"PR Blitz"
Winston puts a PR spin on some common phrases in this fairly easy Friday solve.
17. "It's been a while since I shopped till I dropped"?: LONG TIME NO SPREE.
LONG TIME NO SEE.
27. Pastoral exhortation to a graffiti artist?: SPRAY THE WORD.
SAY THE WORD.
48. Bargain hunter's forte?: PRICE FISHING.
ICE FISHING.
62. Trojan king struck dumb?: PRIAM SPEECHLESS.
I AM SPEECHLESS.
69. Ad guy responsible for four long puzzle answers?: PR MAN.
What's the difference between a rat and a squirrel ?
PR.
Despite being a fairly easy Friday solve, miscues were made along the way. Gotta get out of the habit of just throwing in the first crosswordese answer that pops into my head.
Sometimes it works:
- 4 letters to fill with a Norse clue would be either ODIN, Loki, or Thor. ODIN popped in first.
And sometimes it doesn't:
- 5 letters to fill "Present to an audience" was not orate. STAGE better fits the clue.
Fortunately, none of the initial errors created an insurmountable logjam.
Across:
1. 2019 Pan American Games city: LIMA. "Best Pan American Games ever" and A New World Record in Archery
5. Present to an audience: STAGE. Orate flew off the fingertips. After a few seconds, the backspace key erased the letters.
10. Nat's hat: CAP. MLB's Washington Nationals / baseball cap.
13. Norse deity: ODIN.
14. Syndicated show, say: RERUN. 21 Interesting Facts About Television Syndication
15. Smooth-talking: OILY. Threw in glib.
20. Revise: ALTER. Not amend today...
21. Bud: PAL.
22. Annually: A YEAR. Once a year is enough.
23. __ Cruces: LAS. Zoom in, zoom out.
25. Convent figure: ABBESS.
32. Belgian __: ALE. Chimay Grande Reserve is worth every penny.
33. Special ops acronym: SEAL. SEa, Air, and Land.
34. Some bank jobs: HEISTs. I associate this word with the original "The Italian Job" starring Michael Caine. Actually, both heist and caper.
38. Lack: WANT. Here you go, Wilbur Charles !
For Want of a Nail
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
40. Set down: PLACE.
42. Bender: TOOT. Didn't know of toot as a synonym of bender (drinking spree), but know of a bender as a tool. Here's one for bending EMT thin wall. The Building (electrical) Code requires metal conduit here in Cook and DuPage counties.
43. Meddles: SNOOPs.
45. Pack (down): TAMP.
47. Mauna __: LOA. Tried Kea.
51. Moby-Dick, e.g.: ALBINO.
53. Vote in favor: AYE. Had the right letters in the wrong order with yea.
54. Many Oscar night attendees: STARs.
55. Sun, for one: ORB.
58. Social division: CASTE.
65. Sources of cones: FIRs. Plants that bear cones are conifers. Conifers doesn't fit. Firs and yews fit. Firs matched the crosses.
66. Dabbling ducks: TEALs.
67. Cable car: TRAM.
68. Fabled beast: ASS.
70. Roll call call: HERE.
Down:
1. Kinks title woman with "a dark brown voice": LOLA. Jinx linked Lola just a few days ago, so here's another Kinks hit:
Dave Davies slit the amplifier speaker to produce the distinctive sound.
2. Word after fallen or false: IDOL.
3. Like new: MINT. Often used in coin grading.
4. Actress Kinsey of "The Office": ANGELA. She played Angela Martin. Recognized the character after looking up the actor's name for the review.
5. Asian honorific: SRI. Shri, Shree, Sri, or Sree, is an Indian word denoting wealth and prosperity, primarily used as a honorific.
6. Census worker, for one: TEMP.
7. Location: AREA. Not site.
8. Legislation that varies from state to state: GUN LAW.
9. Eclectic musician Brian: ENO.
10. Prepare for print: COPYEDIT. "I say copyedit, you say copy edit"
11. Buenos __: AIRES.12. Earnest requests: PLEAs.
16. "__ Blues": Beatles "White Album" song: YER. My least favorite of the White Album tracks.
18. Cafeteria stack: TRAYs.
19. Buffalo skater: SABRE. Canadian Eh should be happy with the British English spelling.
24. Intervenes: STEPS IN.
26. Prague's region: BOHEMIA.
27. Maxims: SAWs.
28. It often undergoes changes: PLAN.
29. First female attorney general: RENO. Janet Reno at Biography.com
30. Burt's musical collaborator: HAL. Bacharach and David. You know their songs. Here's someone's Top Ten Ranking. As expected, Dionne Warwick figures prominently in the hit songs.
31. Send: ELATE. Some readers may be old enough to remember this song:
35. Arias, usually: SOLI.
36. Animation product: TOON.
37. Unattached: STAG. Not solo.
39. Joint Chiefs, for example: TOP BRASS. Pentagon bigwigs.
41. Joltin' joe?: CAF. I've never heard of just "caf", but have heard of half-caf. Accepted it since it fit. Later googled. Not sure that this is what the clue is referencing, but there's a veteran owned company named Black Rifle Coffee that has a brand name, CAF, that "...delivers twice the caffeine punch of an average coffee with a rich smoky flavor. Made for the professional coffee drinker..." Twice the caffeine ? Yes, I'd say that's a cup of joltin' joe ! They're getting a little unanticipated PR here.
Perhaps CAF is commonly used when ordering at Central Perk or Café Nervosa or Starbucks or Peet's ? I know for sure that I've been in a coffee shop on two occasions, but there may have been a third time.
44. Refracting polyhedron: PRISM.
46. Intimidate mentally, with "out": PSYCH.
49. "The Last of the Mohicans" author: COOPER. Cooper crafted a unique form of literature writing historical romances about frontier and Indian life.
50. Toast word: HEALTH.
51. Heart chambers: ATRIA.
52. Hideouts: LAIRs.
54. Banana Boat letters: SPF. Sun Protection Factor.
56. Copy room unit: REAM.
57. One sometimes seen with Boris: BELA. Karloff and Lugosi.
59. Withered: SERE.
60. Romanov title: TSAR.
61. Salinger character who says, "I prefer stories about squalor": ESME.
63. "The Racer's Edge": STP. Scientifically Treated Petroleum.
64. Gp. that sometimes has an added "Y": CSN. Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) are an occasional folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills, and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. They are titled Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) when joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member.
An example without:
An example with:
Check your grid here:
