Friday, November 8, 2024, David Alfred Bywaters

 Theme: "Oh Where, Oh Where ... " 

Puzzling thoughts:

Today's play-on-words Friday-level puzzle was offered to us by none other than David Alfred, "one if by land, two if" Bywaters!  This is now three-in-a-row for me recapping some of my favorite puzzlers (Rich, Patti, and now David).  As many of you know, one of my partners-in-crime, waseeley, is also a fan of David's and regularly shares with us his fortnightly, crossword cavalcade

David often comes up with a fiendish connection in his puzzles, so I reached out via email to him to confirm (or deny) that these entries had anything more than what appears on the surface.  David was honored to think that I had uncovered a secret code, perhaps ... but as he said, "it was by mere chance" that he came up with 5 phrases that have a double-meaning, all of which were framed by a clue question beginning with the words "where to find".  Did you have the wherewithal to figure them out?

Let's explore each one and see if we can find out the meaning behind the clues:

17-across. Where to find a dogcatcher at the end of the working day?: BY THE POUND.  David's first clue/entry was to explore the whereabouts of a dogcatcher (do these even exist anymore?) when his shift is over.  By the dog POUND of course!  Would this entry have been as exciting if it had been clued: "How bananas are sold?"  Nope

But speaking of bananas, I find it interesting that Trader Joe's is a retailer who sells bananas individually as well as in a bunch.  So, which is the better deal?  Individual or by the pound? Well, if you allow that a single banana - on average (with the peel) - weighs about 8 ounces, then their selling price of 19 cents each (maybe it's now a quarter) is a pretty good deal.  The by the pound price is usually around 69 cents per

31-across. Where to find a Tyrolean shepherd?: ABOVE THE FOLD.  Normally, C-Moe uses the Thesaurus-saurus (see 70-across in the recap) to confirm synonyms.  And while Moe has heard of the word fold in reference to a flock of sheep it took a while to confirm (open the link)

The phrase, above the fold, is a newspaper reference that applies to the headline (or major news story) that appears above the folded part of the paper.  Maybe as this one so erroneously did back in 1948?

Notice how the paper is folded

38-across. Where to find an Iowa farmer in late summer?: BEHIND THE EARS.  This was by far the corniest of the crop ... 😀 

Too bad, though, that David didn't have a few extra squares in the puzzle grid to allow him to add an adjective to the phrase.  Then the clue could've been:

How to find an Iowa farmer after a late summer thunderstorm?: ___ BEHIND THE EARS 💧💧💧

46-across. Where to find a Chicago suburbanite?: OUT OF THE LOOP. Fortunately for those who regularly visit the Crossword Corner, you are never out of the loop.  Even when we are faced with trying to figure out certain actors, authors, places, or things; the bloggers here are always eager to do the googling for you and offer it in our comments ...

So why a Chicago suburbanite?  Well, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the "landscape" "The Loop" is both a geographic reference as well as a pretty famous area in downtown Chicago (see the rectangular loop in the map below)

63-across. Where to find a lumberjack at lunchtime?: ON THE STUMP.  David ends his quintet of quirky quips with a reference to political speeches and rallies.  We steer clear of discussing politics here at the Corner ... but we do like to post cartoons! 

Today's grid is brought to you by Sharpie®:

The Grid - My first time using a highlighter 😂

As an aside, there were 24 3LW's today ... again, a result of having 57 of the 225 available squares occupied by the theme entries ... we'll soon learn if Irish Miss minded these, or not ... I'm guessing, not!

As a further aside, David provided me (through our email correspondence) a couple more of the entries he had for this puzzle that didn't make the cut:

Clue: Where to find the lighthouse keeper on foggy Fridays?: BESIDE THE POINT.

Clue: Where to find the scientist who created the abbreviations for silver (Ag) and gold (Au)?: UNDER THE TABLE 

My "grade" for this puzzle is a solid, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Across:

1. Home of Minor League Baseball's Storm Chasers: OMAHA.  CSO to Husker Gary.  I did not know this and chose TULSA as my first guess

6. Oscar season oversight: SNUB.  

10. Org. concerned with lab safety?: SPCA.  Cute clue; DAB's or PV's?  In this case the "lab" is a dog; not a room for science experiments 

14. Not haram: HALAL.  Here's the difference

15. Potential London flat?: TYRE.  Lots of play-on-words today!  The London "flat" refers to an automobile tyre; not a rental unit (apartment)

16. Broccoli unit: HEAD.  My partner, Margaret, advised me last week that broccoli is a man-made vegetable - Cauliflower, too as it turns out

19. Goals: AIMS.  

20. Brief indication of flexibility: OBO.  Or Best Offer.  As in an ad (you'll see this on eBay) where an item is listed for sale for a price of, say, $50.00, OBO

21. Slender fish: EEL.  GAR also fit, and it's a pretty slender fish IIRC

24. Quaint assent: YES'M.  Contraction for yes, ma'am (also a contraction)

26. Out of harm's way: SAFE.  Which supports (5-down. Away from the wind:) ALEE

29. "__ you asked ... ": SINCE.

34. Opening stake: ANTE.

36. Pitching superstar: ACE.  Walker Buehler may have been the ACE in this year's World Series

37. Marker: IOU.  PEN also fit

43. Rx provider: DOC.  With 24 3LW's you're bound to get several that are abbrs.

44. Delighted cry: OOH.

45. In addition: ELSE.

51. Not just glance: STARE.  How good are YOU at a starting contest?? 

52. Many a Saudi: ARAB.

53. Jazzy improvisation: SCAT.  Ella was one of the best

57. Attempts: TRIES.

59. Coded plea for help: SOS.  Morse code.  Dit dit dit, dah dah dah, dit dit dit (... --- ...)

61. Nev. neighbor: ARI.  CSO to me, Lucina, Yuman, et al

62. "Despicable Me" voice actress Kristen: WIIG.  This actress pronounces her last name the same as an artificial hairpiece: "wig".  But if you look at it again, what if she pronounced it like a video game platform + the last letter, might you get this?:

Wii - G

67. Beginning for potent or present: OMNI.  A prefix meaning "all; everywhere"

68. Core supporters: BASE.  This term was used ad nauseum during the Presidential campaign

69. "Booped" body parts: NOSES.  

70. Acute: KEEN.  The Thesaurus-saurus agrees!

71. Roe source: SHAD.  I prefer mine from sturgeon

72. Down-at-the-heels: SEEDY.  Merrium-Webster agrees

Down:

1. Enthusiastic or impatient cry: OH BOY.  Enjoy this little ditty from a performer who left us way too soon

2. Perhaps: MAYBE.  Do you think maybe there'll be a Moe-ku today?  Perhaps ...

3. Some flutes: ALTOS.

        The fife producer

        Took today off; celebrates

        (the) Flutes of his labor

4. "Caught you!": HAH.  See!  There was a Moe-ku; hah!

6. Norwegian king in hagiographies: ST OLAV.  Learning moment for me, today regarding the clue

7. Greenwich Village sch.: NYU.  Right in the heart of Greenwich Village  

Washington Square Arch near NYU

8. Large container: URN.  A large-sized container (urn) is often used for coffee; a small-sized container (urn) is often used as an alternative to a coffin

9. Hotel capacity: BEDS.  Same answer applies to a hospital's capacity

10. "Doctor Zhivago" star: SHARIF.  Aka, Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub

11. Lingerie array: PEIGNOIRS.  I wondered if this word had been used before in a major crossword puzzle - apparently, yes

12. Almost had it: CAME CLOSE. For some reason, this brought to mind a quip I wrote some ten years ago (October 2014).  Not sure if those here are familiar with the racehorse I reference, so when you get to the last word click on the link ... 

Famous actress Glenn mourned the recent death of a Breeders Cup winning racehorse. She even went so far as to attend the horse's funeral. Unbeknownst to her, the horse's owners cancelled the funeral and had the horse cremated instead.  She came to the funeral, anyway.  TMZ followed her and published this headline the next day on their website: 

CLOSE, but no Cigar

13. Spots: ADS.  So here, all along, the images on a Dalmation's coat are actually ads?? 😉

18. Uruguayan coin: PESO.  We had this word entry on Tuesday; Susan gave us the list of those other countries who use the peso as their currency of choice ... 

23. Call upon: USE.

25. Class that brings problem after problem?: MATH. Why is it that I have a problem with this clue and its answer??  Maybe, because I couldn't find a Moe-ku to fit the answer ... how about a Moe-l'ick instead, that is sorta related ...

        The young mermaid showed quite a big flaw,

       While committing a fashion faux pas.

       She was kicked out of MATH

       After showing some wrath

       When she wore her see-through Algae-bra

27. Part of a boa: FEATHER.  SPLEEN and SCALE didn't fit.  And when I found this image, I couldn't see any feathers ... 

Where the heck are its feathers???

28. Inscribe with acid: ETCH.  Could've been clued: "___ a Sketch"

30. Part of a prof's address: EDU.  Only since 43-across (DOC) was already used

32. "__ mir bist du schoen": 1937 hit: BEI.  Who here remembers the Andrews Sisters?  Let's see.  In 1937 my future parents were in grade school ... 

33. Little snicker: HEE.  We gave out these little "snickers" for Halloween this year 

34. "At last!": ABOUT TIME.  This clue/entry would've been more appropriate if it were at the end of my blog!! 😂😂

35. Peach kin: NECTARINE.  Here's the difference between the two

39. "Au contraire!": NOT.  The clue was in Frawnch

40. Qatar's capital: DOHA.  Coin flip here:  If you chose the capital as in currency, then rial fits.  But in this case it refers to the government center

41. Job listing letters: EEO.  Except on Old MacDonald's farm, where jobs there are listed E-I-E-I-O

42. Italian ski destination: ALPS.  Where you just might run into that Tyrolian shepherd fellow from 31-across

43. Bobs and buns: DOS.  I hear that pre-Windows computer technicians chose MS-DOS for their haircut styles ... 

47. Root: ORIGIN.

48. Charge: FEE.  The noun; not the verb form

49. __ out at: LASHED.  My twisted brain saw this image as someone who might resemble this: 

50. Slender woodwind: OBOE.  Played by that slender fish in 21-across, maybe??

54. Make happen: CAUSE.  How did this happen?  Just 'cause

55. On, as an alarm: ARMED.  Once again, my brain went in a different direction when I saw the word armed.  I wondered if there were any cartoon images of an octopus holding 8 alarm clocks, but this one is funnier:

56. A bit buzzed: TIPSY.  I swear I was cold stone sober when I wrote this blog ... (which, FTR, was done on Monday the 4th)

58. Sounds of woe: SOBS.  "There's no crying in crossword puzzle blogging!"

60. U.S. IDs: SSNS.  See 65-down; you need one of these to apply 

62. Stir-fry need: WOK.  How about another Moe-l'ick?

        When the pastry chef went to embark

       New position, I heard him remark,

        “I’ll be good at stir-fry.”

        “Piece of cake!” I replied.

        He said, “no, just a WOK in the park.”

64. "Pass": NAH.  Oh, you don't want another Moe-l'ick or Moe-ku??

65. PreCheck org.: TSA.  PreCheck for frequent travelers is a must - I got mine as part of Global Entry

66. Foot part: TOE.  Toe, which rhymes with Moe, who is now going to bid you à bientôt! 😃

Friday, October 25, 2024, Patti Varol

Theme:  "I gotta have a little more cowbell"

Puzzling thoughts:

Well, isn't this a bit of a coincidence for yours truly, the Crossword Corner's bi-weekly Friday blogger: on October 11, 2024 (my last blog date) the LAT crossword puzzle was constructed by Rich Norris, erstwhile LAT puzzle editor; and on October 25, 2024, today, the LAT crossword puzzle was constructed by Patti Varol, the current LAT editor

Do I dare compare Patti to Rich?  Stay tuned ... 

Patti has a familiar "theme" for Friday-difficulty puzzles.  She's using compound words - all of which begin with a musical instrument - to form a funny phrase as it relates to the clue.  

Finding 5 entries for a 15x15 square grid is moderately difficult, as it usually involves placing the "reveal" entry in row 8 (dead center of the puzzle grid), and spreading the other four into some cramped quarters.  A "typical" 5-entry puzzle might consist of four 9 to 13 letter entries and the reveal being either 7, 9, or 11 letters in length

Patti, though, went beyond the extremes today by grouping two 14-letter entries, with two 12-letter entries, with one 15-letter entry (in row 8).  If my math is correct, that's a total of 67 characters for the themed entries.  Most puzzles offer between 40-50 "theme" characters.  What this basically means, in puzzle construction terms, is less "real estate" for the crossing words.  Which also means more TLW's ... 26 of them if I counted correctly.  [sorry, Irish Miss] And with that many TLW's you are bound to get more abbreviations 

But here's my take:  better to have more "theme" characters if it doesn't make everything else feel "forced".  And upon reflection, there are very few "forced" entries today; even among the TLW's

And one other area of note:  the entire puzzle had a total of 74 words (normal for a Friday puzzle; most early-week puzzles have 78-80 words) but 46 blocks.  "Blocks" are the black squares.  Most editors ask for fewer than 40.  This helped contribute to the paucity of lengthy words.  Other than the entries the next longest word(s) to solve were 6-letters in length (12 of them in total; 8 of them in the down position)

But enough of the construction notes ... on to the five theme entries for today:

16-across. Publications dedicated to the history of a jazz instrument?: SAXOPHONE BOOKS.  A saxophone is a very popular jazz instrument (along with a piano, drum set, and string bass/bass guitar).  In the "made-up" version, a saxophone book might be an appropriate monograph to read about the history of that instrument; in real life, though, phone books are something we are familiar with, even though they are becoming more and more extinct

22-across. Particles from a percussion instrument that may start a sneezing fit?: COWBELL PEPPER. If you watched the video clip above (from the SNL archives) you saw a reference to the cowbell as a percussion instrument. A bell pepper (OTOH) is botanically a fruit though most of us refer to it as a vegetable.  I prefer the orange, yellow and red colored peppers to the traditional, green ones.  My favorite way to eat them is baked and stuffed (see image below)

34-across. Windfall from the sale of wind instruments?: CLARINET PROFITS.  Similar to the saxophone, a clarinet uses a single reed and mouthpiece attachment to provide a place for the "wind" to enter.  Both utilize an intricate set of keys and bars alongside the shaft of the instrument to change the pitch and note selection  

Net profits are loosely defined as the amount of money a company (or individual) has when all of the expenses have been paid ... Moe-ku #1:

        A new shrimp trawler's

        Catch yielded one-thousand bucks.

        That's their NET PROFITS

        

48-across. Fantasies about being the best player of a Scottish instrument?: BAGPIPE DREAMS.  This is my favorite of the five as it was for me the funniest.  Bagpipes by themselves are pretty funny (in the way they look and sound); and pipe dreams are ... well, for me it would be to have one of my puzzle submissions accepted by the NYT 

54-across. Endeavor to improve a brass instrument?: TRUMPET PROJECT.  Probably my second most favorite from today.  Moe-ku #2:

        Ex-prez Donald finds

        Aliens in his spare time.

        His TRUMP ET PROJECT

Here is how it looks when all is said and done.  You'll notice my two errors (marked by the black triangle in the corner of the bad cell); the first was a typo (NEAP) but the second (OREE crossing ERG) was my Natick today.  All in all, though, this one gets ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - same as how I scored Rich's.  As each entry is explained I will note those that kept this from getting a fifth star or portion thereof

The Grid

Across:

1. Exhaust: EAT UP.  Clever clue.  I wonder if the constructor or the editor came up with this?! 😀

6. Nosrat's "Salt Fat __ Heat": ACID.  Not familiar with this quote nor the author of it.  Perps and a bit of common sense provided me with the answer.  All of the four are related to cooking, I believe

10. Owed: DUE.

13. Steam bath: SAUNA.  Most of the saunas I have visited use a dry heat.  So, is a sauna a steam bath? You decide

14. Olympic swimmer Torres: DARA.  Here is her webpage

15. Genetic molecule translated into protein: RNA.  While the clue gives this away, I am sure that some of you may have entered DNA at first

19. Subtle glow: AURA.

20. Masters of allusion?: POETS.  Clever clue.  I wonder if the constructor or the editor came up with this?! 😀

26. Go downhill fast?: SCHUSS.  German word for "ski"

28. Thataway, quaintly: YON.

29. Push to the limit: TRY.

30. Café lightener: LAIT.  Or, to those who are French, "Brest milk" 😂

31. Surfer's gadget: REMOTE. For those of us who have "cut the cord", a remote control device is mandatory for streaming

40. Flexible lunch hour: ONE-ISH.  This time will avoid much of the normal lunch hour crowd

41. Chess piece in castling: ROOK.  While I am not a chess player, I do know that the term "castle" involves switching the rook (shaped like a castle) with the king

42. Saison for the Paris Olympics: ETE.

45. Buff: FAN.  Naked nor nude nor ripped fit

46. Score: TWENTY.  As in "Four score ... "

52. Thorny shrub: BRIAR.  Here in AZ we have cacti

53. Like breezeways: AIRY. 

61. More than most: ALL. Indeed

62. Hockey Hall of Famer Willie: O'REE.  This was 1/2 of my Natick.  More about this HOF hockey player

63. Pizzazz: FLASH.  Clue could've been "Comic book super hero" (just saying).  For those of you who are fans of TBBT:

 

64. Signals intelligence org.: NSA.  The word signals in the clue gives it away (not the CIA)

65. PC key for scrolling to the end: PgDn.  This entry (PgDn) is not one we see too often.  However, it did appear in the LAT several times when Rich Norris was the editor ...

66. Incursion: FORAY.  Not the first definition of this word I would have chosen ... but ... I did find this when I googled: Foray (noun): the mistake of incurring liability or blame

Down:

1. First of September?: ESS.  In some years, the first of September can be Labor Day ...

2. Tower of note: AAA.  This link might only open for you if you have a Facebook account.  Don't know if this is what Patti meant.  She usually doesn't comment here, so we may all be left to wonder. Either way, this is a very obscure clue, IMO ... 

OK, I re-read the clue.  It's not tower as in a building ... it's tower as in a vehicle that tows cars and other vehicles.  AAA is the abbr for American Automobile Association.  Oops 😒

3. Inaugural ball duds: TUX. GOWN didn't fit

4. Game with 108 cards: UNO.  Should we just Skip over this, or Draw Four??

5. Melonlike tropical fruit: PAPAWS.  Anyone else try PAPAYA first?  I did

6. Hold precious: ADORE.  Aww

7. Creation by a locks smith?: CANAL.  Clever clue.  I wonder if the constructor or the editor came up with this?! 😀

8. Wrath: IRE.

9. Perfume application: DAB.  Or, an application of Brylcreem

 

 

 

10. Sag: DROOP.

11. Broken, as some promises: UNKEPT.  If this were to describe the person's hair prior to the DAB of Brylcreem, the answer could have been: UNKEMPT

12. Sunrise service occasion: EASTER.

17. Places to make connections: HUBS.  Back when I lived in SW Ohio, CVG was a hub for Delta Airlines

18. Not against entertaining: OPEN TO.  I am open to entertaining you (I hope) with my blog

21. "omg my bad": SRY.  As I said in my intro, with so many TLW's there are bound to be a few that are abbrs. 

22. "Pet" that needs lots of water: CHIA.  Never had one of these so I wasn't sure whether it needs a lot of water or not.  Does this clue and entry hold water??

23. Concluding piece: OUTRO. As opposed to the beginning piece? Intro? I guess

24. __ node: LYMPH.

25. Not even fair: POOR.  When I was in elementary school the grading system was: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor.  No one failed, per se, but some were held back

26. Jazz home, initially: SLC.  When CVG was a Delta Airlines hub, so was SLC - as in Salt Lake City

27. Ore. neighbor: CAL.  IDA and NEV also fit

31. French queen: REINE.

32. UFO crew, presumably: ETS.  See my Moe-ku 2 in the intro

33. Violinist Zimbalist: EFREM. Yes, the father of the TV star (Maverick and 77 Sunset Strip) was a famous violinist

35. Ailing: INFIRM.

36. Spring's opposite, in tides: NEAP.  This says it all

37. Non-neutral particles: IONS.

38. Add (up): TOT.  Why use an abbr. here?  Meh

39. Much of a sunset photo: SKY. 

42. Abate: EBB.  A tidal reference was already used in 36-down

43. Tam pattern: TARTAN.  I worked for 3M for many years, and it was known, back then, as the "Brand of the Tartan"

44. Members of a TikTok subculture: E-GIRLS.  Read all about it!

46. Yukon, e.g.: Abbr.: TERR.  More abbr.  This is why this puzzle gets only ⭐⭐⭐⭐

47. Not even close: WAY OFF.  If you FIW today, you were probably way off

49. "Into the Water" novelist Hawkins: PAULA.  Any fans of her work here?

50. So last century: DATED.  As a Baby Boomer, so much of me is "dated"

51. Get ready to eat: RIPEN.  My favorite expression to indicate how old I am is saying: "I no longer buy green bananas"

55. __ fly: POP.  It's the MLB playoff season, so this "fill-in-the-blank" clue is timely

56. Indoor rower, for short: ERG.  As in ergonomic?

57. Selena portrayer, familiarly: J-LO.  Jennifer Lopez

58. Orecchiette shape: EAR.  Refers to pasta. Thankfully, I recently returned from a trip to Italy so I knew this 

 

 

It sort of resembles an EAR

59. Local source of produce: Abbr.: CSA.  Odd clue unless you googled it.  I guess this is the new way to use CSA and not refer to the South during the Civil War (or War Between the States, depending on where you're from)

60. Biblical possessive: THY.  Moe-ku #3:

 

        My blog is over.

        Appropriately, last word

        Is THY. We'll be done

See you next month ...

Friday, October 11, 2024, Rich Norris

Theme:  I didn't fall for it ... 

Puzzling thoughts:  

The erstwhile LA Times Editor, Rich Norris, landed the big fish today with his well-formed crossword puzzle, featuring four 15-letter entries.  Rich took advantage of the idiomatic expression "hook, line, and sinker", and made us fall completely in like with his work - without hesitation

I had a similar puzzle published in 2023 but was able to come up with only three 15-letter, one-word clues that captured the "theme".  Rich used not only the individual word clues (hook, line, sinker) but the entire phrase (hook, line, and sinker) to complete his "superfecta"

17-across. Hook: PETER PAN NEMESIS.  The first of the four was as clever as it gets.  In this case, "Hook" refers to the antagonistic Captain who appears in the 1904 J. M. Barrie play, Peter Pan

24-across. Line: SCRIPT COMPONENT.  While not as clever as the first entry, coming up with a 15- letter phrase that fits the clue "line" could not have been easy.  In fact, when I googled this answer there was nothing, I saw, that tied Script component to a line.  However, if you use a bit of poetic "crossword" justice, you could parse this as being a component of a script; as in the "lines" of a play or movie.  Here is a video tutorial on the Elements of a Film Script:

42-across. Sinker: TOUGH PITCH TO HIT.  Perhaps my favorite of the three entries, as it took the last of the "fishing" terms in this phrase and referenced a baseball term.  The sinker is really just a version of a fastball.  As the hyperlink indicates, Curt Simmons (1950's Philadelphia Phillies pitcher) is given credit for being one of the first to perfect it.  Here is a video to explain the pitch (and how pitchers grip the ball):

56-across.  Hook, line, and sinker: WITHOUT QUESTION.  As the idiomatic expression is defined, when you accept/fall for someone's deceitful offer "hook, line, and sinker", you do it without question

Maybe like Jerry Lewis did in this movie?

But I suspect that most - if not all - of our solvers today did not fall for Rich's deception.  I found very little, in fact.  Yes, there were a plethora of four and five-letter entries (32 of the four-letter variety) but a very manageable 10 TLWs

Lots to like here.  Overall score for this: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Grid

Across:
 

1. Mishandle, as a grounder: BOOT.  I'd be curious to know if, when Rich Norris has an LAT puzzle, Patti edits his clues?  I worked with Rich once, and he was very good at making clues work

5. Accelerated sci. class: AP BIO.  IIRC, when I was in high school, the accelerated classes had a II behind them; Chem II or Algebra II or Calculus II

10. __ Eats: UBER.  I have never used either UBER Eats or DoorDash

14. Colorful deepwater fish: OPAH.  Aka, "Moonfish"

 

Moe-ku #1:

"Hook, line, and sinker":
That deepwater fish is known
As OPAH Winfrey

15. Hospital prep area: PRE-OP. Other than the "prep" in the clue matching the PRE in the answer ...

16. Aviation milestone: SOLO. Moe-ku #2:

A Star Wars pilot's
First Millennium Falcon
Flight, was Han's SOLO

20. Sentimentality: SCHMALTZ.

21. IMO relative: I'D SAY. Well, since IMO (in my opinion) is a text abbr., I'm not sure how I'D SAY is related; text-wise, anyway

22. Orangutan, e.g.: APE.

23. Chilly product prefix: SNO.

33. Basic decision-maker: COIN. I couldn't make "heads" or "tails" out of this clue ...

34. Weak poker hand: A PAIR. But even A PAIR of two's beats an ACE-high hand; just saying

35. Actress Zadora: PIA. Now there's a clue/answer we haven't seen in a long time. An erstwhile "crosswordese" entry

36. Sometime in the past: ONCE. AGO didn't fit

37. Inconsiderable: SCANT. New clue/synonym for this word

38. Fantasy franchise letters: LOTR. Lord of the Rings. Hand up for trying IHOP first? I did

39. Amanda Gorman's "An __ We Owe": ODE.

40. __ dish: PETRI.

41. Prefix with -genarian: OCTO. SEPTA (my prefix) didn't fit

46. Plant sci.: BOT. Short for, botany. Also short for robot

47. "A spider!": EEK.

48. Take by force: WREST. I wrestled with this one for a while; USURP was my first guess

51. "Sadly, yes": AFRAID SO.

59. New Rochelle campus: IONA.

60. Hook, line, and sinker, e.g.: NOUNS. Rich (and/or Patti) found yet another clue for today's "theme"; which coincides with (62-across. "Yep, already spotted that"): I SAW.

61. One on a seal: UNUM. As on the reverse side of a one dollar bill

63. Hard to navigate: SNAKY. Another Friday-like clue for a familiar adjective

64. John or Paul, but not Ringo or George: POPE. Yup

Down:
1. Danceable songs: BOPS. As in "Be-BOPS"

2. Gp. whose most populous member is Nigeria: OPEC. Learning experience

3. Citizenship recitation: OATH. I swear, this is true

4. Ship in a late 19th century tragedy: THE MAINE. This is an LAT entry "debut"; I hope you will remember this (along with the ship)

5. Simple program: APPLET. I solved this whilst having a cup of Java ...

6. Lead-in to fall: PRAT. As in "PRAT-fall". Being a "stooge" I know all about these! I don't know if you need a Facebook account to view the video below ... I read somewhere that the Stooges "inspired" Aerosmith to write the song "Walk this Way" ...

7. Julie who played Rita on "Dexter": BENZ. Would it have been too obvious if her character's name was "Mercedes"?

8. Lithium-__ battery: ION. Did this one almost set you on fire?

9. Reveal, in verse: OPE. Moe-ku #3:

Amanda Gordon
Revealed poetic intent
When she OPEd an ode

10. Tried to influence with: USED ON. My "influencer" on food packaging is when it says "USED BY"

11. Order (around): BOSS. Verb form

12. Director Kazan: ELIA.

13. Good-looking?: ROSY. The hyphen in the clue gave it away

18. "Snow Angel" singer Rene : RAPP.

19. Key type: MINOR. Perps made this MINOR rather than MAJOR

23. Barbecue rod: SPIT. Doesn't seeing a piece of meat on a SPIT want to make you drool?

24. Slide on a seat: SCOOT. Tough clue

25. Vrbo listing: CONDO.

26. The Owls of the NCAA: RICE U.

27. Jumping chollas, e.g.: CACTI. CSO to me, Lucina, and Yuman

28. Victor Vasarely's movement: OP ART.

29. Frenzied: MANIC. Hoping that no one felt this as they were solving today's puzzle

30. Holocene, for one: EPOCH. Holocene EPOCH

31. Tucci's "Road to Perdition" role: NITTI. Movie based on mobster Frank NITTI

32. Deck with kings and queens: TAROT. Good Friday clue; or a good clue on any non-Christian Friday

37. Equinox mo.: SEPT. Only because MARC looked odd

38. "You have a dictionary, don't you?": LOOK IT UP. For the most part, I LOOK IT UP for all y'all

40. Snap: PHOTO. Crackle: CHINA; Pop: SODA. Or are snap, crackle, and pop just a bit of Rice Crispies?

43. "Pygmalion" playwright, for short: G.B. SHAW. Not enough spaces for the full name: GEORGE BERNARD SHAW. Fun Fact: SHAW preferred to be called "Bernard", and his signature/autograph was G Bernard Shaw

44. Grounds for excommunication: HERESY. As opposed to grounds for "communication", which for me is COFFEE. Please, no talking until I've drank the first cup!

45. Drinks with scones: TEAS. See 44-across; I am a COFFEE drinker but I do like a good scone

48. "Captain America: The First Avenger" backdrop, briefly: WWII. Margaret got me hooked into the Marvel movie series, and "Captain America: The First Avenger" was my intro

49. Spanish flowers: RIOS. Flowers, as in rivers

50. Italian volcano that's a UNESCO World Heritage Site: ETNA. The UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Italy. Among those that we saw on our trip were: The Piazza del Duomo (Pisa); Venice and its Lagoon; The Historic Centres of Florence and Siena. The city in which we stayed, Montecatini Terme became part of the transnational "Great Spa Towns of Europe" UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021

51. Turquoise hue: AQUA. Needed perps; remember, my crayon box only had 8 colors. Turquoise and AQUA were not one of them

52. Low state: FUNK. FUNK is also somewhat related to 1-down (BOPS) as an African-American music genre. Video below gives snippets of the Top 25 FUNK songs of all time

53. Shape of some chicken nuggets, briefly: DINO. Meh. This was a reach, IMO

54. First course, often: SOUP. "No SOUP for you!"

55. Generous offer: ON ME. As in picking up the tab

57. Young'__: UNS. The future of crossword puzzles depends on these folks

58. Long or short measure: TON.

Well this concludes another recap from the Chairman. I won't be visiting the board today (other than briefly seeing that it published) as I will be at my mom's memorial service. Today would have been her 96th birthday. My sister and I felt that holding the service on her birthday was a no-brainer. In her list of wishes to us (for the service) she wanted an ice cream social afterward as opposed to a sit-down lunch. Flavors will be Moose Tracks (her favorite!) in addition to good old Chocolate and Vanilla

She was really quite a lady and lived a good, long life. It'll be hard to speak of her in the third person but I'll find something appropriate (and amusing) to say. Do me a favor and call your mom today (if she's still alive) if just to say "hi"

Friday, September 27, 2024 - Zachary David Levy

 Theme:  Everything you need to know ... y'know??

Will be found in today's blog!!

Puzzling thoughts:

First off, thanks NaomiZ for pinch-hitting for me while I was off galivanting

Second, I feel like I am off my game, so to speak, as far as puzzle solving goes.  FTR, I was out of the country galivanting; specifically, in Italy.  No laptop.  Too many other neat things to do than solve a crossword puzzle each day.  Now that I am back in the US and back solving puzzles, this one took at least 15+ minutes to complete.  And I didn't get all of the letters correct on the first go 'round

Third, I got to blog another Zachary David Levy puzzle!  Zachary might be the leader in Patti Varol's clubhouse for having the most entries @ LA Times in 2024.  Today marks his 9th puzzle this year; four of which have appeared on Friday.  Maybe he will become the new Jeffrey Wechsler ...

Zachary must've thought, y'know, that this one would be easily understood.  As was the case with the last ZDL puzzle I blogged, today's "reveal" was in each of the entry's clues.   But as I've come to know ZDL's creativity, there was an added element of surprise.  As you look back at each of the entry clues, they end with the rhetorical question: y'know?  And for those "in the know", the phrase y'know can mean that "yes, I understand".  But if you look back at the first part of each entry's clue, that object matches the answer, too  

Still confused?  Let's look at each and see if we can get our heads around this puzzle:

17-across Bloodhound, y'know?: THAT TRACKS. Click on this link for explaining the phrase "that tracks" =>  Y'know, a bloodhound is a thing that tracks, too (yeah, I know that the dog below is a Pointer, but all of the Bloodhound cartoons sucked!)

26-across Sandbox, y'know?: I CAN DIG IT.  One of my memories from the 1960's was the use of the phrase "I can dig it!"  Hippies used it as well as The Friends of Distinction in their classic 1969 hit song, "Grazin' in the Grass"

As far as sand goes, I prefer going to the beach (or the shore if I am in New Jersey) to dig (in) it 

37-across Tuning fork, y'know?: SOUNDS RIGHT.  Have you figured out yet what Zachary was doing today??  "Sounds right to me, Moe, don'tcha know" (as my friends in Minnesota and Wisconsin would say)

50-across Calculator, y'know?: IT FIGURES.  Does anyone recall the first calculator they had?  It figures; I couldn't afford one and had to use my math skills instead.  Good thing that ZDL didn't have these IT Figures in mind: 

60-across Neuron, y'know?: MAKES SENSE.  Neurons contribute to how we feel and react.  By clicking on the link, you'll get the full description [from wikipedia].  This might've been the most comprehensive clue of the five, but it makes sense, doesn't it??

Here is the grid, and then on to the rest of the clues/answers.  Maybe I'll throw in a haiku or two today, just for fun  

Across:

1. Golden Arches order: BIG MAC.  About the only thing I order from McDonalds are their Breakfast Burrito and coffee.  I might order a McRib sandwich if I know it's back on the menu

7. Mark: SAP.  First of 24 three-letter words (my buddy Irish Miss undoubtedly counted them, too)

10. Runs out of juice: DIES.  I had to take a short break after doing the intro as I was running out of juice, too

14. Widespread turmoil: UNREST.  Alas, what we are seeing on both sides of the election trail this year

15. Grande nickname: ARI.  Whatever happened to Onassis as the surname for this nickname?? 

16. Palm berry: ACAI.  Crossword composers love this word!  It is so versatile when filling a grid

19. Ceremonial practice: RITE.  Moe-ku #1:

For rookies, isn't
Baptism under fire
The RITE thing to do?

20. GPS fig.: LAT. LAT = Latitude

21. Burning up, maybe: ILL. As in running a fever ... and to throw in a dad joke, why is it that we say your nose runs and your feet smell??

22. Revises: AMENDS. Moe-ku #2:

Martin Luther's change
To theology, got an
"Amen" to AMENDS

24. "On the Waterfront" director Kazan: ELIA.

29. Accept as a tenant: RENT TO. This clue and answer had me baffled. I am familiar with the term RENT-TO-OWN, e.g.  The wording of the clue doesn't resonate for me ... and I spent a decent amount of this century being a "renter"

32. "Arrival" vehicles, for short: UFOS. The quotation marks around the word arrival gave this one away

33. "Let You Love Me" singer Rita: ORA.  I know not of Rita ORA or the song.  So, let's have a listen:

34. Home of the only royal residence in the United States: HAWAII.  This came to mind: King Kamehameha 

36. Skips class: CUTS. Pretty sure that I first did this in my senior year of high school, and a few times more when I was in college.  An anecdotal memory of one time I cut class in college was in the fall of 1971.  The Pittsburgh Pirates had won the NL title and were going to play in the World Series.  Tickets went on sale at the Hotel Webster Hall (in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh - on Pitt's campus).  I was standing in line to buy tickets and noticed that my 11:00am Economics class professor was in line, too; well behind where I was standing.  As the time neared 11, neither of us had gotten to the ticket window.  I called out to my prof and said, "Hey, if you like, I will buy tickets for you so long as you don't mark me absent from class!"  He handed me two 20's and said, "deal" - true story

40. Knowing expressions?: AHAS.  Not a facial expression but a verbal one

42. Frankfurter: WIENIE.  Hands up for having HOT DOG first? Then I changed it to WIENER and WIENEE before realizing the correct spelling

43. Silent agreement: NOD.

44. Pizzazz: ELAN.

46. Dance party flasher: STROBE.  You mean, not this guy??!! 

Oh, Moe ... really??

53. Not decent: EVIL.  So, I guess that even though BARE and NUDE fit, these weren't the answers ZDL was seeking ...

54. Zigzagging ski race: SLALOM.  Easiest clue/answer, IMO

55. Plum or tangerine: HUE.  Have I ever told you that my crayon box had only 8 colors??  Not many three-letter words that would describe this clue (as a fruit)

58. Belief system: ISM.  Second easiest clue

59. Food truck fare: TACO.  Third easiest clue

64. Spot for a pizza stone: OVEN.  Duh?  Where else would you place a pizza stone?

65. Good Grips brand: OXO.  I must admit that I much prefer the brand name use for this clue/answer than to use "Non-winning combo in Tic-Tac-Toe", e.g.

66. __ counseling: CAREER.  I know that was a big thing back in the previous century.  Are career counselors still a thing??

67. Artemis org.: NASA.  Read all about it

68. Strikes (out): XES.  I'm not a big fan of the use of the word xes in puzzles

69. Plus-ones: GUESTS.  Anybody care to guess when was the first use of the term "plus-one"? See answer at the end of the recap

Down:

1. Oft-scrutinized employee in whodunits: BUTLER. One of my favorite clues today

2. Take a deep breath: INHALE.

3. Upper crust: GRATIN.  Frawnche??  [from an on-line dictionary definition] "a dish with a light browned crust of breadcrumbs or melted cheese"

4. Converged: MET.  Also the nickname of a NYC baseball player

5. Wine region northwest of Genoa: ASTI.  This was not one of the areas of Italy we visited.  Asti is not just the name associated with Spumante (which is the Italian word for describing a sparkling wine).  It is a vast area that is home to many different grape varietals, including two of my favorites: Nebbiolo and Arneis

6. Key in a reboot sequence: CTRL.  CTRL-ALT-DEL (aka, the "three-finger salute").  Pressing these three keys in that sequence will trigger a pop-up window that allows you to reboot your computer

7. Egg holder: SAC.  Hands up for having HEN before the perps said otherwise

8. Flood insurance of old: ARK.  Another favorite clue

9. Noted name in Italian sculpture: PISANO.  We saw a lot of this guy's work on our Italy trip

10. Question before taking a risk: DARE I? Part of the game "Truth or Dare?" perhaps?  Or for us older folks, the image below is one that I resemble!

11. Giving the cold shoulder: ICING OUT.  I had to look this up to see if it were green paint or not.  It is a factual idiom 

12. Have some humble pie: EAT DIRT.  But preferably not after icing them out

13. Day breaks?: SIESTAS.  POWER NAP wouldn't fit

18. __ Baba: ALI.  In addition to her dislike of three-letter-word entries, Irish Miss does not care for fill-in-the-blank clues

23. Some ER pros: MDS.  Hand up for RNS.  Once again, this is the problem with so many TLWs.  You end up (as a constructor) with a lot of abbrs. 

25. Musketeer of fiction: ATHOS.  PORTHOS and ARAMIS did not fit

27. Fusion, but not fission: CUISINE.  Cute clue

28. Burning up: AFIRE.  Almost a clecho of 21-across

30. Letter between sigma and upsilon: TAU.

31. Totally dominate: OWN.

35. Marketing battle: AD WAR.

36. Dear, in Dijon: CHERE.  Frawnche #2 - used to describe a beloved woman or girl.  Similar to the word chérie - which of course allows me to insert another song video:

37. Some emojis: SAD FACES.  😒😓😔😞😣😢

38. Connections: INS.  

39. "Shoo!": GIT.

40. Green player on "Friends": ANISTON.  Aniston played the character Rachel Green on the sitcom, "Friends"

41. Volcanic flow: HOT LAVA. This is the "hot lava" that I prefer:

44. Obstacle to teamwork: EGO.  But doesn't every team need a leader?  One who might have a bigger ego than the others?  Just saying ... 

45. Big oaf: LUMMOX.  Not an oft-used word in crossword puzzles but it fit

47. Sheep: OVINES.

48. "Under the Volcano" star Jacqueline: BISSET.  Bisset was born Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset on 13 September 1944 - so she just turned 80.  In the movie "Under the Volcano" Bisset was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.  Here is a picture of her from that movie:

49. Brand that many stick with?: ELMERS.  Nice play-on-words with this glue-clue

51. Massey with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: ILONA. [from encyclopedia dot com] "

Massey, Ilona (1910–1974) - Hungarian-born American actress

52. __ shed: SHE.  Moe-ku #3:

Female Basset Hound
Has a backyard place to molt
That's called her SHE shed

56. Anti-piracy gp.: USCG.  United States Coast Guard

57. Son of Rebecca and Isaac: ESAU.  One of the Biblical twins

61. Log splitter: AXE.  TLW #22

62. Sends to the mat, briefly: KO'S.  KnockS Out - meh

63. Before, before: ERE. TLW #24

And there you have it.  All you needed to know - y'know - about today's puzzle was in this recap!  My overall grade for this puzzle is: ⭐⭐⭐ (out of 5).  Might have scored higher if there weren't so darned many TLWs & abbreviations

See you next month

Plus-one timeline