Saturday, January, 6, 2024, Brian Callahan & Katie Hale

 Saturday Themeless by Brian Callahan & Katie Hale

Today's challenge comes from the team of Brian Callahan from Chicago and Patti's assistant editor Katie Hale who lives in London.

Across

1. Wheels that are longer than cars: LIMO.

5. Chicago pub: TRIB - Uh, they got this headline wrong

9. Lighthouse spots: CAPES.

14. Like some Blue Apron kits: OVEN READY.

16. Kaaba honoree: ALLAH - Islam's holiest site

17. Attempt to reach a distant star: FAN LETTER 😀

18. "Westworld" role for Thandiwe Newton: MAEVE.

19. Spectrum hue: INDIGO - Neil deGrasse Tyson says there is no color INDIGO in the spectrum. He thinks Newton inserted it because he thought there needed to be seven colors.

20. Group that produces the podcast "The Perfect Scam": AARP - Wanna listen to a few of their podcasts?

22. Marked, as on a treasure map: XED.

23. Older millennials, once: NINETIES KIDS - This baby boomer subs for a lot of peeps from this generation.

26. Spa garb: ROBES.

29. Looking (into): DELVING - Did they DELVE far enough?

30. Draft choice: IPA - The crossword tavern always has this on tap

31. PFCs, e.g.: GIS.

32. Wraps: STOLES - The height of fashion when I was growing up

35. Dish with crushed Oreos: DIRT PIE - Replete with gummy worms

38. Item best not pocketed: CUE BALL - He makes the 8-ball to win but he also makes the CUE BALL which means he loses. Oops!

39. Got from point A to point B?: SEGUED 😀 - Speaking of pool, how 'bout that BRACKET POOL we had yesterday?

40. Deplete: SAP.

41. Streetlight Manifesto genre: SKA.

42. Lunar program named for Apollo's twin sister: ARTEMIS.

NASA's return to the Moon 
by 2025

44. Fresh: SASSY.

46. Spangly camis, e.g.: GOING OUT TOPS - I learned this is an real phrase. Here's a spangly CAMIsole

49. Barista's pot: URN.

50. Pangolin diet: ANTS I had never heard of them

 

51. Worth pursuing: VIABLE.

55. Up: AT BAT - The most famous literary one 

57. Day time: AFTERNOON.

59. Serengeti lumberer: RHINO - Uh, they can lumber at 35 mph.

60. "Oh, come on": NOW REALLY? 😀

61. Bank visitor: DONOR - Parachute Plasma is building a new facility just north of us and will be soliciting DONORS

62. Fox tail?: TROT 😀

63. Slugger Sammy: SOSA - Sammy's home run race with Mark McGuire was the biggest story of 1998. Of course in ended in a steroid scandal.

Down:

1. __ hip hop: genre also called "chillhop": LOFI - What is it?

2. Tennis great Lendl: IVAN.

3. Darn: MEND 😀

4. Connected with a server: ONLINE.

5. Rocky range: TETON.

6. Chuck E. Cheese, e.g., until 1993: RAT.

7. Forms a mental picture: IDEATES - I've never seen this word and its four vowels any where but here.

8. How many travel in Europe: BY RAIL - Some at 180 mph

9. Bivouac: CAMPSITE - a temporary camp without tents or cover, used especially by soldiers or mountaineers. Merriam-Webster offers the three-syllable pronunciation first but also accepts the two-syllable variation.

