Friday, February 23, 2024, Blake Slonecker

  

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap of a puzzle constructed by veteran puzzle-setter Blake Slonecker.  Today's theme is straightforward so let's jump right in with the unifier which has been conveniently placed in the middle of the grid:

39 Across:  Camera setting, and what shortened 18-, 24-, 47-, and 58-Across?: F - STOP.  At the four referenced places, Blake has dropped the F (not dropped the F bomb, just the letter F) in order to answer the clues, and provide us with a few chuckles here, here, here and here:

Enough, F, Stop!

18 Across:  Pollinator who can't fly?: GROUND BEE.  Where's the BEEF?

24 Across:  Parents in the Hundred Acre Wood?: RAISES THE ROO.  Parents is used as a verb in the clue.  Kanga is a single mom.  When ROO misbehaves Kanaga idiomatically RAISES THE ROOF.

Roo and Kanga

47 Across:  Product of Shenandoah Valley shepherds?: VIRGINIA WOOL.  Who's afraid?

58 Across:  Experimental soft cheese?: TRIAL BRIE.  A TRIAL BRIEF is a legal document presented to the court.  It is intended to provide the court with the presentation of facts, evidence and legal arguments.  A TRIAL BRIE might provide an introduction for someone who has yet to develop a taste for soft cheeses.

Here is how this all looks in the grid:

...and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Tries out: DEMOS.  Hand up for initially trying out TESTS.

6. Nosegay: POSY.  As in "Ring Around The Rosie".  

10. Pod whose cross sections are pentagonal: OKRA.

14. Skip a syllable or two: ELIDE.

15. Until: UP TO.

16. "Stay" singer Lisa: LOEB.  I searched for a Leopold and (Lisa) LOEB mash up but could not find one.  

17. __ Cup: PGA Tour prize: FEDEX.  A golfing reference.  Both Professional Golfers' Association  and FEDeral EXpress have been abbreviated.  Although, those abbreviations are now used far more often than are the full names.

20. Middle of dinner?: ENS.  We have seen this type of clue before.  There are two N's in the middle of dinner.  If Blake had needed DEES, here, would he have gone with "Middle of middle"?

21. Perfect: IDEAL.

23. "Island of the Blue Dolphins" novelist Scott: O'DELL.

27. Joie de vivre: ZEST.  A French phrase (in English, Joy of Living) fully co-opted by English speakers.

28. Emo: ANGSTY.  Slangy clue/answer combo.

32. Storage furniture: CHEST.

34. Prize money: PURSE.  Commonly used this way in the world of professional boxing and in professional golf.

37. Sphere in old referee whistles: PEA.  Before they developed synthetic orbs they used real PEAs.

38. A pop: EACH.

40. Otter kin: MINK.  A relationship that is a bit of a crossword standard.

41. Durango day: DIA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

42. Apt rhyme for "freeze": SEIZE.  As in SEIZE-up.

43. Well-mannered blokes: GENTS.  It is relatively easy to convince ladies not to eat Tide pods but it is more difficult to deter GENTS.

44. Goofs in proofs: ERRATA.  What do you call a list of corrections read out in a suggestive fashion?  ERRATA - CA.

46. Tromp: PLOD.

53. Bird in a bevy: QUAIL.  A group of QUAIL is called a bevy.

56. Hot spots: OVENS.  Not a WiFi reference.

57. Signal: CUE.  Both can be employed as either verbs or nouns.

60. Glossy material: SATIN.  Like most chairs?

62. 55-Down, properly: ISN'T.  See also 55 Down.  Duh, MM.

63. Like most whiskey: AGED.  This 36-year-old whisky can be yours for about five or six thousand dollars.  Let me know and I will send you a link if I can still (pun intended, See 42 Down) find it in my trash file).

64. Heart Eyes or OK Hand: EMOJI.

65. Fancy spread: PATE.  To make chicken PATE one has to first de-liver the chicken.

66. Fool (with): MESS.

67. Wrap sheet: SARAN.  The following, from the mid-60's, might be deemed NSFW:

Down:

1. Schedule for later: DEFER.

2. Two-time WNBA MVP __ Delle Donne: ELENA.

3. Many a sedan: MID-SIZE CAR.

4. Amit Majmudar's "__ to a Drone": ODE.  I was not familiar with this work.  I have now searched for it online, found it, read it a couple of times and .... well, make your own judgement:

Ode to A Drone

5. People's superlative: SEXIEST.  A reference to People Magazine.  The honorific of SEXIEST Man Alive is awarded annually to a male but the magazine awards Most Beautiful Woman Alive in lieu of SEXIEST.

6. Sound of the Northwest: PUGET.

7. O icon: OPRAH.  OPRAH Winfrey of, among many other things, O Magazine.

8. Took second, say: STOLE.  A baseball reference.

9. Second person: YOU.  Not an Adam and Eve reference.  A grammar reference.

10. One whose trick-learning years are behind them: OLD DOG.

11. "The Mamba Mentality: How I Play" writer Bryant: KOBE.

12. Rod and __: REEL.  A fishing reference.

13. Cain's brother: ABEL.  A reference to The Book of Genesis.

19. Nary a soul: NO ONE.

Sir Paul McCartney

22. "Spring forward" letters: DST.  Daylight Savings Time.

