Good morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with today's state-of-the-puzzle recap. That is, I am here for those of you who have come out of any food-induced stupors that may have been caused by yesterday's feasting. If you have not yet recovered then you have probably yet to solve the puzzle and are probably also not reading this so . . . never mind.
Today's puzzle setter is Emma Oxford. I have previously recapped Emma's puzzles and they are always a pleasure. The clues are often very clever. Her themes are always creative and today's is no exception. To grasp what she has accomplished today it helps if you, first of all, know the nicknames for various (in this case six) constituent states of these United States. Second, it helped to know the postal abbreviations for those states. Third, you need to like to play with words - in this case by breaking them apart at out-of-the ordinary places. Here are the six themed clues and answers:
16 Across: Flower of the Hoosier State?: IN CARNATION. The Hoosier State is the nickname for Indiana and its postal abbreviation is IN. INCARNATION becomes Indiana Carnation.
24 Across: Basement access in the Palmetto State?: SC AREA WAY. The Palmetto State is the nickname for South Carolina and its postal abbreviation is SC. SCARE AWAY becomes South Carolina Area Way.
30 Across: Clothing in the Sunshine State?: FL ATTIRE. The Sunshine State is the nickname for Florida and its postal abbreviation is FL. FLAT TIRE becomes Florida Attire.
44 Across: Girls from the Show-Me State?: MO LASSES. The Show Me State is the nickname for Missouri and its postal abbreviation is MO. MOLASSES becomes Missouri Lasses.
50 Across: Psychedelics from the Evergreen State?: WA SHROOMS. The Evergreen State is the nickname for Washington and its postal abbreviation is WA. WASHROOMS becomes Washington Shrooms (slang for mushrooms of the psychoactive type).
62 Across: Fortified wines from the Ocean State?: RI VERMOUTHS. The Ocean State is the nickname for Rhode Island and its postal abbreviation is RI. RIVER MOUTHS becomes Rhode Island Vermouths.
Here is how this looks in the grid:
. . . and here are the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
1. Spanish home: CASA. La lección de español de hoy
5. Yelped about?: RATED. Clever. Nothing to do with a dog complaining. Having used the food review app, Yelp.
10. Fix: JAM. Hand up for thinking this had something to do with repair work. Then thinking it might be pet related. Nope, Fix is used, here, as in to be in a fix or predicament. That's probably better than being in a pickle.
13. Actress Taylor-Joy: ANYA. A web search reveals that she has both a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. I wouldn't know her from Eve.
14. Take from commercial to residential, maybe: REZONE.
15. PC core: CPU. Central Processing Unit
18. Some triage pros: RNS. and 65. Some triage pros: DRS. Professionals is abbreviated to PROS in both clues. Registered NurseS and DoctoRS. See also 59 Down.
19. Opposite of paleo-: NEO.
20. Stand for a presentation: EASEL. Again, it is not as if we are at a performance of Handel's "Messiah" and getting out of our seats in a show of respect. Literally, a stand on which you might place your presentation.
22. Boot: EXPEL. Not the shoe. Used, here, as a verb. Oust.
27. Three-line verse: HAIKU.
Our own Chairman Moe
Often writes HAIKU verses
For our enjoyment
29. Screen __: TEST. Hand up for first writing in SHOT (well, the second T worked).
33. Rise to the occasion: STEP UP.
37. Refrigerator drawer: BIN.
38. Word before toast or after peach: MELBA. Created as a surname by opera diva Nellie Melba (born Helen Mitchell) after her hometown of Melbourne Australia. Such was her fame that several food dishes were named after her.
40. Comm. system in the film "CODA": ASL. Comm as in communications.
41. Entirely: IN TOTO. Also, where a dog treat might be located in Kansas.
47. Without: SANS. From the Old French via Middle English.
49. Sore spots: WELTS. When Gandhi was on his first hunger strike people would routinely bring him locally-made bread in an attempt to get him to eat. What people don't understand, though, is that Gandhi was actually a very temperamental man and, prone to anger, he would hurl the bread at his friends sometimes leaving bruises and WELTS. He justified this behavior by saying that it was all part of his philosophy of naan-violence.
54. Banks known as "Mr. Cub": ERNIE.
57. Think piece?: IDEA. The result of cogitating, perhaps.
58. Social outcast, metaphorically: LEPER.
58. Social outcast, metaphorically: LEPER.
61. __ sequitur: NON.
66. Clinches the deal: ICES IT. Idiomatic. Sometimes we get SEWS UP.
67. Veal or venison: MEAT.
68. "Happy now?": SEE. Ah, the things people say in crossword puzzles.
69. Bathroom fixture: BIDET. More French. Today's let's-skip-the-visual-aid moment.
70. IDs on tax forms: SSNS. Social Security NumberS
Down:
1. Michael who plays Alfred in "The Dark Knight" trilogy: CAINE. See also 30 Down. Michael CAINE was in that movie too.
2. Building addition: ANNEX. Putin is griping about all of the land he is trying so hard to ANNEX. Oh, Crimea river, Vladimir.
3. Lackey: SYCOPHANT.
4. Level just below the majors: AAA. A baseball reference. The Triple A teams are comprised (with a few exceptions) of the best players in the minor leagues. Below AAA is AA, A, and other tiers. Altogether there are 209 minor league teams in 19 leagues spread across 44 states and 4 provinces.
5. Instill confidence in: REASSURE. People keep telling me that alcohol isn't a solution but I've asked my chemist friends and they all REASSURE me that it is.
6. Xipe Totec worshipper: AZTEC. Hand up for no idea what Xipe Totec was except that it sounded Mesoamerican. The Z from REZONE was the hint that led quickly to AZTEC.
7. Labor over: TOIL AT.
8. Eclectic musician Brian: ENO. Among other accomplishments, frequent visitor Brian ENO is known as the creator of "ambient" music.
9. Lair: DEN.
10. Banana Republic alternative: J CREW. Hand up for first thinking of types of governments.
11. Sleep clinic study: APNEA.
12. Dank and damp: MUSTY.
14. Messenger __: RNA. Pigeon would not fit.
17. On again: RELIT. Like a light bulb or a candle.
21. Destiny: FATE. "Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him." - Groucho Marx
23. Nosh on: EAT. From the Yiddish nashn.
25. Flea market transaction: RESALE.
26. Educated guess, basically: Abbr.: EST. ESTimate
28. Traditional garment for Japan's Coming of Age Day: KIMONO. Despite not being familiar with Coming of Age Day this one filled quickly.
30. Org. in "Miss Congeniality": FBI. A 2000 film featuring Sandra Bullock as an undercover FBI agent.
31. Three-time Tony winner __-Manuel Miranda: LIN.
32. West __: upscale furniture store: ELM.
34. Misbehave in class, in a way: PASS NOTES.
32. West __: upscale furniture store: ELM.
34. Misbehave in class, in a way: PASS NOTES.
35. Purpose: USE.
36. "Thx" counterpart: PLS. PLeaSe and Thanks.
39. Spar above a ship's figurehead: BOWSPRIT.
36. "Thx" counterpart: PLS. PLeaSe and Thanks.
39. Spar above a ship's figurehead: BOWSPRIT.
42. Job safety org.: OSHA.
43. Pitch: TAR. Neither a baseball reference nor a sales spiel reference. Pitch is the black viscous substance obtained as a residue through the distillation of organic substances.
45. Last new Olds: ALERO. Oldsmobile. A new olds. Cute.
46. Orch. section: STR. and 50. Orchestra section: WINDS. In the first of these two, almost identical, clues ORCHestra is abbreviated so STRings is also.
48. Cracked, as a mystery: SOLVED.
52. First word in a Jane Austen title: SENSE.
53. Attorney general under Reagan: MEESE. Edwin MEESE. A polarizing figure in his day.
55. Minnesota representative Omar: ILHAN. A well-publicized figure due the the fact that she has also been seen as polarizing.
56. Bridge positions: EASTS. We need one of the first two letters to see if it will be EASTS or WESTS.
59. Triage pro: EMT. Emergency Medical Technician. See also 18 and 65 Across. Is the use of the same clue three separate times a new record?
62. Saguaro segment: RIB. Saguaro is a ribbed cactus that looks like this:
63. Here, on Métro maps: ICI. C'est francais n'est ce pas? ICI is the French equivalent of here.
64. Verbal hesitations: UMS. Hmm, a bit of a punt to wrap up a very, very entertaining puzzle.
Thanks for the wonderful grid, Emma. Please feel free to stop by The Crossword Corner and share anything you'd like about the puzzle.
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