Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with a puzzle by Gunther Toody. Oh! Oh! Wait a minute. That's wrong on a couple of counts. First, isn't today scheduled to be Chairman Moe's day? Well, yes but we've traded days to accommodate some scheduling issues and Moe will be back in a couple of weeks. Second, our friend from "Car 54 Where Are You?", Joe E. Ross, did not construct today's puzzle. That was done by Robin Stears. To quote Chairman Moe (October 7, 2022):
"Robin is no stranger to either this blog or blogger; (see my Jan 1, 2021 recap) at last count she must have at least ___ puzzles (fill-in-the-blank, someone!) published at the LAT, and perhaps 1,000+ puzzles published in total. Maybe she will stop by today and help me with my math!"
At four places in the grid Robin has added the letter O to common words and phrases in order to create clever answers to the clues. Three of the four are riffs on entertainment staples. The fourth is a bit of an odd duck and/or, perhaps given the clue, a rubber ducky.
Here are the spots when the gimmick has been employed:
17 Across: Excellent rendition of a Belafonte hit?: ONE FINE DAY O. Harry Belfonte's "Banana Boat Song" was a big hit in the early 1950's. The "hook" was "Day O, Day-ay-ay O, Daylight come and me wan' go home." The clue also gives a nod to the song by Carole King and Gerry Goffin (recorded by the Chiffons). Here is ONE FINE DAY O :
27 Across: Help a former first lady feel better?: NURSE JACKIE O. "Nurse Jackie", as we have come to know her more recently, is the main character of a Showtime dramedy series. The clever reference is Jackie Kennedy Onassis who, in this case, is being nursed back to health. Here, she gives a tour of the White House.
44 Across: Gala for the cops?: PARTY OF FIVE O. A reference to the TV show "Party of Five" is morphed into a reference to the TV show "Hawaii Five-0". Book 'em, Danno.
59 Across: Give a cool cat a thorough bath?: SCRUB DADDY O. Scrub Daddy is a brand of sponges. Are you a cool cat? Can you dig it, DADDY-O ?
Here, for all of you hep cats and dollies, is how the completed grid looks:
Here are the rest of the ginchiest clues and answers:
Across:
1. Insect-preserving resin: AMBER. We all learned about this from "Jurassic Park".
6. Kick in or kick off: START. Are we waiting for the drugs to kick in? Is the election season about to kick off?
11. Crunch targets: ABS. Not as in 48 Across. A workout reference.
14. Coupe de __: classic Cadillac: VILLE. Ah, tail fins.
1959 Coupe de Ville
15. Airport structure: TOWER. Control TOWER.
16. Shot chaser?: PUT. One of these type of clues. PUT follows shot in track and field.
The Shot Put
19. Time for the history books: ERA. Sometimes clued with a baseball pitching statistical reference.
20. Oyster bed?: ICE. Hand up for first thinking SEA or someplace where oysters breed. This location comes later.
21. Shabby: SEEDY. In the 1970's a SEEDY joint was something else. My friend knows just who he can trust in the SEEDY part of town to get him safe candy and sweets. He has treat smarts.
22. Novelist Louise who created the fictional police inspector Armand Gamache: PENNY. Thanks, perps.
24. Removed from power: DEPOSED. Also, a legal term.
26. Bearing: MIEN. I before E except after C.
32. Red-hatted figure in Travelocity ads: GNOME.
35. Group before millennials: XERS.
36. Catch: NAB.
37. More than fancy: LOVE. Fancy, in this case means not ornate but, rather to want to do something or to like something.
38. Push (for): LOBBY. As in K Street.
40. In this case: HERE. A bit obtuse but, hey, it's Friday so HERE it makes sense.
41. "Bravo, mi amigo!": OLE. A review Spanish lesson.
42. Squabble: TIFF.
43. Always ready to order?: BOSSY. Hand up for heading down the ON TAP road. Ready to BOSS around / give orders.
48. Crunch's rank: CAPN.
49. Some UPS Store customers: SENDERS. SHIPPERS fits the clue better but does not fit the allotted space.
53. Japanese room divider: SHOJI. Thanks, perps.
55. As a soloist: ALONE.
57. Cut (off): LOP. Did you hear about the guy that had his ears LOPped off? He didn't either.
58. Pursue romantically: WOO. You know, owls never go on a date if it's raining. It's too wet to woo.
62. Beseech: ASK. If you are offended by my dad jokes, please don’t get mad and ask me to go to the artificial excavation filled with water. I mean well.
63. Small crown: TIARA. Often worn in crosswords.
64. Foot the bill: TREAT.
65. "You got it": YES.
66. Weapon in a scabbard: SABER.
67. Chucks: HURLS. As in to throw or to toss. Not to be confused with upchucks which could also be HURLS.
3. Censor: BLEEP. Bleeping a curse word is usually funnier than the word itself. Itself just isn't a very funny word.
4. Rivendell resident: ELF. A Lord Of The Rings reference.
5. Second edition: REISSUE.
6. Knight mares: STEEDS. Cute homophone. Not bad dreams. Knights' horses.
7. Figure skating great Eldredge: TODD. Three-time Olympian. 1996 World Champion. Six-time U.S. Champion.
8. On the road: AWAY. Let's see. Willie Nelson or Canned Heat? Hmmm. Flip a coin.
9. Lightsaber-wielding heroine: REY. A "Stars Wars" reference.
10. Torrid Zone region: TROPICS.
11. Italian mountain range: APENNINES.
12. Waste: BURN. As in BURNing through money, I suppose.
13. "Don't leave!": STAY.
18. Poetic contraction: NE'ER. NEvER
23. Cry from one atop a chair: EEK. As opposed to EKE.
EEK A Mouse !
25. "That's a new one __": ON ME. Not to be confused with 64 Across.
26. "The Pink Sash" painter Cassatt: MARY. Thanks, again, perps.
28. Split personality?: EXBFF. Because you have split (cut ties with) your best friend. Meh.
29. Laura Bush's brother-in-law: JEB.
30. Glasses holders: EARS. Hand up for RIMS. Eyeglasses.
31. Follow: OBEY.
32. Mushy bowlful: GLOP. GLOP GOOP SLOP GUNK
33. French Quarter city, familiarly: NOLA. The French Quarter is a section of New Orleans, LouisianA
34. Stays on the range too long: OVERCOOKS. Not an oater reference.
38. Sphinx, mostly: LION.
39. Clocked out: OFF.
40. Piece of academic regalia: HOOD.
42. Keyboard pros: TYPISTS. When we all took typing in junior high little did we know how the skills would come to be applied.
43. Outranked by: BENEATH. True, but a bit of a stretch.
45. __ Mahal: TAJ. A place frequently visited in our puzzles. Or an American blues musician.
46. Weather map line: ISOBAR. Where meteorologists go for a drink.
47. Peddle: VEND.
50. Church leader: ELDER. VICAR would have fit. PASTOR and PRIEST would not.
51. __ flush: ROYAL.
52. Catches: SPOTS. Again, a bit of a stretch. Might have been clued as "Catches sight of" earlier in the week.
53. Influence: SWAY.
54. Kiddie pool filler: HOSE. Water? No. Urine? Not likely in a puzzle. The means with which to fill the pool with water.
55. Many an Emirati: ARAB. A reference to the United Arab Emirates.
56. Tackle box gadget: LURE.
60. Org. whose HQ is home to the unsolved puzzle sculpture Kryptos: CIA. Abbreviated clue/answer. The Central Intelligence Agency is headquartered in Langley, VA.
61. Gru's long-lost twin brother in "Despicable Me 3": DRU.
I found this puzzle a little harder to solve than last week's, but at
least the only round things in it are slices of pineapple (see recipe above).
😀 Today constructor Robin Stears, last seen here on February 16th, returns to challenge us with a vertical theme. These almost always have
something to do with the order of the words or letters in the clue, which the
reveal tells us ...
10. Desserts flipped after baking, and what can
be found in the answers to the starred clues:
UPSIDE DOWN CAKES. Here are the themers, but you'll have to turn your head 90 degrees to
the left to see the CAKEs in these fills ...
3D. *Act the mediator:
SEEK A COMPROMISE. Today this might be
clued -- "Negotiation strategy now out of fashion".
8D. *Illinois alma mater of Ronald Reagan:
EUREKA COLLEGE. It is also the
home of the
Reagan Museum
honoring its most distinguished alumnus.
Eureka College Campus 300 E College Ave, Eureka, IL 61530
17. *"Malcolm in the Middle" actress:
JANE KACZMAREK.
Malcolm in the Middle
is an American sitcom series that ran for 7 seasons starting in 2000, running
for 151 episodes. The series is a dark-humored family comedy that follows the
Wilkersons, a dysfunctional lower-middle-class family, and stars
Frankie Muniz in the lead role as Malcolm, a child prodigy. The
ensemble cast included Jane Kaczmarek and Bryan Cranston as
Malcolm's parents, Lois and Hal. Apparently Lois had some anger management
problems ...
You can relax your neck now and see that the
CAKES are revealed to be
UPSIDE DOWN ...
The rest of this stuff is RIGHT SIDE UP (well maybe not all of it)
... Across:
1. Puzzle (out): SUSS. It's what we do!
5. Synonymous: SAME.
9. Software glitches: BUGS. I'm reminded of a few of the "rules" of
programming --
"If carpenters built buildings the way programmers build programs, the first
woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization".
"Any sufficiently complex program contains at least one BUG". This is
the sine qua non for a program to be called complicated..
"If you find one BUG in a program, there are undoubtedly more."
15. Fall birthstone: OPAL.
OPAL is a hydrated amorphous form of silica
(SiO2·nH2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is
usually between 6% and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as
a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of silica, which are considered
minerals. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the
fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite,
sandstone, rhyolite, marl, and basalt. It's the birthstone of people
born in October.
Opal
16. Thing: ITEM.
17. Wag: JOKER. A species commonly seen around the Corner, but I'm not
naming any names. 😁
18. Like an unswept hearth: ASHY.
19. Watering hole where servers may wear leis: TIKI BAR. The term
TIKI is the
Maori
word for the first human. A
TIKI BAR
is a themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially
rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails. These
"watering holes" are a part of
Tiki culture, an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by
Oceanian art with influences from Australasia, Melanesia,
Micronesia, Polynesia, the Caribbean Islands, and
Hawaii.
A typical Tiki mug
21. Animal Planet's "Crikey! It's the Irwins" co-star: TERRI.
Terri Raines Irwin
AM (née Raines, born July 20, 1964) is an American-Australian conservationist,
television personality, author and zookeeper who is the owner of Australia Zoo
in Beerwah, Queensland. She is the widow of conservationist Steve Irwin.
23. Dead __ Scrolls: SEA. The
Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of ancient Jewish
manuscripts from the Second Temple period. They were discovered over a period of
10 years, between 1946 and 1956, at the Qumran Caves near Ein Feshkha in the
West Bank, on the northern shore of the Dead Sea, here ...
Dead Sea Scrolls Location
24. "The Memory of Trees" singer: ENYA. I remember the miles and
miles of woods behind my home, where we used to play when we were young.
As a first step toward building the ring road around Baltimore (I 695),
those woods were cut down and turned into acres and acres of logs stacked 30'
high. Then we played by climbing up the piles and tunneling thru them for
a few months. Then they were hauled away and gone. I've never heard this
piece by ENYA. Thank you Robin.
26. Youngsters: KIDDOS.
29. Quote: CITE. Coincidentally here are some quotes by Albert
Einstein that I ran across just today. He has often been CITED, so
you may have already heard some of them ...
