Theme: DAMAGE CONTROL (clued as: Jeopardize Maxwell Smart's organization?)
Puzzling thoughts:
My good friend and former crossword constructor mentor, Robin Stears, came up with a silly, yet clever way of cluing a quartet of non-related entries; non-related in their meaning but strangely related in their context
When closely examining each of the four entries you find that not just the answer contains a synonym for the word "DAMAGE" but so does the clue:
17. Ruin the Olympic Games?: SPOIL SPORTS.
27. Destroy casual chitchat?: TRASH TALKING.
46. Wreak havoc on origami supplies?: BUTCHER PAPER.
60. Lay waste to a dairy product?: CREAM CHEESE.
To comment any further (on my part) about each of the entries would just be a disservice - you all should be able to figure out Robin's tomfoolery 😜
However ... if I were to nitpick just a little ... the second entry uses a present participle form of the verb "TALK" as opposed to the other three entries which use a noun to support the "theme". Could Robin have used the word TALKERS instead and maintained the symmetry? 🤷 After checking that part of the grid, the answer is, "yes". She could change IS SO to ESSO; NAIL to RAIL; and GYRE (not one of my favorite words today) to SYNE (as in Auld Lang); and SIR to SIN. There! Done!! 😉
(maybe I should apply to one of the publishers as an assistant editor ...??)
Anyhow, I am happy to provide a recap because honestly, this puzzle scored very high for me. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and 1/2⭐! Congrat's Ms. Stears for a well-done job
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| Here's the grid and then off to the rest of the puzzle! |
(Note: You can see my final entry letter filled in; the red highlight of the letter Y in GYRE ...)
Across:
1. Built (on): BASED. As opposed to Spread (on): BASTE
6. Many an A-lister: ACTOR. Somewhat of a clecho to (65-across. A-list): ELITE.
11. Swing's path: ARC. Moe-ku:
15. Level: PLANE.
16. "Argo" org.: CIA.
[theme entry]
19. Every last bit: ALL.
20. Tammy Duckworth's title, briefly: SEN.
21. Merry-go-round music: LILT. This "rendition" is hardly a "LILT" - and doesn't feature any horses going up and down - I am sure that some of our younger Cornerites who might be Mötley Crüe fans can shed some light on this. Or not
24. Like many dirt roads: ONE LANE. May I see a hand up for anyone else - like me - who tried UNPAVED first?
26. Home of Hawaii's Merrie Monarch Festival: HILO. All you need to know about this annual event
[theme entry]
32. Tennis great Andre: AGASSI. He and his wife (former tennis great Steffi Graf) will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks
[per Wikipedia] - Agassi's record as a tennis player includes:
- Career Grand Slam: He is one of a select group of men to win all four major singles tournaments.
- Career Golden Slam: He won the Career Grand Slam plus an Olympic gold medal (1996 Atlanta Olympics).
- Finals Record: 8 wins and 7 losses in Grand Slam finals (53.3% win rate)
35. Georgia airport code: ATL. Technically, it's the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
36. "If you ask me ... ": I SAY. Pip, pip and cheerio!
38. Super vision?: ESP. How did I know that this would be the answer?? Must be psychic
39. Polite title: SIR. MA'AM was too long to fit
40. A in geometry: AREA. At first I tried SIDE (as in the sides of a right triangle, e.g.) thinking it was referring to Area = ab/2. But a capital "A" does mean AREA
43. Annette of "Virgin River": O'TOOLE. A bit of information about her
[theme entry]
49. Forever and ever: EONS.
50. Repeat for emphasis: ITERATE.
54. "Who __!": DOESN'T. "Love pizza!!"
58. Light touch: TAP. Second clecho du jour, with (66-across. Light touch): PAT.
59. Sometimes called, for short: AKA. I am sometimes called MOE but don't call me short!! 😀
[theme entry]
63. Virginia Woolf's "__ Dalloway": MRS. This is a 1925 modernist novel that chronicles a single day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, an upper-class London hostess preparing for an evening party
64. "__ mañana": HASTA. "Until tomorrow"
67. Elizabeth who plays the Scarlet Witch: OLSEN.
| For my buddy, Splynter (IYKYK) |
68. Trig ratios: SINES. Geometry AND trigonometry in the same puzzle! Robin, were you by any chance into mathematics as a high schooler?
Down:
1. Common voice for an opera villain: BASSO. Nothing villainous about this Christmas carol rendition by one BASSO who is singing all 5 parts
2. Colorado town near Snowmass: ASPEN. One of our regular Cornerites (MalMan) is staying in a condo, very close to ASPEN, as we speak (the view he gets to see is pictured below)
3. Curling piece: STONE. Actually, BROOM fits, too
4. "__ tu": Verdi aria: ERI. A snippet
5. Brunei money: DOLLARS. [per Wikipedia] "The Brunei dollar, is the currency of Brunei Darussalam since 1967. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively B$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. The currency is divided into 100 cents and is issued by the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank"
6. Orchard fruit: APPLES. PEARS, PEACHES, PLUMS, APRICOTS are also orchard fruits; they unfortunately won't fit into this "bushel basket"
7. Congeal: CLOT. Here is a link to a recipe for CLOTted cream
8. Viscous goo: TAR.
9. Having one's day in court?: ON TRIAL. You don't like this clue and answer? Then sue me!
10. Deal in, as vintage clothing: RESELL. Clothing items such as these are found at places like Goodwill and Salvation Army stores, as well as on Etsy
11. Breakfast bowl berry: ACAI. BLUE was my first thought - that's what Ms Margaret and I have in our morning breakfast bowl
12. Annoy but good: RILE.
13. Baby camel: CALF. A few fun facts about camels
18. Africa-to-Asia land bridge: SINAI.
23. Trickster in Norse mythology: LOKI.
25. Jr. officers: LTS. Abbr. for Lieutenants
26. URL starter: HTTP.
28. Invites to one's apartment, say: HAS UP. ASK UP fits, too, and is probably the more recognized phrase
29. Childish comeback: IS SO. This was the area of the puzzle that had me flummoxed for the longest time. I could have bet money that this was AM SO but then again, it's been a long time since I have been a child ...
30. Get just right: NAIL. I did "nail" this one but it looked odd next to AM SO
31. Giant oceanic surface current: GYRE. Total swing and a miss - I want to say that I had to Google this to finish solving the puzzle
32. Part of UAE: ARAB.
33. Hindu mentor: GURU.
34. Lie for, say: ABET.
38. Goes astray: ERRS.
41. Las Vegas WNBA team: ACES. Fun Fact: Former NFL QB Tom Brady is a part owner
42. Primary: CENTRAL.
43. __ nerve: OPTIC.
44. Shows signs of growth?: TEETHES. Clever enough clue - core definition of TEETHE is: The process of baby teeth pushing through and emerging from the gums. This occurs, generally, as a baby reaches 6 months of age
45. Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby: ORR.
48. Three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Troy: AIKMAN.
51. Saved on supper, perhaps: ATE IN. With today's higher grocery prices, it doesn't always "feel" like we are saving anything when we dine; IN or out. Remember these days?
52. Sample size?: TASTE. This term (TASTE) doesn't always mean something that is consumed orally. Our summer vacation this year was a guided tour called TASTE of Portugal; and it was just that. We stayed in one hotel for 7 nights and took short bus hops to several touristy areas. It gave us a good TASTE of the country - we stayed another week, though, as we wanted more than just a "sample"
53. Stage combat props: EPEES. Huh! First time I think I've seen THIS clue used for the fencing sword. "Curses, foiled again!"
54. Not quite dry: DAMP. A rare sighting here in Arizona - although our Monsoon this year provided us with more rain than I recall in the seven years I've lived here
55. Sticky pod: OKRA. My favorite way to prepare it - and always one of the side dishes I order when eating at a Cracker Barrel
56. From Perth to Sydney: EAST. Geography lesson. Perth sits on the far western coast of Australia on the Indian Ocean whilst Sydney is on the east coast (Pacific Ocean). Visiting Perth is on Moe and Ms. Margaret's bucket list of places, as there is a wine region to the south of Perth that lies along the Margaret River! Few folks know of how wonderful these wines are. Here is a link
57. Make full: SATE. Do you feel SATEd from solving today's puzzle and reading Moe's blog? Hope so
61. Curvy letter: ESS.
62. Yale grad: ELI.
For those keeping "score": I think ELI was the 18th 3-letter word used in today's puzzle; I counted just 7 abbr's; and 4 proper names - I know that this statistic has to please many of our solvers! Please stop by and say "Hi!" Robin
