Puzzling thoughts:
This puzzle was a bit of a "masquerade", as many of the clues were clearly disguised. And as for my ability to solve it? Well, I FIW, as you can see from the grid below. All of the letter squares with a red triangle in the corner are ones I had to reveal through the puzzle software:
As I began solving today's puzzle, I wondered how many of you would (42-across. Breezes (through):) SAIL(S) through this one? Or perhaps even see the theme, or (64-across. Break off:) END the solve with a (54-down. "All done!":) TADA? I certainly didn't, but once I revealed a few of my head-scratchers, and then solved the puzzle reveal, (62-across. Brandy-based cocktail, and a hint to locating the second part of four three-part puzzle answers:) SIDECAR, it all became clear. And, it made this puzzle a keeper!
Still don't see it? Let's explore the reveal to make some sense of it all ...
First, there were four clues - all in the down position - that were clued as "-". And while none of this made sense (even as some of them filled in via perps) if you just follow the red letters in the grid it will all become crystal clear.
The first "-" (29-down) was ROT. If you look above the black square (row 5, column 4) you see the word (14-down. Stick on a crudités platter:) RAW. If you then place the word CAR between (or along SIDE) these two words, then 14-down becomes RAW CARROT!
The second "-" (32-down. -:) yields the word PAL. Look above PAL to see (8-down. Like five bones in the hand:) META, and once you add CAR, 8-down becomes METACARPAL, or like 5 bones in the hand.
The third "-" was (53-down. -:) PONE. 39-down. Italian cream cheese: MAS, means nothing until the word "CAR makes it MASCARPONE. This:
And last, but certainly not least, the fourth "-" (56-down. -:) PET, made (40-down. Where stars may align:) RED (plus the SIDE CAR), RED CARPET. And come OSCAR time, you can see many "stars" align at the RED CARPET
Our constructors were last seen at the LA Times on this date.
Here is another link to info about this couple. As always, if either of the Wienbergs care to comment here, please enter and sign in! On to the rest of the clues ...
Across:
1. "__ your age!": ACT. If I had a $1 for every time that statement's been thrown in my direction I'd be set for life!
4. Hound: NAG. DOG fits, but not on Friday
7. Mischievous sprite: IMP. See 1-across; I've also been called an IMP at times. I'm a "sprite" in height, but not in weight
10. For instance: SAY. I often wondered if Francis Scott Key ever considered his first line in what became our National Anthem as "O for instance can you see ..."
13. Bach work: CHORALE. Moe-ku (as promised):
The Earp family
Approved Bach's work: "Gunfight at
The OK CHORALE"
15. "Fore!" site: TEE. CSO to HG, TTP, Boomer, and any and all of the CC golfers
16. __-K: PRE. Moe didn't attend PRE-k. Perhaps that's why he doesn't always "ACT his age"
17. Record collection?: DATA SET. "Lots of 1's and 0's; spreadsheets" so I'm told by Miss Margaret - my live-in librarian and laptop whiz
18. "And there's more" abbr.: ETC. Hang in there; today's blog won't be rife with a lot of ETC
19. Extra NBA periods: OTS. Overtimes. Also known as OT in NFL, NHL, and MLS. MLB has extra innings. Fun Fact: My almost 94 year old mom used to get the two phrases mixed up, and referred to an extended baseball game as "Over innings"
20. Simple style: CREW CUT. According to [Dictionary dot com], "The term CREW CUT was first recorded in the 1930–40s to describe the hairstyle of Ivy League students on the crew team (rowing). They cut their hair shorter on the sides and longer on the top to streamline their appearance (and performance)." Is that what they now call a FADE? I've gone full circle. Started getting CREW CUTS as a little shaver, and am sporting one now as a large portion of my scalp is bald
21. Meringue-based confection: MACARON. Moe-ku two:
Yankee Doodle had
Meringue injected in joint.
Called it MACARON-knee
23. Perched on: ATOP.
25. Defensive retort: AM TOO."Are not!"
26. MVP of the first Super Bowl: STARR. I was unaware that Ringo played football ...
30. Copies, for short: REPROS. I should've known this - or at least guessed it. Anyone here recall the "REPROS" we had in school, back in the day? Remember the smell?
33. Flying start?: AERO.
34. Sudden attack: FORAY. Which entry in today's puzzle is a CSO to another punster? This one: FORAY
35. Bentley of "Yellowstone": WES. I'd never thought of driving a Bentley to Yellowstone, but why not??
38. Inventor who coined the term "horsepower": WATT. Moe-ku three:
My first thought for this
After googling the answer
Was to say, "Wait, WATT?"
39. Exxon merger partner: MOBIL. According to [SpringerLink]: "When did Exxon merge with Mobil? In 1998, Exxon and Mobil merged in a deal valued at $81 billion. The merged entity became the third largest company in the world at the time of announcement. The merged company was called ExxonMobil Corp (stock symbol XOM)"
40. Musical symbol: REST. CLEF also fits
41. Nordic runner: SKI.
43. Let up: EASE.
44. Bo's'n's quarters: FOCSLE. FOCSLE? I definitely had to Google this one. I should've collaborated with Miss Margaret first, as she knew this straight off. The definition in Merriam-Webster
46. Storage place: CD ROM. You could possibly store a 17-across here, but a flash drive might be better (again, according to Miss Margaret)
47. With 60-Across, undefeated boxer who wrote the cookbook "Food for Life": LAILA (60-across. See 47-Across: ALI). Muhammad and Veronica's daughter. Her son looks like his grandpa
49. Prefix between kilo- and giga-: MEGA. "Kilo- means 1,000; a Kilobyte is one thousand bytes. MEGA - means 1,000,000; a Megabyte is a million bytes. Giga- means 1,000,000,000; a Gigabyte is a billion bytes"[udel dot edu] More info, and a neat graph!
52. Passage: EXCERPT.
55. Do better than: SURPASS.
61. Mauna __: LOA. 63-across. Mauna __: KEA. Not sure I've ever seen both of these used in the same puzzle, let alone side by side
65. Snob: ELITIST. I had EGOTIST, which got me all messed up in that section of the puzzle
66. Couture monogram: YSL.
67. Leaves in hot water?: TEA. Cute clue
68. "The Matrix" hero: NEO. I feel so out-of-touch as I never watched "The Matrix"; so this filled with perps (I think)
69. Justice Dept. arm: DEA. Can justice be served by the DEA for someone who showed up DOA from an OD?
Down:
1. "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" band: AC/DC. Not one of their iconic songs, except maybe to serious fans. Maybe Dash Tony has more history about this?? Fun fact: When Moe lived in Fort Myers, FL, he owned a wine business. One of his semi-regular customers was Cliff Williams; the bass player from AC/DC. Cliff and his wife Georgeanne were very beneficent. In 2011 they hosted a charity auction in their home; all proceeds went to a local neighborhood of underprivileged families. Moe provided several cases of wine, as well as doing the wine pouring for the event
2. Really overcook: CHAR. Sounds like my first time in a kitchen ... I think I actually burned water
3. Lug: TOTE. The plural, TOTES, is a brand of rainwear
4. Org. with a long track record?: NASCAR. 67-across was a cute clue; this one? Not so much
5. Language spoken along the Bering Sea: ALEUT. I might have either misspelled this, or maybe used INUIT in the first pass
6. Eat at: GET TO. Hopefully not something I do to you with my blogs
7. Agenda listing: ITEM. Ahh, agendas; brings back memories of the corporate world ... none, now; I'm retired!!
9. Nocturnal piglike mammal: PECCARY. Complete unknown, although they look very similar to our Arizona Javelina. [Wikipedia] "A PECCARY is a medium-sized, pig-like hoofed mammal of the family Tayassuidae. They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of North America. They usually measure between 90 and 130 cm in length, and a full-grown adult usually weighs about 20 to 40 kg." This:
10. Athletic apparel: SPORTSWEAR. A very infrequently used crossword entry
11. "Star Wars" droid nickname: ARTOO. How come we never see his friend CEETHREEPEEO used in crossword puzzles?
12. Basic question type: YES NO. And yet, when I was in sales, our trainers always suggested we ask questions that began with HOW, WHAT, WHY, WHO, WHERE, or WHICH
22. Latin 101 word: AMO. A MOE? I never knew I was Latin
24. Snag: PROBLEM. I guess when you have a snag in a sweater, it IS a PROBLEM
26. Proverbs: SAWS. In [Dictionary dot com] the third meaning is: "saw3/sô/noun: saw; plural noun: saws
a proverb or maxim.
"Don't believe the old saw that you can't be out and still be a mover and shaker in Hollywood"
27. Tropical hardwood: TEAK. I often get confused by words that sound alike
28. Synthetic: ARTIFICIAL. Another seldom used puzzle fill. Speaking of "fill", I'm guessing that most pillows are filled with ARTIFICIAL fibers these days
31. Dwarf planet once known as Xena: ERIS. More info if you're so inclined to click on this link
34. Tin __: FOIL. Moe-ku four:
In "Wizard of Oz"
The Tin Woodman becomes the
FOIL of Winkies
36. Canadian gas brand: ESSO. CSO to CanadianEh! So, how much is ESSO going for these days, per liter??
37. Dandelion part: STEM. Does WINE fit this clue? Anyone remember Dandelion wine??
42. Miss in the game of Clue: SCARLET. She was easy to spot because she wore a sweater with the letter "A" embroidered on it
45. Flamenco cheer: OLE.
46. Brief exercise?: CARDIO.
47. Hardly seaworthy: LEAKY. Sounds like a plumbing PROBLEM, to me
48. Turnpike toll factor: AXLES. Did anyone here ever drive an 18-wheeler? I didn't, but I used to have a CB Radio. My handle was "Short Strokes". I learned all of the trucker/cb jargon. For example: "What's your twenty?" (answer in the comment section below if you know this answer)
50. German industrial city: ESSEN. ESSEN also means "meal" in German
51. Trickery: GUILE.
57. Low-pH substance: ACID. The pH "scale" runs from 1 to 14. Most elements/solutions under 7 are ACIDic; those over 7 are basic/alkaline. This:
58. RSVP convenience: SASE. Self Addressed Stamped Envelope
59. Mex. miss: SRTA. Abbr. for Senorita
That's all she wrote, Cornerites. Please add comments below. See you in a couple of weeks ... now for me to go catch up on some old sitcoms from the '50's and '60's
