Thursday, April 27, 2023, Lance Enfinger & Jeff Chen

 

Honors Courses

Today's constructors, Lance Enfinger and Jeff Chen, bring us a letter addition puzzle, with 4 themers (2 across, 2 down) that work with or without the addition.  Each themer fits the pattern "Honors course for an aspiring ___?" and the fill is a career description prefixed with AP, short for Advanced Placement.  Note also that all the theme fills actually begin with APP, which is short for AP Program.

18A Honors course for an aspiring aircraft marshaller?:  AP POINTING, as in telling the pilot where to go.  Aircraft marshalling is a real gig.  Complete this course and your career will really take off!

Aircraft Marshaller

62A. Honors course for an aspiring pastor?: AP PRAISING.  A pastor  is the leader of a Christian congregation, who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation.  In Catholic congregations where there may be multiple priests, it is the pastor's job to administer the parish and supervise the younger priests.  Pastors don't really PRAISE God any more than the priests. Their honors courses are more likely to be in planning, budgeting, building maintenance, and even in learning new languages.  Last year our pastor spent a month in Guatemala in a Spanish immersion course to enable him to support our church's growing number of Hispanic parishioners.

3D. Honors course for an aspiring lawyer?: AP PROVING.  PROVING is presenting evidence used to either support or ascertain that something happened or that a person’s statement is true.  Whether it really is or not is something decided by the JURY.

36D. Honors course for an aspiring bell ringer?: AP PEALING.  In England bell ringing is a very competitive field ...

Here's the grid ...

Here's the rest ...

Across:

1. Cracked: AJAR.  "When is a door ...?".  Oh. You've already heard it.

5. Actor Omar: EPPS. Omar Hashim EPPS (born July 20, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award.

Omar Epps

9. Dull sound: THUMP.

14. Easy going?: LOPE.

15. Pharmacist's container: VIAL.  Last Thursday a distraught ROMEO, thinking that JULIET was dead, swallowed a VIAL of a VILE substance to poison himself, leaving "no friendly drop" for her.

16. Ancient region of modern Turkey: IONIA.  IONIA was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir.

IONIA

17. Range for Zermatt and the Matter Valley: ALPS.  The Matterhorn is one of the best-known mountains (14,692 feet [4,478 metres]) in the ALPS, straddling the frontier between Switzerland and Italy, 6 miles (10 km) southwest of the village of Zermatt, Switzerland.

Matter Valley

18. [Theme clue]

20. Get down to basics: STRIP.  Or to paraphrase my old math teacher, "to get down far enough for all practical purposes."

22. Consumes: EATS.

23. Red carpet stance: POSE.
 
24. Irish actor Chris of TV's "Get Shorty": O DOWD.  Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is played Miles Daly in this film.  As someone who is only 5'6" tall, it is only natural that I would dislike this movie (which I have not seen), but not as much as I dislike this song by Randy Newman (lyrics) ...

And don't get me started on his song about Baltimore.  It's not like I take it personal or anything, but it's not easy being short.  For example reaching the books on the top shelves.  😉

26. Shenanigans: HI JINKS.  A CSO to our man in Norfolk.

28. Dust jacket design: COVER ART.   Here's Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers.   And here's No. 32 (you knew I had to get an OPERA in here somewhere) ...

Overture

Pinball Wizard

31. Bowling pin count: TEN.  A CSO to our dearly departed Boomer.

32. Bird mascot for the Miami Hurricanes: IBIS.

33. New Zealand parrots: KEAS.

35. Ray's relative: SKATE.  Stingrays and SKATES are often mistaken for one another. Both  can be found in Baltimore's National Aquarium:

Also a CSO to Ray - O, whose relatives do a lot of SKATING up in the frozen Northeast I'm sure.

