Theme: You Gotta Have Soul
Crossword constructor Janice Luttrell frequently brightens our Monday mornings. Today it took a little soul searching to grasp her theme. Janice revealed it here:
66-Across. Ideal partners, and what can be found at the ends of 17-, 24-, 40-, and 52-Across?: SOUL MATES. A person with whom you share a deep and natural connection is a soulmate and an ideal partner. The words at the end of the cited entries are also MATES for the word SOUL.
17-Across. Fix for torn jeans, perhaps: KNEE PATCH. SOUL PATCH -- the bit of facial hair beneath a man's lower lip.
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| Billy Bob Thornton rocks a soul patch. |
24-Across. Foil-wrapped chocolate drop: HERSHEY'S KISS. SOUL KISS -- an old fashioned term for a kiss involving the tongue.
40-Across. Gets a single, double, triple, and home run in one game: HITS FOR THE CYCLE. SOULCYCLE -- a fitness company that offers indoor cycling workout classes. It would have helped this blogger to know that in baseball, hitting for the cycle is when a single batter hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game.
52-Across. Accept unintended consequences: FACE THE MUSIC. SOUL MUSIC -- a musical style dating to the late 1950s, with roots in African American culture.
SOUL PATCH, SOUL KISS, and SOULCYCLE seemed a little obscure for a Monday theme. Happily, SOUL MUSIC convinced this blogger that she had found the SOUL MATES.
And the beat goes on ...
Across:1. "Dancing Queen" pop group: ABBA. The lead single from ABBA's fourth studio album, Arrival, released in 1976.
5. "Wish I was there!" anxiety, for short: FOMO. Fear Of Missing Out.
9. Department store chain headquartered in New York's Herald Square: MACY'S.
14. Crystal ball gazer: SEER.
15. Not of the clergy: LAIC.
16. Anticipate: AWAIT.
17. [Theme clue]
19. Dried beef snack: JERKY.
20. Small brawl: SET-TO. I've seen this noun in literature, but never heard it IRL: "Dad had a bit of a set-to with the neighbors about their loud music."
21. "Copperhead Road" singer Steve: EARLE. "Copperhead Road" is a 1988 album by singer-songwriter Steve Earle. The title track is about a young man from a moonshine making family who comes home from Vietnam, plants marijuana, and suffers flashbacks to the war when DEA helicopters search for illegal crops.
23. Near-failing grade: DEE.
24. [Theme clue]
27. Election season event: DEBATE.
30. Driver's approx.: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.
31. Mined find: ORE.
32. Cartoon explorer with a talking backpack: DORA. We talked a little about Dora the Explorer in this space two weeks ago.
24. [Theme clue]
27. Election season event: DEBATE.
30. Driver's approx.: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.
31. Mined find: ORE.
32. Cartoon explorer with a talking backpack: DORA. We talked a little about Dora the Explorer in this space two weeks ago.
36. "No big deal": IT'S OK.
40. [Theme clue]
44. Hay fever sound: ACHOO.
45. Unwelcome campground visitor: BEAR.
46. Do some sums: ADD.
47. __ Angeles Sparks: LOS. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association, with home games at Crypto.com Arena.
49. Loves a bunch: ADORES.
52. [Theme clue]
58. Abbreviation on a toothpaste box: ADA. An ADA-approved toothpaste has the American Dental Association Seal of Acceptance.
59. Mexican coins: PESOS.
60. Many a Chopin piano piece: ÉTUDE. An étude (French for "study") is a short musical composition designed to provide practice on a particular instrumental skill.
64. Phi Beta __: KAPPA. Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ) is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, dating back to 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.
66. [Theme clue]
68. Everglades wader: EGRET. The Everglades is a subtropical wetland ecosystem in South Florida, and is home to the Great Egret, the Snowy Egret, the Cattle Egret, and the Reddish Egret.
47. __ Angeles Sparks: LOS. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association, with home games at Crypto.com Arena.
49. Loves a bunch: ADORES.
52. [Theme clue]
58. Abbreviation on a toothpaste box: ADA. An ADA-approved toothpaste has the American Dental Association Seal of Acceptance.
59. Mexican coins: PESOS.
60. Many a Chopin piano piece: ÉTUDE. An étude (French for "study") is a short musical composition designed to provide practice on a particular instrumental skill.
64. Phi Beta __: KAPPA. Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ) is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, dating back to 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.
66. [Theme clue]
68. Everglades wader: EGRET. The Everglades is a subtropical wetland ecosystem in South Florida, and is home to the Great Egret, the Snowy Egret, the Cattle Egret, and the Reddish Egret.
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| I took this photo of a Snowy Egret in Venice, Florida. Check out the yellow feet! |
69. Jai __: fast-moving court game: ALAI. Jai alai originated in the Basque area of Spain. It's a form of handball that uses a wicker basket, worn like a glove, to catch and throw the ball. I attended a jai alai game in Mexico City in the early 1970s and found it thrilling. The ball moves very fast.
70. Competes (for): VIES.
71. Get to, as a destination: REACH.
72. Ivy League school in New Haven: YALE.
73. Baby-voiced red Muppet: ELMO.
Down:
1. Inquires: ASKS.
2. "Molto __": "Very good," in Italian: BENE. How are you? Very well. Come stai? Molto bene. Easy to see the Latin root of our English "benefit," "benevolent," "benefactor," etc.
