ANTI-FACTERIAL DISPUNSER
This is my fourth Emma Oxford crossword - the last one was the memorial to my friend Greg and our mutual enjoyment of playing poker puzzle. I breezed through this Friday fill-in, with only a typo slowing me down. Today we have five themers, no reveal, totaling 51 squares, that are a punny play on common phrases, redefined as types of ( mostly ) popular bars of soap. A standard grid, no circles, a three-knight "dog" (🙄), eleven 3LWs, a handful of names, a ridiculous number of abbreviations and/or acronyms - but - was missing just the F & J for a pangram~!
17. Soap that's easy to conceal?: POCKET DIAL - Not the "politically incorrect" butt-dial, this soap -
23. Soap that could use a friend?: LONESOME DOVE - Not the town from the 1986 Pulitzer-prize winning book ( and TV series ), but a solitary bar from this collection -
37. Soap that's super popular?: HOT LAVA - Not the exercise we used to 'play' in Phys Ed., but this -
Check out this "soap" artwork on Artsy
49. Soap that's falling apart?: BREAKING DAWN - Not the early rising sun, but the outlier, as this is more dish detergent soap - "Dawn is breaking everywhere . . . " lyric @ 0:30
Refreshing Rain scent is the one on my kitchen sink, and I buy the gallon refill at BJs
61. Soap that's perfect for adding color to a shower routine?: ORANGE ZEST - not the 'shaved' skin of the fruit, but this cleansing product -
This racing version was a NASCAR promo
But Wash, There's More~!
ACROSS:
1. Easter month, often: APRIL - It can be March - the convoluted way it's calculated; the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon after the Spring equinox 🙏
6. Apple resource with curated guides: MAPS - I am Android, so it's Google's version
10. Bygone handhelds, for short: PDAs - Personal Digital Assistan - it could be either, as in 'holding hands' being a bygone Public Display of Affection - either way, it's abbr/acr #1
14. Lift a finger?: POINT - 👉
15. Landed: ALIT
16. Reply to "I'm sure they'll be fine without you," perhaps: "OUCH." - Harsh, man . . .
19. Low-carb diet: KETO - My friend Jay was a "keto" dieter; I missed his B-day last month, so I reached out via text a week late; he responded with "it's OK - btw, I met the love of my life, quit my job, sold my house, moved to North Carolina - oh, and had triple by-pass surgery in November . . . ' - and he's younger than me. Sheesh. Reminded me of this song
Billy Joel, My Life
20. Hunk: SLAB
21. Setting of the graphic novel "Persepolis": IRAN - filled via perps, Geo name #1
22. Arrive: GET IN
26. Estimate from a contractor: QUOTE - I tried PRICE first; Bzzzzt~!
28. "Me too": SAME - I wanted SO AM I, then AS ME - which was close, but, wrong
29. Relish: GUSTO - the noun, usu. in the prepositional phrase "with gusto" - you're welcome.
30. Big name in gaming monitors: ACER - filled via perps, crossword staple, name(ish)
32. Dec. holiday: XMAS - abbr/acr #2 - only 195 shopping days til . . . the countdown clock
36. Goal: AIM - Still have the same goal / aim / desire / intent to produce my board games - and now I have a fourth one to promote, too; I ran off a simplified version of the board on paper so I could work out the play details
40. Computer file suffix: EXE - for adding programs to PCs / Windows, "executable" - abbr/acr #3
41. School gps.: PTAs - PDAs and PTAs - abbr/acr #4
43. Root vegetable related to Swiss chard: BEET - I had the "EE" from my Down fills
44. SF NFLer: NINER - AND - 52D. SF MLBer: GIANT - five-letter San Fransisco major league teams, football and baseball respectively
