Land Sharks! The circles spell out a type of shark.
17-Across. Amphibians with sticky toes: TREE FROGS. Reef Sharks. Reef shark can be found in the tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Brazil.
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| Tree Frogs will also stick to windows. |
27-Across. "Moonlight" and "Hidden Figures" actress: JANELLE MONÁE. Lemon Shark. Lemon sharks got their name due to their yellowish skin.
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| Janelle Monáe Robinson (b. Dec. 1, 1985) |
44-Across. Fishy breakfast combo: BAGELS AND LOX. Sand Shark. Sand Sharks aren't as mean as they look.
And the unifier:
60-Acriss. Reality show with entrepreneurs and investors, or what each set of circled letters make 17-, 27-, or 44-Across?: SHARK TANK.
Here's the grid so you can see the sharks.
Across:
1. Practical jokes: GAGS.
5. Bit of a cloud: WISP.
9. Type of hair extension: SEW IN. Ouch! Sounds painful.
14. Shrek or Fiona: OGRE. In fairy tales, ogres are generally villainous, but Shrek and Fiona are good ogres.
15. Falco of "The Sopranos": EDIE. Not to be confused with 32-Down. Water current: EDDY.
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| Edie Falco (née Edith Falco; b. July 5, 1963) |
16. "True Colors" singer Lauper: CYNDI. Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper (b. June 22, 1953) was big in the 1980s, but she's still going strong in here 70s.
19. Flout convention: REBEL.
20. Person-shaped piece in a board game: MEEPLE. Hand up if you knew this. According to the OED, the word was coined in 2000 and was first used in reference to the game Carcassonne. Not familiar with that game, either.
21. Center of operations: HOME BASE.
23. "I saw a mouse!": EEK!
24. Lip balm brand whose name is short for "evolution of smooth": EOS. I have seen EOS products in stores, but did not know that it is an abbreviation for Evolution Of Smooth. The company also make other body products, such as lotions, and body wash.
26. Unit of corn: EAR.
36. Sans ice, in a bar: NEAT.
37. __ one's way: meander: WEND.
38. Standard: NORM.
39. Corrodes: WEARS.
40. Material that's dated using dendrochronology: WOOD.
41. Responsibility: ONUS.
42. Land division: ACRE. Are the acres green?
43. Child care provider: NANNY.
47. Took a load off: SAT.
48. Energy bite morsel: OAT.
49. "Gross": UGH!
52. Thrives: PROSPERS.
57. Sarcastic response to whining: BOO-HOO.
59. Column style: IONIC. Column styles, originated from classical Greek and Roman architecture, are classified. There are five basic classical styles: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite.
62. Brownie ingredient: COCOA. Everything you wanted to know about Cocoa, but didn't know to ask.
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| She's not wrong! |
63. Aloe __ gel: VERA.
64. Ditty: TUNE.
65. Arterial tube: STENT.
66. Formal diplomatic agreement: PACT.
67. Brand of facial cleanser: OLAY. A brief history of Olay, which was originally known as Oil of Olay.
Down:
1. "Understand?": GOT ME?
2. Match, as a subject and verb: AGREE.
3. "But for mine own part, it was __ to me": Shakespeare: GREEK. In last week's Shakespeare lesson, we learned about the death scene of Julius Caesar. This week, we are staying with Julius Caesar. This phrase can be found in Act I, Scene II. Casca was speaking to Cassius, and referenced a speech delivered by Cicero in Greek. Casca did not understand the speech, hence, "It's Greek to me."
4. Ooze: SEEP.
5. "It's our turn!": WE'RE ON.
6. Wedding words: I DO.
7. "Alas ... ": SIGH.
8. Philippine money: PESO. Eight countries use the peso as their unit of currency. Can you name them all?
9. Absolute riot: SCREAM.
10. Product needed for some hair removal: EYEBROW WAX.
11. Dream home?: WNBA. Atlanta, Georgia is the home of the Women's National Basketball Association team, The Atlanta Dream.
12. March day to be wary of: IDES. Beware ... Willie the Shakes continues. Beware the Ides of March can also be found in Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene II. It comes before the Greek idiom, referenced in 3-Down.
13. River with Blue and White tributaries: NILE. The Blue Nile and White Nile converge in Khartoum, Sudan.
18. Performers in a tiny circus: FLEAS.
22. Runs into: MEETS.
25. Iroquois nation: SENECA. One of the Five Nations.
27. Impromptu jazz gathering: JAM SESSION. We had a Jam Session last Wednesday.
28. Discover: LEARN.
29. Capital of the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande: LAREDO. I think a cowboy died there.
30. Highlighter yellow, e.g.: NEON.
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| Obviously, he's colorblind. |
31. Unknown author attribution, briefly: ANON.
33. Stuck-up sort: SNOB.
34. Actress Chaplin: OONA. Oona Chaplin (née Oona Castilla Chaplin; b. June 4, 1986) is the granddaughter of actor Charlie Chaplin (né Charles Spencer Chaplin; Apr. 16, 1889 ~ Dec. 25, 1977). She was named after her grandmother, Oona O'Neill Chaplin (May 14, 1925 ~ Sept. 27, 1991), Charlie's 4th wife.
35. Medication: DRUG.
39. "Haste makes __": WASTE. This is Not from Julius Caesar, nor is it from Willie the Shakes.
43. "Unacceptable": NOT OK.
45. Friendly feline: LAP CAT.
46. Maze-running rodent: LAB RAT. or, parsed differently, it becomes La Brat.
49. Moving day rental: U-HAUL.
50. "Never __ Give You Up": Rickrolling song: GONNA. Rickrolling is an internet meme where, when you click on a link, you are sent, not to what you are looking for, but to the song Never Gonna Give You Up.
51. Contrived: HOKEY.
52. Insta content: PICS.
53. Cheer (for): ROOT.
54. Fairy tale start: ONCE. What children's story begins with "There was once upon a time a piece of wood ..."
55. Evite request: RSVP. Today's French lesson. RSVP is the abbreviation for Répondez s'il vous plaît, which in English translates to Please Respond.
56. __ butter: SHEA. Shea Butter is a nutrient-rich fat extracted from the nuts of the African shea tree.
58. Director Preminger: OTTO. Otto Ludwig Preminger (b. Dec. 5, 1905 ~ Apr. 23, 1986) was born in Austria-Hungary. He is known for directing many films that addressed controversial and taboo subjects, such as premarital sex, homosexuality, and drug addiction.
61. Path of a fly ball: ARC.
The eight countries that use the peso are: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Philippines, and Uruguay. Although they all call their currency the peso, they are not interchangeable.
חתולה
Well, I got that actress
ReplyDeletethrough ESP. There was no other way, as far as I was concerned. Other than that, I didn’t have too much trouble with this puzzle.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteSuffered minor hiccups with GOT IT, and WE'RE UP. Guessed wrong with El Paso. Frowned at MEEPLE. Smiled at LAP CAT paired with LAB RAT. Over all, not bad for a Tuesday. Failed to notice the reveal, and never figured out the theme. Natch. Thanx, Hannah and Hahtoolah.
Thanks for the expo. I was trying to make the circles shark tank components but lemon ended that. Liked the symmetry of lap cat and lab rat. "Meeple", really?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I wasn't the only one who didn't care for the meeples. That was my last fill.
ReplyDeleteQOD: We are always the same age inside. ~ Gertrude Stein (Feb. 3, 1874 ~ July 29, 1946), American novelist
FIR, but rusts->WEARS, we're up->WE'RE ON, and tint->NEON.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was the puzzle equivalent to a "chick flick." Hair extension, OLAY, WNBA, and EYEBROW WAX. Is there any difference between EYEBROW WAX, lip WAX and bikini WAX?
Clue "evolution of smooth" for EOS? Why don't we just clue RBI as "runs batted in?" Miss Rich Norris much?
"Corrodes" and WEAR are both types of degradation but are totally different processes. "Erodes" would have been much better.
My favorite part of today's puzzle was Ha2la's review. I especially liked the nanny cartoon, as well as our old favorite "Aloe?" And that guy with the giant pill should be thankful it's not a suppository.
FLN - TTP, there is a little town near my home called Clearfield, named for the one in PA. It was built as a company town for Lee Clay Products, which was headquartered in (you guessed it) Clearfield PA.
FIR, but I struggled. Not familiar with meeple so that corner took a while.
ReplyDeleteAfter ignoring the circles while solving I went back after the reveal to get the full picture. Lemon shark was a learning moment for me.
Overall a so-so puzzle.
I didn’t recognize the constructor’s name, so I didn’t know what to expect, but the puzzle was befitting of a Tuesday, FIR in 12 1/2. Without the reveal I wouldn’t have guessed that the circled words were SHARKs, never heard of the lemon one. MEEPLE was unknown and also needed perps for LAREDO. Lots of critters with FROGS, RATs, and CATs. Thank you Hannah for the puzzle, and Hahtoolah for another picturesque and entertaining review!
ReplyDeleteDNF. Several unknowns like MEEPLE, as well as misspelling CiNDy, Dream Home, the actress at 22 across, and LEMON SHARK. BOO HOO.
ReplyDeleteWe had DORIC column a few days ago. Interesting that we have a hair removal product crossing a type of hair extension.
Not my best effort, and for a Tuesday no less, also not my favorite type of CW puzzle.
Thank you Hahtoolah for your usual fun and informative review. I like the LAB RAT with the tattoo.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI had no idea what the theme was until Hahtoolah enlightened me . I didn’t know there were Reef or Lemon Sharks, therefore, Sand wasn’t all that helpful in sudsing the theme. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough to figure out the connection but, then again, even if I did, it would still be only a guess. Thumbs down on Meeple and double thumbs down on the amateurish cluing for EOS and the gratuitous cluing for Dream. Props for Eyebrow Wax and Jam Session and the cute Lap Cat.
Thanks, Hannah, and thanks, Hahtoolah, for explaining the theme and for providing some much needed humor to this bewildered solver. Favorite comics were the Bagel/Lox/Cream Cheese “meet cute”, the lying Tree remnant, the Kangeroo “Nanny”, our old friend “Aloe”, and the Jolly Green Giant’s peas. You outdid yourself today! Thanks.
Have a great day.
Sussing, not Sudsing, Mr. Smarty Pants Autocorrect! 😤
ReplyDelete