Tuesday, January 30th, 2024, Zachary David Levy

EBB

 The TIDE has been turned, reversed, and spelled backwards three times in the grid, and it was almost perfectly constructed, too, as the first theme answer broke down to E - DIT, followed by ED -IT, but we didn't get the final EDI -T; can anyone think of a way to build that into the puzzle~?  A relatively quick solve, with either "gimme" answers, or something rather vague ( I'm looking at you 39A. ).  And again, several proper names, yet none that didn't fill in on their own if I didn't know them immediately.  Somehow, I seem to have created an 80s songs sub-theme, too.  Oh, and we're missing just the "Z" for a pangram.

17. Playful tune: LITTLE DITTY - 'bout Jack n' Diane~?

John Cougar Mellencamp

27. Threw in the towel: CALLED IT QUITS - Men At Work, "It's A Mistake"

Lyrics @ 2:29

46. Roadside channel for water runoff: DRAINAGE DITCH - OK, 1976, so not quite the 80s

Blue Öyster Cult - see 26D.

60. Stage a comeback, or an apt title for this puzzle: TURN THE TIDE - and the TIDE is "high", by Blondie, which I did not know as a remake....

Is that Darth Vader~?

Washed Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. "I've been here before" feeling: DÉJÀ VU - yeah, I think I was here before, like, maybe last Wednesday~!?

7. __ and carrots: PEAS

11. Has been: WAS

14. Some dome-topped venues: ARENAS

15. Roger's rival, familiarly: RAFA - Tennis - Roger Federer vs. Rafael "Rafa" Nadal

16. __ crossroads: AT A

19. Half a score: TEN - a score being twenty, as in "Four score and seven...."

20. Low USN rank: ENSign

21. Fires up, as an engine: REVS

22. Converse: SPEAK

24. Japanese art genre: ANIME

26. Proper conduct, in Hinduism: DHARMA - Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, guitar master from Blue Öyster Cult

31. Ooze, as charm: EXUDE

32. Addition amount: SUM

33. Church bench: PEW - we have "pew pads" that clip to the tops of the benches so that we can utilize the space effectively with no damage done

Lynchburg, VA

36. Made readable, in a way: DECODED - I never had a "secret decoder ring" when I was a kid  :7((

39. Based on deduction instead of experience: A PRIORI - I have actually read/heard this term before

42. Two-time Super Bowl MVP Manning: ELI - New York technically has either "two" or "no" football teams ( the Giants and 3D. ), depending on your perspective on playing in New Jersey; I recall the "helmet catch" of an Eli Manning throw, Superbowl XLII.  BTW, the "big" game always "interferes" with my birthday weekend....

43. Male sheep: RAM

45. Elba of "The Wire": IDRIS - crossword staple

51. Bring on: INDUCE

53. Gave it a shot: TRIED

54. Threshold: VERGE

55. Kristen who was on "SNL" from 2005 to 2012: WIIG - no clue, filled via perps

56. Henson who created the Muppets: JIM - him I do know

59. Sweetie: BAE - I cringe at the use of this "word"

64. In the style of: À LA

65. "That makes sense": "I SEE"

66. Immune system components: T-CELLS

67. Fine stone: GEM

68. Sugar source: CANE - I had perps, so it wasn't "BEET"

69. Throat-soothing beverage: HOT TEA

aaah, that's better~!

DOWN:

1. Small valley: DALE

2. "__ go bragh!": ERIN - St. Patrick's Day is nigh

3. New York NFLers: JETS - us long suffering Jets fans had another "Really~?" season in 2023

4. Kitchen pest: ANT

5. Kilmer of "Top Gun: Maverick": VAL - I have, thankfully, never seen this, nor the original movie

6. Login requirement: USER ID

7. Flowering shrubs used as border hedges: PRIVETS

8. Uses (up): EATS - a series of rush plays in football "EATS" up the clock, especially inside the two-minute warning

9. Toward the tiller: AFT - nautical terms

10. Greets, with "to": SAYS "HI"

11. Wakeboarding, for one: WATER SPORT

12. Mr. T's squad: A-TEAM - I pity the fool

13. Maxwell House decaf brand: SANKA - I have heard of this "instant" coffee, did not know it was Maxwell House, and according to Wiki, it's where the "orange" diner carafe handle comes from

18. Singer Lovato: DEMI - learned by doing crosswords

23. Butter portion: PAT - I was 16 when this advertisement appeared

24. Big name in footwear: ALDO - not big enough for me - NIKE, AVIA, maybe; ALDO I have seen, but did not know was just footwear

How about ALDO Nova~? - more 80s music

25. Require: NEED

26. Hauler destination, perhaps: DUMP - ooh, a good guess on my part

27. Give up: CEDE

28. Figure skater's jump: AXEL

29. Certain state of awareness while sleeping: LUCID DREAM - I love it when I can recall my lucid dreams.  I try to retain the details every time I wake up - getting pretty good at it.  Does anyone think there's a 'hidden meaning' or something deeper to one's dreams~?  I believe there is....

30. Sine __ non: QUA - Latin "without which not", or, a thing that is necessary

34. Writer/illustrator Carle: ERIC - filled via perps, and a WAG at the "R"

35. Genie's offering: WISH - three from a bottle~?

37. Lake near the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: ERIE - hey~!  I was just there - in the city of Erie, PA, where the Organ Supply Industries warehouse and manufacturing shop is located

38. Karate skill level: DAN - the Wiki

40. Attraction at a fair: RIDE

41. "__ my best": "I DID"

44. Afternoon show: MATINEE

47. Bit of floor decor: RUG

48. Like pickling liquid: ACETIC - BRINY and SALTY didn't fit, Saline was a weak maybe....

49. Moxie: GRIT

50. Half of a fourth: EIGHTH - good crossword fill with G-H-T-H; the math is 1/4 ÷ 1/2 - or - .5 * .25

51. ICU hookup: IV BAG - my first thought, but I hesitated

52. Writer Zora __ Hurston: NEALE - not familiar with her; I know of NEALE Donald Walsh, author of "Conversations with God" - I have most of the book series, but I just discovered there was a movie made in 2006

55. Small songbird: WREN - crossword staple

56. Leave at the altar: JILT - ah, that's the word I couldn't recall....

57. Not going anywhere: IDLE

58. City outside Phoenix: MESA - another good WAG on my part

61. Can. neighbor: USA - seems too easy and obvious, after the previous clue

62. Green beginning: ECO

63. Vietnamese New Year: TET - crossword staple

Splynter

Friday, December 29, 2023, Zachary David Levy

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with today's puzzle recap.  As you read this I am in Utah helping to celebrate a very good friend's 70th birthday.  After that, it is on to Colorado, wind and weather permitting.  Many small towns in Colorado have become "Zoom Towns" over the past few years so, if the internet "pipeline" is not overtaxed, I should be able to work on my next couple of blogs remotely.

Today's constructor is frequent-visitor Zachary David Levy who presented us with quite a bit to ponder, theme-wise.  There was no "reveal".  In the electronic version from which I was working, there were no asterisks.  There were no circles.  There was, seemingly, no common thread.  There were helpful questions marks but those, as we all know, can serve various purposes.  This solver will admit to rereading what were pretty obviously the five themed answers several times without finding that elusive common thread.

Then I recalled the words of Lisa Simpson.  Lisa has/had been known to hang out with Will Shortz and Merl Reagle (RIP) so it pays to check in with her now and then.  As a result of her inspiration, it dawned on me that the last two words (and in one case, three words, when you include the A) of each clue were anagrams of the answers (or, if you prefer, vice versa):

17 Across:  The worst description of poor purses?:  PROSPEROUS.  PORO yields POOR, RSPEUS yields PURSES.  Prosperous being an antonym of poor.

25 Across:  Completely unlike a docile man?:  DEMONIACAL.  A yields A, DEOICL yields DOCILE, and MNA yields MAN.  A demoniacal man is not likely to be docile.

36 Across:  The furthest thing from tidier rooms?: DORMITORIES.  DITRIE yields TIDIER, and ORMOS yields ROOMS.  Dormitories are, stereo-typically, messy.

50 Across:  The opposite of one who is not against?:  ANTAGONIST.   ONT yields NOT, and ANTAGIS yields AGAINST.  Double negative.  Triple?

59 Across:  Treated with a decided lack of due respect?:  PERSECUTED.  EUD yields DUE, and PRSECTE yields RESPECT.

 

After that DAMNED clever (if a bit MADDENing) start, let's have a look at the rest of the clues and the answers:

Across:

1. Sponge (off): MOOCH.  Clued as a verb.

6. Degs. for CFOs: MBAS.  Some Chief Financial Officers hold Master of Business Administration degreeS.  Most MBAs are not CFOs.

10. 1040 ID figs.: SSNS.  A reference to the IRS Form 1040.  Social Security NumberS

14. Place to perform: VENUE.  Some hold more people than do others.

Grateful Dead at Giants Stadium - 1978

15. Additionally: ALSO.  MORE, STILL, PLUS ?

16. Shiny sticker?: EPEE.  Not a sticker that you would put on e.g. a notebook.  Not a reflector sticker.  You can stick someone with a sword.

19. __ chips: PITA.  What did the PITA chip say to the hummus when she was ill?  I falafel.

