Green, Green, it's Green They Say
This is constructor Micah Sommersmith's second outing with the LA Times, the previous one being August 9, 2022, reviewed by our favorite feline. Micah describes himself as "a musician, crossword constructor, and generally curious individual". Here's his website.
Today he presents us with a straightforward theme, revealed by 5 theme
clues consisting of the word
GREEN, and filled by idioms and
metaphors:
16A. Green: BURNING WITH ENVY. ENVY is often confused with JEALOUSY, but they are quite different emotions. As nouns the difference between envy and jealousy is that envy is resentful desire of something possessed by another or others (but not limited to material possessions) while jealousy is (uncountable) a state of suspicious guarding towards a spouse, lover etc, from fears of infidelity. - WikiDiff.
21A. Green: PUTTING AREA. A CSO to Husker, Boomer, and TTP. The PUTTING AREA on a golf course is at the end of a hole, with neatly manicured grass, a CUP and a removable FLAG. In looking for an illustration of a green, I discovered that some courses, notably St. Andrews in Scotland, can have more than one cup per green. This green has only one.
36A. Green: FAT STACKS OF CASH. WADS was too short. An entire film, The Color of Money, starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise (his debut) was devoted to this metaphor.
44A. Green: ECO FRIENDLY. What does "Eco-Friendly" actually mean? Don't fall victim to "green washing" - 10 companies that aren't green, but say they are.
55A. Green: HOPELESSLY NAIVE. IMHO HOPELESSLY is hyperbole. With sufficient attendance at the school of hard knocks a NAIVE person (newbie, noob, tyro, rank amateur) will eventually harden into a skeptical cynic.
Here's the grid. A pretty impressive second outing with 5 Thursday themers, including 3 grid spanners:
16A. Green: BURNING WITH ENVY. ENVY is often confused with JEALOUSY, but they are quite different emotions. As nouns the difference between envy and jealousy is that envy is resentful desire of something possessed by another or others (but not limited to material possessions) while jealousy is (uncountable) a state of suspicious guarding towards a spouse, lover etc, from fears of infidelity. - WikiDiff.
21A. Green: PUTTING AREA. A CSO to Husker, Boomer, and TTP. The PUTTING AREA on a golf course is at the end of a hole, with neatly manicured grass, a CUP and a removable FLAG. In looking for an illustration of a green, I discovered that some courses, notably St. Andrews in Scotland, can have more than one cup per green. This green has only one.
36A. Green: FAT STACKS OF CASH. WADS was too short. An entire film, The Color of Money, starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise (his debut) was devoted to this metaphor.
44A. Green: ECO FRIENDLY. What does "Eco-Friendly" actually mean? Don't fall victim to "green washing" - 10 companies that aren't green, but say they are.
55A. Green: HOPELESSLY NAIVE. IMHO HOPELESSLY is hyperbole. With sufficient attendance at the school of hard knocks a NAIVE person (newbie, noob, tyro, rank amateur) will eventually harden into a skeptical cynic.
Here's the grid. A pretty impressive second outing with 5 Thursday themers, including 3 grid spanners:
I think this puzzle was pretty "solver friendly". I hope no one got green around the gills filling it.
Across:
1. Info in a bank: DATA. They don't keep any
GREEN there anymore, just bits and
bytes.
5. "May I speak?": AHEM.
9. ABC show for early risers, briefly: GMA. Good Morning America. They'll be celebrating their 50th anniversary in November of 2025.
12. Where the Wings meet the Sky?: ARENA. Okay you women's hoops fans, here are the highlights of their July 22 game!
14. "Hard pass": NOPE. An exclamation used to express firm rejection or dismissal, e.g. "$150? Hard pass! - Oxford languages dict.
15. Loving murmurs: COOS.
16. [see theme expo]
19. River that forms the Michigan-Ontario border: ST MARYS. The St. Marys River, sometimes written St. Mary's River, drains Lake Superior, starting at the end of Whitefish Bay and flowing 74.5 miles (119.9 km) southeast into Lake Huron, with a fall of 23 feet (7.0 m).
20. Buck who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022: O'NEIL. John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr. (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League. After his playing days, he worked as a scout and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball. In his later years he played a major role in establishing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022 as an executive.
21. [see theme expo]
25. Nike rival: REEBOK.
29. Quaint word of dismay: ALAS.
30. Fur tycoon for whom a northwest Oregon city was named: ASTOR. The city is named ASTORIA, for a fort founded there by the company owned by John Jacob Astor. Astor is probably more famous for the way he died, giving up a seat on one of the lifeboats of the Titanic, just before it sank in 1912.
31. Nae sayer: SCOT.
32. Lewd material: SMUT. Shading a bit BLUE here.
36. [see theme expo]
39. Early pt. of a week: TUES.
40. Condé __: NAST. Condé Nast is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan.
41. Up: RAISE. As in UP the ante. We saw this recently.
42. Other, in Spanish: OTRO. Today's Spanish lesson.
43. Gently towel off: PAT DRY.
44. [see theme expo]
49. "Ghost World" star Birch: THORA. Ghost World is a 2001 black comedy film directed by Terry Zwigoff and starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas and Steve Buscemi. Based on the 1993–97 comic book of the same name by Daniel Clowes.
50. Minor flaws: FOIBLES.
55. [see theme expo]
59. Once, once upon a time: ERST.
60. Insignificant amount: IOTA. Also the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet. Save this, you'll probably need it:
61. Welcome: GREET.
62. "Star Wars" heroine mentored by Luke: REY. Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley (born 10 April 1992) is an English actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy: The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
63. Numbskull: DOLT.
64. Subject that may come up in a frank discussion?: BUNS. Or a discussion about BRATS, the imps of the SAUSAGE world.
Down:
1. Blots gently: DABS.
2. Stuck in __: A RUT. "In a settled or established habit or course of action, especially a boring one." - dictionary.com. Or "a periodic and often annually recurring state of certain male animals (such as deer or elk) during which behavior associated with the urge to breed is displayed" - Merriam Webster.
3. Stretch in office: TERM.
4. Faris of "Mom": ANNA. Mom is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 23, 2013, to May 13, 2021, lasting eight seasons. Set in Napa, California, it follows dysfunctional daughter/mother duo Christy (Anna Faris) and Bonnie Plunkett (Allison Janney), who, after having been estranged for years while both struggled with addiction, attempt to pull their lives and their relationship together by trying to stay sober and attending Alcoholics Anonymous.
5. Inner turmoil: ANGST.
6. "In what way?": HOW.
7. Prefix with gram or graph: EPI. Epigram vs epigraph: what's the difference?
8. Assembled: MET. Hail fellow, well ASSEMBLED?
9. One who's done for: GONER. It's how they go out in oaters. The Lone Ranger, "The Indians have got us surrounded Tonto, I think we're GONER'S!" Tonto, "What do you mean WE paleface?"
10. "Argo" or "Fargo": MOVIE. Specific clue. General fill.
11. Safe havens: ASYLA. The plural of ASYLUM, and more Greek. The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; from Ancient Greek ἄσυλον (ásulon) 'sanctuary') is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another entity which in medieval times could offer sanctuary. The American Immigration Council is just one of many organizations in the US who support asylum seekers.
13. Place with numbered gates: AIRPORT.
15. "Peacemaker" star John: CENA. Peacemaker is an American superhero television series starring John CENA, based on the DC Comics character Peacemaker. It is the first DC Extended Universe (DCEU) television series and a spin-off from the 2021 film The Suicide Squad.
17. Stooge chuckle: NYUK. A CSO to our Chairman.
18. Takes too much for oneself: HOGS.
22. Adds at the last minute: TACKS ON.
23. "This wasn't my game": I LOST.
24. Alliance headed by Jens Stoltenberg: Abbr.: NATO. Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. He's certainly got his work cut out for him.
25. River float: RAFT. Rafts can also float on oceans. Yet another Norwegian, adventurer and ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl (1914 - 2002), led the Kon-Tiki expedition, a 1947 journey by RAFT across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands.
26. Old Testament twin: ESAU. How come JACOB (Hi Israel!) never shows up in puzzles? Here's the twins' story in a nutshell.
5. "May I speak?": AHEM.
9. ABC show for early risers, briefly: GMA. Good Morning America. They'll be celebrating their 50th anniversary in November of 2025.
12. Where the Wings meet the Sky?: ARENA. Okay you women's hoops fans, here are the highlights of their July 22 game!
14. "Hard pass": NOPE. An exclamation used to express firm rejection or dismissal, e.g. "$150? Hard pass! - Oxford languages dict.
15. Loving murmurs: COOS.
16. [see theme expo]
19. River that forms the Michigan-Ontario border: ST MARYS. The St. Marys River, sometimes written St. Mary's River, drains Lake Superior, starting at the end of Whitefish Bay and flowing 74.5 miles (119.9 km) southeast into Lake Huron, with a fall of 23 feet (7.0 m).
20. Buck who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022: O'NEIL. John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr. (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League. After his playing days, he worked as a scout and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball. In his later years he played a major role in establishing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022 as an executive.
|
|
Buck O'Neil |
25. Nike rival: REEBOK.
29. Quaint word of dismay: ALAS.
30. Fur tycoon for whom a northwest Oregon city was named: ASTOR. The city is named ASTORIA, for a fort founded there by the company owned by John Jacob Astor. Astor is probably more famous for the way he died, giving up a seat on one of the lifeboats of the Titanic, just before it sank in 1912.
|
|
John Jacob Astor |
32. Lewd material: SMUT. Shading a bit BLUE here.
36. [see theme expo]
39. Early pt. of a week: TUES.
40. Condé __: NAST. Condé Nast is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan.
41. Up: RAISE. As in UP the ante. We saw this recently.
42. Other, in Spanish: OTRO. Today's Spanish lesson.
43. Gently towel off: PAT DRY.
44. [see theme expo]
49. "Ghost World" star Birch: THORA. Ghost World is a 2001 black comedy film directed by Terry Zwigoff and starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas and Steve Buscemi. Based on the 1993–97 comic book of the same name by Daniel Clowes.
|
|
Thora Birch |
55. [see theme expo]
59. Once, once upon a time: ERST.
60. Insignificant amount: IOTA. Also the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet. Save this, you'll probably need it:
|
|
Ελληνικό Αλφάβητο (today's Greek lesson) |
61. Welcome: GREET.
62. "Star Wars" heroine mentored by Luke: REY. Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley (born 10 April 1992) is an English actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy: The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
|
|
Daisy Ridley 2015 San Diego Comic-Con |
63. Numbskull: DOLT.
64. Subject that may come up in a frank discussion?: BUNS. Or a discussion about BRATS, the imps of the SAUSAGE world.
Down:
1. Blots gently: DABS.
2. Stuck in __: A RUT. "In a settled or established habit or course of action, especially a boring one." - dictionary.com. Or "a periodic and often annually recurring state of certain male animals (such as deer or elk) during which behavior associated with the urge to breed is displayed" - Merriam Webster.
3. Stretch in office: TERM.
4. Faris of "Mom": ANNA. Mom is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 23, 2013, to May 13, 2021, lasting eight seasons. Set in Napa, California, it follows dysfunctional daughter/mother duo Christy (Anna Faris) and Bonnie Plunkett (Allison Janney), who, after having been estranged for years while both struggled with addiction, attempt to pull their lives and their relationship together by trying to stay sober and attending Alcoholics Anonymous.
|
|
Anna Faris |
6. "In what way?": HOW.
7. Prefix with gram or graph: EPI. Epigram vs epigraph: what's the difference?
8. Assembled: MET. Hail fellow, well ASSEMBLED?
9. One who's done for: GONER. It's how they go out in oaters. The Lone Ranger, "The Indians have got us surrounded Tonto, I think we're GONER'S!" Tonto, "What do you mean WE paleface?"
10. "Argo" or "Fargo": MOVIE. Specific clue. General fill.
11. Safe havens: ASYLA. The plural of ASYLUM, and more Greek. The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; from Ancient Greek ἄσυλον (ásulon) 'sanctuary') is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another entity which in medieval times could offer sanctuary. The American Immigration Council is just one of many organizations in the US who support asylum seekers.
13. Place with numbered gates: AIRPORT.
15. "Peacemaker" star John: CENA. Peacemaker is an American superhero television series starring John CENA, based on the DC Comics character Peacemaker. It is the first DC Extended Universe (DCEU) television series and a spin-off from the 2021 film The Suicide Squad.
|
|
John Cena |
18. Takes too much for oneself: HOGS.
22. Adds at the last minute: TACKS ON.
23. "This wasn't my game": I LOST.
24. Alliance headed by Jens Stoltenberg: Abbr.: NATO. Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. He's certainly got his work cut out for him.
|
|
Jens Stoltenberg |
25. River float: RAFT. Rafts can also float on oceans. Yet another Norwegian, adventurer and ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl (1914 - 2002), led the Kon-Tiki expedition, a 1947 journey by RAFT across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands.
|
|
Thor Heyerdahl circa 1980 |
26. Old Testament twin: ESAU. How come JACOB (Hi Israel!) never shows up in puzzles? Here's the twins' story in a nutshell.
27. Luncheon end?: ETTE.
28. Significant video game foe: BOSS. In video games, a boss is a significant computer-controlled opponent. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight. Bosses are generally far stronger than other opponents the player has faced up to that point. Boss battles are generally seen at climax points of particular sections of games, such as at the end of a level or stage or guarding a specific objective. I wouldn't was to mess with this BOSS:
|
|
Game Boss in
Guacamelee! |
31. Alarm: SCARE. The foe in 28D is alarmingly SCARY.
32. Jazz style: SCAT. Here's ELLA and MEL in a SCAT duet:
33. "Downton Abbey" staffer: MAID. Everything you'd ever want to know about every MAID in Downton Abbey.
34. KGB country: USSR. Now it's called the FSB and a former KGB boss is the head of RUSSIA. "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!"
35. Gender-neutral pronoun: THEY.
37. Nay sayer: ANTI. Or a member of the EQUINE persuasion.
38. Coming apart at the seams?: FRAYING. Actually it means coming apart at the edges. Also used to metaphorically, e.g. "His nerves were FRAYING".
42. Like some traditions: ORAL. Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. The transmission is through speech or song and may include folktales, ballads, chants, prose or verses. In this way, it is possible for a society to transmit oral history, oral literature, oral law and other knowledge across generations without a writing system, or in parallel to a writing system.
43. Cunning maneuver: PLOY. A common technique for transmitting crossword puzzle clues. Not this one of course.
44. Early anesthetic: ETHER. The word has several other meanings, including "a medium that in the wave theory of light permeates all space and transmits transverse waves". The existence of this medium was disproven in 1887 by the Michelson-Morley experiment, which paved the way for the acceptance of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity.
45. Mowing the lawn, e.g.: CHORE.
46. "__-daisy!": OOPSY. The meaning and history of the word.
47. Stew (over): FRET. This word is a constructor's dream. After stewing over its many meanings, I stumbled on this segue into the next clue (the ad at the end may be of interest to Corner guitarists.).
48. Black key above C: D FLAT. D-flat major (or the key of D-flat) is a major scale based on D♭, consisting of the pitches D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭ and C. Its key signature has five flats. It is enharmonically equivalent to C-sharp major.
51. Acerbic remark: BARB. BARBS occur frequently in the contemporary language of modern politicians and op-ed writers.
52. In __ of: LIEU. In LIEU of flowers send comments.
53. Tied up: EVEN. This review isn't EVEN, but we're almost there.
54. Related groups: SETS.
56. __ al-Fitr: EID. Eid al-Fitr (/ˌiːd əl ˈfɪtər, -trə/; romanized: Eid al-Fiṭr, lit. 'Holiday of Breaking the Fast') is the earlier of the two official holidays celebrated within Islam (the other being Eid al-Adha). The religious holiday is celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan.
57. Phillipa who was the original Eliza in "Hamilton": SOO. Phillipa Anne Soo (born May 31, 1990) is an American actress, best known for originating the role of Eliza Hamilton in the Broadway musical Hamilton in 2016. The performance earned her a nomination for a 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in the same year.
I wasn't able to get tickets to any of Ms. Soo's performances in Hamilton, but I did find this funny interview with her by Stephen Colbert, where she talks about how she got into showbiz (at age 3 in her parents' living room) and relates losing her cool when Julie Andrews came to visit her backstage after one of the shows.
58. Gateway Arch city, for short: STL. Designed by the constructor's favorite architect EERO Saarinen. Hand up if you've been to the top of it. ✋
 |
| St. Louis Gateway Arch |
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and her constructive talents.
waseeley
Cheers,
Bill
Micah Sommersmith, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever, in the Comments section below. We'd love to hear from you.
Micah Sommersmith, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever, in the Comments section below. We'd love to hear from you.