10. Following: ALA.

11. Material that clearly divides people?: PLEXIGLASS 😀

12. Hanging out, in a way: EAVED 😀

13. Loses: SHEDS - A New Years resolution for some

15. Hair salon giant that owns Supercuts: REGIS.

21. Gets ready to go, perhaps: REVS UP.

24. Name that sounds like consecutive letters: EDIE 😀 and 27. Name that sounds like consecutive letters: OPIE 😀

25. Handle: KNOB - Remember when TV's had them?

26. Clears (of): RIDS - The Pied Piper did RID the people of Hamlin of their rats but...

28. Saving space: BARGAIN BIN 😀

31. Amateur sleuth Fell of John Dickson Carr mysteries: GIDEON - If you look closely you can read "A Dr. GIDEON Fell Mystery"

33. Edmonton CFL team: ELKS.

34. Knock 'em dead: SLAY.

36. Move: TURN - It was Casey's TURN at bat, but alas...

37. Housemate who's liable to snap: PET GATOR 😳

38. Throw: CAST.

40. Indulges, as a portraitist: SITS FOR.

43. Storm, for one: MUTANT - Out of the Marvel stable of comics

44. Gothic architecture feature: SPIRE.

45. Sun Salutation sequence: ASANAS - ASANAS are yoga positions 

46. Position that requires passing judgment?: GUARD 😀 - He is passing judgement as to whether the car should be allowed to pass onto the base.

47. Right introduction?: ORTHO  - Greek prefix meaning “straight”, “upright”, “right” or “correct”.

48. Not subtle: OVERT.

52. Accessory with a slide clip: BOLO.

53. Reacts to a meme, maybe: LOLS 

54. "Dark Sky Island" singer: ENYA.

56. "That's __ from me": A NO

Dave Ramsey gives this A big NO!

58. Wee hour: TWO - Are they still making 2 a.m.?

Monday December 4, 2023 Brian Callahan

  

Hello Cornerites!

Theme:            MVP  (MOST VALUABLE PUZZLER)

sumdaze here with Brian Callahan's eighth LA Times puzzle and his third Monday offering. Today we have four seemingly unrelated themers and a unifier near the bottom -- just the way I like them! I won't keep you in suspense. Here is the grid:

For each of the themers, we find the letters TV (TUBE) at an INNER location of the spelled out themers. Additionally, the T's and V's are never in the same word.

"The TUBE" is a nickname for a TV set because they used to have CRT vacuum tubes in them. If that reference is before your time, let me ask, did you ever wonder why they call it YouTube?  

Let's zoom in:

16 Across. TikTok posts by some pet owners: CAT VIDEOS.  

23 Across. Tart sprinkle for fish and chips: MALT VINEGAR.  

35 Across. Appraiser's determination: FAIR MARKET VALUE.  The FMV is the price an asset would sell for on the open market.

(With three words, this one is a bit of an outlier.)

46 Across. Ability to see in low light: NIGHT VISION.  "Low light" means there are a low number of photons compared to a daylight scene.

Night Vision Goggles enhance night vision and allow the wearer to see into the near IR (infrared) spectrum.
Coincidentally, this NVG uses a form of a CRT projected onto a green phosphorus screen,
similar to the TV tubes we were just talking about -- hence the green!

And the unifier:

57. Inflatable river float, or what the answers to 16-, 23-, 35-, and 46-Across have: INNER TUBE. 

Like TV TUBEs, INNER TUBEs are a thing of the past (for car tires, anyway). The INNER TUBE would be placed inside the tire then inflated. If inflated outside of a tire, they made a soft rubber donut -- perfect for floating on rivers and lakes. (Modern car tires are now tubeless.)

Totally Tubular Fun!!
This clue reminded me of stopping by the service station on the way to the lake to put gas in the boat
and air in the INNER TUBEs.

Moving on...

Across:
1. Court sport, for short: B-BALL.  Basketball

6. Pen tip: NIB.

9. Building manager, casually: SUPE.  SUPErintendent  

Pat Harrington Jr (1929-2016) played Schneider, the SUPEr on One Day at a Time.

