Hello Cornerites!
Today's theme: Please wait to be seated.
In recognition of the theme, I have made a TABLE to organize the themed clues.
Clue # | Clue | Answer | “End” word + TABLE |
17 A. | Fleet of government vehicles: | MOTOR POOL | POOL TABLE |
25 A. | Payment method that may have a chip: | CREDIT CARD | CARD TABLE |
40 A. | Media briefing: | PRESS CONFERENCE | CONFERENCE TABLE |
50 A. | Summertime java order: | ICED COFFEE | COFFEE TABLE |
The reveal is at 64 Across. Living-room lamp holders, and what the answers to the starred clues all have?: END TABLES.
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| This END TABLE sits at the END of the couch. |
Simply put, all of the themed clues END in a word which is also a type of TABLE.
Let's TABLE our theme discussion and move on to New Business; that is, the other clues:
Across:
1. Sticky pine product: RESIN. I was curious about the difference between RESIN and what is in a baseball pitcher's RoSIN bag. It turns out that asking Google this question will send you to a lot of marijuana dispensary sites. 🙃 Eventually I learned that RoSIN powder is a combination of RESIN and magnesium carbonate powder that absorbs perspiration and enables pitchers to keep their throwing hands free of sweat.
6. First word of a rhyming cocktail name: MAI. as in MAI Tai
1. Sticky pine product: RESIN. I was curious about the difference between RESIN and what is in a baseball pitcher's RoSIN bag. It turns out that asking Google this question will send you to a lot of marijuana dispensary sites. 🙃 Eventually I learned that RoSIN powder is a combination of RESIN and magnesium carbonate powder that absorbs perspiration and enables pitchers to keep their throwing hands free of sweat.
6. First word of a rhyming cocktail name: MAI. as in MAI Tai
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| Those 2 islands in the background are The Mokes on Oahu's windward side. |
9. Family name in Kafka's "The Metamorphosis": SAMSA. The opening line to this book reads, "As Gregor SAMSA awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."
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| Hahtoolah gave us the comic on the left last week. |
14. Scotch-Brite sponge: OCELO. 
15. Like this clue's number: ODD. Even I knew this one.
16. Change, as text: AMEND.
19. Flustered (by): FAZED. He went through a phase where he was FAZED by all things disconcerting.
20. Red Cross supply: PLASMA. This article talks about 100 years of medical advances regarding blood PLASMA.
21. Philosopher Descartes: RENÉ. This 1 min. 16 sec. video does a fantastic job of explaining one of Descartes' greatest contributions to mathematics.
16. Change, as text: AMEND.
19. Flustered (by): FAZED. He went through a phase where he was FAZED by all things disconcerting.
20. Red Cross supply: PLASMA. This article talks about 100 years of medical advances regarding blood PLASMA.
21. Philosopher Descartes: RENÉ. This 1 min. 16 sec. video does a fantastic job of explaining one of Descartes' greatest contributions to mathematics.
23. Alphabet finale: ZEE. Sorry, CanadianEh!, "ZEd" would have made 4 D's in a row for 13D.
24. Venue: SITE.
28. Pro vote on the House floor: YEA.
29. Blue ink cartridge for a color printer: CYAN.
30. Storm-tracking device: RADAR.
34. "ER" actor Wyle: NOAH. As it turns out, he celebrated his 52nd birthday yesterday. Happy belated birthday, NOAH!
37. Barbed __: WIRE. 
43. Part of a "Scream" costume: MASK. This is the MASK worn by the killer in the movie Scream ... and its 5 sequels.
44. Not in favor of: ANTI.
45. Impeccable: IDEAL.
46. Foot soldier: PEON.
48. Pi follower in the Greek alphabet: RHO.
54. Engrave deeply: ETCH.
58. Neither's partner: NOR. an oldie but a goodie
59. Port or scope prefix: TELE-. It comes to us from a Greek word meaning "far off".
60. Attraction: ALLURE.
62. Dodge: EVADE. This time it's a verb, not a vehicle.
66. Like un enfant: PETIT. Cognates & perps make this one decipherable -- even if you do not speak French.
67. Pitching superstar: ACE.
68. "__ are red ... ": ROSES. Violets are blue. I cannot help but love, this crossword clue.
69. Deuce toppers: TREYS. Does anyone play Pedro? Nothing tops the deuce but it also tops nothing. It makes itself.
70. Fix a hem, say: SEW.
71. Not ignoring the alarm: AWAKE. At first I had AWArE but then I thought of an alarm clock for waking up in the morning.
Down:
1. Frolics: ROMPS. fun word!
24. Venue: SITE.
28. Pro vote on the House floor: YEA.
29. Blue ink cartridge for a color printer: CYAN.
34. "ER" actor Wyle: NOAH. As it turns out, he celebrated his 52nd birthday yesterday. Happy belated birthday, NOAH!
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| NOAH also plays Harry Wilson, a Louisiana lawyer, on the show Leverage: Redemption (available on Amazon and Freevee). |
45. Impeccable: IDEAL.
46. Foot soldier: PEON.
48. Pi follower in the Greek alphabet: RHO.
54. Engrave deeply: ETCH.
58. Neither's partner: NOR. an oldie but a goodie
59. Port or scope prefix: TELE-. It comes to us from a Greek word meaning "far off".
60. Attraction: ALLURE.
62. Dodge: EVADE. This time it's a verb, not a vehicle.
66. Like un enfant: PETIT. Cognates & perps make this one decipherable -- even if you do not speak French.
67. Pitching superstar: ACE.
68. "__ are red ... ": ROSES. Violets are blue. I cannot help but love, this crossword clue.
