Today Jeffrey Wechsler invites us to step back a bit and look at the starred
themers from a distance. Each is a common word or phrase that when prefixed by the reveal words
(70A & 71A)
"THE WHOLE", takes on a whole (or slightly) different meaning:
1A.
*Common delivery: PACKAGE. I use UPS for my package delivery.
But if we're talking about the THE WHOLE PACKAGE, you can't have the GOOD, without some of the
BAD ...
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From the film
Before Midnight |
8A. *Bagel partner: SCHMEAR. A schmear is a generous slathering of cream cheese on a bagel. The word itself has Yiddish origins, derived from the root for spread or smear. But here we're talking about THE WHOLE SCHMEAR, when EVERYTHING is just NOT ENOUGH ...
Our own recipe uses shrimp, re-fried beans,
creamed corn, sour cream, Mexican cheddar, and spicy homemade
salsa verde.
44A. *Skeet, e.g.:
SHOOTING MATCH. Shooting at clay "pigeons". THE WHOLE SHOOTING MATCH is sadly a timely answer. It implies risking everything for a venture that is bound to fail. The phrase is among
many other 20th century neologisms that had their origins in
The Great War, the "War to end all wars".
57A. *Object: THING. It
doesn't get any BIGGER than THE WHOLE THING. Carl Sagan called it the
Pale Blue Dot, ultimately encompassing the whole Universe. Peter Gabriel celebrates THE WHOLE THING in his album
Big Blue Ball (lyrics):
69A. *Opera, literally: WORKS. The plural of Opus and
today's Latin lesson. It is no exaggeration to say that OPERA encompasses almost THE WHOLE of WORKS
of art (poetry, drama, orchestral music, vocal music, ballet,
costumes, stage sets and stage craft). Richard Wagner referred to his
operas as "GesamtKunst" ("total art"). Had he had the technology available in the 20th century, he would have made his operas as movies.
Here's Jeff's reveal:
70A With 71-Across and each answer
to a starred clue, all of it:
THE and 71A See 70-Across:
WHOLE.
Here's the grid:
Now let's get on to the rest of THE WHOLE PUZZLE:
Across:
15. Rank: ECHELON. Here are the ranks of the
British peerage. The Earl of Grantham is so so.
16. West End attraction: THEATRE. Today's British spelling
lesson (Hi CanadianEh!)
17. Old racing vehicle: CHARIOT. I was twelve in 1959, it was a
snow day, and a buddy and I decided to walk 8 miles to the
Hippodrome Theater in downtown Baltimore to see the film
Ben-Hur. Here's the CHARIOT race:
18. Tell a tale: NARRATE.
William Shakespeare, considered by many to be the greatest narrator of all time told this tale
of ambition, the lust for power, and ruthlessness:
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more.
It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.
— Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17–28)
19. Sight from the Eiffel Tower: SEINE.
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The
Pont Rouelle
is in the foreground |
20. Like the Tin Man, after meeting Dorothy: OILED. It felt so good! Now, if he only had a heart.
27. Tuba's flared end: BELL.
30. Reduced, with "down": TONED.
31. To whom the rhinoceros was "prepoceros": NASH. Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by The New York Times the country's best-known producer of humorous poetry. Oh, and here's everything you want to know about that prepoceros rhinoceros.
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Ogden Nash |
36. Made with skill: CRAFTED.
38. Gp. in a 1955 labor merger: CIO. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million active and retired workers.
41. Grissom of NASA: GUS. Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was a USAF pilot and a member of the Mercury Seven selected by NASA as Project Mercury astronauts to be the first Americans in outer space. He was a Project Gemini and an Apollo program astronaut. As a member of the NASA Astronaut Corps, Grissom was the second American to fly in space.
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Gus Grissom |
42. High landform: RIDGE.
47. Steinbeck's Tom Joad, e.g.: OKIE. Tom Joad is the protagonist of the Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath. He is long gone, but Bruce Springsteen still remembers him.
49. Bring bad news to: SADDEN.
52. Jumps back, say: REACTS.
56. Pace: CLIP. From The Free Dictionary:
62. Modify, as sails: RERIG. A CSO to Jinx.
64. Singer DiFranco: ANI. Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco; (born September 23, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influences from punk, funk, hip hop and jazz. Here's Both Hands from Ani DiFranco, her debut album (lyrics):
66. Put up or straight up: ERECT.
67. Org. overseeing broadband: FCC. The Federal Communications Commission. The term BROADBAND refers to high-speed communications services, as opposed to POTS ("Plain Old Telephone Service"). From the user's perspective broadband communications connotes Internet access. In 2003 security researcher Barrett Lyon started a project called Opte to visualize just what the FCC is up against. Do those images remind you of anything?
68. Moving: ASTIR.
Down:
1. Bench press targets: PECS.
2. Pine (for): ACHE.
3. Trendy cupful: CHAI. Masala chai is a tea beverage made by boiling black tea in milk and water with a mixture of aromatic herbs and spices. Originating in India, the beverage has gained worldwide popularity, becoming a feature in many coffee and tea houses.
4. Bit of succotash: KERNEL. The corn bits anyway.
5. Not from around here: ALIEN.
6. Viscous stuff: GOO.
7. MD treating rhinitis: ENT. Ears Nose and Throat. Also a tree shepherd of Middle Earth.
8. RR stop: STN.
9. When doubled, a dance: CHA.
10. King from whom Mary and Joseph fled: HEROD. Not a good person. In the aftermath of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus' flight into Egypt, the Gospels record that Herod ordered the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem under the age of 2, as he saw the newborn child as a future rival for his throne. This is contested by many Bible scholars, whereas other consider it quite plausible.
11. Contralto Anderson: MARIAN. Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993, aged 96) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United States and Europe between 1925 and 1965. Here she sings "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child":
12. List abbr. used as a substitute: ET AL.
13. Prado contents: ARTE. More Spanish. The Prado is an ART museum in Madrid, Spain.
14. Clarinet, for one: REED. Yes Virginia, there are other WIND instruments.
22. WNBA position: CTR. As Women's National Basketball Association is abbreviated, so is the position of Center.
23. Philly's signature sandwich: HOAGIE. Mark your calendars for May 5th, National Hoagie Day. For those of you who need a refresher on deli sandwiches, feast your eyes on these.
24. Not at all serious: IN FUN.
25. "Don't dawdle, people!": LETS GO.
27. Short cut: BOB. As in a DO.
28. Isn't right: ERRS.
29. Jacob's first wife: LEAH. Leah was the daughter of Laban and sister of Rachel. Many of the stories about the sisters center around their turbulent relationship, as they were both wives of Jacob.
32. Band with an electrical symbol in their logo: AC DC. The Muppets are back with AC DC's Back in Black!
33. [How unfortunate]: SIGH.
34. Long-handled tool: HOE.
36. Lose with a triple bogey, maybe: CHOKE. Here are some of the worst golf CHOKES of all time (some schadenfreude to cheer up you duffers).
37. Critter on a Ring Dings box: DRAKE. Definitely got this one with perps.
40. "You chose wisely": GOOD PICK. As my old buddy Jerry used to say about me, "Even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then".
43. "No winners, no losers": ITS A WASH.
46. Helgenberger of "CSI": MARG. Mary Margaret Helgenberger (born November 16, 1958) is an American actress best known for her role as Catherine Willows in the CBS police procedural drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–13).
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| Marg Helgenberger |
49. Phillips __: SCREW. As opposed to slotted screws. When Teri proofs this, she's going to remind me that I need to buy some Phillips head screws for the door to the sun room.
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| Phillips Head Screws |
51. More grim: DIRER.
53. "The Divine Comedy" division: CANTO. The Divine Comedy was written by Dante Alighieri (c. 1265 – 14 September 1321), an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. Its three books: The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso, are each divided into 33 verse CANTOS. There is a also a prologue, making a total of 100 CANTOS, for a total of over 14,000 lines. Dante wrote the work during his exile from his native Florence. He was never able to return there and died in Ravenna, Italy.
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| Dante Alighieri |
55. Cross site, often: SPIRE. The part of a church roof that rises above a city skyline or a village's rolling hills, pointing sharply up toward the sky, is its spire. Many church spires have a cross at the very top. Other buildings — religious or secular — can also have spires, though it's most common to see one on a Christian church.
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| Spire with Cross |
58. Axe part: HAFT. The handle. My oldest grandson is adept at throwing axes and embedding them in a massive slab of oak mounted on a tripod 50 paces away.
59. Foot part: INCH.
60. "Well done!": NICE.
63. Classic muscle cars: GTS. The term "muscle car" is defined by Merriam-Webster as
65. "The __ allows it, and the court awards it": "The Merchant of Venice": LAW. And it is by the LAW that Portia turneth the tables on Shylock and saveth Antonio. And thus Jeffrey hath his Shakespeare!
Notes from C.C.:
1) Thanks again for filling in yesterday, Lemonade!
2) Amazing puzzle and writeup, Jeffrey and Bill!
3)
I'm excited to share with you this "Golden Girls" puzzle I made for the
Washington Post. It's edited by Patti Varol, who generously helped me
with the theme set. Let me know how your solving goes. Make sure you check the link every Wednesday. Next week's puzzle is co-constructed by someone you all know and talk about on our blog from time to time.
