Hello Cornerites on this last day of April, 2021. My immediate thought when finishing the puzzle, of course, was to find an appropriate Gary Larson "Far Side" cartoon to complement the Arctic elements of Gary Larson the crossword constructor.
Friday puzzles are not normally "themed" with a reveal, but this one had those kind of entries; all of which were play-on-words for common phrases/items that might be found in the frigid north known as the Arctic.
Let's see if we can make "rime or reason" of them . . .
17-Across. Hors d'oeuvre in the Arctic?: FROST BITE. Pretty straight-forward; FROSTBITE (one word) means injury to body tissues as a result of extreme exposure to the cold. FROST BITE (two words) could mean, as the clue implies, a small "bite"/appetizer in the frozen north.
I thought of a Moe-ku, instead:
Poet Robert craved
Ice cream. Wife said, "No"! He asked:
"Can't I get FROST BITE?"
24-Across. Window treatment in the Arctic?: SNOW BLIND. Medicinenet dot com defines SNOWBLINDness as: A burn of the cornea (the clear front surface of the eye) by ultraviolet B rays (UVB). Also called radiation keratitis or photokeratitis. The condition typically occurs at high altitudes on highly reflective snow fields or, less often, with a solar eclipse.
SNOW BLIND in the clue's context might literally mean a window "blind" made of snow. Or this, maybe?
36-Across. Brittle cookies in the Arctic?: COLD SNAPS. In the literal sense of the phrase, a COLD SNAP is a sudden, brief spell of cold weather.
In this more figurative context, a COLD SNAP might refer to these in a frozen state:
51-Across. Linens in the Arctic?: ICE SHEETS. Wikipedia dot com defines an ICE SHEET as: "In glaciology an ICE SHEET (also known as a continental glacier) is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 square km.
The cluing suggests that bed linen in the Arctic would be SHEETS made of ICE. But of course, I have a Moe-Ku just for this:
Igloo lacked plumbing;
Going out in winter means
Taking an ICE SHEET
60-Across. Money for a rainy day in the Arctic?: SLUSH FUND. The term "SLUSH FUND" generally means a sum of money put aside for illegal or non-accountable purpose/purchase. Not something the IRS would be too happy about finding if they audited your books.
OTOH, the "Arctic version" of SLUSH FUND is decribing the word SLUSH as the condition of partly melted snow or ice; a condition that a rainy day in the Arctic might cause. Might this be a blend of both?
If any of this puzzle caused you a "brain freeze", I will try to ease your pain!
Across:
1. "How cute!": AWW. "AWW, isn't he cute in his (27-Across. Jumpsuit:) ONESIE? Yes, this is Moe's grandson (9 or 10 months at the time of this picture)
4. Tree with catkins: ALDER. AN ALDER is a widely distributed tree of the birch family which has toothed leaves and bears male catkins and woody female cones
Moe-klu:
Do they call this tree9. Gives for free: COMPS. As a third person present verb; "He COMPS a few bottles of wine at local tastings." But in real estate terms, COMPS is a plural noun and a portmanteau of "comparable listings"
A Pussy Willow? Of course,
'Cause it's got cat kins!
14. Thai language: LAO. A bit of Friday cluing as technically, LAO refers to the indigenous people of Northern Thailand/Laos as well as their language. Thinking of traveling to LAOS? Here is what not to do
15. Reading from an ark: TORAH. My last blog recap also had the word "TORAH". And while I have no idea why this came into my weird brain, I often wonder is this is sung at a Bat Mitzvah with the refrain: TOR - OR - AH Boom-De-Ay?
16. Use: AVAIL. As an advantage, usually. To get a better, more comprehensive insurance plan, he AVAILed himself as a beneficiary to his wife's.
19. LPGA star Korda: NELLY. NELLY Korda (born July 28, 1998) is a professional golfer who has won four times already in her brief career. Quite tall; 5'10". Daughter of former Czech professional tennis star Petr Korda
20. Skywalker mentor: KENOBI. Only fitting that I would get a reference for OBI-WAN KENOBI at (3-Down. One of a "Star Wars" race with its own -pedia:) WOOKIEE.
21. Others, in Oaxaca: OTRAS. Spanish. I had OTROS at first but erased it when I saw it was the "OTRA" OTRO
22. Tempt: BAIT. Oh, don't tempt me . . . another Moe-ku:
Fisherman’s wife’s in
Labor. First child is nigh. He
Waits, with BAITed breath ...
30. Crowd-__: PLEASER. Moi? Guilty!
31. Tournament pass: BYE. Moe-ku+:
Justin Timberlake
Lost his first golf match after
Getting a Tournament pass.
Was a "BYE BYE" BYE
32. Treaty subject: PEACE. Famous examples of PEACE treaties include the Treaty of Paris (1815), signed after Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, and the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the First World War between Germany and the Allies. Want to see more? HERE
35. Vivacious: PERT. Time for a visit from our Thesaurussaurus, but it must've known this was a Friday clue:
39. Samoa's capital: APIA. Only in crossword puzzles would anyone think about using this! Four-letter words with three vowels are always useful
42. Something numbered in groceries: AISLE. Mo Pitney - or is it MOE Pitney??! "Clean Up on AISLE Five"
43. Maa, in the movie "Babe": EWE. Cast and crew can be found here. EWE was played by Miriam Flynn
46. Clue's function: HINTING. Except on Friday's where its function is "hunting"!
49. Arcade game gobbler: PACMAN.
54. Actress Cheryl or Jordan: LADD. Cheryl Ladd (born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor; July 12, 1951) is an American actress, singer and author best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the ABC television series Charlie's Angels, whose cast she joined in its second season in 1977 to replace Farrah Fawcett-Majors. Jordan is her daughter
55. Words to live by: CREED. I had CREDO at first; and then I found out that: CREED is often a shared and established statement of belief. ... Creed is an English word, and credo is the Latin word it is borrowed from.
56. Bond preference?: SHAKEN. "SHAKEN, not stirred" is a famous line used by 007, aka James BOND, when referring to how he likes his martinis. Here are a few examples:
59. "Aha!": GOT YA'. Did anyone else pencil in "GOT IT" first? I did
63. More cunning: SLIER. The comparative version of (13-Down. Wily:) SLY.
64. Book before Joel: HOSEA. As seen below:
65. Singer's asset: EAR. I kind of equate having a good "EAR" as a singer (hearing the melody as you're about to sing) to having a good "NOSE" to a sommelier when you're about to taste the wine
66. Drink to: TOAST. A CSO to our long-time resident imbiber and blog contributor tinbeni. But as I blogged this puzzle, I knew that the whole "ICE" thing with the Arctic references would be "foreign" to him ;^)
67. Wharton's "__ Frome": ETHAN. Edith Wharton (author) wrote ETHAN Frome in 1911. The novel is a framed narrative. The framing story concerns an unnamed male narrator spending a winter in Starkfield while in the area on business. More info available at Wikipedia dot com
68. Soap-making supply: LYE. Moe-ku:
Author Adele Parks
Was fooled by the bars of soap.
"They're all "LYES LYES LYES"
Down:
1. TV ET: ALF. ExtraTerrestrial = Alien Life Form
2. 1970 #1 hit with the line "What is it good for?": WAR. Gotta have another video clip:
4. Memo abbr.: ATTN. ATTN K-Mart shoppers: Clean Up on AISLE 5
5. Western wolf: LOBO. Also the nickname of my neighboring state's athletic teams (University of New Mexico), and a possible CSO to OwenKL
6. Small amounts: DRIBS. I've always heard it used with "DRIBS and DRABS". But which one is smaller? DRIBS or DRABS?
7. Like some kitchens: EAT IN. Usually an area in the kitchen large enough to contain a table and chairs where a family can EAT IN. Duh!
8. MLB scoreboard letters: RHE. Runs Hits and Errors. See image, and a CSO to Wilbur Charles:
9. "Not possible": CAN'T BE. At Thanksgiving, perhaps??!
10. Isn't discrete: OVERLAPS. Do you ever confuse discrete and discreet? I did! But after looking up their definitions, the clue makes sense. OVERLAPS in its noun form means: a period of time in which two events or activities happen together. Kind of like during sports seasons when professional baseball, football, hockey, and basketball games are played concurrently . . . anyway, that's my answer and I'm sticking to it!
11. Listlessness: MALAISE. My "Ray-O-Sunshine" definition: Period when your mother takes a timeout ... MALAISE
12. Hoppy lager: PILSNER. We've had beer references before, so without going into too much detail, a PILSNER is a beer that is rich in its "hoppy" flavor (using hops to add a bitter quality to the taste). So, Moe, aren't ALES also a "hoppy" beverage, and if so, how do they differ from PILSNERs? Ales are made with top-fermenting yeasts that work at warmish temperatures; lagers are made with bottom-fermenting yeasts that need the liquid they're fermenting to be cold and still for a longish time. And now you know.
18. Tennis units: SETS. Game, SET, match! A game in tennis is but one unit of a SET, and a SET is but one unit of a match. One of the few games involving a "ball" in which C-Moe never became very adept
21. Hogwarts mail carrier: OWL. Harry Potter's OWL, Hedwig
22. Short cut: BOB. Cute clue; a shortcut (one word) is a route more direct than the one usually taken; but in tonsorial terms, a short cut can be a BOB. I don't know anyone named BOB who has a BOB, though
23. "__ thoughts?": ANY. A phrase that many of us bloggers use at the close of our recap: "ANY thoughts?"
25. Is the first act: OPENS. A bit of a clunky clue, IMO; I guess that the "first act" of gaining access to a jar of pickles, e.g., is that one OPENS it. ANY (other) thoughts?
26. 2000 Gere title role: DR T. Richard Gere starred in the eponymous movie (OK, it also included "& The Women") as a wealthy gynocologist. Not to be confused with THIS guy:
28. 2019 Uber landmark, briefly: IPO. Initial Public Offering, as in a company whose stock is first offered to institutions and/or public investors. The IPO is underwritten by a bank, normally, and offered for trading on one or several markets
29. Fish in unadon: EEL. Unadon is a portmanteau of sorts; combines the words "unagi and "donburi", ("eel bowl") and is eel filets served over white rice. The dish is prepared "teryaki style"
33. Words of wisdom: ADAGE. Usually a saying in a metaphorical style; e.g., "A penny saved is a penny earned"
34. CBS forensic series: CSI. Last Friday Jeffrey Wechsler clued this as a series in which the musical intro is a tune from The Who
36. Reflective gemstones: CATS EYES. Cymophane is popularly known as "CAT'S EYE". This variety exhibits pleasing chatoyancy or opalescence that reminds one of the eye of a cat. Like this:
37. Swiss peak: ALP. This is almost too easy for a Friday clue
38. Kind of green: PEA. I don't think of a PEA as a "green" (another word for a vegetable), even though it is. I was thinking the color, which PEA also is, as in this shade:
39. Yellowfin tuna: AHI. AHI is the Hawaiian word for "Bigeye Tuna"; the yellowfin is a close relative, and it is usually marketed by that name
40. Highest-pitched woodwind: PICCOLO. The word PICCOLO is Italian for small, and resembles a flute. It is about half the size of a regular flute. Here is how it sounds:
41. Resistance to change: INERTIA. Physics lesson for today: here
43. Obama's first chief of staff: EMANUEL. Rahm Israel Emanuel (born November 29, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 55th mayor of Chicago from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 23rd White House Chief of Staff from 2009 to 2010, and as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Chicago between 2003 and 2009. Wikipedia
44. Walletful: WAD. Funny clip!
45. Put the kibosh on: END. Put an end to; dispose of decisively. "He put the kibosh on the deal"
47. Common start of a bumper sticker slogan: I HEART. Any Virginians out there? I want to think that this was the beginning of the "I HEART" bumper stickers, although the original one might have said "Virginia is for Lovers"
48. Outlaw Kelly: NED. NED Kelly was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police murderer. He lived to the ripe old age of 35
50. Staff leader?: CLEF. Music term. Treble CLEF
52. Letter-shaped opening: T-SLOT. A T-SLOT nut is used with a threaded clamp to position and secure pieces being worked on in a workshop. The T-slot nut slides along a T-slot track, which is set in workbench or table for a router, drill press, or bandsaw. ... A T-slot bolt is generally stronger than a T-slot nut and hex-head cap screw. T-MI?
53. Silence: SHUSH. This wasn't even a word until 1920 or so, and its origin is "imitative" ... does that mean it comes from apes??!!
57. Voyaging: ASEA. ASEA is literal; AT SEA is figurative
58. Top medieval Tatar: KHAN. Oh; Genghas KHAN. That guy. I originally saw the word "tater", not Tatar. Which is maybe why I imagined this:
59. Clock-setting std.: GST. Meh. Greenwich Mean Time I get; Greenwich Sidereal Time, not so much. A quick Google search also indicates GST as Goods and Services Tax or Gulf Standard Time (Middle East). Whichever way you parse it, this abbr. did not sit well with me. But YMMV
60. Pop duo __ & Him: SHE. I don't recall this clue so I must've solved it with perps. SHE & Him is an American musical duo consisting of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. Sounds like music from the early '60's!
61. Thumbs-down: NAY. I almost always give a "thumbs-up" on Facebook . . .
62. Hip-hop Dr.: DRE. Too similar to 26-Down? DRT and DRE in the same puzzle. How did Gary leave out THIS guy?!
The grid:
See y'all in a couple of weeks . . . ANY thoughts?!
