The prolific ZDL strikes again! This time, he's imparting some of his hard-won knowledge for our solving pleasure.
60A. "Say 'aye' forcefully and project confidence," e.g.: PRO TIPS. I didn't notice that this was the revealer at first. PRO TIPS are useful pieces of advice, supposedly from someone with experience in the matter. They are often called "life hacks" on the internet, so you know they must be true.
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| Don't believe everything you read! |
7D. "Hug the shore until you reach the ocean," e.g.: SOUND ADVICE. The clued directions tell how to go around an inlet, i.e. ADVICE to walk along a SOUND.
29D. "Pair it with thyme or rosemary," e.g.: SAGE WISDOM. Just add parsley to the mix and the SAGE WISDOM would be like Paul Simon's "Scarborough Fair."
31D. "The cinnamon version tastes better than the original," e.g.: LIFE LESSON. LIFE cereal comes in several varieties, but the LESSON I've learned is that the original always tastes best.
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| A TIP of the hat to Mr. Levy |
I liked this puzzle. All three of the phrases work in place of PRO TIPS as they stand (vertically!). But their TIPS (the bottom ends: ADVICE, WISDOM and LESSON) are also synonyms of TIPS by themselves. A double dipper! That all the themers were puns was icing on the cake.
And that was just the TIP of the iceberg!
Across:
1. Completely smitten: GAGA. Just like Lady GAGA's fans - the Little Monsters.
5. Iraq port city: BASRA.
10. Policy chief: CZAR. Thought WONK, at first.
14. Like some history and hygiene: ORAL. Thought words that start with "H" ?
15. Cacophonous: AROAR. Thought NOISY, at first. I'm doing a lot a thinking on this puzzle...most of it wrong.
16. Sharpen: HONE.
17. Kiss, in CancĂșn: BESO. A Spanish kiss!
18. Piano composition: ETUDE. Not EBONY or IVORY which are the composition of the piano keys. An ETUDE is a short piece designed as a practice exercise.
19. Tiny amount: IOTA. The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet is the smallest one to write, just one little stroke of a pen, thus it eventually came to reference tiny things.
20. Email option since 1997: YAHOO. Yeah, who?
22. Genetic messenger molecule: RNA. RiboNucleic Acid.
23. Big name in the school supply aisle: ELMER.
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| Oops! Wrong Elmer! |
24. Exercise that may wind up in a playground: FIRE DRILL. When I saw "wind up," my first thought (oh boy, here we go again) was how I used to twist and spin on a swing.
27. Core muscles: ABS. Body anatomy, part 1.
30. Longtime Buick model: LE SABRE.
31. Acid rock's acid: LSD. It's how you get far out, man.
34. Neck wrap: BOA. He probably meant a feather BOA.
35. Share an office workstation: HOT DESK. I guess it's HOT because whoever arrives first gets to sit there in the accompanying HOT seat. Or is that in the boss's office?
36. Debt letters: IOU. This means I. O. U. which is shorthand for, "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday..."
37. "Casablanca" star, affectionately: BOGIE. Humphrey Bogart was above par as an actor, but below par as a golfer. Just kidding. He was single-digit handicap player, and was considered one of the best golfers in Hollywood's Golden Age.
39. Egg cells: OVA.
40. Minor disagreements: TIFFS.
42. Realm: ARENA.
43. Cars singer Ocasek: RIC. RIC Ocasek, lead singer, songwriter and oldest member of the Cars was over 30 (ancient in pop music terms) when the band struck it big. He wore a wig to fit in.
44. "What's Your Country Song" singer Thomas: RHETT. Thomas Rhett is a Grammy-nominated country music singer and songwriter who blends contemporary country with rock & roll.
45. In need of a towel: WET.
46. Tourism prefix: ECO.
47. 20-Across alternative: AOL. I haven't used WAHOO or AOL this century.
48. Gymnast's move: FLIP. They do this to see who goes first.
50. Current fashion: TREND.
52. Chest muscles: PECS. Body anatomy, part 2.
55. Exactly: JUST SO.
57. Winter fishing tool: ICE SAW. I saw you fishing on a frozen lake.
59. Anxiety-related med. condition: OCD. Amongst other letters, I have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder tendencies. I used great restraint in not fixing this problem:
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| How could someone leave it this way? |
60. [theme]
64. "Chandelier" singer: SIA. SIA is an Australian singer and songwriter known for her powerful voice...and bizarre wigs.
65. Ipanema's city: RIO. Ipanema is a neighborhood in RIO de Janeiro, Brazil.
66. Medicine derived from the bark of the willow tree: ASPIRIN.
67. Sphere: ORB.
68. Flow stopper: DAM.
69. A few: NOT MANY. I figure this is the number of you crossword solvers who also do Sudoku.
70. Sudoku figs.: NOS. Figures are numbers. So, how many of you also solve the Sudoku?
Down:
1. Prefer to be called: GO BY. The great Asian desert prefers to be called Gobi.
2. Region: AREA.
3. Nasty wound: GASH.
4. Cool and distant: ALOOF.
5. Sweetie: BAE.
6. Professional who specializes in oil cleanups?: ART RESTORER. Winner: Best Clue.
7. [theme]
8. Blip producer: RADAR BEACON. The government recently declassified sealed UFO files, and now we can all see fuzzy pics of blurry objects.
9. "__ you sure?": ARE.
10. Put on ice: CHILL.
11. Google Meet alternative: ZOOM.
12. Opening payment: ANTE.
13. Backup camera's view: REAR.
21. Output of some furnaces: OIL HEAT. The output is just HEAT, regardless of the fuel source.
23. Marvel assassin played by Jennifer Garner: ELEKTRA. In spite of her 2005 movie getting a dismal 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, she reprised her role in other Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
25. __ Speedwagon: REO. The most popular classic
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| This 1926 Model G is 100 years old! |
26. E-file org.: IRS. Internal Revenue Service.
27. "Mamma Mia!" band: ABBA. ABBA is also common crossword fodder. "Here we go again..."
28. Obnoxious one: BOOR.
29. [theme]
31. [theme]
32. Out of shape, say: SOFT.
33. Sign of disuse: DUST.
38. Lacking skill: INEPT.
41. "Wouldn't that be nice!": I HOPE.
48. Scandinavian inlet: FJORD. Before I looked at this clue, I had FJ_R_ and my rusty brain immediately went to "F-JARS." Anyone got change for a $5?
49. Saint __: Lesser Antilles island: LUCIA.
50. Body part with 27- and 52-Across: TORSO. Body anatomy, part 3.
51. Use, as a ladle: DIP IN.
53. City southeast of Alexandria: CAIRO. It looks nearly due east to me.
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| Oh, that Alexandria. |
54. Ear cleaners: SWABS. Ear cleaners: Q-TIPS.
56. Spread: SPAN.
58. "Teach Your Children" gp.: CSNY. In only their second live show ever, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young delivered a legendary performance at Woodstock in 1969.
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| "This is the second time we've ever played in front of people, man. We're scared s—less!" |
61. Choose: OPT.
62. Actor Meadows: TIM. TIM logged ten seasons at SNL before branching out into movies.
63. 401(k) kin: IRA. Individual Retirement Account.
Be good. RB
37 comments:
I hadn’t seen the theme
before I came on this site; was not aware that “pro tips” was the reveal. Now, I see it.
Thanks, RB.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
I don't know if it was deliberate or just coincidence, but the fill contained an unusual number of pop music act references, though not all were clued that way: GAGA, RIC, RHETT, SIA, REO, ABBA, CSNY. Also noted the puzzle was nearly a pangram, with only Q and X missing.
Good morning!
This one seemed pretty straight-forward until I reached the bottom tier. PRO_IP_ meant nothing to me. Plus I was thinking Jim rather than Tim. It finally fell into place. Whew. Thanx, ZDL and Rusty. (I used to do the Sudoku every day, but stopped a few months ago. I still do the Spelling Bee, Connections, Strands, and Pips every day. It's a tough life, but somebody's gotta do it.)
