Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap of a puzzle by Taylor Johnson who first appeared in this venue just a few days shy of one year ago (on 22 May 2022, per Bill). Taylor has also had puzzles published in other venues. Previously, he has employed themes where letters have to be removed from common words and phrases in order to form appropriate (and humorous) answers to the clues. Today, in an example of, arguably, increased efficiency, nothing has to be removed. A single letter merely has to be moved over from the start of one word to the end of the preceding word. He provides the key at:
59 Across: Makes room, and when parsed differently, an instruction for four answers in this puzzle: MOVES OVER. Or, as intended here, MOVE S OVER.
He applies this methodology at four places in the grid:
17 Across: Leg muscle of a mathlete?: GEEK'S QUAD. Geek Squad (techies) is modified by moving the S from the beginning of the word SQUAD to the end of the word GEEK thereby making GEEK possessive. At the risk of being redundant, GEEK SQUAD morphs into GEEK'S QUAD (as in quadriceps).
31 Across: Fruity pastry made by a movie boxer?: ROCKY'S TART. Similarly, ROCKY START becomes ROCKY'S TART. What Adrian certainly was not?
Theme From Rocky XIII
35 Across: Pub pour for an enlisted soldier?: PRIVATE'S ALE. Parsed differently, PRIVATE SALE.
42 Across: Vacation for a stand-up performer?: COMIC'S TRIP. COMIC STRIP.
Comic's (and POTUS's) Trip
Here is how this looks in the grid:
. . . and here are the rest of the clues/answers:
Across:
1. Informant: RAT. Hollywood gangster movie jargon.
4. MGM part: METRO.
9. Labor leader Chavez: CESAR. His granddaughter was recently tapped to be the current president's reelection campaign manager.
14. Goof: ERR.
15. Sprinter Bolt: USAIN. Among other accomplishments, an eight-time gold medalist at the Olympics.
16. Enough: AMPLE. Knock. Knock. Who's there? Four eggs. Four eggs who? Four eggs AMPLE.
19. Stacked: BUILT. A bit of a stretch. In slang, both stacked and BUILT have another meaning. Perhaps that's what was intended here.
20. "Don't you agree?," informally: INNIT. Punt!
21. Darn things: SEW. Darn, here, is used as a verb as in to mend.
23. However, poetically: THO.
24. Game requiring plug-ins?: MAD LIBS. You plug your words into the blanks without knowing the context (a second participant asks you for a noun, a verb, an adjective, etc.). The results can sometimes be hilarious.
27, Idle Talk: CHATTER
30. International gas brand: ESSO. From Standard Oil. S.O.
33. Source of a low blow?: TUBA. A bit of word play. A wind instrument that plays low notes. Hand up for first thinking of KNEE,
34. "History of the World, Part II" actress/writer Wanda: SYKES. The Hulu TV series is meant to be a sequel to the 1981 Mel Brooks movie. It's good to be the king.
39. Like part of some fusion cuisine: ASIAN.
41. Semisoft cheese: EDAM. Not all cheeses are made in the same manner. In fact, EDAM is made backwards.
45. Shirt part with a button: CUFF.
49. Tip: POINTER.
50. ESPN Deportes language: ESPANOL. The clue employs the Spanish language so the answer does also.
52. Small bill: ONE. As in legal tender, currency.
53. Crossed (out): XED
55. __ board: EMERY. A SURF board was too short. A CUTTING board was too large. Ouija board fit but didn't work. Thanks, again, perps.
56. Pegasus pair: WINGS. The mythical winged horse.
62. First name in cosmetics: ESTEE. ESTEE Lauder visits us frequently.
63. Netflix crime drama set in Missouri: OZARK.
64. Self-regard: EGO.
65. River in a van Gogh painting: RHONE.
66. Event of passing interest?: RELAY. RELAY race. Pass the baton. Literally.
67. Silent approval: NOD.
Down:
1. Ruling period: REGIME. It can be used to mean the time period although more often it refers to the government in power.
2. Entertainment centers?: ARENAS. A bit of word play. Places where you might go for entertainment. Not something like this:
3. Directions: TRENDS. Would one ever say that current directions are in the right, or wrong, direction?
4. "You honestly need me to do that?": MUST I. Quotation clues provide much flexibility.
5. Letters on some office suite doors: ESQ. ESQuire is an honorific for an attorney. Collectively, we're still working out the approriate honorific as esquiress does not seem to have caught on.
6. Sigma follower: TAU. It helps to know the Greek alphabet if one likes to solve crossword puzzles . . . or at least print it out and keep that sheet of paper handy.
7. Narrow inlets: RIAS. Crosswordese.
8. Next: ON DECK. Best known as a baseball reference. The next batter up is said to be ON DECK.
9. Indie rockers Death __ for Cutie: CAB. Often clued with a reference to wine or Uber.
10. Cassowary cousin: EMU.
11. Classic bit of slapstick: SPIT TAKE. A SPIT TAKE is a comedic technique or reaction in which someone spits a drink, or sometimes food, out of their mouth as a reaction to a surprising or funny statement.
12. "Everyone's accounted for": ALL HERE.
13. Fires back, in a way: RETORTS. Verbal bantering.
18. K, in the NATO alphabet: KILO. Same tip as for 6 Down, above.
22. Frequent question from a toddler: WHY
25. British dude: BRUV. Brother --> Brudder - -> Bruvver --> BRUV. Unfamiliar to this solver. Thanks, perps.
26. Buckwheat noodle: SOBA.
28. Indian state near Bhutan: ASSAM. An oft visited place in crosswords. Sometimes clued with a reference to tea.
29. Brief sign-off: TTYL. Talk To You Later. Hand up for first trying TA TA. Cheerio!
32. Cover the spread?: CATER. Provide the food on the table as in "that's a nice spread."
33. Hint of color: TINCT. Hand up for TINGE.
35. Olive stuffing: PIMIENTO. A red, heart-shaped pepper.
36. Cloudburst: RAIN.
37. Singer Brickell: EDIE. She knows what she knows if you know what I mean. Married to Paul Simon.
38. Drains: SAPS. SAP is another word with multiple meanings.
39. Household outlet output: AC POWER. Alternating Current.
40. "In a few": SOONISH. Acceptable . . . ish.
43. __ ed: SEX. No longer limited to those "social disease" films that they showed us in high school.
44. Shiver: TREMOR.
45. Hunting garb: CAMO. CAMOuflage
46. Bumpy: UNEVEN.
47. Precede: FOREGO. Although it is usually employed to mean relinquish or go without, FOREGO can also mean to go before.
48. Casting option: FLY ROD. Sculpture (lost wax casting)? Hollywood ensemble? To throw? To watch your cellphone screen on your TV? Nope. A fishing reference.
51. Annoying: PESKY. Where does the word "politics" come from? From the Greek "poly" for many and the English "ticks" for PESKY parasites.
54. Nap: DOZE.
57. Mil. title: GEN. GENeral Abbr / Abbr
58. Match, in poker: SEE.
60. Kilmer of film: VAL.
Nick Rivers Straightens That Rug
61. Cy Young stat: ERA. A baseball reference. Earned Run Average. The Cy Young award is given annually to the best pitcher in each of the two major leagues.
His theme today is contained in 4 over the shoulder
zingers said by the person who got in the last word at a less than amicable
departure. This is not the type of theme that helps you to solve the
puzzle, but rather one that is a puzzle in itself, While this will
disappoint some, I think that it would be difficult to suss without the
circles, and in the event that your publisher didn't include them
just
Give It Your Best Shot
For reasons we'll see shortly, each themer consists of a pair of
answers. I've highlighted the letters that appear in the grid
circles.
Pair 1:
17A. Song from "Anything Goes":
YOU'RE THE TOP. Here's Ella Fitzgerald with this classic
Cole Porter musical
(click Show more for lyrics) ...
19A. Shaved __: ICE. Summer will be here before you know it.
Here's a place
that sells this delight less than a mile from where we live.
We call them Snow Balls
Pair 2:
22A. "Lodge 49" actor __ Russell: WYATT.
Lodge 49 is an American comedy-drama television series
created by Jim Gavin. It aired on the cable television network AMC
in the United States from August 6, 2018, to October 14, 2019.
Wyatt plays Sean "Dud" Dudley, an ex-surfer who discovers
Lodge 49 and is looking to lead a happy life. The series was
cancelled after 2 seasons, so let's hope he found it.
24A. Like some hockey goals:
EMPTY NET. An
empty net goal, abbreviated as EN or ENG and colloquially called an empty
netter, occurs in several team sports when a team scores a goal into a net with
no goaltender (goalie) present. After reading the above link, I'm still
unclear on the concept and hope that somebody (CanadianEh!?) stops by and
'splains it.
Pair 3:
35A. Wet/dry garage cleaner:
SHOP VAC. These are very useful in a pottery studio where you're working with
clay and water, as long you don't have to change between wet and dry filters
too often.
38A. HBO subsidiary:
CINEMAX.
Cinemax is
an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the
Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Pair 4:
52A. Pain relief brand:
EXCEDRIN. A combination drug (Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) / paracetamol
(acetaminophen) / caffeine) for the treatment of pain, especially tension
headache and migraine.
54A. Olympic swimmer Ledecky:
KATIE.
Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky
(born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer. She has won
seven Olympic gold medals and 19 world championship gold medals,
the most in history for a female swimmer. Ledecky's
six individual gold medals at the Olympics,
14 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships, and
22 overall medals at the World Aquatics Championships are records in
women's swimming Here's Katie fresh from the pool ...
Katie Ledecky
And the reveal:
60. End of a testy exchange, and what can be
found four times in this puzzle, thanks to four black squares:
PARTING SHOT.
Here's the grid, with the four types of
SHOTS each "parted" by a
BLACK square. ...
And here they are reunited ...
PIC as in PHOTO ATTEMPT as in TRY VACCINE as in VIRUS :PROTECTION DRINK as in a stiff drink of
HARD LIQUOR
And with the exception of "attempt", let's thank Doug and Patti for NOT including these other types of shots ...
... We get daily doses of these from other publications. 😔
Here's the rest ... Across:
1. Arduous journeys: TREKS. E.g. journeying through all the Star
TREK series and spinoffs is really arduous.
6. On the move: ASTIR.
11. Dr. J's first pro league: ABA. It's a little known fact that before
Julius Irving
joined the NBA he was in the legal profession ...
20. Comic Boosler: ELAYNE. Here's Boosler on
Leno...
21. Crunch at breakfast?: CAP'N. The story of
CAP’NCRUNCH
and the toy whistle that spawned an industry ...
22. [Theme clue] 24. [Theme clue]
27. Pixar short about a steamed dumpling: BAO. The story of an
Asian delight on the threshold of crossword stardom.
28. Alien-seeking org.: SETI.
Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. If we can't find any here, why would we expect to find any in outer
space? It makes great science fiction though ...
30. Kidneys, e.g.: ORGANS.
31. Does some grilling: ASKS. Whenever perps are subjected to
this the cops DON'T ASK NICELY.
33. Arthurian island: AVALON.
Avalon, or Insula Avallonis, the legendary island of Celtic mythology, is where, according to some
sources, King Arthur’s Excalibur sword was forged. It is also the place where
the mythical king was taken, fatally wounded, to meet his death. In short,
Avalon is a utopian paradise where the legends of English knights and political
wholeness unite in a kingdom lost in the mists of time.
The Lake of Avalon
35. [Theme clue] 38. [Theme clue]
42. Clicker: REMOTE. Or somewhere LOCAL,like in the
sofa maybe.
