What's the Word, Hummingbird?
18-Across. * Celebration of Mexico's victory in the Battle of Puebla: CINCO DE MAYO. Yo! Not a word of Welcome that I would use. Contrary to popular belief in the United States, Cinco de Mayo is not the Mexican Independence Day. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla, which occurred on May 5, 1862. This year, the holiday will fall on a Tuesday, so I may be providing the commentary.
24-Across. * Only woman to serve as prime minister of India: INDIRA GANDHI. Hi!
39-Across. * Evaluates: SIZES UP. S'up? Another word I would not use. Slang for What's Up?
52-Across. * Punxsutawney Phil's big moment: GROUNDHOG DAY. G'Day. I heard this a lot when I was in Australia.
And the unifier:
61-Across. "So glad you've returned!," or a feature of the answer to each starred clue?: WELCOME BACK. Also the name of a television sit-com from the 197s. Another word of Welcome can be found at the Back of each theme answer.
Here's the Grid, so you can see the Welcomes.
Joyeaux Mardi Gras would be a better welcome for today.
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| What Happens on the Float, Stays on the Float. |
Across:
1. "God bless you, please, __ Robinson": MRS. Mrs. Robinson was a song by Simon and Garfunkel for the 1967 movie The Graduate.
4. Subterranean lava: MAGMA.
9. "Stop!," at sea: AVAST.
14. Feel queasy: AIL.
15. Rumored Roswell visitor: ALIEN.
16. Courage: VALOR.
17. Egg cells: OVA. A crossword staple.
20. Swab again, as a deck: REMOP.
22. Cold War rival of the KGB: CIA.
23. Jr.'s practice exam: PSAT. As in the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test.
28. Going solo: ALONE.
29. Sobbing: TEARFUL.
33. Refute: DENY.
35. Big bang letters: TNT.
37. Alabama civil rights march city: SELMA. Selma, Alabama was a pivotal city in the civil rights actions of the 1960s. The events were the subject of the 2014 movie, Selma.
38. UVA's athletic org.: ACC. The University of Virginia is in the Atlantic Coast Conference in NCAA collegiate sports.
42. Special __: OPS.
43. Litter member: WHELP.
45. Part of a semicolon: DOT.
46. One of a deadly septet: LUST. According to Christian theology, there are seven deadly sins. They are: Avarice, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Sloth, and Wrath.
47. "That's 100% true": NO DOUBT.
50. "__, Macduff": Shakespeare: LAY ON. This quote can be found in Act 5, scene 8 of Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth. We've seen a lot of Willie the Shakes in the puzzles recently.
56. Green curry cuisine: THAI. Yummers!
59. Maker of small kitchen gadgets: OXO. This company makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.
60. Witherspoon of "Legally Blonde": REESE. In addition to acting, Reese Witherspoon (née Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon; b. Mar. 22, 1976) is an avid reader. About 10 years ago, she started the Reese Witherspoon Reading Club. Many of the books she selects become bestsellers.
65. Male sheep: RAM.
66. Trojan War tale: ILIAD. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Trojan War.
67. City whose airport is named for 24-Across: DELHI.
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| Inside the Indira Gandhi International Airport |
68. Stockholm-to-Helsinki dir.: ENE. Traveling from Stockholm, Sweden to Helskini, Finland. The Baltic Sea is in-between the two cities.
69. Book identifier: TITLE.
70. Basic skateboard jump: OLLIE.
71. Aykroyd of "Ghostbusters": DAN. The original Ghostbusters movie came out over 40 years ago! Dan Aykroyd (né Daniel Edward Aykroyd; b. July 1, 1952) portrayed one of the scientists out to find ghosts.
Down:
1. Native New Zealander: MAORI. The Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. he Māori language is an official language of New Zealand, so signs are written in both English and Te Reo (the native language).
2. Torn asunder: RIVEN.
3. Joined a mosh pit: SLAM DANCED.
4. Apple on a teacher's desk, perhaps: MAC PRO. Not the edible kind of apple.
5. Boxer Muhammad: ALI. Muhammad Ali (né Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; Jan. 17, 1942 ~ June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. He is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.
6. Gimlet liquor: GIN. A brief history of the origin of Gin.
7. Muslim pilgrim's destination: MECCA.
8. Name as a successor: ANOINT.
9. Michigan in Chicago, e.g.: Abbr.: AVE. A 13-stretch of Michigan Avenue in Chicago is known as the Magnificent Mile. This portion of the avenue was known for high-end shopping, dining and luxury hotels.
10. One who's long in the tooth?: VAMPIRE.
11. Pitiful interjection: ALAS.
12. High-protein bean: SOYA. A brief history of the soy bean.
13. Bouncy gait: TROT.
19. Miami-__ County: DADE. The CSI: Miami took place in Miami-Dade County.
21. Like an otter's fur: OILY.
25. Not on board with: ANTI-. Like Anti-Freeze? Not on board with Freezing!
26. Gp. after millennials: GEN-Z.
27. Door fastener: HASP.
30. Struggled to gain traction: FLOUNDERED.
31. Pros who cry "out" loud?: UMPS.
32. __-in first-out: LAST.
33. Start of the day: DAWN.
34. Sound return: ECHO.
36. Actor Danson: TED. Ted Danson (né Edward Bridge Danson, III; b. Dec. 29, 1947) became a house hold name when he portrayed Sam Malone on Cheers.
39. Stimulus: SPUR.
40. Marketed: SOLD.
41. Snowbird ski resort state: UTAH.
44. Coherent: LOGICAL.
46. Premier seating area: LOGE.
48. Rapid growth period: BOOM.
49. Union suit?: TUXEDO. Not sure I understand the connection here.
51. Little terrier: YORKIE. Cute pun. The Yorkshire Terrier is known as a Yorkie. They are adorable little dogs.
53. Prestigious prize with six categories: NOBEL. Originally, there were only five categories for the Nobel Prize: Chemistry, Literature, Medicine, Peace and Physics. The sixth category, which was added in 1968, is the officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
54. Lotus pose, for one: ASANA.
55. Southernmost nation on the Arabian Peninsula: YEMEN.
56. Ninny: TWIT.
57. Prefix with pad: HELI-.
58. Settled on a perch: ALIT. A crossword staple.
62. Poem of homage: ODE. Another crossword staple.
63. Bailiff's first word: ALL.
64. Greek letter X: CHI.
חתולה
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Notes from C.C.:
1) Today we celebrate the 73rd birthday of our witty Chairman Moe (Chris). Here is a picture of Chris, his girlfriend Margaret,
MM and MM's girlfriend Valerie. They met in August, 2023. Chris
travels quite a bit every summer. Hope he can meet more of our blog
regulars in the future.
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| Margaret, Chris, Joseph and Valerie |
2) Happy 59th anniversary to the most loving couple: Husker Gary and his wife
Joann. Here's a picture of us from 2014 when Gary attended a wedding here in Minnesota.
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| Left to Right: Boomer, Gary, C.C. & Joann |
