Monday July 10, 2023 Karen Lurie

 

Hello Cornerites!

sumdaze here. Today's 43 Across is:             Keep On Keeping On

Curtis Mayfield performs Keep on Keeping On (1971)

It might be best to begin with the reveal today:

56 Across. Happy cry on a fishing trip, and what can be said about the end of the answer to each starred clue?: THAT'S A KEEPER.

All of the starred clues end in a word which is a type of KEEPER. Let's see if that works.

20 Across. *Vegetable tops used in soups and stews: TURNIP GREENS.

A GREENSKEEPER is a specialized gardener who is in charge of maintaining landscaping on golf courses and country clubs.

Is anyone else thinking of Carl, the GREENSKEEPER from Caddyshack (1980)

played by Bill Murray? (1:26 min.)

28 Across. *Comedian who hosted "Full Frontal": SAMANTHA BEE.

Full Frontal was a late-night talk and news satire TV program which aired on TBS from 2016 to 2022. In this case, the constructor needed to use a proper name, as opposed to something like a solitary bee (same number of letters and vowels), so that "BEE" did not share the same meaning in both the fill and the theme.

A BEEKEEPER, also called an 'apiarist', tends honey bee hives.

49 Across. *"Quite the slump there, huh?": OFF YOUR GAME.

One definition of a GAMEKEEPER is a person in charge of the breeding and protection of game animals or birds on a private preserve.

In keeping with Crossword Corner tradition, we will now look at the other clues.

Across:
1. Deep fissure: CHASM.

6. "Permission to Dance" K-pop band: BTS.  I use ATLGranny's memory trick:  Boys That Sing.

9. Tiny bit of matter: ATOM.  Why should you never trust ATOMs? Because they make everything up.

13. Baffling question: POSER. You might guess that its etymology is connected to questions being posed. Right...and that person asking the test questions was called an apposer. source

14. Tear to bits: REND.  Def: to tear (the hair or clothing) as a sign of anger, grief, or despair.

16. Gift wrapper's adhesive: TAPE.  

prom dress & tux made out of duct TAPE

17. Physical therapy, informally: REHAB.

18. Opera solo: ARIA.  

Cecilia Bartoli sings Se Tu M'ami (If You Love Me) by composer Alessandro Parisotti

19. Hits the slopes: SKIS.

23. Promos: ADS.  "Promotions" is abbreviated, so is "ADvertisementS".

26. Skin care brand with a Retinol Correxion line: ROC.  

I have my doubts about a product that does not spell "correction" correctly.

27. Chin beard: GOATEE.  

Dwane The Rock Johnson, rocking his GOATEE
We've seen several GOATEEs in puzzles lately, as well as on some bloggers' faces.

32. Strange: ODD.

33. Door openers: KNOBS.  

Angela Lansbury sings The Age of Not Believing

in BedKNOBS and Broomsticks (1971).

34. Pop, as a bubble: BURST.  

36. Stuffing herb: SAGE.  My grandmother used to make a SAGE stuffing for her Thanksgiving turkey.

37. Outstanding bills: DEBTS.

39. "Pronto!" letters: ASAP.

43. Motif: THEME.  

45. Dried chili in mole sauces: ANCHO.  ¡Delicioso! I would guess that there are as many mole recipes as there are Mexican grandmothers. Not all recipes use ANCHO chilies (dried poblano peppers) but here is a recipe that does.

46. Lively Irish dance: JIG.

52. Infuriate: ENRAGE.  Def: to make (someone) extremely angry and impatient; exasperate.

People who talk loudly on their cell phones in a public space can be infuriating.

54. Inn divs.: RMS.  Inns are divided into RooMS.

55. Got together: MET.

60. News story intro, in journalism jargon: LEDE.  Def: the opening sentence or paragraph of a news article, summarizing the most important aspects of the story.

If that's all you read, then that's all you know.

61. Hailed vehicle: TAXI.  

These car lot Jeeps were damaged by a hailstorm, making them hailed vehicles.

62. "Swell!": NIFTY.

66. __ of expertise: AREA.

67. Skidded: SLID.

68. Typical film festival entry: INDIE.  Movies not produced by a major studio are called INDIEs. Theoretically, they have the freedom to be edgier than the standard fare.

69. Disinfectant target: GERM.

70. Uber driver's guess, for short: ETA.  Estimated Time of Arrival, for long

71. Folklore brutes: OGRES.

Down:
1. Lifeguard's lifesaving skill: Abbr.: CPR.  True story:  My dad once did CPR on a guy at a bar. He never took a class but had seen it done on TV. The paramedics told him he saved the guy's life.

2. Long-handled garden tool: HOE.  an uncomfortable history of the short-handled HOE 

3. Marshmallow roast residue: ASH.

4. Stock exchange membership: SEAT.  That is not what immediately comes to mind on a Monday but OK....

5. Owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant on "The Simpsons": MR. BURNS.

6. Tree limb: BRANCH.  

7. Hatcher of "Desperate Housewives": TERI.  

TERI won a Golden Globe award in 2005 for her Susan Mayer role.

8. Scissors sound: SNIP.  For some people, this sound triggers ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response).

9. Hopelessly lost: AT SEA.  Sextants were one way early sailors avoided being hopelessly lost while AT SEA.

10. Develop a fondness for: TAKE TO.  

11. Expressed a view: OPINED.

12. Fiddled (with): MESSED.  In this video, the musician is fiddling with the sound that his house's water pipe is making while playing his fiddle to its beat.  

15. Sharp knives: DAGGERS.

21. Decompose: ROT.  Every 1-2 weeks, I enjoy turning my compost pile and observing the various stages of decomposing material.  

22. Some reddish deer: ROES.  Just remember the song. ♪♪♪ ROE, a deer, a reddish deer. ♪♪♪

23. Requests: ASKS.

24. "SNL" alum Carvey: DANA.  This is DANA Carvey impersonating Bob Dylan on SNL's Weekend Update in 1991 (with anchor Dennis Miller and David Spade as Tom Petty).

25. Air quality concern: SMOG.  Everything seems to be turned into a portmanteau now-a-days, but SMoke + fOG = SMOG was a portmanteau pioneer.

29. Aid and __: ABET.

30. Monastic headquarters: ABBEY.

31. "However ... ": BUT.

35. Zest: TANG.

a TV commercial from 1966 for TANG (1 min.)

37. Takes down: DEFEATS.

38. "Unbelievable" rock band: EMF.  their website

EMF is an initialism for Epsom Mad Funkers.

40. Swindle: SCAM.

41. World-weary sigh: AH ME.

42. Ada Limón, e.g.: POET.  Born 28 March 1976, Ms. Limón is the author of six books of poetry. In 2022, she became the first Latina to be name POET Laureate of the U.S.

44. Monopolizes: HOGS.

45. Hall of "Coming 2 America": ARSENIO.  

Arsenio Hall co-starred with Eddie Murphy in Coming to America (1988).
Coming 2 America (2021) is the sequel.

46. Fatigue after a long flight: JET LAG.

47. Vague reply to "Where are you?": IN HERE. I liked this one.

48. Teacher, during exam week: GRADER.  CSO to the Cornerites who have been there and done that!

50. Tater Tots maker: OREIDA.

51. MLB official: UMP.  According to the Grammar Girl Podcast Episode 919, a language phenomenon called "rebracketing" is why we no longer say numpire. That word came to English from an Old French word nonpeer which means "not peer" or "peerless", essentially an arbiter of higher status than the participants. Eventually, [a] [numpire] became [an] [umpire]. Another example of rebracketing is [a] [napron] morphed into [an] [apron].

53. Starting squad: A-TEAM.  Are there any other (besides me) Le Tour fans here on The Corner? This link goes to the website where you can click on "TEAMS" then click on any of the 22 teams to see some serious A-TEAM members. Each team starts the race with 8 members but it is a long, grueling, 23-day race so many strong riders will drop out due to injuries or time cut-offs.

57. Cabbagelike vegetable: KALE.  

58. Offramp: EXIT.

59. Circle: RING.

63. POTUS on a dime: FDR.  "President Of The United States" is abbreviated, so is Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

64. Attach (to): TIE.

65. "Count me in!": YES.  We'll conclude on this positive note!

the grid

I hope I did not keep you too long. Enjoy your week, everyone!

 

Notes from C.C.:

Happy birthday to my incomparable mentor and friend Don "Hard G"! Without him, my puzzle book would not have been possible. Thanks for everything, Don!

Don & his wife Barbie

 

 

Thursday, July 14, 2022, Karen Lurie

 

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap.  It will be somewhat briefer than usual as as Valerie and I have been at Bass Lake (near Yosemite) this week with my grandchildren, a few good friends, and their grandchildren.

Our constructor today is Karen Lurie, or perhaps Karen Urie (see below).  Karen has had several puzzles previously reviewed here, most recently less than two weeks ago on July 5th.

Let's start with the reveal:

51. "Oh, admit defeat already!," and advice that was followed to form the answers to the starred clues: JUST TAKE THE L.  Just take the LOSS.  Or, as applied in the grid, remove the letter L from the start of three common phrases.  The results are three odd, but not nonsensical, phrases with entirely different meanings from the originals.

These are the starred clues and answers:

20. *Research on the ampersand?: AND MARK STUDY.  A Landmark Study is an important and influential report on a topic of interest.  An ampersand is this mark: &.  We use it to symbolize the word AND.  If you research the & symbol then you have have done an AND MARK STUDY.

31. *Ambien, for one?: AID TO REST.  The common expression is Laid To Rest.  From its funerary roots, the expression Laid To Rest is more often used to indicate that a situation has been resolved as in:  At the end of this recap I hope to have Laid To Rest any lingering questions about the clues and answers.  Ambien, of course, is a sleep medicine and, therefore an AID TO REST.

44. *Folds?: ENDS A HAND.  Lends A Hand is pretty self-explanatory.  Here, the clue is a poker reference.  To Fold is to drop out of the betting at which point you have forfeited any money that you have previously bet on the poker hand.

Here is what this all looks like in the grid:

. . . .  and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Karate match exchanges: BOWS.  Exchanging BLOWS would not fit.

5. Exams for coll. credit: APS.  A pluralization of the Advanced Placement exam.  Meh.

8. Hydro __: bottle brand: FLASK.

13. Perfect copy: EDIT.  Perfect, in this case is used as a verb (with the accent on the second syllable).  A perfect (adjective) copy could be a clone.

14. __-portrait: SELF.

16. Otherworldly: EERIE.  Things often get EERIE in our puzzles due to the word's high vowel content.

17. Wee: TINY.  Recently, we have seen oh so many instances of EENSY, TEENSY, WEENSY,  ITTY, ITSY BITSY and the like.

18. "Quite so": TRUE.

19. Without exception: EVERY.

23. Brief "If you ask me (and even if you didn't)": IMO.  In My Opinion.

24. Current: HIP.  Neither an electrical nor a hydraulic reference.

25. Rapper Lil __ X: NAS.  He appears often.

28. Wan: ASHEN.

34. Brazilian city: RIO.  RIO de Janeiro

35. Otherwise: ELSE.

37. World Heritage Site org.: UNESCO.

38. School units: CLASSES.  CREDITS was a pretty good, but incorrect, first thought.

40. Chest of drawers: DRESSER.  What did the Ikea DRESSER say to the aliens after landing on their planet?  "I come in pieces."

41. Valiant: HEROIC.

42. Sound like a pig: OINK.

43. Press coverage: INK.  A now somewhat outdated colloquialism as newspapers continue to lose subscribers.

46. Must-haves: NEEDS.

48. Shares again, on Twitter: RTS.  ReTweetS?  Meh.

49. Energy Star certifying org.: EPA.

50. Tammy Duckworth's title, briefly: SEN.  SENator.  Democrat from Illinois.

57. Shoyu __: noodle dish: RAMEN.  Scooby Doo finishing a prayer.

60. Fallon's predecessor: LENO.  Hosts of "The Tonight Show"

Jimmy Fallon and Jay LENO

61. Tire swing holder: ROPE.  TREE would have fit and the E would have worked.

62. Peabody, e.g.: AWARD.  The Peabody is an AWARD given for excellence in radio broadcasting.  The Sherman in an entirely different matter.

63. Shoots the breeze: YAKS.  Also, large, hairy animals.

64. Continent with 11 time zones: ASIA.

65. Insurance spokeslizard: GECKO.

66. Root word?: RAH.  To root, as in to cheer for a team.

67. "To Kill a Mockingbird" star: PECK.  Gregory.

Down:

1. Pre-release software version: BETA.

2. Asgard god: ODIN.  As I am sure that I have mentioned before, I first learned of ODIN and Loki and Thor from reading Marevel comic books as a child.

3. Leaf blower: WIND.  A bit of misdirection if one first thought of those noisy, but water saving, devices.  Also, the output of those devices.

4. Buffalo: STYMIE.  Not used as the animal but, rather, as the verb.

5. Intro to physics?: ASTRO.  Often clued with reference to the Houston, TX baseball team.*

6. Fringe benefit: PERK.  Short, and intentionally misspelled, slang for perquisite.

7. Frozen drink: SLUSHIE.

8. Nurture: FEED.

9. "Schitt's Creek" co-creator: LEVY.  Dan and Eugene LEVY.  Either one.

10. "__ we done here?": ARE.

11. Lancelot or Mix-a-Lot: SIR.  On the TV show "Two and a Half Men" it was SIR Craps-a-lot.

12. Vital: KEY.  Synonyms for necessary/essential.

15. Really stinky: FETID.

21. Unrealistically common affliction in soap operas: AMNESIA.  My girlfriend just told me that she has AMNESIA.  Who does she think she is!?

22. Positive shift: UPTURN.

25. Scottish monster, affectionately: NESSIE.  The Loch Ness Monster.

26. Rise: ASCEND.

27. Baby birds?: STORKS.  Not chicks.

28. Sagittarius symbol: ARCHER.

29. Mum: SILENT.

30. Stockpiles: HOARDS.  Why do dragons HOARD jewels and gold?  Because cash is flammable.

31. Beast of burden in many fables: ASS.  Karen and Patti have teed this one up.  Who am I to pass on the chance?

The Rolling Stones

32. Support for a proposal?: ONE  KNEE.  A marriage proposal.

33. Hi-__ graphics: RES.  RESolution.

36. Tres __ cake: dairy-soaked dessert: LECHES.

39. Sea plea, briefly: SOS.  A rhyming clue.

40. Took care of: DID.

42. Really hot: ON A TEAR.  Idiomatic for having success over a period of time.

45. In a fitting way: APTLY.

47. Set up: ENTRAP.  If you ask a cop what their favorite movie is they have to tell you.  Otherwise it's ENTRAPment.

50. Smidge: SKOSH.  From the Japanese word sukoshi (pronounced skoh shee).

51. Weightlifting move: JERK.

52. Reverse: UNDO.

53. "Eso Beso" singer: ANKA.  Paul ANKA wrote, and performed, many other songs but "Eso Besso" is the one that seems to appear most frequently in our puzzles.  I wonder why that is.  Lots of vowels and esses, I suppose.

54. Sprinkler attachment: HOSE.  I do not attach a hose to my sprinklers.  They must mean an attachment used for sprinkling.

55. "Awesome, dude!": EPIC.  Slangy clue.  Slangy answer.

56. Pipe problem: LEAK.

57. Tattered cloth: RAG.  Or a song by Scott Joplin.

58. Blow away: AWE.

59. Big name in laptops and lipstick: MAC.  We are all familiar with the Apple MACintosh computer, the actual MACintosh apple, MAC and Cheese and the Big MAC.  In keeping with recent trends, however, the author/editor elected to go with lipstick.   Oh, well.  What the L.

Big Mac Edition

Karen, you are invited to post whatever the L you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or anything else in the Comments section.  We'd love to hear from you.

___________________________________________

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 Karen Lurie

It's Yours for the Taking:  Go for it!  The word GET can be found after the word IT in each of the theme clues.

20-Across. *   Financial plan followed by a mayor: CITY BUD GET.

28-Across. *   Nests, as a set of measuring cups: FITS TOGETHER.

44-Across. *   Achieve one's specific goal: HIT THE TARGET.

And the unifier:

55-Across. "Seize the day!," and what the answers to the starred clues literally have: GET AFTER IT.

Across:

1. Seat that may swallow the remote control: SOFA.

5. U.K. soccer teams: FCs.  I think this stands for Football Clubs.  I wasn't in the UK on this past trip, so can't confirm.

8. Tappable symbols: ICONS.

 

13. Happy kitty sound: PURR.

14. Washer capacity: LOAD.  My washing machine got a real workout this past weekend.

16. Krispy Kreme buy: DONUT.  Yummers!

17. Thing: ITEM.

18. "Pitch Perfect" actress Kendrick: ANNA.  Some of the scenes in Pitch Perfect 2, which also starred Anna Kendrick (née Anna Cooke Kendrick; b. Aug. 9, 1985), were filmed at the Louisiana State University.

19. Residence: ABODE.

23. From square one: ANEW.

24. "Totally!": YES.

25. "It's __-win situation": A NO.

26. Breakfast syrup choice: MAPLE.

32. Olympian's goal: MEDAL.  What are the medals really made of?

35. Technical sch.: INST.  As in an Institution.

36. Big primate: APE.

37. Words that clarify spelling: AS IN.  "A" as in Apple.

38. Some postgrad degs.: MAs.  As in a Master of Arts degree.

39. Bermuda shorts endpoint: KNEE.

Um... NO!

40. Automobile: CAR.

41. Way out there: AFAR.

43. No longer vivid: FADED.

48. Repeated slogan: CHANT.

49. Frying liquid: OIL.  What is the best cooking oil for frying?

50. Some laptops: PCs.  I use a Mac.

53. Fish often grilled, on menus: MAHI.  Yummers!

Mahi Mahi

58. Odds partner: EVENS.  Because Odds and ENDS wouldn't fit.

60. Take five: REST.  Take Five was a favorite of my Dad's.  We played it at his funeral.

61. Score in a tennis shutout: LOVE.  Why Love in Tennis?

62. Royal domain: REALM.

63. Fill until full: SATE.

64. Scissors sound: SNIP.

65. Annual cable sports awards: ESPYS.

66. Drug used in microdosing therapies, for short: LSD.  It's formal name is Lysergic acid diethylamide.

67. Snakelike swimmers: EELS.  We had some of the most amazing smoked eel at the Volendammer Vishandel fish shop in Amsterdam.

Down:

1. Like hot wings: SPICY.

2. Belly button type: OUTIE.

3. Guitar neck features: FRETS.

4. West Point team: ARMY.

5. Show off shamelessly: FLAUNT.  If you've got it ...

6. Time-share units: CONDOS.

7. Participated on karaoke night: SANG.

8. Mont. neighbor: IDA.

9. Bright blue pigment: COBALT.  Everything you wanted to know about Cobalt, but didn't know to ask.

10. How some tots count to five: ON ONE HAND.

11. Ready for skinny-dipping: NUDE.

12. Instant Pot dish: STEW.

15. Mailer-__: programs that send automated messages: DAEMONS.

21. Skip out (on): BAIL.

22. License plates: TAGS.  Here are some examples of Louisiana license plates.

27. Vet's patient: PET.

28. Autograph seeker: FAN.

29. Wonder Woman's headpiece: TIARA.  Well, sort of.  I think of a tiara as being bejeweled.

30. Fencing blade: ÉPÉE.  A crossword staple.

31. Woodwind insert: REED.

32. Name associated with supersonic speed: MACH.  Named after Ernst Walfried Josef Wenzel Mach (Feb. 18, 1838 ~ Feb. 19, 1916).

33. Actor Morales: ESAI. Esai Morales (né Esai Manuel Morales Jr.; b. Oct. 1, 1962) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles, but I can never remember how to spell his name.

34. Really inexpensive: DIRT CHEAP.

38. Holds weight: MATTERS.

39. Kit __ Klub: "Cabaret" setting: KAT.

41. "I see now!": AHA!

42. __ shui: FENG.

43. Perceived: FELT.

45. How prosciutto is sliced: THINLY.  Prosciutto is uncooked, unsmoked dry-cured ham, slices so thin you can see right through it.

46. Cooks in an oven: ROASTS.

47. Talented: GIFTED.

50. Naturally inclined (to): PRONE.

51. Courteous: CIVIL.

52. Pedometer units: STEPS.

53. For a __ pittance: MERE.

54. St. crossers: AVES.  Streets and Avenues.

56. Color named for a duck: TEAL.

57. Besides: ELSE.

59. Texting format, briefly: SMS.  As in Short Messing Service.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Many thanks to Malodorous Manatee and Waseeley for holding down the fort on Tuesdays while I was away.   We traveled from Budapest, Hungary to Amsterdam, Netherlands, part work, all fun.

Budapest

Mespelbrunn Castle

The Netherlands

Flower market in Amsterdam

Mespelbrunn Castle