3. Red root vegetable: BEET.
4. "Respect" singer Franklin: ARETHA. The Queen of SOUL!
5. St. Pete's st.: FLA. St. Petersburg is in the Tampa Bay area on the gulf coast of Florida. An abbreviation in the clue tells you that there will be an abbreviation in the answer.
6. Hall's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame partner: OATES. Daryl Hall and John Oates formed their musical duo in Philadelphia in 1970. They wrote most of the songs they performed.
6. Hall's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame partner: OATES. Daryl Hall and John Oates formed their musical duo in Philadelphia in 1970. They wrote most of the songs they performed.
7. Old Testament book after Jonah: MICAH. The twelve minor prophets of the Hebrew bible are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Micah prophesied from approximately 740 to 698 BCE, warning of the destruction of Jerusalem, which came to pass in 586 BCE.
8. Autumn colour: OCHRE. The yellow/gold/burnt orange color of ochre is reminiscent of autumn leaves.
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| An ochre autumn scene. |
9. Magnificent: MAJESTIC.
10. Bowl over: AWE.
11. Rapper __ B: CARDI. Cardi B released her first studio album, Invasion of Privacy, in 2018, and with it, became the first solo female artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. Here's a hit single from the album:
12. "Yowza!": YIKES. Or, a reaction to Cardi B's more recent looks.
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| Cardi B |
13. Eyelid sores: STYES.
18. Ode writer: POET.
22. Caustic chemical: LYE.
25. Upgrade, as decor: REDO.
26. "Teenage Dream" singer Perry: KATY. Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2008, launching a stream of pop hits and industry acclaim. This might have been a bitter pill for her fanatically religious parents who fostered her singing for the sake of the church choir. Teenage Dream is another song in a similar vein. This one is just more fun:
27. Capital of Qatar: DOHA. On the Persian Gulf.
28. "The Little Mermaid" prince: ERIC. Disney gave the prince a name and made him a hero. In the story by Hans Christian Andersen, the prince never recognized the mermaid's love and sacrifice for him.
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| Ariel and Eric in Disney's The Little Mermaid, 1989 |
29. "Little Women" sister of Meg, Jo, and Amy: BETH. The four sisters whose lives are the subject of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869.
33. Poetic sphere: ORB. Not that an orb is poetic, but it is a poetic word for a sphere.
34. Numbered hwy.: RTE. The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes) is a network of roads and highways in a nationwide grid. Most north-to-south highways are odd-numbered, while east-to-west highways are typically even-numbered.
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| U.S. Route 1 |
35. "Eureka!": AHA. "Eureka" means "I have found it" in ancient Greek.
37. Injury reminder: SCAR.
38. Merrie __ England: OLDE. This phrase dating to back to the Middle Ages conjures a utopian rural past -- much nicer in retrospect than the actual experience of living "at the mercy of disease and the weather ... with money to burn today from the sale of a bumper crop, plunged into debt tomorrow because of harvest failure." [J. H. Hexter, On Historians (London 1979) p. 155 -- per Wikipedia]
37. Injury reminder: SCAR.
38. Merrie __ England: OLDE. This phrase dating to back to the Middle Ages conjures a utopian rural past -- much nicer in retrospect than the actual experience of living "at the mercy of disease and the weather ... with money to burn today from the sale of a bumper crop, plunged into debt tomorrow because of harvest failure." [J. H. Hexter, On Historians (London 1979) p. 155 -- per Wikipedia]
39. Sneaker brand since 1916: KEDS.
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| These Keds would have been cute in Merrie Olde England -- but my mom would have bought the plain navy knockoffs even then. |
41. One and only: SOLE.
42. Walking trail: FOOTPATH.
43. Timeline units: ERAS.
48. That lady: SHE.
50. Day, in Latin: DIEM. Familiar from the fixed daily allowance or "per diem" that employers may grant to traveling employees. My father worked with a "per diem" allowance on his research grants.
51. Eight-note interval: OCTAVE.
52. Fraud: FAKER.
53. Pithy bit of wisdom: ADAGE.
54. "It's a Wonderful Life" director Frank: CAPRA. Born in Italy, Frank Capra was raised in Los Angeles from the age of five, and became a film director, producer, and screenwriter, creating major award winning films of the 1930s and 40s. He won three Academy Awards for Best Director. Films you may have seen include It Happened One Night, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and It's a Wonderful Life.
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| Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart on the set of It's a Wonderful Life |
55. Writing class assignment: ESSAY.
56. Simoleons: MOOLA. Simoleon is slang for dollar. First recorded around 1881, it likely mixed the old British slang "simon" (for a sixpence coin) with "Napoleon" (a French gold coin). More recently, simoleons have been the fictional currency used in the SimCity and The Sims video games.
57. Typical: USUAL.
61. Gas or elec.: UTIL. Gas and electric services are utilities.
62. Consider to be: DEEM.
63. Gas brand in Canada: ESSO.
65. Chest muscle, for short: PEC. Pecs are for tall people, too.
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| Arnold Schwarzenegger proves the point. |
67. Fib: LIE. No lies here! Just the straight dope.
Here's the grid:
Solvers,
Which of you ADORES this puzzle? Who calls it MAJESTIC?
Do you DEEM it to be the USUAL fare for Monday?
Write me an ESSAY in the comments!
-- NaomiZ
