Wednesday, December 28, 2022 - Julian Lim

D-V-S

I really don't know much about Julian Lim except he's a deft constructor. I'm pretty sure he's had at least two other LATs this year and, while maybe on the more difficult side, his are always fun.  Also, Lim has some NYT grids, so that's cool.

Wait, hang tight...

With Props to HG for some background: Dr. Lin (my appologies, good Dr.) holds a B.S. in Psychology from Duke and a PhD from The University of Pennsylvania in the same discipline. I wonder if Eldest has crossed his research. [Eldest is working towards PhD in Psych at GM].
If I'm to trust my Google-fu, Dr. Lin continues research in cognative/sleep depravation at the Centre For Sleep and Cognition, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. And, apperently, Dr. Lin, has time to entertain word-play. [bet he doesn't sleep either]
//Oh, he'd have a field-day in our house. I think Eldest went into Psych [PhD candidate in 4.5 more years!] just to undo me :-)

Enough of the couch...
Let's breakdown the themers:

17. Actress who wrote the 2022 memoir "Dying of Politeness": GEENA DAVIS.

Oh! Her. Bettlejuice.WikiP 

24. Expeditions made by freegans, say: DUMPSTER DIVES. I don't know if this is still a thing but freegans are (were?) anti-corporates who look for food(?!?) in the trash. It was the hipster thing to do there for a while.
The other type of Dumpster Diving is inre: hacking - reconnaissance to find important documents $corp$ #HackTarget tossed. (Shreaders!, people. shreaders).

42. Policy debate sides during an international conflict: HAWKS AND DOVES. Those who want to release the dogs of war and those that try to appease.

58. Prima donnas: OPERA DIVAS. I'll let waseeley take this one. All I can think of is #Karens.

35. Sly, and a phonetic hint to the pattern in the last words of 17-, 24-, 42-, and 58-Across: DEVIOUS. D-V-S. Dig?

Cute theme, no? Last words in *clues are D_V_S with diffent vowels thrown in to make 'em words.

Across:
1. Title of respect: MA'AM. Don't forget to doff your HATS (64a), gentlemen.

5. Suffix with "Wrestle": MANIA.

10. Stinging insect: WASP. Fire ant was too long.

14. Both: Pref.: AMBI. When my (Army) Bro bragged he had two girlfriends, DW quipped: "AMBI and Dextrous?"

15. Scent: AROMA. Smell #1

16. Prepared to veto: ANTI. Don't know why I just noticed but veto is an anagram of vote.

17. [See: theme]

19. House spot: SEAT. Cute. Said about a sold-out show, "Not a SEAT in the house."

20. Spike Lee heist film starring Denzel Washington: INSIDE MAN.

Actually looks really goood.

21. Croquet sites: LAWNS.

Alice plays Croquet

22. Hawaii's "Valley Isle": MAUI.

23. Groovy: FAB. FAB-U-lous.

24.[See: theme]

30. Born in: FROM. "Where you from? No, really from?" caused a Royal todo recently.

32. Beer foam: HEAD. Aha... Guinness

Guinness Foam

33. Longoria of "Telenovela": EVA. No clue.

Eva for the Gents

34. Olympic swimmer Thorpe: IAN. Australian with five (5) gold medals.

Ian for the Ladies

35. [See: theme]

38. Band's job: GIG. (CEO) Bro's got a Dad-Band. They Gig for beer.

39. Bay Area airport letters: SFO. San FrancisO International Airport. We learned last week there's two BART-lines in/out.

40. Scent: ODOR. Smell #2

41. Black-tie party: GALA.

42. [See: theme]

47. Onyx, for one: GEM. A dark-blackish stone. Wanna know more? Click here.

48. Freeway sign: EXIT.

Downtown Houston

49. Stop and go: VERBS. Cute. I was stuck in traffic for a moment.

52. Competition with rockets: SPACE RACE. USA is back in it with Artemis but this time v. China.

I can watch this over and over. 

 All the mission tapes are stored 

here in Houston at JSC. I got to see the vault once!*

57. Hertz rival: AVIS. Car rental rivals.

58. [See: theme]

59. Afternoon fare: SOAP. What, no sandwich? Kenny & Ziggy's does the best chicken-noodle & grilled-cheese to head-off a head-cold. Ain't cheap but it's tasty & effective.
//I just caught this: [See: my 51d fill when the V-8 finally clanked against my skull].
The c/a refers  to afternoon Telenovelas and NOT lunch | SOuP. Can I blame #dyslexia for missing this for so long? :-)

60. More sage: WISER. [See: 1d MAGI]

61. Half of dix: CINQ. Todays French lesson. Five is half of ten.

62. Playwright Kushner: TONY. A) great 1st name B) Anthony Robert Kushner is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work Angels in America which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. [WikiP] C) (and I looked this up) no relation to Jared.

63. Derisive sound: SNORT. Or what some people do when they laugh [guilty].

64. "__ off to you!": HATS. Bravo!

Down:
1. Crèche figures: MAGI. #Learning: Crèche (Brit) is a nursery and ('Merican) a Baby-Jesus Manger model. //And here I thought it was French for something. (WikiP says Latin(?))

2. Blessing ender: AMEN. Now dig in. //Pop's lasagna was *chef's kiss*

3. Hollywood's Vigoda and basketball's Saperstein: ABES.

Vigoda

Saperstein

I was thinking the Basketball-guy was someone current. Check this bit of #Learning: Abraham Michael Saperstein (July 4, 1902 – March 15, 1966) was the founder, owner and earliest coach of the Harlem Globetrotters. Saperstein was a leading figure in black basketball and baseball from the 1920s through the 1950s, primarily before those sports were racially integrated.
Saperstein revolutionized the game of basketball and took the Globetrotters from an unknown team touring small farm towns in the Midwestern United States during the height of the Great Depression to a powerhouse that went on to beat the best team in the all-white National Basketball Association. He also introduced the three-point shot, which went on to become a mainstay of modern basketball.
Wow!

4. Least amount: MINIMUM. "It's the Least I could do." "Yes, I believe it is." :-)

5. Reconciled: MADE UP. I love the c/a. MADE UP is also conjure. Took me a second to see see two kids shaking hands / reconciling after a brawl.

6. One of the Musketeers: ARAMIS. Ha! I looked this up 'cuz of ZORRO last week and... being curious paid-off.

7. Old Chevy model: NOVA. I'll let those that owned one comment.

8. "Sounds like a plan!": IM IN. Hold my beer.

9. Thin batteries: AAS. Hand-up if you almost ink'd AAA. //I still didn't have GEENA DAVIS yet.

10. __ peas: WASABI. My kids love these (and they'll clear your sinuses!)

11. All over again: ANEW. From the top!

12. Comics icon Lee: STAN. Stan made a cameo in Marvel Movies of the characters he created (and then some). If you were a child of the '50s and had your comics burned 'cuz they'll melt your mind - that was my '80's re: video games.

Stan Lee - Corruptor of Youth

13. La Brea Tar __: PITS. From the Redundant Office of Redundancy.

18. Maroon 5 lead singer Levine: ADAM. Name.

21. Actresses Cheryl and Diane: LADDS. Cheryl gave it away. I didn't know of Diane LADD.

23. German woman: FRAU. You know I'm compelled to do this:

24. "What am I supposed to __?": DO NOW? I mean, with a fill like FRAU...

25. "Hot corner" base: THIRD. Baseball! It's called the Hot Corner because, typically, the three-bagger plays closest in on the infield.

Maybe this helps

26. Job listing inits.: EEO. Equal Employment Opportunity. Did anyone else miss the memo that it was no longer EOE (Equal Opportunity Employer)?

27. "What happens in __ ... ": VEGAS. Stays in Vegas... including your gambling money.

28. Wicked: EVIL.

29. Drawn-out account: SAGA.

30. Sneakily probe (for): FISH. Fishing for an answer; fishing for a complement. Not to be confused with Phishing for a password or ABE Vigoda.

31. Nadal of tennis, familiarly: RAFA. Rafael Nadal has won 22 Grand Slams [Tennis].

35. Medical units: DOSES. Who else was thinking M*A*S*H-plural(?)?. My (Army) Medical (Reserve) unit was based out of Bossier City, LA. So, me getting to DOSES took a V-8 dope-slap.

36. Semisoft cheese: EDAM.

37. 2016 Super Bowl MVP Miller: VON. Perps. WC, HG, help us out :-)

41. Make a bundle: GET RICH. You can build a better mouse-trap or a better Ponzi scheme #NFTs

43. Cold War agent: KGB SPY. A spy for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti, the precursor to Kaos(?).

44. More highly cherished: DEARER.

45. Vehicle pulled by yoked animals: OXCART. Is that one word or two? And, if it's a OX CART, shouldn't the oxen be in it? You know, like an apple-cart? (You don't see apples pulling apple-carts down the street). We should be told. #SteveM

46. Contended: VIED. "I coulda been a vie'er!"

49. Stretching on and on: VAST. And if it's a story... SAGA.

50. Vinaigrette ingredient, briefly: EVOO. Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I import from Italy (though Greece & CA has some good ones too).

51. "Knives Out" filmmaker Johnson: RIAN. *Googles who(?)* Wait - It's not RIuN? I didn't get soup for lunch? Oy! I FIW!?!
//hangs head, waits for dunce-cap, and I'm familiar with the stool in the corner. Cue: everyone point & laugh.

52. Washer cycle: SPIN. Your Maytag.

53. Manila money: PESO.

54. Sneaker brand: AVIA.

55. "__, or won't?": CAN'T. Priorities, people.

56. Legal honorifics: Abbr.: ESQS. Python's sketch pops to mind (sorry folks). Starts with Evening Squire

58. Yelps of pain: OWS. Here's a question: Do you yell OW! before you've checked to see if you actually hurt yourself?

The Grid:

The Grid
//Green highlight is gratuitous :-)

Thanks Julian for the fun, it's nice to see your by-line again. (Even though you got me at SOuP.)

WOs: N/A
ESPs: GEENA DAVIS, IAN, EVA, ADAM (as clued) VON, RIUN | TONY
FIW: I really do like soup on wintery afternoons.
Fav: FISH & ABE Vigoda in the same grid. I don't know if that was Julian's intent but, I like it.

I hope everyone had a wonderful time with Lim's puzzle and the Hollidays.
Come into The Corner, take off your jacket, and talk about either. (Er, puzzle | hollidays - I'm not really concerned about your coat (unless it's a real nice light-wieght warm one - where's it FROM?)).

Cheers, -T
*JSC video vault contains films from all the missions from Apollo to current. As I scanned the shelf, my heart fell when I saw there was only one slot labeled STS-25 (Challenger).

Tuesday, October 25, 2022 Julian Lim

The Devil Made Me Do It.

17-Across.  *   Equally disagreeable choices: HORNS OF A DILEMMA.

23-Across.  *   Easy to cut, as meat: FORK TENDER.

40-Across.  *   Improvises: WINGS IT.

51-Across.  *   Braking signals: TAIL LIGHTS.

And the unifier:

62-Across.  "We were just talking about you!" and a hint to the first words of the answers to the starred clues: SPEAK OF THE DEVIL.

Across:

1. Brief email sign-off: BEST.

5. Baby horse: FOAL.

9. Utterly detest: ABHOR.

14. __ rug: floor decor: AREA.

15. Extreme anger: RAGE.

16. Director Sergio: LEONE.  Not a Tuesday name.  Sergio Leone (Jan. 3, 1929 ~ Apr. 30, 1989) was an Italian film director best know for producing the so-called Spaghetti Westerns.  Clint Eastwood starred in many of his films, including A Fist Full of Dollars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.   [Name #1.]

20. Line spoken to the audience: ASIDE.

21. Boo-boo kisser: MOM.

22. Serve dinner to: FEED.

27. Be a good dog, say: OBEY.

28. Grade just above C: B MINUS.

32. Mideast title: EMIR.

35. Org. that certifies albums as gold or platinum: RIAA.  As in the Recording Industry Association of America.

38. Pronoun-shaped girders: I-BARS.

39. __ Vegas Raiders: LAS.  The professional football team.

42. Gym cushion: MAT.

43. "Erin go __": BRAGH.  Roughly translated to mean Ireland Forever.

45. Prod: GOAD.

46. Snaky swimmers: EELS.

47. "The Handmaid's Tale" novelist Margaret: ATWOOD.  Margaret Eleanor Atwood (b. Nov. 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist.  [Name # 2.]

49. Tire leak sound: HISS.  

55. Admin. aide: ASS'T.  As in an Assistant.

58. Alumna bio word: NÉE.  Today's French lesson.

59. Deliver a speech: ORATE.

66. Depend (on): HINGE.

67. Oompah instrument: TUBA.  Hi, JazzB!

68. 12/24 and 12/31: EVEs.  Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

69. Provide with funding: ENDOW.

Well-Endowed.

70. "You missed a __": SPOT.

71. Whitehall whitewall: TYRE.  Whitehall is the name of a street in London, England where many government offices are located, hence, the cars parked on the street would be "misspelled" as Tyres.  Does a Tyre 49-Across in London?

Down:

1. "Who Let the Dogs Out" group __ Men: BAHA.  It was over a decade ago since this song was released.

