Friday, January 17, 2025 - Amanda Cook and Katie Hale

 Theme:  It's snack time

 

Puzzling thoughts:

Today's puzzle is a collaboration between two crossword puzzle assistant editors, Amanda Cook and Katie Hale.  Ms. Cook and Ms. Hale filled our goodies bag with five different types of snacks (although I would argue that NOODLES are not a snack) that are found at the end of five familiar phrases:

15-across. Internet cafe snacks?: BROWSER COOKIES.  [Microsoft dot com] describes cookies as "... bits of data that are sent to and from your browser to identify you. When you open a website, your browser sends a piece of data to the web server hosting that website. This data usually appears as strings of numbers and letters in a text file." How about a Moe-ku and cartoon to further explain?

        Beware logging on

        To the Girl Scouts' website; they

        Use BROWSER COOKIES

 

 

22-across. Billiard hall snacks?: POOL NOODLES. Pool noodles are flotation devices, or as this Moe-ku and cartoon describe:

        What might you call brains

        That work while swimming? Of course,

        They are POOL NOODLES

 

 

 

34-across. Arbitration snacks?: BARGAINING CHIPS.  [dictionary dot com] describes a bargaining chip as: "a potential concession or other factor which can be used to advantage in negotiations"; as described in yet another Moe-ku (and image):

        When Lay's and Pringles

        Decide to merge, I heard they

        Used BARGAINING CHIPS

 

 

44-across. Travel snacks?: AIRPORT BARS.  Despite the nearly flawless record of airplane travel, airport bars are still found in most concourses as a haven for nervous travelers to secure a drink (or two, or three) before boarding.  Or, as this Moe-ku and image suggest:

        Where might one find a

        Place to have a flight before

        A flight? AIRPORT BARS

 

 

 

 

 

53-across. Moving day snacks?: PACKING PEANUTS. Packing peanuts are those nut-shaped Styrofoam objects that help cushion your shipment by filling the voids in a package.  Or, as this Moe-ku and image might suggest:

        The preferred item

        Shippers use for elephants

        Are PACKING PEANUTS

 

 

 

They will cushion his trunk!

 

Perhaps this one was left on the editor's desk.  Clue: Bank heist snacks? SAFE CRACKERS.  Ok, so this one didn't make the cut but that doesn't mean there's no Moe-ku or cartoon!

        Parrot's owner is 

        A bank thief. I guess, Polly

        Wants a SAFE CRACKER

Here is the grid: 

 

My "score" for this puzzle is ⭐⭐⭐and 1/4⭐ It could have been higher, but there were far too many three-letter words (TLWs) and abbreviations.  I am sure they were needed to support the large number of entry letters (65), but many of the 17 TLWs were also abbr's (7).  I will point them out below. Also, there were a couple of forced entries (green paint) but again, the use of 5 entries which averaged 13 letters apiece creates filling problems 

Across:

1. Hoffmann of "Transparent": GABY.  I wonder if our Crossword Corner regular, desper-otto, found this 1-Across entry as a stumbling block today?  

Ms. Hoffmann's acting career began at an early age, and she's not that well-known now, methinks.  [wikipedia] lists this as her bio intro: "Gabrielle Mary Antonia Hoffmann is an American actress. She made her film debut in Field of Dreams (1989) and found success as a child actress in Uncle Buck (1989), This Is My Life (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and then later as a teenager with Now and Then (1995), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Volcano (1997), All I Wanna Do (1998), and 200 Cigarettes (1999)"

5. Feature of the ROFL emoji: TEAR.  😂 <== this

9. Intel org.: NSA.  TLW #1; abbr. #1

12. Tony kin: OBIE. One of the EGOT categories

13. Foot massage target: ARCH. Who doesn't love a foot massage?

14. Does a bit of tailoring: SEWS.  Did this one leave you in stitches?

18. Vientiane's country: LAOS.

19. "Industry" network: HBO.  TLW #2; abbr. #2

20. Symbol that can mean "approximately": TILDE. ~  <== this

21. Blow up: Abbr.: ENL. TLW #3; abbr. #3

25. Lecture without caring if one's words are heard: TALK AT.  Green paint??  Rarely used entry; seems semi-forced

27. Flamenco cheers: OLES.

28. Show contempt: SNEER.

29. Elisabeth of "The Karate Kid": SHUE.

 

 

 

31. Cricket gear: BAT.  TLW#4

38. Start of something?: ESS.  TLW #5

39. Mercury and Neptune: GODS.  ORBS fits, too
  
40. Slangy "OK": AIGHT.  More green paint??  This, too, seemed forced

41. "Skedaddle!": SHOO.

43. Part of a relay team: ANCHOR.  Usually, the fastest runner on a four-person relay team, and the person who anchors (runs the final leg)

49. Gershwin brother: IRA.  TLW #6 (and if clued as an investment option, this, too could have been an abbr.)

50. __ mail: SNAIL.  The last time I bought a "Forever" stamp from the USPS it cost $0.69 - and when I send a letter from AZ to GA it usually takes a week or more to get there ... SMH

51. Fury: IRE.  TLW #7

52. Eyeliner perfector: Q-TIP.  Unusual clue for this item, but glad to know that Amanda and Katie didn't refer to it as an implement for removing ear wax 

57. Fencing gear: EPEE.

58. Voicemail cue: BEEP.

59. Latin day: DIEM.

60. Big podcast producer: NPR.  TLW #8; abbr. #4

61. Classical closing: CODA.  "Classical", as in classical music

62. Borrowing figs.: APRS.  Abbr. #5; and worse, it pluralizes a TLW

Down:

1. Celebrate wildly: GO BANANAS.  More oft used entry than I would have thought

2. Six-pack producers: AB ROLLERS. A debut entry for published crossword puzzles.  Congrat's, ladies

3. Playbill blurbs: BIOS.  Abbr. #6 - a Playbill is a program that is handed out at theatrical events

4. Longbow wood: YEW.  TLW #9

5. 1990s workout fad: TAEBO. 

6. Barnett of CBS News: ERROL.  Not the first Errol that comes to my mind

 

 

 

This is for all of the ladies who read the blog!

7. Stanford's athletic gp.: ACC. TLW #10; abbr. #7 - Atlantic Coast Conference.  And why is Stanford, a Pacific Coast university part of the ACC?? 

8. Sorority row letter: RHO.  TLW #11

9. "Peaky Blinders" actor Sam: NEILL.  Not one with which I am familiar

10. Rutabaga, to a Brit: SWEDE.  Learning moe-ment for me: Rutabaga is also known as swede (in the UK), Swedish turnip, wax turnip, or neep. It is a winter root vegetable with edible roots as well as leaves that's closely related to the turnip and the cabbage [everyday healthy recipes dot com]

11. Beasts of burden: ASSES.  I can't do a blog without at least one video!! Am I an "ass" for using this one?

14. Hydroplanes: SKIDS.

16. Cocktail measure: SHOT.  Nice use of the clue to soften an otherwise "nasty" word entry.  OTOH, when I measure alcohol in a cocktail (or when drinking neat) I use fingers (two are the minimum)

17. Chiwere speakers: OTOE.  I didn't know who the Chiwere speakers were, but this one filled via perps, IIRC

18. "__ real": LET'S BE.  OK.  That is usually what I am (real) when I blog a puzzle; there's no holding back!

22. Start to ski?: PARA.  As defined

23. Peas and carrots: NOUNS.  Forrest Gump would be happy to know that

24. Designer Cassini: OLEG.

26. Tavern delivery: KEG.  TLW #12

29. Boopable pet part: SNOOT. Another clue that was chosen to help soften a negative word

30. Played sardines, perhaps: HID.  TLW #13

31. Silver Slugger awardee: BIG HITTER.  Not sure that I fully agree with this. A big hitter, as defined, is an important or powerful person.  It can also refer - in baseball terminology - to a sportsperson who is capable of hitting the ball long and hard.  And while the Silver Slugger award is an honor given for the top position players on various baseball teams, it is not what I would define as a big hitter (YYMV)

32. "Better safe than sorry" and "Actions speak louder than words": APHORISMS.  My favorite is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

33. Feature of some dance shoes: T-STRAP.  Splynter gave me permission to use this image, but he removed the stockings:

35. "The Firebird" composer Stravinsky: IGOR.  My kids' HS sports teams were nicknamed the "Firebirds".  Both of my kids were in band, and of course the band director had to feature movements from this iconic symphony during performances, including halftime shows at football games.  Enjoy!  

BTW, the bassoon solo at around the 5:00 mark is one my daughter has played many, many times (and better than this one, IMO)

36. Tennis ball containers: CANS.  As this blog is being written, the Australian Open Tennis Tournament is underway - wonder how Ons Jabeur is doing? 

37. Juice box brand named for its vitamin content: HI-C. TLW #14; abbr. #8 (technically)

41. Sudden surge: SPIKE.  

42. Celebration on the last full moon of Phalguna: HOLI.  Another entry that filled via perps

43. District: AREA. 

44. Poplar kin: ASPEN.

45. Like some add-on purchases: IN APP.  I am betting that as crossword puzzles become more "modern", this phrase will become crossword-ese as well as the word "app"

46. Speed climbing entrant: RACER.

47. Kangaroo, e.g.: BIPED.  

48. Filled cornmeal flatbread: AREPA.

52. Bon mot: QUIP.  Final Moe-ku:

        A witty remark

        Made by certain cotton swab's

        Called: a Q-TIP QUIP

        

54. Network with a three-note chime: NBC. TLW #15; abbr. #9

55. Old Prizm maker: GEO.  TLW #16

56. "For your eyes only" contract, briefly: NDA. TLW #17; abbr. #10

See you on the 31st but will probably be on hiatus after that.  Gonna have cataract surgery and one of the recovery "no-no's" is working on a computer ...