Wednesday, August 9th, 2023, Jon Pennington

Theme: 

 

Dearly beloved,
We are gathered here today,
To get through this thing called life.

20. Orange-yellow hue in 1970s kitchens: HARVEST GOLD.

30. Place to purchase Pixel phones: GOOGLE STORE.

46. Make drowsy with a lullaby: SING TO SLEEP.

55. First track on Prince's "Purple Rain," and a hint to each set of circled letters: LET'S GO CRAZY.

CRAZY is a clue that the circled letters are anagrams of LET'S GO.

Story Behind The Song: Prince’s religious appeal, ‘Let’s Go Crazy!’

Across:

1. Caterer's coffee servers: URNS.

5. Golden Rule preposition: UNTO. Do unto others ...

9. Green pasta sauce: PESTO. Recipe.

14. Hammer or sickle: TOOL.

15. Amphibian that can regrow an appendage: NEWT. They can regenerate parts of their tails, jaws, ears, hearts, spines, eyes and brains.

16. Was sore: ACHED.

17. Much of an atlas: ASIA. Nice clue.

18. Way out: EXIT.

19. Unceasingly: NO END.

23. Aliens, for short: ETS. Extra Terrestrials. life which may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth.

24. [Error in original text]: SIC. Adverb. Used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands in the original, as in a story must hold a child's interest and “enrich his [sic] life” or a hero of antient [sic] Rome.

25. Mapmaker's right: EAST.

 27. Crockpot topper: LID.

36. People of Pennsylvania's Lancaster County: AMISH.

38. Taxing trip: TREK.

39. Way off: AFAR.

40. Come-from-behind victory, perhaps: UPSET.

41. Coastal inlet: RIA. A ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. 

42. Curly-tailed watchdog: AKITA.

43. Venison: DEER.

44. Chums: PALS.

45. Splinter groups: SECTS.

49. Bull's-__: EYE.

50. Many a techie: GEEK.

51. Karaoke aid: MIC.

53. "I've got it!": AHA.

62. Kingly: REGAL.

64. Pound or kilogram: UNIT.

65. Flute's orchestral neighbor: OBOE. See flute and oboe in the third row from the top?

66. French pancake: CREPE.

67. Church area with pews: NAVE.

68. Underhanded plan: PLOT.

69. Feast with bitter herbs: SEDER.

70. Got older: AGED.

71. Cargo hauler: SEMI.

Down:

1. Home of the Bonneville Salt Flats: UTAH. The famous salt flats stretch for over 30,000 acres and are found just west of Great Salt Lake. They are are a remnant of Lake Bonneville, which covered over one-third of Utah from 10,000 to 32,000 years ago.

2. Civil rights icon Parks: ROSA.

3. Pinot __: NOIR.

4. Some Balkans: SLAVS.

5. World Heritage Site gp.: UNESCO. Wikipedia: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture.

6. On deck: NEXT.

7. Snappable stick: TWIG.

8. "Homeland" actress Miranda: OTTO. Also known for Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings.

9. Stuffed critters given to some medal winners at the Beijing Olympics: PANDAS.

10. Writer Umberto: ECO. Umberto Eco considered himself an academic scholar first and a novelist later. He said he considers himself a university professor who writes novels on Sundays. He wrote many novels that are considered classics today, including The Name of the Rose, Foucault’s Pendulum, and Baudolino.

11. Floe, e.g.: SHEET OF ICE.

12. Pup shelter?: TENT.  A pup tent is so named because it is smaller in size than a standard tent, similar to how a puppy is smaller than an adult dog. The name “pup tent” likely originated from military use, where smaller tents were used for individual soldiers or a small group.

13. __ and ends: ODDS.

21. Cube root of 512: EIGHT.

22. Potato and __ soup: LEEK.

26. Anti-vampire weapon: STAKE. Vampire stakes.

27. Exalts: LAUDS.

28. Louvre Pyramid architect: IMPEI. 10 Things you did not know about Louvre Pyramid by I.M. Pei

29. Tuned out: DISENGAGED.

31. Others, in Spanish: OTRAS.

32. Cook over coals: GRILL. It's that time of year! 50 Best Grilling Recipes for Summer

33. Renter's contract: LEASE.

34. Shabby: RATTY.

35. Totally remove: ERASE.

37. Twilled fabric: SERGE. Serge is a type of twill fabric that has diagonal lines or ridges on both inner and outer surfaces via a two-up, two-down weave. The worsted variety is used in making military uniforms, suits, greatcoats, and trench coats. Its counterpart, silk serge, is used for linings. French serge is a softer, finer variety.

