Another 16 x 15 grid for a Wednesday puzzle - but - no circles, then again eight or ten names, depending on how you count, 22 each of TLWs and four-letter words, eight "quoted" clues, and a whopping ELEVEN abbreviations;
49. *Lost control of one's emotions: FLEW OFF THE HANDLE
64. Expression that covers a broad category, or what is found at the end of the answer to each starred clue?: UMBRELLA TERM - Today's $2 word for this phrase is "hypernymy"
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Coastal country with approximately a quarter of Africa's gorillas: GABON - I recall "Survivor" had a season there
6. "Huh, really?": "THAT SO~?"
12. Panda car driver: COP - I did not know this is a British term, despite having parents born & raised in England, but it makes sense; black & white . . . . the Wiki
15. The "A" of the ABC islands: ARUBA - the others being Bonaire and Curaçao
16. Become less intense: EASE UP
17. Singer DiFranco: ANI - name #1
20. Slump: SAG
21. Skedaddles: SCOOTS
22. Fish out of water: MISFITS - semi-meh. FishES would have helped
24. Data unit: BYTE
26. "A little assistance here!": "HELP~!"
28. Monogram pt.: INITials - abbr#1
34. Irene who matched wits with Holmes: ADLER - #2; I did not know this character
35. Eateries that might have 1950s decor: DINERS
Hello~? McFly~?
36. Actress Gadot: GAL - #3; I am getting used to seeing her in crosswords now
37. Apple platform: iOS
40. Foot part: TOE
41. Arthur of "The Golden Girls": BEA - #4, crossword staple
5. Brussels-based gp.: NATO - Wed-level crossword clue - abbr#3
6. Wobble: TEETER - good WAG on my part
7. Pestered: HASSLED - but ANNOYED was not
8. Volcanic residue: ASH
9. United group: TEAM
10. Certain Muslim: SUFI
11. Makes a selection: OPTS - meh. chooses is better
12. Vegas venue: CASINO - I have ZERO desire to go to Las Vegas, other than to see the architecture
13. How some bet: ON A TIP - Dah~! Not ONLINE
14. Spot that isn't spotless: PIG STY
19. Hostess brand: HoHo - meh. I don't like this clue; isn't it a "product", not a brand~?
23. Snorkeler's footwear: FINS - how goes the swimming, C.C.~?
24. Boast: BRAG
25. When repeated, "Blah, blah, blah" kin: YADA - the "Elaine-ism" from Seinfeld
27. Trident-shaped letter: PSI
30. __ pie: dish with corn chips: FRITO - does make sense; we called it "Dip" in Cincinnati
31. Explosive letters: TNT - two blogs in a row for me; abbr#5
32. Corp. suit: CEO - ah; 'suit' meaning the 'person' in the position; the term for this is "metonymy" - and abbr#6
33. Colombian street snack: AREPA
A recipe here - a taco made with a thick corn flatbread
38. "Sounds painful!": "OOF~!"
39. UV-filtering measurement: SPF - Sun Protection Factor - for UV "B" rays, and abbr#7
41. Nightmare: BAD DREAM
42. Fanning of "Super 8": ELLE - #5, More from her IMDb page
43. Prayer ending: AMEN
44. Branded totes and pens, e.g.: SWAG - I am quietly wondering if I will ever get invited to the Pipe Organ convention, and see what swag they are offering. . . .
Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here with an eye opening puzzle from Christina Iverson.
Theme:I See What You Mean
Let's see if we can shed some light on this one.
TBH, thinking about eyeball anatomy and diseases makes me feel squeamish so I am narrowing this down to just one diagram that has all we need for today: ROD, IRIS, CONE, and PUPIL.
These are the themers:
17 Across. Curtain holder in a bathroom: SHOWER ROD
I like these curved ones. They give me just a bit more space.
25 Across. Purple flower with a fuzzy patch: BEARDED IRIS.
These lovely IRISes belong to my former neighbor and current friend.
51 Across. Orange marker in a construction zone: TRAFFIC CONE.
64 Across. Student at the top of the honor roll: STAR PUPIL.
Then the reveal:
39. "We're almost there!," and what can be said about 17-, 25-, 51-, and 64-Across?: THE END IS IN SIGHT.
The ends of all the themed clues (ROD, IRIS, CONE, and PUPIL) are parts of a human eye and are essential to sight.
This theme seems an excellent fit for viewing today's total solar eclipse. I think that was Patti's plan. What do you think?
PSA from The Corner: Prioritize your eye safety. Do not look directly at the sun during an eclipse. Turn around!
Bonnie Tyler (1983) Total Eclipse of the Heart (Turn around)
<You knew I had to work this in.>
Across:
1. Have an ugly cry: BAWL. a baseball reference 😜
5. Fly through the air: SOAR.
9. Barked: ARFED.
14. Eight, in Spanish: OCHO. ¡Canta conmigo! (Sing with me!) 15. Give a darn: CARE.
16. "__!" ... "Polo!": MARCO. It's a hide-and-seek game played in a swimming pool that holds a distinction in that everyone who ever played it also cheated at least once.
19. Situation with a player at first, say: ONE ON. another baseball reference.
A runner at first sets up the opportunity for my favorite thing about baseball -- the double play. 20. Peaceful: SERENE. Def.: (adj.) marked by or suggestive of utter calm and unruffled repose or quietude.
That's you ... in the canoe.
21. Commercial lead-in to "bnb": AIR. This clue feels like a lot of work for something as ubiquitous as AIR. "Commercial" here refers to business as opposed to a TV advertisement.
Airbnb is an online marketplace that connects people who want to rent out their property with people who are looking for accommodations, typically for short stays.
23. Gaelic speaker: CELT.
24. French fashion initials: YSL.
28. Country singer Loretta: LYNN. (Apr. 14, 1932 - Oct. 4, 1922) Her website says that she is the most awarded lady in Country music.
29. Scotch's partner: SODA. A Scotch & Soda is an alcoholic beverage ... and the first line of this song by the Kingston Trio. 30. Naked: BARE. Here's a clip from a TV show called Naked and Afraid from The Discovery Channel. You can think of it as Survivor on crack. It is now on its 17 season. 33. Stomp on the gas: GUN IT. Let's move on from this one as quickly as possible.
36. Govt. intel org.: NSA. National Security Agency
43. Unnaturally pale: WAN.
44. Construct: ERECT.
45. Film spool: REEL.
46. Root vegetable in Nigerian cuisine: TARO. TARO, aka cocoyam (pronounced "KOH-KOH-YAM"), is a crop cultivated in many regions including Africa and the West Indies / Caribbean. The crop is a staple food in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Ghana. It can be prepared a variety of ways.
48. Lawn tool: RAKE.
55. Work on a quilt: SEW.
58. Wild canine: WOLF.
59. "Dance the Night" singer __ Lipa: DUA.
60. Like some albums: DELUXE. A "deluxe edition" usually means it contains extra content, compared to the standard edition. This is the album cover for 59A's DELUXE edition.
(tiny writing at the bottom says "deluxe edition")
62. Show host: EMCEE. I learned the other day on WWDTM that a British English term for an MC (Master of Ceremonies) is compere.
66. Jump back, say: REACT. This is how it's done:
67. Sheet of paper: PAGE.
68. Hatchling's home: NEST. A pair of intrepid birds have built a nest in my hose holder. Needless to say, I will not be using that hose for a while. I know this is not a great picture but I did not want to upset them. The mom is in there. They were well-protected during our recent storms, my dog will keep cats away, plus I have a lot of miner's lettuce going to seed in my front yard for them to forage. They chose well, don't you think?
69. Cities with harbors: PORTS.
70. Post-blizzard blanket: SNOW. Cute clue!
71. __ and crafts: ARTS.
Down: 1. Like an overbearing older sibling: BOSSY. Lucy immediately came to mind.
2. Is sore: ACHES.
3. Pattern of spirals on a fingerprint: WHORL. You don't hear this one everyday.
A fingerprint analyst is a professional scientist who obtains, studies, and analyzes fingerprints as well as palm prints and footprints as part of a crime scene investigation.
4. Actor Rob of "Parks and Recreation": LOWE. He played Chris Traeger, an intensely cheerful and enthusiastic character. 5. Bug keeper-outer on a window: SCREEN.
perhaps an underappreciated moment of brilliance
6. Rowboat rower: OAR.
7. Noisy, as a crowd: AROAR.
8. Fixed up again: REDID. past tense of "redo"
9. "Yo te __": AMO. Spanish
10. Putrid: RANCID.
11. Allowed to roam, as chickens: FREE RANGE.
You can feed your RANCID fruit to your FREE RANGE chickens.
12. Gut bacteria: E. COLI.
13. Heading on a list of actions to avoid: DON'TS.
18. Phonetic term often associated with they/them pronouns: ENBY. It is "phonetic" because it sounds like N-B, as in non-binary.
22. Sticky tree secretion: RESIN. I learned on this U.S. Forest Service website that RESIN in hops gives beer its unique aroma and bitter taste.
26. "The Hate U Give" writer Thomas: ANGIE. goodreads link
27. Connect the __: DOTS. The 2018 Guinness World Record is 52,901 dots!
28. Big name in jeans: LEE. Their marketing campaign uses a 'regular guy' approach. 30. Short "While I'm thinking of it ... ": BTW. By The Way....
31. Exclamation of understanding: AHA.
32. Vehicle picked up at an airport, maybe: RENTAL CAR. Good clue! It reminds me of what happened to the rental cars in Hawaii during Covid. Most tourists visiting Hawaii get a rental car. Tourists stopped flying to Hawaii during Covid. Suddenly there was no room to park all the rental cars that would normally be checked out to visitors. The solution was to park them at Aloha Stadium. They filled the parking lot!
34. Golden State sch.: USC. University of Southern California
California has "University of ___" schools and "CSU, ___" schools (e.g., CA State University, San Diego). Both are 4-year degree schools. UC schools operate as residential campuses focusing on research and graduate education. CSU schools, in contrast, tend to enroll more commuter students. The UC system is generally considered more prestigious -- and more expensive.
35. The "N" of TNT: NITRO.
37. "__ Persisted": children's book by Chelsea Clinton: SHE. goodreads link
38. Ga. capital: ATL. Atlanta is the capital of Georgia.
40. Maker of squishy darts: NERF.
super squishy
41. Humanlike robot: DROID.
For the record, I want our future AI overlords to know that I supported them
by posting this very favorable 1:20 min. video.
42. Anger: IRE.
47. Move emotionally: AFFECT.
49. Composer Lloyd Webber: ANDREW. (b. Mar. 22, 1948) I learned from reading his bio on his website that he has EGOT status. This is Patti LuPone singing With One Look from his musical, Sunset Boulevard. 50. Save: KEEP.
51. Little troublemaker: TWERP.
52. Juliet's partner: ROMEO.
53. Zodiac transition points: CUSPS. These are the days bordering the sun's transition to a new sign. For example, those born between April 17-23 are in the Aires-Taurus CUSP. They are said to be influenced by both the Aires and Taurus zodiac signs.
54. Board game that dropped "The Settlers of" from its name: CATAN. I have blogged this fill before but I still could not remember it. Oof! Perhaps another visual image will help lock it into my cerebral cortex. If not, my neurons will play CAT ANd mouse looking for this name.
55. "Terrific!": SUPER.
56. Are: EXIST.
57. Swollen marks: WELTS.
61. Name that means "moon": LUNA. If you are around anyone named LUNA while watching the eclipse today, you can say, "Down in front!"
Christina Iverson was Patti's assistant when the latter took
over editing duties from Rich Norris. Here's Husker's
bio for Jeff Chen and Christina's Saturday themeless on
May 21, 2022. This will be her 20th solo or collaborative appearance on the
Corner.
Before we start the review here is a related public
service announcement [TL;DW] on
Toxic Cookware
[Too long; Don't Watch]
Christina's theme today concerns some not quite so toxic types of
COOKWARE as in the above PSA, but they barely registered on the
YELP* scale ...
27A. "Half a star! The ceramic is flaking off the cast iron!":
DUTCH OVEN. Or how about this one? --
Lodge 6 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven with Lid
– oven safe up to 500° F or on stove top - use to marinate, cook, bake,
refrigerate and serve -- 4.8 stars from 30,583 reviewers ...
And as we might have expected, Christina finally reveals that each of
those themers were PANS for POTS ...
61A. Kitchen
array, or an apt title for this puzzle?:
POTS AND
PANS. (I think that Christina is a great crossword constructor, but I
wonder if she might need the help of a
personal shopper? 😉)
Here's the grid ...
Here's the rest ...
Across:
1. Rain's counterpart: SHINE.
6. Bottomless pit: ABYSS.
11. Scoundrels: CADS. The greatest CAD in opera was
Don Giovanni. Here's his servant Leporello, reading the
catalogue of all the women his boss has seduced ...
15. Quartet voice: TENOR. They say that
Enrico Caruso's voice was like gold and Swedish TENORJussi Björling's was like silver. Here is Björling as
Rudolfo singing Che gelida manina to Mimi, sung by
SOPRANOVictoria de los Angeles, in
the greatest recording of La Boheme ever made, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham (lyrics) ...
Three other famous voices in this recording are BARITONERobert Merrill as Marcello and BASSGiorgio Tozzi as Colline. There was no ALTO --
SOPRANOLucina Amara sang the coquettish
Musetta.
16. Quality: TRAIT.
17. Fly-fishing need: LURE. The fish taste better if you
tie your own flies.
Les Korcala tying flies
18. [Theme clue]
20. North __ Sea: Kazakh lake: ARAL. So it's been downsized to a
lake? Here are the latest satellite photos ...
Pretty soon, despite its high vowel content, it might disappear entirely from
crosswords.
21. Son of Hera: ARES. Not the kinda' guy you'd wanna' run into on
a cloudy night ...
Ares
22. Actress Ortiz: ANA.
ANA Ortiz
(born January 25, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Having pursued a
career in ballet and singing from a young age, she eventually attended
University of the Arts. Ortiz began her acting career in theatre, in
early 2000s. Ortiz garnered widespread attention for her role as Hilda
Suarez in the ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty from 2006 to 2010.
Ana Ortiz
23. Part of SCOTUS: SUPREME. We don't generally discuss politics
on the Corner, so how about this instead ...
25. Magnate: TYCOON.
27. [Theme clue]
29. Established: SET.
30. The Falcons, on scoreboards: ATL.
32. Munro pen name: SAKI.
Hector Hugh Munro
(Dec 18, 1870 - Nov 14, 1916) was a witty British author who published under
the pen name SAKI or H.H. Munro. The inspiration for the pen name
"Saki" is unknown, it may be based upon a character in a poem or on a South
American monkey. As a writer, Munro (Saki) was a master of the short
story form and is often compared to O. Henry and
Dorothy Parker.E.F. Benson shares his sardonic style.
H. H. Munro
33. Poem of homage: ODE.
34. Poolside piece: CHAISE. Comme ça ...
chaise longue
36. Kit letters: DIY.
37. [Theme clue].
41. Not cool: OUT.
42. Planet Fitness payment: GYM FEE.
43. Conclusion: END.
44. SoCal school: SDSU. San Diego State University,
home of the Aztecs
...
47. Tanqueray, for one: GIN.
48. Behave: ACT.
51. [Theme clue]
54. Words mouthed while holding an imaginary phone to one's ear:
CALL ME.
56. Like a colorful garden: IN BLOOM. Here's Teri at
Sherwood Gardens
on a beautiful Spring day in Baltimore ...
57. "Now I see!": AHA.
59. One-named "Locked Up" singer: AKON. AKAAliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam
(born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (/ˈeɪkɒn/). I guess
that's why he just goes by AKON. Akon is an American singer,
record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the
release of Locked Up (featuring Styles P), the first single from
his debut album Trouble (2004), followed by the second single
Lonely.
Akon
60. Spelling of "BH90210": TORI. Nice misdirection. For a
minute I thought it might be in
EBCDIC, but
that alphabet stops with F. It's actually a reality series about
the reunion of the cast members of the original 1990 teen drama
Beverly Hills 90210. Here's a trailer for the reboot ...
61. [Theme reveal].
64. School near Windsor: ETON. See last Thursday.
65. Useless: INEPT.
66. Bowen of "Modern Family": JULIE.
JULIE Bowen Luetkemeyer
is an American actress. She is best known for starring as
Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom Modern Family, for which she
received critical acclaim and six nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, winning in 2011 and
2012. Another Baltimore success story.
Julie Bowen
67. Office fixture: DESK.
68. Razz: TEASE.
69. Some dance elements: SPINS.
Down:
1. Day when everyone's a little Irish, familiarly: ST PATS.
Faith and begorrah -- this clue brought this air to mind ...
3. Walking stick, e.g.: INSECT. The Phasmatodea AKA "walking sticks" are an order of INSECTS, who through a long series of
accidental mutations have developed the perfect camouflage, making them
virtually indistinguishable from the tree limbs they inhabit ...
Walking Stick pretending to be a skinny little sloth
4. False: NOT SO.
5. Memorable span: ERA. Here's a very memorable span ...
6. Buckets: A TON.
7. Wide: BROAD.
8. Source of Tibetan butter: YAK.
Yak butter
is butter made from the milk of the
domestic yak
. Many herder communities in China, India, Mongolia, Nepal, Gilgit-Baltistan
Pakistan and Tibet produce and consume dairy products made from yak's milk,
including butter. Whole yak's milk has about twice the fat content of whole
cow's milk, producing a butter with a texture closer to cheese.
Domestic Yak
9. Afternoon rest: SIESTA. Today's Spanish lesson and a reminder
that it's time for my nap. I'll be back in an hour.
10. Occurred to: STRUCK.
11. Mild cigar: CLARO. CLARO is Spanish for "clear" or
"light" and refers to the color of the leaf used to wrap the cigar. For those
of you who are cigar aficionados, here are
the meanings for some common cigar terms.
Claro
A pale-green to light-brown wrapper, usually shade-grown.
12. French farewell: AU REVOIR. One of several actually --
today's
French lesson.
13. Genre portmanteau: DRAMEDY. DRAMA/COMEDIES are
the stock-in-trade of many British mysteries, e.g. Midsomer Murders,
The Queens of Mystery, The BrokenwoodMysteries, and
Agatha Raisin -- here's the trailer for episode 1 of Agatha's
The Quiche of Death ...
14. Greek moon goddess: SELENE. In ancient Greek mythology
and religion,
SELENE
(/sɪˈliːniː/; Greek: Σελήνη pronounced [selɛ̌ːnɛː], meaning "Moon" is the
goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene, she is
traditionally the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and
sister of the sun god Helios and the dawn goddess Eos. She
also fell in love ...
19. Soda opener: CAN TAB. AKAPOP TOP, the
BANE of Jimmy Buffett in Margaritaville -- for all the parrot heads and guitar geeks on the Corner ...
24. Chi preceder: PHI.
26. "The Gathering Place" island: OAHU. The nickname for the
largest Hawaiian island.
Here are some others.
Oahu Island
28. Date line?: USE BY.
31. Tiny, made tinier: LIL. E.g. a lot of tiny
RAP singers.
34. Barracks bed: COT.
35. Transition: SEGUE.
36. Kaitlin's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" role: DEE. Also
the 4th letter in the alphabet. The 16 season comedy series has been
described as "like Seinfeld on crack". You're welcome.
37. Disparaging term for some frat guys: DUDE BROS. Hand up if
you were a frat guy? Did any uncool dudes ever call you
DUDE BRO?
38. "Holy wow!": OMG.
39. Not exactly promising words: IF I CAN.
40. Actress Headey: LENA.
Lena Kathren Headey
(born 3 October 1973) is a British actress. She gained international
recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the
HBO epic fantasy drama series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), for which
she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award
nomination.
Lena Headey
41. Flat, in a way: ONE NOTE. Well it's certainly not going
anywhere ...
43. Improved, hopefully: EDITED. Teri EDITS these reviews, and
almost always improves them.
46. 2021 winner of "RuPaul's Drag Race": SYMONE. I guess she was
the fastest runner in the posse.
48. Acid neutralizer: ALKALI.
49. Informal invitation at the door: C'MON IN.
50. Stiffens: TENSES.
52. Toy piano sound: PLINK. Even grown up pianos can go
PLINK ...
53. Carpentry files: RASPS. BASTARDS was too
long.
55. Drink like a kitten: LAP UP.
58. "Stop the __": protest sign: HATE. Start the
LOVE instead!
62. Oolong or rooibos: TEA. Today's Chinese and Afrikaans
lessons. For the latter see last Friday.
63. Club VIPs: DJS.
A related topic ...
We do a
lot of cooking and have a small kitchen. We really don't have the
cupboard space for all of our cookware, but have found the DIY
POTS and PANS organizer shown below to be very useful. It hangs
over the kitchen sink and consists of a open box attached to the
ceiling, with a metal rack held in place by dowel inserts, and
metal hooks to hang the pots from. The dishwasher is to
right below the sink counter and as soon as the pots are dried they can be
quickly hung in their proper places ...
Pots and Pans Organizer
Cheers, Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof
reading and for her constructive criticism.
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