Friday, February 9, 2024, Caroline Hand and Katie Hale

 

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with a recap of  today's puzzle which, fittingly, was constructed by not one but two puzzle setters.  If you woke up feeling poorly this morning then this puzzle may not have been for you.  However, if you woke up fooling peerly then you may have found that the solving went smeethly and agrooably.  Let's start with the reveal:

66  Across:  Tennis match with teams of men and women, or what 18- and 25-Across and 42- and 55-Across literally have: MIXED DOUBLES.

At two places (for a total of four clues/answers) Caroline and Katie intentionally mix up the double vowels (OO and EE) found in two common "word combinations" and, thereby, create amusing responses to the carefully worded clues.  The first pair is at:

18 Across:  Plays a trick on Miami's basketball team?: FOOLS THE HEAT     and

25 Across:  Spring occasion when people get really emotional?: APRIL FEELS DAY

FEELS THE HEAT and APRIL FOOLS DAY have traded double vowels

The second pair is at:

42 Across:  Orange rinds of epic proportions?: OLYMPIC SIZE PEELS and

55 Across:  Wagers about how many ingredients are in a bottle of shampoo?: CHEMICAL POOLS

OLYMPIC SIZE POOLS and CHEMICAL PEELS have engaged in a bit of vowel swapping.

Here is how this all looks in the grid:

.... and, now that we've participated in the vowels' key party, let's have a look at the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Baldelli who was AL Manager of the Year in 2019: ROCCO.  Things start off with a reference to the Minnesota Twins baseball team.

6. Leave the dishes for tomorrow, say: SOAK.   Here in the SOAKing Southland this seems, somehow, appropriate:

Box Of Rain (1972)

10. Fistful of dollars: WAD.

Clint Probably Got This Answer Quickly

13. Nook purchases: E-BOOKS.  NOOK is Barnes and Noble's electronic reading platform/device.

15. Subject: TOPIC.  Current events are a fish's favorite TOPIC of discussion.

17. Spa brand: OPI.  Usually clued with a reference to nail polish.

20. Molecular messenger: RNA.  A crossword staple.

21. Dump, as stock: SELL.

22. Breakdown helpers: AAA.

23. Monarch: RULER.

30. Cuban dance: MAMBO.  O, possibilmente, italiano

33. Comforts: SOLACES.  

34. Rita on Avicii's "Lonely Together": ORA.

35. UFC fighting style: MMA.  Mixed Martial Arts

38. Prefix with gender: CIS.

"Mongo CIS" Just Does Not Seem Right

39. Some UPenn degs.: MBAS.  Many schools offer MBA degrees.  The UPenn bit was not very helpful.

46. Hands together time: NOON.  Analog, not digital.  Not applause.

47. Not awesome: MEH.

48. Big fuss: ADO.

49. Writer Joe Hill, to Stephen King: SON.   A man gave his three boys a cattle ranch.  He named the ranch Focus because that is where the sun's rays meet.

50. Amends last year's tax return, say: RE-FILES.

53. The Chi-__: R&B quartet: LITES.  A pun-ish name.

59. Titan, once: OILER.  The Tennessee Titans football team started out in 1960 as the Houston Oilers before relocating to Nashville in 1997.

60. Prefix in some genre names: ALT.

61. __ Rios, Jamaica: OCHO.

65. School opening?: PRE.  Some solvers might feel that the southwest, with its PRE, SEC and EST stack, was a bit 47 Across.

71. Wall St. regulator: SEC.

72. Cutting: SNIDE.  A fairly ambiguous clue.

73. Writes to: EMAILS.  Can we read EMAILS on our EBOOKS?

74. D.C. hrs.: EST.  Anybody remember Werner Erhard?

75. African antelopes: GNUS.

76. Teaser: PROMO.  As in teaser ad.

Down:

1. Bowl game officials: REFS.  A football reference.

2. Cor anglais kin: OBOE.  Clued many ways but not as many ways as OREO

3. Awesome: COOL.  Slang.

4. Work together briefly?: COLLAB.  A punt (or slang depending on your perspective).  COLLABoration "in brief".

5. Allows: OKS.

6. Gets home, in a way: STEALS.  Another baseball reference.

7. __ and aah: OOH.  What goes OOH OOH?  A cow with no lips.

8. Imitate: APE.  Used as a verb.  See also 36 Down.

9. Telluride maker: KIA.  An automotive reference.

10. Advertising exaggeration, perhaps: WORLD'S BEST.

11. CPAP target: APNEA. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure used to treat breathing problems.  Philips Respironics recently recalled some of their CPAP machines.

12. Log with a lock: DIARY.

14. Guest __: STAR.

16. Copy shortcut: CTRL C.  A computer user's technique.

19. Japanese "yes": HAI.

24. "I can help!": USE ME.  We have seen this several times in our puzzles.  Has anyone actually heard a person say "USE ME" ?

26. Pageantry: POMP.

27. Areas of interest: FOCI.  Plural of FOCUS.

28. "Hamilton" role for Phillipa Soo: ELIZA.

29. Made less harsh: EASED.

30. Eclipse participant: MOON.

31. "Hope" singer Parks: ARLO.

32. City executive-to-be: MAYOR ELECT.

36. Imitate: MIMIC.  See also 8 Down.

37. Amtrak choice: ACELA.  A train ride often taken in our puzzles.

40. Healing plant: ALOE.  A constructor's friend.

41. Bank acct. application digits: SSNS.  Another crossword staple.

43. Greek muse of memory: MNEME.  Inspiration for:

44. "Where the Sidewalk Ends" poet Silverstein: SHEL.

45. Straw __: POLL.  An unofficial vote.

51. Gels: FIRMS.  Used, here, as a verb.

52. Some kings and queens: SPADES.  A playing card reference.

54. Weather map line: ISOBAR.  Where do meteorologists relax after work?

55. Grove: COPSE.

A small COPSE set among a field of dandelions.

56. Brings on: HIRES.  They could have gone with the root beer.

57. Far from current: OLD.

58. Chiwere speakers: OTOE.  OTOE visit us often.  All About These Indigenous Friends of Crossword Constructors

62. Advertiser's honor: CLIO.  The CLIO awards are named for the Greek goddess CLIO, the mythological muse known as "the proclaimer, glorifier and celebrator of history, great deeds and accomplishments.

63. Big wheel at sea: HELM.  Not the idiomatic "big wheel" which might have led to trying to fit ADMIRAL or CAPTAIN into the allotted space.  A big steering wheel.  

64. __ buco: OSSO.  A food reference.

67. Dutch bank: ING.

68. Mark, as a box: X IN.  Punt

69. Part of a prof's address: EDU.  The ending for a university's email address.  dot EDU

70. Plate official: UMP.  Yet another baseball reference.

Y'er Out!

Okay.  If you say so.

Everyone have a wonderful Superb Owl weekend.

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Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Splynter, who turns 53 years old today. I'm so happy and grateful that you're back to blog for us again. 

Baby Splynter and His Parents

Friday, January 26, 2024, Luke Schreiber

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with today's pacer.  Excuse me, recap.  Our puzzle setter, Luke Schreiber has executed a pretty straightforward theme.  Or is it  a straightbackward theme?  At four places, Luke presents us with single-word clues followed by a question mark.  To answer these clues we are required to reverse the letters of the clue, place that reversed rendition at the end of the allotted squares, conjure up something that explains the reversal and then place that explanation at the head of the answer.  The four themed answers are found at:

21 Across:  EMIT?: TURN BACK TIME.  Turn TIME backwards and you get EMIT

39 Across:  LOOP?: REFLECTING POOL.  POOL as seen in a mirror, or reflecting pool, will appear to be reversed.  It won't read LOOP but the letters will be in that order.

52 Across:  SPOT?: FLIP TOPS.  Flip TOPS around and you get SPOT.

63 Across:  RAW?: REVOLUTIONARY WAR.  This one is a bit less straightforward but Luke has made up for that by having the answer span the entire grid.

The grid is 16 squares wide, instead of the usual 15, and the symmetry is atypical and really quite elegant in and of itself.

Here is how all of this appears in the grid:

Here are the other clues and answers:

Across:

1. Moussaka ingredient: LAMB.  Eggplant was too long.

5. Harmonious church groups: CHOIRS.  Singing in harmony.

11. Parachute necessity: CORD.  Do not forget to pull the ripCORD.

15. Cookie with a Java Chip flavor: OREO.  My niece recently sent me a link to a puzzle source and, in one of those puzzles, there was a great clue for OREO:  Cookie whose clue is almost moot since you likely knew what the answer was after reading "cookie".

16. Solitary sort: HERMIT.  We could go with a song by Herman's Hermits but this fits the clue pretty well:

Johnny Cash

17. Mind: OBEY. Do you mind (care)?  No.  What's on your mind (brain)?  No.  "You will do as I say!"

18. Wolverine, for one: XMAN.

19. Esoteric information: ARCANA.  Specialized knowledge that is mysterious to the uninitiated.

20. A few: SOME.

24. Not quite aligned: OFFSET.

OFFSET Wrenches

26. Inventor who said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work": EDISON.  Thomas Alva EDISON.

29. Slugger Judge who was AP Athlete of the Year in 2022: AARON.  A baseball reference.

30. Ankle-length attire: MAXI.

34. Mouthwash brand: SCOPE.  Listerine was too long.  Act was too short.

35. Feudal estate: FIEF.

36. Selena or Selena Gomez: LATINA.  SINGER would have fit.

38. Katniss Everdeen portrayer, to fans: J LAW.  a "Hunger Games" reference.  The character is portrayed by Jennifer LAWrence.

42. Overhang: EAVE.  EAVEs hang around our puzzles quite regularly.

43. Midwestern Native: SAUK.  New to this solver.  Those in the Green Bay, Wisconsin  or Northern New York State areas may be more familiar with the SAUK.

44. Five-time Olympic gold-medal swimmer Ian: THORPE.  Jim Thorpe, it turns out, was a member of the SAUK (aka Sac and Fox) peoples.  Luke, however, has gone with Ian who is Australian.

47. Comes down hard?: SLEETS.  A hard rain's a-gonna fall.  Literally.

Figuratively

51. "Just a Geek" memoirist Wheaton: WIL.

57. Tate Modern filler: ART.  A museum reference.

58. Verdi aria that translates to "It was you": ERI TU.

60. Lisa Halaby's royal name: NOOR.  An American-born Jordanian who was the fourth wife of the late King Hussein of Jordan.  She was Queen NOOR of Jordan from 1978 until the king's death in 1999.

61. Sunlit lobbies: ATRIA.  Plural of ATRIum.  Stadium / Stadia

66. Intense: KEEN.  What do you call someone who really likes to talk about cereals?  A KEEN oat speaker.

67. Some green sauces: PESTOS.  Rarely seen pluralized.

Basil and Roasted Tomato PESTOS

68. Senate position: PAGE.  Go-fers, albeit esteemed, for the senators.

69. Divisions in an outdated atlas: Abbr.: SSRS.  Soviet Socialist RepublicS

70. Plumes: CRESTS.

Mount CRESTed Butte, Colorado

71. Exxon constituents?: EXES.  In the middle of the word.  Often clued with reference to past partners.

George Strait

Down:

1. Bagel topping: LOX.

2. Branch: ARM.  The U.S. Army is a branch of the armed forces.

3. Vegetarian: MEAT FREE.  A woman came up to me and said that she recognized me from the local vegetarian restaurant.  This confused me as I had never met herbivore.  Perhaps it was a missed steak.

4. Pot sweetener: BONUS OFFER.  Hand up for trying to think of something related to poker.

5. Root words?: CHANT.  As in to root for your favorite sports team.

6. Cilantro, e.g.: HERB.  I really need to plant some HERBs of my own.  I have been living on borrowed thyme.

7. Wolf of the sea: ORCA.  They swim through our puzzles on a regular basis.

8. Apple since 1998: IMAC.  Not a fruit reference.

9. Curling spot: RINK.

The Physics of Curling

10. Washington, but not Washington, D.C.: STATE.  Nor George.

11.  Life itself, to a crepehanger: COSMIC JOKE.

12. Recital piece for a double-reed woodwind: OBOE SOLO.

13. "Collapse Into Now" band: REM.  The clue is the name of one of REM's albums.

14. Go green, perhaps: DYE.  Hand up for first trying to think (overthink?) of something ecologically related.

22. Kylo __: "The Last Jedi" villain: REN.  A Star Wars reference.

23. Picks out, for short: IDS.  We had IDS as, IDentufieS in the puzzle that I recapped two Fridays ago.

24. Lummox: OAF.  What do you call a healthcare worker who does not self isolate after contracting COVID?  A Hippocratic OAF.

25. Just: FAIR.  Not "Just" as in merely.

27. Iridescent gem: OPAL.

28. Not old: NEW.  Now, this one is straightforward.

30. Spice cookie spice: MACE.  Also, a brand of self-defense pepper spray.

31. QB stat: ATT.  A football reference.  Passing ATTempts.

32. Roman dozen: XII.  Roman Numeral

33. Accommodating places: INNS.  Places to procure accommodations for the night.

36. Flatten: LEVEL.

37. Shocked: AGASP.

40. Squiggly baby, to a sitter: LAPFUL.  Nice wordplay employing babysitter and anyone who happens to be seated.

41. Radio wave-emitting star: PULSAR.

44. Dances provocatively: TWERKS.  Today's let's pass on the video moment.

45. New faces in the staff lounge: HIREES.

46. "Last Week Tonight" host John: OLIVER.

48. Swab target: EAR WAX.  A Q-tip™ reference.  

49. Emergency priority system: TRIAGE.

50. Unblinking looks: STARES.

53. __ Miami CF: INTER.  A Major League Soccer reference.

54. Self-composure: POISE.

55. Friendly horn sounds: TOOTS.  As opposed to an unfriendly horn sound?

56. " ... but I could be wrong": OR NOT.  "I take back everything that I just said."

59. Heavy weights: TONS.  SNOT?

62. Variety: TYPE.

64. Lines at the register?: UPC.  Universal Product Code aka Bar Code

65. Donkey: ASS.

Well, that will wrap things up for today.   Time, now, to get my donkey back on the slopes.

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Friday, January 12, 2024, Emma Oxford

Thanks, again, Lisa for your help a couple of weeks ago.

This week, however, you may be missing the mark.

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here from the land of frozen (and decidedly not warm) waters to bring you today's recap.  Our puzzle setter is Emma Oxford and, at four places within the grid, she has provided us with amusing takes on familiar two-letter abbreviations.  Let's take a look:

18 ACROSS:  Big bash honoring detectives?: PI DAY CELEBRATION.  PI DAY comes on March 14th of each year because 3 can stand for March the value of Pi (the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter) is roughly 3.14.  In this case, however, P.I. is referring to Private Investigator.  PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR DAY CELEBRATION.

27 ACROSS:  Take steps to prevent patients leaving mid-appendectomy?: FIGHT OR FLIGHT.  We are all, of course, familiar with the FIGHT OR FLIGHT response but, in the puzzle, O.R. is used as the abbreviation for Operating Room.  FIGHT OPERATING ROOM FLIGHT.

47 ACROSS:  Certain facial recognition pro?: THE WIZARD OF ID.  The WIZARD OF ID is a cartoon strip by Parker and Hart.  In this answer, though, the reference is to identification as in (e.g.) I.D. Card.   THE WIZARD OF IDENTIFICATION.

The Wizard of ID

63 ACROSS:  Really annoy the computer help desk?: TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT.  A familiar expression recast as TAKE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO THE LIMIT.

This is how it appears in the grid:

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

Across:

1. Chasm: ABYSS.

6. Every which way: AMOK.  A little bit of a stretch definition-wise.

10. Worry about: SWEAT.  Both FRET and STEW were too short.

15. "Better in Time" singer Lewis: LEONA.   This could have been clued with a reference to the Queen Of Mean - LEONA Hemsley.

16. Placemat, in some restaurants: MENU.  Serving double duty.

17. Shelf: LEDGE.

21. Running wild: ON A TEAR.

22. Try and fail to walk on ice: SLIP.  Thanks for the reminder to put on those cleats.

23. __-Magnon: CRO.  What did CRO-Magnons call Rock, Paper, Scissors?  Rock.

24. Rock gp. sometimes joined by Young: CSN.  More abbreviations.

25. Signifies: MEANS.  MEAN sure does have a lot of meanings.

26. Besmirch: TAR.  As in to TAR one's reputation.

32. Kid-friendly card game: UNO.

33. Laze: LOAF.

34. "__-daisy!": OOPSY.  All about OOPSY-daisy

38. Certain English collegian: ETONIAN.

41. Oregon port named for a fur merchant: ASTORIA.  In addition to the fur trade, John Jacob ASTOR was involved with smuggling opium into China.

43. Grayish green shade: LODEN.  A deep olive green with shorter wavelengths.

44. Fictional terrier from Kansas: TOTO.  Clever.  A puzzle with references to both the Wizard of Id and the Wizard of Oz.

46. Bobby of the Bruins: ORR.  Not a UCLA reference.

52. Sleeve: ARM.

55. Matter basics: ATOMS.  I got arrested for having one sodium ATOM and one chlorine ATOM.  They said I committed a salt.

56. Pub bill: TAB.  As is to run a tab.

57. Actress Seydoux: LEA.  Unkown to this solver but easily perped.

58. Pool division: LANE.

59. Uneasy feeling, with "the": WILLIES.  Where Did This Expression Originate

66. Neptune's realm: OCEAN.

67. Home of the Blue Devils: DUKE.  DUKE University.

68. "Into the Woods" song sung by two princes: AGONY.  Last week, I went from AGONY to ecstasy in a span of a few days.  At this rate, I’ll finish reading the dictionary in a month or so.

69. [I have no idea]: SHRUG.

70. Missouri River Native: OTOE.  Frequent visitors.

71. Pick up: SENSE.  

Down:

1. Pet food brand: ALPO.

2. Form of nonviolent protest: BE IN.  The first Human Be-In (get it?) was held in Golden Gate Park in 1967.

3. Jedi voiced by Tom Kane on "The Clone Wars": YODA.

4. Seize: SNATCH.  I will not seize the moment, but, rather, let this moment pass.

5. "What __ thou?": SAYEST.   SAYEST is an archaic second person singular of say.

6. Pt. of USA: AMER.  United States of AMERica

7. First name of two Spice Girls: MEL.  MELanie Brown went by the stage name of Scary Spice and MELanie Chisholm went by the name of Sporty Spice.

8. Reflexive pronoun: ONESELF.

9. __ Khan: KUBLAI.  Mongol general and grandson of Genghis.

10. Paul Newman hockey film: SLAP SHOT.

11. Sopping: WET.

12. Decree: EDICT.

13. Ancient Greek marketplace: AGORA.

14. Hero in operas, typically: TENOR.  See also 52 Down.

19. __ oil: CANOLA.  RAPESEED (from which CANOLA oil is made) was more a more difficult name to merchandise.

May the Schwartz Be With You

20. Key spot: RING.  Not a reference to something important. Not a reference to a small island.

25. Juilliard deg.: MFA.  Master of Fine Arts

27. Gasohol, e.g.: FUEL.  A mixture of gasoline and alcohol.

28. Division word: INTO.

29. Yummy: GOOD.  Some things do not get better with age:

30. "Sons of Anarchy" actor Perlman: RON.

31. Furthermore: TOO.  AND would have fit the allotted space.  ALSO would not.

35. Univ. lecturer: PROF.  PROFessor

36. iPad speaker: SIRI.  "She" speaks out loud.  Not the audio speaker built into your iPad.

37. Gridiron unit: YARD.   I recently found a round, black piece of plastic with a hole in the middle and grooves on both sides. I picked it up and threw it. It flew for more than 300 yards.  I'm sure that must have been a record.

39. Wind up with: NET.  If you ever wonder "What's my NET worth?" it's probably less than you paid for it.

40. Getting some air: INHALING.  Not out for a walk.

41. "One __ time!": AT A.

42. Foray: SORTIE.

44. Call from a coach: TIMEOUT.

45. Wt. units: OZS.  OZ, as the abbreviation for ounce, came from the Italian onza meaning ounce.

48. Coup d'__: ETAT.  One of  Today's French lessons although thoroughly incorporated into English usage.  French for "stroke of state".   A coup d'ETAT is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership.

49. Is unacceptable: WON'T DO.

50. Mavericks city: DALLAS.  A basketball reference.

51. Do a favor for: OBLIGE.  They are then OBLIGatEd to you.

52. Unlikely heroines in operas, typically: ALTOS.  See also 14 Down.

53. Get to: REACH.  I went to the butchers the other day and I bet him fifty bucks that he couldn't reach the meat on the top shelf.  He declined the bet saying, "No, the steaks are too high."

54. Creative sort: MAKER.  Earlier in the week this might have been clued as Coffee ______ .

59. Cry of delight: WHEE.

60. "That's my cue!": I"M ON.  What are you on, dude?

61. __, zwei, drei: EINS.  Today's German lesson. 1, 2, 3.

62. Eye affliction: STYE.  A frequent affliction in our puzzles.

64. Mer contents: EAU.  Another of today's French lesson.  Mer = Sea and EAU = water.

65. Fight-ending letters: TKO.  A boxing reference.  Technical KnockOut

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