Thursday, November 10, 2022, David Taber & Laura Moll

 

TIT FOR TAT

In the brief trailer to their 1935 film Tit for Tat, Stan and Ollie open their new electrical store next door to Charlie Hall's grocers - unfortunately they'd previously fallen out with him on a trip to the mountains (in Them Thar Hills) and Hall was not ready to forgive and forget. They spend the rest of the film trading hostilities, TIT for TAT until a local cop puts a stop to their shenanigans.  If you want to bring back some chuckles from a bygone era, here's the complete 19 min. video.
 

Today's team of constructors David Taber and Laura Moll invite us to their own game of Tit for Tat, with a theme about people in different jobs trading their services.  Dave and Laura have had three previous puzzles published in the LA Times, the most recent on June 22, 2022 blogged by MalMan.  David also posts puzzles on the Alloquest site. 

I found the first Across clue to be particularly troublesome (see below), and I have to confess that afterwards I actually had to TITT and look at the answer list before finishing.  I'm looking forward to hearing other solvers' success stories on this, for me at least, Friday/Saturdayish puzzle.

[Not mentioning any names, but] some people will be happy to hear that there were no asterisks, circles, or reveals in the clues, with all of the themers identifiable by being questions starting with the words "Trade between" and then filled with common idioms containing the words FOR or FOR A.  Here they are:

17A. Trade between a football coach and a candymaker?: PLAYS FOR A SUCKER.  PLAYS being the coach's game plans for getting the ball over the line, and SUCKER being hard sugar candy on a stick.  For reasons described below this was one of the last clues I got.

22A. Trade between a hairstylist and a computer retailer?: BOBS FOR APPLES.  It was here that the light bulb began to glow a bit.  There are a lot of variations on BOBS.  Here's a medium:
 

Medium Bob

Here's the APPLE from last Thursday's puzzle.  If she held out for one of those, I think the stylist got the better deal.

37A. Trade between a lingerie shop owner and a utility manager?: JOCKEYS FOR POWER.  Sorry, no pictures or Blogger might bust us, however it's not smart enough to go down this link.  But with today's energy crisis it will take a lot of undies to generate all the HEAT we're going to need to keep warm this winter.

45A. Trade between an opinion writer and a bus driver?: TAKES FOR A RIDE.  The subtlest of the themers IMO.  An op ed writer gives us her/his TAKES on various topics.  But any bus driver who trades his services for most of today's opinions is the one being TAKEN FOR A RIDE.

56. Trade between a plastic surgeon and a game store owner?: A NOSE FOR TROUBLE.  In the movie Roxanne based on the French play Cyrano de Bergerac, fire chief Charlie Bale, played by Steve Martin, definitely has what you might called a TROUBLED NOSE:

Oh and here's a last minute clip, suggested by CrossEyedDave:
 

If Charlie could get a NOSE JOB for a game of Trouble, I think he'd definitely come out ahead:

NOSE crossing with  46D AROMA was cute.

Here's the grid:

Now let's swap some Acrosses and Downs:

Across:

1. "The Absinthe Drinker" painter: MANET.  A dangerous drink and my undoing (the clue, not the booze).  I figured the painter must be MANET, as 1D MAPS have legends, but couldn't make everything around it work.  Then I made the mistake of Googling "The Absinthe Drinker".  With my dumb luck it turns that there are two 5 letter artists who created paintings with this title:

So I took everything apart and substituted DEGAS, but then after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I finally put everything back together with MANET.  If this was intentional misdirection on the part of the constructors, then they are absolutely brilliant!

6. Parodied: APED.

10. Highway division: LANE.  And as we all know, also the proper name for the long flat surface upon which the game of bowling is played ...

Bowling Lane

14. 2012 winner of six Grammys: ADELE.  Here she performs one of those award winners, created for the James Bond thriller Skyfall.

15. Activewear retailer named for a South American region: PATAGONIA.   Some of the things Patagonia is famous for.  And here's how the retailer came by that name.

19. Go unused: SIT.

20. Roofing choice: TILE.   Some pros and cons of tile roofing.

21. Grows tiresome: PALLS.  A simple word with a lot of meanings.

26. Twist facts: LIE.  A whole lotta twistin' goin' on these days.

27. Exciting escape room discovery: KEY.  ESCAPE ROOM was one of the fills last Thursday.  Here's what one is in case you missed it.

28. Turn on an axis: PIVOT.   PIVOT is also a metaphor for major life changes and for skating maneuvers.  Here's a book by Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno called Hard Pivot.  We'll meet Apolo again in 6D.

31. Mystical glow: AURA.   Again this word has multiple definitions.   Definitions no. 3 and 4 might apply to this:

Inside the World of Auras

Serious people don't place much stock in this however.

33. Tranquil: CALM.  "If you remain cool, CALM, and collected, while everyone else around you is losing their heads, then maybe you don't understand the situation." - Anonymous

Prior to to WWII the British did understand the situation they were in and did their best to prepare for it.   Keep Calm and Carry On was a motivational poster intended to raise the morale of the British public who were threatened with widely predicted mass air attacks on major cities. Although 2.45 million copies were printed, the poster was only rarely publicly displayed and was actually little known until a copy was rediscovered in 2000 at Barter Books, a bookshop in Alnwick.  It has since been re-issued by a number of private companies, and has been used as the decorative theme for a range of products.  We saw one recently in a tea room in the Hamilton neighborhood of Baltimore:

 

40. Certain: SURE.

41. "Smack That" rapper: AKON.  Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up" (featuring Styles P), the first single from his debut album Trouble (2004), followed by the second single "Lonely". "Smack That",  written in collaboration with rapper Eminem, was released on Akon's 2006 album Konvicted.

.

Akon

42. Twist-top snacks: OREOS.  The daily cookie clue.

43. Bout ender, briefly: TKO.  Technical Knock Out.  The refs decide to call the bout so they won't have to call an ambulance.

44. Moderate running pace: JOG.

52. Showed again: RERAN.  A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated.

53. Pranks: GAGS.  Something to watch just for laughs, a Canadian "Candid Camera", and a CSO to CanadianEh!

54. Sprite: ELF.  An elf is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. In medieval Germanic-speaking cultures, elves generally seem to have been thought of as beings with magical powers and supernatural beauty, ambivalent towards everyday people and capable of either helping or hindering them.  Elves also play major roles in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings saga.  Here is Galadriel, Queen of the Elves, played by Cate Blanchett:
 

Galadriel

60. On occasion: SOMETIMES.

61. Set free: UNTIE.  A CSO to Jinx.

62. Birmingham baby buggy: PRAM.   British shorthand for PERAMBULATOR.  American composer John Alden Carpenter wrote a short 6 movement tone poem about  a PRAM called Adventures in a Perambulator recalling childhood dreams.   Here's the third movement, titled Hurdy-Gurdy (2:30 min):

 

63. Canadian gas brand: ESSO.  Two vowels and 2 S's; high octane crossword glue.  Hi again CanadianEh!

64. Sheds: LOSES.

Down:

1. Places for legends?: MAPS.  Typical symbols on MAP legends:
 

2. "Stick to the script!" elicitor: AD LIB.  The clue is a quote of a director to an actor.  And when the actor ignores the director, sometimes her/his lines are better than the script.  And one of those lines was ad-libbed by 49D.

3. "How cool!": NEATO. Hand up if you know anyone who says this?

4. Nevada copper town: ELY.  A bit of the history of Ely, Nevada.

5. Proving ground: TEST SITE.   Aberdeen Proving Ground, in Edgewood, MD is the U.S. Army's oldest active proving ground, established on 20 October 1917 (the year my Father was born), six months after the US entered World War I. Its location allowed design and testing of the larger ordnance materiel required in that war and it was near contemporary industrial and shipping centers.  As years went by the nearby town grew to a 17 sq mile suburban area and the wastes generated by APG weapons testing have become potential sources of water and soil contamination. 

6. Skating gold medalist Ohno: APOLO.  This is considered one of the greatest moments in Team USA history, even though OHNO didn't win the Gold Medal for the race:
 

7. Kitchen accessory: PARER.  A very useful tool.  I'm the official PARING sous chef in the house.

8. Sked info: ETA.

9. Court figs.: DAS.  District Attorneys.

10. Tourist helper: LOCAL.  Who better to ask?  And they all speak English, right?

11. Bracelet place: ANKLE.

12. Physics Nobelist Bohr: NIELS.  Dane Niels Bohr was one of the most important physicists of the 20th Century,  another being his colleague and close friend German Werner Heisenberg.  In the 1920s the two laid the foundations for the revolutionary science of Quantum Mechanics, which forever changed the way that physicists look at the world.  The motto of Bohr's family crest is Contraria Sunt Complementa (Latin for Opposites are Complementary).  The motto summarizes Bohr's "Copenhagen Interpretation" of Quantum Physics and also his sometimes difficult relationship with Heisenberg. 

That relationship was the subject of the 1998 2-act play Copenhagen by Michael Frayn, which concerns a meeting in that city that the two physicists had in 1941 after the beginning of WWII, when Denmark was a nation now occupied by Germany.  The play, which  has only three characters, became the basis for this film made in 2002, starring Daniel Craig as Heisenberg, Stephen Rea as Bohr, and Francesca Annis as Bohr's wife Magrethe.  Here's the trailer ...

13. Disney souvenir feature: EARS.

16. Fishbowl fish: GUPPY.

18. Wind similar to a piccolo: FIFE.  Similar, but not the same.  Here are the differences.

23. Chap: BLOKE.  English men.

24. Birthplace of LeBron James and Steph Curry: AKRON.  LeBron James and Steph Curry:

25. Nectar flavor: PEAR.  The operative word here is flavor, as in pear nectar is not 100% juice.

28. Attire for a Zoom game night, maybe: PJS.

29. Note from one who's shy?: IOU.

30. Blockbuster player?: VCR.  The Last Blockbuster (2020), now streaming on YouTube:
 

31. Want from: ASK OF.

32. Airborne mystery: UFO.  The majority of UFO's are NOT mysteries, once they've been identified.  But a relatively small percentage of sightings that have been made by trained observers have not been explained, and they still remain mysteries.  Due primarily to national security concerns NASA has recently assembled a team of experts to investigate what it now calls Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs).  The use of this new descriptor is an effort to remove some of the stigma associated with the previous term in the past and to encourage responsible reporters, primarily aircraft pilots, to step forward with their observations.  I've been reading the literature on UAPs for over 50 years and the most credible study of them that I've found is by investigative reporter Leslie Kean in her 2011 book UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record.  It's definitely worth a read.

33. Welsh dog: CORGI.  Queen Elizabeth II had more than 30 Welsh Corgis in her lifetime and her recent death put a spotlight on these adorable dogs.

34. Transfix: AWE.  IMHO a much abused term.

35. Summer sign: LEO.

36. "__ Dalloway": MRS. Mrs Dalloway is a novel by Virginia Woolf, published on 14 May 1925, that details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional upper-class woman in post-First World War England. It is one of Woolf's best-known novels.

38. Jabbers: YAKS.

39. Sympathetic case: POOR SOUL.  A hint of condescension?

43. Words to live by: TENET.

44. Jaromír who scored the second-most points in NHL history: JAGR.  Jaromír Jágr  (born 15 February 1972) is a Czech professional ice hockey right-winger (a bit about hockey politics) for, and the owner of, team Rytíři Kladno of the Czech league Extraliga. He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames, serving as captain of the Penguins and the Rangers, between 1990 and 2018.  Here are his stats.

Jaromír Jágr

45. Barbershop part: TENOR.  Not a hair part, but a voice range in a Barbershop quartet.  Here's a new rendition of an old song by a different quartet:
 

And here's the original.

46. Scent: AROMA.

47. Casey who voiced Shaggy on "Scooby-Doo": KASEM.  Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably American Top 40. He was the first actor to voice Norville "Shaggy" Rogers in the Scooby-Doo franchise (1969 to 1997 and 2002 to 2009) and as Dick Grayson/Robin in Super Friends (1973–1985).

Casey Kasem

48. Folklore beasts: OGRES.

49. "Midnight Cowboy" hustler: RATSO.  Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight.  Set in New York City, Midnight Cowboy depicts the unlikely friendship between two hustlers: naïve sex worker Joe Buck (Voight), and ailing con man Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo (Hoffman).  I've not seen it and it sounds kind of noir to me, but apparently it did very well with the critics and the box office.

50. Financial obligations: DEBTS. E.g. 29D.
.
51. Kemper of "The Office": ELLIE. Another occasional ad-libber,  Elizabeth Claire Kemper (born May 2, 1980) is an American actress and comedian.  She has been nominated for a Critics' Choice Movie Award, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Satellite Awards, and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards. Here she is on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert describing an early dramatic role she played:

52. Talk hoarsely: RASP.

55. They may be flat: FEES.  Had FEET, but they didn't perp.

57. "Phooey!" of yore: FIE.  Here's Fie on Goodness from the days of yore in the Court of King Arthur (lyrics):

58. Mantra syllables: OMS.  A sound track to a 31A?

59. Card game with a Moo! version for preschoolers: UNO.

Cheers,
Bill

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

waseeley

David Taber and Laura Moll, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever, in the Comments section below.  We'd love to hear from you.

 

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 76th birthday to Husker Gary's loving wife Joann (right with a vest) and her twin sister Joyce.  Here they're with their mom Martha.

 

Wednesday, November 24, 2021, Dave Taber & Laura Moll

Theme:  THE I's HAVE IT

64. Watcher ... and homophone of a letter that appears exactly once in every clue and all but two answers: EYE.

It's rare to see something new in a puzzle and/or theme - but here's one I haven't seen before. The only two answers without an I are 40A CYCLOPS and the reveal at 64D EYE. See?

Melissa here. A total of 39 I's in the grid. And one I in every clue, too - wow! This appears to be a debut for the team of Dave Tabor and Laura Moll. Ironic that neither of their names contain an I. There are also a handful of multi-word answers which are fun and an added challenge. I hope we see more from Dave and Laura.

Across: 

1. Little __ Muffet: MISS.

5. Roger Bannister, famously: MILER. Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister was an English middle-distance athlete and neurologist who ran the first sub-4-minute mile. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and finished in fourth place. "The Bannister Effect" is the phenomenon of one person showing others that it can be done and, thus, prompting others to believe and achieve.

10. Speaker in Cooperstown: TRIS. Tris Speaker (1888-1958) hit a Major League record 792 doubles; he also had 3,514 hits and holds the record for outfielders in assists & double plays.

14. Elvis or Coca-Cola: ICON. That was pretty tricky.

15. "The L Word" co-creator Chaiken: ILENE. Showtime series.

16. Whisper: HINT.

17. Interstate hauler: SEMI.

18. Ad prizes: CLIOS.

19. Dramatic opener: ACT I. Nice clue.

20. Adagio and allegro: TEMPI. Plural of tempo. In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece.

22. Leave the city to evade arrest: SKIP TOWN. Another tricky clue.

24. Like some tanks: SEPTIC.

27. Where the old woman lived: IN A SHOE. 

 

28. Permits to enter: LETS IN. So sneaky these clues! Permits is verb, not noun here.

30. Title of respect: SRI. Polite form of address in India. It is also commonly used as a title of respect within the yoga community.

31. Exec, slangily: SUIT.

33. Schoolmarmish: PRIM.

35. List to-dos: ITEMS. Even in this age of technology, I still tend to write to-do's on paper. Then I lose them.

39. Intense anger: IRE.

40. It has just one 64-Down: CYCLOPS. In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes are giant one-eyed creatures.

42. Shapiro of NPR: ARI.

43. Delivery, as of a baby: BIRTH.

45. Inter __: ALIA. Latin, meaning "among other things." Used in legal pleadings and writings to specify one example out of many possibilities. In general terms, the phrase is used to say that there are other things involved apart from those that are mentioned.

46. Recipe word: STIR.

47. Relieved (of): RID.

49. Comes to light: ARISES.

51. Secret fraternity member: SHRINER. Masonic society established in 1870 and headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

55. Party or wild follower: ANIMAL.

57. Bit of encouragement: KEEP AT IT. Don't give up!

59. Vinyl-covered, as a floor: TILED. Tough clue - I usually think of tile as ceramic.

61. Worldwide: Abbr.: INTL. International.

62. Absinthe flavor: ANISE.

65. Half a round on the links: NINE. Golf.

66. Ohio's lake: ERIE.

67. R&B family name: ISLEY. Ronald and younger brother Ernie Isley are the two remaining siblings of The Isley Brothers.

68. Budget sister company: AVIS. Avis is regarded as a higher-end car rental company, while Budget is cheaper. There are locations where the same mechanics services both.

69. Runs out of juice: DIES.

70. "It's true!": NO LIE.

71. Guido of Baroque art fame: RENI. 144 Guido Reni Artworks.

Down: 

1. Light fog: MIST.

2. Relatives of Slurpees: ICEES. What's the difference?

3. Server with a blush?: SOMMELIER. Great clue.

4. Piece of prose: SNIPPET.

5. A hot one can be problematic: MIC. Microphone.

6. Laid up: ILL.

7. Island necklaces: LEIS.

8. Long, thin soup mushroom: ENOKI. The Complete Guide to Enoki Mushrooms.

9. Viscous plant substances: RESINS.

10. "Bingo!": THAT'S IT.

11. Japanese electronics company: RICOH.

12. Cut down the middle: IN TWO.

13. "Goosebumps" series author: STINE.

21. Gomez's furry cousin: ITT. From TV show The Adams Family.

23. French capital: PARIS.

25. Road trip game: I SPY.

26. Approximately: CIRCA.

29. Nabisco brand name: NILLA.

31. Jem, to Scout Finch: SIB. From To Kill a Mockingbird. We have a cat name Scout, and another named Boo. Now all I need is a dog named Atticus.

32. Psychic Geller: URI. Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other illusions.

34. Ballerina Shearer: MOIRA. 1926-2006. Scottish ballet dancer and actress. She is best remembered for her performances in Powell and Pressburger's The Red Shoes and Michael Powell's Peeping Tom.

36. Completely dominates: EATS ALIVE. Again with the two-word answer!

37. Med. injury detector: MRI. Magnetic resonance imaging.

38. Title for two Beatles: SIR. in 1997 Paul McCartney was knighted for services to music; Ringo Starr received the same honor in 2018.

40. The good dishes: CHINA.

41. Discomfort cause: PAIN.

44. Makes four into twelve, say: TRIPLES.

46. Advanced course offering: SEMINAR.

48. Hold for questions: DETAIN.

50. Take care of a kitty: SIT.

51. Went down a slippery slope: SKIED. Nice.

52. Matisse of the art world: HENRI.

53. Knot again: RETIE. Haha.

54. Old-time laundry soap brand: RINSO. Laundry soap and detergent marketed by Unilever.

56. Red Square figure: LENIN. Red Square serves as the resting place of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin. His preserved body has been on public display there since shortly after his death in 1924, with rare exceptions in wartime.

58. Place for singles: TILL. Dollar bills.

60. He loved Lucille: DESI. Aw.

63. Cinque e uno: SEI. Italian: Five and one = six.

Melissa

Notes from C.C.:

Please send your thoughts and prayers to dear Spitzboov (Al), who's been hospitalized due to breathing problem, which could be the result of the weekly Retacrit injection for his rheumatoid arthritis. He called me last night and he sounded good. He might be out of the hospital soon.

 

Spitzboov, Betty & Argyle 

  (August 23, 2014, Washington County Fair)