Monday September 25, 2023 Amie Walker

 Hello Cornerites!

Theme:        Hum a Few Bars  ♪ ♪ ♪

I am always happy to see Amie Walker's name on a puzzle. Today's is a good example of her talents. There is more to unpack here than on a typical Monday. (Note:  You might want to pause here and top off your beverage of choice.)

Amie is playing with two music-related words in unexpected ways. The two words are LINE and BARS.

A line of a song is a lyric. We have 3 lines from the song Get Down Tonight by KC and The Sunshine Band (1975). Amie adds an extra layer by including the word "line" in the clues for three long fills. Each time, we get a different meaning for the word "line" plus none of those meanings correspond to its musical definition.

20 Across. Conga line?: DO A LITTLE DANCE.

"Line" is a queue of people. "Conga" is the "dance".

36 Across. Neck line?: MAKE A LITTLE LOVE.

"Line" is a fashion feature that accentuates the wearer's body or a garment's detail. "Neck" is "necking" a.k.a. making out.

47 Across. Party line?: GET DOWN TONIGHT.

"Line" is the 'official message' of a particular group. "Party" is a group of revelers.

Fair enough, but what about the unifier(s)? This is where the puzzle truly became fun. 

62 Across. With 63-Across, 1970s nightclubs, or, in another sense, what 20-, 36-, and 47-Across are?: DISCO.

63 Across. See 62-Across: BARS.

In music theory, bar is another word for 'measure'. It contains a specific number of beats played at a particular tempo. They are called BARS because of the vertical lines that separate them along a musical staff. Think of the old joke, "No, but if you hum a few BARS...." Here is an example where both BARS have four beats.

Finally, Amie uses DISCO BARS in two ways. One is the 'nightclub' sense in the clue. The other is what I have been trying to build up to. The LINES in the long fills are BARS from the DISCO song, Get Down Tonight. They are another type of DISCO BARS. Whew! I told you there was a lot to unpack today! This would have been a good one for JzB. Are you ready for the song now?  

Before we move on to the other clues, I want to add that the length of the long fills makes this puzzle a Monday level fit. Once you've parsed the theme, you can fill in a lot (28%) of the squares. On the other hand, if you are not familiar with this song, the level moves a few days forward in the week.

Across:
1. Field of study: AREA.  and  9 Down. Field of study, perhaps: SITE.

[Fun clecho #1]

5. Lumps: CLODS.  If your AREA of study is archaeology, you might sift through CLODS at your work SITE.  

visit this archaeological SITE

10. "Wheel of Fortune" option: SPIN.  Contestants have three options:  SPIN the wheel, buy a vowel, or solve the puzzle.

14. Music genre for Jill Scott: SOUL.  This is Jill Scott.

15. Asian capital whose opera house is modeled on Paris's Palais Garnier: HANOI.  I like clues that teach us a little something extra.  

HANOI (lt) and Paris (rt)

16. Drive-__ ATM: THRU.

17. Italian dish, familiarly: PARM.  PARMigiana  9 Things you can "PARM" from the Food Network

18. Lopsided: ATILT.  Def:  in a tilted or inclined position.

19. Corner chess piece: ROOK.  a.k.a. castle  

Once again Colin found himself stuck between a 'Rook' and a hard place.

23. Resource in Catan: ORE.  Huh?

Catan, previously known as The Settlers of Catan or simply Settlers, is a board game for (generally) 3-4 players. It was designed by Klaus Teuber and was first published in 1995 in Germany. Players take on the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop holdings while trading and acquiring resources.  

24. Woolly moms: EWES.  Fortunately for us XWD bloggers, there are plenty of sheep cartoons on the internet.

25. Cantina fare: TACOS.  A "cantina" is a type of bar common in Latin America and Spain. I am reminded of Rosie's Cantina in the song, El Paso, written by Marty Robbins. This is a a pepped-up cover by the Old 97's (1999). 

My favorite LINE:  I caught a good one. He looked like he could run. ♪

28. Prepare to advance after a fly ball: TAG UP.  In baseball, when a batter hits a fly ball and a fielder catches it, base runners have to go back to the base they were at when the play started and TAG UP before they can run to the next base. It gets exciting in the event the fielder botches the catch. Of course if there are already two outs, the runner should just go like the wind.  

In this 'fly ball' video, things are complicated by the infield fly rule. The announcer explains that "Bonds was immediately out" but it would have been helpful if he also explained that this meant there was no longer a force play at home so they needed to tag the runner.

I like how the runner did a don't-mind-me sneak around to step on the plate.

31. Radio host John: TESH.  He was born on July 9, 1952 on Long Island. In 1990, he wrote the NBA on NBC theme song.  Here it is:

32. Cinnamon-scented seasonal decor: PINECONES (also PINE CONES).  I love it when stores overpower me with cinnamon PINE CONES near the entrance!

Kudos to Amie for this 9-letter horizontal fill, along with its symmetrical partner at 39A.

39. "No, really!": I'M SERIOUS.  

a very young Val Kilmer (left) (35 sec.)

Real Genius (1985)

40. MGM co-founder: LOEW.  Marcus LOEW and Louis B. Mayer founded Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. on April 17, 1924. LOEW died three and a half years later from a heart attack at 57-years-old.

41. Many "Saved by the Bell" characters: TEENS.  Ranker puts Saved by the Bell at #11 for The Best Teen Comedy Series Every Made.

42. Chores: TASKS.

44. Heckling chorus: BOOS.  

46. Cozy spot: DEN.  and  33 Down. Cozy spot: NOOK.

[Fun clecho #2]

54. Bruno Mars's birthplace: OAHU.  and  56 Across. Floral garlands: LEIS.  

Born Peter Gene Hernandez on October 8, 1985 in Honolulu, HI,
Bruno has 31 Grammy nominations and 15 wins.

55. Squirrel away: HOARD.  

58. World Cup cheers: OLES.

59. Cosmic path: ORBIT. Thanks for the Science fill, Amie! It gives us an opportunity to catch up on what is happening with cislunar space.  

L1 and L2 are Legrange points.

60. Froyo topping option: OREO.  This feels a bit awkward in the singular.

61. Saucy: PERT.  

Down:
1. Egyptian cobra: ASP.

2. Fork locale: ROAD.  Homonyms are great for misdirection. It is not the fork located next to your dinner plate.

another tricky homonym

3. Greek currency: EURO.  Greece joined the EU in 1981. It adopted the EURO in 2001 in time to be among the first wave of countries to launch EURO banknotes and coins on January 1, 2002. Prior to that, it's national currency was the drachma (1833-2002).

4. __ mater: ALMA.  Def.:  the school, college or university that one once attended.

It is a Latin phrase that literally means "nourishing/bounteous mother".

5. Dining set array: CHAIRS.

6. Cupful with steamed milk: LATTE.

7. "I got this!": ON IT.

8. Mermaid Barbie, for one: DOLL.  

She has rainbows and a sparkly tiara!!

10. Informal surveys: STRAW POLLS.  My informal definition is "an unofficial vote to determine which way the group is leaning."

11. Device not allowed during a family meal, maybe: PHONE.  and  45 Down. Significant __: OTHER.

Have you heard of "phubbing"? It is a portmanteau made from the words "phone snubbing" and is the act of ignoring a companion in favor of using a smartphone. Not cool, dude!

12. Some Camaros: IROCS.  Someone on The Corner used to have one but I do not remember whom it was.

13. Heat in a microwave: NUKE.  

And I thought nuclear weapons were a 20th century invention.

21. Bathroom, to a Brit: LOO.

22. Low card: DEUCE.

25. One of 32 in the NHL: TEAM.  The NHL's 2023-24 regular season begins on Tuesday, October 10.  more info

26. Queries: ASKS.

27. Residue from an orange snack: CHEETO DUST.  Its official name is "Cheetle". (No, really. I'M SERIOUS. I did not make that up.)

30 sec. TV commercial

28. Welliver of "Bosch" and "Bosch: Legacy": TITUS.  his IMDb page

29. Pantry pests: ANTS.  

Oh, "pantry",  not "pants" !

30. Solidify: GEL.

31. Brief "Yikes, didn't need that in my brain": TMI.  Too Much Information  

32. Subatomic particle: PION.  Hand up for atOm first.

an explanation of PION that I can understand

34. Present-wrapping nights, for procrastinators: EVES.  Hmmmm...... We might be trying too hard with this one. It would be uncommon to wrap presents on the non-Christmas EVES.

35. Work with a needle and thread: SEW.

37. "Am not!" retort: ARE SO.

38. Fib: LIE.

42. Take care of: TEND TO.

43. "The Phantom Menace" boy: ANI.  This was a nickname for the Star Wars:  Episode I -- The Phantom Menace character, Anakin Skywalker.

44. Memphis street of blues fame: BEALE.  website

46. Greek column style: DORIC.  

  

47. Slime: GOOP.  and  51 Down. Lump: GLOB.

48. "__'ve thunk it?": WHO'D.  WHO woulD haVE

"Thunk" was a hint at slang. The apostrophes represent missing letters.

49. Sushi seaweed: NORI.  

This pic shows sushi before being rolled up.
In this case, the NORI is under the rice so it will become the outside of the roll (maki style).
The bamboo mat helps with the rolling.

50. Guitar player's aid: TABS.  Pick?  bzzt.  Capo?  bzzt.

Guitar TABS are a way of writing music that tells finger positions on strings as opposed to telling chords.  Here is an example:  

The 6 horizontal lines represent a guitar's 6 strings.
A zero means to play it "open".

52. Wife of Zeus: HERA.

53. Level: TIER.

57. Call for help repeated in the Police's "Message in a Bottle": SOS.  It is only fitting we end this on a musical note.  

The Police, from their 2nd studio album, Reggatta de Blanc (1979)

"I'll send an SOS to the world. I'll send an SOS to the world."

Here's the grid:

Thanks for sticking with me on this one! I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts!