Tuesday, May 31, 2022 Ed Beckert

A Rose By Another Name.  Well, it might not smell so sweet, so let me be a bit more diplomatic.

16-Across.  *   Shabby and dated: RETRO CHIC.  Would you rather be told you look Shabby and Dated, or Retro Chic?

23-Across.  *   Tunes for fogies: CLASSIC ROCK.  Would you rather be told you are an old fogy because of the music you listen to, or be told you are into Classic Rock?

56-Across. *   Blubber: LOVE HANDLES.  Would you rather be told you have a lot of Blubber, or that you have adorable Love Handles?

64-Across. *   Hopelessly out of touch: OLD SCHOOL.  Would you rather be told you are Hopelessly Out of Touch, or that you are Old School?

And the unifier:

37-Across. Make sweeter, in the way the theme answers do to their starred clues?: SUGAR COAT.

What else do we have that is sweet this week?

Across:

1. Antlered deer: STAG.

5. Take in the sights: TOUR.  I will be doing some touring over the next month.

9. Transfer to a new city, informally: RELO.

13. Run out of steam: TIRE.

14. "__ Wolf and Cub": manga series: LONE.  I am not familiar with this series.

15. Wi-Fi device: MODEM.

18. Winery process that takes years: AGING.  Aren't we all?

19. French farewell: ADIEU.  Obviously, this is today's French lesson.

20. Matching cups, saucers, etc.: TEA SETS.

22. The Big Apple, for short: NYC.  Why New York City is called The Big Apple.

27. Toothpaste option: GEL.

28. Possesses: HAS.

29. Spanish Mrs.: SRA.  Obviously, today's Spanish lesson.  Hi, Lucina!

30. Issa of "Insecure": RAE.  Issa Rae (née Jo-Issa Rae Diop;b. Jan. 12, 1985) has become a frequent guest in our puzzles.

31. Genesis garden: EDEN.

33. Word between surnames: NÉE.  More of today's French lesson.  Née is the female past participle of the French word naître, which means "to be born."

35. Rough-sounding: RASPY.

41. Wristwatch part: STRAP.

44. Actor Lowe: ROB.  In the 1980s, Rob Lowe (né Robert Helper Lowe; b. Mar. 17, 1964) was a member of the Brat Pack.  He has also appeared in a number of television shows, including West Wing, which is now almost 20 years in the past.

45. MLB team in the ESPN documentary "Once Upon a Time in Queens": METS.

49. Bowl over: AWE.

50. Opposite of NNW: SSE.

53. Note from one who's shy?: IOU.  Cute clue and answer.

55. Museum collection: ART.  I will be visiting this art collection in just a few weeks.

59. Sturgeon product: ROE.  Yummers!

60. Hot, dust-laden Saharan wind: SIROCCO.  Everything you wanted to know about Sirocco, but didn't know to ask.

61. Island south of Sicily: MALTA.

63. Want very much: COVET.  The Wicked Bible of 1631 seemingly permitted such activities.

67. Apple desktops: iMACS.  We have a Mac Mini.

68. Honest-to-goodness: REAL.

69. Border on: ABUT.

70. Gael, for one: CELT.

71. Whirlpool: EDDY.

72. "This Is Us" role for Susan Kelechi Watson: BETH.  This Is Us was a television drama that just ended its run.  I never watched the show, but it got rave reviews.  Apparently Susan Kelechi Watson (b. Nov. 11, 1981) was one of the main characters.

Down:

1. Odd: STRANGE.

2. Like many hand-colored T-shirts: TIE-DYED.

3. Magazine story: ARTICLE.

4. "Sommersby" actor Richard: GERE.  Sommersby was a 1993 film that starred Richard Gere and Jody Foster.

Richard Tiffany Gere (b. Aug. 31, 1949)

5. Pampering, for short: TLC.  As in Tender Loving Care.

6. "Look, fireworks!": OOH!

7. Condo divisions: UNITS.

8. Classroom break: RECESS.

9. Tennis great Federer: ROGER.  Roger Federer (b. Aug. 8, 1981) was ranked Number 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals for 310 weeks.

10. Cosmopolitan group?: EDITORS.

11. Camera accessory: LENS CAP.

12. Short "Good grief!": OMG.

15. Eyelash application: MASCARA.

17. "That hurts!": OUCH.

21. "Bel-__": 2022 drama series based on a 1990s sitcom: AIR.

24. "Auld __ Syne": LANG.

25. Sailing: ASEA.  A crossword staple.

26. Lock opener: KEY.

32. Govt. intel group: NSA.  As in the National Security Agency.  I can neither confirm nor deny that I work for this agency.

34. Play a proper noun in Scrabble, say: ERR.

36. Drive-thru device: ATM.  As in an Automatic Teller Machine.

38. Ultimate results: UP-SHOTS.

39. Spiral: COIL.

40. Clarinet kin: OBOE.

41. 1950s actor Mineo or 1950s pitcher Maglie: SAL.

Sal Mineo (né Salvatore Mineo, Jr.; Jan. 10, 1939 ~ Feb. 12, 1976)

Sal Maglie (né Salvatore Anthony Maglie; Apr. 26, 1917 ~ Dec. 28, 1992)

42. Pair: TWOSOME.

43. Second or third staging on Broadway, say: REVIVAL.

46. Oft-pierced body part: EAR LOBE.

47. Present proudly: TROT OUT.

48. Furtiveness: STEALTH.

51. Cul-de-__: SAC.  More of today's French lesson.  It literally means "bottom of a sack."

52. Concertgoer's "More!": ENCORE.

54. "Semper Fi" military org.: USMC.  As in the United States Marine Corps.  Several of our regulars are were in the Marines.

57. Raise: ERECT.

58. Meted (out): DOLED.

62. "Moby-Dick" captain: AHAB.

63. POTUS, militarily speaking: CIC.  As in the Commander-In-Chief.

65. Pop: DAD.

66. Underhanded: SLY.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

I won't Sugar Coat this.  This will be my last commentary for a while.  Hubby and I are taking a month-long trip to Europe.  I know you will be in good hands while I am gone.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Have a wonderful trip, Hahtoolah, we look forward to your return!

2) Our Thursday sherpas MM & Bill have agreed to cover for Hahtoolah in June. Thank you so much, guys!

Wednesday, December 8, 2021, Ed Beckert

Theme: DRESS TO THE NINES   

17. Execs who only look the part: EMPTY SUITS.

25. Ostentatiously nice sort: GOODY TWO SHOES.

41. Pompous types: STUFFED SHIRTS.

55. Pretentiously elegant one: FANCY PANTS.

Hey Cornerites, Melissa here. This appears to again be a debut for Mr. Beckert, it's nice to see that so regularly. 

I never realized there were so many phrases for pretentious people and clothing, nice job, Ed.

Across:

1. Midday tide-me-over: SNACK.

6. Landlocked African land: CHAD. 

10. Acrimony: BILE. Ew.

14. Common wrist measurement: PULSE. Ohhhh, of course.

15. Tatting fabric: LACE.

16. Geometry calculation: AREA. Height times width.

19. Pics for docs: MRIS. Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

20. Stephen Colbert's network: CBS.

21. Jury makeup: PEERS. Theoretically.

22. Beyond heavy: OBESE.

23. Burden: TAX. That's the truth.

24. Screwdriver, e.g.: TOOL.

31. MLB game-ending accomplishments: SAVES.

32. Tomatoes used to make paste: ROMAS.

33. Guest beyond a velvet rope: VIP.

35. Pac-12 squad: UTES. Utah Utes - college football. Utah beat Oregon 38-10 last Friday to win its first-ever Pac-12 championship.

36. Shrink in fear: COWER.

37. Spreadsheet input: DATA.

38. Debussy's sea: MER. This is a full 24 minutes, and beautiful.

39. Expert: MAVEN.

40. More delicate: FINER. Bit of a nod to today's theme.

44. High-flying mil. group: USAF.

45. __ museum: ART.

46. Land divisions: ACRES.

48. Hard stuff: BOOZE. Tricky.

51. Pollution watchdog org.: EPA.

54. Designated money: FUND.

57. Help in a bad way: ABET.

58. Puckish: ARCH. Who got this right away? Puckish = playful, especially in a mischievous way. Arch =

mid 17th century: from arch-, by association with the sense ‘rogue’ in combinations such as arch-scoundrel .

59. Type of coffee or whiskey: IRISH.

60. Start from scratch: REDO.

61. Simple tops: TEES. As in T-shirts.

62. Tot's tea party guest: TEDDY. Teddy bear. I've had a few tea parties with dolls and bears. Speaking of tots, my granddaughter recently explained why her little sister was crying: "I didn't see it, but nothing happened!"

Down:

1. Project detail: SPEC.

2. Without feeling: NUMB.

3. European range: ALPS. The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately 1,200 km across eight Alpine countries: France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia.

4. Wisconsin winter hrs.: CST. Central Standard Time.

5. Security system components: KEYPADS.

6. Game with rooms: CLUE. Colonel Mustard, in the library, with a candlestick!

7. Rapunzel's "ladder": HAIR. Ouch.

8. Play divisions: ACTS. Neil Simon has written two separate memoirs: Rewrites (1996), and The Play Goes On (1999),  plus a combined version with both and some new material, Neil Simon's Memoirs. He writes about his brother and him learning to write three act plays in Rewrites.

9. __ Moines: DES. Des Moines takes its name from Fort Des Moines (1843–46), which was named for the Des Moines River. This was adopted from the name given by French colonists. Des Moines translates literally to either "from the monks" or "of the monks."
10. Panda's diet: BAMBOO. I thought it was eucalyptus but then realized that is Koalas.

11. Of no consequence: IRRELEVANT.

12. Parts of Hawaiian greetings: LEIS.

13. Get (into) carefully: EASE.

18. Attention-getting, in a way: SEXY.

22. Reactions to fireworks: OOHS. Ahhhhh.

23. Little piggies: TOES.

24. Winter Palace monarch: TSAR. The Winter Palace was an official residence of the Russian sovereign from 1732 until 1917; however, it was their home for little more than 140 of those years. The last Tsar to truly reside in the palace was Alexander II, who ruled from 1855 to 1881, when he was assassinated.

25. Starting spots for some races: GATES.

26. Reversed on appeal: OVERTURNED. Very rare.

27. Treasure __: TROVE.

28. Blew away: WOWED.

29. Dark clouds, maybe: OMENS.

30. Internet destinations: SITES.

31. What a capital sigma symbolizes, in math: SUM. Sigma is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as an operator for summation.

34. Course standard: PAR. By definition, “Par” is the number of strokes needed to complete a hole in a golf course. Each hole in a course is given its own par rating.

36. Informal London eatery: CAFF. The Nine Best Traditional Caffs in London.

37. Gossip: DIRT.

39. Degs. for choreographers: MFAS. Master of Fine Arts Degree.

40. Campsite staple: FIRE PIT. Smores!

42. Familiar with: USED TO. Used is an interesting word. Used to. We all know what it means, but why does it mean what it means?

43. Unclear: HAZY.

46. Off in the distance: AFAR.

47. Rubik creation: CUBE.

48. Reveal: BARE. Verb not noun.

49. Almost never: ONCE. I guess.

50. Protest singer Phil: OCHS.

 

51. Children's author Blyton: ENID.

52. Returning GI's diagnosis: PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

53. Pallid: ASHY.

55. Considerable, as a bonus: FAT.

56. "Where __ you now?": ARE.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Congrats on your debut, Ed!

2) Happy birthday to dear Jazzbumpa (Ron)! Ron has been faithfully guiding us on Wednesdays since Jan 2011. Our blog shows total 210 posts written by him. Thanks for all the humor and entertainment all these years, Ron! (Thanks for the correction, TTP!)