20. Breading choice: PANKO.

21. Has quite a kick: ZINGS.  This one seemed a bit off to me having never heard anyone say "this zings."  I mean,  the hot sauce or the whiskey might have a quite a kick but it ZINGS?  Still, it made a great song in the 1930's (without that S):

22. Rx writer: DOC.  Abbreviated clue, abbreviated answer:  DOCtor.  Zachary/Patti could have gone with the rabbit.

28. Investment firm figure: ANALYST.

Only Buy Me Stocks That Go Up

31. Agent, informally: REP.  Not a secret agent.  A business agent.  REPresentative.

32. Simu of "Kim's Convenience": LIU.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, again, perps.

33. Italian birthplace of Paganini: GENOA.  Anche, Cristoforo Colombo.

34. Element in some smoky whiskies: PEAT.  Ah, this one is near and dear.  Distilleries use hot smoke from burning PEAT to stop the germination of barley at a certain point resulting in malted barley that is then used to make whisky.  The PEAT smoke imparts a distinctive, if polarizing, flavor.

A Peat-Burning Oven.  Laphroaig Distillery

Island of Islay,  Scotland

Malting Floor, Laphroaig Distillery

Isle of Islay, Scotland 

(photos by MM)

35. Filmmaker Lee: ANG.  Spike would not fit.

40. Call (out): CRY.

42. Swimmer Torres who won 12 Olympic medals: DARA.

43. Literary form: ESSAY.  Hand up for first thinking PROSE.

46. Consists of: HAS.  This puzzle HAS 225 squares,

47. Letters before a pen name: AKA.  Also Known As

48. Spartan: AUSTERE.  Not a reference to MSU.

53. Patch, perhaps: SEW.  I tried to think of something witty to say here but I ran out of material.

54. Size for fries: LARGE.  Supersize me.

55. Cut a rug: DANCE.  Idiomatic from an earlier era.

Nick Rivers (Val Kilmer) In "Top Secret"

58. Gloating cry: I WIN.  Sometimes it's I WON.

64. Promontory: CAPE.  A geographical reference (Cape Ann, Cape Horn, Cape Cod, etc.).  Often clued with references to comic book superheros.

65. Pennsylvania city across from Presque Isle State Park: ERIE.  Four letters.  Three vowels.  An often-used constructor's friend.

66. Sports news: TRADE.  Some have, supposedly,  lead to curses.

67. Seers?: EYES.  Not SEERS as in tellers of the future.  What we see with.

68. Over and done with: PAST.  The PAST, the present and the future walked into a bar.  Things got a little tense.

69. Madonna hit that begins, "Strike a pose": VOGUE.  Not the Madonna celebrated earlier this week.

Down:

1. 2023 World Series honor for Corey Seager: MVP.  Most Valuable Player.  It would have been nice if the Dodgers had re-signed Corey.

2. Poetic contraction: O'ER. As in "O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

3. "Double Fantasy" singer: ONO.  Many ways to clue Yoko Ono.  Some would go with breakerupperofthebeatles.

4. Astrological delineation: CUSP.  Is your moon in Fresno?

5. __ filter: HEPA.  HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air, and a HEPA filter is a specially designed air filter that excels at capturing tiny particles in the air.

6. Word with fish or meat: MARKET.  Or with stock (but that would have been more of a giveaway).

7. Sign of spring: BLOOM.  I might have gone with a clue along these lines:

8. Tempe sch.: ASU.

9. Scouring brand: SOS.

10. Retro tone: SEPIA.  For photographs.

11. SoulCycle offering: SPIN CLASSES.  This solver was not familiar with SoulCycle but the "cycle" part was helpful and the perps made it clear.

12. Bottom line: NET GAIN.

13. Shell-less gastropod: SEA SLUG.  Some are far more visually intriguing than the land varieties.

18. Comes to a halt: ENDS.  What starts with W and ENDS with T.  Really, it does.

21. Some plastic fasteners: ZIP TIES.  Very useful for oh so many applications.

22. Peace Nobelist Hammarskjöld: DAG.  Secretary General of the United Nations (1953 - 1961).

23. Single: ONE.

One

24. Peppermint pattern: CANDY STRIPE.

26. Ice cream cookie: OREO.  Clue-able in oh so many ways.

27. In the ballpark: NEAR.  Idiomatic.

29. Liverpool lav: LOO.  In London, if you pay money to live in a bathroom you can tell your friends that you are a LOO tenant.

30. Gridiron stat: YARDAGE.  A football reference.  Inspired by the lines on the football field.  Gridiron derives from griddle and grid.  It was also a medieval instrument of torture.

