Tuesday, January 28, 2025 Wendy L Brandes

The Art of Being Graceful.  In today's puzzle, an ODE gracefully slides down and across the grid.

20-Across. Wide receiver who was the 2014 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: ODELL BECKHAM, JR.  Odell Cornelious Beckham, Jr (b. Nov. 5, 1992) was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and played football at Louisiana State University.  His plays were Poetry in Motion.

33-Across. Literary movement for Vonnegut and Pynchon: POST-MODERNISM.  Postmodernism is a movement that challenged modernism in the arts, culture, and philosophy.  Postmodernism is known for its skepticism, irony, and critiques of objective reality and universal truths.  Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (Nov. 11, 1922 ~ Apr. 11, 2007) was known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels.  The only Vonnegut novel I read was Slaughter House-Five.  Thomas Pynchon, Jr. (b. May 8, 1937) is known for his dense and complex novels.  I have never read any of his works.

40-Across. Pushes one's game to the next level: GOES BEAST MODE.

53-Across. Epitome of grace, and an apt title for this puzzle: POETRY IN MOTION.  See how the Ode (Poem) gracefully moves (Motion) down and across the grid.

See how the ODE gracefully moves down the Grid.

Across:

1. Long, long time: AGES.

5. Important ingredient in Toll House cookies: CHIPS.  Yummers!  The history of the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie.  My mother had a chocolate chip cookie that was ever so much better than the Toll House version.

10. Touch: ABUT.

14. U2 lead singer: BONO.  Bono (né Paul David Hewson; b. May 10, 1960) is also a founding member of the band.  He took his name, Bono, from an Irish hearing aid company.

15. "__ and Juliet": ROMEO.  What if Shakespeare wrote a different ending to Romeo and Juliet?  That's the premise of & Juliet.  We just saw the show and it was so much fun and very high energy.

16. Friction fighter: LUBE.

17. Indian flatbread: ROTI.  Not the expected Naan!  What's the difference?

18. No longer together: APART.

19. Neighborhood: AREA.

23. Show on television: AIR.

24. Photo __: OPS.

25. Punk subgenre: EMO.

26. Loved by: DEAR TO.

28. Protagonist: HERO.

30. __ Moines, Iowa: DES.  A brief history of Des Moines.

36. Bombard (with): PELT.

38. MSNBC host Melber: ARI.  Ari Naftali Melber (b. Mar. 31, 1980) is an attorney and a journalist.  He hosts The Beat with Ari Melber.

39. Roadie's gear: AMPS.  A crossword staple.

45. Actress de Armas: ANA.  Ana de Armas (née Ana Celia de Armas Caso; b. Apr. 30, 1988) is a Cuban and Spanish actress.  I first saw her in the 2019 film, Knives Out.

46. "General Hospital" actress Rylan: EMME.  Apparently, Emme Rylan (née Marcy Faith Behrens; b. Nov. 4, 1980) has appeared in a number of soap operas, including General Hospital and The Young and the Restless.

47. Long-armed shaggy apes, familiarly: ORANGS.  As in an Orangutan.

50. Hon: BAE.  This is becoming a crossword staple.  It appeared in last Wednesday's puzzle.

51. E-file org.: IRS.  As in the Internal Revenue Service.

52. Sign of a hot ticket on Broadway: SRO.  Standing Room Only.

58. Slangy coffee: JAVA.

59. Irritated: GOT TO.

60. Oblong tomato: ROMA.  The Roma tomato is a plum tomato that is commonly used for tomato paste because of its slender and firm nature.  They grow well in the United States, Mexico, Australia, and Great Britain.

61. Receiving customers: OPEN.

62. Burstyn of "The First Lady": ELLEN.  Ellen Burstyn (née Edna Rae Gillooly; b. Dec. 7, 1932) has been in numerous films during her long career.  She earned an Oscar for her portrayal of Alice Hyatt in the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More.

63. Condo, e.g.: UNIT.

64. Places to find fuzzy navels: BARS.  Nice misdirection.  A Fuzzy Navel is a mixed drink made with peach schnapps and orange juice.

65. American Girls, e.g.: DOLLS.  American Girls is a line of dolls, many of which are based on historical characters or figures.

66. "¿Cómo __ usted?": ESTA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

Down:

1. Overseas: ABROAD.

2. Unexpected treat: GOODIE.

3. Respond to court charges: ENTER A PLEA.

4. Bed component?: SOIL.

5. Underwater trap: CRAB POT.

6. Aspirations: HOPES.

7. Apple desktop: iMAC.

8. Free lunch on Fridays, e.g.: PERK.  Why Friday?

9. "Told ya!": SO THERE!

10. Budget competitor: ALAMO.  Both are car rental companies.  

11. __ Khalifa: world's tallest building: BURJ.  The Burj Khalifa stands at 2,717 feet.  The Burj Khalifa is in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  The building is named after Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Sept. 7, 1948 ~ May 13, 2022), the second president of the UAE.  The tallest building that I have ever been in is the third largest building, the Shanghai Tower, which stands at a mere 2,073 feet.

12. Big name in food delivery: UBER.  

13. Spills the __: gossips: TEA.  //  And 50-Down. Spills the __: blabs: BEANS.  While both idioms have similar meanings, “spill the tea” typically refers to gossip, while “spill the beans” typically refers to an unintentional disclosure of private or secret information.

21. Quite a few: LOTS.

22. Cupid's domain: AMOR.

27. Becomes compost: ROTS.

28. Seabiscuit, for one: HORSE.  Seabiscuit (1993 ~ 1947) was a famous American Thoroughbred.  He was born in 1933 and raced from 1935–1940.

29. Work periodically?: EDIT.  Cute clue.

30. Part of a design spec: DIMENSIONS.

31. Seer's gift: ESP.

32. Texting format: SMS.  As in Short Message Service.

34. Polite term of address: MA'AM.

35. Zippo: NADA.

36. Links org.: PGA.  As in the Professional Golfers' Association.

37. Long, long time: EON.

41. Edged out: BEAT.

42. Came out of hiding: EMERGED.

43. Church members who are encouraged to do missionary work: MORMONS.

44. Roughly: OR SO.

48. Wallace's claymation pal: GROMIT.  Wallace & Gromit is a British claymation comedy franchise.  The stories all come have a hidden meaning: they tell the story of a class struggle.  Wallace, the human, represents the privileged upper class, while Gromit, his faithful dog, represents the lower class that supports his master.

49. Hyundai sedan: SONATA.

51. Dirt dug up by moles: INTEL.  Good misdirection!  As intelligence gathered by a spy.

53. Grandad's nickname: PAPA.  This is just one of many of nicknames for Grandfather.

54. Finished: OVER.

55. "I'll never have this chance again, so why not!" letters: YOLO.  You Only Live Once.

56. "__ all work out": IT'LL.

57. Immodest response to "You're the best!": TRUE.

58. Occupation: JOB.

חתולה

Uluru, also known as Ayres Rock.

Tuesday, January 21, 2025 Janice Luttrell

Haute Couture, or the creation of exclusive high-end fashion.  The letters in the circles spell out sewing terms.  Seams and Hems can be found in just about all clothing, high fashion or not.  Darts are found in women's dresses, blouses, and many styles of pants.

20-Across. Studio co-founded by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and others: UNITED ARTISTS. DARTs are folds (tucks coming to a point) sewn into fabric to take in ease and provide shape to a garment, especially for a woman's bust.  United Artists was founded in February 1919.

24-Across.  Like Vera Wang and I.M. Pei:  CHINESE AMERICAN.  A SEAM is the joining of two or more layers of fabric held together with stitches.  Vera Wang (née Vera Ellen Wang; b. June 27, 1949) is an American fashion designer, so she is quite familiar with the sewing terms in this puzzle.  I. M. Pei (né Ioeh Ming Pei; Apr. 26, 1917 ~ May 16, 2019) was an especially creative architect. Two of his iconic designs are the Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts and the Dallas City Hall.  was born in Guangzhou, China.  He moved to the United States when he was 17 to attend college.  He became a naturalized citizen in 1954.  He was 

43-Across. Completely unplanned: SPUR OF THE MOMENT.  In sewing, a HEM is the finished edge of a piece of cloth.  It often refers to the bottom of a skirt or the legs of pants.

And the unifier:

49-Across. Social groups that work on embroidery projects, or what can be found three times in this puzzle?: SEWING CIRCLES.  The circles in the puzzle are necessary for this clue and answer to fully make sense.  Additionally, an embroidery CIRCLE is a necessity for embroidery projects.

Across:

1. Taken __: surprised: ABACK.

6. Oscar winner Guinness: ALEC.  That's Sir Alec to you.  Alec Guinness (né Alec Guinness de Cuffe; Apr. 2, 1914 ~ Aug. 5, 2000) was an English actor.  He began his stage career in 1934, then made the transition to a film career.  He is best known to me as portraying Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars movies.

10. Think (over): MULL.

14. Heartless: CRUEL.

15. Showroom sample: DEMO.

16. Length x width: AREA.

17. Soup scoop: LADLE.

18. "Sunflowers" and "Water Lilies": PAINTINGS.  Vincent Van Gogh (né Vincent Willem van Gogh; Mar. 30, 1853 ~ July 29, 1890) made numerous paintings of sunflowers.  Claude Monet (né Oscar-Claude Monet; Nov. 14, 1840 ~ Dec. 5, 1926) was fond of painting the water lilies in his garden in Givenry, France.

Some of Van Gogh's Sunflowers

Monet's Water Lilies

22. Eggy holiday drink: NOG.

23. Air traffic org.: FAA.  As in the Federal Aviation Administration.

33. Luxury watch brand: ROLEX.

34. The red planet: MARS.  Did you know that Mars named after the Roman god of war because its red color reminded them of blood?

35. The "A" of IPA: ALE.  As in India Pale Ale.  The backstory of India Pale Ale.

36. Numbered musical composition: OPUS.

37. Manicure targets: NAILS.

39. Fencer's handful: HILT.

40. Telluride or Escalade: SUV.  Both are Sports Utility Vehicles.  The Telluride is made by Kia and the Escalade is made by Cadillac.

41. Fireplace stack: LOGS.

42. Muscular strength: SINEW.

47. Always, poetically: EER.

48. Soak (up), as gravy: SOP.

56. Careful examination: CLOSE LOOK.

58. __ and kicking: ALIVE.

59. Assistant: AIDE.

60. Folk tales: LORE.

61. Gymnast Comaneci: NADIA.  Nadia Elena Comăneci (b. Nov. 12, 1961) is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events.  In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the Olympic Games.  In 1996, she married fellow gymnast Bart Conner (b. Mar. 28, 1958).

62. Paella vegetables: PEAS.  Yummers!

63. Absolut rival: SKYY.  There are lots of brands of vodkas out there.  Here is one man's review of many vodka brands.

64. Beginning stage: ONSET.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

Down:

1. First Amendment advocacy gp.: ACLU.  As in the American Civil Liberties Union.  The ACLU was founded on Jan. 19, 1920.

2. High-fiber cereal ingredient: BRAN.

3. German auto: AUDI.  A history of the Audi.  This car manufacturer also makes SUVs.

4. Gael, for one: CELT.

5. Facial tissue brand: KLEENEX.  Kleenex is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark Corporation. The generic term for Kleenex is facial tissue.  "Kleenex" has become so commonly used that it's now considered interchangeable with the generic term "tissue".

6. Newspaper income source: AD PAGE.

7. Shakespearean king with three daughters: LEAR.  King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.  It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain.  As King Lear approached his old age, he divides his power and land between his daughters Goneril and Regan, who pay homage to gain favor, feigning love.  Our friend, Old Man Keith could have told us a lot about this Shakespearian play.

