Shit* was funeral*! It takes either elegant man*, or maybe Santa*, to come up with such a delightfully convoluted crossword puzzle such as today's! Gravestones Cost*!
The first Cornerite I thought of today, was Timo Kahlen*, our resident garamantis*. He is always looking for ragmansa* in the oil and gas* of the daily puzzles. I trust he will stop by later to comment!
OK, Moe ... what's up with the start to your blog today? Why all of the cryptic words, and why are they emboldened and starred?
Well, as you might have (47-Down. Emulate(d) Ellery Queen) DEDUCEd by now, having solved the puzzle, Steve Faiella uses ANAGRAMS to redefine the final word of the four longest puzzle answers, and come up with a witty phrase, instead of the more common phrase.
When the last four words ( DIAPERS, REFILE, GNATS, and VOLE ) are anagrammed, the result is: DESPAIR, RELIEF, ANGST, and LOVE, which explains the "unifier" (55-Across: Mental conflict ... or what may be found in four long puzzle answers?) MIXED EMOTIONS. And if you ever doubted that any of these four were actual EMOTIONS, perhaps this image can shed some light on that ...
So, how did all of these MIXED EMOTIONS develop int today's puzzle?
21-Across. Text from one who can't get out of Buy Buy Baby?: LOST IN DIAPERS. This was the first of many head scratchers for me. Buy Buy Baby is not a store in which I shop or had ever heard of. But now that I LIU, I know that you could literally be LOST IN DIAPERS there. LOST IN DESPAIR, OTOH, causes you to worry, be sad, or lose hope. I guess if Buy Buy Baby is out of Pampers, you could be LOST IN DESPAIR! LOST IN DESPAIR also is the 6th track of Ensiferum's second album IRON. Not my kind of music but YMMV
29-Across. Comment after submitting yet another updated tax return?: WHAT A REFILE. Of all four of Steve's (35-Across. Silly:) DIPPY phrases, this was my favorite. And while I am blessed to have never had to REFILE a tax return, I can imagine just WHAT A RELIEF it must be to finally have all the correct numbers for the IRS. As someone who has suffered often from indigestion, the RELIEF found from this anatacid tablet has helped tame everything from hangovers to heartburn to hiccups!
36-Across. Attendees of Biting Fly High School?: TEENAGE GNATS. Wowser. How in the heck did our "constructor du jour" ever arrive at this one??!! Clever doesn't even begin to describe ... and while I would never (OK, that's not true!) fact check something so brilliant, a gnat's lifespan is only 7 days. But what the hell? Go big or go home, I always say!!
TEENAGE ANGST, OTOH, is quite real
45-Across. Zombie field mouse?: UNDYING VOLE. Could this be an example
of a zombie field mouse?
If 29-Across was my favorite of the four, 45-Across was the least. But how else would you anagram UNDYING VOLE to get UNDYING LOVE? UNDYING LOVE is an EMOTION that is truly the most fulfilling a couple can have. Such as this cute couple
While the puzzle wasn't without some loose fill (NERD CHIC, TEAC, AZO, UOMO, and DIPPY), and expected fill (crossword staples such as LEI, GAI, NIN, ERA, and ACAI) the overall concept, theme, and entries were pretty tight. I have to believe that getting words to fill this wasn't easy. Hope that if Steve Faiella is lurking, he'll stop by and discuss how he came to this idea; and whether he had to do a fair amount of editing before Rich accepted it. I'm sure that RICH NORRIS - the "king" of anagrammed aliases - had no trouble buying into this submission!
So, before we get started with the rest of the clues/solves, here is the translation of the first two paragraphs of my recap. The words that were in bold text, and had a star (*) next to them, were MY anagrams. I've italicized them in the next paragraph for your reference:
This was real fun! It takes either a gentleman or maybe Satan to come up with such a delightfully convoluted crossword puzzle such as today's! Congrats Steve!
The first Cornerite I thought of today, was Ol Man Keith our resident anagramist. He is always looking for anagrams in the diagonals of the daily puzzles. I trust he will stop by later to comment!
Across:
1. Band letters: AM FM. AC/DC was my first entry. Anyone else? AM/FM
seems so archaic now that we have Pandora, Amazon Music, and Sirius XM to
choose from. I can't even remember the last AM/FM radio I owned, other than
the one in my car
5. Lennon comrade: STARR. Ringo. Of The Beatles. John Lennon, who
would've been 80 years old this year. Lennon offered backup vocals, but the
word "comrade" made me think of this 1968 Beatles' classic
10. Hitchcock's "The 39 __": STEPS. This one filled itself in with a WAG and perps. Before my time
15. London flat?: TYRE. Ahh, not an apartment, but a flat tire (British spelling)
16. Skating rink drink: COCOA. If I had to choose a drink to have before or during skating, it sure wouldn't be COCOA. I'd need something "stiffer"!
17. Unleash: WREAK. I had "BREAK" / WREAK in this one. But to "wreak havoc" requires the unleashing of some EMOTIONS, methinks
18. Miracle Mets outfielder Tommie: AGEE. Baseball. The Miracle Mets - aka, The "Amazing" Mets - defeated the 1969 Baltimore Orioles, arguably the best team in baseball that year, due in no short order than the contribution of Tommie AGEE, the Mets' center fielder. He did it with his bat and with his glove.
19. "Thy word is __ unto my feet": Psalms: A LAMP. A Moe-l'ick for a change:
Having dreamt of Arabian vamp,
Our friend Bugs, that old rascally scamp,
Thought that he'd find a genie
In a sexy bikini;
All he got was a-lad-in A LAMP
20. Garlicky mayo: AIOLI.
Aioli is becoming a
go-to crossword solve due to its 4 vowels and one consonant
24. Letter before Papa: OSCAR. ALFA, BRAVO, CHARLIE, DELTA, ECHO,
FOXTROT ... the universal "language", or the phoenetic words used to identify
letters. Used by the military and airline industries. "OSCAR" refers to the
letter "O". Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is very popular with texters, I hear ...
25. Adorkable style: NERD CHIC. "Adorkable" is an adjective that refers
to someone who is cute, in a nerdy sort of way. And while Google didn't
exactly link me to a description of "NERD CHIC", there are references
to
Geek Chic. I guess it means the same ...
33. Man, in Milan: UOMO. I am not fluent in Italian, although I really
like their wine and food! I guessed COMO, not knowing that it means "dresser
or bureau". Perps solved, eventually ... another great word for crossword
fill, although a bit obscure. To me, anyway
34. Spelling of "BH90210": TORI. Beverly Hills 90210. A popular TV show
of the 1990's. And its "spin-off", BH90210, aired in 2019. She played
Donna Martin, a character in both airings. TORI is the daughter of famous Hollywood TV
and film producer, Aaron Spelling
41. Easy to follow: CLEAR. This one filled in itself with the perps.
Not to be confused with this "CLEAR"...
43. Rested: LAIN. Past participle of "lie". Rested is the past participle of "rest"
44. Mendel subjects: PEAS. Gregor Mendel. The famed 19th Century botanist/scientist who may have, through his planting of and tracing of PEAS, broken the DNA code
52. Bar owner, vis-à-vis selling drinks: LICENSEE. I was a LICENSEE (bar owner) from 2010-2012 in Florida. Most, if not all, states require a purveyor of liquor - be it by the glass or by the bottle - to hold a LICENSE, issued by that state. I had to be fingerprinted
54. Motes: IOTAS. A "mote" is a tiny piece of substance. An IOTA is likewise, a small amount
59. Brother of Willow Smith: JADEN. JADEN is the older brother of Willow; both are children of famous actor Will Smith. Both are primarily known for their songwriting and rapping
62. Really enjoyed something: DUG IT. Slang. Past tense of "Dig it". Can you dig it? The Friends of Distinction brought that saying to our lexicon with this song:
63. Boxcars in un casino: DOCE. Spanish for "twelve", or in dice terms (when playing "craps"), double sixes, or resembling "boxcars", as in the railroad car. This past week we had "HARD SIX" which is a pair of "threes" in dice-speak
64. Online periodical: E-ZINE. Personally, I am not a big fan of the use of any "E"-____ word for crossword solves. But I get it. The "E" stands for "Electronic". In this case, an Electronic Magazine. Give me a hard copy, please
65. Food safety concern: E. COLI. So, if an E-Zine is an electronic magazine, shouldn't "E.COLI" be ... oh, never mind! This "E" stands for Escherichia
66. Pulitzer winner Robert __ Butler: OLEN. His web page. I've not read his works, so this one filled via perps
67. Some etiquette tips: DONT'S. Here is a place where I got some of my early "etiquette" tips:
68. Cubicle furniture: DESKS. A link and an image
69. Lavish bash: FETE. Frawnch. Fête. Or a festival/feste
Down:
1. Worse than ever: AT A LOW. Hmm. AT AN ALL TIME LOW, perhaps. Guessing this was used to fill a hole ...
2. "Holy moly!": MY GOSH. SHUCKS! DARN IT! DANG IT! Other 6 letter combos for the same clue!
3. Coca-Cola brand: FRESCA. Fresca was introduced to the carbonated beverage market in 1966. It's a lime and grapefruit-flavored drink that I believe was introduced as an alternative to Squirt, which was introduced by Herb Bishop as a cocktail mixer back in the late 1930's. Here in Phoenix, no less! Fresca has had a new branding campaign to make it more palatable to the millenials, and are branding it as a carbonated "soda", rather than a carbonated "beverage". I dunno about y'all, but I don't get too bubbly about either ...
4. Use for a tryst: MEET AT. Tryst. Who does THOSE anymore?! That seems so retro.
Nowadays, a popular "MEET AT" organization is called MEET UP. I attended a few of their events. Not nearly as fun as a tryst, though! LOL! A link and a logo
5. Checkout action: SCAN. UPC (Universal Product Code) barcodes were patented back in 1949. The first checkout SCAN was in 1974 for a pack of gum
6. Narrated: TOLD. Moe, you were TOLD that Friday puzzles are tough; and they are. Narration is a form of story-telling; past tense solved this
7. Berry with three vowels and three syllables: ACAI. ACAI is fast becoming the new crossword staple; may be the first time I saw it clued this way
8. Itinerant Europeans: ROMANI. Not to be confused with Romanians, an unrelated ethnic group and nation, nor with modern or ancient Romans, also unrelated. Oh the things you can learn on Wikipedia
9. Rock climber's descent: RAPPEL. I might be just as nervous ...
10. Grassy expanse: SWARD. This one had me stumped. SWARD is not a word in my daily vocabulary. Yours? This photo of a SWARD reminds me of a sod farm
11. Shredded-wheat cracker: TRISCUIT. Triscuit crackers were actually developed by the Shredded Wheat Company in Niagara Falls, NY at the turn of the last century. The brand was eventually sold to Nabisco, and is now part of Kraft Foods. A link, and a pic. This is MOE's favorite variety
12. Job listing abbr.: EEO. Or Equal Employment Opportunity, which is a Federal Commission that began with the Civil Rights Act of 1964
13. Chum: PAL. Hey PAL! BUD or BRO fit, too
14. Enjoy trails: SKI. Hike didn't fit; those are the trails MOE enjoys. It's almost cool enough to resume our hiking, here in the AZ desert. Here's one of me on a trail at Superstition Mountain in Apache Junction, AZ this past March
22. More riled up: IRATER. Meh. I'd prefer, more IRATE, but Steve must've needed an R ...
23. Afore: ERE. Not to be confused with, "to ERE is human ... "
26. Brewer's flowers: HOPS. As in the brewing of beer. Beer is made from malt, yeast, HOPS, and water. HOPS are the flowers/cones (they resemble a pine cone) from the plant, and can offer floral and fruity notes to beer, but primarily they provide the bitterness. There is a world of information on Wikipedia if you're so inclined. As the "craft beer" industry has grown over the past several decades, the HOPS level for beer is now measured in IBU's, or International Bitterness Units. Proper brewing and blending can soften or harshen the bitterness of beer
27. Small demon: IMP. I'm waiting for a crossword constructor to clue this word using the verb form, which means: "repair a damaged feather in (the wing or tail of a trained hawk) by attaching part of a new feather"
28. Flirtatiously shy: COY. At 1:23 of this video you'll hear one of the 50 ways to leave your lover ...
30. "This Is Us" Emmy winner __ Cephas Jones: RON. CSO to one of our
bloggers, JazzBumpa
31. Diamond stat.: ERA. Earned Run Average. Shane Bieber of the
Cleveland Indians led the Major Leagues this year in ERA with 1.63, which
means over the course of the season he gave up only 1.63 "earned runs" per
game. That's a very impressive number. The number is calculated on the total
number of runs he allowed, divided by the number of innings he pitched,
multipled by 9. He also tied for the league lead with 8 wins over the 60 game
season. But in the first postseason game, his ERA was 13.5, as the New York
Yankees lit him up for 7 earned runs in 4-2/3 innings. Talk about going from
first to worst ...
32. Source of Adam and Eve's leaves: FIG. Ah, the poor FIG. What did IT
do to deserve being a symbol of concealing embarrassment? Moe-lick #2:
When the couple in Eden did pig
Out on apples, they knew that their gig
Was soon changing, when God
Caught them sinning, they're flawed;
And He shrugged, and said, "Can't give a FIG"
35. "Drat!": DANG IT. DARN IT, fit. Other longer possibiliteis for this clue: DAG NABBIT; DAD GUMMIT; GOL DERN. But when I saw "DANG", the first thought that popped was this Roger Miller classic:
36. Audio equipment brand: TEAC. Remember what I said at the outset? About loose fill? Oddly, TEAC resonated with me, as I probably owned one or more of their stereo components as a young adult. Everything from reel to reel tape recorders, turntables, amplifier/receivers, etc. TEAC stands for Tokyo Television Accustic Company, and was founded by brothers Katsuma and Tomoma Tani, August of 1953. I, too, am a product of 1953. Yes, Cornerites, the Chairman is a strapping young lad of 67! LOL. Here is one of THEIR now ancient products
37. Legal right of way: EASEMENT. I am sure that one of our resident lawyers here can offer more, but whenever I think of an EASEMENT, my mind goes immediately to all of the property this nation bought to build our Interstate Highway System. Especially all of the spur routes that lead into most metropolitan areas
38. Bridge expert Culbertson: ELY. Total WAG. Bridge as in the card game. He was before my time. Charles Goren is one I am familiar with, but Wiki says that ELY is a legend to the game, and he was quite the player. He died in 1955. I was 2. My folks played a lot of bridge, as I am sure many here did/do as well. My favorite "bridge" joke goes something like this: "It's said that playing bridge is a lot like sex: if you don't have a good partner, you better have a good hand ..."
39. Moo goo __ pan: GAI. Could GAI be called a crossword staple for 3-letter fill? The actual "dish" is/was quite popular, as it combines white button mushrooms with white chicken meat. Chinese: 蘑菇雞片; Cantonese: móh-gū gāi-pin. C.C., any other thoughts?
40. Diarist Anaïs: NIN. More crossword staple fill. Her full name is: Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell
41. Double-chevron wearer: Abbr.: CPL. A two-striper, or corporal, in the Army. Moe-ku #3, from the archives:
Office corporal is known for his guile,
And employs it with his new clerk, Kyle.
Base commander found out,
Reprimanded, no doubt;
Told two-striper, “just pull rank, and file.”
42. Aloha State souvenir: LEI. More expected crossword fill. This one is made from orchids
45. Steel giant, from 1986 to 2001: USX. AKA, US Steel. USX was the corporation's "new name" in 1986 when they held other energy businesses, but they renamed it United States Steel in 2001. Their stock symbol is "X". And one of their original logos is now best known as the logo of the same town's NFL football team (CSO to TTP and yours truly), who are now 4-0 to start this season. Both previous times the STEELERS started 4-0 they went on to win Super Bowls ... OK, Moe, don't jinx them! Here we go, Steelers, here we go!!
46. "Just What I __": 1978 Cars hit: NEEDED. The Cars were a 1970's Rock Band from Boston, whose hits included this one as well as "My Best Friend's Girl". Ric Ocasek who did vocals and played rhythm guitar is perhaps their best known member. He passed away a little over a year ago. The Cars are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Enjoy!
48. Without: VOID OF. Today's blog is VOID OF Moe-kus ... but not Moe-l'icks! LOL
49. "My Favorite Year" star: O'TOOLE. Peter Seamus O'Toole (2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013). Irish born English actor. My Favorite Year saw O'TOOLE nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor, but Ben Kingsley won it that year for his portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in the film, "Gandhi". O'TOOLE was nominated 8 times for an Academy Award, but only won an Honorary one in 2002. He holds the dubious record of most nominated without an award ...
50. Surgical knife: LANCET. Not sure that "surgical knife" best describes this medical device. My limited knowledge of a LANCET is the tool used to prick a finger for drawing blood, as in to test for blood sugar/diabetes/insulin requirement
51. Ancient ascetic: ESSENE. The ESSENES were perported to have written the Dead Sea Scrolls back in the second Century, BCE. Great crossword fill with its "E's" and "S's"
53. Lowest pinochle cards: NINES. Wait just a DADGUM minute! Didn't Moe reference Pinochle last week when he commented on CANASTA??! The standard Pinochle deck consists of 48 cards. There are two of each suit, and only six cards are used. They are ranked in order from lowest to highest as: Nine, Jack, Queen, King, Ten, and Ace. Not sure why the TEN outranks any of the "picture" cards; this may be the only card game in which that is true
56. Self-images: EGOS. Did Einstein define EGO(S) the best of all?
57. Do a farm chore: MILK. Moe-l'ick #4 (a sophomoric one, for sure!):
When a child emerges from birth
There's a gland that for most males give mirth.
Clever kid hid his glee,
As he suckled 'til three;
Did he MILK it for all it was worth?
58. Publisher Chandler: OTIS. I heard he wore elevator shoes ... {groan} BTW, he was the LA Times publisher from 1960-1980, and OTIS was his first name, not his last
59. Martin's "The West Wing" role: JED. Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet portrayed the POTUS in the fictional TV series, "West Wing". Martin Sheen - father of sons Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) and Emilio Estevez (St. Elmo's Fire, et al) - played the Prez, and won both a Golden Globe and SAG award for his role
60. Nitrogenous dye: AZO. Even though I took two years of Chemistry in HS and two in college, I did not recall this organic compound. Perhaps one of our resident chemists can comment more about it? I'm not really sure this image tells us a lot! This was a WAG/perp fill for me
61. Ruckus: DIN. My first thought here was when I watch a movie with closed captioning and the comment "[indistinct chatter]" appears. Or could you liken it to Clement Clarke Moore's "A Visit From St. Nicholas": "When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter"?
The grid:
The end!
Please feel free to add your thoughts below ...
Notes from C.C.
1) Regarding 39D, to some, it might be classic crosswordese. To me, it's just Cantonese for "chicken".
2) Happy Birthday to our foodie Blue Hen!
3) Happy birthday to CrossEyedDave! Thanks for the happiness and fun you've
brought to our lives, Dave!
