Puzzle Arrangement in Black and White.
17-Across. * Be a little nosy: POKE AROUND.
32-Across. * Music, dance, drama, and the like: PERFORMING ARTS.
39-Across. * Squeeze-box instrument with a keyboard: PIANO ACCORDION. A piano accordion features a piano-style keyboard for the right hand to play the melody and multiple rows of buttons on the left hand for bass notes and pre-set chords.
58-Across. * Public relations manager: PRESS AGENT.
And the unifier:
66. Bamboo-loving bear, or, when parsed in three parts, a feature of the answers to the starred clues: PANDA or P AND A. There is a Panda Research Center in in Chengdu, China. Note that each of the theme answers is a two-word phrase where the first word begins with the letter P and the second word begins with A.
Here's the Grid:
Across:
1. Ed of "Lou Grant": ASNER. Before he had his own TV show, Lou Grant (alter ego of Ed Asner [Nov. 15, 1929 ~ Aug. 29, 2021]), was Mary Tyler Moore's boss. The former was a drama series, and the latter was a sit-com.
6. Flower holder: STEM.
10. Baseball officials: UMPs. As in Umpires.
14. Stir up: STOKE.
15. Bar mitzvah dance: HORA.
16. Bean fermented to make miso: SOYA.
19. __ a living: EARN.
20. Yale student: ELI. Why Eli, you ask. The name is derived from the first name of the university's early benefactor, Elihu Yale. Elihu Yale (Apr. 5, 1649 ~ July 8, 1721) was a British colonial administrator. Although he was born in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Yale lived in America only as a child, and spent the rest of his life in England, Wales, and India.
21. Song for two: DUET.
22. Apple Music predecessor: iTUNES.
24. Whys and wherefores: REASONS.
26. Invitation letters: RSVP. Today's French lesson: Répondez S'il Vous Plaît.
27. Toward the stern: AFT.
28. Store: SHOP.
29. Acai bowl grain: OAT.
36. Penne __ vodka: ALLA. Today's Italian lesson: Penne pasta with a vodka-based sauce. Yummers!
37. + or - atomic particle: ION.
38. Self-referential: META. A word derived from the Greek.
44. "__-Hur": BEN. Before it was a movie, Ben-Hur was an 1880 novel by Lew Wallace (Apr. 10, 1821 ~ Feb. 15, 1905).
45. Move like a spooked horse, maybe: BUCK.
46. McKellen of "X-Men": IAN. That's Sir Ian Murray McKellen (b. May 25, 1939) to you!
47. Alien-hunting subj.: SETI. As in the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence.
48. Royalties, e.g.: PAYOUTS.
52. Deli order: NO MAYO.
55. Ultrasoft mineral: TALC.
56. More, on a music score: PIÙ. A continuation of today's Italian lesson. Although it is on a musical score, it is not generally used alone. Composers put it in sheet music right before another musical term to tell the musician to do more of that action. For example, Più forte means Play louder.
57. "Growing Pains" actor Thicke: ALAN. Alan Willis Thicke (Mar. 1, 1947 ~ Dec. 13, 2016) was a Canadian-American actor. Sadly, he died after suffering a sudden ruptured aorta while playing hockey with his son.
61. Suppressed, with "up": PENT.
62. Toward sunrise: EAST.
63. Ore finder: MINER.
64. On a trawler, say: ASEA.
65. Gains after taxes: NETS.
Down:
1. According to: AS PER.
2. Took without asking: STOLE.
3. Big name in brick phones: NOKIA. Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation. Did you know that the company began as a pulp mill in 1865?
4. __ out a living: EKE.
5. List, as names during roll call: READ OFF.
6. Footwear: SHOES.
7. Sell aggressively: TOUT.
8. Directional suffix: -ERN. As in Eastern or Western or Southern or Northern.
9. Wisconsin's capital: MADISON.
10. Drain completely: USE UP.
11. Kvetch: MOAN.
12. Funeral pile: PYRE.
13. Comic __: informal typeface: SANS. A Brief History of Comic Sans.
18. Reach a cost of: RUN TO.
23. Rating for many shows aired at 8 p.m.: TV-PG.
25. Plastic wrap brand: SARAN.
26. Big horned animal: RHINO.
28. Recommended garment when using glitter glue: SMOCK.
29. Double Stuf cookie: OREO.
30. Env. directive: ATTN.
31. Bag-screening org.: TSA. As in the Transportation Security Administration.
32. Part of a glissade, in ballet: PLIÉ.
33. Dynamism: ELAN.
34. Christina who played Wednesday Addams and appeared on "Wednesday": RICCI. Christina Ricci (b. Feb. 12, 1980) is known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge. She portrayed Wednesday in the Addams Family movies.
35. __ acid: AMINO.
36. PD alert: APB. As in All Points Bulletin.
40. Listen to: OBEY.
41. Signature replicator: AUTOPEN.
42. Iranian currency: RIALS.
43. Summer childcare option: DAY CAMP.
47. Christmas cookie receiver: SANTA.
48. Histories: PASTS.
49. Philly Ivy League sch.: U PENN.
50. Like a fork: TINED.
51. "Kama __": SUTRA. The Kama Sutra is an ancient Hindu Sanskrit guide written by the philosopher Vātsyāyana around the 3rd century CE.
52. West Coast wine region: NAPA.
53. Fútbol cheers: OLÉS.
54. Locks on a mustang: MANE.
55. Exam: TEST.
59. "Insecure" star Issa: RAE. Issa Rae (née Jo-Issa Rae Diop; b. Jan. 12, 1985) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles. Insecure was a sit-com about two best friends deal who dealt with their own real-life flaws.
60. Supermodel Carangi: GIA. Gia Marie Carangi (Jan. 29, 1960 ~ Nov. 18, 1986) was an American supermodel who brought an edgy look to fashion modeling in the 1980s. Sadly, she was unable to cope with the lifestyle of a top model and became addicted to heroin. She died at age 26.
That's it for now. I will be taking a brief hiatus, but you will be in good hands during my absence.
חתולה
Replaced “day care”
ReplyDeletewith “day camp.” Otherwise, I had no problem with this fun puzzle.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteMy Wite-Out replacement was SMOCK for APRON. Madison was a gimme. I spent eight years there in the '60s-'70s. Never noticed the theme, but didn't need it. Never got past "Bamboo loving bear..." on the reveal. Thanx, Seth and Hahtoolah.
Thank you, Seth, and thank you, Hahtoolah.
ReplyDeleteHand up for apron before SMOCK.
Hatoolah had the Perfect Answer to today's theme.
FIR. I didn't have much trouble with today's presentation. Although I did want apron before smock, and day care before day camp.
ReplyDeleteI went through this puzzle so fast i never saw the reveal and had to come here to realize there was one. Nevertheless the theme was obvious.
Overall a very enjoyable puzzle.
FIR, but had to wait for byob/RSVP. Guess I don't go to the same class of parties as you. But I didn't erase, so I got that goin' for me. Which is nice.
ReplyDeleteEARN a living? Does someone want to explain the concept to the post-COVID-19 adults?
I don't remember NOKIA being a player in brick phones. I think we were partial to Motorola. But NOKIA did receive the ashes when Lucent Technologies crashed and burned. My late DW's retiree benefits were professionally managed by them.
I used comic SANS a lot for slides in my Project Management Professional™ exam prep classes. The class tended to focus on hard skills like earned value calculations, and the less formal font was intended to remind students that soft skills like judgement and estimating were also important on the exam, and in real life project management.
RICCI was hauntingly beautiful in Black Snake Moan, with Samuel L. Jackson. It was a very dark movie, which led to box office failure. I thought it was very powerful and I greatly enjoyed it. I keep telling myself that I need to buy the soundtrack, which is old-time folk/bluesy.
It is my understanding that an AUTOPEN can sometimes be used irresponsibly.
Thanks to Seth for the fun Tuesday speed run. And thanks to Ha2la for another great tour. My favorite was the dogs using "find my" technology. Looking forward to your return.
Straightforward puzzle theme which helped solve quicker as I went down the fill, though I needed a little perp help with PRESS AGENT
ReplyDeleteComic SANS font is a preferred font for those with dyslexia
Like D-O , I lived in MADISON for 9 years and had all my children there- nice city to live in
Thanks Hatoolah for the blog , hope you are doing something fun on your hiatus
Another smooth solve. I forgot to look for the theme, but I see it now plain as day.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t know GIA, ALAN as clued, and RICCI. I entered bolt before BUCK. And now I get SETI every time, like the OREO. The Kama SUTRA explores all aspects of love.
Thank you Hahtoolah for a great mix of info and funnies. My favorite is the one about the app for dogs tracing their humans.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI noticed the P and A themers but was still surprised and amused by the cute reveal. I went astray early on with Vase/Stem and Day Care/Day Camp, but both were corrected quickly. The rest was pretty straightforward and led to a smooth and satisfying solve.
Thanks, Seth, and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the fun and facts and the many chuckles at the humorous comics. Favorites were Hold the Mayo and the Tip Option for Santa’s Cookies and Milk.
Have a great day.
A fun Tuesday offering from Seth.
ReplyDeleteCricky .. I almost thought Rich Norris edited this puzzle.
With clues like Ed Asner, baseball officials, move like a spooked horse, etc
And no WNBA obscure coach or gay acronyms.
A most enjoyable Tuesday.
Thanks for the informative recap.
Took 3:27 today to pay attention on Park Avenue.
ReplyDeleteI knew the Actresses of the Day (Ricci & Rae), but not the model (Gia).
Would a themeless puzzle on a non-Saturday be a bad thing?
16 names, DNK 4, FIR in 11, which surprised me, it seemed to fill faster.
ReplyDeleteI learned what META means today.
If Nokia started as a paper mill, I wonder why they had a fish as a symbol?
Thanx SB-H, I really liked your CW. Even saw the theme, but not until the reveal.
Thanx too to Hahtoolah for the Truly Terrific Tuesday write-up. I just love all the cartoons you select, too.
Wisconsin's capital was a gimme: grow up in WI, graduated from UM-Madison.
After watching the FIFA matches, which I thoroughly enjoyed, the first couple pre-season NFL games seem clunky in comparison. I had a British buddy who asked me why I would watch a game that takes ~3.5 hours when it's almost all ads, time-outs, etc. I used a stopwatch to time an NFL game thus: Snap the ball, start the stopwatch. Whistle blows the play dead, stop the stopwatch. After an entire game, the actual PLAYING time was (are you ready?) 12 minutes. My Packers are gonna have a very rough season: so many of their key personnel from last year are now playing for the Dolphins. Dolphins head coach was Packers' defensive coordinator. Dolphins starting QB Malik Willis was Packers' second string QB (shoulda been lead QB, he's better than Jordan Love.) I'll qvit qvetching now.
Prof M here. unclefred, today’s definition of META works well until it’s attached to “-physics” then nobody knows what the heck it means!
DeleteAnyone else notice the nice symmetry in the top left corner?
ReplyDelete?????
DeleteI liked this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteVASE-->STEM. STOW-->SHOP (noun, not verb), BOLT-->BUCK.
Good reading all your comments.
FIR. After parsing “panda” the theme answers fell easily into place. Fun, clever puzzle. Thanks Seth. Great review! Loved Mayo on the couch, cookies for Santa tips, and Polly joke about the poke! Thank you Hahtoolah!
ReplyDelete