Theme: Plant Kernels. Things you can plant to get a new plant.
17. *Devoted ESPN viewer: SPORTSNUT. ESPN is a TV network devoted to various athletic events. A NUT is a perhaps overly-avid fan. A NUT is also a dried fruit or SEED having a hard shell.
23. *Spec for sandpaper or salt: COARSEGRAIN. This refers to particle size, which you can read about here and here. A GRAIN is also the SEED of a plant that is harvested for human of animal food.
36. *Quarry that supplies aggregate: GRAVELPIT. This is an an open-pit mine for the extraction of loose rock fragments. A PIT is also the single shell of hardened endocarp with a SEED inside, found in drupaceous fruits, such as the cherry, peach or olive.
54. *Garden walkway component: PAVINGSTONE. A flat stone or brick used to make a hard surface to walk on outdoors. A Stone is another name for the hard central portion of a drupaceous fruit, as above.
62. Last player selected for a Wimbledon ranking ... or part of each answer to a starred clue: FINALSEED. This would be the statistically weakest player in the competition. Read about it HERE.
In each of the theme entries, a SEED is identified that can be planted to bring forth the next generation of plant. It is the last word of the entry, hence final.
Hi Gang. JazzBumpa here. I've proven myself to be not much of a gardener, so let's just move right along.
Across:
1. Chess result: DRAW. The technical difference between a DRAW and a stalemate is that in a DRAW, both players agree that further play would not result in a victory for either player, while a stale mate is a situation where one side's king is not captured, but has no legal move.
5. "NASCAR on NBC" analyst Earnhardt Jr.: DALE.
9. Metalworker: SMITH.
14. Cancun coin: PESO.
15. A party to: IN ON. Knows about.
16. Island near Maui: LANAI. Hawaiian Islands
19. Uneasy feeling: ANGST. An unfocussed feeling of dread or anxiety, typically about external conditions.
20. Word after box or law: OFFICE.
21. Bullish sound?: SNORT.
22. Wail: CRY.
27. Coll. near the Rio Grande: UTEP. University of Texas at El Paso.
29. Hard rain: SLEET. Precipitation falling in hard particles - almost like SEEDS.
30. Dance class topic: STEP.
31. First name in skin care: ESTEE. Lauder, née Josephine Esther Mentzer [1906 – 2004] was an American businesswoman. She co-founded her eponymous cosmetics company with her husband, Joseph Lauter (later Lauder). [Wikipedia]
33. Caddie's offering: CLUB. An iron or wood.
35. Make a wrong turn, say: ERR. Go off course
40. Guys: HES. Does anyone encounter this plural form outside of a crossword puzzle?
43. Jai __: ALAI. A sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker cesta.
44. Quebec's __ Peninsula: GASPE. The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River to the east of the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, that extends into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
50. Ready for bed, briefly: IN PJS. Wearing pajamas.
53. Long-running CBS series: NCIS. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
57. Malarkey: ROT. Nonsense.
58. Pachelbel work: CANON.
59. Treasury secretary Janet: YELLEN. Janet Louise Yellen (b. 1946) is an American economist, public servant, and educator who has served as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury since January 26, 2021. She previously served as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. She is the first woman to hold either role.
61. Sahara features: DUNES. Big piles of sand, with random GRAIN size, I suppose.
65. Locale: VENUE. The place where something happens, especially an organized event such as a concert, conference, or sports event.
66. Heck of a hike: TREK. A long arduous journey, especially one made on foot.
67. Dell rival: ACER. ACER Inc. is a Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation specializing in advanced electronics technology.
68. Brings in: REAPS.
69. Actor Grant: CARY. (b. Archibald Alec Leach [1904 – 1986] was an English-American actor. Known for his transatlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he was one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men during the 1940s and 1950s. He was well trained.
70. Drive-__: THRU. As, frex, fast food restaurants.
Down:
1. MLB rally killers: DPS. Double Plays.
2. Researchers' publications: REPORTS.
3. To date: AS OF YET. Up until now.
4. Klingon officer in the "Star Trek" franchise: WORF.
5. '70s hot spots: DISCOS.
6. Strengthen, as glass: ANNEAL. Controlled cooling to prevent residual localized stresses. Not so much strengthening as preventing weaknesses.
7. Seuss' Cindy __ Who: LOU. Who was no more than two.
8. Suffix with exist: -ENT. Having reality.
9. Language student's challenge: SLANG. A type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, and are more common in speech than writing. All rules are off.
10. Medieval estates: MANORS. A large country house with lands; the principal house of a landed estate.
11. Thankless sort: INGRATE.
12. Preferable, gastronomically: TASTIER. Yum!
13. Major success: HIT. As a movie, stage play or popular song.
18. Half a mint?: TIC. The front half of a Tic-tac. It is far past time to banish "Half a-" clues for the next half a eternity.
21. Contrived plot: SET UP. Otherwise known as foreshadowing?
22. Alert for an actor: CUE. A thing said or done that serves as a signal to an actor or other performer to enter or to begin their speech or performance.
24. Checkout printout: RECEIPT. Paper strip with items, prices and the total.
25. Unload, say: SELL.
26. "Morning Edition" airer: NPR. National Public Radio.
28. Alternative to Margie: PEG. Nicknames for Margaret.
32. Noted period: ERA. As, frex. Jazz.
34. Important: BIG. As a business deal or sports event.
37. Square up: ALIGN.
38. Hotel shuttles: VANS.
39. Light earth tone: TAN. Ocher doesn't fit.
40. Short flight: HOP. Skips and jumps not included.
41. Hurricane mandate responder: EVACUEE. Of whom there are now many.
42. Tropical grassland: SAVANNA. A mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses. {Wikipedia]
45. Sudden stop sound: SCREECH. As of a vehicles brakes.
46. Trailblazer: PIONEER. A person who is among the first to explore or settle a new country or area of knowledge.
47. "C'__ la vie!": EST. In French, c'est la vie means "that's life," borrowed into English as idiom to express acceptance or resignation, much like "Oh well."
49. Umpire's pregame request: LINE UP. List of starting players.
51. Olympic star Jackie __-Kersee: JOYNER. [b 1963] She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in heptathlon and long jump at four different Olympic Games from 1984 to 1996. She now is an active philanthropist in children's education, racial equality and women's rights
52. Deceptive: SNEAKY.
55. Wine qualities: NOSES. A wine tasting term used to describe how wine smells in the glass. Different wine varietals produce different aromas. The nose is also affected by how the wine is made and stored.
56. Building wing: ELL. An extension at right angles to the length of a building
60. Challenge for an atty. wannabe: LSAT. Law School Admission Test. It is presumed to test the skills necessary for success in the first year of law school.
61. TiVo, for one: DVR. Digital Video Recorder.
62. Agcy. concerned with fraud: FTC. The Federal Trade Commission.
63. Gershwin brother: IRA. The Lyricist for brother George's compositions. After working with other partners, they wrote almost exclusively with each other from 1924 until George's death in 1937, composing over two dozen scores for Broadway and Hollywood.
64. R&B's __ Hill: DRU. Not a person, rather an American R&B group mostly popular during the 1990s, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 and is still active.
And so we end on a note of high musical drama. Hope you enjoyed the tour.
Theme: "Begone" - B is removed from the each theme entry.
22A. Sports venue where the home team hasn't won in years?: RINK OF DISASTER. Brink of disaster.
44A. Cattle farm run by bigwigs?: EXECUTIVE RANCH. Executive branch.
71A. Epithet for Henry Ford?: FATHER OF THE RIDE. Father of the bride.
100A. Advice for runners' practice sessions?: RACE YOURSELVES. Brace yourselves.
128A. Powerful fall cleanup tools?: HYDRAULIC RAKES. Hydraulic brakes.
16D. TV weather promo about a storm threat?:RAIN TEASER. Brain teaser.
78D. Quarters for a spell caster?: WITCH'S ROOM. Witch's broom.
In
all theme entries, B is removed from the start of the key word. Very
consistent. And there's no stray B's in the grid. The professionalism
of Mark McClain, who has generously helped me and many other
constructors with various crossword questions.
Mark is also a regular contributor to Newsday crossword, which Splynter solves every day.
51. __ Stephens: 2017 US Open Women's Singles champ: SLOANE. Followed by 52. Tennis feature: NET.
53. Isolated work group that hinders corporate efficiency: SILO.
54. Bone near a calf: SHIN.
56. Belgian artist James: ENSOR. Here is his "Christ's Entry into Brussels".
57. Chews like beavers: GNAWS.
60. "I __ noticed": HADN'T.
62. Change for a ten: ONES.
64. Drop the ball: ERR.
65. Bird rarely on the wing: RATITE. Like emu or ostrich. Copying Gary's picture.
67. Pitt URL ending: EDU.
68. Toys"R"Us giraffe mascot: GEOFFREY.
76. Stayed to the bitter end: SAW IT OUT. Great entry.
79. NBA impossibility: TIE.
80. Hide out: LIE LOW.
84. Sushi bar order: AHI. Have any of you tried Trade Joe's sushi rolls?
85. Company named for the exaggerated height of its tallish bottles: NEHI.
87. Bowling headache: SPLIT. And 95. Pain pill target: ACHE. Boomer! The amount of pain he endures every day.
90. "Crazy" vocalist: CLINE.
91. Mountain gap: NOTCH.
94. Blood bank fluids: SERA. Boomer's going to get the hormone shot in 2 weeks.
96. Blackthorn fruit: SLOE.
97. FD employee: EMT.
98. Magnate: TYCOON.
105. Feeling guilty: ASHAMED.
107. Ducks org.: NHL.
108. Frozen Four org.: NCAA.
109. Tough goings: SLOGS.
110. Like some promises: EMPTY.
114. Swan dive revelation: ARMPIT. Not sure if you guys heard of
this 14-year-old diver Quan Hongchan. She scored two perfect dives at
Tokyo. She's from Guangdong Province. Guangzhou is the capital city of
Guangdong.
118. Expected result: NORM.
120. Cause for a claim: LOSS.
123. Not as relaxed: TENSER.
125. Smeltery input: ORE.
126. French star: ETOILE. Our state moto is "L'etoile du Nord" ("Star of the North") .
132. Having a twist: IRONIC.
133. Bug, for one: INSECT.
134. Gets back to business: RE-OPENS. I just can't believe how long this stupid COVID lasts.
135. Sorrowful tune: LAMENT.
136. Free-for-all: MELEE.
137. Red Sea land: ERITREA.
Down:
1. Mother of Isaac: SARAH.
2. First-class: PRIMO.
3. Totaled: RAN TO.
4. Reindeer cousin: ELK.
5. Japan's Mount __: ASO. Aso-san. San is just mountain in Japanese.
6. Disobedient: DEFIANT.
7. Org. concerned with youth substance abuse: SADD. Students Against Destructive Decisions.
8. Ramble on: PRATE.
9. Egyptian site of a historic 1799 discovery: ROSETTA. The Rosetta Stone.
10. NFL passing stat: ATT. Attempt.
11. Nueve y uno: DIEZ. 9 +1 =10.
12. Bat prefix: ACRO.
13. Spicy food truck items: TAMALES. 14. Had some 13-Down: ATE.
Here's the Guangzhou tamale. It's called "lo mai gai", sticky rice
& chicken wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed. So tasty.
15. Purplish veggie: RED ONION.
17. Biblical twin: ESAU. And 20. Actor Morales: ESAI.
18. Entertainment center sites: DENS.
23. Iraq War weapon: Abbr.: IED.
28. Vinyl revival items: Abbr.: LPS.
31. Low USMC rank: PFC.
32. MLB Hall of Famer Brock: LOU. Boomer just sold a Lou Brock
patch card on eBay. Also a Pujos patch card. A few dollars. Patch cards
are not popular. Rookie cards rule!!
34. Family guys: SONS.
36. Bar on a truck: AXLE.
38. Chef's creation: DISH. This is called Cai Jia Mo, a popular Xi'an street food. I never found similar bread in the US.
40. Cavern phenomenon: ECHO.
42. [Bo-ring!]: SNORE.
43. Absorbent fabric: TERRY.
44. Many an MIT grad: ENGR. Engineer.
45. Lawless role: XENA. Lucy Lawless.
46. Coup d'__: ETAT.
47. Routing word: VIA.
48. Respected figure: ELDER.
49. Concerto finale, perhaps: RONDO.
50. Depend: HINGE.
55. Poetic contraction: NE'ER.
58. Hot spot service: WIFI.
59. ER demand: STAT.
61. Research university with a Boston campus: TUFTS. And 66. School near Windsor: ETON.
63. Agronomist's concern: SOIL.
69. Org. created by the 1933 Banking Act: FDIC.
70. Sense: FEEL.
72. Shades: HUES.
73. Early number?: ETHER. Parse it as Numb-er.
74. Buzzed: TIPSY.
75. Familiar greeting: HELLO.
76. Fall mall hiree: SANTA. Here's our Santa with Spitzboov. They were at a local county fair. Here's my state fair John Deere.
77. Ship-to-ship greetings: AHOYS.
81. Actor Schreiber: LIEV.
82. "I'm buying!": ON ME.
83. Moistens: WETS.
86. Country whose name ends in the same three letters as its capital: IRAN. Tehran.
88. Debtor's note: IOU.
89. Gull relative: TERN. Reminds me of D-8's Buoys and Seagulls picture dilemma.
92. Lynn's father worked in one: COALMINE. Loretta Lynn, the "Coal Miner's Daughter".
93. Primate genus: HOMO.
99. Ignore: NEGLECT.
101. Provider of shade: ELM TREE.
102. Harder to get: SCARCER.
103. Corn unit: EAR.
104. Fast flight: LAM.
106. U.K. military award: DSO. Distinguished Service Order.
111. Goal of an accord: PEACE. Tiny clue/answer dupe: 116. Peace goddess: IRENE.
112. Flanged fastener: T NUT.
113. Fashion initials: YSL.
115. __ face: POKER.
117. "The Gondoliers" bride: TESSA.
118. Playwright Simon: NEIL. He wrote "The Odd Couple".
119. Sierra's "other": OTRA.
121. Carpenter's wedge: SHIM.
122. "Auld Lang __": SYNE.
124. Cork's home: EIRE.
127. Maya __, Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer: LIN. Lin means "forest" in Chinese.
Regular contributorMark McClain
is back and he's found a way to predict the future using just these
themers:
17A. Leaping grab of a would-be homer, say:
CIRCUS CATCH. Alright sports fans, this panoply of plays
will keep you busy for quite a while, so don't forget to come back for the
rest of the puzzle:
29A. Christian house of worship in Egypt: COPTIC CHURCH.
The Egyptian Copts founded Christian churches as early as 50 AD. The Ethiopian Copts may have founded their Churches even earlier
as described in the encounter between St. Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch in
The Acts of the Apostles 8:26-40. I had the privilege of meeting
two Ethiopian Copts at a conference a few years back. Sadly, they were
there to witness to the widespread persecution of Coptic Christians in their
country.
46A. Northern glacial formation: ARCTIC ICECAP. "Polar ice caps are
melting as global warming causes climate change. We lose Arctic sea ice at a
rate of almost 13% per decade, and over the past 30 years, the oldest and
thickest ice in the Arctic has declined by a stunning 95%." While it is a
matter of dispute as to whether global warming is anthropocentric in origin or
due to natural causes,
there is no disputing its impact.
62A. Souvenir of a Black Forest vacation:
CUCKOO CLOCK. Some of these can get pretty intricate, so be sure to
"mouse over"
the image in this ad to see the details of the clock. And they can be pretty pricey, so don't forget to take your checkbook.
Or just skip the vacation and buy the clock over the net.
And in case
you still can't see how Mark does it, here's the reveal:
37A.
Anticipates ... or, phonetically, what's found in puzzle answers of more than 10
letters: FORESEES. It's all in the grid:
That's nothing. We can 4C all the answers with just two C's: C.C.
Bournikel! And here's some stuff you haven't seen (excepting of course the
usual TLA's and Crosswordese):
21. "Fantastic!": SUPER. We saw the The Fantasticks off
Broadway years ago and it was really SUPER. I believe it still
holds the record (42 years) for the longest running off Broadway show. In
recent years it ran into some controversy for its use of an archaic term in one
of its songs, whose connotations have changed in recent years,
as explained in this article. However there is nothing controversial about this classic:
23. Go after, in a way: SUE. And here's another classic, the story
of the man that SUE went after ...
24. Division word: INTO.
27. Hardly at all: A BIT. Well is it or isn't it? (1)
Yes or (0) No?
33. Word with place or door: MAT. Add a T and you get a
MATT glaze:
34. Legal suspension: STAY.
35. __ de Cologne: EAU. Today's French Lesson
36. Many tax software users: EFILERS.
40. Deal with: ADDRESS.
42. Barge unit: TON.
43. Hitchcock's "__ Window": REAR. This film got mixed reviews when
it was released in 1954. Critics said it lacked that NOIR feel and
the pervasive air of DREAD typical of many of Hitchcock's earlier
films. DW and I decided to watch it to see for ourselves and we're really
glad we did. It's worth watching for many reasons: for its humor; its
early 50's edginess; for the chemistry between the stars,
James Stewart and Grace Kelly; and for Franz Waxman's score
and his peppering of the soundtrack with popular tunes of the day heard coming
from the courtyard below Stewart's REAR WINDOW. And Hitchcock does
manage to compress plenty of NOIR and ANGST into the last quarter
or so of the film.
Here's a good summary of the reasons to watch this masterpiece.
45. Cabbage option: RED.
50. Villainous look: LEER.
51. "The Burning Giraffe" artist: DALI. Dali painted this in 1937
after the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
This article will clarify much of the painting's symbolism, but it refers to Dali simply as a "surrealist". But
as war approached in Europe, specifically in Spain,
Dalí clashed with members of the Surrealist movement. In a "trial"
held in 1934, he was expelled from the group. Dali left Spain
for America in 1940 and he subsequently abandoned many of the iconic
surrealist features of his earlier work and his paintings began to
dramatically increase in size (as compared to the
diminutive scale of "The Burning Giraffe"). To gain a better idea of
his the totality of his life's work I recommend a visit to the
Dali Museum in St. Petersburg
the next time you are in Florida. Or
visit it virtually.
The Burning Giraffe Basel Kunstmuseum 13 3/4" x 10
1/2"
52. "__ no surprise": ITS.
55. Press down: SMUSH.
58. Standard salary: BASE PAY.
61. Contest involving letter placement: BEE. Spelling bees are
something we start rehearsing for in elementary school, but only a few make it
to the
big time. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm almost certain that they don't
have spelling bees in Germany, Italy, and Spain.
France maybe. I wonder why?
65. Thumbs-up vote: YEA.
66. Authorize: ALLOW.
67. SiriusXM channel 5 tune, say: OLDIE. My Mother used to sing
this OLDIE when she was growing up in WWII England. She brought it
to America and we'd all sing it around the dinner table after supper:
68. Contractor's no.: EST.
69. Grace word: BLESS. Bless us oh Lord, and these thy gifts ...
70. Lab activities: TESTS. My Labs didn't do any testing, but they
sure did a lot of licking and scratching.
Down:
1. Treaties: PACTS.
2. Parting word in Paris: ADIEU.
3. Michaels of "SNL": LORNE. Cruciverbalists owe this guy
big time. Not only has he been producing SNL since 1975, but
he is credited with the production of nearly 70 films and TV shows. The amount of CW FILL he has created boggles the mind. In
fact I'm almost certain there is some more besides this in this very puzzle!
4. Marine predator: ORCA. Alias
KILLER WHALE. The pic below shows how big they are compared to a human. However there
are no recorded killings of humans by Orcas in the wild. But there are
some rare instances of human deaths due to Orcas in captivity. They are
LARGE animals and they have BIG TEEF! They have been known to kill sea
mammals as large as Sperm Whales ...
5. Cold shoulder: SNUB. My Mom always applied
Vicks VapoRub to my snubbed shoulders:
6. Climber's endeavor: ASCENT. Since ALPS are such a CW
mainstay and Richard Strauss' "Eine Alpensinfonie" (An Alpine Symphony) was the
answer to a clue last week, I thought we'd listen to just a bit of it. It's not
really a classical 4 movement symphony, but rather a 1
1/2 hr
tone poem in 22 episodes.
Here's a 7 min. clip of the first 3 episodes with Herbert Von Karajan
conducting the Berlin Philharmonic: NIGHT, SUNRISE and ASCENT:
7. Meadow: LEA.
8. On topic: APT.
9. Lapel attachments: MICS. Always remember to remember whether
they're ON or OFF.
10. Locale of the surfing mecca Sunset Beach: OAHU.
11. Hard-to-find group: RARE BREED. Here's a
RARE BREED
and a CSO to our Spitzboov:
22. Six-time NBA All-Star __ Gasol: PAU. This will give you
hoopsters
some stats to chew on.
25. Carol contraction: TIS.
26. Numeric prefix: OCTA.
28. In this way: THUS.
29. So__: CAL. A CSO to all you SOCAL Cornerites.
30. Cheri of "SNL": OTERI. I told ya so.
31. Uncouth fellow: CAD.
32. Many-headed monster: HYDRA. Hercules slaying the
HYDRA. The second of
his 12 labors; and it was all uphill from there.
33. Chopped pie filling: MINCE MEAT. My Mother loved to make
MINCE MEAT pies at Christmas, but I never really cared for them as a kid.
I do eat them now, but they're not my first choice for pastries. Here's
everything you might want to know about Mince Meat pies
from the makers of Scottish Shortbread (which I do care for).
36. Bibliography abbr.: ET AL. Short for ET ALIA ("and
other") or ET ALII ("and others")
47. __TV: Turner channel: TRU. Hand up if you use this
channel.
48. Some pipe joints: ELBOWS.
49. Parma parting: CIAO. Italian CLECHO of 2D.
52. Touch and others: IPODS. I have two IPOD Nanos, both
tuned to WBJC 91.5 FM (also streamable at www.wbjc.com).
They're really nice to listen to while gardening.
53. Unspoken: TACIT.
54. Guitarist John who played with Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake:
SYKES. Here's Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town" with lead
vocalist Philip Lynott and John Sykes on guitar and backup vocals:
60. Fashion magazine since 1945: ELLE. As luck would have it, this
was the only cover I could find that was suitable for Corner viewing and it
featured the accomplished actress Emma Stone. She was
named world's highest paid actress in 2017 and named by Time as one of the
"100 most influential people in the world". And to top it all off, she HAS had "her picture on the cover of the
Rolling Stone". Unfortunately I think that one might not be suitable for
Corner viewing!
61. Parting, or half of one: BYE. I'll save the other half until
the next two clues bid us ADIEU.
63. NFL's Browns, on sports crawls: CLE.
64. Decks, briefly: KOS. That about KNOCKS it
OUT.
Hi, Cornerites, Chairman Moe here. Honest to God, this puzzle sure was
a pHun way to start a pHriday! And what a pleasure for yours truly to blog a
Mark McClain puzzle, as his clever use of several "f" sounding words that
start with the letters "pH" were inserted into a number (in this case, four)
of "pHamiliar frases" [sic]. And while at pHirst I had this acidic taste in my
mouth, once I got down to the base-ics I soon understood and realized the
reveal: 35-Across. Chemistry class measurement (it's 5 for this puzzle's
grid): pH NUMBER, and the whole chore was just "mildly" acidic! Kind of
like the Black Coffee I drank whilst creating my blog ...
Mark and I briepHly chatted via e-mail regarding his puzzle. He had some
interesting comments and shared how this went through a couple of iterations
bepHore the pHinal grid. I kinda liked this version despite having a bit of
trouble. But that just goes to show how dipHpHicult it is to construct a
crossword puzzle. I am very happy that Mark has helped me along my new journey
as a constructor ... but I digress ... let's pHind out how this whole thing
came together!
16-Across. Analytical diagrams of Tuesday rush hour traffic in Paris?:
MARDI GRAPHS. MARDI is the French word for "Tuesday"; GRAPHS are
analytical diagrams; MARDI GRAS is also known as "Fat Tuesday" or a
celebration held the day before Ash Wednesday - last chance to "let your hair
down" before the season of Lent
30-Across. Deli favorite with a floral garnish?: BAGEL AND PHLOX. BAGEL
and LOX: LOX is a fillet of brined salmon, frequently served on a BAGEL with
cream cheese, and often garnished with tomato, sliced onion, capers, and fresh
dill. PHLOX are perennials and are a favorite choice of gardeners, ranging
from ground cover blooming in early spring to the tall plants which bloom from
mid- to late summer
Which of course reminded me of a Moe-Ku:
Biblical shepherds Started gardening. Now they Watch their PHLOX
by night ...
38-Across. Rodent that's a Broadway star?: THEATER GOPHER. THEATER GOER
is literally someone who "goes to the theater"! And a GOPHER is a pretty cute
rodent. And one who had a supporting role in one of my pHavorite golpH movies:
58-Across. Mobile device for the unhip?: SQUARE PHONE. Maybe my least
pHavorite, but it pHits. "SQUARE" ONE is slang for a person who is
conventional and old-fashioned. This sense of the word "square" originated
with the American jazz community; as opposed to SQUARE "ONE" which is the
initial stage or starting point. SQUARE PHONE(s) actually DO exist,
un-beknownst to this blogger until he googled it ...
But my pHavorite use of the words "hip" and "SQUARE" are found in the lyrics
of this old classic:
Here is the grid:
On to the other clues and answers ...
Across:
1. Scrape remnant: SCAB. This would either be a SCAB or a SCAR ... I
guessed wrong but the perps corrected it later on
5. Get off topic: STRAY. This could've been clued as: "a wandering
dog". But I shouldn't STRAY from my appointed task. Maybe
ST-RAY-O-Sunshine will have something to add ...
10. Hurly-burly: ADO. Our "thesaurussaurus" doesn't include "ADO" but
it certainly means all that
13. Natural feeling: URGE. Has anyone really had an URGE to blog these
puzzles?!
14. Sharing word: A PIECE. Google says this about that: "When you mean
“each” the expression is “apiece”: these pizzas are really cheap — only ten
dollars apiece.” But when “piece” actually refers to a piece of something, the
required two-word expression is “a piece ”: “This pizza is really expensive;
can we share A PIECE?”
15. Like the top stripe of a pride flag: RED. Pride Month is this June.
Universal Crossword is going to dedicate the month of June to crossword
constructors who identify as either LBGTQ. I think this is a great idea.
18. "I've heard enough, thanks": TMI. Text speak; or what my kids say
when their Dad (me) gets a bit too descriptive about one of his ailments, et
al
19. Amazed feeling: AWE. And the root word for this: (hopefully, what
the puzzles and blogs are!)
20. Apt rhyme for "sincerely": DEARLY. Found at the close of a letter,
perhaps? I think "sincerely" a bit too formal, and "DEARLY" a bit too
personal. I almost always use "kind regards" . . . you?
21. Port SSE of Sana'a: ADEN. Accoring to Wikipedia dot com, ADEN is a
city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern
approach to the Red Sea. Sana'a is landlocked - see map
22. Sports shoe feature: CLEAT. CLEAT refers to the "gripping" feature
on the outer sole of a football shoe, e.g. Sometimes CLEATs are swapped out
depending on the surface of the playing field, and/or the weather conditions
24. "Hurrah!": YAY. I finished today's puzzle. YAY!!
25. Code opener: AREA. The three digit numeric "code". Click
here
for detail, if you're so inclined. AREA codes were introduced way back in 1947
but weren't universally used until the 1960's/1970's. Does anyone recall their
first telephone number as a kid? Mine was 2-8696 (only 5 digits) and was
bereft of an AREA code. Once the code was accepted (in PA) our new number was
(717) 854-8696 ...
26. SoCal team: LAD. Los Angeles Dodgers, the
reigning MLB World Series champs
28. One of two tarot card groups: ARCANA. Learning "MOE-ment"; ARCANA,
as a plural noun, means "secrets or mysteries". In occult practices, the Major
ARCANA are the trump cards of a tarot pack. There are usually 21 such cards in
a standard 77-card pack. Of the three shown below, I am clearly "The Fool"!!
34. 30-day mo.: APR. Thirty days hath APRil, June, and September. All
the others have 31, except February which has 28 (or 29, during a leap
year)
36. N.J. town across from northern Manhattan: FT. LEE. Fort Lee was
named for General Charles Lee after George Washington and his troops had
camped at Mount Constitution overlooking Burdett's Landing, in defense of New
York City.
37. "... __ he drove out of sight": Moore: ERE. Clement Clarke Moore
(July 15, 1779 – July 10, 1863) was a writer and American Professor of
Oriental and Greek Literature, as well as Divinity and Biblical Learning, at
the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in New
York City. He anonymously wrote and published "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in
1823, and its story is still told to wondering children at Christmastime
43. Charm: ENAMOR. "To be filled with a feeling of love for" ... when I
saw the clue I at first pencilled in AMULET, which is also defined as "a
charm"
44. Take advantage of: TAP. Many synonyms for this word "TAP". I prefer
this image, but the thesaurussaurus includes many others
45. Japanese noodle: UDON. Wikipedia dot com describes "UDON" as: "a
thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort
food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and
served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as kake UDON with a mild broth
called kakejiru made from dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. Sounds delightful!
46. Leaves for dim sum: TEA. Dim sum is a large range of small dishes
that Cantonese people traditionally enjoy in restaurants for breakfast and
lunch. And I am guessing that the beverage of choice would be TEA
49. Easy to pick up: LIGHT. As opposed to something that is difficult
to pick up (HEAVY)
53. Rascals: IMPS. Were these "Rascals" IMPS?
54. Come in: ARRIVE. Not the answer to when someone says "come in";
it's what you literally do (ARRIVE) when you come in (as a flight to an
airport, e.g.)
56. Blintz topping: ROE. BAGEL and LOX and now blintz with ROE? Oy,
vey! A blintz is a type of crepe and is often topped with ROE (fish
eggs/caviar). Any of our Jewish Cornerites care to add?
57. Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy org.: NBA. National
Basketball Association; Larry O'Brien was the Commissioner of
the NBA from 1975 - 1984; prior to that he was a Postmaster General in the
Johnson administration. The Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy is the
championship trophy awarded annually by the National Basketball Association
(NBA) to the winner of the NBA Finals. The name of the trophy was the Walter
A. Brown Trophy until 1984. Wikipedia dot com
60. Swampy spot: FEN. Our Boston baseball fans will know that John
Taylor claimed the name FENway Park came from its location in the Fenway
neighborhood of Boston, which was partially created late in the nineteenth
century by filling in marshland or "fens", to create the Back Bay Fens urban
park. However, given that Taylor's family also owned the Fenway Realty
Company, the promotional value of the naming at the time has been cited as
well
61. Get-go: OUTSET. OUTSET, as in from the "get-go", or beginning
62. "Cupcake Wars" fixture: OVEN. "Cupcake Wars" is a Food Network show
that features a "bake-off" among noted cupcake/dessert chefs. I know that they
need an OVEN to produce these delights, but would it actually look like this?
63. Some replacement sites, for short: OR'S. Cute clue; Mark, yours or
Rich's? Operating RoomS, as in a hospital where you might
actually "KNEED" something replaced
64. Greeted wordlessly: WAVED. "NODS" didn't fit. Hi, y'all!
65. Forms a union: WEDS. As opposed to the abbr for WEDneSday
Down:
1. Shrub often toxic: SUMAC. And at times, we see this reference to
SUMAC in crossword puzzles: Yma Sumac, born September, 1922 – died November 1,
2008) was a Peruvian coloratura soprano. Here is a little clip from YouTube
2. Pub __: CRAWL. We old folks take Uber ...
3. Feel the same way: AGREE. I don't know how you all feel about the
music embedded below; maybe we can AGREE to disagree ...
4. Board companion: BED. Hmm. Maybe I am missing this clue's meaning .
. . Room and Board, yes; BED and board? Anyone care to chirp in here and help
C-Moe??
5. Mist: SPRAY. STRAY and SPRAY in the same puzzle ... Moe-Ku 2:
6. Headwear for kid-lit's Fancy Nancy: TIARA. Maybe if I had a
granddaughter I would've known this. But Google saved the day for me
7. Comeback: REPLY. ECHO didn't fit ...
8. In some pain: ACHY. "Don't tell my heart, my ACHY breaky heart ..."
sing it, Billy Ray ... line dance, anyone??
9. "I'd be glad to": YES.
10. Buyer and seller of oils: ART DEALER. The plural in oils gave this
one away
But I wonder ... for this puzzle's theme ... had it been clued as
"Buyer and seller of gas", would the answer have been
pHART DEALER?
11. Conduct: DEMEANOR. Demeanor suggests a general tendency, whether
good or bad, of ones outward behavior. How would you all describe MY
demeanor??!
12. Frigga's husband: ODIN. ODIN (Sir Anthony Hopkins) and Frigga (Rene
Russo, I think) in Thor (Marvel Series)
14. Notable period: AGE. ERA fit, too. I would have personally
preferred a clue such as: "what good wines do well"
17. Luggage attachment: I.D. TAG. How to I.D. your luggage at the
airport baggage carousel? Use this TAG, perhaps?
21. Aqueduct support: ARCH. At first glance, I had this in mind, but
neither BETTOR nor HORSE fit:
23. __ mode: ALA. Does anyone order pie ALA mode anymore? Curious ...
are you hungry now??!
25. Strasbourg-born Dadaist: ARP. Hans Peter Wilhelm ARP (aka, Jean)
was a Dadaist-abstract painter born in Straßburg, Germany (Alsace-Lorraine) in
September 1886 and died in Basel Switzerland in June of 1966. In 1886, in what
is now known as Strasbourg, the German Empire controlled this land area west
of the Rhine River. The French regained the control of the region after WWI.
ARP was fluent in both German and French, and when he spoke German he referred
to himself as Hans; when speaking French, his moniker was Jean, as French law
required that he use a name more common in France. All of this and a whole lot
more is available at several Google sources, including Wikipedia dot com
27. Schedule for later: DEFER. Google dictionary defines it as: Source;
late Middle English (also in the sense ‘put on one side’): from Old French
differer ‘defer or differ’, from Latin differre, from dis- ‘apart’ + ferre
‘bring, carry’. I will leave the puns for Ray-O, et al
28. More than competent: ADEPT. Skillful. Is anyone who's able to leap
tall buildings in a single bound, ADEPT?
29. Tool in the Portland Timbers' logo: AXE. The Portland Timbers are
an American professional soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. Their logo is
shown below. A pHriday clue, for sure. Quick, can anyone name one of their
star players?
30. Bakery containers: BREAD PANS. not BED PANS. Although I suppose you
could use a BREAD PAN if you had to "pinch a loaf" ... oh, I'm gonna catch
some $**t for that comment!!
31. Copier tray abbr.: LTR. As in LeTteR sized.
8-1/2" x 11" is the common LTR size
32. Eighth-grade subj., often: ALG. ALGebra in 8th grade? Not
when I was going to school. GEOmetry, maybe. ALGebra seemed to hit us around
9th grade. In its simplest form ALGebra uses symbols to represent numbers in
an equation. For example, x + 2 = 5; where "x" is the unknown. Trust
me, it gets MUCH harder than that!!
33. Modernist: NEO. NEO (prefix) from the Greek "neos", meaning new,
young, fresh, modern
34. Enjoyed a lot, with "up": ATE. I almost just let this one go with
no comment; but I 'googled' the phrase ATE UP, and saw some videos attached to
this "search" that were, well, not ones even I would choose. Learning moment,
though, and perhaps as the crossword puzzle lexicon grows we will also see new
acronyms I found; e.g., AUATC (ATE UP All Their Cake) and PDLIF (Please Don't
Live In Fear)
39. Book after Joel: AMOS. Old Testament I believe
40. It may be gross: TON. I tried to fit MOE in here - or even "MOI" -
but the perps wouldn't allow it. Oh, I get it; "gross" as in a number or
amount. A TON (2,000#) could be the "gross" weight allowed, e.g.
41. Simona who won Wimbledon in 2019: HALEP. I'm not a huge tennis fan.
Had to actually look this one up. Simona HALEP, age 29, is a
Romanian professional tennis player
42. Prefix with Pen: EPI. EPI-Pen is the brand name of an
auto-injectable device that delivers the drug epinephrine. It is a life-saving
medication used when someone is experiencing a severe allergic reaction, known
as anaphylaxis. EPIPen is just one of the brand names of devices known
generically as Epinephrine Auto-Injectors.
46. Channel for reality show fans: TruTV. Didn't we just have TRU on
Wednesday?
TruTV is an American basic cable channel owned by WarnerMedia under its
Studios and Networks unit. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as
Court TV, a network that focused on crime-themed programs such as true crime
documentary series, legal dramas, and coverage of prominent criminal cases. I
don't think Judge Wapner's show ran on this network . . .
47. Backspace over: ERASE. My "backspace" key is worn down to a nub now
that I am involved on this blog ...
48. Broadcast: AIRED. "The People's Court" (current version) is AIRED
via syndication and picked up by our local CBS network station KPHO. It is
available to watch on weekdays at 3:00 local time.
Here is a list of all of the cities AIRing this show.
Scroll up or down to find your city/state
50. Trees of a kind, often: GROVE. A GROVE is a small group of trees
with minimal or no undergrowth, such as a sequoia GROVE, or a small orchard
planted for the cultivation of fruits or nuts
51. Improved: HONED. According to ESL dot com, HONED can be a synonym
for IMPROVED
52. Typical winter highs at the summit of Mt. Washington: TEENS. Mount
Washington is located in N Central New Hampshire, and rises to a summit peak
of 6,288'. There is a
Weather Observatory here, and as I was typing the blog, the temperature at the summit was 10 deg F,
with a wind chill of -15! Brr. Hoping our friend Picard has some photos
floating around the Internet he can share with us
53. Facts and figures: INFO. I didn't check the OED, but I am guessing
that INFO is an accepted word and not the abbreviation for INFOrmation
54. Teal relative: AQUA. Weird things surface when you google the words
AQUA Velva. Since when did they start making a cocktail from after shave? And
I wonder if this drink is popular at Aqueduct?
55. Nov. honoree: VET. A word which as a noun can be defined as an
abbr. for an animal doctor or a retired/discharged member of the military
services. As a verb it means to make a careful and critical examination of a
person or thing
58. Barnyard mom: SOW. MARE didn't fit but COW did. Has anyone else
noticed the plethora of 3-letter words in today's puzzle?