Monday, June 10, 2024, Noelle Griskey

(Note from C.C.: I'm excited to tell you that NaomiZ has joined our blog. Welcome on board, Naomi!)

Theme: Swell!  Groovy!  Boss!  Chill! 

Today's dandy offering from Noelle Griskey is so far out, it's lit! 

As revealed at 60 Across, the STARTs of 17-, 26-, and 44-Across are synonyms for fabulous and trendy. 

17A. Low-slung jeans: HIP HUGGERS.  THEME CLUE #1.  HIP as in groovy.  I thought these pants were so cool in high school. 

26A. 1993 film about the Olympic bobsled team from Jamaica: COOL RUNNINGS.  THEME CLUE #2.  COOL as in groovy, but also as in icy. 

44A. Magazine with tips and techniques for anglers: FLY FISHERMAN.  THEME CLUE #3.  FLY as in groovy.  My father was a FLY FISHERMAN; he made lures from feathers and cast them with a hollow line to fool trout into thinking they were flies on the water.  In old age, he removed the barbs from his hooks to release the fish more easily.  In older age, he preferred to watch the fish rather than to hook them. 

60A. New beginning, and a feature of 17-, 26-, and 44-Across: FRESH START.  THEME CLUE #4. FRESH as in groovy, START as in the the first word of each answer to a theme clue. 

Across:

1. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.

The Taj Mahal

5. Hors d'oeuvres spread: PATE.

9. Type of ski lift: TBAR.

13. Greet the day: ARISE.

15. Clever thought: IDEA.

16. Cogito __ sum: ERGO.  "I think, therefore I am."  A clever thought from René Descartes. 

19. Semimonthly tide: NEAP.

20. Hit the gas: SPEED UP.

21. Term of endearment: PET NAME.

23. Mega Stuf cookie: OREO.  I talk myself out of these every trip to the supermarket. 

25. Helped out: AIDED.

32. "Just Mercy" actor __ Jackson Jr.: OSHEA.  Wikipedia says, "He is the oldest son of Ice Cube and, in his feature film debut, portrayed his father in the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton."  DNK!

33. __ leches cake: TRES.  I believe blog etiquette requires me to say, "Yummers!" 

34. Quiet "Quiet!": SHH.

37. Landed on a perch: ALIT.  Often said of my avian friends. 

38. "The Road Not Taken" poet Robert: FROST.  "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood."  DH and I went leaf peeping on the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail in Vermont. 

40. Clever tactic: PLOY.

41. Brit's washroom: LOO.

42. Get ready, for short: PREP.  This is what I do when DH cooks. I also wash the boards and bowls as he goes along. 

43. Within the __ of possibility: REALM.

47. "I feel the same": ME TOO.

50. Some 30-Down employees: Abbr.: CPAS.

51. Like some sandals: OPEN TOE.

54. Up for discussion: AT ISSUE.

59. N, on a French map: NORD.  On our honeymoon, DH and I took the "Chunnel" train from London to Paris, arriving at the Gare du Nord.  I was surprised when a French woman offered to help us with directions at the station.  Everyone was so kind to us!  It was shortly after 9/11. 

62. Beige hue: ECRU.

63. Mattress specification: FIRM.

64. Dramatic ballroom dance: TANGO.

65. Quaker's "you": THEE.

66. Sail the seven __: SEAS.

67. Adolescent: TEEN.

Down:

1. Spa sounds: AAHS.

2. Subject of a basic golf lesson: GRIP.

3. Like a fragrant melon: RIPE.

4. Wimbledon winner Arthur: ASHE.

5. "Peanuts" character in a cloud of dirt: PIG PEN.

6. Suffix with lemon and Gator: ADE.

7. Maryland athlete, for short: TERP.  Wikipedia says, "The Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition."  Strangely, I was familiar with this team. 

