Odds or Evens?
20-Across. Road trip activity with yes or no answers: TWENTY QUESTIONS.
34-Across. Uno's predecessor: CRAZY EIGHTS.
41-Across. Hasbro product with yellow and red checkers: CONNECT FOUR.
And the unifier:
51-Across. "You must consider the odds," and what can be said about 20-, 34-, or 41-Across?: IT'S A NUMBERS GAME. Consider the Odds that all the Games have Even Numbers.
Across:
1. Sleight of hand: MAGIC.
6. Film trivia site: IMDB. As in Internet Movie DataBase. It's useful when you recognize an actor's face, but can't think of his name.
10. __ golf: DISC. I'll let the golfers among us describe this sport.
14. Best Picture Oscar winner starring Mikey Madison: ANORA. Anora is a romantic comedy-drama about a young girl from Brooklyn who meets and marries the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch. His parent's aren't amused.
15. Nurture: REAR.
16. Machu Picchu builder: INCA. Machu Picchu is an Incan city set high in the Andes Mountains in Peru. Built in the 15th century and later abandoned. It is known renowned for its dry-stone walls that fuse huge blocks without the use of mortar and panoramic views. It is truly breathtaking. If you have an opportunity to visit the site, I highly recommend it.
17. Played on TV again: RERAN.
18. Years, in Latin: ANNI. Anno is singular; Anni is plural.
19. Aussie greeting: G'DAY. We learned about Australian greetings a couple of weeks ago.
23. Fashion designer Anna: SUI. Anna Sui (b. Aug. 4, 1955) was a big name in fashion in the early aughts.
24. Low-carb diet: KETO. Keto is short for ketogenic, a diet designed to induce ketosis, a metabolic state where the body burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.
25. Bona fide: ACTUAL. More of today's Latin lesson. It literally means In Good Faith.
29. On a cruise ship, maybe: ASEA.
31. Glamping options, for short: RVs.
36. Butter unit: PAT.
37. Saintly ring of light: HALO.
38. "Hamilton" actress Phillipa: SOO. Philippa Anne Soo (b. May 31, 1990) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles. She is best known for her role as Eliza Hamilton in the original Broadway musical Hamilton.
39. The Big Easy, for short: NOLA. As in New Orleans, Louisiana.
40. Mother of 41-Down: EVE. // 41-Down. Genesis brother: CAIN.
45. Lair: DEN.
46. Like some limited-release films: ARTY.
47. Hoot and __: HOLLER.
48. Bed size: TWIN. Back in the olden days, married couples slept in twin beds.
50. Buddy: PAL.
59. __ scale: measure of mineral hardness: MOHS. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was developed in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs (né Carl Friedrich Christian Mohs; Jan. 29, 1883 ~ Sept. 29, 1839), a German chemist.
60. Beat handily: ROUT.
61. Language of Sri Lanka: TAMIL. Sri Lanka is the island country off the tip of India.
62. Item on a stage manager's checklist: PROP.
63. Ilk: SORT.
64. Pizzeria appliances: OVENS.
65. Participates in a bee: SEWS.
66. Tense and irritable: EDGY.
67. Gossipy person: YENTA.
Down:
1. Bodega: MART.
2. From the top: ANEW. A crossword staple.
3. 1990s vice president: GORE. Before he became the 45th Vice President, Al Gore (né Albert Arnold Gore Jr.; b. Mar. 31, 1948) served as a United States Senator from Tennessee.
4. Tehran's country: IRAN. I think this country has been in the news recently. Did any of you watch the television show Tehran that is on Apple TV?
5. "Who knows": CAN'T SAY.
6. Baghdad citizen: IRAQI.
7. Array of course offerings?: MENU.
8. Great __: big dog: DANE.
9. Staple of Texas barbecue: BRISKET. Yummers!
10. Finger or toe: DIGIT.
11. Splashy hotel amenity?: INDOOR POOL.
12. Read a barcode: SCAN.
13. Tropical islets: CAYS. Everything you ever wanted to know about Cays, but didn't know to ask.
21. Christmas season: YULE.
 |
| Christmas in July. |
22. Brews enjoyed with scones: TEAS.
25. Felt a workout: ACHED.
26. Hunger for: CRAVE.
27. Amateur production: TALENT SHOW.
28. "The Residence" star Aduba: UZO. I am not familiar with either The Residence or Uzo Aduba (née Uzoamaka Nwanneka "Uzo" Aduba; b. Feb. 10, 1981). She is probably best known for her portrayal of Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren on Orange Is the New Black.
29. Torment: AGONY.
30. "If the __ fits ... ": SHOE.
32. Regard highly: VALUE.
33. Ringo of the Beatles: STARR.
35. "This __ about you": ISN'T.
39. Gp. that sets a zebra among the Lions?: NFL. The zebras here are the referees.
42. Surgical asst.: OR NURSE.
43. Blacken, as a steak: CHAR.
44. "Anna Karenina" novelist: TOLSTOY. Leo Tolstoy (Sept. 9, 1828 ~ Nov. 20, 1910) published Anna Karenina as a novel in 1878. It had initially been released in serial increments between 1875 and 1877. You can read it here.
49. Builders of papery nests: WASPS.
50. Like one who holds grudges: PETTY.
51. Rascals: IMPS.
52. Ripped: TORE.
 |
| beyond torn. |
53. Word before ring or swing: MOOD.
54. Town: BURG.
55. Donated: GAVE.
56. Blessing ender: AMEN.
57. Julep herb: MINT. Yummers!
58. Disney princess with icy powers: ELSA. A reference to Frozen.
That's all for this week.
חתולה
5 comments:
Not too tough, as befits a
Tuesday. Just a few obscurities, nothing the perps couldn’t handle.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
I had some crunchy granola nuggets in my morning cereal. Interesting. SOO and UZO were unknown, but filled via perps. I always say it, "If the foo..." TORE begs the question, why do my jeans always wear first in the knees? I never crawl around. Today's off to a good start. Thanx, Geoffrey, Matthew, and Hahtoolah.
Woke up early and decided to give the puzzle a go. Glad that I did - this one was fun!
Nice tight theme with a fitting reveal. Some fun long fill (INDOOR POOL, TALENT SHOW). And fun clueing, especially for NFL.
Thanks to Geoffrey and Matthew for the clever puzzle, and to Hahtoolah for the delightful recap. The microwave cartoon is awesome!!
Sleigh, sleight, slight - don't you just love the English language! Glad I'm not trying to learn it though, I stay confused enough as it is. Didn't know Machu Piccu was only built in the 15th century. Thought it was much older. Yenta or yentl - yikes ! Yiddish! I can never remember which is which. English is hard enough (see above). Steisand was yentl and yenta so that's no help. Enjoyed the puzzle and the review.
Forgot to mention that while disc golf sounds fun, what I really want to see is disco golf.
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