Puzzling thoughts:
Chairman Moe here, doing his normal Friday blog ...
First off, just want to say that I FIR with minimal w/o's (if that is such a thing on a computer); and second, I want to commend Ben Tolkin on what I think is his LA Times debut. Seems that this blogger has had his share of first-time constructors to critique, but it seems, too, that the new editor(s) are providing ample opportunity to newcomers
And in my "Husker Gary" manner, I googled Ben and came up with this brief biography ... as well as what appears to be his "blog" to showcase his puzzles. I'm going to give them a try, when I get a Moe-ment
Today I am placing the "reveal" first, as it gives away the rather covert clues for the three entries: 48-across. Evolutionary mysteries, and a feature of three clues in this puzzle: MISSING LINKS.
So how does this tie into the three clues, you ask? Let's examine 20-across. S: MOVE SNEAKILY. If you add the word "LINK" to the letter "S", you get "SLINK", which means "MOVE SNEAKILY"
In 28-across. C: SOUND OF A TOAST, if you add "LINK" you get "CLINK". As your resident wine geek and erstwhile sommelier, this one makes perfect sense!
And last, but not least, 42-across. B: CLOSE ONES EYES, which offers us: "BLINK"
Very clever. So, Moe, what does the theme title have to do with this puzzle? Well, to those of you who watched sitcoms back in the '60's, you'll know that the only clue that Ben left out was, K: STALAG OBERST, or "KLINK"! [note, "KLINK" is a hyperlink ...]
So without further ado, let's SLINK into the other clues/entries, but don't BLINK; afterward we can all CLINK a toast to Mr. Tolkin!
Across:
1. Have over: HOST.
5. "A Land More Kind Than Home" novelist Wiley: CASH. OK, who - besides me - will be the next to comment about how much they hate having a proper name describe what should be described as an object? My "CASH" is on Irish Miss!!
9. Mary-in-mourning sculpture: PIETA.
14. 1968 self-titled live folk album: ARLO.
15. Baseball family name: ALOU. I'm one who thinks that this entry should be stricken from crossword puzzles. How many years has it been since the ALOU brothers played MLB? ALOU should not be ALOUd
16. Cruise stopovers: ISLES. PORTS also fit
17. More than a little unkind: MEAN. Was my comment in 15-across a bit MEAN?
18. Dozes off: NODS. Chairman Moe looks forward to his mid-afternoon NODs, aka, naps
19. Magazine featuring Pencil Pointers: GAMES. First off, has anyone other than a GEN Y or Millenial even heard of this magazine? C'mon Patti, don't play GAMES with us!! ;^)
23. "Gloria in Excelsis __": DEO. Second of the "biblical" words
24. Shelter adoptee: RESCUE. I liked this clue! We had a RESCUE in our home up until last November when Sadie crossed the rainbow bridge
32. Cornfield cries: CAWS. As in what a murder of crows might "say"
33. Total: RUIN. Totalling a car (in an accident) would definitely RUIN your day
34. Joe: MUD. Black coffee
35. Dilutes: THINS. Think of adding water or ice to whisky; something that neither I nor tinbeni (where has HE been?) would do
36. "The Street" novelist Petry: ANN. Of all the "ANNs" in the world, Ben chose this one. Good choice
37. Thoughts: IDEAS. My "thoughts" are always "puzzling"
39. Feel unwell: AIL.
40. Canine kiss: LICK. As per Wilbur Charles, this word could also be spelled L'ICK, and be a CSO to our Prince of Poetry, OwenKL, whose LimerICKs grace our blog most every day
Fun fact: The aforementioned Sadie (a cat) gave occasional LICKs. So the clue could also have been: "Feline kiss". This was Moe's first experience with a cat as a pet, and I did not know that they did this to their humans!
41. Not too keen: DULL. And if (38-down. Opposite sides of a rather pointed fight?:) DUELISTS were using EPEEs as their "weapons" of choice, the word DULL could also apply
46. Looking to add staff: HIRING. Post-pandemic, businesses were having trouble HIRING
47. 100%: ALL.
55. Swing for the fences: GO BIG. Is this a baseball metaphor?
58. Summer hangout: POOL. Brings back memories ... and fortunately, Chairman Moe and Margaret have a POOL in their backyard; a true God-send in this oppressive Arizona summer heat
59. Stock exchange membership: SEAT. [investopedia.com] "The term "SEAT" is a reference to a seat on a stock exchange from which a person can trade, either as a floor broker or a floor trader. Historically, owning a seat was possible only for the wealthy and the lucky as there were a limited amount of seats. The term seat was most commonly used in the context of the NYSE.
