Friday March 15, 2024, 2024 - Alan Levin

 Theme: Ides and Go Seek

 

Puzzling thoughts:  

Blogging a puzzle on the Ides of March?  Be prepared, then, fellow Cornerites for some puns (and jokes) to "celebrate" the 2068th year of Julias Caesar's assassination.  For starters:

This is a story about a Roman. His name was Herman. His name was Roman Herman. The fad of the era was berries. People collected berries. They were a status symbol. One day, while Roman Herman was roaming the outskirts of Rome, he spied a berry. It was the most beautiful berry he had ever seen. He took the berry and brought it to his wife, who loved berries. She saw the berry. She praised it. She said, "That's an awfully nice berry you got there Herman!" Pretty soon, word got around about the berry. People came from all over Rome to see the berry, and to praise it. One night, there was a menacing knock on the door. It was late. Herman opened it. He said, "Who are you?" They said, "We've come for your berry." He says "It's not my berry, it's my wife's berry. Have you come to praise her berry?" "No, we've come to seize her berry, not to praise it." 

OK, I digress ... on this year's Ides of March, our constructor du jour (Alan Levin) decides to tease us with a series of entries whose clues contain the "aha" behind the reveal:

58-across. When read as three words, suitable sponsor for "Sesame Street" and an alternate answer for 18-, 20-, 30-, 36-, 46-, and 53-Across: THE LETTER S.  

Wait, what??  THE LETTER S?? What does that have to do with the 6 entries??  Well, let me try to use the KISS method, as I highlight the key word(s) in each clue for you ...

18-across. It concludes The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds": CAROLINE, NO.  Forget about the final song track on the Beach Boys' album "Pet Sounds" and think about the last letter of the album's name; "Sounds" ends/concludes with THE LETTER S

20-across. Character seen at the beginning and end of "Star Wars": AR-TOO DE-TOO.  R2-D2 (the droid) is quite a character. Additionally, the movie title (name), "Star Wars" begins and ends with THE LETTER (aka, CHARACTER) S 

30-across. It comes early in September: LABOR DAY.  LABOR DAY is not only celebrated early in September (the first Monday, traditionally, in the US), but THE LETTER S also comes early in the "word" SEPTEMBER

This year's LABOR DAY is 9/2

36-across. One is used in basketball but not in hockey: SHOT CLOCK.  This is probably my most favorite of Alan's ... the "SHOT CLOCK" is a timer that sits above each backboard at a basketball game.  In the NBA, e.g., the team with possession has 24 seconds to attempt a SHOT, and at the very least, hit the rim of the net (or make the basket), or else they would turn the ball over to the other team  

In hockey, the only CLOCK is the one on the scoreboard that ticks down the minutes/seconds (20:00, to be exact) in each of three periods.  The skaters/players on each team have no sense of urgency to take a shot; hence, there is no SHOT CLOCK  

So what makes this clue/answer even more amazing is that the word "basketball" contains THE LETTER S; the word "hockey" does not ... very, very clever

The SHOT CLOCK is above the backboard for easy visibility

46-across. What can be seen in two places in Missouri: MLB TEAMS.  At first, I was a bit miffed at this answer (before I solved the puzzle) because the clue contains no abbreviated word(s).  Usually, if part of a crossword answer should be abbreviated, an abbreviation appears in the clue.  

But after further review I get it.  Both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals are MLB TEAMS in the state of Missouri.  And guess what?  THE LETTER S also is seen in two places in the "word" Missouri.  Nice!  

 

53-across. One can't print dollars without it: SPECIAL INK.  Try printing the word "dollars" without THE LETTER S; it can't be done.  The word would be "dollar".  Try printing a sheet of US Dollars without SPECIAL INK (or special paper) and you'd be arrested for counterfeiting, if caught

Lots of SPECIAL INK used

                                    

I highlighted all 14 of THE LETTER ESSES found in today's puzzle.  Can't wait for the rest of the clues/words to see what else is in store ... 

The Grid

Across:

1. Cotillion VIPs: DEBS.  More information about a Cotillion vs a Debutante

5. Fades: DIMS.  Many lighting sources come with some sort of DIMming device these days

9. Redolence: AROMA.  Its literal meaning; mostly used as an adjective (redolent) 

14. Strip of wood: SLAT.

15. Legendary: EPIC. 

16. Participated in a regatta, maybe: ROWED.  My first thought was that a regatta was a boat race for sailing vessels, not rowing vessels ... but this image below shows the type of boat referred to:

17. Prefix between giga- and peta-: TERA. A GIGA-byte is 1 billion bytes; a TERA-byte is 1,000 gigabytes; but a PETA byte is what happens when a worker at the SPCA doesn't pay attention to the rescue's bark ...

22. Gain an advantage: ONE UP.  Who wants to ONE UP the Chairman today on dad jokes??!😏

23. Collection of vineyards, perhaps: ESTATE.  This one is right up the Chairman's alley

28. Tune from "10": BOLERO.  Been a lonnnnggggg time since I saw this EPIC film starring Bo Derek and Dudley Moore ... the clip below is definitely NSFW [be warned!]

32. W-2 org.: IRS.  One month - to the day - and our 2023 1040 tax returns are due

33. Benefit: AVAIL. Many of us AVAIL ourselves of the blog to see where we went wrong (or succeeded)

35. Nose (out): EDGE.  Also a horse racing term; when a horse "wins by a nose" and EDGEs out its rival

Also known as a "photo finish", but the inside horse EDGEd out the other

39. Hearty partner: HALE. 

42. Animal also called a forest giraffe: OKAPI.  Fun facts about it in this short video clip:

43. Boxer's warning: GRR.  Maybe THIS is the warning made by a dog prior to giving one a "peta-byte"

49. Dinner-and-a-show platform: TV TRAY.  Margaret and I still use this device

Tables for two??

51. Small accident: MISHAP.

52. One-named K-pop singer: IRENE.  This filled in with perps; Her

62. Powdery mineral: TALC.  I'm sure the sales of this powder plummeted once the discovery of its connection to cervical cancer was made public

64. Inbox filler: EMAIL.

65. Cut down to size: CROP.  Most of my images in this blog are CROPped from its original size

66. Poetic tributes: ODES.

67. Study aids: NOTES.  I was a prolific NOTES taker when I was in school

68. Physicist Bethe portrayed in "Oppenheimer": HANS.  The movie "Oppenheimer" is bound to provide us with many new clues/entries this year in xword puzzles

69. Moon landing org.: NASA.

Down:
1. Summer hrs.: DST.  Not here in AZ (except for the Navajo Nation) ... apparently there is a bill before the Senate (and/or House) that would make DST permanent ... YMMV ... having more daylight here in the desert SW during the summer would not be welcomed

2. Roosevelt whom Truman called the "First Lady of the World": ELEANOR.  FDR's wife

3. Crude carriers: BARRELS.  TANKERS also fit as an answer

4. Square figure?: STATUE. Nice misdirection for a clue ... square, as in "town square", where many statues reside, though many that had to do with Civil War figures (CSA) have been torn down/removed.  

Here is a joke related to square figures ... (just one cuss word)

For decades, two heroic statues, one male and one female, faced each other in a town square until one day, an angel came down from heaven. "You've been such exemplary statues," the angel said, "that I'm going to give you a special gift. I'm going to bring you both to life for thirty minutes, during which time you can do anything you want." 

And with a clap of his hands, the angel brought the statues to life. The two approached each other a bit shyly and dashed for the bushes, from whence there came a good deal of giggling, laughter, and shaking of branches. Fifteen minutes later, the two statues emerged from the bushes with wide grins on their faces. 

"You still have fifteen more minutes," said the angel, winking at them. Grinning even more broadly, the female statue turned to the male statue and said, "Great! Only this time you hold the pigeon down and I'll shit on its head!"
[Jokes4us dot com]

5. Ert 's style: DECO.  as in Art DECO

6. Tablet since 2010: iPAD.  No tablets in the Moe household; just PC's and cellphones

7. Marshy spot: MIRE.  BOG didn't fit

8. Dundee resident: SCOT.

9. Melodic passage: ARIOSO.  Here is a nice Bach ARIOSO:

10. Director Howard: RON.  He's come a long way from playing Opie

11. Have debts: OWE. Mine include just a car payment and mortgage payment; credit cards, no

12. Guys: MEN.  MALES was too long to fit

13. Flap: ADO.  Had to check all of the synonyms ... does the thesaurussaurus agree?

Nope; ADO didn't make it

19. "Stay" singer Lisa: LOEB. Lots of proper names in today's puzzle; who kept track of them? Not I

21. 2021 interviewer of Meghan and Harry: OPRAH.

22. Kimono sash: OBI.  Lots of 3-letter words (TLW) today; who kept track of them?  Irish Miss, perhaps?

24. Arduous journey: TREK.

25. Append: ADD.  

26. Graffiti signature: TAG.  This, maybe??

27. Needle hole: EYE.

29. Lacto-__ vegetarian: OVO.  One who consumes dairy and eggs in their non-meat diet

30. Soundly defeats: LICKS.  I have been known to "soundly defeat" a lollipop ...

31. Penne __ vodka: ALLA.  Italian for "with"

34. Speck: ATOM.  IOTA fits, too

36. MacFarlane or Green of "Family Guy": SETH.  The man of many voices.  Does anyone else here watch The Graham Norton show?  It's one of our favorites - shown on BBC America 

37. Elect (to): OPT.  OPT in or OPT out; that's the "election"

38. Polite: CIVIL.  Unlike the CIVIL War, which was anything but "polite"

39. "Let me see ... ": HMM.  HMM and GRR in the same puzzle?? ARRGGHH

40. Mahershala with two Oscars: ALI.  Not the "boxer's" family member

41. Nt. wt. units: LBS.

43. Southernmost of the Windward Islands: GRENADA.

Grenada is situated to the northeast of Venezuela; to the northwest of Trinidad and Tobago; and to the southwest of Saint Vincent and Grenadines.

44. Really irks: RANKLES.

45. Saloon pour: RYE.  As opposed to a "salon" pour, which would've been DYE.  RYE is one of the Chairman's favorite whiskies - especially when used to make a Manhattan cocktail

47. Stands in front of artists: EASELS. MODELS could've answered this clue, too ... yes??

48. Dr. visit: APPT.  I like to make mine (APPT.'s) mid-morning

50. Son of Poseidon: TRITON.

54. Engrave: ETCH.

55. "Life & Beth" actor Michael: CERA. Michael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor and musician. He is known for his awkward, offbeat characters in coming of age comedy films and for portraying George Michael Bluth in the sitcom Arrested Development (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019). He is also known for voicing Brother Bear in The Berenstain Bears

56. Curling __: IRON.  RINK also fit, though I bet most Canadians refer to the surface for curling as a sheet

57. Egyptian snakes: ASPS.  Cleo's foil

58. Number of digits on a keypad: TEN. Note: the final five clues in today's puzzle yield TLWs, Irish Miss ...

59. Med. care provider: HMO.

60. "Don't let it get cold": EAT.

61. Whopper: LIE.

63. Farm-share program, for short: CSA.  Clues that match this answer to the group that split from the USA in 1861 are no longer allowed, methinks

And there you have it!  The IDES of March puzzle fell with no additional stab wounds.  Curious to know YOUR thoughts ... in the comments section below.  

On another note, the Chairman and Margaret will be attending the funeral of her mom today, so I won't be coming here until tomorrow, or much later tonight to see your comments.  Her mom passed peacefully a few weeks ago (at the age of 94).  May she RIP; she is now reunited with the love of her life who passed away in 2019, just a few days after their 68th wedding anniversary

Friday March 1, 2024 - Ryan Patrick Smith

Theme: Friday night at the movies

Check out the link in the theme title to see movie trailers and short video movie clips. I may want to bookmark this for finding future links for my blog ...

Friday night "date night"

Puzzling thoughts:

I don't know about you, but Friday night has become sort of  a "date night" at the Chairman's house ... dinner is almost always pizza and salad, and afterward we watch a movie; either on DVD or on one of the streaming sites. It's quite fitting that Ryan Patrick Smith chose this play-on-words clued movie theme for today's puzzle; five entries and no reveal, with the themers being placed in a pinwheel display. Lots to digest so let's get started, OK?

20-across. Movie with lots of pan shots?: RATATOUILLE. First thing to digest with these entries is that all of the parodied clues "focus" on an element of filming a movie. For example, in the entry RATATOUILLE the clue "... pan shots" refer to the scenes shot in a kitchen (pots and pans) as opposed to a filming technique that involves horizontally moving the camera from a fixed position. The camera pivots either to the left or right, capturing a panoramic view (see image and video below)

There's got to be a pan in there, somewhere

41-across. Movie with an iconic long shot?: ROCKY.  Lots to like here, too.  In this case, the clue refers to ROCKY being a "long shot" (underdog) to win the bout, as opposed to the movie filming technique of a long shot (see examples below)

The Chairman ran up these same steps many moons ago

58-across. Movie with lots of reaction shots?: OPPENHEIMER. How cool to find a current movie title that allows for this play-on-words clue?! In film production, cinematography and video production, a reaction shot is a shot which cuts away from the main scene in order to show the reaction of a character to it.  The reaction shot is a basic unit of film grammar.  The "reaction shots" in OPPENHEIMER are featured below, as well as another type of reaction shot that this clue/answer ISN'T about ...

A literal reaction to a shot

 

11-down. Movie with lots of zoom shots?: SPEED RACER. So, by now, I hope y'all have figured out the connection between the clues, the movie references, et al. The video below shows an old commercial (Zoom, Zoom) with a zoom shot or two ... 

BTW, didn't we have "SPEED RACER" in a puzzle earlier this week?

Last, but not least, 29-down. Movie with lots of dolly shots?: CHILD'S PLAY. See images below:

Chucky doll

A film dolly

A mid-blog recap:

    1) "Pan shot", as in a photo of a pan used by a chef or a film-making term that shows lateral                     movement of the camera (RATATOUILLE)

    2) "Long shot", as in an underdog or a film-making term that shows multi-layers of detail in a scene        (ROCKY)

    3) "Reaction shot", as in picture of a nuclear reaction or a film-making term that show a character's          expression about an off-camera event (OPPENHEIMER)

    4) "Zoom shot", as in a sound made by a racecar or a film-making term that shows a closeup of an          image or character (SPEED RACER)

    5) "Dolly shot", as in a picture of a doll (child's toy) or a film-making term that is taken from a                "vehicle" known as a "dolly" (CHILD'S PLAY)

The grid (sorry, forgot to highlight "ROCKY")

On to the rest of the clues/words/phrases ...

Across:
1. Curly's replacement in the Three Stooges: SHEMP.  This one caught Chairman Moe's attention 😀

6. Canal spot: EAR.  Panama / Erie / Suez did not fit

9. Files that can't be opened: RASPS.  Cute Friday clue; a RASP is a type of file

14. Bar mitzvah scroll: TORAH.  Ryan could've clued it as "Bat mitzvah scroll" and had the same answer

15. Name of the T. rex at Chicago's Field Museum: SUE.  Sue, the T. rex

16. Short exile?: EXPAT.  As in "EXPATriate".  "An expatriate 

is a person who resides outside his or her country of citizenship. The term often refers to a professional or skilled worker who intends to return to their country of origin

 ..." [Wikipedia]

17. State known for huckleberries: IDAHO.  Moe-ku:

    IDAHO dog breed

    Can sniff out certain fruits; they're

    Huckleberry Hounds

Huckleberry was around in my childhood days 

    

18. Canine care org.?: ADA.  American Dog Association?? Oh, the other canine ... or in the case of the inage below, a canine's canine ... would the American Dental Association approve of these choppers? I'D BET they would

Pretty clean looking, for a dog; it must floss

19. Actress Witherspoon: REESE. Have we established that she only likes peanut butter cups?

23. Language suffix: ESE. Chinese Japanese Portuguese ...

24. Actor Chaney: LON. 

25. Ramble: MEANDER.  As opposed to "serpentine":

27. Missing criminal who inspired James M. Cain's "Rainbow's End": D.B. COOPER. Read all about it

32. Limburger feature: ODOR. Limburger cheese is pretty stinky

33. "Wowzers!": OOH. I think I've seen the exclamation "wowzers!" used here by another blogger, perhaps?

34. Trojan War figure: PARIS.  Learning moe-ment: "Paris (Ancient Greek: Πάρις), also known as Alexander (Ἀλέξανδρος, Aléxandros), is a mythological figure in the story of the Trojan War. He appears in numerous Greek legends and works of Ancient Greek literature such as the Iliad. In myth, he is prince of Troy, son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, and younger brother of Prince Hector" [Wikipedia]

36. Pathway stone: SLATE.  Hand up for having "PAVER" as the first word chosen for this spot?

39. Dip: SWIM.  As in taking a dip in the pool; or as in skinny-dip ... but not as in taking a dip from a tin of Skoal

43. Antioxidant-rich sorbet base: ACAI. A 21st century example of crossword-ese

44. Measure out: ALLOT. 

46. Berlin's "Blue __": SKIES. The Willie Nelson version (with lyrics)

48. Goof: ERR. Something the Chairman does often when he tries to solves an xword puzzle

49. Capital on the Persian Gulf: DOHA. I've seen this clue/word before

51. Orange garnish for sushi: SMELT ROE. aka "Masago" (a type of fish egg or fish roe. Masago is a very popular ingredient throughout Asia, particularly in Japanese cuisine), or the stuff shown in the image below

53. Some Cassatt works: PASTELS. OILS and WATER COLORS didn't fit. Here's a Cassatt for you to gaze upon

56. Ryan's "La La Land" role: SEB. All by perps. Never saw "La La Land" so this did not resonate

57. Little dickens: IMP. Could TINY TIM be clued as "A little Dickens'?"

64. Not as flushed: PALER. Flushed, as in "red-in-the-face"; not flushed, as in "partially-filled commode"

66. Regret: RUE.

67. River that feeds Utah Lake: PROVO. Never knew the city name PROVO was also the name of a river. The Provo River (Ute: Timpanoquint, “Rock River) is located in Utah County and Wasatch County, Utah, in the United States. It rises in the Uinta Mountains at Wall Lake and flows about 71 miles (114 km) southwest to Utah Lake at the city of Provo, Utah [Wikipedia] (see image)

 

 

68. Stage: PHASE.

69. Spleen: IRE. ORGAN didn't fit

70. "Yeah, sounds like": "I'D BET!".

71. Affectionate letters: ILYSM.  I had not seen this text abbr. before today.  Thanks to Margaret's younger son, he correctly identified the acronym as: I Love You So Much😍

72. 30-Down, for one: GOD. (30-down. Mythical archer): EROS.

73. "It's Gonna Be Me" band: NSYNC.  Margaret's younger son helped here, too

Down:
1. Shift slightly: STIR. [crossword tracker dot com] is a very useful data site for crossword puzzle constructors as well as solvers.  When I checked, this is a first use for this clue and answer:

Results

Sorry, no matches were found. If you think this is in error, please send us an email with what you were searching for and someone will take a look.

Tip: Try changing the clue to just a keyword (for example, if the clue is "Measurement with square units" try entering just "measurement") and supplying what you know of the answer so we can look for answers that are the right length. Even if you don't know any of the letters, just knowing the length of the answer can help the search engine immensely.

Answer

Tip: Use ? for unknown answer letters, ex: UNKNO?N You use the spacebar to enter question marks quickly

Clue

2. TV host Kotb: HODA.  She shows up every now and again

3. Proof word: ERAT.  If ACAI is 21st Century Crossword-ese, ERAT is a 20th Century example

4. Island "thank you": MAHALO.

5. Camera setting?: PHOTO OP.  Not an F-STOP - wouldn't fit and wasn't punny 

6. Genesis twin: ESAU.  Like OREO, ERIE, EIRE, and scores of other words that have 3 vowels and 1 consonant ... very useful to xword constructors

7. Bavaria-based automaker: AUDI.  I owned two of these in my lifetime; great cars.  Another 4-letter word with three vowels and one consonant

8. Sphere: REALM.

9. Enjoys a favorite novel, say: RE-READS.  I am happy when I read a novel, let alone RE-read it

10. Felling tool: AXE. 

12. So five minutes ago: PASSE.  RETRO also fits, but I don't think anything five minutes old should be considered passe
 
13. Use a wheelchair's joystick, say: STEER.  In the assisted living care community where my mom lives they refer to these vehicles as "scooters"

21. Commensurate (with): ON PAR.  A slight CSO to HuskerGary who more often scores a PAR when playing golf ... though the phrase ON PAR has nothing to do with golf

22. Zodiac lion: LEO.  Folks born under the sign "LEO", and who want to know their 2024 "forecast", it is described here

26. Home of the NBA's Pels: NOLA.  CSO to all those from the Pelican State, and specifically New Orleans

27. Pancake served with chutney: DOSA.  I checked the word out @ [crossword tracker dot com] to see its usage.  This is an "archaic" word (crossword-wise) that's making a big comeback, post-pandemic:

Recent usage in crossword puzzles:

• Universal Crossword - Dec. 24, 2023
• Universal Crossword - Sept. 14, 2023
• USA Today - March 14, 2023
• LA Times - Aug. 16, 2022
• USA Today - May 2, 2022
• USA Today - March 14, 2022
• USA Today - April 6, 2021
• USA Today - Jan. 26, 2021
• USA Today - Jan. 19, 2021
• USA Today - Sept. 7, 2020
• New York Times - April 1, 1987
• New York Times - Feb. 14, 1970

28. Cereal dish: BOWL.

31. "Casablanca" cafe: RICK'S.

35. Hardly pore over: SKIM.  As in "read briefly"

37. Staple in African cuisine: TARO.  

38. Country led by the Taoiseach: EIRE.  As a lover of whiskies (Irish and Scotch) the ending "ach" is often used on the labels. I'm guessing it's Gaelic. The word EIRE filled in after I got the E, I, and R

40. Academic: MOOT.  Moot as in "boot"; not moot as in "mute" (although I do sometimes hear it pronounced this way)

42. "Gimme a break!": YEESH.  Earlier in the week a few of you were discussing the proper spelling of "tush" ... "YEESH" and "Yees" are sometimes used interchangeably, and are just a letter off of each other: Yeesh versus Yees 

45. Math proposition: THEOREM. We haven't seen this word @ an LA Times puzzle since 2018
 
47. Wake up late: SLEEP IN.  Something Margaret and I do often ... retirement is fun ... we try to schedule no appointment(s) before 10:30 am

50. Swiss peak: ALP.

52. Sporty Fords: T-BIRDS.  "... and we'll have fun, fun, fun 'til my daddy took the T-Bird away"

53. Longstocking of chapter books: PIPPI.

54. "__ and the Night Visitors": AMAHL.  An old joke:

A woman gave birth to twins and gave them up for adoption. One of them went to a family in Egypt and was named “AMAHL” 

The other son went to a family in Spain; they named him “Juan.”

Years later Juan tracks down his birth mother and sent a picture of himself to his Mom.

Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband she wishes she also had a picture of Amahl.

Her husband responded, "if you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Amahl"

55. Thyme piece: SPRIG.  Ya know, if this word was spelled "SBRIG" it would be pronounced the same.  Try it ...

59. Vision prefix: EURO.  This:  Eurovision Song Contest

60. Shortage: NEED.  Good clue

61. Stage name of electronic musician Richard Melville Hall: MOBY.  Another clue/answer that Margaret's son offered when I asked.  I guess "___ -Dick" would've been too easy ... but it's interesting that Richard MELVILLE Hall shares his middle name with the author (HERMAN Melville) of the book, "MOBY-Dick"

62. Not odd: EVEN.  Anyone care to guess at the smallest EVEN number that is also a prime number?

63. VMI program: ROTC. Virginia Military Institute is the school (VMI); naturally they have a ROTC program

65. Self starter?: ESS. The letter "S" (pronounced "ESS") starts the word "self" ... it also starts the word "starter"

And once again we reach the end of the blog.  Thanks to Ryan for the fun solve.  Please feel free to comment below ... 

Friday, February 16, 2024 - Robin C. Stears

Theme: Expletives Un-Deleted

Puzzling thoughts:

FIR with a few corrections (see the grid for the little black triangles in the squares where I flubbed)

This one was a bit of a "slog", as it took me nearly twice as long as usual to solve

I was excited when I saw Robin C. Stears on the by-line, as I've had the pleasure to re-cap a couple of hers before

True to her love of Merl Reagle-type puzzles, Robin delights us with - gosh darn it all - a series of mild, homophonic expletives in her playful entries. No reveal; just a bit of frivolity mixed in with some elegant "fill". Certainly "FRY-day" worthy! 😉

The first of the five entries (17-across. Rather impressive exclamation of relief?): QUITE A PHEW! plays off the more familiar "quite a few", with a different parsing of the adverb "QUITE"

#2 of the entries also used a slightly different meaning of the adjective, BORDER (24-across. Astonished exclamation at the Four Corners Monument?): BORDER, GOLLY!. If I am understanding this one correctly, Robin is playing off of the animal, Border collie. As one who has ventured out to the spot where the Four Corners Monument resides, I might have uttered a slightly different "expletive"

#3 of the quintet is (35-across. Exasperated exclamation over a breath mint?): TIC TAC, D'OH!. When I discussed these entries with Robin (we are Facebook friends) she volunteered that the original entry for this one was something like, "cough up the d'oh".  I think I like the one that made the puzzle, better, and of course it led me to finding a video of the Simpsons and the eponymous breath mint ...

The fourth entry is (51-across. Quiet exclamation of dismissal from way back when?): OLD SOFT SHOO. [Idioms @ The Free Dictionary dot com] defines "OLD SOFT SHOE" as: "Something, such as a speech or explanation, delivered especially carefully and skillfully in order to convince or persuade; e.g., 'This salesperson keeps trying to give me the old soft-shoe, despite the fact that I already told him I don't want a new TV!'"

And speaking of Shoe (and shoo) and today's homophones, here is an old Shoe comic that fits the bill:

And finally, the fifth entry parodies the origin of words with (60-across. Etymological story about an equestrian's exclamation?): TALE OF WHOA. Ha! Ha! Get it? A TALE (as in the story of) that reins us in to the meaning of "whoa" ...

The flip side of this might be: (Clue - The letter "e"?) TAIL OF WOE

Here is the grid, and then off to the races!

Across:
1. Cravat kin: ASCOT. This one is for Irish Miss: 😘

To my admirer Agnes:  Love, Cary

6. "Masters of Illusion" host Dean: CAIN.  How about this for a homophonic play-on-words, and mild expletive? Clue: Causing trouble in the sugar fields? "RAISING CANE"

10. Swedish pop group: ABBA.  Or perhaps, a common poetic rhyme scheme?  

Three un-rhyming poetic lines (by yours, truly) is called a "Moe-ku"; 5 lines in an AABBA rhyme scheme is a "Moe-l'ick, but what should I call a 4-liner with an ABBA rhyme scheme? Maybe a "Moe-em??" Look for one later on... in the meantime, here is a little something to formulate today's earworm:

14. Fabric: CLOTH.  No one ever has referred to a priest or pastor as "a man of the fabric" ...

15. Land unit: ACRE.  Alternate entry for today? Clue - Angry expanse above one's waistline? BELLY ACRE ... sorry Robin for stepping on your homophones 😂

16. Subatomic particle with greater mass than an electron: MUON. One dictionary definition calls a MUON: "an unstable lepton that is common in the cosmic radiation near the earth's surface, has a mass about 207 times the mass of the electron, and exists in negative and positive forms" ...

19. Peruvian people who made rope bridges: INCA. Read all about them, here

20. Server with a spigot: URN.  I tried TAP first, to no avail

21. Unoccupied: FREE.  Not a welcome sign during an airplane flight when you gotta go ...

Hurry up in there / Ándale

22. Perfect little darling: ANGEL. What many dads call their daughters ... along with princess, sweetie, et al

23. "Science Friday" host Flatow: IRA. Glass, Gershwin, and Levin? Not happy ... but to the clue's credit, this website lists IRA Flatow as the most popular IRA

27. Get back: REGAIN.  Moe-ku:

First advertisement
For famous hair growth product:
"REGAIN with Rogaine"

29. __ de Janeiro: RIO.

30. Volleyball quartet?: ELS. Golfer "Ernie" is getting a little long-in-the-tooth ... the word "Volleyball" has four "L's"

31. Biblical garden: EDEN. Where "raising CAIN" occurred

32. Brian Setzer genre: SWING. [Wikipedia]: "Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with his swing revival band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra. In 1987, he made a cameo appearance as Eddie Cochran in the film La Bamba". Here is another ditty for you to hum all day ...

34. "Park it!": SIT.  Have any dog owners ever been tempted to tell "Fido" to "park it"??!!

39. "The Gilded __": Julian Fellowes series: AGE. Filled by perps, IIRC

42. Splash: SLOSH. The thesaurussaurus confirms it:

43. Once, quaintly: ERST. I've been known to throw the word "erstwhile" into my blogs, every now and again

47. Photographer Goldin: NAN. More perps to the rescue ... an example of her work:

From "Joy and Fury"

48. Exhibition funding agcy. since 1965: NEA. National Educational Association

49. Moves furtively: SNEAKS.  Or, what I called my gym shoes back in the day ... 

Jack Purcell's were my SNEAKerS of choice

55. Future louse: NIT.  Where the figurative term literally got its meaning ... having a NIT to pick

56. "Correctamundo!": RIGHT.  Anyone remember "The Fonz"?? Fast forward to about the 3:00 mark to here his famous phrase ...

57. Station under the Garden: PENN. I knew this. Why? Madison Square Garden (arena home of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers) is the venue above PENN Station ... don't believe me? Google it!!

58. Training course for an EMT: CPR. CPR should be taught to people other than EMT's; you'll never know when you'll need to perform it

59. Jai __: ALAI. Moe-ku:

Jai ALAI arena
Serves Chinese food at snack bar.
Features fronton soup

63. Governor of Georgia: KEMP.  [Wikipedia] "Brian Porter Kemp is an American politician serving since January 2019 as the 83rd governor of Georgia. A member of the Republican Party, Kemp served as the 27th secretary of state of Georgia from 2010 to 2018, and as a member of the Georgia State Senate from 2003 to 2007"

64. Paper clip shape: OVAL. So it is ... 

65. Devoured: ATE UP.

66. Dates: SEES.

67. Caresses: PETS.

68. Small pastries: TARTS. Moe-em:

For making desserts, I had lots of smarts
At Johnson and Wales, I practiced my arts.
My special sweet treats were pies shaped like hearts;
My degree, of course, was Bachelor of TARTS

Not exactly "ABBA", but as today's blogger, I make the rules around here!!! 😁😁

Down:

1. Get: ACQUIRE. Fun 1-down word; it doesn't appear nearly as often in major crossword puzzles as it should.  Nice way to get to a pan-gram

2. Spoke indistinctly: SLURRED.  For me, it's not an indistinct slur of my words ... when I have had too much to drink my slurring is QUITE noticeable

3. Neologism: COINAGE.  The word "COINAGE" has two distinct meanings:

    a) the "making" of COINS from various metals

    b) neologism - the forming of a new word (or phrase)

4. Hall of Famer Mel: OTT.  ERST and OTT in the same puzzle???  This is a nice "throwback" to old time crossword answers! 😀

5. Law org. led by Christopher A. Wray since 2017: THE FBI.  Question:  who would've gotten this answer immediately if the clue had a reference to J. Edgar Hoover?

6. Escapade: CAPER.  As our resident wit, Ray-O-Sunshine might ask:  What should you do to Supergirl if she were feeling a bit cold? ... CAPER

A different clue could've referred to the object pictured above 

7. Felt sore: ACHED. A never-ending "feeling" for the Chairman these days ... today, my neck and shoulders ACHED

8. Sore feeling: IRE.  A semi-clecho to the above answer - OR - the abbr. for the Emerald Isle

9. Still in the box: NEW. This could've been a fill-in-the-blank clue (Still ___ in the box).  Collectors know all about this condition for getting full value at auction ... what do you think the object below would be worth, "still NEW in the box"? 

This eBay listing has it for $5,800!!

10. __ acid: AMINO.  Ok, there is a fill-in-the-blank entry today ...

11. Botches: BUNGLES.  For TTP and waseeley (who I believe are fans of teams from the AFC North) - the nickname of the Cincinnati NFL football team who've now "BUNGLED" three Super Bowls

12. "Romanza" tenor Andrea: BOCELLI. Another video/audio clip (long):

 

13. Equity expert: ANALYST. And a "specific" ANALYST: (25-down. Psychoanalyst Fromm): ERICH.

18. "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" memoirist Ralston: ARON. And here I thought the only ARON in crosswords was the middle name of Elvis Presley! [Wikipedia] "Aron Lee Ralston (born October 27, 1975) is an American mountaineer, mechanical engineer, and motivational speaker, known for surviving a canyoneering"

22. Whisky __: Hollywood disco: A GOGO. Their website

26. Peel: RIND. A "zesty" word, if I do say so myself ...

28. Echidna snack: ANT. [Wikipedia] "Echidnas, sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae, living in Australia and New Guinea"

32. Brown ermine: STOAT.

33. Is in the past?: WAS. Past tense of "is" is WAS

36. "Nuh-uh!": IS NOT. It is IS NOT, isn't it??

37. Pitch setter: CLEF. Did anyone else try OBOE here first? I did

38. Happy sound: HEE. If a golfer tried to hit a happy sound, would they "tee" HEE?

39. Hooded gear: ANORAKS.

40. Sea fed by the Jordan: GALILEE. Where Jesus grew up

41. Final Avengers film in the Infinity Saga: ENDGAME. The trailer ... Margaret got me interested in the Avengers films during COVID

44. Major stock holder?: RANCHER. Stock, as in "livestock" - not stocks and bonds

45. Take a powder: SKIP OUT. Interesting clue

46. Features of some Mary Janes: T-STRAPS. An OLD HARD SHOE - see the T-STRAP?

Didn't we see "T-STRAP" earlier this week?

49. Prefix with -gram: SONO. I tried "MONO" first

50. Like some ice cream: NONFAT. What's the point??!

52. Uses UPS: SHIPS.

53. Wet impact sound: SPLAT.

54. Parts of a loaf or loafers: HEELS. Also, a part of Mary Janes - see photo in 46-down

60. Spinner: TOP. A kid's toy

61. Wide st.: AVE. At first, I thought this meant wide STATE (abbr.), and tried TEX

62. Coco Gauff's org.: WTA. Short for, Women's Tennis Association

And once again, the blog has come to an end ... please offer any comments below ...

Thanks Robin! I know you'll pay us a visit ...

Friday, February 2, 2024 - Amie Walker and Matthew Stock

Theme: "Slow down, you move too fast ..."

Puzzling thoughts:

Happy Groundhog Day, Cornerites! More on this, later ...

Thanks again for all of your kind comments on my puzzle this past Wednesday (Jan 31)

It took the Chairman (15-across. Re:) ABOUT 12 minutes to complete today's puzzle; less than my normal solving time for a Friday

I was expecting a Groundhog Day-themed puzzle, but this one did not disappoint

Amie Walker and Matthew Stock collaborate on this very enjoyable puzzle (whose grid is asymmetric, BTW) that uses four words/phrases as synonyms for "no running". Each of the entries - three down and one across - are "in the language" terms. Let's examine them further, shall we?

3-down. "No running" to an incumbent: TERM LIMITED. Blog rules strictly prohibit me (or any of all y'all) from discussing politics, so I will let the image below speak for itself ...

11-down. "No running" at a cosmetics store: SMUDGE PROOF.

She obviously didn't use a smudge proof mascara!

25-down. With 26-Down, "No running" to a newspaper reporter: OFF THE RECORD. Two things struck me about this entry:

1) How skillfully placed this was in the grid
2) How amazingly clever to come up with this phrase to signify "not running"

55-across. "No running" on a pool deck: SLIPPERY WHEN WET. All sorts of images crept into the Chairman's devious and puerile mind but this is the one that will be published!!

Let's get on with the other clues and entries, including the plethora of 3-letter words (sorry, Irish Miss!) ... the picture of the grid will be at the end of the blog

Across:
1. Body art: TATS, with its "clecho": (57-down. Body art:) INK. (one of the plethora of 3-letter words)

5. Split __: HAIRS. Neither "ENDS" nor "PEA SOUP" fit

10. Soft "C'mere!": PSST. This "word" is showing up often, recently, in xword puzzles

14. Begin to form: BREW. Interesting clue for this word

16. Chicano poet Luis __ Salinas: OMAR. "___ the tent maker" would've worked as a clue, too

17. World of Warcraft beast: OGRE. This filled via perps

18. Zelle alternative: VENMO. I use PayPal

19. Herding dog from Hungary: PULI. A learning experience for me, although when I went to "save" the image, I already had it in my pictures folder. Perhaps this word was used once before @ LA Times? This looks like a dog that Bob Marley would own ...

20. Veinte, por ejemplo: NUMERO. A CSO to Lucinda. Veinte is twenty, no?

22. Athena's domain: WISDOM. A bit of misdirection, as the word "domain" also means the area in which she might preside. Here is what [wikipedia] says: "Athena was the goddess of battle strategy, and wisdom. Identified in the Roman mythology as the goddess Minerva. She was always accompanied by her owl ..."

24. Fast-food chain with Epic Burritos: DEL TACO. This filled easily via perps; I don't regularly frequent DEL TACO restaurants but we have some in our area; you?

26. Tips over one's king, e.g.: RESIGNS. Chess reference when a player realizes that they are going to lose and/or face "checkmate"

27. "__ be my pleasure": IT'D. #2 of the 18 three-letter words

28. Usage charge: FEE. The third of the three-letter words

30. Dry __: ICE. The fourth of the three-letter words; Dry ICE is actually the solid form of carbon dioxide (CO2), a molecule consisting of a single carbon atom bonded to two oxygen atoms [wikipedia]

31. "Thus with a kiss I die" hero: ROMEO. I sensed a Shakespeare quote here, and ROMEO fit

33. TV watchers?: F.C.C. Fifth 3-letter word, and another abbr.

34. Beta preceder: ALPHA. In the Greek ALPHAbet

37. Bird-related: AVIAN. It's "for the birds"

38. Howe'er: THO'. Sixth 3-letter word; another abbr.

39. "Great blue" or "little blue" bird: HERON. A HERON would be AVIAN, no?

40. Obtain: GET. Seventh 3-letter word; I "GET" it; there are a lot of them today

41. Free of wool: SHORN. I had SHEAR first before the perps corrected it

43. Not available at the moment: OUT. #8; and I am OUT of explanations!!

44. Seasoned vet's opposite: NEWBIE. Nice clue

47. Part of JD: DOCTOR. Juris DOCTOR; a legal term; "A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law is a graduate-entry professional degree in law. The JD is the standard degree obtained to practice law in the United States, where there is no undergraduate professional law degree" [wikipedia]

50. Fizzled out: DIED. What happened to your car after you drove with a "Check Engine" light illuminated

51. Playing surface: TURF. Term used for both football and golf

52. Ooze: SEEP.

54. Sizable plot: ACRE.

62. Small horse: PONY. Or, a small beer bottle

63. "Now __ talking!": YOU'RE.

64. Line graph display: DATA.

And of course, there is another "clecho": (49-down. Line graph display:) TREND.

65. Look for answers: ASK. #9; ASK me (or Irish Miss) again, "how many 3-letter words are OK for a puzzle?"

66. Awards for "Abbott Elementary": EMMYS. One of our favorite "major" network shows

67. Break: GAP. #10 ... maybe a better clue would've been from the old commercial jingle: "Fall into the ___"

OK, it's "halftime" at the blog. Remember when I said that there would be more about Groundhog Day?? Well, I read an interesting article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this past Sunday. The person writing the article began by saying that perhaps PETA would someday put an end to this annual celebration, where Punxsatawney Phil (the groundhog) is no longer the focal point of whether we do or don't have 6 more weeks of winter. She said that maybe they have a gold coin with a "heads" or "tails", and the citizens of that sleepy little Western Pennsylvania town just flip the coin ... heads = more winter; tails = an early spring. But at the end, despite so many ARGUEments for why Phil should be allowed to return to the wild, she realized that this is a huge event for the townsfolk. And, it gives all of us who don't live there a reason to celebrate. I'm all for that. Plus, it also gives us a chance to watch a little clip from the movie starring Andie MacDowell and Bill Murray. Enjoy!

Down:
1. Govt. security: T-BOND. Did anyone else try T-BILL instead? Not I

2. Go back and forth: ARGUE. One thing I have learned: you can either be right or be happy ... no ARGUEment here, eh guys??!! 😅

4. Lemonade alternative: SWEET TEA. CSO to all of our southern friends who have probably consumed more gallons of this than can be counted. The "trick" is to BREW the tea with the sugar already in the water

5. Chaos: HAVOC. Another Bill Murray clip with a reference to chaos/HAVOC

6. Dad on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel": ABE. An Emmy Award for actor Tony Shalhoub as ABE Weissman

7. + or - particle: ION. #11

8. Pirate song spirit: RUM. #12. "Spirit" as in an alcoholic libation; RUM

9. Madeleine of "Revenge": STOWE. Harriet Beecher ___ would have been too obvious (for me)

10. Stick in the freezer?: POPSICLE. A nice play-on-words clue

12. Place where one might leave tips for tips: SALON. Another nice play-on-words clue; tips (as in gratuities) for tips (as in highlights for ones hair)

13. Cuts back: TRIMS. Another SALON job

21. Hazardous gas: RADON. Are RADON detectors still mandatory in homes with basements?

23. "Da 5 Bloods" actor Whitlock Jr.: ISIAH. A Biblical prophet, perhaps? Nope. Him:

29. Helpful Amazon gadget: ECHO. We have one; it's called a "Dot"

31. Joplin work: RAG. #13

32. "The Great British Baking Show" appliance: OVEN. Even if you didn't know the show, what else COULD it be??

35. 3,600 seconds: HOUR. 60 seconds in one minute x 60 minutes in one hour = 3,600 seconds

36. Crumb-collecting insect: ANT. #14. And I bet that there are more than 14 clues for this industrious insect that have appeared in xword puzzles

41. Skeptical look: SIDE EYE. This:

42. Tally marks: NOTCHES.

45. Thin and wavy: WISPY. Like this HAIR??

How to wear WISPY bangs

46. [Time's up!]: BEEP. [Grammarly dot com] says: "Parentheses and brackets are punctuation marks used to set apart certain words and sentences. Parentheses, ( ), are used to add extra information in text, while brackets, [ ], are used mainly in quotations to add extra information that wasn't in the original quote." In this case, the "BEEP" is the extra information

48. Remedy: CURE. Despite all of the time modern medicine has had to develop one, there still is no CURE for the common cold

53. Formal: PROM. "Formal" as in the participants are dressed in formal attire for this school event

54. Off course: AWRY. Hey Moe! When are we going to get a Moe-ku? Well, this one sort of fits ...

Waggish pastry chef
Opened a new bakery.
Just bakes a wry bread.

55. Escape room?: SPA. #15. Don't people go to a SPA to escape the toils of daily life??

56. __ Gatos, California: LOS. #16. What else could it be, other than "LOS" for a California city??

58. "Delish!": YUM. #17. CSO to Hahtoolah with her pet word: YUMmers!! 😋

59. Tail movement: WAG. #18. Did anyone have to use a "WAG" (wild-assed-guess) to come up with "WAG"??

60. "We'll get there then" approx.: ETA. #19. Another abbr.

61. Water source: TAP. "VEINTE"!! (20) "TAP" as in faucet

And we have reached the "END" (another 3-letter word!). Let's end with a Moe-l'ick:

As your blogger I might be your shill,
And admit, didn't you feel the thrill?
I've got one thing to say
On this year's Groundhog Day
Don't you think that we've gotten our Phil??

The grid:

Comments, please ...