Thursday, July 28, 2022, Amie Walker

 

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with this morning's recap.  Today's puzzle exhibits a wistful choice of themes for one published on a midsummer's day.  As she did with her recent (last June 17th) LAT puzzle, at places within the grid our puzzle setter, Amie Walker, has added a letter or two at the beginning of common expressions and, thereby, created new and different expressions.  In today's puzzle she has added two letters - BR as in "Brrrrrr it's cold".  We can only wish.

The reveal comes at:

55 Across:  Harbingers of lower temperatures, and a hint to the answers to the starred clues: COLD FRONTS.  A COLD FRONT is the leading edge of a cold air mass.  In the puzzle, BR is the COLD FRONT appended to the start of the answer.

The theme is applied at (starred for our convenience):

17 Across:  *Lord of the grill?: BROIL BARON.  Oil Baron.

Lord of the Grill - Stephen Raichlen

26 Across:  *Some spring newlyweds?: BRIDES OF MARCH.  Ides of March.  Beware!

43 Across:  *Warning words from one holding the reins?: BRIDLE THREATS.  Idle Threats.

The balance of the clues/answers:

Across:
1. Furnish funds for: ENDOW.  For example:

6. Sleep restlessly: TOSS.  _____  and TURN.    _____ a coin.  ____ one's cookies.

10. Three-time Olympic gold medalist Devers: GAIL.  One of only two women to successfully defend an Olympic 100 meter championship.

14. Jeweler's glass: LOUPE.

15. Dance that tells a story: HULA.  What did the animal control officer ask the Hawaiian dancer?  "HULA the dogs out?"

16. "Breaking Bad" Emmy winner Gunn: ANNA.  Consistent with the current fashion there are many proper nouns in the puzzle.  Depending on which answers you wish to count, there are a dozen or so.  This is the first.

19. Wine list heading: REDS.

20. Small batteries: AAS.

Third From The Left

21. Subdivision divisions: LOTS.

22. Fake eyelash, informally: FALSIE.  Eyelashes?  Today's "I had best not go there" moment.

24. "No warranties": AS IS.

25. Went around: ORBITED.  AVOIDED was briefly a working guess.  Literally to go around (and around and around).

30. Borrower: LENDEE.  Not too hard to suss out but a word rarely seen/heard.

31. "The Chi" creator Waithe: LENA.  Unknown to me.  Another day of the week it might have been Horne, Olin or the Hyena.

32. Text an embarrassing screenshot to the wrong person, say: ERR.

35. Pre-K basics: ABCS.  The basis for a pop song.

36. Sports radio host Patrick: DAN.  So many Dans from which to choose.

37. H.S. exam: PSAT.  We sit for the PSAT quite often in our puzzles.

38. "Caught you!": HAH.  OHO, the answer is not AHA!

39. Rip-off: SCAM.  "This is an ugly word, this SCAM." - Carmine Sabatini

41. __ solution: SALINE.

46. "Please let me give it a go": MAY I TRY.

48. Pond plant: REED.  The clue was likely going to be either pond or oboe-related, n'est-ce pas?

49. "The Ranch" actress Cuthbert: ELISHA.  Another unknown.  Thanks, perps.

50. Apple variety: GALA.  Not an electronics reference this time.

51. Rio automaker: KIA.  KIA recently adopted a new logo.

54. Skating site: RINK.  THIN ICE was too long.

58. Peniston with the Top 10 hit "Finally": CECE.  CSO to C.C.

CeCe

59. __-slapper: KNEE.  Ha Ha.

60. Wed: UNITE.  Not a dy of the wk.

61. How most TV shows air: IN HD.  High Definition.

62. Tournament ranking: SEED.

63. Triumphant April Fools' Day cry: GOT YA.  Crosses ITTY at 52 Down.  See 26 Down.

Down:

1. Island in a classic palindrome: ELBA.

2. Comedy Central's "Awkwafina Is __ From Queens": NORA.  Does she have to pay royalties to Pepsico?

3. Pairs: DUOS.

4. Big name in nail polish: OPI.  This proper noun is now part of the Croswordese lexicon.

5. "Maybe yes, maybe no": WE'LL SEE.

