Good Tuesday Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here (yes, you read that correctly) pinch hitting for our witty and insightful Hahtoolah with the recap of a Tuesday puzzle. That's twice in one week for this blogger bringing new meaning to semi-retirement. I know that you all will miss, among other things, the wonderful cartoons that Hahtoolah finds, sorts through, chooses and shares with us but I will try to make up for that lack somehow.
In this, his LAT debut, constructor Derek Hinsey has riffed on a theme where the compound word answers to the five themed-clues can each be split into two parts (duh, M.M, that's why they call them compound words). Each of those now-separated words can be combined with the word POINT to form a common expression. Let's start with the reveal:
58 Across: Slam dunk's value, or what 16-, 23-, 34-, 36-, and 49-Across have: TWO POINTS. A basketball reference that is used here, instead, to indicate that each answer contains two "pointed" references.
Here are the five places where the gimmick is employed:
16 Across: Major multistate lottery: POWERBALL. BALL Point is, of course, a type of pen.
23 Across: Opening bid: STARTING PRICE. The STARTING point is when/where to begin and the PRICE point denotes the niche in the market price-wise (the price point of a Cadillac, for example, places it in competition with other luxury vehicles.
34 Across: Final part of a chess match: END GAME. The END point is where, well, something stops and GAME point is a sports reference for what might turn out to be the final play of a game.
36 Across: Florida home of the Harry S. Truman Little White House: KEY WEST. A KEY point is the gist of the matter and WEST Point is the U.S. military academy.
49. Cool way to keep food fresh?: FLASH FREEZING. FLASH FREEZING is a rapid freezing process that uses cryogenic temperatures, such as liquid nitrogen at −196 °C (−320.8 °F), to quickly freeze an object for food and tissue preservation. A FLASH point the origin of a conflagration (physical or intellectual) and the FREEZING point is where water turns to ice.
This is how the completed grid appears:
Here are the more numerous non-themed clues and answers:
Across:1. "Furthermore ... ": PLUS. Hand up for first thinking of ALSO which we then got at 65 Across.
5. Moral transgressions: SINS. Everyone knows Las Vegas is SIN City but are you familiar with Den City? Mass over volume.
9. Picnic race bag: SACK.
15. Stash: CACHE. The juxtaposition with ACHE is interesting. Should CACHE be pronounced like CAKE?
18. Salsa ingredient: ONION.
19. Music genre with Jamaican roots: SKA. A genre with which most regular solvers are quite familiar. . . at least in name.
20. Japanese currency: YEN.
21. Began gradually: EASED IN.
26. __ Allen furniture: ETHAN. All You Might Wish To Know
28. Dog's warning sound: SNARL.
29. Animation frame: CEL. Back in the day when cartoons were hand drawn the movement was achieved by drawing and then photographing a series of individual, slightly altered hand painted CELs. Now it's all computer generated.
30. Sharp-witted: KEEN.
31. Short time?: SEC. Shortened form of SECond
32. Break a fast: EAT. Sometimes you can get two points on a fast break.
40. Buckeyes' sch.: OSU.
41. Way cool: RAD. 80's slang. Bitchen. Far out. Groovy. Boss.
42. __ vera: ALOE. A plant that seems to thrive in our puzzles
43. Six-pack muscles: ABS. ABdominal MuscleS
46. "Jurassic World" actor Chris: PRATT. Thanks, perps.
48. Demon: FIEND.
52. Let go: RELEASE. Ever hear Eddie Izzard riff on this guy's name?
53. Meh, slangily: MID. New to this solver but it does make sense.
54. Viper in 43-Down: ASP. How's your ASP been? (a skier's joke).
57. Volunteer's phrase: I WILL.
61. Long for: COVET. As in "Thou shall not COVET."
62. Door fastener: HASP.
64. Santa __: hot California winds: ANAS. Santa Ana winds are strong, extremely dry winds that blow from inland desert areas across coastal Southern California, often bringing hot, dry conditions and very low humidity.
65. "Furthermore ... ": ALSO. See ALSO 1 Across.
66. Small salamander: NEWT.
1. Domino spots: PIPS. By definition.
2. "Check this out": LOOK.
3. Like dirty dishes: UNWASHED.
4. NNW opposite: SSE. A direction/navigation reference.
5. Curved fencing sword: SABER.
6. "Down in front!": I CANT SEE.
7. Anaheim Ducks' org.: NHL. National Hockey League
8. Gomez of "Only Murders in the Building": SELENA.
9. More rational: SANER.
10. Not basic, in chemistry: ACIDIC.
11. Beef grade below prime: CHOICE.
17. Olympic swimmer Lochte: RYAN.
22. "I was thinking the same thing": AGREED.
24. Dramatic ballroom dance: TANGO.
26. __ out a win: EKE.
27. Square root of 100: TEN.
31. Blue cartoon characters: SMURFS.
33. Creator of Finn and Sawyer: TWAIN.
36. Supermodel who is a contributing editor for British Vogue: KATE MOSS.
37. Refinement: ELEGANCE.
38. Anderson Cooper, to Gloria Vanderbilt: SON.
39. Apple TV's "__ Lasso": TED.
41. GPS suggestion: RTE. RouTE
43. Continent with the most countries: AFRICA. There are 54 countries in Africa according to the United Nations.
44. Tried to cool down, as hot soup: BLEW ON.
The name FIDO comes from the Latin word "fidus," meaning "faithful." It became widely associated with dogs due to President Abraham Lincoln's pet dog, Fido, who was well-known during his time.
60. Bond novelist Fleming: IAN.
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| That's Manatee, M. Manatee MM Out |
I really can’t complain
ReplyDeleteabout this puzzle. It was pretty easy, and there were few real obscurities.
FIR, so I’m happy.
FIR, but had to relocate ALSO. ALSO, aritha->ARETHA.
ReplyDeleteI've spent a lot of time in KEY WEST. My late friend who retired to Key Colony Beach called it "KEY Weird."
Sometimes slang comes full circle. I remember my parents saying something was "fair-to-middlin'" and now it's just MID.
I thought that Finn and Sawyer were created by Holbrook.
Apologies to C-Eh! for the misspelt SABER.
Gotta watch your GPS RTEs. One campground I frequent can be reached 15 minutes faster and $10 cheaper (at current diesel prices) by turning off I-85 at US-64 instead of a longer route. I also had one RTE that sent me across a dam that hadn't been there since before the invention of GPS. If the government data base isn't correct, your RTE won't be either.
Clarence Birdseye discovered that FLASH FREEZING food retained its texture, unlike the results of using an everyday freezer. I think I learned that on an episode of The Food that Built America.
Thanks to Derek for your impressive debut. I'm usually MID regarding themes, but yours was fun. And thanks to our MalMan for stepping up with another fine review. Loved all the groaners.
Yes, I got ARETHA spelled properly today, after my Arethra last week.
DeleteSee my post re SABER. Even the Buffalo NHL team spells it properly.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteDidn't need my Wite-Out until I reached 1a. (Hi, Mal-Man.) Didn't notice the theme while solving, but I'm always impressed by two-word themers where both match the theme. Looked for quite some time at "my newt" before the V-8 can slapped me upside the haid. Impressive debut, Derek. Thanx for pinch-hitting Mal-Man. (No, it doesn't rhyme with "cake," it rhymes with Patel.)
Fast solve today, quicker than Monday for me. Congrats to Derek on your debut. Like D-O, I enjoy the 2 word themers.
ReplyDeleteThanks MM for blogging
FIR. This was one of the easiest puzzles we've had in a while. I'm not sure I like mid as an answer for meh, but the perps solidified the answer so there's that.
ReplyDeleteI began to see the theme halfway through and the reveal confirmed it. Very clever theme indeed.
Overall a most enjoyable puzzle.
Took 3:42 today to be sticking out.
ReplyDeleteI knew the Actress of the Day (Selena) and pretty much everything else.
Seemed like a themeless while solving, which is a good thing. Cleverly done now that I've read MM's fine review and see that both words work with point.
I agree, easiest CW we’ve had in a while, but I still enjoyed it. Unfortunately I just didn’t notice the depth of the theme. Shame on me. My only total unknowns were RYAN and MID but perps took care of them.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed visiting the Truman summer White House in KEY WEST. It’s located on a beautiful, quiet street. I read that now the POWER BALL is also available to residents of the UK.
Thank you MM for a great review. I needed your explanation of the theme. Well done.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteHad no idea about the theme until the aha reveal. As others have mentioned, this type of theme is always impressive, especially when it’s executed as well as this one. I fell into the Also/Plus trap and chuckled when Also appeared later. Props for a clean grid with fresh fill and a fun and satisfying solve.
Thanks, Derek, and congrats on your debut, and thanks, MM, for the usual facts and fun and for pinch hitting for Hahtoolah. I don’t understand the comic for kennel; what is my foggy brain missing. I did catch and appreciate all of the puns, though!
Have a great day.
Well, the comic appears to show a canine-style Civil Defense fallout shelter, down to the cute dogs wearing Civil Defense helmets. Not exactly a kennel, I agree. But kind of funny.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ken, I believe your interpretation is correct. And it is funny! 😂
ReplyDeleteWent looking for a silly theme link.
ReplyDeletegot more than I bargained for...
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Derek (congrats on your LAT debut) and MalMan.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time, and saw the TWO POINTS at the reveal.
One inkblot to straighten out my spelling of ASPHALT (I pronounce it like ASHVALT) and get that P for the forgotten PRATT.
I WAGged the M in that cross of MID and MOSS, as I thought I remembered the name and MID made sense for Meh (sorta but not great).
I too noted ACHE and CACHE and thought about our strange pronunciation differences.
I thought of Zero, but ZIPPO fit.
Growl came to mind before SNARL.
SABER filled with perps, and I didn’t get a chance to nose-wrinkle (or try to enter Epee).
My mind thought of Tomato, Jalapeño pepper, in my salsa recipe, before ONION fit. I need to make a batch soon.
Wishing you all a great day.
Hola! Quick and easy for a Tuesday! Thank you, Derek Hinsey. CSO to my daughter and her husband who learned the TANGO, along with many other dances, in their regular dance class.
ReplyDeleteWe have SELENA and SELES and KATE MOSS crossing PRATT and FIDO who is not a FIEND.
All in all, a very enjoyable puzzle. Thank you, MM, for subbing for Hahtoolah today. Have a wonderful day, everyone!