8. Give off: EMIT.

9. Many Christmas trees: CONIFERS.  Conifers produce cones instead of flowers or fruit.  The name "conifer" comes from the cones that produce seeds.

10. Rum and Curaçao cocktail: MAI TAI.  Yummers!  One version of how the drink came into being.

11. Large coffee dispensers: URNS.

12. Table support: LEG.

13. __ Vegas: LAS.  Las Vegas, Nevada was founded in 1905 as a railroad stop in the desert between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles.  It wasn't until the 1940s that it became the gambling mecca that it is known for today.

19. Former Russian rulers: TSARs.  The term tsar, a form of the ancient Roman imperial title caesar.  The title was first used by Ivan IV, (b. Aug. 25, 1530 ~ Mar. 1584) when he proclaimed himself as Tsar.  He was also known as Ivan the Terrible.

Tsar Ivan IV

21. Spanish two: DOS.  Today's Spanish lesson.

24. Symbol of Christianity: CROSS.  Apparently there are various versions of the cross and its history pre-dates Christianity.

25. Invitation to a dog while patting the bed, perhaps: HOP UP.

26. Candy heart words: I LUV U.

27. Super Mario Bros. console: NES.

28. Barn-raising sect: AMISH.

29. "Bad" prefix: MAL-.

30. "Alfie" star Michael: CAINE.  That's Sir Michael to you.  His given name is actually Maurice Joseph Micklewhite (b. Mar. 14, 1933).

31. "The Bear" Emmy winner Jeremy __ White: ALLEN.  Jeremy Allen White (b. Feb. 17, 1991) portrays Carmy Berzatto, a chef inherits his family's Italian beef sandwich shop after the death of his older brother.  He is left to deal with his brother's unresolved debts, a rundown kitchen, and an unruly staff, while dealing with his own pain and family trauma.   The Bear is considered a "psychological comedy-drama."

32. Food package abbr.: NET WT.  As in Net Weight.

37. Without any extras: NO FRILLS.

38. Simon Cowell's competition show, briefly: AGT.  As in America's Got Talent.

39. He/__ pronouns: HIM.

41. "My Fair Lady" composer Frederick: LOEWE.  Frederick Loewe (né Friedrich "Fritz" Löwe; June 10, 1901 ~ Feb. 14, 1988) was an American composer.  He collaborated with lyricist Alan Jay Lerner (Aug. 311, 1918 ~ June 14, 1986) on many of Broadway musicals, including Brigadoon and Camelot, as well as My Fair Lady.

42. Opera heroine, often: SOPRANO.

44. Big name in peanut butter candy: REESES.  Yummers!

45. "Get me outta here" button: ESC KEY.

46. "Pretentious? __?": MOI.

49. Fountain drink: SODA.

50. Alcove: NOOK.

51. Unpleasant, as details: GORY.  Cartoonist Edward Gorey (Feb. 22, 1925 ~ Apr. 15, 2000) often created gory cartoons.  His name was very appropriate.

52. Family: CLAN.

53. Tupperware toppers: LIDS.  Tupperware containers were invented in the 1940s by Earl Tupper (né Earl Silas Supper; July 28, 1907 ~ Oct. 5, 1983).

54. Pop singer Sands: EVIE.  Evie Sands (b. July 18, 1946) is probably best known for her 1967 song, Angel of the Morning.

55. Airplane assignment: SEAT.

56. Ballplayer's hat: CAP.

57. Fib: LIE.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Many thanks to Anon-T and Naomi Z for filling in on Tuesdays while I was away down under.

Businesses closed due to Snow!

Notes from C.C.:

1) Welcome back, Hahtoolah!

2) Happy 77th birthday to Madame DeFarge! Hope you're doing well, Janice, we miss your presence on the blog.

 

From L To R: Abejo, WikWak and Madame DeFarge

 

3) Happy birthday to sumdaze, our creative and loving Monday Sherpa. Renee is also a triathlete, who runs, bikes and swims long distance. 

4) Happy 17th birthday to our blog! Thank you so much for visiting and commenting.