13. Nest on a crest: AERIE.  Clues like this one and 1-A make for a fun solve!

14. Ostrichlike bird: EMU.  Moo the EMU lives at Australia's National Zoo. 

15. Country between Togo and Nigeria: BENIN.  We'll find out if BENIN crossing BEENE tripped up any Monday solvers.

18. Went astray: ERRED.  

19. __ upon a time ...: ONCE.  ONCE upon a time (2007 to be precise), there was a touching, Irish film called Once. The soundtrack for Once is one of my favorites. Falling Slowly, written and performed by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová won an Oscar for Best Original Song.  

The imperfections make it perfect!

20. College URL part: EDU.   and   43 Down. Encrypted URL starter: HTTPS.

See your web browser's address bar.  

21. Actor Danny in Jersey Mike's ads: DEVITO.  Danny DeVito has been married to another crossword regular, Rhea Pearlman, since 1982. Here is one of his Jersey Mike's ads.

22. Neither's partner: NOR.   and   50 Across. To and __: FRO.

an oft' borrowed quote

25. Words of compassion: I CARE.

27. Say confidently: AVER.

28. Indian lute: SITAR.  This site features an interesting collection of string instruments and a 1 min. video that discusses the progression from a 1-string Ektar to electric guitars.

30. Singer Yoko: ONO.

31. Autumn: FALL.  

39. Like most software, once: ON CD.  The future might be ceramics-based storage systems.

Does constructor Brian Callahan look old enough
to be writing all these back-in-the-day clues?

40. Mass. MLB team: BOS.  Fenway Park in BOSton Massachusetts is home to the Red Sox, a Major League Baseball team.

41. Ziff who's infatuated with Marge Simpson: ARTIE.  

ARTIE Ziff is a minor character on The Simpsons.
He is a former billionaire and was Marge's senior year prom date.
Jon Lovitz voices ARTIE.

42. Tequila order: SHOT.  A SHOT of alcohol is 1.5 oz. (about 44 mls.)

Did you know that the lines on a Red Solo Cup are measurement marks?

44. Beyond compare: PRIMO.  English borrowed this word from the Italian word for "first".

Also, PRIMO is a 2023 coming-of-age TV show on Amazon Freevee. Michael Schur (The Office, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) is involved in it so I thought it would be good -- and it was!  

In Spanish, "PRIMO" means "cousin".
So is my mom's brother's son my PRIMO PRIMO?

53. Flattened at the poles, as Earth: OBLATE.  You can pronounce it /äbˌlāt/ or /ōˈblāt/.

I've only learned this word of late.

54. Knee injury initials: ACL.  Anterior Cruciate Ligament

55. Sty fare: SLOP.  food for pigs

56. Seize illegally: USURP.  Def:  to take control of a position of power, especially without having the right to do so.

59. Looks for: SEEKS.  Here is a song about a guy who SEEKS love through a personal ad.  

Rupert Homes sings Escape (The Pina Colada Song).

It hit #1 on the charts 44 years ago and has been a pop culture classic ever since.

60. Shar-__: wrinkly dog: PEI.  

The shar pei is a dog breed from southern China.
Traditionally kept as a property guardian, the shar pei was driven to the brink of extinction in the 20th century.

61. Dine at home: EAT IN.

62. Fades to black: ENDS.  

63. Curved piece: ARC.

64. Small songbirds: WRENS.  You can listen to a WREN sing here:  

Down:
1. Turkey__: breakfast meat that's both halal and kosher: BACON.  Neither allow eating pork or birds of prey. Unfortunately for turkeys (and despite some wild stories out there), they are not considered to be birds of prey.

2. Game of chance similar to bingo: BEANO.  This game is 100+ years old. It is like bingo but you use beans for the markers. I am surprised the Patent Office did not put up a red flag.

3. Writer who visits a lot of galleries: ART CRITIC.  

4. Word in many concert album names: LIVE.  Check out this list of 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time from Rolling Stone to see your favorite's ranking. Coming in at #3 on the list, here is the LIVE version of Folsom Prison Blues from Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison (1968). You can hear the prisoners in the background. They sound relatively polite by today's standards.  