46. Astronomical light show: NOVA - meh. Technically, yes, but I think aurora is a better match
48. Birthplace of K-pop: SEOUL - Geo name #2
54. Signs on for another tour: RE-UPS
55. Pop diva Celine: DION - name #3 - the hot dogs go on . . .
Peter May, comedian
56. American white __: Gulf Coast bird: IBIS - mostly perps
60. Org. with sponsored Medicare plans: AARP - American Association of Retired Persons - you can actually join at the age of 18 - but I doubt you've 'retired'. I got my letter from UPS last month, saying I was now eligible for my retirement, having turned 55 in February this year - I think it's a whopping $337/mo., but I'll take it~! abbr/acr #5
63. Pop sensation: IDOL
64. Have too little of: WANT
65. Bowie's role in "The Prestige": TESLA - name #4, I had T _ _ _ A, but not having seen the movie . . . IMDb
66. Where Anheuser-Busch is BUD: NYSE - the New York Stock Exchange listing = BUDweiser beer - abbr/acr #6
67. Some specialist MDs: ENTs - Ears, Nose, Throat - abbr/acr #7
68. Autumn bloom: ASTER
DOWN:
1. Starters, casually: APPS - I was in sport mode, so I tried "ACES" - but this is the meals version "appetizers" - abbr/acr #8
2. Combine: POOL - I 64A. wanted MELD
3. Costa __: RICA - Geo name #5
4. Test pattern?: INKBLOT - the Rorshach inkblot test - I see Bigfoot from under a sheet of ice at #4
5. 5G precursor: LTE - a good WAG on my part, Long-Term Evolution - smartphone tech, abbr/acr #9
6. Spanish parent: MADRE - and another good WAG, 'mother' in Español
7. Cover name: ALIAS - my new board game involves spies
8. Support for a key player?: PIANO SEAT - cute, but meh. I wanted BENCH or STOOL . . .
Hey, I found some good-looking legs on a piano CHAIR 🙄
9. Mo. town: STL - St. Louis, MissOuri - abbr/acr #10
10. Progress tracker for one trying to "catch 'em all": POKEDEX - I figured it was something like this, but waited on perps - the index of the Pokémon universe - more here
11. Caused by: DUE TO
12. When the fate of Ophelia is revealed: ACT IV - been doing crosswords long enough to know that this type of clue is looking for "ACT _ _", so it was either II or IV, possibly other Roman numerals
13. Sparkled: SHONE - ha~! Nailed it
18. Prong: TINE
22. Jewel: GEM
24. Letters of equivocation: OTOH - On the Other Hand . . . I just read George Carlin's book, 'How to Rid Yourself of Doubt - or, Should You~?' abbr/acr #11
25. Harry's accomplice in "Home Alone": MARV - I did not know this name, #6
26. Walk out: QUIT - Dah~! Not EXit, but 50% correct
27. Home of the NCAA's Black Knights: USMA - knights #1, abbr/acr #12 - wait -
there's a whole team of them~?
Uh, no - the United States Military Academy - the West Point football squad
29. Word with age or wage: GAP
30. Took off right after dinner: ATE AND RAN - Cool fill, and a nine-letter Thwurd
31. Rock & Roll HoF city: CLEveland, abbr/acr #13
33. Grubhub link: MENU
34. Rink leap: AXEL
35. Title for a knight in Westeros: SER - I am ashamed to say, I have not seen Game of Thrones
knight #2 - Ser Duncan, in the prequel
38. Short "Duh": OBVI - 21st century-speak for "obviously" - abbr/acr #14
39. Over again: ANEW
42. Maker of Trop-a-Rocka tea: SNAPPLE - Ah. I didn't see this fill until I did the blog, and I was today-years-old when I learned that this was a flavor "invented" by the band Poison's frontman Bret Michaels for The Apprentice, though I did know he was a diabetic
45. Charges, in a way: IONIZES - WARNING~! Science content
47. Gives a thumbs-up: OKs - 👍
48. Performed in a choir: SANG
49. Scarecrow's desire: BRAIN - ooops; I put in HEART, but that was the Tin Man - no, Oz never did give nuthin' to him - and an Easter ( see 1A) Egg chorus lyric at 1:11
America - Tin Man
50. Good to go: READY
51. Money in Monaco: EUROS - I didn't take the 'plural' into account, but I did think EURO - and I also learned today that this place is a "microstate", not a 'city' in France . . . Huh
You can just see my "other" house up on the left, overlooking the Frawnche Riviera . . .
53. Taboos: DON'Ts - I had "NO-NOs", 60% correct
57. One-up: BEST - the 'Canes are one-up on the LV Knights - knight #3, and my musical pun
58. Tropical spot: ISLE - I'd prefer a trip to Europe over any tropical vacation
59. Movie lead: STAR
61. Be in arrears: OWE - "I know the rent is in arrears" - see the themer link at 49A., lyric @ 3:30
62. GPS prediction: ETA - Estim . . . oh , never mind, it's another abbr/acr, #15
. . . and here's the missing F, J
Here's my buddy Cooper - chillin' in the humidity on Long Island
Splynter
Grid Flow 29.2
14 comments:
Despite “Pokédex”
I didn’t find this puzzle too difficult. And I liked the clever turns of phrase that involved the various kinds of “soaps.”
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Two letters put this one in the loss column. TE_LA/BE_T (d-o had A) and S_R/EX_ (d--o had I). Bzzzzzzt. Hand up for exIT (Hi, Splynter), but I fixed that one. Interesting adventure, Emma. Thanx for the expo, Splynter.
I thought the "Pokedex" was probably a rating system for Hawaiian meals.
FIR, except for ser. I had sir which didn’t make sense for across, exe. Don’t be ashamed for not having seen game of thrones. Even if it costs you a crossword answer once in a while.
FIW, same error as D-O. Also, utah->USMA, cap->GAP, and hand up for nonos->DONTS.
Actually, the predecessor of 5G is 4G. LTE was just a qualifier that excused carriers when they said they were 4G, but weren't fully compliant. A Verizon guy stopped by my house two days ago to let me know that I not only have 5G now, but that it's 5G UW (ultra-wideband.) Until lately my house was in a little 4G pocket surrounded by 5G service.
GPS ETA - AKA "time to beat."
Thanks to Emma for the fun Friday frolic, and to Splynter for the lovely leggy legacy.
Hi there~!
I "beat" my GPS ETA getting down to Long Island by 25mins - just the right gap in traffic, and, er, maybe I exceeded the speed limit here and there . . .
Still got 51MPG in my Prius C 2 :7))
Took 9:51 today to wash this one away.
I made the same "i" before "e" at the intersection of "ser" and "exe". "Sir" sure seemed fine to me.
I passed the foreign language test today (madre), but I didn't know the clue for "Iran".
I'd like to thank my children for having used the word "Pokedex" at some point in the past.
From last night:
Have not done the puzzle yet, just wanted to respond to TTP and Darren / L.A.
Thank you TTP, always good info, and I have both sites saved. But unfortunately it doesn't help me if I cannot access the web address in YouTube to insert into the hyperlink.
Anywho, every day is new adventure, I found a different back door get around to obtain the address. But they keep changing it like it was Helen Kellers furniture....
(The above link was a test of something I like to look at when I begin to think the universe is against me...)
Darren/L.A.
I did not update my iPad for a year because I did not have enough memory space, even after I uploaded every possible thing I could think of. (I was stuck in iOS 18 with no way to update.). (P,s, my previous iPad was to old to accept iOS 26, i am now using my daughters old iPad which was newer than mine.)
But I did find a back door! If you have access to a PC with available memory, even if it's Windows, you can download Apple ITunes to the PC, plug your IPad into it, and just follow the automated instructions. It works quite well. (At least yesterday it did...)
Had Army instead of USMA which messed that section up for awhile
FIR. I had no idea what pokedex was so the perps made that happen. But I did stare at it for some time second guessing myself over and over. Finally I just went with it.
As I was doing today's puzzle a large group of ibises crossed my lawn looking for breakfast. Nice to see them clued in a crossword.
I got the theme early on and that helped a lot.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Any puzzle that contains BOTH the 49ers and Giants (the MLB variety) in the same crossword is alright in my book.
It will be the 49ers' home field that will be the site of the northern California World Cup games. The World Cup began yesterday, and Canada plays today, in Toronto. CanadianEh, good luck finding a seat!
I found the theme charming, especially liked LONESOME DOVE.
I too know nothing about Game of Thrones so entered SiR, and since the file suffix didn’t come to me, EXi looked OK. So FIW.
The only other hurdles, but perps helped with those, were POKÉDEX, SNAPPLE, and TESLA as clued. USMA was a good WAG, And OBVI I remembered from previous puzzles.
Anyway, I had fun with this puzzle. Thank you Splynter for a great review.
OUCH! I actually FIR with guessing in the NE. I had no idea if POKEDEX or SER was correct until I came to the corner. I made it hard for myself, filling MARCH and Costa RICA before backing out and filling APRIL.
OUCH for the clue. I guess that what you sarcastically tell somebody who just got laid off or fired.
SNAPPLE was a guess after a couple of perps.
MARV was all perps.
Bowie and "The Prestige" are unknowns but with ___ESLA filled by perps, T was an easy guess.
I have a piano BENCH, like most people. But SEAT fit. My mother has an antique organ from the 1800s and it had a stool. To play it you had to pump with our feet. To increase volume, you kept pumping and there were levers that you pushed out with your knees.
Good Morning:
What an unusual but fresh theme! Any reminder of Lonesome Dove is a winner as far as I'm concerned. I loved that book so much that I read it twice. A few minor bits, though, regarding the puzzle: It’s a piano bench or stool, not a seat; Dawn is an outlier, IMO, as it’s a liquid not a bar of soap and is better known for dishwashing; Obvi is not a word, period. While I enjoyed the solve, I prefer more of a challenge from Friday puzzles.
Thanks, Emma, and thanks, Splynter, for the chatty review and analysis. Your candor is always refreshing. Take good care of Cooper.
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