Well, well; it's another Friday and guess who is our constructor? Why none other than the inimitable Jeffrey Wechsler! I'm beginning to think he has a lock on Friday puzzles, as well as puzzles that are 16x15 in grid size. While many of his offerings have been difficult for this solver, today's was not ... or is that nit?
JW took the "O" from four well-known phrases, and substituted an "I" to firm - no, that's form - a punny phrase. Friday and Saturday puzzles usually take me quite awhile to finish, but today's was surprisingly easy, time-wise. Lots of two-word phrases, and the 16-square width was needed to fill in the two spanners.
Here is how Jeffrey achieved the vowel replacement:
18-Across. Monarch known for her sketches?: MARY QUEEN OF SKITS. Mary, Queen of SCOTS is more familiar. In this "replacement" JW also switched the C in SCOTS to a K in SKITS - but the pronunciation of both the C and K are the same. SKITS are sketches; these are shoes:
28-Across. Lessons in sympathy?: PITY TRAINING. "POTTY TRAINING" is what I'm guessing Jeffrey was making pun of. And while we might feel empathy for parents of toddlers who are going through POTTY training, there's no PITY! Anyone who's had kids has been there, done that! Now, as for a PITY Trainer, how about this dude, seeing as a "T" was missing?
48-Across. "If you hate my work, make your own sweater!"?: LIKE IT OR KNIT. I guess that whatever your thoughts are about today's puzzle, you still solved it, "like it or not" ...
Any knitters among our group of regulars? I don't knit but I am a sweater ... and speaking of sweaters have you ever wondered
62-Across. Like "Ode on an Eaten Apple"?: WRITTEN TO THE CORE. "ROTTEN TO THE CORE" is a known phrase for one who's incorrigible. As well as a 1965 British Movie title, and a song from the Disney film "Desendants". But this clue and answer gave me a Moe-Ku:
Encouraging note
Sent to Marine recruits was
WRITTEN TO THE CORPS
Here is the grid:
On to the rest of the clues ...
Across:
1. Davis with two Oscars: BETTE. GEENA fit too, but I figured BETTE was more likely the one who'd have a pair of Oscars
BETTE Davis won her first Academy Award in 1935, for her role as a troubled young actress in Dangerous. She then appeared in The Petrified Forest with male stars Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart in 1937. After a rocky period at Warner Brothers, during which time she was suspended for turning down roles, sued the studio and spent some time in England, she returned to Hollywood, and was offered a higher salary and better choice of roles.
Davis received her second Oscar for her performance as a rebellious Southern belle in 1938's Jezebel. A number of critical and box-office successes followed: She played a heiress coming to terms with mortal illness in Dark Victory and Elizabeth I in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (both released in 1939), and went on to deliver several well-received performances in films of the 1940s, including The Little Foxes; the comedy The Man Who Came to Dinner; the American drama Now, Voyager; and the drama The Corn is Green. By the time she severed ties with Warner Brothers in 1949, Davis was one of its largest talents. Biography dot com
6. Also says: ADDS. But when it comes to ADS - especially those on most social media platforms and TV shows - wouldn't it be nice if they could "subtract"?
10. Say: UTTER. When you say "UTTER", do some folks think you said "udder"? And if this was a CSO to desper-otto, would this be UTTOR? "Mark" that down!
15. Warranty holders: USERS. USERS also has a connotative definition; that being the persons who "use" illegal drugs. But I don't think illegal drugs come with a warranty
16. Word with life or world: REAL. REAL life; REAL world. Get it?
17. Indication of further installments: PART I . But even this book omitted the "Part I" before the second "installment" was written
21. Gridiron strategy: PUNT. Also used as a metaphor in REAL life
22. It's often filled with things for which it was not intended: GARAGE. Like this perhaps?
23. It has no cutting edge: EPEE. Great clue! A literal, play-on-words; and Moe-ku, Part II:
Allergic fencer
Stores his swords where? Of course, they're
In an EPEE pen
24. Prince in both parts of "Henry IV": HAL. Prince HAL is the standard term used in literary criticism to refer to Shakespeare's portrayal of the young Henry V of England as a prince before his accession to the throne, taken from the diminutive form of his name used in the plays almost exclusively by Falstaff. Wikipedia
26. MGM rival: RKO. RKO Pictures was an American film production and distribution company. In its original incarnation, as RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. (a subsidiary of Radio-Keith-Orpheum, aka: RKO) it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. Google
34. Ownership query word: WHOSE. Or, when you have "auto-correct" activated, it's sometimes spelled "WHO'S"
36. Precipitous: RASH. Our Thesaurusaurus doesn't agree, but if you drill down deep enough, the word "RASH" can be found as a definition for precipitous ...
37. Substantial: MEATY. See 36-Across; maybe because it's Friday, the more familiar synonyms weren't used
40. Sitter's bane: IMP. Bane = pest; pest = IMP. Out of curiosity, what do sitters get paid these days?
41. Starter at some tables: ANTE. There must be a thousand crossword clues for the word "ANTE". Now there's 1,001
42. __ culpa: MEA. Latin, ‘by my fault’. Said during confession
43. Ascend: GO UP. It's GO UP, not GOUP!
45. Egyptian talisman: SCARAB. I had AMULET before correcting to SCARAB. Moe-ku Part III:
Cairo trainer used
Talisman on his stomach.
He wants to SCARAB
47. Bill: BEAK. As in a bird's bill; Bill: the BEAK of a bird, especially when it is slender, flattened, or weak, or belongs to a web-footed bird or a bird of the pigeon family. Google. This?
51. Zodiac symbol: SCALES. LIBRA doesn't fit as an answer, but its symbol is the SCALES. For folks born between September 23 and October 22. The symbol of the SCALES is based on the Scales of Justice held by Themis, the Greek personification of divine law and custom. She became the inspiration for modern depictions of Lady Justice. The ruling planet of Libra is Venus. Libra is the only zodiac constellation represented by an inanimate object; with the other eleven signs represented by either an animal or mythological character. Wikipedia
53. Military bands: SASHES. Not the musical "band"; this:
56. Judge with a bat: AARON. A sports reference. This "judge" - AARON Judge of the NYY. #99 in your scorecard
57. Related groups: SETS. In last Friday's puzzle, the singular of SETS was clued as "A math group"
61. Start a round: TEE UP. As in a "round" of golf. Most courses start with either a Par 4 or Par 5 which would require one to TEE UP their golf ball on a wooden peg. Meh. I would've preferred the clue to have referred to a basketball official assessing a technical foul - AKA - TEE UP
65. Woodworking tool: ADZE. Moe-ku Part IV:
Lowe's fall promotion
Features woodworking tools. It's
Their ADZE ad's campaign
66. One working on the house: ROOFER. SANTA didn't fit
67. Cyclo- suffix: TRON. A cycloTRON is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest O. Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. A cyclotron accelerates charged particles outwards from the center of a flat cylindrical vacuum chamber along a spiral path. Wikipedia
68. Having multiple leaders: TIED. A rather deceptive clue, methinks; another sports reference? As in the "leaders" of the ________ league division are TIED with 20 wins apiece
69. "Phooey!": AW NUTS. Not an oft used word phrase in xword puzzles, but effective
70. Part of DOS: Abbr.: SYST. DOS is a platform-independent acronym for disk operating SYSTem which later became a common shorthand for disk-based operating systems on IBM PC compatibles. DOS primarily consists of Microsoft's MS-DOS and a rebranded version under the name IBM PC DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Wikipedia
Down:
1. Sign suggesting slowing: BUMP. STOP would've been too obvious; as last Saturday's puzzle revealed, "OH, GOD, NO!" might be my response to seeing this sign, which I'd never encountered before living in both FL and now, AZ
2. Biblical twin: ESAU. OK: what's ESAU's twin's name?
3. Seagull kin: TERN. Unlike Arissa LeBrock, who might be clued as "Seagal" kin
4. "Taste it": TRY THIS. Clecho, PART I
5. Legal honorific: Abbr.: ESQ. An abbreviation for esquire, which is a title used by attorneys in the United States. The term esquire has a different meaning in English Law. It is used to signify a title of dignity, which ranks above gentleman and directly below knight
6. Space: AREA. Or, the final frontier, but that wouldn't fit
7. Woodland grazers: DEER. Slim pickens on the grazing deer cartoons!
8. Fox's partner on "The X-Files": DANA. Hand up if you've never watched "The X-Files". Me! Now THIS DANA was one with whom I'm familiar. Not sure that this kind of comedy would be allowed on today's TV
9. Tough go: SLOG. Kinda like this puzzle for some?
10. DHL alternative: UPS. United Parcel Service is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907.
11. "Taste it": TAKE ONE. Clecho Part II. Which brought to mind THIS old commercial
12. Activate, as a switch: TRIP. These rarely "break" anymore
13. Rock ending, in dance: ETTE. As in the RockETTEs. Anyone ever seen them? I did. At Radio City Music Hall in the 1960's. They performed before the showing of the movie, "Wait Until Dark"
14. Shine partner: RISE. RISE and Shine! I'm not sure that I am this perky most mornings
19. Way some situations turn: UGLY. But never these LA Times Crossword Blogs!
20. Seedless plant: FERN. How many seedless plants were featured in this sit com?
25. Wasted, as profits: ATE. Another Friday definition?
27. Kipling title hero: KIM. KIM is set in an imperialistic world; a world strikingly masculine, dominated by travel, trade and adventure, a world in which there is no question of the division between white and non-white.
Two men - a boy who grows into early manhood and an old ascetic priest, the lama - are at the center of the novel. A quest faces them both. Born in India, Kim is nevertheless white, a sahib. While he wants to play the Great Game of Imperialism, he is also spiritually bound to the lama. His aim, as he moves chameleon-like through the two cultures, is to reconcile these opposing strands, while the lama searches for redemption from the Wheel of Life.
A celebration of their friendship in a beautiful but often hostile environment, 'Kim' captures the opulence of India's exotic landscape, overlaid by the uneasy presence of the British Raj. Goodreads dot com
28. Make big, in a way: POPULARIZE. POPULARIZE: to cause (something) to become generally liked.
"his books have done much to popularize the sport"
29. "Last Call" singer Braxton: TRACI. TRACI Renee Braxton, is an American singer, reality television personality and radio personality. She is the younger sister of American R&B singer Toni Braxton. In 2011, Braxton reunited with her sisters for the WE tv reality show Braxton Family Values. Wikipedia
30. Charged: RAN AT. Only because "SWIPED" wouldn't fit
31. Minute Maid Park athlete: ASTRO. CSO to Dash T, our resident 'Stro's fan
32. "They say ... ": I HEAR. Another of the many two-word answers
33. Study applicable to many sciences: GAME THEORY. Business Insider lists 7 strategies on how to use GAME THEORY to make your life better
34. Freak (out): WIG. This WIG freaks ME out
35. Med. care provider: HMO. Health Maintenance Organization. In the United States, an HMO is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee
38. Bubble __: TEA. All perps. Never heard of it. Bubble TEA is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. It most commonly consists of tea accompanied by chewy tapioca balls, but it can be made with other toppings as well. Wikipedia
Place of origin: Taiwan
Alternative names: Boba; Pearl milk tea; Boba milk tea; Boba tea; Boba nai cha; Tapioca tea
Main ingredients: Tapioca, milk, creamer, brewed tea, sugar, flavorings
39. Babble: YAK. The hairy animal clue would've been too easy for a Friday puzzle
44. Took the lead: PILOTED. PILOTED; piloting; pilots. Definition of pilot (Entry 2 of 3) transitive verb. 1 : to act as a guide to : lead or conduct over a usually difficult course. 2a : to set and conn the course of pilot a ship.
45. French "his": SES. I "eat" and "drink" French, but don't speak it. Perps to the rescue!
46. Lib. contents: BKS. As in books found in a library - in the abbreviation form
47. Divides equally: BISECTS. To divide in two
49. Daily Planet reporter: KENT. Clark KENT. The alter ego for Superman
50. Silver with stats: NATE. Nathaniel (NATE) Read Silver is an American statistician and writer who analyzes baseball, basketball, and elections. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight and a Special Correspondent for ABC News. Wikipedia
51. Noticed attending: SAW AT. I SAW by friend Paul AT the meeting
52. Rap's __ B: CARDI. Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, known professionally as CARDI B, is an American rapper. Born and raised in New York City, she became an Internet celebrity by achieving popularity on Vine and Instagram. Wikipedia. Her nickname Cardi B is short for Bacardi. But the famed Cardi B stage name didn't actually originate from the rapper's birth name, Belcalis Almanzar. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Cardi B explained that her title is actually short for Bacardi (the rum). Interesting
54. Roman bills: EUROS. Or coins. Good misdirection
55. Used up: SPENT. I am usually SPENT after doing these blogs!
57. TV screen spots: SNOW. Wow! Here is a throw-back to the old days. This?
58. Prestigious English school: ETON. Or, a collar; or, James Bond's alma mater
59. Vegan staple: TOFU. TOFU, also known as bean curd, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be silken, soft, firm, extra firm or super firm. Beyond these broad textural categories, there are many varieties of tofu. Wikipedia. Sounds "dee-lightful"!
60. [Ignore that dele]: STET. An editor's term for "let it stand"
63. Distinctive period: ERA. What, no baseball reference to a pitcher's stat??
64. PO door posting: HRS. PO as in Post Office. Do they have banker's HRS??
That's all I got! Hope you'll add your comments below. Enjoy your weekend! Thanks again, Jeffrey Wechsler for another challenging Friday "flummox"!
