Thursday August 19, 2021 Tomas Spiers

 

 Follow the Money

Tomas Spiers, our constructor today, invites us to do what all the solvers in the mystery shows do, that is "Follow the Money!".  I tried tracking down Tomas on the Net, but as he doesn't leave a trace, this could be his debut puzzle, for the LAT at least.  Perhaps Lemony or HG could weigh in on that.

Tomas gives us 4 themers for "Money", all filled with common synonyms or slang for "Legal Tender for all debts, public or private".

20A. Money for a visit to the Colonel?: CHICKEN TENDER.  "the Colonel" is of course a reference to Colonel Harlan Sanders, the founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain.  But if you want really TENDER chickens you need to get them from a TOUGH man, like Frank Perdue.  Perdue raises his own breed of chickens on on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay:

Some people contend that the run off from poultry farms on the shore have made it TOUGH for the fish, crabs, and oysters in the bay, but I'm not mentioning any names.

28A. Money for some golf course features?: PUTTING GREEN.  The COLOR of MONEY (well paper and old copper coins maybe) is GREEN.  But these guys don't GIVE A DAMN about it!

45A. Money for government expenses?: STATE CAPITAL.  There seems to be a lot of it going around these days.  But before there was a United States, there were English colonies in the New World, and they all issued there own money.  The U.S. Currency Education Program will tell you all about it.

53A. Money for meteorological studies?: CLIMATE CHANGE.  I'm sure that the Cornerites on the West Coast can tell you that this is real, whether it be natural or anthropogenic.  While you're pondering that I'll nickel and dime you with this old chestnut:

Just so we can lock up the themers, here's the grid:
 

Now you've got some more sleuthing to do:

Across:

1. Champagne choice: BRUT.  Champagnes vary in sweetness from dry (BRUT) to sweet (DOUX) as explained here.

5. Technical detail, briefly: SPEC.  Short for SPECIFICATION.  Synonyms include OPERATIONAL DEFINITION and EFFECTIVE PROCEDURE, unambiguous descriptions for how to do something.  Two or more reasonable individuals following these descriptions should get the same results.  In my experience effective procedures are like computer programs, and must be tested to ensure that they actually work. "But we don't have time to do it right".  But we always have time to do it over.

9. Faith that acknowledges the value of all religions: BAHAI.  BAHAI is relatively new and originated in Iran in the 19th Century.  You can tell they must be doing something right, as the Bahá’ís have been severely persecuted for their faith.

14. Mysterious character: RUNE.  These writings frequently appear in crossword puzzles, and like the latter they are often mysterious.

15. 2012 Best Picture: ARGO.  ARGO is a 2012 American historical drama thriller film directed by Ben Affleck.  There apparently was a lot of controversy from all sides as to how it depicted the events of Iranian hostage crisis.  I have not seen it.

16. Use: EXERT.

17. Chichén __: pyramid site: ITZA.  Chichén Itzá is a ruined ancient Maya city occupying an area of 4 square miles (10 square km) in south-central Yucatán state, Mexico.

18. Thought input?: FOOD.

19. Texas battle site: ALAMO.  The ALAMO is one of several Missions in San Antonio, TX founded by the Spanish Franciscan Fray Antonio de Olivares in 1724.   The famous battle referred to in the clue was fought here from February 23 – March 6, 1836:

23. Like a roulette wheel: SPUN.

24. Callas offering: ARIA. Greek soprano Maria Callas is considered by many to be the greatest soprano of the 20th Century.  Here is her offering of Lauretta's ARIA O Mio Babbino Caro ("My Dear Daddy") from Gianni Schicci, Puccini's short opera and only comedy.  It's fast paced, an absolute hoot, and a highly recommended intro to opera.  I've included this English translation for Owen and it also contains the backstory as to what's going on.

25. LIRR org.: MTA.  After a short intermission I hope you New Yorkers don't mind a shift in the MTA's venue to bring you a repeat engagement by the Kingston Trio:

32. Coll. application stat: GPA.

35. Brunch serving: CREPE.  Here's a quick and easy recipe.

36. Trash pile emanations: ODORS.

37. Good evening omen, it's said: RED SKY.  Just an old wives' tale?

39. Contract part: CLAUSE.

40. Wile E. Coyote once attached one to a balloon: ANVIL.  You could see this coming couldn't you?

41. Soccer star with six Ballon d'Or awards: MESSI.  The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious award for individual soccer players.   Alright soccer fans, here's everything you want to know about  LIONEL, and he has been awarded 6 of these!

Le Ballon d'Or

I've got to start boning up on this sport.  My second oldest grandson is turning into quite a soccer player and all I know is OLẾ!  And I learned that here.

44. __ Aviv: TEL.  The economic and technological center of the State of Israel:

Location of Tel Aviv within Israel

48. Paella cooker: PAN.  Here's the party version, but this recipe is easily adapted to what you like and what you've got:

49. Back __: making a comeback: AT IT.

50. Forum wear: TOGA.  Very fashionable on the Corner.

58. Toyota hybrid: PRIUS.  They get excellent gas mileage, but they're not large enough for grandparents.  We drive a Camry hybrid, but will probably replace it this year.

60. "__ arigato": Japanese "thanks a lot": DOMO.  Today's Japanese lesson (a first for me at least).  Sounds almost like Italian, but Google translate wouldn't go for it.

61. Borzoi and Brittany: DOGS.  The BORZOI is a Russian Wolf Hound and the Brittany is a retriever originally from France:

Borzoi and Brittany Dogs

62. Ho-hum: BANAL.  Had this answer 2 weeks ago.  This is starting to get BANAL.

63. Its national animal is the Arabian oryx: OMAN.  OMAN is on  the Southeast coast of the Arabian peninsula.  Here's an ORYX.  Beautiful animals, but apparently their horns make them much sought after as hunting trophies.

64. Let out: EMIT.

65. Shift gears: SEGUE. Must be an automatic transmission, as SEGUE usually connotes a seamless transition, especially between movie scenes.

66. Sales staff: REPS.

67. Monopoly card: DEED.  Here's the board and the House Rules:

Down:

1. __-a-brac: BRIC.  or GEE-GAWS.  You get the picture:

2. Baby __: candies: RUTHS.  Apparently there is some controversy about the origin of this name.  If you still have a sweet tooth for this sort of thing try this site (but as they say "Chacun a son goût")

3. Begin to remove, in a way: UNZIP.

4. Vessel for a spot: TEACUP. Here's a TEACUP for a "spot of tea" made by my great, great uncles Felix and Richard Pratt in their pottery in 19th century Fenton, England:

5. Close call, maybe: SAFE.  There's nothing like an optimistic crossword constructor.

6. Rotate inward while walking, as one's foot: PRONATE. From the Oxford Dictionary of Languages:

verb  Anatomy

verb: pronate; 3rd person present: pronates; past tense: pronated; past participle: pronated; gerund or present participle: pronating

1. turn or hold (a hand, foot, or limb) so that the palm or sole is facing downward or inward.

   "the patient is asked to maintain this position while the examiner attempts to pronate the foot"

   • walk or run with most of the weight on the inside edge of the feet.

I almost lost my balance just trying to visualize it!

7. Journey with stroking: EGO TRIP.  Since the pandemic started this seems to have become a widespread substitute for travel.

8. Cough syrup ingredient: CODEINE.  This pain reliever sounds tame enough, especially when compared with contemporary opioids like FENTANYL.  But CODEINE was one the first widely abused narcotics.  Buffy Saint-Marie wrote a song about her addiction to it after being treated for a bronchial infection.  Here's an excerpt from her song COD'INE from the Newport Festival:

Here is the complete version of COD'INE (5 min.) from her debut album It's My Way!.

9. Sweat bit: BEAD.  BEADS are "bits" of many things.  They are also metaphorical units of reality, strung together from subatomic particles to atoms to macro-molecules, like DNA.  "The Glass Beadgame" by Hermann Hesse, one of my favorite novels, is also based on metaphorical BEADS and concerns the intimate inter-connectedness of all knowledge.  It's a game we play here everyday.

10. Toll booth pricing unit: AXLE.

11. "Just listen": HEAR ME OUT. 

12. Shot spot: ARM.  Topical clue/fill.  If more people would FILL up on vaccines, we might beat this pandemic.

13. "Who am __ judge?": I TO.  "Judge not, lest ye be judged" - Matt. 7:1.

21. __ under: give in: KNUCKLE.  "Say uncle!"

22. Bug: NAG.

26. Succinct: TERSE.

27. Early Sierra Club member Adams: ANSEL.   Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West.  Here is his gallery website, just in case you want to buy a print.

Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite, 1927

29. Put to the test: TRY.

30. Book of Samuel aggressor: GOLIATH.  This is an iconic story showing that "might doesn't always make right" and sometimes the "little guy wins".  As the clue "Book of Samuel" implies the single volume version in the Hebrew Bible, as opposed to "1or 2 Samuel" books in Christian Bibles, I've chosen a Jewish source to describe the encounter between David and Goliath in detail.  We now join the fray with Israel facing its enemies, the Philistines, "in a hilly country between Shochoh and Azekah":

GOLIATH and David

31. Nutritional fig.: RDA.  Although still a crossword staple, Recommended Daily Allowances for nutrients were actually replaced in 1997 by NIH Dietary Reference Intakes.  Hand up if you remember this?  Simple huh?

32. Wrap one's mind around: GRASP.  What's really hard to "wrap one's mind around" is the MIND!

33. Hepta- minus two: PENTA*.  Today's Mathematics Lesson, in Greek no less.  And the word Mathematics is

from the Greek mathēmatikē (tekhnē), from the base of manthanein ‘learn’.

noun: mathematics; noun: applied mathematics; noun: pure mathematics

1. the abstract science of number, quantity, and space. Mathematics may be studied in its own right ( pure mathematics ), or as it is applied to other disciplines such as physics and engineering (CSO to Anon -T and Picard**).

   "a taste for mathematics"

   • the mathematical aspects of something.

     plural noun: mathematics

     "the mathematics of general relativity"
     

     * Oh yeah, the answer is FIVE.
     ** not in the original Oxford Dictionary of Languages.

34. Lender's activity: ADVANCING.

38. Pet-training word: SIT.

39. Winter hrs. in Ill.: CST.  Central Standard Time. Which commences Nov 7, 2021 according to this reference.  It also tells you whether and when you need to "Spring ahead" or "Fall behind".

41. Cape user: MATADOR.  This bull apparently wasn't too happy with this CAPE USER after being stabbed between the shoulder blades with a sword.

42. Perfect example: EPITOME.  A dying breed I think.

43. Structured internet listing: SITEMAP.  If you're out on a tree limb, and can't figure out how to get back down, look on the main menu for a SITEMAP.

46. Spy __: CAM.  This one looks good.  Can you spot the camera?

47. Really rich: LOADED.  Not really a problem for me.

51. Pointy-hat wearer: GNOME.  I'd like to get one of these for our garden, but DW says "Why don't you just stand out there yourself!":

52. Longhorn rival: AGGIE.  I've been hearing about this rivalry for a long time, that I decided to check it out.  Take this link with a grain of salt though, as it looks suspiciously like it might be an AGGIE site.

54. Lomi-lomi salmon might be served at one: LUAU.  Hand up if you've ever been to a LUAU.  Here's Rachel Ray's recommendations for throwing your own.  Since Rachel didn't include a recipe for Lomi-lomi salmon here's one.  BTW, "Lomi-lomi" is Hawaiian for "to massage", as in "to toss".  And here's a little of Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole's ukelele to go with it:

55. Scotland's __ of Arran: ISLE.  We've been to the ARAN ISLANDS off of Ireland, but not Scotland's ISLE of Arran.  Looks like a beautiful place to visit.

56. Decision-making column heading: CONS.  Don't let 'em fool you though.  You can't trust 'em!

57. Began, as a co.: ESTD.  Often seen on a CORNERSTONE in ROMAN NUMERALS.  What a nightmare that was!

58. Judy Woodruff's network: PBS.  She's been a broadcast journalist for nearly 50 years.

Judy Woodruff

 59. Actress Issa: RAE.  Jo-Issa Rae Diop (born January 12, 1985) was married less than a month ago to her longtime boyfriend Louis Diame over a weekend in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, a commune in the South of France.  Not bad for an "Awkward Black Girl"!

Issa Rae

What more can I say?

waseeley

Cheers,

Bill