Don't leave mad, just leave.
20-Across. Departure instructions for an ornithologist?: LEAVE THE NEST. Birds leave the Nest.
35-Across. Departure instructions for a railway worker?: MAKE TRACKS. Railway workers leave the Tracks.
42-Across. Departure instructions for a student pilot?: TAKE FLIGHT. Pilots leave when they take Flight.
And the unifier:
53-Across. Plan for ending involvement, or an apt title for this puzzle: EXIT STRATEGY.
Here's the grid:
Across:
1. Closes, as a parka: ZIPS.
10. Morning joe: JAVA.
14. Prepare for publication: EDIT.
15. Secret stash: CACHE.
16. Decorative pitcher in still lifes: EWER.
 |
| Still Life with Ewer, by Willem Kalf |
17. Silicon Valley city Palo __: ALTO.
18. Catchall option on a survey: OTHER.
19. Smartphone message: TEXT.
24. Behr product: PAINT.
31. Green vegetable in a pod: PEA.
33. Soccer star Hamm: MIA. Mia Hamm (née Mariel Margaret Hamm, b. Mar. 17, 1972) is an American former professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. She played as a forward for the United States national team from 1987 to 2004.
39. Box office bomb: FLOP.
40. Stadium: ARENA.
41. Eccentric fellow: COOT. Also a water bird.
45. Blackjack card: ACE.
46. Spearheaded: LED.
47. Back tooth: MOLAR.
50. Tiny bits: IOTAS.
59. Bowl over: STUN.
62. Unpleasant, as weather: NASTY.
63. Speck in the ocean: ISLE.
64. Machu Picchu country: PERU. // And 54-Down. Machu Picchu native: INCA. Machu Picchu will really take your breath away.
65. Crossword hints: CLUES.
66. Old Testament brother: CAIN. // And 56. Old Testament brother: ESAU. So many choices here. I had to wait for the down answer to find Cain, who slew Abel. This biblical story is the basic theme of John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden. Esau was the fraternal twin brother of the patriarch, Jacob. Jacob and Esau were the sons of Isaac and Rebekah.
68. Bright-eyed: ALERT.
69. Underwater vessels: SUBS.
1. Unbridled enthusiasm: ZEAL.
2. Loafing around: IDLE. Not to be confused with Eric Idle, who is anything but.
 |
| Eric Idle (b. Mar. 29, 1943) |
4. Hat worn by Abraham Lincoln: STOVE PIPE.
5. "Severance" star Adam: SCOTT. Adam Scott (né Adam Paul Scott) also portrayed Ben Wyatt on Parks and Recreation. I tried watching Severance, but quickly got bored.
6. Spinning shaper in a woodshop: LATHE.
7. Earthy pigment: OCHER. This pigment contains ferric oxide, which gives it varying shades light yellow to brown or red.
9. Roll-call response: HERE.
10. Volkswagen sedan: JETTA.
12. Irk: VEX.
13. Museum collection: ART.
21. Coast Guard rank: Abbr.: ENS. As in Ensign. The Coast Guard Ensign is the most junior commissioned officer rank.
22. Practice boxing: SPAR.
25. "That works for me": I'M COOL.
26. Inventor Tesla: NIKOLA. Nikola Tesla (July 9, 1856 ~ Jan. 7, 1943) was a Croatian-American inventor and futurist. He is best known for designing the AC electrical system, the global standard for power transmission. In 1898, he also invented a remote-controlled boat.
28. Flowy robe with long sleeves: CAFTAN.
29. Loosen, as a shoe: UNLACE.
30. Novelist Bram who created Dracula: STOKER. Bram Stoker (né Abraham Stoker; Nov. 8, 1847 ~ Apr. 20, 1912) was an Irish novelist. He is best known for writing the 1897 novel Dracula, the Transylvanian vampire. and the creator of the fictional character Count Dracula. Stoker never went to Transylvania, but did a lot of research to create its environs.
32. Coup d'__: sudden regime change: ETAT.
35. Like green-headed mallards: MALE.
36. Extremely dry: ARID.
37. Beer barrel: KEG.
38. Word puzzles with hidden messages: ACROSTICS.
43. Move a muscle: FLEX.
47. Goat's bleat: MAA.
49. Event site: VENUE. Radio City Music Hall is the venue of the Rockettes. Did you know that the Rockettes are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year? The dance troupe was actually founded in St. Louis, Missouri in 1925 before moving to New York in 1932. They were first known as the Missouri Rockets. The venue has a seating capacity of just under 6,000!
51. Furry swimmer: OTTER.
52. Lovers' meeting: TRYST.
55. Like skyscrapers: TALL.
57. Smooth-talking: GLIB.
58. Cravings: YENS. Not to be confused with the currency of Japan.
58. Cravings: YENS. Not to be confused with the currency of Japan.
59. Pampering place: SPA.
61. Web address: URL. As in Universal Resource Locator. This has become a crossword staple.
~~~~~~~
Apropos of yesterday's puzzle, and of special interest to Lucina, Idris Elba has just been knighted. According to the chart that Sumdaze provided, being a knight is a lower ranking noble, but still an honor to our dear actor.
We will miss you dearly, Sumdaze. All the best to you and I hope you pop in to see us on occasion.
חתולה
Not too tough, and the
ReplyDeletegimmick was kind of fun.
I don’t have anything else to say
about this puzzle except
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDelete"Leave The Nest" reminded me that we saw baby ducks leap from a treetop nest, plummet to the ground, bounce, and then waddle off. Amazing they weren't killed. They didn't learn to fly, but they did TAKE FLIGHT. "Machu Picchu will really take your breath away" -- methinks it's altitude. Thanks to both Susans for today's entertainment. Even d-o got the theme. Yay.
FIR without erasure.
ReplyDeleteBehr PAINT is primarily found in Home Depot, but HD doesn't own the brand. The brand is owned by the same company that owns Delta and Peerless faucets.
I have a 10:30 dentist appointment today to fill a couple of cavities up front, and to remove a crown from one of my MOLARS. Not looking forward to the visit.
No idea about the clued Adam SCOTT. I would have immediately known "former world #1 player in professional golf Adam."
Back in the day my wife and I set up our own wine tasting. We bought eight bottles of Chardonnet, from el cheapo to fairly expensive. We arranged them in random order, then tasted them and ranked them in order of preference. Both of us ranked them in the exact order of their costs, with the most expensive being our top selection. (We were trying to disprove that price and taste were directly correlated, but failed.)
Thanks to Susan for teh fun puzzle, and to Ha2la for another fun review.
FIR. Somewhat easy Tuesday fare. There wasn't much to dislike today except maybe a few proper names I didn't know.
ReplyDeleteI liked the theme and lot. It was quite clever.
So overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a typical Tuesday level offering with an easily discernible theme and reveal. My only stumble was Zest before Zeal. Otherwise, the fill was straightforward and the grid was clean, as is usual for Susan’s puzzles.
Thank you, Susan, and thank you, Hahtoolah, for the facts, fun, and chuckles.
Have a great day.
Musings
ReplyDelete-This cold has made doing any of these to accomplish. I’m convicned that colds hang on for about 5 days and with meds about 4 days and 23 hours.
-My Apple products have a Return key not an ENTER. I remember being amazed pushing the Return key on my first electric typewriter.
-Susan or Patti decided today’s nice puzzle needed an obscure SCOTT but I never even saw the name as I flew through
-I trotted that silent “H” all around PENH
-Nicely done by Susan and Susan.
When I was a teenager my doctor told me that left untreated, my cold would take 2 weeks to run its course. He said he could write me a prescription which could accomplish the same result in only 14 days.
DeleteDeja Vu. Monday all over again? Fun puzzle, clever theme, and great 'toons from Ha2la, so I guess it really must be Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteI dunno, is this theme becoming passé?
ReplyDeleteAn honorable mention from P.T. Barnum
Well, that's 3, so, im outta here!
When I was an engineer at a PBS affiliate, the Muppets sang the unforgettable song EXIT.
DeleteI was so pleased with myself to FIR in 9 minutes, an excellent time (for me) for a Thursday CW. Then I realized it is Tuesday. Still, a very good time considering I messed up the SE by filling ACROSSTIC, not seeing the plural in the clue. So some time spent there figuring out my boo-boo. The only other W/O = DATES:CUSPS. Only 10 names and only DNK 1, so that was a big help, as was seeing the theme with the second theme clue. Anyway, a fun Tuesday level CW, thanx SG. And another terrific write-up by Hahtoolah, thanx for the fun, and the cartoons.
ReplyDeleteCan’t remember the last time I raced through a puzzle this fast. Theme obvious early.
ReplyDeleteKnew “Severance” and Adam Scott. MIA Hamm is a regular though the “mallard”
clue gave me 🐾🐾
No inkovers. Canada Eh I almost put OCHre.
The problem with building TALL skyscrapers is when barely half way up the workers all start speaking different languages.
MOLARS: In college I went with a bud (a funny guy, local radio DJ) to a dentist’s office to have his wisdom teeth removed. When we were leaving met a friend in the overflowing waiting room who asked how it went. To shocked fearful faces he declared . “The most horrendously painful terrifying experience I’ve ever had“
Blizzardy weather in central NY. My Halloween/Thanksgiving pumpkins decorations still buried under heaps of snow 🙄
Ray-O, after boot camp I went to a Navy dentist due to a toothache in a wisdom tooth. He determined it needed to come out...immediately. After yanking, twisting, and pulling for about 20 minutes, he announced he was going to have to remove the tooth in pieces. With hammer and chisel, he broke the tooth into two pieces and finally removed it. I was sick for three days. It was one of the most horrendously painful experiences I've ever had.
DeleteTerrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Susan and Hahtoolah.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in very good time and saw the EXIT STRATEGY theme.
No inkblots on my pristine newspaper.
I was looking for a pangram, but we were a Q short.
Yes, Ray-o, I held my nose and entered OCHER.
Hand up for not knowing SCOTT as clued, but perps were fair.
I was looking for the CN Tower (in Toronto) on Hahtoolah’s chart of those TALL skyscrapers. At 553.3 m, it would be number 7 , but is considered a freestanding structure rather than a skyscraper.
“The CN Tower (553.3m) isn't a top-ranked skyscraper anymore (like Burj Khalifa), but it's still the world's 10th tallest freestanding structure (including towers/masts) and North America's tallest on land, holding records for decades until surpassed by supertalls like Shanghai Tower and Burj Khalifa.”
Wishing you all a great day.
Yep, I missed that Que, too.
DeleteHola! Though I finished the puzzle quite early, I returned to bed then after I arose, waited for my friend, Kathy, to come for coffee. We visited for a long while, but she could not help me clean up because of a problem shoulder.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle was straightforward and easy. Thanks to both Susans for the fun.
I wonder how the natives pronounce PENH. It might be a guttural sound.
I, too, hesitated before completing OCHER.
I hope you are all enjoying these waning days of December.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan for the fun grid. Thanks Hahtoolah for Tuesday comics - LOL Pita Pan & Wine Tour.
WOs: I put URL in TEX's squares
ESP: PENH
Fav: I'm tickled having ENTER in an EXIT puzzle.
Hahtoolah - you might give Severance another try. I didn't get into it until the 3rd or 4th episode. //DW had already seen 1/2 of Season 1 and convinced me to stick with it.
Y'all have a great day!
Cheers, -T
Very interesting and pleasant puzzle this morning, many thanks, Susan. And your commentary is always a pleasure, Hahtoolah, thanks for that too,
ReplyDeleteWell, I can't imagine that a SLOTH ZIPS away from a tree when he's decided to LEAVE THE NEST and MAKE some TRACKS across the meadow. Well, maybe he would if this is his EXIT STRATEGY because he somehow feels that he has to TAKE FLIGHT. So then what could we do to make him more comfortable?
Well, he might like some PITA bread, or a CACHE of grapes. I don't know if a SLOTH has a pretty strong MOLAR. Here's another question: would our SLOTH possibly become friends with an OTTER? Why not? If so, the two critters could certainly make a TRYST and create a pleasant partnership. That would make them ALERT to any nasty CLUES from folks like us. So let's just hope that they'll have a good life, however long that is for them.
Let's hope we all have a good life ahead of us.
Finished early, but forget to post, probably because there’s much to say except I enjoyed this puzzle and except for SCOTT, no unknowns.
ReplyDeleteI did enter OCHRE, so had to make a correction.
Thank you Hahtoolah for the fun review.
That should be forgot.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Susan G. for a Tuesday-fun puzzle! FAV was ACROSTICS.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Hahtoolah for all the extras! A SLOTH can swim??? I am going to search for a video next. FAV comics were those for ENTER, HERE, ART, and SPA. Thanks, also, for your kind sentiments. Yes, I'll be around.
= )
This one took all day! Not. Just got a very late start due to last minute fires at work to end the year. Grrr. Susan delivered a very straightforward puzzle appropriate for today.
ReplyDeleteEchoing sumdaze: A SLOTH can swim?! And fast? That's why I depend on you, Hah2lah. Your reviews are always infotaining!
"HOP on the Bus" and "Fifty Ways to LEAVE Your Lover" is the theme for this easy puzzle today.
ReplyDeleteA BAT sleeps upside down; a SLOTH just hangs with its back to the ground, but it's not upside down.
If you want BEHR paint, Home Depot is your only option.
Adam SCOTT won the Masters, but not 'this' Adam Scott.
NIKOLA Tesla- remember the idiots damaging Teslas earlier this year" The Tesla Y is now the top selling car world-wide and Musk's net worth is now over $600 Billion.
I liked this puzzle. Susan Gelfand is another masterful constructor whose work I like.
ReplyDeleteA colleague at a place I used to work was from Cambodia. He pronounced Phnom PENH as "P'nom Pen." At least that's the way my ears heard it.
Good reading you all.