Wednesday, Sep 25th, 2024, Kyle Dolan

  C-3PO

I AM a Brass-colored Robot~!

A refreshing departure from the Wednesday puzzles of late - no circles, a handful of well-known proper names, and an author I have not blogged before; Kyle has had five other puzzles published for the LA Times this year.  A metal-as-adjective theme culminating in a 21st century bane - the Captcha verification.  The Corner has this unfortunate feature - it's a very aggravating security check, especially when it doesn't work properly.  The two ferrous and one copper/zinc alloy themers; 

16. Margaret Thatcher biopic: THE IRON LADY - held office while this band was most popular in the United Kingdom - and the world.  The song's intro is most appropriate, considering the theme. . . .

IRON Maiden, The Prisoner - "I am not a number~!"

27. Nickname in Metropolis: MAN OF STEEL - AKA Superman; I grew up with the Christopher Reeve version, who played the title role in the movie from 1978; its main theme composed by John Williams 

Superman The Movie trailer

42. Admirals, colloquially: NAVAL BRASS - The highest rank in the Navy is CNO, Chief of Naval Operations ( the Wiki ), currently held by Admiral Lisa Francetti; the highest active rank, Fleet Admiral, was last held by William "Bull" Halsey - I mention him because as I was researching the clue/answer, I read that Bull was born in NJ ( so was I ), died on Long Island ( I think I would have ) and was lying in state at the Washington National Cathedral - where I am currently renovating the Pipe Organ~!

56. Captcha confirmation well-suited to the people in 16-, 27-, and 42-Across?: I'M NOT A ROBOT

I'm not a robot, I'm an Ewok deity~!

And Away We Go~!


ACROSS:

1. Tunneling pests: ANTS - household pests, too, but they're not so bad in my home

5. T-shirt style: V-NECK

10. Hesitant sound: ERM.... - there was a lot of this in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

13. Bake or grill: COOK - generic food preparation verbs

14. Event that may begin at sunset: SOIRÉE

15. Highest number on an old clock: XII - Twelve, in Roman numerals, but not necessarily an "old" clock, technically

18. "60 Minutes" network: CBS - typically delayed due to an overrun of the Sunday NFL game. . . .

19. Had dinner: SUPPED - a "alternative" way to DINE

20. Many profile pics: SELFIES - I'll add a gratuitous one. . . .

The WNC façade pipes are along the wall in back

22. Fra __: spicy Italian sauce: DIAVOLO - I've not heard of this; filled via perps

Shrimp Fra Diavolo - looks yummy; the recipe

25. Course not requiring much effort: EASY A

26. Carded at a bar, informally: ID'ED

30. Affectionate treatment, for short: TLC - Tender Loving Care

31. Actress Tomei: MARISA - I always recall her "biological clock" ticking scene - name #1 I know

"My Cousin Vinnie"

32. Like the sound of a double bass: DEEP - and 32ft Wood Bourdon Pipes, too

34. Provide food for: CATER

35. Misplaced: LOST

39. Greenery symbolizing victory: LAUREL - cannot see this word and not think of. . . . 

Most of the scenes from Blazing Saddles are NSFW these days

41. Fox foot: PAW

46. Crumbly, briny cheese: FETA

Oooh, on pizza, great idea~!

47. Benefit: AVAIL

48. Carolina __: superhot peppers: REAPERS

50. Casual eateries: BISTROS

53. Obscure for security reasons, perhaps: REDACT

No such thing as UFOs

55. Degs. for English majors: BAs - Bachelor of Arts

59. Google Maps fig.: ETA

60. Opened for the doctor: SAID "AH"

61. One of the Gilmore girls: RORY - she was the daughter - played by Alexis Bledel; name #2 I know

I did watch for a while - back in 2000

62. Rehoboth Beach's st.: DELaware - I knew this because my buddy Mike P lived near Dover, and we all went down to visit the "Hamptons" of the state

We did the boardwalk thing - I recall buying handcrafted chocolate

63. PC key: ENTER - yes, it's nowhere to be found on a MAC

64. Skating jump with a forward take-off: AXEL - skating jump + blah blah blah = Ektorp


DOWN:

1. Play segments: ACTS

2. Football tactic for fast-paced offense: NO-HUDDLE - Football is here~! Summer is gone~! The Jets are 2-1~!

3. Ski binding part: TOE PIECE

I'd like to go skiing again

4. Bypass button in some apps: SKIP AD - this option cannot show up fast enough, IMO

5. Fashion designer Diane __ Furstenberg: VON - All perps - amazingly, of all designers, sumdaze began her Monday blog with a dress from her - go figure~!; her Wiki

6. Soccer zero: NIL - A gripping soccer "football" match is typically ONE - NIL; my dad was a hard-core English FOOTBALL fan, and could watch hours on end, but the pace bores me - I prefer hockey

7. Historic times: ERAS

8. Turn over: CEDE - ah, not 'ROLL'

9. Like some ignition systems: KEYLESS - My 2020 Subaru Crosstrek was the only KEYLESS ignition auto that I have owned - and I sold it back to Carmax at a profit, despite it having problems, because the dealerships were desperate for hybrids

I loved the car, hated the problems

10. __ tax: EXCISE - DAH~! Not INCOME, which messed up my NE corner

11. Marbled beef cut: RIBEYE

12. Book in a pew: MISSAL - Double Dah~!  I had HYMNAL

14. Biblical city: SODOM - Not Babel; I may need to brush up on my church readings. . . .

17. Go "vroom vroom": REV - I am a huge fan of the ABS Show "Castle" - vroom vroom made me think of this scene from Season 1

Pa-na-na-na-na~!

  21. __ flaw: FATAL

23. Hedy of Hollywood: LAMARR - name #3 I know

Pioneer of Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth - and not too hard on the eyes, as well

24. Red-hot: ON A TEAR

26. "__ be my pleasure": "IT'D"

28. Part of a vague threat: OR ELSE~! - or else, what~?

29. Many a Christmas tree: FIR

33. Hair braid: PLAIT

That's a LOT of hair

34. Grizzly baby: CUB

36. Spot for Statler and Waldorf on "The Muppet Show": OPERA BOX - name(s) #4 & 5 I know

37. Fig. submitted with many a college application: SAT SCORE - Standard Aptitude Test

38. Pan Am rival: TWA - both defunct airlines

40. Courtroom cry: "ALL RISE"

42. Snagged: NABBED - a mere two letters difference, clue-to-answer

43. Take flight: AVIATE

44. Liege's tenant: VASSAL - Feudalism - the Wiki

45. Jazz singer Vaughan: SARAH - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Name #6, and I like HuskerG's "shrug" emoji from Saturday, so I am running with it; I had this Sarah confused with MacLachlan Sarah

46. Hat for Indiana Jones: FEDORA - another John Williams composed theme

Mr. Chicken, in a fedora

49. According to: PER

51. Arabian Peninsula country: OMAN - sumdaze had a similar map on Monday as well. . . .

52. Fit of pique: SNIT - I had to wait and see if it was SNIT, SPAT, HUFF, TIFF. . . .

54. "bfn" reply: TTYL - Bye For Now = Talk To You Later

57. Tribute in verse: ODE

58. Hull sealant: TAR - Brett Hull SEALS the 1999 Stanley Cup final with a controversial 3OT goal

Rule 78(b)

Splynter

Saturday, August 17, 2024, Kyle Dolan

 Saturday Themeless by Kyle Dolan

Kyle returns with another challenging Saturday exercise for us. This is my 16th Saturday puzzle authored by Dr. Dolan. As usual, his clever cluing was frustrating maddening enjoyable. 😀

My last two fills were the two cells in red you see in the grid. Two "educated" guesses turned out to be correct to finish the 3-letter words. Arrggghhh! I  got a well-earned "got 'er done".

Dan Whitney from
Pawnee City, NE

                 

Across:

1. Croc or moc: SHOE - 😀

 

5. Not tons: A FEW - Kyle and/or Patti had more than A FEW clue head scratchers

9. Bank: MOOLA - MOOLA and bank are used as slang for each other.  Hmmm...🤔

14. Olivia of "The Newsroom": MUNN.

15. Vessel for Anne Bonny or Zheng Yi Sao: PIRATE SHIP - The light finally came on for me as I did not know either of these women. After a few cells filled, the rest was obvious.

 

17. Quakers' rivals: ELIS - An Ivy League contest

18. Image concerns?: PR AGENCIES - I struggled mightily and had to finally parse the fill. PR AGENCIES are concerns whose job is making good images. 

19. Spoken: ALOUD.

21. Acronym to which an "A" is sometimes added: STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Some insert an "A" adding Art to make STEAM. I put SPCA first because I know an A is sometimes added to it.

22. Tops: A-ONE.

23. Rampaged: RAN RIOT.

25. Scorecard standard: PAR - The standard against which we golfers compare

27. Indulgent meal: BREAKFAST IN BED - BREAKFAST was obvious but IN BED took me some time as I thought about the contents of the meal rather than the courtesy being offered.

33. Language in which "hello" is "sabaidi": LAO.

           

34. Stinger?: NARCO - 🤨 Okay, a NARCO participates in drug stings, so...

35. Code name: MORSE 😀

36. Word in some pasta dish names: ALLA -  We have all seen Penne, ALLA and Vodka in crossword fills.

38. "__ see!": YOU'LL.

40. Outdoor game, slangily: DISC - One variation 

41. Jumps out of one's skin?: MOLTS 😀

43. Provider of outdoor seating: STOOP -STOOPS in NYC were necessitated by the enormous piles of horse manure in the streets.

45. __ Paulo: SAO - All the McDonalds in SAO, Paulo, Brazil. (Saint Paul 😀)

46. Historic brew-haha?: BOSTON TEA PARTY 😀

49. Important figure in Shia Islam: ALI 🤔

50. Entertains grandly: REGALES.

52. __ bowl: ACAI.

55. Point: GIST - As I said earlier, the GIST of Kyle's (or Patti's) clues can be, uh, difficult

58. Screen print?: E-TEXT.

59. Dressy attire that sounds casual: LOUNGE SUIT.

62. Bygone autocrat: TSAR - The [tsar/czar] [avered/avowed] he was at the [acme/apex] of power.

63. "Basically": MORE OR LESS.

64. Teacher of the Dharma: LAMA - Lama (Tibetan: བླ་མ་, Wylie: bla-ma, lit. 'boss') is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru, meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. Okay...

65. Taquería option: ASADO - I knew ASADA and dutifully filled it in. Who knew this is an alternate spelling I needed to finish GOO?

66. Place dear to the Sundance Kid: ETTA -  😀 My favorite clue!

67. Amazon Handmade competitor: ETSY.

Down:

1. Smudge: SMEAR.

2. Brouhaha: HULLABALOO - A salute to the TV show of the same name. This video shows  many of the 60's music groups it featured.

3. Deli basketful: ONION ROLLS.

4. Guarantee: ENSURE - The most famous and controversial guarantee in sports history

5. Slack, e.g.: APP - Guessing the second "P" and parsing PR AGENCIES finally ended my puzzle. I stared at AP_/_RAGENCIES for waaaayyy too long.

An APP not familiar to me

6. End of a growing season, typically: FIRST FROST 😀 

7. "In principio __ Verbum": John 1:1: ERAT - In the beginning was the word.

8. Carry on: WAGE - There are far too many countries WAGING war

9. Fellows: MEN.

10. Film score?: OSCAR NOD - Groan 😖. Patti or Kyle came out of left field with this one. To "score" means to get something. Here a film (not necessarily the film's score) hopes to get (score) an OSCAR NOD.

11. Place-name that comes from the Seneca for "good river": OHIO - The name "Ohio" comes from the Seneca language (an Iroquoian language), Ohi:yo'(roughly pronounced oh-hee-yoh, with the vowel in "hee" held longer), a proper name derived from ohiːyoːh ("good river"), therefore literally translating to "Good River". "Great river" and "large creek" have also been given as translations. 😗

12. Claim: LIEN - I almost had to file a LIEN against a customer when I was a landscaper.

13. Cathedral area: APSE.

16. Bait: TEMPT.

20. Conservationist Fossey: DIAN.

24. "All right": OKAY.

26. Get ready to drive, say: AIM 😀 - Uh, AIMING does not guarantee success.

28. 80 on a math test, maybe: ACUTE - Kyle!! On a math/geometry test, an 80^o angle is an ACUTE angle! 🙄

29. One without a backup plan?: SOLO ARTIST - I remember a wonderful John Denver concert where it was all him with no other acts.

30. Is put off by: BRISTLES AT.

31. Tests that are hard to guess on: ESSAY EXAMS - Correcting them, uh, correctly is a pain!

32. Style with a Streamline Moderne offshoot, informally: DECO.

33. Petting zoo baby: LAMB 

37. Got: ATTAINED.

39. Canter: LOPE.

42. Estrella del día: SOL - La estrella del día de la Tierra es el SOL. (Earth's day star is the Sun).

44. Unit attached to a spine: PAGE 😀 Kyle! Yeah, I guess every PAGE of a book is attached to the book's spine.

47. Niamey's country: NIGER - Niamey is the capital city of NIGER and has a population of over a million. It is NNW of a cwd fav - Accra. If you knew this straight up, my hat is off to you!

48. Reason to consult a mechanic: RATTLE.

51. Adoptee, at times: STRAY.

52. "Resurrection" and "Watusi (Hard Edge)" painter Thomas: ALMA.

ALMA and "Resurrection"

53. Baby talk: COOS.

54. Lighting effect: AURA - Yeah, I'm the only one who first saw lightning. 😛

56. Bridge side, perhaps: ISLE - Hurricane Ian knocked out this bridge that ran from the mainland of Florida out to Sanibel Island where our friend Dr. Ed Sessa lost his house. 

57. Fat with a high smoke point: SUET - Wanna know more?

60. Possible result of over-reduction: GOO - I made a good guess at GO_/ASAD_

61. Org. with a "3-1-1" rule: TSA.