39. Tanqueray liquor: GIN.  As long as it's shaken, not stirred.

40. Georgia fruit: PEACHES.

42. Hoppin' John morsel: PEA.  A Black-eyed PEA that is, known in some parts as the COW PEA.  One of my favorite legumes: easy to grow, disease resistant, prolific, easy to shell, and easy to dry for storage.  Here's a recipe for this Southern favorite.

Hoppin' John

43. George of "The Goldbergs": SEGAL.  George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles.  He played Albert "Pops" Solomon on The Goldbergs (2013–2021).

George Segal
1965

45. Word with ring or music: MOOD.  Like most MOODS, these rings don't last forever.  I'm not a big fan of MOOD music as it generally lacks passion, but I do like these guys ... 

46. Relaxation stations: SPAS.

47. Claire of "The Crown": FOY.  Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series The Crown (2016–2017).  Here she confronts Edward the VIII, who abdicated his throne in 1936 for "the woman he loved", Baltimorean socialite Wallis Simpson ...

She stole our hearts in the 2008 BBC mini-series Little Dorrit based on the novel by Charles Dickens ...

49. Fleetest of foot: SWIFTEST.  According to the Encyclopedia Britannica that would be Jamaican Usain Bolt ... 

Usain Bolt

51. Brandy glass: SNIFTER.  Here are a pair of SNIFTERS I made for the oncologist who cured my prostate cancer to drink the single-malt scotch I gave him after 10 years in remission.
 

SNIFTERS

55. Penta- minus one: TETRA.  Today's math lesson, in Greek no less.

56. Goddess who is the mother of Apollo and Artemis: LETO.  More Greek.  Apollo was the god of music and Artemis was the goddess of the hunt. LETO was the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, and the sister of Asteria.

Leto with
infants Apollo and Artemis

57. Protein option for pho: TOFU.

59. Olympic volleyball great Kerri __ Jennings: WALSH.  Kerri Lee Walsh Jennings (born August 15, 1978) is an American professional beach volleyball player, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a one-time Olympic bronze medalist. She is the beach volleyball leader in career victories as of 2016 having won 135 international and domestic tournaments.  Her nickname is "Six Feet of Sunshine"!

Kerri Walsh Jennings

[Theme fill]

65. Totenberg of NPR: NINA.  NINA Totenberg (born January 14, 1944) is an American legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) focusing primarily on the activities and politics of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Nina Totenberg

.... also a CSO to our inane hiker!

66. Barbecue sites: YARDS.

67. Creative flash: IDEA.

68. Tiny annoyance: GNAT.

69. Splash through puddles: SLOSH.

70. Prying: NOSY.

71. Meringue need: EGGS.  You provide the shell and the filling and this simple recipe will provide the Meringue.

Down:

1. Quaint plaint: ALAS.

2. Shock: JOLT.

3. [Theme clue]

4. Lives: RESIDES.

5. Perón of Argentina: EVA.  Here's Madonna singing Don't Cry for Me Argentina for Lloyd Weber's Evita ...

6. Out-of-reach goal: PIPE DREAM.

7. __ Smurf: PAPA.

8. Arboreal slowpoke: SLOTH.  If you stop by the National Aquarium to see the RAYS and the SKATES (see 35A) be sure to pop-up to the Tropical Rainforest and see the SLOTHS.

Linne's Two-Toed Sloth

9. Metal in pewter: TIN. Pewter is a malleable metal alloy consisting of TIN (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver.

Pewter Cream Pitcher
c. 1780

10. Bright lipstick shade: HOT PINK.  A CSO to Lucina! 😀

11. Gabrielle of "L.A.'s Finest": UNION.  L.A.'s Finest is an American action comedy crime television series created by Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier; and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It is a spinoff of the Bad Boys franchise created by George Gallo.   Gabrielle plays Special Agent/Detective Lieutenant Sydney "Syd" Burnett.

Gabrielle Union

12. Capital of Belarus: MINSK.  Thumper.

13. Audiobook's lack: PAGES.

19. "You think so?": IS IT.

21. __ ejemplo: POR.  Today's Spanish lesson, e.g.  CSO número dos POR Lucina.

25. Waves from a boat: WAKE.  Also a celebration of a life held at the passing of someone.  One of the most famous of these events is the subject of James Joyce's Finnegans WAKE (a book which I have not read).  A CSO to our Misty, a Professor Emerita of English and an authority on Joyce's works. Here's hoping she stops by and shares a few bon mots about the book.

27. Milo's "Gilmore Girls" role: JESS.  Gilmore Girls is a mother-daughter comedy-drama television series (2000 - 2006) starring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore).  Milo Anthony Ventimiglia played Jess Mariano, one of Rory's heartthrobs:

Milo Ventimiglia (2019)
(he was 24 when he played Jess)

28. Slangy smokes: CIGS.

29. Big Apple stage award: OBIE.

30. Tuesday fare: TACOS.

34. Many entries in the Great American Songbook: SHOW TUNES.  The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. It's not just a list of tunes and lyrics, but also an eponymous organization founded by Michael Feinstein, who is still on the road promoting these songs.  Selecting a single song representative of this music is really impossible.  This one by Henry Mancini is from the soundtrack to Breakfast at Tiffany's, and one of the first that I fell in love with ...

Audrey Hepburn

36. [Theme clue].

37. Dim sum brews: TEAS.  Legend has it that Dim sum originated in TEA houses in the 10th Century (Sung Dynasty), and is a communal dining and social experience that can span hours. It is customary for large groups to enjoy dishes together.  A CSO to our fearless leader!

Dim sum array

38. All-Star side: EAST.

40. Storyline: PLOT.

41. Falco of "Nurse Jackie": EDIE.

44. Provides, as an opportunity: AFFORDS.

46. Idiosyncratic: STRANGE.  IMHO, all of REALITY.

48. Creature in Tibetan myth: YETI.  aka the Abominable snowman ...

50. "Woo-hoo!," in textspeak: FTW.  For The Win, a gamer expression anticipating victory, with "Woo-hoo!" being an expression of enthusiasm.   It's opposite is FTL, "For The Loss".  We Cornerites solve puzzles FTW, or as we would put it to FIR.  Here's wishing you got a "Woo-hoo" for this puzzle!

51. Leaves rolling in the aisles: SLAYS.  Another CSO to Ray - O.

52. Place to spot a 48-Down, maybe: NEPAL.  As YETIS don't recognize international boundaries, they occasionally stray into neighboring countries ...

53. Staffer who's good at networking, for short: IT PRO.  A CSO to -T, Jinx, et MOI (a long time ago).

54. Pitcher's gripping aid: ROSIN.  ROSIN, also called colophony or Greek pitch (Latin: pix graeca), is a solid form of resin obtained from pines and some other plants, mostly conifers, produced by heating fresh liquid resin to vaporize the volatile components.  In addition to its use by pitchers, it's also used as a flux in soldering, and by violinists on their bows to get a better grip on the strings.  This country boy always kept his bows rosined ...

This song is played at Orioles games during the 7th inning stretch.

58. Everymutt: FIDO.  Garfield's favorite FIDO ...

Odie

60. Obstacle: SNAG. 

61. Bowlers, e.g.: HATS.  another CSO to our BOWLER in Heaven.

63. Fire pit residue: ASH.

64. Carefree: GAY. Or a synonym for HAPPY. A refreshingly retro clue.

Cheers,
Bill

As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading, for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

 

Wednesday, April 26, 2023 Susan Gelfand

Theme: Let's find a game to play.  Some common games are hidden in the theme fill, with their letters scrambled.  The needed letters are in circled squares.  Hope you got them.

17 A. Primatologist who is the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees: JANE GOODALL.  Dame Jane Morris Goodall DBE; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall, is an English primatologist and anthropologist. She is considered the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, after 60 years studying the social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees. Goodall first went to Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania in 1960, where she witnessed human-like behaviours amongst chimpanzees.   Interestingly, I have observed chimp-like behavior in humans.

