Tuesday, May 7, 2024 Amanda Cook and Katie Hale

Pandemic Etiquette:  Now that it has been a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) downgraded Covid-19 from a health emergency to a health threat and we are not in pandemic mode, do we still have to STAND APART?

17-Across. Generic choice at the supermarket: STORE BRAND.  Store brands are made and sold for a specific retailer and meant to compete with brand-name goods. Store brands tend to be cheaper than name brand goods.

Store Brand for Costco.

25-Across. Emotional condition: STATE O FMIND.

40-Across. Cue a jazz ensemble, e.g.: STRIKE UP THE BAND.

50-Across. Inspire wannabes, maybe: START A TREND.

And the unifier:

63-Across. Stick out from the crowd, and what can be found in 17-, 25-, 40-, and 50-Across?: STAND APART.  No circles were needed in today's puzzle to see that the word Stand is broken Apart in each theme answer.

Across:

1. All __: medium for shouty emails: CAPS.  YOU DON'T HAVE TO YELL!

5. Meteorologist's tool: RADAR.

10. Apple tablet: iPAD.

14. Feel sore: ACHE.

15. Adler played by Lara Pulver on "Sherlock": IRENE.  Lara Pulvar (b. Sept. 1, 1980) is an English actress who portrayed Irene Adler on the BBC version of Sherlock Holmes.  [Names # 1 and 2, One fictional, one real.]

16. Overhaul: REDO.

19. Bank lobby conveniences: ATMs.  A crossword staple.

20. Sum: TOTAL.

21. __ deck: cruise ship level: LIDO.

23. Formal neckwear: TIE.

24. Sign at a packed theater: SRO.  Standing Room Only.

29. Become misshapen: WARP.

30. Tortilla chip dip, for short: GUAC.  Yummers!  I love a good Guacamole.

31. Alan of "M*A*S*H": ALDA.  Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H was portrayed by Alan Alda (né Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; b. Jan. 28, 1936).  The television sit-com ran for 11 years: from September 1972 through February 1983.  [Name # 3.]

34. Deciduous 26-Downs: ELMS.  //  And 26-Down. Backyard shade provider: TREE.  Living on Elm Street can be a real nightmare.

37. Schnoz: SNOUT.

43. Hard to pick up: HEAVY.

44. "Scram!": SHOO.

45. Great Basin people: UTES.

46. Sound from a 57-Across: MEOW.  //  And 57-Across. Feline: CAT.  //  And 53-Across. Sounds from big 57-Acrosses: ROARS.

48. Chirpy songbird: WREN.

54. Caspian __: SEA.  The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake and sometimes referred to as a full-fledged sea.  It is a landlocked body of water in Eurasia. The countries surrounding Caspian Sea are five countries: Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan

58. Layered cookie: OREO.  A crossword staple.  You can get the cookie in a variety of flavors, but why?

59. Birth-related: NATAL.

61. Within: AMID.

66. Puerto __: RICO.  Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island and unincorporated U.S. territory.  Its capital is San Juan.

67. Data assortment: ARRAY.

68. Grain tower: SILO.

69. Otherwise: ELSE.

70. Fritter away: WASTE.

71. Big name in ice cream: EDYS.

Down:

1. __ a ballot: votes: CASTS.  This is an election year.  Enough said.

2. Many an A-lister: ACTOR.

3. Camera output: PHOTO.

4. Some hydrating skin care products: SERA.  But do they really work?

5. Tease: RIB.

6. Flight status abbr.: ARR.  As in Arrival time.

7. Handed out a hand: DEALT.

8. "It's the Hard Knock Life" musical: ANNIE.  [Name # 3, fictional.]

9. Clifford of kid-lit, for one: RED DOG.  Clifford The Big Red Dog is a series about the adventures of a girl named Emily Elizabeth and her pet dog, a giant, red-furred dog named Clifford.  Norman Bridwell (1928 ~ 2014) was the author of this series.  The first book in the series was published in 1963.  [Name # 4, fictional.]

10. Gershwin brother: IRA.  A nice, refreshing change from the usual Individual Retirement Account.  Ira Gershwin (né Israel Gershovitz; Dec. 6, 1896 ~ Aug. 17, 1983) was the older brother of George Gershwin (né Jacob Gershovitz; Sept. 26, 1898 ~ July 11, 1937).  The two brothers collaborated on many songs: George composed the music and Ira wrote the lyrics.   [Name # 5.]

George and Ira Gershwin

11. Frilly garment in many a costume drama: PETTICOAT.

12. Online moderator, for short: ADMIN.  As in Administrator.

13. Gave a couple of Advil, say: DOSED.

18. Olaf's creator in "Frozen": ELSA.  The musical Frozen is based on Hans Christian Anderson's story The Snow Queen.  [Name # 5, fictional.]

22. Practical: OF USE.

27. Great grade: A-PLUS.

28. Topknot on a dude: MAN BUN.

29. Formal relinquishing of rights: WAIVER.

31. __ Wednesday: ASH.

32. Cell service initials: LTE.  As in Long Term Evolution.  Everything you wanted to know about LTE but didn't know to ask.

33. Theatrical behavior: DRAMATICS.

35. Dashboard stat: MPH.  As in Miles Per Hour.

36. Writer and abolitionist Harriet Beecher __: STOWE.  Harriet Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 ~ July 1, 1896) is best known for her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.  [Name # 6.]

38. Arles article: UNE.  Today's French lesson.  Arles is a city in southern France.  It is best known for being the place that inspired Vincent Van Gogh (Mar. 30, 1853 ~ July 29, 1890) to paint many of his works.  It was also an ancient Roman outpost.

39. QB goals: TDS.  Think football: as in Touch Downs.

41. Japanese city whose name means "capital city": KYOTO.  Kyoto, once the capital of Japan, is a city on the island of Honshu. It's famous for its numerous classical Buddhist temples, as well as gardens, imperial palaces, Shinto shrines and traditional wooden houses.

42. "Beep beep" maker: HORN.

47. Polish capital: WARSAW.

49. Novelist Ferber: EDNA.  Edna Ferber (Aug. 15, 1885 ~ Apr. 16, 1968) wrote many novels, including Show Boat, which was later adapted into a musical.  [Name # 7.]

50. Cause to jump, maybe: SCARE.

51. Native of Sri Lanka: TAMIL.

52. Eye-catching aquarium fish: TETRA.  Everything you wanted to know about Tetra but didn't know to ask.

54. Serious: STAID.

55. Before the doors open: EARLY.

56. Choir section: ALTOS.

60. Cathedral area: APSE.

62. Mama deer: DOE.

64. D.C. MLBer: NAT.  The Washington, D.C., Nationals are a professional baseball team.

65. Salon supply: DYE.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Thursday, February 22, 2024, Amanda Cook, Kelly Richardson

 

Someone's in the
Kitchen With Dinah!

Today's offering by Amanda Cook and Kelly Richardson reminds me of a puzzle by David Alfred Bywaters that I reviewed a few years back, all about things found in a Victorian kitchen.  In this case the constructors treat us to 5 punny clues loosely describing kitchen utensils (no stars, circles, or reveal) ...

18A. Reporters who cover the multiple-recalls beat?: LEMON PRESS.  Reporters (PRESS) specializing in faulty cars (LEMONS).  Here's an unpunned LEMON PRESS ...

23A. Championship match for competitive waitstaff?: SERVING BOWL.  The competitive waitstaff make their living SERVING and the BOWL doubles as either the final game in a series or the coveted award to the winner.  Here's a real bowl we use for serving salads ...

35A. Party where sparks really fly?: ELECTRIC MIXER.  A party thrown by the Mean Girls?

51A. Zero-star review that goes fully scorched earth?: ROASTING PAN.  I viewed a number of celebrity ROASTINGS for this clue, but they were all so HOT that I was a afraid that Blogger would PAN them.

57A. Professional purveyor of gossip?: TEA PITCHER.  One of my granddaughters taught me that TEA in her generation is synonymous with gossip.  The problem with this fill however, is that there is really no such thing as a TEA PITCHER in the kitchen.  Tea is brewed in TEA POTS, e.g.

Tea Pot

However in the summer we use a tea pot to brew very strong tea, add sugar, lemon, and ice to it, and use this PITCHER to serve ICED TEA ...

Tea Pitcher

Here's the grid ...
 

Here's the rest ...

Across:

1. Octopus octet: ARMS.  This rare octopus would have been clued "Octopus nonet" ...
 

Nine armed octopus found off the coast of Japan

5. Unmoored: ASEA.

9. "Ready or not, here __!": I COME.  I guess I'm IT!

14. Potting soil base: PEAT.  PEAT is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. Sphagnum moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most common components in peat, although many other plants can contribute.  Dried peat is still used in rural areas in countries like Ireland for heating and cooking.

15. Melodious cadence: LILT.  More than that, lilting is a form of traditional singing common in the Gaelic speaking areas of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, though singing styles like it occur in many other countries.

16. Opera star Callas: MARIA.   Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sofia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century.  Here she sings Schubert's AVE MARIA ...

Lyrics w/translation

17. Anti-cruelty org.: PETA.  SPCA fit as well, but didn't perp.  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia (CSO to Jinx) and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president.  PETA says that its entities have more than 9 million members globally. 

18. [Theme clue]

20. Country star Haggard: MERLE.  Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.  I don't think that MERLE and MARIA ever met.  Here he laments the passing of the good old days ...

22. In a clingy way: NEEDILY.

23. [Theme clue]

26. "Breaking Bad" law org.: DEA.  Drug Enforcement Administration.

27. Flounder and Scuttle's friend: ARIEL.  Would you believe -- Flounder and Scuttle are controversial now?

28. "Yikes": OOF.

29. Beanie Babies, Tamagotchi, etc.: FADS. 

30. The Masters gp.: PGA.

31. Kept in a barrel: AGED.  A CSO to Chairman MOE.  He had a birthday just last week. 😁

33. "Knives Out" actress de Armas: ANA.  This may look like a spoiler, but the movie doesn't actually end the way it looks like it ends ...

35. [Theme clue]

40. General on a Chinese takeout menu: TSO.  Natasha shows you how to make your own.

General TSO's Chicken

41. Stylish: CHIC.

42. Understand: GET.

44. Blanchett of "Thor: Ragnarok": CATE.   CATE has come a long way since she played Galadriel in Middle Earth ...

47. __ culpa: MEA.  Today's Latin lesson: "My fault" -- e.g. this review is MEA CULPA.
 
48. Soaring apex predator: EAGLE.  Or a member of this rock band ...

And CSO to this early poster.

50. Actress Longoria: EVA.  Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón (née Longoria; born March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, director and business woman.  Apparently she started off young and restless and then became desperate.

Eva Longoria

51. [Theme clue]

54. "Dinner!": LETS EAT.  May I suggest 40A.

56. Meted (out): DEALT.

57. [Theme clue]

60. Conceited: VAIN.  Cue Carly  ...

She says this song is actually about 3 men,

only one of which she has identified.

62. Finalize, as a comic strip: INK IN.  A heavenly CSO to Don Carlton, one of the greatest INKERS of all time ...

Don Carlton
December 28, 1936 – May 16, 2023

63. Hindu festival: HOLI.  Here's the filming of the Holi Scene from the Good Karma Hospital (one of the greatest series of all time) ...

And a CSO to Picard who has celebrated

many HOLI festivals

64. Desire: ENVY.

65. Nickels and dimes: COINS.

66. Bookbinder's tools: AWLS.

67. Mushroom part: STEM.  While looking for the diagram below, I noticed that almost all of mushrooms shown were poisonous, although only a small percentage of those in the wild actually are.  If you can tell an oak leaf from a maple leaf you can probably identify the edible ones.  When I used to collect edible mushrooms here's the book I used. The basic rule is: IF YOU CAN'T POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THAT IT'S AN EDIBLE SPECIES - DON'T EAT IT! (FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm not a mycologist, I just play one on the Corner 😀).

Parts of a Mushroom
This reminds me that my close friends in high school
used to call me Bilious Mycelium 😃

 

Down:

1. Oft-shared restaurant order, informally: APP.  And you may be able to order your APP ahead of time with your cellphone APP.

2. Surface again: REEMERGE.  Cicada's REEMERGE every 13 or 17 years depending on the brood and what part of the country they inhabit.  Here's everything you need to know, although it doesn't tell you how to escape them -- other than leaving your state for a couple of weeks.

3. Relevant: MATERIAL.

4. Treat a fever, per dubious folk wisdom: STARVE.  The bad news.  The good news is you can FEED a cold.  [Informal survey]: hand up if you've had all of your COVID vaccinations and haven't gotten a cold since.  Knock on wood, I haven't ✋.

5. "Grey's Anatomy" executive producer Debbie: ALLEN.  She's not only a producer of the show, but she also acts in it.  But those roles sound like the least of her accomplishments.

