Laura Dershewitz has published several children's books but is a relative newcomer to the crossword game. I believe this is only her second solo puzzle in the LAT.
This theme is rather dense (or I am!). It took a paragraph to explain it and it still wasn't clear to me. In the end, I think this is just a list of kinds of SPACEs, and the THIRD one happens to be in the position foretold by the revealer. Any of them could have landed in that slot and made no difference. I tried to sequence them into some sort of "series," but that was a red herring.
56. Gathering place that's neither work nor home, or an apt description of 36-Across in the series that includes 17-, 24-, and 46-Across: THIRD SPACE. A THIRD SPACE (or Third Place) refers to social surroundings that are separate from the two usual social environments of home (first place) and work (second place), such as churches, clubs and gyms. It's often the one that you choose to belong to with people who share your interests, fostering civic life.
17. Leeway: WIGGLE ROOM. → Extra SPACE. This gives one the flexibility to deviate from a plan and make adjustments or allow for errors.
24. Hard-to-find opening on street-sweeping days: PARKING SPOT. → Parking SPACE. A little different from the others as it can only be described by using the same word as in the clue.
36. Low Earth orbit, for one: SATELLITE LOCALE. → Outer SPACE. This is also the THIRD themer about SPACE per the revealer.
46. Period of quiet reflection: TIME TO THINK. → Head SPACE. A person's current emotional state, often implying a need to eliminate mental clutter to process thoughts.
Pretty easy for a Thursday, with lots of short fill and many abbreviations (!) necessitated by the five themers. But I liked learning about the social construct of a THIRD SPACE, so that's a plus.
And now, off to the wide open SPACES:
Across:
1. Some pricey insulated mugs: YETIS. These are very good, but are they that much better than other steel double-walled insulated coffee mugs available at half the price?
10. Keeps posted privately: BCCS. Abbrev. #1. Blind Carbon CopieS on emails.
14. Buzz word?: APIAN. APIAN is an adjective meaning relating to bees. Buzzy bees!
15. Potatoes, in Indian cuisine: ALOO. ALOO is becoming the "Oreo" of contemporary xwords.
16. "No way, no how!": UH-UH. The opposite of UH-HUH.
17. [theme]
19. Title fit for a king: SIRE. Title fit for King: B.B. (aka the Beale Street Blues Boy).
20. Possible title for a B-school grad: CEO. Abbrev. #2. Chief Executive Officers often graduate from Business schools, then suddenly are worth hundreds of times more than the COGs who work there.
21. Cam button: REC. Abbrev. #3. RECord button on a video camera.
22. Spine-tingling: EERIE. This one is very strange...
23. Hair of the dog?: FUR. Fun clue!
24. [theme]
27. Tickling targets: ARMPITS. ...and there's something funny about this one.
29. Small part of a machine: COG. In 1962, The Jetsons envisioned a future where we all work for a few very wealthy people. Prophetic.
30. Grease again: REOIL. Odd looking word that isn't used much.
31. Part of WYSIWYG: SEE. This abbreviation is only in the clue, so it gets a pass. Pronounced wizzy-wig, the acronym for "What You SEE Is What You Get" originated with software whose displayed image closely resembled its final user appearance.
32. Graceful waterbird: SWAN.
36. [theme]
40. With sharp resolution: IN HD. Abbrev. #4. IN High Definition.
41. Seer's gift: ESP. Abbrev. #5. ExtraSensory Perception, often called the "sixth sense."
42. Actress Berry: HALLE. HALLE Berry won the Oscar for Best Actress in 2002 for her role in Monster's Ball, making her the first and, to date, only Black woman to ever receive this award.
43. __ Arbor, Michigan: ANN. ANN Arbor is home to the massive (50K+) University of Michigan, the 9th largest university in the U.S.
44. Troublemaker's opposite: GOOD KID. Like my boys, the little angels.
46. [theme]
51. Western treaty gp.: OAS. Abbrev. #6. The Organization of American States is a group of 34 member countries from North, Central, and South America.
53. Alphabet starter: ABC. Three letters, but not really an abbreviation.
54. Travel stop: INN. Holiday Inns used to be ubiquitous along the highways of America. My parents took us on extended summer trips in our old station wagon (no AC!), often staying there or under the orange roof of a Howard Johnson.
55. Drive-__: THRU. Abbrev. #7. Ad-speak for "through."
56. [theme]
60. Melon covering: RIND.
61. __ bene: NOTA. Latin for "note well."
62. Wickerwork twig: OSIER. A small Eurasian willow that grows mostly in wet habitats.
63. Altar alcove: APSE.
64. Mattress choice: TWIN.
65. Inferior: WORSE.
Down:
1. Swerve off course, as a ship: YAW. YAW, along with pitch and roll, also describes the same motions in aircraft.
3. Insect with striped wings: TIGER MOTH. My grandmother used to call moths "millers." I always thought it was because they milled around lights, but looking it up now (the internet wasn't available when I was a wee lad) I see it was due to their fine scales that rub off, resembling the dusty flour on millers' clothing.
4. Othello's betrayer: IAGO.
5. "Weekend Update" show, for short: SNL. Abbrev. #8. Saturday Night Live.
6. Apple gadgets: PARERS. I wasn't fooled by the tech misdirect, but still wrote "corers" first.
7. Horseshoe-shaped security device: U-LOCK. A letter-shaped descriptor, like T-shirt, is not an abbreviation.
8. Bathroom, in Bath: LOO.
9. Fluffy pup: POM. Abbrev. #9. Pomeranian.
10. School fleet: BUSES.
11. Keyless entry sound: CHIRP.
12. Knickknack: CURIO. A knickknack is bric-a-brac!
13. Paper unit: SHEET.
18. Latin 101 verb: ERAT. ERAT is the third-person singular imperfect tense of the verb esse (to be), meaning "he/she/it was." I knew taking Latin in high school would come in handy one day!
22. What applesauce may replace in vegan baking: EGG. Unsweetened applesauce can be an EGG replacement in many baking recipes, primarily functioning as a binder and adding moisture.
23. Tehran tongue: FARSI.
24. Tablet: PILL.
25. Frozen treat served with a stroon: ICEE. It's a straw! It's a spoon! It's a STROON!!
26. Yuletide: NOEL. NOEL means Christmas in French, stemming from the Latin for "birth."
28. Like a calico cat: PIED. PIED describes an animal having two or more colors.
31. Fuel additive brand: STP. Abbrev. #10. Scientifically Treated Petroleum.
32. Whole bunch: SCAD. Usually used in plural as in "SCADs of abbreviations."
33. Feel euphoric: WALK ON AIR.
34. Close associations: ALLIANCES.
35. Must-haves: NEEDS.
37. TV host Jay: LENO. Nowadays, he's noted for his vast automobile and motorcycle collection. And to think RightBrain says I have too many guitars! Just kidding, she lets me have my toys because they don't take up garage space.
38. "That __ true!": ISN'T. Abbrev. #11. Is not.
39. "Now I understand": OH OK. OK is oddly not an abbreviation. Okay came later, OK?
43. Was full of beans, maybe?: ATE. "Full of beans" usually means one is lively and enthusiastic.
44. "The Prophet" author Kahlil: GIBRAN. "The Prophet" is a 1923 poetry collection where different people in a town ask a prophet his opinion on anything: marriage, death, love, generosity, etc.
45. Like many audiobooks, once: ON CD. Abbrev. #12. ON Compact Disc. Some people debate whether listening counts as reading. I say yes, what do you think?
46. Colorful aquarium fish: TETRA.
47. "Got it, dude!": I'M HIP. Abbrev. #13. I am HIP.
48. Daybreaks, poetically: MORNS. Abbrev. # 14. Short for MORNings.
49. Piano student's assignment: ETUDE. An ETUDE (French for "study") is primarily a musical composition for practicing a technical skill, such as rhythm or dynamics. Here's a simple exercise for beginners by Chopin to help build finger dexterity.
50. Creole-speaking nation: HAITI.
54. __ facto: IPSO. That's a fact!
56. Demo stuff: TNT. Abbrev. #15. TriNitroToluene is a powerful explosive sometimes used in demolition.
57. "Please explain": HOW.
58. Female pig: SOW.
59. Afore: ERE.
And now we're out of space!
Be good. RB
31 comments:
I vaguely remembered
one across from previous crosswords, so that was alright. And although the reveal feels like a bit of a “stretch” I think I get it.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
D-o sensed the theme, but couldn't wrap a U-LOCK around it. OSIER used to be a frequent cw visitor, not much lately. In the D.C. area, I SEE beside SLEW (both obvious and both wrong) really slowed things down. Everything finally worked out with judicious application of Wite-Out. Thanx, Laura and R-B.
Meh, fir, i did know the obscure kahill Gibran tho, a Lebanese writer and poet whose beautiful works are worth the read
FIR. I didn't have too much trouble with today's puzzle. The clues were straightforward and fair.
I saw a pattern to the theme early on but I had a problem seeing "time to think" as part of it. But I just went with it and filled it in.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
DNF. Crazy busy, at least that’s my excuse. Plus hit a roadblock on some clues.
Inkovers: esse /ERAT (IPSO?), unbolt/ULOCK, click/CHIRP (shoulda known , it said “keyless”)
“THIRD SPACING” is a pseudo medical term for the fluid component of blood vessels shifting into soft tissue spaces. (Edema, pleural effusion etc.)
Our folks to us kids at a picnic WaterMELON warning …“Don’t eat ‘the white!!” 😳
My YETI cup has been flaking on the outside. Am I not supposed to put it in the dishwasher?
Matchmaker: PARER
The 3 Stooges, often : PIED
Gorilla-like: APIAN
Enjoy the rest of the day 🙂
Good Morning:
I am totally confused as I thought the Third Space reveal was based on the descriptive second part of each themer, which is a synonym for Space: Room, Spot, Locale. I never considered Time to Think as part of the theme. RB’s explanation is far more sophisticated, however. In any case, Third Space is a new phrase for me, although I understand the concept. Where am I when all of these new additions to the language are coined? Puzzle-wise, no complaints other than the solve being on the easy side for a Thursday and the confusion about the theme.
Thanks, Laura, and thanks, RB, for your take on the theme and all the fun visuals, especially the Pom and the Calico. Impressive guitar collection, BTW.
Welcome to the Thursday slot.
Have a great day.
Musings
-Is THIRD SPACE an “in the language” phrase?
-This theme reminded me ofthis Jack Lemmon movie which served as an infamous THIRD SPACE
-TIME TO THINK did not seem to fit the other two gimmicks as a “place”. I guess I’ll accept RB’s explanation. :-)
-Today the overly aggressive tickling (until we cried) by my uncles might be considered abuse
-Michigan University’s football program has had a recent national championship along with scandals
-I have used a drive-THRU, made my order and then added “to go”. Doh!
-Red OSIER dogwood add color to our winter landscape
-I should probably quit mentioning that a vehicle can YAW and still be on courses
-LEO is a familiar NASA acronym for the path of space vehicles like the ISS
-Now that’s SCADS of guitars, RB!
-Full of beans around here means a person is lying or exaggerating
-That ETUDE with 4 flats and SCADS of notes looks very difficult
-Me too, Irish!
Faster than usual Thursday - many answers were filled by perps
But I'm glad I had the blog because I had the straighforward ends of ROOM, SPOT, LOCALE and didn't figure out how TIME TO THINK fit in the theme.
IN HD and ON CD were fun clecho answers
Thanks RB for being the Thursday regular and to Laura for the puzzle
Tricky Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Laura and RustyBrain.
Officially a FIW as I chose the wrong letter in my alphabet run for the 1A 1D cross. OH OK I should have known JETI.
And I echo Irish Miss re the theme, as I was just looking at ROOM, SPOT, LOCALE as SPACE and thought THINK was an outlier. Thanks RB for elucidating.
I waited for perps to decide LOO or Lav after past experience this week.
Perps were also needed to spell GIBRAN correctly, and to narrow down the “graceful water bird” to a SWAN.
I had Click before CHIRP.
Applesauce can also replace oil or shortening, but it was used for EGG in today’s recipe.
Calico cats are 99% female as well as PIED.
This Canadian had no idea what a B-school is! Sounds like a spot for underachievers not CEOs.
Canadians (and perhaps more countries that I cannot speak for) are learning that ALLIANCES like OAS may be meaningless in the new world order.
Wishing you all a great day.
The only thing that threw me off was after having SPACE and SATELLITE, I put in LUNAR MOTH. And crossing the N, I wrote SINGLE ROOM. Oops. Sussed it out eventually.
I did notice that there were thankfully so few proper names in this CW that I forgive it its confusing theme fills. I too was thrown off by TIME TO THINK.
In the north, I kept amAT far too long and waited to fill LOO. So that area was the last to fall. Otherwise, easy enough. Fovea the clue for FUR.
The only cat that ever lived with me was a CALICO.
I never thought of apple sauce as EGG replacement. I’ve used it to replace OIL or butter.
Thank you RB for racking your BRAIN for us trying to figure the theme.
That should be favorite. Spell check gets weird so,etimes.
I give up. Sometimes.
Took 9:58 today to hit the space bar.
I usually don't pay attention to the theme while solving, and this is certainly no exception.
I knew the Actress of the Day (Halle), but I didn't know today's writer (Gibran) or "Latin 101 verb" (erat), which is in the running for worst clue of the month/year.
Rusty brain! Nice guitar collection! (Hmm, reminds me i should buy another guitar... :)
Pleasant little head scratcher. Not too difficult. I did get sidetracked though, things like:
I stared at alphabet starter... I never noticed before that the word alphabet is made up (partially) of alpha, and beta... hmm, more research needed... very curious...
I also stared at third space, thinking maybe it should be third place, and then trying to change all the perps in my head to make place fit instead of space...
(Im still trying...)
But, of course, RustyBrain made it crystal clear by pointing out satellite location is in space. Parking spot/parking space, even wiggle room is extra space, very clever! But how to explain "think." Of course! Head space! Excellent!
Wait a sec,,,,
That's not 3 spaces, that four spaces!... what the heck is going on here!
Oh crikey! I need to do some 46 across...
(46. Period of quiet reflection: TIME TO THINK. → Head SPACE. A person's current emotional state, often implying a need to eliminate mental clutter to process thoughts.)
Hmm, no it's not working... (I think I have too much space up there...)
Easy puzzle for a Thursday. I solved as a themeless, as I usually do, and after filling in 56A, am glad I did.
A theme that needed a paragraph to explain? Outside of that, it was still a finely crafted puzzle.
Fast FIR this morning, with a couple of really nose-wrinkling clues. Most PadLOCKS have U-shaped HASPS, and if you confuse grease and oil around machinery, it could result in some pretty expensive repair bills! Now, as for the theme...???? I'm glad Rusty could come up with some kind of explanation, because I sure couldn't!
You've got GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome)!
LOL underachievers at a B-school!
FIR, but slew->SCAD, and i see, then ah ok for OH OK.
Finished before I went to Mohs surgery, but I didn't have time to comment. Surgery went well and was nearly painless. (They told me that the pain will come after the lidocaine wears off.) I should have had this done before Halloween - my head looks like a character in 1999's The Mummy. (The mummification gets removed Saturday.)
I finally learned that ALOO = spuds.
No problem with HIP, not hep, today.
Never heard of THIRD SPACE, but when I figured it out, mine would be Girls, Girls, Girls and Beer. (Homage to Penny in the old sitcom Brothers.)
Thanks to Laura for another fun puzzle. My favorite was leeway for WIGGLE ROOM. Least favorite was "no way, no how" for UHUH (just because I am disgruntled with grunted fill.) And thanks to our rusty one for another fine review.
Easiest CW of the week, FIR in 10. I love that there are only 9 names, only one DNK (YETIS). One W/O: UBOLT/ULOCK. Isn't it interesting that you hear OK all over the planet, virtually every language. I've never thought of armpits as tickling targets, and don't believe I've ever seen anyone tickle someone's armpit. I can't even visualize it. I enjoyed this CW, thanx LD. Keep creating good low-name-count CWs. Thanx RB for all the time and effort you put into this very fine write-up.
To me LEO is short for Law Enforcement Officer.
I had no unknowns other than THIRD SPACE; never heard that term. And I still don't see how THINK is a space. My 'brain' is 'rusty' and dense of that one. I'd never heard the term U-LOCK but it was an easy fill. I guess it's a UBOLT with a lock on one end.
The only changes were SLEW to SCAD and the spelling of EPICURIAN to EAN to made RE-OIL fit.
OAS- is Venezuela a member?
LAME!!
Was merrily ripping right THRU Laura’s grid, but came to a screeching halt in FL — never have heard of OSIER (thanks for the illumination, R.B.) but the perps and ERE got me through to a FIR. Sometimes it’s nice to just be able to cruise through a CW without shouting great obscenities at it.
Like Husker G., where I’m from, the phrase “full of beans” means full of something else…
I’m loving your collection of axes, Rusty Brain — and that’s a really nice rail system you have to hang them for display (humidified room I presume). No Taylors or Martins? 😎 I, too, have GAS; but my problem is I can’t afford to fill the tank…
Btw, are you sure your “stroon” isn’t a “spaw”? 🤣
====> Darren / L.A.
I think I like "spaw" better! LOL. Every room in Florida is under AC and thus humidified. Acoustics are in another room highlighted by a Martin D-42 and a Gibson EC-30 Blues King.
Anarkie
This marks a whole week of posting a comment for me. And I’ve discovered that posting is more difficult than the puzzle! I always manage to screw up something!
No problems with the puzzle. Thank you RB for ‘splaining the theme!
Your solving ability?
oooo…I am suitably jealous!😎
====> Darren
I liked this puzzle.
Unconscionably late to the party -- life! -- but had to express admiration for RustyBrain's handling of the theme. I had no clue how TIME TO THINK fit the theme until Rusty explained it. Otherwise, a fresh and fun puzzle, Laura. Many thanks to you both.
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