Chairman Moe here, with a CSO to Boomer, Husker Gary, TTP, and yours truly (others, too?), who are admitted golfers who also like to solve (and blog) crossword puzzles. Bruce Haight gave us a semi-themed puzzle today that evoked a plethora of play-on-words, all related to the sport purported to have been invented by the Scots several centuries ago. Most of these were "tap-ins" for this former "scratch" golfer.
And while I found a "fair way" to solve the golf terms, I was hitting "out of the rough" on many of the crossing words. Too many to list here but I suppose others didn't hit all of the "greens in regulation". If I had to (54-Down. Formally record(s),): POST(s) my golf score on this puzzle, I'd say that I "shot over par". But soon after solving, I visited my personal "19th hole" and had a celebritory libation! Let's see if you all found this a fair test, or were always hitting out of a "bunker".
18-Across. Difficult golf shot?: HARD DRIVE. My first HARD DRIVE I can recall was on the hole following the hole on which I had my first hole-in-one. My playing partners offered little pressure, but if I recall, I snap-hooked it and wound up getting a double-bogey.
The play-on-words phrase HARDDRIVE is a reference to the device that operates your computer, which must have pleased the 25-Down. Nerdy type(s): GEEKs.
24-Across. Breakfast spot for golfers?: DOUGHNUT HOLE. Ok, who else among us first entered "SAUSAGE LINKS" as this answer?! I know I did!! Not that DOUGHNUT HOLE isn't a good entry, but I wish Bruce had used the other, as it would've saved me a number of three-putts!!
But for breakfast, I know I've had these before:
38-Across. Low-quality golf equipment?: MICKEY MOUSE CLUB. As the perps emerged, I saw the erstwhile MICKEY MOUSE CLUB come into view. The term "Mickey Mouse" has been used to denote something of lower quality. I have a good friend who used to work for WDW in Orlando, and whenever I visited him he treated me to a round of golf on several of the courses there. We even saw this famous rodent teeing off:
49. Golf simulator shot?: COMPUTER CHIP. Very clever! Golf simulators have been around for several years, and I'm guessing their HARD DRIVES must use a COMPUTER CHIP to capture the images portrayed on the screen.
A CHIP shot is one that is hit from an area close to the putting green, usually with a pitching wedge. But as the video below shows, pro golfer Phil Mickelson has perfected a CHIP shot that no simulator could ever match:
60-Across. Place to meet single golfers?: DATE RANGE. Another clever use of a computer phrase (see image) that is used primarily on Excel Spreadsheets
As well as perhaps where wouldbe lovers might arrange for their first "date", as this clip from one of my favorite golf movies suggests; there were so many to choose from:
As I recall, there are 18 holes in golf, and we've but played 5. Actually there are far more than 13 clues and solves remaining. And since common courtesy among golfers is to complete the round in 4 hours or less, I will do my best to maintain a brisk pace of play!
Across:
1. Hard to rattle: STOIC. Being STOIC is being calm and almost without any emotion. When you're stoic, you don't show what you're feeling and you also accept whatever is happening. This little guy being STOIC with his rattle!
6. Easy-to-read sign: NEON. I'm pretty sure that this purveyor used NEON in his tavern's sign. I can read it just fine!
10. Two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom and teammates: METS. First golf and now baseball?? I bet the solvers of this puzzle who aren't sports fans must be livid right now!!
14. "The Metamorphosis" author: KAFKA. All right! Finally, a clue that is not sports-related, but is all about the fine arts. Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist. "The Metamorphosis" tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa who wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect. Biographical?
15. Big show: EXPO. EXPO's, aka "trade fairs" are business and industry's means to show off, in a big way, their merchandise and services. This blogger spent many years participating in the PACK EXPO, which was held at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. With over 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, McCormick Place is the largest and most flexible use convention center in North America.
16. Miami Heat coach Spoelstra: ERIK. Golf, then baseball, and now basketball, too??! Erik Jon Celino Spoelstra (born November 1, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In 2012 and 2013, with star forward LeBron James, the Miami Heat won back-to-back NBA Championships
17. Gather: INFER. Sometimes a picture is worth a 1,000 words
21. Approximately: CIRCA. An old word that refers mostly to an old, and approximate date in time. As in this example: c. 1732 – 1799: The beginning year is approximate; the end year is known precisely; where the c. is the abbreviation for CIRCA
23. "__, right?!": I KNOW. The phrase made popular by Jimmy Fallon (c. 2000) and probably attributed to Tina Fey. Or maybe in this song that I randomly found ... "Google" it and you can find it ...
27. Deck chair wood: TEAK. This hard wood comes from a deciduous tree that grows in tropical regions of the world. Known for both its strength, durability, and water resistance
34. Dismissive sound: PFFT. For fans of The Office:
42. Número pequeño: UNO. Literally translated, Número pequeño means a "small number". UNO, Spanish word for "one", is both a small number as well as a lonely number, as the '60's Rock 'n' Roll band "Tres Perro Noche" tells us:
43. WNBA broadcaster: ESPN. Oh dear God, when will these sports clues end??!! Women's National Basketball Association --> Entertainment and Sports Programming Network . . .
44. Fretted fiddles: VIOLS. Once again, Wikipedia to the rescue. The fun of blogging is learning things you thought you knew but didn't
45. Easygoing folks: TYPE B'S. But what if their blood is "A Negative"?!
48. Desk set: PENS. Remember when PENS were something fashionable and had status? I doubt many TYPE B'S owned one of these:
55. State in two time zones: IDAHO. Off the top of my head, I am thinking that TEXAS would've fit as another 5-letter state spanning two time zones. I am seeing IDAHO more and more these days in xword puzzles; it's akin to MAINE and OHIO as being small-letter states with multiple vowels. Always good for a constructor to use in crosses
58. Wide variety: ARRAY. Moe-ku:
The poster with wide59. Italian diminutive suffix: INO. Wiktionary has a boat load of them
Variety of Dad jokes?
ARRAY-O-Sunshine!
62. Soup veggies: OKRAS. Looks yummy
64. Sporty Camaro: IROC. I had TTOP at first. Hot Rod Dot Com has an interesting opinion about this model of Camaro
65. "That Is NOT a Good __!": Mo Willems children's book: IDEA. How can anything written by a guy named "MO" be bad?!
66. Food pkg. info: NET WT. The net quantity of contents is a statement on the label that shows the net weight (often abbreviated, NET WT.) of food in a package. Only the net weight of the food is included in this statement; the weight of the container, wrapper or packing is not included. However, any water or other liquid added to food, or propellant used in an aerosol, can be included in the net weight. This statement must be distinct and must be placed in the lower 30 percent of the principal display panel.
67. Like dungeons, typically: DANK. Unlike this definition: "The term 'DANK' is often used to describe a meme in which the comedy is excessively overdone and nonsensical, to the point of being comically ironic. I can relate to that!
68. Support at sea: MAST. This is another word that fits into a lot of xword puzzles with its common letters. There are 15 four-letter words that can be made with "__AST"
69. Makes more bearable: EASES. See 68-Across comment, but there are only 11 five-letter words using "__ASES" . . .
OK, on to the back nine!
Down:
1. Made tracks?: SKIED. Cross Country Canada has a tutorial for making snow tracks. They will hopefully look like the picture below afterwards . . .
2. Non __: not so much, in music: TANTO. Learning moment. Defined as an adverb: (especially as a direction after a tempo marking) too much. "allegro non tanto". Hmm ... and I was thinking this Moe-ku instead:
The LR's sidekick
Was excessive. Masked man said:
"You're TANTO, Tonto"
3. One working a security detail, perhaps: OFF DUTY COP. This article offers some insight into OFF DUTY COPS and their moonlighting details . . .
4. Mike and __: candy: IKE. These were Eisenhower's favorites. Notice the "NET WT." on the package
5. "Fast & Furious" staple: CAR CHASE. "Fast and Furious" the movie series. Nine of 'em. And in case you wondered, the correct order to watch them is: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3, 7, 8, and, (for now) "Hobbs and Shaw." There are also two official "Fast and Furious" shorts that take place before the second and fourth movies. There's also another film, "Better Luck Tomorrow," which is considered a prequel for franchise character Han. So many clips to choose from:
6. Indira Gandhi's father: NEHRU. He's a fashion designer, no? Fortunately my body size and shape was not a candidate for wearing one ...
7. __ change: EXACT. Most toll roads are going away from booths and collection lanes (EXACT change only) in favor of the E-ZPass or as we had in Florida, SunPass. I'd vote for getting rid of toll roads completely ...
8. Harpo Productions CEO: OPRAH. Harpo is OPRAH spelled backwards
9. Go-ahead: NOD. For the Guardians of the Galaxy fans, "I am Groot":
10. German chancellor since 2005: MERKEL. Angela Dorothea MERKEL (née Kasner; born 17 July 1954) is a German politician who has been Chancellor of Germany since 2005. Lots of info about her if you click on this link
11. "The Night Circus" novelist Morgenstern: ERIN. Erin Morgenstern (born July 8, 1978) is an American multimedia artist and the author of two fantasy novels. Here she is in 2011
12. Record for later: TIVO. Using the word "TIVO" as a verb fits this clue. "TIVO" as a noun is a brand name for a Digital Video Recorder. After a quick read of its history, TIVO seems to have lacked the marketing and/or sales leadership to have captured the digital video recording market when it had the brand recognition
13. Slant: SKEW.
19. Pickle herb: DILL. All you ever wanted to know about DILL
22. HP product: INK. Hewlett-Packard. Printer. INK.
26. Stable supply: OATS. They say that horses are among the smartest animals
29. Top choices: POLO SHIRTS. A Friday clue for sure. "Top" as in what you wear between your waist and your neck. POLO SHIRTS can denote either a generic type of pullover top (usually made of cotton or synthetic fiber) or the specific brand. And since today's puzzle is about golf, why not show an image of a Pro Golfer who's paid by Ralph Lauren to wear their POLO SHIRTS?
30. Fidel's successor: RAUL. The Brothers Castro of Cuba. Since today's puzzle is about golf (and other sports popped up, too) I might've suggested that Bruce use the clue: Madrid footballer
31. Golf balls, e.g.: ORBS.
32. Salacious stuff: SMUT. Hmm. I don't see salacious below . . . must be the "Friday" definition for SMUT!
33. Lilliputian: TINY. The Lilliputians are a society of people around six inches in average height, but with all the arrogance and sense of self-importance associated with full-sized humans. From the book Gulliver's Travels
34. Indian VIPs: PMS. Prime MinisterS. Moe-ku:
She had P.M.S.
Her Doctor said, "It's just an
Ovary action."
35. Clotheshorse: FOP. In the literal sense of the word:
36. First answer in the first-ever published crossword: FUN. The first-ever crossword puzzle ran in the New York World newspaper on December 21, 1913. Looks like FUN!
39. Polite assent: YES'M. Contraction for "yes ma'am". Which is a contraction for "yes madam".
40. All of us: EVERYONE. How's EVERYONE doing today?
41. POTUS, per Article II, Section 2: C IN C. Commander IN Chief. #46 began his 4-year term as CINC on Wednesday
46. Payment option: E-CHECK. Provide the on-line merchant with your bank's routing number and your bank account number, and "voila", you've created an E-CHECK
47. Uncultured one: BOOR. Moe-ku:
Crude South African48. Soup veggie: PEA. Clecho; didn't we have OKRA as today's soup veggie?
And a few ill-mannered Brits
Fought in the BOOR War
50. __ Express: fast-food chain: PANDA. I've never had PANDA. Does it taste like chicken?
51. Impulses: URGES.
52. Pick up the tab: TREAT. Do you think that Tramp picked up the tab?
53. Dazzled: IN AWE. I'm IN AWE every time I finish a Friday puzzle. You?
55. "Look what __!": I DID. Every kid's favorite saying!
56. Uber CEO Khosrowshahi: DARA. Perps solved this. I had no clue other than what Bruce gave us, and that didn't help. Here is a brief biography
57. Oodles: A TON. 2,000 pounds (A TON) would be oodles, methinks
61. Asset in darts: AIM. This guy's got phenomenal AIM. Amazing
63. Mauna __: KEA. Well, it was going to be either KEA or LOA. And to end the "round", how about one more golf photo with Mauna Kea in the background?
The Grid:
So, how did YOU hit 'em today? See you soon . . .