25. Quick meeting?: SESH.  "Quick" as in a shortened version of SESSION.

26. Tough talk?: RASP.  

29. Damage control pro: SPIN DOCTOR.

30. High-stakes shelter: TENT.  I don't know about the High bit, but many TENTs certainly do employ stakes.

31. Shaggy beasts: YAKS.  See also 33-Down.

32. Relinquish: CEDE.

33. 31-Down abundance: HAIR.

34. Pump letters: PSI.  Pounds per Square Inch

35. Lays aisle-mate: UTZ.  A snack food (pretzels, potato chips, etc.) reference.

36. Bass output: ROE.  Not a bass guitar.  Not Bass Ale.  Not the Mayor of Los Angeles.  Fish ROE.

39. "__ the Turtle": University of Maryland catchphrase: FEAR.

40. "I would like some more catnip, please": MEOW.

42. Bootlegger's vessel: STILL.

43. Visual aids: GLASSES.  Not, e.g., pie charts, flashcards, flip charts, or the like.  Aids to help us see.

45. Really take off: AVIATE.  Really.  No, really take off.

46. Blame (on): PIN.  As in "Y0u won't PIN that murder on me!"

Eydie Gorme (and friends)

48. Canyon: GORGE.

49. Campus climbers: IVIES.

Tom Lehrer - "Bright College Days"

50. Focus of Maslow's hierarchy: NEEDS.

51. Message board?: OUIJA.  Messages from the great beyond.  Supposedly.  OUIJA Board.

52. Red Square honoree: LENIN.

All Hail Marx and Lennon !

53. Sample collector, maybe: Q-TIP.  For the DNA lab.

54. __ Major: URSA.

55. 62-Across, improperly: AIN'T.  See also 62 Across.  Duh, MM.

59. "Bang!": BAM.  Onomatopoeia

61. Org. for OBs: AMA.

________________________________________

Notes from C.C.:

 

Voting is now open until March 1 for the 12^th ORCA Awards – the annual celebration of creativity in crosswords! Winners will be announced on March 6 during a livestream filled with games and prizes. Five long-time solvers will receive special awards. For each day of their streak, solvers can receive a chance to win crossword memorabilia inscribed to them and signed by Will Shortz. Need not be present to win. Details and voting info can be found at Diary of a Crossword Fiend.

Thursday, May 26, 2022, Blake Slonecker

 

 

Armed and Quite Punny

There is a first time for everything, and just like one of my fellow bloggers admitted a week or so back, this is the first time I was stumped by two clues.  But upon loading the HTML listing all the clues and fill, I did a head slap for missing a clever pun on a pluralized cephalopod (see 8D below).  Had I sussed it, I would have simply learned that the crossing natick was a new bit of slang for the "fuzz".

Our constructor today Blake Slonecker, is an LA Times veteran, having debuted on Christmas Day, 2019.  He has also had puzzles published in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Universal Crossword.  In this puzzle he presents us with a visual theme with the payloads for the 8 themers in carefully arranged triplets of  circles stacked in two rows.  Given the obscurity of the reveal clue (which I did happen to know), I think the theme would be well-nigh impossible to guess without the circles (apologies of course to AnonymousDNLC).  As the reveal for the puzzle is the trickiest one I've ever seen, I think it's best to start with the grid, followed by the theme clue explanations, and then the reveal explanation (which non-geeks might want to skip!)

Here are the themers, which I've arranged a bit out of order to correspond to the visual arrangement of the circled payloads shown above:

17A. Round bakeware:   TUBE PANS.  Used to make bundt cakes.
20A Only unanimous Baseball Hall of Fame electee:  RIVERA.  Mariano RIVERA.  Here he is at the top of the list.

19A. One score:  TWENTY.  As in "Four score and 7 years ago ...".  Let us never forget.
21A. Ride the waves:  BODY SURF.  "Oh fun!"

54A. Impishness: MISCHIEF.  Here's the theme music for Til Eulenspiegel (40 sec), classical music's favorite imp.
58A. Sign up: ENLIST.  I've decided to stop volunteering for things.
 
57A. Use a pinch runner for, e.g.:    SUB OUT.  The rules on pinch runners.
59A. Club that may get heckled when they take the field: AWAY TEAM.  Boston flies so many fans into Camden Yards in Baltimore that the Orioles can even get heckled when they play at home.

Here's the reveal, which I'll try to explain as simply as possible.  If your eyes glazed over when you read it, you may want to go directly to the Across clues.

34A. Digital ledger that stores non-fungible tokens, and what can be found in each set of shaded squares: BLOCKCHAIN.  That is each themer circle sextet is a franchised eatery: PANERA, WENDYS, CHILIS, and SUBWAY, i.e. a "BLOCKED CHAIN".

In a nutshell a digital ledger distributes accounting books (electronic "blocks" of records) across a network, instead of storing them in a central location such as a bank.  This revolutionary technology provides a high level of redundancy, makes the current record values simultaneously visible to all interested parties, and virtually impervious to tampering. My thanks to Teri for finding this relatively simple, "top-down" explanation for the term blockchain. 

