Master constructor Doug Peterson gave me a start when I came across two "I have no idea" names. However, they took care of themselves. I had a fun trip through Doug's lovely puzzle and earned my "got 'er done" reward in short order.
Across:
1. "You __!": WISH.
5. Video game portals: WARPS - A warp, also known as a portal or teleporter, is an element in video game design that allows a player character instant travel between two locations or levels. 🤷
10. Remote places: DENS - Mine usually hides in my recliner
14. Namesake of a Queens venue: ASHE - In the Burroughs of Queens in NYC
15. One-named singer whose surname is Adkins: ADELE - ADELE is frequenting crosswords as often as ASHE
16. Suit: EXEC.
17. Grappling style: GRECO-ROMAN - Husker Rulon Gardner stunned the wrestling world by upsetting Russian Alexander Karelin, who had not lost in 13 years, in GRECO-ROMAN wrestling in the 2000 Sydney Olympics
19. General symbol: STAR - Five Americans have reached the 5-STAR rank
Bradley, Eisenhower, MacArthur, Arnold and Marshall
20. Booted, say: SHOD.
21. Vial sought in some thrillers: ANTIDOTE.
23. First woman to win a Best Director Oscar: KATHRYN BIGELOW.
25. "Malcolm in the Middle" dad: HAL - A Brian Cranston role before Breaking Bad
Walter White HAL Wilkerson
26. "Barney Miller" actor: SOO - Jack is on the right next to the other cwd candidate ABE Vigoda
27. Strategic match game: NIM - You must take at least one match from a row and the winner is either the person who takes the last match or does not take the last match. It can also be played with piles of M&M's or coins or...
28. Saudi, usually: ARAB.
30. Michael's "Space Jam" teammate: BUGS.
33. Speak up (for): VOUCH.
37. "Time Quintet" novelist: MADELEINE L'ENGLE.
40. Touchscreen tappers: STYLI - This senior girl was using a STYLUS (sing.) recently in Arlington
41. Au naturel: NUDE.
42. Flowering succulent: ALOE.
43. Kids' hangout: LEA - 😀
45. Ortiz of 34-Down: ANA and 34. Former ABC series based on a telenovela: UGLY BETTY - ANA (left) played the sister of the title character America Ferrara
47. Runway letters: YSL.
48. Paper featured in "Spotlight": THE BOSTON GLOBE.
54. Unorganized, in a way: NON-UNION
55. Air: TUNE- An air (Italian: aria; also ayr, ayre in French) is a song-like vocal or instrumental composition.
56. Not bamboozled by: ONTO.
57. Field of operations?: ARITHMETIC.
61. Right-thinking Brit?: TORY - Like America (Dem/Rep), Britain (Labor/Tory) alternates between having right and left legislative majorities.
62. Button material: NACRE.
63. Above: ATOP and 38. Rest 63-Across: LIE ON.
64. "__ Tu": 1974 hit: ERES - Is it you? A beautiful air/TUNE where I knew this the beautiful tune but not the title.
65. Polish: SHEEN.
66. Tropical talker: MYNA.
Down:
1. Wit: WAG.
2. Eilat's nat.: ISR - A beautiful resort town on the very south tip of ISRAEL
3. Tom Jones hit with the line "Always treat her with respect": SHE'S A LADY - Another air
4. 1968 Pulitzer-winning poet Anthony: HECHT - Yeah, I knew that 😁
5. Magical portal to Narnia: WARDROBE.
6. Spot of bother: ADO.
7. Staff again: REMAN.
8. Fallback option: PLAN B.
9. Deployed: SENT IN
10. Shakespearean woman who says, "A guiltless death I die": DESDEMONA.
11. Hail: EXTOL.
12. "Cool beans": NEATO - Swell!
13. Hardware item: SCREW.
18. Sounds of wonder: OOHS.
22. "Enough!": I GIVE.
23. Gold unit: KARAT.
24. "Coming with?": YOU IN?
25. Radio hobbyists: HAMS - One of the first scenes in the Jodi Foster movie Contact about SETI
29. Navigation aids that ring in waves: BELL BUOYS 😀 Not the kind usually found in hotel lobbies
31. Horned ungulate native to Africa: GNU.
32. Rental option: SEDAN - or...
35. Right around the corner: CLOSE - The last day of the 2022 - 2023 school year
36. Bread end: HEEL - I asked two teenage girls and they said they it was the "butt"
39. Stretch: LENGTHEN.
44. Most people: ASIANS.
46. Reunion attendee: ALUM.
48. Govt. bill: T-NOTE.
49. __ guard: HONOR - Watching this put a lump in my throat.
50. __ nous: ENTRE - ENTRE nous, j'adorerais faire la tournée de JSC avec Tony ! (Just between us, I'd love to tour JSC with Tony!) French.
51. Holy scroll: TORAH.
52. Chilling: ON ICE.
53. Day's first stroke: ONE AM - It comes after the last stroke of yesterday's midnight. DRIVE for my first golf stroke, not so much.
58. A quarter of dodici: TRE - Un quarto di dodici fa tre. (One fourth of twelve equals three). Italian
59. Cyclotron particle: ION - Google if you must. 😐
When I was in Junior High, we had a choice of four languages to take as an elective course. I believe it was mandatory to learn a second language then. We could choose from French, Spanish, Latin, and German. Given my presumed origin (proved later to be false), I chose German. I studied German from Grade 7 through Grade 12, and took enough credit hours in college to have German as my second "major"
Looking back, however, I wish now that I had either taken Spanish or French. Spanish would have served me well in my former International Business position, as I had several clients in Mexico and Latin America. Having lived in Florida and now Arizona, knowing Spanish would be an asset, too. French could have assisted me in my wine career; I represented several French suppliers and would've enjoyed being able to converse with them in their own tongue
Latin? Nope. Never had the urge to study it nor understand it. But today? Yes. Knowing Latin would have made solving today's puzzle so much easier!
17-across. Feles inquisitae?: POLLING CATS. Feles is the root word for feline; inquisitae is the nominative feminine plural for inquiring. POLLING CATS? Was David going for the homophonic POLL/POLE? As in POLECAT? Maybe the next one will provide me some direction ...
23-across. Apes ineptae?: BUMBLING BEES. First off, apis is the Latin for Bee(s). I searched as best I could to find if "apes" is the plural, but to no avail. Ineptae is the nominative feminine plural for inept. BUMBLING BEES? A takeoff on BUMBLEBEE? Moving on to number three ...
37-across. Ursi dividi?: POLARIZING BEARS. OK, this one is so obvious (to me, anyway) that I didn't need to look up the Latin --> English translation. Ursi (Ursa = Bear; think Ursa Minor/constellation) is probably the plural; dividi is probably the nominative feminine plural (for divide); this makes POLARIZING BEARS one of the easier "fits" (POLAR BEAR)
48-across. Cervi dominati?: REIGNING DEER. OK, back to Google Translate! Cervi is the Latin (also, Italian) for deer (singular OR plural); dominati is the nominative feminine plural for dominate. REIGNING DEER (REINDEER) was also pretty obvious once I got the hang of it
61. Porci circumspecti?: HEDGING HOGS. I knew that porcine = pig; circumspecti must mean (duh!) circumspect (unwilling to take a risk), and of course, be in the nominative feminine plural inflection. A female pig is a HOG; hedge = limit severely; HEDGEHOG is, well, a Hedgehog!
I know that as a wordsmith of sorts, I should've been more excited about today's puzzle. But to be honest, it left me "at a loss for words" ... here is the grid ... then on to the rest of the clues and entries
Across:
1. Taylor-Joy of "The Menu": ANYA. In a sort of CSO to desper-otto; I always prefer having a "gimme" at One Across. This took awhile for me to fill as I needed ESP
5. Unimpressed: BLASE. Which is the POLAR opposite of (10-across. "Terrif!":) FAB.
13. Shows the way: LEADS. I am sincerely hoping that someone (in the "comments" section below) "shows the way" to the cleverness of this puzzle, and LEADS us into repartee ...
15. Wee bits: IOTAS. Also clued as: Greek vowels
16. "Odds __ ... ": ARE. I will fill in the ". . ." Odds ARE that some of you will agree with me on today's puzzle, and some won't
19. Work of fiction?: LIE. In a sort of CSO to Irish Miss, this is #2 of 20 (total) three-letter entries
20. Connected, in a way: ONLINE. Does anyone miss this sound of being connected ONLINE?
21. Radio host Shapiro who wrote "The Best Strangers in the World": ARI. I knew this one; I have used ARI and/or Shapiro in one of my published puzzles
22. One side on "The Americans," initially: USSR. I have not watched this show. I think it is streaming on Hulu ...
26. Taxi: CAB. Which somehow didn't intersect with (22-down. Took someone else's wheels:) UBERED. Neither of these gave me much of a lyft ...
31. "Welp," quaintly: ALAS. Oddly, this clue could be reversed and be equally sussed
33. Solidified: SET.
35. Ventricle's outlet: AORTA.
41. "Is That Black Enough for You?!?" documentarian Mitchell: ELVIS. In his own words
42. "As __ usual": PER. #6 of the 3-letter entries
43. Water fall?: DRIP. Cute clue
44. Drone regulator: Abbr.: FAA. Federal Aviation Authority
45. Pt. of IRA: RET. Short for RETirement
47. Bagged leaves?: TEA. Cute clue
54. Fencing event: EPEE. Most people associate EPEE with a type of sword rather than the event itself
55. __ tai: MAI. #10 of the 3-letter's
56. Pool unit: ONE LAP. "DOODIE" (aka, PAYDAY) also fit ... see the video:
60. Silly string?: LOL. I'm guessing the clue is for the "string" of words "laugh out loud"
63. Insert: ADD. #12
64. Posts: MAILS. Could be combined with (67-across. Gastropod for gastronomes:) SNAIL, to better describe at what pace cards, letters, and packages move through the USPS
65. Retreats in the desert: OASES. They're not always a mirage, FYI
66. "Are you solving a crossword right now?" answer: YES. Ha Ha! But for this blog, the correct clue would be: "Are you reading the Crossword Corner right now?"
68. Word in many award category names: BEST. Should there be a "BEST" of Blog award, here at the Corner? Who would YOU vote for? My vote goes to Susan ...
Down:
1. Chewy brand: ALPO. I had KONG on the brain. It (KONG) is a well-known brand of chew toys for pets
2. Super bright: NEON. MENSA didn't fit
3. Southern party: Y'ALL. Singular; the plural (parties) is ALL Y'ALL
4. Off the cuff: ADLIB. All of my blog; there is absolutely nothing that I do scripted
5. Popular: BIG. Was this movie popular?
6. One who's likely rooting for the home team: LOCAL. Here's a tune I remember from my youth; the movie? Not so much:
7. Single-button joystick creator: ATARI. A new clue for this crossword entry
8. Pointe shoe material: SATIN. "Pointe" seems like a ballet reference; ballet dancers wear SATIN shoes
9. One of a Mississippi quartet: ESS. What if they were looking to feature the four I's instead?
10. Early misstep: FALSE START. A football reference, among others. Speaking of others, for any of you who are looking to become a sprinter, this tutorial on how to avoid a FALSE START is worth watching
11. Surface: ARISE.
12. Cold ones: BEERS. Unlike the plural of DEER, BEER has an ESS at the end
14. Head space?: SINUS. As someone who used to sell plastic closures, we always took the "head space" to mean the unfilled area between the liquid/contents of a bottle, and the cap. Back in my early BEER drinking days, this seemed quite amuzing:
18. Serious foe: NEMESIS. Interesting that "THESAURUSSAURUS" shows "foe" as a synonym for NEMESIS, but not the other way around ...
24. "Diamonds & Rust" folk singer Joan: BAEZ.
25. Squishy lump: GLOB.
26. Lens __: CAP. I wonder if Picard had any of his plethora of photographs ruined by leaving his lens CAP attached?
27. The Body Shop additive: ALOE. A Friday-ish clue for this crossword-ese entry
28. Diamonds that don't sparkle?: BALL FIELDS. Not the subject of Ms. BAEZ's "Diamonds & Rust"
32. "Macho Man" Randy __: SAVAGE. A way to clue this word without its negative meaning, perhaps? Although to some, the "Macho Man" embodied his name
34. Pointer: TIP. #17
35. Mutually support: AGREE ON. Without sounding too "political", it's nice when our Congress has a bill that they all AGREE ON
36. "Acoustic Soul" artist India.__: ARIE. The "India ." gave it away for me, even without knowing the song
38. "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" director Johnson: RIAN. Here is a list of all of the "Star Wars" directors
39. Square figure: NERD. Does AREA fit this clue, too?
40. Day __: SPA. #18
46. Indie rock band Yo La __: TENGO. I tried "TANGO" at first. You?
48. Pass on: RELAY. As in a "RELAY" race; but no FALSE STARTS now, ya hear?
49. Lyric poem: EPODE. Not a word I often use in everyday language, (50. "That is ... ":) I MEAN.
Today's constructors are LAT veterans and sometime collaborators Dan Schwartz and Shannon Rapp, aka Norah Sharpe, who invite us to enter the crossworld of benign Diplopia ...
Seeing Double
...
but don't worry, you'll get over it. Their theme was pretty obvious
from the get go and made solving this one pretty easy. Here are the two
word themers, all identified by the trailing "?" If you got enough
perps in either word you could guess them both:
17A. Double bond?: PROMISES PROMISES. This clue might refer to a covalent bond (sort of the chemical equivalent of community property) and the fill could be the name of a Broadway musical,with the title song sung here by the Divine Dionne Warwick:
26A. Double check?: TESTING TESTING. Performed by the sound gal (or guy).
58. Double jump?: SURPRISE SURPRISE. I suppose this means to get a jump on someone, or it could be a checkers move, but by the time you got to this clue nothing would SURPRISE you.
REVEAL? Who needs a REVEAL?
Here's the grid ...
Here's the rest ... Across:
1. Book that presents world views?: ATLAS.
6. Plus-one, say: GUEST.
11. Mo. town: STL. A CSO to inanehiker I believe ...
20. Shady, in gamer lingo: SUS. Short for SUSPICIOUS.
21. Novelist Deighton: LEN. Leonard Cyril Deighton
born 18 February 1929) is a British author. His publications have
included cookery books, history and military history, but he is best
known for his spy novels. His first spy novel was The IPCress File.
Len Deighton He looks like a tough cookie
22. Early Canon auto focus camera: SURE SHOT. Surprise Surprise, there are still other cameras besides the iPhone, e.g. the Sure Shot Supreme.
23. Cutting edge: BLADE.
25. Numeric prefix: TRI.
26. [Theme clue].
32. Creates a lot of drama?: EMOTES.
34. "Double Indemnity" novelist: CAIN. James Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892 – October 27, 1977) was an
American novelist, journalist and screenwriter. He is widely regarded as
a progenitor of the hard boiled school of American crime fiction. Also a Marylander. Here's a trailer for the 1944 film Double Indemnity. Who knew that Fred MacMurray played bad guys? ...
A clecho for all our themers?.
35. "What __ care?": DO I. The anthem of our era.
36. Splash against gently: LAP AT.
37. __ Whip: frozen pineapple treat: DOLE. Also a former Senate Majority Leader and later a spokesperson for the little blue pill.
Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021)
38. Lofty living spaces?: BARNS.
40. __ Lanka: SRI. A standin for Kerala, India in the remarkable series The Good Karma Hospital starring the incomparable Amanda Redman ...