34. Educational org.: PTA.

37. Shortfin shark: MAKO.  The K from 47 across was a big help with this one.

38. Turkey neighbor: IRAN.  YAMS would have fit.

39. NYC hrs.: EST.  Eastern Standard Time

40. Ceremonial goblet: CHALICE. The film, "The Court Jester" with Danny Kay taught me this one at an early age.

41. Bolted: RAN AWAY.  Not a hardware reference.

44. Equal: ARE.  As in two and two ARE four.

45. Evergreen shrub: YEW.  Often clued with a reference to archery.

48. How cutlery is typically sold: AS A SET.

49. Alternative magazine name: UTNE.  The "UTNE Reader" is oft cited in crossword puzzles.

51. Hong Kong politician and social activist Chow: AGNES.

52. "Luther" star Elba: IDRIS.  This solver did not know "Luther" but IDRIS Elba has been a frequent visitor the past few years.

56. Video surveillance letters: CCTV.  Closed Circuit TeleVision

57. Irish capital: EURO.  Not the capital city.  Money.

59. Oomph: PEP.

60. Bullpen fig.: ERA.  A baseball reference.  Relief pitchers, a subset of whom are called "closers" warm up in the "bullpen".  Earner Run Average.  Roughly, how many runs, on average, the pitcher gives up for every nine innings he pitches (ERA excludes runs the pitcher would not have allowed had somebody not messed up).

61. __ sale: TAG.  AKA Yard Sale or Garage Sale.

62. Georgetown closer: EDU.  Not a baseball reference.  The ending of an email address.

63. Barely passing mark: DEE.  A  B   C   D   F   Aren't we grading on the curve here?

Here is the completed grid:

That will wrap things up for today.  Thanks, again, Lisa (and friends).

________________________________________________

Friday November 24, 2023 - Zachary David Levy

Theme: Get down with the "IN Crowd"

Thanks to my fellow blogger MalMan who reminded me of this song from my youth. I like this all instrumental version ...

Puzzling thoughts:

You might recall a few weeks ago I blogged a Zachary David Levy puzzle, so I kind of know his "style". His, and most other Friday puzzles use a combination of witty puns and/or homophones. This seems to be the trend at LA Times, as the one MalMan did on the 17th had a similar "feel".

Today's reveal is pretty short and sweet and is located dead-center in the grid: 39-across. Conclude with, and a phonetic hint for the answers to the starred clues: END IN.

Zachary gives us 6 - count 'em - 6 entries to support his reveal. Two of the 6 intersect each other as 4 of the entries lie horizontally, and 2 of them vertically [it'll be clear once the grid is inserted into the blog]. Let's see how this happened:

17-across. *Obstacle encountered at dawn?: EARLY BURDEN. The more common phrase "early bird" is the first part of the pun's phonetics; the second (as it fits the reveal) is at the END, where the letters "EN" are pronounced "IN". BURDEN is pronounced "bird-in"

Next is: 24-across. *Plot where blue bars of soap grow?: COAST GARDEN. Coast is a brand name for a bar soap; Coast Guard is a branch of the US military

Intersecting 24 across is: 11-down. *Everyone's favorite fire-breathing monster?: MAIN DRAGON. OK, so this is where the puns and homophonics got me a bit confused ... the term "main drag" = the most prominent road in a city. Unlike the previous two entries, the punned homophonic part of the answer was not misspelled

47-across. *Time when tall, thick grass covers a golf course?: ROUGH SEASON. Rough seas are unpleasant for recreational boaters; rough, as in the area of grass just outside of the fairway on a golf course, is more lush and thick when the growing season is current

Intersecting 47 across is: 29-down. *Controller part that gets worn out playing "Mortal Kombat"?: KICK BUTTON. The phrase "kick butt" gets a phonetic "in" ending when it describes a feature of a popular video game

At lastly, 58-across. *Shoutout to a ride-hailing app?: UBER MENTION. This is a complete outlier, IMHO, as the word "Übermensch" is taken from Friederich Nietzsche's idea of the Ubermensch, or the superman, as an idea of humans who create their own values based on their experience of life. He presents this idea prominently in his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra [various internet sources]. Phonetically, I suppose, the word "mention" could be spelled: "mensch-in"

Four entries that end in "ON"; two entries that end in "EN"; 6 entries whose endings phonetically sound like "IN"

One thing I can say is that Zachary didn't ZHUZH us today!! 😜

One of Zachary David Levy's entries that didn't make the cut today ...

Clue: "Head nurse for the hospital's delivery rooms?" --> MATERNITY WARDEN

On one or two previous occasions where I questioned the theme/reveal/entries, I reached out to my fellow bloggers for assistance. Maybe, as I alluded to on November 16 when I commented on waseeley's blog, I am looking for more than what is just there on the surface. But if any of you, who solved this puzzle and are reading this blog, want to add your thoughts below, please comment. Here is the grid, and then off to the rest of the clues ...

Across:
1. Chuckleheads: BOZOS. If there was something I missed in today's puzzle, then you may call me a BOZO

6. Marcus Aurelius, for one: STOIC. ROMAN fits, too; [Wikipedia] "Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a STOIC philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ..."

11. Distraction in a dr.'s waiting room: MAG. MAG, as in MAGazine. The abbr. in the clue gave this away, but I'm gonna say "meh" for this one

14. Meet part: EVENT. Not like the "meet" in "meet and greet" ... like a track meet ... where the 4x400 relay race is one of the EVENTs

15. Confection typically flavored with saffron and rosewater: HALVA. [wikipedia] Recipe for HALVA: "Sesame. Sesame halva is popular in the Balkans, Poland, Middle East, and other areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The primary ingredients in this confection are sesame butter or paste (tahini), and sugar, glucose or honey". Looks like they left out the saffron and rosewater ... maybe that's why I needed perps to solve this one

16. Make public: AIR. Like this blog, perhaps

19. Letters before a take: IMO. The clue for this seemed odd to me ... anyone else?

20. Ruse: PLOY. Let's see what the Thesaurussaurus says about this one:

21. Flamenco shout: OLE. Also heard at Ryder Cup matches ...

22. Sleep study subject: APNEA. Click here for more information

27. Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy: AIKMAN. QB #8 for the Dallas Cowboys. My favorite HOF football player named Troy is this guy:

31. __ roll: HONOR. Moe-ku #1:

Rodney Dangerfield's
Least known quote from "Back to School"
Is "I'm HONOR roll" ...

32. Certain cross-country traveler: SKIER. I cross-country skied when I lived in New England many decades ago. I enjoyed the workout as well as the lack of speed, unlike my Friday counterpart, MalMan who prefers to downhill ski

33. Two or three, say: A FEW. Two = a couple; three or four = A FEW

35. Setup punches: JABS. A pugilistic term

38. Chest muscles, briefly: PECS. PECtorals; here you go, ladies!! 😉

40. Four-award acronym: EGOT. This acronym is quickly becoming a part of crossword-ese

41. Big Apple store: SAKS. A NYC landmark

42. Fibber: LIAR.

43. "Pride Is the Devil" rapper: J COLE. Here is the "official" trailer ... it's "rap" so listen to it if you want, or skip it if you'd rather

44. Soaks up the sun: BASKS.

46. Short revitalizer: CATNAP.

51. "It's open!": ENTER.

52. Soup container: CAN. Moe-ku #2:

The favorite dance of
Campbell's soup containers is,
Of course, the CAN CAN

53. Western gas chain: ARCO. Western CANADA gas chain would be: ESSO

57. Avocado discard: PIT. The word PIT has several synonyms and meanings; oddly, I found very few that lists it as an avocado (or peach) discard:

62. System starter?: ECO. SOLAR didn't fit

63. "They were no match for me!": GOT 'EM.

64. Center of Renaissance art: ITALY. Read all about it!

65. Actor Cariou: LEN. A CSO to CanadianEh! "Leonard Joseph Cariou OC OM is a Canadian actor and stage director. He gained prominence for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street alongside Angela Lansbury for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical" [wikipedia]

66. Pert: SASSY.

67. Anti-anxiety drug: XANAX. Not for those who are "palidromicphobic" 🤣

Down:
1. Appliance alert: BEEP. Unusual clue for this word, but it works

2. Not quite round: OVAL. aka, an ELLIPSE. Have you ever wondered how to calculate the area for an OVAL?

3. Round number?: ZERO. On my computer keyboard, the number "ZERO" looks like an OVAL, while the letter "O" looks more round ... and "ONE" is the loneliest number if you believe in Three Dog Night [this is what happens when you're into your third hour of writing a blog ...]

4. Merely: ONLY.

5. Porcine pen: STY. Porcine = french for "pig"; pigs live in a STY

6. NFL coach with the most career wins: SHULA. Don SHULA

7. Scale allowances: TARES.

8. Not fresh: OLD.

9. Secret suffix: IVE. "IVE" could've been clued as: "___ Got a Secret" (former game show). Secret is also a brand you can use on your PITs

10. Ancient land on the Dead Sea:) CANAAN Looks a bit like modern-day Israel!

12. Mann of pop: AIMEE. When I googled the word "AIMEE", AIMEE Mann comes up in the 4th position on the list of AIMEEs. I'm pretty sure that this filled via perps

13. [But I don't wanna do my homework!]: GROAN. You want a GROAN? Moe-ku #3:

Peruvian owl
Becomes friends with mockingbird
Are they Inca hoots?

18. Windfall: BOON.

23. Cast: PROJECT. Verb form of the clue word

24. Jaguar, for one: CAR. XKE could've fit (that's a Jaguar model)

25. His and hers: THEIR. All of these gender pronouns ... 😕

26. Gala garb: GOWN.

27. Egyptian cobras: ASPS.

28. Maker of BILLY bookcases: IKEA. These:

30. Text, e.g.: MESSAGE.

33. Star __: expensive spice: ANISE. And another clue whose solve sounds "similar" to ANISE: (48. Waiting in the wings:) ON ICE.

34. Rx overseer: FDA. Prescription drug watchdog

36. Whirled weapon: BOLA. I always get BOLA and BOLO mixed up. One you wear and one you whirl

37. Pedometer unit: STEP. I track mine (STEPS) either on my iPhone or Apple watch. I should be doing more

39. Large deer: ELKS. Is this a more difficult clue than "Fraternal order, familiarly" ... ?? Some folks would argue that the plural of ELK is ELK, not ELKS

43. "SNL" alum Hooks: JAN. I hate to admit, but SNL passed me by many decades ago. This was a complete unknown. I will bet that the J COLE crossing with JAN (Hooks) tripped up more than one solver today

45. "I dunno" gestures: SHRUGS. 🤷 🤷

46. Post-op wear for some pets: CONE. One of my favorite SNL sketches was the foibles of the CONEheads; they seemed funnier back in 1978 ... 😅

47. Drive away: REPEL.

49. Surveyor's units: ACRES.

50. __ the Owl: Rice University mascot: SAMMY. College mascot

53. Naan flour: ATTA. Interesting and fun fact: the flour used (ATTA) for the Indian bread (NAAN) is also a palindrome. How weird?

54. "Glass Onion" filmmaker Johnson: RIAN. Another proper name solved via perps. Glass Onion teaser/trailer:

55. Bar mixer: COLA. Believe it or not, I can count on one hand the number of times I have had a COLA this year, and have fingers left over. The only carbonated beverage I drink (as a bar mixer) are Tonic Water and Ginger Beer

56. Black gemstone: ONYX. Odd assortment of letters on the border of the puzzle. Not that many choices of words that could fill this section that end in O, N, Y, and X

59. Campy scarf: BOA.

60. UFO aviators: ETS. The CONEheads, perhaps?

61. Squash: NIX. GOURD didn't fit

So how did you fare today? Hope y'all had a Happy Thanksgiving 🦃 🍗 🍠 🥧

Friday, November 3, 2023 - Zachary David Levy

Theme: "Let's spice this up!"

Puzzling thoughts:

Zachary David Levy is our constructor today, and in keeping with the Friday puzzles this year, wordplay is in full force. Each of the three theme entries use the letters "ge" to form a "zhuzh" sound, and that also fits the reveal: 61-across. Added panache, as was done three times in this puzzle?: ZHUZHED IT UP.

How so, you ask?

First, there is 17-across. Farmer's tan?: BEIGE OF PIGS. The common term "BAY OF PIGS" refers to the location of the botched invasion of Cuba in 1961

A "farmer's tan" is the image you see in this link. The "wordplay" farmer's tan focuses on the color beige, as in the color of some PIGS

Next, there is 30-across. Battle hymn?: SIEGE SHANTY. As is the case with BEIGE OF PIGS, SIEGE SHANTY wordplays off the common "SEA SHANTY" with the SIEGE part being the "battle" reference in the clue. Not sure that this tune would have the same meaning if it were called "The Siege Shanty of the Republic"

And last, we have 49-across. Don rose-colored glasses?: ROUGE THE DAY. Some say the phrase, "RUE THE DAY" has its roots with Shakespeare; as the link indicates, Shakespeare never used those exact words in any of his plays, but the use of "rue the day" eventually led to its meaning of when you bitterly regret a moment

ROUGE THE DAY, on the other hand, might look like this

So where in the world did Zachary David Levy come up with the word "zhuzh"? According to several sources [found after Googling] "the earliest records of the word "zhuzh" show that it is part of Polari, an argot used in Britain since perhaps the eighteenth century primarily among gay theatrical and circus performers. The claims that the word was borrowed from Yiddish or Romani are not supportable"

Here is a link to today's puzzle grid: Zachary David Levy 11/3/2023

Blogger's note: For some reason I was unable to load images from my computer to the blog; hence, all of the links today. Not sure what happened but I hope you all will still enjoy the recap ... C-Moe

Across:
1. Representative: AGENT. Still a 10-percenter, I believe

6. Comets, to some: OMENS. Erstwhile Mercury compact cars didn't fit

11. "Pow!": BAM.

14. Like some opposites: POLAR.

15. Manuscript sheet: FOLIO.

16. Single: ONE.

19. Ill. neighbor: IND. Illinois has five neighboring states; only one of which is usually abbreviated with three letters (INDiana). The other four? WISConsin, IowA, MissOuri, and KentuckY

20. Save for later: STASH. Does anyone here have a secret, special "STASH" they want to reveal and/or confess to?

21. "Lonely Planet" recommendation: HOSTEL. Moe-ku #1:

Did you hear about
The dangerous inn for youths?
The hostile HOSTEL

23. Skewer: SPIT. Again, today you will have to click on the hyperlink to see an image

24. Buzz: HYPE. I had a bit of a Natick going in this section of the puzzle, due to my wanting (26-down. Green gp.: PGA, to be EPA. (28-across) "I __ HATE to say it, but I think the clue should have been written: Green gp.? Why? Because the PGA would use the plural, "greens", instead. A bit of a nit, but this should have indicated a misdirection

29. Org. with complex schedules: IRS.

33. "u crack me up": ROTFL. Text speak; Roll On The Floor Laughing. Or this emoji: 🤣

35. Purple Heart recipients: WAR HEROES. Fun fact: There were over 1 million Purple Heart medals awarded over the five years of WWII alone. Open this link to see the entire list of Purple Heart recipients since 1782

36. Copa locale: RIO. Sorry to disappoint you but there is no way the Chairman is going to post a video of Barry Manilow singing "At the Copa"!! 🤣

38. Shaggy ox: YAK. Barry Manilow, no; The Coasters? Yes!!

39. One handing out cigars in a waiting room, perhaps: PROUD PAPA. Here is a throw-back clue. So give a guess; when did maternity wards first allow PROUD PAPAs to be involved in the delivery room? I will link something at the end of the blog.* As a "personal" Fun Fact, I have two 40-something kids, and was in the delivery room for both of their births. I was "allowed/encouraged" by the OB/GYN to cut the umbillical cord for my younger child. As for the handing out of cigars, it most certainly happened, but not in the waiting room ...

45. Winner's gesture: V-SIGN. Same two fingers as the peace-sign; but the V-SIGN is made with your knuckles facing out. In lieu of an image, just close your eyes and imagine it ...

51. Pinch: NAB. Sounds like a reference to catching a criminal or perpetrator

52. Beyoncé's "Cadillac Records" role: ETTA. "At Last", we have some crossword-ese!! 😉

53. High-and-mighty sort: SNOB. At one time in my adult life I was a true Wine SNOB. Fortunately, that passed once I got into the business (proprietor, sales rep, sommelier) as I came to appreciate the vast variety of palates wine drinkers had. And just because the wine comes in a box instead of a bottle, or is called "White Zinfandel", I realized that folks drank this and liked it

On the other hand, I am DEFINITELY a BEER and COFFEE SNOB. I'd rather drink water than Coors Light, e.g.; and Folger's? Puh-leeze ... same goes for Starbucks. The best thing that happened to the BEER and COFFEE industry was the growth of craft brewers/craft roasters

And its clecho: (3-down. High-and-mighty sort: ELITIST

54. Aquarium growth: ALGA. I have this vague memory of my elementary school days when I brought a tadpole to our classroom for "show and tell". It was in a small "aquarium" and our teacher thought it would be interesting to watch it develop into a frog ... ALGA (or maybe it was SCUM) was a constant presence

55. Piehole: GULLET. Click for an image: Not one of the more common synonyms for the word "mouth"

58. Rapper Kendrick who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018: LAMAR. I know most of my rappers from doing crossword puzzles. I can now add LAMAR to that list

60. JFK-to-Tokyo carrier: ANA. All Nippon Airways. Fun Fact: ANA was awarded the 2023 SKYTRAX Top Winner for Airport Services, Cleanliness and Airline Staff in Asia, and ranked 3rd in Airline of the Year (behind Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airlines). It has won these individual awards multiple times:

World's Best Airport Services (10-time recipient)
World's Cleanest Airline (5-time recipient)
Best Airline Staff Service in Asia (8-time recipient)

66. Some NIH grant recipients: MDS. The National Institute of Health issues grants to Medical DoctorS

67. Seized items: REPOS.

68. Acrobatic: AGILE. Is there anyone more AGILE than she?

69. Make a fast stop?: EAT. Got it! When you stop "fasting" you? EAT

70. "Is that my cue?": AM I ON?. Surprised to find that this phrase is a "debut entry". AM I UP also appears to be unused in published crossword puzzles

71. "Woman With a Parasol" painter Claude: MONET. Here is both an image and a description of this work by Claude MONET. It's of his wife and son

Down:
1. PD advisory: APB. All-Points Bulletin; according to [Wikipedia], "An all-points bulletin is an electronic information broadcast sent from one sender to a group of recipients, to rapidly communicate an important message. The technology used to send this broadcast has varied throughout time, and includes teletype, radio, computerized bulletin board systems, and the Internet"

2. Joins the big leagues: GOES PRO. Moe-ku #2:

When the naysayer
Was convinced of the truth, he
Yielded, and GOES PRO

4. Worry: NAG AT. I guess that when something NAGs AT you, you tend to worry ... a longer clue could have been: What a spouse might do to you if you procrastinate too much

5. Square root of nueve: TRES. Spanglish

6. Askew: OFF. Moe-ku #3:

VP Spiro cheats
On taxes; the headline read:
"Agnew is ASKEW"

7. Disheveled do: MOP. I don't know why, but when I saw this I thought of Opie Taylor

8. "Boola Boola" collegian: ELI. "The authorship of Yale's iconic fight song “Boola Boola” has traditionally been ascribed to Allan M. Hirsh, Class of 1901. In October 2000, Hirsh's grandson, Philip Hirsh '60, published an essay in this magazine that appeared to be the definitive account of his grandfather's writing of the song

9. At hand: NIGH. Anyone else have the word "NEAR" in this spot?

10. Only fair: SO SO. Moe-ku #4:

Chicago slugger
Hit fewer homers one year;
Was Sammy SOSO

11. Orser's rival in the "Battle of the Brians" at the 1988 Winter Olympics: BOITANO. You can find the damndest things on the Internet when you Google!! Two versions; the second is the original

12. Actress Bening: ANNETTE. [Wikipedia] "Annette Carol Bening (Born: May 29, 1958) is an American actress. In a career spanning over four decades, she has received various accolades, including a BAFTA Award and two Golden Globes as well as nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, two Tony Awards, and four Academy Awards"

13. Collages of songs: MEDLEYS.

18. "Well, hey there!": "OH, HI!".

22. Mavens: SHARKS. Another one of the "Friday-level" synonyms used today. [Vocabulary dot com]: "Definition of maven: someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field". Synonyms (include): ace, adept, champion, genius, hotshot, mavin, sensation, star, superhero, superstar, virtuoso, whiz, whizz, wiz, and wizard. SHARKs fit, too; as in Pool SHARKs

23. Title for Andy Murray: SIR. Brits

25. Common name of Taxus baccata: YEW. (Genus; Species) for a tree known for its use in making archery bows

27. Poetic adverb: E'ER. Have you EVER seen this in x-word puzzles??

30. Go downhill: SLIDE. Had SLIDE first; then tried GLIDE when I was wrestling with that center portion of the puzzle. The S in SIEGE solidified the SLIDE

31. Not bold: SHY. Not sure I would E'ER be called "SHY". A better Friday-level clue might have been: "Lacking"

32. Hard to handle: HEAVY. I could imagine the word "HEAVY" being found in this book

34. Penny-pinching: FRUGAL. Moe-ku #5:

Penny-pinching chick
Made a very unique sound:
Not "cheep", but FRUGAL

37. Bow (out): OPT. Bow (wow): ARF

39. Warmup time: PRE-GAME. The PRE-GAME show at the Super Bowl lasts most of the day

40. Domed hall: ROTUNDA. Building feature; think the U.S. Capitol. Last time I visited there was when I was in 6th grade

41. Stay longer than: OUTLAST. Appropriate part of the three-word motto (OUTWIT, OUTPLAY, OUTLAST) for the TV Reality Show Survivor, which is now airing its 45th episode/season. One more and the show will have as many seasons as the U.S. has had Presidents

42. Relaxed sounds: AHS. Where you hear these sounds, usually, are at a SPA

43. Stock room?: PEN. Nice misdirectional clue. "Live"stock (includes pigs, too) are sometimes kept in a PEN

44. Big bother: ADO.

46. Like many state mottoes: IN LATIN. Here in AZ, our state motto is: DITAT DEUS, which is Latin for: "God Enriches"

47. Regulation that restricts discussion: GAG RULE.

48. Org. with Thunder and Heat: NBA. Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder and Miami Heat

50. Up to the task: ABLE. I am more than ABLE to recap and post to our blog; I am willing, too! 🤪

54. "¡Mi hombre!": AMIGO. Spanglish

56. Alt-rock band Better Than __: EZRA. This was all perps, with the "Z" coming last because, well, it just did. I won't admit that this one may have been a Google look up, 'cause I certainly didn't know the word "ZHUZH" before today

57. Not us: THEM. If a group of people who didn't identify as HE's or SHE's, would they be THEM?

59. Scott of "Severance": ADAM. Only on a Friday (well, maybe on Saturday) would the word ADAM not be linked with Eve, Cain, Abel, the Book of Genesis, the Garden of Eden, ...

62. Initials in the news: UPI. AP was too short. [Wikipedia]: United Press International is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th century. At its peak, it had more than 6,000 media subscribers"

63. Menagerie: ZOO. I put in ZOO early in my attempt to solve the puzzle; and then scratched my head as I tried to figure out "ZHUZHED"

64. Retail channel: HSN. Home Shopping Network

65. Gently stroke: PET.

And so it ends. The answer to my question in 39-across:*1960's for being in the "labor room"; 1970's for being in the delivery room

Sorry again for the absence of images without having to link them. I hope to have my computer figured out in two weeks when I next return ... please add your comments below