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
