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

Wednesday, July 31, 2019, Zachary David Levy

Theme: On The Table. Unscramble the circled letters to reveal various tables.

17. Manga series also known as "Mach GoGoGo": SPEED RACER. Card table.

28. Toucan Sam's cereal: FROOT LOOPS. Pool table.

34. Today's painting, sculpture, etc.: CONTEMPORARY ART. Tray table.

43. "Golly!": MY GOODNESS. End table.

57. DJs' devices ... and a hint to this puzzle's circles: TURNTABLES. Vinyl is popular again.

Melissa here. This makes three or four Wednesdays in a row with circles, wonder if it will continue. It also appears to be a corner debut for Zachary David Levy.

Across:

1. Gulf of California peninsula: BAJA.

5. SLR setting: F-STOP. SLR = Single-lens reflex camera. Here's all you want to know about F-STOPs.

10. Exchange words?: EDIT.

14. Voting unit: BLOC.

15. Make amends: ATONE.

16. Headey of "Game of Thrones": LENA. Finally, another Lena.

19. History: PAST.

20. Operates properly: WORKS.

21. U.K. equivalent of an Oscar: BAFTA. British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

22. Crisis point?: MIDLIFE.

26. Day to put all your eggs in one basket: EASTER.

27. Perfectly, with "to": A TEE.

31. Sunday entrée: ROAST.

33. Novelist Grey: ZANE.

41. __ Beat: old fan mag: TEEN.

42. Alternative energy choice: SOLAR.

49. You can skip it: ROPE. Nice.

50. Grieves: MOURNS.

51. Chemist's tube: PIPETTE.

53. Some govt. bonds: MUNIS.

54. Hilarious folks: RIOTS. Perped it.

56. Curse: BANE.

62. Algerian setting of Camus' "The Plague": ORAN. Have heard of this book but never read it. Wikipedia: "The Plague is a novel by Albert Camus, published in 1947, that tells the story of a plague sweeping the French Algerian city of Oran. It asks a number of questions relating to the nature of destiny and the human condition."

63. Maxim: ADAGE.

64. Hawkeye State: IOWA.

65. Saucy: PERT.

66. Bay Area NFLer: NINER.

67. Do as directed: OBEY.

Down:

1. Air rifle ammo: BBS.

2. Swiss peak: ALP.

3. Charlie Brown hero __ Shlabotnik: JOE.

4. Maven: ACE.

5. In the distance: FAR OFF.

6. Rude observer: STARER.

7. Sound heard around the clock: TOCK. Great clue.

8. Tips for a street performer: ONES. Also great.

9. Each: PER.

10. Texas border city: EL PASO.

11. Unwilling to hear, as criticism: DEAF TO.

12. Arched foot part: INSTEP.

13. Volga region natives: TATARS. I did not know Russia's second-largest ethnicity.

18. MADD focus: DWI. Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.

21. Hay bundlers: BALERS.

22. Artist Chagall: MARC.

23. "__ lived - Brooklyn, of ample hills, was mine": Whitman: I, TOO. Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.

24. Campus official: DEAN.

25. For fear that: LEST.

26. Sicilian hot spot: ETNA.

29. Depleted atmospheric layer: OZONE.

30. One may be displayed on a boathouse wall: OAR.

32. View from Yellowstone: TETONS.

35. Scrip orders: MEDS.

36. Signature piece?: PEN.

37. Bygone period: YORE.

38. Tons: A LOT. The alot is better than you at everything.

39. Eagerly attentive: RAPT.

40. Image in the Timberland logo: TREE.

43. 1997 Hanson #1 song: MMMBOP. Ear worm.

44. 1983 Lionel Richie title words before "the sun" and "the rain": YOU ARE.

45. One of the Nelson brothers of '90s rock: GUNNAR. Matthew and Gunnar Nelson are the twin sons of Ricky Nelson. In their heyday, below.

46. "Murder on the __ Express": ORIENT.

47. Dishwashing aid: SPONGE.

48. Parents' date-night expense: SITTER.

52. "The More You Know" TV spot: PSA. Public Service Announcement.

54. Fashion's Gernreich: RUDI. Austrian-born American fashion designer, died in 1985. The brand was relaunched in 2018.

55. OPEC member: IRAN. One of fourteen.

57. Light brown: TAN.

58. LinkedIn profile, e.g.: BIO.

59. Soft toss: LOB.

60. Lamb's mom: EWE.

61. "By the way ... ": SAY.

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, September 6, 2024, Zachary David Levy

 

 

I R Malodorous Manatee and I R here with a recap of this Friday morning's puzzle from puzzle setter Zachary David Levy.   In the puzzle, at 58 Across, he asks the question that David Spade is snidely posing, above:

58 Across:  Rude greeting, or an apt title for this puzzle?: AND YOU ARE ?  In this case, though, we are required to take the phrase literally as in adding (and) U R.  Zachary takes standard items and adds U R to the beginning to create appropriate answers to the clues.  Something AND U R.

This is the third puzzle in a row that I have recapped where "letter play" is at the core of the themed-answers.  Fortunately for our still-recovering-previously-scratched-up heads today's letter play is not as enigmatic as it was a couple of weeks ago.  Today, this gimmick is employed at four places.  I R ready to point them out if U R ready to take a look:

17 Across:  Cash in Eurasia?: URAL GREEN.  Al Green the singer morphs into money in the URAL region along the border between Europe and Asia.  Green being slang for money.  The expression "long green" has been around since the late 1880s, but it isn't as popular as some more recent slang terms for money, like moola (or moolah), dough, or even scratch.

24 Across:  Greetings from the bear's den?: URSINE WAVES.  A SINE WAVE is a periodic wave whose waveform is the trigonometric sine function.   Got that?  Here, it simply morphs into something a bear might do.

35 Across:  Like an address bar?: URL SHAPED.  A computer-ese reference.  The address bar is at the top of an open browser web page.  This solver is not sure at all what URL SHAPED means (perhaps a wide, not very high space) but it was derived, in this case, from L-shaped.  Perhaps 39 Down (below) will inspire someone to open a neighborhood Address Bar

49 Across:  Tunes for some pathetic Dickens characters?: URCHIN MUSIC.   Here, CHIN morphs into URCHIN.  In baseball, CHIN MUSIC refers to a pitch thrown at a batters head.  I am pretty sure that no batter said "Please, sir I want some more" ala Oliver Twist.

Here, now, the filled-in grid:

... and, as is customary, the other clues/answers:

Across:

1. "Doctor Who" genre: SCI FI.  SCIence FIction.

6. Air quality monitoring org.: FCC.  A bit of misdirection.  The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency first came to mind) but the clue was refering to the airwaves (radio and television).

9. Wrap brand: SARAN.  Having used The Fugs recording in an earlier write-up, we'll go with this:

14. Capital city of Piedmont: TURIN.  Site of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

15. Sigma preceder: RHO.  I helps to have a working familiarity with the Greek alphabet if one is into solving crossword puzzles.

16. System of beliefs: CREDO.  "I believe".   Valerie has plates that read:

I Believe In Enternal Love

For The Orchiette With Turnip Greens For Example

19. Mars exploration vehicle: ROVER.  The more we learn about Mars the less strange, and therefore, in an odd way, the weirder, it becomes...at least to this observer.

20. Swede's neighbor: DANE.  A geographical proximtiy reference.

21. __ Lingus: AER.  A frequent crossword flier.

22. Many a dance track: REMIX.  I REMIXed a REMIX.  It's back to normal.

23. DOJ arm: FBI.

27. Pass: ELAPSE.  Not a football reference.  Not a mountain gap reference.  Not a pick-up line reference.  Not a school grade reference.  Not a dice game reference.

As Time Goes By

29. Not at all welcoming: ICY.

30. Friendly opening: ECO.  One of those types of clues.  ECOfriendly

31. "__ Meenie": 2010 pop single: EENIE.  Unknown to this solver.  I looked it up.  Justin Beiber recorded it.  I have heard of him but know very little about him or his music.

