Wednesday June 30, 2021 Jeff Stillman

Children's Games

Georges Bizet's Jeux D'Enfants

 

Jeff Stillman is a frequent contributor to the LA Times Crossword and today he plays with some favorite phrases for children's games.  Each themer consists of a pun on games we all played when we were kids. No reveal is needed. 

Bill here to lead you through some childhood memories:

18A. Tanner's favorite kids' game?: HIDE AND SEEK.  Some parents occasionally "tan their children's hides", the traditional method of behavior control. As confirmed believers in the power of positive re-enforcement, we never found the need for it.

28A. Ornithologist's favorite kids' game?: DUCK DUCK GOOSE

45A. Window retailer's favorite kids' game?: BLIND MANS BUFF.  A bit of misdirection here, as  BUFF in this case is apparently an alternate word for the more common BLUFF.  This game been around for a long time, but I don't think it was ever included in the Olympics:

60A. Vermeer and Rembrandt's favorite kids' game?: DOUBLE DUTCH.  However THIS game just might be in the Olympics some day:

 I can't move on without some links to paintings by the painters Jeff plays with in this clue: Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes ("Jan") Vermeer (my favorite painter).  The Rembrandts are in the National Art Gallery in London, numbering 26 of the over 600 paintings he created.  The Vermeer link has about 35 paintings from all over the world, constituting the entire extant corpus of his works in oil.  I believe the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. has 4 of them.

And the rest of the riffs:

Across:
1. Put away: ATE.

4. Discover with effort: DIG UP.  For example: ARCHEOLOGY.  If you're on the younger side, and you (really!) enjoy manual labor, you just might want to consider a career in this fascinating field.

9. Cloister leader: ABBOT.  Probably the most famous ABBOT was St. Benedict of Nursia ( c. AD 480–550) who founded the Benedictine Order.  He is best known for writing the Rule of St. Benedict, a short book of precepts written in 516 for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.  His rule spread beyond the Benedictine Order and has served as a template for many other Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican monastic communities.

14. Mars, for one: GOD.  The Roman God of War, equivalent to the Greek God ARES.

15. Hwy. through six Eastern state capitals: US ONE.  I checked and it goes through Annapolis, MD.

16. Dora the Explorer's animal-rescuing cousin: DIEGO.  Everything you want to know about Dora Márquez and her cousin Diego:

Diego and Baby Jaguar

17. Phoenix-to-Boise dir.: NNW.

20. "My word!": EGAD.

22. Discriminating sense: TASTE.

23. Nursery item: TREE. 

24. NBA's Steph Curry, notably: WARRIOR.  Wardell Stephen "Steph" Curry II is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. He plays the point guard position. Many analysts and players have called him the greatest shooter in NBA history. Wikipedia

26. Indy entrant: CAR.

34. "__ en Rose": Edith Piaf song: LA VIE.  Here it is, first in French, and then in English:

Here is a brief documentary of her life and sad ending:

36. Fare-well link: THEE.

37. Naught: NIL.

38. Footnoter's "ditto," briefly: IBID.  Abbreviation for the Latin ibidem ‘in the same place’.

39. Like ballet movements: FLUID.   Comme ça:

41. Lenovo competitor: DELL.

42. "__ want a hula hoop": "The Chipmunk Song": ME I.  And now from the sublime to the ridiculous!

43. Lots of bucks: DEER.  Yeah, we have a herd of them living in our back yard!  Mostly does and fawns though.

44. Sits after microwaving: COOLS.

49. Flight board abbr.: ETA.  Estimated Time of Arrival

50. Part of HEW: WELFARE.  Formerly Health, Education, and Welfare, now Health and Human Services, part of the government's never ending quest for les mots justes:

53. Bite like a beaver: GNAW.   Woodin' wanna' tangle with that guy!

56. Within the law: LEGIT.  If you're not, ya better LEG IT!

59. Onion exterior: SKIN.  "Onion skin" is more of a description of how thin it is, rather than its origins. 

63. Wall St. debut: IPO.  Initial Public Offering, in a nutshell:

Or everything you might want to know.

64. Stumping sites: PODIA.  As in plural of PODIUM.

65. Russian villa: DACHA.  I guess they vary in size.  Some of these are more like simple cottages.

66. After-tax amount: NET.

67. Popped up: SKIED.  Got this on perps, but still don't quite get it.  Popped up over a ramp or moguls?  A CSO to MalMan for some clarification.

68. Jewish community orgs.: YMHAS. (or YWHAS)  - Jewish Community Centers intended specifically to meet the needs of young Jewish men or women who are traveling to/from cities.

69. Dr. of rap: DRE.  AnDRE Romelle Young.  Not really a doctor, but he may play one on TV.

Down:
1. Veep who resigned: AGNEW. Well, forced to resign actually.  He was lucky he didn't have to do any time.  I believe I mentioned the last time he SKIED in a puzzle, that I met him at a Student Council meeting.  I promise not to mention it again.

2. South Pacific kingdom: TONGA.  The Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Tonga.

Tonga Coat of Arms

3. British monarch who reigned less than a year in 1936: EDWARD VIII.  And a woman from Baltimore had something to do with it.

4. "That's so obvious!": DUH.

5. "Would you mind?": IS IT OK?

6. French-Swiss film director Jean-Luc: GODARD.  Is an "iconic and influential filmmaker", born in 1930.   Here are 10 of his greatest films.

7. Some, in France: UNES.  Today's French lesson. 

8. Swamp buildup: PEAT. Dried peat is used in Ireland as a source of fuel.

9. Put in: ADD.

10. Casual eatery: BISTRO.

11. Tavern quaff: BEER.

12. Fancy molding: OGEE.  GEE and I thought I knew my moldings.

13. Drag on a joint: TOKE.  I believe this word was derived from Gertrude Stein's buddy Alice B. Toklas.  Be sure to check out her recipe for "Haschich" Fudge.

19. Canoodled: NECKED.  Also known as PARKING.

21. Ancient Celtic priest: DRUID.  Leaders among the Celts, they served much broader functions than just the priesthood.

25. Diamonds, to hoods: ICE.

27. Sensitive subject, to some: AGE.  What is there to be sensitive about, other than the inevitable aches and pains?  No one has figured out how to get any younger.

29. One-eighty: U TURN.  A.K.A. a UIE.

30. X as in Xerxes: CHI.  As in the Greek letter immediately after PHI.  However as Xerxes was actually Persian and his name in Farsi is Khshayarsha, perhaps KAPPA would be more korect.

31. Unique thing: ONE OF A KIND.  In Latin "Sui Generis".  In the digital age things can be easily copied, so to make them "unique" the technocracy has created the "Non-Fungible Token (NFT).  An NFT is unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files.  A brand new way to separate people from their money.

32. Plant pot spot: SILL.  Took me a few secs to suss this one.

33. Wings you can't eat: ELLS.

34. Bird's perch: LIMB. Or a wing you CAN eat.

35. Genesis victim: ABEL.  Why was Abel slain by his brother CAIN?

39. Doe or sow: FEMALE. 

40. Grazing locale: LEA.  You might find a "Lot of bucks" or a "Doe" here early in the morning or evening.

41. Tips politely: DOFFS.

43. EPA-banned insecticide: DDT.   The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970.  But the environmental impact of DDT and other pesticides was brought to public attention earlier than that by the ground-breaking book Silent Spring, written by Rachel Carson in 1962:

44. __-de-sac: CUL.   "DEAD END" in France.  More French.

46. Beginner: NEWBIE.

47. Turn (on), as a light: SWITCH.  You can turn them (off) too.  One of my pet peeves.

48. "You __!": "Yep!": BETCHA.  Sorry, I'm not a gamblin' man.

51. Not as green: RIPER.  According to Rachel Ray, there are some fruits that taste better green.

52. Online reminder: ENOTE.

53. Natl. economic stats: GDPS.  Gross Domestic Product.  Please don't ask me to explain any of this.

54. Cozy corner: NOOK.   Now you can curl up in your cozy nook with your Nook and read the Great American Novel:

I generally prefer paper, but a Nook is lighter and might be advisable for reading Anna Karenina:

55. Auto with a four-ring logo: AUDI.  Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer that designs, engineers, produces, markets and distributes luxury vehicles. Audi is a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group and has its roots at Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. Audi vehicles are produced in nine production facilities worldwide. Wikipedia

57. Whirling current: EDDY.  See last Thursday's puzzle.

58. Island east of Manila: GUAM.  Guam, is an island and unincorporated territory of the United States in the North Pacific Ocean, the largest, most populous, and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. It lies about 5,800 miles (9,300 km) west of San Francisco and 1,600 miles (2,600 km) east of Manila.

61. Bloke: LAD.

62. Partakes of: HAS.

Well I think this LAD HAS finished playing games.  Here's the grid:

 

waseeley

Cheers,

Bill