6. "Oh, really?": THAT SO.  Is it?

7. Sharing word: OURS.

8. "__ Pitch": Canadian web series about softball: SLO.

9. Bay city, briefly: SAN FRAN.  The folks who live there don't usually take too well to this sort of thing.

10. Aioli base: GARLIC.  Basic recipe:  4 cloves fresh garlic, 2 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp coarse grained salt, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/2 cup EVOO, 1 teaspoon water

11. Prime number?: ANESTHESIA.  As in to make NUMB.  This muttonheaded marine mammal initially missed the context.  Thanks, Cat.

12. Not mainstream: INDIE.  Usually used in a show-biz context.

13. Cut with light: LASED.   Crossword constructors, and editors, love verbs that are the same in present and past tense -  Cut, put, shed, cast, quit, hit, etc.  etc.  etc.

18. Capital known as "The City of Trees": BOISE.  State Capital of Idaho.

23. Syllables in an incantation: ABRA.

24. Throws in: ADDS.

25. Black cat, to some: OMEN.  Having passed on the Steve Miller Band possibility a couple of clues above, I shall attempt to redeem myself:

Howlin' Wolf - 1961

26. Meh: BLAH.  'Nuff said

27. "Queen of Country" McEntire: REBA.

28. Slowly but surely: INCH BY INCH.

29. Moth attractor: FLAME.  

A moth goes into a podiatrist’s office.  The doctor asks, “What’s the problem?”  The moth replies, “Doc, let me tell you. I hate my job. Every single day I have to go but I hate my boss and I hate my work.  I wake up every day next to a woman that I once loved, but I stopped loving her long ago. Last week my dog died.  I don't know what to do."  The doctor says, “Those are some serious problems. You need help. But you need a psychiatrist. Why in the world did you come into a podiatrist’s office?”  The moth says, “Because the light was on.”

33. Harangue: RANT.

34. GPS lines: RTES.  We never know if it will be Roads, Route, Avenues, Streets, Highways, etc.  I love working with GPS devices.  I do not love the clues/answers that they have brought us.

36. Tyne of "Judging Amy": DALY.  The actress.

37. Begged: PLED.  A robot accused of stealing his neighbor's electricity PLED guilty as charged.

39. Jedi enemy: SITH.  A Star Wars reference.

40. Classic music libraries?: CD RACKS.  In the age of Mp3s, Compact Discs qualify as "classic".

41. __ life: SHELF.  Some items are marked with those dates that are overly pessimistic.

42. Accent piece: AREA RUG.

44. Gambled: RISKED.

45. Available on the stock exchange: TRADED.  Hand up for first trying LISTED,

46. "__ beaucoup": MERCI.  Today's French 101 lesson.

47. Unrecognizable: ALIEN.  Used as an adjective not as a visitor from another galaxy.

50. Sheer delight: GLEE.

51. Work on a muffler, say: KNIT.  Not an automotive reference.

52. __-bitty: ITTY.  ITSY BITSY wouldn't work with the perps, I suppose.  A musical moment missed.

53. Between ports: ASEA.  Where we may sometimes find ourselves, metaphorically.

56. Low digit: ONE.  The number this time (see 11 Down).  Not (here) a part of the anatomy.

57. Artist Yoko: ONO.  The last of today's proper nouns  . . .  and a frequent visitor.

Here is how all of this looks in the grid:

Amie, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever in the Comments section.  We'd love to hear from you.

Well that wraps things up for today's puzzle recap.  I am presently in Victoria British Columbia helping to celebrate two dear friends' 50th wedding anniversary.  The scary part is that I was at the wedding.  The temperature could not be considered to be cold but it is pleasantly closer to "brrrr" than it is presently in SoCal.  

Have a great Thursday, everyone.  And a great weekend, t00.

_____________________________________

Sunday July 10, 2022 Amie Walker & Christina Iverson

Theme: "Divine Inspiration" - Seven goddesses are hidden inside the theme entries.

22. *Daikon, for one: WINTE RRADISH. I knew "terra" is Latin for "land". Never knew Terra is  Goddess of the Earth.

28. *"Pay attention!": LOOK ALIVE. Kali is the four-armed Hindu goddess. 

 44. *Protective sorts: GUARDIAN ANGELS. Diana was Roman goddess of the hunt. Artemis in Greek.

 66. *Meme featuring a cartoon dog sitting calmly in a room on fire: THIS IS FINE. Egyptian goddess
Isis.

 69. *Pre-anthem request: PLEASE RISE.  Eris is the Greek Goddess of discord.

 90. *Roku service: VIDEO STREAMING. Greek Dawn goddess.

104. *Hairstyle made famous by Jennifer Aniston: THE RACHEL. Greek goddess Hera.

Reveal:

115. Divine feminine energy, and what can be found in each of the answers to the starred clues: INNER GODDESS.

We've had hidden Norse Gods in the past. I don't recall a goddess theme. Fun!

The goddess that comes to my mind is of course Chang'e, Chinese goddess of the moon, but it's probably too obscure, plus no phrases to hide her. I can't even find a workable one to hide NIKE.

Across:

1. Money of Manila: PESO.

5. Bronze finish?: PATINA. The sheen on a bronze statue. "Antiques Roadshow" drew a huge crowd when they stopped in Minneapolis a few years ago.

11. Swindle: SCAM.

15. Shade tree: ELM.

18. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" writer/illustrator Carle: ERIC. Passed away last year.

19. Tequila-based cocktails: PALOMAS. Wikipedia ingredients: Agave tequila, fresh lime juice, salt & pink grapefruit soda.

20. [Sigh]: AH ME.

21. Nanny's bleat: MAA.

24. __ beer: ROOT.

25. With 110-Down, geometric style: ART. 110. See 25-Across: DECO.

26. Bagel option: SESAME. Here's the sesame grinder that I use.

27. 23andMe sample: DNA.

30. Substance: DEPTH.

33. Collects little by little: GLEANS.

35. [Sigh]: ALAS.

36. Braz. neighbor: ARG.

39. Old Testament prophet: NAHUM. Boomer might know him.

41. New Orleans nickname, with "the": BIG EASY. Hi there George!

48. Extinguishes: DOUSES.

52. Red Muppet who refers to himself in the third person: ELMO.

53. Time to hustle?: DISCO ERA. Nice clue.

54. Marketing jargon: ADSPEAK.

55. Specifics, informally: DEETS. Details.

57. "Dateline NBC" anchor Lester: HOLT.

58. Watchdog warning: GRR.

59. "Waitress" composer Bareilles: SARA.

60. Collaborative site: WIKI.

62. Ice cream purchase: PINT.

63. Fibber's admission: I LIED.

65. Diner fave: BLT.

71. Chewie's shipmate: HAN. Also the largest ethnic group in China. In the world too. I'm a Han.

72. Posh digs: SUITE.

73. Faint: PALE.

74. Grasps: SEES.

75. Half of zwei: EINS.

77. Singer Orbison: ROY.

78. "Project Runway" fashion icon Tim: GUNN.

79. Asian gambling mecca: MACAU. Just had its worst COVID break. All casinos are shut down now.

 

82. Swindles: FLEECES.

84. Permanently, informally: FOR KEEPS.

88. Breathing organ: LUNG.

89. Saint of Ávila: TERESA.

92. "3.15.20" hip hop artist Childish __: GAMBINO.

94. __ wool: STEEL.

95. Quaint contraction: TIS.

96. Top spot: ACME.

99. How detectives might act: ON A TIP.

102. Stiff "Me too": AS DO I.

107. Evergreen tree: FIR.

109. Talking head: PUNDIT.

113. Rotten: BAD.

114. "Succession" cousin: GREG. Learning moment for me. Played by Nicholas Braun.

118. Singer Grande's debut fragrance: ARI.

119. Tomato type: ROMA.

120. Spotted: NOTICED.

121. Jackie Robinson Stadium sch.: UCLA.

122. SHO subsidiary: TMC.

123. Maker of some Chromebooks: ACER. Our monitor also.

124. Like some experimental music: ATONAL.

125. Skyrocket: SOAR.

Down:

1. Laser tag sounds: PEWS.

 

2. City halfway between Buffalo and Cleveland: ERIE.

3. Transgressions: SINS.

4. Set of eight: OCTAD.

5. Norm: PAR.

6. Ga. neighbor: ALA.

7. Mary __ Lincoln: TODD.

8. Chatting on Slack, for short: IMING.

9. Stuffy-sounding: NASAL.

10. Fire proof?: ASH. Gimme for regulars.

11. Some beach wraps: SARONGS. Malaysian-style.

12. Pick: CHOOSE.

13. Frantically: AMOK. With Run.

14. Like a crossword clue that refers to itself: META.

15. "Inbox zero" hindrance: EMAIL.

16. Cocoon creator: LARVA.

17. Partners: MATES.

19. Like some cellphones: PRE-PAID.

23. Correct, as text: EMEND.

28. First name in boxing: LAILA.

29. Simple buckets: LAYUPS.

31. Pad see ew cuisine: THAI. Pad see ew uses wider rice noodles. Pai thai uses thin rice noodles.

32. Attila and his colleagues: HUNS.

34. Critic whose final blog post ended, "I'll see you at the movies": EBERT.

36. Kept underground, say: AGED.

37. "No jumping on the couch," e.g.: RULE.

38. Walk-off home run, e.g.: GAME WINNER.

40. Word before learning or language: MACHINE.

42. 221B Baker Street, e.g.: ADDRESS. Sherlock Holmes.

43. Shipwreck signal: SOS.

45. Indian flatbreads: ROTIS.

46. Nary a soul: NO ONE.

47. Hanukkah coins: GELT.

49. Laura Hillenbrand book about a racehorse: SEABISCUIT. Tobey Maguire played the jockey in the movie.

50. Some "Bridgerton" characters: EARLS.

51. Do figure eights: SKATE.

54. Solo for a diva: ARIA.

56. Hits the slopes: SKIS.

58. __ club: GLEE.

61. "You betcha!": I SURE AM.

62. Feel sorry for: PITY.

63. Malady: ILLNESS.

64. Judge to be: DEEM.

66. Robbery: THEFT.

67. Track and field great __ Gebrselassie: HAILE. Ethiopian.

68. Verizon bundle: FIOS.

69. Breadcrumbs choice: PANKO. Gimme. All our grocery stores now carry Panko.  Pan = Bread. Ko = Powder/Flour.

70. Domain: REALM.

73. Free of contaminants: PURE.

76. Folk legend Pete: SEEGER.

78. Title character who is never onstage: GODOT.  "Waiting for Godot"

80. Latin years: ANNI.

81. Brand of sheepskin boots: UGGS.

83. Farm-to-table endeavor, briefly: CSA. Community-Supported Agriculture.

84. Big exam: FINAL.

85. Jazz great James: ETTA.

86. Board mtg. exec: PRES. President.

87. Vanilla bean, e.g.: SEEDPOD.

90. Salad dressing component: VINEGAR. Has any of you tried Trade Joe's Sesame Dressing?

91. For all to hear: ALOUD.

93. "Rent" song "La Vie __": BOHEME. The Bohemian Life.

96. Up, in baseball: AT BAT.

97. Bracelet dangler: CHARM.

98. Combat doctor: MEDIC.

100. Otherwise: IF NOT.

101. __ bean: PINTO. Refried beans.

103. River through Pakistan: INDUS. Originated in the Tibetan plateau.

105. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.

106. Gator kin: CROC.

108. Bridle strap: REIN.

111. "Godmothered" actress Fisher: ISLA.

112. Ruler until 1917: TSAR.

115. Cookbook writer Garten: INA.

116. Early TV brand: RCA.

117. Come together: GEL.

Belated Happy 75th birthday to Bill (Waseeley) and Happy 52nd birthday to Tony (Anon-T)! I'm so sorry that I missed both. Been a hectic week.

Today we celebrate the birthday of my brilliant mentor and friend Don G. Happy birthday, Don!

Don G and his wife Barbie

Tomorrow we have four more appointments at the VA. Hopefully the x-rays turn out good so Boomer can take the sling off. Also hope that Boomer does not have too much side effects from the new bone strengthener infusion this time.

C.C.

Friday, June 17, 2022, Amie Walker

 Title: G where did you come from?

Amie comes to us from Idaho; oh I mean I don't know. The theme is a very classic Friday add a letter to a L-starting phrase, clue to the new meaning and let the hilarity ensue. My new computer and I have been disagreeing all week so I have no idea what you will get as the final blog but again, it should be fun. 

18A. Protection from bright flashes of light?: GLINT SCREEN (11). Lint screens do protect, add a G and you are safe from the flashes. 

26A. Sparkly insects?: GLITTER BUGS (11). The fireflies light the way to pick up all the garbage.

44A. Sign on a sauna door?: GLISTEN HERE (10). The spa will tell you that you will shine from your sweating.

57A. Entry on a dating site for fireflies?: GLOW PROFILE (11). Well not a dupe but a description of the joy of dating someone who is not a loud mouth. 

Across:

1. "The Magic School Bus" airer: PBS. This has been around for many years, and has a classic theme song by a Star.

4. "Let's take it down a notch": NOW NOW. I can picture HG telling his class to settle down.

10. Dropbox files, informally: DOCS. Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by the American company Dropbox, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, U.S. that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software. Wikipedia.

14. Clickable link: URL. Just as buildings and houses have a street address, webpages also have unique addresses to help people locate them. On the Internet, these addresses are called URLs (Uniform Resource Locators).

15. Green, maybe: UNRIPE. Unripe can be good, especially for some olives, though not Ms. Oyl.

16. "Ocean to Ocean" singer Tori: AMOS. This is the title of both an album and a song. I think I will link the album. Not. Surprisingly bad language. LYRICS.

17. Issa of "The Lovebirds": RAE. Issa has kicked Norma to the curb.

20. Caustic solution: LYE. No, it is the truth. 

21. Philanthropist Melinda: GATES. The ex, now disposing of a tiny part of her fortune. It...

22. Tears: RENDS. ...at my heart strings. 

23. Amanda Gorman, for one: POET. We were inaugurated along with her and Joe.

                                        

25. Support: AID.

31. Puppy noise: YIP. I first read puppy nose and was quite confused. But it did not lead to any...

34. Many tweetstorms: RANTS. ...as I don't tweet, though I can ramble.

35. Actress Skye: IONE. Wow, she and Issa in a single puzzle!

36. Couch: SOFA. Sometimes they must give you one easy fill. 

37. "Bus Stop" playwright: INGE. Man, another four letter proper name starting with "I." Are there more? 

38. Takes for a ride: SCAMS. A major problem for the elderly in South Florida. 

39. Shades: HUES. But no cries.

40. Not biased: FAIR. This our goal as bloggers, and as people.

41. Decent plot: ACRE. I personally believe a book needs more of a plot than just land...oh that kind of plot.

42. Blot gently: DAB AT. 
                                                       

43. Spam holder: TIN. Fooled you, except for our Hawaiian solvers.

46. Droid: BOT. Robots.

47. Observe Ramadan: FAST. This is a part of what is the Islamic ritual celebrated in the  ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community. Wikipedia. More DETAIL.

48. Just not done: TABOO. Each religion has its taboos, as do almost all organizations and groups.

51. Behavior pattern: HABIT. This is often influenced by what we are taught by organizations and groups.

54. Short-term sculpture material: ICE. If you do it right you could melt his/her/their heart.

59. Machine part: COG. 

60. Just chilling: IDLE.

61. Course requirements?: PLATES. The trickiest of the clue/fills for me, as you need new plates (dishes) to serve each new course of a meal. Bravo.

62. Commotion: ADO.

63. Chow: FOOD.

64. Least significant: MEREST. 

65. Take home: NET. Straight forward if you know we are talking about pay.

Down:

1. Pixar short about a ball of yarn: PURL. Purl is the first short of Pixar's Spark Shorts program, in which employees at Pixar are given six months and limited budgets to produce short animated films. The film is about a pink ball of yarn which is discriminated against because of her upbeat and cheerful attitude.

2. Heehaw: BRAY. Say it out load, then laugh.

3. Not setting an alarm, say: SLEEPING IN. This may be a debut for this phrase in the LAT. 

4. Denver team: NUGGETS. There was gold in them thar hills. 

5. Airing in the wee hours: ON LATE. See Leno infra.

6. Judicial order: WRIT. Most are just orders.

7. "Enough" number of women justices on the Supreme Court, per Ruth Bader Ginsburg: NINE. She was priceless.

8. Decides: OPTS. In or out.

9. "Rushmore" director Anderson: WES. Wesley Wales Anderson is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. Wiki. He is only 53. My computer has decided to stop playing trailers, so you are on your own. 

10. Had the nerve: DARED. 

11. Itchy ears, to some: OMEN. I have heard of itchy palms, not ears.

12. Like many dorms: COED. So many adventures never would have been adventures.

13. IRS IDs: SSNS.

19. NFL analyst Collinsworth: CRIS. He has moved to ESPN to do Monday night football. A fellow Florida graduate.

24. Critter that eats while floating on its back: OTTER.

25. Range listed on board games: AGES.

26. Take for a ride: GRIFT. A random G to spoil the perfection? No, as said, a needed G.

27. Island west of Maui: LANAI.

28. Christina of "Yellowjackets": RICCI.

29. Wild hogs: BOARS. I saw many of those in Georgia. 

30. Yet to be fulfilled: UNMET.

31. "Count on me!": YOU BET I CAN. Did you know Jay Leno is doing Groucho's show on the CW?

32. Lead-in to bad news: I FEAR. There are at least 16 more clues to solve.

33. Fake jewelry: PASTE.

36. "__ of Sunset": reality series featuring Persian Americans in Beverly Hills: SHAHS. I don't watch fake reality series.

38. Brine ingredient: SALT.

42. Genealogy aid: DNA TEST. I have met quite few previously unknown relatives; I think it is cool.

44. Mucky stuff: GOOP. Is it GOO and POOP? Either way...

45. Goes paperless at tax time: E-FILES.

46. Bent in the wind: BOWED. We get a lot of that from June through November.

48. "Yay, the weekend!": TGIF. Boring, oops I mean Thank G-d It's Friday.

49. Montreal-based shoe brand: ALDO. This fill has appeared before as Canadian shoe brand but I have no idea who wrote this clue, Patty, Christina or Amie.

50. String tie: BOLO. Boring, oops I mean bolo.

51. "Celebrity Skin" rock band: HOLE. It is both a song and an album, how about a picture?

                                                        

52. Miles off: AFAR. Far better thing I do...

53. Take the bait: BITE. The word bait "food put on a hook or trap to attract prey," c. 1300, from Old Norse beita "food, bait," especially for fish which led to the fish biting which led to anyone being hooked into something they did not want to do.

55. System of rules: CODE. This was derived from the Latin CODEX,  a term which originally denoted a systematic collection of statutes made by Justinian or any of the later Roman emperors. See behavior and taboo supra.

56. Four-award acronym: EGOT. The Emmy Grammy Oscar Tony acronym was coined by actor Philip Michael Thomas in late 1984, when his role on the then new hit show Miami Vice brought him instant fame, and he stated a desire to achieve the EGOT within five years. Thomas has never been nominated for any of the EGOT awards.

58. Turntable letters: RPM. Revolutions Per Minute and a nice historical place for me to spin away. I hope you all enjoyed the concert brought to you by the concerted effort of Amie who has been ready and Lemonade who is me. Thank you all who read, write and pray for Boomer.