Well, here I am back in the Friday saddle rested and ready to take you on a new ride into the wonderful world of words. This is our third creation by this couple, with the first two Thursday efforts. I was in Thailand when they had their debut and Steve was off watching LA LA LAND. Today we have a punny sort of letter substitution theme, requiring some imagination. The start was the end and the end snuck up on me. I had many missteps but I got'er done so now it is your turn. First I must say there were many 3/4 fill which helped move this along, though there were also many 7 letter fill as well - ARMOIRE, DEMERIT, FATHEAD, FUSSPOT, GET THIS, MELISSA, RETIREE, SILICON and THIEVES put some real sparkle in the mix.
The theme was a challenge to grasp, so let us look at each one. Notice the consistency of the letter exchange being: last word, first word, last word, first word.
18A. Make some cote residents angry?: STEAM SHEEP (10). First, you have to know that the definition of a cote is a shelter, coop, or small shed for sheep, pigs, pigeons, etc. I know the term from pigeons, so this was slow starting, but when STEAM SH__. filled I go the idea that this was a pun for Steam SHIP.
26A. Calf roper's target?: FEET TO BE TIED (12). FIT to be tied. This is where the penny dropped on the I to EE change.
48A. Birdwatcher's journal entry?: CARDINAL SEEN (12). In FLIGHT. Cardinal SIN. Also known as Deadly, there are seven of them, but I do not believe it is mandatory for one to violate all of them to become a Cardinal.
Across:48A. Birdwatcher's journal entry?: CARDINAL SEEN (12). In FLIGHT. Cardinal SIN. Also known as Deadly, there are seven of them, but I do not believe it is mandatory for one to violate all of them to become a Cardinal.
63A. Borden, in the 1870s?: TEEN LIZZIE (10). TIN Lizzie. Speaking of deadly, Lizzie Borden took an ax And gave her mother forty whacks, When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one. Tricky, as she was a teen in the 1870s, but the murder was in 1892. A wonderful article on the NAME of this car.
1. Triumphant exclamation: TADA. Reverse psychology beginning with the joy of the solve.
5. Illusion: FACADE. Not a direct synonym, but a typical Friday level clue/fill.
11. "The good is __ interred with their bones": "Julius Caesar": OFT. The speech posited by Shakespeare to be said by Marc Anthony is one of the most moving of Shakespeare's use of words. LINK.
14. Ostrich relatives: EMUS.
15. Payday lender, perhaps: USURER. So odd to see this after solving Peter Gordon's WSJ earlier this week. In Florida, there are special laws for these folks which allow them to collect what would otherwise be usurious interest. The latest litigation which I am working on is a reply to a collection effort by someone who committed criminal usury (under Florida Law 687.071 ). Fun stuff.
16. Extract with effort: PRY.
17. Suffers: AILS. See 5A.
20. Singer Etheridge: MELISSA. CSO to our own.
22. One no longer working: RETIREE. Not me, I still work, just don't make big money anymore. 47A. Savings plan IRA. Individual Retirement Account.
23. Enjoy at a leisurely pace: SIP.
24. Pikelike fish: GAR. Gars are members of the Lepisosteiformes, an ancient holosteian order of ray-finned fish (easy for them to say). LINK.
25. Nihilistic art movement: DADA. If you want to know more, you can read this INFORMATION.
31. Put away: EAT.
32. Young one: TOT.
33. Storm components?: TWEETS. It takes constructor cojones to put this fill next to 37. Ranking suit: TRUMP.
40. Giant Mel: OTT. It sounds cute, but he is part of true crosswordese history. 45A. 40-Acr. is in it: HOF. Hall of Fame.
42. Fund: ENDOW.
43. 2019 Grammy Awards host Keys: ALICIA. And an off and on judge on the VOICE.
52. "Frozen" sister: ELSA.
55. "Live __": Taco Bell slogan: MAS. At the core of Taco Bell's DNA is a slogan introduced in 2012, Live Mas (“Live More”), which animates its brand and encapsulates the company's philosophy of enriching the lives of its customers and employees in everything it does. Forbes. I bet Roberto Duran is glad they chose this.
56. Prop for Palmer: TEE. Arnold who now plays in heaven.
57. Valley element?: SILICON. A nice clue/fill combo based on the REGION which has become the basis of a popular TV SERIES.
59. Embezzlers, e.g.: THIEVES.
65. Cloud of gloom: PALL. A pall was originally a coffin's cloak. Now pall usually means that an event or situation is — literally or figuratively — covered in gloom, like disappointing news that casts a pall on your day. The noun pall comes from the Latin word, pallium, “covering or cloak.”
