Puzzling thoughts:
First off, if you're not a golfer or don't follow the game, "OB" refers to "OUT of bounds". The white stakes in the image above marks the golf course "boundary", and in my theme name example, if a golfer were to hit their shot to the LEFT of these stakes, the ball would be OUT of play. The penalty for this - in golf - is one the most egregious as the player must rehit their shot AND take a penalty of one stroke to add to their score for the hole. BTW, the best explanation of the game of golf is in the video below ... I was able to find the one rated PG!
So, Moe, how does this golfing analogy fit into today's puzzle? Very easily; it's the 61-across answer, and the reveal for the puzzle. All one has to do is add the word OUT to the LEFT of the first word of 18-, 22-, 38-, and 56-Across. This action is what is excluded (LEFT OUT), and what is needed to match their clues (add OUT to the LEFT)
Our constructor du jour is Annemarie Brethauer. [Brittanica dot com] "Annemarie Brethauer is a freelance crossword constructor whose work has appeared in newspapers through Andrews McMeel Universal and L.A. Times syndicates, in Simon and Schuster publications, in Games World of Puzzles magazine, in the woman-oriented online site Inkubator, and elsewhere."
Annemarie cleverly came up with four familiar phrases, (LET DOWN; FIELD DAY; FIT FOR A KING; and BACK TALK) but clued them to imply that something was missing. The "AHA" Moe-ment for me was when I got to the reveal @ 61-across when I realized that when I added the word OUT to those four the clues then made sense
18-across. Pillow filling bought at wholesale?: (OUT)LET DOWN. Which of course prompted this Moe-ku:
OUTLET store pillow
Filling didn't sell. You think
They would markdown DOWN?
22-across. Specialized session of baseball practice?: (OUT)FIELD DAY.
38-across. Crown, scepter, and ermine robe?: (OUT)FIT FOR A KING.
And MY favorite: 56-across. Barbie, bush telly, choccy biccy, etc.?: (OUT)BACK TALK
Well done, Annemarie!
For those who thought that Mal Man was supposed to blog today, he and I switched weeks. Joseph will blog on Friday the 17th. He sends his regards ...
The grid, and then the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
1. View from much of U.S. Highway 101: PACIFIC. So many to choose from as this coastal highway stretches from San Diego California to the perimeter of the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park in Washington
8. Water stopper: DAM. The amount of water that this dam stops has gone down considerably since it was filled (created Lake Mead) in the 1930's. Interesting read
11. __ Dhabi: ABU. People ask: Is Abu Dhabi different from Dubai? "Yes, Both are 2 different states or what they call as emirates in the country United Arab Emirates. U.A.E consists of 7 emirates namely Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras- Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain, and Fujairah. Abu Dhabi is the capital."[Quora dot com]
14. Oval-shaped instrument: OCARINA. Beautiful
15. One of the only two South American countries that doesn't border Brazil: ECUADOR. CHILE didn't fit
17. Compete in a hybrid winter sport: PARASKI. This was one that MalMan could better explain, as he is a skiier. Not I
19. Unusual: ODD. EVEN I got this one! 藍
20. Contacted with a click: E-MAILED. On Monday of this week we had CLACK as an answer; today we have "click" in the clue
25. Separate by type: ASSORT.
29. Sound engineer's slider: FADER. Notice the technique
30. Starship Enterprise letters: NCC. [fandom dot com] "According to both "The Making of Star Trek", and the second seaon writers guide update, NCC officially stands for "Navy-Curtis Craft", referring to the fact that the design and construction of the cruisers was a combination of the Navy's and Curtis Industries inputs"
32. "Don't reckon so": NAW. YEP
33. Some govt. lawyers: D.A.S. Pluralized abbr. for District Attorney. DAS is also one of the three German definite articles of grammar(DER, DIE, DAS). Das Buch = "the book". Ich habe Deutsch von 1963 bis 1974 studiert. Erste, in Hochschule, und dann beim Universität
35. Fossey subject: APE. As opposed to Fosse subject:
37. Genesis maker: SEGA. Hyundai didn't fit. Video game
41. Home of the Muscat Gate Museum: OMAN.
43. "Let You Love Me" singer Rita: ORA. Solved via perps and mistake (notice the red mark in the "A" square on my grid photo)
44. Fall Out Boy genre: EMO.
45. Benatar in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: PAT. According to a Google search, the song below is her all-time best hit. Do you agree?
46. Yukon XL maker: GMC. $60k is the price for the base model of this SUV
48. Killer whales: ORCAS.
52. Cooks in a bamboo basket: STEAMS.
58. Share a course?: CO-TEACH. A CSO (in a way) to our Saturday blogger, Husker Gary who CO-TEACHes when he substitutes for the regular teacher
60. Vegetable soup bit: PEA. I couldn't think of any other 3-letter word that fit here
64. Uncomfortable situation: HOT SEAT. HA HA. Speaking of GMC:
67. Emphatic denial: "I SAID NO!!". An erstwhile expression ...
68. Hosp. triage expert: ER NURSE. Nurses also performed triage behind the battle lines ... this scene from M*A*S*H* shows Major Houlihan saying goodbye to her fellow officers as she and her NURSEs leave to provide aid ... typical Hawkeye!
69. TiVo antecedent: VCR. Video Cassette Recorder. I had an uncle who pronounced the word "CASSETTE" with the emphasis on the first syllable
70. Oft-redacted ID: SSN.
71. Has no use for: DETESTS. That's a bit harsh
Down:
1. Rant: POP OFF. Moe-ku #2:
Vodka drinker's mad;
Store ran out of his brand. Might
POP OFF for Popov
2. National park on the Maine coast: ACADIA. Margaret and I have been visiting National Parks the past few years when we vacation. She has never been to Maine; I am pretty sure that this Park is on her bucket list
3. Stopped at the door, perhaps: CARDED. Or the pearly gates, perhaps??
4. Writer Levin: IRA. Moe-ku 3:
Writer Levin has
Retirement fund called an
Ira I.R.A.
5. Grafton's "__ for Fugitive": F IS.
6. Signed in pen: INKED.
7. Large Central American reptile: CAIMAN. Moe-ku #4:
Large croc's corrected
Spelling of Keys near Cuba:
The CAIMAN Islands
8. Grocery section: DELI. Publix Grocery Stores in Florida had the best DELI section
9. Amtrak service that caters to business travelers: ACELA. The nose of this engine resembles that of the SST Concorde
10. Silences with a button: MUTES.
11. Brouhaha: ADO.
12. Fiddle stick: BOW. Clever clue
13. Ornate garden pot: URN.
16. Tots up: ADDS. Hmm; this solved via perps as I was unaware of the British phrase tot up. Of course, it spawned this Moe-ku #5:
The waitress knew that
Her side order was ready;
Chef exclaimed: "Tots up!"
21. "¡Dios mío!": AY CARAMBA. I spelled this incorrectly when I first solved the puzzle; if you go back and look at the solved grid, there is a black mark on the "C" of CARAMBA. I had this as AYE CRUMBA or some such ...
23. Ushered: LED IN.
24. "Cripes!": DRAT.
26. Univ. donor type: O NEG. I had O POS at first before discovering my error
27. Tabloid: RAG. Why is a newspaper called a "RAG" you ask? One answer from [Quora dot com]: "Many people say it's because such papers historically printed on lower-quality, raglike newsprint than respectable papers. Others say the term stuck because the content rag papers printed was salacious and aimed at the lowest common denominator — the equivalent of rag material"
28. Former JFK flyer: TWA. This is just a mock-up; but notice how the front of the plane resembles that of the ACELA engine in 9-down
31. No. cruncher: CPA.
34. West Coast luggage tag letters: SFO.
36. Make (out): EKE. Kiss and neck wouldn't fit
37. Horse noise: SNORT.
38. Lot: FATE.
39. Gp.: ORG.
40. "No broken bones!": I'M OK.
41. Photo __: OPS.
42. Bathroom rug: MAT.
47. Stashed away: CACHED. The word CACHE(D) has evolved its definition into the world of computing (see #3 meaning in the link)
49. Tartar sauce ingredient: CAPERS. Learning Moe-ment. I thought it was just mayonnaise, pickle relish, and mustard
50. Div. of the Blue Jays and the Rays: AL EAST. American League East Division baseball teams
51. Hockey gear: SKATES.
53. When Lear divides his kingdom: ACT I. It could only have been ACT I, ACT V, or ACT X in Roman numerology
54. Humors: MOODS.
55. Bowls over: STUNS.
57. Gofer's task: CHORE.
59. Fleming and Orwell's school: ETON.
61. Actress Tyler: LIV. Steven Tyler's daughter
62. Key next to F1: ESC. Computer keyboard keys (F1 and ESC)
63. At a distance: FAR.
65. Demo stuff: TNT. Clue misdirection; demo as in the abbreviation for "demolish", which fits the answer "TNT" which an abbreviation (acronym) for Tri Nitro Toluene
66. Go after, in a way: SUE. Final Moe-ku:
New Johnny Cash song:
The mis-named lad lawyer's up;
The "boy named SUE" sues
That's all she wrote. Hope that this puzzle didn't find you "OUT in LEFT field". I solved it with a couple hiccups in very moderate time; MOES hardness scale = 5.0. See you in two weeks ... this time "I MEAN IT"!!! 嵐
