Thursday, March 27, 2025, Joe Rodini

  

Numbers

Fibonnaci Sequence
Nautilus shell cross section
Smithsonian Institution

The polymath Carl Friedrich Gauss once said that "Mathematics is the queen of sciences and number theory is the queen of mathematics".  Veteran Joe Rodini's theme today is about numbers, but a slightly different kind of number, that is musical numbers -- but as the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras discovered there is a close relationship between mathematics and music.  Let's look at Joe's themers, which are all song titles ...

18A. One-hit-wonder by the New Zealand band OMC: HOW BIZARRE. OMC, or Otara Millionaires Club, was a New Zealand music group best known for the 1996 hit How Bizarre, named one of the greatest New Zealander songs of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association. The full name of the band is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Ōtara's status as one of the poorest suburbs of Auckland ...  

27A. Title theme song of a 1985 John Hughes film: WEIRD SCIENCE.  I guess John Hughes had to start somewhere ...

36A. Tom Jones classic that accompanied the Carlton dance on "Fresh Prince": ITS NOT UNUSUAL.  This may be the odd song out ...

45. ELO hit from the album "Face the Music": STRANGE MAGIC.

Here's the reveal ...

59. Figures on right-hand pages, or an apt title for this puzzle: ODD NUMBERS.  There is nothing special about this -- it's just a convention.  But why is it an apt title for this puzzle?  As the themers are all song NUMBERS, then they must somehow all be ODD.  Notice that  (1) BIZZARE, (2) WEIRD, (3) UNUSUAL, and (4) STRANGE are all synonyms for ODD and in the sequence of 4 themers, the odd numbered ones are on the RIGHT and the even ones are on the LEFT.  FWIW Joe's theme was a "puzzle within a puzzle" rather than one intended to help with the solve.

Here's the grid ...  

Here's the rest ...

Across:

 1. Hurtful remark: BARB.

5. Can't help but: HAS TO.

10. Get smart with: SASS.

14. Cookie with a Dirt Cake flavor: OREO.  Rumor has it that Nabisco is working a variation of Dirt Cake containing earth worms.😀 While we're waiting, here is Jennifer's recipe for Dirt Cake. 

Dirt Cake

15. Two twos, say: A PAIR.  A pair of deuces.

16. Miller option: LITE.

17. Director Preminger: OTTO.  Otto Ludwig Preminger (5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre, and was one of the most influential directors in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, twice for Best Director and once for Best Picture, among many other accolades. 

Otto Preminger

18. [Theme clue]

 
20. Collect: AMASS.

22. "Just tell me the answer": I GIVE UP.  On the Corner we call that to TITT.

23. Twiddled one's thumbs: IDLED.

25. Advil target: PAIN.

26. Online convos: DMS.  In computer networking, a private message, personal message, or direct message (abbreviated as PM or DM) refers to a private communication, often text-based, sent or received by a user of a private communication channel on any given platform.

27. [Theme clue]

31. Egg cells: OVA.   A little review of the birds and the bees ... 

32. Mosul's country: IRAQ.  Mosul is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh—once the largest city in the world—on its east side. 

33. Broke bread: ATE.

36. [Theme clue]

41. Island garland: LEI.

42. Steak sauce brand: A ONE.  You can make your own -- here's a recipe ... 

Steak sauce

43. Cryptology org.: NSA.  Somewhere south of where this is being written is the NSA, but everybody knows there is No Such Agency.

45. [Theme clue]

50. Texting segue: BTW.  By the way the next clue is about a news broadcaster ...

53. "Dateline NBC" anchor Lester: HOLT.  Lester Don Holt Jr. (born March 8, 1959) is an American news anchor for the weekday edition of NBC Nightly News, NBC Nightly News Kids Edition, and Dateline NBC. On June 18, 2015, Holt was made the permanent anchor of NBC Nightly News following the demotion of Brian Williams and became the first Black male solo anchor for a major network newscast. 

Lester Holt

54. Cruise stopover: ISLET.

55. Snoopy alter ego: JOE COOL.  

57. "Cabaret" director: FOSSE.  Robert Louis Fosse (June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and stage director. Known for his work on stage and screen, he is arguably the most influential figure in the field of jazz dance in the twentieth century.[1] He received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, for Cabaret.  Here's Liza Minelli and Joel Grey telling us the obvious -- Money Makes the World Go Round ...

59. [Theme reveal]

61. "Ferrari" actor Driver: ADAM.  An appropriate name for the actor who played in the 2023 film about auto designer and racer Enzo Ferrari ... 

 
64. Wrath: RAGE.  Here's the Dies Irae ("Day of wrath") from what has been called Giuseppe Verdi's greatest opera -- his Requiem, with conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin leading the Metropolitan Opera chorus and orchestra on the 20th anniversary of 911 ... 

65. Lifts, as spirits: BUOYS.  BOOSTS was two long.  A CSO to Jinx -- "Red right returning" right?

66. Sounds from a comedy club: YUKS.

67. Russian refusal: NYET.  Back at ya Vlad!

68. Far from shore: AT SEA.  You don't find too many 65As AT SEA.

69. Duration: SPAN.

Down:

 1. Bae: BOO.  Short for Babboo? 

 2. Objet d'__: ART. French: Objet d'Art = "Art object".  Technically this could be an oil painting or a sculpture, but it generally refers to an especially exquisite artifact such as a Fabergé egg ...
 

Gatchina Palace Egg

3. Return like for like: RETALIATE.

4. Child of the 1950s: BOOMER. And a CSO to a dearly departed friend.

5. Sounds of derision: HAHS.

6. Mil. addresses: APOS.

7. Tool that can make music: SAW.  Here's sawist Adriano Fernandez playing O mio babbino caro, the signature aria from Giacomo Puccini's only comedy, Gianni Schicchi ... 

8. Fibulae neighbors: TIBIAE.  Here's everything you need to know about these neighbors ...

Fibulae and Tibiae

9. Where the x-axis and the y-axis cross: ORIGIN.  It's where everything starts ...

10. Serb or Croat: SLAV.  I had a Serbian uncle on my mother's side who came to America to work in the steel mills of Chicago.  He used to make his own wine and sauerkraut and he showed us how to make whistles out of willow branches.  There are still people who know how to do this  ... 

11. Put on TV: AIRED.

12. Play lightly: STRUM.  Here's John Denver doing a little strumming ...

13. Trickles: SEEPS.

19. Metal in pennies: ZINC. Pennies actually cost 3.7 cents each and it has been suggested recently that they're not worth minting.  As ZINC is a key ingredient in Bristol glazes, I'd suggest that it be used to make stoneware crocks, which can bring a pretty penny at auctions ... 

Bristol glazed butter crocks

21. Introduce to the mix: ADD IN.

23. __ Jima: IWO.  The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, designated Operation Detachment, had the goal of capturing the island with its two airfields: South Field and Central Field.  The seven day battle cost approximately 6,800 American lives.  The photo of the raising of the US flag on Mt. Suribachi has become an icon of our nation's military valor and sacrifice ... 

Raising the colors on Iwo Jima

24. New Jersey athlete: DEVIL.  The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference.  

25. Pleasingly tangy: PIQUANT.

28. Packed theater letters: SRO.

29. Monopoly token that replaced the iron: CAT.  The IRON is out, the CAT is in -- not a popular decision among DOG lovers.  The monopolists had obviously been watching too many cat videos on the Internet.
 
30. __ de cologne: EAU.  French: Eau de Cologne = "Water from Cologne", a perfume originating in Cologne, Germany (known as "Koln" auf Deutsch.  In contemporary American English usage, the term "cologne" has become a generic term for perfumes marketed toward men. It also may signify a less concentrated, more affordable, version of a popular perfume (i.e. cheap!). 

34. Snarled: TANGLED UP.

35. Pitcher of milk?: ELSIE.  Not this pitcher ...

This pitcher ...

37. Family girl: SIS.

38. Eggy drink: NOG.

39. Arles article: UNE.  More French.  One of the most famous articles to come out of Arles resulted from a play called L'Arlésienne ("The Girl from Arles"), written by Alphonse Daudet, with incidental music written by George Bizet. -- the play bombed, but the music survives to this day as a concert piece.  Here is a snippet of it -- you will most surely recognize it ... 

40. 18-wheelers: SEMIS.

44. Play, or part of a play: ACT.  See 39A.

46. Commandment start: THOU.  Great words to live by ...  

47. iRobot vacuum: ROOMBA.