31. Linguist Chomsky: NOAM.
Avram Noam Chomsky
(born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known
for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes
called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in
analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive
science. OTOH,
he has his critics. Perhaps his most famous critic is novelist
Tom Wolfe
(March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)
who, while not a linguist, did make over $60 million in his lifetime, so he
arguably knew something about words. In his book
The Kingdom of Speech, Wolfe takes to task not only Chomsky, but another cultural icon that I've
vaguely referred to in clue 70A below. While Wolfe got a lot of
heat from the intelligentsia for this book, it was rated by readers with a
majority of the ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐reviews, including mine. 😀
34. Language related to Czech: SLOVAK.
Some sources suggest that Czech has 94% of the intelligibility of
Slovak
meaning that if you have a strong base in Czech, understanding
SLOVAK should be doable, but speaking it is another thing entirely.
I've always wondered why the musical opus that put Czech composer
Antonin Dvorak
on the map is called the
Slavonic Dancesand now we know. He wrote 16 altogether and here is
No.1, Furiant, C major, conducted by German maestro
Wolfgang Sawallisch
...
36. SHO subsidiary: TMC.
The Movie Channel
(TMC) is an American premium television network owned by Showtime
Networks, a subsidiary of Paramount Global operated through its Paramount Media
Networks division. The network's programming mainly features first-run
theatrically released and independently produced motion pictures, and during
promotional breaks between films, special behind-the-scenes features and movie
trivia.
37. Yemeni port: ADEN.
Aden
(Arabic: عَدَنْ, romanized: ʿAdan, Old South Arabian: 𐩲𐩵𐩬) is a port city
located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, positioned near
the eastern approach to the Red Sea. With its strategic location on the
coastline, Aden serves as a gateway between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea,
making it a crucial maritime hub connecting Africa, Asia, and the Middle
East.
Aden, Yemen Gulf of Aden
38. Residence: HOME.
39. Pal: AMIGO. Today's Spanish lesson.
41. F-150 maker: FORD. Great trucks. We recently gave ours to
our son. Given the amount we were using it it just didn't justify the
insurance costs. When we need it we just borrow it back from him -- along
with a grandson (or granddaughter) to do the heavy lifting. It looked sort of
like this (without the view)...
49. President __: PRO TEM.
The president pro tempore of the United States Senate
(often shortened to president PRO TEM) is the second-highest-ranking
official of the United States Senate, after the vice president. According to
Article One, Section Three of the United States Constitution, the vice president
of the United States is the president of the Senate (despite not being a
senator), and the Senate must choose a president pro tempore to act in the vice
president's absence. The Honorable Patty Murphy of Washington
is the incumbent PRO TEM of the Senate.
Senator Patricia Lynn Murray
51. Pedicure targets: TOES. And a CSO to
Lucina.
53. Saturn or Mercury: CAR. Not a god and not a planet.
56. Asia's __ Peninsula: MALAY. The MALAY Peninsula is a
part of
Malaysia, a country of Southeast Asia, lying just north of the Equator, that is
composed of two non-contiguous regions: Peninsular Malaysia, also called
West Malaysia, which is on the Malay Peninsula, and East Malaysia,
which is on the island of Borneo ...
58. Verification tool for online alcohol retailers, e.g.: AGE GATE.
One may have popped up if you tried to open 7D's website.
60. Not that: THIS.
62. Way to go: ROUTE.
64. Furniture retailer that sells FIXA tool kits: IKEA. Two
IKEA drawers in my office are jammed shut. I don't think they have
a kit for that.
65. Remove from power: OUST. Should OUST be
OUSTED from the crosswordese dictionary?
66. Lip: EDGE.
67. Clockwork part: GEAR.
68. __ of life: TREE. The
Tree of Life
is a widespread archetype common to many religions, mythologies, and folktales.
The tree of life is a common idea in cultures throughout the world. It
represents, at times, the source of life, a force that connects all lives, or
the cycle of life and death itself. Common features of various myths include
supernatural guardians protecting the tree and its fruits that grant those who
eat them immortality.
69. "Clue" actress Madeline: KAHN.
Madeline Gail Kahn
(née Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999 -- her early death from
cancer was a big loss to American comedy) was an American actress, comedian, and
singer. She is known for comedic roles in films directed by
Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including
What's Up, Doc? (1972), Blazing Saddles (1974),
Young Frankenstein (1974), High Anxiety (1977),
History of the World, Part I (1981), and her Academy Award–nominated role
in Paper Moon (1973). Here Madeline plays Mrs. White in
Clue and we're treated to all her big scenes ...
Here's a bonus clip of
Madeline Kahn teaching Grover to sing -- compliments of Chairman Moe -- it popped up after his
Muppets Letter S video last Friday.
70. Systems of principles: ISMS. There are many, many
ISMS, but I can think of only one that consists simply of the name of a
scientist + ISM. Hand up if you can name a second one?
Down:
1. Funny sketches: SKITS. Mr. Bean seems to draw a crowd
wherever he goes ...
The above image is
Copyright: (c) ADAGP, Paris, although why anyone would want to
plagiarize it I haven't a clue.
27. Judith Weir composition: OPERA.
Dame Judith WeirDBE HonFRSE* (born 11 May 1954) is a British composer serving as
Master of the King's Music. Appointed in 2014 by
Queen Elizabeth II, Weir is the first woman to hold this office.
While I was tempted to include one of her operatic works, I decided instead on
this lovely setting of the first seven verses of
Psalm 42 - Like as the Hart
that she composed for the Queen's funeral ...
30. Tony winner Judith: IVEY.
Judith Lee Ivey
(born September 4, 1951) is an American actress and theatre director. She
twice won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play: for
Steaming (1981) and Hurlyburly (1984). She also received
Best Actress In A Play nomination for
Park Your Car in Harvard Yard (1992) and another
Best Featured Actress in a Play nomination for
The Heiress.
Judith Ivey
32. Astonished letters: OMG.
34. Subject of a late-night countdown: SHEEP. 🐑🐑🐑
35. Also-ran: LOSER.
37. Three or four: A FEW.
40. Soccer star Hamm: MIA. Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm (born March
17, 1972) is an American former professional soccer player,
two-time Olympic gold medalist and
two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she
played as a forward for the United States national team from 1987 to 2004. Hamm
was the face of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first
professional women's soccer league in the United States, where she played for
the Washington Freedom from 2001 to 2003. She played college soccer for
the North Carolina Tar Heels and helped the team win four
NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship titles.
Mia Hamm
45. Let (up): EASE.
47. Cartoon frame: CEL.
50. Officiate at a cook-off, say: TASTE.
52. Like some granola: OATEN.
54. First-stringers: A TEAM.
55. Brings up: REARS.
57. Jedi with an unusual speech pattern: YODA. Nearly finished I
think is this review.
59. Supermodel Hadid: GIGI.
Jelena Noura "Gigi" Hadid, born April 23, 1995, is an American fashion model and television personality.
In 2016, she was named International Model of the Year by the British
Fashion Council.
Jelena Noura Hadid
60. Small fry: TOT.
61. "Ben-__": HUR.
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
is a novel by Lew Wallace (an American lawyer, Civil War general,
governor of New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, artist, and
author!), published by Harper and Brothers on November 12, 1880, and
considered "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth
century". It became a best-selling American novel, surpassing Harriet
Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) in sales. The book also inspired other
novels with biblical settings and was adapted for the stage and motion picture
productions.
This first edition
can be yours for only $30,000 ...
Wallace's book was the basis for this award winning film starring
Charleston Heston. Here's the famous chariot race scene ...
63. Exasperated cry: UGH. Exasperation lesson #2.
Cheers, Bill
And
as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
----------------------------------------------
As today is the 339th
birthday of my favorite Lutheran saint, I thought it appropriate to end with a
little bit of Johann Sebastian Bach for the coming celebration of
Easter. Here's his
Sheep May Safely Graze, from the Hunt Cantata, BWV 208, performed at the
Toronto Bach Festival
(and a CSO to CanadianEh!!)
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.
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