66. Golden __: AGE. There have been so many, so far.
67. Singer Grande: ARIANA. Some modern wholesome music. LINK.
68. Biblical twin: ESAU.
69. Risk: BET.
70. Identified: PEGGED. A sideways CSO to my ex.
71. Editor's notation: DELE.
Down:
1. Group of playmates: TEAM. So sweet.
2. Parisian love: AMIE.
3. Hardly inspiring: DULL.
4. Good Samaritan's offer: ASSIST.
5. Persnickety one: FUSSPOT. Here is some RESEARCH.
6. "The Thin Man" canine: ASTA.
7. Help in the theater: CUE.
8. Biblical mount: ARARAT.
9. Unfavorable mark: DEMERIT. Not a word I see used these days.
10. In the past, in the past: ERST.
11. Adams' "Nixon in China," e.g.: OPERA. The HISTORY of the music.
12. Let go: FREED.
13. Far from laid-back: TYPE-A.
19. Out of sight: HIDDEN.
21. Work for parents: SIT. They all get mad when you actually sit on your them.
24. Juicy tidbit lead-in: GET THIS. A generally conspiratorial phrase.
26. Greek salad topper: FETA. The cheese, a brined curd white cheese made in Greece from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is a crumbly aged cheese is protected by EU legislation and only those cheeses manufactured in Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly, Central Mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, and Lesvos can be called ‘feta’.
27. Bowling great __ Anthony: EARL. I think Boomer met this left-handed marvel who entertained me on the TV for many years.
28. Sewing case: ETUI.
29. "I can't get no satisfaction!": BOO. I guess booing is what you do when you can't get what you want, maybe?
30. Farm mom: EWE. A little rhyme time?
34. First name in the cast of "The Sopranos": EDIE. Referring to any first name of a cast member. This one plopped in immediately although there were other choices; AIDA Turturro; DREA de Matteo; and, TONY Sirico. Name the characters?
35. Sped: TORE.
36. Christmas song swimmer: SWAN. Did you know the Christmas Carol had religious MEANING?
38. 2008 presidential candidate: MCCAIN. May he rest in peace.
39. Actress Zadora: PIA. One of the earliest media darlings with no talent but a rich husband. She has not been around in a while.
41. Heavy weight: TON. More trickery, as the difference between heavyweight and heavy weight is subtle.44. Bedroom piece: ARMOIRE.
46. Dimwit: FATHEAD.
49. Polish seaport, in Germany: DANZIG. Another tricky clue, as the historic port city of GDAŃSK.
51. Leaked slowly: SEEPED. This is a creepy sounding word for me.
52. Founded: Abbr.: ESTAB. This actually slowed me down the most as I had ESTBD.
53. Feudal subject: LIEGE. This is very difficult, as the LIEGE is the Lord to whom the subjects are subordinate.
54. Reason for closed schools, perhaps: SLEET. Neither rain nor snow nor sleet.
58. Show appreciation: CLAP. Did you ever wonder where it started? LINK. I love Mozart's comment.
59. Stabber: TINE. This is a stretch, as befits Friday. We all know a tine is a prong or a sharp point, such as that on a fork or antler, but thinking of stabbing in relation to a French Fry...
60. Still-life standard: VASE. You all know this Van Gogh? Sold for $38,600,000.00 in 1987.
61. Airline known for tight security: EL AL.
62. Turn on an axis: SLUE.
64. Half a slalom segment: ZAG. A zig, a zag. The ZIG-ZAG of my youth.
I guess I remembered what to do; hope you enjoyed this ride. Thank you, M/M Marlea and all who read.
Notes from C.C.:
1) Here are a few sweet pictures from Chez Lemonade. Owen is now a big boy. You can click here for more.
2) Happy 78th birthday to Irish Miss, the life of our little corner. Agnes cares deeply about all our blog regulars. Whenever someone is missing, she'll notice and ask on the blog. She sent a card to Argyle every week during his last few months. And her last card arrived to us when Boomer was struggling with his Zometa infusion. It brought tears and comfort to Boomer. Thanks for being an angel, dear Agnes! Please keep her sister Anne in your thoughts and prayers.
L-R: Anne, Agnes, Eileen, Mary, and Peggy.
St Patrick's Day, 2019
3) Happy Birthday also to Abejo (Bradley), who's always volunteering somewhere. He's also a certified master gardener, I think. Abejo is Persian for "beer". Bradley worked in Iran for a few years.
