Tuesday, December 17, 2024 Susan Gelfand

The Main Squeeze.  The answer to each theme clue is something that can be squeezed.

18-Across. Iced tea garnish: LEMON WEDGE.

23-Across. Art class staple with a bovine logo: ELMER'S GLUE.  So why the bovine logo?  Well, Elmer's Glue first came onto the scene in the late 1940s by the Bordon Company, which was dairy company.  Well, when you consider that the first formula of the glue was casein, a protein in milk, it makes sense that the dairy company developed and sold glue.

52-Across. Handheld tension reliever: STRESS BALL.

58-Across. Bathtime floater: RUBBER DUCK.

37-Across. Coerce, or what can be done to 18-, 23-, 52-, and 58-Across: PUT THE SQUEEZE ON.  

There is a juice bar near me called The Big Squeezy, a pun on The Big Easy, one of the nicknames of New Orleans.  I have never been there, so can't attest to their cold-pressed (squeezed) juices.

Across:

1. Mount Etna outflow: LAVA.  This volcano on Sicily frequently erupts.

5. Some Dropbox files, informally: DOCs.  As in Documents.

9. After-dinner coffee choice: DECAF.

14. Atop: UPON.  Once UPON a time ...  //  And 66-Across. "... and they all lived happily __ after": EVER.

15. Whack, as a fly: SWAT.

16. Express a view: OPINE.

17. Jell-O shaper: MOLD.

20. Book jacket summary: BLURB.

22. Classical form of poetry: EPODE.

26. Clean air org.: EPA.  As in the Environmental Protection Agency.  The EPA is the AQI monitor (See 5-Down in last Friday's puzzle).  The EPA was formally created 54 years ago this month.

29. Fish eggs: ROE.

30. Soccer match chant: OLÉ.  A crossword staple.

31. Trudged: PLODDED.  You can PLOD through the Presidents and learn lots of interesting facts about American presidents in this podcast.

34. Vodka brand, for short: STOLI.  It's formal name is Stolichnaya.

36. Bump in the night, e.g.: NOISE.

42. Japanese cartoon genre: ANIME.

43. Flair: STYLE.

44. "That's a lie!": NOT TRUE!

47. Once named: NEÉ.  Today's French lesson.  The French née is the feminine past participle of naitre, "to be born."  Né is the masculine version of the word.

48. Place to luxuriate: SPA.

51. That, in Toledo: ESO.  Toledo, Spain, not Toledo, Ohio.  Don Quixote began his travels in Toledo.

Picasso's interpretation of Don Quixote.

55. Magazine edition: ISSUE.  Many magazines have both print and on-line versions of their issues.

57. Leafy starter: SALAD.  We had many tasty SALADs featured in a puzzle last week.

63. Cry from a forgetful performer: LINE.

64. Shake hands (on): AGREE.

65. Actor Morales: ESAI.  Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (b. Oct. 1, 1962) makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.

67. "__ for dinner?": WHAT'S.

68. Email button: SEND.

69. "Phooey!": RATS.

Down:

1. Wood planks: LUMBER.

2. Moon program of the 1960s and 1970s: APOLLO.

3. Remote control adjustment: VOLUME.

4. Braugher of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine": ANDRE.  Andre Braugher (né Andre Keith Braugher; July 1, 1962 ~ Dec. 11, 2023) also portrayed Detective Frank Pembleton on the Homicide: Life on the Street, which aired in the 1990.  That drama series was a far cry from his portrayal as Captain Raymond Holt in the  police comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine.  Sadly, Braugher died a year ago of lung cancer at age 61.

5. Broadband initials: DSL.  As in Digital Subscriber Line.

6. Run a tab: OWE.

7. Desert beast: CAMEL.

8. Clog: STOP UP.

9. Pulitzer-winning columnist Maureen: DOWD.  Maureen Dowd (née Maureen Brigid Dowd; b. Jan. 14, 1952) is an opinion columnist for the New York Times.

10. Fencing sword: ÉPÉE.  Another crossword staple.

11. Legendary Spanish knight El __: CID.  Everything you wanted to know about El Cid but never thought to ask.

12. Director Lee: ANG.  Ang Lee (b. Oct. 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker.  The 1994 film, Eat Drink Man Woman, was the first Ang Lee film I saw.

13. Broker's charge: FEE.

19. Christmas carol: NOEL.  'Tis the Season.

21. Epson competitor: BROTHER.  Both are companies that manufacture printers.

24. Plumlike fruit: SLOE.

25. Comes together well: GELS.

26. Actress Falco: EDIE.  Edie Falco (née Edith Falco; b. July 5, 1963) is probably best known for portraying Carmela Soprano on the Sopranos.

27. Colombian currency: PESO.  Did you know that there are 8 countries that use the Peso as their monetary unit?  *

28. Yemen coastal city: ADEN.  We visit this city often in the puzzles.

32. Almost as many: ONE LESS.

33. Catch some z's: DOZE.

34. Acct. summary: STMT.  As in Statement.  I am not sure I have ever seen this abbreviation before.

35. Brainpower nos.: IQs.  As in Intelligence Quotient.

The sign on the door says "Pull to Open."

37. Window section: PANE.

38. Deep-dish pizza chain, informally: UNO'S.  Yummers!  We ate at the original Uno's restaurant when we were in Chicago last summer.

39. Mambo legend Puente: TITO.  His full name was Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (Apr. 20, 1923 ~ June 1, 2000).  He was also known as “El Rey de los Timbales, ” or “The King of the Timbales."

40. Alternative magazine name: UTNE.  Its issues (55-Across) are now all online.

41. Peepers: EYES.

45. Letters on outdated maps: USSR.  In Russian, "USSR" is written as "СССР" which is an abbreviation for "Союз Советских Социалистических Республик" (Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik), meaning "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" in English.

46. Many Chopin piano pieces: ÉTUDES.  More of today's French lesson.

48. Mouth moistener: SALIVA.

49. Mars or Mercury: PLANET.  Alternatively,  a candy and a car.

50. Birch family trees: ALDERS.  Alders are trees and shrubs in the birch family and are native to the north temperate zone and some parts of Central America and the Andes. They are known for their distinctive woody fruiting bodies that look like small, brown pinecones.

53. Find a new purpose for: REUSE.

54. Hay bundle maker: BALER.

55. "Yeah, sure!": I BET.

56. Observes: SEES.

58. Uncooked: RAW.

59. "Yuck!": UGH.

60. Bali garment: BRA.  Nice misdirection.  Bali is a company that makes lingerie.

61. Soup holder: CAN.

62. Jest: KID.

Here's the Grid:

* The countries that use the Peso are: Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Philippines, and Uruguay.

חתולה

I will be taking a brief travel hiatus.  Happy Chanukkah and Merry Christmas.  This year the two holidays converge.  I wish you all a Happy New Year and will "see" you in 2025.

Tuesday, December 10, 2024 Zhouqin Burnikel

Punctuation Marks.  One word in each theme answer is another word for the punctuation mark that Stops sentence.  In the first theme answer, the POINT is at the beginning of the answer.  In the second theme answer, the DOT is found in the middle of the answer.  Finally, in the last theme answer, the PERIOD is at the end of the answer.

17-Across. Film scene from a character's perspective: POINT OF VIEW SHOT.

26-Across. Garment with patterned circles: POLKA DOT DRESS.

46-Across. Lasting mere moments: FOR A BRIEF PERIOD.

And the unifier:

62-Across. Break during a road trip, and what can be found in 17-, 26-, and 46-Across: STOP ALONG THE WAY.

Our Blog Hostess has also prepared a delicious mini-theme of Japanese foods.  You'll have to hunt for your dinner, though!

Across:

1. Insect that builds a paper nest: WASP.  Everything you wanted to know about Wasp nests, but didn't know to ask.

5. "Snowy" wading bird: EGRET.  They are beautiful birds.

10. Tiniest bit: IOTA.

14. Actress Fanning: ELLE.  Elle Fanning (née Mary Elle Fanning; b. Apr. 8, 1998) is the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning (née Hannah Dakota Fanning; b. Feb. 23, 1994).

15. Little Haiti's city: MIAMI.  The Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami is known for its restaurants, colorful street murals and fruit stands.  It also has a flourishing art scene centered on small, indie galleries.

16. Flatbread full of bubbles: NAAN.  Yummers!  This bread makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.

20. Adagio or allegro: TEMPO.

21. Lunar festival in Saigon: TET.  Tết short for Tết Nguyên Đán, which means Festival of the First Day.   It is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture.  Tết celebrates the arrival of spring based on the Vietnamese calendar.  It usually falls in January or February in the Gregorian calendar.  The festival is celebrated for several days.  The next Tet celebration will fall on January 29, 2025.

22. Sorority residence: HOUSE.

23. Pioneering ISP: AOL.  As in America On Line.

25. Deep fryer liquid: OIL.

33. Purring pets: CATS.

34. Broth often made with bonito flakes: DASHI.  I am not familiar with this Japanese soup.  Apparently it is easy to make and is the base for Miso soup and is made with only three ingredients: water, kombu (dried kelp), and bonito fish flakes.

35. Fly like an eagle: SOAR.

37. "Whadja say?": HUH.

38. Defeated, as a dragon: SLAIN.

39. Go green, perhaps?: DYE.

40. Choose by ballot: ELECT.

43. Stat indicated by tree rings: AGE.

44. Pebble's big cousin: STONE.  Everything you wanted to know about stones vs pebbles but didn't know to ask.

49. DOD intel arm: NSA.  As in the National Security Agency, which is a division of the Department of Defense.  

50. One day __ time: AT A.  One Day At A Time was a sit-com that ran from 1974 to 1984 that starred Bonnie Franklin (née Bonnie Gail Franklin; Jan. 6, 1944 ~ Mar. 1, 2013) as the mother and Mackenzie Phillips (née Laura Mackenzie Phillips; b. Nov. 10, 1959) and Valerie Bertinelli (née Valerie Anne Bertinelli; Apr. 23, 1960) as the daughters.

51. Temaki fish: TUNA.  Yummers!  More Japanese food.  Temaki is a type of sushi that's rolled into a cone shape and eaten by hand. The name "temaki" is Japanese for "hand roll".  //  And 53-Down. Temaki cone: NORI.

54. More slippery: ICIER.

58. Like muted colors: PALE.

Bright and muted colors explained.

65. Whittles (down): PARES.

66. Animal that loves mud: PIG.

67. Atmospheric layer with holes: OZONE.  The ozone layer sits in the stratosphere between 10 and 25 miles above the earth.  It shields living things from the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.  Ozone layer depletion could have serious effects on human health and the environment.

68. __ kebab: SHISH.  More food.

69. UFO passengers: ETs.  As in ExtraTerrestrials.

70. Fuses with heat: WELDS.

Down:

1. Broke down in tears: WEPT.

2. Healing succulent: ALOE.

No, Splynter, it never gets old.

3. Unlikely, as a chance: SLIM.

4. Letter-exchanging friends: PEN PALS.

5. Panic! at the Disco genre: EMO.  Apparently, Panic! at the Disco was an American pop rock band.  It was active from 2004 until just last year, although the band members changed throughout the year.

6. Natural talent: GIFT.

7. Party with electronic music: RAVE.

8. Radiate: EMIT.

9. Cause for overtime: TIE.

10. Shoe cushions: INSOLES.  Catherine, Princess of Wales wears Alice Bow insoles.

11. Island northwest of Molokai: OAHU.  One of the Hawaiian Islands.

12. New Mexico town in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains: TAOS.

13. Poker stake: ANTE.

18. Confiscated: TOOK.

19. Propeller noise: WHIR.

24. Young fellows: LADS.

25. All-father of Norse myth: ODIN.  Odin is the Norse god of war and death.

26. São __, Brazil: PAULO.  São Paulo, Brazil’s financial center.  It is the most populous city in Brazil.

27. "None of the above" choice: OTHER.

28. __ Lama: DALAI.

29. Missouri River tributary: OSAGE.  The Osage people appeared in last Thursday's puzzle.  They were the subject of David Grann's book, Killers of the Flower Moon, which was later adapted into a film as Waseeley explained.

30. Crook: THIEF.

31. "Same here!": SO DO I.  This clue and answer also appeared in 14-Across in last Thursday's puzzle.  

32. Pass on an offer: SAY NO.

33. Many a cookbook author: CHEF.

36. Basketry plant: REED.

41. Cocktail hour appetizers: CANAPÉS.

 

42. "Impractical Jokers" network: TBS.

44. Ready to proceed: SET.

45. Bar for circus acrobats: TRAPEZE.  The song, The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze was a tribute to Jules Léotard (Aug. 1, 1838 ~ Aug. 16, 1870).  In addition to his daring trapeze performances, he invented a one-piece knitted garment streamlined to suit the safety and agility concerns of trapeze performance, hence, the modern Leotard worn by ballerinas and gymnasts.  Although Jules Léotard died young, it was not due to a trapeze stunt, but rather by an infectious disease.

47. Public transit option: RAIL.

48. Hair line?: PART.  Cute clue.

51. Fish sauce amts.: TSPS.  As in Teaspoons.

52. Arches National Park state: UTAH.  The Park has over 2,000 natural stone arches, hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive rock fins, and giant balanced rocks, hence its name.

55. Get by: COPE.

56. Still competing: IN IT.

57. Ingredients that are cracked to make khai jiao: EGGS.  Yummer!  More food, this time with a Thai theme.  Khai Jiao is the name for Thai-style omelet.

59. USAF truant: AWOL.  As in Absent WithOut Leave.

60. Hit the runway: LAND.

61. Organs with lids: EYES.

63. Barbecue residue: ASH.

64. "__ did you do that?": HOW.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Thank you all for the birthday wishes yesterday.  That brightened my day.