48. Nearly entirely: ALL BUT.

49. Analyzes chemically: ASSAYS.  Essentially an ASSAY involves analyzing a substance for its chemical constituents, e.g. to determine the nutrients that make up a food product.  This is something I've done quite a bit of in my avocation -- the making of glazed pottery.  For the most part glaze recipes consist of specific quantities of ingredients made from ground minerals.  However looking at a recipe tells you very little about the properties of the glaze -- e.g. glossy or matte surface, color, or fluidity (i.e. will it run all over your kiln shelves?)  I use a very useful program called Digitalfire Insight to analyze glaze recipes for their chemical constituents -- alumina and related oxides to form the body of the glaze; fluxes to regulate the melting point; and glass formers to determine the final surface characteristics.  The proportions of those ingredients (what the old Chinese potters called bones, fire, and flesh) tell you much more than just the recipe can about how the glaze will fire and what it will look like when it comes out of the kiln.

50. ABBA singer Ulvaeus: BJORN.  BJORN did other things besides sing for ABBA. Among them was collaborating in the composition of a musical called Chess, along with his ABBA colleague Benny Andersson and English songwriter Tim Rice.  Based on a true story, it revolves around intrigues that took place during a Cold War match between American and Russian Grand Masters.  The musical production was a big deal -- including a double LP recording and stage productions in a West End theatre in London and a Broadway theater in New York. I was unable to find any suitable songs from the original LP, but I did find a concert version of the song Anthem sung by Josh Groban, a paeon to the Russian Grand Master's homeland ... 

51. "While I'm young!": TODAY.  Thank you perps.  I think this may be Gen-Z slang for STAT. These days TODAY seems to be getting shorter and shorter!

52. Trivial Pursuit piece: WEDGE.  Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which winning is determined by a player's ability to answer trivia and popular culture questions.  This sounds like it might be a good game to warm up with before attempting to solve LA Times crossword puzzles. 😀

Players move their pieces around a board, the squares they land on determining the subject of a question they are asked from a card (from six categories including "history" and "science and nature"). Each correct answer allows the player's turn to continue; a correct answer on one of the six "category headquarters" spaces earns a plastic wedge which is slotted into the answerer's playing piece. The object of the game is to collect all six wedges from each "category headquarters" space, and then return to the center "hub" space to answer a question in a category selected by the other players.  Doesn't sound trivial to me. 

Trivial Pursuit wedges

56. Tech review site: CNET.  CNET (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website found in 1992 that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally.  Following acquisition by Red Ventures on October 30, 2020, the website faced criticism for the decline in quality of its editorial content and its factual unreliability due to the use of generative AI in the creation of its articles, as well as concerns over its journalistic integrity after it began increased publication of biased reviews and sponsored content to benefit its advertising partners. On October 1, 2024, CNET was acquired by Ziff Davis, who will hopefully improve it.

 57. Boot company since 1863: FRYE.  The Frye Company is an American manufacturer of shoes, boots and leather accessories. Founded in 1863, it claims to be the oldest continuously operated American shoe company.  Apparently their boots are really aged, as a pair like this one will set you back $498 + tax + shipping (I'm assuming you get two for that price 😀) ... 

Frye boot
Campus 14L Wide Calf

58. Mount of Greek myth: OSSA.  Mount Ossa (Greek: Όσσα), is a mountain in the Larissa regional unit, in Thessaly, Greece. It is 1,978 metres (6,490 ft) high and is located between Pelion to the south and Olympus to the north.  In Greek mythology, a race of giants called the Aloadaes are said to have attempted to pile Mount Pelion on top of Mount Ossa in their efforts to scale Mount Olympus.  

Mount Ossa

60. Volkswagen model until 2016: EOS. The Volkswagen Eos is a compact two-door, four passenger convertible manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen from 2006 to 2016 — noted for its five-section hardtop retractable roof. 

2006 Volkswagen EOS Sport

62. Alias letters: AKA.

63. AOL alternative: MSN.  MSN is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps provided by Microsoft. The main webpage provides news, weather, sports, finance and other content curated from hundreds of different sources that Microsoft has partnered with. 

Cheers, 

Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proofreading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

 

Notes from C.C.:

I'm sad to share that today's blog will be Bill's final Thursday review for us. He's stepping away to focus on his health and prioritize time with his family.

Bill began blogging for us in December 2020, and his posts have always been full of insight, information, and warmth. Thank you, Bill (and Teri!), for the care, time, and heart you've given to this blog. We wish you joy and good health in the next chapter. And we look forward to seeing you in the Comments section whenever you feel like stopping by.

Bill (waseeley)

 

I'm also happy to announce that Naomi will be taking over the Thursday blog moving forward. She has filled in for several bloggers over the past few months and brings a clear, thoughtful voice and a deep love for puzzles. We're excited to have her on board!

Thursday, March 20, 2025, Ricky J. Sirois

 Osterizers  

Today's constructor, veteran Ricky J. Sirois, presents us with four themers for another scrambled word game ...

17A. *Noisy yard implement: LEAF BLOWER.  We have a lot of trees on our yard, and we use a LEAF BLOWER to collect them and blow them onto a tarp, which we drag to the back of our lot for composting.  We use a RYOBI leaf blower.  This looks like a better one ... 

24A. *Like a skier without goggles, perhaps: SNOW BLIND.  You can buy a pair of these for $55 from REI ...

51A. *Hobnob (with): RUB ELBOWS.  Yep -- the pigeons agree ...

40A. *Path through Oz: YELLOW BRICK ROAD.  The road that Dorothy and Toto follow to meet the wonderful Wizard ...

64. Kitchen prep essential, and what can be found in the answer to each starred clue: MIXING BOWL.  Here's an assortment of bowls that we use for kitchen prep ...

Here's the grid ...

Here's the rest ...

Across:

1. Carousel riders?: BAGS.  As we wait in great expectation in the baggage claim area ...

5. Instruments that may create a meditative sound bath: GONGS.  Brought to you by templesounds.net -- finally a musical instrument I think I could play! ... 

They even have easter eggs -- singing BOWLS! ...

10. Street snack in a shell: TACO.

14. Río contents: AGUA.  RIO is Spanish for river and AGUA is Spanish for water

15. "Stop the launch!": ABORT.  This word has a plethora of meanings.

16. Muscat's country: OMAN.  Muscat is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. The metropolitan area spans approximately 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi), making it the largest city by area on the Arabian Peninsula. 

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

17. [Theme clue]

19. Major Temecula Valley industry: WINE.  Temecula Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the Temecula Valley, located in southwestern Riverside County, California against the eastern slopes of the Santa Ana Mountains.  A CSO to CMOE to stop by and give us some tasting notes.

20. Lot timers: METERS.  And if yours times out you may get a visit from this lady ... 

21. Cooler filler: ICE.  Also an acronym for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, who've been getting a lot of press lately.

22. Subj. for an MBA: ECON.

23. Pitching stat: ERA.

24. [Theme clue]

26. Printer issue: JAM.  The Achilles heel in computer systems.

28. "You could've kept that to yourself": TMI.

30. Very short pencil: NUB.

31. Jai __: ALAI.  Here's how it's played ...

More about Jai Alai

33. "Preach!": AMEN.

36. Inner circle: CADRE.  Dino thinks these would be better clues ... 

40. [Theme clue]
 
43. Overhead space?: SCALP.  Or between the ears? 😀

44. Rival leader?: ARCH.  E.g. Sherlock Homes' nemesis ...

Professor James Moriarty

or The Master in Dr. Who, who has worn many faces over the last 60+ years of the saga ...  

45. Gulp: SWIG.

46. Steamed bun dipped in hoisin sauce: BAO.  Bao, aka BAOZI, is a type of yeast-leavened filled bun in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings (meat or vegetarian) and preparations, though the buns are most often steamed. 

Meat filled BAO

48. Baby goat: KID.

50. Nashville-to-Louisville dir.: NNE.  

via I 65
3h 3m (176 mi)

51. [Theme clue]

56. Situp targets: ABS.

58. Brief "However": OTOH.  On The Other Hand ...

59. Banned Books Week org.: ALA.  American Library Association.

60. Like a clock with hands: ANALOG.  Actually this clock is DIGITAL ...

63. Selfish cry: MINE.

64. [Theme reveal]

66. Taiwanese laptop maker: ACER.

67. Turn away: AVERT.

68. Foil kin: EPEE.

69. Comic Bargatze: NATE.  What a relief -- a clean comic ...! 

70. Inkling: SENSE.

71. Story opening, in journalism lingo: LEDE.  In the days of paper journalism the purpose of the LEDE was to give the essential "who, what, where, when, and why of the story" -- the so-called "inverted pyramid".  In the digital days, these essentials are postponed until the end of the story, so that the reader can be exposed to as many ADS as possible -- what I call the "perverted pyramid".  Also this fill is a CSO to Jinx to show him that journalists are bad spelers too. 😀

Down:

 1. Salve: BALM.

2. Pulitzer winner James: AGEE.  Agee received the Pulitzer prize for his autobiographical novel A Death in the Family published posthumously in 1955. His name evokes for me Knoxville: Summer of 1915, a dreamlike "lyric rhapsody" set to excerpts from  an Agee prose poem by composer Samuel Barber.  It is sung here by the great soprano Renée Fleming, accompanied by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ...

Lyrics

3. Most populous Central American country: GUATEMALA.  With an estimated population of around 17.6 million, Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America, the 4th most populous country in North America and the 11th most populous country in the Americas. Its capital and largest city, Guatemala City, is the most populous city in Central America.

4. Less of a gamble: SAFER.

5. Girls: GALS.

6. "Price flexible" abbr.: OBO.  Or Best Offer.

7. Lose-lose: NO WIN.

8. With 51-Down, wrestling style: GRECO.  See 51D.

9. Scattered: STREWN.

10. Bathroom drying racks: TOWEL BARS.

11. Pals, in Parma: AMICI.  Parma being a city in Italy, this is today's Italian lesson: "Friends".  

12. Officially accepted works: CANON.  One of the most significant historical events was the acceptance of the CANONICAL books of the Bible.  After Jesus Christ's appearance on Earth and subsequent departure, his disciples began to write down stories about his life and his teachings.  These writings were widely circulated among the rapidly growing number of nascent Christian churches.  Eventually it was decided to gather them together into what eventually became the New Testament.  As these writings made frequent references to the extant Hebrew scriptures, these were gathered into what became the Old Testament.  But questions quickly arose as to what specific writings should be included -- e.g. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas contained stories about Jesus' childhood that were clearly inconsistent with other Gospels.  The resolution as to which books were canonical began in a series of church councils in the 4th Century AD and were reaffirmed in the 15th and 16th centuries.

13. Standing straight, as hair: ON END.  Like this ...

,
18. Oktoberfest sausage, informally: BRAT.  Short for BRATWURST and today's German lesson: BRAT = "roast" and WURST = "sausage".

24. Mufasa's son in "The Lion King": SIMBA.  Simba is a fictional character in Disney's The Lion King franchise. First appearing as a lion cub in The Lion King (1994), the character flees his homeland when his father, King Mufasa, is murdered by his treacherous uncle, Scar, who also guilts Simba into believing he is responsible for Mufasa's death. Several years later, Simba returns home as an adult to reconcile his childhood trauma, confront Scar, and reclaim his birthright as King of the Pride Lands.

Simba

25. O'Neil who was the first African American coach in the MLB: BUCK.  John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr. (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was an American first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball.  Buck was formally enshrined  into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 24, 2022.

26. Blue birds: JAYS.  Nasty birds.

27. Actor Guinness: ALEC.  Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE (1914–2000) was an English actor. In the British Film Institute listing of 1999 of the 100 most important British films of the 20th century, Guinness was singled out as the most noted actor, represented across nine films — six in starring roles and three in supporting roles.  If you look up the word "versatile" in the dictionary his picture is there.  He has played everything from numerous roles on the Shakespearian stage; a general in the Bolshevik army; a Jedi Knight; soldiers in war movies; as a real life Naval officer in WWII; many comic roles in films; and as a spymaster.  One of his less famous roles is a satire on espionage called Our Man in Havana ... 

29. Wide opening: MAW.

32. "Come find me when you're ready": I'LL BE HERE.

34. Fumble: ERR.

35. Stevie of Fleetwood Mac: NICKS.  Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac, and as a solo artist.  Here she sings her signature song Sara ... 

37. Skier's direction: DOWN SLOPE.  A CSO to Joseph -- I'm sure he doesn't leave home without a pair of 24As.

38. Wet weather: RAIN.

39. Trim, as grass: EDGE.

41. October birthstone: OPAL.

42. T'ai __ ch'uan: CHI.  Tai chi is an ancient Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners perform a series of deliberate, flowing motions while focusing on deep, slow breaths, often referred to as "meditation in motion".

A Beginner's Guide to Tai Chi

47. Barack and Michelle: OBAMAS.  Although the song pre-dates the OBAMAS,  I'm recently reminded of the hit Those Were the Days sung by Mary Hopkin ...

49. "Darn it!": DANG.

51. See 8-Down: ROMAN.  Greco-Roman is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1904. This style of wrestling forbids holds below the waist, which is the main feature that differentiates it from freestyle wrestling. This restriction results in an emphasis on throws, because a wrestler cannot use trips to bring an opponent to the ground or hook/grab the opponent's leg to avoid being thrown. 

Even on the mat, a Greco-Roman wrestler

must still find ways to turn his opponent's

shoulders to the mat for a fall without using the legs.

52. College city near Syracuse: UTICA.  Utica is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains, approximately 95 mi west-northwest of Albany, 55 mi east of Syracuse and 240 mi northwest of New York City.  Among the colleges and universities in and around Utica are SUNY Polytechnic Institute, one of 14 doctorate-granting universities of the State University of New York (SUNY), Mohawk Valley Community College, and Empire State College.  And a CSO to Ray - O - Sunshine.

53. Lisa of "A Different World": BONET.  Lisa Michelle Bonet (born November 16, 1967) is an American actress. She portrayed Denise Huxtable on the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), for which she earned widespread acclaim and a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1986; she reprised the role of Denise in the 1987 season of the spinoff series A Different World. 

Lisa Bonet

54. __ oil: OLIVE.

55. Pallid: WAXEN.  That works for Dino ...

57. Biblical tower spot: BABEL.  The Tower of Babel is an origin myth and parable in the Book of Genesis chapter 11 meant to explain the existence of different languages and cultures.  According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language migrates to Shinar (Lower Mesopotamia), where they agree to build a great city with a tower that would reach the sky. God, observing these efforts and remarking on humanity's power in unity, confounds their speech so that they can no longer understand each other and scatters them around the world, leaving the city unfinished.

The Tower of Babel
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1563

Like many such stories in the Bible, this one constitutes what is a called a "bookend" -- one of a pair of parallel stories, the later one completing the first.  In this instance the second bookend occurs in the New Testament book The Acts of the Apostles on the Feast of Pentecost, when the Apostles are gathered together to address a crowd of visitors to Jerusalem.  The crowd is astonished that despite their being from many different countries, and speaking many different languages, they are all somehow able to understand the Galilean Aramaic language spoken by the Apostles. 

60. Pay to play: ANTE.

61. Had to pay: OWED.  See 65D ...

62. Delight: GLEE.

65. Auditing agcy.: IRS.  Timely clue.

Cheers, 

Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proofreading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

Thursday, March 13, 2025, Catherine Cetta

     The Sounds of Music 

Today our constructor Catherine Cetta presents us with a reveal that tells us all we need to know about her clever, elegant, musical theme ...

56. "By the way ...," and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters: ON A SIDE NOTE.  That is, the circles each contain a NOTE of the musical scale in descending order along on the left then right SIDE of the grid -- represented by the syllables TI, DO, SOL, LA, MI, FA, DO, and RE.   This system has been around since the 11th Century and is called Solfège -- the use of mnemonics in teaching the sounds in a musical scale. 

Here's the grid ...
 

Here's the rest ...

Across:

 1. "Casablanca" heroine: ILSA.  Here she cajoles Sam into playing As Time Goes By ...

Judy Dench and Geoffrey Palmer cajoled that tune into a delightful 10 series romcom -- I think this is episode 1.

5. Is generally positive: HOPES.

10. Mavens: PROS.

14. Subject with lots of problems: MATH.  That's how you learn MATH -- by solving lots of problems, and the more problems you solve the more MATH you learn.

15. Weasel out of: EVADE.

16. "Rats!": DARN.

17. Attachments: TIES.

18. Old thing: RELIC.  My favorite relic is the Shroud of Turin, a sheet of linen 14' 3" long by 3' 7" wide containing a highly detailed image of a crucified man, which has several unique properties.  It is believed by some to be the burial shroud of Christ, certainly a debatable question, but as yet no one has come up with a satisfactory explanation for how it was created.   But there is no question that it is the most studied artifact of all time. Based on radiocarbon data collected in 1988 from a sample taken from a single location on the cloth, skeptics claim that it was created in the Middle Ages.  Others say that the carbon-14 measurements may have been accurate for the 2.5 sq. in. sample taken from one of the corners, but that it is probably not representative of the age of the whole 50 sq ft. cloth. The skeptics have been challenged by David Rolfe, a British documentary film producer and researcher on the Shroud of Turin, who has offered a million dollars to anyone who can replicate it, the only stipulation being that they can use only technologies extant in the Middle Ages.  FWIW, Teri and I were fortunate to see the Shroud in Turin, Italy in 2000; I have read several dozen books on the subject, both pro and con; and I still have no idea on how it was made.

19. Classic pet name: FIDO.

20. Amanda Gorman's "__ to Our Ocean": ODE.  In June 2020, Lonely Whale collaborated with Atmos and Future Earth to produce Ode to Our Ocean — a poem by Amanda Gorman written for World Oceans Day.

Amanda Gorman

21. Civil rights leader __ Scott King: CORETTA.  Coretta Scott King (née Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his assassination in 1968.

Coretta Scott King
1964

23. Hem but not haw?: SEW.

24. A as in Aristotle: ALPHA. ALPHA is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, the alphabet used by the Greek philosopher Aristotle.

Aristotle
Marble portrait bust,
Roman copy (2nd century bce)
 of a Greek original (c. 325 bce)

26. Hasty getaway: LAM.

27. Hate the thought of: DREAD.

29. Footprint makers: SOLES.

30. Fútbol cheer: OLE.

31. Birthing coach: DOULA.  Doula vs midwife: what's the difference?

32. Dweeb: TWERP.  I think either the clue or the fill is a stretch ...

33. Kylo who is Darth Vader's grandson: REN.  Kylo Ren (born Ben Solo) is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He was introduced in The Force Awakens (2015), the first film of the sequel trilogy as the main antagonist. He subsequently appeared in The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).  Looks like a bad dude ... 

Kylo Ren

34. "What a butterfingers I am!": OOPSY.

35. Fuse together: MELD.  WELD fit, but didn't perp.

37. Coffee containers: URNS.  The preferred containers for holding coffee in crosswords.

39. Whole: ENTIRE.

42. "Don't be led __": ASTRAY.  Good advice!

46. Fog: MIST.

47. Tea region of India: ASSAM.  Actually there are three regions in India that cultivate tea, but NILGIRI and DARJEELING wouldn't fit.  Here's a lovely lady plucking tea in an Assam tea garden ...

Assam tea garden

51. Couch: SOFA.

52. Baseball Hall of Famer nicknamed "Master Melvin": OTT.  Melvin Thomas Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958) was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from 1926 through 1947.  He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Though unusually slight in stature for a power hitter, at 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m), 170 pounds (77 kg), Ott led the National League in home runs a then-record six times. He was an All-Star for 11 consecutive seasons, and was the first National League player to surpass 500 career home runs.
 

Ott was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.

53. Round figures: SPHERES.

55. Farm pen: STY.

56. [Theme reveal]

59. Naturally curly styles: AFROS.  AFROS commonly style our crossword grids and my favorite wearer of them is Keith Jarrett.  Known primarily as a jazz pianist and improvisor, he is also equally at home playing classical piano.  I was first introduced to him with his performances of the Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues.  Here is Keith playing the latter's Op. 87: No. 1 in C Major ... 

 
 61. Fashion's Diane __ Fürstenberg: VON.  Diane von Fürstenberg (née Diane Simone Michele Halfin; 31 December 1946) is a Belgian fashion designer best known for her wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence in 1969 when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon von Fürstenberg. Following their separation in 1972 and divorce in 1983, she has continued to use his family name. 

Diane von Furstenberg

62. __-toothed tiger: SABER.  The scientific name for this beast is the Smilodon, an extinct genus of felids. It is one of the best known predators of prehistoric mammals. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats, The hundreds of specimens obtained from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles constitute the largest collection of Smilodon fossils.  

Painting of Smilodon populator
the American Museum of Natural History
Charles R. Knight

65. Mosque toppers: DOMES.  The Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine at the center of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture, the earliest archaeologically attested religious structure to be built by a Muslim ruler and its inscriptions contain the earliest epigraphic proclamations of Islam and of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. 

Dome of the Rock
 Temple Mount
Old City of Jerusalem

66. Terminus: END.

67. Cornflower kin: AZURE.  Both are shades of blue -- here are a few others.

68. "Rly?": SRSLY.  Text speak: "Really?":"Seriously!".  Seriously meh! 

  69. __ race: RAT.  ... the RATS appear to be winning.

70. Sidestep: DODGE.

Down:

 1. Lament from someone in big trouble: I'M TOAST. The birth of an idiom ...  

2. Knocked out of action: LAID LOW.

3. Church tower topper: STEEPLE.  Ulm Minster is a Lutheran church located in Ulm, State of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). It is the tallest church in the world.  The church is the fifth-tallest structure built before the 20th century, with a steeple measuring 161.53 metres. 

Ulm Minster
Lutheran church

4. Satisfied sounds: AHS.

5. Sub: HERO.

6. Authoritative ruler: OVERLORD.  A timely clue.

7. Hoppy brew: PALE ALE.

8. Word feature: EDIT MENU.  Microsoft Word that is.  I intended to illustrate this clue with a screen shot of the Word EDIT MENU, but Word has become so bloated with features that I couldn't find it.  The product seems to have overtaken by adverts for Microsoft's AI product, CO-PILOT.  Just tell it what you want and it will do the rest.

