Sunday December 31, 2023 Matthew Stock & Miranda Carson

Theme: "Squad Goals" - The end of each theme entry is a WNBA team.

23. *Symptom of isolation, perhaps: CABIN FEVER. Indiana Fever.

28. *Leave the nest: SPREAD ONE'S WINGS. Dallas Wings.

48. *No. 1 Katy Perry album featuring the No. 1 song "Firework": TEENAGE DREAM. Atlanta Dream.

56. *Oscar-winning role for Rami Malek: FREDDIE MERCURY. Phoenix Mercury.

82. *One of Sheriff Woody's catchphrases in "Toy Story": REACH FOR THE SKY. Chicago Sky.

91. *Concurrence of many negative possibilities: PERFECT STORM. Seattle Storm.

114. *Lorraine Hansberry play whose title comes from a Langston Hughes poem: A RAISIN IN THE SUN.  Connecticut Sun.

 121. Championship series where fans hope to find the ends of the answers to the starred clues?: WNBA FINALS. 

And something extra: 38. Group seen seven times in this puzzle: TEAM.

Total 12 teams in the WNBA. Missing are the Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces & Washington Mystics. 

Liked this puzzle. Reminds me of the "Single Ladies" for the Universal a while ago. I had a set of teams with singular nouns.

Congrats on your LAT debut, Miranda! You found a brilliant collaborator.

Across:

1. Flub: FUMBLE.

7. Tell (on): RAT.

10. Barbershop service: SHAVE.

15. Santa __: home of the Charles M. Schulz Museum: ROSA.

19. Without principles: AMORAL.

20. Word with devil or dog: SLY. Also 22. Extremely bad: EVIL.

21. Patio stone: PAVER.

25. Oahu's __ Stadium: ALOHA.

26. Actress Rowlands: GENA. "The Notebook" is so moving.

27. French novelist Zola: EMILE.

31. Cash collector: TILL.

32. Yearbook superlative: MOST.

33. Distillery tub: VAT.

34. "What was I __ to do?": MEANT.

35. Looking for, in ads: ISO. In Search Of.

37. Jackal cousin: COYOTE.

39. Bring up: RAISE.

42. Contrail makeup: VAPOR.

44. Shape of the three-point line: ARC.

45. Illustrator's tools: PENS.

47. Recipient of a classic shout-out: MOM.

52. Fender bender: ACCIDENT.

55. Itty-bitty kitties: RUNTS.

58. Cup holder spot, perhaps: ARM. This refers to armrest, right?

59. Demeanor: MIEN.

61. Prov. that borders all but one of the Great Lakes: ONT.

62. Scrutinize: EYE.

63. No longer consequential: MOOT.

65. Yearbook gp.: FROSH.

68. Busch Gardens city: TAMPA.

71. Brief quarrel: TIFF.

75. "Let's __!": EAT. Went to my sister-in-law Connie's place on Christmas eve. She made poached salmon (unpictured: tzatziki sauce), wild rice salad and roasted Brussels sprouts. That piece of seeded bread is from a local bakery that stone-mills its own flour. So lucky to have such a great sister-in-law!

77. Gomez's hairy cousin: ITT.

79. Soothing YouTube genre, for short: ASMR. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.

81. "You think I did that!?": MOI.

88. Accompanist?: USHER. Quite a few nice clues in this grid.

90. Mark on a garage floor: OIL STAIN.

93. Rd. with a no.: RTE.

94. Very, in Biarritz: TRES. French city on the Bay of Biscay.

96. "__-hoo!": WOO.

97. Try to swat: HIT AT.

98. Supports on Kickstarter, say: BACKS.

101. Taco truck dips: SALSAS.

103. "Gangnam Style" rapper: PSY.

104. "The Secret History" writer Donna: TARTT.

106. Smallish batteries: AAS.

107. Degrees for corp. execs: MBAS.

110. Cake layer: TIER.

118. Food processor's output: PUREE.

119. Burgles: ROBS.

120. Papa: DADDY. Ba ba, in Chinese.

123. Fit: ABLE.

124. Fireplace hazard: EMBER.

125. Flow back: EBB.

126. Early online forum: USENET.

127. Brewed beverage: BEER. And 64. Brewed beverages: TEAS.

128. Prophets: SEERS.

129. Early broadcasting co.: RCA.

130. Low points: NADIRS.

Down:

1. Diamond side: FACET. 4. Diamond cut: BRILLIANT.

2. Parmesan quality: UMAMI. Connie is cheese connoisseur. She lived in Italy for a few years. She  still visits Italy and France regularly.

3. Gas giant?: MOBIL. 90. Round figure?: ORB. I like both clues.

5. Track assignment: LANE.

6. Beauty brand whose name stands for three body parts: ELF. Eyes Lips Face.

7. Sends regrets, perhaps: RSVPS.

8. Heads-up: ALERT.

9. Spare in a boot: TYRE.

10. "Me time" option: SPA DAY.

11. Low-calorie ice cream brand: HALO TOP. Boomer liked Breyers No Sugar Added.

12. Maker of Skin So Soft products: AVON.

13. Fervor: VEHEMENCE.

14. Delete: ERASE.

15. "Fidelity" pop artist Spektor: REGINA. Born in Moscow.

16. Kitchen beeper: OVEN TIMER.

17. Snitch: SING.

18. Woeful sigh: ALAS.

24. Spanish "that": ESO.

29. Green smoothie ingredient, perhaps: AVOCADO.

30. Simple card game: WAR.

32. Synthesizer pioneer: MOOG.

36. Involuntary jerk: SPASM.

37. Rep: CRED.

40. JumboTron maker: SONY.

41. First responder, briefly: EMT. And 43. Send to a specialist: REFER.

42. Cash app: VENMO.

44. "Blessed __ ... ": ARE.

46. Say "aaahh!": SCREAM.

48. Disneyland ride: TRAM.

49. Malta money: EURO.

50. James Bond's first movie foe: DR NO.

51. Pristine, as a baseball card: MINT. So easy to get Boomer Christmas gifts. He loved baseball cards.

53. Like some roads in January: ICY. We finally got some snow last night. Odd not to have snow on ground for Christmas.

54. Pair's performance: DUET.

57. "on ur way?": ETA.

60. "Or perhaps less": IF THAT.

66. Chivalrous title: SIR.

67. URL starter: HTTP. More HTTPS these days.

69. Fashion: MAKE.

70. "Kidding!": PSYCH.

72. "Turn on the AC!": I'M HOT.

73. Author Jonathan Safran __: FOER. His founder Joshua Foer co-founded Atlas Obscura.

74. Like some mattresses: FIRM.

76. Fake it: ACT.

78. Dirty laundry destination: THE WASH. And 95. Dirt, so to speak: SLANDER.

80. Oxidizes: RUSTS.

82. Pop singer Ora: RITA.

83. Fit for a seat?: ELECTABLE. Government seat.

84. Birth certificate entry: FIRST NAME.

85. Top classification: ONE A.

86. Bow-wielding god: EROS.

87. Hub near Marin Co.: SFO.

89. "Don't touch that dial": STAY TUNED.

92. Gratuities: TIPS.

99. Crusty roll: KAISER.

100. Yearbook gp.: SRS.

102. Mythical forest flutists: SATYRS.

105. Surfer's concerns: TIDES.

107. "Morning Joe" network: MSNBC. 109. 107-Down anchor Cabrera: ANA.

108. NASCAR racer Wallace: BUBBA.

111. Afghani neighbor: IRANI. More often Iranian.

112. Conger hunter: EELER.

113. Musical breaks: RESTS.

114. Like many North Africans: ARAB.

115. Judicial garb: ROBE.

116. "__ happy to!": I'D BE.

117. Spout sporter: EWER.

118. City with an iconic tower: PISA.

122. Lots of laughs: FUN.

Jaelyn and Harper now have a baby sister. Melissa's third granddaughter was born on December 1, 2023. She sent me these few precious pictures. Melissa will take an extended break from blogging due to personal matters. We'll be thinking of you and looking forward to your return, Melissa!

 

 

Jaelyn and Harper

Monday November 13, 2023 Matthew Stock

  

Theme:            Testing the Waters

Hello Cornerites!

sumdaze here, back in the saddle, ready to chat about Matthew Stock's Monday puzzle. We mostly see Matthew on Saturdays so I braced myself for the plunge. We could dip a toe to test the waters...or jump right in!

Our four starred clues are:

5 Across. *Seasonal New England attraction: FALL LEAVES.  

So gorgeous!!
Has anyone taken a leaf peeping tour?

20 Across. *Show of affection made with fluttering eyelashes: BUTTERFLY KISS.  Here is a short history of the term.

32 Across. *Big name in cloud storage: DROPBOX.  DROPBOX is a file hosting service operated by an American company headquartered in San Francisco, CA. It offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud space, and client software.

44 Across. *Improvises over a beat: FREESTYLE RAPS.  

Amish Paradise is a 1996 single by satirist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the 1995 Hip Hop song Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio and Kylian Mash.

Truth be told, I am not sure if this is "freestyle" or not. Weird Al is on my mind because I recently watched his movie Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022) while flying home.

Getting back to the theme...you will notice that we have two answers (5A & 31A) which begin with a synonym for the verb "SINK" (descend; drop) and two answers (20A & 44A) whose first words are the names of swimming strokes.

Then the reveal:

50 Across. Success-versus-failure metaphor, and what can be found at the starts of the answers to the starred clues: SINK OR SWIM.

I like it! The "starts of the answers to the starred clues" are either another word for SINK OR a way to SWIM. I especially liked that FALL and DROP flew under the radar (for me, anyway) until I made my way down to the reveal.  

Speaking of swimming, did you catch C.C.'s swimming videos on her Sunday, Oct. 29th (53A) and Nov. 5th blogs? She showed us her FREESTYLE and BUTTERFLY. I cannot believe she only started swimming lessons this summer. As usual, C.C. is amazing!!

     

Let's crawl forward to the other clues:

Across:

1. Balance __: gymnastics event: BEAM.  I do not think Matthew would have added the second part to the clue had this been one of his Saturday puzzles.

5. Theme park transport: TRAM.  It is how they move people from their massive parking lots to the multiple opportunities for spending money.  

9. Rave's opposite: PAN.  A positive review is a "rave". A negative review is a "pan". Today's is not a PAN.

12. Opposite of calor: FRIO.  Calor is Spanish for "heat". Frio means "cold".

Non-native speakers often confuse the noun calor with the adjective caliente.

13. Crustaceans eaten by whales: KRILL.  There are basically two types of whales, the baleen whales and the toothed whales. Baleen whales (including humpbacks and blue whales) have fibrous 'baleen' plates in their mouths instead of teeth, which help them filter and consume huge quantities of KRILL, plankton, and crustaceans. A Smithsonian study found that a blue whale can eat the equivalent of 8,800 quarter-pound burgers in KRILL -- in just one day!

KRILL
Click here for 2 hrs. of a relaxing KRILL aquarium video set to music.

14. Japanese wrestling form: SUMO.  Last September, 27-year old Takakeisho won his fourth career title in a come-from-behind victory.

17. Warmup exam for college-bound sophs: PSAT.  The Preliminary SAT is a 2:45 hour test of reading, writing, and math skills. The 'hint' here was "warmup".

18. Jousting spear: LANCE.  I used to have a friend named LANCE. We lost touch after I moved away. I hope he is doing well.

19. Entourage: POSSE.  This made me think of the HBO show Entourage (2004-2011). It is about a movie star and his POSSE of friends (freeloaders?) who go everywhere he goes.

Entourage trailer (language warning)

23. Hashtag on a social media post about gratitude, perhaps: BLESSED.  

25. Actress Sophia: LOREN.  She was born on September 20, 1934 in Rome, Italy. She made history in 1961 as the first performer to win an Oscar for a foreign-language role. The movie was Two Women.

Bellissima Sophia

26. Lollipop taste: LICK.  Not a flavor but rather how one tastes a lollipop. Nice curveball, Matthew!  

Classic Tootsie Pop Commercial (16 sec.)

27. Olympics sled: LUGE.  not for 31-Across

28. Feathery neckwear: BOA.

31. 2028 Olympics host country: Abbr.: USA.  After 44 years, the Summer Olympics will be returning to Los Angles! My running hero, Joan Benoit Samuelson, was the first Olympic women's marathon champion when the games were held in Los Angels in 1984.

35. The NBA's Thunder, on scoreboards: OKC.  OKlahoma City basketball team

36. __ Claire, Wisconsin: EAU.  

37. Experiment sites: LABS.  

38. Beneficiary of an exfoliation routine: PORE.  Are you a Popaholic? I am not making this up. There is an internet craze where people watch Dr. Pimple Popper do her thing. Apparently it is very addicting. This is not a link to an actual video because that would require me to first watch her videos. Sometimes you just have to draw a line....

39. Polish, as shoes: SHINE.  DH is a former Marine. He has skills in this area.

41. Pumpkin seeds: PEPITAS.  I often add them to recipes (breads, tagines, hummus). They are a good source of iron and magnesium. 

47. Polo, for one: SHIRT.  "SpoRT" was 60% correct.

48. Causing the heebie-jeebies: EERIE.  not an e-lake

49. Tickle Me Elmo toy company: TYCO.

55. Country across the Arabian Sea from Mumbai: OMAN.  

56. Opposite of chaos: ORDER.  On Get Smart (1965-1969), it was Control vs. KAOS.  

Max and Siegfried compete for loyalties from a kid genius. (4:30 min.)

Do you recognize Bernie Kopell (Doc from The Love Boat)?

57. "Hmm ... bad idea": UH, NO.

58. Writing implement: PEN.  and  53 Down. 58-Across contents: INK.

59. Join with heat, as metal pieces: WELD.  My uncle worked as a WELDer for PG&E for 35 years. He was built like a prizefighter.

60. __ fun at: POKE.

Down:
1. Closest pal, briefly: BFF.  Best Friends Forever

2. Pitching stat: ERA.  Earned Run Average

This is the number of runs a pitcher allows the opposing team per nine innings pitched. Since allowing runs is not a good thing, it is good to have a low ERA.  calculation deets

3. Have a bug: AIL.  Perhaps a misdirection attempt to make one think of insects as opposed to germs?

4. Clam or oyster: MOLLUSK.  Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals, after Arthropoda (insects & etc.). Around 76,000 extant species of MOLLUSKs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estimated between 60,000 and 100,000 additional species.  

This 2:26 min. video on MULLOSKs is full of interesting facts!

5. Tracked down: TRACED.  Relatedly, "skip tracing" is the process of locating a person's whereabouts, often for legal action purposes.

6. Water under the bridge: RIVER.  This was literally the best clue today! 😜

7. The "A" of IPA: ALE.  India Pale ALE

8. D.C. United's org.: MLS.  D.C. United is a Major League Soccer team. They play at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

9. "Shrek 2" character who occasionally succumbs to hairballs: PUSS IN BOOTS.  Antonio Banderas voiced this character. Eddie Murphy voiced Donkey.

 10. Accumulate: AMASS.

11. Written reminders: NOTES.  

13. __ cloth: Ghanaian textile: KENTE.  I found this article informative.

14. Bike wheel part: SPOKE.  You might expect that all of your spokes are the same length but it is typical to have three (or more) different lengths on one wheel.

16. Back muscles, briefly: LATS.

19. Oven-safe glassware: PYREX.  PYREX was launched in 1915 by a New York-based company when it produced a 12-piece line of machine-made glass ovenware.  more from Martha S. My oldest piece is 38 years old. I bet there are several Cornerites who can top that.

20. "Nothing's stopping me": BECAUSE I CAN.  It is not often I feel "meh" about an 11-letter fill.

21. Goof: FLUB.

22. Corporate symbol: LOGO.  I love this LOGO for the Kaua'i Marathon. It incorporates three images. Can you see all three? (answer at the end)

23. Color of UNICEF's 22-Down: BLUE.  

24. Salters of ESPN: LISA.  Born March 6, 1966, she is an American journalist and former college basketball player. I was surprised to learn that she is 5'2" tall. She has been a reporter for ESPN and ESPN on ABC since 2000. Previously, she covered the O. J. Simpson murder case for ABC and worked as a reporter at WBAL-TV in Baltimore from 1988 to 1995.

Who wouldn't want to answer all of Lisa's questions?

27. Vinyl records, for short: LPS.  "LP", for long, is Long Play.

29. Gumbo pod: OKRA.

30. Top poker cards: ACES.

32. Little-known celebs: D-LIST.  Examples include:

- Carrot Top ('90s prop comedian)

- David Hasselhoff (but not in Germany 😜)

- Lindsay Lohan (too many DUIs)

- Scott Baio (Chachi from Happy Days)

- Will Wheaton (the generally most-disliked character from ST:TNG who made several guest appearances as himself on The Big Bang Theory)

33. Wild speech: RANT.  

34. Comply: OBEY.

38. Speaks out: PIPES UP.  CSO to Splynter who keeps organ PIPES 'UP and running'!

40. "Great blue" wader: HERON.  I often see these elegant birds hunting in the little lake near where I walk my dog. When I watched this 2:21 min. video, I learned that they first stab their prey...and that Jeff The Nature Guy thinks they're so cool.

41. Took a quick look: PEEKED.

42. Goof: ERROR.

43. Two of a kind: PAIR.

44. Camera setting that affects depth: F-STOP.

45. Sound alike: RHYME.

46. Tennis great Ivan: LENDL.  Born March 7, 1960, he is a Czech-American former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in singles for 270 weeks and won 94 singles titles before retiring in 1994.

50. Go to seed?: SOW.  I like the wordplay here. When gardeners say a plant has "gone to seed", we mean that the plant, usually an annual, has directed its energies into producing seeds before it dies. Here, the clue is evoking a person 'going out' into a field to SOW seeds.   

This lettuce plant has "gone to seed".
You can see it is no longer putting energy into making tasty leaves.

51. Anger: IRE.

52. "__ cares!": WHO.

54. "The Simpsons" bartender: MOE.  CSO to our constructor Chairman!

Well, I've sunk enough time into this write-up. 😄 Here is the grid:

LOGO answer:  (1.) hibiscus flower, (2.) runner in center, and (3.) flower's outline is the shape of the island of Kaua'i  

Notes from C.C.:

 

Happy birthday to Big Easy (George), husband of Louisiana Tennis Hall of Famer Diane! George has had a few serious health issues, but he's still playing pickleball and riding his bike. 

Big Easy and his wife Diane

Saturday, October 21, 2023, Matthew Stock

  Themeless Saturday by Matthew Stock

 Our Gainesville, FL constructor who is a teacher that is now taking time to get a Masters gives us a puzzle that was very challenging for this humble solver. My delete key got a real workout in areas where I had confidently put down what turned out to be bad fills. 

Across:

1. Hot: AFIRE.

6. III's nickname: TRE - TRE (tray) is a common nickname for someone who has III appended to their name.

9. Nintendo console with a GamePad: WIIU.

13. Waits: BIDES - My first thought was of Irish Miss and this wonderful song:

Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling

From glen to glen, and down the mountain side.

The summer's gone, and all the roses falling,

It's you, it's you must go and I must BIDE.

14. Huevos __: RANCHEROS - You probably all know huevos is Spanish for eggs

17. Neural transmitters: AXONS.

18. "Both seem fine": EITHER ONE - Tuh MAY tow/Tuh MAH to

19. Lectures featured on NPR's "Radio Hour" podcast: TED TALKS.

21. Some WrestleMania venues: ARENAS - The wrestling is fake but the injuries are real. Google images at your leisure . 

22. Afore: ERE.

23. Japanese stir-fried noodles: YAKISOBA.

25. "__ is life": SUCH  or

27. Joins the chorus: SINGS.

28. Org. that might need to resolve wedge issues?: 😀 LPGA - Big clubs are important but wedges and putters determine championships.