JENGA is the classic block-stacking, stack-crashing game. How will you stack up against the law of gravity? Stack the wooden blocks in a sturdy tower, then take turns pulling out blocks one by one until the whole stack crashes down. Is your hand steady enough to pull out the last block before the tower collapses?

 25. Postimpressionist painter whose work influenced cubism: PAUL CEZANNE.  Paul Cézanne [1839 –1906] was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation and influenced avant garde artistic movements of the early 20th century. Cézanne is said to have formed the bridge between late 19th-century Impressionism and the early 20th century's new line of artistic enquiry, Cubism.

CLUE is a board game in which players have to find out who's responsible for murdering Mr. Boddy of Tudor Mansion in his own home. Get the scoop on the mansion's rooms, weapons and guests and start detecting! Was it Plum with the wrench in the library? Or Green with the candlestick in the study? Eliminate information throughout the game in this classic whodunit. The player who correctly accuses Who, What, and Where wins!   The Harry Potter version is absolutely brutal.

37. Cartoonist who created Snoopy and Woodstock: CHARLES SCHULZ.  Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (1922 – 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip Peanuts, featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists in history, and cited by many cartoonists as a major influence, including Jim Davis, Murray Ball, Bill Watterson, Matt Groening, and Dav Pilkey.

CHESS is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. The recorded history of chess goes back at least to the emergence of a similar game, chaturanga, in seventh-century India. The rules of chess as we know them today emerged in Europe at the end of the 15th century, with standardization and universal acceptance by the end of the 19th century. Today, chess is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide.

51. Radio personality who declared himself "King of All Media": HOWARD STERN.  Howard Allan Stern [b. 1954] is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, The Howard Stern Show, which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1986 to 2005. He has broadcast on Sirius XM Radio since 2006. I guess it's a characteristic of modern American Society that one can achieve great riches and notoriety by being an obscene and obnoxious blow hard.

And the unifier:   60. Cause of a major paradigm shift, and an apt description of 17-, 25-, 37-, and 51-Across as well as their sets of circled letters: GAME CHANGER.  This is an event, idea, or procedure that affects a significant shift in the current manner of doing or thinking about something.  In the clue, "changer" indicates that the letters of the games' names have been mixed up.  Notably, all of the people whose names have been used are recognized for their exceptional level of achievement.  In face, one might think of them as GAME CHANGERS in their own right.  Nice meta to the theme.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here ready for some fun and games.  Would you like to play along?  OK.  It's your move.  Let's go!

Across:

1. Taj __: MAHAL.  An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage.  Also, Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr. (b. 1942), better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments.

6. Provide funding for: ENDOW.  Give or bequeath an income or property to a person or institution.

11. Nurse: SIP.  As a noun sip means "small drink," like a sip of Coke or a sip of soup. The origin of sip isn't clear, though we know it's related to the Old English supan, "take into the mouth a little at a time."

14. Desert plant used to make tequila: AGAVE.  Agave is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean,  The genus is primarily known for its succulent and species that typically form large rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves.

15. City near Dayton with a Greek name: XENIA.  Xenia is a city in southwestern Ohio and the county seat of Greene County, Ohio, United States. It is 15 miles (24 km) east of Dayton and is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the Miami Valley region. The name comes from the Greek word Xenia (ξενία), which means "hospitality".  On April 3, 1974, a deviating tornado rated F5 on the Fujita scale cut a path directly through the middle of the city

16. Alter __: EGO.   The second, hidden side of one's own self

19. Take off: RUN.  Get moving

20. Natural Thanksgiving decor: GOURD.  A fleshy, typically large fruit with a hard skin, some varieties of which are edible.

21. Tire pattern: TREAD.  The pattern of raised lines on a tire that prevents a vehicle from sliding on the road:

23. Fresh from the garden: RAW.  Literally, uncooked. 

29. Fiendish: EVIL. Wicked, bad and nasty.

31. Starter served with a spoon: SOUP.  A primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot, that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. 

32. Gift basket fruit: PEAR.   Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus Pyrus, in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the same name. Several species of pears are valued for their edible fruit and juices, while others are cultivated as trees.

33. Lavish celebrations: FETES.   Traditional public festivals, held outdoors and organised to raise funds for a charity. They typically include entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments.

35. Rumor, to a rumor mill: GRIST.  Grist is the thing about to be milled; in this sense, it is information about to be spread that someone would rather be kept secret

42. Mover's challenge: PIANO.  A large, heavy keyboard musical instrument with a wooden case enclosing a soundboard and metal strings, which are struck by hammers when the keys are depressed. 

43. Cheering wildly: AROAR.  Abounding with noise or laughter.

45. Pinochle kin: SKAT. Skat historically Scat, is a three-player trick-taking card game of the Ace-Ten family, devised around 1810 in Altenburg in the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. It is the national game of Germany

48. Sullen: DOUR.  Relentlessly severe, stern, or gloomy in manner or appearance.

50. Alt-rock band Better Than __: EZRA.  They formed in 1988 and refuse to reveal the origin of their name.

55. Have a nosh: EAT.  Literal

56. Ticked off: IRATE.  Angry.

57. Crimson Tide coach Nick: SABAN.  Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. [b. 1951] is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007.  He was head coach at my alma mater, the University of Toledo from December 1989 through 1990, leading the Rockets to a 9-2 season and co-championship of the Mid-American Conference in 1990.

59. Apiece: PER.  Related to the price or some characteristic on a single item.

66. Skosh: TAD.  Small amount.

67. Farewell that's bid: ADIEU.   Adios, amigo.

68. January, in Jalisco: ENERO.  Jalisco is a western Mexican state fringing the Pacific Ocean. The state is known for mariachi music and tequila, both of which reportedly originated here. The capital, Guadalajara, is peppered with colonial plazas and landmarks like the neoclassical Teatro Degollado and regal Guadalajara Cathedral, with its twin gold spires. The neighboring Palacio de Gobierno houses murals by Mexican artist José Clemente Orozco.

69. Walk-__: bit parts: ONS.  Denoting or having a small nonspeaking part in a play or film.

70. Submit, as a complaint: LODGE.  Present a complaint, appeal, claim, etc formally to the proper authorities.

71. Stopwatch button: RESET.  To set, adjust, or fix into an original or neutral condition.:

Down:

1. Capt.'s superior: MAJ.  MAJOR outranks Captain.

2. Turkish title: AGA.  In Muslim countries, especially under the Ottoman Empire, a military commander or official.

3. Spend time around: HANG WITH.  Informally socialize with somebody.

4. Small Chevy rebranded as the Sonic: AVEO.  Read about it here.

5. Helpful boost: LEG UP.  An act of helping someone or something to improve their position.

6. Book after Genesis: EXODUS. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of Yahweh, who has chosen them as his people. The Israelites then journey with the prophet Moses to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh gives the 10 commandments and they enter into a covenant with Yahweh, who promises to make them a "holy nation, and a kingdom of priests" on condition of their faithfulness. 

7. Connecticut governor Lamont: NED.  Edward Miner Lamont Jr. [b. 1954] is an American businessman and politician serving as the 89th governor of Connecticut. He has served in this position since January 9, 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a Greenwich selectman from 1987 to 1989. 

8. Letters from one's folks?: DNA.  Deoxyribonucleic acid is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses. The letters DNA are a short cut.

9. Fryolator need: OIL.  This is a kitchen appliance used for deep frying foods in oil.

10. Ballroom dance in 3/4 time: WALTZ.  A highly popular ballroom dance evolved from the Ländler in the 18th century. Characterized by a step, slide, and step in 3/4 time, the waltz, with its turning, embracing couples, at first shocked polite society.

11. Peaceful: SERENE. Calm, peaceful, and untroubled; tranquil.

12. Gal·pagos lizard: IGUANA.   A large, arboreal, tropical American lizard with a spiny crest along the back and greenish coloration, occasionally kept as a pet.

13. Consider carefully: PONDER.  Think about something carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion.

18. Rita featured on Iggy Azalea's "Black Widow": ORA.   Rita Sahatçiu Ora  born Rita Sahatçiu on 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut studio album, Ora, released in August 2012, debuted at number one in the United Kingdom. 

22. Pure bliss: RAPTURE.  A feeling of intense pleasure or joy.

23. Slo-mo reviewer: REF.  In sports: a referee.

24. With, on le menu: AVEC.  French

26. Finishes an online session: LOGS OUT.  Go through the procedures to conclude use of a computer, database, or system.

27. Mongrels: CURS.  A dog of no definable type or breed.

28. Bigger than big: EPIC.  Extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope

30. Eagerly accepted: LEAPT AT. 

34. __ Lanka: SRI.   Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. 

36. __ Na Na: SHA.   Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop cover group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. 

38. Actress Diane: LADD.  Diane Ladd [b. 1935] is an American actress. She has appeared in over 120 film and television roles. For the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

39. Mireille of "Big Love": ENOS.  Mireille Enos [b. 1975] is an American actress. Drawn to acting from a young age, she graduated in performing arts from Brigham Young University, where she was awarded the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship.

40. Cough drops: LOZENGES.  Small medicinal tablets, originally in the shape of a rhombus or diamond, taken for sore throats and dissolved in the mouth.

41. Fast fashion clothing chain based in Spain: ZARA.  A Spanish multi-national retail clothing chain. It specialises in fast fashion, and sells clothing, accessories, shoes, beauty products and perfumes. The head office is in Arteixo, in A Coruña in Galicia.  In 2020 it was launching over twenty new product lines per year.

44. Tattletale: RAT.  A person, especially a child, who reveals secrets or informs on others.

45. Mailing label words: SHIP TO.  Indicating the recipient.

46. Kimchi cuisine: KOREAN.   A traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including gochugaru, spring onions, garlic, ginger, and jeotgal, etc. 

47. Ribbons and trophies: AWARDS.  Achievement prizes

49. Coast Guard operation: RESCUE.  Save someone from a dangerous or distressing situation.

52. Majestic: REGAL.  Having or showing impressive beauty or dignity.

53. Stadium cheer: RAH.  A cheer of encouragement or approval.

54. Pro hoopster: NBA-ER.  A player in the National Basketball Association.

58. Green Gables girl: ANNE.  Anne of Green Gables is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. 

61. Big commotion: ADO.  A state of agitation or fuss, especially about something unimportant.

62. Century beginning: MID.  Mid-century is a time approximately in the middle of a century.  This meaning defies the surface meaning of the clue.  I am not amused.

63. Brain waves mapper, briefly: EEG.   An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures electrical activity in the brain using small, metal discs (electrodes) attached to the scalp. Brain cells communicate via electrical impulses and are active all the time, even during asleep. This activity shows up as wavy lines on an EEG recording.

64. Bard's before: ERE.  

65. Nonsense: ROT.   Spoken or written words that have no meaning or make no sense; word salad.

Well - all good things must come to an end, including this game.  We all had a chance to win.  Happy Wednesday, everyone.

Cool regards!

JzB

Tuesday, April 25, 2023 Jennifer Lee and Victor Galson

Milk:  It's not just dairy anymore.  Cow's milk vs plant milk, it's quite controversial.

18-Across. Slopes accessory: SKI MASK.  Skim Milk

26-Across. Inauguration text: OATH OF OFFICE.  Oat Milk.  You can make you own at home.

38-Across. Baha Men hit single: WHO LET THE DOGS OUT.  Whole Milk.

52-Across. Dystopian thriller starring Charlton Heston: SOYLENT GREEN.  Soy Milk.  What is Soy Milk, anyway?

And the Unifier:

64-Across. Ad campaign featuring white mustaches, and a hint to the starts of the answers to 18-, 26-, 38-, and 52-Across: GOT MILK?  This puzzle gives us two forms of cow's milk and two plant-based milks.

Across:

1. American marsupial, familiarly: POSSUM.  Occasionally a Possum / Opossum will wander through our yard and we live in the city.

7. "__, Brute?": ET TU.  Today's Latin lesson.

11. Swimmer's unit: LAP.

14. Military maneuvers?: SALUTES.

16. Speckled horse: ROAN.  A Roan is a horse of a different color.

17. Rideshare driver's guess: ETA.  As in Estimated Time of Arrival.

19. French pals: AMIS.  Today's French lesson.

20. Oinker's pen: STY.

21. Autocorrect target: TYPO.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

22. Online store icon: CART.

24. TV collie: LASSIE.

28. "Searching for Italy" host Tucci: STANLEY.  Although considered as a character actor, Stanley Tucci (b. Nov. 11, 1960) has been in numerous films where he really shines.  My favorite Stanley Tucci movie is Big Night.   [Name # 1.]

31. Stackable cookies: OREOS.  A crossword staple.  The company is always trying different frosting innards to make some unique flavors of their cookies.

32. Bagel-shaped: TORIC.  Everything you wanted to know about a Torus, but didn't know to ask.  How to make your Bagel into a mathematically correct breakfast treat.

33. Jog: TROT.

35. X-ray kin: MRI.  As in Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

43. Alley-__ pass: OOP.  In basketball, an alley-oop is an offensive play in which one player passes the ball near the basket to a teammate who jumps, catches the ball in mid-air and dunks or lays it in before touching the ground. 

44. Unsubtle actors: HAMS.

45. Buenos __: AIRES.  I took my parents to Buenos Aires to celebrate their 80th birthdays.  It was a fabulous city to visit.

46. One on the Pacific Crest Trail, say: HIKER.  The Pacific Crest Trail runs from the Washington State-Canadian border to the California-Mexican border. 

49. Revolved around: ORBITED.

55. Get started on, as a problem: TACKLE.

56. Ear-related: OTIC.

57. Border: EDGE.

61. 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup champs: USA.  FIFA is the French abbreviation for the Federation Internationale de Football Association.  Football in this context is really soccer.  The FIFA was founded in Paris on May 21 1904 by representatives from Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

62. Airbnb alternative: VRBO.  As in Vacation Rentals By Owner.

66. Put down: DIS.

67. Currier and __: IVES.  Currier and Ives was a printmaking company known for its lithographs.  Many of their prints were of Christmas scenes, landscapes and significant historical scenes.  They occasionally ventured into political cartoons and illustrations of current events.  The company was founded by Nathaniel Currier (Mar. 27, 1813 ~ Nov. 20, 1888) in 1835.  His partner in the company was James Merritt Ives (Mar. 5, 1824 ~ Jan. 3, 1895).  [Names # 2 and 3.]

68. "Forget it!": NO SIREE!

69. Chicago-to-Orlando dir.: SSE.  It's a South-SouthEast drive from Chicago to Orlando.

70. State bird of Hawaii: NENE.  Everything you wanted to know about Nenes but didn't know to ask.

71. Holiday treats served with applesauce: LATKES.  Yummers.  A Chanukah staple.  Latkes are potato pancakes that are traditionally eaten during Chanukah because they are fried.  They symbolize the miracle of Chanukah when the oil of the menorah in the Temple kept the flame alive for eight days even there was only enough oil for one day.

Down:

1. Attention-getting hiss: PSST!

2. Like wine aged in certain barrels: OAKY.  Not to be confused with Oat milk

3. __ of the tongue: SLIP.

4. Japanese wrestling form: SUMO.

5. The NBA's Jazz, on scoreboards: UTA.  The basketball team, Jazz, formerly of New Orleans (hence the name), is now located in Salt Lake City, Utah.

6. Smoky liquor made from agave: MESCAL.

7. Muse of poetry: ERATO.

8. Celebrity chef Colicchio: TOM.  I am not familiar with Tom Colicchio (né Thomas Patrick Colicchio; b. Aug. 15, 1962), but apparently he has been a judge on Top Chef.  [Name # 4.]

9. Customize for: TAILOR TO.

10. Treacherous: UNSAFE.

11. "You're trying too hard": LESS IS MORE.  This phrase was adopted with the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (né Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; Mar. 27, 1886 ~ Aug. 17, 1969).

Van der Rohe's iconic style of Less is More.

12. Scary story?: ATTIC.  I guess an attic is a scary place to venture into.

13. Venmo recipient: PAYEE.  The name Venmo comes from vendere, Latin for "to sell," and "mo" for mobile.

15. Enjoy the roller rink: SKATE.

23. Part of R&B: RHYTHM.

25. Bay Area hub, for short: SFO.  The San Francisco International Airport.

26. __ in a blue moon: ONCE.  According to Britannica: The term blue moon originated from the 16th-century expression “the Moon is blue,” meaning something that was impossible.  For two years following the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia in 1883, people around the world reported seeing strangely coloured sunsets and a Moon that appeared blue.  With this possible, but uncommon, occurrence, “once in a blue moon” came to mean rare rather than impossible.

27. Comestibles: FOOD.

28. NYC nabe near Little Italy: SOHO.  SoHo is an acronym for South of Houston Street in New York City.  It is a neighborhood that features galleries, and high-end commercial and luxury boutiques.

29. Place to store cups and bowls?: TROPHY CASE.

30. Feel unwell: AIL.

32. Pair: TWO.

34. Vacation spot: RESORT.  My ideal spot would be on the beach.

36. Regretted: RUED.

37. "__ go time!": IT'S.

39. "I can't believe they did that!": THE NERVE!

40. Like Key lime pie: TART.  Yummers!

41. Acquire: GAIN.

42. Word often said while holding a treat: SIT.

47. Kind: ILK.

48. Temperature unit: KELVIN.  The Kelvin temperature scale is a scale where there is an absolute zero, below which temperatures do not exist.  Absolute is the temperature where molecular energy is at a minimum.  Absolute zero is -273.15 Celsius.  The temperature scale is named after William Kelvin (1824 ~ 1907), a physicist and mathematician.  He proposed the concept of this temperature scale over 170 years ago.  How to convert Kelvin to Fahrenheit.  [Name adjacent.]

50. 1952-2022, for Queen Elizabeth II: REIGN.  Her Majesty the Queen.  

51. "Don't embarrass me": BE COOL.

52. Small earrings: STUDS.

53. Fertile desert spot: OASIS.

54. Bird in a gaggle: GOOSE.  But did you know that a bunch of crows is called a murder?

57. Let off: EMIT.

58. NBA great Nowitzki: DIRK.  Dirk Werner Nowitzki (b. June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player.  He had a long career with the Dallas Mavericks.  [Name # 5.]

59. Mirth: GLEE.  It's also the name of a television musical about a high school glee club that ran from 2009 to 2015.

60. Squeezes (out): EKES.

63. Actor Kingsley: BEN.  Sir Benjamin Kingsley (né Krishna Pandit Bhanji; b. Dec. 31, 1943) has starred in numerous films.  He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Gandhi in 1982 movie of the same name.  [Name # 6.]

65. Airport safety gp.: TSA.  As in Transportation Security Administration.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה