You Can Ring My Bell.
18-Across. Debt security sold to raise funds for World War I: LIBERTY BOND. // Liberty Bell.
23-Across. Unexpected and undeserved fortune: DUMB LUCK. // Dumb Bell.
51-Across. Singer dubbed the "Mother of the Blues": MA RAINEY. / Ma Bell. Ma Bell was the name for the Bell System, a telecommunications monopoly led by AT&T. It provided telephone service in North America for about 100 years. It was the "mother" [Ma] company that provided all telephone services Alexander Graham Bell (Mar. 3, 1847 ~ Aug. 2, 1922) is credited with inventing the telephone, hence, the Bell. The monopoly was ultimately broken up by a federal court antitrust case in 1984.
A brief bio of Ma Rainey. She was an African-American from Georgia and has been called the Mother of the Blues. Sadly, she died at the young age of 53 of heart disease.
56-Across. Weekly promotion in some Tex-Mex restaurants: TACO TUESDAY. // Taco Bell.
And the Unifier:
36-Across. Start of the stock exchange trading day, or a feature of 18-, 23-, 51-, and 56-Across: OPENING BELL. Each theme answer Opens with a Bell.
Across:
1. Twosome: DUO.
4. Long-tailed parrot: MACAW. They are beautiful birds.
9. Pitch, as a tent: PUT UP.
14. Mork's planet: ORK. Mork and Mindy was a sit-com from the late 1970s-early 1980s. Mork, an alien from the planet Ork on a mission to Earth to study human behavior. He met up with Mindyr, travels to 1970s Boulder, Colo., where he meets up with Mindy, a young journalism graduate. Mork was portrayed by Robin Williams (July 21, 1951 ~ Aug. 11, 2014) and Mindy was played by Pam Dawber (b. Oct. 18, 1951).
15. "Yay for me!": I RULE!
16. "When the moon hits your eye" condition: AMORE. Today's Latin lesson.
17. Soda can opener: TAB. Also the name of a discontinued soda. Tab was introduced in 1963 and was the Coca-Cola's first diet drink. It was discontinued in 2020.
20. "Orinoco Flow" singer: ENYA. The given name of this Irish singer and composer is Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (b. May 17, 1961). No wonder she goes by Enya.
22. Glacier-forming periods: ICE AGES.
 |
| If you go to hockey games, you will understand this cartoon. |
26. Airport surface: TARMAC. The history of the word Tarmac.
29. Essential login info: USER ID.
30. Ray gun sound: ZAP.
31. iPad program: APP.
32. Perfect place: UTOPIA. Also the title of a 1516 book of fiction and political satire by Sir Thomas More (Feb. 17, 1478 ~ July 6, 1535). The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. It was before my time.
35. Earnest entreaty: PLEA.
39. Abundant supply: GLUT.
41. Little house, in Spanish: CASITA. Today's Spanish Lesson
42. "I'd rather __": NOT.
43. Tiny ammo: BBs.
45. Apply a cipher to: ENCODE.
49. Unit of coffee: CUPFUL.
53. Greek goddess of the hunt: ARTEMIS. Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and the twin sister of Apollo. Because she is the huntress, she is often depicted with a bow and arrow, accompanied by hunting dogs. As a virgin goddess, she protects young unmarried women and is also associated with childbirth, forests, wild animals, and archery.
55. Bunco trio: DICE. I am not familiar with this game, but apparently it is played with 3 die.
60. Fla. NBA team: ORL. As in the Orlando Magic.
61. Any ABBA member: SWEDE.
62. Made off with: STOLE.
63. Previously named: NÉE. This French word is becoming a crossword staple.
64. Mexican bucks: PESOS. As of this writing, 1 Mexican Peso is worth 0.054 Dollars. Or another way, $1 is worth 18.47 Pesos.
65. From Nepal, e.g.: ASIAN.
66. The best is __ to come: YET.
Down:
1. End of a school email address: DOT EDU.
2. Planet between Saturn and Neptune: URANUS. William Herschel (né Frederick William Herschel; Nov. 15, 1738 ~ Aug. 25, 1822) discovered the planet in 1781, which he wanted to call Georgium Sidus, which means George's Star in honor of George III, King of England (June 4, 1738 ~ Jan. 29, 1820). Other astronomer, however, had other ideas and they won out. So how did Uranus get its name, which becomes name official in 1850.
3. "I'm fine with that": OK BY ME.
4. The Brewers, in box scores: MIL. As in the Milwaukee Brewers.
5. Former NPR host Shapiro: ARI. Ari Michael Shapiro (b. Sept. 20, 1978) is a radio journalist. He had been one of the hosts of All Things Considered. He left NPR in September of this year.
6. Three-dimensional: CUBIC.
7. Smart __: ALECK.
8. "Now __ talking!": WE'RE.
9. Wage inequality: PAY GAP. Yup, it's real.
10. Natural pigment darker than ocher: UMBER.
11. Like shoes that cause blisters, perhaps: TOO SMALL.
12. Ornate flowerpot: URN.
13. Thin sock worn to try on shoes: PED.
19. The "TT" of TTFN: TATA. Textspeak for TaTa For Now.
21. Sudden: ABRUPT.
24. Low-calorie, in ads: LITE.
25. Japanese soup noodle: UDON. These tasty noodles appear often in the puzzles.
27. Mimic: APE.
28. Tax prep pro: CPA. As in a Certified Public Accountant.
30. Zigs and __: ZAGS.
33. "__ or it didn't happen!": PICS. That used to be true, but now ...
34. Cookbook writer Garten: INA. Ina Rosenberg Garten (b. Feb. 2, 1948) is known as the Barefoot Contessa.
35. Serene: PLACID.
36. Runs faster than: OUTPACES.
37. Order in a German pub: BIER. Today's German lesson.
38. Active Sicilian volcano: ETNA. This Sicilian volcano makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzle.
39. Chain known for health products: GNC. Formerly known as General Nutrition Centers.
40. Bud's bud in comedy: LOU. Abbott and Costello were an American comedy team composed of comedians Bud Abbott (né William Alexander Abbott; Oct. 2, 1895 ~ Apr. 24, 1974) and Lou Costello (né Louis Francis Cristillo; Mar. 6, 1906 ~ Mar. 3, 1959).
43. Narrow flat-topped hills: BUTTES. // And 54-Down. Wide flat-topped hill: MESA.
44. "Sacré __!": BLEU. More of today's French lesson.
46. Like some pungent dips: ONIONY.
47. Official directive: DECREE.
48. Doily loop: EYELET.
50. Hobbit who travels to Mount Doom: FRODO.
51. Waters gently, as a houseplant: MISTS.
52. "Same here," formally: AS DO I.
56. Recipe amt.: TSP. As in a Teaspoon.
57. Feeling of wonder: AWE.
58. __ mode: À LA. More of today's French lesson.
59. Urge: YEN. Also Japanese currency.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!
Notes from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to Picard (Robert), who visited Splynter last June. Picard and his wife have also met with MM and his girlfriend Valerie a few years ago.
26 comments:
Another simple one,
I would say, although “cubic” gave me a moment’s pause.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
FIR, but mccaw->MACAW (UNTIE!,) erect, then pitch->PUT UP, i rock->I RULE, and windfall->DUMB LUCK.
My Phoenix office was on UTOPIA drive, across town from Lucina's digs.
I struggled to parse MA from the unknown MARAINEY, which is ironic since I spent most of my working life in telco. BTW, Bell was much more than a telco. At the time it was the largest private company performing pure research. Their efforts were kind of a backdoor way of funding military research without tax money. Long distance calls were more expensive than they would have been otherwise, but resulted in things like practical vacuum tubes, radar, and the transistor (which evolved into microchips that run just about everything these days.)
Thanks to Theresa and Gene for the fun start to Tuesday, and to Ha2la for another fine review. I especially liked the link that explains tarmac. I also liked Planet Doug.
Good morning!
As expected, missed the reveal and didn't notice the theme. Like Jinx, D-o also thought MARAINEY was one word, and wondered how he'd missed her. D'oh. Didn't Sgt. Friday often work in the BUNCO squad...or was that bunko? Dunno. I read this week that German breweries are in trouble; Germans are no longer drinking beer. The problem is so severe that every brewery tent at Oktoberfest served at least one non-alcoholic bier. Sacrilege! Sacre Bleu! Thanx, Theresa, Gene, and Hahtoolah.
Good morning. It was an easy TACO TUESDAY puzzle to FIR and a learning experience today. I've seen socks for trying on shoes available in stores but didn't know they had another name-PED. I wear my own. I always wear thick Thorlo brand socks when I try on any shoe to make sure the shoes are not TOO SMALL.
Like Ha2La, I wasn't familiar with 'Bunco' but DICE came by perps.
MA RAINEY- unknown by me. After filling it by perps, I was thinking MARA INEY. Live and learn.
ICE AGES- the cartoon looks like a wooden Zamboni.
GNC- why not just eat a balanced meal. Just look at all the things advertised that are 'supposed' to do this or that to your body. Get rid of 'toxins'; what a joke. A specific vitamin deficiency is one thing, but all the things being touted are ridiculous. IMHO, all is "snake oil". Uh oh, can't say that. Companies are actually selling real snake oil products.
About a half mile from my house there are three side by side Mexican restaurants. El Paso, Casa de Leon, and TACO BELL. If you are passing by the BELL at midnight, the drive-thru line usually has 6-8 cars lined up.
FIR. How appropriate that one of the long answers is "Taco Tuesday" and today is Tuesday!
Aside from being unfamiliar with that phrase "pics or it didn't happen ", and not knowing Ma Rainey, today's presentation was Monday easy.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Took 5:20 today to close my tab at the BAR.
I'm in the camp that hadn't heard of "Marainey". Speaking of camp, at first I "set up" my tent before I "put up" my tent. Wasn't sure if it was smart alecs or aleck.
Maybe they should move it to Ireland, and call it O'Ktoberfest. I don't imagine they'll quit drinking beer anytime soon.
Thanks to all for the good wishes and congrats for our tiny new granddaughter. Thanks also to Theresa and Gene for a nice puzzle. Hahtoolsh you continue to amaze with all you find to add to your write up. The cartoons make my day.
Luckily for my son who works for an international beer distribution company from Germany Americans continue to buy beer in quantity. We are up to 7 desserts for our Thanksgiving get together at his house and I try to eat some of all of them, wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
My favorite cartoon was the nurse with the flit gun.
TTFN as the puzzle said
Musings
-A dark and dreary Tuesday made brighter by a fun puzzle, Hahtoolah, disco tunes and subbing for a guy who has four periods off!
-I would think MA RAINEY was a happy discovery for the constructors or is she more familiar than I thought
-Marty McFly can’t get a TAB
-We’ve been caught up in the “User Name/Password” abyss of memory
-Joann’s mother and her friends had a regular Bunco night
-As I’ve said before, there was no PAY GAP in teacher salaries. Your pay was a strict function of your experience and degree(s).
-Sheldon’s take on GNC, etc.
Terrific TACO TUESDAY. Thanks for the fun, Theresa and Gene, and Hahtoolah. (This Canadian recognized that wooden Zamboni.)
I completed this WITP quickly, and saw the OPENING BELL theme, but arrived here to discover I FIWed.
My limited Spanish had the little CASA as CASaTA, making my German beer BaER. Ach!
CUPFUL changed OUT rACES to PACES.
So DO I changed to AS.
GNC was all perps.
I had to wait for BUTTE to appear. I smiled at the BUTTE/MESA DUO.
The Bell Homestead where Bell invented the telephone is a National Historic Site in nearby Brantford, Ontario.
SPOILER ALERT: 35A is almost today’s WORDLE.
Diana is the Roman version of ARTEMIS.
Happy Birthday Picard.
Wishing you all a great day.
Hola! And happy Tuesday, but no TACOS here today. It's a nice coincidence in the puzzle, though. And yes, I'm familiar with UTOPIA Drive; my cousin lives there. MA RAINEY is familiar only by crosswords.
BUTTES and MESAs are a familiar sight in the desert landscape.
The ICE AGES left some amazing scars throughout our planet.
I learned yesterday that we might have additional guests on Thursday as my daughter invited her bosses. That's two more, and all are welcome!
Have a lovely day, everyone!
Happy birthday, Picard!
And on another note, I found out yesterday that the BELL in TACO BELL is the surname of the company’s founder.
I was zipping along down this puzzle when I came to a sudden halt in the SE. Perps helped me out with MARAINEY, but it took a little while to parse the name properly and therefore get MA BELL.
Thank you Hahtoolah for all those cute funnies.
Happy birthday, Picard; I hope you still read this blog.
Hand up for not parsing MA RAINEY.
Pretty sure Dino Crocetti’s “That’s AMORE” is Italian, not Latin
I thought 3-D was kind of a weak clue for CUBIC
Do you suppose an instructional booklet on solving that cube puzzle would be a Rubik cubic rubric?
When crosswords feel more like work than fun...
Sigh... it happens every year...
Also, I can assure you Picard reads the Blog every day.
happy birthday Robert!
Parsan
MA RAINEY, Gertrude Pridgett married Pa Rainey thus her professional name. She said she was born in 1886 but the 1910 census showed she was born in 1882. Even then women were taking years off their age. She made many recordings that to modern ears sound very much alike. She was posthunousle awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. She died in 1939 ar age 53.
Good Morning:
This was a fun and fast solve with a cute theme and reveal, a true Tuesday puzzle. I’ve certainly heard of Ma Rainey but know nothing about her. There were no unknowns or w/os, so an easy, peasy solve.
Thanks, Theresa and Gene, and thanks, Hatoolah, for the fun and facts and the vocal talents of Mr. Martin and ABBA.
Happy Birthday, Picard, hope it’s a special day. 🎂🎁🎉🎊🎈
Have a great day.
Good Morning, Crossword friends. I went back and added a brief bio of Ma Rainey along with a sample of her music.
QOD: Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until have accomplished a purpose ~ not the one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember. ~ Ben Stein (né Benjamin Jeremy Stein; b. Nov. 25, 1944), American comedian and political commentator
Never heard of Ma Rainey but I'm not into Blues. But I do like Abba. Never heard of the game Bunco but the perps saved me. I always enjoy the cartoons Ha2la. TTFN
Very easy today, with a few useful perps to let me sus the the ones that didn't occur to me right away. I have heard of quite a few blues legends including Ma Rainey, but which one to choose? A few perps cleared it up. Cute theme. Fun write up.
I still miss tent camping if there is a bathhouse/toilet building nearby. Modern tents are easy to put up. The screenhouse over the picnic table was not so easy. I loved being close to nature and hearing the breeze soughing through the tree tops and listening to the birds sing. I had to give it up in my 80's due my knees. By then I didn't want to bothered owning an RV.
Lemonade, how wonderful, a new granddaughter.
Delightful puzzle this morning, many thanks, Theresa and Gene. And we always appreciate your helpful commentary and pictures, Hahtoolah, thanks for those too. And, finally, have a lovely, joyful birthday with friends and family, Picard, and best wishes from all of us too.
Well, DUO suggests a couple right at the beginning of this puzzle, so when LIBERTY BOND turns up thereafter, we know we'll be dealing with a relationship here. Let's hope that the couple's love is not the result of DUMB LUCK. But we see some good signs for them, like the ringing of an OPENING BELL, which maybe has them each drinking a CUPFUL of wine to celebrate their romance on TACO TUESDAY. If so, then I'd say there's a good chance that this couple is headed for UTOPIA.
Have a lovely Thanksgiving coming up, everybody.
Thanks to Theresa and Gene! FAV was ORC X URANUS.
Hand up for smiling at TACO TUESDAY today.
Thanks to Hahtoolah for a terrific write-up! Loved your theme idea. Other FAVs were the ICE AGES COMIC and ENYA song. I also needed your help parsing MA RAINEY.
Happy birthday to Picard! It seems like only yesterday I added a birthday message to you in my blog but it has been a full year. Time sure flies!
Wow, yesterday I was thumping my chest over getting the fastest time EVER (for me) to FIR. After all these years of doing CWs, what are the chances of TWO "fastest time ever" days in a row? But I did FIR in 7 minutes again today, somehow. I don't know how I did it, with three W/Os: ERECT/PUTUP, RACES/PACES, and IOS/APP. Obviously, they all corrected very quickly. 15 names, but only DNK 1: MARAINEY. Also DNK TTFN or BUNCO. I thought BUNCO was a scam. But perps filled DICE very quickly. I spell ALEC, not ALECK. My error I guess. I FIR so fast and was so happy to get such a quick fill once again I forgot to look for the theme, but it is pretty obvious and I'm sure I would have seen it had I taken the time. Learning moment today: Buttes vs Mesas, vs pinnacles. Wonderful CW, well done, TB&GL, thanx. Thanx too to Hahtoolah for the as always terrific write-up, complete with great cartoons. That reminder of Robin Williams: what a tragedy to lose him so soon. What a shock it was. Who would have thought he'd hang himself? All that talent. So well loved. Oy. HBD Picard! I know two other people with BDs today.
Thank you CC, CanadianEh, Irish Miss, CrossEyedDave, Lucina, Monkey for the sweet birthday wishes! Yes, I read the blog every day!
Here is how Merlie greeted me this morning in her artistic way.
Bugs Bunny is a reference to my habit of eating about a pound of carrots every day!
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