Monday January 20, 2025 Susan Gelfand

 

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, everyone!  

Theme:            A Wrench in the Works  

Constructor Susan Gelfand throws a few wrenches into today's puzzleworks, hopefully bringing a smile to the faces of DIYers. Here are her four themers:

17 Across. Ocular opening: EYE SOCKET.

23 Across. Rum and vodka cocktail: BRASS MONKEY.

35 Across. Actress who played dance teacher Lydia Grant on "Fame": DEBBIE ALLEN.

49 Across. Muffler attachment on a car: EXHAUST PIPE.

Next, the reveal:

59 Across. Good gift for a handy homeowner, and what the ends of 17-, 23-, 35-, and 49-Across are?: WRENCH SET.  Socket, monkey, Allen, and pipe are all types of wrenches. Together, they make a set of wrenches.

(l to r)  socket wrench, monkey wrench, Allen wrench, and pipe wrench

Across:

1. Famous __ cookies: AMOS.  AMOS is almost as famous for being in crossword puzzles as he is for his cookies.

5. Iranian currency: RIAL.  As of this writing, one US dollar is worth 42,000 Iranian RIALs. A gallon of regular milk costs 101,000.56 ﷼ in Iran. That is about $2.40.

9. Hopping mad: IRATE.  

14. Daddy: PAPA.  

Also...I know that some of you listen to NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! and are familiar with panelist Tom PAPA. Here is 45 sec. of his stand-up comedy routine. (I've heard him on the show for years but I never knew what he looked like until today.)

15. Poker starting stake: ANTE.  

16. Parcels (out): DOLES.  

Can someone please help DOLE out these cans of pineapple?

19. Accumulate: AMASS.

20. Like a marching band, hopefully: IN STEP.  Who doesn't love a marching band?! Generally speaking, a band marches at 120 beats per minute. Each step is about 1.5 ft. long. Therefore, it takes them roughly half an hour to go 1 mile.

21. Peak in the Cascade Range: SHASTA.  Scientists think Mt. Shasta last erupted 3,200 years ago. This NASA page has some interesting information about Mt. Shasta, along with two very cool photos taken from the ISS.

22. Proposal fig.: EST.  "Fiancé" was too long.

"Figure" is abbreviated, so is "estimate".

26. Some cars and trucks made in the early 1900s: REOs.  The REO Motor Car Company Plant in Lansing, MI was a National Historic Landmark from 1978 to 1985. National Park Service website with several old photos

28. Dinner and a movie, perhaps: DATE.  15 DATE night ideas for seniors  (Just saying...)

29. Sponsored spots: ADS.  advertisements

30. Stinks: REEKS.  

32. V, on a battery: VOLTS.     and     50 Down. Battery part: ANODE.  

39. Stands in line: WAITS.  Here's a flashback to 1981.

Foreigner  ~  Waiting for a Girl Like You

40. French pancake: CREPE.  

Do you usually order a sweet or savory crepe ... or both?

43. Guys: HES.  plural of the third person singular pronoun

46. Drawn tight: TAUT.

48. Share a border with: ABUT.  

54. Patient care pros: RNs.  Registered Nurses are professionals.

55. Song sung by sailors: SHANTY.  The video below is an example of a sea shanty. This group's story was told in the movie Fisherman's Friends (2019). Clips from the movie are sprinkled in this video. If you like the feelings in this song, you should watch the movie.

56. Capital of Oman: MUSCAT.  

a very strategic location

58. Diviner's deck: TAROT.  A diviner is a person who predicts the future by magical, intuitive, or other means.

62. Skip over in speech: ELIDE.  Certain sounds are skipped over to make the language easier and faster to say. Some examples are "I dunno" for "I don't know"; "kamra" for "camera"; and "fish 'n' chips" for "fish and chips".

63. Merit: EARN.  

64. Green pod that thickens gumbo: OKRA.

65. Direct elsewhere: REFER.  

66. Crafter's online marketplace: ETSY.

67. Yellow jacket, for one: WASP.  

They are considered beneficial insects because they kill other insects
that are harmful to plants  -- sort of a natural (and more selective) pesticide.

Down:

1. Bonobo or gibbon: APE.  

2. "Can you please show me?": MAY I SEE.

3. Like most sandals: OPEN-TOED.  not recommended for cyclists

4. Back talk: SASS.

5. Indy entrant: RACER.  race car driver

6. Stamping need: INK PAD.  

this kind of stamping 

7. Noshed: ATE.

8. "__ the good times roll!": LET.  

The Cars  ~  Good Times Roll  ~  (1978)

9. State known for potatoes: IDAHO.  NPR's Planet Money recently did a story about Idaho potato farmers and NAFTA as an example of how pest regulations are sometimes used as a "sneaky form of economic protectionism". I would not label this as "political" since every country does it to some extent. It is more of a reality check on how trade works after the politicians get their pictures in the newspapers. Here is a link to the podcast and transcript, for those who are interested in these types of economic issues. It is about a 30-min. read.

10. Times New __: common font: ROMAN.  We use the Georgia font here on The Corner but I changed this one to Times.  a brief history

11. Baked __: dessert covered with meringue: ALASKA.  

This is a picture of a recipe for Baked Alaska in my first cookbook.
I was 5-years old. I 'was good' at my doctor's appointment so my mom
let me choose a book at the bookstore nearby.
I chose this one -- probably because there was a cat on every page.

12. Tried out: TESTED.  I tried out most of the recipes in that cookbook but I cannot remember ever making Baked Alaska. I was never much of a cake person and I don't think my family was keen on meringue.

13. Literature class assignments: ESSAYS.

18. Wagering site, briefly: OTB.  Off Track Betting 

National Problem Gambling Help Line

21. Aroma: SMELL.

22. Make a boo-boo: ERR.

24. Builds a nest egg: SAVES UP.  Here is a time-lapse video of a chickadee building an egg nest. You can see the entrance hole on the left. Also, when the fledglings start to leave, look on the right hand side for an insert view of the outside of the nest. The camera actually catches the fledglings leaving. 

25. Greek portico: STOA.  Def:  (noun) an ancient Greek porch-like structure, usually walled at the back with a front colonnade designed to afford a sheltered promenade.

27. Distort, as data: SKEW.

31. Agcy. that helps entrepreneurs: SBA.  Agency and Small Business Administration

33. Pampering initials: TLC.  Tender Loving Care  

Elvis Presley singing Love Me Tender with TLC on the Ed Sullivan Show (1956)

34. "Buona __": Italian "Good evening": SERA.  

36. Teensy: BITSY.     and     59 Down. Tiny: WEE.

37. "Let's just leave __ that!": IT AT.

38. Lincoln's locale: NEBRASKA.  Illinois also has eight letters and is known as the "Land of Lincoln", but this time we needed the city of Lincoln.

CSO to Husker Gary!

41. Football players often needed in fourth-down plays: PUNTERS.  Another option would be kickERS -- if they want to go for a field goal.

42. Aliens, for short: ETs.  

43. Prynne of "The Scarlet Letter": HESTER.  Hester Prynne is the protagonist of this 1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne novel. She has a child out of wedlock and is condemned by her Puritan community. She must wear a letter A on her bodice as a reminder of her sin of adultery.

44. Breathe out: EXHALE.  I do this about half the time.

45. "Doctor Zhivago" actor Omar: SHARIF.  

from the 1965 movie
Hi Lucina!

47. Stopwatches: TIMERS.

51. Say out loud: UTTER.

52. Like groan-inducing jokes: PUNNY.  

53. Key to exit a program: ESC.  

I copied this image from -T's write up last Sunday.

57. Grub: CHOW.  not a bug

60. Maze rodent: RAT.  

61. Spigot: TAP.  

If your spigot stops working, you can try 
TAPping it with a WRENCH.

Today's grid:

Thanks and have a great day!

Tuesday, December 17, 2024 Susan Gelfand

The Main Squeeze.  The answer to each theme clue is something that can be squeezed.

18-Across. Iced tea garnish: LEMON WEDGE.

23-Across. Art class staple with a bovine logo: ELMER'S GLUE.  So why the bovine logo?  Well, Elmer's Glue first came onto the scene in the late 1940s by the Bordon Company, which was dairy company.  Well, when you consider that the first formula of the glue was casein, a protein in milk, it makes sense that the dairy company developed and sold glue.

52-Across. Handheld tension reliever: STRESS BALL.

58-Across. Bathtime floater: RUBBER DUCK.

37-Across. Coerce, or what can be done to 18-, 23-, 52-, and 58-Across: PUT THE SQUEEZE ON.  

There is a juice bar near me called The Big Squeezy, a pun on The Big Easy, one of the nicknames of New Orleans.  I have never been there, so can't attest to their cold-pressed (squeezed) juices.

Across:

1. Mount Etna outflow: LAVA.  This volcano on Sicily frequently erupts.

5. Some Dropbox files, informally: DOCs.  As in Documents.

9. After-dinner coffee choice: DECAF.

14. Atop: UPON.  Once UPON a time ...  //  And 66-Across. "... and they all lived happily __ after": EVER.

15. Whack, as a fly: SWAT.

16. Express a view: OPINE.

17. Jell-O shaper: MOLD.

20. Book jacket summary: BLURB.

22. Classical form of poetry: EPODE.

26. Clean air org.: EPA.  As in the Environmental Protection Agency.  The EPA is the AQI monitor (See 5-Down in last Friday's puzzle).  The EPA was formally created 54 years ago this month.

29. Fish eggs: ROE.

30. Soccer match chant: OLÉ.  A crossword staple.

31. Trudged: PLODDED.  You can PLOD through the Presidents and learn lots of interesting facts about American presidents in this podcast.

