If the Shoe Fits ... Today's puzzle is all about shoes.
17-Across. Including every flaw: WARTS AND ALL. Sandal. The phrase Warts and All is generally attributed to Oliver Cromwell (Apr. 25, 1599 ~ Sept. 3, 1658). When he was sitting for his portrait, he told the artist to portray him truthfully, saying: to note all his "roughnesses, pimples, warts, and everything as you see me, otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it." Three years after he died, Cromwell was exhumed and posthumously executed by hanging.
25-Across. Like serrated knives: SAW-EDGED. Wedge.
50-Across. In the past few days: AS OF LATE. Flat.
62-Across. Radio format likely to appeal to baby boomers: CLASSIC ROCK. Croc.
And the unifier:
39-Across. Safe bets, or a phonetic hint to the circled elements of this puzzle?: SHOO-INS. Shoo and Shoe are homophones.
Here's the Grid:
Across:
1. Prepare, as avocados for guacamole: MASH.
5. When nothing seems to go right: OFF DAY.
11. Org. now known as Scouting America: BSA. As in Boy Scouts of America.
14. Director Preminger: OTTO. Otto Ludwig Preminger (Dec. 5, 1905 ~ Apr. 23, 1986) was an Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in his five-decade career He was one of the most influential directors in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1960, he directed the movie Exodus. He was born in what is now current day Vyzhnytsya, Ukraine.
15. Bubble tea balls: PEARLS. The "pearls" are actually made of tapioca.
16. Duolingo bird: OWL. Duolingo is a company that has language courses for English speakers. The name literally translates to two languages (duo + lingo).
19. Short swim: DIP.
20. Muse of poetry: ERATO.
21. Trial version: DEMO.
22. Old-school cool: HEP.
23. Ceremonial act: RITUAL.
28. Country singer Paisley: BRAD.
 |
| Brad Douglas Paisley; b. Oct. 28, 1972 |
30. Like the African dish bariis iskukaris: SOMALI. Bariis iskukaris is a traditional rice stew dish from Somali cuisine. It is generally cooked in a single pan, The name means "cooked mixed together."
31. Yaps: GABS.
34. Catch a ride to the beach?: SURF.
37. More pleasant: NICER.
38. Green prefix: ECO-.
41. Toward a boat's rudder: AFT.
42. University of __ Dame: NOTRE. The backstory of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
44. Meh: SO-SO. This is becoming a crossword staple.
45. Teeny-tiny: ITTY.
46. Consume more than: OUT-EAT.
48. Mia in the Soccer Hall of Fame: HAMM. Mia Hamm (née Mariel Margaret Hamm; b. Mar. 17, 1972) is an American former professional soccer player. She played for the United States national team from 1987 to 2004. She competed in four editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
53. Laundry container: HAMPER. I initially tried Basket. // And 27-Down. Like clothes in a 53-Across, probably: DIRTY.
57. "Pls stop sharing!": TMI. Textspeak for Too Much Information,
58. Second to none: BEST.
60. Ish: SORTA.
61. Opposite of trans: CIS. Cis is short for cisgender, which means a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
64. Post-OR area: ICU. As in the Intensive Care Unit.
65. Sentence ender: PERIOD.
66. Arthur in the International Tennis Hall of Fame: ASHE. Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 ~ Feb. 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam titles in singles and two in doubles. Ashe was the first African American player selected to the United States Davis Cup team, and the only African American man to win the singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open.
67. Egyptian viper: ASP.
68. Evaluate: ASSESS.
69. Starring role: LEAD.
Down:
1. Grass-cutting machine: MOWER.
2. Video game pioneer: ATARI. A brief history of Atari.
3. Fender guitar, familiarly: STRAT. The guitar's full name is the Fender Stratocaster. Clarence Leonidas Fender (Aug. 10, 1909 ~ Mar. 21, 1991) invented the electric guitar despite the fact that he could neither play nor tune the instrument.
4. Jacuzzis: HOT TUBS.
5. Happy Greek cry: OPA. In Greek, it would be written as όπα.
6. __ for oneself: FEND.
7. Tapered haircuts: FADES. I was not familiar with this term for haircuts, now that I see it, it makes sense.
8. Serious genre: DRAMA.
9. Green-lights: ALLOWS.
10. Fashion monogram: YSL. Yves Saint Laurent (né Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent; Aug.1, 1936 ~ June 1, 2008), was a French-Algerian fashion designer. He founded his eponymous fashion label in 1962.
11. Feline that helps control pests in a store: BODEGA CAT. I was not familiar with this expression.
12. Express disinterest on a dating app: SWIPE LEFT. Dating apps didn't exist when I met my hubby.
13. Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP. Also a high-end writing instrument.
18. Fly like a dragon: SOAR.
22. TV cable letters: HDMI. As in High-Definition Multimedia Interface, which is a standard digital connection used to send both video and audio signals through a single cable.
24. Eyelid hair: LASH.
26. Years and years: EONS.
29. Couples: DUOS.
31. Italian city known for salami: GENOA. The city of Genoa, Italy has been around for centuries. It is on the Italian Riviera.
32. Science of sound: ACOUSTICS. The word Acoustics is derived from Greek.
33. "Here's mud in your eye!": BOTTOMS UP! Where did this phrase come from?
35. Hopping pal of Piglet: ROO. The characters from Winnie the Pooh make frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.
36. Herring, but not a red herring: FISH. Where did the phrase Red Herring come from?
39. Make airtight: SEAL.
40. "Stranger Things" actor Schnapp: NOAH. I am not familiar with Noah Schnapp (b. Oct. 3, 2004).
43. Loan adjustment, for short: RE-FI. As in ReFinance.
45. Sinful: IMMORAL.
47. Pool hall fixtures: TABLES.
49. Like some lesbians, slangily: MASC. This seems a bit rude.
51. Signs of sorrow or joy: TEARS.
52. Nail salon brand: ESSIE.
54. Ordinary writing: PROSE.
55. __ Sketch: drawing toy: ETCH-A-.
56. Made a leaf pile, perhaps: RAKED.
59. General __ chicken: TSOs. Yes, Virginia, there really was a General Tso. And he liked his chicken.
61. Spy-fi org.: CIA. As in the Central Intelligence Agency. Did you know that the CIA was formally established in 1947?
62. Tax prep pro: CPA. As in Certified Public Accountant.
63. Cards with pics: IDs.
חתולה
It wasn’t too difficult, and I understood the theme early on, which also
ReplyDeletehelped with the solve.
FIR, so I’m happy.
FIR, but hip->HEP, and recently->AS OF LATE. Wanted "lipstick" for the lesbian adjective, but it was too long. Too busy for more.
ReplyDeletehow about levee
DeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteReached for my Wite-Out as I was PEELing that avocado. I noticed the shoes in the circles, but failed to read the full reveal clue. Does that count? I enjoyed the Wise Asp cartoon. Thanx, Faren and Hahtoolah. (We've got one of those faucet-sipping cats. I usually find him on the bathroom counter while I'm brushing my teeth.)
FIR. As usual I ignored the circles. Just as well since they didn't add anything to the solve. This was definitely a Tuesday easy puzzle.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, although I got the theme, I found the reveal to be somewhat lame. But that's just me.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
FIW because had no idea of what to call a store cat crossed by an African meal. Came close because the circles helped me with "wedge". It was an okay puzzle, except for the crossing that got me off track.
ReplyDeleteTerrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Faren and Hahtoolah.
ReplyDeleteEasy-peasy solve today, and I got the SHOes theme with the first set of circles.
We have had TOD and a Jimmy Choo SHOe in recent days.
I debated between lap or DIP. I’m not sure that a DIP is even a swim.
ITsY changed to ITTY. SOSO since it needs Bitty to match the clue.
I have never heard of that SOMALI food but it didn’t matter, as a couple of perps helped.
I don’t hear the term BODEGA CAT around here.
Wishing you all a great day.
We used "dip" for a swim, often preceded by "quick."
DeleteThe theme became apparent once I got the SANDALS and confirmed when I entered WEDGE. More UKNs than expected for a Tuesday puzzle, though perps took care of them no problem. I started with a lap before going for a DIP. BODEGA CAT was an easy WAG.
ReplyDeleteFADES, OPA, BRAD, NOAH, and MASC, were the total unknowns. YSL has been popular of late.
Thank you Hahtoolah for the fun and informative entries.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI liked everything about this offering, from the theme and its perfect execution to the fun and fresh fill, e.g., Bottoms Up, Bodega Cat, Acoustics, Swipe Left, etc. In addition, the themers were very solid and the reveal was a cute play on words. My only nit, tiny though it may be, is the questionable clue for Lesbians. Masc could have been clued in a variety of ways without seeming unnecessarily judgmental. That said, this was a Tuesday treat which I really enjoyed.
Thanks, Faren, and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the great review, particularly the article on the origin of the Fightin’ Irish. Favorite comics were the turkeys in the hot tub, the riff on Swipe Left, the accountants leaf raking, the Red Herring, and the Wise Asp. You outdid yourself today! Thanks for all of the chuckles!
Have a great day.
MASC..if the shoe fits....
DeleteShoe-ins?
ReplyDeleteSome Bodega Cats...
Disappointed to find most found this CW easy. I found it to be a Thursday or Friday level. Just me, I guess. 18 names, but only 3 DNKs among them, so that shouldn't have been a problem. I really don't know why it took me 15 to FIR on a Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteI don't know nail polishes, don't use them.
HIP/HEP, BETA/DEMO.
"OFFDAY" had me thinking of Murphy's Law, but that wouldn't fit, just like STINKY wouldn't fit where DIRTY goes, or TAPIOCA wouldn't fit where PEARLS goes.
ASHE and ASP make frequent appearances. Here they are again.
Best clue: Catch a ride to the beach.
Thanx FR. I got the theme with SANDAL, but it didn't seem to help me speed along. Why is the CIA a SPY-FI org. What's the FI part?
Thanx Hahtoolah, great write-up. I especially like the info regarding the inventor of the electric guitar. The link to "Fighting Irish" was disappointing. Long-winded read to end up "Nobody knows why they are called The Fighting Irish." As usual, a great selection of cartoons.
Can someone please explain to me why a DRAGON would SOAR? Is this a popular culture reference I don't know about?
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the puzzle. Looked up MASC. It seems this is a modern word meant to be kinder than the older word "Butch".
Musings
ReplyDelete-A few teams who thought they were SHOO-INS for wins last Saturday wound up getting the boot.
-Those WEDGE shoes look uncomfortable and almost unsafe
-FARM CATS are in charge of pest removal too.
-Farren put in iskukaris just to make things interesting
-TMI: A friend of ours posts at least 20 pics of her family any time they have an event but we love her anyway.
-Old joke: Skier Picabo Street sponsored a new hospital facility. It’s named Picabo ICU
-Day after day of rain has kept my MOWER in the garage
-Dating apps seemed kind of cold to me but now I think they make sense. Data. Show 23% of dates are arranged with these apps.
-GENOA: In Nebraska it’s pronounced gen OH uh. In Italaia, it’s GEN oh uh.
-When we ate at Casa Bovina, I was pretty sure what they specialized in!
-MASC for lesbian seems rude to me as well.
-Surely the CIA uses at least a few CPAs
-What Irish said, AGAIN! :-)
-Fun cartoons and info, Susan!
Addendum - Rain and not subbing makes Gary a lengthy commenter!
ReplyDeleteThat’s OK. We like your comments.
DeleteTook 5:06 today to use basiC LOGic.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the Actor of the Day (Noah), the Somali food, or "bodega cat." Luckily, I knew the Greek (opa) and the Italian city (Genoa).
Oh joy, circles!
Hola! Today was not an OFF DAY! Thank you Faren Roth. I love SHOES! I wear SANDALs most of the year but can't wear high heels or even WEDGES anymore. I don't care for CROCs and don't understand their appeal.
ReplyDeleteMy HAMPER is full of DIRTY laundry which I will wash today. It's a nice enough day to hang outside but rain is predicted for later, maybe tonight.
ETCH-A-sketch was popular in our household when my daughter and grandchildren were growing up. My youngest gr-daughter is a good artist though and doesn't need it.
ALEXA informed me that "bariis iskukaris" is SOMALI.
I knew OPA from the movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".
Thank you, Hahtoolah; it's great to see your cartoons again!
Thanks to Faren for the easy-peasy solve! FAVs were the FISH and SURF clues. Small nit: CROC feels like an outlier because it is a brand whereas the others are shoe styles.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Hahtoolah for a wonderful mix of information and entertainment. FAVs were the Oliver Cromwell hanging trivia and the IDs comic.
I cannot believe we are mid-way through September!
The northeast corner gave me fits, but after much working around and a WAG I was able to FIR! Lap to Dip. Itsy to Itty. HDMI was a WAG. Thanks Faren for an interesting puzzle. And thanks to Hahtoolah for some laughs! The ICU cartoon and the Wise Asp were favorites. Oh yes, and I almost forgot Etch-a-Sketch!🤣
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed solving this puzzle and reading all your comments.
ReplyDeleteBETA-->DEMO. HIP-->HEP.
My niece is lesbian. She's very pretty and feminine, does not look or act MASCuline at all. Scott Bessent is gay; would anyone say he is FEM?
Good wishes to you all.