32. Storybook bear: PAPA.

34. Bone, in Italian: OSSO.  As in OSSO bucco.

38. Jul. 4 shindigs: BBQS.  Abbreviated clue . . .

41. From Los Angeles to San Bernardino: EAST.  Easy for this SoCal solver.  Likely not so easy for folks from other places.

42. Crew: POSSE.  Modern slang.  No U.S. Marshall in a TV western ever said "Round up a crew".

46. Driveway stuff: TAR.  What in TARnation!?

47. Kilmer of "Real Genius": VAL.  I would have referenced "Top Secret" (1984)

48. Concern for a software engineer: PIRACY.  A music or movie reference would have been easier to suss out.

53. Tavern owner who stocks Duff beer: MOE.  MOE Syzslak.  A "Simpsons" TV show reference.

54. Covers: COATS.

55. Allow: LET.

56. Shellacking: ROUT.  Slang for decisive victory/defeat.

57. When repeated, "et cetera": YADDA.

60. As good as it gets: IDEAL.

61. Not keep up: LAG.  A friend told me that for minimal LAG I should use an analogue connection instead of Bluetooth for my speaker system.  Sound advice.

62. Sonar sounds: PINGS.  As in The Hunt For Red October.

63. Where chickens come home to roost: NESTS.  A clue meant to be taken literally.

64. Bile: IRE.

65. Map feature: INSET.

Down:

1. Payment to a breeder: STUD FEE.  I suspect that the horse would work for free.

2. Having a decent prognosis: CURABLE.

3. Like many songs or movies in Farsi: IRANIAN.

4. Spicy herb seasoning in gumbo: FILE.  As in FILÉ gumbo.  

Hank Williams

5. End to end?: ING.  Another one of those types of clues.  EndING

6. Unshackles: FREES.

7. French endearment: CHERI.

8. Big gathering of fans, casually: CON.

9. Disconcertingly odd: SCREWY.

10. Fragrance: AROMA.

11. Brings back to life: REVIVES.

12. Campaign pros: AD EXECS.  As in ADvertising campaigns.

13. Negating word: NOR.

18. Not in circulation, perhaps: RARE.

22. Episode lead-in, sometimes: RECAP.  Of what previously happened.

24. Friendly opening: USER.   Another one of those types of clues.  USER friendly,  Sometimes we get ECO friendly.

25. Bite gently: NIP AT.

26. "Hamilton" Tony nominee Phillipa: SOO.

28. Name of 12 popes: PIUS.  History suggests that not all of them were completely so.

32. Mass reading: PSALM.  Something to be read during the service.

33. "Open wide" sounds: AHS.  As at the doctor's office.

34. Fragrance: ODOR.  I once met a wine waiter with a really bad body ODOR.  Sort of like a dead skunk only sommelier.

36. Shows bias: LEANS.

37. Out of this world: EPIC.  An idiomatic clue and an idiomatic answer.  Far out, man!

38. AC meas.: BTU.  Air Conditioning.  British Thermal Unit.

39. Spot for beer and video games: BARCADE.  New to this solver.  A portmanteau of BAR and ARCADE.

40. Scannable squares: QR CODES.

43. Some Pacific Islanders: SAMOANS.

44. Nemesis: SCOURGE.

45. Exam for pupils: EYE TEST.  Not pupils as in students.

47. Set taken by a doctor: VITALS.

48. Feel sorry for: PITY.

50. Charged: HAD AT.   Hand up for first thinking RAN AT.

51. Of an arm nerve: ULNAR.

52. Tufted marsh plant: SEDGE.

56. Destroy: RUIN.

57. Dark portion of a Chinese circle: YIN.

58. Arab name that means "high": ALI.

59. Brand celebrating Hello Kitty's 50th Mani-versary in 2024: OPI.  A nail polish reference.  Crosword puzzles sure are broadening.

________________________________________

Monday September 8, 2025 Zachary David Levy

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here.  

Theme:                  Based on Ball Teams

Constructor Zachary David Levy pitched four fun themers our way:

17 Across. Cheap wines at some restaurants: HOUSE REDS.  A HOUSE wine is generally less expensive than other wines on the menu but they often fit with the cuisine. 

Tip:  If the restaurant has red checkered tablecloths, try the HOUSE RED. 

25 Across. Large planets made mostly of hydrogen and helium: GAS GIANTS.  

We have four GAS GIANTS in our solar system.

52 Across. Some sinister siblings: EVIL TWINS.  I thought of The Shining (1980). 

62 Across. Emissions that turned Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk: GAMMA RAYS.  

The Incredible Hulk   ~   opening sequence to the 1977 TV series (1 min.)

Today's reveal spans the equator:

39 Across. Rough estimates, and what can be found at the ends of 17-, 25-, 52-, and 62-Across: BALL PARK FIGURES.  This U.S. English idiom refers to guesses that are close enough to be useful but not expected to be exact.

Sometimes we see this answer as a clue for "umps" or "refs". Today it points to players on MLB teams. 

 Next up, the remaining clues:

Across:

1. "While we're on the subject ... ": ALSO.

5. Georgetown athlete: HOYA.  Does this answer wander into foul territory?

9. Flower part: PETAL.

14. Business VIPs: CEOS.

15. Resigned expression: ALAS.  

16. Egg-producing organ: OVARY.

19. Big cat hybrid: LIGER.  Napoleon Dynamite 'pretty much' owns this one.

20. Loose organization unit: PILE.  This one makes me think of sorting laundry.  

21. Increasingly quaint phone sound: DIAL TONE.  Quaint is used here to mean "pleasingly or strikingly old fashioned".

23. Massachusetts city that becomes a tourist hot spot in October: SALEM.  

Hot Spot indeed

26. In the style of: À LA.

27. Set eyes on: SEE.

29. Pull behind: TOW.  

My dog does not like being left at home
so I TOW her behind my hybrid bike.

30. Discount grocery chain: ALDI.  

Click to enlarge.

32. Writer/actress Issa: RAE.  Rae's 2015 memoir, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, became a New York Times bestseller.

34. "Well, shucks!": OH, GEE.

43. Turtle cover: SHELL.  CSO to Misty and Gophie!

44. Impossibly long stretch: EON.     and     28-Down. Notable period: ERA.

45. Wrongful act: TORT.  Def.:  (noun) a wrongful act other than a breach of contract for which relief may be obtained in the form of damages or an injunction.

46. Tiebreakers, briefly: OTS.  sports overtimes

49. UFO occupants: ETS.  An abbreviation in the clue hints to an abbreviated answer.

51. Illegal turn, maybe: UIE.  

This one came from across the pond.

57. According to: AS PER.

59. Hibachi-style restaurant chain: BENIHANA.  Nice fill!  

Benihana owns 69 teppanyaki-style restaurants, one Samarai restaurant, and 13 RA Sushi restaurants. This link goes to their FAQs page. Below is a 1 min. video of a Benihana chef's performance.

60. Go downhill fast?: SLED.  SLED is a verb here, meaning to ride a SLED.

61. Pop singer Mars: BRUNO.  

66. Ford flop: EDSEL.

67. Neutral shade: ECRU.

68. Great Salt Lake state: UTAH.  The Great Salt Lake is the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River. It is salty because it does not have an outlet. Tributary rivers are constantly bringing in small amounts of salt dissolved in their fresh water flow. Once in the Great Salt Lake, much of the water evaporates, leaving the salt behind. Read more here, including which aquatic species it can support.

69. Big name in field equipment: DEERE.  

John Deere equipment in a corn field

70. Rotisserie rod: SPIT.  

71. Viral post: MEME.  Popular MEMEs often feature a recognizable image paired with a witty caption.  

Apparently MEME creators are above Copyright Infringement Law.

Down:

1. German "Bah!": ACH.  Bah is an interjection used to express disbelief or disgust.

2. Sign between Cancer and Virgo: LEO.  Read as "Three-letter astrological sign:  LEO."

3. Scoop in a tureen: SOUP LADLE.  A tureen is something the hostess asks you to carry to the table and you are petrified you will drop it. More specifically, it is a deep and usually covered bowl from which foods (such as soup) are served. They are generally not for preparing foods.  

Sometimes they have a slot for the SOUP LADLE's handle.

4. "Do the Right Thing" actor Davis: OSSIE.  (1917 - 2005)

5. Big hopper: HARE.  I watched about a dozen videos about HAREs, bunnies, and rabbits to bring you the best one. Stay tuned for the final fun fact.  (3:22 min.)

6. The Grand __ Opry: OLE.

7. When repeated, "et cetera": YADDA.  Here's the famous Seinfeld clip (54 sec.):  

8. Lend a hand: ASSIST.

9. Tadpole: POLLIWOG.  I liked this 8-letter fill, too!  The terms tadpole and POLLIWOG can be used interchangeably.

10. Andrew Lloyd Webber musical set in Argentina: EVITA.  

Don't Cry for Me Argentina  ~  Madonna

1996 film adaptation

11. Include as an extra: TAG ON.  The travel industry has been known to TAG ON extra fees.

12. "__ you sweet!": AREN'T.

13. Ancient harps: LYRES.  I always feel better after listening to composer and harpist Mary Lattimore. This song is called We Wave From Our Boats (2021).  

18. Stately trees: ELMS.  ...especially the state of Massachusetts.  

22. Previously: AGO.

23. Bygone Swedish autos: SAABS.

24. God of Islam: ALLAH.

25. Equipment: GEAR.  

31. Down and out: ILL.

33. __ out a living: EKE.

35. Modest home: HUT.

36. Social outing for couples: GROUP DATE.

37. Otherworldly: EERIE.  This woman is playing the opening theme to Dark Shadows on a theremin.  (52 secs.)

38. Poly- ending: ESTER.  

40. Logical oversight in a story: PLOT HOLE.  20 Movies with the Biggest Plot Holes

The first film on the list (#20) highlights a literal HOLE in Shawshank Redemption. Film #2 points out something I never noticed about Cinderella's glass slipper.

41. Enemies: FOES.

42. Picked-off pass, for short: INT.  INTerception  

Goal line interceptions are especially exciting.

47. Carrier whose JFK terminal is now a landmark hotel: TWA.  The TWA Hotel opened in 2019, using space originally designed to contain TWA's flight center. The original architect may be familiar to solvers -- Eero Saarinen. Reading this Forbes article makes me want to stay there!

48. Scorches: SINGES.

50. Casa chamber: SALA.  This Spanish answer matches its Spanish clue. A SALA is a large room or hall.

52. Receded: EBBED.

53. Colorado's Mesa __ National Park: VERDE.  park website

54. Not available: IN USE.  Perhaps if you wanted to rent a specific vehicle but someone else had already rented it, it would be not available/IN USE.

55. Cruise ship: LINER.

56. Civil rights org.: NAACP.  An abbreviation in the clue hints to an abbreviated answer.

58. Blood component: SERUM.  Blood SERUM is the liquid that remains after the blood has clotted. Plasma is the liquid that remains when clotting is prevented with the addition of an anticoagulant. Both are light-yellow to clear in color.

60. Filthy material: SMUT.

63. CT scan kin: MRI.  An abbreviation in the clue hints to an abbreviated answer.

64. Orange tuber: YAM.  

65. That girl: SHE.  ALAS, "Marlo Thomas" is too long. Nevertheless, here is video is the opening scene for Season 5 of the TV show That Girl (1966-1971): 

How cute is SHE? Right?

Today's grid:

All four of the themers are nine letters long.

I am wondering if you will give Zachary's puzzle straight A's.  😄

I will be traveling when this blog is published. Fingers crossed everything goes OK. Please address any questions you might have to the regulars. They are a smart and helpful group!