Wednesday, May 8, 2024, Rebecca Goldstein and Rachel Fabi

SOUP & SANDWICH

 Our dynamic duo ( see 46D. ) of crossword collaborators Rebecca and Rachel has teamed up once again.  In today's theme they redefine MESS HALL as "MESS-Y" HALL; four phrases involving service items - one flatware, one glassware, two dinnerware - described as being dirty or in disarray. the word "mess" derives from the Frawnche 'mes' for "dish".  A 16 x 15 grid, allowing for two 8-letter, two 11-letter and one 12-letter spanner, plus lots of black squares, but I don't have the "deets" on what is the maximum allowed.  A handful of names, but nothing too pesky.  The theme answers:

16. Region of severe drought in the 1930s: DUST BOWL - the history

24. Diner, e.g.: GREASY SPOON - My personal favorite - Waffle House

Sadly, there is no WAFFLE HOUSE in CT

36. Rochester, New York, dish with meat, fries, and baked beans: GARBAGE PLATE - I spent a lot of my time in NY, but I had never heard of this dish before; I was going to add a picture, but it does not look appetizing at all

49. Hazard for bare feet in a beach parking lot: BROKEN GLASS - Also the title of a song; I used to hear it once a day during my retail employment tenure; I did not know it was Annie Lennox of "Eurythmics" fame who sings this

59. Army dining area, or a punny description of where to find 16-, 24-, 36-, and 49-Across: MESS HALL - perhaps the most notorious movie MESS HALL. . . .

It did get "messy"

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Day on Mars: SOL - I do the DOWNS first, but had no crossings, so this one eluded me; a "DAY" on Mars is one planetary rotation; in this case, it's just over 37mins more than Earth's

4. Crunched numbers: DATA

8. Shockingly vivid: LURID - I could find many an image, but this forum won't allow it~!

13. Clean water org.: EPA

14. Inner selves: EGOS

15. Wretchedness: MISERY

18. Structures that provide shade: GAZEBOS - a long-term goal is to build several decks and a structure down by my creek - perhaps it will be a gazebo

I could actually pull this off - note, another Rochester NY reference

19. At the ready: ALERT

20. Massive: EPIC

22. Craigslist abbr.: OBO - Or Best Offer - anyone care to make an offer on these two~?  My tractor is here, so I don't need these two any more~!

23. Actress Polo: TERI - name #1, filled via perps

28. Head physician, briefly?: ENT - Ear, "50D.", Throat; I was looking for an abbr. for "psychiatrist" e.g., "shrink"

29. Feeds the pigs: SLOPS

30. Light units: WATTS

31. Assume, as a responsibility: TAKE ON

33. Bank vaults: SAFES

39. Question type: YES/NO - my "CANOE" at 32D. led me to try NO/YES first

40. SoFi Stadium pros: L.A. RAMS

42. Actor Hawke: ETHAN - name #2, but I know this one

45. Runs up against?: ABUTS

47. Light touch: PAT

52. Cooked up: MADE - someone MADE a mess in the kitchen

53. Bluff, maybe: BET - eh, sorta - I've played enough poker to know when someone's "BET" is more likely a "BLUFF"

54. Force from power: OUST

55. Gives for a while: LENDS

56. "Doesn't look good for me!": "I'M TOAST"

62. Apt name for someone born on Christmas: NOELLE - name,ish

63. Operatic solo: ARIA

64. Narc's org.: DEA - Drug Enforcement Agency, mentioned in this song....

Smuggler's Blues, Glenn Frey - and it gets MESSY in this kitchen, too~!

65. Class: GRADE - as in K thru 12

66. Subsequently: NEXT

67. Mule kin: ASS - and ABUTS in the same puzzle~?


DOWN:

1. Hardly rowdy: SEDATE

2. Richly appointed: OPULENT

3. Activity that involves taking a shot in the dark?: LASER TAG - my brother and I had the "home version" as kids

4. Subject of a congressional ceiling: DEBT - check out this site

5. Previously: AGO - meh

6. Pull along: TOW - ah, not TUG

7. Like a limb that's all pins and needles: ASLEEP

8. "30 Rock" role for Tina: LIZ - name #4; I know TINA, did not know "Liz"

9. Employ: USE

10. Start up again: REBOOT

11. Asimov work with "Three Laws": I, ROBOT - Issac Asimov, and a movie starring Will Smith

12. Vacuums that have "dual cyclone" technology: DYSONS - I actually have two, the 'ball' and the cordless - but the latter seems to have lost the ability to retain a charge - time to get a replacement battery, I guess

15. "I Try" singer Gray: MACY - name #5, filled via perps

17. Prefix with -athlon: TRI

18. Beneficiaries of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, for short: GIs - "The GI Bill"

21. Out of style: PASSÉ

24. Gooey lumps: GLOBS

25. Journalist Farrow: RONAN - name #6; filled via perps

26. Pinky promises: SWEARS

27. Carb-loader's pre-race meal: PASTA

29. Like the vibes at a spa: SERENE

32. Style of boat first used by the Aleut, Inuit, and Yupik peoples: KAYAK - I tried 'CANOE', but this is a better answer

34. Overachiever's test score: A-PLUS - a dupe answer from yesterday

Even better than A PLUS

35. Shoes that lack heels: FLATS - I had my fill of shoe fills last week. . . . see below

37. Aspirational hashtag: GOALS - I don't "hashtag", so I had no idea; crossing the unknown theme answer didn't help

38. Savory turnover: EMPANADA

Note the "LIME WEDGES", and NOT the shoes

41. Seats for equestrians: SADDLES - we had a Kentucky Derby pool at work; I picked "Track Phantom" and "Stronghold", and neither came in win, place, OR show. . . .

Blazing SADDLES Pie Fight; another MESSY HALL

42. Receding: EBBING

43. Earthquake: TREMOR - nailed it; we felt the April 5th New Jersey quake in CT; I read there was an additional TREMOR on May 1

44. Sore throat soother: HOT TEA - ah.  LOZENGE did not fit

46. The Caped Crusader: BATMAN - Holy Crossword Clues~!

Still the coolest Batmobile ever, IMO

48. Cars that charge slowly in the cold: TESLAS - got it; I had a plug-in Subaru Crosstrek, and was aware that it would take longer to charge in the winter, as I did not have a garage at the time; it really didn't matter, since I charged it overnight as I slept, and it only took 5hrs anyway

50. Honker: NOSE

51. Word before microbiome: GUT - filled via perps

And After You Have a Garbage Plate~?

52. "It's fine": MEH - Meh.  For me, this qualifies something as less than "fine"

55. DA-to-be's exam: LSAT - crossword staple

57. Long in the tooth: OLD

58. Tap pour: ALE

60. Before, poetically: ERE

61. __-pack abs: SIX - my gym attendance has plummeted; conversely, my weight has risen - go figure; I'm just not a "gym" person

Splynter

Monday February 27, 2023 Rebecca Goldstein and Rachel Fabi

  

Hello Cornerites!

sumdaze here with a "visionary" puzzle by Rebecca Goldstein and Rachel Fabi.

I am calling it

This is Rebecca and Rachel's second L.A. Times collaboration. I remember enjoying their Oct. 4, 2022 puzzle, which our sagacious Tuesday blogger, Hahtoolah, titled, "Cleanup in the Produce Aisle". They also paired up on a NYT puzzle last September. source

Today we have 4 phrases such that each end in a synonym for LOOKING. One might say the LOOKING part of the phrase is at the BACK end of the phrase. You know, LOOKING BACK. Let's take a peek:

17 Across. Excessive introspection: NAVEL GAZING.  I know this term to mean "the contemplation of one's navel as an aid to meditation," but I did not know it had a science-sounding name:  omphaloskepsis.

22 Across. Tourist's agenda: SIGHTSEEING.

35 Across. Consuming "Succession" in rapid succession, say: BINGE WATCHING. I like how they worked the TV show name into the clue.

49 Across. New England fall activity: LEAF PEEPING.

You can see why many people have a LEAF PEEPING trip on their bucket lists.

And the unifier:

56 Across. Reminiscing, and what 17-, 22-, 35-, and 49-Across all have: LOOKING BACK.

Let's view the grid:

In retrospect, we notice that the synonyms for "LOOKING", i.e., GAZING, SEEING, WATCHING, and PEEPING, are each at the BACK end of a phrase.

Kudos to Rebecca and Rachel for fitting 5 themed fills in a 15x15 grid. Well done!

Across:
1. Resistance unit represented by an omega: OHM. Named for Georg Ohm, a German physicist best known for his OHM's law.

V = Voltage        I = Current        R = Resistance

4. __ and field: TRACK.

9. BBC cooking competition, to fans: GBBO.

BINGE WATCHING worthy, I reckon.

13. Battery size: AAA.

14. "__ a Mi Mundo": Selena album: ENTRE.

15. Eddie __: apparel company: BAUER.

16. The Cardinals, on sports tickers: STL.  St. Louis for baseball or Arizona for football

19. In-flight figs.: ETAS.  After planes are in the air, they can better calculate their Estimated Times of Arrival.

21. Like many nouns ending in "s": PLURAL.  It can get complicated. (See 19A.)

26. Bargain footwear chain: DSW.  Designer Show Warehouse, a.k.a. Nirvana

The first store opened in 1991 in Dublin, Ohio.
Today DSW operates more than 500 stores in 44 states.

29. Outcast: PARIAH.  I just realized I often confuse this word with "piranha". It seems I am not the only one guilty of this malapropism. Do you mean "a corporate PARIAH" or "a corporate piranha"? Read about the difference in their definitions at grammarist.com.

30. Bothers: GETS TO.

32. Trailing, as a trailer: IN TOW.

34. Horse coloring: ROAN.

a red ROAN and a blue ROAN

40. Widely shared image: MEME.

41. Stony-faced: STOIC.  10 Stoic Rules from Marcus Aurelius

42. Container: VESSEL.  also, an architectural structure in Manhattan  (more)

45. Next up: ON DECK.  baseball

This sailor is ON DECK.