32. Take turns before everyone else?: PLAYTEST - A new word for me that filled itself. Companies let gamers play new games and report bugs before the release. 

34. Koteas of "Chicago P.D.": ELIAS - His IMDB, but I know this better as a middle name 

35. Slots: SPACES.

36. Pore (over): OBSESS - Okay, I might do this on these write-ups... 😙

37. Cheers (up): PERKS - One look at our kitty does it for me

38. Some bunk mates: TWIN BEDS 😀

41. Bite one's nails, say: FRET.

42. Designer of Uma Thurman's iconic 1995 lavender chiffon Oscar gown: PRADA.

43. Bye line: TA TA.

45. "You could not be more right!": IT SURE IS and in modern slang: 38. "u right": TRU -Omitting the "E" is a shortcut? and 33. "Right on": YES - Slang of my college years unlike today's  "u right".

48. Feature that may be opened with Ctrl+T: TAB - Last Saturday, we had 44. Paragraph opener: TAB.

49. Home of Venta Rapid, Europe's widest waterfall: LATVIA.

52. Mythical birds without feet that fly continuously from birth until death: MARTLETS - Yeah, I knew that. 😙

MARTLET

Heraldic brisure

Description

A martlet in English heraldry is a mythical bird without feet that never roosts from the moment of its drop-birth until its death fall; martlets are proposed to be continuously on the wing. 

54. Marketing group: E-MAIL LIST.

56. Eaglet home: AERIE.

57. Right hand: FIRST MATE - If you're a crossword devotee, you know Captain Hook's FIRST MATE

58. Magnate: BARON.

59. Crew: TEAM.

60. Short change?: MOD - MODify 

61. In need of recharging: SPENT - My iPhone got to that status too fast and so I got a new battery two weeks ago.

Down:

1. Tapers off: ABATES.

2. Work in progress: FIXER UPPER.

3. "Well, paint me green and call me a pickle!": I DO DECLARE 😀 I love this!

4. Flat fee: RENT - An apartment in Britain that I'm sure comes with a loo and might have a lift to get to that floor.

5. Piece of one's mind?: ESSAY. 😀

6. "Live long and prosper" speaker, perhaps: TREKKIE - An homage to this character. MR SPOCK also fit.

7. Oatmeal topping, perhaps: RAISINS - Now if you want to talk cookies, Joann makes the very best oatmeal RAISIN variety. 

8. Larynx-examining doc: ENT- He makes frequent house calls here

9. "Nothing more to do here": WE'RE ALL SET - Lady Mary and Countess Violet probably did not help much here.

10. Hotel room amenity: IRON - Recently this was clued as an original monopoly piece that has been eliminated. 
 
11. Home of the NCAA's Gaels: IONA - A 22 minute drive NE of Yankee Stadium

12. Applications: USES.

15. __ theory: CHAOS - A famous explanation

16. Catnip, e.g.: HERB.

20. Stands the test of time: LASTS.

24. Mil. rank: SGT.

26. Computer-based civil disobedience: HACKTIVISM.

29. Crash pad?: PIED-A-TERRE -Definition  Walt Disney had his own PIED-A-TERRE above the Fire Station in Disneyland. He and his family could "crash" there when they were in the park. 

30. Place to get some air: GAS STATION 😀 It isn't always free. 

31. Donkey: ASS.

34. Motion of the ocean: EBB.

35. Coverage plan abbr.: SPF.

36. For all to hear: ON AIR - ALOUD? Not so much.

39. Comes around on: WARMS TO - Our kitty will welcome you to pet her if she WARMS TO you.

40. Cooked up: IDEATED - A familiar cwd entry I have never heard/used.

42. Mass number: PSALM - CHANT? Not so much. 

44. Neither here nor there: ABSENT.

46. Tip: TILT.

47. Wild guesses: STABS.

49. Not right?: LEFT.

50. Cognac confidante: AMIE - Cognac is a town in SW France.

51. Stanford basketball coach VanDerveer: TARA.

53. Logical omission: LEAP - Hasty vs timid 

55. [Raises hand]: I AM - Who is eating lunch at school today?