5. Floral wreath: LEI.

6. Pine leaf: NEEDLE.  

7. "See ya": I'M OUT.

8. Mass transit option: BUS.  

9. Facility with a supercomputer array: SERVER FARM.  I assume this definition of SERVER FARM is correct.

10. Strip of gear, as a ship: UNRIG.  It stands to reason that if one can rig a ship, one can UNRIG a ship. "Derig" is in the dictionary, too.

11. Michelangelo sculpture in St. Peter's: PIETÀ.  The Pietà ("pity" in Italian) depicts the Virgin Mary holding the body of her son Jesus after his death. Michelangelo began carving this masterpiece when he was 24 years old. It is the only sculpture he signed.

We usually see a front view. I thought this side view was interesting.

12. Ewoks' home: ENDOR.  The Forest Moon of ENDOR scenes were filmed on location at Redwood National and State Parks in northern California. Here is a clip to give you a sense of the terrain:  

Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (1983)

No trees were harmed in the making of this movie. 😊

15. Fashion designer Geoffrey: BEENE.  He was born in 1924 in Haynesville, LA and died in 2004 in New York, NY. He was know for his formal wear and accessories designs. He designed for public figures such as Marilyn Monroe and Lady Bird Johnson. I was unable to find out if he ever played BEANO.

17. Sweetheart: DEAR.  Yes?

21. Hunk of turf: DIVOT.  This is a golf reference. I was unsure if a DIVOT referred to the piece of turf that goes flying or the hole left behind. The Cambridge Dictionary says it can be both.

The caption on this said, "Justin Rose chunks the worst shot of the 1st round."

23. Quaint suffix with school: MARM.  "Marm" is a variant spelling of "ma'am".

I held back on filling this one in because I do not think of "marm" as a suffix.

24. Barn topper: VANE.   and   38 Down. Narcissistic: VAIN.  

Don't you? Don't you?  ♪♪

26. Players who have mastered the art of the deal?: CARD SHARKS.  This clue is a fun play on the word "deal". To deal playing cards is to distribute them to the players.

28. NorCal airport: SFO.  "Northern California" is abbreviated. So is San FranciscO International Airport.

29. Suffix with Dickens or Orwell: IAN.  Charles Dickensian and George Orwellian

At this time I would like to thank Mr. H., my HS English teacher.

30. Signs off on: OKS.

32. Wind instrument that might have a curved head: ALTO FLUTE.  

33. French pronoun: LUI.  I learned this one the Sunday before yesterday. We had "96A. French masculine pronoun:  LUI." I made up the memory trick "Louie is a male's name," but now I am reading that when functioning as an objective pronoun, it can replace male and female pronouns. Please feel free to correct me on this.

34. Director Ang: LEE.

36. Over: ABOVE.  I like it when constructors use words with multiple meanings. Is it 'finished' or 'upward'? The grid will let you know.

37. Naan relative: ROTI.

44. Dine outside: PICNIC.  

I like the body language of the aardvark to the right.

45. Part in a film: ROLE.

46. "It's pointless": NO USE.

47. Playwright Henrik: IBSEN.  He was a Norwegian poet, playwright, and theater director, perhaps best known for A Doll's House. (1828-1906)

48. Used Elmer's: GLUED.  

49. More levelheaded: SANER.

51. "Good Morning America" co-anchor Roberts: ROBIN.  Also, one of my favorite birds!  

Robin Roberts   and   the American robin

52. Unseals: OPENS.

55. Celebrity: STAR.  Another excellent Science word loses out to Hollywood....

57. Hoppy beverage with New England and West Coast varieties: IPA.  Most of us had this at "3-letter hoppy beverage"; nevertheless, this link helps explain the second half of the clue.

58. "Go back" button: Abbr.: REW.  Be kind. REWind.

That's all for today. I'm off to cook some lunch. I have a sudden craving for root vegetables and perhaps some haricot verts. Enjoy your week!