Thursday, September 12, 2024, Jeanne D. Breen

  

EGO LOSS

(English Version
Objective Case)

Today's constructor, veteran Jeanne D. Breen presents us with a letter omission theme.  If you made the right guess on quote clue 60A, all the themers would have immediately made sense.  OTOH, if you'd solved the punny first clue, you would have probably sussed what she's dropping too ...

18A. Fuel for Greek gods?: OLYMPIC GAS.  OLYMPIC GAMES.  Very timely.

24A. Dirty sheets?: OFFENSIVE LINEN.  OFFENSIVE LINEMEN.  If your team is going up against the Baltimore Ravens, you might find their OLs to be pretty offensive ... 

37A. Really obnoxious infants?: BABY BOORS.  BABY BOOMERS  I resemble that remark -- on both counts! 😀

54A. Commit to eating leafy greens exclusively?: LEAD A CHARD LIFE.  LEAD A CHARMED LIFE.  While we don't eat greens exclusively, we have greens and a salad at every meal. Here's some Swiss Chard Teri is growing in our garden ...

Rainbow Swiss Chard

... and the reveal ...

60. "I'm absolutely not interested," and an apt title for this puzzle: COUNT ME OUT.

Here's the grid (sans MEs) ...
 

Here's the rest ...

Across:

 1. News magazine whose cover has a red border: TIME.  You'll never guess Time's Person of the Year for 2024 -- apparently it's Taylor Swift time #4 ...

 5. Last year's frosh: SOPH.

9. Make merry: ELATE.

14. Grows older: AGES.  The alternative may be better 😀 or worse. 😟

15. German woman: FRAU. -- a grown up FRÄULEIN.  Today's German lesson.

16. Kansas governor Kelly: LAURA.  Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950) is an American politician serving since 2019 as the 48th governor of Kansas. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented the 18th district in the Kansas Senate from 2005 to 2019. Kelly was elected governor in 2018, defeating Republican nominee Kris Kobach. She was reelected in 2022, narrowly defeating Republican nominee Derek Schmidt.

Governor Laura Kelly

17. Gumdrops brand in a yellow box: DOTS.

18. [Theme clue].

20. Present, as an idea: POSIT.

22. "I've heard enough, thx": TMI.  Too Much Information.  MOI? 😀

23. Mystery Hunt sch.: MIT. The MIT Mystery Hunt is an annual puzzlehunt competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest and most complex puzzlehunts in the world and attracts roughly 120 teams and 3,000 contestants (with about 2,000 on campus) annually in teams of 5 to 150 people.  The mystery hunt employs a wide range of puzzles including crosswords, cryptic crosswords, logic puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, anagrams, connect-the-dots, ciphers, riddles, paint by numbers, sudokus, and word searches. Solutions to these classic puzzles are further complicated by employing arcane or esoteric topics like quantum computing, stereoisomers, ancient Greek, Klingon, Bach cantatas, coinage of Africa, and Barbie dolls. Puzzles might also employ pictures, audio files, video games, physical objects, and/or locations within MIT or the Boston area. The hunt also assumes extensive familiarity with MIT's campus, culture, and lore.  A big CSO to Picard! 

Many teams hunt in rooms with chalkboards,
projectors, computers, and food.

24. [Theme clue]

29. Meadow: LEA.

30. 1990s girl group: TLC.  TLC is an American girl group formed in 1990 in Atlanta, Georgia. The group's best-known line-up was composed of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. The group enjoyed success during the 1990s, with nine top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 with four number-one singles including Waterfalls, a sad song with a message ...

31. Fillet: DEBONE.

32. "The Little Red Chairs" novelist O'Brien: EDNA.  The Little Red Chairs is a 2015 novel by Irish author Edna O'Brien, who was 85 at the time of publication. The novel is O'Brien's 23rd fictional publication.  The novel follows an imaginary Balkan war criminal, Dr. Vlad, as he interacts with women in an Irish village. The past actions of the main character closely resemble the war crimes of the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić. The title of the novel refers to a European theatre company's performance art which commemorated his 11,541 victims with 11,541 red chairs.

34. Wanted poster letters: AKA.

36. Commedia dell'__: ARTE.  Commedia dell'arte  was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. Characterized by masked "types", commedia was comprised of improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios.  Another characteristic of commedia is pantomime, which is mostly used by the character Arlecchino, now better known as Harlequin.  The performances were often accompanied by music.  Here is a recreation of the theme for Harlequin, by modern composer Michele Biki Panitti  

37. [Theme clue].

41. Fruit tree in a Christmas carol: PEAR ...

43. Upper limb: ARM.

44. Ireland, to a native speaker: EIRE.  Today's Gaelic lesson.

48. U-shaped river bends: OXBOWS.  What's an Oxbow?

51. Security aid, briefly: CAM.  A rating of the 5 of the best mini security cameras for 2024.

53. First name of two Spice Girls: MEL.  The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell-Horner ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling girl group of all time.  Here's their Wannabe ...

54. [Theme clue].

57. Pt. of ABV: ALC.  ALCohol By Volume.

58. Letter after pi: RHO.

59. Fast-food chain with retro flair: SONIC.  Sonic Corporation, founded as Sonic Drive-In,  is an American drive-in fast-food chain owned by Inspire Brands.  Sonic is known for its use of carhops on roller skates, and hosts an annual competition (in most locations) to determine the top skating carhop in the company.

60. [Theme reveal].

65. Lack: WANT.

66. When "The Room Where It Happens" happens: ACT II.   Having never seen Hamilton I got this answer via ESP but didn't understand what it meant ...

Discovering its origin was a little tricky since The Room Where it Happens is also the name of Season 13, Episode 8 of Grey's Anatomy (apparently most episodes are named for songs) and Google hit that definition first.  

67. Desert plateau: MESA.  The abode of one Wiley Coyote ...

68. Decorative pitcher: EWER.  Here's one decorated with the glazes Branman's Blue and I of Toad ... 

Ewer

69. Some big-box stores: IKEAS. 4 letter big-box store plural?  EKTORP.

70. Seeing things: EYES.

71. Start over: REDO.

Down:

 1. Pond youngster: TAD POLE.  A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found in adult amphibians such as a lateral line, gills and swimming tails. As they undergo metamorphosis, they start to develop functional lungs for breathing air, and the diet of tadpoles changes drastically. 

Common frog tadpole
(Rana temporaria)

2. "Oops, my bad!": I GOOFED. 

3. Many a baseball enthusiast in Queens: METS FAN.  We caught a couple of them enthusiastically smooching just a few weeks back 😀

4. OPI rival: ESSIE.  Also the name of Australian actress Essie Davis, who starred in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries ... 

5. Bay Area hub, for short: SFO.

6. Fla. NBA team: ORL.  The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was established in 1989 as an expansion franchise, and such notable NBA stars as Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, and Dwight Howard have played for the club throughout its history. As of 2024, the franchise has played in the NBA playoffs 17 times in 35 seasons, and twice went to the NBA Finals, in 1995 and 2009, losing to the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, respectively. 

7. Fee-based service: PAY TV.

8. Ran smoothly: HUMMED.

9. Yalie: ELI.  Named for Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721), a British-American colonial administrator and philanthropist. 

Elihu Yale

10. French body of water: LAC.  LAKE, today's French lesson.

11. Enhance: AUGMENT.

12. Many a new hire: TRAINEE.

13. Vane point: EAST.  All you needed for this was one perp.

19. Accumulate, with "up": PILE.  Or a noun measuring carpet depth.

21. Demo letters: TNT.  Demo as in "demolition" -- TNT is available by mail order from the Acme Corporation ...

25. Generous slice of cake: SLAB.  We feted one of our granddaughters on her 16th birthday last week, and I think I had one too many SLABS of her Ultimate Chocolate Cake.

Happy Birthday to You!

26. Gross: ICKY.

27. Flanged girder: I BAR.  They use capital I's for I BARS.  The lower case versions (i's) don't work very well ... 😀

I BARS

28. Viking tongue: NORSE.  The differences between the Norse language of the Vikings and the modern Norwegian language.

33. Addis __, Ethiopia: ABABA.  Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia in East Africa. In the 2007 census, the city's population was estimated to be 2,739,551 inhabitants.  Addis Ababa is a modern, highly developed and important cultural, artistic, financial and administrative center of Ethiopia.  However there is some controversy about recent urban renewal efforts.

Addis Ababa skyline

35. Judicial org.: ABA. The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students; it is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation of model ethical codes related to the legal profession.  A CSO to Jason and Susan.

38. Nickname of the slugger who was the youngest player to hit 600 home runs: AROD.  Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), is an American former professional baseball player and businessman, who played as shortstop and third baseman. He played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners (1994–2000), Texas Rangers (2001–2003), and New York Yankees (2004–2013, 2015–2016). 

Rodriguez began his professional baseball career as one of the sport's most highly touted prospects, and is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.  With a career .295 batting average, Rodriguez amassed over 600 home runs (696), over 2,000 runs batted in (RBI), over 2,000 runs scored, over 3,000 hits, and over 300 stolen bases, the only player in MLB history to achieve all of those feats.

Alexander Rodriguez

39. Killer whale: ORCA.  The OREO of marine mammals.

40. Actor Epps: OMAR.  Omar Hashim Epps (born July 20, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, and producer. Epps's film roles include Juice, Higher Learning, The Wood, In Too Deep, and Love & Basketball. His television work includes the role of Dr. Dennis Gant on the medical drama series ER, J. Martin Bellamy in Resurrection, Dr. Eric Foreman on the Fox medical drama series House from 2004 to 2012, and Isaac Johnson in the TV series Shooter from 2016 to 2018. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award.  He has been married to Keisha Epps since 2006 and they have 3 children.  

Omar Epps

41. Painter nicknamed "Jack the Dripper": POLLOCK.  American Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956) a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noted for his "drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a horizontal surface, enabling him to view and paint his canvases from all angles. It was called all-over painting and action painting, since he covered the entire canvas and used the force of his whole body to paint, often in a frenetic dancing style.  This painting, called Convergence, is considered his masterpiece ... 

Convergence
1952

 In 1964, puzzle producing company, Springbok Editions, released Convergence the jigsaw puzzle (Inspired by Pollock's painting). It was a 340-piece puzzle that they promoted as "the world's most difficult puzzle". The impact of Pollock's Convergence was evident in 1965 when hundreds of thousands of Americans purchased the jigsaw puzzle.

42. Carry out: EXECUTE.

45. "Mind. Blown.": I'M IN AWE.  In a perpable kind of way. 😀

46. Like some sugar: REFINED.  The manufacturers remove the vitamins from the raw sugar and sell them back to us in little bottles. 😞

47. High-voltage enemy of Spider-Man: ELECTRO.  Shocking!

Electro

49. Heartfelt: WARM.

50. Hatch a plot: SCHEME.

52. Rx writers: MDS.  A CSO to Nina and Raphael.

55. Bunk: HOOEY.

56. Farther down: LOWER.

57. Smoothie berry: ACAI.

61. Actress/director Vardalos: NIA.  Antonia Eugenia Vardalos (Greek: Αντωνία Ευγενία Βαρντάλος, romanized: Antonía Evyenía Vardálos; born September 24, 1962) got her start in this movie ...

... and it's a big fat CSO to CanadianEh!.

62. "__ better to have loved and lost ... ": TIS.  This line is from the elegy In Memoriam A. H. H. by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) dedicated to his dear friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died at the age of 22 of a cerebral hemorrhage. 

The poem consists of 133 sections and details Tennyson's three-year emotional journey of processing grief. In its context, this line is situated in the first year of the speaker’s grieving process.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;

I feel it, when I sorrow most;

'Tis better to have loved and lost

Than never to have loved at all.

While Tennyson experienced loss from which he believed he would never recover, the elegy indicates that on the other side of a seventeen-year grieving journey, he found hope in the notion that love itself is a miracle. And it’s worth every moment of pain-filled loss.  This poem is also known to have brought solace to Queen Victoria at the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert. 

63. Put to work: USE.

64. Some grad students, for short: TAS.  Teaching Assistants are the ones who do the real work -- e.g. administering   tests, grading them, and grading papers.  The profs just show up once a week and pontificate (apologies to the Corner's former and current professors 😀) 

Cheers,

Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

Postscript:

I tried posting this in the Comments section, but for some reason (or unreason), Blogger didn't like it, so I'm posting it here ...

Here's the bi-weekly DAB puzzle

Here's what David has to say about it ...

My last crossword exemplified art’s ability to lift us out of the finite worldly sphere and into the eternal; today’s exemplifies art’s complementary responsibility to represent the truth of that worldly sphere with uncompromising fidelity, however vile, however filthy, however offensive it may be. In doing so it confronts the shibboleths and pieties of our society, forcing us to reckon with the evil that lurks around and within us all. 

Wednesday November 29, 2023 ~ Jeanne D. Breen

I'm Joking!

Hi All!

Well, it looks like I'm your Corner host for the next foreseeable Wednesdays as JzB and mb are out of pocket for a spell.
// Yo!, see 22a: BE CALM.  JazzB is probably busy Bumpan' it on the trombone for Christmas shows & mb is fine. Both will be back hosting The Corner in January.

Today's puzzle is a cute/fun pre-Christmas [Advent Box Calendar anyone?] gift from Jeanne. If I'm not mistaken, this is her LAT debut (I found a Dr. Jeanne D. Breen, an infectious disease specialist / internal medicine Dr. in CT, but I donno if she's one & the same*).

I nearly grok'd the "kid" theme but I was missing something. Thanks to the regular bloggers who set me straight and parsed things properly. (I was thinking children, not pranks.)

17. *Collection for an afternoon party: TEA SERVICE. My Girls [kids] would have tea service with me hunched over a little table with an American Girl doll, a teddy bear, and a stuffed Unicorn as one of 'em hosted & poured imaginary tea. It was delicious spiked (I TEASE!)

26. *Subject of many June parades: GAY PRIDE. RIDE.

49. *Bed in a nursery: BABY CRIB. RIB.

59. *Desert plant on the back cover of a U2 album: JOSHUA TREE. JOSH. //great album!

38. "But seriously," and an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: ALL KIDDING ASIDE.

OK, Corner eFriends. Slow down. Pace yourself. 'Cuz here we go...

Across:
1. Primary: CHIEF.

Don Adams & Edward (Chief) Platt

6. Biblical twin: ESAU.

10. New Mexico skiing destination: TAOS.

14. Poet/activist Lorde: AUDRE.

15. Leather stickers: AWLS. Not Hell's Angels' patches but pokie tools.

Awe

16. Stash: STOW. Just wait, CACHE will come later... #Foreshadowing

17. [See: Theme]

19. Sunrise obscurer: HAZE.

20. "Malo" opposite: BUENO.

21. Televised: AIRED.

22. "Don't panic!": BE CALM.

If you've never read Douglas Adams' HHGTTG, make it a point.
You'll laugh your bum off (if you're skew'd a bit).

26. [See: Theme]

28. Disneyland city: ANAHEIM.

30. Unwelcome picnic visitor: ANT.

31. Classic clown name: BOBO. Not BOzO.

BOBO The Clown [WikiP]

32. Ahead by a point: UP ONE.

35. Director Luhrmann: BAZ. No clue - WikiP

38. [See: Theme]

42. Issa of "Insecure": RAE. More ??? - LIU [WikiP again]

43. Runway figure: MODEL.

44. Jerseys and Guernseys: COWS. Moo Milk (not that almond stuff).

45. Greek consonant: TAU.

46. Place to practice asanas: YOGA MAT.

49. [See: Theme]

54. Major route: ARTERY.

55. Grand-scale tales: EPICS. Wait 'till we get to 51d. That is a saga :-)

56. Secret stash: CACHE. And there you are 16a.

58. "Collapsed in Sunbeams" singer Parks: ARLO. Another ARLO singer?

I had to Google after the fill.

59. [See: Theme]

64. AnnaSophia of "Little Fires Everywhere": ROBB. No idea - WikiP

65. Not backing: ANTI.

66. Cussed: SWORE.

67. Stuck-up sort: SNOB.

68. Fraction of a min.: NSEC. Nanosecond.

69. Sing "The Lonely Goatherd," say: YODEL.

This is cute.

Down:
1. Cindy Clawford of "Ted Lasso," for one: CAT. The bassist, Leslie Higgins', cat.  Note the "L" in the cat's name.

2. Color chart element: HUE.

3. Princess in the Monument Valley video game: IDA. My Secret Santa editor looked it up for you.

4. Unsure sounds: ERS. Um, OK.

5. Lacking strength: FEEBLE.

6. Spot for icicles or icicle lights: EAVE. 'Tis the season.

7. Big Band style: SWING.

Squirrel Nut Zippers from the '90's

8. Metal giant: ALCOA.

9. Draw upon: USE.

10. Bit of concert merch: T-SHIRT.
 

Two of mine

11. Arcade pioneer: ATARI.

12. Exuded, as charm: OOZED.

13. Gothenburg native: SWEDE.

18. Persian poet who wrote the "Spiritual Couplets": RUMI. I've seen this before but needed a refresher.

21. Sleep malady: APNEA.

22. Kid-lit elephant: BABAR.

23. Sherlock's sister in a book series by Nancy Springer: ENOLA.

We had (IIRC) ENOLA clued similarly inre: Netflix my last expo.

24. Dish alternative: CABLE. Oy! and now I have 13 streaming channels of s*** to choose from.
//Allusion to Pink Floyd's "Nobody Home" from "The Wall" -- sorry folks, you'll just have to deal with my scattery brain like I have to all the time.

25. "Oh, gotcha": AH OK.

27. Bowen of "SNL": YANG.
 

He's super funny.

29. Emmy-winning journalist Roger: MUDD.

33. Pizzeria order: PIE.

Thatsa Pizza Pie!
//Russo's 28" party goodie.

34. Exclusively: ONLY.

35. Ecosystem: BIOME.

36. Nasty marketing battle: AD WAR.

Cola Wars.

I grew up in a Pepsi household in the Midwest. 

My first taste of Coke was like, "That's a bit bitter; Me like!"

//full-disclosure: I own bits of stock in KO & CCE (now an EU co.)

37. Piquant: ZESTY. [See: Coke above]

39. Apples that come in seven colors: IMACS. Cute - Apple's Computers.

The newer iMacs

40. Unsociably cross: DOUR.

41. Sing like Ella: SCAT.

45. Hall of Famer known as the "Georgia Peach": TY COBB. #Baseball

47. Waimea Bay island: OAHU.

48. __ spoon: GREASY.

Mel's Greasy Spoon Sitcom [Alice] Cast

49. Unwelcome picnic visitors: BEARS. Fun Clecho.

Hey, BooBoo!

50. Garment that may say "World's Okayest Cook": APRON. Mine says "Italia!" DW's says (in Green, White & Red) "IBM" [Italian by Marriage].

51. Baggins of Bag End: BILBO. Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit saga. #CallbackTo55a

52. Desktop array: ICONS. I have minimal (1.2 columns) ICONS on my laptop; DW's is literally covered with 'em -- drives my OCD self nuts.

53. Verb in cooking or sewing instructions: BASTE. Someone will have to fill me in on the sewing part of this clue 'cuz, at this point, I'm too lazy to look it up.

57. Smart: CHIC. Hep.

59. MLK Day's mo.: JAN. Martin Luther King Jr. is celebrated on the 3rd Monday of January.

60. Couple: TWO.

61. Divining tool: ROD. To find water(?) #BS!

62. Afore: ERE.

63. Rainbow roll fish: EEL.
 

OK, true, no Rainbow Roll in this boat -- but! the second one,
[no photo available] for the KID's table, did.

The Grid:

The Grid

WO: BOzO
ESPs: AUDRE | IDA, BUENO (as clued), BAZ, RAE, ARLO (as clued), ROBB
Fav: I'm going w/ 1a's CHIEF 'cuz it made me think of Buck Henry's & Mel Brooks' Get Smart.

No Joke folks, I'll be here for your next four (4) Wednesdays -- be sure to tip the waitstaff.

Cheers, -T
*My Angel Editor / Secret Santa found this about Dr. Breen:
"I’m a physician, piano player, voracious reader, lap swimmer, animal lover, movie buff, student of baseball, and a lifelong resident of the Northeast. I drink my coffee with milk and my gin gimlets straight up and ice-cold. I’ve enjoyed solving crosswords and other word puzzles for years and just started constructing this spring (2023); I’m honored that gin + grapefruit is the site of my debut. The ‘crossworld’ is such a warm, welcoming community and I’m genuinely in awe of how creative puzzlers are with their themes, themeless seed entries, and cluing. My thanks to Taylor for encouraging me to give midi construction a try and to Shannon for editing. I hope you enjoy the solve!" on this site.
Thank you Dr. B.