2. Greek Cupid: EROS.

3. Calligraphy stroke: SERIF.

4. Clay oven for baking naan: TANDOOR.  Everything you wanted to know about Tandoor, but didn't know to ask.

5. To and __: FRO.  More information than you wanted to know about a pendulum going to and fro.

6. Bumbling fool: OAF.

7. Athlete's peak performance: A-GAME.

8. Gave false hope to: LED ON.

9. Every last one: ALL.

10. Barbecue cut: BEEF RIB.

11. House-shaped browser button: HOME.  I misread this clue as Horse-shaped browser button.

12. "Looks like the joke's __": ON ME.

13. Get lost in a book: READ.

18. Balkan native: SERB.

19. Film research website: IMDb.  As in the Internet Movie Database.

24. "The Americans" star Russell: KERI.  Keri Lynn Russell (b. Mar. 23, 1976) portrayed Elizabeth Jennings, a Russian spy, pretending to be an American on the spy drama The Americans.  The show ran for about 5 years.  [Name # 3.]

25. Making, as a knot: TYING.

26. Radiate: EMIT.

29. Birth certificate information: NAME.

30. Eurasian border river: URAL.  We often see URAL in the puzzles, but it usually refers to the mountains, not the river.

31. Phased-out fast planes, for short: SSTs.  As in the Super Sonic Transport planes.  The last commercial Concorde SST flight was on October 24, 2003.  Exactly 19 years and 1 day ago!

32. Actor Idris: ELBA.  Idris Elba (né Idrissa Akuna Elba; b. Sept. 6, 1972) is an English actor.  He portrayed Stringer Bell on the HBO series, The Wire.  Hi, Lucina!  [Name #4.]

33. Small store: MART.

34. "No need to describe what happened": I SAW.

36. "Four score and seven years __ ... ": AGO.  The opening line from the Gettysburg Address.

37. Japanese beer brand: ASAHI.

40. "Not so fast!": WHOA.

41. "With ya so far": I DIG.

44. "Adios!": GOTTA GO.

46. Springsteen's __ Band: E STREET.  How the band got its name.  [Name adjacent.]

48. Flintstone family pet: DINO.  [Name # 5.]

50. Wearing kicks: SHOD.

52. Some boxing jabs: LEFTS.

53. Ease off, as rain: LET UP.

54. Expertise: SAVVY.

55. Tennis legend Arthur: ASHE.  Arthur Ashe (né Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr.; July 10, 1943 ~ Feb. 6, 1993) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.   [Name #6.]

56. Laundry cycle: SPIN.

57. Ship: SEND.

60. Cake layer: TIER.

61. "You are something __!": ELSE.

63. London's __ Gardens: KEW.  Everything you wanted to know about the Royal Botanical Kew Gardens but didn't know to ask.

64. "House of the Dragon" cable network: HBO.

65. "Dig in!": EAT.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Happy Halloween!

Tuesday, May 10, 2022 Julian Lim

Having Your Day in Court.  The word Witness can follow the last word of each theme answer.

17-Across. *  "In my uninformed opinion ... ": I'M NO EXPERT.  Expert Witness.  Well, I hope that the Expert Witness is an Expert!

23-Across. *   Challenge to someone suspected of lying: LOOK ME IN THE EYE.  Eye Witness.

50-Across. *   Become a better person, say: BUILD CHARACTER.  Character Witness.

62-Across. *   Thoroughly refute: PROVE FALSE.  False Witness.

And the unifier:

39-Across. Marvin Gaye classic, and a hint to the last words of the answers to the starred clues: CAN I GET A WITNESS.

Across:

1. "High Voltage" band: ACϟDC.

5. Sprang: LEAPT.

10. Neaten (up): TIDY.

14. Cry out loud: WAIL.

15. Lauder of makeup: ESTÉE.  Estée Lauder (née Josephine Esther Mentzer; July 1, 1908 ~ Apr. 24, 2004) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

16. Inkling: IDEA.

19. Russian dynast: TSAR.

The last Russian Tsar and family.

20. Not prohibited: LEGAL.

21. Biennial games gp.: IOC.  As in the International Olympic Committee.

22. Word with fall or fill: LAND.  Landfall or Landfill.

27. Western defense gp.: OAS.  As in the Organization of American States.

28. "__ queen!": "Work it!": YAS.  I am not familiar with this expression.

29. Nowhere to be found: AWOL.  As in Absent WithOut Leave.

33. Member of the fam: SIB.  Not a Sister but a Sibling.

35. Absorb with bread, as gravy: SOP UP.

43. Long-stemmed mushroom: ENOKI.

44. Director Lee: ANG.  Lee Ann (b. Oct. 23, 1954) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.  He directed such movies as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Life of Pi.

45. Like gloomy skies: GRAY.

46. Monarch's reign, e.g.: ERA.  The ERA of Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom (b. Apr. 21, 1926), has been 70 years.  She ascended to the throne in February 1952.  Her platinum jubilee is this year.

48. Cellist's need: BOW.

58. __ jockey: DISC.

59. Satisfied sigh: AAH!

60. "You win": I LOSE.

61. On the ocean: ASEA.  This has become a crossword staple.

65. Entry point: DOOR.  When is a door not a door?

66. More loyal: TRUER.

67. Black-eyed __: PEAS.

68. Celebrity chef Burrell: ANNE.  I don't watch cooking shows, so am not familiar with Anne Burrell (b. Sept. 21, 1969).

69. Twilled fabric: SERGE.  Everything you wanted to know about Serge, but didn't know to ask.

70. Eyelid bump: STYE.

Down:

1. "Where there's __ ... ": A WILL.  Where there's a will, there's a way.

2. Typical Stan Lee role: CAMEO.  Stan Lee (né Stanley Martin Lieber; Dec. 28, 1922 ~ Nov. 12, 2018) was a comic book writer and creator of numerous superheroes.

3. Wild dog of Australia: DINGO.

5. Supervillain Luthor: LEX.

6. Second sight, for short: ESP.

7. Dined at home: ATE IN.

8. 1990s presidential candidate: PEROT.  H. Ross Perot (né Henry Ross Perot; June 27, 1930 ~ July 9, 2019) ran for president in 1992 and again in 1996.  Just in case you weren't following the presidential races in the last century, Perot's campaigns were unsuccessful.

9. Easy to set off: TETCHY.  Don't think I have ever used this word.

10. "Grease," for one: TITLE SONG.

11. "My take is ... ": I'D SAY.

12. "Reading in the Dark" Booker Prize nominee Seamus: DEANE.  I am not familiar with Seamus Deane (né Seamus Francis Dean; Feb. 9, 1940 ~ May 12, 2021).  He is an Irish poet and novelist.  Reading in the Dark was his first novel.  

13. Three feet: YARD.

18. Baby-voiced red Muppet: ELMO.

24. Lack of difficulty: EASE.

25. "__ just me ... ?": IS IT.  Is it just me, or is this a Tuesday level puzzle?

26. Sunup direction: EAST.

29. Elastic bandage brand: ACE.

30. Looking sickly: WAN.

31. Artist Yoko: ONO.  Yoko Ono (b. Feb. 18, 1933) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.  She will be 90 years old next year.

32. "Whatever!": LIKE I CARE.

34. Barnyard bleat: BAA.

36. Part of wpm: PER.  As in Words Per Minute, which is a measure of one's typing skills.

37. Can. neighbor: USA.  Hi, CanadianEh!

38. Future analyst's maj.: PSY.

40. Lass: GIRL.

41. Elena Delle Donne's org.: WNBA.  Elena Delle Donne (b. Sept. 9. 1989) is a professional basketball player.  She plays for the Washington Mystics.

42. Aviation pioneer Sikorsky: IGOR.  I was not familiar with Igor Sikorsky (May 25, 1889 ~ Oct. 26, 1972).  He was born in what is today known as Kyiv, Ukraine, but immigrated to the United States in 1919.  He is known for designing the first viable mass-produced American helicopter.

47. Moves with the times: ADAPTS.

49. Forsaken child: WAIF.

50. American buffalo: BISON.

51. Apply to: USE ON.

52. Spy-fi great John le __: CARRÉ.  John le Carré is the pen name of David John Moore Cornwell (Oct. 19, 1931 ~ Dec. 12, 2020).  He wrote many, many espionage novels, but is probably best known for The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.

53. Go time, in military slang: H-HOUR.

54. Applauds: CLAPS.

55. Apartment window sign: TO LET.

56. Op-ed piece, e.g.: ESSAY.  

57. Witherspoon of "Wild": REESE.  Reese Witherspoon (née Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon; b. Mar. 22, 1976) has starred in many movies, often rom-coms, but Wild was a 2014 biographical drama based on Cheryl Strayed's memoir of the same name.

58. Tot's first word, maybe: DA DA.  One word or two?

63. Act like a couch potato, with "out": VEG.

64. Poetic "before": ERE.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

To the Houston contingency:  If you haven't seen the Esher exhibit, go directly to the Fine Arts Museum,!  There are over 700 pieces in this fabulous exhibit, including an optical illusion room!