Happy New Year, my dear crossword friends. I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2024.
Double Cross. The word Cross can be placed before each word in the theme answer to give a new concept.
17-Across. * Hurdles for would-be attorneys: BAREXAMINATIONS. Cross Bar and Cross Examinations.
25-Across. * Rural byway: COUNTRYROAD. Cross Country and Cross Road.
"Well isn't this a nice quiet country road! Not another car in sight!"
41-Across. * Clarinet, bassoon, etc., in an orchestra: WINDSECTION. Cross Wind and Cross Section.
54-Across. Things to "see" in a dictionary, and what both parts of the answers to the starred clues are?: CROSS REFERENCES.
Across:
1. Starfleet Academy student: CADET. Starfleet Academy is the fictional academy is where recruits to Starfleet's officer corps are trained in Star Trek. Apparently it was established in the year 2161 in San Francisco. That's good news for San Francisco since it means that a major earthquake will not be destroying the city for at least another 140+ years.
29. Beyoncé's "Best __ I Never Had": THING. [Name # 1.]
30. Made for __ other: EACH.
31. Pampering place: SPA.
34. Make mad: RILE.
35. TGIF part: THANK.
37. Growth on an old loaf: MOLD.
38. "Woo-hoo!": YAY.
39. Cold feet: FEAR. Probably some of the early European settlers got cold feet when they sailed near Cape Fear in North Carolina.
40. Light supper: SALAD. It could be a Big Salad.
44. Arcade coins: TOKENS.
47. Backyard storage for hoes and hoses: SHED.
48. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi: ANNAN. Kofi Annan (né Kofi Atta Annan; Apr. 8, 1938 ~ Aug. 18, 2018) served as the Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 through December 2006. He and the UN were co-recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. [Name # 2.]
49. Spud, informally: TATER. It's a bit un-PC, but very funny and if you listen to the end, you will see why it's relevant here.
51. __ Dhabi: ABU. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The name means Father of Gazelle. It is so named because of the abundance of gazelles in the area.
57. "Bloodline" actor Chandler: KYLE. Kyle Chandler (né Kyle Martin Chandler; b. Sept. 17, 1965) has starred in a number of television shows, including Friday Night Lights and Early Edition in addition to Bloodline. [Name # 3.]
58. Part of a plot: ACRE. My initial thought upon reading this clue was that plot referred to a story line in a novel.
59. Windy City airport: O'HARE. The three letter airport abbreviation for O'Hare International Airport in Chicago is ORD. That is because the airport was originally called Orchard Airport. In 1949, the airport was renamed O'Hare in honor of Edward O'Hare (Mar. 26, 1914 ~ Nov. 26, 1943), a World War II flying ace and war hero. [Name adjacent.]
60. Fly off the shelves: SELL.
61. "To __ It May Concern": WHOM.
62. Narrow openings: SLITS.
Down:
1. Corn discards: COBS.
2. Jai __: Basque game: ALAI. A crossword staple. A brief history below:
3. Earth: DIRT.
4. December 24 or 31: EVE. We've experiences both in the past 2 weeks.
5. Tapping out messages: TEXTING. Do not text while driving.
6. Digit: NUMBER.
7. Award similar to a Tony: OBIE. The Off-Broadway theater award.
8. Farm structures: PENS.
9. Timeline segment: ERA.
10. Like cold cuts: SLICED.
11. Ransacks: LOOTS.
12. Youngest "Despicable Me" daughter: AGNES. I didn't remember the names of the children in this movie. [Name # 4, fictional.] Hi, Irish Miss (not fictional.)
13. Peevish: TESTY.
18. Grandma's daughter: AUNT. Could also be clued as Mother's sister, Father's sister, Grandpa's daughter ...
19. Bar mitzvah scroll: TORAH. Below are the Torah Scrolls at the synagogue in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
23. Two-part sci-fi epic starring Timothée Chalamet: DUNE. Timothée Chalamet (b. Dec. 27, 1995) just celebrated his 28th birthday. His father is French, thus Timothée holds dual French and United States citizenship. [Name # 5.]
24. Charging station: DOCK.
25. Novelty "pet" that's really a plant: CHIA.
Hello, Kitty!
26. Greasy: OILY.
27. Quite a while: YEARS. We have been enjoying C.C.'s blog for quite a while now.
28. Took off: RAN.
29. Give it a go: TRY.
31. Guitar Hero challenge: SOLO.
Han Solo
32. Architectural drawing: PLAN.
33. Throw in: ADD.
35. Change for a 50, maybe: TENS.
36. Possessed: HAD.
37. Rosie on "The Jetsons," for one: MAID. [Name # 6, fictional.]
39. Helsinki inhabitants: FINNS.
40. Sound systems: STEREOS.
41. Ferret kin: WEASEL. What's the difference between a Weasel and a Ferret?
42. Respect highly: ESTEEM.
43. "Believe" Grammy winner: CHER. It's hard to believe that Cher (née Cherilyn Sarkisian; b. May 20, 1946) will be 78 this year. [Name # 7.]
44. Bulletin board pins: TACKS.
45. BLT option: ON RYE.
46. Small hill: KNOLL. I heard there is a grassy knoll in Dallas.
49. Film crew employee: TECH.
50. __-Cuban jazz: AFRO.
51. Blueberrylike berry: AÇAÍ. These berries have become popular in foods and in the crossword puzzle.
41. Teakettle output: STEAM. I invited the nice church couple Bill and Margret to our home for a
Christmas lunch last week. They loved my matcha. Bill said my almond-crusted walleye was
"perfection". They also enjoyed my wild rice salad. I put in black olives,
sun-dried tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, sliced green onions and the
amazing mixed nuts Agnes gifted to me. So good. Sure wish Agnes lived closer by.
44. Hanover Ivy: DARTMOUTH.
48. __ alai: JAI.
53. UPC bar code developer: IBM. Great trivia.
54. Public persona: IMAGE.
56. Cereal grain: OAT.
57. "Orinoco Flow" singer: ENYA.
61. Circle widths: DIAMETERS.
64. Agnus __: DEI.
65. Org. created by the 1957 Treaty of Rome: EEC.
66. Suffix akin to -ule: ETTE.
67. Physicist Newton: ISAAC.
69. Permanent marks: SCARS.
72. Longtime PBS "Mystery!" host Diana: RIGG.
76. Digital asset: Abbr.: NFT. Non-Fungible Token.
78. Dent or scratch: MAR.
80. Office supplier: STATIONER.
88. Sign: OMEN.
89. Singer DiFranco: ANI.
90. "Middlemarch" novelist: ELIOT.
91. Polish tennis champ Swiatek: IGA. Currently the No. 1 player. She was born in 2001.
95. Wall St. takeover: LBO.
96. Some errand runners on a yacht: CABIN BOYS.
99. Starts a fresh pot: ANTES.
100. Tungusic people of northeast China: MANCHU. I did not know
the word "Tungusic". Wikipedia says they are "native to Siberia, China,
and Mongolia". They're called "man zu" in China. Chinese map is shaped
like a rooster.
120. Dublin Murder Squad series novelist French: TANA.
121. "Shining Vale" actress Sorvino: MIRA.
125. Trains for a marathon, say: RUNS.
126. U.S. passport holder: AMER.
127. Flood defense: LEVEE.
128. Tank nuisance: ALGAE.
129. "What __ can I say?": ELSE.
130. Turner and Knight: TEDS.
131. Stadium levels: TIERS.
132. Marsh ducks: TEALS.
Down:
1. Aramis companion: ATHOS.
3. Rum-soaked cakes: BABAS.
4. Tribute in "Antigone": ODE TO MAN. Sophocles tribute. Learning moment for me.
5. Hatcher of "Lois & Clark": TERI.
6. Fashion house whose logo is two interlocking C's: CHANEL. Their most iconic bag.
7. Oft-baked potato: RUSSET.
8. "That's gross!": UGH.
9. Low grade: DEE.
10. Make the team's blooper reel, perhaps: ERR.
11. Home to more than 1.4 billion people: INDIA.
12. Eves' counterparts: MORNS.
13. Appeals to a higher power: PRAYS.
14. Carpentry debris: SAWDUST.
15. Game 1: OPENER.
16. Campus mil. group: ROTC.
17. Celebrity chef Burrell: ANNE. Known for her spiky hair.
18. King who says to Cordelia, "Nothing can come of nothing": LEAR.
24. Portuguese title: DONA.
28. End-of-unit classroom event: TEST.
29. Gmail option: ARCHIVE.
32. "Rugrats" mom: DIDI. Pickles.
33. Go back to Chapter 1: RE-READ.
35. Ceremony host: EMCEE.
36. Counterpart of fem., in grammar: MASC.
38. "Stronger than dirt" brand: AJAX.
39. Payment for labor: WAGE.
40. Property claim: LIEN.
41. Name in fine china: SPODE.
42. Eye color, e.g.: TRAIT.
43. Trouble: EAT AT.
45. Does impressions: MIMICS.
46. Honor given by HM King Charles III: OBE. Order of the British Empire. HM (His Majesty) suggests an Abbr.
47. Actress Thurman: UMA.
50. Thing: ENTITY.
51. Some deli loaves: RYES.
52. Irene of "Fame": CARA.
55. Extremely small: MICRO.
59. __ Moines, Iowa: DES.
60. Fit snugly inside: NESTED.
62. __ Park: Edison lab site: MENLO. New Jersey. The Facebook HQ is Menlo Park, CA.
63. Polynesian language: SAMOAN.
68. Word with sky or spy: CAM.
70. Upon: ATOP.
71. Malek of "Oppenheimer": RAMI.
73. Hardly appropriate: INAPT.
74. "Your wish is my command" speaker: GENIE.
75. Formula 1 starting positions: GRIDS.
77. Went to collect: FETCHED.
79. Fix a worn-out shoe: RESOLE.
81. Quechua speaker: INCAN.
82. Command post: HELM.
83. "Dark Angel" star Jessica: ALBA.
84. King of the jungle: LION.
85. Member of the fam: SIB.
86. Like the dinos in "Jurassic Park": CGI. Computer-Generated Imagery.
87. Texter's "I'm out!": TTYL.
93. Thrift shop condition: USED.
94. Not firmly fixed: UNSTABLE.
97. Bygone coin-op eatery: AUTOMAT.
98. Boxer Max: BAER. Have not seen this name for a long while.
101. Jewel box: CD CASE.
103. List: ROSTER.
104. Sugarcoats: GLAZES.
105. Vogue rival: ELLE.
107. "Demon Slayer" genre: ANIME.
108. How Santa dresses, mostly: IN RED. Our Santa.
109. Approaches: NEARS.
112. Luxury timepiece: OMEGA.
113. Kidney-related: RENAL.
114. Carving tools: ADZES.
115. Raison d'__: ETRE.
116. "The Addams Family" actor Julia: RAUL.
117. Road-trip stops: INNS.
119. Future dr.'s class: ANAT.
122. Diner fave: BLT.
123. Luau neckwear: LEI. Probably the most delicate gift I've
ever received. JimmyB had it delivered from Hawaii directly the day our
puzzle was published. So beautifully wrapped. Jim still solves the LAT
every day.
124. "__ seen worse": I'VE.
Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you're with your loved ones and your house is full of love.