69. Deuce toppers: TREYS. Does anyone play Pedro? Nothing tops the deuce but it also tops nothing. It makes itself.
70. Fix a hem, say: SEW.
71. Not ignoring the alarm: AWAKE. At first I had AWArE but then I thought of an alarm clock for waking up in the morning.
Down:
1. Frolics: ROMPS. fun word!
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| This is my dog ROMPing in the snow with me. |
2. Bacteria in undercooked meat: E. COLI.
3. Adjusted to, as a thermostat: SET AT.
4. "No medals for me this time": I LOSE.
5. Social standard: NORM.
6. __ shu pork: MOO.
3. Adjusted to, as a thermostat: SET AT.
4. "No medals for me this time": I LOSE.
5. Social standard: NORM.
Cheers -- NORM greeting -- Wait for it....
6. __ shu pork: MOO.
7. Idolize: ADORE.
8. Sat at a light, say: IDLED. States began adopting Right-On-Red rules during the gas crisis of the 1970s to reduce the number of cars IDLing at traffic lights .
9. The "S" of OSHA: SAFETY. Occupational Safety Health Administration
10. Doc's gp.: AMA. "Group" is abbreviated, so it "American Medical Association".
11. Theater seating section: MEZZANINE. Nice fill!
11. Theater seating section: MEZZANINE. Nice fill!
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| A MEZZANINE is an intermediate floor, usually between the ground and 1st floors. In this photo, MEZZANINE seating is between the Orchestra level and the Balcony level. |
12. Disdainful lip curl: SNEER.
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| Fans swooned over Elvis' swivel & his SNEER. |
13. Tacked on: ADDED. This article compares the ADDED fees of nine airlines in 2023.
18. Walk and walk: PACE. and 26 Down. Talked and talked: RAN ON.
At first I was thinking of noun & verb meanings but then I realized the definition of PACE is to walk over & over along the same short route nervously or anxiously. So, when people PACE, they walk and walk and when people talk and talk, they run on...and on...and on....
22. Not mainstream: NICHE.
Merriam-Webster lists 3 pronunciations: nich, neesh, and nish.
(No SNEERing allowed for pronunciations perceived as uncouth!)
27. Sounded like a crow: CAWED. They also rattle.
28. Four-digit DOB nos.: YRS. Date Of Birth = MM/DD/YYYY
30. Tach stat: RPM. Revolutions Per Minute
Generally a good cadence on a bicycle is 80 - 100 RPM. Professional cyclists average 110 - 120 RPM during time trials.
31. Parseghian of Notre Dame football fame: ARA. Since he often visits grids, we should be on a first-name basis.
32. Willing to take extreme measures: DESPERATE. DESPERATE people do DESPERATE things.
33. Queried: ASKED.
35. Ottawa's prov.: ONT. Ontario
36. Blazing: AFIRE.
38. Small-screen pioneer: RCA. Have you seen the movie The Fabelman's (2022)? It is based on Steven Spielberg's life. In the movie (and in real life) his father worked for RCA in the early 1950s.
39. Snaky fish: EEL.
41. Lakeside boat rental: CANOE.
31. Parseghian of Notre Dame football fame: ARA. Since he often visits grids, we should be on a first-name basis.
32. Willing to take extreme measures: DESPERATE. DESPERATE people do DESPERATE things.
33. Queried: ASKED.
35. Ottawa's prov.: ONT. Ontario
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| It is about 567 mi. (912 km.) from Ottawa to D.C. |
36. Blazing: AFIRE.
Afire Love is a 2014 song about Ed Sheeran's grandfather who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.
39. Snaky fish: EEL.
41. Lakeside boat rental: CANOE.
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| I took this phot last summer of a red CANOE on Moraine Lake, Alberta, Canada. (2,187 mi.(3,520 km) from Ottawa) |
42. Kia subcompact: RIO.
47. Groups of eight: OCTETS.
49. Miami hoopsters: HEAT. Their logo is a basketball AFIRE.
50. Likely to err: INEPT.
51. __ charge: entry fee: COVER.
47. Groups of eight: OCTETS.
49. Miami hoopsters: HEAT. Their logo is a basketball AFIRE.
51. __ charge: entry fee: COVER.
52. Pests that may prompt a visit to the vet: FLEAS. The migration of America's pets from the backyard to owners' beds can be credited to the new anti-FLEA medications.
53. Yard sticks?: FENCE. I liked this clue!
54. Armrest occupier: ELBOW.
55. Oklahoma's second-largest city: TULSA.
56. Small stream: CREEK. In Virginia, locals called a small stream a "run".
57. "Siddhartha" novelist Hermann: HESSE. This 1922 novel relates a man's spiritual journey of self-discovery during the time of the Gautama Buddha. It was originally written in German.
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| Tim and Wilson on Home Improvement |
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| These rules seem fair. (Click to enlarge.) |
56. Small stream: CREEK. In Virginia, locals called a small stream a "run".
57. "Siddhartha" novelist Hermann: HESSE. This 1922 novel relates a man's spiritual journey of self-discovery during the time of the Gautama Buddha. It was originally written in German.
61. Croft played by Angelina Jolie: LARA.
63. Craft kit letters: DIY. Do It Yourself
65. Morning moisture: DEW. You do not have to DEW It Yourself because Mother Nature will DEW it for you.
63. Craft kit letters: DIY. Do It Yourself
65. Morning moisture: DEW. You do not have to DEW It Yourself because Mother Nature will DEW it for you.
Here's today's grid:
This is the END of my TABLE tale. Have a good day, everyone!
