Monday March 13, 2023 Rebecca Goldstein

  

Hello Cornerites!

sumdaze and Billy Joel here with today's theme:

We Didn't Start the Fire

"It was always burning since the world's been turning." ♪♪♪

song & lyrics (1989)

This is our 3rd Monday in a row with a Rebecca Goldstein puzzle. Today's is my favorite of the three, mainly due to its extra-special grid. To begin with, it is 14 X 15 squares and features vertical symmetry. Furthermore, all of the themers have an even number of letters and are centered horizontally on the grid. (I added some thin, yellow highlighting to emphasize this.)

At the end of each themer, the word "FIRE" is being "built".  F  -->  FI  -->  FIR  -->  FIRE.

Rebecca really brought the heat! She gave us:

19 Across. Not making the grade: GETTING AN F.

36 Across. Mobile virtual network offered by a tech giant: GOOGLE FI.

Basically, it is a no-contract, wireless phone plan available only to U.S. residents.

44 Across. Evergreen native to the rocky elevations of Big Sur: BRISTLECONE FIR.

The thin spines on Abies Bracteata's cones, for which the species is named,
are unique within the genus. Learn more here.

Culminating in:

57 Across. Jack London short story about survival in the Yukon Territory, and the goal of this puzzle?: TO BUILD A FIRE.

synopsis

There are several CSOs in today's answers. Let's find them!

Across:
1. Seek divine intervention: PRAY.

5. Calc prerequisite: TRIG.  "Calculus" is abbreviated, so is "TRIGonometry." Briefly, TRIG is the study of the relationships between a triangle's angles and side lengths.

9. Secretly keeps in the email loop: BCC'S.  Blind Carbon CopieS. an anachronism?

13. Pride month: JUNE.  History of Pride Month

14. 1980s tennis star Mandlíková: HANA.  The crossing of HANA and 6 Down. Malek of "Mr. Robot": RAMI got me today. I could picture his face but not the spelling. HeNA/ReMI

15. "Here comes trouble": UH OH.

16. Red line on a baseball: SEAM.

17. Love, in Spanish: AMOR.  CSO#1 to Lucina!!

18. Impolite: RUDE.

22. Popcorn bit: KERNEL.

24. Decide on: OPT FOR.

27. Physician's gp.: AMA.  Group is abbreviated, so is the American Medical Association. It was founded in 1847.

28. Every time: ALWAYS.  

31. Notable time: ERA.

32. Arizona county: YUMA.  CSO#2 to Yuman!!

34. Pickling herb: DILL.  as in DILL-icious!

35. Time for cake and prezzies: B-DAY.  "Prezzies" is slang for "presents" so we needed a slangy answer.

39. Paradise: EDEN.

41. "Just joking!": I KID.

50. Dada pioneer Jean: ARP.

"Arp was a gifted poet and painter, though it’s as a sculptor that he’s best remembered — for his reliefs, and his smoothly rounded, biomorphic forms, above all. In November 2018, one of these, Déméter, fetched $5,825,000 at Christie’s in New York, the highest price ever paid for an Arp at auction." source

Jean ARP amid his biomorphic forms

51. Defeated in a hot dog contest, say: OUT ATE.

Last July 4, Joey Chestnut won his 15th Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest by scarfing down 63 hot dogs (including buns) in 10 minutes. This is how he trains for this event.

Joey Chestnut OUT ATE his opponents.

52. Self-confidence: EGO.

53. Bamako's country: MALI.  Its population is estimated at 2.8 million people. As I write this, the Bamako weather forecast is for highs of 103 - 105ºF (39.4 - 40.5 ºC) all week.

55. Mouth-puckering: TART.

56. "Smooth Operator" singer: SADE.  

a rough operator ???

60. Maghrib prayer leaders: IMAMS.

61. Not better: WORSE.  There is a comic strip called For Better or For Worse. Lynn Johnston started drawing it in 1979. In 2008 Lynn retired. It now runs as repeats.

62. Gem weight: CARAT.  Metal weights (like gold): karat.

63. "The Ant and the Grasshopper" writer: AESOP.  The moral of the story:  Time is precious so we should make the most of it by doing positive things.

Down:
1. Bedtime attire, for short: PJ'S.

2. Regret deeply: RUE.  Try not to ruminate on the actions you RUE. Doing so will ruin your sleep.

3. Grand Am for grandma, e.g.: ANAGRAM.  I asked a ragman for help with this one.

Also, CSO#3 to Ol' Man Keith, our diagonal ANAGRAM finder!!

4. Country south of Saudi Arabia: YEMEN.

5. "Enough already": THAT'LL DO.

Babe (1995) 3:29 min. clip

"That'll do, Pig. That'll do."

Am I the only one crying right now?

7. __ the ground floor: IN ON. and 37 Down. Not misled by: ONTO.

8. Carved figure on Notre Dame cathedral: GARGOYLE.

Maybe later on tonight you'll have time to watch this official video of the GARGOYLE tour at the Washington National Cathedral in D.C. It is 1:16 hrs. long. You won't be disappointed!!

This is me on the GARGOYLE tour
at the Washington National Cathedral in 2013.

9. More than well-done: BURNT.  an Easter egg???

10. Quite pleased, in British slang: CHUFFED.  Does anyone watch Escape to the Chateau? Angela often tells the camera that she is "so, so CHUFFED" or "reeeealy CHUFFED" or "proper CHUFFED". Here's a British in a Minute video that explains the meaning and origin of CHUFFED.

11. Fish and chips fish, often: COD.  Speaking of British slang, fish & chips shops are called "chippies".

12. __/her pronouns: SHE.

20. Steeped beverage: TEA.

21. High-level HS exams: APS.  "High-level" is a hint to "advanced". Advanced Placement ExamS are standardized exams high schoolers can take to get college credit (with qualifying scores).

22. "Every kiss begins with __": jeweler's slogan: KAY.  The tagline was introduced in 1985.

23. Down Under bird: EMU.  They have a reputation for being quite aggressive.

25. "Let You Love Me" singer Rita: ORA.

26. Sunbeam: RAY.  CSO#4 to Ray-O-Sunshine!!

29. Halloween headpiece: WIG.

My friend Kim always makes the best costumes.

30. __-purpose flour: ALL.

33. Long, long time: AGES.

35. Commuter's two-wheeler: BIKE.

38. Late fee: FINE.  This made me think of library fines so I looked for something interesting to share in that vein. I learned that in Oct. 2021, the New York Public Library (the largest public library in the U.S.) announced it was no longer charging late fees on overdue materials. Since then, more than 72,000 materials have been returned. More importantly, people are coming back to the library. Read the CBS news story here.

39. All over the map: ERRATIC.  not even or regular in pattern or movement; unpredictable.

40. Graduate's document: DIPLOMA.

42. "Alas, that seems likely": I FEAR SO.

43. Do some serious soul-searching: DIG DEEP.

44. Sound of impact: BAM.

also, Chef Emeril Lagasse's catchphrase

45. Stringed-instrument player at Renaissance fairs: LUTIST.

Here is a 3 min., very pretty but not-at-all-from-the-Renaissance-period song.

It turns out a lute is much more guitar-like than I was picturing. "Lute" does rhyme with "flute", after all. This one looks like it has 16 strings.

46. And others, briefly: ET AL.

47. Item in a magician's deck: CARD.

48. Canada's capital: OTTAWA.  CSO#5 to Canadian-Eh!!!

49. Lobster eggs: ROE.

54. Letter-shaped girder: I BAR.  I have always loved this photo -- even though my stomach does somersaults just looking at it!

56. Distinguished gentlemen: SIRS.

58. Thurman of "Super Pumped": UMA.  They had me at "Thurman" with 3 letters.

UMA as Arianna Huffington in the 2022 drama, Super Pumped

59. Nemesis: FOE.  Well, well, well...

That's all for today. I'm stoked and delighted to read your thoughts! Have any burning questions? Fire away!