Happy Monday-before-Thanksgiving, everyone! sumdaze here with a puzzle to whet your appetite. Theme:
 |
| I had intended to insert the Norman Rockwell painting but this one caught my eye. |
Constructor Joseph A. Gangi serves up these five themed answers:
17 Across. "Gee willikers!": GOOD GRAVY. Both of these expressions of astonishment are generally associated with older generations and regional dialects.
25 Across. Lists of top students: HONOR ROLLS.
37 Across. Folks who do a lot of binge-watching: COUCH POTATOES.
48 Across. Get down to brass tacks: TALK TURKEY. another idiom clued with an idiom
60 Across. Extremely simple: EASY AS PIE.
GRAVY, ROLLS, POTATOES, TURKEY, and PIE are all parts of a traditional Thanksgiving holiday feast. However, instead of merely listing menu items, the foods are plated in our grid via non-food, in-the-language phrases. Bonus points for ending with dessert!
Next we will partake of the remaining clues & answers:
Across:
54. Wyatt of the Old West: EARP.
55. Bread often brushed with ghee: NAAN. Ghee is clarified butter and is often used in Indian cooking. In this clue, ghee is a hint that we are looking for a food in Indian cuisine.
57. Class that may send one back to the drawing board: ART. and 51-Down. Support for a drawing board: EASEL.
58. Lose strength: ABATE.
62. Washroom fixture: BASIN. We do not see this answer in XWDs as much as we see its semi-synonym: nsync.
52. "Huzzah!": YAY. Merriam-Webster lists huzzah as a noun that is often used interjectionally to express joy or approval.
56. Short snoozes: NAPS.
58. Old hoops gp.: ABA. The American Basketball Association was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. more about the relaunch
59. "Hello, ewe!": BAA. Cute clue.
60. Startled cry: EEK.
61. Watery expanse: SEA. About 71% of the Earth's surface is water-covered. That's quite expansive!
1. Music genre known for four-on-the-floor beats: DISCO. Good start! I like a 1-A clue that takes a little sussing -- but not in a discouraging way.
Four-on-the-floor is drummer lingo for using a foot pedal to hit the bass drum on each of the four quarter beats in 4/4 timing. In other words, the drum just thuds 1-2-3-4. It is commonly used in dance music genres. Example: Dancing Queen by ABBA (released 1976)
6. "__ we there yet?": ARE.
9. Double-reed woodwinds: OBOES. "Double-read" means an oboe uses a single, double-reed -- not two reeds.
14. Rack up, as expenses: INCUR.
15. Young chap: LAD. Both chap and LAD are more commonly used in British English.
16. All smiles: HAPPY. and 22 Down. Flash a smile toward: GRIN AT. 😀
19. Pet pests: FLEAS. and 23 Across. Pet pest: TICK.
20. Road trip option: INN.
21. "I'm totally with you": SAME.
22. "Keep talking": GO ON.
29. Prepare, as bao buns: STEAM.
31. Sizable: BIG.
32. Tire filler: AIR. Unlike bao buns, one should refrain from filling tires with a pork mixture.
33. Insta post: PIC. Instagram is a PICure-sharing app.
35. Kitchen nooks: DINETTES.
40. Food storage rooms: PANTRIES. I love an organized pantry. Today I found a can of olives in my pantry that expired two years ago.
41. Meadows of "Peacemaker": TIM. his IMDb page
42. Land between Can. and Mex.: USA.
43. Zero's counterpart, in binary code: ONE. It is time for today's math lesson. Binary code uses two digits, 0 and 1. This is handy for situations with only two states, such as ON or OFF with electricity. Another code with which you might be familiar is hexadecimal code. Hex gives us 6 and decimal gives us 10 so this code requires 6+10=16 digits. We have to be creative because we normally only have ten digits, 0-9. The solution is to use letters as digits. A hexadecimal code uses 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, a, b, c, d, e, and f. So a=10, b=11, c=12, d=13, e=14, and f=15. This saves a lot of space when dealing with really large numbers. One place you might have seen this is in Box d. Control number on a Form W-2. Here is an example:
44. Give height to, as hair: TEASE. This is a method of backcombing hair to make it puffier. It can also make knots that are difficult to comb out later.
53. Clever notion: IDEA.
6. "__ we there yet?": ARE.
9. Double-reed woodwinds: OBOES. "Double-read" means an oboe uses a single, double-reed -- not two reeds.
14. Rack up, as expenses: INCUR.
16. All smiles: HAPPY. and 22 Down. Flash a smile toward: GRIN AT. 😀
19. Pet pests: FLEAS. and 23 Across. Pet pest: TICK.
21. "I'm totally with you": SAME.
22. "Keep talking": GO ON.
29. Prepare, as bao buns: STEAM.
 |
| They can be made with a variety of sweet or savory fillings. A pork mixture is a common choice. |
32. Tire filler: AIR. Unlike bao buns, one should refrain from filling tires with a pork mixture.
33. Insta post: PIC. Instagram is a PICure-sharing app.
35. Kitchen nooks: DINETTES.
40. Food storage rooms: PANTRIES. I love an organized pantry. Today I found a can of olives in my pantry that expired two years ago.
 |
| This is not my pantry ... but wouldn't it be nice? |
42. Land between Can. and Mex.: USA.
43. Zero's counterpart, in binary code: ONE. It is time for today's math lesson. Binary code uses two digits, 0 and 1. This is handy for situations with only two states, such as ON or OFF with electricity. Another code with which you might be familiar is hexadecimal code. Hex gives us 6 and decimal gives us 10 so this code requires 6+10=16 digits. We have to be creative because we normally only have ten digits, 0-9. The solution is to use letters as digits. A hexadecimal code uses 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, a, b, c, d, e, and f. So a=10, b=11, c=12, d=13, e=14, and f=15. This saves a lot of space when dealing with really large numbers. One place you might have seen this is in Box d. Control number on a Form W-2. Here is an example:
 |
A1B2 is (2X160) + (11X161) + (1X162) + (10X163) = 2+ 176 + 256 + 40,960 = 41,394 |
44. Give height to, as hair: TEASE. This is a method of backcombing hair to make it puffier. It can also make knots that are difficult to comb out later.
Rock the Boat ~ The Hues Corporation ~ 1973
"So I'd like to know, where you got the notion" 🎵🎵
54. Wyatt of the Old West: EARP.
 |
| Earp's tombstone -- not the movie, Tombstone |
55. Bread often brushed with ghee: NAAN. Ghee is clarified butter and is often used in Indian cooking. In this clue, ghee is a hint that we are looking for a food in Indian cuisine.
57. Class that may send one back to the drawing board: ART. and 51-Down. Support for a drawing board: EASEL.
58. Lose strength: ABATE.
62. Washroom fixture: BASIN. We do not see this answer in XWDs as much as we see its semi-synonym: nsync.
63. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day, e.g.: EVE. an apt Easter egg
64. Actor Dinklage: PETER. [b. June 11, 1969] He has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work in Game of Thrones.
65. Oohed and __: AAHED.
66. "Kenan & __": former Nickelodeon sitcom: KEL. IMDb link
67. Full of attitude: SASSY.
Down:
64. Actor Dinklage: PETER. [b. June 11, 1969] He has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work in Game of Thrones.
66. "Kenan & __": former Nickelodeon sitcom: KEL. IMDb link
Down:
1. Fingers and toes: DIGITS.
2. Party to the conspiracy: IN ON IT. Here we have an example of solver-friendly clue writing/editing. IN ON = "Party to" but the "IT" was aided by a noun object in the clue.
3. Wall-mounted light: SCONCE.
4. Cow's chew: CUD. If you have ever observed the contented faces of cows chewing their CUD, you would be like me and wish humans could do that, too. Alas, we only have one stomach.
5. Assns.: ORGS. Associations and ORGanizationS
6. San Antonio mission: ALAMO.
7. Bird in a Poe poem: RAVEN. Precisely:
8. Name in the ice cream aisle: EDY.
9. "Ugh, never mind!": OH FORGET IT.
10. "The Jungle Book" bear: BALOO.
11. Welcome sign for a hungry night owl: OPEN LATE. In this case, the night owl is not a bird but a person who often stays up late. Do we have any night owls on The Corner?
12. Ecol. monitor: EPA. Ecology and Environmental Protection Agency
13. Method: Abbr.: SYS. SYStem
18. Pep squad cheer: RAH.
24. Out of order: KAPUT. This is a fun word. It comes to us from the French word capot, via the German word kaputt. I was surprised to see that Merriam-Webster does not classify it as a slang term.
26. Somber bio: OBIT. biography and OBITuary
27. Falsehoods: LIES. When I Googled "OBIT" and "LIES" I learned about hoaxer Alan Abel who died for real in 2018 but in 1980 he persuaded the New York Times to report his death.
28. Former jrs.: SRS. juniors and SenioRS
30. Fleeting fad: MICROTREND. I could not find this word in Crossword Tracker. It might be a first-time use.
2. Party to the conspiracy: IN ON IT. Here we have an example of solver-friendly clue writing/editing. IN ON = "Party to" but the "IT" was aided by a noun object in the clue.
3. Wall-mounted light: SCONCE.
 |
| Pro tip: They can sometimes be used to open a secret door. |
4. Cow's chew: CUD. If you have ever observed the contented faces of cows chewing their CUD, you would be like me and wish humans could do that, too. Alas, we only have one stomach.
5. Assns.: ORGS. Associations and ORGanizationS
6. San Antonio mission: ALAMO.
7. Bird in a Poe poem: RAVEN. Precisely:
8. Name in the ice cream aisle: EDY.
10. "The Jungle Book" bear: BALOO.
11. Welcome sign for a hungry night owl: OPEN LATE. In this case, the night owl is not a bird but a person who often stays up late. Do we have any night owls on The Corner?
12. Ecol. monitor: EPA. Ecology and Environmental Protection Agency
13. Method: Abbr.: SYS. SYStem
18. Pep squad cheer: RAH.
24. Out of order: KAPUT. This is a fun word. It comes to us from the French word capot, via the German word kaputt. I was surprised to see that Merriam-Webster does not classify it as a slang term.
26. Somber bio: OBIT. biography and OBITuary
27. Falsehoods: LIES. When I Googled "OBIT" and "LIES" I learned about hoaxer Alan Abel who died for real in 2018 but in 1980 he persuaded the New York Times to report his death.
28. Former jrs.: SRS. juniors and SenioRS
30. Fleeting fad: MICROTREND. I could not find this word in Crossword Tracker. It might be a first-time use.
A MICROTREND is "a niche or industry specific consumer behavioral trend which is mass market ready and actionable." Some attribute the rise in MICROTRENDs to social media and especially, to influencer marketing posts. Another article said this has led to overconsuming in order to "keep up".
34. Body-lifting exercise that may be done in a doorway: CHIN-UP. 
35. Buns, bobs, and beehives: DOS. I am pretty sure you have to 44-Across your hair to make a beehive hairDO.
36. "My Cousin Vinny" Oscar winner Marisa: TOMEI.
37. Spanish house: CASA. Casa translates to "house" in Spanish. Also, kasa translates to "umbrella" in Japanese. My memory trick for this was that they both provided a 'roof' over one's head. You can see it in the kanji.
38. Tethered: ON A LEASH.
39. __ pressure: PEER. This happens when a group hug is too tight.
40. "To __ it mildly": PUT. The mechanic said, "To PUT it mildly, your engine is KAPUT."
45. Changes with the times: ADAPTS.
46. Story told in installments: SERIES. For example, David Copperfield was published as a serial from May 1849 through November 1850. Then it was published in book format in 1850.
47. Bistro, e.g.: EATERY.
49. Olympic swimmer Ledecky: KATIE. [b. March 17, 1997]
 |
| Tomato Girl Summer is now oh, so last season. 😀 |
35. Buns, bobs, and beehives: DOS. I am pretty sure you have to 44-Across your hair to make a beehive hairDO.
36. "My Cousin Vinny" Oscar winner Marisa: TOMEI.
37. Spanish house: CASA. Casa translates to "house" in Spanish. Also, kasa translates to "umbrella" in Japanese. My memory trick for this was that they both provided a 'roof' over one's head. You can see it in the kanji.
 |
| There is no "c" in Romanji (English letters for Japanese words). |
38. Tethered: ON A LEASH.
 |
| Resident Alien fans will recognize this from the handbook. |
40. "To __ it mildly": PUT. The mechanic said, "To PUT it mildly, your engine is KAPUT."
45. Changes with the times: ADAPTS.
46. Story told in installments: SERIES. For example, David Copperfield was published as a serial from May 1849 through November 1850. Then it was published in book format in 1850.
47. Bistro, e.g.: EATERY.
49. Olympic swimmer Ledecky: KATIE. [b. March 17, 1997]
 |
| There just are not enough superlatives for this athlete. |
50. Ye olde rascal: KNAVE.
52. "Huzzah!": YAY. Merriam-Webster lists huzzah as a noun that is often used interjectionally to express joy or approval.
56. Short snoozes: NAPS.
 |
| Scott Metzger creates the best pet comics. |
58. Old hoops gp.: ABA. The American Basketball Association was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. more about the relaunch
59. "Hello, ewe!": BAA. Cute clue.
 |
| Translation: Hi mom! |
61. Watery expanse: SEA. About 71% of the Earth's surface is water-covered. That's quite expansive!
The grid:
 |
| Joseph did not have a lot of wiggle room constructing this grid. Ending with PIE meant the only two themers he could switch around were the two 10-letter answers. Well done! |
Now it is time to clean up the dishes. Have a great-ful week, everyone!
6 comments:
This very timely
and “delicious” puzzle was “easy as pie” and needed no reveal whatsoever.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Good GRIEF, KATEY Ledecky, and SERIAL were blemishes on my Monday morning grid. D-o did notice all the groceries. No night owl here, but I'm always up before 5 AM -- does that count? Thanx for the meal, Ganji, and for the expo, sumdaze. (Are you telling me that the ABA is gone?)
FIR without erasure and sans WAGs. Caught on to the Thanksgiving feast theme right away at GOOD (not lumpy) GRAVY.
DNK TIM, PETER, KEL, and BALOO, but the perps made them easy to fill.
MICROTREND, or what we flintlock rifle shooters call "a flash in the pan."
Thanks to Joseph for the fun Monday puzzle, appearing on Monday for a change. And thanks to sumdaze for another fun review. I always thought that KAPUT must be Yiddish. Zoe and I are off to Ashland (VA) this morning for Thanksgiving week. (More than half our states have a town named Ashland.)
Took 3:52 today to feast on this puzzle.
I knew the Actress of the Day (Tomei), but often question the orientation of the last two letters. Otherwise, I'd call this a walk in the park - if our friend SubG approves.
FIR. Typical Monday, easy as pie!
I got the theme early on when rolls appeared and I knew then and there that it was a Thanksgiving theme.
Overall a very enjoyable puzzle.
An appropriate and fun puzzle. I too liked that the list ended with the dessert. We are having our Thanksgiving meal at my oldest’s house and he is one of the organized ones whose pantry looks like the picture. He also sent out a spreadsheet to all attendees to show what they are bringing and we are up to 7 desserts.
I really enjoyed this Monday puzzle.
Caching up on last week’s puzzles, Irish Miss, I watched season 2 of man on the inside and enjoyed it but was surprised by the character played by Ted Danson’s real life wife, Mary Sternbergen. I also was disappointed to learn that Netflix has changed its mind and will not have a new season of Resident Alien.
My newest grandchild came nine weeks early but she is a feisty little girl and the doctors say she is doing well. She will be in NICU for at least 4 more weeks
Thanks all
Post a Comment