WINTER IS COMING!
Today's constructor, Amanda Cook, is Director of Web and Editorial Content for American Composers Forum, which supports creators of new music by connecting them to resources and opportunities. 🎵 Amanda also supports cruciverbalists with new puzzles; this appears to be her fourth in the LA Times.
Today's theme reminded me of the motto of House Stark in A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, better known by the title of the television adapation, Game of Thrones -- that motto being "Winter is Coming!" With the temperature reaching 105°F in Los Angeles this past weekend, the promise that winter is coming seems less dreadful than in the books.
The theme clues and answers are:
16-Across. Playful back-and-forth: WITTY BANTER.
26-Across. Workstation option since the 1980s: WINDOWS COMPUTER.
44-Across. Ticket pickup location: WILL CALL COUNTER.
59-Across. Time off that may coincide with a new calendar year, or what can be found in 16-, 26-, and 44-Across: WINTER BREAK. Indeed, there is a BREAK in the word WINTER in the cited answers. It was very kind of Amanda to put the letters spelling WINTER into circles to help us see the theme.
Across:1. Tiny trims: SNIPS.
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| More than a few snips went into this tiny trim. |
6. "Tár" Oscar nominee Blanchett: CATE. In the 2022 film, Cate Blanchett plays a haughty orchestra conductor, whose professional misconduct leads to her downfall. 🎵
10. Jar topper: LID.
13. Art studio stand: EASEL.
14. Chocolate-flavored latte: MOCHA. I love a little espresso in my hot chocolate.
15. Fuss: ADO.
16. [Theme clue]
18. Church seating: PEW.
19. Messy person: SLOB.
20. Word with ocean or eye: LINER. Ocean liner and eyeliner -- interesting clue!
21. Skim through: SCAN.
22. Wear away: ERODE. Late last month, the 550-year-old sea arch formed by lava flows in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park collapsed -- the victim of erosion and a huge storm.
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| Hōlei Sea Arch in better times |
24. Sprawling property: ESTATE.
26. [Theme clue]
30. Rainbow maker: PRISM.
26. [Theme clue]
30. Rainbow maker: PRISM.
31. Attempted: TRIED.
32. Bath rug: MAT.
33. Old hoops org.: ABA. From 1967 to 1976, the American Basketball Association competed with the more established National Basketball Association.
36. Genetic material: DNA.
37. Polo shirt, e.g.: TOP.
40. Power strip switch: ON OFF.
42. Not exactly, informally: KINDA.
44. [Theme clue]
49. Battery terminals: ANODES. The anode undergoes oxidation (losing electrons) and sends electrons through an external wire to power a device.
50. Punchiness: OOMPH.
51. See 58-Across: SHOE.
52. Crown for a prom queen: TIARA.
54. Wanes: EBBS.
58. With 51-Across, dance accessory for Fred Astaire: TAP.
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| Fred Astaire, dancer extraordinaire |
59. [Theme clue]
61. Connecticut Ivy Leaguer: ELI. A student at Yale University may be called an "Eli," referring to Elihu Yale, an early benefactor of the university.
62. Derive: INFER.
63. Possibly dangerous: RISKY.
64. Cozy burrow: DEN.
65. Composer Stravinsky: IGOR. Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was a Russian composer and conductor. 🎵
66. River mammal: OTTER. This blogger was absent for three weeks, visiting the UK and Ireland. On the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, DH and I encountered freshwater otters that make daily treks from the hills to the ocean, because food on that island is most plentiful at the shore. I had never heard of such a thing!
61. Connecticut Ivy Leaguer: ELI. A student at Yale University may be called an "Eli," referring to Elihu Yale, an early benefactor of the university.
62. Derive: INFER.
63. Possibly dangerous: RISKY.
64. Cozy burrow: DEN.
65. Composer Stravinsky: IGOR. Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was a Russian composer and conductor. 🎵
66. River mammal: OTTER. This blogger was absent for three weeks, visiting the UK and Ireland. On the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, DH and I encountered freshwater otters that make daily treks from the hills to the ocean, because food on that island is most plentiful at the shore. I had never heard of such a thing!
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| Freshwater otters at the seashore on the Isle of Mull |
Down:
1. Does some alterations: SEWS.
2. Place for cuticle oil: NAIL.
3. Analogy words: IS TO. A puppy is to a dog as a kitten is to a cat.
4. Spots where dogs may sit, lie down, and roll over: PET BEDS.
5. Clever: SLY.
6. Meet over coffee, perhaps: CONNECT.
7. Entr'__: ACTE. The French word entr'acte is a contraction of the words entre acte ("between acts") and refers to a piece of music performed between two parts of a stage production, or simply an intermission. 🎵
8. Eerie electronic instrument: THEREMIN. A musical instrument patented by Leon Theremin in 1928, the theremin is controlled without physical contact. 🎵
9. Musical proclivity: EAR. 🎵
10. Affectionate feline: LAP CAT.
11. Brainstorm: IDEATE.
12. Wet blanket: DOWNER. A person who ruins the fun or enjoyment of others.
14. Some hotel employees: MAIDS.
17. Move like the wind: BLOW.
21. Small earring: STUD.
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| Hoop with dangle, regular hoop, and stud. |
23. Fiction subgenre: ROMANCE.
25. "I didn't quite catch that": SPEAK UP.
26. Typing speed: Abbr.: WPM. Words Per Minute.
27. 401(k) alternative: IRA. Individual Retirement Account.
28. Minor quibble: NIT.
29. Chicago airport code: ORD. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport uses the code ORD because the airfield was originally named Orchard Field (ORcharD).
34. Not-so-humble bragging: BOASTING.
35. Old gridiron org.: AFL. From 1960 to 1970, the American Football League competed with the more established National Football League. The crossing of the defunct ABA and AFL was a WAG (wild ass guess) for this blogger.
37. Feature of many a Wile E. Coyote trap, for short: TNT. Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are fictional characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons produced by Warner Bros. from 1949 onward. The hungry coyote tries to kill and eat the road runner through complex schemes and mail order explosives.
38. "__ to Joy": highlight of Beethoven's Ninth: ODE. The fourth and final movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 is commonly called the Ode to Joy. Here's an excerpt (3:41), performed by André Rieu & His Johann Strauss Orchestra: 🎵
39. Golf course standard: PAR.
40. Ye __ Shoppe: OLDE.
41. Pool raft, e.g.: FLOATER.
43. Receive, as a bequest: INHERIT.
44. Squandered: WASTED.
45. Take a deep breath: INHALE.
46. Copy on an email reply: LOOP IN. When I want to be copied on a string of emails, I ask the recipients to "keep me in the loop."
47. Apple pie-making tool: CORER.
48. Minnesota representative Ilhan: OMAR. Ilhan Omar has served as the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district since 2019.
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| Ilhan Omar |
53. Deets: INFO. "Deets" is short for "details." "Info" is short for "information."
55. Triumph over: BEST. In this case, "best" is a verb. "The experienced chess player hoped to best the young prodigy."
56. Make a cake, say: BAKE.
57. Icelandic dairy product similar to yogurt: SKYR. Yummy.
59. Nintendo console released in 2006: WII. The Wii introduced motion-tracking controls, and could recognize gestures, as opposed to just buttons on a controller. The Wii was also Nintendo's first console with internet connectivity for online gaming.
60. Certain sib: BRO. "Sib" is short for "sibling." "Bro" is short for "brother."
Here's the grid:
Dear Solvers,
Huge thanks are due to CrossEyedDave and Anonymous T for blogging Mondays during my absence!
I missed the WITTY BANTER in the comments section, and can hardly wait to CONNECT with all of you again. So SPEAK UP!
And of course, if you have a NIT to pick with the puzzle, we'll lend you an EAR.
I do want to thank Amanda Cook for all the musical entries 🎵, none of which required me to look up the deets of any pop stars du jour.
-- NaomiZ
In spite of a couple of
ReplyDeleteobscurities (“Skyr,” anyone?), this puzzle was generally Monday-easy.
FIR, so I’m happy.
FIR, but sorta->KINDA.
ReplyDeleteABA innovations include the three-point shot and the 30 (now 24) second clock.
I remember WINDOWS in the late '80s. I bought an application called Visio (now owned mu Microsoft) at COMDEX, a big computer expo in Las Vegas. Took it home and couldn't get it work on my true Blue (IBM) WINDOWS 3.0 machine. The real, live person at their technical support desk quickly identified the problem - I needed WINDOWS 3.1. Went to CompUSA and bought 3.1, only to discover that it wouldn't load because I needed DOS 5. Back to CompUSA for DOS, all the floppy discs loaded just fine, and Visio seemed like magic.
Thanks to Amanda for the puzzle that seemed very difficult at first, only to become easy midway through. I'm not of the "I hate circles" Cornerite faction, but I think that including both circles and reveal was too much handholding. I'm sure you know Waylon Jennings' hit version of Amanda, so I won't link it. And thanks to NaomiZ for the fun tour, and welcome back from your European tour.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteMy little trims started life as SNaPS. Then there was BEaT/BEST and paRER/CORER. That's what Wite-Out's for. INHERIT reminds me that every October we donate some inherited small company stock shares to charity. We've done it for years, and it's always been easy. Now the company has contracted with a clearing agent and they require a bank "medallion stamp" (no exceptions) as a signature guarantee in order to transact shares. I don't have an account with any financial company that's authorized to issue a medallion. It's no longer easy. But I digress. Thanx Amanda and NaomiZ. (Welcome back. Sounds like a nice trip.)
We have the same trouble similar to your problem. DW and another person are Co-Trustees of her deeceased aunt, who had an IRA invested in a REiT worth about $6,000. ALL of the officers were convicted for taking funds from that REIT to another REIT. The IRS says there is a RMD that has to be taken but there's no market to sell the shares. We would donate it if possible. The kicker is we get a monthly statement that deducts fees and mailing costs for $4.50 There's no way to stop it
DeleteMaybe the IRS will take shares in kimd and that will be their problem.
Her long dead broker obviously put her in some type of Ponzi scheme many years ago
Big Easy.
Thermin was a unknown but quickly filled by the perps.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteThe theme and reveal were certainly Monday appropriate but Theremin and Skyr were outliers, satisfied by perps. Although the circles may be superfluous to most solvers, they are deemed necessary to aid newbies and rookies see and understand the theme. Overall, this was a quick and easy early week solve.
Thanks, Amanda, and thanks, Naomi, for your usual detailed review and commentary. Welcome back!
Have a great day.
I saw the WINTER BREAK quickly, but I’m not familiar with WILL CALL COUNTER. CATE Blanchett is a wonderful actress but I have not seen “Tár”. I knew about the THEREMIN from watching the “Midsummer Murders” series.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I DNF because I left the cell blank to complete AB___ crossing ___FL. And although I remembered deets from previous puzzles, I didn’t remember what it stood for until perps enlightened me.
Thank you NaomiZ for that nice review and the musical entr’ACTEs. You have not lost your touch.
FIR. Despite just a couple of totally obscure answers, and the crossing of ABA and AFL, this was mostly easy.
ReplyDeleteOf course, as usual, I ignored the circles. They were really unnecessary to the solve.
Overall a so-so puzzle.
Anon @ 5:12, the NBA introduced the shot clock in 1954. The ABA did use the red-white-and blue ball, though, and it (and other leagues) had the three-point shot before the NBA
ReplyDeleteMessed up on "deets", but now I know it means detail and info. Despite this, it was a fun puzzle, and the circles helped me along the way.
ReplyDeleteMostly Monday, only 8 names, DNK 4. Also DNK THEREMIN or ACTE, and KATE/CATE made the north central an adventure. Also TEE/TOP . I suspected the theme with the first theme entry, which helped. FIR in 10.
ReplyDeleteThanx AC, nice CW. Thanx especially for the low name count.
Thanx too to NaomiZ, nice write-up, welcome back. That prism made me think of ROY G BIV. Yeah, here in SOFLO we had a draught during rainy season, but deluges lately, and temps continue to get into the 90's, so I sympathize with your 100*+ temps.
Brrr! WIN-TER is coming. Not being a circles fan, this WIN-TER BREAK was obvious. It's Monday, and the puzzles are always KINDA easy, really easy with no expected OOMPH.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I was in Bellingham, WA, I went to the SPARK Museum. It had a working THEREMIN that you could use. Weird feeling.
FLOATER- shut your eyes, look at a light source, and see the floaters.
SKYR- new to me but if it tastes like yogurt, I'll pass.
ABA- we have a friend and we didn't know her husband actually owned an ABA Team, the New Orleans Buccaneers. Obviously, a young girl married a rich old guy since she's the same age as DW who was 21 in 1967,
Took 4:40 today to be a willing bunter at the plate.
ReplyDeleteI knew the Actress of the Day, but choosing between "Kate" and "Cate" was tougher. The first couple times I saw a theremin, I thought it was a hoax.
I was in Iceland earlier this year, but didn't know "skyr." Someone sure loves their obscure foreign foods.
Oh joy, circles!
Thank you for that Theremin clip! I have only ever seen short clips where people produce eerie scify noises. I can't believe how he made it sound like a violin, and made beautiful music with it. I don't see how he is changing the notes with his hand movements.
ReplyDelete(Must learn more!...)
Musings
ReplyDelete-Winter Break and Spring Break have replaced Christmas and Easter Break in schools
-My DW has to ask me to take the LID of water bottles
-TRIED: That great modern philosopher Yoda says "Do or do not. There is no try"
-Paul Tanner, a former member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra” played the electro-THEREMIN on the Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations. Sheldon also played one on The Big Bang Theory
-Bragging
-A comedian making fun of Wiley Coyote and other Looney Tunes characters
What was obviously the BREAK up of the circled letters that spelled WINTER made this Monday particularly easy. WINTER BREAK kids can drive some parents “BATTY” jumbled in the middle of the first theme answer.
ReplyDeleteSaw ”Tár” so knew CATE. Speaking of performances. I highly recommend the 7 part series ”East of Eden” on Netflix, just finished it last night. Closer to Steinbeck’s novel than the 50’s movie.
WINDOWS is the operating system not the computer. WILLCALL”WINDOW” That THEREMIN sounds like the background of a horror flick. I was thinking of the equally weird sounding Ben Franklin “Glass Armonica”
What was riaky? became RISKY once beat changed for the BEST. a PRISM.
KINDA: the British spelling is “kynda”. ”Hadda” change hems to SEWS and 🌈 is not from a PRIDE flag but a PRISM.
WINTER not yet coming but this was the peak weekend for spectacular foliage in the Adirondacks. The towns and lakes filled with Leaf Peepers
From the dock across the lake 🍂🍁
From our dock
DeleteTryna send a picture 😠
Deletehttps://photos.app.goo.gl/ZEQLXdx8rGsWh3EQ6
Hola! Easy Monday as it should be although I erred at SNIPS with SNAPS/AS TO. Otherwise, it was a nice sashay through the grid. I've had to go to the WILL CALL COUNTER when purchasing tickets on-line then picking them up at the theater.
ReplyDeleteWINTER BREAK is almost non-existent here as WINTER hardly every shows up.
I don't recall ever seeing a THEREMIN, but I've seen CATE Blanchett in some movies.
My fourth graders were always in awe of a PRISM and loved to see the colors emerge.
Have a great day, everyone!