Double Speak: Each word in the two-word theme answer can be paired with the word
Talk, to give us two (Double) new concepts.
18-Across. Java joint: COFFEE SHOP. Coffee Talk / Shop Talk
|
| Coffee Doublespeak |
26-Across. In-demand spot at a busy bistro: EMPTY TABLE. Empty Talk / Table Talk
|
| Table Talk circa 2023 |
46-Across. Source of lumbar support: BACK PILLOW. Back Talk / Pillow Talk
And the unifier:
58-Across. Deliberately ambiguous language, and an apt description of 18-,
26-, and 46-Across: DOUBLE TALK.
Across:
1. Kindergarten basics: ABCs.
5. 1996 film that earned Frances McDormand her first Oscar: FARGO.
Frances Louise McDormand (née Cynthia Ann Smith; b. June 23, 1957)
portrayed Marge Gunderson, a pregnant Minnesota police chief investigating a
triple homicide in the film. The movie earned McDormand her first Oscar. [Name # 1.]
10. Tapped brew: BEER.
14. Ever so: VERY.
15. Cooked at home: ATE IN.
16. Church recess: APSE.
17. Business maj.: ECON. As in Economics.
20. Snooze: NAP.
21. Cash dispensers: ATMs. This used to be a crossword
staple. We haven't seen the Automated Teller Machines in a while.
22. Beginnings: ON SETS.
23. Affixes in a scrapbook, say: GLUES.
25. Not too late: IN TIME.
30. Italian evening: SERA. Today's Latin lesson.
32. __ number: product ID: SERIAL.
33. Activate, as an alarm: TRIP.
34. Resistance unit: OHM. Everything you wanted to know
about the Ohm but didn't know to ask. It was named in honor of Georg Ohm (né
Georg Simon Ohm; Mar. 16, 1789 ~ July 6, 1854), a German physicist and
mathematician. [Name # 2.]
37. Patio: TERRACE.
40. Deed: ACT.
41. Pedicure beneficiaries: TOES.
43. Improper treatment: MISUSE.
45. "Ignore that suggested edit": STET.
50. Muscle injury: STRAIN.
52. Oscar-winning song from "Selma": GLORY. Selma is the
movie about Martin Luther King's 1965 protest march from Selma to Montgomery,
Georgia in the fight for Civil Rights.
53. With no markup: AT COST.
54. "How've you __?": BEEN.
57. "His Dark Materials" actor __-Manuel Miranda: LIN.
Lin-Manuel Miranda (b. Jan. 16, 1980) is probably best known
for Hamilton. [Name # 3.]
60. Edinburgh resident: SCOT. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. [Name adjacent.]
61. Poker pot starter: ANTE.
62. Code with dots and dashes: MORSE. The Morse Code was/is
a method of telecommunication using a series of dots and dashes to encrypt
text characters. The Code is named after Samuel Morse (né Samuel Finley Breese Morse; Apr. 27, 1791 ~ Apr. 2, 1872). He
led a very interesting life and in his early years was a painter. [Name
adjacent.]
63. __ Alto, California: PALO. Palo Alto considers itself to
be the Birthplace of Silicon Valley.
64. Clarinet need: REED.
65. Concluded: ENDED.
66. "... with __-foot pole!": A TEN.
Down:
1. Get even for: AVENGE.
2. "Don't freak out": BE CALM. The history behind
the Keep Calm slogan.
3. Appear unexpectedly: CROP UP.
4. Thesaurus entry: Abbr.: SYN. As in a synonym.
5. Indisputable point: FACT.
6. Elemental particle: ATOM.
7. Officials who may cry foul: REFs. As in Referees.
8. Animated pic: GIF. GIF = Graphics Interchange Format.
9. Low-scoring tie: ONE-ONE.
10. Jazz band member: BASSIST.
11. Collectibles such as ticket stubs and matchbooks: EPHEMERA.
Not a Tuesday word. Probably more of a 12-Down word.
Webster's defines Ephemera as: (1) something of no lasting significance;
(2) ephemera plural : paper items (such as posters, broadsides, and tickets)
that were originally meant to be discarded after use but have since become
collectibles.
12. Understood by a select few: ESOTERIC.
13. Counts at a gym: REPS. As in Repetitions.
19. Sinusitis doc: ENT. The Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor has become a crossword staple.
21. Until now: AS YET.
24. Sci-fi film extras, briefly: ETs.
25. "Let me see if that's possible": I'LL ASK.
27. Italian three: TRE. More of today's Italian lesson.
28. Low-ranking soldier on base: AIRMAN.
29. Relating to element 56: BARIC. Barium has the atomic
number of 56 on the periodic table. Because of its high chemical
reactivity, barium is never found in nature as a free element.
31. Fitting: APT.
34. Bonus sports periods: OTs. As in Over Times.
35. Warm element in some massages: HOT STONE. Everything you
ever wanted to know about Hot Stone Message but didn't know to ask.
36. Rom-com encounter: MEET CUTE.
38. Many a sports trophy: CUP.
|
| The Stanley Cup. |
39. Endorse digitally: E-SIGN. During Covid, I found myself
having to e-sign many documents.
42. Pulsed, as lights in a light show: STROBED.
44. Bracket shape: ELL.
46. Defiant retort: BITE ME. Rather impolite.
47. Meme feline: LOL CAT.
48. Baltimore MLB player: ORIOLE.
49. Jazz trumpeter Marsalis: WYNTON. Wynton Learson Marsalis
(b. Oct. 18, 1961) is a New Orleanian Jazz trumpeter and composer. He is
currently the artistic director of Jazz at the Lincoln Center. Below is
a non-Jazz performance. [Name # 4.]
51. Syst. with hand gestures: ASL. As in American Sign Language. As a point of interest, Dorothy Casterline (née Dorothy
Chiyoko Sueoka; Apr. 27, 1928 ~ Aug. 8, 2023) lost her hearing as a teenager
due to an illness. She became an American deaf linguist known for
her contribution to A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles, which considered a foundational work of sign language linguistics.
Dorothy died earlier this month at age 95.
53. Hebrew month before Nisan: ADAR. Everything you wanted
to know about the Hebrew calendar but didn't know to ask.
54. The __ of Avon: BARD. Also known as Willie the Shakes
(William Shakespeare; 1564 ~ 1616). [Name # 5.]
55. Besides: ELSE.
56. __ out a living: EKED.
59. Immense weight: TON.
60. Galentine's Day destination, perhaps: SPA. I just
recently learned about Galentine's Day, which falls on February 13. If the first link doesn't work, try this one.
And the Grid:
חתולה