42. Gelatinous tomato dish: ASPIC. I usually see ASPIC made with beef stock, rather tha=- tomato.

44. Hawaiian dish of diced raw fish: POKE. Yum.

47. Penn's silent partner: TELLER.

48. Was melodramatic: EMOTED.

52. Farmer's concerns: CROPS.

53. Rainbow shapes: ARCS.

54. "Present!": HERE.

56. Traditional fish in 44-Down: TUNA.

57. Cardigan problem: SNAG.

58. Donate: GIVE.

59. Start of a classic palindrome: ABLE. “Able was I ere I saw Elba.” Contrary to popular believe, Napoleon did not say this. Hhere are some cool Napoleonic anagrams and puns here though.

60. Videoconferencing platform: ZOOM.

61. Creature of Sherpa folklore: YETI.

63. Donkey Kong, e.g.: APE.

 

 

Note from Melissa bee: Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes, and a belated happy birthday to you, Waseely - I don't get to the blog as often as I'd like to stay caught up. Sixty has been looming so large in my head I actually rushed things and told several people that I turned 60 last week. A dear friend (who was born the same year as I) corrected me, and now I feel like I have a free year! 

Monday April 10, 2023 Jon Pennington

  

Hello Cornerites!

Today's theme is         Three-peat

Jon Pennington is back with another Monday toughie. I reviewed Jon's L.A. Times debut on March 20.  BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front):  I was cruising along pretty well until the SE (southeast) corner. I probably should have given it time to process. Instead, TBT (truth be told) I TITT (threw in the towel) and ask Google about Simone Biles' signature move. Perhaps I should watch more gymnastics.

Let's see where I fell off the beam....

not Simone Biles

20 Across. Some virtual get-togethers: ZOOM MEETINGS.

27 Across. Astronomer's setup for outer space transmissions: ANTENNA ARRAY.

This is an overhead picture of the Very Large Array in New Mexico.
Each ANTENNA gathers information which is then combined with the other ANTENNAs' information to create a composite signal that each independent ANTENNA could not create on its own. How Very Large Arrays Work

46 Across. Never: ON NO OCCASION.

55 Across. Signature gymnastics move of Simone Biles, and the kind of repetition found in 20-, 27-, and 46-Across: TRIPLE DOUBLE.

Simone Biles is the first woman in history to land a TRIPLE DOUBLE on her floor routine at the 2019 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Kansas City, MO. (1:57 min.)

Well done, Simone!! You are amazing!!

Today's puzzle has three entries with 3 sets of double letters -- a TRIPLE DOUBLE! The highlighted grid tells the tale.

Hoops fans might say, "Hey, what about a TRIPLE DOUBLE in basketball?" Yep, it's a thing there, too.

Let's vault over to the other clues:

Across:
1. Paddington, for one: BEAR.  

the story of Paddington Bear

5. Amenity in some cafes: WI-FI.  8 tips to stay safe on free WI-FI

9. 51-Across, e.g.: METAL. and 51 Across. Alloy of copper and zinc: BRASS.

Family Handyman article on BRASS doorknobs and the oligodynamic effect

14. Angler's gadget: LURE.  

15. Desktop image: ICON.

16. Mealtime prayer: GRACE.

17. Lacking rainfall: ARID.  California has seen some big changes.

18. Tear apart: REND.  This feels to me like a biblical action so I asked Google how many times REND appears in the Bible. One site came back with 34 instances in 8 translations.

verb

1. tear (something) into two or more pieces.

19. Like a pair of socks: MATED.  Hand up for MATEs before MATED.

23. Cosmetician Lauder: ESTEE.

24. Sudden: ABRUPT.  

32. Pride parade abbreviation: LGBT.

35. Before now: AGO.

36. Writer Zora __ Hurston: NEALE.  (Jan. 7, 1891 - Jan. 28, 1960)  National Women's History Museum link  "Although, Hurston’s work was not widely known during her life, in death she ranks among the best writers of the 20th century."

37. Informal promise of payment: IOU.  I owe you a better explanation.

38. Wore: SPORTED.  Serena Williams SPORTED a one-legged outfit at the 2021 Australian Open in an homage to Flo-Jo.

41. Broke the tape, perhaps: WON.  Once, just once, I broke the tape. I did a 1/2 Ironman on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) back in 2012. I was the only female competitor so all I had to do was finish!  

See the crown of yellow flowers on the left? That was for me!
I'm so grateful for such an amazing day!

42. Transform (into): MORPH.  

"To become a butterfly, a caterpillar first digests itself."
Scientific American article

44. End of a soldier's email address: MIL.  ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is responsible for internet domains names.

45. Quaint hotels: INNS.

50. Emphasize: STRESS.  Do you feel STRESS when people overly STRESS the importance of something?

59. Alpaca relative: LLAMA.  

62. Norway's capital: OSLO.  The name comes from Ás and lo. The lo part is a field, meadow or pasture. The Ás  part could derive from Old Norse Áss meaning Godhead – derived from the Æsir – to give ‘meadow of the Gods’.  source

63. "See above," in footnotes: IBID.  Did you see -T's use of IBID in his blog yesterday? See 66 Across.

64. Fragrant shrub: LILAC.  This is a well-timed clue since, depending on where you live and the lilac varieties you choose, lilacs can provide color and fragrance from April through June.

This looks like a nice spot to read a book or pet a cat.

65. Like skyscrapers: TALL.  The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest building in the world.

MalMan included this pic in his Mar. 31 blog.

66. "Good one!": NICE.

67. Toast-making sound: CLINK.  Was anyone else thinking of this kind of toast?

Instead, it was this kind of toast....

Bridgit Jones's Diary (2001)

So cringe-worthy yet so lovable! 2:10 min.

68. Game recap datum, for short: STAT.  sports STATistics

69. Prophetic one: SEER.

Down:

1. Bright flame: BLAZE.

2. Continental bills: EUROS.  The "bills" are paper money.

3. "You're __!": "You crack me up!": A RIOT.

4. Beef, e.g.: RED MEAT.  Remember when the pork industry tried to distance itself from beef with this campaign in 1987? Was the slogan hogwash? Let's ask the USDA.

5. Electrician's supply: WIRE.

6. Slush Puppie company: ICEE.  "Slush" might be sufficient but it's a fun play on a Southern dish.

7. Helvetica, for one: FONT.

Helvetica movie trailer (2007) 1:30 min.

8. Mumbai resident: INDIAN.  Mumbai's 2023 population is now estimated at 21,296,516. In 1950, the population of Mumbai was 3,088,811. Mumbai has grown by 335,044 in the last year, which represents a 1.6% annual change.  source

9. Vegas casino targeted in "Ocean's Eleven": MGM GRAND.

Ocean's Eleven movie trailer (2001) 2:10 min.

10. Sign of a changed answer: ERASURE.

11. Tit for __: TAT.  Last Monday we had 62 Down. __ for tat: TIT

12. "Helpful hardware folks" retail chain: ACE.  ACE is the place.  ♪♪♪

13. Was in first place: LED.

21. Fellows: MEN.

22. Org. for Jazz quintets?: NBA. Clever misdirection but I am now wise to the Jazz ploy. #SchoolOfHardKnocks

Professional basketball teams have 5 players on the court.

25. Large shrimp: PRAWN.  

26. Raptor's claw: TALON.

28. Activate, as a touchscreen: TAP.

29. Bigheadedness: EGO.

30. Marilyn Monroe's birth name: NORMA.

In 1973 Elton John included Candle in the Wind (Goodbye NORMA Jean)

on his album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

He later re-worked the song when Princess Diana died in 1997.

31. Desires: YENS.

32. Wedding day car: LIMO.

33. Hired hooligans: GOONS.  a bit of the word's history

34. __ ends: barbecue delicacy: BURNT.  BURNT ends is a popular barbecue dish that originated in Kansas City. The dish is made by cooking the fatty ends of meat until they are crispy and charred. The BURNT ends are then usually smothered in barbecue sauce and served on a bun, by themselves, or with baked beans.  source

38. Footwear organizer: SHOE RACK.  Hand up for first penciling in SHOE tree.

39. "My country, __ of thee ... ": 'TIS. an abbreviation for iT IS

40. Actor Wallach: ELI.  ELI makes a regular appearance on grids.

43. "Black Swan" Oscar winner Natalie: PORTMAN.  OTOH, Crossword Tracker has only seen this actress' surname 3 times in the past.  

Natalie as Nina Sayers in The Black Swan (2010).

45. Completely demolished: IN RUINS.  My heart goes out to those in the paths of the recent tornados.

47. CBS forensic drama franchise: CSI.

48. $100 bills, informally: C-SPOTS.  run?

C is the Roman numeral for 100. Hand up for first having C-notes.

49. "Flexible on price," in ads: OBO.  Or Best Offer

52. Actress Cornish: ABBIE.  Unknown to me, ABBIE is an Australian actress and rapper. Her rap name is Dusk. ABBIE's IMDb page

53. Pizza piece: SLICE.

54. Passover meal: SEDER.  I hope to be invited to one someday.

56. Future JD's exam: LSAT.  Juris Doctor is abbreviated, so is Law School Admission Test.

57. Scat queen Fitzgerald: ELLA.

58. Fool: DOLT.  

59. Inc. kin: LLC.  Incorporated is abbreviated, so is Limited Liability Company.

60. Short, for short: LI'L.   as in LI'L Abner

61. "Thrilla in Manila" victor: ALI. a.k.a. The Greatest

Now that the bookkeeping is complete, I have just one more pic to add:  

Bendigo, Australia snake catcher Chris Page
Chris sees snakes.

Pretty lame, huh? Props to Jon for finding 3 much better phrases!

That's all for today. Have a great week!

Monday March 20, 2023 Jon Pennington

 

Hello Cornerites!

sumdaze here. I am calling today's puzzle Double Play because all of the themers give us two 'plays' on the word GAME. More on that later. First let's warm-up with some uber-athletic baseball double plays:

A well-executed double play is my favorite thing about baseball.

Here are 10 super smooth ones. (2:17 min.)

Here are our three themers:

20 Across. First songs of musicals: OPENING NUMBERS.

26 Across. Collectible once sold with bubble gum: BASEBALL CARD.

44 Across. Ideal partner: PERFECT MATCH.

Then the reveal:

52 Across. In an advantageous position, or where both halves of the answers to 20-, 26-, and 44-Across can be placed?: AHEAD OF THE GAME.

All 6 words in the themers can be placed in front of, i.e., AHEAD OF the word "GAME" to create in-the-language phrases.

• OPENING GAME:  generally refers to the first game of a series, tournament, or season.
• NUMBERS GAME:  the use or manipulation of statistics or figures, especially in support of an argument.
• BASEBALL GAME:  America's national pastime.
• CARD GAME: Euchre, for example.
• PERFECT GAME:  (baseball) basically, when a pitcher gets every opposing player out in all 9 innings without one batter reaching base for any reason.
• MATCH GAME:  a TV game show that premiered in 1962. Contestants tried to MATCH  answers with celebrity panelists. The topics abounded with opportunities for double entendre.

Congratulations to constructor Jon Pennington on his L.A. Times debut! You certainly brought your A-GAME today! We look forward to solving more of your puzzles!

Now it is time to roll the dice and get this GAME started!

Across:
1. "Get outta here!": SCRAM.

6. Enthralled: RAPT.  

10. Tinted: HUED.

14. Port-au-Prince's country: HAITI.  I recommend the book Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. It is about Dr. Paul Farmer and his work in HAITI as well as other locations.

Port au Prince slum Jalousie

15. Happily __ after: EVER.  Awww....

16. Norway's capital: OSLO.  The 1952 Winter Olympic Games were held there.

17. Director Welles: ORSON.  his top 8 movies

18. Quayle follower: GORE.  Dan Quayle was the 44th Vice President (George Bush). Albert "Al" GORE was the 45th Vice President (Bill Clinton).

19. Viral social media post: MEME.  This one was circulating in California last week during the atmospheric river events:

23. Countdown start: TEN.  I give this clue a 10.0!

24. Actress Arthur: BEA.  

Did you know that BEA served as a U.S. Marine?

25. "Très __!": BIEN.  What a marvelous fill!

31. Bowls over: FLOORS.  

34. Long journey: TREK.  It took Perseverance about 7 months to travel the 292,526,838 miles (470,776,457 km.) between Earth and Mars. NASA site

35. Fannie __: federal mortgage agency: MAE.  One big difference between Fannie MAE and Freddie Mac is where they source their mortgages. Fannie MAE buys mortgages from larger, commercial banks, while Freddie Mac buys  them from much smaller banks. more info

36. Igneous rock, before cooling: LAVA.  

37. Pt. of a minute: SEC.  "Part" is abbreviated, so is SECond.

38. Brand of spongy toys: NERF.  

You can use NERF balls to make clown noses.

39. Single: ONE.  

Single Scoop of Ice Cream

40. Italian tower city: PISA.  

Fun pic!

42. Worries no end: EATS AT.  

A person who EATS AT this restaurant should be worried.

47. Sanitizing cloth: WIPE.  

48. "Fortunate Son" band, for short: CCR.  Creedence Clearwater Revival

Coincidentally, I have recently been binging The Finder.  John Fogerty guest stars in Ep. 1 and sings this song.

Written by John Fogerty. Released on the Willie and the Poor Boys album in Nov. 1969

49. Kim Kardashian, to North West: MOM.  I'll save you the details. You are better off not assigning any brain cell real estate to this one.

56. Top poker cards: ACES.

57. Like so: THUS.  It modifies a verb, THUS it is an adverb.

58. Book of maps: ATLAS.  

Hey, wait a minute...

59. NBA Hall of Famer Frazier: WALT. HoF website

60. Watson of "Little Women": EMMA.  She is sometimes clued as Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter movies.

61. Invaders of ancient Rome: GOTHS.

The VisiGOTHS sacked Rome in the 5th century.
Today's teenage GOTHS shop at Saks 5th Ave basement.

62. 8-Down capital: LIMA. and 8. South American country whose capital is 62-Across: PERU.  

63. Yes votes: AYES.

64. Writing contest entry: ESSAY.

Down:
1. "Dagnabbit!": SHOOT.

Extra points because it says DAGNABBIT and he's SHOOTing!

2. __ diem: seize the day: CARPE.  

3. Like a soufflé, if everything goes well: RISEN.  

This one is for Doctor Who fans. (1:09 min.)

Clara Oswald, aka The Impossible Girl, (played by Jenna Colman) is the Soufflé Girl.

4. Lots and lots: A TON.  "Neighborhood" did not fit.

5. Hotel room fridge stocked with drinks: MINIBAR.

6. Peter Tosh's music genre: REGGAE.

7. Skinvincible cosmetics brand: AVON.  

9. Shake with fear: TREMBLE.  

10. Skills class rebranded as "family and consumer sciences," familiarly: HOME EC.

If you are curious, this is a link to a Pennsylvania school district's Family & Consumer Sciences curriculum.

11. IDs entered before passwords: USER NAMES.

12. Tall shade trees: ELMS.  In Greek mythology, the hero Orpheus rescued his DW Eurydice from the Underworld by enchanting everyone there with his harp music.  He then paused to play her a love song, at which spot the first ELM grove was said to have sprung up.

13. Mama deer: DOE.  A female goat can also be called a DOE but a female elk is a cow.

21. Loch __ monster: NESS.

22. Hornswoggle: BILK.  Dagnabbit! It's another old-timey word!

26. Feathery scarf: BOA.  

A "feather BOA constrictor" is when you wear a snake (real or fake)
as though it is a fashion accessory.

27. Second-stringers: B-TEAM.  When I lived in Hawaii, I paddled outrigger  canoes. In our club, your first year (for adults) is on the Novice B TEAM. Then you do two years on the Novice A Team before moving on to age groups. I am in the 2nd seat, calling out the Hut Hut Hoe so we all switch sides at the exact same time. We were doing our biggest race -- from the island of  Moloka'i to Waikiki Beach on Oahu. You can see our support boat in the background.

me with my Novice B TEAMmates

28. Circle segment: ARC.  I do appreciate an alliterative clue but this one gets an "Umm, actually...."

An example of a circle segment is all the colored area.
An example of an ARC is the red curve.

29. Hard to find, in Latin: RARA.  Meaning "rare", RARA is sometimes used as the second part in a plant's or an animal's scientific name. Example: a fungi called Keissleriella rara sp. nov.

While going from "hard to find" to "rare" to "RARA" is not too much to ask, I still find this one deserving of the Giant Leap Award.

30. Highly skilled: DEFT.

31. Graceless dive: FLOP.  

32. Rural road: LANE.

33. Inundate: OVERWHELM.  This can be good or bad.

37. Retired fast jet, briefly: SST.  what happened to the American SST

38. To the __ degree: NTH.  an English idiom meaning "extremely" or "as much as possible"

40. "A Salt With a Deadly __": 1988 hip-hop album: PEPA.  I was not familiar with this music but the word play was fun!

41. Pure Leaf beverage: ICED TEA.  I was not familiar with this beverage but "leaf" and "beverage" got me there.

42. Carve in stone: ETCH.

43. Land measure: ACREAGE.  an area of (typically agricultural) land but not necessarily measured in acres

45. Small Ford model: FIESTA.  (1976 - 2019)

BTW, it looks like he is driving on the shoulder of the road. Why???

46. Plays the role of: ACTS AS.

49. Ice cream drinks: MALTS.  Chocolate MALT recipe

50. Nebraska city: OMAHA.  CSO to Husker Gary!

51. In need of tidying: MESSY.  

52. Superfood berry: ACAI.

53. "Heavens!": OH MY.  

54. Seethe: FUME.  feel, show, or express great anger

55. Vintage Pontiac muscle cars: GTOS.  Definitely not a 45D FIESTA!

56. Hole-making tool: AWL.  

Time out for the grid:

Thanks for playing today!