Thursday, December 17, 2020, Jim Holland

 

Good morning, once again, cruciverbalists.  As you may recall from C.C.'s note on last Thursday's blog, Bill (waseeley) and yours truly will now be writing the recaps on alternating Thursdays.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bill, and Boomer, for shouldering much of the past and future work load.

Theme:  Equivalency - Perhaps, E Equals M C Squared ? - Not

He was, justifiably, a difficult man to impress but, be that as it may, today's theme is quite clever if you're into sort-of-weird-word-play.  For this crowd, that, however, is pretty much a given.  Remember, also, that this puzzle comes from the person who played around with vowel sounds and morphed The Grateful Dead into The Grateful Dud, referred to the Detroit baseball team's salary structure as Pay Per Tiger and introduced us to the vocal styling of the Three Tanners.

At three locations within the puzzle, Jim has placed quantitative answers which, when taken together with the key word(s) in the clue, combine to form an equivalent name for a well-known object or place.

17. Equivalent Stanley award?: EIGHT OUNCES.  MM's first reaction was "What the"?  However, the light slowly dawned.  There are EIGHT OUNCES in a full measuring cup.  Combine CUP with STANLEY, et voila, we get Stanley Cup which is the National Hockey League's trophy awarded to the playoff champions.  STANLEY EIGHT OUNCES = STANLEY CUP   

Lord Stanley's Cup

39. Equivalent Scotland locale?: THIRTY SIX INCHES.  A yard is a measurement defined as being three feet, or THIRTY-SIX INCHES, long.  Make the substitution and we get SCOTLAND YARD which is the headquarters locale of the London Metropolitan Police.  SCOTLAND THIRTY SIX INCHES = SCOTLAND YARD  

61. Equivalent type of horse?: FIVE NICKELS.  A nickel is worth five cents.  FIVE NICKELS are worth a quarter of a dollar.  Following along the previous path we come upon a QUARTER HORSE which is a breed of horse named for its dominance in quarter-mile races. FIVE NICKELS HORSE = QUARTER HORSE   

...and now on to the rest of today's puzzle

Across:

1. "Vice" (2018) Oscar nominee Amy: ADAMS.  Right off the bat, a reference with which this solver was totally unfamiliar and a proper noun at that.  Thanks, Jim (sarcasm) or perhaps the editor.  Thanks, perps (not sarcasm).

6. Pairing: UNION.  Two weeks ago we had SCAB.  Today we have UNION.

11. __ water: TAP.  A fill-in-the-blank with many possible answers (e.g. Evian, mineral, hot, potable, soda, seltzer, heavy, etc.).  Fortunately, the three-letter constraint put a cap on the number of possibilities. 

14. Jazz pianist Chick: COREA.  This one was a gimme and, for what seems like the ten thousandth time, reconfirmed my love/hate relationship with proper nouns in crossword puzzles.

15. Fit provider: HONDA.  Misdirection.  Neither a personal trainer nor a tailor but, rather, an automobile.  The Honda Motor Company describes their Fit model as "a small car ready for big adventures."

The Honda Fit

16. Gulf st.: ALA.  ALAbama  The abbreviation for "state" tells us that the answer is also an abbreviation.  Sometimes "st." might stand for "street" or "saint" but in that case it is usually capitalized.  Of course, by convention, the first word of every clue is capitalized and some sly constructors play on that.

19. Storage unit: BIN.  This one felt a bit "off" in that a bin is not really a unit of anything.  In this case, the BIN, itself, is the unit.  Still, "I Love You a BIN and a Peck" is not a song from Guys and Dolls.

20. __-Caps: candy: SNO.

21. Memo opener: IN RE.  IN RE means "in regard to" or "in the matter of".  

22. Went up: SCALED.  SCALE has several different meanings.  Music.  Reptile skin.  A device for weighing.  But in this instance it is a mountain climbing, or a workplace, reference.

24. Produce: CREATE.

26. Venue that may sell naming rights: ARENA.  I wonder how this has worked out for the sponsors who each paid handsomely (estimated at $20 million  - $25 million per year) to have the new NFL ARENAs in Los Angeles and Las Vegas named for them.

27. Forward, in a way: RE-MAIL.  Not "to the front" or an NBA player or overstepping the boundaries of good taste.  Instead, it is another almost-made-up word formed by sticking RE in front of a verb.  I am sure that you were able to RE-solve this one.

30. Take different paths: PART.  

32. Cake decorators: ICERS.

33. "The Ra Expeditions" author Heyerdahl: THOR.   Appropriate for a Thursday, n'est ce pas?  While Heyerdahl successfully demonstrated that it was possible for a primitive raft to sail across the Pacific Ocean, DNA evidence now shows that his theory about Polynesian origins was incorrect.

35. MSN and AOL: ISPS.  Internet Service ProviderS

42. Japanese sandal: ZORI.  When I was just a kid, in the summer we wore those cheap synthetic sandals that bruised the space between your big toe and the adjacent toe.  We called them ZORIs but had no idea as to the origin of the word.

43. Not taxing: EASY.  This one was.

44. Cuban boy in 2000 headlines: ELIAN.  ELIAN Gonzalez was the subject of a much-publicized custody battle involving the governments of the United States and Cuba.  Public opinion was, as they say, highly polarized.

45. Thickener in Asian desserts: AGAR.  I always forget which one is the thickening agent (AGAR) and which one is the banned apple growth-regulator spray (Alar). 

47. They may be special or secret: AGENTS.

Secret Agent Man - Johnny Rivers - 1966 

48. Passionate dance: TANGO.  From the sort-of-sublime to the ridiculous (unless you're into this sort of thing) - Tom Lehrer's The Masochism Tango.  I am not sure when he wrote it but I first heard it on a album that was released in 1959.

The Masochism Tango 

51. Bouts: SPELLS.  Perhaps, as in fainting SPELLS.

54. Off-topic: AFIELD.  Originally, the expression "Far AFIELD" referred to physically coming from a long ways away.  Now the term is also applied in reference to scientific, intellectual, and other, pursuits.

56. Ohio border lake: ERIE.

Lake Erie

57. Anonymous party: DOE.   John DOE.  Jane DOE.  Sometimes ROE.

60. __ service: LIP.  Again, the three letters made it a bit easier.  Although it could have been TEA service it clearly was not going to be POSTAL service or FOREST service or ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET service.

64. Mound stat: ERA.  A baseball reference.  A pitcher's Earned Run Average is computed by multiplying the total number of earned runs that the pitcher has given up by nine and then dividing that product by the total number of innings pitched.

65. Long-stemmed mushrooms: ENOKI.   Know your mushrooms, campers, some are toxic...and some are psychoactive.

Enoki Mushrooms

66. Some South Pacific carvings: TIKIS.   TIKI bars/lounges were very popular in the 1930's - 1960's.  Some are still operating.

67. Court unit of at least six games: SET.  A tennis reference.

68. Search for water: DOWSE.  DOWSing is a type of divination employed in an attempt to find groundwater.   Despite some anecdotal reports of success, it has never been proven to work. 

69. "Mad Men" pool member: STENO.  According to Hollywood's take on the corporate culture of the 1950's, women started their careers in the STENO Pool or Secretarial Pool and men started in the mail room (no pun intended).

Down:

1. Blackjack cards: ACES.  If a player's first two cards are an ACE and a picture card or a ten, then the player has a "natural blackjack".

Blackjack

2. "Whatcha __?": DOIN.  The slanginess of the clue clues us into the fact that the answer will also be slangy.  Still, not the high point of this puzzle.

3. Cornstarch brand: ARGO.

4. Indifferent reaction: MEH.  MEH.

5. Stephen Colbert, for one: SATIRIST.  Not to be confused with a slightly dyslexic sitarist.

6. Enterprise officer: UHURA.  A Star Trek reference.  UHURA was the communications officer aboard the Starship Enterprise.

Lieutenant Nyota UHURA

7. Large chamber group: NONET.  The more or less standard instrumentation of a NONET is flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and double bass.  If Jim had needed a leading M we would have seen Monet.

8. Fortune competitor: INC.  First, we have to figure out that FORTUNE is referring to a magazine and not a pile of money.  INC. is also the name of a business-focused magazine.

9. 2016 work by Pulitzer poet Sharon Olds: ODES.  I am not familiar with this poet.  Thanks, again, perps. 

10. Org. with a long track record?: NASCAR.  A clue meant to be taken quite literally.  The "ORG" tells us it will be an abbreviation and the "track record" bit steers us in the right direction.  National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

11. Put on ice: TABLE.  We might think of cooling a beer or a soda but, nooooo.  Both the clue and answers are colloquialisms for delaying a decision.

12. Strange: ALIEN.

13. World Wildlife Fund logo animal: PANDA.

18. New law student: ONE L.  A first-year law school student is sometimes called a ONE L. 

23. Things, or written things: ARTICLES.  The thing is, this was a very well written clue.

24. Baby transport: CARRIAGE.  I always have trouble with that "extra" A.

25. Bond creator?: EPOXY.  More misdirection.  Re-misdirection?  Fortunately, neither Ian nor Fleming nor U.S. Treasury  was going to fit in the allotted space.

27. Big name in hotels and crackers: RITZ.  Should you elect to combine the two, it would be a good idea to tip the housekeeping staff generously if you leave crumbs all over the room.

Puttin' On The Ritz - Young Frankenstein

28. Lingering effect: ECHO.  One of the best-ever takes on ECHO is Stan Freberg's version of the Elvis classic Heartbreak Hotel.

29. Golda of Israel: MEIR.  Born in Kiev, and raised in Milwaukee, Golda Meir served as Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974.

31. MSNBC analyst Melber: ARI.  Another unfamiliar proper noun for this solver - probably because of my lack of cable/satellite television.

33. Romanov royals: TSARS.  A hundred years have passed and yet humans are still fascinated by the former Russian royal family.

34. Casual hellos: HIS.  Didn't we have a similar clue with the exact same answer last Friday?

36. __ guard: SHIN.  Another fill-in-the-blank clue.  Praetorian was not going to fit.

37. Fuel from a bog: PEAT.  This Marine mammal loves the qualities of PEATed Scotch Whisky and, even with flippers in lieu of hands, could write volumes on stills, malting barley, barrel aging, distilleries, etc.  Those of you who share this passion should feel free to email the Manatee.

38. Taxpayer IDs: SSNS.  Social Security NumberS

40. Pro vote: YEA.   Yes, although we always have to also consider that AYE might be the answer.

41. Pays no attention to: NEGLECTS.

46. Hit the links: GOLFED.  Several regular contributors here likely got this one in an instant.  Links became synonymous with GOLF because a links golf course is the oldest style of GOLF course.  Types of Golf Courses  This clue plays on the past tense/present tense duality of the verb - in this instance, "hit".  Bet, cut, fit, put, set, wed and hurt are other verbs that allow constructors to attempt to mislead us.

47. Others, to Ovid: ALII.  Et Al is the abbreviation not only for Et ALII (masculine plural) but also for Et Alia (neuter plural) and Et Aliae (feminine plural).

48. Grimm accounts: TALES.  A bit of playfulness with the double-m in the first word of the clue.  Always up for an MM (or an M&M) moment.

49. Pumped up: AFIRE.  I suppose it could be as in "She was AFIRE with enthusiasm."   Went through AMPED up and even FIRED up before getting this one.

50. Go after, puppy-style: NIP AT.

52. Sneaks a look: PEEKS.

53. Orange half of a "Sesame Street" duo: ERNIE.  There is still some debate as to whether or not Bert & ERNIE are a gay couple or if they are just best friends.  According to the writer, Mark Saltzman, they are a couple . . . and  writers can mold their characters into anything that they wish them to be.

Ernie & Bert

55. Purple pet in old cartoons: DINO.  The Flintstones' dog-like pet was a small dinosaur named DINO (dee no).  Not to be confused with one of these guys.

Dino Desi & Billy

57. Fake in the rink: DEKE.  In ice hockey, a DEKE is a move that causes an opposition player to move out of position.  The derivation is from decoy.

58. Lena of "The Reader": OLIN.  At least this proper noun has been seen several previous times and the actress is fairly well known.

59. Exxon, formerly: ESSO.  ESSO is the phonetic version of S. O. or Standard Oil.

62. Sacred promise: VOW.

63. Assembly-required boxful: KIT.  Also a young fox.  This fox was photographed a couple of years ago by yours truly roughly one hundred feet from where I composed this write-up.

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MM OUT 

Thursday, December 3, 2020, Kevin Salat

 

Good morning to you, cruciverbalists, from your local manifestly malodorous marine mammal.  It is now December and it has been a full week since this year's Thanksgiving holiday observances.  Whatever the form yours may have taken let us hope that everyone has stayed well.

The August 1, 2020 Crossword Corner post has some comments by, and biographical information about, today's constructor, Kevin Salat.  You may find it worth the time to peruse it.  Here is a link:

Saturday August 1, 2020

THEME:  It Is A Far, Far Better Rest

For today's puzzle, Kevin has created a theme that is good.  No, it is better than that.  In fact, it is quite literally:

At three locations in the puzzle Kevin has placed a synonym for CUT directly above the word REST.  All are found among the Across clues/answers and the answer at 63 Across does  double duty.  It not only serves as part of the theme but it is also the reveal.

16 Across.  Outshine: ECLIPSE.

18 Across.  The Home of the highest terrestrial biodiversity: RAIN FOREST CANOPY.

_____

37 Across.  ICU hookups: I V DRIPS.  In the Intensive Care Unit they might hook you up to one or more IntraVenous DRIPS.

41 Across.  Airbag, e.g.: PASSIVE RESTRAINT

_____

61 Across.  Extra: SPARE.

63  Across.  Superior ... or what this puzzle's circled letters represent?: A CUT ABOVE THE REST. 

A look at the Answer Grid shows the placements.  It would have been just a touch more elegant if Kevin, somehow, had found a way to work in a four letter synonym for CUT at 37 Across.  Then all of the pairs would have stacked four letters over four letters.  That, however, is a mere nit to pick.

Across:

1. It's not clear: BLUR.   On the other hand, this graphic is clearly BLURry.

5. Strategic corporate name change: RE-BRAND.  An almost, but not quite, made-up word (aren't they all) using RE.  Not all RE-BRANDing represents an improvement.

12. Expert: PRO.  This could have been clued as Con con.

Can Can

15. Arm bone: ULNA.  Alternative clue:  Bone commonly found in crossword puzzles.

17. Cornish game __: HEN.  A straightforward fill-in-the--blank clue.

A Cornish Game Hen (Precooked)

21. Partner of mirrors: SMOKE.  The expression "SMOKE and Mirrors" is used to describe the obscuring or embellishing of the truth with misleading or irrelevant information.

22. What duct tape has a lot of: USES.  You only need two items in your tool box.  If it does not move and it should - USE the WD40.  If it moves and it should not - USE the duct tape.  There is a brand of Duct Taped called Duck Tape.

23. Computer operating system with a penguin mascot: LINUX.

24. Color like khaki: TAN.  This could also have been clued as Bask in the sun, or Wallop, or, as we recently saw, Something done to leather.

25. Little helper?: ASST.   In this instance, when combined with the question mark, "Little" tells us that the answer will be an abbreviated version of a synonym for helper - ASSistanT.

27. Identify: PEG.  A legitimate answer, as in "I've got you PEGged" and just enough of a stretch to be quite clever.

28. Texter's segue: BTW.  Shorthand for By The Way.

29. Building up: AMASSING.

34. 3-Down concern: SCAB.   3-Down's answer is UNION.  A SCAB is a strikebreakers who works at a place where, and when, the unionized workers are on strike.

40. 19th Greek letter: TAU.

44. Craft measured in cubits: ARK.  Recently, we asked the question "What's a cubit?"  A cubit is an ancient measure of length approximately equal to a person's forearm.  Noah was instructed to build an ARK that was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high.

A Full-Scale Version of Noah's Ark

45. What chefs do often: RETASTE.  Another almost-made-up word formed by sticking RE at the beginning.   Is Linquish a word?

46. Single-file travelers, at times: ANTS.

47. "King Arthur's Song" musical: SPAMALOT.  No it isn't.  Yes it is.

King Arthur's Song

49. Red or Ross: SEA.  The Red SEA borders Asia and Africa.  The Ross Sea abuts Antarctica.

51. Were, now: ARE.  A riff on verb tenses.

52. Baja's opposite: ALTA.  In English, lower and upper.  We often see Spanish words in the puzzles.  French, also.  Rarely, Slovene.

54. __ Mahal: TAJ.  Probably a reference to the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah in Agra but it could also be a reference to this gentleman:

Taj Mahal - "Fishin' Bues"

57. Chew out: SCOLD.

59. Fast-food option: TO GO.  In some jurisdictions, today, the only option is to order your meal TO GO.  Also, the name of a dog hero in a 2019 Walt Disney movie.  It was rated PG - for those here who might be curious.

66. Relations: KIN.  Relations as in family relatives and not, for example, algebraic - reflexive, symmetric, transitive or anti symmetric.  Can you think of other types of relations?  I knew that you could.

67.  Part of the CMYK color model:  MAGENTA.  Cyan, Yellow and Black (aka "Key") are the other colors.  One reason that black is referred to as "Key" in this model is because in the German version there is already a color that starts with the letter B (blau).

68. Bassoon cousin: OBOE.  OBOEs often appear in crossword puzzles.  One of the most famous OBOE passages is from Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev.  The OBOE plays the part of the Duck.

The Duck

69. It can cover a lot of ground: SOD.  Installing rolls of SOD can provide a very nice form of instant gratification.

70. Specter: PHANTOM.

The Phantom of the Opera

71. Puts on: DONS.  Doff and DON both date to the 14th century with Doff coming from a phrase meaning "to do off" and DON coming from one meaning "to do on".

Down:

1. Rupture: BURST.

2. Cub : bear :: cria : ___: LLAMA.  While he is not familiar with the word "cria", this debonair dugong is  familiar with the sophisticated art of poetry. 

        The one-L Lama, he's a priest

        The two-L Llama, he's a beast

        And I will bet a silk pajama

        There isn't any three-L Lllama

                                        --- Ogden Nash

3. Group with a rep: UNION.

4. Arrange in order: RANK.

Some USMC Ranks, In Order

 

5. Rock's __ Speedwagon: REO.  The original REO Speedwagon was a truck designed in 1915 by Ransom E. Olds.  The eponymous rock  band was formed more than fifty years later, in  1967.

An REO Speedwagon Truck 

6. Beige relatives: ECRUS.  We abide the recurring appearance of ECRU because it is a very constructor-friendly combination of letters.  But the plural somehow seems far less acceptable.  Greens or Blues or Reds seem okay.  Maybe that's because those words all have alternative meanings.

7. Hallowed: BLEST.  An archaic form of Blessed.  BLEST is (s)he who expects no gratitude for (s)he shall not be disappointed.

8. What yeast makes dough do: RISE.  The current pandemic has resulted in a significant RISE in the number of people making bread at home.  

9. Bldg. units: APTS.  APartmenTS

10. Situation Room gp.: NSC.  The gp abbreviation tells us that the answer, the National Security Council, will also be abbreviated.

11. "You're on!": DEAL.  As in "It's a DEAL."

12. Do the minimum: PHONE IT IN.  A colloquialism for dong something in a perfunctory or unenthusiastic manner.

13. Vile: REPUGNANT.

What, No Mitt?

14. Black stone: ONYX.  Have you ever searched online for a color photograph of ONYX?

19. Bowling a 300, e.g.: FEAT.  The odds of a professional blower bowling a perfect game are said to be approximately 460 to 1.  The odds for the average bowler are about 11,500 to 1.

20. Pinches: NIPS.  NIPS has many definitions of which pinches is one.

26. Turn while seated: SWIVEL.

28. MLB scorecard entries: BBS.  Base on BallS more commonly called Walks.  Barry Bonds holds the Major League Baseball record with 2, 558.

29. Wonder Woman adversary: ARES.  Long before Wonder Woman was just a glint in her mother's eyes, ARES was the Greek God of War.  He often appears in crossword puzzles clued as a belligerent being or as the son of Zeus and/or Hera.

ARES

30. Drops above the ground: MIST.  I got lost in the MIST today and didn't have the foggiest idea where I was.

 

31. H.S. exam for college credit: AP TEST. Advanced Placement Test  It would be a safe bet that more than a few Cornerites have taken AP TESTS.

32. Georgia, once  ABBR.:  SSR  The former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics eventually encompassed fifteen nominally independent republics.  The clue was a bit of misdirection intended to have us think, I think,  of the U.S. State of Georgia or, perhaps, of a Ray Charles song.

33. Courage: GUTS.  Do you know what really takes GUTS?  Digestion.

34. Apt rhyme for "aahs": SPAS.

35. Italian dish of thinly sliced raw meat or fish: CARPACCIO.  By most accounts, the dish was named for the painter Vittore CARPACCIO who was known for the characteristic red and white tones of his work.

36. Do some informal polling: ASK AROUND.

38. Quash: VETO.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt holds the record for a U.S. President.  He issued 635 VETOs.  Grover Cleveland and Harry Truman RANK second and third with 584 and 250, respectively.

39. "Fiddlesticks!": DRAT.  Both are expressions of mild annoyance or irritation.  In the 17th century, Fiddlesticks (originally Fydylstyks) was appropriated from it's original usage as musical instrument bows and began to be used to indicate absurdity.

42. George's musical brother: IRA.  It is nice to see IRA with a Gershwin clue instead of a type of savings account.

43. Energizer size: AAA.  To get this one it helped to know that Energizer is a brand of batteries.

48. Liquefy: MELT.

50. State of comfort: EASE.  Also, the final word of Tom Lehrer's "It Makes A Fellow Proud To Be A Soldier" (1959).

"At Ease"

52. Secret __: AGENT.  Oxymoronically, there are many well-known Secret Agents - both in real life and from the world of entertainment.  Mel Brooks and Buck Henry created this one:

 

 

 

 

Maxwell Smart

53. Numbers game: LOTTO.  The CFO of my children's school once described the California State LOTTO as "A tax on the stupid."

54. Fitness portmanteau: TAE BO.  This portmanteau is a "mash up" of TAEkwondo and BOxing.

55. Burning issue?: ARSON.  We have seen this play on words before.  A clue meant to be taken quite literally.

56. Ballet leaps: JETES.

57. Upscale retailer: SAKS.  In September 15, 1924 SAKS Fifth Avenue opened their most recognizable store located between Forty-ninth Street and Fiftieth Street. 

SAKS Fifth Avenue

58. Slightly soggy: DAMP.  It's a myth that people's joints hurt because it's cold and DAMP.   'Turns out that it's a mist ache.

59. Frat party costume: TOGA.

60. One may be self-cleaning: OVEN.  There are several good reasons to never use your oven's the self-cleaning feature.

62. Spur: PROD.  I never knew how a grown man could cry at his own wedding until my father-in-law PRODded me with his shotgun. 

64. Cry of disgust: BAH.

65. Western omelet morsel: HAM.  A Western Omelet has eggs, salt, butter, bell pepper, scallions,  white cheese and, of course, HAM.  If you did not know the recipe the perps very likely bailed you out.

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MM Out

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