Wednesday, Jan 8th, 2025 ~ Catherine Cetta

 This is not a Pipe (organ)

This Is Not a Tool for Drilling

A new twist on a crossword puzzle idea that even I tried to construct - in that version, I inserted "Drill" into the song title "The Thrill Is Gone" - but that idea had been done more than once; in fact, the old editor, Rich Norris, was the constructor of one.  Our C.C. could tell you more - today's author is another "C.C.", whom I have not had the pleasure to blog - she appeared for the LA Times three times in 2024, two of them on Mondays.  No circles, a few names that filled via perps before I had the chance to read the clues, a run of 26 Five-Letter Words ( 5LW ), and several answers that I "Learned From Doing Crosswords" (LFDC).  Here's your "Do It Yourself" minimum requirements; 

17. Emphasize and then some: HAMMER HOME

24. Had an aha moment: SAW THE LIGHT

51. "Be brutally honest": LEVEL WITH ME

63. Some Expedia search results: PLANE FARES - I don't much like "plane", but it works - but Southwest came up before Expedia on my Google

39. "Remember your training, people!," and what can be said about the starts of 17-, 24-, 51-, and 63-Across: THIS IS NOT A DRILL - for those who don't recognize the paint job on the drill above, here's where it comes from

Van Halen - Poundcake

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Carve into: ETCH - I used letter punches to "ETCH" my name into this wood block for sanding

I whacked the "N" sideways the first time 😜

5. Multitasking, perhaps: BUSY

9. Chocolate canines: LABS - as in Labrador, the dog breed; Australian Shepherds are on their way to my local shelter, so I might just go with that breed for my new pet - I already know how much they shed, bark, weigh, and the amount of exercise they need~!

13. 22-Down city: TROY - AND - 22D. Epic poem featuring Patroclus and Achilles: ILIAD - Five-letter Epic poem blah-blah-blah = Ektorp

14. Turkish bigwigs: AGHAS - Learned from doing crosswords (LFDC)

16. Run __: AMOK - I do the DOWNs first; otherwise, I doubt I would have understood this clue

19. Written reminder: NOTE

20. Portents: OMENS

21. Glowing quality: RADIANCE

23. Me day place: SPA

27. Bearded garden figure: GNOME

I want one~!

29. NPR host Shapiro: ARI - name #1, filled via perps

30. "Don't get carried __!": "AWAY~!" - we have a lot of "quoted" clues today as well . . . .

32. Whisper receiver: EAR - different way to clue this answer

34. Book of maps: ATLAS

43. "Water Lilies" painter Claude: MONET - Is it mAnet, or mOnet~? - I can never remember; the "O" filled via perps

44. Little bit: TAD

45. Above: OVER

46. Slugger Mel inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1951: OTT - name #2, Crossword Staple

49. Isabel Wilkerson work subtitled "The Origins of Our Discontents": CASTE - name #3, again, filled via perps

56. Financial daily, initially: WSJ - The Wall Street Journal

59. Speechmaker's story: ANECDOTE - "So there I was, in the middle of nowhere . . . "

60. Bonn's river: RHINE - or rhOne~?  This time, I was wrong with the "O"

62. Seethe: BOIL

66. Jazz legend Fitzgerald: ELLA - name #4, Crossword Staple

67. Canyonlands features: MESAS

68. Campfire output: HEAT

69. Stand the test of time: LAST

70. Credit card balance, e.g.: DEBT

71. Requests: ASKS


DOWN:

1. Belief system: ETHOS

2. Walk with heavy steps: TRAMP - I tried CLOMP first

3. "What?": "COME AGAIN~?" - reminds me of the "Wolf" scene from Pulp Fiction - NSFW

4. "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," for one: HYMN - no clue; again, perps; name(ish) #5

5. Forbid: BAR - I had BAN first; 67% correct

6. "How repulsive!": "UGH~!"

7. In the red: SHORT - OWES was not long enough

In the RED, and SHORT

8. Big name in electronic instruments: YAMAHA - an electric organ~?  Anathema~!

9. One of four islands in Maui County: LANAI - name #6, filled - oh, never mind

10. "You're __ friends": AMONG - ooof - not sure I would ever guess this answer

11. Bungle: BOTCH - I always associate "BOTCH" with plastic surgery - definitely NSFW - even the "success" stories look creepy

12. Shooting sport: SKEET

15. Passover meal: SEDER - LFDC

18. Canadian fuel giant: ESSO - LFDC

25. Iowa college town: AMES - name #7 - LFDC

26. Gradually ease off: WEAN

28. Org. with opening and closing bells: NYSE - check the $$$ of your IPO on the NYSE in the WSJ

30. PIN point: ATM - good change-up for this Crossword Staple

31. "__ knows?": "WHO~?"

33. "Rubbish!": "ROT~!"

35. Not quite run: TROT - another tough-to-relate clue/answer

36. Go-getters: LIVE WIRES - I have to put this one in

I love playing the drums to this - the cowbell fills are great
Mötley Crüe - Live Wire

37. India Pale __: ALE - Crossword Staple - seen as "IPA"

38. Pro's camera: SLR - a professional's Single-Lens Reflex 35mm (typically) tool

40. "Mom knows": "I TOLD." - you dirty rat . . . .

41. RPM gauge: TACH - abbr. for RPM = abbr for tachOMETER

42. Driver at the Oscars: ADAM - Ooops, not MINI ( which is actually Minnie ) - name #8

47. Early afternoon hr.: TWO PM

See what I mean~?

48. Named: TITLED

50. Feudal laborer: SERF

51. Laundry instructions spot: LABEL - my first thought was the lid of the washing machine 😜

52. "__ Holmes": Millie Bobby Brown film: ENOLA - name #9

53. Obscures: VEILS

54. Razzle-dazzle: ÉCLAT

55. Rib: TEASE

57. B-ball shoe: SNEAK - meh.  sneakER.  My first thought, and I said "there's no way that's the answer."

58. Makes jokes: JESTS

61. "That's funny!": "HA-HA~!"

64. Snag: NAB

65. Superlative ending: EST - as in the BESTEST, ever

Splynter

That's a PIPE~!

Notes from C.C.:

Today we celebrate the pipe guy's 20th continued sobriety. Reaching this milestone is a testament to your resilience and dedication to living your best life. Congrats, Splynter!

Monday October 28, 2024 Catherine Cetta

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here with a puzzle whose gimmick was easy to PIN down.

Theme:                            PIN DROP

Veteran constructor Catherine Cetta quietly drops four types of PINS into today's grid. We will look at those clues first:

18 Across. Cautious person's motto: SAFETY FIRST.  

24 Across. Like many ignition switches: PUSH BUTTON.  

36 Across. Trios of goals: HAT TRICKS.  A HAT TRICK is three successes of the same kind. The term is often used in hockey or soccer to refer to three goals in a game by one player. It was first used in 1869 in reference to cricket.

51 Across. Anklets worn with a poodle skirt: BOBBY SOCKS.  

Then the reveal:

57. "Come back to that later," and an apt title for this puzzle: PUT A PIN IN IT.

a possible origin of this phrase

The first word of each of the themed answers is a type of PIN, as illustrated below.

l to r:  SAFETY PIN, PUSH PIN, HAT PIN, and BOBBY PIN

Works for me! Now let's explore the rest of the puzzle....

Across:

1. Took a chair: SAT.   

4. Small tool in a knife block: PARER.  

The three knives (l to r) are chef's, utility, and paring.

9. Bedouin's beast: CAMEL. A Bedouin is a nomadic Arab of the Arabian, Syrian, or northern African deserts. Their population is estimated at about 4 million people.  

14. Forensic series with the theme song "Who Are You": CSI.  

Who Are You by The Who is featured in the opening credits for the TV show CSI.

15. Trumpet sound: BLARE.

16. Dress with a flared skirt: A-LINE.

17. One who might say, "I like ewe!": RAM.  

20. Neck of the woods: AREA.

22. Indigenous Canadians: CREE.

23. OR professionals: RNS.  Registered Nurses work in Operating Rooms.

28. Ghostly sound effect: MOAN.  

Cab Calloway  ~  The Ghost of Smokey Joe  ~  1939

29. Guest's guest: PLUS ONE.  If you are invited to an event and if your invitation says you can bring a date then you are the guest and your date is your guest -- also called your PLUS ONE.  

30. Food court pizzeria: SBARRO.  Carmela and Gennaro Sbarro opened their first restaurant in Brooklyn in 1956. Today Sbarro has grown to 630 locations in 28 countries. That-sa lotta pizza!

32. Snappy agreement: YEP.  

33. Heart of the matter: GIST.  In a nutshell, GIST crossed over to common use from the legal world.

35. Positive: ASSET.  An ASSET is in the positive column so I suppose one could say these words are connected.

39. Early anesthetic: ETHER.  ETHER was replaced by other substances in the 1960s.

42. The Bulldogs of the Ivy League: YALE.  I knew this one because the Friday before last MalMan told us that the mascot of YALE university is a bulldog named Handsome Dan. He posted this adorable pic.  

43. Snatch: NAB.

46. Primitive shelter: LEAN-TO.  I learned this word when I read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books as a girl. Pa built a LEAN-TO outside their cabin's door.  

48. Tenon's partner: MORTISE.  I bet our builders on the blog knew this one. Learning moment for me. Now I know what to call the pieces of my coffee table that come apart every time I move it to vacuum the area rug.  

50. Science centers: LABS.  

54. Here, in Paris: ICI.  I used this comic for Catherine's August 19th puzzle.

Translation:  You Are Here (ICI)
and:  Your shoelace is untied.

55. Diabolical: EVIL.  

56. Gnat or mosquito: PEST.  To understand this 49 sec. scene from Lilo & Stitch (2002), you need to know that Pleakley is an alien Professor of Earth Studies who thinks that mosquitoes are an endangered species. This is his first encounter with an actual mosquito on Earth. His professional excitement soon turns to ... well, you'll see.

62. Headsail on a sloop: JIB.  

You can read more about this sloop and see a larger diagram here.

63. Flurry: SPATE.  

64. Rogue: KNAVE. Def: (noun) a tricky, deceitful fellow.

65. One of five principal resources in the game Catan: ORE.  Last month the board game Catan was in the news because of the Buffalo Bills football team.  link to ESPN article

66. Cosmetician Lauder:  ESTÉE.  (1908-2004) She was an American businesswoman who entered the cosmetic field when she helped her uncle sell his beauty products. She has been quoted as saying, "I never dreamed about success. I worked for it."  

There are many beautiful photos of her.

67. Shooting sport: SKEET.  Here is a 2:14 min. how-to video:  

68. Iota: BIT.

Down:

1. Feisty: SCRAPPY.  

2. In most cases: AS A RULE.  for the most part; generally

3. "Pencils down!": TIME'S UP.  Think of a written exam.

4. "Finding Your Roots" airer: PBS.  This is a TV show where Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. guides influential guests into their roots, uncovering deep secrets, hidden identities, and lost ancestors. Here is a list of the guests queued up for Season 10.

5. Brownie __ mode: A LA.  

6. U.K. fliers: RAF.  Royal Air Force

7. Standing up straight: ERECT.  

He still isn't wearing socks.

8. Back in fashion: RETRO.  RETRO was first used as an adjective in 1972. I would have guessed it harkened back further than that.

9. Barista employer: CAFE.  Barista was first used to mean "a person who makes and serves coffee to the public" in 1982. (I am not as surprised by that.) Barista is gender-neutral in English. 

10. Boxer who said, "The will must be stronger than the skill": ALI.  Muhammad ALI (1942-2016), among other things, was a boxer with a 3-letter name who gave the press rhyming quotes.

11. Self-reflection aids?: MIRRORS.  Cute clue! "Diaries" also has seven letters.  

12. Trap: ENSNARE.

13. "Better we skip it": LET'S NOT.  ...and say we did.

19. Hankerings: YENS.

21. Satisfied sounds: AHS.

25. Four-time Bacall co-star: BOGART.  Here is a timeline of their relationship from People Magazine.

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall

26. Meter, e.g.: UNIT.  UNIT of measurement

27. Challenge: TEST.  This clue works if they are both verbs ... or nouns.

28. __ transit: MASS.  Mass transit is "the transportation of large numbers of people by means of buses, subway trains, etc., especially within urban areas".

31. Cookie-makers: BAKERS.  

Everyone loves a cookie-maker!

34. Attempt: TRY.

36. Small chicken tenders?: HENS.  I did not understand this one. I know that a HEN is a female chicken but a HEN is full grown, not small. Maybe it means that chicken tenders used to be HENS??? I am sure one of you will be able to explain it to me.

37. Two-syllable foot: IAMB.  An IAMB is "a metrical foot consisting of one short syllable followed by one long syllable or of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable."

38. Be sickly sweet: CLOY.

39. Earth's orbit around the sun, e.g.: ELLIPSE.  

40. Where to leave leaves: TEA CUPS.  

Some people leave the Disneyland TEA CUPS ride feeling quite dizzy.
Hey, was that Santa?!

41. Savanna woodlands, to a giraffe: HABITAT.  

43. "Well done!": NICE JOB.  Catherine's grid has 14 seven-letter answers (2 horizontal and 12 vertical).  NICE JOB!!

44. "Maybe your iPhone can answer that": ASK SIRI.  SIRI is the digital assistant on iThings.  

45. Optimal option: BEST BET.  

47. Terse "Well, duh!": OBVI.  OBVIously!

49. Outdo: TOP.  This one made me think of Hahtoolah because she always outdoes herself with her blogs. They're TOPs!

52. Sty sounds: OINKS.  

53. Lose a staring contest: BLINK.  

Also, Blink-182 is an American rock band from southern California.

They formed in 1992. Here is their story of triumphs and tragedies over the years.

Reading that article explains this song, One More Time (2023).

#It'sNotTooLateToTellThePeopleAroundYouThatYouLoveThem

55. Pentathlon sword: EPEE.  This 2 min. video gives a quick run down of the five events.  

58. Had a bagel, say: ATE.  What's your bagel order? I'll take a toasted pumpernickel, please. 

59. Scot's denial: NAE.

60. "Eh, __ seen enough": I'VE.  Well, just one more....

61. Vietnamese spring festival: TET.  Tết, short for Tết Nguyên Đán, is the annual Vietnamese New Year celebration. It's date changes each year because it begins on the second new moon after winter. In 2025, it will be on January 29.

The grid:  

That's all from me. PINNY for your thoughts?

Monday August 19, 2024 Catherine Cetta

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. 

Theme:  

We'll start things off with some appropriate background music and a funny dancing dog. Enjoy!  

The Tokens  ~  The Lion Sleeps Tonight  ~  1961

Constructor Catherine Cetta gives us these four themed clues:

18 Across. Virtual thumbs-up: LIKE BUTTON.  

23 Across. "You can't please everyone," for one: LIFE LESSON.  

38 Across. Tastes brownie batter before baking, perhaps: LICKS THE SPOON.  

50 Across. Attend while muted, as a virtual company meeting: LISTEN IN ON.  

Click to enlarge.

And the reveal:

57 Across. Feline user of a pet door, and a feature of 18-, 23-, 38-, and 50-Across?: OUTSIDE CAT.  

A LION is a member of the cat family. Also, the letters LI and ON are on the "outsides" of the answers to the themed clues. I noticed all of the LIs while solving; but, strangely, not the ONs.

Next, the lion's share of the grid:

Across:

1. Onesie fastener: SNAP.  "Onesies" and "any confusing similar terms" was trademarked by Gerber Childrenswear LLC in 2013.  

5. Fourth-down option: PUNT.  Seeing SNAP then PUNT makes me think we need an "oof!" video.  

9. OshKosh __: B'GOSH.  They make clothes for babies and young children. The OshKosh B'gosh brand is owned by Carter's. It looks like OshKosh calls their onesies (See 1-Across.) "Baby Short-Sleeve Bodysuits".

14. "All done!": TA-DA.  

15. Puccini's "Nessun dorma," e.g.: ARIA.  Here Luciano Pavarotti sings it (with subtitles!).  

16. Bank offerings: LOANS.  Here are some interesting statistics on the average American's debt.

17. Forgets to add an attachment, say: ERRS.  

Click to enlarge.

20. "West Side Story" role for Ariana and Rita: ANITA.  Here is Rita Moreno (blue skirt) as Anita singing "A Boy Like That" (1961).  

22. Film critic Roger: EBERT.

26. Hawaiian dance: HULA.

30. Did not stand: SAT.

31. Just a number, some say: AGE.

32. Postcardworthy: SCENIC.     and     41 Across. 32-Across view: VISTA.

Big Sur, CA

34. Realm reached by the rainbow bridge Bifröst: ASGARD.  At first I thought this might be a clue for IKEA. 😄  Marvel Comics Universe Fandom explanation

37. South American range: ANDES.  The Earth's longest mountain chain is the ANDES.

42. Wringing wet: SOAKED.  

43. Baseball unit: INNING.

45. Grassy tract: LEA.

46. "Vous êtes __": Paris map line: ICI.  This is a clever play on the word "line". In this case, it is not a line drawn to represent a street. It is a "horizontal row of written characters" as in "the last line on the page".

Translation:  You Are Here (ICI)
and:  Your shoelace is untied.

49. Security camera letters: CCTV.  Closed-Circuit TeleVision, a.k.a. "video surveillance"

54. British Columbia border state: IDAHO.  Their border is only 45 mi. (72 k.) long.

56. Parts of Groucho Marx disguises: NOSES.  

62. Actress Garr: TERI. 

63. Stews (over): FRETS.

64. Weary sigh: AH,ME.

65. Parentheses shapes: ARCS.  (  )  

66. "Jumpin' Jack __": Rolling Stones hit: FLASH.  At first I drew a blank but it's all right now. ♪ 

The Rolling Stones  ~  Jumpin' Jack Flash  ~  (1968)

trippy lyrics video

67. Ready to eat: RIPE.  Oh, the food is ready to eat -- not the human.

68. Editor's "never mind": STET.  Never mind always makes me think of Gilda Radner. Anyone else?  

Saturday Night Live (1:21 min.)

Down:

1. Takes an extra base: STEALS.  baseball

2. "The Chronicles of __": C.S. Lewis series: NARNIA.

3. Floating aimlessly: ADRIFT.

4. Crafting adhesive: PASTE.

5. Good buddy: PAL.

6. Sch. in the smallest U.S. state: URI.  The University of Rhode Island is a school.

7. Sneakers with swooshes: NIKES.  Did you notice an abundance of track & field athletes sporting orange shoes during the Olympics? I did and I wanted to know why. 

Source: Pretty Purple Track Proves Popular in Paris  "Sportswear brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma have also prepared for purple, producing shoes in lurid orange and yellow hues to clash with the track."

Mens' 10K Final
(Yeah, I know. The track looks blue in this pic.)

8. Billy Blanks fitness regimen: TAE BO.  This is a group exercise class that incorporates some martial arts movements.

9. Make fuzzy: BLUR.

10. Received permission to proceed: GOT THE NOD.  

Paul Newman  ~  The Sting  ~  1973

11. Granola morsel: OAT.

12. Nestlé's __-Caps: SNO.  

13. Cable channel with daily deals: HSN.  Home Shopping Network

19. C-notes: BENS.  C is the Roman numeral for 100 and BEN is short for Benjamin Franklin. His picture is on the $100 bill. Is this drug dealer lingo?

21. Nome resident: ALASKAN.  Today in Nome the sun will rise at 7:05 a.m. and set at 11:02 p.m., making the day almost 16 hours long.

Hi inanehiker!

24. Omelet ingredients: EGGS.  

25. Boarding pass assignments: SEATS.

27. Cancel, in a document: UNDO.  

28. Property claim: LIEN.

29. Bldg. coolers: A/CS.  Air Conditioners cool buildings. The houses in my neighborhood do not have A/C because we get a cool breeze from the ocean.

33. Peninsula northeast of Boston: CAPE ANN.  Hand up for first having CAPE COD.  

34. Protesters, often: ACTIVISTS.

35. P-like Greek letter: RHO.  not to be confused with the Vietnamese soup, pho  

36. Distributed, as cards: DEALT.

38. Partner of Julie and Pete on "The Mod Squad": LINC.  

I love the tagline:  Justice never goes out of style.

39. "It just __ fair!": ISN'T.  another LIFE LESSON

40. __-Ball: arcade game: SKEE.  

41. Singer Damone: VIC.  (1928 - 2018)

44. Happy: GLAD.  "Happy/Glad" made me think of my favorite song from The Addams Family musical. Gomez (Nathan Lane) sings Happy/Sad to describe the complex emotions he feels watching his daughter grow up. 

46. Magazine extra: INSERT.  

47. Force: COERCE.

48. Refuse to take "no" for an answer: INSIST.

51. "Everybody's saying ... ": I HEAR ....

52. 2014 Winter Olympics city: SOCHI.  

scene from the Opening Ceremonies

53. Itty-bitty bits: IOTAS.

55. Platter: DISH.

57. Amiss: OFF.

58. Latimes.com, for one: URL.  Uniform Resource Locator  

59. Herbal brew: TEA.

60. Rock concert need: AMP.

61. Casual top: TEE.  

another LIFE LESSON

Here's the grid:  

Please lion up to add your comments below.