FIR, but spats->TIFFS, and sage advice->SAGE WISDOM.
I call foul at RADAR BEACON. AFAIK, the only thing that uses RADAR as a BEACON is our superb High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM.) If the enemy RADAR system is on the air, our Mach 3 HARM will kill it. Aircraft and ships don't use RADAR as a BEACON, and a RADAR system displaying blips isn't a BEACON.
My cox.net email addresses are now homed at YAHOO, but the addresses didn't change. The worst part was setting up app passwords and new servers so Outlook would continue to work.
I was going to link the Beatles' Rockey Racoon for GO BY:
"Her name was Magill, and she called herself Lil
But everyone knew her as Nancy"
but Rusty Brain had already mentioned CSYN's Teach Your Children, with its lyrics:
"And teach your parents well
Their children's hell will slowly GO BY"
Thanks to ZDL for another fun puzzle, and to Rusty Brain for another fine review. Here's Stan Getz's The Girl From IPANEMA to get everyone off on a smooth start to their day.
Took 6:55 today to get informed.
I didn't know this "Rhett" fellow. I don't recall any Actresses in today's puzzle, though there was an actor, some singers, etc.
I wondered if "ice saw" was part of the theme, but I guess not.
Cinnamon Life is much better than the original Life cereal.
FIR. I'm not a fan of vertical puzzles and this one did not disappoint. For me it's like doing several tiny puzzles within a larger grid. A lot of the cluing was typical for a Thursday but with a few too many proper names.
I had to come here to realize there actually was a theme. So I assume protips was the reveal? Hmmm!
So overall not an enjoyable puzzle.
Good morning. I noticed the SAGE and SOUND but have never tasted LIFE cereal, so I didn't catch the PRO TIPS unifier. My last fill was the cross of RIC and RADAR BEACON. I never knew it was a 'beacon', just radar. I agree with Jinx on that 'foul'.
HOT DESK is new term to me. I had my own office.
BOGEY or BOGIE. I always have to wait for perps.
RHETT, ELEKTRA, & TIM came via perps. Jennifer Garner must have made a fortune from those Capital One commercials. 'What's in your wallet?"
TORSO is a body area, not body part.
My ATT email address is also at YAHOO. But it doesn't matter. I never use the ATT email. I only use my gmail address.
Fun puzzle, too bad I didn’t get to fill PRO TIPS, not knowing TIM and CSNY. But very clever theme, even without that reveal.
A few unknowns taken care of by perps like ELEKTRA, HOT DESK, SIA, RIC.
The city SE of Alexandria could have been Baton Rouge, but too many letters. I too found the clue for ART RESTORER inventive.
So although I didn’t quite finish I’m happy with this enjoyable puzzle.
I forgot to thank RB for his fine review. Loved it.
Musings
-I have been a gmailer for well over 20 years
-It was fun to see Wimpy’s IOU
-We drove through WAHOO last night
-OCD – One of my main ones is to have all my paper money all facing the same way and in sequence and, yes, RB, I’d move that peanut butter jar!
-Not a huge fan of Sudoku but do Crosswords, Wordle, The Jumble and now MAPTAP
-My 80-yr-old TORSO loves the backup camera
-BOOR – Don’t we all know someone who drones on and asks nothing about you
Good Morning:
I’m a tad confused. If Pro Tips is the revealer, why isn’t it clued in a way to tie in the other themers? I think the theme is just the synonymous second words: Advice, Wisdom, Lesson, Tips. In any case, it was a pleasant solve with a few obstacles that perps solved: Elektra, Radar Beacon, CSNY, etc. I had Rust before Dust, although both fit the clue.
Thanks, ZDL, and thanks, RB, for the synopsis and silliness, both appreciated.
I too now am enjoying MAP TAP except when my finger inadvertently taps in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean as I’m moving the globe. đ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł
Hola! ZDL always provides a fun grid. Thank you.
I carpooled with a friend who drove a BUICK LE SABRE for many, many years. BUICK was always the car of choice for her and her husband.
BOGIE always recalls "Casa Blanca" for me.
I guess I can take a CSO at LUCIA.
Have a lovely day, everyone!
When I was a teenager, I was a night manager at a McDonalds. One of my duties was to make sure all the bills were facing the same way and grouped by denomination before making up the bank deposit. I've had the habit ever since. It was the cashiers' job to handle the money and get the orders out as fast as possible, leaving me to straighten out the bills.
Zachary's puzzles always carry a freshness to them. Odd symmetry, novel cluing, and often informative. And today's was eye-catching, with all those long verticals holding center stage.
Yes, it may have been a bit heavy on pop culture. But I am abashed regarding one of the pop music clues, ""Teach Your Children." I had the feeling that I should know this, but it was not until perps helped to reveal CSNY that it hit me: I personally know the "N" in the answer, and he's the one who wrote the lyrics to that song.. It's Graham Nash, whose son was one of my students at a high school where I was Academic Director.
Thanks to both Zachary and RB for combining to provide us with a pleasant Thursday interlude.
PRO TIPS does tie into the other themes. Say Aye, i.e be PRO and not anti.
I forgot to mention Humphrey Bogart (37-Across). My understanding is that it was Spencer Tracy who came up with the nickname for his friend, and stipulated that it was to be spelled BOGIE, not BOGEY. Perhaps apocryphal, but oh well--I like the story.
I also daily play the Wordle, Connections, the Mini, Stacks on NYT; I do Quordle (a Wordle knock-off) & Quordle Sequence; LAT crossword; NYT crossword (still 6-weeks delayed, via the free site); and, MapTap (I'm glad some of you are enjoying that too).
I am pleased to say that there are rarely circles involved with any of them.
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Zachary and RB.
I FIRed in good time and saw the PRO TIPS theme.
One inkblot to change FiORD to FJORD.
Unknown-to-me names (TIM, ELEKTRA, RHETT, RIC) perped. I did know SIA, BOGIE.
I remembered the Anka hit Eso BESO.
I noted REO and RIO.
I also noted a dupe with “oil” in that great 6D clue and the 21D answer. But I think the CW “rule” that they are different meanings of oil (due to the misdirection of 6D) excuses the dupe.
We had the business CZAR and not the ruling Tsar.
Hand up for thinking of noisy before AROAR.
This Canadian learned the difference between IRS and IRA long ago doing CWs.
I fondly remember my Dad ‘s 1960 baby blue Buick LESABRE.
We enjoyed our holiday in St LUCIA - beautiful island!
Wishing you all a great day.
That was my thought, also.
Hand up for moving that PB jar, having the bills all facing the same way. Plus my retro Tupperware containers are always used with the matching lid.
I guess my point was that it isn’t a revealer but, as you explain it, it’s a fourth theme entry. Then again, I may be way off base. đ
A clever and fresh Thursday offering from ZDL.
I had to brush up on my car names.
LeSabre and Fjord.
I automatically wrote in Rita ORA for 64a because she has been so ubiquitous in crosswords …. However it was Sia
Thanks RB for the fun and informative recap.
DNF. Protip_ crossed with C_ NY. Didn’t want to bother with a guess. (I shoulda known CSNY đ)
Inkover: rust/DUST, Bogey/ BOGIE, (if he was a better golfer he’d be called “Birdie” đ), Sid/RIC (should know this by now)
SAGEWISDOM is redundant. Is there wisdom that is NOT sage?
“Blip producer” was thinking of an online curse word. Seems to be a CW rule: “Russian leader” Tsar anyone else is a CZAR.
“Meadows” neither Audry nor sister Jane. SNL’s TIM
ABS, PECS, SOFT TORSO : this puzzle reminds me how “out of shape” I am. đ„č
Don’t see HOT DESK means “sharing an office workstation” ?