48. Argument in favor: PRO.

53. Brand of bottled water: DASANI.

55. Headliner: STAR.

61. Skating surface: ICE.  

Peanuts Tribute - Skating by Vince Guaraldi Trio

I think you'll find this video quite calming.

62. Cubs legend Banks: ERNIE.  In 2013, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to sports.  Hall of Fame page

63. Reddish brown photo effect: SEPIA.  You likely have a SEPIA filter on your phone's camera. This is what it can do.

64. __ out a win: EKE.

65. Suffix with nine- or ump-: TEEN.

66. Pick up the tab: TREAT.

67. Nine-digit ID: SSN.

Down:
1. Caravan rest stops: OASES.  "Stops" is PLURAL, so we needed the plural of "oasis".

2. Gesture of recognition, physical or metaphorical: HAT TIP.  Hand up for first penciling in "Homage".

Sam Elliott is as cool as a penguin on an ice floe.
Oh, wait, that was last Monday!

3. Spanish port town that's the namesake of a dessert wine: MALAGA.  Known for its beaches, culture, and food, MALAGA is a popular destination in Andalusia, Spain.  15 Things to Do in MALAGA

4. Roman X: TEN.

5. Genetic letters: RNA.  Ribonucleic Acid is a nucleic acid present in all living cells that has structural similarities to DNA. Unlike DNA, however, RNA is most often single-stranded.  lots more info.

6. Off-rd. ride: ATV.  Road is abbreviated, so is All-terrain Vehicle.

7. Thin pancake: CREPE. 

Here is a (subtly humorous) video on how to make crepes. (3:14 min.)

8. "Law & Order: SVU" actress Giddish: KELLI.

Kelli on the "Law" side of L&O.
Apparently there was some off-camera drama, too. She has left the show.

9. __ strip: region that borders Egypt: GAZA.

10. Uses as a foundation: BUILDS ON.

11. Jerry's dairy partner: BEN.  A couple of months ago, the NPR podcast, Planet Money, did a piece on a shadow barter economy in Vermont where people use pints of B&J's ice-cream to pay for goods & services. This came about because each employee was allowed to take home 3 free pints every single work day. Pause and think about that for a minute. (The episode covers a few topics. Here is the transcript. Scroll down to "Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi". The B&J's segment begins there.)

12. Assn.: ORG.  Association is abbreviated, so is Organization.

15. Storm (in): BARGE.  Remember the New York garbage BARGE from 1987 news headlines?

18. __-ho: enthusiastic: GUNG.

20. Holy sites: SHRINES.  This "floating" tori (gate) is part of the Itsukushima Shinto Shrine in Miyajima, Japan.  UNESCO World Heritage site

23. High-pitched sound: TING.  as in, "the TINGing of glasses".

24. Fill completely: SATE.

25. Site for DIYers: EHOW.  eHow website

27. Male deer: STAG.

28. Was victorious: WON.

31. Pushup muscles: TRICEPS.  Practicing the yoga pose chaturanga dandasana (4-limbed staff pose) strengthens these muscles.

tri = 3 muscles
Long, Lateral, & Medial.

33. Used to be: WAS.  The verb used to is a 'marginal' modal verb. Unlike the other modal verbs, it is only found in the past tense.

35. Pilsner, e.g.: BEER.

36. "This is the last straw for me": I'M SO DONE.

37. Roof option for some Camaros: T-TOP.

38. Convalescent puppy's accessory: CONE.

39. Conceal: HIDE.

40. Letters on a trophy, maybe: MVP.  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has won the most career Most Valuable Player awards in the NBA, with 6. Look up your favorite player here.

43. "Eighth Grade" actress Fisher: ELSIE.  ELSIE was born in 2003 in Riverside, CA. Her show was on Netflix. In 2018, she received a Golden Globe nomination for best actress. She also voiced Agnes in Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2.

ELSIE & Agnes.  (Hi Irish Miss!)

44. Rely (on): LEAN.

Bill Withers sings Lean on Me live in Chicago (1972).

I'd like to think that we are here for each other in this way.

46. St. Louis and St. Petersburg, for two: CITIES.  In this case, "St." was a distraction.

47. Natural talents: KNACKS.  This clue calls for another song...

My Sharona by The KNACK (1979)

50. Inner turmoil: ANGST.

51. Nutrient found in whole grains: FIBER.  We're entering artichoke season. They are full of FIBER and delicious, too!

Click to enlarge. This is good gouge!

52. "Bein' __": Kermit the Frog's song: GREEN.  Alas, it's not easy.

It's Not Easy Being Green by Kermit the Frog

54. Similar (to): AKIN.

56. Allow: LET.

57. Mine find: ORE.

58. Tailless primate: APE.

59. "Homeland" gp.: CIA.  Group is abbreviated, so is the Central Intelligence Agency.

60. "WandaVision" actress Dennings: KAT.  This is a Disney+ show. Earlier this month I Googled another WandaVision cast member, Elizabeth Olson, for my blog. Unfortunately, I failed to memorize the whole cast for future puzzles.

I prefer the candy bar
but sometimes it's good to change things up.

That's all for today. I look forward to reading your thoughts!