Theme: Tousled topknots.
Some messy buns are truly casual, and others are carefully calculated, like the lovely coiffure pictured above. Today's puzzle constructor has at least a couple dozen crossword puzzles under his belt, including six in the L.A. Times. And he's a funny guy! Dan Caprera: Writer. Comic. Barrel-Aged to Perfection. More at DanCaprera.com.
Today Dan has deliberately messed up some BUNS, scrambling them in the theme answers.
17-Across. *Vessel secretly ridden by Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark": GERMAN SUB. The movie Raiders of the Lost Ark came out in 1981. I don't remember many details from 44 years ago! Perpendicular entries saved the day for me.
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| Indiana Jones and the U-Boat in the Marvel Comics adaptation |
24-Across. *Hank Aaron's record 2,297: RUNS BATTED IN. Wow! That's a lot! Famous baseball batter, not too hard to guess the statistic category.
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| 1976 Topps trading card |
39-Across. *Ursine critter with a distinctive orange patch on its chest: SUN BEAR. This arboreal bear is found in tropical forests of Southeast Asia.
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| Sun Bear |
50-Across. *Don't pull any shenanigans: MEAN BUSINESS. Be determined and firm.
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| "I look like I mean business, and, by golly, I do!" |
61. Casual updos, or what can be found in the answers to the starred clues?: MESSY BUNS. An updo is a hairstyle in which the hair is swept up and fastened away from the face and neck.
Before the rage for messy buns, there were more formal buns:
Not being much of a hair hopper, I'll jump right into the rest of the clues and answers.
Across:
1. Distracted boyfriend and Surprised Pikachu: MEMES. Folks put their own text to these popular images.
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| "Distracted boyfriend" |
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| "Surprised Pikachu" |
6. Giants slugger Mel: OTT. Another famous batter.
9. Grows faint: DIMS.
13. Glorify: EXALT.
14. __ Beta Kappa: PHI. The oldest academic honor society in the United States, founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.
15. Waiting, as champagne: ON ICE.
17. [Theme clue]
19. Saw: MAXIM.
20. Brief fight: SET TO.
21. "X" and "Pearl" actress Goth: MIA. Mia Gypsy Mello da Silva Goth (born 1993) is an English actress. DNK.
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| Mia Goth |
23. Loan option, for short: REFI. Short for refinance.
24. [Theme clue]
27. Divine: FORESEE. Divine as an intransitive verb. Per Merriam-Webster: to seek to predict future events or discover hidden knowledge usually by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers : to practice divination : prophesy
30. Clothing line: SEAM.
31. Instrument commonly made from African blackwood: OBOE.
32. Prefix with net or com: INTER.
35. Abate: EBB. Abate is to decrease in force or intensity. Ebb (as a verb) is to fall from a higher to a lower level.
38. Gym unit: REP. Short for repetition, as gym is short for gymnasium.
39. [Theme clue]
41. Couple: DUO.
42. Go green, perhaps: DYE.
43. Shredded __: WHEAT.
44. Euro forerunner: LIRA. Lira was the basic monetary unit of Italy, until replaced by the euro in 2002.
45. Actress Remini: LEAH. Actress Leah Remini, know for roles on sitcoms The King of Queens and Kevin Can Wait, wrote a book about her upbringing in the Church of Scientology and produced an Emmy Award winnning documentary series on the same subject.
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| Leah Remini |
47. LeBron James and Steph Curry, by birth: OHIOANS. LeBron plays basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers, and Steph for the (San Francisco) Golden State Warriors. Steph's father also played on an NBA team. LeBron's father was a criminal and not involved in his life, but LeBron moved into the home of a youth football coach who introduced him to basketball at age nine. Sometimes the road is crooked.
50. [Theme clue]
54. "Let There Be Rock" band: AC/DC.
55. Laid low: HID.
56. Rizzo of "Midnight Cowboy": RATSO. Dustin Hoffman played "Ratso" Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy, the 1969 film that is the only X-rated film ever to win an Academy Award. It won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
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| Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy |
59. Musical endings: CODAS.
61. [Theme clue]
64. Woeful words: ELEGY.
65. Flock sound: BAA.
66. Emma Roberts, to Julia Roberts: NIECE. Emma Roberts has played a number of roles in horror films and has a reputation as a scream queen.
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| Emma Roberts' hair color is in a constant state of flux. |
67. Really ticks off: IRES.
68. PC key near Z: ALT.
69. City east of the Great Salt Lake: OGDEN.
Down:
68. PC key near Z: ALT.
69. City east of the Great Salt Lake: OGDEN.
Down:
1. "Family Guy" daughter: MEG.
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| Meg Griffin |
2. Awkward people to run into, perhaps: EXES.
3. Frutti di __: Italian seafood dish: MARE. Seafood in Italian is "fruits of the sea."
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| Fettuccine ai Frutti di Mare |
4. One of many in Boston Common: ELM TREE. The Boston Common is the oldest city park in the United States, established in 1634. Its Great Elm Tree was destroyed by a storm in 1876, but many others grow there today.
 |
| Boston Common |
5. Position: STATUS.
6. Black __: OPS. Black ops, or black operations, refers to secret missions that are hidden from public knowledge, and sometimes even from personnel of the organizing agency. The CIA is said to conduct black ops to protect national security.
7. Flip (through): THUMB.
8. Leg bone: TIBIA. The tibia, also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee; it connects the knee with the ankle.
6. Black __: OPS. Black ops, or black operations, refers to secret missions that are hidden from public knowledge, and sometimes even from personnel of the organizing agency. The CIA is said to conduct black ops to protect national security.
7. Flip (through): THUMB.
8. Leg bone: TIBIA. The tibia, also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee; it connects the knee with the ankle.
Or, as you may have learned:
The foot bone's connected to the leg bone
The leg bone's connected to the knee bone
The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone
Doin' the skeleton dance
 |
| Tibia -- frontal view. |
9. Abbey title: DOM. Monks are called "'Dom,'" an abbreviation of "Dominus" which means "Lord." Let us all recall fondly Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk whose labors in the vineyard were focused on Champagne.
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| NaomiZ and DH on pilgrimmage in 2018 |
10. Covered by one's insurance: IN AREA. Insurance is often limited to a particular geographic coverage area.
11. Found object art, often: MIXED MEDIA.
12. N.K. Jemisin genre: SCI-FI. N. K. Jemisin is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She is the first African American author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the first author to win that award in three consecutive years, and the first to win it for all three novels in a trilogy. Guess we'd better read her Broken Earth series. She went on to win a fourth Hugo for Best Novelette, and a fifth for Best Graphic Story. Wowza.
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| N. K. Jemisin |
16. Key with one sharp: Abbr.: E MIN. E minor.
18. Zero: NONE.
22. Totally stumped: AT SEA. Idiomatically, to have lost one's bearings, to be bewildered.
25. River to the English Channel: SEINE. The Seine originates northwest of Dijon, flows through Paris, and northward into the English Channel at Le Havre.
22. Totally stumped: AT SEA. Idiomatically, to have lost one's bearings, to be bewildered.
25. River to the English Channel: SEINE. The Seine originates northwest of Dijon, flows through Paris, and northward into the English Channel at Le Havre.
26. Region: Abbr.: TERR. Territory.
27. Expedition maker: FORD. A full-size SUV.
28. Comply: OBEY.
29. Obstacle course component, often: ROPE LADDER.
33. Org. for LeBron James and Steph Curry: NBA. See 47-Across.
34. Grand __ National Park: TETON.
36. Aloe target: BURN.
37. Fluffy accessories: BOAS. A boa is a fluffy fashion accessory, worn around the neck like a scarf, and often made of feathers. Let's go faux for the sake of the birds. These are pretty costumey anyway.
39. Deckhand: SWAB. A ship's crew member may be a deckhand, whose duty is to mop or "swab" the deck of the ship, and is therefore called a swab or swabbie.
40. "Totally!": UH HUH. Yep, I agree with you.
44. Got clobbered: LOST BIG.
46. Coop up: ENCAGE. Not a word we use every day.
48. Feminine possessive: HERS.
49. "My vote is to skip it": I SAY NO. Want to go see the new Superman movie again? I SAY NO. DH says yes. He happily accepted younger son's invitation without mentioning he'd seen it already.
50. Scotch cookie spice: MACE. Scotch spice cookies are made with molasses, cinnamon, and mace, which is the outer coating of the nutmeg seed. In 2019, a Reddit user was investigating a murder that occured in their Maine home in the 1930s, and happened upon a contemporary cookie recipe in the course of the investigation. The cookies have become an internet sensation of sorts, called "murder cookies" because of the source. Another Reddit user explains, "They're KILLER!" All news to me.
 |
| another item for our crossword picnic |
51. Biotech bacteria: E. COLI. Most Escherichia coli strains are part of the normal microbiota of the gut. These bacteria are harmless or even beneficial to humans. Some types cause food poisoning, mostly through fecal-oral transmission. (Don't eat poop.) E. coli is easy to grow in a laboratory and is used in biotechnology and microbiology as the host organism for recombinant DNA.
52. Disney lion: SIMBA. The title character of The Lion King (1994).
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| Simba as a cub and as an adult lion |
53. Perfect: IDEAL.
57. Courted?: SUED. Took to court.
58. As soon as: ONCE. I'll be ready once I finish the crossword puzzle, darling!
60. Pt. of GPS: SYS. Global Positioning System.
62. Convened: SAT.
63. Capitol fig.: SEN. A figure you encounter in the capitol might be a senator.
57. Courted?: SUED. Took to court.
58. As soon as: ONCE. I'll be ready once I finish the crossword puzzle, darling!
60. Pt. of GPS: SYS. Global Positioning System.
62. Convened: SAT.
63. Capitol fig.: SEN. A figure you encounter in the capitol might be a senator.
Here's the grid:
I cannot FORESEE what the comments will be.
Will our cruciverbalist crowd EXALT today's puzzle and constructor?
Or will they THUMB their noses if they LOST BIG?
Please weigh in!
-- NaomiZ
36 comments:
Try as I might, I
couldn’t see any connection between what seemed to be the themed entrees. I had to get on this site to have it explained. Now that I got it, it seems quite clever.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Had no idea about the theme until the reveal. D'oh. This one took about 5 minutes longer than a typical Thursday. After my first pass, the entire state of Washington was snow-covered, and I feared the dreaded DNF. [Whew] OH DUH gave way to UH HUH and SUBMARINE to GERMAN SUB along the way. Nice one Dan. Excellent expo, NaomiZ.
Don't eat poop? Who knew?
FIR. What a workout and it's just Thursday! The NW and NE were the last to fall and for a while I thought that I might have the dreaded DNF for this puzzle. But I persisted and eventually got the win.
I needed the reveal to get the theme, and thank goodness for that because it helped me fill "German sub".
So overall, despite several unknowns, it was an enjoyable puzzle.
Took 8:00 today to SNUB my nose at this one.
The Actresses of the Day were tricky (Lean, Mia, and niece), but the NBA and baseball clues were in my wheelhouse.
I didn't know the Italian dish, and would've preferred a horse clue for "mare." I also didn't know the person in the clue for "scifi."
I disliked "uhhuh," "emin", and "phi."
Grand Teton National Park is often overlooked by folks going to Yellowstone. It shouldn't be. It's got beautiful mountains, pristine waters, and abundant wildlife. In a word: go.
Although a little bit tougher than most Thursday offerings, I managed to finish in a Saturday-esque 14 minutes.
The clues were clever, but didn't reach the level of "too clever."
My only nit to pick is the use of "courted" as a clue for "sued." Too much of a reach, especially with so many better choices to choose from.
Good Morning:
I, too, was almost done in by the NW corner but P and P paid off and I got my FIR. The theme was a mystery until the reveal which is fine by me. I never heard of a Sun Bear, nor Mia Goth, nor Meg, nor the Sci-Fi writer, but perps did their job, so no complaints. I don’t understand the clue for Mixed Media; it seems overly specific, yet vague, to me.
Thanks, Dan, and thanks, Naomi, for the detailed and informative review. Your photos were all great, especially that delicious-looking Frutti di Mare. Yummers, as Hahtoolah would say! Nice photo of you and DH, too.
CanadianEh, congrats to the Blue Jays. The best team won, no doubt about it.
Have a great day.
I was defeated by the NE. I still don’t get IN AREA as clued.
I also didn’t like the mind-reader clues (as someone called them yesterday) like “Totally” and many unknown names. The theme was neat (LOL) and for me easy to detect.
I remember being very impressed by Midnight Cowboy and Dustin Hoffman’s superb performance.
Nice pic NaomiZ and fun review.
PSI ***WARNING***
in iPad IOS when you go to leave the Blog, a full page ad comes up first.
(Usually Teemo)
Today it was a warning that 7 threats had been detected, and did I want to delete them, yes/no...
DO NOT CLICK ON ANY PART OF THIS!!!
just back out of it, go previous page, or do whatever gets you to the next page without clicking on it.
It is a nefarious trap! An ad disguised as a malware warning. Anyone who would do this does not have your best interest in mind.
Tough Thursday outing, but finally managed to FIR when the NE corner yielded. Still have no idea what IN AREA has to do with insurance, and a SWAB is what a SWABBY uses while SWABBING the deck! Never did get the theme until NaomiZ 'splained it, but I did enjoy the challenge today.
Some very confusing clueing mixed in ("saw" as a synonym for proverb/adage/MAXIM must be some kind of ancient terminology that I'm too millennial to have ever heard before, and MIXEDMEDIA seems bizarrely hyperspecific), but the theme was fun. Good puzzle for a thursday!
A bit of a challenge today.
The mixed media, uhhuh, sci fi, etc; were all nose wrinklers. Other than that the clues and perps are fair. Took me over 20 minutes to FIR.
Excellent recap Naomi and a beautiful couple in your pic.
Musings
-What a wonderful puzzle with a fun gimmick and cluing and fairly obscure names that surrendered with help
-We of the older set got thrown a bone with “OTT” and a Hank Aaron clue but then paid later
-I’ve seen Raiders Of The Lost Ark many times but do not recall the GERMAN SUB.
-NFL teams often FORSEE a player will be just what the team needs for success and results are mixed
-”RATSO’s famous improvised line that stayed in the movie
-Neil Armstrong’s first steps were in the MARE Tranquillitatis (Sea Of Tranquility)
-Getting insurance IN the LA AREA ain’t easy. Our AM FAM guy says they are not even in that market.
-What a lovely picture to accompany your always delightful recap, Naomi.
IN AREA is just insurance lingo that something is covered.
As others said, this was a crunchy offering from Dan. You know you're in for it when stumped by 1A. But everything filled in by perps, so I'm happy.
This is a good example of when circles are not needed. The assorted BUNS were easy enough to find (after getting to the revealer).
Thanks, Naomi, for your usually great write-up. You have a knack for explaining exactly what I need.
In traditional Inuit cuisine, a dish called urumiit involves cooking dried ptarmigan bird droppings with rancidified seal fat. Just in case you want to try something new.
Started off not knowing 1A, 1D or 3D, which made me unhappy with this CW. I went through the rest, filling all cells but the 2 in the NW, in 15 although I DNK 6 of the 15 names. Then I came back to the NW. After staring at it for a while, I WAGGED PETES for 1A, which gave me MEG for 1D and TARE for 3D. Bzzzt! Nope. So ended up with a FIW. I object to crossing names, and 1A looked like a name to me. I also agree with Monkey @10: never heard INAREA for insurance coverage. Overall, this might be a clever theme and all, but I did not like the CW: it left me cross (no pun) from the start, and needing to WAG to get a FIR...which I WAGGED incorrectly. Grrr. Thanx to NaomiZ for the fun and informative write-up.
Thank you for the warning.
RB, you can rest assured that circles would have been used had this been a Monday or Tuesday offering. 😉
I always seem to do better when I take a break then start again. Figured everything but the theme. Another very informative, entertaining and enlightening recap Naomi. I especially enjoyed the "murder cookies".
