Katy Steinmetz is a poet and she knows it. She should try her hand at songwriting!
All of the following themers rhyme a "newsworthy" object with a synonym for a reporter's point of view.
17. Reporter's approach to a story about a bracelet?: BANGLE ANGLE. But this could've been an entertainment reporter's review of a BANGLEs concert...
23. Reporter's approach to a story about a doppelgänger?: TWIN SPIN. ...or a Bee Gees concert.
35. Reporter's approach to a story about a male duck?: DRAKE TAKE. ...or a DRAKE concert.
50. Reporter's approach to a story about a picnic pest?: ANT SLANT. ...or an Adam ANT concert.
57. Reporter's approach to a story about a spring bloom?: CROCUS FOCUS. ...or even of FOCUS playing Hocus Pocus. (There also was a rock band in the '80s called KROCUS.)
Well, this one from our bard wasn't hard. Once you gleaned the scheme of the theme (which was after the first one), knowing they all were rhymes made it easy peasy. And with five of them, the rest was pretty much run-of-the-mill fill.
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| (with apologies to Paul Simon) |
All of the following themers rhyme a "newsworthy" object with a synonym for a reporter's point of view.
17. Reporter's approach to a story about a bracelet?: BANGLE ANGLE. But this could've been an entertainment reporter's review of a BANGLEs concert...
23. Reporter's approach to a story about a doppelgänger?: TWIN SPIN. ...or a Bee Gees concert.
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| TWINs born on December 22, 1949 |
35. Reporter's approach to a story about a male duck?: DRAKE TAKE. ...or a DRAKE concert.
50. Reporter's approach to a story about a picnic pest?: ANT SLANT. ...or an Adam ANT concert.
57. Reporter's approach to a story about a spring bloom?: CROCUS FOCUS. ...or even of FOCUS playing Hocus Pocus. (There also was a rock band in the '80s called KROCUS.)
Well, this one from our bard wasn't hard. Once you gleaned the scheme of the theme (which was after the first one), knowing they all were rhymes made it easy peasy. And with five of them, the rest was pretty much run-of-the-mill fill.
Let's continue from different perspective:
Across:1. Necklace clasp spot: NAPE.
5. Rather peculiar: SCREWY. I'm not SCREWY, although I may have one loose...
11. Implore: BEG.
14. Tandoor, for one: OVEN. In the '70s, we had a tan door OVEN.
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| It's called Espresso. Avocado and Harvest Gold were also popular. |
15. Sub: HOAGIE. If they're out of HOAGIEs, you can always sub a grinder...but not one from Lowe's!
16. Credit card fig.: APR. Annual Percentage Rate.
17. [theme]
19. Game cube: DIE. Not to be confused with it's bigger sibling.
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| Nintendo GameCube |
20. "Cheap Thrills" singer: SIA. I so wanted ZAPPA instead.
21. Lowe's purchase: TOOL. Try their grinders!
22. Lariat: ROPE. ROPE is in Lowe's aisle 23.
23. [theme]
26. Workers featured in the opening scenes of "Frozen": ICEMEN.
28. Greet someone from a distance: WAVE HI.
29. Gets a rise out of, in a way: LEAVENS. This year, RightBrain challenged herself to make sourdough bread. After several months of trial and error, she's nailed it. Her latest thing is mini-loaves.
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| Clockwise from top: cinnamon swirl; artisanal plain; everything bagel; strawberry with chocolate chips |
30. Spanish "Listen!": OYE.
31. Soy block: TOFU. A vegan in Maine loves TOFU, but the DMV made him surrender his license plate anyway.
34. Phoenix team: SUNS. The SUNS professional basketball team.
35. [theme]
38. Small jazz combo: TRIO.
40. Provide a fake alibi for, say: ABET.
41. Swelter: FRY.
44. Tap dancer Hines: GREGORY. He is celebrated for his intricate phrasing, cool style, and for reviving tap popularity in the late 20th century.
46. "You're right!": I AGREE.
49. Make changes to: REVISE.
50. [theme]
52. Prayer ender: AMEN.
53. Lamb wrap with tzatziki: GYRO. A GYRO is usually wrapped in a PITA.
55. Charged particle: ION.
56. Tennessee athlete, for short: VOL. The University of Tennessee Volunteers.
57. [theme]
61. Before, in old poetry: ERE.
62. Compilation: DIGEST. Such as Reader's DIGEST. I haven't seen one in years, but print subscriptions are still available.
63. Subway Series squad: METS. The local rivalry of the New York METS vs. the New York Yankees.
64. Acid letters: LSD. I was given a hit of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in college, but I dropped it.
65. __-sense: SPIDEY. SPIDEY-sense refers to an early warning of immediate danger before it happens, as evidenced by Peter Parker aka Spiderman.
66. River through Flanders: YSER. YSER flows in French Flanders, the north of France.
Down:
1. San Francisco's __ Hill: NOB. NOB Hill is a posh historic neighborhood overlooking San Francisco.
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| I don't mean to brag, but I live near Nob Hill (Road). |
2. Janelle's "Abbott Elementary" role: AVA. Janelle James plays principal AVA Coleman.
3. Deep in thought: PENSIVE.
4. Tuneup target: ENGINE. I wanted GUITAR, of course. 😉 I never had a Ric 12-string, but while it's an engineering marvel, it looks daunting to tune up.
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| Rickenbacker 360/12 headstock |
5. "__ sells seashells ... ": SHE. "I have the world's largest collection of sea shells. I keep it scattered on beaches all over the world. Maybe you've seen it." Steven Wright
6. Tropical ring-tailed mammal: COATI. A COATI is a member of the raccoon family and is native to South America.
7. Built one's campaign around: RAN ON.
8. Breakfast brand: EGGO. Crossword constructors will never leggo EGGO because its contains such common letters.
9. Country great Nelson: WILLIE. We should all chip in and buy him a new guitar.
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| WILLIE Nelson and "Trigger" |
10. "__-haw!": YEE. I wanted HEE-Haw because of another country great, Roy Clark.
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| Roy's playing a Gibson Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty" |
11. Sign of trouble: BAD OMEN.
12. Camp nurse's supply: EPIPENS.
13. Salad leaves: GREENS.
18. Mascara target: LASH.
22. Variety show: REVUE.
23. Wee hour: TWO. As we learned a week ago, TWO may also be the wee-wee hour.
24. Modus operandi: WAY. Per the Mandalorian, "This is the WAY."
25. 53-Across bread: PITA. Although a GYRO may be served on a platter.
27. Champagne barrel: CASK.
29. Mandolin kin: LUTE. For comparison to Roy's, here's a pic of my blonde Les Paul Custom, a distant cousin of a LUTE.
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| 20th Anniversary model from 1974 aka "the Fretless Wonder" |
32. "... Fine.": OKAY.
33. Shortest mo.: FEB. My oldest son was born on February 28th of a leap year, just hours before not having a birthday very often.
35. "Dinner is served!": DIG IN.
36. Some big hoppers: ROOS. ROOS is short for kangaroos, even if they're tall.
37. Fighting: AT IT.
38. Small quakes: TREMORS.
39. Took deep pleasure (in): REVELED.
41. Three-time Best Actress Oscar winner McDormand: FRANCES. She also won a fourth Oscar for Best Picture as producer of Nomadland.
42. Driver's "Star Wars" role: REN. Adam Driver plays Kylo REN in the Star Wars franchise, but he never met a Mandalorian.
43. Up to today: YET.
44. Rough road surface: GRAVEL.
45. Fix, as a tennis racket or golf club: REGRIP.
47. "Yeah, right!": AS IF.
48. Down in the dumps: GLOOMY.
50. Like an eyebrow: ARCED. I'd rather have ARCHED.
51. Pointless: NO USE.
54. Asana expert: YOGI. If you do it right, you won't have boo-boos.
57. LP successors: CDS. Kids ask me, "What's an LP?" I tell them they came before CDs. "What's a CD?"
58. Farm pen: STY.
59. Great Basin native: UTE.
60. Georgia, once: Abbr.: SSR. This Soviet Socialist Republic was part of the Soviet Union from 1921 to 1991.
Be good. RB
Funny puzzle.
ReplyDeleteBy which I mean “mildly comical” rather than “weird” but perhaps that, too.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteMy LEMUR had to evolve into a COATI, and SCREWH showed the way to YEE Haw. Learning moment: GYRO is the filling. I always thought it was the whole sandwich. Oops. I have to agree with Rusty on ARCED. Weird. Simple theme, easy to suss. Thanx, Katy and R-B.
Back in the '80s I spent a month in Coatzacoalcos over a two-week period. While there I met a Dutch couple who operated (and lived on) a tugboat. I complimented the husband's English, and he credited it to "Reeduh Diggest." When I didn't understand, he threw up his hands, wandered out to another part of the boat, and came back holding a copy of Reader's Digest. That's how he practiced his English.
FIR, but nail->TOOL, common->SPIDEY, lemur->COATI, and lyre->LUTE. (It couldn't be "common sense," because that is as rare as a coin-operated dial landline telephone these days.)
ReplyDeleteIn the days before titanium spark plugs, electronic ignition and electronic fuel injection, cars needed a tuneup every 10,000 miles or so. That routine was mainly to change the points and its associated condenser (AKA capacitor,) the spark plugs, and to adjust the ignition timing. Now the only similar routine is to change the spark plugs every 100,000 miles or so.
One of my favorite ballads is Jimmy Buffett's Something So Feminine About A Mandolin.
Today they are coming for my furniture. Some will be stored for staging the house when it goes on the market, but most of it is going to the dump. I was stunned to learn that there is virtually no market for those antique pieces that my late DW loved so much. As Sumdaze wrote yesterday, it's happy-sad. Or as us older folks might say, bittersweet.
Thanks to Katy for the eyeopener, and to Rusty Brain for the Visine.
The only spark plug I've changed in the last 60 years is on my lawnmower.
DeleteAC Delco and Autolite were the brands I remember. Monroe Shocks and Hurst shifters.
Remember the old 'you need new ball joints'? It's been replaced by 'you need fuel injector service and throttle-body adjustment' recommendations.
And now they want to change struts every 10,000 miles or so. It was a DIY job when the shocks and springs were separate.
DeleteI really wanted “Janis” for Cheap Thrills singer…
ReplyDeleteFIR. I threw down hee before yee and that slowed me down for a time. That and I had a brain fade remembering Willie. How could he slip my mind? I guess I'm getting old.
ReplyDeleteI picked up on the theme with twin spin, and that helped a lot. The rest of the solve was smooth from there on.
Overall a most enjoyable puzzle.
EASY-PEASY today with three three-letter unknowns- REN, AVA & SIA.
ReplyDeleteOdd for me to finish it right on a Thursday without even one error. The theme really helped on the solve. Only slow down was putting Til instead of Yet, but got back on the right track and overall found it an enjoyable puzzle.
ReplyDeleteOYE, I had to wait until DRAKE TAKE to get the theme since the North was not filling well, in fact the last to fill. But, cute theme and I AGREE, the rest was pretty easy. I encountered a few unknowns like REN, AVA, and SIA. I’ve never heard of SPIDEY sense.
ReplyDeleteI too wanted ARChED, but didn’t fit. FRANCES McDormand is one of my favorite actresses. She can play any role and she’s married to one of the Coen brothers.
Thank you RB for such a nice review. I enjoyed it.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteMy original post was frozen when I hit Publish and then it disappeared. I basically said that the puzzle was a fun solve, even though it was a simple theme and probably not Thursday level difficulty. The themers were tightly aligned with their clues with, Crocus Focus being my favorite. It was nice to see some older pop culture figures for a change, i.e., Willie, Gregory, and Frances. (Frances was outstanding in the dark-humor Coen brother’s film, Fargo.) The fill was a nice mixture of whimsy (Screwy, Spidey) and reality (Tremors, Gloomy).
Thanks, Katy, and thanks, RB, for the fun and facts and your subtle humor. Tummy rubs to Buster!
Have a great day.
Very enjoyable CW, thanx KS. I especially liked the rhyming theme. Best clue: "Gets a rise out of". 14 names, DNK 5, but perps filled them for me.
ReplyDeleteThanx too to RB for the terrific write-up, and all the guitar info. Congratulations to Right Brain on those sourdough breads. I tried making sourdough bread many years ago. After several epic fails I gave up, tired of making adobe bricks.
Took 6:35 today to give my rack & pinion opinion.
ReplyDeleteI knew the Actress of the Day (Frances, although I first spelled it with an "i" instead of an "e"), but not the Spanish lesson (oye). I also had "hee" before "yee".
As usual, I agree with the commentary from Ms. Irish Miss. Thank you RB for another fun review, and in case you forgot, there are worse things in life than being a taste tester of freshly baked bread.
Hola! I like the rhyming couples. Thank you, Katy Steinmetz. I only had to change HEE to YEE when it became apparent that it was needed. I've never watched "Abbot Elementary" but AVA just perped. For many years I had a subscription to READERS' DIGEST but eventually stopped it only because I didn't know what to do with them all, but I loved reading it.
ReplyDeleteSwelter and FRY are so appropriate for us right now; it won't be cool until the end of this month.
I love Willie Nelson's version of "Always on my mind."
I could take a CSO at the Phoenix SUNS, but I'm not a sports fan.
Have a wonderful, relaxing day, all.
Enjoyable puzzle. Hand up HEE before YEE and LEMUR before COATI.
ReplyDeleteYesterday:
Prof M thank you for the answer about why a DRAGON would SOAR. I thought it might be a specific kid lit or pop culture reference.
Not the usual Thursday effort level, but I’m happy with having a nice leisurely cruise on occasion — the rhymey-timey bits were fun to suss out, and I also AGREE they made a good theme. Nice job, Ms. Steinmetz!
ReplyDeleteAnd Rusty — dude, whatever you ate (or drank 😆) for breakfast today, have it every Thursday! All those album covers (I’m actually surprised you didn’t find one for Krocus!) created a cool sub-theme for your review. We didn’t have a tan door on our fridge; it was that weird yellowish color, “Harvest Gold”. I’da rather had “Avocado” 😆
Gorgeous Les Paul, Rusty. A ‘74 Anniversary, that’s a fairly rare axe. (Have you seen any photos of Splynter’s SG?) And yeah, tuning a 12-string can be tedious (I’m always grabbing the wrong tuning peg on my Martin J-40…), and I’ve been doing it since before the electronic tuner era! Cross-tuning strings to each other was always the final step.
Anyway, fun stuff today!
====> Darren / L.A.
Thanks to Katy for the easy-breezy puzzle! FAV was BANGLE ANGLE. I had to change FRANCiS to FRANCES to get the ta-dah -- so not exactly a FIR. Fortunately, GREGORY Hines was in the punchbowl.
ReplyDeleteThanks, also, to RB for all the extras. We were on the same page with several of your 'approaches' (The Bangles, Mandalorian, etc.) RightBrain's bread looks fantastic!