American car brand touring “Scandinavian Inlets” ____ Explorer … FJORD
“Do you solve the Sudoku too” ? …. “I’m one of the ___” …NOS
He puts away paintings … ARTRESTORER
Have a nice day all đ
Instead of having assigned desks, workers on part time schedules or different shifts can pop into a shared HOT DESK when available. HOT DESKing saves space and furnishings. If you can do your work on any company PC, or bring your own laptop, you just need a place to plop down.
I thought today's themers were weird. SAGE WISDOM? It does make sense in terms of the clue, since it's WISDOM about the herb SAGE, but it's hardly an "in-the-language" phrase. SOUND ADVICE? I did not understand the meaning of the clue until Rusty explained that we were finding our way around a SOUND. LIFE LESSON? OK, that was cute. I'm thankful to Rusty for pointing out that these are all PRO TIPS, from folks who know their way around the kitchen, the landforms, and the cereal aisle.
Many thanks to ZDL for a nice Thursday challenge. FIR and enjoyed it! But enjoyed it more when Rusty explained it, so thanks for that.
HOT DESK: I worked with a number of navy submariners and they talked about HOT BUNKING. In order to save space, they had too share a bunk with someone on other shift. Same concept as HOT DESK.
So hot desk is a working station that people can use as needed not doubling up like I thought it meant
I think it’s a guy thing. Women seem to be fine having a wad of money or an array of unsorted dough.
Edward in Los Angeles: anyone else b sides me write the B’s you n ABBA backwards when they appear in the puzzle.
HOT SEAT is sharing a space l ft by a previous occupant’s WARM BUTT.
Also a common term in close quarters like a submarine where sleeping is limited and crew has to rotate out of a HOT BUNK.
Interesting Thursday puzzles, especially with those long downward answers--so, many thanks, Zachary. And thank you too for your help, Rusty, also much appreciated.
Well, going GAGA after mentally seeing the CZAR setting a large audience in an ARENA A-ROAR with ORAL noise, I calmed down and began focusing on the SOUND ADVICE I hoped that the long downward clues might start giving us. Does this make me a bit of an ART RESTORER? Nah, I don't think so, especially since I don't have a clue what a RADAR BEACON might be. But I still felt flattered at the credit of recognizing SAGE WISDOM, and on the hope that this puzzle might start giving us some LIFE LESSONS.
So, to get back down to earth, let's go sit down at that HOT DESK, which might urge us to remember that we need to take care of an IOU and maybe some other PRO TIPS. Well, JUST SO, since there are clearly NOT MANY. By now I wanted to just take off and go to CAIRO, but it made more sense to take an ASPIRIN or two, and DIP INto some chicken soup for lunch. Hey, that's real life in this domestic AREA, and I'm beginning to enjoy this TREND.
Have a pleasant and productive and good day, everybody.
I do the Quartiles game. Ya gotta have Apple News to get it I think. Tough puzzle!!
When people tell me I'm out of shape I remind them that "round" is a shape.
Also, no-tell motels that specialize in (crossword favorite) trysts are said to be "in the HOT pillow trade."
18 names, DNK 8, so surprised that I managed to FIR in 14. CSNY = RB had to give me the V-8 moment. FYORD/FIORD/FJORD. NOISY/AROAR. I thought 7D referred to sailing a boat. Still think it does.
MSOS, the output of a furnace is heat. OILHEAT = a bit awkward.
All-in-all, a fine Wednesday-on-a-Thursday offering, ZDL, thanx. Those three tall columns in the center are a masterwork of CW creation. Well done. Could do with far fewer names, though.
Thanx for the terrific write-up, RB. CSNY: geez, I didn't get it? Oy. Seems like an easier week than we've been getting lately.
Another scorching day here in SOFLO. Another heat advisory today. Seems like every day comes with a heat advisory, and it's only mid-June. I gotta hide in the A.C. At 81y.o. my body simply does not tolerate the heat anymore.
Wrong generalization, Sean. I’m a woman. Or maybe it’s just a Canadian thing LOL!
Irish Miss, you're not off-base. PRO TIPS is a fourth theme entry. Really nice puzzle.
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