44. Rummikub piece: TILE.
Rummikub
(/ˈrʌmikjuːb/[1]) is a tile-based game for 2 to 4 players, combining elements of
the card game rummy and mahjong.
Here's the official site.
45. Unruffled: SERENE.
48. Caspian country: IRAN.
51. Here-there connection: NOR.
52. [Theme clue] 54.
[Theme clue]
56. Checkout IDs: UPCS. Universal Product Codes.
57. Fool's gold: PYRITE. It may not be gold, but
it has its uses.
Pyrite
Here's what the real stuff looks like ...
Gold Nugget
59. __ Speedwagon: REO.
REO Speedwagon, or simply REO, is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois.
Formed in 1966, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved
significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. The group's best-selling
album, Hi Infidelity (1980), contained four US top 40 hits and sold more
than 10 million copies. Here's Keep on Loving You from that album
...
60. [Reveal clue]
65. Each and every: ALL.
66. Prove useful: AVAIL.
67. Slip away from: ELUDE. Some things you just can't
ELUDE ...
68. Agcy. with a "3-1-1" rule for liquids: TSA. In case you
haven't flown lately ...
69. "I did awesome!": YAY ME. "Good for you!"
70. Like Cheerios: OATEN.
Down:
1. Archaic possessive: THY.
2. Christ the Redeemer locale: RIO.
Christ the Redeemer is an Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ in RIO de Janeiro,
Brazil, created by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by
Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa. Romanian sculptor
Gheorghe Leonida sculpted the face. Constructed between 1922 and 1931,
the statue is 30 metres (98 ft) high, excluding its 8-metre (26 ft) pedestal.
The arms stretch 28 metres (92 ft) wide. It is made of reinforced concrete and
soapstone.
Christ the Redeemer
3. Earthbound bird: EMU.
4. Peninsula near Japan: KOREA.
5. Refines, as ore: SMELTS. Also tiny fishes ...
Smelts
6. Like a used barbecue pit: ASHY.
7. When, in Act I, Lear curses "a thankless child": SCENE IV. In
this clip from
Act 1 Scene 4, performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Antony Sher plays King Lear mercilessly
berating his "thankless child" Goneril, played by Nia Gwynne (wait for it - the line in the clue is at the very end) [subtitles were lost by the clip - words below] ...
LEAR It may be so, my lord.— Hear, Nature, hear, dear goddess, hear! Suspend thy purpose if thou didst intend To make this creature fruitful. Into her womb convey sterility. Dry up in her the organs of increase, And from her derogate body never spring A babe to honor her. If she must teem, Create her child of spleen, that it may live And be a thwart disnatured torment to her. Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth, With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks, Turn all her mother’s pains and benefits To laughter and contempt, that she may feel How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is To have a thankless child.—Away, away!
A CSO to our thespian Ole' Man Keith, who I'm sure has berated a few Gonerils in his time, for an explanation as to how she came to merit such abuse.
8. Sacred carving: TOTEM. For example the TOTEM poles
created by First Nations peoples of the Pacific Northwest to represent
and commemorate ancestry, histories, people, or events. I first learned
of these works in the pages of Boys Life as a scout and to see them is on my bucket list. Another CSO to CanadianEh!:
G’psgolox Pole Haisla people British Columbia, CA
9. 2019 Uber event, briefly: IPO. Initial Public Offering.
10. Weight room iteration: REP.
11. "West Side Story" Oscar winner DeBose: ARIANA. Ariana DeBose
(born January 25, 1991) is an American actress. She has received
various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film
Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a nomination for a Tony Award. In 2022,
Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Here Anita, played by Ariana, tells the Jets what happened to Maria ... 12. Popular writer?: BIC PEN. Cute.
13. Boris and Natasha, e.g.: AGENTS. From the greatest cartoon series of all time here's Boris on a Broomstick or The Flying Sorceror ...
18. "Girls Trip" actor Larenz: TATE. Girls Trip is a 2017 American comedy film starring Regina Hall (Ryan), Queen Latifah (Sasha), Tiffany Haddish (Dina), and Jada Pinkett Smith (Lisa). It follows a group of four friends who go to New Orleans to attend the Essence Music Festival in order to reconnect after a long time. Larenz TATE plays Ryan's love interest ...
26. Jumbo suffix: TRON. My son took 3 of his children to an O's game at Camden Yards
recently. It was my 8 year old grandson's first time at a ballgame.
My son said that he was so excited that he danced the whole time. It was
only a matter of time before the Jumbo-TRON spotted them and my
son managed to get this long shot. The 8 year old is 2nd from the left
and my son's on the right taking this picture:
Here's a groufie he took of the four of them. He said the youngest was starting to fade ...
And the icing on the cake:
My
son asked me to put in something about "Baseball being America's
greatest pastime", but I said that would violate the Corner's "no
religion" policy. 😀
43. "A Christmas Carol" child: TINY TIM. Last week we had the miser Ebeneezer Scrooge.
45. "Bathers at Asnières" painter Georges: SEURAT. Bathers at Asnières (French: Une Baignade, Asnières) is an 1884 oil on canvas painting by French artist Georges Pierre Seurat. And today's French lesson:
Bathers at Asnières
46. Boots out: EXPELS.
47. Pepsi alternative: RC COLA.
49. Analogous: AKIN.
50. "Wicked Tuna" channel, familiarly: NAT GEO. - To steal a phrase from Otto von Bismarck - "Anybody who likes AHI and respects the law, should never see either being made". Wicked Tuna follows a group of salty fishermen from the nation's oldest seaport, Gloucester, Massachusetts,
as they make their living the way it's been done for centuries – rod
and reel fishing, one catch at a time – all in pursuit of the bluefin tuna A reel reality show. Here's a trawler ...
53. "Here's hoping ... ": I PRAY. As I get older I seem to be doing more of this every day.
55. Rock band named for an inventor: TESLA. And I thought they were named for an EV. TESLA is an American rock band from Sacramento, California. In late 1981, bassist Brian Wheat and guitarist Frank Hannon formed a band named City Kidd, which evolved into Tesla. Here's their Love Song ... 58. Tick off: RILE.
60. Prove useful: PAY.
61. "Sweet but Psycho" singer __ Max: AVA. Amanda Ava Koci (born February 16, 1994), known professionally as AVA
Max, is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Atlantic
Records in 2016, through which she released her breakthrough single,
"Sweet but Psycho", in August 2018.
62. Rough house: HUT.
63. Verse of exaltation: ODE.
64. X, on a Rolex: TEN.
Cheers, Bill
As always, thanks to Teri for
proof reading, for her constructive criticism.
Happy Wednesday folks! Anon -T here reporting for duty.
Emma and Shannon Rapp (aka Norah Sharpe) bring us three breeds of "Rover" that "Range" across the fill (in the circles) and unifies it with an SUV that will likely fit all the pups (but,... it's not a Subaru :-)).
17. Dog relaxing across a foam flotation device?: POOL NOODLE. Poodle. Pick which second O gets the circle.
//Here's where I got my wires crossed for a bit. I though "POOL POODLE; theme is dog-breeds with the first few letters making another first or second word."
You try to think of a breed that begins with TRI at second themer fill - ain't gonna work.
Anyway, when I got to the reveal, I realized the dogs are in the circles (which were light on my printout - I'll add toner to my Amazon cart), fixed my pOODLE to NOODLE, and filled the rest of the grid lickety-split.
28. Dog traveling through a mysterious section of the North Atlantic?: BERMUDA TRIANGLE. Beagle.
Our favorite Beagle
49. Dog spreading out at a minimal performance venue?: BLACKBOX THEATER. Boxer.
63. High-end SUV, and an apt description of each set of circled letters?: RANGE ROVER.
Cute and much more simple that I was trying to make it. Thanks Emma & Shannon for the entertaining puzzle.
Across:
1. "Between Two Ferns" host Galifianakis: ZACH.
12. __ mutter: potatoes and peas dish: ALOO. I think we've all learned this by now - foreign (not French) potatoes == ALOO. Don't get me wrong - I love a good Indian dish but never understand them as printed. I make Youngest order -- she grew up Montessori, knows Indian food, and knows what I like.
13. "Birmingham" sculptor Simone __: LEIGH. Perps. I Googled so you don't have to. Chicago artist born in '67. Amazing work!
15. Trick or treat: VERB. Ha!! "Fool" or "buy for." Also, noun: (magic) trick; (sweet) treat. Halloween is only 173 days away.
17. [see: theme]
19. Garden need: SOIL. "Fence" to keep out the critters was too long.
20. Respected figure: ELDER. Am I an ELDER yet? I've waited 52 years...
21. Round Table titles: SIRS. Trust me, I'm holding myself back from linking yet another Monty Python clip.
23. Cavaliers sch.: UVA. University Virginia.
24. Way out: EXIT. The egress.
Believe it or Not - That's how Ripley got 'em out the door.
26. Realms: EMPIRES.
28. [see: theme]
32. What "will be" will be: ARE. Cute. Very cute.
33. Window part: SASH. Pane also fit :-(
34. Short pants?: TROU. Short for Trousers.
35. 2019 documentary about fatherhood: DADS. Sussable.
37. "Designated Survivor" actor Penn: KAL. I Googled for an image and... "Kalpen Suresh Modi, known professionally as Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, academic lecturer, and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration." Fandom Link.
45. Court dividers: NETS. Tennis courts not basketball nets.
48. __ of Tranquility: SEA. Lunar geography and Apollo 11's landing site.
49. [see: theme]
53. Expression of love that doesn't quite land?: AIR KISS. Didn't land the kiss? Tsk. Tsk.
54. Stitches: SEWS.
55. Car care brand: STP. Scientifically Treated Petroleum. Or, if you visit STP's website: Science. Technology. Performance. Not to be confused with a Stone Temple Pilots'performance.
56. Fold: TUCK.
58. Pronoun pair: HE/HIM. You'll see this on some folks' Social Media profile -- pronouns to be used when addressing.
61. Call-and-response response: AMEN. #Church
63. [see: theme]
66. Renaissance fair instrument: LUTE.
67. Dentist's tool: DRILL. Open wide.
68. Angry outburst: RANT.
69. Opposite of NNE: SSW. Points on a compass rose.
70. Octagonal sign: STOP.
71. Codas: ENDS.
Down:
1. Comic book onomatopoeia: ZAP. Onomatopoeia - a word that sounds like what it means. But y'all knew that.
30. Fancy places to see the stars?: RED CARPETS. Planetarium didn't fit //and there's no Pink Floyd at the RED CARPET.
31. Quick note of appreciation: THANX. Saves only one letter typed. Thx is what I use - saves three keystrokes.
36. Bag of potatoes: SACK.
38. "Shall we?" response: LET'S. Do it!
40. "Told ya!": SEE.
41. Roof goo: TAR.
43. Comic vignette: SKIT.
44. Ridiculous: ABSURD. Inane. //CED came to mind ;-)
46. Viola Davis film whose tagline was "Change begins with a whisper": THE HELP.
Trailer
47. Ninja Turtle home: SEWER.
//want a story?
As undergrads, DW would do some babysitting for extra cash.
Being an educator, she'd teach the kids literature and art.
She introduced one kid (about 7yrs old) to Michelangelo.
"Mrs. K, I didn't know he painted too!"
He was talking about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
49. Rudimentary: BASAL.
50. Chemistry paper?: LITMUS. Stick in the stick and ph will show acid or base via color. Always fun to have a handful of these on hand for playing with, erm teaching, the kids.
51. 2023 awards for "Everything Everywhere All at Once": OSCARS.
52. On land: ASHORE.
57. Make mittens, say: KNIT.
59. Tennis star Lendl: IVAN.
60. Repair: MEND.
62. Just out: NEW.
64. __ Worm: 1980s bedtime toy: GLO.
My lil' Sis had one of these.
65. Shares again, on Twitter: RTS. RE-Tweets. Honestly, I've never gotten the hang of the TwitterVerse and I probably make myself look like an old dude when I RT a response. Frankly, Musk is making it worse (NPR & BBC #StateAffiliated. Really?). I'm still waiting on BlueSky to accept my "Let me play, please!" request. //end RANT
The Grid:
The Grid
WOs: noun->VERB, TanK, pane->SASH, BASic -> BASAL
ESPs: LEIGH, IVAN (as clued), KAL. Fav: Trick or treat == noun or VERB
Well, another expo in the books here at The Crossword Corner. Hope y'all had fun too.
Looking forward to y'alls take and expo corrections / additions.
Working for Peanuts. The Starting word of each theme answer pertains to one's wages:RATE,PAYand FEE.
18-Across. Review site used by students: RATE MY PROFESSORS. Yup! There's a website for that.
28-Across. Honor, with "to": PAY TRIBUTE.
49-Across. Alliterative chant from "Jack and the Beanstalk": FEE FI FO FUM.
And the unifier:
64-Across. Entry-level wages, and a hint to the first words of 18-, 28-, and
49-Across: STARTING SALARIES.
Across:
1. NYC nabe with the Museum of Ice Cream: SOHO. Who knew
there was a Museum of Ice Cream in the neighborhood South of Houston?
5. Keith Haring genre: POP ART. Keith Haring (né Keith Allan Haring; May 4, 1958 ~ Feb. 16, 1990) was known for his
Pop Art that often depicted themes of social activism. Sadly, he died of
complications of AIDS at only 31 years old. [Name # 1.]
11. First piece moved in chess, often: PAWN.
15. "My turn!": I'M UP.
16. Dealership perk: LOANER.
17. __ vera gel: ALOE. // Not to be confused
with 42-Across. Lisbon greeting: OLÁ. Today's
Portuguese lesson.
21. First part: INTRO.
22. Après-__: SKI. Today's French lesson.
23. White House rejections: VETOEs.
24. Bronx-born member of Congress, familiarly: AOC. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (b. Oct. 13, 1989) represents New York's 14th District in the United
States House of Representatives. [Name # 2.]
26. Using Wi-Fi: ON-LINE.
32. Ye __ Shoppe: OLDE.
35. Sheltered, at sea: ALEE. This used to be a crossword
staple.
36. German article: DER. Today's German lesson. //
And 41-Across. French article: LES.
37. Most concise: TERSEST.
40. Tell tales: LIE.
43. EMT skill: CPR.
44. Makeup for lashes: MASCARA.
46. Ride-or-die pal, briefly: BFF. I wasn't familiar with
the phrase "ride-or-die", but the perps gave me the Best Friend Forever. According to the Slang Dictionary, the phrase means extreme loyalty to someone or some thing. It does
not exactly have a positive connotation.
47. Singer Del Rey: LANA. Lana Del Rey (née Elizabeth
Woolridge Grant; b. June 21, 1985) is known for her melancholic melodies.
[Name # 3.]
48. Opportunity: SHOT.
52. Montana's capital: HELENA. How Helena got its name.
It's still a mystery. Maybe Montana will weigh in and give us her take on the State's
capital. [Name adjacent.]
54. Soccer goal part: NET.
55. Calm: SERENE.
58. Neutral possessive pronoun: IT'S.
60. __ cotta: TERRA. Today's Latin lesson. The term
means Baked Earth. I saw the Terra Cotta Warriors when I was in Xi'an,
C.C.'s home town.
67. Appellation: NAME.
68. Sign after Taurus: GEMINI. Gemini and Taurus = a love
match.
69. Colorful eye part: IRIS. Everything you wanted to know
about the Iris but didn't know to ask.
Iris are also colorful flowers
70. Avoided a tag, perhaps: SLID. Think baseball. It
looks painful.
71. Like some fancy bathroom floors: HEATED. My bathroom
floors are not so fancy. We did, however, experience some very fancy
heated toilets while in Vietnam.
72. "__ No Sunshine": Bill Withers hit: AIN'T. Bill Withers
(né William Harrison Withers, Jr.; July 4, 1938 ~ Mar. 30, 2020) was working
as an aircraft assembler when this song was released in 1971. [Name #
4.]
Down:
1. Apple's virtual assistant: SIRI. If you ask Siri personal
questions and you will get some funny answers. [Name # 5.]
2. Mideast sultanate: OMAN.
3. Sluglike species of "Star Wars": HUTT. The most famous
Hutt is probably Jabba.
4. Run: OPERATE. As in operating some sort of machine, and
not running a marathon.
5. Kleenex layer: PLY.
6. "My bad!": OOPS!
7. Sport that turns everyday objects into an obstacle
course: PARKOUR. You learn something new with every
crossword puzzle. The word parkour is derived from the French term (more of today's French lesson) parcours du combattant, which roughly translates to obstacle course.
8. Bless using oil: ANOINT. Charles III, King of Great
Britain (b. Nov. 14, 1948) was anointed at his coronation ceremony last
Saturday.
9. Whistle blower?: REF. Cute clue.
10. Rome's __ Fountain: TREVI. The Trevi Fountain was constructed in the 1700s. Construction began in 1732 and it
was completed in 1762.
11. Muted shades: PASTELS.
12. __ gobi: vegetarian curry dish: ALOO. Another learning
experience. Aloo Gobi is a vegetarian dish made with potatoes and cauliflower. It
looks good.
13. Was dressed in: WORE.
14. Loch in tabloid photos: NESS. The modern legend of the Loch Ness monster dates back just 90 years.
34. Broadcaster of some NCAA games: ESPNU. ESPNU is the
sister company of ESPN that covers college sports.
38. Pixieish: ELFIN.
39. Shuttle on rails: TRAM. Also known as streetcars.
41. Not yet visible: LATENT.
45. Held together: COHERED.
46. Scrams: BEATS IT.
47. Game of chance also known as "Mexican bingo": LOTERIA.
Another learning experience
50. Mystery: ENIGMA. Alan Turing (né Alan Mathison Turing;
June 23, 1912 ~ June 7, 1954) cracked the Enigma Code. The Enigma machine was an encryption machine the Germans used during
WWII to transmit coded messages. Turing and other researchers at
Bletchley Park found some weakness in the code and were able to decrypt it.
It's a fascinating history.
51. Greek cheese: FETA. Feta is a soft, crumbly Greek cheese
made from sheep or goat milk that is brined in salt.
53. "Psycho" actress Janet: LEIGH. Janet Leigh (née Jeanette
Helen Morrison; July 6, 1927 ~ Oct. 3, 2004) is the mother of actress Jamie
Lee Curtis (b. Nov. 22, 1958). The shooting of the shower scene
in Psycho gave Janet nightmares for years after. It
creeps me out, too. [Name # 6.]
55. Taxpayer IDs: SSNs. As in Social Security Numbers.
56. List-shortening abbr.: ET AL. A crossword staple.
57. Actor Malek: RAMI. Rami Said Malek (b. May 12, 1981)
made a convincing Freddie Mercury in the 2018 movie Bohemian Rhapsody. [Name # 7.]
59. Levelheaded: SANE.
61. 2023 Super Bowl performer, to fans: RI-RI. Ri-Ri is the
nickname of Rihanna (née Robin Rihanna Fenty; b. Feb. 20, 1988). She likes a lot of exposure.[Name #
8.]
62. Bridle part: REIN.
63. Admin. aide: ASST. As in an assistant.
65. Formerly called: NÉE. More of today's French lesson.
Technically, the word comes from the French which
means born. The word née, the feminine past participle of
naitre, "to be born." The masculine form is né.