41. Explorer with a talking backpack: DORA. The case of the missing backpack ...
42. "O churl, drunk all, and left no friendly drop / To help me after!" speaker: JULIET. This line is spoken in Act 5 Scene 3 of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In prior acts ROMEO has been banished to Mantua for killing Tybalt, but before he leaves, Friar Lawrence has secretly married the young couple. To forestall a forced marriage to Romeo's rival Paris,
the Friar has concocted a scheme for Juliet to take a sleeping potion
that will make her appear dead, and she will then be laid in a tomb by
her family. The messenger that the Friar sent to Romeo to inform him of
this scheme has been delayed and Romeo first hears news that she has
died. He buys poison from an apothecary and rushes to Juliet's tomb to
die with her. When he arrives and sees her lifeless body, Romeo takes
the poison, and dies. Juliet then awakes and finding her poisoned
husband, she berates him in the line above for leaving "no friendly
drop" for her, and then stabs herself with his dagger (this clip may
seem a little dark, but then it IS filmed in a tomb - oh and it's quiet,
so turn up the sound) ... 43. [Theme clue]
47. Lil Wayne's "__ Block Is Hot": THA. I'm afraid Margaret said "Tsk, tsk ..." to this one.
48. Gridiron units: YARDS.
49. Challenged, as a verdict: APPEALED.
54. Emmy-winning sportscaster Buck: JOE. Had this been four letter fill the answer would have been JACK, his father. JOE Buck worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for the network's National Football League and Major League Baseball coverage. He served as the play-by-play announcer for the World Series from 1996 to 2021, with the exceptions of 1997 and 1999, when Bob Costas called those particular World Series for NBC.
Joe Buck
55. Dish with yellow or red lentils: DAL. A staple of Indian cuisine. Here's a recipe for DAL and potato soup, one of our favorites.
3. Landlocked country on the Mekong: LAOS. LAOS, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic is in the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.
Laos
4. Pitcher's asset: ARM.
5. All one can do: SKILL SET. A PITCHER needs not only a good ARM,
but the ability to read the catcher's signs, throw strikes, field line
drives hit straight at him, and pick off runners who stray too far from
first base.
6. Base figs.: GIS. Not the one's in the previous clue.
10. Speed chess equipment: TIMERS. Chess timers
consist of two adjacent clocks with buttons to stop one clock while
starting the other, so that the two clocks never run simultaneously.
Chess clocks are used in chess and other two-player games where the
players move in turn. A CSO to -T.
Chess Clocks
11. Merit badge holder: SASH.
12. __ James of "The White Lotus": THEO. Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis (born 16 December 1984), known professionally as Theo James, is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Tobias "Four" Eaton in The Divergent Series film trilogy. He has starred in the horror films Underworld: Awakening (2012) and Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) and the science fiction film Archive (2020). In television, he has appeared in the crime drama series Golden Boy (2012), the romance series The Time Traveler's Wife (2022), and the dark comedy series The White Lotus (2022).
Theo James
13. Have legs: LAST.
15. "Antiracist Baby" author Ibram X. __: KENDI. Antiracist Baby is a 2020 children's book written by Ibram X. Kendi and illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky.
The book, inspired by the author's 4-year-old daughter, was conceived
as a tool for discussing racism with young children. I think this is a
conversation that all people of color eventually have to have with their
children. Perhaps it's a conversation that all parents should have
with their children.
Ibram X. KendiAshley Lukashevsky
18. Parking spots?: SEATS. Places to park your tush?
19. "Really, though?": IS IT. Apparently.
23. __ carotene: BETA. β-Carotene (beta-carotene) is an organic, strongly colored red-orange pigment abundant in fungi, plants, and fruits. It is a biochemical precursor to Vitamin A.
24. Request that rhymes with "One more!": ENCORE. French for AGAIN, i.e. "play it again" As the clue doesn't specify what to repeat, how about Yuga Wang playing Chopin's Waltz in C sharp minor, Opus 64 No. 2 ...
The Andromeda Galaxy, M31 with satellite galaxies M32 (center left above the galactic nucleus) and M110 (center right below the galaxy)
28. Connection: TIE.
29. "Cats" star Elba: IDRIS. IDRIS isn't solely to blame, but in case you're wondering why Rotten Tomatoes scored CATS a solid 19%, ... 30. Squat: NONE.
31. Main idea: GIST.
32. Alternatively: ELSE.
33. Brothers known for "Duck Soup" and "Animal Crackers": MARX. A CSO to ChairmanMoe. You know I couldn't let this opportunity pass ...
37. Hairstyles: DOS. Or today's Spanish lesson #1?.
38. Where to hang on the line?: BUS DEPOT.
39. Some craft beers: ALES.
41. Handing out, as cards: DEALING.
42. Judgmental type?: JUROR.
44. Southwest sch. with architecture inspired by Bhutan: UTEP. A learning moment for me. TheUniversity of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)
is a public research university and a member of the University of Texas
System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to
have a majority Mexican American student population (about 80%) after
the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. On October 29, 1916, a
devastating fire destroyed the main building of the University of Texas
El Paso , prompting its relocation. In 1917, the new school facility
was constructed on its present site above Mundy Heights at the Paso del
Norte, with the land donated by several El Paso residents. In a period
when United States architects were designing in styles adopted
especially from Europe, Kathleen Worrell, wife of the university's dean, was attracted by photographs of the Kingdom of Bhutan in a 1914 issue of National Geographic magazine, which showed the dzong architecture style of its Buddhist monasteries. Many of the features of that style are incorporated into the buildings and layout of the UTEP campus.
University of Texas El Paso
Tashichho Dzong, Bhutan
45. Islamic law: SHARIA. SHARIA (Arabic: شريعة,) is a body of religious law
that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the
religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of
Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith.
55. Latin day: DIEM. Today's Latin Lesson. Often used in the expression "Carpe Diem" ("seize the day") or more commonly YOLO ("you only live once"). Or maybe not.
56. "Right away" letters: ASAP. "As Soon As Possible", as opposed to a medical term that a 62A learns right way: STAT ("IMMEDIATELY!").
57. Singer Horne: LENA. Lena Mary Calhoun Horne
(June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer,
and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy
years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Here she sings The Lady is a Tramp, but I think the lady has a lot of class ...
59. Mme., in Mallorca: SRA. Spanish lesson #3. This definitely calls for a CSO to Lucina. It also reminds me of the drama series The Mallorca Files about Max and Miranda, a classic pair of mismatched detectives thrown together on the (beautiful!) Spanish island of Mallorca ... The
picture above is misleading - after two seasons he still hasn't kissed
her. But the series has been renewed for a third season, so there's
always hope.
60. Early TV brand: RCA. A CSO to Misty.
Cheers, Bill
As always, thanks to Teri for proof
reading, for her constructive criticism.
27. Won't take no for an answer: INSISTS. Makes an offer you can't refuse.
31. "You are here" display: MAP.
Meta, eh?
34. Puts together, as Lego sets: BUILDS.
36. Plant anchor: ROOT.
37. Heart chambers: ATRIA.
39. Turn down?: DIM.
40. Cliff dwelling: AERIE. How is this fill not Cheers?
Cliff's Dwelling
41. Day break?: NOON. Cute - AM breaks to PM and you lunch.
42. Gecko or iguana: LIZARD.
44. Majestic tree: ELM.
45. Ginormous number: UMPTEEN. Pop always told me for the UMPTEENth time not to blah, blah,...
47. Alaskan gold rush town: NOME.
49. Chills out (with): HANGS.
51. Childbirth technique: LAMAZE. No painkillers method. DW called the anesthesiologist her new best friend.
55. Hacker's goal: ACCESS. Well, I mean access is a step but we probably have a larger goal. #lulz
58. [See: theme]
60. Investigation: PROBE.
61. "Tell me about it, __": "Grease" line: STUD.
You're the One That I Want
62. New Haven collegians: ELIS. ELIhu Yale donated a bucket-ton of money to Collegiate School and, in 1718, they changed the name of the school to Yale.
63. "Bike faster!": PEDAL. That ET Scene comes to mind.
64. High top __: hairstyle: FADE.
High top FADE
65. Green land: EIRE. Biden was there last week.
66. Trade-show freebies: SWAG.
Stickers are the best SWAG [one of my laptops]
67. Desert antelope: ORYX. I had ibeX.
Straight Horns
68. Dragon roll fish: EEL. ? I know roe, shrimp tempura, and/or spicy tuna but not EEL. Took me a while to find a recipe that even mentions EEL in a Dragon roll.
Y'all that know better, please correct me.
Down:
1. Sweeping stories: EPICS. Oh, not the stories about much of my time in the Army.
Sweep and Mop and Dust the floor
Your Left. Right. Left.
#Army - Be All You Can Be ;-)
2. Herb in the spice blend za'atar: SUMAC. A Middle-Eastern blend that includes the herbs oregano, marjoram or thyme along with toasted sesame seeds, dried sumac, salt, as well as other spices. [internet]
3. Vital force, in yoga: PRANA. Prana is a Sanskrit word that has a number of interpretations in English, including "life force," "energy" and "vital principle." The term is used in Hindu and yogic philosophy to refer to all the manifest energy in the universe, present in both living beings and inanimate objects. [ibid]
4. Yukon game: CARIBOU.
5. Metal containers?: ORES.
6. Creator of the Lorax: SEUSS. Theodor Seuss Geisel wrote The Lorax in 1971.
7. Bar fixture: TAP.
Have 200 different beers and your name goes on a saucer on the wall.
8. [See: Theme].
9. Chocolate or yellow dogs, for short: LABS.
Yellow, Black, and Chocolate
10. Some NASA data-retrieval missions: EVAS. Extravehicular Activities - outside the spacecraft.
Outside the Tin Can [Chris Hadfield's version of Space Oddity]
26. Dependent (on): RIDING. I started 'relying' before running out of squares.
28. Feeling the effects of too much exercise, say: SORE. Hand-up if you also inked achE first.
29. Sweat and strain: TOIL.
30. Flute part: STEM. Champagne flutes have stems.
A Flute's Stem
31. Premier League team, to fans: MAN-U. Soccer's, erm football's, Manchester United is a UK Premier League team. That and "don't use your hands" is near the extent of my knowledge of the sport.
//I'm learning more from Ted Lasso.
32. Tiny particle: ATOM.
33. Theater accessory: PROP.
35. Claiborne of fashion: LIZ.
38. [See: theme]
40. Jingle-writing guy: AD MAN.
42. Part of SLR: LENS.
43. Low-tech card file: ROLODEX. I have not heard "Rolodex" in years and, yet, the last puzzle I expo'd [Sunday 4/9] also had it?!?
46. Supporter of the arts?: EASEL. Cute but the "?" gave it away.
48. Toaster or roaster, maybe: EMCEE. Or both [Peter Falk toasts & roasts Ol' Blue Eyes - 11:53]
50. Stringed instrument in Hindi cinema: SITAR.
52. Four-time WNBA 3-Point Contest champion Quigley: ALLIE. After UChicago, she went onto Chicago Sky.
Allie Quigley
53. Former name of Kinshasa's country: ZAIRE. I didn't get the memo.
54. Unsuccessful Ford: EDSEL.
55. Programs that may update on their own: APPS. On your iThing or 'Droid.
56. College sport on the water: CREW. Rowing.
57. Musical ending: CODA. Anyone else ink "aria" out of habit?
59. Football film starring Sean Astin: RUDY [IMDB]. No clue.
61. Hub northwest of LAX: SFO. Los Angeles International and, NW, San Francisco International.
The Grid:
The Grid
Thank you Bruce for a fun puzzle with little bits of learning.
WOs: I always spell S[h]ure wrong, ibid PEDle, relyi->RIDING, ache->SORE, aria->CODA, ibex->ORYX
ESPs: PRANA, RUDY, ALLIE Fav: SURFS for "Sees the [web] sites."
I hope the expo provided a little something for everyone. Y'all have a Wonderful Wednesday!
Cheers, -T
Master constructor Doug Peterson gave me a start when I came across two "I have no idea" names. However, they took care of themselves. I had a fun trip through Doug's lovely puzzle and earned my "got 'er done" reward in short order.
