Thursday, December 26, 2024, Kevin Christian & Doug Peterson

Just Some Singers
in a Rock and Roll Band

Veterans Kevin Christian and Doug Peterson team up today with a simple theme consisting of 5 two word question clues, each beginning with a play on the last name of a pop singer.  They fill each clue with a two word in the language phrase beginning with the singer's first name.  I couldn't find any pattern in the second word of the fill and there was no reveal.  Here are the themers ...

17. Iggy's therapist?: POP PSYCHOLOGIST.  You can see why Iggy Pop might need a psychologist -- he was A Real Wild Child ...

23. Taylor's comeback?: SWIFT RECOVERY.  Taylor came back from her recent ERAs Tour and apparently finding the last leg to be rather torturous she was in need of some RECOVERY  ... 

39. Donna's time off?: SUMMER VACATIONS.  Known as the "Queen of Disco", Donna Summer's life was tragically cut short by lung cancer, even though she was not a smoker.  After getting thru this song you can see why she might need a VACATION ...

51. Fiona's rapidly changing backup band?: APPLE TURNOVER.  Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter.   Classically trained on piano as a child, she began composing her own songs when she was eight years old. Her debut album, Tidal, containing songs written when she was in her teens, was released in 1996 and received a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the single Criminal.  Here she tells us The Way Things Are ...

61. Al's state-of-the-art recording equipment?: GREEN TECHNOLOGY.  Al Greene (born April 13, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer.  Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and is referred to on the museum's site as being "one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music" and is considered by some to be "The Last of the Great Soul Singers".  Here's his Take Me to the River ... 

Lyrics

Here's the grid ...

Despite the simplicity of the theme, I did find some clever cluing and IMO I didn't find any pop culture references that couldn't be resolved with perps.

Here's the rest ...

Across:

1. Rock blaster?: AMP.  TNT fit, but didn't perp.

4. Plus: BONUS.

9. Celery unit: STALK.

14. Fragrant garland: LEI. A perfect accessory for sitting on a 16A.

15. Are: EXIST.

16. Sunporch: LANAI.  A lanai or lānai is a type of roofed, open-sided veranda, patio, or porch originating in Hawaii. Many homes, apartment buildings, hotels and restaurants in Hawaii are built with one or more lānais.  

Albert Spencer Wilcox Beach House
Hanalei, Hawaii

17. [Theme clue]

20. __ equity: SWEAT.  Sweat equity refers to work one does to build up value without a salary. This ownership interest, or increase in value, is created as a direct result of hard work by the owner. For example, homeowners who renovate or repair their house themselves are investing in sweat equity that increases the value of their home.

21. Tide competitor: ERA.  Here are the best and worst laundry detergents for your money.  Spoiler alert: the best, most economical detergent is neither Tide nor Era.  And you can save even more money on laundry detergent by rolling your own.

22. Came across: MET.

23. [Theme clue]

28. Far away: NOT NEAR.

30. "Cobra __": Netflix series about a dojo: KAI.  Cobra Kai is an American martial arts comedy drama television series created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg. It serves as a sequel to the original The Karate Kid films created by Robert Mark Kamen.  Here's a preview of Season 6 ...

31. Primatologist's subject: APE.  Probably the most famous primatologist Dame Jane Goodall, who for 60 years has been studying chimpanzees, a species of great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. 

Eastern chimpanzee
Kibale National Park, Uganda

32. Chocolate-and-caramel candy: ROLO.  Approximately 24.2 million pounds of ROLO® Candy are sold annually. 

35. Square quartet: SIDES.  Squares have four sides.

39. [Theme clue]

43. Evaluate: ASSAY. Usually specifying a quantitative evaluation, e.g. measuring the percentage of gold in an ore.

44. Even once: EVER.  If it has EVER happened, then it has happened at least ONCE.

45. 2016 Super Bowl MVP Miller: VON.  Vonnie B'VSean Miller (born March 26, 1989) is an American professional football linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL).  At the conclusion of the 2015 NFL season, Miller was named Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl 50.  In 2021, Miller was traded to the Los Angeles Rams and was a member of the team that won Super Bowl LVI. 

Von Miller

46. Apr. 15 addressee: IRS.  

48. Word on some Oscars: ACTRESS.  The Oscar for Best Actress award has been presented 97 times, to 79 actresses.  The recipient of the most awards is Katherine Hepburn, with 4.

Katherine Hepburn

51. [Theme clue]

56. Wedding notice word: NEE.  Today's French lesson: Feminine adjective --"Née = Born".

57. Honest prez: ABE.  Did Lincoln really deserve the nickname, Honest Abe?

Abraham Lincoln

58. Attacks with vigor: HAS AT.

61. [Theme clue]

66. "Mercy!": LORDY.

67. Judges' attire: ROBES.  Here are nine ...

The Supreme Court of the United States

68. Prune: LOP.

69. Happen next: ENSUE.  70A ENSUES ...

70. Elitist sort: SNOOT.  See 71A.

71. __ trip: EGO. See 70A.

Down:

 1. Jungfrau's range: ALPS.  Today's German lesson: "Jungfrau (YOONG-frow) = maiden, virgin".  The Jungfrau ALP, at 4,158 meters (13,642 ft) is one of the main summits of the Swiss Alps and definitely not a climb for children.  It is located in the Bernese portion of the range.

Jungfrau Alp

2. 13-Down greeting: MEOW.

3. Mouthpieces for some smokers: PIPE STEMS.  This is not a pipe ...

4. Ride-or-die pal: BESTIE.  Or abbreviated BFF.

5. Stridex shelfmate: OXY.  Both products are used in the treatment of ACNE, a mild form of crosswordese.  The jury seems out as to which product is best, but as OXY is imported from South Africa it costs more ...

6. Actor Cage, informally: NIC.  Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two BAFTA Awards.  The first movie we ever saw him in was Moonstruck, co-starring with Cher.  

7. Playbill carrier: USHER.

8. Put away: STORE.

9. __-mo: SLO.

10. See 12-Down: TAG.

11. "Demon Slayer" genre: ANIME.  Thank you perps.  Demon Slayer: Blade of Demon Destruction is a Japanese anime television series based on the manga (comic book) series of the same name by Koyoharu Gotouge. It follows teenage Tanjiro Kamado, who strives to become a Demon Slayer after his family was slaughtered and his younger sister, Nezuko, is turned into a demon. 

12. With 10-Down, game with light weapons?: LASER.  Laser tag is a recreational shooting sport where participants use infrared-emitting light guns to tag designated targets. Infrared-sensitive signaling devices are commonly worn by each player to register hits.  In late 1970s and early 1980s, the United States Army deployed a system using lasers for combat training.  But laser tag didn't begin to take off until 1984 when George Carter III, inspired by the Star Wars movies, invented the first affordable system. So how do laser tag systems actually work ...?
 

13. Cat, affectionately: KITTY.

18. Front-row chess piece: PAWN.  This term also refers to a person who does not have any real power, but is used by others to achieve something, e.g. "The refugees were pawns in an international political dispute".

19. Deficiency: LACK.

24. Jamie of "M*A*S*H": FARR.  Jamie Farr (born Jameel Joseph Farah; July 1, 1934) is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Corporal Klinger, a soldier who tried getting discharged from the army by cross-dressing.  You have to wonder who kept him supplied with duds -- "Hot Lips" Hoolihan maybe?

Jamie Farr and Loretta Swit

 25. Cache: TROVE.  E.g. a TREASURE TROVE, the subject of Robert Lewis Stevenson's Treasure Island.  There have been several adaptations of this novel including our favorite, this 1990 film with Charlton Heston as the obsessive pirate Long John Silver ...

26. Hops drier: OAST.  An oast, oast house or hop kiln is a building designed for kilning (drying) hops as part of the brewing process. Oast houses can be found in most hop-growing (and former hop-growing) areas, e.g. Kent and Sussex, England. Many redundant oasts have been converted into tourist inns.  

Oasts
Maidstone, Kent, England

27. Two before X: VIII. Today's math lesson (in base BCE):  "X (formerly known as Twitter) - II = VIII". 😀

28. Org. that oversees the Artemis moon program: NASA.  The Artemis moon program is named for the eponymous Greek goddess, the twin sister of Apollo, who was of course the namesake of the Apollo moon program.  Here is the Artemis Program logo, which tells the story in a nutshell ...

29. Major work: OPUS. The plural of OPUS is OPERA, which has come to mean a musical drama or comedy telling a story via a series of works such as an overture, arias, and interludes.  Ludwig van Beethoven, whose birthday we celebrated just 10 days ago, wrote only one opera, entitled Fidelio.  He wrote a total of 4 overtures to it, finally settling on this one ... 

33. Loo: LAV.  A Brit place to sit. 😀

34. Surname of heist masterminds played by Sinatra, Clooney, and Bullock: OCEAN.  Frank Sinatra played Danny Ocean in the 1960 film Ocean's 11.  In Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen Danny was played by George Clooney.  In Ocean's Eight women stole the franchise and Sandra Bullock played Debbie Ocean.  Got that?  Hand up if you've seen any of these flicks and put both yer hands up if I got any of that wrong!

36. Flatfish named for an English port: DOVER SOLE.  The town of Dover, England, directly across English Channel from Calais, France is famous for it's White Cliffs -- my Mother used to sing us this song about them.  As Dover was also a major fishing port in the late 19th century and a delicate white fish  called "King of Sole" was common in the town markets, the name was eventually changed to Dover Sole, a flat fish with a white underside.  Here's a simple recipe with capers, parsley, and butter.

37. Mireille of "Hanna": ENOS.  Hanna is a sci-fi TV series about a young girl played by Esme Creed-Miles raised in the wilds of Finland by her father, an ex-CIA man, to make her the perfect assassin. She has been receiving injections of DNA since birth as a part of a program called ULTRAX to make her a super-soldier.  Mireille Enos plays Marissa Wiegler, the CIA operative put in charge of the original UTRAX program, but who turns from a foe to an ally and mother figure to Hanna.  Here's a trailer ...

38. Hyphenated IDs: SSNS.

40. Lancelot's strong suit?: MAIL.  Well it must have been chain mail because it certainly wasn't Lancelot's fidelity to King Arthur. 

41. Literary governess: EYRE. Jane Eyre  is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë, published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847. It is a coming of age story that follows the experiences of its eponymous heroine, including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr. Rochester, the brooding master of Thornfield Hall. The novel revolutionized prose fiction, being the first to focus on the moral and spiritual development of its protagonist through an intimate first-person narrative, where actions and events are colored by a psychological intensity.  

First Edition, vol 1.

42. With the bow, in music: ARCO.  "arco" a the literal score notation and it indicates when to return to bowing the violin after an interlude of "pizz", that is pizzicato -- plucking the strings with the fingers.  If you listen carefully and look closely at this score of Edvard Grieg's -Anitra's Dance from his Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, you'll hear and see the alternation between pizz and arco ...

47. ESPN datum: STAT.

49. Ryan Seacrest, for one: TV HOST.  Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest co-hosted and served as executive producer of Live with Kelly and Ryan, and has hosted other media including American Idol, American Top 40, and On Air with Ryan Seacrest. He became co-host of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in 2005, and became the sole host following Clark's death in 2012.

Ryan Seacrest

50. Concrete: REAL.

51. A matter of degrees?: ANGLE.  An ACUTE clue ... 😀

52. "Evita" name: PERON.  The quoting of "Evita" probably indicates that this is a reference to the musical based on the life of Eva Perón, an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 1946 until her death in July 1952, as the wife of Argentine President Juan Perón.

Eva and Juan Perón

53. Scholarly article reviewers: PEERS.  Peer review is a quality control system for academic publications.  It is especially important for scientific publications, which can have widespread societal impact on medicine, health, and public policy.  In recent decades this process has come under severe stress due to the high stakes economic importance of some scientific disciplines, and the "publish or perish" phenomenon.  These are the probable causes of what concerned scientists call the reproducibility crisis -- the retraction of articles after publication due to the failure of other scientists' to get the same results using the same methodology.  This problem has become so serious that in 2010 two longtime health journalists, Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus, founded Retraction Watch, “a site dedicated to reporting on scientific retractions and related issues” to bring to light how many scientific papers are withdrawn yearly and why.

54. Gets taken for a ride, in a way: UBERS.

55. Intel gathered by scouts: RECON.  One of the first RECON missions is recorded in the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible.  In the painting below the scouts are shown returning from Canaan with grapes (sans the rumored milk and honey) and with bad news about the fortified cities and the race of giants they found there ...

The Grapes of Canaan
by James Tissot. 

59. Awestruck: AGOG.  Awesome - two vowels and two gerund endings!

60. Autocorrect target: TYPO.  I'd prefer DWIM ("Do What I Mean") to "autocorrect".

62. College domain: EDU.

63. Dec. 31: NYE.

64. "The White Lotus" network: HBO. The White Lotus is an American black comedy drama anthology television series created by Mike White for HBO.  "It follows the guests and employees of the fictional White Lotus resort chain, whose interactions are affected by their various psychosocial dysfunctions".  While I've not seen it, I suspect that like all satires it's on the edge of becoming what it parodies.  Here's the season 1 trailer (language) ... 

65. Opposite of paleo-: NEO.

Cheers, 

Bill

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

waseeley

Tuesday October 29, 2024 Doug Peterson

GOAAAAAL!  Last week, I had the Football QuarterBacks.  This week I hit the soccer GOAL!  The word GOAL can be found STRETCHED in the circles in each of the theme answers.

17-Across. Person announcing numbers in a hall: BINGO CALLER.  GOAL.

26. Grammy Award won twice by CeCe Winans: BEST GOSPEL ALBUM.  CeC Winans (née Priscilla Marie Winans; b. Oct. 8, 1964) has earned 15 Grammys.   GOAL  [Name # 1.]

45-Across. Notre-Dame de Paris, notably: GOTHIC CATHEDRAL.  Since the massive fire at the cathedral in April 2019, the church has been closed.  It is anticipated that the cathedral will reopen in early December 2024.  What features make a cathedral gothic?  According to Britannica, "the term Gothic was coined by classicizing Italian writers of the Renaissance, who attributed the invention (and what to them was the nonclassical ugliness) of medieval architecture to the barbarian Gothic tribes that had destroyed the Roman Empire and its classical culture in the 5th century CE."  GOAL

And the Unifier:

59-Across. Crowdfunding target, and what can be found in three of this puzzle's answers: STRETCH GOAL.  I had not heard this term, but have been the "recipient" of such a concept.  A Stretch Goal is "a form of motivation that relies on challenging your team to push harder and reach for the proverbial stars." 

Across:

1. Useful quality: ASSET.

6. "All __ Up": Elvis hit: SHOOK.

11. LED TV brand: RCA.  The initials stand for Radio Corporation of America.

14. "¡Hasta __!": LUEGO.  Today's Spanish lesson.  See you later, alligator.

15. Satirical 2022 biopic about Al Yankovic: WEIRD.  [Name # 2.]  Quinta Brunson (b. Dec. 1989), who was featured in last Tuesday's puzzle, appears in the Weird Al biopic.  Alfred Matthew Yankovic (b. Oct. 23, 1959) began his career when he was on the Dr. Demento Radio Show in 1976.

16. Pole worker: ELF.

Also known as Aerial Aerobics.

19. "Houdini" singer Lipa: DUA.  Dua Lipa is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Earlier this year, Time magazine included Dua Lipa (b. Aug. 22, 1995) in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.  [Name # 3.]

20. Justice Dept. worker: ATT.  As in an Attorney.

21. Rock groups: BANDS.

22. Many an early email user: AOLER.  An AOLer is a person who subscribes to America On Line.

24. Dot on a domino: PIP.

25. Childish comeback: AM SO.

34. Canyon sound: ECHO.

35. __ protector: SURGE.

36. Workplace protection agcy.: OSHA.  As in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

37. Opponent: FOE.

38. Scuff up: MAR.

39. Yogurt container: TUB.

40. Wallet bills: ONES.

42. Military trainee: CADET.

44. __ moments ago: MERE.

48. Floor protectors: MATS.

49. Bendy letter: ESS.  Or, as we would write the letter, it is an "S."

50. Watercooler gurgles: GLUGS.

52. Poet T.S.: ELIOT.  T.S. Eliot (né Thomas Sterns Eliot; Sept. 26, 1888 ~ Jan. 4, 1965) is considered to be one of the 20th century's greatest poets.  [Name # 4.]

55. No. 1 pal: BFF.  As in Best Friend Forever.

58. Apple's mobile platform: iOS.  As in iPhone Operating System.

62. Luau gift: LEI.

63. Ram, in the zodiac: ARIES.

64. Privileged group: ELITE.  We are an Elite group of crossword solvers.

65. "Not Dead Yet" TV network: ABC.  Not Dead Yet is a sit-com about a woman who gets a job writing obituaries.

66. Undersized: DINKY.

67. Upscale watch brand: ROLEX.  Did you know that a genie just "whispered" the name "Rolex" into the ear of the company's founder one day, hence the name of the company.  

This diamond encrusted watch will set you back a few bucks.

Down:

1. Actress and entrepreneur Jessica: ALBA.  Jessica Marie Alba (b. Apr. 28, 1981) has been acting since the age of 13 when she appeared in the 1994 film Camp Nowhere.  [Name # 5.]

2. Court filing: SUIT.

3. Shipped off: SENT.

4. Pancake batter ingredient: EGG.

5. Oversized: TOO BIG.  David Byrne (b. May 14, 1952), of Talking Heads, was known for wearing a BIG suit.

6. White lake bird: SWAN.  Does the King of England all the swans in England?

7. Grasped: HELD.

8. Paints on palettes: OILS.

9. Extracted resource: ORE.  A crossword staple.

10. Subtitled TV show from Seoul, e.g.: K-DRAMA.  Korean Dramas, or K-Drama, refers to Korean-language television shows made in South Korea.  Complete unknown to me.

11. Chain known for Cheddar Bay Biscuits: RED LOBSTER.  Apparently the company just hired a new CFO.

12. Whodunit game: CLUE.  It's also a musical.

13. Hardly close: AFAR.

18. Guitar clamps: CAPOS.  Everything you wanted to know about a guitar Capo but didn't know to ask.

23. Scandinavian capital: OSLO.  The capital of Norway.

24. Compensated break from work: Abbr.: PTO.  As in Paid Time Off.

25. Tavern beverage: ALE.

26. Enshroud in mist: BEFOG.

27. Thrifty, in brand names: ECONO.

28. Pianist's reference pages: SHEET MUSIC.

29. Poison __: SUMAC.  Everything you need to know about Poison Sumac before you venture out into the wild.

30. Designer bag name: PRADA.  Prada is an Italian  high-end fashion house that specialized in leather handbags, shoes, and prêt-à-porter.  The company was founded in 1913 by Mario Prada (d. 1958).  [Name # 6.]

31. White marsh bird: EGRET.  Egrets are such beautiful and elegant birds.

32. Communications officer on the Enterprise: UHURA.  A Star Trek reference.  [Name # 7, Fictional.]

33. Selena's "Only Murders in the Building" role: MABEL.  Only Murders in the Building is a sit-com where three strangers share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. It stars Steve Martin (né Stephen Glenn Martin; b. August 14, 1945), Marty Short (né Martin Hayter Short, Mar. 26, 1950) and Selena Gomez (née Selena Marie Gomez; b. July 22, 1992).   [Name # 8. ]

41. Thick carpet: SHAG.  Shag Carpets were a big thing in the 1970s.  Are they making a comeback?

42. Loops in via email: CCs.  Originally CC stood for Carbon Copy from the days when a piece of carbon paper was placed between two sheets of paper in the typewriter so the sender could retain a copy.  The term survives even though it is a far cry from the original meaning.

43. 2000s teen series set in Newport Beach: THE OC.

44. Surgeons' degs.: MDs.  As in Medical Doctor.

46. "How tragic": IT'S SAD.

47. Old Testament queen: ESTHER.  In Hebrew, she is known as Hadassah.  Esther is the Persian version of the name.  In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Esther tells the story of a young Jewish woman living in the Persian diaspora.  She find with the king and becomes queen.  She then risks her life to save the Jewish people from destruction when the court official Haman persuades the king to authorize a pogrom against all the Jews of the empire.  The Book of Esther, which is read during the Jewish Holiday of Purim, is the only Biblical book that does not mention the name of G'd.  [Name # 9.]

50. Arizona county or river: GILA.

51. "Feel What U Feel" Grammy winner Lisa: LOEB.  I am not familiar with Lisa Anne Loeb (b. Mar. 11. 1968).  [Name # 10.]

52. Olympic speedskater Jackson: ERIN.  Erin Jackson (b. Sept. 19, 1992) was the first Black American to win a Winter Olympic gold medal in an individual sport.  She won the gold medal in the Women's 500m speed skating event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. [Name # 11.]

53. Onion kin: LEEK.  Everything you wanted to know about leeks and onions.

54. Teeny: ITSY.

55. Bubble, as water: BOIL.

56. Destiny: FATE.

57. Show off, in slang: FLEX.

60. Bi- plus one: TRI-.

61. Day-__ colors: GLO.  DayGlo might also glow in the dark.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Today is National Cat Day!  It's my lucky day!

Fang, my neighbor's cat that adopted me.