The reveal: 37-Across. "Peace!," and a hint to how the answers to the starred clues were formed: I'M OUT.
17-Across. *Blazer to wear to Cub Scout meetings?: DEN JACKET. When you add the "IM" into DEN JACKET you get "DENIM JACKET"
23-Across. *Music for couch potatoes?: SEDENTARY ROCK. Place the "IM" into SEDENTARY and you get "SEDIMENTARY ROCK"
45-Across. *Professional who helps name timeline segments?: AGE CONSULTANT. In this case, the IM goes in front of AGE to provide "IMAGE CONSULTANT"
54-Across. *Stance taken by a Marvel character, perhaps?: SUPER POSE. And last but not least, when you add an IM to this entry, you get "SUPERIMPOSE"
Puzzling thoughts:
Hi, folks. C-Moe here providing you with today's blog. Sorry I've been OUT for awhile. Packing for the big move has taken most of my free time, and then - to add my stress - I contracted gOUT a couple weeks ago, and since it settled into my right thumb joint, I've not been able to do a lot of typing or solving puzzles on a computer. But through rest and the proper medication, my abilities returned, so here I am.
Taylor Johnson provides us with some interesting word play today. The puzzle was OK, but didn't make me smile or laugh. It wasn't difficult to see how the reveal fit into the entries; wished it (the reveal) was clued differently, as "Peace!" for "I'M OUT" wasn't that clever. I usually think of "I'm out" to mean "I'm leaving". And the only entry I thought clever was the SEDENTARY ROCK, which also had the "IM" well-hidden. But the editor(s) may have felt otherwise.
Actually, this puzzle could just be a CSO to our own Irish Miss!!
The puzzle DID have a couple of clever/fresh entries in SOFT PRETZEL and PANTOMIMIST, but ER DOC and RE-INK seemed weak for a Friday offering, as did the twenty-one 3-letter entries (one of Irish Miss' pet peeves) and all of the easy clues. So here's the grid, and then off to the rest of the clues/entries
Across:
1. "More or less": SORTA. This was SORTA a good puzzle, and then I saw this at 8-Down. (Much, casually:) LOTSA. I think only one entry ending in -A should be acceptable
6. Communication syst. used in the film "CODA": ASL. American Sign Language. The clue and reference did not make this any tougher as the perps came to my rescue
9. Start to cut?: UPPER. This? [CAUTION: LOTS OF PUGILISTIC UPPER CUTS]
14. Flawless: IDEAL.
15. __-mo: SLO.
16. Withering look: GLARE.
19. Language that gives us "pajamas" and "shampoo": HINDI. URDU wouldn't fit
20. Most arid: DRIEST. ARIZONA wouldn't fit
22. __ collar: ETON. Hello? ETON collar? Another trite clue/entry, IMO
26. Pad sharer: ROOMIE. Margaret and I are technically ROOMIEs, but I know we are much more than that
28. Quaint affirmative: YES'M. Contraction for YES, MA'AM
29. "Sounds like a good time": OH FUN. This puzzle? Your comments are welcomed ...
30. Acute anxiety: ANGST. Even though it took me a "normal" Friday time to solve, I had no ANGST solving today's puzzle
33. Bus. letters: INC. Abbr for INCorporated
36. Convenes: SITS. The thesaurussaurus doesn't agree ... but I'M pretty certain it fits
38. Clooney Foundation for Justice co-founder: AMAL. Was he a night visitor?
39. Absorb, with "up": SOP. Does a SOT SOP up booze?
40. Etching supply: ACIDS. Another easy Friday clue
41. Curly-tailed dog: AKITA. Never "met" one of these dogs ... Japanese, I believe ... they drink AKIRA beer I hear
42. Malek of "Mr. Robot": RAMI. This was my lone error in today's puzzle (look at the grid I posted above). It formed my lone Natick, too, with (43-Down. Musical introduction?): ACT ONE.
44. Synchronicity: UNISON. This is what I thought of with Synchronicity, and POLICE did fit!
50. Golf stroke that can be practiced in a hallway: PUTT. I've been known to do this. HG? Boomer? TTP?
51. Charitable: GIVING. Over my adult life I have been quite GIVING/charitable, but I tend to support/GIVE to those organizations that use my donation at or above 90% toward the cure/purpose
52. Stubble remover: RAZOR. Did Occum have stubble to remove?
59. Happening: EVENT. What someone who says "I'M OUT" may be attending?
60. Undefeated boxer Laila: ALI. We rarely see Muhammad anymore as the clue for this, and he is her dad
61. Put two and two together?: ADDED. Really? For a Friday? Meh
62. Pitching area: SALES. MOUND fits, too, but in this case it's for a SALES pitch
63. Fellow: LAD.
64. Cross with: MAD AT. I will occasionally get MAD AT someone or something but it doesn't last
Down:
1. PBS "Science Kid": SID. This:
2. Literary homage: ODE.
3. "The Villain in Black" rapper MC __: REN. But what I want to know is, does he have a partner, MC STIMPY? This rapper was a complete unknown to me. And please note, the embedded video has lots of expletives, but I couldn't find any examples of MC REN's work that wasn't rife with cuss words ... I'm SORTA surprised that our new editor would accept a reference to this person in her puzzles ... [DO NOT CLICK ON THIS UNLESS YOU WANT TO HEAR A TON OF "S-BOMBS" & "F-BOMBS"]
4. __ Mahal: TAJ. "Crown worn by an Indian prince of high rank" would've been a more appropriate Friday clue, IMO
5. "A Whole New World" film: ALADDIN. Disney love song
6. Invite to enter: ASK IN. Easy clue
7. Freezing rain: SLEET. Easy clue
9. Annoyed sound: UGH. Easy clue
10. Toolbox item: PLIERS. WRENCH fits, too
11. Specialist in body language?: PANTOMIMIST. Fresh fill and a fresh clue. Kudos
12. Triage M.D.: ER DOC. I already said what I thought of this in my intro
13. Freshen, as a stamp pad: RE-INK. Ditto, 12-Down
18. First Nations people of Canada: CREE. CSO to CanadianEh!
21. Rendezvous best not posted on Facebook: TRYST. Use Snapchat, instead ...
23. Ballpark snack: SOFT PRETZEL. Fresh fill, and the clue was OK
24. Outback flock: EMUS. Again, too easy for a Friday
25. "Although ... ": YET. See my response above
26. "Dress for Less" clothing chain: ROSS. If you add a G to the front of this, you have my real last name
27. River connecting Pittsburgh to the Mississippi: OHIO. "Where the Allegheny meets the O HI O, in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh ..."
This is the more modern version of the intro to the fight song, "Hail to Pitt". As a University of Pittsburgh grad, this one was a cinch. The Pitt Panthers are the reigning ACC Football Champs. Hail to Pitt!
Here are the lyrics, and here is the song:
30. "What __ missing?": AM I. zzzzzzz
31. Drift off: NOD. Oh, sorry; I just NODded off there for a second ...
32. Mercury Seven astronaut Grissom: GUS. Does anyone name their male child GUS anymore??
34. Brussels-based gp.: NATO. Easy
35. Family group: CLAN. Easy
37. Pastry bag filler: ICING. Easy
38. Related: AKIN. Easy
40. Word in a Spanish love poem: AMO. CSO to Lucinda
41. Cried for cider?: ANAGRAM. Good clue. When you re-arrange the letters in the word "cried" you get "cider"
44. "Cure Ignorance" online anthology: UTNE. This answer filled with perps when I solved, but I had heard of this. [Wikipedia] "UTNE Reader (also known as Utne) (/ˈʌtni/ UT-nee) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and DVDs"
45. __-ski: APRES. Throwback clue and fill - the French are all about celebrating the "APRES" (or "after") when it came to skiing, and I don't think it meant having a cup of cocoa
46. Preserves fruit: GUAVA. You won't find GUAVA preserves in C-Moe's fridge; PEACH (which fits) maybe, but not GUAVA
47. Rope fiber: SISAL. Easy
48. Soft palate part: UVULA. This word seemed funny in my pre-pubescent years. Anatomy Academy (a sister show to Science Kids) gives us the full report:
49. Fatty compound: LIPID. [Wikipedia] "Although the term "LIPID" is sometimes used as a synonym for fats, fats are a subgroup of lipids called triglycerides"
53. ACLU concern: RTS. Abbr for RIGHTS
55. Kissing on the kiss cam, say: PDA. Public Display of Affection at a sporting event
56. Peculiar: ODD. This puzzle?
57. Kraken's home: SEA. Or in my bar; it makes a pretty tasty Dark and Stormy
58. NYC summer hrs.: EDT. Five straight three-letter "down" words, and another easy one to end on
Hey, sorry that this puzzle didn't tickle my funny bone, and you got a bit of "Curmudgeon Moe" today. But speaking of funny bone, I thought I'd end on a haiku (OMK)/Moe-ku (WC):
Learned the funny bone
Is not a bone. Which I found
Rather humerus
I'M OUT ...
