Thursday November 3, 2022, Carly Schuna

 

 Car Talk
An NPR interview with Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers

 

(and a CSO to Picard)

Today's constructor, Carly Schuna, is relatively new, with one puzzle in the NY Times and two in the LA Times.  I can give you no better introduction to this multi-talented person than Husker's review of her March 26, 2022 outing.  BTW it looks like Carly could give CrossEyedDave a run for the money in the cake department.

Today Carly wants to talk cars, one of modern life's necessities.  She does this with 4 punny clues,  each containing the name of a car manufacturer, and then filling with 4 commonly used two word phrases, each beginning with one of the manufacturer's popular models:

17A. Place that showcases certain Fords?: ESCAPE ROOM.  An escape room, also known as an escape game, puzzle room, or exit game, is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limited amount of time. OTOH, a FORD ESCAPE looks like this:

2023 Ford Escape

29A. Beacon that illuminates some Hondas?: PILOT LIGHT.   A pilot light is a small gas flame, usually natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas, which serves as an ignition source for a more powerful gas burner.  OTOH, a HONDA PILOT looks like this:
 

Honda Pilot

46A. Starting line for a race exclusively for some Hyundais?: ACCENT MARK.  Among other uses accent marks, also called diacritical marks, are used  to indicate the correct pronunciation of words to which they are added.  OTOH, a HYUNDAI ACCENT looks like this:

Hyundai Accent

62A. Overall condition of certain Nissans?: ROGUE STATE.  "Rogue state" (or sometimes "outlaw state") is a term applied by some international theorists to states that they consider threatening to the world's peace. These states meet certain criteria, such as being ruled by authoritarian or totalitarian governments that severely restrict human rights, sponsoring terrorism, or seeking to proliferate weapons of mass destruction.  I'm sure everyone can think of at least one ROGUE STATE that has been in the spotlight for the last half year.  OTOH, a NISSAN ROGUE looks like this:

Nissan Rogue

No reveal, circles, or asterisks.  Here's the grid:
 

Let's  see if we can keep this one on the road ...

Across:

1. Minor in astronomy?: URSA.  The BABY BEAR that is.  Given that male bears are cads, URSA MAJOR must be the MAMMA BEAR.

5. Golden St. region: SOCAL.  SOuthern CALifornia.

10. Org. that includes the Sun and the Sky: WNBA.  Here are the WNBA teams.

14. Gravy __: BOAT.

15. Extremely, in slang: HELLA.  Shouldn't this be HELLAVA?

16. Swag: HAUL.  I think the 2nd definition applies here.

19. Marine mammal with the same colors as an Oreo: ORCA. Or  "Confection with the same colors as a marine mammal" could be yet another clue for OREO.

20. Save: RESCUE.

21. Digital covers?: TOE SOCKS.  They keep your piggies warm.

23. Broadcasting: ON TV.  Does anybody watch this anymore?

25. Result of a crash?: NAP.  I'm about to crash.  I think it's time for my NAP.

26. Planets, poetically: ORBS.  I still think Clyde Tombaugh was right.  Hand up if you think there are 9 planets?

35. Diner staple: MELT.

36. Oft-injured knee parts, for short: ACLS.  An ACL injury is a tear or sprain of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) — one of the strong bands of tissue that help connect your thigh bone (femur) to your shinbone (tibia).

37. Falcon's 69-Across: AERIE.  Sounds kinda scary to me.

38. In the style of: ALA.  Teri and I visited ALA a year back to attend a wedding.  A beautiful state with friendly, generous people.

39. Heartburn remedy: ANTACID.  IMHO, the best ANTACID is drinking lots of water.

41. Nail-biting NFL periods: OTS.

42. Dharma follower: HINDU.   Dharma is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others.  Although there is no direct single-word translation for dharma in European languages, it is commonly translated as "righteousness", "merit" or "religious and moral duties" governing individual conduct.
 

44. Desktop with a Retina 5K display: IMAC.   Sweet! Hand up if you've got one Apple scruffs?

45. Promote aggressively: TOUT.   Thankfully the TOUTING season will be just about over by next Tuesday, followed by the WRANGLING season over what the REAL results were.

48. Gear on a tour bus: AMPS.

49. "Wanted to mention," for short: BTW. 

50. Ailing: SICK. 

52. "Ahem": EXCUSE ME. 

57. Reunion attendees: NIECES.  And 39D AUNTS.

61. Cross off: X OUT.

64. Tollbooth pricing unit: AXLE.  Correlates nicely with the number of wheels and weight, and thus road wear.

65. Nautical units: KNOTS.  Why do we need different measures of distance and speed on the ocean?

66. Former Indiana governor Bayh: EVAN.  Birch Evans Bayh III, born December 26, 1955 (not to be confused with his father Birch Bayh, Jr.),  is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011 and the 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997.
 

Evan Bayh

67. Blue part of blue cheese: MOLD.  Is it safe to eat moldy blue cheese?

68. Fills completely: SATES.

69. Egg holder: NEST.  If they're high enough they can be pretty EERIE.

Down:

1. Taxi alternative: UBER.  We tried UBER when we attended a wedding in New York, but the traffic was so bad there that we found it was faster to walk or take the subway.  We did have a lot of success with LYFT in D.C.

2. Thorny subject?: ROSE.  Teri likes roses.  Here's how to grow them.

Peach Rose

3. Anatomical pouches: SACS.   These containers seem to vary so much in their form and function that I was unable to find an overarching definition for them.  The best I could come up with was this Wikipedia subtopic with a menu of links to different types of sacs.

4. Not without consequences: AT A COST.  A clue is related to the Hindu concept of Karma (see 42A).

5. Ovenware for roasting vegetables: SHEET PAN.

6. Above, in odes: OER.  Perhaps the most famous usage of this word is in the ode to our nation's flag: "O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming ..."

7. Coagulate: CLOT.

8. __ gobi: potato and cauliflower dish: ALOO.  Here's a recipe for Aloo gobi.  I first learned the word Aloo from Aloo parathas, Indian pastries stuffed with spiced potatoes.   I guess Aloo must mean "potato"

9. Mourn: LAMENT.  Lamentations of Jeremiah - No 1 by Thomas Tallis:

10. __ pie: WHOOPIE.  You can make your own.
 

11. DEA agent: NARC.

12. Mets manager Showalter: BUCK.  William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III (born May 23, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager for the New York Mets. Previously, he served as manager of the New York Yankees (1992–1995), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998–2000), Texas Rangers (2003–2006), and Baltimore Orioles (2010–2018).

Buck Showalter

13. Word of woe: ALAS.  See 9D.

18. "I threw away my golf shoes when I got a hole in one," e.g.: PUN.  Or maybe "I like to putter and dig holes" ...

22. Leaves in a bowl: SALAD.

24. Mr. Boddy in Clue, e.g.: VICTIM.   Speaking of PUNS.

26. Missouri River city: OMAHA.  Omaha is the largest city in Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 10 mi (15 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city, Omaha's 2020 census population was 486,051A.  I did one of DAB's puzzles last week and he clued this as "Nebraska city that sounds like a German grandmother's laughter."  Another CSO to Husker.

27. Remnant of the past: RELIC. 

28. Sauvignon __: BLANC. Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words sauvage ("wild") and blanc ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France.  A CSO to CMOE.
 

Sauvignon Grapes

30. Andes animal: LLAMA.  The llama is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Or the beast in an Ogden Nash poem.

31. Filmdom awards: OSCARS.  Did they give any awards this year?  All I heard about was this:

"The Slap Heard Round the World"

At least Reuters photo-journalist Brian Snyder made some money from it.

32. Husband-to-be: GROOM.  A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed.

33. Ask (for): HIT UP. 

34. Battery units?: TESTS.  Here's a battery of tests to determine the usefulness of a battery of tests.

39. Reunion attendees: AUNTS.  And 57A NIECES.

40. Gross feeling: ICKINESS.  "adjective. Informal. Not pleasant or agreeable: bad, disagreeable, displeasing, offensive, uncongenial, unpleasant, unsympathetic. Slang: yucky" - The Free Dictionary

43. Showed for the first time: DEBUTED.  The T is silent. 

45. Relax for a bit: TAKE TEN.  I've only got time to Take Five:

47. Dances suggestively: TWERKS.  I checked out some GIFs, but I don't think Margaret Farrar would approve.

51. Opposite of trans: CIS.   Cis–trans isomers are stereoisomers, that is, pairs of molecules which have the same formula, but whose functional groups are in different orientations in three-dimensional space.  The prefixes "cis" and "trans" are from Latin: "this side of" and "the other side of", respectively.  Here's an example of cis-2-butene and trans-2-butene, both colorless gases used in the synthesis of gasoline.

cis-trans isomers

52. Proctor's handout: EXAM.

53. Sentimental sign-off: XOXO.  Hugs and kisses.  The first recorded usage X was in 1763 by a parson Gilbert White.  The origin of O is speculative and more recent.

54. Winnow: CULL.

55. Poet Van Duyn: MONA.  DNK Pulitzer Prize winning poet Mona Van Duyn (1921–2004), the first woman to serve as U.S. poet laureate.  Selected short poems by Mona Van Duyn.

56. Award quartet that includes 31-Down: EGOT.  Here's a list of EGOT winners.

58. Buckle: CAVE.  CAVE is short for CAVE IN,  a synonym for BUCKLE:

59. Airport guesses, for short: ETAS.

60. In the mail: SENT.

63. Shoshonean language: UTE.  Shoshone, also spelled Shoshoni; also called Snake was a North American Indian group that occupied the territory from what is now southeastern California across central and eastern Nevada and northwestern Utah into southern Idaho and western Wyoming.  Their language was one of the Uto-Aztecan languages.  The  State of Utah derives its name from the UTE language.

Shoshone Indian

Cheers,
Bill

As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

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

 

Monday August 15, 2022 Carly Schuna

Theme: "Awesome!" - First word in each theme entry is a slang for "awesome".

20. Awesome event in military history?: BOSS BATTLE.

33. Awesome side at a barbecue?: SWEET CORN.

41. Awesome double Dutch accessory?: TIGHTROPE.

52. Awesome tennis racket?: FLYSWATTER. Read here.

Boomer here. 

Good Morning all. I completed my visit with oncology doctor a week ago and my blood draw work was good except the PSA. We'll wait for two more months to see if the new chemo is working on my cancer cells. Thanks to all for your good wishes and care regarding my PSA. The oncologist told us he has seen some as high as 10,000.

Across: 

1. __ the fat: CHEW. That's what we do on this website.

5. Fill, as a teddy bear: STUFF.  Or "fill, like my stomach."

10. Bonneville Salt Flats state: UTAH.  A Four Corners state.

14. Toy block brand with Creator 3-in-1 sets: LEGO. Happy Birthday to these great toy blocks,  just turned 90 years old. Very popular at Mall of America. 

15. Pitch-fixing pro: TUNER.

16. Indian flatbread: ROTI.

17. Hankering: URGE.  Generally I have an URGE for breakfast before checking this site.

18. Submit taxes online: E FILE.  We do this with Turbotax.

19. Severely overcook: BURN.  The first four letters of my last name.

22. Desertlike: ARID.  We have had a pretty HOT summer in this land of 10,000 lakes this year.

23. Signs off on: OKS.  Not yet - OKAY ?

24. Tree in a tray: BONSAI.

26. Penne and pappardelle: PASTAS.  I just like really thin spaghetti.

30. Minor mistake: SLIP. We all make a few while solving.

32. Scrub energetically: SCOUR.

38. Comic __: casual typeface: SANS. 

39. Warty jumpers: TOADS.  We used to catch them when we were kids.

40. "That is a fact": TRUE.  TRUE or FALSE test ?

43. Judy Blume's "Tales of a Fourth __ Nothing": GRADE.  Easy high GRADE

44. Softball scores: RUNS.  I was the slow pitch pitcher on the Graybar team.

45. Telephoned: CALLED.

46. Hypothetical scenario: WHAT IF.

50. Hotmail alternative: AOL.  America On Line.

51. A pop: EACH. A bottle of Pepsi did not fit.

59. Digging: INTO.

60. Spaghetti Western director Sergio: LEONE.  Yeah, but why is it called "spaghetti"?

61. Roof overhang: EAVE.  Keeps rain from dripping.

62. Splits: GOES. "A nasty bowling leave" had too many letters.

63. Superexcited: EAGER.  I am EAGER to see Orthopedics at the end of this month to see if I get my left arm back.

64. Marvel Comics mutants: X MEN.

65. __-and-seek: HIDE.  Great game for kids!

66. Trades blows: SPARS.

67. Structure with stakes: TENT.  I spent quite a few nights in one.

Down:

1. Sandwich type: CLUB.  Thirteen cards within a deck.

2. Sandwich type: HERO.  We also have a plumber in Minnesota that uses that name.

3. Spaghetti carbonara ingredients: EGGS.  I like scrambled.

4. Misfortunes: WOES.

5. Swordfish servings: STEAKS. I prefer tenderloins.

6. Clumps of fur: TUFTS.

7. Scoville __: chili pepper heat measurement: UNIT.

8. Succumbed to gravity: FELL.  That's why I am now waiting for my shoulder to heal.

9. Giveaways for sampling, e.g.: FREEBIES.  When the senior PGA played the 3M tourney in Minn. We received many free 3M products, just for showing up.

10. "Blue Ain't Your Color" country singer Keith: URBAN.

11. Travels with the band: TOURS.  Our favorite was a tour of Myrtle Beach.

12. Open courtyards: ATRIA.

13. Asian language related to Urdu: HINDI.

21. Wild pig: BOAR.  I'll bet those pork chops are tougher.

25. Choose (to): OPT.

26. Hissed "Hey!": PSST.  Do you want to know a secret?

27. Smoothie bowl berry: ACAI.

28. Spotify selection: SONG.  I can do Simon and Garfunkel.

29. Booty: TUSH.  Sit in it!

30. Scoreless Scrabble turns: SWAPS.  I SWAPPED many baseball cards in my lifetime.

31. News story opening, in journalism jargon: LEDE.

33. Shortly: SOON.  Almost done.

34. __-Alt-Del: CTRL.  It takes long fingers to hit this.

35. Spoken, not written: ORAL.

36. Disrespectful: RUDE.  Not me - Not nice.

37. "__ a lift?": NEED.

39. Artisan chocolate treats: TRUFFLES.  Delicious.

42. Uni- + bi-: TRI.

43. Huge bash: GALA.  Our Minnesota State Fair is a huge bash.  I cannot make it this year.

45. Quakes in fear: COWERS.

46. Put on a scale: WEIGH.  My weight is down about thirty lbs.  Unbelievable!

47. Vietnam's capital: HANOI.

48. Played a role: ACTED.  I played Noah (spelled Noye ?)

49. "The ones I'm pointing at": THOSE.

50. Ed of "Up": ASNER.  Liked him in the Mary Tyler Moore show.

53. Jeté, e.g.: LEAP.

54. Lotus pose discipline: YOGA.  Not Mr. Berra.

55. Smartphone message: TEXT.  I have never done this.  I guess I am not a smart person.

56. Subdue, as wild hair: TAME.

57. Neck and neck: EVEN.  "And down the stretch they come "

58. Tenant's monthly payment: RENT.  We own but have a questionable neighbor who RENTS.

Boomer

 

Saturday, March 26, 2022, Carly Schuna and Will Nediger

 Saturday Themeless by Carly Schuna and Will Nediger

Of all the amazing constructors I have met in my years of blogging, Carly and her profession have to fall into the category of  "very unique". She lives in Madison, Wisconsin and gave us this lovely and generous note on this puzzle and her unique career: 

Hi, Gary,

First of all, even though Will generously calls this puzzle a collaboration, it was almost 100% him! I reached out to Will as a very beginning constructor to ask him to test solve a themeless puzzle I had made, and he kindly invited me to make a themeless puzzle with him. I provided the seed entry (INSPECTOR GADGET), and he did the rest, walking me through each step of the process with extreme patience. I then contributed most of the clues, as that was the least I could do after Will made the entire puzzle! That was about a year and a half ago, and since then, I've had about 10 puzzles published or accepted by various outlets, so in case there was ever any doubt, Will is an excellent mentor! Everything you've probably heard about him is true: In addition to being one of the world's best constructors and speed solvers, he is knowledgeable, open-minded, and generous with his time. I truly lucked out on getting him as a mentor. 

There are so many entries in this puzzle in Will's signature vice that I love: NEW CAR SMELL, I'LL GET IT, AM I WRONG, YOU DID WHAT, and (my personal favorite) NOPED OUT, which cracks me up every time. These colorful phrase make the puzzle so much more fun and I hope solvers enjoy them!

Will is, of course, a full-time crossword constructor and editor. When I am not making crosswords, I am a circus performer and coach specializing in German wheel (see picture). I also teach static trapeze, flying trapeze, juggling, teeterboard, and more. If anyone is ever near Madison, WI and wants to learn some circus, check out Madison Circus Space, the organization I co-founded where I teach, and we can do some circus together!

Best,

Carly

Will Nediger

Madison Circus Space

  

 Across:

1. Scholarly titles, briefly: DRS.

4. Certain cephalopods: OCTOPI - Cephalo (head) Pods (feet) - Head connected to feet/arms

10. Spaghetti strap top: CAMI.

CAMISOLE

14. "Please tell me that didn't happen!": YOU DID WHAT?

16. Rights activist Clooney: AMAL - Amal Clooney (née Alamuddin)

17. Banishing acts: EXPULSIONS.

18. Choice: WILL - Our favorite scat singer addresses this issue

19. Strategically placed whoopee cushion, say: JAPE - It's in here with some of its related words

20. Waters down: THINS.

22. Canine greeting: WAG.

23. About half the weight of an average car: ONE-TON - My Chevy Colorado weighs about 4,000 lbs or two tons

26. Request for a distraction: COVER ME - "COVER ME, I'm goin' in!"

28. Flower plot: BED.

29. Vulgar: LEWD - Vulgar missed this family portrait. Wednesday's puzzle had some of these. 

32. Hightail it: BUG OUT.

33. King nicknamed "Longshanks": EDWARD I - He was 6'2" in the year 1300 and is the 19th great-grandfather to QEII

35. Pro fighter: ANTI.

36. Cyborg detective of TV and film: INSPECTOR GADGET - Carly's seed entry  

Rotten Tomatoes Review Of The Film Version

40. Formal denial: NOT I.

41. Email attention-getters: AT SIGNS - @

42. Shim, for example: SPACER.

44. Slant: SPIN - It's an election year

45. Saw from behind?: WAS - An emordnilap is a word that spells a different word backwards. (Did you notice what emordnilap spelled backwards is?)

48. Most charged: TENSEST people in this atmosphere should 50. "Take a chill pill": EASE UP.

52. Include: ADD.

53. Popular tech service: G-MAIL.

56. Goddess credited in a Milky Way origin account: HERA.

57. Stat in standings: LOSS.

59. Smallest Central American country: EL SALVADOR - #4 EL SALVADOR is 8% smaller than #1 Belize below

62. Job under the hood: LUBE - Modern cars usually do not require this anymore 

63. Ones who see what you mean: LIP READERS - Fun clue. 

An attempt to stop this practice

64. "Come Sail Away" rock band: STYX.

65. Applies, as flattery: LAYS ON.

66. Nanjiani's "The Lovebirds" co-star: RAE - Can you see Issa's name in the graphic? Norma RAE was in the Monday's "D.C." puzzle.

Down:

1. Going platinum, maybe: DYE JOB - No records here, just a salon task

2. "Hunger" memoirist __ Gay: ROXANE.

3. Ate dinner: SUPPED.

4. Massage therapist's supply: OIL.

5. Vinyl successors: CDS.

6. Buffoon: TWIT.

7. Cry from one who knows the answer: OH OH and 8. Near-the-deadline response, at times: PANIC and 27. "My heavens!": EGADS. - Emotions for me after ten seconds on Carly's German Wheel

9. "Whatevs": IT'S NO BIGGIE.

10. Farm country avian cry: CAW.

11. "You don't doubt me, do you?": AM I WRONG.

12. Husky cousin: MALAMUTE.

13. Doorbell response: I'LL GET IT.

15. Song one can't perform?: DUET.

21. Dept. in a "Law & Order" spin-off: SVU.

24. Shoppe name word: OLDE.

25. It can be faked with air freshener: NEW CAR SMELL.

30. Power measure: WATT - KiloWATTs produced during a recent 5-day stretch here in our town's solar farm (red line shows wattage for clear blue sky). St. Patrick's Day was very cloudy!

31. Refuse: DROSS - Zinc DROSS left over from galvanizing 

33. "Paradise Lost" et al.: EPICS.

34. __ coffee: DRIP.

36. Puts on the hard drive: INSTALLS.

37. Left in disgust or fear, slangily: NOPED OUT.

38. Is ready to act: STANDS BY.

39. Oscar winner Paquin: ANNA - One of Canadian constructors, Brian Paquin, believes Winnipeg-born ANNA is a distant relative

43. Brain scan inits.: EEG.

45. Garden tool: WEEDER.

46. Northern sky sight: AURORA.

47. Minimalist: SPARSE.

49. Shire of "Rocky": TALIA.

51. Herring type: SHAD.

54. Road game: I SPY - with my little eye

55. Metallica drummer Ulrich: LARS - A guy whose name I never knew until I started puzzling

58. Census checkbox: SEX - Can you ask this any more?

60. Cancer follower: LEO - LEO does look somewhat like a lion. I told my kids to lo0k for the big backwards question mark in the spring and summer south sky.

61. Soccer mom's usual ride: VAN - I'm going to venture a guess that Carly's German Wheel ride is far from usual!