Theme: "Play ball!"
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| Today, we played baseball |
Puzzling Thoughts:
Today's puzzle seemed a bit more Friday-ish in difficulty; clues were more suited to an end-of-the-week puzzle and made for a more satisfying solve
I don't know much about today's constructor, other than this similar puzzle that appeared early in 2024, so this might be a debut for Marc. There are scores of puzzles from Rebecca Goldstein ... unlikely that they're related, but who knows?
Today's "theme" is all about baseball. Five entries; a mixture of words and phrases that begin with a baseball reference and are supported by clever clues:
17-across. Tube on an automatic ball launcher?: PITCH PIPE. A pitch pipe is actually the image shown below and is used by choral groups when singing a cappella:
25-across. Batter's decision not to bunt?: SWING VOTE. A swing vote refers to a vote that is regarded as decisive to the outcome of an election because it is not predictable which candidate or party it will be cast for. Or maybe it just refers to this?
34-across. "I got it!" or "Blazing fastball!," for example?: CATCH PHRASE. Great clue! Here is a little whimsy
50-across. Tally entered on a scoreboard?: HIT RECORD. Of all the hit records out there, I chose the one below as my favorite ... listen to as much or as little as you desire as it's the "album" version ...
The video I found, coincidentally, combines the song with (58-across. Instructional video about getting under a tag?:) a SLIDE SHOW, so enjoy both simultaneously
Pitch, swing, catch, hit, and slide. All BASEBALL terms
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| The Grid |
Here are the rest of the clues/answers
Across:
1. "Whip It" band: DEVO.
5. Substantial account: SAGA.
9. Mint family herb: BASIL. learning Moe-ment but not surprised by it
14. Photoshop, say: EDIT.
15. __ hygiene: ORAL.
16. "My Brilliant Friend" novelist Ferrante: ELENA. A bit tougher clue than to use the name of one of our Supreme Court justices - good Friday clue
17. [entry]
19. "Sorry, got other plans": I CAN'T. I tried "I PASS" first
20. Ghost __ chance: OF A. Partial phrase - thought these were "no-no's" for 21st Century crossword puzzles
21. Cry of discovery: OHO. I tried AHA first
22. Polar vehicle: SNO-CAT®. This spelling refers to the brand name of vehicles produced by Tucker Industries. The actual "vehicle" is referred to as snowcat - a portmanteau of snow and caterpillar
23. __-Leste: first new sovereign state of the 21st century: TIMOR. More info
25. [entry]
28. Bygone boxy Toyota: SCION.
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| Debuted in 2003 - discontinued in 2016 |
29. Art Deco designer: ERTE. aka, Romain de Tirtoff
30. Flagon kin: EWER. A good Friday clue - the word flagon is rarely used, but then again, so is ewer
31. Suffix similar to -ess: ENNE.
32. Crushes, in a way: ACES.
34. [entry]
39. Stock option?: SOUP. You make soup by using stock - here is one of our favorites:
40. Starring role: LEAD.
42. Whack: SWAT.
46. "A Death in the Family" writer James: AGEE. One of many 4-letter proper names that have one consonant and three vowels
48. Container allowances on scales: TARES.
50. [entry]
52. Not suitable: INAPT.
53. Sudden charge: ONRUSH.
54. Racket: DIN.
56. Rock & Roll HoF city: CLE. Here is the list of the 2025 inductees (Rock n Roll Hall of Fame is in CLEveland, OH)
57. Perch: ROOST.
58. [entry]
61. Govt. security: T-NOTE. T-BILL and T-BOND fit, until they didn't
62. Obedience school lesson: HEEL. STAY fit until it didn't
63. "Present!": HERE.
64. Ribald nature spirit of Greek mythology: SATYR. This one certainly fits the description
65. "Relax": EASY. "CHILL" didn't fit
66. "New-to-you," perhaps: USED. Nice clue
Down:
1. Storehouses: DEPOTS.
2. Imposing structure: EDIFICE. The reason the image of my puzzle grid has one black triangle in the corner of the second letter "I" is because I spelled the word edifAce
3. Nutrient in citrus: VITAMIN C.
4. Like 3-Down pills: Abbr.: OTC. Over-The-Counter
5. Former frosh: SOPH.
6. Melodic: ARIOSE.
7. Opening: GAP.
8. Brewpub brew: ALE. IPA fits, too, but I didn't fall for it
9. "The Perks of __ a Wallflower": 2012 teen drama: BEING. Sure, why not
10. Secluded spot: ALCOVE.
11. Dugong, for one: SEA COW. A CSO to my fellow Friday sherpa, Malodorous Manatee
12. Natural: INNATE. Not to be confused with its homophone enate which refers to those relatives traced to the female side of the family
13. More recent: LATTER. LATEST was inserted by me which made the NE corner take longer than it should have to solve
18. Insects in the genus Vespa: HORNETS. More, from Wikipedia
22. Scornful expression: SNEER.
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| Younger generation's "sneer" |
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| My generation's "sneer" |
24. Actress Chaplin: OONA. One of many 4-letter proper names that have one consonant and three vowels
26. Spot for a bar code, often: WRAPPER. aka, a SKU ...
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| One of my favorites |
27. Hankering: ITCH. URGE also fit until it didn't
33. Cracker served with 39-Across: SALTINE.
35. Whistle blower: COACH. Good clue
36. "Les Misérables" novelist: HUGO.
37. English actor Bean: SEAN.
38. Maladies treated with drops: EARACHES.
41. Strongly regret: DEPLORE.
42. Gym bottoms: SHORTS. As opposed to tennis and/or golf bottoms, for women, SKORTS
43. Ryder of "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice": WINONA. She was also in "Beetlejuice" (the original - which I liked better than the remake)
44. Fundamentally: AT ROOT.
45. Unlikely to be undependable: TRUSTY.
47. Swirls of water: EDDIES. <=== this is one of the entries that I considered for a Moe-ku
49. Like some tomatoes and prunes: STEWED. <=== this is another
51. Organic compound: ESTER. No "ku" here
55. Aimlessly: IDLY.
58. Pop duo __ & Him: SHE. Is it just me, or did this song sound a bit like the Beach Boys??
59. Thompson of "Back to the Future": LEA. In "Back to the Future", Thompson plays the role of mother to Michael J. Fox's character, Marty McFly ... in real life, Lea is but 10 days older than Michael
60. Moo __ pork: SHU. Finally, a "Moe-ku":
