For many of you today's constructor Doug Peterson needs no
introduction. By my count today's outing marks his 59th appearance on
the Corner, his first being on Friday, May 9, 2008, reviewed by
C.C.
Here's an interview with Doug on November 29, 2016 published in the blog
Puzzle Nation.
His theme today is contained in 4 over the shoulder
zingers said by the person who got in the last word at a less than amicable
departure. This is not the type of theme that helps you to solve the
puzzle, but rather one that is a puzzle in itself, While this will
disappoint some, I think that it would be difficult to suss without the
circles, and in the event that your publisher didn't include them
just
Give It Your Best Shot
For reasons we'll see shortly, each themer consists of a pair of
answers. I've highlighted the letters that appear in the grid
circles.
Pair 1:
17A. Song from "Anything Goes":
YOU'RE THE TOP. Here's Ella Fitzgerald with this classic
Cole Porter musical
(click Show more for lyrics) ...Pair 1:
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| We call them Snow Balls |
22A. "Lodge 49" actor __ Russell: WYATT. Lodge 49 is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jim Gavin. It aired on the cable television network AMC in the United States from August 6, 2018, to October 14, 2019. Wyatt plays Sean "Dud" Dudley, an ex-surfer who discovers Lodge 49 and is looking to lead a happy life. The series was cancelled after 2 seasons, so let's hope he found it.
24A. Like some hockey goals: EMPTY NET. An empty net goal, abbreviated as EN or ENG and colloquially called an empty netter, occurs in several team sports when a team scores a goal into a net with no goaltender (goalie) present. After reading the above link, I'm still unclear on the concept and hope that somebody (CanadianEh!?) stops by and 'splains it.
Pair 3:
35A. Wet/dry garage cleaner: SHOP VAC. These are very useful in a pottery studio where you're working with clay and water, as long you don't have to change between wet and dry filters too often.
38A. HBO subsidiary: CINEMAX. Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
52A. Pain relief brand: EXCEDRIN. A combination drug (Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) / paracetamol (acetaminophen) / caffeine) for the treatment of pain, especially tension headache and migraine.
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Katie Ledecky |
60. End of a testy exchange, and what can be found four times in this puzzle, thanks to four black squares: PARTING SHOT.
Here's the grid, with the four types of SHOTS each "parted" by a BLACK square. ...
PIC as in PHOTO
ATTEMPT as in TRY
VACCINE as in VIRUS :PROTECTION
DRINK as in a stiff drink of HARD LIQUOR
ATTEMPT as in TRY
VACCINE as in VIRUS :PROTECTION
DRINK as in a stiff drink of HARD LIQUOR
And with the exception of "attempt", let's thank Doug and Patti for NOT including these other types of shots ...
... We get daily doses of these from other publications. 😔
Here's the rest ...
Across:
1. Arduous journeys: TREKS. E.g. journeying through all the Star
TREK series and spinoffs is really arduous.
6. On the move: ASTIR.
11. Dr. J's first pro league: ABA. It's a little known fact that before
Julius Irving
joined the NBA he was in the legal profession ...
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Julius Irving, ABA |
14. Bleachers sign: HI MOM.
15. Extent: SCOPE.
16. Big finish?: RIG. Fashion Photographer Captures the Most Beautiful Big-Rigs on Earth ...
17. [Theme clue]
19. [Theme clue]
20. Comic Boosler: ELAYNE. Here's Boosler on Leno...
21. Crunch at breakfast?: CAP'N. The story of CAP’N CRUNCH and the toy whistle that spawned an industry ...
24. [Theme clue]
27. Pixar short about a steamed dumpling: BAO. The story of an Asian delight on the threshold of crossword stardom.
28. Alien-seeking org.: SETI. Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. If we can't find any here, why would we expect to find any in outer space? It makes great science fiction though ...
31. Does some grilling: ASKS. Whenever perps are subjected to this the cops DON'T ASK NICELY.
33. Arthurian island: AVALON. Avalon, or Insula Avallonis, the legendary island of Celtic mythology, is where, according to some sources, King Arthur’s Excalibur sword was forged. It is also the place where the mythical king was taken, fatally wounded, to meet his death. In short, Avalon is a utopian paradise where the legends of English knights and political wholeness unite in a kingdom lost in the mists of time.
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The Lake of Avalon |
35. [Theme clue]
38. [Theme clue]
42. Clicker: REMOTE. Or somewhere LOCAL, like in the sofa maybe.
44. Rummikub piece: TILE. Rummikub (/ˈrʌmikjuːb/[1]) is a tile-based game for 2 to 4 players, combining elements of the card game rummy and mahjong. Here's the official site.
48. Caspian country: IRAN.
51. Here-there connection: NOR.
52. [Theme clue]
54. [Theme clue]
56. Checkout IDs: UPCS. Universal Product Codes.
57. Fool's gold: PYRITE. It may not be gold, but it has its uses.
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Pyrite |
|
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Gold Nugget |
60. [Reveal clue]
65. Each and every: ALL.
66. Prove useful: AVAIL.
67. Slip away from: ELUDE. Some things you just can't ELUDE ...
68. Agcy. with a "3-1-1" rule for liquids: TSA. In case you haven't flown lately ...
69. "I did awesome!": YAY ME. "Good for you!"
70. Like Cheerios: OATEN.
Down:
1. Archaic possessive: THY.
2. Christ the Redeemer locale: RIO. Christ the Redeemer is an Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ in RIO de Janeiro, Brazil, created by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa. Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida sculpted the face. Constructed between 1922 and 1931, the statue is 30 metres (98 ft) high, excluding its 8-metre (26 ft) pedestal. The arms stretch 28 metres (92 ft) wide. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone.
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Christ the Redeemer |
4. Peninsula near Japan: KOREA.
5. Refines, as ore: SMELTS. Also tiny fishes ...
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| Smelts |
7. When, in Act I, Lear curses "a thankless child": SCENE IV. In this clip from Act 1 Scene 4, performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Antony Sher plays King Lear mercilessly berating his "thankless child" Goneril, played by Nia Gwynne (wait for it - the line in the clue is at the very end) [subtitles were lost by the clip - words below] ...
LEAR It may be so, my lord.—
Hear, Nature, hear, dear goddess, hear!
Suspend thy purpose if thou didst intend
To make this creature fruitful.
Into her womb convey sterility.
Dry up in her the organs of increase,
And from her derogate body never spring
A babe to honor her. If she must teem,
Create her child of spleen, that it may live
And be a thwart disnatured torment to her.
Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth,
With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks,
Turn all her mother’s pains and benefits
To laughter and contempt, that she may feel
How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is
To have a thankless child.—Away, away!
A CSO to our thespian Ole' Man Keith, who I'm sure has berated a few Gonerils in his time, for an explanation as to how she came to merit such abuse.
8. Sacred carving: TOTEM. For example the TOTEM poles created by First Nations peoples of the Pacific Northwest to represent and commemorate ancestry, histories, people, or events. I first learned of these works in the pages of Boys Life as a scout and to see them is on my bucket list. Another CSO to CanadianEh!:
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| G’psgolox Pole Haisla people British Columbia, CA |
10. Weight room iteration: REP.
11. "West Side Story" Oscar winner DeBose: ARIANA. Ariana DeBose (born January 25, 1991) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a nomination for a Tony Award. In 2022, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Here Anita, played by Ariana, tells the Jets what happened to Maria ...
12. Popular writer?: BIC PEN. Cute.
13. Boris and Natasha, e.g.: AGENTS. From the greatest cartoon series of all time here's Boris on a Broomstick or The Flying Sorceror ...
18. "Girls Trip" actor Larenz: TATE. Girls Trip is a 2017 American comedy film starring Regina Hall (Ryan), Queen Latifah (Sasha), Tiffany Haddish (Dina), and Jada Pinkett Smith (Lisa). It follows a group of four friends who go to New Orleans to attend the Essence Music Festival in order to reconnect after a long time. Larenz TATE plays Ryan's love interest ...
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| Larenz Tate |
22. Clean: WASH.
23. Artist Ono: YOKO. We haven't heard from YOKO in a while, and as she turned 90 on February 18, I thought it might be a good time for an update.
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| Yoko Ono |
26. Jumbo suffix: TRON. My son took 3 of his children to an O's game at Camden Yards recently. It was my 8 year old grandson's first time at a ballgame. My son said that he was so excited that he danced the whole time. It was only a matter of time before the Jumbo-TRON spotted them and my son managed to get this long shot. The 8 year old is 2nd from the left and my son's on the right taking this picture:
27. Some four-year degs.: BAS.
29. Folded fast food: TACO.
32. Bouts of indulgence: SPREES.
36. Peddle: VEND.
37. From the States: Abbr.: AMER.
39. Smaller version: MINI.
40. Skin-healing plant: ALOE.
41. Millennial preceder: XER. One of the 7 generations starting with those who lived through WWII until today. Here's how you can keep them all straight.
43. "A Christmas Carol" child: TINY TIM. Last week we had the miser Ebeneezer Scrooge.
45. "Bathers at Asnières" painter Georges: SEURAT. Bathers at Asnières (French: Une Baignade, Asnières) is an 1884 oil on canvas painting by French artist Georges Pierre Seurat. And today's French lesson:
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| Bathers at Asnières |
47. Pepsi alternative: RC COLA.
49. Analogous: AKIN.
50. "Wicked Tuna" channel, familiarly: NAT GEO. - To steal a phrase from Otto von Bismarck - "Anybody who likes AHI and respects the law, should never see either being made". Wicked Tuna follows a group of salty fishermen from the nation's oldest seaport, Gloucester, Massachusetts, as they make their living the way it's been done for centuries – rod and reel fishing, one catch at a time – all in pursuit of the bluefin tuna A reel reality show. Here's a trawler ...
53. "Here's hoping ... ": I PRAY. As I get older I seem to be doing more of this every day.
55. Rock band named for an inventor: TESLA. And I thought they were named for an EV. TESLA is an American rock band from Sacramento, California. In late 1981, bassist Brian Wheat and guitarist Frank Hannon formed a band named City Kidd, which evolved into Tesla. Here's their Love Song ...
58. Tick off: RILE.
60. Prove useful: PAY.
61. "Sweet but Psycho" singer __ Max: AVA. Amanda Ava Koci (born February 16, 1994), known professionally as AVA Max, is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Atlantic Records in 2016, through which she released her breakthrough single, "Sweet but Psycho", in August 2018.
62. Rough house: HUT.
63. Verse of exaltation: ODE.
64. X, on a Rolex: TEN.
Cheers,
Bill
As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading, for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
