Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee, here, with today's recap of a puzzle constructed by Garrett Herzfeld. As his name does not appear in the list of previously-used labels, this may be his L A Times debut. Today's puzzle does not have a "reveal" but it does contain four themed answers and the theme could be dubbed, simply, COUPLES. Or, perhaps even more simply, AND. At four places in the grid, the answers are commonly used expressions that consist of two things each of which directly relate to the topic of the clue. In keeping with the theme, these four clues all contain only a couple of words . . . one of which is, of course, couple. Here are the themed clues and answers:
17 Across: Married couple?: TO HAVE AND TO HOLD. The traditional (Western Christian norms) marriage ceremony contains the phrase "to have and to hold". A couple of marriage-related things.
26 Across: Perfect couple?: PRIM AND PROPER. Both PRIM and PROPER could refer to a condition of perfection (seemingly, a wee bit of a stretch, clue-wise). A couple of perfection-related things.
42 Across: Celebrity couple?: RICH AND FAMOUS. Celebrities are often both rich and famous. A couple of celebrity-related things.
56 Across: Power couple?: BIGGER AND BETTER. Again, just a bit of a stretch, clue-wise. A couple of power-related things? Let us know if you come up with a BETTER way to clue this.
Here is how all of this appears in the grid:
. . . and here are the rest of the entries:
Across:
1. "Calvin and Hobbes," for one: COMIC. Bill Watterson's classic. My kids grew up with the characters . . . and I grew along with them. Watterson famously walked away from drawing the comic strip rather than head down the licensing path. Neither a Hobbes plush toy nor a McDonald's happy meal tie-in was going to happen.
Calvin is the one on the left
6. Cave __: ART. Punting on second down (no pun intended 'cause it's across)? Lots of other ways to clue ART. See, for example, 38 Down.
9. Church bell sound: CHIME.
Manfred Mann Sings About Bells Chiming
14. Catherine of "Schitt's Creek": O'HARA.
15. Ultrasound goo: GEL. Often clued with something relating to hair care.
16. Enter one's credentials: LOG ON. Ah, the old "log in" vs "log on" hesitation.
20. Navigate black diamond slopes: SKI. Black (diamond), Blue (square) or Green (circle)? Advanced, Intermediate or Beginner?
21. Telephone no. addition: EXT. EXTension
22. Destinations in some getaway plans?: RESORTS. A nice bit of word play.
23. Craters of the Moon locale: IDAHO. Not our planet's satellite.
25. "Big whoop": MEH. Slang and slang.
31. Basic bagel order: PLAIN. Not onion, sesamee, poppy seed or everything.
33. Uber __: EATS.
34. Many a Monopoly sq.: AVE. AVEnue
35. Forever, seemingly: EONS. What do you call a smell that lasts for a very long time? EON musk.
36. Sonic explosions: BOOMS.
38. Kitchen job: PREP. PREParation.
39. "Pressure" singer Lennox: ARI. ANNIE Lennox was not going to fit.
40. Artificial grass: TURF. Astro TURF was first installed in 1964 at Fieldhouse at the Moses Brown School in Providence Rhode Island. The subsequent (1966) installation at the Houston Astrodome gave it fame, and its name.
41. City north of Memphis: CAIRO. Cairo, IL is north of Memphis, TN. Cairo, Egypt is north of Memphis, Egypt. Take your pick.
46. Large deer: ELK. What do you call a well-known ELK? Famoose.
47. Olfactory sense: SMELL. Tautological.
48. Holds carefully: CRADLES.
52. Not feeling well: ILL. It makes me sick when people forget to add an apostrophe. If it happens again, I'll be ILL.
53. Mobile download: APP. Mobile phone.
59. Uses Liquid Nails, say: GLUES. Useful stuff. Great for re-setting bricks if you don't want to chip out and reinstall mortar.
60. Rapper Lil __ X: NAS. Yet another visit from this guy.
61. Pond honker: GOOSE.
What's In The Bag, GOOSE?
62. Brute: BEAST.
63. Procure: GET.
64. Ready for a refill: EMPTY.
Down:
1. Camp beds: COTS.
2. "Aw, what the heck": OH OK. I suppose.
3. Fish tacos fish, on menus: MAHI.
4. Sportswriter Berkow: IRA. He shared in a Pulitzer Prize in 2001.
5. Collapsed: CAVED IN.
6. Kathryn's "WandaVision" role: AGATHA. I have never seen the show. Thanks, perps.
7. Kylo of the "Star Wars" sequels: REN. It helped that the clue referenced the source.
8. Letters before a summary: TLDR. Too Long, Didn't Read. SMH.
9. Bullpen aces: CLOSERS. A baseball reference. The best relief pitchers.
10. Santa's laugh: HO HO HO. Oh, ok.
11. Archetypal lab assistant: IGOR.
That's Eye-gore
12. Shed feathers: MOLT.
13. Burnt __: ENDS. The trimmings from a smoked brisket.
18. Checkup: EXAM.
19. Dangles a carrot in front of: TEMPTS. The old Carrot and the Stick dichotomy.
23. Fashion icon Apfel: IRIS.
24. Singular events: ONE-OFFS.
26. "Pray for the Wicked" band __! at the Disco: PANIC.
27. Reservoir creator: DAM. BEAVER would not fit.
28. Musée d'Orsay city: PARIS. An art museum housed in a former railroad station, the Gare D'Orsay. I preferred the Jeu de Paume mais c'est la vie.
29. At any point in time: EVER.
30. Credit report blot: REPO. It is tough to get around if the bank has REPOssessed your car.
31. Bottom-heavy fruit: PEAR. Or, person . . .
32. Chicago mayor Lightfoot: LORI.
36. "All in the Family" surname: BUNKER.
Archie and Edith Bunker
37. Chicago airport code: ORD. code for Chicago O'Hare International Airport. The airport used to be called Orchard Field. Ah, that explains it.
38. Simon & Garfunkel half: PAUL. Not Art. Did you know that PAUL wrote this song?
Not The Cyrkle
40. Like Denali, among North American peaks: TALLEST. 20,310 feet
41. Morehouse, e.g.: COLLEGE. I first thought that it said Moorehead, as in Agnes.
43. Shrubbery: HEDGES.
44. In the thick of: AMIDST.
45. Former Spice Girl who was a judge on "America's Got Talent": MEL B.
48. Longtime NYC punk rock club: CBGB. The letters stood for Country, BlueGrass and Blues. . . but it became the birthplace of Punk.
49. Stir up: RILE.
50. Desierto's lack: AGUA. La lección de español de hoy. A desert lacks water.
51. Belted out a tune: SANG.
53. Situated on: ATOP.
54. Vexation: PEST. Interesting cluing.
55. 2022 prequel film in the "Predator" franchise: PREY. Hollywood does like to recycle ideas. They call the bodies of work franchises.
57. Scottish no: NAE.
58. Spider-Man player Holland: TOM.
Well, that's it for today. . . and for a while. 57 Down is a fitting send off as I will be in Scotland next month (with brief visits to both Spain and Portugal, also). I will be able to read the blog but I will nae be available to write up the puzzles. Slainte!
Garrett, you are invited to post anything that you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever in the comments section below. We would love to hear from you.