The esoteric term non-fungible tokens is a rather obscure example of something that can be stored in a blockchain, the digital currency Bitcoin being a much more familiar one.  Last Friday a single  Bitcoin was valued at 29,178.50 USD (dropping about $1K while I was writing this review).  Here's what it's worth today.

For those of you who are interested, a non-fungible token (NFT) is IMHO something bordering on P.T. Barnum's dream. NFTs are used primarily for selling digital art, e.g. something as simple as an easily copied JPEG or video.  But an "original" version of the artwork can be declared, registered, and even traded via digital ledgers.  While this sounds like a fool's game, some NFTs are selling for literally millions of dollars.  They seem in someways analogous to Zuckerberg's virtual reality Metaverse:  both seem to derive their value from the fact that people value them.

Crossword puzzles are blockchains too and we still have lots more blocks to fill:

Across:

1. Spanish pronoun: ESO.  Today's Spanish lesson.

4. "Ohio" quartet, briefly: CSNY.  Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.  Ohio was an anthem of the 60s: "Four dead in Ohio"; and today: Ten dead in Buffalo (video rated PG):

8. "Sounds like a hoot": OH FUN. E.g. body surfing?

13. Plastic fig.?: APR.  Annual Percentage Rate on a credit card.

14. "Salt Fat __ Heat": Samin Nosrat cookbook: ACID.  This book gets rave reviews on Amazon, but before you buy it read some of the one and two star reviews.  As a hypertensive trying to lose weight this book already has two strikes against it for me. 

15. Pen: CORRAL.  Thought it might be a verb at first, e.g. to AUTHOR.  But it's an enclosure for large animals.

23. Main line: ARTERY.  E.g. the AORTA, the I10, or the I95.

24. Coppers: PO-PO.  Did not know this slang for the police.  Hyphenation per the Oxford Languages Dictionary.

25. Coastal inlet: RIA.  The Chesapeake Bay is one big RIA of RIAS.

26. __ review: PEER.  The process academics use for vetting journal articles.

27. Bouquet __: GARNI.  A bundle of herbs used to flavor a soup or stew.

29. Small bit: SPECK.  Or a MOTE.

31. Small swirl: EDDY.

32. Mine lode: ORE. Today's geology lesson.

33. Genève's land: SUISSE.  Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

38. On the same side: ALLIED.  After a long time of going their separate ways, the members of NATO seem to be once again ALLIED on the same side.

41. "That sounds painful": OOF.

42. "Mare of Easttown" Emmy winner Peters: EVAN.  Mare of Easttown is an American crime drama limited series created by Brad Ingelsby for HBO.  It stars Kate Winslet as the title character, a detective investigating a murder in a small town near Philadelphia.  Evan Peters received the Emmy for TV Film or Miniseries Supporting Actor of the Year 2021.

46. Fare plans: DIETS.  My fare plan includes no salt.  As all body fluids (animal and vegetable) naturally contain 0.9% Na Cl that's enough for me.

47. __ all'Arrabbiata: PENNE.  Here's a recipe.

49. Mustard family member: KALE.  Best when fresh.  And it's good for you.

50. Up-in-the-air fig.?: ALT.  As in Altitude, as measured with an altimeter, invented by Paul Kollsman in 1928.

51. Part: ROLE.  'All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players' (Shakespeare As You Like it Act 2, Scene 7).'  And here it's riffed on by Rush in the song "In the End" from their album "All the World's a Stage" (lyrics) (video rated PG).  A CSO to -T:

52. River from the Himalayas: GANGES.  Aside from providing drinking water and irrigating fields, the Ganges River is extremely important to India's Hindu population for religious reasons as well. The Ganges River is considered their most sacred river, and it is worshiped as the goddess Ganga Ma or "Mother Ganges." 

61. More tart: SOURER.

62. Pixar film set in Radiator Springs: CARS.  Here's the trailer (rated G):

63. Place for "me time": SPA.

64. Itty-bitty: TEENY. WEENY, yellow polka dot, dot, dot

65. Wraps up: ENDS.

66. Chef's meas.: TSP.

Down:

1. Alt-rock's Jimmy __ World: EAT.  Here's the story of their first big hit "The Middle".  Here's the video with lyrics.  I didn't think the official video would get past the censors, but it's out there.

2. Urged (on): SPURRED.

3. Went around in circles?: ORBITED.  Something MOONS do around ORBS.

4. Culinary bud: CAPER.  Everything you ever wanted to know about a CAPER.  Unless of course you're planning to pull off a bank heist.

5. Next-level awesome: SCARY GOOD.  Some urban definitions for SCARY GOOD.

6. NPR legal affairs correspondent Totenberg: NINA.  Nina Totenberg is a correspondent for National Public Radio focusing primarily on the activities and politics of the Supreme Court of the United States. Her reports air regularly on NPR's news magazines All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition.

Nina Totenberg

7. Skein units: Abbr.: YDS.  Yards of wool.

8. Army swimmers?: OCTOPI.  Cleverest clue.  Cleverer than me anyway.  Also a clever clue for a very clever animal.

9. Folksy greeting: HOW DO.

10. Glenn of the Eagles: FREY.  This is for our West Coast folks.  Lyrics by  Glen Frey, lead vocals by Don Henley, with Don Felder and Joe Walsh on guitars:

11. Banquet coffeepots: URNS.

12. Essences: NATURES.

16. Liner notes component: LYRICS.  Pet peeve:  recordings (LP, CD, or online) without lyrics.  They are only 50% of the song.

18. All: EVERY BIT.

21. __ vivant: BON.  Bon vivant is literally French for “good living.” The term bon vivant is typically associated with the kind of sociable person who's good at entertaining and can keep the party going with a good story.

22. Imitation: FAKE.  Watch out for the deepfakes.  What are they and how can you spot them?

23. Mimic: APE.  Not so deepfakes.

24. Sch. for tots: PRE K.  As School is abbreviated, so is Kindergarten.

28. Halo piece: ARC.

29. __ generis: SUI.  One of a kind; absolutely unique.  I think you could describe every denizen of the Corner as SUI GENERIS.

30. Woodworker's inconvenience: PINE KNOT.  My father was a woodworker and he used carefully selected "knotty pine" boards to sheath the upper halves of the walls in our living room and downstairs den.  It was inexpensive and he liked the look of the grain and the knots.  With several coats of varnish it took on a golden glow that deepened with age.

33. Protect: SAFEGUARD.

35. French article: LES.  French plural definite article.  LE and LA are the respective masculine and feminine articles, but LES is used for both masculine and feminine nouns.

36. Scoop holder: CONE.  Refers not to something you hang the scoop from (e.g. in a kitchen), but rather what you scoop it into, e.g. ice cream.

37. Snookums: HON.

38. "Whataya Want From Me" singer Lambert: ADAM.   Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide.  Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical training with modern and classic genres.  Here's the clue song:

39. Easter blooms: LILIES.

40. "We should pass": LET'S NOT.  And say we did.

43. Least clear: VAGUEST.

44. Brewpub fixtures: ALE TAPS.  These systems can get pretty complicated.  I suggest that you don't sample the merchandise until everything is installed and tested.

45. Old console letters: NES.  Nintendo Entertainment System.

47. "__ Is Not a Luxury": essay by Audre Lorde: POETRY.  Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist.   She was a passionate, courageous poet, who fought racial injustice all of her life.

Audre Lorde

48. Sprite: ELF.

51. Up: RISEN.

53. Deep space: ABYSS.  If you thought of this, you were looking in the wrong direction.  Blake at least meant this 19,714 feet deep canyon.  And if that's not deep enough for you, then you have go under water.  The first and only time humans descended the 36,201 feet to the bottom of the Mariana Trench was more than 50 years ago. In 1960, Jacques Piccard and Navy Lt. Don Walsh reached this goal in a U.S. Navy submersible, a bathyscaphe called the Trieste.

55. Board game with rooms: CLUE.

56. Sign on: HIRE.

57. Cygnet: SWAN.  While Finnish composer Jan Sibelius was writing his 5th Symphony he relates that he went for a walk one morning and saw 16 SWANS flying over his head.  Their trumpeting inspired the majestic theme that he used in the finale (1 min.):

 59. Royal flush card: ACE.

60. Trailhead display: MAP.

As always I thank Teri for proofreading and offering constructive suggestions.

waseeley

Cheers,

Bill

Thursday, May 7th, 2020 Blake Slonecker

Theme: Salad Days - scrambles of five different green veggies as the reveal tells us:

53A. Mesclun, and a hint to the circled squares: MIXED GREENS

and so we find:

16A. Casual appetizer: CHIPS AND DIP. Spinach.

23A. Tool for flooring jobs: TILE CUTTER. Lettuce.

30A. Designated spaces for some riders: BIKE LANES. Kale.

38A. Opening: INAUGURAL. Arugula.

47A. Rewards earner, perhaps: CARDHOLDER. Chard.

A nice theme from Blake. It's puzzles like these that need the circles to explain the reveal - the ones where the theme words are not scrambled are fun to hunt down, but the scrambles would be very tough to find without some guide. The theme obviously doesn't help with the solve, but you have a few minutes' bonus to go treasure hunting. Nice work with the theme, I enjoyed the scambles. The rest of the puzzle didn't have a whole lot of sparkle, but you can't win 'em all.

As for all the Food! on display here - it's a shame to consign all these greens to a salad - spinach and mushroom curry is one of my favorites, lettuce as a wrap for larb beats the heck out of it just being a quiet salad ingredient (and in a cheeseburger, let's not be a snob here, what is a burger without shredded lettuce?), Arugula - or rocket in the UK - what a great bed for smoked chicken, cous-cous and spicy stomato sauce. It brings pepper, green and crunch. Chard! If you can't get collard greens, here's your answer, and you can pickle the red stalks. What am I missing? Kale. Ah, Kale. dear kale. Not for human consumption, let's all admit it.

Recipes available on request!

So back to the puzzle. The numbers when you crunch them, are firmly in the "Monday" category but the theme just about carried it through. The fill felt a little stale and skewed heavily towards 3- and 4-letter words.

Let's go seek. Without hiding.

Across:

1. __ de deux: ballet dance: PAS. The first three-letter fill, and a fill-in-the-blank too. Don't worry, you've only got another 35 three-letter words to go.

4. Spell: TRANCE

10. Rite opener?: AM I. Really? OK, not my thing. If someone asked me "Am I rite?" I would ask how old they were.

13. "Fire away!": ASK

14. Web banners: HEADERS

15. Auerbach of the Black Keys: DAN. We meet another AUER further down, so thank you crosses for both, unknown to me.

18. Tap quaff: ALE. Now you're talking.

19. Sunday cry: AMEN!

20. Sneaky critic: SNIPER

22. Sweater mishap: SNAG

27. Extra qtrs.: O/T'S

28. Game fish: BONITO. I keep dried bonito flakes, or katsobushi in the pantry. I put 'em on rice with soy sauce and sesame seeds, and make dashi with katsobushi and kombu - the dried kelp.

29. __ boots: GO-GO

32. One of 12, usually: JUROR

33. Ruminant's mouthful: CUD

34. Natural drier: AIR

35. Concrete support rod: REBAR

44. Qatari chief: EMIR

45. Masses: DROVES

46. Source of iron: ORE. Or spinach!

49. "And another thing ... ": ALSO ...

50. Breaks up: ENDS IT

51. Wheel connector: AXLE

52. Beaver creation: DAM

59. GPS calculation: ETA. Apparently you can get an Estimated Time of Arrival from your Global Positioning System device. I'm sure that's really important. At least it's a change from an airline clue. I'm tired of the fill though.

60. Folded breakfast fare: OMELETS. I think my favorite omelet is spinach, mushroom and brie. Lots of food to get my teeth into today!

61. Conk out: DIE

62. Place to relax: DEN. Probably not very relaxing if the lions are home.

63. War zone lifesavers: MEDICS

64. LG rival: RCA. Not strictly true, RCA does not exist as a company any more. The branding was sold to Technicolor and Sony Music by GE when the division was closed down.

Down:

1. D.C. funding group: P.A.C. Political Action Committee. I make no comment.

2. Her 2002 self-titled album debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200: ASHANTI

3. Protection on the slopes: SKI MASK. Not a bad alternative protection to wear in the store right now.

4. Afternoon brew: TEA

5. Sought office: RAN

6. Total: ADD

7. Former Royals manager Yost: NED

8. Shortening brand: CRISCO. Funny, just yesterday I was looking up shortening, lard and schmalz.

9. College sports channel: ESPN U.

10. Charger accessory: ADAPTOR. I had ADAPTER and apparently was wrong. Oh well. Was I wrong?

11. Cause of some tough-guy behavior: MALE EGO

12. Mistakenly: IN ERROR

14. Channel that can be costly to watch: HSN. Nice clue. Whenever I've had the misfortune to come across the Home Shopping Network I've never had the slightest urge to buy whatever is being shilled. I almost enjoy watching to see what outlandish claims are made for the stuff they sell. How do they not get sued for misrepresentation?

17. Cribbage piece: PEG

21. Geek Squad employee, for short: I.T. GURU

22. __ story: SOB

23. Creep: TOAD

24. Cozy stopover: INN

25. Shakira's "Hips Don't __": LIE

26. Aliens, briefly: ETS

28. Make unclear: BLUR

31. Some last-minute birthday greetings: E-CARDS. Handy things when you forget a birthday or anniversary.

32. Dances for leprechauns: JIGS

34. Violinist Leopold: AUER

35. Drew back: RECEDED

36. Exude (from): EMANATE

37. 2014 Best Picture: BIRDMAN

38. Like offline interaction, initially: I.R.L. "In Real Life". "Dude, I have to get off Instagram, I have a test tomorrow IRL".

39. Doze: NOD

40. Urban way: Abbr.: AVE.

41. Burrito feature?: ROLLED "R". We just had Cinco de Mayo on Tuesday. We had tacos al pastor, but burritos will feature on the "leftovers" menu shortly. Yum!

42. "__ and Old Lace": ARSENIC. 1944 movie starring Cary Grant. The sceptics might wonder what he was doing making movies when WWII was heading into a critical period. Did he have flat feet or something?

43. Celestial feline: LEO

45. Complete a sentence: DO TIME

48. Mouthed sideline greeting: HI MOM!

49. Log splitter: AXE

51. MGM motto word: ARS

54. Chose on a form, with "in": X'ED

55. New Haven alum: ELI

56. Present mo.: DEC. Fun play on words.

57. Classic muscle cars: GT'S

58. __ salt: SEA. I have Maldon salt from the UK and Fleur de Sel Guérand from France in my pantry.

I guess that's about it!

Please stay safe. Some states are "re-opening" but please remember that the virus is not contained, there is insufficent or inaccurate testing, there is no adequate treatment and there is no vaccine. Use your best judgment!

Steve

February 26, 2020 Blake Slonecker

Theme - Alas, poor Marion Crane, we hardly knew ye.  The theme answers all begin with elements of an iconic event in a classic noire movie.  First the unifier.

59A . Classic "Psycho" segment where one might see the starts of the answers to starred clues: SHOWER SCENE. Here it is, in all its screaming intensity.

17 A. *Top brass: HEAD HONCHOS.  The people in charge.   In the movie scene, there is some controversy over whether a body double was used.  But clearly, the HEAD belongs to Janet Leigh, who portrayed the unfortunate Marion Crane.

25. *Response to wild applause: CURTAIN CALL.  When the actors get another chance to bow after a great performance.  But that is after a stage play, and we're at a movie. The CURTAIN is prominent in the scene, and afterwards Norman Bates, played by Tony Perkins wraps Marion's corpse in it, and sticks it in the trunk of her car.

37. *Political metaphor about dealing with bureaucracy: DRAIN THE SWAMP.  Nope. No politics. The stage blood circling the DRAIN is a bit of cinematic brilliance.

50. *Market-based pollution-control policy: CAP AND TRADE.  The junction of politics and economics is still of limits.  Moving right along  .  .  .   One might have expected Marion's shower CAP to keep her hair neat - but all to no avail, since her corps ends up in an UNDRAINED SWAMP.   But wait - she doesn't wear one!  Am I missing something here?!?

Hi gang, a somewhat confused JazzBumpa here to direct today's excursion.  Hope we don't get too bogged down.

Across:

1. Commerce pact to be replaced by USMCA when it's ratified: NAFTA.  Trade deals, new and old.  More politics, where we dare not venture.

6. __ circus: MEDIA. A news event with hyped-up or out of proportion coverage.

11. Cook quickly: ZAP.  Use a microwave.

14. Fluffed-up dos: AFROS.  Most popular X-word hair style.

15. Apple music players: IPODS. Portable player of digital audio and video.

16. Actress Longoria: EVA. Eva Jacqueline Bastón (née Longoria; born March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, director, activist, and businesswoman. [Wikipedia]

From a badly written profile 

19. Outlaw: BAN.  Officially or legally prohibit.

20. Iraq War concern: Abbr.: WMD.  Weapons of Mass Destruction.  There weren't any.

21. New beginning?: NEO-.  A prefix denoting a new or [more likely] revived form of something.

22. Spine-tingling: EERIE.  Like a scene depicting a murder in a shower.

24. Farm female: EWE.  This answer makes me feel sheepish.

28. Almost on "E": LOW.  Fuel gauge reference

29. Biblical mount: ASS.  Here are 76 references.

30. Attend: GO TO.

31. "The Art of Loving" author Erich: FROMM.

33. Cubs' home: DEN.  Animal offspring, not a sports team

34. Fort Collins sch.: CSU. Colorado State University.  Home of the Rams.  Our second ovine of the day.

41. Wild blue yonder: SKY.

42. Unagi, e.g.: EEL. Japanese fresh water eel.

43. Beyond angry: IRATE.  Feeling great anger.

45. Membership fees: DUES. An obligatory payment

47. "Help!" at sea: SOS.  A Morse code distress signal transmitted as an unbroken sequence of 3 dots, three dashes and three dots.

49. P-like letter: RHO.  Rho (/roʊ/; uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ϱ; Greek: ῥῶ) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. [Wikipedia]

54. "__ Explain Things to Me": 2014 Rebecca Solnit essay anthology: MEN.  Man-'splainin' is politically incorrect.

55. Yellow-and-white daisy: OX EYE.

Leucanthemum vulgare,

56. "Otoh, what will you pay?": OBO.  Or Best Offer.  Price haggling phrase.

57. Long of "Empire": NIA. [b 1970] American actress

And hip-hop icon

58. A-lister: VIP. Very Important Person.  I'm not sure who decides these things.

64. Canon SLR: EOS. Electro-Optical System. An autofocus single lens reflex mirrorless camera series.

65. Programmer: CODER.  Software engineer.

66. Certain Jamaican, religiously: RASTA.  A religious movement with distinctive and restrictive modes of diet, dress and behavior that honors people of African descent.

67. Brief reaction to oversharing: TMI. Too Much Information.

68. Newspaper essays: OP-EDS. Items placed opposite the editorial page.

69. Wild West movie: OATER.  An allusion to horse feed.

Down:

1. "Don't think so": NAH. Slangy negation

2. Brief thing to say: A FEW WORDS. Literal

3. Basic structure: FRAMEWORK. Or supporting structure.

4. Lincoln in-law: TODD. Relative of Mary Todd Lincoln.

5. Shade of gray: ASH.

6. Ones who dig hard rock?: MINERS. Literal, not musical.

7. Florida theme park: EPCOT. At the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando.

8. Play-__: kids' clay: DOH. Colorful modeling material mostly made from flour, water and salt.

9. Wedding promise: I DO.  But, alas, so many don't.

10. Agreement: ASSENT.

11. Striped equine: ZEBRA. Native to Africa.

12. To no __: useless: AVAIL.

13. Group of judges: PANEL.

18. Weight on one's shoulders: ONUS. From the Latin word for a load or burden.

23. Tesla Model X, for one: ECOCAR. An environmentally friendly vehicle.

24. "The Hobbit" being: ELF.  ORC is also three letters, as is ENT.

25. Sleeveless top, for short: CAMI.  Camisole, for long.

Free shipping

26. "A Death in the Family" author: AGEE.  James AGEE [1909 - 1955] started writing this autobiographical novel about his father's 1915 death in 1948.  Ironically, he died in 1955 with the novel not quite finished.  It was released posthumously in 1957.

27. + or - particles: IONS.  Atoms or molecules with an electron either added or missing.

32. "Help!" at sea: MAYDAY.  This is repeated three times at the beginning of a transmission, to avoid any misunderstanding.  The word was selected in 1921, and is derived from the French  venez m'aider ('come and help me.') I did not know that.

33. UPS rival: DHL.  Parcel delivery companies.

35. Most ingratiatingly earnest: SMARMIEST.  In a way that is extreme and/or insincere.

36. Get serious, gambler-style: UP THE ANTE.  Increase the stakes in a deliberation, conflict or dispute.

38. Can't live without: NEED.  Must have.

39. Push to the limit: TEST. Can you do it?

40. Sage: WISE.  I once met a sage named Herb.

44. Seemingly forever: EON.  A long time of indefinite duration.

46. World Heritage Site org.: UNESCO.  The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

47. Civil War swords: SABERS.  A SABER is a type of backsword [having a single-edged blade and a hilt with a single-handed grip] with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry.

48. Baking soda target: ODOR.  It absorbs the odor causing substance.

50. Tenth Commandment verb: COVET.  The desire to possess something.

51. Universal principle: AXIOM.  A statement regarded as established, accepted or self-evidently true.

52. One side in the "cola wars": PEPSI.  Preferred by some in my family. My lovely wife favors Coke.  I am indifferent.

53. Crewed in a shell: ROWED.  Shell is word with many meanings.  It was my nickname for my daughter when she was little, based on her middle name, Michelle.  Here it refers to a light racing boat used in the sport of crew.

Harvard Crew, 2004

57. College Football Playoff org.: NCAA.  National Collegiate Athletic Association.

60. Sock __: HOP.  An informal dance event, usually to popular recorded music, generally held in a high school gymnasium.  Hard soled shoes had to be removed to protect the floor - hence the name.

61. Lyrical tribute: ODE.  A lyric poem in the form of an address to a person or object.

62. "No seats" sign: SRO. Standing Room Only, indicating an at-capacity event.

63. Cup handle: EAR.

Like this, I suppose

That wraps up another Wednesday.  Crazy week so far.  Nobody knows how dangerous the corona virus may be.  We are having a snow event that closed all the schools today.  Stay warm and safe.  Take your vitamins.  By low and sell high.  And please be careful in the shower.

Cool regards!
JzB

Note from C.C.:

Dear Irish Miss (Agnes) lost her beloved brother James (Bud) last Sunday. Here's the obit page. Please accept our condolences, Agnes! Thanks for the link, Spitzboov!

Sunday Janaury 26, 2020 Blake Slonecker

Theme:  "Em Dash" - EM is removed from each familiar phrase.

23. Tales of woe?: AIL ACCOUNTS. Email accounts.

25. Piggy bank?: CENT MIXER. Cement mixer.

39. Leave politics to wander?: ROVE FROM OFFICE. Remove from office.

48. App for getting a hip escort?: DIAL-UP MOD. Dial-up modem. Quite a few Ups in this grid: 54. Plug: STOP UP. 79. Ties: EVENS UP. 88. Really dug: ATE UP.

67. Precipitation not yet visible?: RAINS TO BE SEEN. Remains to be seen.

85. Mafia hopefuls' repressed personas?: INNER DONS. Inner demons.

92. Musty sheets?: OFFENSIVE LINEN. Offensive linemen.

108. Libertine on screen?: MOVIE RAKE. Movie remake. "libertine" always reminds me of Alec from "Tess of the d'Urbervilles". That's where I first learned the word.

111. Musical works for deep voices?: BASSY SUITES. Embassy suites.

I think this is Blake's first Sunday. And a nicely filled 140-worder. Congratulations!

I enjoyed this theme. The EM's are dropped in various spots. Fun phrases.

  

Across:

1. Sent regrets, say, briefly: RSVP'D.  Sometimes it's RSVP'ed.

6. Tank to go under: SCUBA.

11. Sweater predator: MOTH.

15. Morsel in a linguine sauce: CLAM. Easy to make.

19. Get around: ELUDE.

20. Upstanding: MORAL. Heard from Dennis the other day. He's doing fantastic.

21. Twistable treat: OREO.

22. "The Godfather" enforcer __ Brasi: LUCA. Sleeps with the fishes.

27. High hybrid stat.: MPG.

28. Organization for the 50+ crowd: AARP.

29. Train units: CARS.

31. Musical corps members: FIFERS.

32. Feminist poet Lorde: AUDRE. Read more here.  We also have 99. Writer Sontag: SUSAN.

34. Delicate fabric: LACE.

35. Explode: GO OFF.

37. Inflated accommodation: AIRBED.

44. Historian's Muse: CLIO.

45. The Emerald Isle: EIRE.

46. Attack: SET AT.

47. Yemeni port: ADEN.

51. __ Diego: SAN.

52. What some hounds follow: SCENT.

53. Fails to understand: CAN'T SEE.

58. Car dealer's offering: LEASE.

59. Kama __: SUTRA.

61. Illinois-to-Washington family: OBAMAS.

63. Early fur trader: ASTOR.

64. Tired routine: RUT.

70. Busy hosp. areas: ERS. They're building a new hospital in Wuhan in 10 days. During 2003 SARS pandemic, a basic emergency hospital was completed within a week.