8. Reduce, as anxiety: EASE.

9. Sport for 4-Down: TENNIS.

10. Sourdough or rye: BREAD.

11. Best competitive effort, informally: A GAME.

12. Cordoned (off): ROPED.

14. Pulitzer-winning novelist Welty: EUDORA.

18. Hindu spiritual mentor: GURU.

22. Identifies on social media: TAGS.

24. Pertinent to the discussion: ON TOPIC.

26. Mined fuel: COAL.

27. Norway home of the Munch Museum: OSLO.  Easy guess. 

28. Cleveland's state: OHIO.

29. Allow: LET.

30. Tax-collecting org.: IRS.

31. After expenses: NET.  After the IRS! 

34. Bang shut: SLAM.

35. "Hi, amiga!": HOLA.

36. Church choir song: HYMN.

38. Cook in a wok: FRY.

39. NFL official: REF.

40. Part of mph: PER.

42. Parcel of land: PLOT.

43. Fight against: RESIST.

44. Dish with melted cheese or chocolate: FONDUE.

45. Muscle cramps, e.g.: SPASMS.

46. Owns, biblically: HATH.

47. Impressionist painter Claude: MONET.  Here are DH and I in Claude MONET's garden.

48. Noteworthy time period: EPOCH.

49. Pied-à-__: secondary residence: TERRE.  One residence is trouble enough for me, but I wouldn't really mind a pied-à-terre in Paris. 

52. Trade-__: concessions: OFFS.

53. Cleveland's lake: ERIE.

55. Sports page datum, for short: STAT.

56. Of sound mind: SANE.

57. Encourage: URGE.

58. School near Windsor Castle: ETON.

61. Noteworthy time period: ERA.

Here's the grid:

I am thrilled to contribute my first blog entry anywhere to the best little Corner on the internet. 

NaomiZ

Tuesday, January 23, 2023 Noelle Griskey

Any Which Way But Loose.  The letters in the circles are currently arranged any which way but correct.  Rearrange the letters and they will spell a compass direction.

18-Across. Wall Street fluctuation: MARKET SWING.  West

23-Across. Unpaved side of the road: SOFT SHOULDER.  South

49-Across. Boundary of a black hole: EVENT HORIZON.  North

56-Across. Overly cute "So cute!": TOTES ADORBS.  East

And the unifier:

37-Across. Take a different route, and a hint to the circled letters: CHANGE DIRECTION.

Across:

1. Mike and __: fruit-flavored candy: IKE.  Everything you wanted to know about Mike and Ike but didn't know to ask.

4. Spanish small plates: TAPAS.  Everything you wanted to know about Tapas but didn't know to ask.  There is a Tapas restaurant near me, which serves very good food.  The problem is you tend to order many, many dishes, so it can be rather expensive.

9. Bungling: INEPT.

14. Supervillain Luthor: LEX.  The archnemesis of the superhero Superman.  //  And 11-Down. Like a supervillain: EVIL. [Name # 1, Fictional.]

15. On one's toes: ALERT.

16. Fourth prime number: SEVEN.  A prime number is defined as having only two positive factors. Number 1 is not a prime number because the number of positive divisors or factors is only one i.e. 1 itself. The number 2 is the smallest number that satisfies the definition of prime numbers.  Primes:  2, 3, 5, 7... 

17. Fish-throwing Muppet __ Zealand: LEW.  I don't remember this Muppet.  [Name # 2, fictional.]

20. Sambuca flavor: ANISE. Everything you wanted to know about Sambuca but didn't know to ask.

22. Spanish grandmother: ABUELA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

27. Patella place: KNEE.

28. Common first section of a menu, familiarly: APPS.  As in Appetizers.  Not to be confused with Tapas.

29. Food Network host Garten: INA.  Ina Garten (née Ina Rosenberg; b. Feb. 2, 1948) is also known as the Barefoot Contessa, which was also the name of her television cooking show.  [Name # 3.]

32. Jeans accent: RIVET.  They actually serve a purpose.

34. Architect's creation: DESIGN.

41. Grumble over: BEMOAN.

42. Swamp reptile, for short: GATOR.  A few years ago, my sister and I went to Avery Island to view the gardens.  We came across an unexpected visitor there.

This critter was a little too close for comfort.

43. "lol oops": SRY.  Textspeak for Sorry.

44. Exceedingly: OH, SO.  Meh!

45. Mountain climber's goal: ACME.  Hand up if you tried Peak first.

53. See where one's coming from: RELATE.

55. Like a couch potato: INERT.

60. Business VIP: CEO.

61. Country singer Gill or writer/producer Gilligan: VINCE.  Although I have heard of Vince Gill (né Vincent Grant Gill; b. Apr. 12, 1957), I don't always know the names of screenwriters and producers, such as Vince Gilligan (né George Vincent Gilligan Jr.; b. Feb. 10, 1967).  The latter is known for writing and directing both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.  [Names # 4 and 5.]

62. Deceitfulness: GUILE.

63. Meat in a Dr. Seuss title: HAM.  I do not like Green Eggs and Ham.  I do not like them, Sam-I-Am.  I have the Hebrew version of this book, which is called Green Eggs No Ham.

64. Shutter strips: SLATS.

65. Les __-Unis: ETATS.  Today's French lesson.

66. Player coming off the bench, for short: SUB.

Down:

1. "Let me find out": I'LL ASK.

2. Passionate about: KEEN ON.

3. Post-divorce party: EX-WIFE.  Not a party with cake and balloons, but a party to the divorce proceeding.

4. Brings under control: TAMES.

5. Styled after: À LA.  As in Pie à la mode.

6. "As __ our agreement": PER.

7. Noah's boat: ARK.

8. Fantastic deals: STEALS.

9. Debate topic: ISSUE.

10. More contemporary: NEWER.

12. Former MLB catcher Tony in the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame: PEÑA.  Tony Peña (né Antonio Francisco Peña Padilla; b. June 6, 1957) was born in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic.  In 2016, he was inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame.  He played professional baseball for almost 30 years: beginning in 1980 with Pittsburgh Pirates until 1997, retiring with the Houston Astros.  He also had brief stints with several other teams, including the Boston Red Sox.  [Name # 6.]

13. "Star Trek" series, for short: TNG.  The Next Generation.

19. Not yet scheduled: Abbr.: TBD.  To Be Determined.

21. Fondue fuel: STERNO.

24. Safe space: HAVEN.

25. Persuasive column: OP-ED.  A crossword staple.  The term is short for "opposite the editorial page", referring to the practice of newspapers placing op-eds on the opposite side of their editorial page.

26. High-strung: UP-TIGHT.  //  And 44-Down. High-strung: ON EDGE.

29. Sundial three: III.

30. Private aid gp.: NGO.  Non-Governmental Organization.

31. "I Hope You Dance" singer Lee __ Womack: ANN.  Lee Ann Womack (b. Aug. 19, 1966) is primarily a country music singer.  [Name # 7.]

33. Tennis player Swiatek: IGA.  I am not up on my professional players.  Iga Natalia Świątek (b. May 31, 2001) was born in Razsyn Poland.  [Name # 8.]

34. Half a droid name: DETOO.  The droid's full name is Artoo-Detoo, or R2-D2.  [Name # 9, fictional.]

35. Prefix with system: ECO-.  Ecosystem.

36. Use a colander: STRAIN.

37. "Ghosts" network: CBS.  If you haven't seen Ghosts, you should seek it out.  It is really funny.  The series began as a British series, and now there is also an American series.

38. Yonder lass: HER.  Meh!

39. Minnesota senator Klobuchar: AMY.  Amy Klobuchar (née Amy Jean Klobuchar; b. May 25, 1960) has been a Senator from Minnesota since 2007.  [Name # 10.]

40. Poison ivy reaction: RASH.

46. Prague residents: CZECHs.  Prague is a beautiful city.

47. "The Island of Doctor __": H.G. Wells novel: MOREAU.  The Island of Doctor Moreau is a 1869 science fiction novel about a mad scientist (Dr. Moreau) who experiments with animals.  The novel addresses the moral ethics of animal dissection.  [Name # 11, fictional.]

48. Bury: ENTOMB.

49. Put in power: ELECT.

50. Bouquet holders: VASES.

51. Pilot's update, briefly: ETA.  Estimated Time of Arrival.  A crossword staple.

52. Reacts to yeast: RISES.

53. Bubble and churn: ROIL.

54. One of four active volcanoes in Italy: ETNA.  The volcano is on Sicily.

56. Den sets: TVs.

57. Not trendy: OUT.

58. Fjord kin: RIA.

59. Simple sammie: BLT.  Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה