Theme: Love Of My Life
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| LOML and NaomiZ on their recent trip to Spain checking out the Alcázar in Segovia where Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon once held sway. |
Constructors Amie Walker and Amanda Rafkin team up today to give us a pleasant diversion with a puzzling theme. There are no circles, but we are asked to look at the beginning of each of the starred entries to find a secret message.
17-Across. *Elixirs that stir passion: LOVE POTIONS.
27-Across. *Steinbeck novella featuring George and Lennie: OF MICE AND MEN.
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48-Across. *Franchise whose characters have "cutie marks": MY LITTLE PONY.
63-Across. *"Appreciate every moment": LIFE IS SHORT.
62-Down. Romantic initialism spelled out by the starts of the answers to the starred clues: LOML.
I'm glad the ladies told us this was an initialism, because LOML did not look like an English spelling to me! And I'm glad they said it was romantic, too. That helped me to guess "Love Of My Life." When I went online to confirm this solution, I found that according to Yahoo News UK, "The acronym LOML is universally believed to mean 'love of my life'. It is used in messages and comments constantly." Not only that, but Taylor Swift released a song just last year titled "loml." Learning new things is good mental exercise, and not a waste of precious brain cells, right?
On to the rest of the things we knew, or didn't:
Across:1. Fire (up): REV.
4. Sound of an ungentle landing: THUD.
8. Ready to pour: ON TAP.
13. "Little Red Riding Hood" tool: AXE.
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| I had nightmares about this story for years. |
14. Grey __ vodka: GOOSE.
15. Boatload: CARGO.
16. __ reel: GAG.
17. [Theme clue]
19. Fish sauce quality: UMAMI. Umami is often described as a fifth taste sensation (not salty, sour, bitter, or sweet) that is savory and delicious. Vague enough? Oxford Languages says it corresponds to the flavor of glutamates, especially monosodium glutamate. Yum!
21. Takes a turn?: REVOLVES.
22. "Let's kick it up a __": NOTCH.
25. Worn-down pencil: NUB.
26. Jargon suffix: ESE. Legalese, bureaucratese, journalese, computerese ...
27. [Theme clue]
31. Not post-: PRE.
32. Hindu festival: HOLI. Holi is a major Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of spring in India and the blossoming of love. It is colorful!
33. Gave the star treatment to: RATED. Oh, that kind of star treatment!
37. Morrison who said, "The function of freedom is to free someone else": TONI. Spoken at the Barnard College commencement ceremony, 1979.
39. Like cereal sitting in milk: SOGGY.
42. Clip: PACE. Clip is usually used when speaking of a rapid pace: a good clip, a fast clip.
43. Compress: SMUSH. Informal for mash or push.
45. Warmth: HEAT.
47. Pro's opposite: CON.
48. [Theme clue]
52. Rapper __ Nas X: LIL. By now you all know him.
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| Lil Nas X |
55. Particle: BIT.
56. Rounds in tourneys: SEMIS.
57. "That was off topic ... ": I DIGRESS.
60. Cultured __: PEARL.
63. [Theme clue]
66. WC: LOO. WC (water closet) and loo are British terms for toilet or lavatory.
67. Put some chips on the table: ANTED. Not snacks! He put some chips (gaming tokens) on the table to play a round of cards. In other words, he anted (sounds like ANTEED) up.
56. Rounds in tourneys: SEMIS.
57. "That was off topic ... ": I DIGRESS.
60. Cultured __: PEARL.
63. [Theme clue]
66. WC: LOO. WC (water closet) and loo are British terms for toilet or lavatory.
67. Put some chips on the table: ANTED. Not snacks! He put some chips (gaming tokens) on the table to play a round of cards. In other words, he anted (sounds like ANTEED) up.
68. Capitol Hill staffers: AIDES.
69. Cash dispenser: ATM.
70. Wine vessels: CASKS.
71. Some "Modern Family" figures: DADS.
72. Marina __ Rey, California: DEL. The other end of "the 90" from our place. Speaking of which, save the 90! Los Angeles city planners want to repurpose this short freeway by putting apartment buildings and businesses on it. It's not continually jammed, so it must be ripe for further development.
Down:
1. Italian meat sauce: RAGÙ. Yes, ragù (with a grave accent, leaning left) is a meat sauce typically served with pasta. But RAGÚ (with an acute accent, leaning right) is a trademarked brand of bottled pasta sauces. I counted 25 varieties of RAGÚ on their website, and only one contained meat.
2. Test: EXAM.
3. List that may include black bean chili and mushroom pot pie: VEGAN MENU. Traveling in Europe can be challenging for us. We were happy to find places like Roots & Rolls in Barcelona, Mad Mad Vegan in Madrid, and Wild Food in Granada, where the menus are entirely vegan.
4. All __ well: TOO. I know all TOO well that vegetarian options are limited in some places!
5. __ lane: HOV. We can use the High Occupancy Vehicle lane in California if there are two or more people in the car -- or if it's a Clean Air Vehicle with a required decal. To qualify for a decal, the vehicle must be: 1) 100% electric or hydrogen fuel cell powered, or 2) plug-in hybrid-electric meeting certain standards, or 3) compressed natural gas meeting state and federal emission standards.
6. Tech support caller: USER.
7. Rely (on): DEPEND.
8. National Black Cat Day month: OCTOBER. Sure, but:
National Black Cat Appreciation Day is August 17th.
National Black Cat Day is October 27th.
October is Black Cat Awareness Month.
All of these events are meant to raise support for black cat adoptions and to dispel superstitions.
9. Get just right: NAIL.
10. Treasure stash: TROVE.
11. Nosy neighbor in "WandaVision": AGNES. WandaVision is a TV miniseries created for Disney+, based on Marvel Comics, featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff (whose alter ego is Scarlet Witch) and Vision. Nosy neighbor Agnes is secretly a witch herself, and an antagonist. If we are going to get into complex fictional worlds, I'd rather listen to my granddaughter describe the tribes of dragons in the Wings of Fire books: SkyWings, IceWings, NightWings, SeaWings, MudWings, SandWings, RainWings, HiveWings, LeafWings, SilkWings ....
12. Entourage: POSSE.
14. Bug: GLITCH.
18. Reproductive cell: OVUM.
20. Pronoun used in mock outrage: MOI. Made famous by Miss Piggy, it's Frawnche for "Who, ME?"
23. Co. leaders: CEOs. Company leaders are Chief Executive Officers.
24. Angel hair topper: HALO. You were thinking ragù, right? Not that kind of angel hair.
27. Elects (to): OPTS.
28. Gift tag word: FROM.
29. "See ya in the morning!": 'NIGHT.
30. __ trapped: stuck at home because of a tot's sleep schedule: NAP. The clue defines this very well. I'm not sure this phrase existed when I had little children, but I may experience the situation with the upcoming grandson.
34. Tex-Mex dish with an edible bowl: TACO SALAD. I always called the salad in a fried tortilla bowl a tostada, though I'm aware that some skimpy tostadas are built on flat, fried tortillas. Extremely brief research suggests that the meal in the yummy bowl is actually a TACO SALAD.
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| El Pollo Loco calls this a Classic Tostada. They're on my side! |
35. Nobel Prize subj.: ECON. Also phys., chem., med., lit., and peace.
36. Say no to: DENY.
38. Belief system: ISM.
40. Obtains: GETS.
41. Home of Grace Hopper College: YALE. Grace Hopper College is a residential college of Yale University, opened in 1933 as one of the original eight undergraduate residential colleges. It was originally named Calhoun College after US Vice President John C. Calhoun, but renamed in 2017 in honor of computer scientist Grace Murray Hopper. If you knew this, you just might be a Yalie, AKA Eli.
44. Some Subarus: HYBRIDS.
46. Lures: TEMPTS.
49. "Completely false!": LIES.
50. "Such a shame": IT'S SAD.
51. Food in "Sweeney Todd" and "Waitress": PIE. In the penny dreadful stories about Sweeney Todd (1846/47), the villainous barber of Fleet Street, Todd kills his customers, and his neighbor bakes their flesh into meat pies, which she sells. Waitress was a 2015 stage musical and 2023 musical comedy movie, in which a waitress who bakes pies eventually finds a way to leave her abusive husband and run her own business.
52. Lavender kin: LILAC.
53. Tony winner Menzel: IDINA. Idina Menzel is an American actress and singer. She has been nicknamed the "Queen of Broadway" for her commanding stage presence and powerful mezzo-soprano voice. Having achieved mainstream success across stage, screen, and music, her accolades include a Tony Award and a Daytime Emmy Award.
36. Say no to: DENY.
38. Belief system: ISM.
40. Obtains: GETS.
41. Home of Grace Hopper College: YALE. Grace Hopper College is a residential college of Yale University, opened in 1933 as one of the original eight undergraduate residential colleges. It was originally named Calhoun College after US Vice President John C. Calhoun, but renamed in 2017 in honor of computer scientist Grace Murray Hopper. If you knew this, you just might be a Yalie, AKA Eli.
44. Some Subarus: HYBRIDS.
46. Lures: TEMPTS.
49. "Completely false!": LIES.
50. "Such a shame": IT'S SAD.
51. Food in "Sweeney Todd" and "Waitress": PIE. In the penny dreadful stories about Sweeney Todd (1846/47), the villainous barber of Fleet Street, Todd kills his customers, and his neighbor bakes their flesh into meat pies, which she sells. Waitress was a 2015 stage musical and 2023 musical comedy movie, in which a waitress who bakes pies eventually finds a way to leave her abusive husband and run her own business.
52. Lavender kin: LILAC.
53. Tony winner Menzel: IDINA. Idina Menzel is an American actress and singer. She has been nicknamed the "Queen of Broadway" for her commanding stage presence and powerful mezzo-soprano voice. Having achieved mainstream success across stage, screen, and music, her accolades include a Tony Award and a Daytime Emmy Award.
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| Idina Menzel |
54. Elevates: LIFTS.
58. __ chic: GEEK. According to Collins English Dictionary, geek chic is a fashion style believed to be characteristic of geeks, including the wearing of heavy-rimmed glasses and T-shirts with humorous slogans.
59. Branch of Islam: SHIA.
61. Repetitive learning method: ROTE.
62. [Theme clue]
64. Out of the ordinary: ODD.
65. Hi-__ graphics: RES.
61. Repetitive learning method: ROTE.
62. [Theme clue]
64. Out of the ordinary: ODD.
65. Hi-__ graphics: RES.
Here's the grid:
One of the Loves Of My Life is solving the crossword puzzle with all of you here in the Corner ... the bloggers, the commenters, and those who read along.
So ... was this puzzle a rare PEARL? Or did it land with a THUD?
NaomiZ
