Watch Your Step
Our constructor today is Dr. Matthew Luter, an Upper School English teacher at the St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Jackson, Mississippi. While he is new to the Corner, he is definitely not new to crosswords, both as a solver and a constructor. His latter efforts as an indie constructor are posted on his website, along with others by constructors whom I'm sure you'll recognize.
20A. Device with steps: FITNESS TRACKER. Here's a guide to selecting a fitness tracker.
24A. Activity with steps: BALLROOM DANCING. From the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, 2020, and a CSO to YellowRocks ...
46A. Structure with steps: SPIRAL STAIRCASE. One of the most famous (and mysterious) SPIRAL STAIRCASES is the one in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States, a former Roman Catholic church that is now used as a museum and a wedding chapel ...
52. Booklet with steps: IKEA DIRECTIONS. They're really pretty simple ...
Here's the grid ...
Here's the rest ...
Across:
1. Droops: SAGS.
5. Only bird with calf muscles: EMU.
8. Britcom starring Jennifer Saunders, to fans: AB FAB. Jennifer discovers the Spice Girls ...
13. Meredith Grey's mother: ELLIS. Here they begin to confront their mortality ...
15. NYY rival: BOS.
16. Crack, in a sense: SOLVE. It's what we do, fellow crackers (and -T gets paid for it!)
17. Ludicrous: LAUGHABLE.
19. Utter nonsense: HOOEY.
20 [Theme clue]
22. Biblical craft of gopher wood: ARK. Gopher wood or gopherwood is a term used once in the Bible for the material used to construct Noah's ark. Genesis 6:14 states that Noah was instructed to build the Ark of gofer (גֹפֶר), commonly transliterated as gopher wood, a word not otherwise used in the Bible or the Hebrew language in general.
23. Funds for later yrs.: IRAS.
24. [Theme clue]
32. Written tribute: ODE.
33. Cosmonaut Gagarin: YURI. He's been landing here a lot lately (must be all those vowels).
34. __ Hawkins dance: SADIE. What is a Sadie Hawkins Dance and where did it come from? [and why did I find that in Y!sports?].
35. Fusses: ADOS.
37. Garb in sword-and-sandal pictures: TOGAS.
40. El __: climate pattern: NINO.
41. Adjusts for pitch: TUNES. Bobby Nunes of the National Youth Orchestra shows us how it's done ...
43. Rub elbows (with): HANG.
45. Composer Rorem: NED. NED Miller Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and a writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was considered the leading American of his time writing in that genre. Frequently described as a Neo-romantic composer, he showed limited interest in the emerging modernist aesthetic of his lifetime. Here's his song Early in the Morning sung by soprano Susan Graham (lyrics) ...
46. [Theme clue]
50. Basic weightlifting lesson: GRIP. Today's weightlifting lesson is a CSO to our good friend and crossword constructor Stella Zawistowski. In addition to GRIP, as an alto in the Oratorio Society of New York Stella could tell us a lot about staying in TUNE.
51. Paving gunk: TAR.
52. [Theme clue]
59. Record of the year?: ANNAL.
60. Minnesota home to the Mayo Clinic: ROCHESTER. A CSO to C.C. -- she's less than 2 hours away from the Mayo Clinic. One of my nieces is a psychiatrist there.
61. Tearoom nibble: SCONE. Here's a recipe. I think they'd be good with 64A too.
62. "Or something like that": ISH.
63. Maker of iComfort mattresses: SERTA.
64. Foamy coffee shop order: LATTE. Today's Italian lesson: MILK
65. Yin-yang principle: TAO. Taoism is an ancient Chinese philosophy and religion that instructs believers on how to exist in harmony with the universe. One of the main ideas of Taoism is the belief in balancing forces, or yin and yang. These ideas represent matching pairs, such as light and dark, hot and cold, action and inaction, which work together toward a universal whole. Yin and yang show that everything in the universe is connected and that nothing makes sense by itself. This metaphysical principle has become popular with some physicists, such as the great Niels Bohr, one of the founders of quantum mechanics. He was so intrigued with this idea that he incorporated it into his family crest.
The insignia Contraria Sunt Complementa is Latin for Opposites are complementary.
66. Back talk: SASS.
Down:
1. "Wellness you can trust" publication: SELF. SELF (stylized in all caps) is an American online magazine for women that specializes in health, beauty, and style.
I don't believe it tells us much about that other SELF, the mysterious entity that is reading these words. See also 65A.
2. Jai __: ALAI. Rules of JAI ALAI explained ...
3. Oversupply: GLUT.
4. Lighthouse output: SIGNAL. Before the advent of Geo-positioning systems, the SIGNALS from lighthouses kept boats from foundering on rocky shores. The vagaries of the Chesapeake Bay shoreline required many of these beacons. Here's tour of Maryland lighthouses.
 |
| Some leading fitness trackers |
24A. Activity with steps: BALLROOM DANCING. From the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, 2020, and a CSO to YellowRocks ...
46A. Structure with steps: SPIRAL STAIRCASE. One of the most famous (and mysterious) SPIRAL STAIRCASES is the one in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States, a former Roman Catholic church that is now used as a museum and a wedding chapel ...
 |
| Spiral Staircase Loretto Chapel Santa Fe, New Mexico |
Across:
1. Droops: SAGS.
5. Only bird with calf muscles: EMU.
8. Britcom starring Jennifer Saunders, to fans: AB FAB. Jennifer discovers the Spice Girls ...
13. Meredith Grey's mother: ELLIS. Here they begin to confront their mortality ...
15. NYY rival: BOS.
16. Crack, in a sense: SOLVE. It's what we do, fellow crackers (and -T gets paid for it!)
17. Ludicrous: LAUGHABLE.
19. Utter nonsense: HOOEY.
22. Biblical craft of gopher wood: ARK. Gopher wood or gopherwood is a term used once in the Bible for the material used to construct Noah's ark. Genesis 6:14 states that Noah was instructed to build the Ark of gofer (גֹפֶר), commonly transliterated as gopher wood, a word not otherwise used in the Bible or the Hebrew language in general.
 |
| Noah's Ark |
24. [Theme clue]
32. Written tribute: ODE.
33. Cosmonaut Gagarin: YURI. He's been landing here a lot lately (must be all those vowels).
_-_Restoration.jpg) |
| Yuri Gagarin |
34. __ Hawkins dance: SADIE. What is a Sadie Hawkins Dance and where did it come from? [and why did I find that in Y!sports?].
35. Fusses: ADOS.
37. Garb in sword-and-sandal pictures: TOGAS.
40. El __: climate pattern: NINO.
41. Adjusts for pitch: TUNES. Bobby Nunes of the National Youth Orchestra shows us how it's done ...
43. Rub elbows (with): HANG.
45. Composer Rorem: NED. NED Miller Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and a writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was considered the leading American of his time writing in that genre. Frequently described as a Neo-romantic composer, he showed limited interest in the emerging modernist aesthetic of his lifetime. Here's his song Early in the Morning sung by soprano Susan Graham (lyrics) ...
50. Basic weightlifting lesson: GRIP. Today's weightlifting lesson is a CSO to our good friend and crossword constructor Stella Zawistowski. In addition to GRIP, as an alto in the Oratorio Society of New York Stella could tell us a lot about staying in TUNE.
59. Record of the year?: ANNAL.
60. Minnesota home to the Mayo Clinic: ROCHESTER. A CSO to C.C. -- she's less than 2 hours away from the Mayo Clinic. One of my nieces is a psychiatrist there.
61. Tearoom nibble: SCONE. Here's a recipe. I think they'd be good with 64A too.
 |
| Scones |
63. Maker of iComfort mattresses: SERTA.
64. Foamy coffee shop order: LATTE. Today's Italian lesson: MILK
65. Yin-yang principle: TAO. Taoism is an ancient Chinese philosophy and religion that instructs believers on how to exist in harmony with the universe. One of the main ideas of Taoism is the belief in balancing forces, or yin and yang. These ideas represent matching pairs, such as light and dark, hot and cold, action and inaction, which work together toward a universal whole. Yin and yang show that everything in the universe is connected and that nothing makes sense by itself. This metaphysical principle has become popular with some physicists, such as the great Niels Bohr, one of the founders of quantum mechanics. He was so intrigued with this idea that he incorporated it into his family crest.
66. Back talk: SASS.
Down:
1. "Wellness you can trust" publication: SELF. SELF (stylized in all caps) is an American online magazine for women that specializes in health, beauty, and style.
2. Jai __: ALAI. Rules of JAI ALAI explained ...
3. Oversupply: GLUT.
4. Lighthouse output: SIGNAL. Before the advent of Geo-positioning systems, the SIGNALS from lighthouses kept boats from foundering on rocky shores. The vagaries of the Chesapeake Bay shoreline required many of these beacons. Here's tour of Maryland lighthouses.
 |
| Concord Point Lighthouse |
6. Drop down?: MOLT. Favorite clue.
7. Password partner: USERID.
8. Waste receptacles near fireplaces: ASHCANS. Also Navy slang for the depth charges used in submarine warfare.
 |
| Mk VII depth charges |
10. Ice sheet: FLOE.
11. Assert firmly: AVER.
,,
12. "Queen __": pop music icon with a "hive" of fans: BEY. Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and businesswoman. Known as "Queen Bey", she has been recognized for her boundary-pushing artistry, vocals, and performances. Named one of the greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone, her contributions to music and visual media and her concert performances have led her to become a prominent cultural icon of the 21st century. That said I'm not that familiar with her music, and I was surprised when this song popped up on YouTube. I guess they're all in alphabetical order ...
18. Try to see: ASK OUT.
21. Legendary coach Parseghian: ARA. Ara Raoul Parseghian (May 21, 1923 – August 2, 2017) was an American football player and coach who guided the University of Notre Dame to national championships in 1966 and 1973. He is noted for bringing Notre Dame's Fighting Irish football program back from years of futility into national prominence in 1964 and is widely regarded alongside Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy as a part of the "Holy Trinity" of Notre Dame head coaches.
 |
| Ara Parseghian |
25. Fit the facts: ADD UP.
26. Téa of "Madam Secretary": LEONI. Madam Secretary (titled Madam President for its sixth and final season) is an American political drama television series created by Barbara Hall with Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary as executive producers. It stars Téa Leoni as Elizabeth McCord, a former CIA analyst and political science professor who becomes the United States Secretary of State. Here's the first season trailer ...
27. Spanish gold: ORO.
28. Brute force: MIGHT.
29. Menzel who was named a Disney Legend in 2022: IDINA. Idina Kim Menzel (born May 30, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Particularly recognized for her work in musicals on Broadway, she has been nicknamed the "Queen of Broadway" for her commanding stage presence, powerful mezzo-soprano, and reputation as one of the most influential stage actors of her generation. Here she is Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked.
30. Baseball rosters: NINES.
31. Crystalline stone: GEODE.
|
|
Amethyst/Calcite Geode Brazil, South America Smithsonian Natural History Museum |
38. Tower dispatchers, often: Abbr.: AAA. "Towers" of autos that is, by the American Automobile Association.
42. Brand that "nobody doesn't like": SARA LEE.
44. Prepares, as cheese: GRATES.
47. Jack-in-the-box part: LID.
48. Budget airline with yellow planes: SPIRIT. Spirit Airlines, Inc. (stylized as SPIRIT) is a major United States ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Miramar, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. Spirit operates scheduled flights throughout the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. Spirit was the seventh largest passenger carrier in North America as of 2023, as well as the largest ultra-low-cost carrier in North America.
49. High-stress situations: CRISES.
52. Historic Peruvian: INCA.
53. Gordian __: mythological conundrum: KNOT. The cutting of the Gordian KNOT is an Ancient Greek legend associated with Alexander the Great in Gordium in Phrygia, regarding a complex knot that tied an oxcart. Reputedly, whoever could untie it would be destined to rule all of Asia. In 333 BC Alexander was challenged to untie the knot. Instead of untangling it laboriously as expected, he dramatically cut through it with his sword, thus exercising another form of mental genius. It is thus used as a metaphor for a seemingly intractable problem which is solved by exercising an unexpectedly direct, novel, rule-bending, decisive, and simple approach that removes the perceived constraints This story has inspired many works of art, including an opera by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell. Here is the Chaconne from his Gordian Knot Untied ...
54. First name in civil rights history: ROSA. ROSA Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. It all started here ...
 |
| Rosa Parks |
56. De __ manera: otherwise, in Spanish: OTRA. "Other": OTRA. Lección de español número 1.
57. Earns after taxes: NETS.
58. Mmes., across the Pyrenees: SRAS. SENORAS. Lección de español número 2.
59. Communication method in "A Quiet Place," briefly: ASL. American Sign Language. A Quiet Place is a story about sightless aliens with sharp hearing and impenetrable armor plating who have taken over the planet and killed most of the human population. The Abbott family – mother Evelyn, father Lee, deaf daughter Regan, and sons Marcus and Beau – live on their isolated farm in the middle of a forest in upstate New York, and have survived by taking precautions such as laying sand paths to avoid stepping on crunching leaves and using ASL when communicating. Rated S for SCARY ...
Cheers,
Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
Epilogue
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
Epilogue
I sometimes wonder whether all of the people on the Corner
are just figments of my imagination, or perhaps they live in one of
those crazy computer simulations that physicists are so fond of these
days. You may recall that I said we would be on the road last Thursday. Well we had actually arranged to meet a Cornerite IRL in Washington, D.C. Her name is NINA (rhymes with CAROLINA) but you may know her better as inanehiker. She is very real, and a delight to be with! Here are a few highlights of our get together ...
As we knew that this Picasso painting (The Lovers) would be appearing in the review that very day, we arranged to have our picture taken in front of it (as Nina put it, "very meta") ...
The Lovers is in the East Wing, which is devoted to Modern Art. One of the docents there urged us to ascend the East Wing Tower to a walled patio overlooking D.C. to see this sculpture ...
The Hahn/Cock is a sculpture of a giant blue cockerel created by the German artist Katharina Fritsch. It was originally installed in London's Trafalgar Square on 25 July 2013 [imagine that!]. The fibreglass work stands 15.5 ft high and was subsequently acquired by Glenstone, a private museum in Potomac, MD, and was exhibited at the National Gallery following its 2016 reopening.
In March 2021, Glenstone permanently donated the piece to the National
Gallery, "in honor of the resilience of the American people during the
COVID-19 pandemic."
Here are two other memorable works of art that we saw in the West Wing ...
There are 3 authenticated Vermeer's in the National Gallery, but The Girl with the Red Hat was on loan to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam at the time of our visit.
IMHO Salvador Dali was the greatest artist of the 20th Century. The only work by Dali in the National Gallery is the monumental painting (105 in × 65.6 in) The Sacrament of the Last Supper. Completed in 1955, after nine months of work, it remains one of his most popular compositions. Since its arrival at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1955, it replaced Renoir's A Girl with a Watering Can as the most popular piece in the museum ...
The Dali Museum
in St. Petersburg, Florida, has over 2,400 of his works and is the
largest in the world. I'd urge anyone visiting Florida to reserve a day
to visit it.
As we knew that this Picasso painting (The Lovers) would be appearing in the review that very day, we arranged to have our picture taken in front of it (as Nina put it, "very meta") ...
 |
| Bill, Nina, and Teri photo by Priscilla |
The Lovers is in the East Wing, which is devoted to Modern Art. One of the docents there urged us to ascend the East Wing Tower to a walled patio overlooking D.C. to see this sculpture ...
 |
| The Hahn/Cock with Teri and Nina |
Here are two other memorable works of art that we saw in the West Wing ...
 |
| Woman Holding a Balance Jan Vermeer |
IMHO Salvador Dali was the greatest artist of the 20th Century. The only work by Dali in the National Gallery is the monumental painting (105 in × 65.6 in) The Sacrament of the Last Supper. Completed in 1955, after nine months of work, it remains one of his most popular compositions. Since its arrival at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1955, it replaced Renoir's A Girl with a Watering Can as the most popular piece in the museum ...
 |
| The Sacrament of the Last Supper |