9. Offshoot: SECT.

10. Many an attachment: PDF.  Portable Document Format, a freeware product original developed by Adobe Acrobat, which has become an industry standard for document portability -- regardless of who you're sending it to, there is a good chance that they'll be able to read it.

Adobe Acrobat

11. Elevate: RAISE UP.

12. Major hassles: ORDEALS.  Or this could have been clued "Major ordeals:" HASSLES. 

13. Unscheduled winter break: SNOW DAY.  As retired folks we no longer break for SNOW DAYS --  but we can't break from SNOW SHOVELING! 

21. Wyoming's second-most populous city: CASPER.  Casper is a city in and the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-most populous city in the state after Cheyenne, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Casper is nicknamed "The Oil City" and has a long history of oil boomtown and cowboy culture, dating back to the development of the nearby Salt Creek Oil Field. 

Casper skyline

22. Extras: ADD ONS.

25. Recluse: HERMIT.

28. Dove bars?: ROOSTS.  These ROOSTS are often found in Dovecotes.

36. By __ and bounds: LEAPS.

38. Japanese noodle dish: RAMEN.

39. Panic! at the Disco genre: EMO.  Panic! at the Disco was an American pop rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2004 by childhood friends Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, Brent Wilson, and Brendon Urie. Following several lineup changes, Panic! at the Disco operated as the solo project of front man Urie from 2015 until its discontinuation in 2023.  Here's their House of Memories ... 

40. Trivial objection: NIT.

41. Threatening NOAA forecasts: T STORMS.  The number of T STORMS that NOAA is allowed to forecast has recently been reduced by circumstances beyond its control -- weather is so chaotic! 😕

43. Last on-screen message in a classic film: ROSE BUD.  The film referred to in the clue is the 1941 drama Citizen Kane, a thinly veiled biopic of the publishing magnate, William Randolph Hearst.  The film was directed by Orson Wells to a score by Bernard Hermann.  Near the end of the film, as Kane dies his enigmatic last words are ROSE BUD.  Reporters and others launch a search for the meaning of these words, but are unable to discover them.  The very last scene shows workmen wandering through his warehouse, inspecting and disposing of various artifacts from his life -- but only we see the name ROSE BUD on his childhood sled as it is consumed by flames in the fireplace.  Some commentators describe Kane's words as his recollection of his childhood innocence at the moment of his death  ... 

 44. Toward the rudder: AFT.

45. "Oh, happy day!": YAY.  What kids SAY on 13Ds! 😀

48. Cold response: SHIVER.  What I do on 13Ds! 😕

49. City in Arizona's Verde Valley region: SEDONA.  Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031.  And CSOS to Lucina, CMOE, and Prof. M.

Cathedral Rock
Coconino National Forest
Sedona, AZ

50. Political philosopher Hannah: ARENDT.  Another timely clue. Hannah Arendt (born Johanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theorists of the twentieth century.  She is probably best remembered for the controversy surrounding the trial of Adolf Eichmann; for her attempt to explain how ordinary people become actors in totalitarian systems; and perhaps most of all for the phrase "the banality of evil."

Hannah Arendt

53. Cheeky: SASSY.

54. "Makes me want to cry": SO SAD.

57. Carolers' tune: NOEL.  Here was the first one ...

58. Maker of Zen K-Cup pods: TAZO.  Tazo Tea Company (TAZO) is a tea and herbal tea blender and distributor founded in Portland, Oregon. It is now a Lipton Teas and Infusions division and is based in Kent, Washington.  This Britaphile finds the idea of getting green tea from plastic cups to be not very green, and quite frankly revolting! 😖

59. Some internet search results: ADS.

60. Supporting: FOR.

63. Bit of energy: ERG.  The ERG is a unit of energy equal to 10−7 joules (100 nJ). It is not an SI unit, instead originating from the centimeter–gram–second system of units (CGS). Its name is derived from ergon (ἔργον), a Greek word meaning 'work' or 'task'.

64. "The Pioneer Woman" host Drummond: REE.  Anne Marie "Ree" Drummond (née Smith, born January 6, 1969) is an American blogger, author, food writer, and television personality. Drummond became known for her blog, The Pioneer Woman, which documented her life in rural Oklahoma, and her cookbook.  Here's how she makes Orange Chicken ... 

And her recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Alfredo looks good too ...
 

Slow Cooker Chicken Alfredo

Cheers, 

Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proofreading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley