Which is not to be confused with, "Bye Bye, Boobies"
Puzzling Thoughts:
Well, as if on cue, a Friday "play-on-words themed puzzle" once again showed itself here at the LA Times Crossword du jour. And today's was crafted by the daring duo of Matt Forest and Shannon Rapp - aka 'Norah Sharpe'. Shannon/Norah was featured just a couple of weeks ago at the Crossword Corner, as well as in late August.
I searched for "Matt Forest crossword puzzle(s)" at other venues, and I couldn't locate any (other than the link I provided to his website). I know that Shannon is not bashful so I hope she will stop by and give us some insight to their collaboration
Today's fun-filled grid involves removing 2 "T's" from the entries to get a punny phrase. And for this Stooge - who is known for his simple and sophomoric double entendres - this puzzle was "teed up" for him. Beginning with the second one @ 24-across!! So let's explore and see where the "h e double hockey sticks" the T's went!
18-across. *Haymaker's agenda?: BALE PLAN. Right off the bat, Matt and Shannon/Norah hit a home run. Haymaker has two meanings, methinks: First (for the clue) is a person who bundles hay; which leads us to the BALE PLAN. The second meaning for "haymaker" is a forceful blow, which might be part of another agenda when two T's were removed from "BATTLE PLAN". Get it? Good!
24-across. *Major uptick in swimsuit sales?: BIKINI BOOM. Ok, Cornerites; just close your eyes and picture a BIKINI. Got it? Good. I swear I inserted a picture here but it vanished. Give me a few moments to get to the BOTTOM of this ...
37-across. *"The whole team has earned happy hour!": WE DESERVE BEER. Didn't we recently have a puzzle that used BEER ME as an entry? Yes? Well, if so, WE DESERVE BETTER!! C'mon Patti, don't be so lazy!! ;^)
52-across. *Hungry hawk's polite request?: PREY PLEASE. Ha Ha!! And when the hungry hawk didn't get the PREY straight away, it probably followed up its request with "PRETTY PLEASE"
And the unifier: 60-across. Untangle carefully, and a phonetic hint for the answers to the starred clues?: TEASE OUT. True to the puzzle, the reveal also has a dual meaning, as the phrase "TEASE OUT" means: "to try to get information or understand a meaning that is hidden or not clear". [dictionary dot com] The phonetic meaning is what I used for the theme: "Ta Ta, tee tees"
But if you really want a stretch here is a short video clip of a different kind of untangling:
Here is the solved grid, and then on to the rest of the clues/entries!
Across:
1. Absolute: UTTER. Well, it looks like we found out where the "T's" went!! Both of them landed in this word. Otherwise the puzzle would've started out with the word "UER"
6. Short helper?: ASST. ELF didn't fit
10. IG or FB post: PIC. Instagram or Facebook post, briefly = PIC ... recall when you took photos with a camera and had to wait days or even weeks to get the prints back?
13. Breastfed: NURSED. This is what we did as babies; now, I use the term "NURSED" to refer to how I drink alcoholic beverages ... I can make a 2 oz. neat pour of whisky last almost as long as it takes me to write my blog!
15. Fruit cocktail fruit: PEAR. I think this one was in the puzzle I blogged a couple weeks ago ... oh, wait, that was PARE
16. Reddit tell-all session, for short: AMA. We older crossword puzzle solvers would understand this if the clue were: "Dr.'s Org." But today's generations know it as: "Reddit AMAs (which stands for “Ask Me Anything”)—whether they're timed around the news cycle or simply focused on a topic of great general interest—are Q&As designed to bring an authority on a subject to a community of interested people. And now you know
17. Facial hair, casually: STACHE. GOATEE fit; BEARDS fit; STUBBLE, not so much. Once upon a time the Chairman sported a "STACHE"; now, it's a full beard - neatly trimmed
20. West Coast sch. with more than 100 NCAA championships: USC. For anyone who follows College Football, this year's USC Trojans team had a chance to play for the National Championship. But the Utah Utes would have nothing of it, and clearly embarrassed them in the Pac-12 Conference Championship. FUN FACT: USC has the most NCAA championships in what sport? Check here for the answer...
21. Crispy Crunchies! fries maker: ORE-IDA.
23. Karate level: BELT. Here is a picture of their order:
26. Footprint maker: SOLE. Moe-ku:
A cobbler started
New business. Of course, he's the
SOLE proprietor
27. Fancy foot work: PEDI. Cute clue. This, maybe?
28. Vinaigrette ingredient: OIL. FUN FACT: according to [fine dining lovers dot com] "For a traditional vinaigrette, you'll need to mix about 3 tablespoons of OIL to 1 tablespoon of vinegar. You'll also want to add some salt and pepper to taste. Of course, for all four ingredients, the better the quality you use, the better your vinaigrette will taste
30. Lousy grade: DEE. I may have had one or two of these in my years as a student. Penmanship was one that I KNOW of, for sure
31. __-mo: SLO. CHAIRMAN wouldn't fit, and they spelled "MOE" incorrectly ...
33. Scrape (by): EKE. Eek! We had EKE again!!
35. DoorDash category: ASIAN. I can raise my hand when asked, "have you never used DoorDash?" A bit of a misleading clue but hey, it's Friday
41. Arya's sister on "Game of Thrones": SANSA. If you put this answer together with the answer for 23-across, you'd have SANSA-BELT. Any of the guys here recall those "beltless" trousers? I'm pretty sure (without looking it up) that SANSA-BELT means "without (SANS) A BELT! Anyway, that's MY story, and I'm sticking to it!!
42. Feel icky: AIL. Me, for about 2-1/2 weeks with COVID. I know of some other of our Cornerites who've recently gotten COVID, and hope they are no longer AILing
43. Part of FWIW: ITS. "FOR" also fits
44. Some 45s, briefly: EPS. Extended PlayS. Another of the deadly pluralized abbreviations. EPS can also mean, Earnings Per Share in the financial world. But this fit nicely with: (3-down. Album unit: TRACK), as EPS have several TRACKs as opposed to regular 45s which have one per side
45. "Tsk!": TUT. Moe-ku:
Ancient Egyptian
King made a faux pas. They cried:
"TUT, TUT, TUT, TUT, TUT"
48. High time: NOON. MIDNIGHT didn't fit; and FWIW, no one ever said, "It's NOON you got off of your a$$ and found a job!"
50. Switch on the radio?: AM/FM. If this were a switch on a CLOCK radio, the answer would be AM/PM
57. Narrate: TELL. As in the William Narrate Overture?? Get it? William TELL? Oh, never mind ...
58. Hall of Fame pitcher Fingers: ROLLIE. ROLLIE Fingers sported one of the more iconic STACHEs in all of Major League Baseball
59. Baby goat: KID. Try and get this tune out of your head after I enter some of the lyrics: "Mares eat oats and does eats oats, and little lambs eat ivy. A KID'll eat ivy, too, wouldn't you?"
62. Catch sight of: NOTICE.
64. Copier size: Abbr.: LTR. Generally 8-1/2" x 11" in its two dimensions
65. D.C. paper: WA PO. Short for, WAshington POst
66. Almond flour's lack: GLUTEN. Margaret makes the best banana muffins using almond flour
67. Language suffix: ESE. As in "PortuguESE, ChinESE, and EnglishESE"
68. Small songbird: WREN. Too bad this entry wasn't longer for today's "theme", as a Tufted Titmouse is a small songbird with two T's in its name
69. Finals, e.g.: EXAMS. ORALS fits but only if you are trying for a PhD
Down:
1. Get off a mailing list, informally: UNSUB. No; just no. UNSUBscribe, yes. To be fair, I checked the OneLook dot com lists for usage of the word "UNSUB". Curious to know YOUR thoughts about this abbreviation ... YEA or NAY?
2. Ethnic group in Rwanda: TUTSI. One of three, actually. The Hutu and Twa being the other two ethnic tribes. Whenever one of them gets up to leave, I wonder if you'll hear the song: "TOOT TOOT TUTSI, Goodbye" ...??
4. Corner key on a PC: ESC. TAB fits but it's not in the corner of a PC keyboard
5. Brush up on a fading skill, perhaps: RE-HONE.
6. Challenging sci. class featuring evolutionary studies: AP BIO. I ignored most of the AP courses as I didn't want any more "DEES" on my report card!
7. Jet ski brand: SEA-DOO.
8. Charcuterie choice: SALAMI. Dr. Mehmet Oz used the term "charcuterie" (or maybe it was crudite) when he was stumping for the PA Senate seat in this year's mid-terms. It didn't play well in Altoona
9. Three, in Rome: TRE. FUN FACT: As you may know, the Chairman is also a sommelier. In the wine-world of rating systems, there is a term used to categorize Italian wine. The best are given "Tre Bicchieri" (Three Glasses). Gambero Rosso is the reviewer and rater
10. Regimen based on the eating habits of early humans: PALEO DIET. As in what the hunter-gatherers might choose for their diet. "Paleo-friendly foods include meat, fish, eggs, seeds, nuts, fruits, and veggies, along with healthy fats and oils" [healthline dot com]
11. "You have my full attention!": I'M ALL EARS. Moe-ku:
When Dumbo was asked,
"Are you paying attention?"
He said, "I'M ALL EARS"!
12. Water flask: CANTEEN. Brings back memories of my Boy Scout camping days
14. Puts down: DERIDES. My "Ray-O-Sunshine" pun: "Disney attractions that are less costly than an "E" ....DE-RIDES
19. "Call the Midwife" airer: PBS. Perps filled this one in
22. Transport with hill-assist mode: E-BIKE. These aren't cheap
25. Discontinued music players: I-PODS. Still available at Apple.com
29. Course component of 6-Down: LAB. Since I never took AP BIO, the only LAB I knew of was either a Chocolate or Golden one
31. Where some day traders trade?: SWAP MEETS. FUN FACT: This is the point in which (as I was writing my blog) my 2 oz. pour of whisky ended ...
32. Scattered light effect in a photo: LENS FLARE. Any photographers out there? I know this has happened to me
34. Hurler's stat: ERA. ROLLIE Fingers' ERA was 2.91. That means he gave up 2.91 runs per game, on average. Any number under 3 is considered very good
36. Pont Neuf's river: SEINE. Frawnch
38. "Mangia!": EAT. What Gambero Rosso might say after opening a bottle of wine. The Italians live for drinking wine with their meals
39. Old 45, perhaps: VINYL. Another record-based clue/answer. FUN FACT: "PVC (polyvinyl chloride), the material that VINYL records are made of, is clear in its natural form, allowing records to be manufactured in just about any color imaginable. Despite this endless array of choices, black is still overwhelmingly the most common option, leaving the burning question: why? Click here for the answer
40. Leaving unceremoniously?: ELOPING. Cute clue! No "ceremony" for those who are ELOPING, unless you count the folks who gather at the chapels in Las Vegas
41. "Grey's Anatomy" setting: SEATTLE. This one stumped me for a bit as I wasn't thinking of the city where the fictional hospital was. And look! A pair of "T's" entered this word, too! Remove them and you have SEALE, as in Bobby SEALE, founder of the Black Panthers
46. Ruckus: UPROAR. Moe started getting "lazy" about now
47. Traveling ensemble: TROUPE. He wanted more whisky but sensed the end was near
49. Estadio shout: OLE OLE. And just didn't bother with ancillary information for this, and the previous two clues
51. Org. with Earthquakes and Fire: MLS. Major League Soccer teams. The Earthquakes are in San Jose, and the FIRE are in Chicago (of course!)
53. "Rocketman" icon John: ELTON. I've watched this movie 3 times - excellent BIO - PIC
54. Japanese breed: AKITA, goes well with (55-down. Biting remark?: SIC 'EM).
56. Happy places: EDENS. Until Adam and Eve took a bite of an apple ...
61. "Ick": EWW.
63. Formal duds: TUX. FUN FACT: C-Moe had a part-time, then full-time job in college working at a TUXedo rental store
If you are still wanting to solve another crossword puzzle, check out this one from yours truly
NOTABLES by Chris Gross, edited by Stanley Newman
