Smile and Say Cheese!
17-Across. * Belt taken with lime and salt: TEQUILA SHOT.
24-Across. * Challenge for an antsy toddler: SITTING STILL.
39-Across. * Problematic backward pass in football: BAD SNAP.
51-Across. * Spotted pattern on faux fur, say: LEOPARD PRINT.
And the unifier:
62-Across. Close call in a race, or what the answer to each starred clue has: PHOTO FINISH. The word that "Finishes" the two-word phrase in each of the theme answers is related to a photograph.
Across:
1. Blue Ribbon lager: PABST.
6. Source of some memes: IMGUR. No a clue! Apparently, Imgur is an online image-hosting and sharing community founded by Alan Schaaf (b. Oct. 21, 1987) in 2009. It allows users to upload and share photos, GIFs, and images.
11. Sandwich known by its initials: BLT.
14. Shady picnic spot: ARBOR.
15. Stop: CEASE.
16. Use oars: ROW.
19. Here, en français: ICI. Today's French lesson.
20. Slotted fastener: HASP.
21. Useful connections: INs.
22. To be, en español: ESTAR. Today's Spanish lesson. I believe there are two forms of the verb "to be" in Spanish ~ Ser and Estar. The former describes formal characteristics and the latter is used for temporary conditions and emotions. I'll let Lucina expound on these subtleties of these two verbs.
28. Mapped biological sequence: GENOME. A Genome is the complete set of genetic material in an organism.
31. Specks: IOTAS.
32. Revise, as text: AMEND.
33. Numerous: MANY.
35. Poet's "by way of": THRO.
38. Jaguar competitor: BMW. // And 67-Across. Jaguar competitor: LEXUS.
42. As __ usual: PER.
43. Simple: EASY.
45. Fix, at the vet: SPAY.
46. Piano exercise: ÉTUDE. More of today's French lesson.
48. One measurement of a rectangle: WIDTH. // And 2. Length x 48-Across, for a rectangle: AREA.
50. Owie: BOO-BOO.
55. Marketing dept. employee: AD REP.
56. [facepalm]: OOF!
57. Beers like Smooth Hoperator, briefly: IPAs. A brief history of India Pale Ale.
61. Satirist's gift: WIT.
66. Unspecified degree: NTH.
68. Inspirational word or phrase: MOTTO.
69. Reluctant to socialize: SHY.
70. Simply be: EXIST.
71. Actor/activist Davis: OSSIE. Ossie Davis (né Raiford Chatman Davis, b. Dec. 18, 1917 ~ Feb. 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. In 1948, he married fellow actress Ruby Dee (née Ruby Ann Wallace, Oct. 27, 1922 ~ June 11, 2014).
Down:
1. Off the beaten __: PATH.
3. Patio cookouts, casually: BBQs.
4. "Grub's up!": SOUPS ON!
5. Prefix with -athlon: TRI-.
6. Terse turndown: I CAN'T.
7. Soccer star Lionel: MESSI.
8. "Oh, come on!": GAH!
10. Give an exam again: RE-TEST.
11. Spot to order bangers and mash: BRITISH PUB. You can bet a pint of 57-Across to go with your bangers and mash.
12. Train that makes lots of stops: LOCAL.
13. Spin, as a baton: TWIRL.
18. With fewer calories, on a label: LITE.
23. "Pronto!": STAT.
25. Film buff's online resource: IMDB. As in the Internet Movie DataBase.
26. Doofus: NINNY.
27. Spanish painter Francisco: GOYA. This artist usually goes by just Goya, although is full name is Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Mar. 30, 1746 ~ April. 16, 1828).
28. "Welcome Back, Kotter" actor Kaplan: GABE.
29. Stone of "Poor Things": EMMA.
30. Interesting enough for the front page, say: NEWSWORTHY.
33. Hybrid grad program for physician-scientists: MD-PhD. As in a Medical Doctor and a Doctor of Philosophy.
34. Loose __ goose: AS A.
36. Start over: REDO.
37. Dunk Club cookie: OREO.
40. Subj. for Neil deGrasse Tyson: ASTR.
41. Low-level worker: PEON.
44. "Eek!": YIPE.
47. Big name in pizza snacks: TOTINOS.
49. Make a pattern using light and shade: DAPPLE.
 |
| A Dapple Dog. |
50. Punch, slangily: BIFF.
51. Mower targets: LAWNS.
52. "The Buccaneers" writer Wharton: EDITH.
53. Exec. branch head: POTUS. As in the President of the United States.
54. Hen's perch: ROOST.
58. Cherry centers: PITS.
59. Sparkling Italian wine: ASTI.
60. Croc, e.g.: SHOE.
63. Malicious spell: HEX.
64. __Clean: stain remover: OXI.
65. Texter's "I'd say": IMO. Textspeak for In My Opinion.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
I know this was an abbreviated commentary, however, due to a family emergency, we were called out of town on short notice.
12 comments:
For the first time I can
remember, I DNF a Tuesday puzzle. I don’t know what “IMGUR” is and just could not get the “G” and the perp was no help at all. So I’m not happy about that, but I am happy to be here with the rest of you folks and see if you did better than I did! Subgenius out!
Good morning!
I don't normally call foul on a cw, but "Foul!" IMGUR/GAH is definitely foul, a natick of a natick. (Natick squared?) How did that get past the editor? I don't recall ever seeing TOTINOS; on the other hand, I don't spend a lot of time in the frozen food section. Thanx for the distraction, Robert. (Was this a debut?) And thanx for the expo, Hahtoolah. Hope your emergency turned out to be minor.
BMW: I've complained for years that the dash gauges and video displays are too dim for the human eye, which is what I'm equipped with. The dealer acknowledged the problem, but said there was no fix for it. I found a solution online -- purchased a dongle for the car's computer port, and downloaded software to reprogram it. Problem solved. Plus, I found another tweak that provides a digital speedometer in the instrument cluster. I like that, too. Wasn't cheap, but I'm glad I took the plunge.
FIW, missing my SWAG @ IMnUR x nAH. I narrowed it down to b, G, h, or n, and guessed wrong. Also ad man->AD REP, doh->OOF, and yike->YIPE. Seems like I always see both yike and YIPE appended with an "s."
Don't think I've encountered THRO, but then again, I'm not much of a poetry reader. Mostly I read those love poems that begin "there once was a girl from Nantucket."
My 80-year old sister still TWIRLs her fire batons occasionally.
If the beer says LITE, it's a Miller.
I love OXI Clean. Great for sweat stains that defy other cleaning agents.
Don't think I've ever seen BIFF for punch. But since we have SPAY and BIFF, why not link a favorite Far Side cartoon?
Thanks to Robert for the fun Tuesday puzzle, except for that unfortunate and troublesome cross. And thanks to Ha2la for the fun review, even in the face of your family emergency. Hope all turns out well.
Glad I’m not the only one with the IMGUR, GAH problem….YIPE! That was really annoying!
Ditto!
A DNF today. A couple of blanks. IMGUR & GAH intersection. I know what a BOOBOO is but what is BIFF? Oh, I Know. He was the worthless son of Willy Loman.
After TEQUILA SHOT chased by a PABST, aka PBR, in the NW, I was thinking a booze puzzle, especially after the BRITISH PUB and the LITE fill. ESTAR was the only other unknown today. But it's "Five O'clock somewhere"
IMDB is how I found The Corner years ago, trying to find an answer to a Xword fill for some obscure actor or movie.
I’m formerly known as MAGILLA Go-Rilla. Somehow I got logged out long ago and cannot find a way to sign in as such. Help is appreciated.
I too am befuddled by the Imgur/gah responses. When did this app come about?
BTW: I selected google account as my profile and that allowed me to publish my comment.
Took 7:17 today for me to photobomb at that hideous intersection of "imgur" and "gah".
Let's be clear, either one of those would be an eye sore if they were isolated. Having them intersect each other is crossword malpractice.
I went with "b", instead of "g." "Bah" I've heard before, e.g., "bah humbug."
Fitting that on this election day, which is only the fourth day of the month, we have a very strong candidate for Worst Clue of the Month.
FIW. Imgur? Really? And crossing gah which makes it doubly cruel. I took a WAG and was wrong.
The theme I understood from the reveal, but "IMO" it was lame.
So overall not an enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
The Imgur (what an ugly name) Gah crossing was the most egregious problem in this puzzle, but it was far from the only one. Estar, Biff, and Yipe, aren’t exactly every day words, even if they’re legitimate. But, as some solvers have mentioned, the aforementioned crossing was impossible to even guess and this should not be the case, particularly on a Tuesday. Overall, there was a lot of squeeze but no juice, IMO.
Thanks, Hahtoolah, for the usual fun and facts. Hope your emergency wasn’t serious.
Have a good day.
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