A Little Dab Will Do You! Today we have a puzzle filled with homophones. The last word or syllable of each theme has the same sound.
17-Across. Total left to pay: BALANCE DUE.
26-Across. Farmer's wake-up call: COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO.
45-Across. "Any suggestions for my next move?": WHAT AM I GONNA DO?
59-Across. Water on the grass at dawn: MORNING DEW.
Here's the Grid:
Across:
1. Minty cocktail associated with the Kentucky Derby: JULEP. Yummers!
6. FedEx competitor: UPS. Both companies have been delivering packages to the wrong addresses. I get daily notices on NextNeighbor from people trying to locate a package that has been misplaced.
9. No longer happening: PAST.
13. Pioneering gaming company: ATARI. Atari has been in the gaming business since 1972!
14. The two of them: BOTH.
16. Palo __, California: ALTO.
19. Decisive victory: ROUT. The largest rout in college football took place in 1916 when Georgia Tech beat Cumberland University in a score of 222 to Zero. John Heisman, later honored by having a trophy named after him, was the coach of Georgia Tech.
20. __ Na Na: SHA. Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll and doo-wop revival group formed in the late 1960s.
21. Rower's blade: OAR.
22. Anxious fellow in the maternity ward: DAD-TO-BE.
24. James Bond creator Fleming: IAN. In addition to writing the James Bond series, Ian Fleming (né Ian Lancaster Fleming; May 28, 1908 ~ Aug. 12, 1964) also wrote children's book, notably Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
25. Mineral in hemoglobin: IRON.
33. Weighty volume: TOME.
34. Golf course standard: PAR.
35. Sends sprawling: TRIPS.
36. Color wheel segment: HUE.
37. Stirs memories in: REMINDS.
40. To the __ degree: NTH.
41. Athlete from College Station, Texas, familiarly: AGGIE. The school was founded in 1871 and opened in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, hence the A&M in its name. Texas A&M was the state's first public institution of higher education. It was established under the Morrill Land-Grant Act. It began as an all-male military academy, then evolved into a major research university. In the 1960s, the school began admitting women and minorities. In 1963, the name officially became Texas A&M University.
43. Wedding announcement word: NÉE. We see this French word often in the puzzles.
44. Anti-fur gp.: PETA. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
49. Slender: SLIM.
50. Early ISP: AOL. America On Line.
51. Infuriated: MADE MAD.
54. PC key on either side of the space bar: ALT.
55. Angst-filled musical genre: EMO.
58. Region: AREA.
62. Fibs: LIES.
63. Victorious cry: I WIN!
64. Deliver a speech: ORATE.
65. Gentle whirlpool: EDDY.
66. Hoops org.: NBA. The National Basketball Association has been around since 1947.
67. Louisa May Alcott's "Little __": WOMEN. Little Women is the 1869 novel by Louisa May Alcott. It was based on Alcott's live and follows the lives of the four March sisters ~ Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy~ as they grow from childhood to womanhood during the American Civil War.
Down:
1. Quick punches: JABS.
2. Arches National Park state: UTAH. Arches National Park was established to protect over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, It was originally designated as a National Monument in 1929 before it became a National Park in 1971.
3. "__ Land": Emma Stone/Ryan Gosling musical film: LA LA. La La Land is a movie that starred Ryan Gosling (b. Nov. 12, 1980) and Emma Stone (b. Nov. 6, 1988) as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles.
4. Chapter in history: ERA.
5. Acorn producer with a pyramid-shaped crown: PIN OAK. A Pin Oak is a fast-growing, deciduous tree in the red oak family known for its distinctive pyramidal shape, drooping lower branches, and tolerance for wet, heavy soils. Native to the eastern and central US, it is popular in landscaping for its russet-red fall color, though it requires acidic soil to prevent yellowing.
6. Taxi alternative: UBER.
7. Group of whales: POD.
8. Recording venue: STUDIO.
9. Significant other: PARTNER.
10. __ gobi: vegetarian curry dish: ALOO. Aloo gobi is a flavorful Indian curry made from potatoes (aloo) and cauliflower (gobi) cooked with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and a blend of aromatic spices like turmeric, cumin, and coriander. It is generally served over a bed of rice. The key to a good aloo gobi is cooking the potatoes and cauliflower to a tender consistency, which means adding them at different stages or cooking them separately before combining.
11. Ticket remnant: STUB. Most of my tickets are now electronic, so I no longer have ticket stub souvenirs.
12. Lug (around): TOTE.
15. Gathered through the grapevine: HEARD.
18. Party snack: CANAPÉ. Yummers!
23. Dunderheads: DOLTS.
24. Raw bar surface: ICE.
26. Cold symptom: COUGH.
27. Final Greek letter: OMEGA. It's all Greek to me.
28. Beaver construction: DAM.
29. Round rubber gasket: O-RING. Sadly, the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was caused by the failure of rubber O-ring seals in the right Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), which became brittle and failed to seal in cold temperatures
30. Enjoyed an elegant supper: DINED.
31. Decide one will: OPT TO.
32. Workplace std. setter: OSHA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration often finds it way into the puzzles.
33. Melt: THAW.
37. Dominion: REALM.
38. "The Matrix" protagonist: NEO. Neo was portrayed by Keanu Charles Reeves (b. Sept. 2, 1964).
39. Alaska national park with the tallest peak in North America: DENALI. So beautiful and majestic.
42. "Piece of cake": IT'S EASY.
44. Friend: PAL.
46. Florida setting of some Carl Hiaasen novels: MIAMI. Carl Hiassen (b. Mar. 12, 1953) is a Floridian journalist and novelist. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and in his spare time he began writing novels. His novels are humorous crime stories. I haven't read any of books, but I did watch his adapted-for-television show Bad Monkey.
47. "Works for me": I'M DOWN.
48. "Maybe later": NOT NOW.
51. Like tomcats: MALE.
52. Bone-dry: ARID.
53. Monopoly card: DEED.
54. Actress Kendrick: ANNA. Anna Cooke Kendrick (b. Aug. 9, 1985) is known for her comedic timing and endearing characters in musicals and comedies.
55. Mild Dutch cheese: EDAM. Yummers! Edam is a semi-hard Dutch cheese traditionally sold in spheres with a red wax rind.
56. Dole (out): METE.
57. Wilson of "Stick": OWEN. Owen Wilson (b. Nov. 18, 1958) is also known for his comedic roles in movies and television. In Stick, Wilson portrayed a has-been golf pro.
60. Part of a celery stalk: RIB. It's the chewy part of the celery.
61. Miracle-__: garden brand: GRO.
I'm sure you all DID well on today's puzzle.
חתולה
21 comments:
I’ll just repeat an
answer from this cw: “It’s easy!”
Yes, indeed it was.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Easier, faster than yesterday's. Zip, zip, done. No drama. No Wite-Out. I can commiserate with UPS and FedEx drivers. Locating new clients on my M-o-W route can become a real adventure. No numbers on the mailboxes, no house numbers on the residences. GPS gets me close, but not real close. So I phone them for directions, but they won't answer the phone from an unknown caller. Catch 22. Thanx, RELM and Hahtoolah.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the pit bulls behind the chicken wire fences. Nice neighborhood.
FIR, but over->PAST.
I love Hiaasen's books. Most involve a fictional former Governor who becomes insane from watching the ecological damage being done to his beloved state by the cabal of crooked politicians and greedy developers. Jimmy Buffett's Ballad Of Skip Wiley pays homage to Hiassen's tale Tourist Season.
Thanks to REL Morris for another fun outing, and to Ha2la for another great review.
No good deed goes unpunished?
Yay, only one typo today. My celery section was a RoB rather than a RIB.
Took 3:48 today to bid adieu.
I knew the Actress of the Day (Anna). I didn't know the setting for someone's novels (Miami) and I feel like eventually I'll learn "aloo."
Arches National Park is incredibly beautiful. Beware if you go there during monsoon season. I narrowly survived a flash flood there about 10 years ago.
FIR. So easy it should have been a Monday puzzle. Sped right through the solve.
I got the theme early on. It seems to me we've had this theme fairly recently, variations of the word "do". Has any one else had this feeling?
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
I did the same
Lynn Lempel, Monday, December 3, 2018 NYT
SCOOBY DOO (17A: Great Dane of animated cartoons)
MORNING DEW (24A: Result of overnight condensation)
NO CAN DO (38A: Impossible for me)
POSTAGE DUE (50A: Words on returned mail)
PAS DE DEUX (62D: Couple's ballet dance)
Jeffrey Wechsler, Wednesday, January 27, 2021 LAT
17A Later than late : LONG OVERDUE
27A Gleeful Bedrock shout : YABBA DABBA DOO!
44A Busywork : SOMETHING TO DO
60A Moonshine : MOUNTAIN DEW
Robert E L Morris, Tuesday, April 28, 2026 LAT
17-Across. Total left to pay: BALANCE DUE.
26-Across. Farmer's wake-up call: COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO.
45-Across. "Any suggestions for my next move?": WHAT AM I GONNA DO?
59-Across. Water on the grass at dawn: MORNING DEW.
Musings
-My first thought was of Do, Do, Do… in Simon and Garfunkel’s Mrs. Robinson
-Misdelivered packages have helped us renew contact with neighbors
-During a ROUT, some coaches “call off the dogs” sooner than others.
-Kids were amazed when they used a magnet to pull IRON out of breakfast cereal in the lab
-My pursuit of PAR was cancelled today as our league officials cancelled today’s matches due to cold weather. It is now 45F and sunny but I’m subbing, so…
-There is no ALT key on my MacBook
-PIN OAKS used to be ubiquitous in our town but IRON deficient soil turned their leaves yellow and they have mostly died unless they did this
-ALOO as a potato is starting to stick in my cwd memory
-Marvin Gaye’s version of I Heard It Through The Grapevins is the gold standard
-I’M DOWN – Works for EMO music or Works for me
Yes, quite DOable in DUE time. I liked the COCKADOODLEDOO. One or two unknowns only.
I read Bad Monkey and got DH interested in HIAASEN; he’s reading all his TOMES. This author has quite an inventive mind for quirky, funny characters, but he also takes environmental degradation seriously.
Thank you Hahtoolah for your usual great review. So many fun cartoons.
Right on my wavelength, in spite of the 20 names. Only 2 DNKs among the 20, so that helped. I had to look at the Down clues occasionally to avoid an error, like IWON/IWIN. RIB settled it. Also 9A coulda been OVER or DONE, I had to look at the Down clues to fill PAST. However, when I finished filling the Across clues, I was done with the CW and never had to look at the Down clues, except as noted above.
Overall a very nice fun CW, FIR in 7.5 minutes pen-on-paper, with no W/Os. I finished so quickly I forgot to look for the theme, so completely missed it.
Thanx RELM for this fun, Monday level CW, which made up for yesterday's Wednesday level CW coming on a Monday. Lotsa names, which luckily I knew most of. Please, RELM, try this challenge: create a CW with NO names.
"The Matrix" is my all-time favorite movie. I liked the concept, and Reeves was excellent in it. Keanu Reeves has really earned my respect in so very many ways. Everyone should read the Wiki on him. He has so very many accomplishments, it's amazing. And his generosity is also stunning.
"MORNINGDEW" reminded me of my nickname for my GF: "Honeydew".
Thanx too to Hahtoolah for the excellent write-up, and the fun cartoons. It is obvious that you put a lot of time and effort into your write-ups, for our enjoyment. Please know that it is very much appreciated.
An easy and enjoyable Tuesday offering.
The aloo gobi looks delicious.
I did not know that Carl Hiaasen was such a creative and prolific author.
And having been endorsed by Jimmy Buffet in verse is a notable honor.
I’m going to look for Carl’s novels next time I’m at the Library.
Thanks Robert and Hatoolah.
That was "Coo, coo, ca-choo, Mrs. Robinson."
Thank you, Unclefred.
General R.E.L. Morris always has a clean puzzle and today's was no exception. I DO give him the credit he's DUE. It could have been titled "I Do, I Do" after that Broadway show from the 60s.
JULEP- I don't like drink them but they will be served at a friend's Kentucky Derby party this Saturday. She throws a big bash, with a band and all the women have to wear a BIG hat.
ANNA was an unknown and ALOO was a guess today.
Not familiar with the movie "Stick" but OWEN was an easy fill after a perp or two. Now WILSON is from a Tom Hanks movie. There's a young guy we play pickleball with whose mother named him Wilson, after the ball in the "Cast Away" movie.
Good Afternoon:
It’s been a while since we’ve had an offering from RELM, so welcome back! This was a quick, easy-peasy Tuesday solve, just as it should be. It was also a fun solve with a fun, if not very original, theme. Only one w/o, DHL/UPS. No unknowns and loved being reminded of the music and performances in La La Land. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling had great chemistry!
Thanks REL, don’t be a stranger and thanks, Hahtoolah, for another fun and fact-filled review. I echo UncleFred’s appreciation for your time and efforts to keep us entertained. Today’s favorite comics include Orca-stra, the Iron-deficient ghost, all of the kitty-themed panels, the ill-mannered shark, the melting snowman, and the celery “stalker.” Nicely done!
Have a great day.
What's a "M-o-W route"?
Thanks to Robert for giving us a fun puzzle to DO!
We had SHA crossing LA LA.
Thanks to Hahtoolah for all your time spent finding interesting information and funny comics. My FAVs today were DAD TO BE; cat advising the rooster; IRON, can of peas, tom cat, and stalking celery. Plus, thanks for the bonus Metzger cat comic.
Dummy me thought "coo, coo, ca-choo" came from the Beatles' I Am the Walrus.
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