71. Absinthe flavoring: ANISE. Star anise is a key ingredient in Five Spice powder.

73. Sarges' superiors: LOOIES.

74. English glam rockers since the '70s: SLADE.

76. Someone to pay?: PIPER. Oh, pay the piper.

77. Big bomb trials: N TESTS.

83. Cher and Che: ICONS.

84. Big __: SUR.

87. Artful: DEFT.

90. Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA. Gimme for regulars.

91. Basic diamond trio: OUTS.

95. Metaphorical incentive: CARROT.

97. Part of TNT: NITRO.

98. Crimson rivals: ELIS.

100. Winter hanger: ICICLE. Look at the icy road in our mail box area.

103. Burt's Bees product: BALM.

104. Tap lineup: ALES.

105. Neruda wrote one to "things": ODE.

114. Scheme: PLAN.

115. Novelist Murdoch: IRIS.

116. Cyber Monday sector: E TAIL.

117. Tiptoe, say: CREEP. I walk like a penguin when I'm out.

118. Performed on karaoke night: SANG.

119. 'Tis the season: XMAS.

120. Currently: TODAY.

121. Quicker than is prudent: HASTY.

Down:

1. Copier supply unit: REAM.

2. Freudian __: SLIP.

3. One with unrefined tastes: VULGARIAN.

4. Peck in the park, briefly: PDA.

5. An era may be confined to one: DECADE.

6. Camping treat: S'MORE. Never had this.

7. Brilliant stroke: COUP.

8. One may be measured in cups: URN.

9. It's under Wayne Manor: BAT CAVE.

10. French border region: ALSACE.

11. Oft-beaded footwear: MOCS.

12. W. state whose largest city is named for a New England city: ORE. Named after Portland, Maine.

13. Perfect score, often: TEN.

14. Hurry, with "it": HOTFOOT.

15. Challenges for climbers: CLIFF FACES. Three F in a row.

16. Swanky: LUXE.

17. Taiwanese tech giant: ACER. Our monitor.

18. Rover's destination: MARS.

24. ID __: CARD.

26. Tick off: MIFF.

30. Ones crying foul?: REFS.

33. Curved fasteners: U BOLTS.

34. Leapers in a carol: LORDS.

35. Avoided unhappy consequences: GOT A PASS.

36. Muscat's land: OMAN.

37. "Back in Black" band: AC/DC.

38. Pelvic bones: ILIA.

39. Cristo Redentor city: RIO.

40. Job application component: RESUME.

41. Brainstorm: IDEATE.

42. Bleeping official: CENSOR.

43. Joins, as a club: ENTERS.

45. TV chef Lagasse: EMERIL."Kick it up a notch!"

49. Ones taking a lot of interest in their work?: USURERS. Real interest.

50. Org. that sued SeaWorld on behalf of orcas: PETA.

52. Libel, in speech: SLANDER.

55. Comedian Fields: TOTIE.

56. Orchestral winds: OBOES.

57. Milwaukee theater named for a brewer, with "the": PABST.

60. Spanish New Year: ANO NUEVO. Ours is Spring Festival. Tet for the Vietnamese. Seollal for Koreans. All in the same day.

62. One-named Tejano singer: SELENA.

64. Quick, in Quito: RAPIDO. And 90. Lively movement: ANIMATO.

65. Peace Prize-winning relief org.: UNICEF.

66. Hoops jump ball: TIP OFF.

68. "Couldn't agree more": SO TRUE.

69. Roof edge: EAVE.

72. It follows a guilty verdict: SENTENCING.

75. "Bewitched" witch: ENDORA.

78. A and B, on LPs: SIDES.

80. Harmony ruiners: SOUR NOTES. Great fill.

81. "Do __ others ... ": UNTO.

82. Sibilant attention-getter: PSST.

84. Soup step: STIR.

86. "Henry & June" diarist: NIN (Anais)

88. French comics series set in Gaul in 50 BC: ASTERIX. Learning moment for me.

89. Entreaty: PLEA.

93. River where down means north: NILE.

94. "Doubt it": I'LL BET.

95. Sticks by the pool table: CUES.

96. Per se: AS SUCH.

99. In a wily way: SLYLY.

100. Little handfuls: IMPS.

101. Royal Crown, for one: COLA.

102. "Terrible" leader: IVAN.

103. Téa's "Madam Secretary" role: BESS.

104. Home to most of the Silk Road: ASIA.

106. Ingredient in OFF!: DEET.

107. Best Upset, e.g.: ESPY.

109. Shot spot: ARM.

110. Soul supplier: KIA.

112. Blue: SAD.

113. Glass of NPR: IRA.

As Jayce mentioned, yesterday was Chinese Spring Festival. People in Guangzhou like to buy special flowers and golden orange trees for Spring Festival. Supposed to bring good luck. 

The big flower markets were closed earlier this year due to the coronavirus. People wear face masks wherever they go. And the face masks are in short supply.  

My friend Carmen sent me this picture. Very pretty, right? All her family gatherings and outings have been canceled.

蝴蝶兰 (Empress Orchids) & Golden Oranges