Wednesday, Oct 2nd, 2024~Jay Silverman

  WAH~!

Calvin & Hobbes

Yesterday we had UNFAIR for an answer, today it's a lot more.  I have not had the pleasure of blogging a Jay Silverman puzzle, who last appeared at the LA Times on 11 June this year.  No circles, a mere 10 TLWs, thirty-six four-letter words, and just a handful of proper names, most of which are "fairly" common, at least to us Cornerites, in crosswords.  Three things that are "not fair" for themers, as defined by the reveal at 60 Across;

17. Like some brunettes: DARK-HAIRED - most of my exes - perhaps it's time for a FAIR-haired girl

It could be I'm "Autumn-ing" for her. . . .

26. Location of on-deck circles: FOUL TERRITORY - FAIR ball~! - some baseball for C.C.

44. Rough conditions: STORMY WEATHER - Do you have any "fair-weather friends~?" Here's a song co-written by 'Buck Dharma', the guitarist from Blue Öyster Cult on his 1982 solo album "Flat Out"

"Wind Weather and Storm"

60. Petulant cry, and what might be said about 17-, 26-, or 44-Across?: "IT'S NOT FAIR~!"

And Away We Go~!


ACROSS:

1. Authoritative doctrine: DOGMA

6. Crush, for one: SODA - Ah.  I do the Downs first; fooled me on the first pass

I loves me some orange soda

10. Large primates: APES

14. Districts: AREAS - I liked the movie "District 9"

The IMDb for those interested

15. Throw hard: HURL - also a clue yesterday

16. Say a novena, e.g.: PRAY

19. Benefit: PERK

20. Hit the snooze bar: SLEEP IN - I have done way too much of this lately - need to get some house projects finished

21. Publication whose name comes from an old Venetian coin: GAZETTE - The Wiki

23. "Good __!": IDEA

25. Promising words: OATHS

32. Gentle hills: RISES - "it's just over that rise there"

33. Defensive excavation: MOAT - seven syllables : one syllable = clue : answer

34. May honoree: MOM - & - 40A. Summer month: JUNE - & - 1D. 40-Across honorees: DADS

37. Canned brand: ALPO

38. Exasperated: FED UP - I thought this was the merger of FedEx and UPS. . . .

I'm still waiting for my first recliner to be delivered via FedEx. . . .

41. CIA relative: NSA - I can't tell you any more about this - it's a secret

42. Many a fundraising party: GALA - I had the first "A"

43. Soap star Susan: LUCCI - name #1, and I know this one

48. Map of Hawaii, often: INSET

A "variation" on the usual INSET

50. Splinter group: SECT - HEY~!  It's a self-proclaimed shout-out~!

51. Alternatives to tablets: LAPTOPS - I was issued one for work with the drafting software loaded for work in our second warehouse

54. London's Globe, for one: THEATRE - Learning moment for me

59. Hamper emanation: ODOR

62. iPhone helper: SIRI  - name(ish)

63. Largest of the Three Bears: PAPA

64. Extreme vigor: ARDOR

65. Body art, briefly: TATS - tattoos; I don't have any, don't really find them attractive

66. Social media platform with stories, colloquially: SNAP - I don't Snapchat, Facebook, or Instagram, and I have been "banned" from Pinterest.

67. They may butt heads: GOATS - How 'bout these "G.O.A.T.s~?

Josh Allen vs. Tom Brady

DOWN:

2. __ phase: ORAL - part of Freud's psychoanalysis - more here; I chew my fingernails, so. . . .

3. Richard of "Chicago": GERE - name #2, also one I know

4. Cobble together: MAKE

5. Barbecue receptacles: ASH PITS - I vacuumed out my fireplace ash pit last weekend - we are good to go for this winter~!

6. Black eye: SHINER

7. John Green's "The Fault in __ Stars": OUR - Here's the Wiki 

8. Leftover bit: DREG

9. "Same Time, Next Year" actor Alan: ALDA - name #3, I know, but not this movie - IMDb

10. Materialize: APPEAR

11. "Mostly, yes!": "PRETTY MUCH..." - and a fresh Xword fill, too

12. View from the moon: EARTH - one of the 20th century's greatest photographs

Earthrise, taken by Apollo 8 crew member Bill Anders on December 24, 1968

13. "I'ma Be Me" comedian Wanda: SYKES - name #4, and I know it

18. Assistant: AIDE

22. __ suit: ZOOT

I wonder if I can still fit in my Zoot Suit

24. Sessions that may involve curls and presses: ARM DAYS - my bother and his gym friends talk like this - Thursday is "Arm Day", Saturday is "Chest Day", Monday is "cardio"

26. Kukla and Ollie's partner: FRAN - vaguely familiar with this name, #5  - The Wiki

TV show, 1947 -1957

27. Essential __: OILS

28. Small book with an eagle on its cover: US PASSPORT - Great fill

29. Footballer Messi, to fans: LEO - name #6, becoming a crossword staple

30. Debtor's note: I.O.U.

31. Dance like Savion Glover: TAP - a good WAG, but then again, three letters....name #7 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

35. Starter of many a storybook: ONCE - ". . .upon a time. . . "

36. Golda who was a prime minister in the early 1970s: MEIR - name #8

38. Nowhere nearby: FAR

39. West __: high-end furniture retailer: ELM

name(ish)

40. Protrude: JUT

42. Usual choice: GO TO - when I get Chinese, it's always General Tso's Chicken

43. Reason for a safe call: LATE TAG - do you remember this Miller Lite commercial~?

Bob Ueker - "He missed the tag~!"

45. "From Russia With Fun!" arcade game: TETRIS

46. Barbecue wipe: WET NAP

47. Canyon sound: ECHO

48. Brief concession statement: "I LOST."

49. Gymnast Comaneci: NADIA - name #9, and one I know 

52. Gladys Knight's guys: PIPS - technically a name, but I know this one, as well~!

I heard it through the grapevine

53. Suffix on seven Asian country names: STAN - getting a break from the 21st century definition

Five of the Top 18 countries in Asia

55. Roundish hairstyle: AFRO

56. "I did it!": "ta-DA~!"

57. Real hoot: RIOT

58. Isn't perfect: ERRS

61. Site for relaxation: SPA

Here's the Washington National Cathedral site for their pipe organ & restoration

That's me, your Wednesday blogger Splynter, on the left

Tuesday, Jun, 11, 2024 ~ Jay Silverman

Future Farmers of America?

No, today Jay offers four thememers each of which with four (4) Hs in the fill.

18. Like some boots: THIGH HIGH.

Stock Photo(?)

23. Jewish New Year: ROSH HASHANAH.

37. With 39-Across, considered carefully: THOUGHT.
39. See 37-Across: THROUGH.

48. "How do you tell them apart?": WHICH IS WHICH.

And the unifier:
57. Youth organization that 18-, 23-, 37-/39-, and 48-Across could be members of?: FOUR-H CLUB.

Across:
1. Highest point: ACME.

You can actually buy this book.

5. Sunup: DAWN.

9. App opener: USER.

13. "Arrested Development" actress Portia de __: ROSSI.

Portia w/ her wife Ellen

15. Vietnam's continent: ASIA.

16. Jewish wedding dance: HORA.

17. Conclude with: END ON.

18. [See: Theme]

20. Message on a rescue dog's kennel, perhaps: ADOPT ME.
 

Pop's rescue (Tinker) checking out the pizzelles

22. Continental coins: EUROS.

23. [See: Theme]

27. First __ kit: AID.

28. PDQ kin: ASAP. Pretty Damn Quick: As Soon As Possible.

29. Pekoe, e.g.: TEA.

32. Complete, as a PDF contract: ESIGN. Portable Document Format files can be eSign'd.

35. Large deer: ELKS.

36. Boys: LADS.

37. [See: Theme]

39. [See: Theme]

41. Word before crawl or cycle: NEWS.

Generic (#noPolitics) News Crawl at the bottom

42. Dismayed cry: OH NO.

44. Cosmetician Lauder: ESTEE.

45. Orthodontist's org.: ADA. American Dental Association.

46. Roasting rod: SPIT.

47. CT summer hrs.: EDT. Connecticut is on Eastern Daylight Time in the summer.

48. [See: Theme]

53. Skylit courtyards: ATRIA.

56. Focus of many a school fair: SCIENCE. Did I ever tell the story of when, in HS, I won 2nd-prize* for my work on Fibonacci numbers at the (LA) State Science Fair?

57. [See: Theme]

61. Lowest point: NADIR.

62. Went by car: RODE.

63. Teller's partner in magic: PENN.

I'm thinking about getting tix for their Rio show

 when I'm in Vegas for Blackhat|Defcon.

64. Pulverize, as peppercorns: GRIND.

65. Rubber-stamped: OKED.

66. x or y, on graphs: AXIS.

67. Clothing labels: TAGS.

Down:
1. Toward the back: AREAR.

2. Many a retirement unit: CONDO.

Weird Al

3. Windows predecessor: MS-DOS. Microsoft Disc Operating System.

4. Part of the digestive system: ESOPHAGUS. Learned this in Gulp.

Many of Mary Roach's books are
fun looks at "gross" things.

5. Calendar array: DATES. 

// Oy! This week the DATES are crazy. Youngest left yesterday for an internship in CHI. I leave Thurs for ORD and DW leaves two hours later for Japan. Eldest is set to land at MDW and we'll meet at CHI's Union Station for an Amtrak to SPI. Youngest will join us Sunday in SPI for Father's Day. Then we all disperse again the 17th (when the next blog is due [don't expect much folks :-)]).

6. Wood for many woodworking projects: ASH.

7. Nintendo game console: WII.

8. Remind constantly: NAG.

9. "Surely!": UH HUH.

10. French evening: SOIR. Root-word for a fancy soiree perhaps?

11. Logician's "In that case ... ": ERGO.

12. Stadium cheers: RAHS.

14. Latest trend: IN THING.

19. Jalopy: HEAP.

21. Furious: MAD.

24. Actor Holbrook: HAL. Mark Twain impressionist.

Some #Politics(?)

25. Invite for: ASK TO.

26. Two-time NBA MVP Steve: NASH.

29. Pulled tight: TAUT.

30. Border: EDGE.

31. Tennis icon Arthur: ASHE.

32. Active volcano on Sicily: ETNA.

33. Garden tool storage building: SHED.

34. Sioux City state: IOWA.

35. Code of conduct: ETHIC.

36. Gave up in despair: LOST HEART. Or LOSt THE ART. You decide parsing.

38. Pueblo people: HOPI.

40. Motor City NHL player: RED WING.

43. To the __ degree: NTH.

46. Former Iranian ruler: SHAH.

47. Key next to F1: ESC.

48. Jittery from too much caffeine: WIRED. Or, as we learned last week, a Conde Nast publication.
//Yes, I nerd, subscribe.

49. IDs on copyright pages: ISBNS. International Standard Book NumberS.

50. Mumbai's nation: INDIA.

51. Including on an email: CCING. Anachronistically, Carbon Copying someone on an email.

52. Roaming buffalo, e.g.: HERDS.

53. Natural hairstyle: AFRO.

54. Grabbed: TOOK.

55. Not at all polite: RUDE. Grabbing is RUDE.

58. Tax pro: CPA. Certified (Certifiable? ;-)) Public Accountant.

59. Luthor of "Smallville": LEX.

60. College, to an Aussie: UNI.

The Grid:

The Grid

The skinny:
WO: icon -> USER
ESPs: N/A
Fav: SCIENCE fair.
//I got that 2nd place at state in Louisiana's SciFair by deriving a formula that could tell if X was in the Fibonacci Sequence or not. The formula involved logarithms (which was apparently advanced for a HS kid :-))

Cheers, -T
*IIRC, the kid that won 1st hacked a dot-matrix printer to emboss Braille. 

 

 

 

Notes from C.C.:

 

Irish Miss (Agnes) and I made today's USA Today puzzle. Click here to solve. Congrats on your USA debut, Agnes!

 

Friday, May 3, 2024, Jay Silverman

Watch the Birdies

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  It's the first Friday of the merry, merry month of May and it is time for yours truly, Malodorous Manatee, to have the pleasure of sharing with you a recap of today's puzzle by Ms. Ann Margaret.  Oops, Freudian slip.  I meant to say a puzzle constructed by Jay Silverman.

At the (somewhat) traditional four places within the grid, each one marked with a star for our convenience,  our puzzle setter has conjured up answers which, when we remove a type of bird, yield an appropriate answer to the clue as worded.  Let's start with the reveal:

66 Across:  Musical with the song "Put On a Happy Face," and a hint to making four answers match their starred clues: BYE BYE BIRDIE.  It might have been clued as Musical with the song "Bye Bye Birdie" but that would lie outside of the traditions of crossword puzzles...even on a Monday.

Here are the places where the theme is applied, and how it is applied:

18 Across:  *Promo for long-range basket shooters?: THREES A CROWD.  Say bye bye to the CROW and we get THREES AD.  A basketball reference.  An advertisement for three-point shots.  Or, perhaps, something spotted in the local personal ads?

27 Across:  *Easy-to-revisit search engine results?: BOWLING PINS.  Say bye bye to the OWL and we get BING PINS.  BING, of course, is an online search engine and if you PIN something it makes it easy to get back to what you have pinned (saved).

42 Acrooss:  *Frilly fabric from the Middle East?: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA.  Say bye bye to the WREN and we are left with LACE OF ARABIA.

He's Not Dressed In Lace

But This Did Seem Appropriate

51  Across: *Award coveted by directors Anderson and Craven?: BEST WESTERN.  Say bye bye to the TERN and we get BEST WES.  The covetous directors are, of course, WES Anderson and WES Craven.

This is how it all looks in the completed grid:

Here, below, are the rest of the clues and their answers:

Across:

1. "I suppose it's true!":  MUST BE.  The puzzle starts right off with something someone might say.  No $#1+ would have fit, and would have been an appropriate answer, but that would lie outside of the traditions of crossword puzzles . . . even on a Friday.

7. Cab opening: PEDI. A wine reference?  Something about uncorking a Cabernet?  No.  Opening, in this case, means in front of.   Four letters.  Taxi cab?  Closer but, again, no.  A cab that must be pedaled to get you where you wish to go.  PEDI as in foot.

A Pedicab

11. Middle ear?: COB. Not an anatomical reference.  An agricultural/food reference.  The middle of an ear of corn.

14. Beseech: ENTREAT.

16. Treasury Dept. concern: ECON.  As in the phrase that James Carville is credited with having coined:  "The ECONomy, stupid."

17. Oft-torn knee pt.: ACL.  An anatomical reference and the first of several abbreviations, today.  Anterior Cruciate Ligament.

20. Passable grade: CEE.  A minor nit.  Dee is passing.  Cee is average.

21. Girl's name that means "small river": RIA.  Anyone know anybody named RIA?

22. Hop back in horror: RECOIL.

23. Teensy bits: IOTAS.  Can teensy bits be said to be frequent visitors?

25. Actor Omar: EPPS. Sharif was too long.

29. Title Pixar fish: DORY.  Hands up for first thinking NEMO?

31. Tiller's tool: HOE.

32. Give or take: ABOUT.  VERBS?  Not this time.  Sort of.  More or less.

34. Bring on: INCUR.   On the first day of college, the Dean addressed the students, pointing out some of the rules. "The female dormitory will be prohibited for all male students, and the male dormitory to the female students. Anybody caught breaking this rule will be fined $50 the first time." He continued, "Anybody caught breaking this rule the second time will be fined $100. Being caught a third time will INCUR a hefty fine of $200. Are there any questions?" At this, a student in the crowd inquired, "How much for a season pass?"

38. Wild garlic: RAMP.  New to this solver.  From an online source:  "The zesty spring green most commonly known as ramps goes by many names in English, such as ramson (British), buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic, wild leeks, wood garlic or bear’s garlic.  Known as ‘Bärlauch’ (bear’s leek) in German, the name derives from the fact that brown bears like to eat the bulbs of the plant and dig up the ground to get at them, as do wild boar."

45. Actress Redgrave: LYNN.

Lynn Redgrave and Her Sister Vanessa

46. Eclipse: OUTDO.  Did anyone here get to observe the recent solar OUTDO?  Oh, used here as a verb.  Isn't English a funny, and extremely flexible, language?

47. "The gloves are off!": ITS ON.  An idiom for a clue and an idiom for an answer.  Another example of things-people-might-say.

48. Some tense periods, briefly: OTS.  OverTimeS  Neither a reference to societal issues nor a reference to personal stress.  A sports reference.

50. Gp. that includes the UAE and Gabon: OPEC.  Well, even with the mixed messaging, two abbreviations out of three in the clue should have been enough of a tip off that the answer would be an abbreviation.

58. Totally on board: SOLD.  Convinced.

61. Star part: CAMEO.  Not a portion of a celestial body.  A (small) role for a movie star.

62. Neatens: TIDIES.  My ex-wife once remarked, "You think I have OCD when it comes to tidiness, but you are wrong.  I just want to clear that up.”

64. Negative conjunction: NOR.  Rearrange the letters in NOR Do We to make one word.

65. AI exec, perhaps: CTO.  Chief Technology Officer   The reference to Artificial Intelligence in the clue leads us to something technology related.

69. "Not a mouse!": EEK.  Didn't they get this one backwards?  EKE out a living.  EEK a mouse!  Oh, I get it.   As in, "Please, please, please let it not be a mouse!"

70. Actress Skye: IONE.  Three vowels out of four letters.  A frequent visitor.

71. Follows shampoo bottle instructions: LATHERS.  Not enough room for LATHER RINSE REPEAT.  I have always thought that the last step was just a way to double sales.

72. Booze-free: DRY.  As opposed to WET.  An alcohol (or lack thereof) related idiom.

73. Horn sound: TOOT.  BEEP would have fit but would not work.

The Playmates - 1958

74. Dusty or Cody of pro wrestling fame: RHODES.  Father or son.

Down:

1. Reading length: METRE.  Not the length of a Monopoly game railroad.  Not a literary (book) reference.  Ah, a unit of length in Reading, England, with the appropriate spelling.

2. Square: UNHIP.  What does Huey Lewis have to say on the subject?

August 1987

3. Secure, in a way: STRAP DOWN.

4. Billie Joe Armstrong bandmate __ Cool: TRE.  A Green Day reference.  

That's Frank Edwin Wright III (aka Tre Cool) 

On Drums

5. Suds: BEER.   Obviously, not a cleanliness reference.  Slang.  Do beer puns make you hoppy?

6. Float past: EASE BY.  Huh?  Thanks perps.

7. Endangerment: PERIL.  As in "The PERILs of Pauline".

8. Reason to boil water: E-COLI.  Giardia used to suffice for a reason.  Can you say tetraglycine hydroperiodide tablets?

9. Stock market name: DOW.  Clued this way it could have referred to any listed stock.

10. Part of Roy G. Biv: INDIGO. Mnemonic for the colors in a rainbow.

11. Arizona roadside sights: CACTI.

12. Antarctic, for one: OCEAN.  From the specific to the general.

13. Word after a sneeze: BLESS.  Why Do We Say This?

15. Fajita-like fare: TACO.  Okay, but quite imprecise.  The Differences Between Tacos and Fajitas

19. Slow moo-ver: COW.  Cute cluing.  Cute song.

24. Runs: OPERATES.  Not as in a foot race.  As in she OPERATES the machine.  See 28 Down.  

Shirley Muldowney

26. Moment of unpleasantness: SOUR NOTE.  An idiom with a musical genesis.

28. Drag org.: NHRA.  Not cross dressing.  A Drag Race reference.  Again, not that kind of drag race.

30. GPS option: RTE.   A  Global Positioning System might show you a  RouTE.

32. Everything: ALL.

33. Baffin, for one: BAY.  Again, from the specific to the general.

34. Post-ER facility: ICU.  A medical reference.  Emergency Room   Intensive Care Unit

35. Gain: NET.  A bit imprecise.  NET income, for example, can be a subset of gain (as in capital gains NET of taxes).

36. Mark Kurlansky book subtitled "A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World": COD.  New to this solver.

37. Vehicle for E.T.: UFO.   A pretty standard crossword pairing.

39. Ran away (with): ABSCONDED.  The Dish ABSCONDED With The Spoon?

40. Mine, in Milan: MIO.  Today's Italian lesson.

41. Hook's nemesis: PAN.  Not a boxing reference.  Not a golfing reference.  Not a musical reference.  Not a fishing reference,

Peter Pan and Captain Hook

43. Winning margin: NOSE.

44. Tear: RIP.

49. Cheap: TWO BIT.  TWO BITs are a quarter of a dollar.  The derogatory expression dates from the early twentieth century.  With inflation, the expression should be updated to, say, five dollar.

50. Sign of poor service?: ONE BAR.  Not at a restaurant or a retail store.  A cellphone reception reference.

51. Covertly added to an email: BCCED.  From the days when we used the stuff, Blind Carbon CopiED.

52. Foodie website: EATER.  EATER serves as a local restaurant guide offering reviews and news.

53. __ quartz: SMOKY.  New to this solver.  Smokey The Bear retains the E and there was not room for him.

54. Memo taker: STENO.  Memorandum  STENOgrapher

55. Lhasa locale: TIBET.  Not where your dog hangs out.

56. Big name in frozen treats: EDY.

57. Cambodian currency: RIEL.  In my experience, the US Dollar is the de facto currency of Cambodia.

59. Valley with many vineyards: LOIRE.  A French wine reference.  NAPA was too short.

60. __ the part: DRESS

63. "Star Wars" bad guys: SITH.

67. Teo __ of "Past Lives": YOO.  This might have been misleadingly clued as "German-born Actor".

68. Pi follower: RHO.  A Greek alphabet reference.

Well, it's time now.  Say Bye Bye, Ann.

 

_______________________________________________________