60. Tourney format: PRO-AM. These "events" are still widely conducted on the Wednesday of a weekly golf tournament
61. Boo-boo: OWIE. That hurts!
62. Flooring preference: TILE. Also found as a liner material for most POOLs
63. Hatha yoga posture: ASANA. Moe-ku:
Skirt steak's favorite
Pose at Yoga studio?
Carne ASANA
64. Patches potholes, say: TARS. Another clue could've been: Nickname for sailors, but that might have been in conflict with 28-down
65. Quick cut: SNIP. Not something I do anymore since I've gone "bald"
Down:
1. "Good Omens" actor Jon: HAMM. The only HAMM I knew is Mia
2. Cookie with a Cakesters variety: OREO
3. Balkan native: SLAV. As in SLAVic
4. Soft-pedal: TONE DOWN.
5. "1812 Overture" instrument: CANNON. These
6. Facial tissue additive: ALOE. I found that these are not very good at cleaning your eyeglasses
7. Pop: SODA. Here's a map showing which state's population calls it SODA or pop, or even Coke (to which they'll ask you "What kind of Coke do you want?"
8. Tamale wrapper: HUSK.
9. Milne friend who notes, "It is hard to be brave when you're a Very Small Animal": PIGLET.
10. "It's my call": I SAY SO. A baseball reference? Some of these "calls" are questionable
11. Blight-stricken tree: ELM. CSO to Lemonade714, a Connecticut native, who's state honors the ELM as their state tree
12. Bit of concert merch: TEE. Any "Dead Heads" in this community? Comment below, or better yet, show us your favorite TEE
13. Donkey: ASS. When I am referring to it as a body part, I spell it "A$$"
21. Sneetches creator: SEUSS. Is there a DR. in the house?
22. Nation that follows the Solar Hijri calendar: IRAN.
25. Caravan mounts: CAMELS. This was the last pack of cigarettes I smoked; quit in 1980
26. Customary: USUAL. Today's blog recap is not my USUAL ... see if you can figure out why ... comment below
27. Gate postings, briefly: ETDS.
28. "__ Moon": manga series: SAILOR. See 64-across for another name for SAILOR
29. Pull the plug on: DRAIN. Does anyone take a bath anymore? Just showers for me
30. Light weight: OUNCE. Would not have been the correct response if the clue was written: "Lightweight"
31. Squeals (on): FINKS. Here is a term for us "old-timers"! FINKS, as a verb, had its heyday in the 1800's (and before) and had a slight uptick back when I was a ute
32. Bowlful served with a cinnamon roll in the Midwest: CHILI. More specifically, in Cincinnati OH (where I lived for 17+ years). You could order it up to five "ways". What are the "five ways" you ask? [Skyline]"The most popular order is a "three-way", which adds shredded cheese to the chili-topped spaghetti (a "two-way"), while a "four-way" or "five-way" adds onions and/or beans before topping with the cheese." There is no "one-way", as that's reserved for a street that allows no on-coming traffic!! ;^)
Folks there debate whether Gold Star or Skyline is the best, but I liked only this one from a local CHILI parlor:
35. RPM gauge: TACH. Remember when a TACHometer was NOT a standard feature of a car's instrument panel, and was an add-on? Many "looked" like this:
37. Poem of rustic life: IDYLL. As defined [merriam-webster] "The meaning of IDYLL is a simple descriptive work in poetry or prose that deals with rustic life or pastoral scenes or suggests a mood of peace"
40. Record holders: LOGS. Nice misdirection with the clue; ties into the "nautical" entries. A ship's LOG records events that happened
43. Apelike: SIMIAN.
44. Challenging puzzle: ENIGMA. Not today's puzzle; quite easy for a Friday
45. Aerie nesters: EAGLES. Also the nickname for Boston College athletic teams, the Philadelphia NFL team, and one of the Chairman's favorite rock bands. Enjoy!
49. Espy: SPOT. AWARD didn't fit
50. Skunk River state: IOWA. IOWA fit, if only because OHIO and UTAH didn't. [According to Google] "The SKUNK River is a 93-mile-long (150 km) tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States"
51. Gritty film genre: NOIR. [Wikipedia] "Film NOIR is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas"
52. "Ja" opposite: NEIN. A CSO, in memoriam, to Spitzboov
53. Hindu goddess of destruction: KALI. I'm guessing that this was the only word that fit into these cells; not someone/something I knew of right away
And my final Moe-ku du jour:
The Hindu Goddess
Got a lei in Hawai'i.
Her KALI flowers?
54. Manual component: STEP. Another Friday clue? DIY'ers know all about STEPS to take when completing a project, and following along on a manual
55. Transcript fig.: GPA.
56. Hosp. areas: ORS.
57. Fluffy wrap: BOA.
That's all she wrote! Please enter any comments below ... see you in two weeks ... promise!
A final "CLINK" to Ben:
