she's not impressed.
38. Cohort of cows: HERD. Or so I've heard.
39. "__ be an honor!": IT'D.
40. Actress Chaplin: OONA. I like the name OONA, it's fun and different.
41. Puts in order: SORTS. Better than being out of SORTS.
42. [theme]
46. Area around a fireplace: HEARTH.
oo
47. Woeful sigh: ALAS.
48. [theme]
54. "Is it too risky for me?": DARE I. Famous last words. Right up there with, "Watch this!"
58. Ish: OR SO.
59. Sue Bird's alma mater, for short: UCONN. The University of Connecticut Huskies are a perennial powerhouse in women's basketball. Although UCONN sounds like the Yukon where you find huskies, the mascot was chosen while the school was still named the Connecticut Agricultural College, so it's just a coincidence.
60. Arduous hike: TREK.
61. Overflow (with): TEEM.
tt
62. Loo door sign: GENTS.
63. Ice queen with more than 400,000 computer-generated strands of hair: ELSA. Amazing, considering the average person only has between 80,000 and 150,000 hairs on their head. Lament of the animator: "That's all I can't strand; I can't strand anymore!"
64. Achy: SORE.
Down:
1. Rootless plant used in some street art: MOSS. Here's some appropriate "street moss."
2. Approximate diameter of a quarter: INCH. That's larger than a quarter-inch.
3. __ admiral: REAR. The term derived from the lowest-ranking junior admirals. They were assigned command of the REAR of the fleet, farthest from the action.
4. Omnipotent: ALMIGHTY.
5. Tree with fan-shaped leaves: GINKGO.
6. Arctic fishing tool: ICE SAW. ICE SAW one once.
7. Another name for Grandma: NANA.
8. Insta post: SNAP. Just a quick pic on Instagram.
9. Z's: SHUTEYE.
10. Nevada senator Catherine __ Masto: CORTEZ.
11. Barbecue blend: RUB.
12. Letters on Katie Ledecky's suit: USA. Katie is the most decorated female swimmer in history. At the request of her competitors, the Olympic Committee keeps awarding her gold medals hoping to slow her down in the water.
13. R&B's Boyz II __: MEN.
21. Luxury cosmetics brand: NARS. It's so exclusive that you can't even read their logo.
22. Eurasian mountain range: URALS.
25. Also-rans: LOSERS. First LOSERS try harder!
26. Like helium and xenon: INERT.
27. Has to have: NEEDS. Such as an occasional sip of blood!
drc
28. Arctic expanse: TUNDRA.
29. Starting five in basketball, e.g.: A TEAM.
30. Blob of gum: WAD. Most people hate when they step on a WAD on the sidewalk, but I don't mind.
31. Pennsylvania sect that embraces simple living: AMISH.
32. Take a dip: BATHE.
36. 2014 Winter Olympics city: SOCHI.
37. Ambient musician Brian: ENO. ENO's Music for Airports is recognized as the a seminal and influential release that defined the ambient aesthetic while providing a name for the genre. AKA background music.
38. Phenoms: HOTSHOTS.
40. Procures: OBTAINS.
41. Read: SCAN.
43. Requiring immediate attention: URGENT. I hope you have good insurance...
44. San Diego squad: PADRES.
45. State with no native snakes or lizards: ALASKA. Here's St. Patrick driving the snakes away during his visit to ALASKA.
49. Scribbled reminder: NOTE. That reminds me...
50. __ Grey tea: EARL. Charlie Grey became an EARL for inventing the tea bag. Later generations made them smaller.
51. Crumbled cheesecake topping: OREO. Seems like an OREO goes with anything nowadays.
52. __ error: USER.
53. City on the Tiber: ROME.
54. Was into: DUG.
55. Good draw in blackjack: ACE. Just don't let the dealer catch you.
56. Pitcher Guidry who won a Cy Young in 1978: RON. RON Guidry, nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator," played 14 seasons for the New York Yankees.
Happy Halloween!
12 comments:
The gimmick was
obvious from the first themed solve, so I don’t think this puzzle was particularly difficult, especially for a Friday. But it was fun.
FIR, so I’m happy.
FIR, but ice cap->TUNDRA. And I once had a Toyota Sequoia, built on the fabulous TUNDRA chassis. Still miss that thing, but it wasn't exactly practical around here where parallel parking is the norm. Got my WAG @ GINKGO x NENA.
Thanks to Wendy for another fun challenge. I liked the theme, and for a change, it helped me complete the puzzle. And thanks to our Rusty one. Lots of laughs today.
FLN - I'm anxiously awaiting another puzzle from our fellow Cornerite Kat in the next couple of months.
Sadness TEEMs around my abode. Son and daughter are arriving here to say goodbye to their mom, as it appears that my dear wife's battle with Alzheimer's is coming to an end very soon.
Good morning!
GINKGO convinced me that XENA should'a been NENA. Don't think I've ever heard of NARS. I do remember Jack Narz as a TV game show host. Actually read the reveal this morning, and needed it to interpret those errant HRs in the themers. Well done, Wendy. Excellent recap, RustyBrain.
Jinx, it's gotta be really tough. You've known this was coming for several years, but that doesn't make it any easier.
Is it just me, or this was a bit of a subpar week for LA puzzles? And what's with the over-reliance on names for the fills? I thought that was more of a NYT's fault.
This puzzle was fast for a Friday - I pulled a D-O and didn't figure out the theme until I was already done
My granddaughter loves all things ELSA and Anna from "Frozen"
Thanks RB for a fun blog and Wendy for the puzzle
Fast for a Friday. Fun theme. NENA and NARS were all perps and the only fill new to me.
Jinx, my heart goes out to you at this sad time.
FIR. Once again a plethora of proper names. And are we to assume that Nars is a brand probably used by the constructor? That'd be my guess. But I've never heard of it.
I got the theme before the reveal, but the reveal was a disappointment. Since the theme answers were abbreviations of "hour", I expected the reveal to have "hr" in it. That's confusing.
Overall a so-so puzzle.
Took 6:55 today to hit a HR.
Lots of unknown names, and I'm looking you "Nars" and "Ron." But, I knew the Actress of the Day (Mira).
Jinx, good luck. Sounds excruciating. I'm sorry.
Never a good sign when the first clue is a name. Done in by the wrong guess at the junction of unknown singer and tree. Can we please have more crossWORD puzzles? Hang in there, Jinx. Went through that with my grandmother and father-in-law. Never gets easier as the end comes near.
Jinx- thoughts and prayers for you and your family as you navigate this difficult season.
Fraidy Friday. Thanks for the fun, Wendy and RustyBrain (loved your Halloween subtheme).
I FIRed in very good time for a Friday, but like KS, I went looking for missing HOUR in the themers, and missed the reveal. D’uh! I had noted the SHRs and THR.
Perps were friendly for unknown-to-me names like CORTEZ, NARS, NENA.
The SW corner held me up. With NN in place at 59A, I WAGged UpeNN. ACE made me rethink, and UCONN final appeared.
Canadian Summer McIntosh and Ledecki have a great competition going on. McIntosh beat Ledecky to win the gold medal in the 400m freestyle at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.
We had “achy” as a clue today, after my discussion yesterday.
One of these days, Trey will be in a 56D clue.
Go Jays Go!
Wishing you all a great day.
Sorry for your family’s pain. It can be so hard
Post a Comment