Theme: I've been framed!
1. Split apart: SUNDER. In the words of desper-otto, "have I ever told you how not having the correct entry in 1-across ...?" Well, hand up for trying "TEAR UP" as my first choice. The NW corner was my last section to fill as a couple of Naticks appeared and I had to look up one of the answers. From a grammar standpoint, the more familiar asunder is either an adjective or adverb; sunder is a transitive verb
7. Spit take sound: PFFT. If some of you (my hand is up) had trouble understanding the clue, here is a definition of "spit take": "(especially as a comic technique) an act of suddenly spitting out liquid one is drinking in response to something funny or surprising" - meh
11. PC accessories: MICE. Moe-ku #1:
Logitech rejects
Are sold in triple packets
And called "Three Blind MICE"
15. Disquietude: UNEASE. It's clues and fill like this that makes me ask the Thesaurussaurus if he's ok with it:
Moe, uneasiness and UNEASE are pretty similar |
16. Atmosphere: AURA. I threw this at the pigeons to see what they had to say:
17. Stench: ODOR. I'm actually happy to see this clued as "stench". Too often, lately, odor has been clued as aroma. An odor stinks. Period
18. Some notes: SHARPS. Neither MEMOS nor FLATS would fit ... this clue refers to musical notes, not Post-it notes
21. Do some character-building?: WRITE. Either Erik or Patti was really into the play-on-words cluing today. And that's just fine with me. In this case, the "character" would refer to a person within a novel perhaps
23. Is stunned: REELS. Did anyone try TASED, at first?
30. Stores up: AMASSES. Moe-ku #2 (with apology to my RC friends):
Whenever the Pope
Presides at the Eucharist
They're called "A" MASSES
31. Kung __ chicken: PAO. If this were an Incredibles character, it would be Kung POW Chicken ... OK, maybe that's a stretch!
32. Screen type: LCD. Since when is the Lowest Common Denominator called a type of screen?
35. Some WNBA fouls: TECHS. Meh; I call "foul" on this one. I've been a fan of basketball for 6+ decades and have NEVER heard a technical foul called a tech
36. Coffee Meets Bagel alternative: HINGE. Solved by perps. Turns out they are both dating apps. Had I known that I probably would've tried inserting ZOOSK first, as I actually once had an account with them
38. "I knew it!": AHA. Yes, I did. I didn't fall for OHO
39. __ mode: ALA. I think a good Friday puzzle should have fewer than 7 clues that are "gimmies"
43. Leslie's love on "Parks and Rec": BEN. Solved by perps. I never watched "Parks and Rec"
44. Vietnamese New Year: TET. This would be an example of a "gimmie" clue/answer
45. Robs of hobnobbing: SHUNS. I never hobnobbed very well
46. Had the guts: DARED. Moe-'lick #1:
At the nudist beach, someone was scared
To allow their whole bod to be bared.
So they felt like a newb
Only baring their boob;
But that's truly the most that they DARED
48. Polished off: ATE. My "reward" as a kid was to get dessert if I polished off my plate of dinner
49. Tabletop game with campaigns, for short: D N D. I spread out the letters in the solve to reveal that this is an abbreviation for Dungeons and Dragons
50. Overpraise: ADULATE. I'm not going to give plaudits to Erik or Patti for this clue/solve😉
55. Post-workout afflictions: ACHES. Nothing that 3 Advil won't cure, for me
58. "Allahu __": AKBAR. Aka, Takbir
63. Silenced: ON MUTE.
67. Part: ROLE. My role every other Friday is to regale you with my recaps at the Corner
68. Cut covered with a Bluey bandage, e.g.: OWIE. This clue must've taken some time to research
69. Tool for cutting spearing holes: ICE SAW. Here is a link to someone to call if you need it for the next time you go ICE fishing
70. Nocturnal hunters: OWLS. BATS fit too, if you consider seeking out insects to eat as "hunting"
71. Spidey's traps: WEBS.
72. Calm: SEDATE. My demeanor (as I write my blog) whenever a puzzle fits my "wheelhouse". I am quite sedate today; thanks Erik!
Down:
1. Questionable, for short: SUS. Oops - I now recall that I wasn't too sedate when I had the crossing of sunder and sus. I can only guess that sus is an abbr. for suspect or maybe suspicious
2. Granite State sch.: UNH. University of New Hampshire
3. Largest U.S. union: NEA. All you need to know about this union for educators
4. Poet Mahmoud who wrote the Palestinian Declaration of Independence: DARWISH. No clue on this. There are crossword puzzle solving moments when I feel totally ignorant. This was one of them
5. Hot shots?: ESPRESSOS. Another play-on-word clue. Espresso is normally served hot, and as a "shot". Want to know more (from a barista's point of view)? Click here
6. Dwell: RESIDE. It's where you live
7. Post production: PAPER. Recent examples of the clue, "post production"
8. Husky's hair: FUR. We have a few huskies in our neighborhood
I can't imagine how they take the 110+ degree summer temps with all of that fur |
9. To opposite: FRO. As in the expression, "to and fro"???
10. Letters before Q?: TAB. Look at your keyboard on your laptop or desktop ... just to the left (before) the letter Q is the tab key. The letters t a b are before the letter Q. This certainly wasn't a "gimmie"
11. Shed occupant: MOWER. Many homeowners keep their lawn mower in an outdoor shed
12. Inactive: IDLE. What I tried to be for a few days after clearing out mom's apartment
13. "I May Destroy You" star Michaela: COEL. No clue on this. There are crossword puzzle solving moments when I feel totally ignorant. This was another one of them
14. Goofs: ERRS. I had a few of them today. When you get to the image of the completed grid my errors will show as a black triangle in the corner of the letter's square
20. Gold, in Spanish: ORO. "Gimmie"
22. Poetic contraction: TIS. Moe-ku #3:
Tis tis tis tis tis
Tis tis tis tis tis tis tis
Tis tis tis it's TIS
24. Half a "Lion King" phrase: MATATA. It was either Hakuna or Matata
25. Denver dish: OMELET. I don't think that an omelet is found only in the capital of Colorado. In this case, it refers to the recipe for a Denver (style) OMELET26. Leave empty: VACATE. I left a few pieces of furniture and a couple of small appliances behind, so I didn't completely vacate my mom's apartment ... the retirement village said that they would repurpose all of it within their facility
27. Big-budget flicks: EPICS. Here are a few of the more recent "EPICS"
28. "My turn next?": CAN I. Whatever happened to our manners?? Shouldn't this be may I
29. Praetor's wrap: TOGA.
They're all wearing togae [sic] |
32. Rodent in a study: LAB RAT. "Gimmie"
33. Orange puff: CHEETO. My error here (see grid pic) was to use the word CHEESE/Cheeto
34. Common allergen: DANDER. Moe-ku #4:
North Pole reindeer's name
Changes when pollen's present:
Donder's now DANDER
36. Member of the third-largest religious group: HINDU. I had HINDI/HINDU; I somehow thought that a member's name was the same as the language ...
37. Marathon need: ENDURANCE. GAS PUMPS did not fit
41. Advanced degs.: PhDS. Gimmie
42. Use a fork, say: TUNE. Not sure what I was thinking when I used the word TINE/tune. Maybe I thought that you could tine a piece of food (referring to one of the spears on a fork). I never said I was the sharpest knife in the drawer
47. Taken aback: ALARMED. The clue brought back a memory of one of my earliest Moe-'licks. I had one of my fellow "limerick and haiku" email members put this into a cartoon image:
50. "Cathy" cry: ACK. I had EEK/ACK. Then, as the perps appeared, I realized that the cartoon character "Cathy" said:
51. W.E.B. who wrote "The Souls of Black Folk": Du BOIS. This gentleman
52. Group chat fodder: MEMES. This?
53. Employ: USE. "Gimmie"
54. Has as a salary: MAKES. Did anyone try EARNS first?
55. Prefix with pessimist or Panamanian: AFRO. Friday clue for sure
56. Bird that can make tools: CROW. As in a crowbar, perhaps?? Can I crow about this discovery??!
57. College building: HALL. As an undergrad @ the University of Pittsburgh, we had many named HALLs
60. "Impressive!": WOW. What y'all must've been saying over-and-over again as you read the blog today!😀
61. "You __ me!": OWE. Not any more; all my debts and debtors have been paid
62. Tease: RIB. Kind of a "gimmie"
64. Powerhouse of women's soccer: USA. Seemed like a "gimmie". Here is a bit of info about their prowess
65. Bit of ink: TAT. This clue and answer are quickly becoming crossword-ese
66. One who might have a ram beau: EWE. And we end with another play-on-word clue that employs a homophone. Are you fond of this Rambeau??
On a personal note, my "biography" here (what's contained behind the blue "Chairman Moe") says that I started posting July 2014. One decade down; another one begun
Here is the grid. Hope you all are having a great 4th of July Holiday weekend!
I've been framed! |