Monday January 16, 2023 Jack Murtagh

  

Hello Cornerites!

sumdaze here. Today's puzzle comes to us from constructor Jack Murtagh. Searching our blog, I could only find one other L.A. Times puzzle by Jack. That one appeared on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019 and had a fun, step-down gimmick. Welcome back, Jack!

The theme for today's puzzle is        GO FIGURE!

an idiomatic expression that expresses perplexity, puzzlement, or surprise.

One might find a bit of each of those in today's offering. Let's take a look.

Beginning with the themed clues, we find:

20 Across. *Spiderlike arachnid: DADDY LONG-LEGS.

Why "Spiderlike"?

33 Across. *Does some rear-tire balancing on one's bike: POPS A WHEELIE.

41 Across. *Personification of a snowy season: OLD MAN WINTER.

Old Man Winter by Keegan Currier
pen & ink on bristol board

And the unifier:

56 Across. Some male role models, and what can be found at the starts of the answers to the starred clues: FATHER FIGURES.

noun

1. an older man who is respected for his paternal qualities and may be an emotional substitute for a father.

DADDY, POPS, and OLD MAN are all synonyms for FATHER. (You can ask Anon-T about the 2nd one.) CSO to all the Cornerite FATHERs & FATHER FIGURES!

Now that we have that straightened out, I will warn you that, in recognition of the FATHERly subject matter, I am going to intersperse today's write up with a dozen DAD jokes.  Groan!

Dad Joke #1:  Why do spiders know everything?  They get their information from the web.

Dad Joke #2:  Why didn't the bicycle stand up?  It was tw0 tired.

Still here? OK, let's move on to the rest of the grid.

Across:

1. Fastener that's an apt rhyme of "clasp": HASP.  a flat metal plate with a loop through which the lock goes in. 

5. Damp: MOIST.  MOIST makes the List of Words Everyone Seems to Hate

10. Units of electrical resistance: OHMS. and 10 Down. Greek letter that represents 10-Across, in physics: OMEGA.  Nice crossing!

14. Norway's capital: OSLO. Its currency is the Krone.

15. Elevator button symbol: ARROW.

16. TV alien played by Robin Williams: MORK.

Mork & Mindy 1978 - 1982
Hand up for having a pair of ranibow suspenders like Mork's.

17. Bank claim: LIEN.  Add an 'a' to get 16A.

18. Sierra __, Africa: LEONE.  7 Interesting Facts

19. Marketplace for unique gifts: ETSY.  Founded in 2005. How did constructors manage before that?

23. French toast need: EGG.  My grandmother immigrated from Marseilles, France. French toast was her best dish.

Dad Joke #3:  What kind of cars do EGGs drive?  Yolkswagons.

24. Mantra syllables: OMS.  Not to be confused with 10A. OHMS.

25. Slushy drink: FRAPPÉ.  I do not drink caffeine so I had to look this up. It appears to be a shaken iced coffee drink invented in Greece in the 1950s, though the name derives from the French word for "shaken".

28. Sitcom title role for Brandy: MOESHA.  Here is the IMDB Page.

30. Alien-hunting org.: SETI.  Acronym for Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence. about SETI and a Primer on SETI

32. Large deer: ELK.  Differenece Between Elk and Deer

36. Mother Earth, in Greek myth: GAIA.

39. "It's the end of an __": ERA.

40. Pub orders: ALES.

46. Female deer: DOE.  a deer, a female deer ♪♪♪

47. Charged particles: IONS.

48. Attribute (to): IMPUTE.

52. Rudder locales: STERNS.

54. Computing pioneer Lovelace: ADA.  Recognizing Ms. Lovelace's contributions is a good opportunity to recommend this episode of the Planet Money podcast on women and computing. Episode 576: When Women Stopped Coding (You can listen for 17 minutes or read the transcript.)

55. Green vegetable: PEA.

Dad Joke #4:  I went to see a beet poet the other day. There were a lot of hip PEAs there.

60. Protruding part of a fedora: BRIM.

Indiana Jones wore a brown fedora.

62. Speechify: ORATE.

Speechify:  verb

1. deliver a speech, especially in a tedious or pompous way.

63. Post-it __: NOTE.

Lisa Kudrow in Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion (1997)

"Um, I invented Post-Its."

64. Like a five-star hotel: LUXE.

adjective

1. expensive and of high quality; luxurious.

   "the luxe 65-room Four Seasons hotel"

65. Some spouses: WIVES.

66. Actress Arlene: DAHL.  (Aug. 11, 1925 - Nov. 29, 2021) She is known for playing the lead in the 1959 version of Journey to the Center of the Earth and for being Lorenzo Lamas' mother. No relation to Roald, a more 'Monday-ish' name.

Arlene & Lorenzo

After completing Sunday's puzzle, I had to add this note to my write-up. Did you remember Arlene's last name? It turns out that C.C. and I grabbed the same pic from the internet.

67. Adolescent: TEEN.

68. Part of some school uniforms: SKIRT.

69. Mined materials: ORES.  Not to be confused with 6D.

Down:
1. Texas __: poker variety: HOLD 'EM.  Another HOLDover from yesterday's puzzle.

2. Nutty Italian cheese: ASIAGO.

Dad Joke #5:  What do you call cheese that isn't yours?  Nacho cheese.

3. R&B singer Percy: SLEDGE.  Perhaps best know for When a Man Loves a Woman (1966).

4. Frog habitat: POND.

Just for the smiles....

Dad Joke #6:  Why do frogs never park illegally?  They are afraid of getting toad.

5. Store locator in a large retail space: MALL MAP.

6. Cookies that came in limited-edition Neapolitan and Snickerdoodle flavors in 2022: OREOS.  25 Really Weird Oreo Flavors

7. Waffle __: IRON.  clever way to clue this CW staple

Dad Joke #7:  Why didn't the man IRON his 4-leaf clover?  He didn't want to press his luck.

8. Tune: SONG.  Let's enjoy a cheerful Sesame Street throwback (in Spanish, too).

9. Last of a dozen: TWELFTH.  The 12th elf taught me a trick for writing  this word.

11. Tough stretch of summer: HOT SPELL.

Dad Joke #8:  What is the witch's favorite subject in school?  SPELLing.

12. __ Claus: North Pole resident: MRS. 

13. Cloud's place: SKY.

21. Start of a pirate chant: YO HO. A pirate's life for me!

a YO HO sing-a-long

Dad Joke #9:  How much does a pirate pay to get his ears pierced? A buck an ear.

22. New York canal: ERIE.

26. Ballet class bend: PLIÉ.

27. Squeaks (by): EKES.

29. Email filter target: SPAM. Speaking of OREOS (6D) and SPAM...

Any takers?

30. South Asian dresses: SARIS.

31. Actor McGregor: EWAN.

34. Stitched up: SEWN.

I wonder what this Stitch is Up to?

35. Wyatt of Tombstone: EARP.

36. Neil Gaiman's "American __": GODS.  Not really my thing but I did read it a couple of years ago out of curiosity. Speaking of FATHER FIGURES, it is full of symbolism.

37. Very often: A LOT.

Dad Joke #10:  Why was the math book crying?  Because it had A LOT of problems.

38. French phrase meaning "obsession": IDÉE FIXE.  My French grandmother did not teach me this one.

42. "__ that the truth!": AIN'T.

43. Absentees: NO SHOWS.

44. Most clutter-free: TIDIEST.

45. Online periodical: EMAG.  Electronic MAGazine

49. Commotion: UPROAR.

Dad Joke #11:  What kind of lion doesn't roar?  A dandelion.

50. Sprout incisors: TEETHE.  "Sprout" is a verb here, so it "TEETHE".

51. Art studio stands: EASELS.

53. Budget noodle dish: RAMEN.  When I used to snowboard in Japan, I always liked to stop for a steaming bowl of ラーメン at lunchtime. Then, with a warm belly, I would go upstairs to the napping area.

54. __-dinner mint: AFTER.  Hand up for missing the hyphen and getting stuck on trying to think of a brand name.

57. Miami Heat coach Spoelstra: ERIK.  Men's basketball. Perps helped.

On April 28, 2008, Spoelstra became the 6th Head Coach in Heat history. As of this writing, his team is at 22 (W) and 20 (L). I wonder if any of his players think of him as a FATHER FIGURE.

58. Sitarist Shankar: RAVI.

Dad Joke #Last of a dozen:  Knock knock. Who's there? Ravi. Ravi who? Ravioli.

59. "Go back!" computer command: UNDO.

60. Sandwich letters: BLT.  Bacon, Lettuce, & Tomato

61. "You will __ the day!": RUE.  I hope not. The DAD jokes weren't that bad.

Here's the grid:

That's all for today. I look forward to reading your thoughts!