Bit of a complicated Thursday puzzle with some MIXED MEDIA, but I still enjoyed it, so many thanks, Dan. And your commentary and pictures are always a pleasure and a help, NaomiZ, so thanks for those too.
Well, for some reason this puzzle made me imagine parking my FORD under an ELM TREE near the park, and then strolling around trying to FORESEE what I was actually going to see. At first there weren't many critters, and I heard a BAA but couldn't figure who or where it came from. But soon I saw that SUNNY BUNNY and that friendly MARE, and I was delighted to have some company. I also saw a lion, but I was pretty sure that it wasn't SIMBA. Wish I could have heard an OBOE playing a lovely melody ending in a CODA, that would have been a pleasure. But the time is getting on, so it might be good to go home and watch some SCI FI on TV. But I'll plan to come back HERE again next week, and enjoy the setting and the critters.
Have a lovely evening coming up, everybody.
Hola! Nope. Not my cup of tea. I've never seen Raiders of the Lost Ark so that was an automatic loss, then I had FRA instead of DOM, another bad one, etc. Another one I haven't watched is Family Guy so did not know MEG. This was a total LOSS for me.
I did much better all the way down, so I don't feel like a total failure.
Even now, so many years later, I remember "Midnight Cowboy"; they were such memorable characters and the music is haunting, too.
I hope all are enjoying yourselves.
Thanks IM. Canadians are very excited!
I was able to overcome the unknowns, which were similar to everyone else’s, for a FIR time of 18:57, a little tougher than most Thursdays IMO. I’ve spent the last three days driving down to Florida; did the puzzle early AM, then hit the road and haven’t had time to comment. But I have caught up at night with all the blogs and comments, so thanks to the constructors for the previous 3 days, and for the reviews from RB, Hahtoolah, Splynter, and NaomiZ today, and I always enjoy the comments too, so thank you all for those, and to Dan for today’s creation.
Above is Yooper Phil
Thank you for all your kind birthday wishes yesterday. I had a glorious day. Friends took me out to a fancy breakfast at the local Hyatt Regency (one of them works there), and my family had a lovely Zoom session that evening. Lots of good cheer all around.
Thursday Tresses. Thanks for the fun, Dan and NaomiZ (great photo of you and DH).
I FIRed eventually, but earlier got the theme reveal and went back to find the MESSY BUNS in some of my uncompleted themers.
Hand up for the NW corner being blank for a while, but the NE corner was actually the last to fall.
I’m still not sure about IN AREA. I thought it might be an American health insurance term. I am covered for health insurance in Ontario, but only for the $amounts that would be paid in Ontario if I am out of the province. That makes travel medical insurance mandatory if I am not IN AREA, as American medical costs could bankrupt me.
I smiled broadly at the baseball clues today, as our Toronto Blue Jays are advancing to the American League Championship Series.
But we did have a DUO of basketball clues also.
Hand up for Met before SAT.
I had IRkS before IRES, Two before DUO.
This Canadian had no idea what was so numerous in Boston Common. I thought it might be Statues, but the ELM TREES won out. Then I smiled broadly again when STATUS appeared right next door.
We had REFI crossing SCI-FI, but no HIFI.
Wishing you all a great day.
What! You are in Florida not Manitoulin! Just a few degrees difference in temperature. Enjoy.
I’m glad you had a cheerful birthday.
CEh! Came here from Tobermory, crossed at Sarnia, 2 1/2 hours to get across the bridge to Customs 😤
CEh! That was after the 4 hour drive from Tobermory, took that long to go 2k.
Happy belated b/day you you Jayce 👊🏼.
I liked most of this puzzle and stumbled at the same places many of you did. Wrinkled my nose at UHHUH.
Enjoyed seeing fill such as ROPE LADDER and FORESEE.
Good reading you all.
Congrats to the Blue Jays! Hoping they will be meeting the Tigers, have to win tomorrow in Seattle.
Oh, that’s a brutally long wait!
Thanks YP. Detroit would be closer for travel, and hopefully, games on tv sooner in the evening than Seattle.
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