Debbie Allen
Kennedy Center Arts Honoree

6. "Sprechen __ Deutsch?": SIE.  Today's German lesson: "Do you speak German".  A CSO to our dearly departed Spitzboov.  I speak ein bishchen, but read it better -- most of which I learned by listening to German art songs (Lieder), an acquired taste.  Did you know that Franz Schubert wrote over 600 songs (not to mention tons of other stuff) in his short life of 31 years?  Here's the late, great Fritz Wunderlich singing Schubert's An die Musik (ODE to Music -- what other Lied would I play in a crossword puzzle 😀) ...

Lyrics and translation

7. Blight-stricken tree species: ELM.

8. Many, many: A TON OF.

9. Urge: IMPEL.

10. Penalize in soccer: CARD.  Or a CSO to Ray - O.  😁

11. Tater Tots maker: OREIDA.  A portmanteau of Oregon and Idaho, the great potato producing states.

12. Hoodwinked: MISLED.

13. GPA-boosting classes: EASY A'S.

19. Fresh: NEW.

21. Purple blossoms: LILACS.  An image from the Walt Witman poem When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed, an homage to Abraham Lincoln.

23. Tree product: SAP.

24. Movie trailer?: GOER.

25. Dress design options: BODICES.  A BODICE is an article of clothing traditionally for women and girls, covering the torso from the neck to the waist. The term typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the upper portion of a modern dress to distinguish it from the skirt and sleeves. The name bodice is etymologically an odd plural spelling of "body" and comes from an older garment called a pair of bodies (because the garment was originally made in two separate pieces that fastened together, frequently by lacing).

Bodice

29. Once-common office fixture: FAX. Short for "facsimile", a FAX uses the phone system to transmit an actual image of a document, especially useful for signed documents.  Some medical facilities require them, e.g for the transmission of prescriptions.

32. Classic Pontiac: GTO.

33. Bordeaux buddy: AMI.  French for "friend".  The grape varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc are also Bordeaux buddies.

34. __ Creed: church recitation: NICENE.  The NICENE Creed,  also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene or mainstream Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and was later amended in 381.  It is recited by the congregation at every Sunday Catholic Mass, immediately after the scripture readings and the homily.

36. Avignon summer: ETE.  More French.

37. Catch up, maybe: CHAT.  Often done by texting these days or in Internet CHAT rooms.

38. Parmigiana choice: EGGPLANT.  Here's a recipe.  We used to make it, but now I'm on a low salt  diet and salt is required to de-moisturize the eggplant slices.  It's a lot easier to make with yellow squash or zucchini (particularly useful if you don't keep an eye on them in the garden and they morph into Italian baseball bats!).

Eggplant Parmesan

39. Second cousin, e.g.: RELATIVE.

43. Big __ Conference: TEN.  The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Most of its 14 member institutions are in the Midwestern United States. The conference footprint will expand to the country's Pacific coast in 2024.  Sounds like it's
 

and getting BIGGER

44. Like the Irish language: CELTIC.  Closely related to Irish are the CELTIC languages spoken in Wales, Brittany, Scotland, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man (see 15A).

45. Maker of Positively Radiant skin care products: AVEENO.

46. Japanese food prep method that translates to "pounded": TATAKI.  I thought it just meant "seared", as that's what Tuna TATAKI is advertised as in the sushi restaurants we frequent.  Perhaps Renee can shed some light on this.

47. Green tea ice cream ingredient: MATCHA.  I started adding a few tablespoons of MATCHA powder to my smoothies and within a few days my blood pressure was elevated.  When I stopped using it the BP went back to normal. Teri later verified that it has this effect on BP.

49. Mezcal plants: AGAVES.  Mezcal  is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave plant. The word mezcal comes from a Nahuatl word meaning "oven-cooked agave".  Agaves are endemic to the Americas and are found globally as ornamental plants.  Apparently agave is becoming a popular crop with farmers in drought stricken areas of California.

51. Harness straps: REINS.

52. Nondairy milk: OAT.

53. Elba of "Thor: Ragnarok": IDRIS.  I think Amanda and Kelly must have a "Thor" spot for Ragnarök (see 44A), which I just discovered is a Scandinavian word for "Doom of the Gods".  This is a blatant ripoff of Richard Wagner's Twilight of the Gods, the final opera in his epic Ring Cycle.  I hope Marvel Studios is paying his estate royalties! 😀

58. "No matter __ you slice it ... ": HOW.  No matter HOW you slice it, this review is just about finished!

59. Tetris shape: ELL. You can play this while the clock runs out (be sure to read the ABOUT TETRIS section on the addictive nature of this game before you start -- you may never make it to the comments section!)

61. Queens team, in box scores: NYM.  New York Mets.

Cheers,
Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley