Theme: Scrubbing Bubbles - the circles all contain the brand name of a soap, as the reveal neatly explains:
40A. Speaker's stand ... or what each set of circled squares graphically represents : SOAP BOX
A neat Thursday from C.C. The four soap brands ZEST, DIAL, DOVE and LAVA are found clockwise in the puzzle's circles. I use Irish Spring, but have been known to eat Dove, of course(!) that's the chocolate version.
I was given the nickname "Soapbox" many years ago when I worked for Warner Bros. in London due to my penchant for sounding off on pretty much any subject. A couple of my friends still call me that even though I think I've tamed the "haranguing" beast.
Some fun stuff in the fill, let's go take a look.
Across:
1. Host of "Late Night Joy" : BEHAR. Not exactly a stranger to the soapbox herself.
6. Pennant contest : RACE. C.C. takes precisely two clues to get a baseball reference in!
10. Herbal seed used in smoothies : CHIA
14. Truly impress : AMAZE
15. Screen image or screen idol : ICON
16. Called : RANG. "You rang. M'Lord?"
17. Eleventh hour : LAST SECOND. If it's the last second, that really is taking the eleventh hour down to the wire.
19. Language of Pakistan : URDU
20. Beach toy : KITE
21. "Otello" composer : VERDI
22. She played Jackie on "Nurse Jackie" : EDIE. Actress Falco. Never saw the show myself. She looks a little glum.
23. Age of Reason philosopher : LOCKE. "The mind is furnished with ideas by experience alone" according to John. Serious-looking cove:
25. Short fiction : NOVELLAS. Cunning use of the plural form of "fiction."
27. Sloth and envy : SINS. Deadly ones at that.
29. First name in scat : ELLA
30. Super __ : PAC
33. Words after save or take : A SEAT
36. Afghan capital : KABUL. Three neighbors referenced today - Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
39. Lamb nurser : EWE
42. Mama bear, in Baja : OSA
43. Sauce made with pine nuts : PESTO Three Food! items one after another across the grid. I don't think I'll be eating all three together though.
45. Roll dipped in wasabi : SUSHI
46. __ cabbage : RED
47. Drawn tight : TAUT
49. Big name in golf clubs : PING. The company started out making a single type of putter. The club actually did "ping" when the ball came off the face, hence the name.
51. Bugs' voice : MEL BLANC.
55. Storied monsters : OGRES. Shrek didn't seem so bad as ogres go. There's always one or two that give a group a bad name.
58. Airline known for tight security : EL AL
59. About : CIRCA
61. Algerian seaport : ORAN. In Arabic وهران Arabic crosswords are solved from right to left, I assume?
63. Humorist Barry : DAVE
64. Unparalleled : ONE AND ONLY
66. Plugging away : AT IT
67. Heated contest, in more ways than one : MEET. Great clue. At an athletics or swim meet. The heats lead to the finals, which lead, hopefully, to a heated contest for the medals. Favorite clue/answer of the day.
68. Aquafina rival : EVIAN. I drink good old Los Angeles Tap.
69. Some skinny jeans : LEES
70. Torah cabinets : ARKS
71. Like a neglected garden : WEEDY
Down:
1. Refuse to, with "at" : BALK. We add an unnecessary "U" in England. Of course we do. I thought C.C. might have snuck in another baseball reference here.
2. Outlook messages : EMAIL. More fun with plural forms the same as the singular.
3. Lacks choices : HAS TO
4. Quetzalcoatl worshipers : AZTECS
5. High-__ image : RES
6. Jasmine __ : RICE Food! I use it when I cook Thai curries, the flavor is a nicely-scented contrast to the curry. If you've got jasmine growing in the garden, pick a couple of the flowers for garnish.
7. Part of an autumn stash : ACORN
8. Many a beach rental : CONDO
9. Bitter green in mixed greens : ENDIVE. This is making me hungry.
10. Fur-loving de Vil : CRUELLA. Delightful character from Disney's "101 Dalmatians"
11. Work that may be imposed with a prison sentence : HARD LABOR
12. 29-state country : INDIA
13. Feverish bouts : AGUES
18. "Still ... " : EVEN SO
24. Honda Fit competitor : KIA SOUL. A little on the boxy side. I've driven a couple recently as rentals from Hertz. They're not exactly the peppiest of cars that I've experienced.
26. Warning sign in the Rockies : ELK XING.
28. High waters : SEAS
30. Abundance in the cheerleading squad : PEP
31. Reverence : AWE
32. Observation with a sigh : C'EST LA VIE
34. Kwik-E-Mart clerk : APU. "The Simpsons" store owner. He's from INDIA originally.
35. Kitchen amt. : TBSP. Three tsps in a tbsp.
37. Take for a sucker : USE
38. Little fellow : LAD
41. Many an Indian fan : OHIOAN. Aha! Baseball is back. The Cleveland Indians.
44. Computers that travel well : TABLETS. My iPad didn't travel very well when I dropped it poolside on vacation in Mexico. I got the screen repaired but it was never the same again.
48. Puget Sound city : TACOMA. I was just on the Puget Sound a couple of weeks ago. Here's a picture from that little jaunt, it was a beautiful day.
50. It's on the record : GROOVE. Quick - how many grooves are there on an average LP?
51. Wartime award : MEDAL
52. Fill with joy : ELATE
53. Forty-__ : NINER. The LA Rams got off to a great start on Monday against the Niners - not.
54. Links hazard : CREEK
56. Banks with a statue at Wrigley Field : ERNIE. Nailed it! Counting three baseball references so far!
57. Course with leaves : SALAD
60. Jazz lovers : CATS
62. Part of a Wall St. address : NY NY "... it's a wonderful town, the Bronx is up and the Battery's down, the people ride in a hole in the ground ...."
65. Meadow drops : DEW
I think that's it from me. I had the pastrami I started (four weeks ago) for dinner last night. Not *quite* as good as Katz's deli on the lower East Side in Manhattan, but close enough! Enjoy your day, everyone.
Steve
40A. Speaker's stand ... or what each set of circled squares graphically represents : SOAP BOX
I was given the nickname "Soapbox" many years ago when I worked for Warner Bros. in London due to my penchant for sounding off on pretty much any subject. A couple of my friends still call me that even though I think I've tamed the "haranguing" beast.
Some fun stuff in the fill, let's go take a look.
Across:
1. Host of "Late Night Joy" : BEHAR. Not exactly a stranger to the soapbox herself.
6. Pennant contest : RACE. C.C. takes precisely two clues to get a baseball reference in!
10. Herbal seed used in smoothies : CHIA
14. Truly impress : AMAZE
15. Screen image or screen idol : ICON
16. Called : RANG. "You rang. M'Lord?"
17. Eleventh hour : LAST SECOND. If it's the last second, that really is taking the eleventh hour down to the wire.
19. Language of Pakistan : URDU
20. Beach toy : KITE
21. "Otello" composer : VERDI
22. She played Jackie on "Nurse Jackie" : EDIE. Actress Falco. Never saw the show myself. She looks a little glum.
23. Age of Reason philosopher : LOCKE. "The mind is furnished with ideas by experience alone" according to John. Serious-looking cove:
25. Short fiction : NOVELLAS. Cunning use of the plural form of "fiction."
27. Sloth and envy : SINS. Deadly ones at that.
29. First name in scat : ELLA
30. Super __ : PAC
33. Words after save or take : A SEAT
36. Afghan capital : KABUL. Three neighbors referenced today - Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
39. Lamb nurser : EWE
42. Mama bear, in Baja : OSA
43. Sauce made with pine nuts : PESTO Three Food! items one after another across the grid. I don't think I'll be eating all three together though.
45. Roll dipped in wasabi : SUSHI
46. __ cabbage : RED
47. Drawn tight : TAUT
49. Big name in golf clubs : PING. The company started out making a single type of putter. The club actually did "ping" when the ball came off the face, hence the name.
51. Bugs' voice : MEL BLANC.
55. Storied monsters : OGRES. Shrek didn't seem so bad as ogres go. There's always one or two that give a group a bad name.
58. Airline known for tight security : EL AL
59. About : CIRCA
61. Algerian seaport : ORAN. In Arabic وهران Arabic crosswords are solved from right to left, I assume?
63. Humorist Barry : DAVE
64. Unparalleled : ONE AND ONLY
66. Plugging away : AT IT
67. Heated contest, in more ways than one : MEET. Great clue. At an athletics or swim meet. The heats lead to the finals, which lead, hopefully, to a heated contest for the medals. Favorite clue/answer of the day.
68. Aquafina rival : EVIAN. I drink good old Los Angeles Tap.
69. Some skinny jeans : LEES
70. Torah cabinets : ARKS
71. Like a neglected garden : WEEDY
Down:
1. Refuse to, with "at" : BALK. We add an unnecessary "U" in England. Of course we do. I thought C.C. might have snuck in another baseball reference here.
2. Outlook messages : EMAIL. More fun with plural forms the same as the singular.
3. Lacks choices : HAS TO
4. Quetzalcoatl worshipers : AZTECS
5. High-__ image : RES
6. Jasmine __ : RICE Food! I use it when I cook Thai curries, the flavor is a nicely-scented contrast to the curry. If you've got jasmine growing in the garden, pick a couple of the flowers for garnish.
7. Part of an autumn stash : ACORN
8. Many a beach rental : CONDO
9. Bitter green in mixed greens : ENDIVE. This is making me hungry.
10. Fur-loving de Vil : CRUELLA. Delightful character from Disney's "101 Dalmatians"
11. Work that may be imposed with a prison sentence : HARD LABOR
12. 29-state country : INDIA
13. Feverish bouts : AGUES
18. "Still ... " : EVEN SO
24. Honda Fit competitor : KIA SOUL. A little on the boxy side. I've driven a couple recently as rentals from Hertz. They're not exactly the peppiest of cars that I've experienced.
26. Warning sign in the Rockies : ELK XING.
28. High waters : SEAS
30. Abundance in the cheerleading squad : PEP
31. Reverence : AWE
32. Observation with a sigh : C'EST LA VIE
34. Kwik-E-Mart clerk : APU. "The Simpsons" store owner. He's from INDIA originally.
35. Kitchen amt. : TBSP. Three tsps in a tbsp.
37. Take for a sucker : USE
38. Little fellow : LAD
41. Many an Indian fan : OHIOAN. Aha! Baseball is back. The Cleveland Indians.
44. Computers that travel well : TABLETS. My iPad didn't travel very well when I dropped it poolside on vacation in Mexico. I got the screen repaired but it was never the same again.
48. Puget Sound city : TACOMA. I was just on the Puget Sound a couple of weeks ago. Here's a picture from that little jaunt, it was a beautiful day.
50. It's on the record : GROOVE. Quick - how many grooves are there on an average LP?
51. Wartime award : MEDAL
52. Fill with joy : ELATE
53. Forty-__ : NINER. The LA Rams got off to a great start on Monday against the Niners - not.
54. Links hazard : CREEK
56. Banks with a statue at Wrigley Field : ERNIE. Nailed it! Counting three baseball references so far!
57. Course with leaves : SALAD
60. Jazz lovers : CATS
62. Part of a Wall St. address : NY NY "... it's a wonderful town, the Bronx is up and the Battery's down, the people ride in a hole in the ground ...."
65. Meadow drops : DEW
I think that's it from me. I had the pastrami I started (four weeks ago) for dinner last night. Not *quite* as good as Katz's deli on the lower East Side in Manhattan, but close enough! Enjoy your day, everyone.
Steve
Note from C.C.:
Here are a few sweet family photos from Yellowrocks (Kathy). She said:
"While we were down the shore last week, my older son David and his wife
Motoko stayed in Wildwood, too. We spent the evenings together going out
for delicious seafood. Here are some pics of David, Motoko, Alan and
me. Alan is the one with the mustache."
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| Motoko (David's wife) & Alan |
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| Yellowrocks, Alan & Motoko |
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| Yellowrocks and son David |
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| David, Yellowrocks and Alan |
