Chairman Moe, here, with the honor and pleasure to recap a Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle! I can see why Lemonade714 so enjoys doing a Friday Wechsler. This puzzle creates its unique scheme by swapping the two vowels in the second word (CAROL -> CORAL), completely changing the meaning. This continues throughout the long entries.
For example: 16. Yuletide decorations at a beach cottage?: CHRISTMAS CORAL/CHRISTMAS CAROL. We all have heard of a Christmas Carol, but a true Christmas "Coral" version of a Christmas "Carol" might be this:
29. What many skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas represent?: CORPORATE TEXAS/CORPORATE TAXES. When I owned a business back in 2010-2012, I filed corporate taxes for the first time. Glad I had a competent accounting firm ...
35. Opera group sponsored by a '70s-'80s sitcom family?: JEFFERSON DIVAS. The Jeffersons was a spinoff from "All in the Family". The DIVA singing this is Ja'net Dubois from "Good Times" fame. JEFFERSON DAVIS was president of the Confederate States of America. But if you really want to hear a JEFFERSON DIVA, then click on the link
53. Denim's golden age?: DAYS OF OUR LEVIS. DAYS OF OUR LIVES is one of the longest running soap operas on television, dating back to 1965! I personally am not a fan of "soaps", so the link should give you all you need to know about this Emmy Award Winning series ... in tribute to Splynter, here is my impression of DAYS OF OUR LEVIS:
What I truly enjoyed about Wechsler's puzzle was how "tight" it was. No forced clues/solves. Everything ran like an expensive, Swiss watch. And from what little experience I have at creating crossword puzzles, squeezing quadruple 13's into a 15x15 grid could not have been easy. While it took me just under a half hour to solve, I had very few "write-overs".
BTW, a big tip of the hat to all of our first responders; especially today, but let's give them kudos EVERY DAY on keeping us safe, protected, and healed during times of crisis. You are appreciated!
On to the rest of the clues!
Across:
1. Staging area: THEATER. Nice deflection. Staging area could also be referred to as a stopping place, or assembly point
8. Oregon Trail sights: WAGONS. Straight-forward clue
14. Part of a score: MEASURE.
15. "No need to point": I SEE IT. At first, I didn't "see it" with regard to the theme and its entries. But once solved, I felt more prudent: WISER. 8. Down
18. Michigan, e.g.: LAKE. No U Michigan vs. The Ohio State U football game this fall due to the Big 10 Conference postponing its season
19. Some summer arrivals: LEOS. Here is a link to this sign, if you'd care to learn whether or not you're compatible with them
20. Bit of baby talk: GOO. I hear that the "GOO GOO Dolls" will go on the road with Lady Gaga. They're billing this as the "GOO GOO GAGA" tour.
On a more personal note, Chairman Moe celebrates - via FaceTime - his first grandchild; born earlier this year, to my daughter and son-in-law. This past weekend I heard the 3 month old, handsome devil, utter his first "GOO"! I am definitely smitten, though the 2,400 miles we are apart has made visiting impossible during this pandemic
22. Quick cuts: TRIMS. I have been using this to cut my hair the past 6 months
24. Snowball fight defense: FORT. All we need in the part of Arizona where I live is some snow ...
25. Sing the praises of: LAUD. I hope this doesn't "break" the no religion code here; but whenever I see the word "LAUD", this hymn comes to mind ... please enjoy the melody; words are optional of course ...
26. Furniture chain that also sells lingonberry preserves: IKEA. I only knew them for having great meatballs
27. Tolkien's Legolas, for one: ELF. More info, here
28. First name of the first woman to win a Nobel Prize: MARIE. From the nobelprize.org website: "Together with her husband, she was awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903, for their study into the spontaneous radiation discovered by Becquerel, who was awarded the other half of the Prize. In 1911 she received a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, in recognition of her work in radioactivity."
33. Righteous Babe Records founder DiFranco: ANI. Righteous Babe Records is an American independent record label that was created by folk singer Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company. Wikipedia. Some crossword editors might only accept a clue such as, "Wheel of Fortune" purchase
34. Darken in summer: TAN. One thing I have learned from living 10 years in FL, and not quite 1 year in AZ, is that having a TAN is not what a lot of "natives" do. They let the visitors broil in the sun!
43. Drops off: WANES. In keeping with the puzzle theme, how about this for a limerick?
Esthetician (and Mom) is quite keen
'Bout her business; and here's what I mean:
Her twin boys stopped breast-feeding;
Hairy clients kept pleading;
Now her day's spent with waxes and WEANS
44. U.K. part: ENG. Also consists of N Ireland, Wales, and Scotland
45. Target ball in a pool game: NINE. Nine-ball was always one of my favorites
46. "The Martian" novelist Weir: ANDY. My son was called "Andy" (short for Andrew) by us, up until he decided he'd rather be called "Drew"
47. Young newts: EFTS. Crossword staple filler
49. Momoa who plays Aquaman: JASON. OK, ladies; I gave the guys the "Splynter Jeans". Here is your Aquaman!
50. DVR button: REC. I went from Cable/Dish to streaming about 2 years ago. No REC button on my REMOTE, and no DVR
51. Give off: EMIT. After yesterday's "E-BOOK" and "E-TAILERS", I am waiting for the following "word" to be allowed in crossword puzzles. Clue: what does a catcher wear on the video game, "MLB, The Show, 2020"? Answer: an E-MITT
52. Mountain cat: PUMA. Or what brand of clothes Rickie Fowler and several other PGA pros wear
58. Codeine, e.g.: OPIATE. Cough syrup with Codeine used to be sold, OTC. From FDA.gov: "FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA requires labeling changes for prescription opioid cough and cold medicines to limit their use to adults 18 years and older"
59. How a leaf blower operates: NOISILY. With leaf season nigh in many parts of the US, here is a friendly reminder from the folks at Remington:
60. Gets a gander at: ESPIES. ESPY, singular, is either getting a gander at, or a sports award
61. Put together: AMASSED. I am amassing a whole lot more knowledge about "stuff", now that I'm blogging
Down:
1. Film buff's network: TMC. The Movie Channel. Part of Showtime Networks
2. "That's sorta funny": HEH. HEH? Meh. JK, Jeffrey ...
3. Like a flashback time: EARLIER. THIS GUY had a few flashbacks
4. World atlas spread: ASIA MAP. Pretty big place
5. Walrus features: TUSKS. First thought that came to mind was this:
6. Art Deco icon: ERTE. Wiki
7. __ sleep: REM. According to my SO's FitBit, she should get between 15-25% REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep each night. Dream mode
9. Cravat cousin: ASCOT. Haiku:
Brutus the Buckeye
Must have face cover. Is that
Wearing a M-ASCOT?
10. Most 1990s Prizms: GEOS. Geo Prizms were only available in 1990 and 1991. In 1992, Chevrolet was the owner of the brand
11. Above, to a bard: OER. More crossword-ese
12. River between two Great Lakes: NIAGARA. After last week's "memory" of Lava Soap, I seem to remember this brand of spray starch
13. First U.S. city to host the Olympic Games: ST LOUIS. Used to travel there a lot when I was a working stiff
17. Flying: ALOFT. I will cede this to Ray-O-Sunshine for an appropriate pun
21. Lines from an admirer: ODE. Very few of my haikus and/or limericks are ODES
22. Idiosyncrasy: TIC. Not a good thing to have if it's your "tell" in Texas Hold 'em Poker
23. Classic studio letters: RKO. Not THIS RKO:
24. Distinctive style: FLAIR. This guy was the eponymous FLAIR
25. Remiss: LAX. Also the airport code for Los Angeles International. CSO to Steve, Picard, Bill G, Misty, Fematprime, Malodorous Manatee, Sarah, Wendybird, NaomiZ, Keith, Edward, and Michael. All of whom reside not too far (relatively, speaking) from LAX (the airport). Was I lax??!!
27. Fish-eating bird: ERNE. Yesterday's clue? It was a Sea Eagle
28. Fix: MEND. Oh, darn
30. Stumblebums: OAFS. From dictionary dot com: early 17th century: variant of obsolete auf, from Old Norse álfr ‘elf’. The original meaning was ‘elf's child, changeling’, later ‘idiot child’ and ‘halfwit’, generalized in the current sense.
31. Jackets named for a British school: ETONS. His AND hers models:
32. Distinctive flavor: TANG. It sure was distinctive! But why did they choose it for the NASA missions? Here's one version
35. Mystery woman: JANE DOE. I had JEZIBEL in as my first answer
36. Market aisle border areas: ENDCAPS. When I worked in the wine biz, this is what we were aiming for:
37. "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" co-creator: FEY.
38. Row: SETTO. As in fighting. Guessing that RKO and Ric FLAIR had a few SETTOS
39. Completely disorganized: IN A MESS. Like the desk in my den/office
40. In relation to: VIS A VIS. There are lots of "VISA V's" in this image, as their stock price fluctuates:
41. "Is that __?": ANO. Or could this have been clued: Doce meses?
43. "1917" subject: WAR. The official trailer
47. Overact: EMOTE. Who would you add to your top ten list of emoters? In Hollywood or in TV?
48. High pipes: FIFES. I used this in a haiku last week ...
49. Child played by Meryl: JULIA. Nice misdirection! I was trying to think of whether actress Streep actually was a "child actor". Turns out she was 25-26 years old before landing her first role
51. Actor Morales: ESAI. More crossword-ese. Great vowels!
52. Anticipated dance: PROM. Anticipated by whom?! Not sure I could afford to go now. Back in the '60's, a tux rental (white dinner jacket/cummerbund/bowtie) was around $10-15. Corsage was what, $4-5 or less? A stretch limo? C'mon! And "after-PROM" was .... well, that varied!
54. Shrill bark: YIP. At age 40, I developed these:
The YIPs
55. A, in Oaxaca: UNA. UNA cerveza mas, por favor
56. Tahiti, to Gauguin: ILE. Frawnch
57. Qantas hub, in itineraries: SYD. An iconic view from the Harbor Bridge Climb
That's all! There's no "Moe"!!
The grid:
Notes from C.C.:
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| Left to Right: Boomer, Gary, C.C. and Joanne |
2) Please continue putting Abejo in your thoughts and prayers. He's in hospital due to pneumonia right now.