34. Vodka brand, for short: STOLI.  It's formal name is Stolichnaya.

36. Bump in the night, e.g.: NOISE.

42. Japanese cartoon genre: ANIME.

43. Flair: STYLE.

44. "That's a lie!": NOT TRUE!

47. Once named: NEÉ.  Today's French lesson.  The French née is the feminine past participle of naitre, "to be born."  Né is the masculine version of the word.

48. Place to luxuriate: SPA.

51. That, in Toledo: ESO.  Toledo, Spain, not Toledo, Ohio.  Don Quixote began his travels in Toledo.

Picasso's interpretation of Don Quixote.

55. Magazine edition: ISSUE.  Many magazines have both print and on-line versions of their issues.

57. Leafy starter: SALAD.  We had many tasty SALADs featured in a puzzle last week.

63. Cry from a forgetful performer: LINE.

64. Shake hands (on): AGREE.

65. Actor Morales: ESAI.  Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (b. Oct. 1, 1962) makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.

67. "__ for dinner?": WHAT'S.

68. Email button: SEND.

69. "Phooey!": RATS.

Down:

1. Wood planks: LUMBER.

2. Moon program of the 1960s and 1970s: APOLLO.

3. Remote control adjustment: VOLUME.

4. Braugher of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine": ANDRE.  Andre Braugher (né Andre Keith Braugher; July 1, 1962 ~ Dec. 11, 2023) also portrayed Detective Frank Pembleton on the Homicide: Life on the Street, which aired in the 1990.  That drama series was a far cry from his portrayal as Captain Raymond Holt in the  police comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine.  Sadly, Braugher died a year ago of lung cancer at age 61.

5. Broadband initials: DSL.  As in Digital Subscriber Line.

6. Run a tab: OWE.

7. Desert beast: CAMEL.

8. Clog: STOP UP.

9. Pulitzer-winning columnist Maureen: DOWD.  Maureen Dowd (née Maureen Brigid Dowd; b. Jan. 14, 1952) is an opinion columnist for the New York Times.

10. Fencing sword: ÉPÉE.  Another crossword staple.

11. Legendary Spanish knight El __: CID.  Everything you wanted to know about El Cid but never thought to ask.

12. Director Lee: ANG.  Ang Lee (b. Oct. 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker.  The 1994 film, Eat Drink Man Woman, was the first Ang Lee film I saw.

13. Broker's charge: FEE.

19. Christmas carol: NOEL.  'Tis the Season.

21. Epson competitor: BROTHER.  Both are companies that manufacture printers.

24. Plumlike fruit: SLOE.

25. Comes together well: GELS.

26. Actress Falco: EDIE.  Edie Falco (née Edith Falco; b. July 5, 1963) is probably best known for portraying Carmela Soprano on the Sopranos.

27. Colombian currency: PESO.  Did you know that there are 8 countries that use the Peso as their monetary unit?  *

28. Yemen coastal city: ADEN.  We visit this city often in the puzzles.

32. Almost as many: ONE LESS.

33. Catch some z's: DOZE.

34. Acct. summary: STMT.  As in Statement.  I am not sure I have ever seen this abbreviation before.

35. Brainpower nos.: IQs.  As in Intelligence Quotient.

The sign on the door says "Pull to Open."

37. Window section: PANE.

38. Deep-dish pizza chain, informally: UNO'S.  Yummers!  We ate at the original Uno's restaurant when we were in Chicago last summer.

39. Mambo legend Puente: TITO.  His full name was Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (Apr. 20, 1923 ~ June 1, 2000).  He was also known as “El Rey de los Timbales, ” or “The King of the Timbales."

40. Alternative magazine name: UTNE.  Its issues (55-Across) are now all online.

41. Peepers: EYES.

45. Letters on outdated maps: USSR.  In Russian, "USSR" is written as "СССР" which is an abbreviation for "Союз Советских Социалистических Республик" (Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik), meaning "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" in English.

46. Many Chopin piano pieces: ÉTUDES.  More of today's French lesson.

48. Mouth moistener: SALIVA.

49. Mars or Mercury: PLANET.  Alternatively,  a candy and a car.

50. Birch family trees: ALDERS.  Alders are trees and shrubs in the birch family and are native to the north temperate zone and some parts of Central America and the Andes. They are known for their distinctive woody fruiting bodies that look like small, brown pinecones.

53. Find a new purpose for: REUSE.

54. Hay bundle maker: BALER.

55. "Yeah, sure!": I BET.

56. Observes: SEES.

58. Uncooked: RAW.

59. "Yuck!": UGH.

60. Bali garment: BRA.  Nice misdirection.  Bali is a company that makes lingerie.

61. Soup holder: CAN.

62. Jest: KID.

Here's the Grid:

* The countries that use the Peso are: Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Philippines, and Uruguay.

חתולה

I will be taking a brief travel hiatus.  Happy Chanukkah and Merry Christmas.  This year the two holidays converge.  I wish you all a Happy New Year and will "see" you in 2025.