Let's catch some Zs!
Michael Hobin''s third LAT crossword uses an oversized 16x15 grid to accommodate four long themers plus a reveal.
39. "We're dressed the same!," or a phonetic feature of 18-, 25-, 51-, and 62-Across: TWINSIES. The homophone of the revealer is TWIN Zs, as in a pair of Zs, which all the themers have in common. Here's a pair of TWINSIES who also happen to be identical "cuzzins!"
18. Humvee or motor home, typically: GAS GUZZLER. Vehicles that get few miles-per-gallon, or even gallons-per-mile like this M1 Abrams tank driving through a neighborhood on its way to a gas station.
25. Cookies-and-cream Dairy Queen treats: OREO BLIZZARDS. Different sort of way to sneak our old fav OREO in to the puzzle, but I'll bet it tastes good!
51. Exciting points in time?: BUZZER BEATERS. These are successful last-second shots, usually in basketball, where the ball leaves the player's hands and time expires while it's traveling in the air.
62. Pi Day celebration, perhaps: PIZZA PARTY. Pi Day is March 14th, sometimes written 3.14, which happen to be the first three digits of the irrational number π. So, I guess PIZZA pies are in order (or on order!).
Pretty straightforward puzzle and all those Zs made for some interesting crosses without making me sleepy! Huzzah!
Across:
1. Pitiful cry: MEWL.
5. Treaty: PACT.
9. "__ the bag!": IT'S IN. Sometimes, these are "famous last words."
14. Many an April baby: ARIES. I'm an ARIES from late April in the cusp of Taurus, known as the Cusp of Power. I am all powerful! RightBrain says, "Great. Can you also unclog the sink?"
16. Dubliner's home: EIRE. EIRE is the Irish Gaelic name for Ireland.
17. Awaken: ROUSE.
18. [theme]
20. Fruit in a fritter: APPLE. A fritter is a portion of meat, fruit or vegetables that have been battered and deep-fried.
21. Caterer's heat source: STERNO.
22. Ace stat: ERA. An ace baseball pitcher has an Earned Run Average under 3.0. The league average is 4.50 based on the number of runs allowed during 9 innings, so the lower the better.
24. Listen to: HEED.
25. [theme]
29. Ski lodge drink: COCOA. Perfect for warming up après-ski.
32. Believes (in): HAS FAITH.
33. Golfer Jon who won the 2023 Masters Tournament: RAHM. Jon RAHM Rodríguez is a Spanish professional golfer who plays on the LIV Golf League. He also won the 2021 U.S. Open.
34. [Finger over lips]: SHH. 🤫
35. Capt. Kirk crewmate: LT. SULU. Captain is abbreviated, therefore Lieutenant is too. I just saw George Takei on the Star Trek float in the Rose Bowl Parade celebrating 60 years since the first voyage of the Starship Enterprise. It drizzled in Pasadena, so he deployed an old-fashioned force field to stay dry.
38. Sashimi choice: AHI. AHI tuna.
39. [theme]
42. Smith and Jones sci-fi film: MIB. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones play the main characters in the science fiction film Men In Black, Agent J and Agent K, respectively. They could've used the common aliases Smith and Jones instead.
43. Ball State University city: MUNCIE.
45. NBC founder: RCA. The National Broadcasting Company established the Radio Corporation of America as a subsidiary in 1926.
47. Huge storage unit: TERABYTE. I wonder how many TERABYTEs this huge storage unit could hold?
50. Patron: DONOR.
51. [theme]
54. Home to billions: ASIA. But New York City is home to the most billionaires.
55. Four-sided figs.: SQS. Squares are four sided figures.
56. Obviously a fan of needlework?: TATTED. Great misdirect meaning tattooed, playing on the use of needles in tatting, which is making lace.
60. Many new drivers: TEENS. Like 28D: Jeremy in ZITS.
62. [theme]
65. Egypt's Mubarak: HOSNI. HOSNI Mubarak was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st prime minister from 1981 to 1982.
66. Meeting proposal: IDEA.
67. Nobility: ELITE.
68. Execution key: ENTER.
69. Half a salad grabber: TONG. I initially wanted a fork or spoon.
Down:
1. Periodicals, briefly: MAGS. Remember when all magazines were printed?
2. The "E" of QED: ERAT. From the Latin phrase Quod ERAT Demonstrandum meaning "that which was to be demonstrated" or proven.
3. Learned: WISE.
4. First-class feature: LEGROOM. I enjoy extra LEGROOM on planes, but seatbacks that reline into "my" space are a buzzkill.
5. Treat from a dispenser: PEZ. It is estimated that over 1500 unique designs were made. Collect them all!
6. Feel unwell: AIL.
7. Angler baskets: CREELS. Wicker baskets for carrying fish.
8. "Totes fab!": TERRIF. One bad slang leads to another...
9. Tax efficient fund, for short: IRA. Individual Retirement Account.
10. Headgear for Jiminy Cricket and Scrooge McDuck: TOP HATS. Jiminy Cricket and Scrooge McDuck famously interact in Disney's Mickey's Christmas Carol, where Jiminy plays the Ghost of Christmas Past.
11. All-powerful: SUPERHUMAN. Me, as a result of being born during the Cusp of Power! Muahaha!!
12. Marooned, perhaps: ISLED. I never used this as a verb, and neither did Gilligan.
13. "Who __ them?": NEEDS. I do!
15. The Arkestra jazz band leader: SUN RA. SUN RA was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy and prolific output.
19. "Lioness" actress Saldaña: ZOE. The constructor needed someone with pizazz.
23. "Fancy" artist Iggy: AZALEA. And someone with frizzy hair.
26. Surprised greeting: OH HI.
27. German route: BAHN. Their AutoBAHN is equivalent to our interstate system, except some sections have no speed limit.
28. Comic strip about a high schooler: ZITS. ZITS centers on teenager Jeremy Duncan as he endures the insecurities, hormones and hilarity of adolescence.
29. Study feverishly: CRAM.
30. Honolulu locale: OAHU.
31. Most tacky and cheap: CHINTZIEST. It's definitely not snazzy!
34. Takes an oath: SWEARS.
36. Prom rental: LIMO. Prom is short for promenade while limousine is long for LIMO.
37. Company that succeeds by driving its customers away: UBER. Good one!
39. Hankook product: TIRE. Hankook is a major South Korean TIRE manufacturer.
40. Sp. miss: SRTA. A senorita is a Spanish miss.
41. "The Coldest Rap" rapper: ICE T.
44. "The Card Players" painter: CEZANNE. "The Card Players" is a series of five oil paintings by the French artist, one of which sold in 2011 for $250 million. Got any 5s?
46. Age badly, in a way: GO STALE.
48. Grill master's spot: BBQ PIT. A place to sizzle!
49. "That's true about me": YES I DO. I wanted YES IT IS.
50. Hang over: DRAPE.
51. Get into hot water: BATHE. Fun clue.
52. Apply to: USE ON.
53. GPS calculation: ETA. The Global Positioning System can provide an Estimated Time of Arrival.
57. Subj. where teachers go off on tangents?: TRIG. In the subject of TRIGonometry, the tangent function relates the angles and sides of a right-triangle, as seen in this simple diagram:
58. Blues Hall of Famer James: ETTA.
59. Like the Chicago River on March 17: DYED. That's St. Patty's Day so I wanted "green," but it didn't fit.
61. Round Table title: SIR.
63. __ garden: ZEN. A little Z word.
64. Take a turn?: ZAG. And a final Z.
The quizzing has ended. Were you dazzled, or did this fizzle?
Be good. RB
32 comments:
It wasn’t too hard,
especially for a Thursday. I pretty quickly figured out that “Z’s” would be the theme.
And with at least one “Q” and a bunch of “Z’s” I started to wonder if this could possibly be a pangram, but then didn’t see “J”, “K”, etc. so I guess not.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Missed the reveal, but did notice all the Zs. I'm countin' it. This was generally fun, though ISLED was ugly. Thanx, Michael and Right-Brain. (Methinks it was RCA that founded NBC, not the other way around.)
The clue is “NBC founder”, as in who is the founder of NBC. RCA is correct.
Anonm, you miss the point. D-O was referring to Rusty's commentary, which is ass-backwards. But we'll give him some slack. After all, it is the fourth Monday of the week.
Took 8:29 today without being bumfuzzled.
I didn't know Hosni or Sunra (which has jaZZ in the clue), and struggled with the German road (bahn) and Spanish abbreviation (srta). Otherwise, a fine puzzle.
FIR with no erasure.
I'll have you know that my motor home is not a GAS GUZZLER. It's a diesel GUZZLER, as in 7.5 MPG on average. That hundred-gallon tank comes in handy.
Execute key=ENTER? Doesn't anyone double-click anymore?
DNK Lioness or ZOE, but I liked the CSO to my aged greyhound Zoё.
Fancy is a hit song by Bonnie Gentry, well-covered by (crossword-favorite) Reba.
Never had Hankook TIREs. I used to be a Michelin guy, but now my favorite brand is Toyo.
I thought that The Card Players was that painting on velvet you see at flea markets, featuring dogs engaged in poker.
After reading "totes fab," I was afraid to fill "ace stat." I know it means something different to Patti than to me, but even if we see it here another 20 times, I still won't remember what she means.
Thanks to Michael for the fun puzzle, although it would have been more enjoyable without the two rappers, the Arkestra guy, and Lioness. But especially the rapper AZALEA, which could have been clued in relation to Agusta in April, reminding us that this cold, dark winter won't last forever. That would have been masterful. And thanks to Rusty Brain for the fun review. Here's the BUZZER BEATER that is still burned into my brain. It's from the 1992 Elite 8 game between Kentucky and Duke. One of the greatest college bball games ever played. (You can still get tee shirts with a Kentucky outline, and "I still hate Laettner" emblazoned across the chest.)
FIR. I had a unique disadvantage today as my newspaper cut off some of the down clues. I was left to guess 5 (partial), 39, 51, and 64 down just from perps. Fortunately I was able to correctly. But it was an extra challenge.
I got the theme with guzzler, and that helped tremendously with the fill.
Despite the print error, this was an enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
The revealer was quite clever and fit the theme to a T. Thumbs down to Totes Fab and Isled, but thumbs up to fill as fresh as Chintziest, Super Human, B B Q Pit, Leg Room, Has Faith, Go Stale, etc. Sun Ra, Cezanne, Tire, as clued, and MIB needed perps and I also went astray at Meow/Mewl and Droop/Drape. Overall, though, it was an enjoyable solve and fun to see all the Z words.
Thanks, Michael, and thanks, RB, for the great review, humor and the striking photos.
Have a great day.
Jinx, I had the exact same thought about The Card Players painting and thought it odd that Cezanne was the artist! RB’s photo dismissed that silly notion.
I forgot to write that I knew the Actress of the Day (Zoe), and am a big fan of the Lioness series. It's a great combination of action and drama.
Oops, Rusty-Brain, not Right-Brain.
Once I got the theme, I heard myself chuckle. Congrats to the constructor, it couldn’t have been easy to come up with all those Z words. BUZZER BEATER was a guess because I’m not familiar with this phrase.
Some unknown names like RAHM as clued, I would have preferred Emanuel as clue. Other unknowns, SUN RA, AZALEA as clued.
One error I overlooked, I had TATTEr, so nonsense fill rYED for the Chicago river.
YES I DO is kind of a puzzler for me.
Thank you RB for the fine review, good info.
Musings
-EGAD! You’ve got a 2-point lead and the other team has the ball 90’ from the basket; IT’S IN the bag. Then they throw in a BUZZER BEATER.
-Our dear commenter and constructor Irish Miss, worked in an RCA distributorship with a huge model of Nipper (His Master’s Voice) on the roof in Albany, N.Y.
-In The Music Man, Zaneeta Shinn used a variation of EGAD, “Ye Gods”
-Fortunately, SUN RA filled itself in during my solve
"What a revoltin' development!" was the trademark expletive bellowed by some comedian (Jackie Gleason?) in the early days of TV. Anyway, I just had a revoltin' development a few minutes ago when my comments just up and disappeared.
I won't try to replicate them (eloquent though they were). Briefly, I found Michael's entry today to be entertaining and clever. And daring: look at all those Z's! What's next? A puzzle full of Q's?
And one of my favorite comic strips, Zits, even made an appearance.
So thanks, Michael, for your Thursday-appropriate challenge that proved a treat for the solver. And thanks, RB, for emceeing us in your usual illuminating way.
Came close to a DNF. The mid and southeast were peppered with blanks but stopped and defrosted the big basement freezer then returned. With my mind de-iced came up with Inkovers: rte/ETA, droop/DRAPE, fork,tine/TONG and everything south fell into place But Nooo I see I’ve finished it wrong with MEWS/SAGROOM/ARIAN/NUNRA 🫤 … EGAD!!
“Hankook”? ISLED? Yesterday it was ONESIE today TWINSIES
LIMO for a “porn rental”? Sorry read that wrong. 😃. Liked the UBER and BATHE clues
“Home to billions” Musk didn’t perp 😉
“Treated from a dispenser” PEZZED?
Off today week. Taking a drive to the Adirondacks, hope that camp is still standing. 🤞
Tricky Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Michael and RustyBrain.
I thought I FIRed, but arrived here to find that “apply to=USE ON” not USE iN. I did not remember the Egyptian name, and HiSNI was as good as HOSNI to me.
But I did get the TWIN Zees theme, although it doesn’t work for Canadians who say TWIN Zeds. LOL!
I faced a plethora of unknown names today, but perps saved the day (except as above).
Hand up for thinking of Green before DYED fit.
It took a moment for GO STALE to parse correctly.
I noted HEED crossing NEEDS, and smiled at AHI and OH HI.
Favourite was the clue for TERABYTE, which gave an Aha moment
Wishing you all a great day.
I enjoyed today’s puzzle, with fun themers and a surprising and clever reveal. Some cute clueing, as well: BATHE, DRAPE.
We leave tomorrow for 2 1/2 weeks in New Zealand! Hoping for decent LEGROOM on the long flight from San Francisco to Christchurch. . .
Thanks to Michael for the entertaining puzzle, and to RB for the buzzy recap! Love how you used “pizazz” for Ms Saldana!
HG, how sweet of you to remember my long-ago working days under Nipper’s watchful eye! Nipper is considered a treasure and famous landmark of Albany. 😉
Safe trip, Kat. Enjoy your stay.
DNF for me today. Just couldn't get on the frequency today. Too many entries not in my data bank. I've heard the term ENisled, but never ISLED. Most of the names, with the exception of ETTA, were complete unknowns to me. I have heard of Cezanne, but I too was thinking of the poker-playing pups.
I really think "TERRIF" might be one of the worst fills they've ever published haha
I totes agree with you!
Hola! I had a fun time with the double Zs. Those are not often used so kudos to Michael Hobin for the clever construction. HOSNI Mubarak was often in the news when he was in power and for some reason I remembered the name. TWINSIES sweater sets were all the rage in the 50s when I was in high school. I even remember a photo of Mrs. Goldwater in the newspaper sporting a set of TWINSIES. Of course, it didn't last long because in Arizona we can't wear sweaters for long. The winter is very short.
I see we have a new clue for Ms. ETTA James.
Luckily, I don't need much LEG ROOM because I'm short, but I feel bad for those who need it. During my recent trip I saw a man with very long legs trying to accommodate his and it looked uncomfortable.
I love reading the comic strip ZITS.
Enjoy your day, everyone!
Excellent puZZle tody, Mr. Hobin! I raced through the north, and slowed considerably in the south, but FIR and enjoyed it. RustyBrain, what a fine review! Kudos!
TODAY, not tody!
I enjoyed this one. I saw the ZZs early on. I agree that "isled" was forced but wasn't a big deal to me. "Terrif", now that hurt. I do love a Blizzard from time to time. I have never heard of Arkestra Jazz much less a bandleader. But I am not a jazz fan. Oldies for me thanks. I enjoyed the recap RustyBrain.
You are correct! RCA founded NBC, not the other way around. Mondays! LOL
Another prominent sign over Albany or nearby Schenectady, was the General Electric logo on their huge plant where my dad and grandfather worked.
Hundred gallon tank = 54A = "Home to billions" in your case dollars! Oy!
So did mine! Sometimes it runs past the bottom margin, so I always take the time to adjust the margin to "Custom" and give it a little more printing room at the bottom. When the clues weren't there today I thought, "You big dope! You forgot to adjust the bottom margin!" But when I went back and looked at the CW in the newspaper, nope, it just didn't include the one's you listed. A bit harder to fill with no clue at all!
Sounds more like Jimmy Durante.
Got 'er done, FIR in 16, and, guess what, even got the theme...early on even!
"Buzzard beater" as a clue with "hyena" as an answer coulda been another theme clue.
54A "Home to billions" I wish I could answer "My bank account", but, unfortunately, not even close. Dang.
35A I thought of OHURU (which I can never remember the spelling) but it didn't fit anyway.
Overall, a good, fun CW, thanx MH.
Thanx too to RB for the terrific write up. Loved the 'toon. Your comment at 9A "Famous last words" reminded me of, "Hey, y'all, watch this!" Didn't know about SunRa, but took the time to give a listen, and sounds like a Coltrane wannabe, failing badly.
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