Thursday, August 11, 2022, Rebecca Goldstein

 

The Singing Walrus Presents Sun, Moon and Stars

Good morning cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here to present today's recap with an assist from his friend The Singing Walrus.  Today's puzzle setter is often-published (NYT, LAT, USA Today, etc.) constructor, Rebecca Goldstein.  In today's outing we have a fairly straightforward theme so let's go right to the unifier (which proved helpful to this solver):

49 ACROSS:  Classic arcade game with pixelated aliens, and what three answers in this puzzle have: SPACE INVADERS.

Released in 1978, most of us probably played SPACE INVADERS.  Some of us, I would guess, to excess.  Arcade game graphics have, of course, come a long, long way since then.  As for the theme, each themed answer contains a celestial object.  In a bit of a double play on words, those objects are found in what some call SPACE and they might also be said to INVADE each themed answer's SPACE.

17. Film festival hype?: SUN DANCE FEVER.  The SUNDANCE film festival is held every year in Utah.  FEVER as a synonym for hype is a bit of a stretch but not entirely opaque.  Without the INVADER - Dance Fever.

27. Bucket list item for an aspiring astronaut?: COLLECT STARDUST.  We are stardust . . .  Without the INVADER - Collect dust.

33. Nagging newlywed?: HONEYMOON BADGER.  Without the INVADER - Honey Badger.  BADGERs? . . .

Raul's Wild Kingdom

Across:

1. Seat on the sidewalk: BENCH.

6. Guatemalan girl: CHICA.  Esta es la primera lección de español de hoy.

11. Guffawed: ROARED.

13. Enters a password: LOGS ON.  We often do not know, at first, if it's going to be LOGS ON or LOGS IN.

14. Airport city east of Los Angeles: ONTARIO.  Those of us in SoCal probably had an easier time with this than did those folks in other locations.  Still, roughly 4.5 million passengers flew into/out of ONT last calendar year.

16. Lil Nas X song subtitled "Call Me by Your Name": MONTERO.  Unknown to this solver.  Thank you very much, perps.

19. Small songbirds: LARKS.  A hand up for first trying WRENS.

20. Excel function: SORT.  A spreadsheet/database reference.

21. Himalayan ox: YAK.

23. NYC airport on Flushing Bay: LGA.  Airport code for LaGuardia and our second airport clue/answer today.  Named for the former NYC mayor (1933 through 1945), Fiorello LaGuardia.

24. Frozen Four game: SEMI.  The Frozen Four is collegiate hockey's tongue-in-cheek equivalent of the SEMI Finals of NCAA Basketball tournament aka the Final Four.  Only four teams left in the elimination tournament.

25. Dip in the Mediterranean?: AIOLI.  A sauce.  SWIM was too short (and in the wrong sea).

31. Cookbook writer Garten: INA.  Today, we are also visited by ID INA (see 42 Across, below).

32. Traditional March 14 dessert: PIE.  March 14th can be written as 3/14.  Pi, of course, is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter.  As Pi equals approximately 3.14 some wag decided that 3/14 should be known as Pi day. . . or PIE day.

42. Menzel who won a Tony for playing Elphaba in "Wicked": IDINA.  IDINA is very well known for her work in  Frozen.

43. Iowa State city: AMES.

44. Good Grips brand: OXO.

45. Sausalito summer hrs.: PDT.  Pacific Daylight Time.  A bit of misdirection if you thought that the clue referred to a town in Italy rather than a town in Marin County, California.

46. Bygone Russian royal: TSAR.

47. H.S. class with a unit on heredity: AP BIO.   Advanced Placement BIOlogy

53. French houses: MAISONS.  C'est la leçon Français d'aujourd'hui.

54. Citation software: ENDNOTE.  A computer software reference.

56. National park in Utah: ARCHES.

57. Fiddle (with): TINKER.  Idioms.

58. Outwitted a Predator?: DEKED.  Neither a hunting reference nor a CIA drone reference.  The Predators are a National Hockey League team.  A DEKE is a fake-out maneuver on the ice.

59. Requirements: NEEDS.  (see 16 Down?)

Down:

1. Dude: BRO.

Dude One:  Hey, Bro?

Dude Two:  Yeah Bro?

Dude One:  Can you pass me that pamphlet?

Dude Two:  Brochure.

2. When dinosaurs roamed the earth: EONS AGO.   We get something less scientific than MESOZOIC which would not have fit in any case.

3. __ gas: NATURAL.  But it's all right now.  In fact . . .

4. Jack-in-the-box appendage: CRANK.  Not a fast food reference.

5. Collections of cattle: HERDS.

6. David who won the 1994 AL Cy Young Award: CONE.  A baseball reference.  During the 1994 strike-shortened season, David CONE played for the Kansas City Royals.

7. "House Hunters" channel: HGTV.

8. "That's a terrible hiding spot": I SEE YOU.

9. Pens in: CORRALS.   Not a reference to writing something.

10. "Should I take that as __?": A NO.  Apparently, yes.

12. Part of una semana: DIA.  Esta es la segunda lección de español de hoy.  Semana = week.  DIA = day.

13. Studio site, maybe: LOFT.  As in a studio apartment.  Hand up for first thinking of LOT and wondering "Why the extra square?"

15. Beginning: ONSET.

16. Scholarship basis: MERIT.  Often, we see NEED used as the answer (see 59 Across?)

18. Dot-__: COMS.

19. Business ltrs.: LLC.  Limited Liability Company.  Letters is abbreviated, ergo . . .

22. Baby fox: KIT.  A  baby beaver, ferret, muskrat, or skunk is also called a KIT.

24. Phony deal: SCAM.  IIRC, SCAM was also an answer two weeks ago.

25. Diva's time to shine: ARIA.

Nicola Keen and Jan Hartley

26. Carded: IDED. IDentifiED

28. Home security?: LIEN.  Not a deadbolt . . . or a scatter gun.  A lender's right to seize the property for non-payment.

29. New Age singer from County Donegal: ENYA.  It's almost always ENYA.

30. Silver Alerts, e.g.: APBS.  All Points BulletinS.  A Silver Alert is a public notification system to broadcast information about missing persons - particularly senior citizens.

33. Toddler's perch, at times: HIP.  Hand up if you first thought of LAP.

34. "If I had to bet ... ": ODDS ARE.  What are the odds of a chronic gambler calling the addiction helpline?  No, seriously.  I have $100 riding on this.

35. Sweat the small stuff: NIT PICK.  After nitpicking a small detail in my friend's story, he said to me "What are you? President of the Pedantic Society?"  Vice President, actually.

36. Grove of palm trees, maybe: OASIS.

Ubari, Libya

37. Muscat's country: OMAN.

38. Chutzpah: NERVE.  די היינטיקע יידישע שיעור (today's Yiddish lesson)

39. Lose it completely?: GO BROKE.  A car stopped in front of a hotel.  The driver immediately realized that she was bankrupt.  What was going on?   

40. Lived and breathed: EXISTED.

41. Kanga's kid: ROO.  An A.A. Milne reference.

46. Hamilton bills: TENS.

47. Use as an ingredient: ADD IN.

48. Tubular pasta: PENNE.  A Macaroni, a Penne and a Spaghetti were drinking wine in a bar one evening.  They saw a noodle sitting by herself and discussed inviting her to join them.  They all agreed she looked Cannelloni.

50. Tennis great profiled in ESPN's "30 for 30" special "Arthur and Johnnie": ASHE.  It's almost always ASHE.

51. Like Sarah Lawrence since 1968: COED.  CO-EDucational.  Both genders.  

52. Social insect: ANT.

53. Furious: MAD.

55. Triage ctrs.: ERS.  Emergency RoomS   Centers is abbreviated . . . yeah, yeah we know.

Here is how all of this appears in the grid:

Rebecca, you are invited to post anything that you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever in the comments section below.  We would love to hear from you.

____________________________________________

Friday, June 24, 2022, Rebecca Goldstein

Theme: "Today's blog, literally?"

Puzzling thoughts:

Do you see what I did there with the "theme" image? No? Well, then perhaps you didn't "get" the gist of today's puzzle

So, Moe, what IS the gist of today's puzzle? Good question! First off, did your puzzle come with circles? If not, good luck solving. But please allow me to "reveal" for you what each entry means:

17-across. Something heard around Chicago, literally?: WEACCENTST. The word "ACCENT" is in the "MIDdle" of the word "WEST". So in this example, the literal something heard around Chicago is a Midwest Accent. This, maybe? Hope some of our Chicagoans will confirm or deny ...

26-across. Hurdle before spring break, literally?: TEEXAMRM. Midterm exam

40-across. Passport or Pilot, e.g., literally?: SISUVZE. Honda's entries in the Midsize SUV market

51-across. Frog that carries fertilized eggs on its back, literally?: WITOADFE. Total unknown for Moe. Had to Google. Midwife Toad

64-across. Reason to buy a sports car, for some, literally?: LICRISISFE. Midlife crisis. Moe had his midlife crisis in 2008 when he bought his Audi A5 which sort of qualifies as a sports car

So back to the original image and Moe's question, "Today's blog, literally?" = Midyear review. Well, it's not quite midyear, but close. The "actual" midyear occurs the first week of July. Let's examine the rest of the clues and fill

The finished grid:

Across:
1. Taper or fade: COIF. d-otto, did this one slow down your solving of today's puzzle? It did mine. I never once thought of the words "taper" or "fade" to refer to a hair style/haircut, or COIF. Meh

5. Many: A LOT. Could have been clued: "what a real-estate developer offers for sale"

9. Charcuterie board selection: EDAM. I had MEAT for the longest time. EDAM is a cheese selection that certainly could appear on a charcuterie board. Meh

13. Invocation syllables: ABRA. As in ABRA CadABRA?? I would use the word "incantation" instead of "invocation", but that might be picking nits. I think it's time for a song:

14. Tropical evergreen: CACAO; 16. Chanel scent: COCO. Kind of cool to see these side-by-side. CACAO is the raw, unprocessed version of COCOA. And COCO is a homophone of COCOA. And a scent created by COCO Chanel. I wonder if it smells like chocolate?

19. Like AOL software, originally: ON CD. AOL is a throwback internet service provider; computer software used to be only available ON CD (or floppy discs, if you go back further). Nowadays software for computers is generally downloaded as a file

20. EDM instrument: SYNTH. At first glance, I thought this was a CSO to CanadianEh!, as I thought EDM was somehow an abbreviation for EDMonton. But as I solved it (via perps) and googled for today's write-up, I found this

21. Bug: GET TO. I am trying really hard not to let clues/answers such as 20-across GET TO me

23. Digital thermometer?: TOE. Clever clue. Dip your big TOE into a bathtub, e.g., to see if the water temperature is OK

24. Acorn producer: OAK.

28. Baby __: ASPIRIN. I take one of these each evening; I'd suspect several other of our regulars do, too

32. Inflexible: RIGID.

33. One of 28 Monopoly cards: DEED. This came to me immediately; inDEED!

34. Dermatologist's concern: WART. Hmm, what other four letter words relating to the SKIN could've fit here? Oh, SKIN! That fits. Or zits? Cyst? Feel free to add any others that may have come to mind in the comment section below

37. Overalls material: DENIM.

39. Brooding sort: HEN. Hah!

42. Scooby-__: DOO. Debuting on CBS in 1969, the cartoon character Scooby-DOO has quite a following. As a senior in HS, I wasn't that much of a fan at the time, but I did watch it

43. Locked account?: DIARY. Clever clue. Did this film about a DIARY come to mind?

45. Snowballs or paintballs: AMMO.

Noteworthy blogger
Was armed, and ready to fight.
He said, "I AMMO"

46. "Yeah, try again": UM, NO. As a newbie constructor, I often ask myself (about a potential word entry) "WWMRD?" Not sure that this entry would've been in his lexicon, but I could be wrong ...

47. Regional plant life: FLORA. They go together with FAUNA

49. Cup holder site: ARMREST. I can't imagine driving a car without a cup holder. I can imagine that some car shoppers may ultimately decide on which cars have the best cup holders before purchasing

54. NYC member of "The Squad" in Congress: AOC. The Crossword Corner Blog rules strictly prohibit me/us from discussing politics; so, with regards to AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), I will just say "Thumper"

55. Frozen over: ICY. Not something that we folks who live in the desert SW are very familiar with

56. 48-Down song with the line "But when I call, you never seem to be home": HELLO. 48-down. 56-Across singer: ADELE. To be fair, having what I call "conditional clues", are fine. I might prefer them when the two clues are easily recognizable, but the words ultimately perped for me. I know who ADELE is, but the lyrics to her songs are not as familiar to me. Fast forward to 1:32 of this video to see the clued line in the lyrics

58. Shake __: SHACK. "HANDS" is what I entered at first. Shake SHACK restaurants aren't to be found in Arizona, which might explain why I am unfamiliar with them. Are they any good?

62. Snatches: NABS.

66. Grasp: GROK. Not sure why this cartoon came to mind when I saw the word "GROK"

67. Sign into law: ENACT.

68. Gas lighting?: NEON.

69. Hot: SEXY. I might have used this image before ...

70. Transcript stats: GPAS. Grade Point AverageS. Have I mentioned before that making an abbreviation plural is a pet peeve of mine?

71. Lip: SASS.

Down:

1. Crow's cacophony: CAWS. Shouldn't this have been clued "Crows' "?

2. Heed: OBEY.

3. Setting of the graphic novel "Persepolis": IRAN. Perps filled this in. Not familiar with this book

4. Bit of info: FACTOID.

5. The "A" of LGBTQIA+, for short: ACE. Asexuality, defined: "Sexual attraction, in basic terms, means you find a specific person sexually appealing and want to have sex with them. Asexual people, who might use the term “ACE” or “aces” for short, typically don't experience sexual attraction or want to pursue sexual relationships with other people" [Healthline dot com]

6. Scott who turns into Ant-Man: LANG.

7. Valence electrons, often: OCTET. "In chemistry and physics, a valence electron is an electron in the outer shell associated with an atom, and that can participate in the formation of a chemical bond if the outer shell is not closed; in a single covalent bond, both atoms in the bond contribute one valence electron in order to form a shared pair." [Wikipedia] Not sure I understand the OCTET answer

8. Have a trying experience?: TASTE. TASTE = to try

9. Green prefix: ECO.

10. "I'm not even here": DONT MIND ME. Last used in a major xword puzzle 6 years ago

11. Squeezeboxes: ACCORDIONS. As The Who says, "Mama's got a squeeze box ..."

12. Internet hookup: MODEM.

15. Mammal that uses kelp as a blanket: OTTER.

18. Crust: CHAR.

22. Rust: OXIDE.

25. Fuzzy fruit: KIWI.

27. Grow old: AGE.

28. Adult __: ADHD. [Mayo Clinic] "Adult ADHD symptoms may include:

Impulsiveness
Disorganization and problems prioritizing
Poor time management skills
Problems focusing on a task
Trouble multitasking
Excessive activity or restlessness
Poor planning
Low frustration tolerance

I might have a few of these traits ...

29. "Suit yourself!": SEE IF I CARE. What I might say with obscure clues!

30. Shark cage?: PENALTY BOX. Hah! San Jose Sharks NHL Hockey Team. But ... the PENALTY BOX is rarely - if ever - referred to as a "cage"

31. Ingenuity org.: NASA. Odd clue and answer; but ... it does fit

35. Coquito liquor: RUM. [Wikipedia] "Coquito meaning "Little Coconut" in Spanish is a traditional Christmas drink that originated in Puerto Rico. The coconut-based alcoholic beverage is similar to eggnog, and is sometimes referred to as Puerto Rican Eggnog." And, it contains "RUM"

36. Rating for "Euphoria," briefly: TV MA. Another TV show with which I am not familiar

38. No longer relevant: MOOT.

Mount McKinley was
Renamed Denali. It was
Then, just a MOOT point

40. Cab alternative: SYRAH. Cab, as in Cabernet. But SYRAH is an actual grape varietal, so this clue makes no sense. Cab is an abbreviation for either Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc; SYRAH is NOT an abbreviation. Meh

41. First name in the Harlem Renaissance: ZORA. "As a leader in the Harlem Renaissance ZORA Neale Hurston was a revolutionary in helping to protect the rights of African Americans. She was known during the Harlem Renaissance for her wit, irreverence, and folk writing style. Hurston was though most well know for her popular novels" [see link for source of the quote]

44. Piglet pal: ROO.

46. Tide pool sights: URCHINS. Just don't get stung by one

50. Zen garden growth: MOSS. And here, I only thought MOSS grew on the north side of trees

51. Boneless appetizer: WINGS. I like my WINGS with bones and in a "Buffalo" sauce. But these are definitely "boneless"

52. Hurl: FLING. VOMIT also fits! ;^)

53. Yosemite peak free-climbed by Emily Harrington, familiarly: EL CAP. Short for "EL CAPitan"

57. Black-and-white predator: ORCA.

59. Well offshore: ASEA.

60. Corp. bean counters: CFOS.

61. "Steak House" dressing brand: KEN'S. Originated at KEN'S Steakhouse in Framingham, MA. CSO to Wilbur Charles? I like their Vidalia Onion dressing

63. Chicago WNBA team: SKY.

65. "__ my pleasure!": IT'S. IT'S my pleasure to be your bi-weekly Friday blogger! And speaking of Friday, allow me to end with a Friday Moe-ku, and a CSO to all of our Sunshine State posters:

Floridians love
Fish Fry Fridays, 'cause they get
A grouper discount

Please offer YOUR thoughts below ...

 

Note from C.C.:

Chair Moe (Chris) made today's Newsday crossword. Click here to solve and give him your feedback.

Wednesday, June 15, 2022, Rebecca Goldstein

Theme: LOOSE ENDS

17. *Close contest: TIGHT GAME. TIGHT END / ENDGAME

25. *Good thing to go out on: HIGH NOTE. HIGH END / ENDNOTE

50. *Area with no cell service: DEAD ZONE. DEAD END / END ZONE

59. *Military academy on the Hudson: WEST POINT. WEST END / ENDPOINT

36. Get by ... or what the answers to the starred clues literally do: MAKE ENDS MEET.

Melissa here. How many ENDS can you cram in one puzzle? Can you see past the END of your nose? Would you go to the ENDS of the earth to finish this puzzle?  To the bitter END? Or did you get the short END of the stick?  Don't go off the deep END. There are at least ten more END idioms, but I'm going to spare you - so it's not the END of the world. Sorry. Let's get on with it ...

Across:

1. Anti-art art movement: DADA. Dada was an art movement formed during the First World War in Zurich in negative reaction to the horrors and folly of the war. The art, poetry and performance produced by dada artists is often satirical and nonsensical in nature.

5. Israeli diplomat Abba: EBAN. Foreign minister of Israel (1966–74) whose exceptional oratorical gifts in the service of Israel won him the widespread admiration of diplomats and increased support for his country from American Jewry. See here.

9. "Jack Ryan" actress Cornish: ABBIE. I don't know anything about this show ... but I found this: The character was never written out of the show, she just disappeared. There was not a single reference of her throughout Season 2, and the only clue given was Ryan (John Krasinski) sleeping with another woman early on in the season, and then later on saying he's single. Then there's this: Abbie Cornish will be returning for the fourth season of popular Amazon show "Jack Ryan." The spy thriller series, based on the character from several Tom Clancy novels, was recently renewed for a fourth season.

14. Massive: EPIC.

15. __ monster: GILA.

16. Dern of "Big Little Lies": LAURA. Love her.

19. Hub: CENTER.

20. Remote possibilities?: AAS. What? Does it mean remote learning? As in AA degree?

21. Boring gadgets: AWLS. Haha, good one. 

22. Knock on: RAP AT.

23. Peanut butter choice: CRUNCHY.

28. LPN's needle: HYPO. Hypodermic. "Relating to the region immediately beneath the skin."

29. Has had enough: IS DONE.

31. From the top: ANEW.

32. Tater morsel: TOT. Taco Time calls their tater tots "Mexi fries." Funny. There's nothing Mexican about tater tots.

34. Horned buglers: ELK. Well this stumped me for a bit as I saw "Horned burglers."

35. Urchin's stinger: SPINE. Yee-ouch! The attack of the sea urchin.

39. Many Dubai residents: ARABS.

41. Compete: VIE.

42. Slack-jawed state: AWE.

43. The Big Easy, for short: NOLA. New Orleans.

44. "One Day More" musical, to fans: LES MIZ.

46. Pool regimen: LAPS. In common usage, a “lap” means a completion of the course. In a pool, the “course” is the pool itself, from one end to the other. Therefore, a lap is one length. Some people think a “lap” is two lengths of the pool.

52. With no chill: TENSELY. Chill - relaxed or easygoing.

54. Feudal domains: FIEFS. The estate or domain of a feudal lord.

55. Reebok competitor: FILA.

56. Sprint: RUN.

57. Betwixt: AMIDST. In the space separating two people or things; in between.

61. 59-Across student: CADET.

62. __ Domini: ANNO. Latin for "in the year of the lord," refering specifically to the birth of Jesus Christ.

63. Genre featuring sitars: RAGA. A raga or raag is a melodic framework for improvisation akin to a melodic mode in Indian classical music.

64. Regions: AREAS.

65. Set at a sports bar: HDTV. High Definition Television is a television display technology that provides picture quality similar to 35 mm. movies with sound quality similar to that of today's compact disc.

66. Soccer star Morgan on the San Diego Wave: ALEX. CONCACAF Player of the Year in the years 2013, 2016, 2017, and 2018. In 2019, Alex was awarded the Silver Boot after her team, the US Women's soccer team, won the 2019 World Cup. In addition, Alex has earned a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in 2012.

Down:

1. Take off: DETACH.

2. Beekeeper's setup: APIARY. A location where beehives of honey bees are kept. Apiaries come in many sizes and can be rural or urban depending on the honey production operation. Below is the largest apiary in NYC.

3. Unearths: DIGS UP.

4. Hamburger beef?: ACH. Ohhhhh. A German expression of annoyance.

5. Omelet specification: EGG WHITE.

6. Flat rolls named for a Polish city: BIALYS. A Yiddish word short for bialystoker kuchen, from the city of Białystok in Poland, is a traditional bread roll in Polish Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. Unlike a bagel, which is boiled before baking, a bialy is simply baked, and instead of a hole in the middle it has a depression. Before baking, the depression is filled with diced onion and other ingredients, sometimes including garlic, poppy seeds, or bread crumbs. Everything you need to know about the bialy (including a recipe).

7. Donations: ALMS. Something (such as money or food) given freely to relieve the poor.

8. "You wish, laddie!": NAE. Scottish form of no.

9. Hebrew letter before "beth": ALEPH.

10. Skins that can be marinated and fried to make vegan "bacon": BANANA PEELS. The best banana peel bacon.

11. "Zip your lip": BUTTON IT.

12. Wrath: IRE.

13. Unit of maize: EAR. Corn.

18. Tic-__-toe: TAC.

19. Shark diver's enclosure: CAGE. No thank you.

22. Roller derby spots: RINKS.

24. "That just might work!": NOT A BAD IDEA.

25. Poker variety: HOLD'EM. Texas hold 'em is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt face up in three stages. The stages consist of a series of three cards, later an additional single card, and a final card.

26. Point value of "five" in Scrabble: TEN. The face value of Scrabble tiles.

27. Woolly mama: EWE.

30. Role for Lena on "Master of None": DENISE. Wikipedia.

33. Greenlights: OKS.

35. Make use of a Singer: SEW. Singer sewing machine (brand).

36. In bad faith, in legal jargon: MALAFIDE. Carried out in bad faith or with intent to deceive.

37. Makes level: EVENS.

38. Cry heard after stomping on a glass: MAZEL TOV. Jewish phrase used to express congratulations for a happy and significant occasion or event.

39. "What's more ... ": AND.

40. Sushi topper: ROE.

44. Industrial apartment style: LOFT. A loft apartment is a large, open space with very few (if any) interior walls. It's very similar to a studio apartment, as neither have a separate bedroom, but lofts tend to be much larger — 1,000-2,000 square feet, as opposed to a studio's average of 600 square feet.

45. "You're wrong about that": IT ISN'T. The Podcast That Explains Why We’re All Wrong.

47. Like drone footage: AERIAL.

48. Polar __: wintertime fundraiser: PLUNGE. A polar bear plunge is an event held during the winter where participants enter a body of water despite the low temperature. In the United States, polar bear plunges are usually held to raise money for a charitable organization. In Canada, polar bear swims are usually held on New Year's Day to celebrate the new year.

49. Linguistics subject: SYNTAX. The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

51. Grates, as citrus: ZESTS. Verb.

 
53. Drop off for a bit: NAP.

55. Ward (off): FEND.

57. 2010 health law, for short: ACA. Affordable Care Act.

58. Damage: MAR.

59. Sob syllable: WAH.

60. Rita featured on Iggy Azalea's "Black Widow": ORA.

Tuesday, January 11, 2022 Rebecca Goldstein

Hidden Talents:

17-Across. Iron or lead: METALLIC ELEMENT.

22-Across. Home of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks: STAPLES CENTER.  The clue should read as Former Home ... the arena is known know as the Cryoto.com Arena.

49-Across. Flat-topped South African landmark: TABLE MOUNTAIN.  I was not familiar with this South African mountain, which overlooks Cape Town, South Africa.  It is, indeed, quite flat.

55-Across. Giving 110%, say: TOTAL COMMITMENT.

And the Unifier:

36. With 38-Across, unpublicized skill found in each set of circles: HIDDEN.  //  38. See 36-Across: TALENT.  The word Talent is Hidden in the circles in each theme answer.

Across:

1. Attempts, with "at": HAS A GO.  Meh!

7. Apple on a desk: iMAC.  My iMac looks like this.  It is quite old, but it still works.

11. Endorses: OKS.

14. Refrigerator, once: ICE BOX.

15. Wax Ready-Strips maker: NAIR.  Ouch!

16. By way of: VIA.

20. Annoying noise: DIN.

21. Unclean: DIRTY.

27. Eight, in Ecuador: OCHO.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Hi, Lucina!

29. Nowhere near appropriate: SO WRONG.

30. Dental care brand: ORAL B.  This brand appears often in the puzzles.  The company now makes  the trendy electric toothbrushes.

32. "The Constant Gardener" Oscar winner Rachel: WEISZ.  Rachel Weisz (née Rachel Hannah Weisz; b.  March 7, 1970), was born in England, but became a naturalized US Citizen in 2011.  She is married to James Bond (Daniel Craig) in real life.

33. Public transit option: BUS.

40. Pigs' digs: STY.

41. Lavished affection (on): DOTED.

45. Justice Sotomayor: SONIA.  Sonia Sotomayor (b. June 25, 1954) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

46. Early IHOPs, structurally: A-FRAMES.

48. Mesa or Boulder: CITY.  If this was a clue last Sunday, would the answer have been AZCO?

53. Contact info item: E-MAIL.  It should be phone number, as I get more text messages than e-mails when someone wants to contact me.

54. Form 1099 org.: IRS.  It's beginning to be that time again when we think of getting our tax information together to send to the Internal Revenue Service.

63. Cal. neighbor: ORE.  Not the ore that is mined, but the State of Oregon.  An interesting scholarly paper on the origin and meaning of Oregon.

64. Greek liqueur: OUZO.  Ouzo is an anise-flavored aperitif that is clear until it comes in contact ice, when it becomes milky opaque.

65. __ de Rossi of "Arrested Development": PORTIA.  Portia de Rossi (née Amanda Lee Rogers; b. Jan. 31 1973) appeared recently in a puzzle.  //  And 46. Actress Shawkat of "Arrested Development": ALIA.  Alia Shawkat (b. Apr. 18, 1989) portrayed Maeby Fünke on Arrested Development.  Neither the actress nor the character are Tuesday puzzle names.  Interestingly, however, there is an interview Alia Shawkat in this week's New Yorker.

David Cross and Portia de Rossi

Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat

66. Stark in "Game of Thrones": NED.  Although he is a fictional character, his full name was Lord Eddard Stark.  I never watched the show and I tried to read the book, but found it difficult to plow through.

67. __ Virginia: WEST.  Everything you wanted to know about the West Virginia statehood, but didn't know to ask.

68. Faux: ERSATZ.  This word was clued as "Like a bad copy" in last Tuesday's puzzle.

Down:

1. That guy: HIM.

2. Perfect service: ACE.

3. "Quiet on the __!": SET.

4. Lawyer's org.: ABA.  As in the American Bar Association.

5. Meir of Israel: GOLDA.  Golda Meir (née Golda Mabovitch; May 3, 1898 ~ Dec. 8, 1978) was a remarkable woman.

6. Yellow primroses: OXLIPS.  Such pretty flowers.

7. Company abbr.: INC.

8. Astronaut Jemison: MAE.  Mae Carol Jemison (b. Oct. 17, 1956) was the first Black woman to venture into Space.  She was a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Endeavor in September 1992. 

9. Be unwell: AIL.

10. Dining room pieces with cupboards: CREDENZAs.  I think of a credenza as being more of an office piece of furniture.

11. Not at all subtle: OVERT.

12. Kunta in "Roots": KINTE.  Kunta Kinte was a character in Alex Haley's 1976 book, Roots.  It was later made into a mini-series, which aired before the days of taping shows to watch later.  In the mini-series, Kunta Kinte was portrayed by LeVar Burton (b. Feb. 16, 1957).

13. Mythical man-goat: SATYR.

18. Like a bicycle climbing a hill: IN LOW.

19. Vase-making dynasty: MING.  So beautiful.

22. Not on the level: SHADY.

23. Tattled: TOLD.

24. Lamb's mom: EWE.

25. __ Lanka: SRI.  The tear-drop shaped country off the coast of India.

26. "An arm and a leg" is a high one: COST.  It's also an idiom.

27. Sounds of awe: OOHs!

28. Lit __: CRIT.

31. Strange one made by politics?: BEDFELLOW.

33. Porto-Novo's land: BENIN.  Benin is a small country in West Africa to the left of Nigeria.  Hand up if you knew this country.

34. Condo, e.g.: UNIT.

35. Remain: STAY.

37. Standard: NORM.

39. Points in math class: LOCI.

42. Eastern "way": TAO.

43. Bird in Liberty Mutual ads: EMU.  Those ads are so annoying.

44. Acid-washed jeans fabric: DENIM.

47. Zebra feature: STRIPE.

49. Wyoming's __ Range: TETON.  Today's French lesson.

50. Love, in Sicily: AMORE.  Today's Italian lesson.

51. With __ breath: tensely anticipatory: BATED.  Bated or Baited?.

52. Fur tycoon for whom a northwest Oregon city was named: ASTOR.  I just read an interesting novel entitled The Social Graces by Renée Rosen, which is about the New York Astors and Vanderbilts in the late 1800s.  When the novel takes place, the Astors are considered "old money" because they were over 3 generations from when their money was made by "dirty" hands in the fur trade, whereas the Vanderbilts were nouveau riche.  Their money was made by The Commodore Vanderbilt, who was just a generation away and was considered coarse and crass.

56. Billiards stick: CUE.

57. Quarter-lb. quarters: OZs.  As in Ounces.

58. One-liner: MOT.  More of today's French lesson.  Most often paired with Bon.  Bon Mot = witty remark.

59. __ America Pageant: MRS.  Apparently, there is still a Mrs. America Pageant for married women.  Ladies, if you are interested, here's how to apply.  No age limit, but you do have to be married.

60. GPS prediction: ETA.  The GPS will give you an Estimated Time of Arrival, just like at the airport.

61. Little point to pick: NIT.

62. Toon devil: TAZ.  They are formidable creatures.

If you have found your Hidden Talent, can you tell it what it is?

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