Good Morning! Malodorous Manatee, here. Another Thursday has dawned, cruciverbalists, and today we get to catch a glimpse of the world through the eyes of five well-known artists. The glimpse comes via the efforts of constructor Chuck Deodene. Chuck is a veteran constructor who has had many puzzles previously published in both The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. Chuck is also a contributor to the Reading For The Oxford English Dictionary Programme. As such, his task is "to read books (and other texts) and note down potentially interesting instances of word use."
Today's theme: But Is It Artists?
Let's start at 60 Across: Self-taught creators, in modern lingo, and a hint to each set of circles: OUTSIDER ARTISTS.
This is the reveal and, to this writer, it certainly was an interesting instance of word use in that I had never before come across the term. It does, however, do a good job of describing the placement of the theme answers. At five places within the grid, the names of the ARTISTS can be formed by combining the OUTSIDE letters of the answers.
17 Across: Security perimeter feature: POLICE ROAD BLOCK. Jackson POLLOCK (1912 - 1956) was an American painter who was a major figure in the Abstract Expressionist Movement. Loosely translated, this means that our parents thought that we, as children, could create works of art very similar to his.
Blue Poles By Jackson Pollock
26 Across: Formally begins, as a meeting: CALLS TO ORDER. Alexander CALDER (1898 - 1976) was an American sculptor best known for his kinetic sculptures powered by air currents or motors.
Alexander Caldwell - Opening Scene "American Masters"
35 Across: Successfully lured: ROPED IN. Auguste RODIN (1840 - 19170) was a French sculptor perhaps most famous for his works "The Thinker" and "The Kiss". It is fascinating to note the change in style between RODIN and CALDER (above) and between RODIN and ARP (below) who were each born less than sixty years after Rodin.
The Burghers of Calais By Auguste Rodin
38 Across: High-intensity light source: ARC LAMP. Jean ARP (1886 -1966) was a German-French sculptor, painter and poet.
The Forest By Jean Arp
45 Across: Navy Cross recipient, for one: MILITARY HERO. Joan MIRO (1893 - 1983) was a Spanish painter and sculptor. He is associated with the Surrealist and Dada movements.
Plate 2 By Joan Miro
Here is how the five OUTSIDER ARTISTS appear in the finished puzzle:
These artists looked at the world differently than most mere mortals. Certainly, quite differently than many marine mammals. Now, let's take a look at the rest of the puzzle and see if we are able to spot some potentially interesting instances of word use.
Across:
1. Appreciate: VALUE. Interesting. Here Appreciate is not used as in to increase in value but, rather, as in to appreciate something and find it to be of value.
6. Goat of the Alps: IBEX.
10. Fine cotton: PIMA. PIMA cotton is an extra-long staple cotton grown primarily in the United States.
14. Turing and Cumming: ALANS. It probably says something about those of us who know who ALAN Turing was but have no idea who Alan Cumming is.
15. Resentful: SORE. Interesting. As in "to be SORE (mad) at" someone or something.
16. Screen image: ICON. Interesting. We could have seen a clue such as Screen Icon with an answer of STAR. Name...Image...Icon...Star. Something like this might make for a good word ladder puzzle.
20. Extraction by rescue copter, e.g.: EVAC. EVACuation. Alternatively, and still quite consistent with the clue:
Dad Uses Helicopter to Pull Out Son's Tooth
21. Contented sighs: AAHS. Onomatopoeia.
Aaaahhhh !
22. Helpful: OF USE.
23. Like the lawn at dawn: DEWY. Not this Dewey:
Huey, Dewey and Louie
24. Camping gear retailer with an #OptOutside campaign: REI. Recreational Equipment, Inc. was formed as a Co-op in Seattle in 1938. Each of the five founding members paid One U.S. Dollar to join. I purchased my first down sleeping bag from REI in 1971.
25. "Seasons in the Sun" songwriter: BREL. Jacques BREL wrote this song in 1961 with the title "Le Moribond" - "The Dying Man". Later it was translated by Rod McKuen. It has been recorded by The Kingston Trio, The Beach Boys and Terry Jacks, among others.
The Kingston Trio
31. Clutch: HOLD. Interesting. At first we might have thought of an automobile part, a type of purse or a critical situation in a sporting event.
Shindig 1964 The Miracles (Live)
You Really Got A Hold On Me
34. Afore: ERE. Interesting. Two rarely used prepositions.
41. "Much __ About Nothing": "The Simpsons" episode: APU. Interesting. Not, as we usually see, "Much Ado About Nothing". In Episode 23 of Season 7 of The Simpsons TV show, APU Nahasapeemapetilon is caught up in the turmoil when an initiative is placed on the ballot that would require the deportation of all illegal immigrants living in the town of Springfield.
42. Have a good cry: SOB. Interesting. It could have been clued as a general term of contempt.
44. Pocket bread: PITA. Interesting. It could have been clued as an annoying or tedious person or thing.
50. "Buy It Now" site: EBAY.
Weird Al Yankocvic's Parody of "I Want It That Way"
51. Best-liked, online: FAV. Texting slang for FAVorite.
52. Nearly here: NIGH. Interesting. Another rarely used word.
56. "That's enough!": CAN IT.
58. Peruse, with "over": PORE. I always forget if it is PORE over or Pour over in this context. There is an estate planning device called a Pour-Over will. The heirs can, hopefully much later, PORE over it.
59. __-deep: very involved: KNEE. That's how it all begun. We were knee deep in the Big Muddy but the big fool said to push on.
63. Mystery writer Gardner: ERLE. Interesting. We almost always see the full name: ERLE Stanley Gardner. He created the Perry Mason detective stories.
64. "The Hobbit" soldiers: ORCS. In "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and in "The Hobbit" an ORC was a fictional humanoid monster akin to a goblin.
65. Starts a pot: ANTES. A poker reference. If we each had a Dime for every time we have seen some form of ANTE in a puzzle . . . . .
66. __ Inn: DAYS. The hotel chain.
67. Pool strikers: CUES.
Buster Keaton Busts A Pool Cue
68. So-so effort, in sports: B GAME. One's A-Game is the best. One almost never hears B-GAME although it's existence is clearly implicit if there is an A-Game. How far down the grading curve does this go?
Down:
1. Used Juul pods: VAPED. Juul is a brand name of E-Cigarettes or VAPEs. Juul asserts that its "mission is to improve the lives of the world's one billion adult smokers." Even if true, there has been, demonstrably, significant collateral damage. "Hey, kids, check this out. Sweet!"
2. "__ Supreme": classic Coltrane album: A LOVE. Recorded in 1964, it is said that the album was a spiritual declaration by Coltrane that his "musical devotion was now intertwined with his love for God."
3. Old NBC legal drama: L.A. LAW. We often see Susan Dey in our puzzles and she is usually clued with reference to L. A. LAW.
4. Street performer's vehicle: UNICYCLE.
5. PC key: ESC. The key generates the ESCape Character - ASCII Code 27 in decimal.
6. Holy Land nation: ISRAEL.
Finn The Bat Dog
8. Low nos. for aces: ERAS. Earned Run AverageS. The aces in this case are baseball pitchers and "nos." tells us that the answer will be an abbreviation.
9. Crossed (out): XED. Interesting. The Thesuarus.Plus site does not mention XED (out).
10. Filch: PILFER. Interesting. Both the clue and answer are less-than-commonly-used words for steal.
11. Lukewarm "You hungry?" reply: I COULD EAT. Interesting. When used in the expression I COULD EAT a Horse, it is not at all lukewarm.
12. Comfy shoes: MOCS. Short for MOCcasinS.
13. German tennis player Huber: ANKE.
Anke Huber
18. British peer: EARL. The one was certainly teed up. A swing and a . . . solid hit (A Number One Hit in 1962).
Gene Chandler - The Duke of Earl - 1962
19. NYC division: BORO. Interesting because, although the word can also be spelled BOROugh.
25. Piglet's dad: BOAR. A BOAR is a male swine. No sows appeared in today's puzzle.
27. "Just __ water": ADD. After hearing this line over and over and over again in commercial advertisements the phrase became a synonym for something that was easy to do.
28. Sun __: TEA. Sun Tzu just could not be made to work.
29. Humorist Bombeck: ERMA. I always forget if her name is ERMA or Irma. Or, maybe, Emma.
30. One ab crunch, say: REP. REPetition. Working out at the gym. Walruses. Go figure.
31. Native Arizonans: HOPI.
Hopi Girls - Circa 1920
32. In a luxurious manner: OPULENTLY. Interesting. We rarely see this word in our puzzles.
35. Sheep's dad: RAM. A RAM is a male sheep. As with the swine, above, no female sheep appeared in today's puzzle - so one, or more, of each has been added:
Babe and Friends
36. Words of surprise: I SAY. It is interesting to see this British colloquialism turn out to be the correct answer.
37. Easter lead-in?: NOR. A bit of misdirection as this clue, despite the capitalization, does not refer to the Christian holiday. A NOR'Easter "is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean." The winds that one produces are typically from, you guessed it, the northeast. The Northeast has been hit by a series of NOR'Easters recently.
39. EMT skill: CPR. Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation
40. Pride Rock monarch: LION KING. The TV show "The Critic" once presented a wonderful parody of the scene below employing a cockroach.
Pride Rock
43. Using coercion: BY FORCE. Interesting. I thought the answer was going to be a gerund.
46. Hieroglyphics birds: IBISES.
47. Filmmaker Jacques: TATI. A French filmmaker probably best known for Mon Oncle and Traffic.
48. Beset: HARASS. Ah, "Much Ado About Nothing" (See 41 Across) doth sorta make an appearance after all! Hero: "Oh, god, defend me. How I am BESET! What kind of catechizing call you this?" Translation from the English to the English: Oh, God help me! How I am being attacked! What kind of game is this?
49. At any time: EVER. Are we supposed to cover the square(s) if we have EVER done it or cover the square(s) if we have never done it?
A "Never Have I Ever" Bingo Game Card
53. App with pics: INSTA. We have seen this abbreviated term for the INSTAgram app before. Never have I ever used Instagram.
54. Order to a Western posse: GET EM. Interesting in that this use is exceedingly non-specific. A posse could be given many other instructions and GET 'EM could be used in many other contexts.
55. "Siddhartha" author: HESSE. Herman Hesse also wrote Steppenwolf and Demian. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in literature.
56. Like dorms for men and women: COED. I suppose that COED dorms could be quite educational.
57. Radiance: AURA. My house was once filled with a demonic AURA so I called the local exorcist. When he entered the house I told him to "Get the hell out of here."
58. Lake Titicaca is partly in it: PERU. . . and it is partly in Bolivia.
61. MRI interpreter: DOC. Punt!
62. Browser window feature: TAB.
That wraps things up for today's puzzle. I think that Chuck did employ some potentially interesting word use.
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MM OUT
