I'm Joking!
Hi All!Well, it looks like I'm your Corner host for the next foreseeable Wednesdays as JzB and mb are out of pocket for a spell.
// Yo!, see 22a: BE CALM. JazzB is probably busy Bumpan' it on the trombone for Christmas shows & mb is fine. Both will be back hosting The Corner in January.
Today's puzzle is a cute/fun pre-Christmas [Advent Box Calendar anyone?] gift from Jeanne. If I'm not mistaken, this is her LAT debut (I found a Dr. Jeanne D. Breen, an infectious disease specialist / internal medicine Dr. in CT, but I donno if she's one & the same*).
I nearly grok'd the "kid" theme but I was missing something. Thanks to the regular bloggers who set me straight and parsed things properly. (I was thinking children, not pranks.)
17. *Collection for an afternoon party: TEA SERVICE. My Girls [kids] would have tea service with me hunched over a little table with an American Girl doll, a teddy bear, and a stuffed Unicorn as one of 'em hosted & poured imaginary tea. It was delicious spiked (I TEASE!)
26. *Subject of many June parades: GAY PRIDE. RIDE.
49. *Bed in a nursery: BABY CRIB. RIB.
59. *Desert plant on the back cover of a U2 album: JOSHUA TREE. JOSH. //great album!
38. "But seriously," and an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: ALL KIDDING ASIDE.
OK, Corner eFriends. Slow down. Pace yourself. 'Cuz here we go...
Across:
1. Primary: CHIEF.
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| Don Adams & Edward (Chief) Platt |
10. New Mexico skiing destination: TAOS.
14. Poet/activist Lorde: AUDRE.
15. Leather stickers: AWLS. Not Hell's Angels' patches but pokie tools.
 |
| Awe |
16. Stash: STOW. Just wait, CACHE will come later... #Foreshadowing
17. [See: Theme]
19. Sunrise obscurer: HAZE.
20. "Malo" opposite: BUENO.
21. Televised: AIRED.
22. "Don't panic!": BE CALM.
 |
| If you've never read Douglas Adams' HHGTTG, make it a point. You'll laugh your bum off (if you're skew'd a bit). |
28. Disneyland city: ANAHEIM.
30. Unwelcome picnic visitor: ANT.
31. Classic clown name: BOBO. Not BOzO.
 |
| BOBO The Clown [WikiP] |
32. Ahead by a point: UP ONE.
35. Director Luhrmann: BAZ. No clue - WikiP
38. [See: Theme]
42. Issa of "Insecure": RAE. More ??? - LIU [WikiP again]
43. Runway figure: MODEL.
44. Jerseys and Guernseys: COWS. Moo Milk (not that almond stuff).
45. Greek consonant: TAU.
46. Place to practice asanas: YOGA MAT.
49. [See: Theme]
54. Major route: ARTERY.
55. Grand-scale tales: EPICS. Wait 'till we get to 51d. That is a saga :-)
56. Secret stash: CACHE. And there you are 16a.
58. "Collapsed in Sunbeams" singer Parks: ARLO. Another ARLO singer?
I had to Google after the fill.
59. [See: Theme]
64. AnnaSophia of "Little Fires Everywhere": ROBB. No idea - WikiP
65. Not backing: ANTI.
66. Cussed: SWORE.
67. Stuck-up sort: SNOB.
68. Fraction of a min.: NSEC. Nanosecond.
69. Sing "The Lonely Goatherd," say: YODEL.
This is cute.
Down:
1. Cindy Clawford of "Ted Lasso," for one: CAT. The bassist, Leslie Higgins', cat. Note the "L" in the cat's name.
2. Color chart element: HUE.
3. Princess in the Monument Valley video game: IDA. My Secret Santa editor looked it up for you.
4. Unsure sounds: ERS. Um, OK.
5. Lacking strength: FEEBLE.
6. Spot for icicles or icicle lights: EAVE. 'Tis the season.
7. Big Band style: SWING.
Squirrel Nut Zippers from the '90's
8. Metal giant: ALCOA.
9. Draw upon: USE.
10. Bit of concert merch: T-SHIRT.
 |
| Two of mine |
11. Arcade pioneer: ATARI.
12. Exuded, as charm: OOZED.
13. Gothenburg native: SWEDE.
18. Persian poet who wrote the "Spiritual Couplets": RUMI. I've seen this before but needed a refresher.
21. Sleep malady: APNEA.
22. Kid-lit elephant: BABAR.
23. Sherlock's sister in a book series by Nancy Springer: ENOLA.
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| We had (IIRC) ENOLA clued similarly inre: Netflix my last expo. |
24. Dish alternative: CABLE. Oy! and now I have 13 streaming channels of s*** to choose from.
//Allusion to Pink Floyd's "Nobody Home" from "The Wall" -- sorry folks, you'll just have to deal with my scattery brain like I have to all the time.
25. "Oh, gotcha": AH OK.
27. Bowen of "SNL": YANG.
 |
| He's super funny. |
29. Emmy-winning journalist Roger: MUDD.
33. Pizzeria order: PIE.
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| Thatsa Pizza Pie! //Russo's 28" party goodie. |
34. Exclusively: ONLY.
35. Ecosystem: BIOME.
36. Nasty marketing battle: AD WAR.
Cola Wars.
I grew up in a Pepsi household in the Midwest.
My first taste of Coke was like, "That's a bit bitter; Me like!"
//full-disclosure: I own bits of stock in KO & CCE (now an EU co.)
37. Piquant: ZESTY. [See: Coke above]
39. Apples that come in seven colors: IMACS. Cute - Apple's Computers.
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| The newer iMacs |
40. Unsociably cross: DOUR.
41. Sing like Ella: SCAT.
45. Hall of Famer known as the "Georgia Peach": TY COBB. #Baseball
47. Waimea Bay island: OAHU.
48. __ spoon: GREASY.
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| Mel's Greasy Spoon Sitcom [Alice] Cast |
49. Unwelcome picnic visitors: BEARS. Fun Clecho.
 |
| Hey, BooBoo! |
50. Garment that may say "World's Okayest Cook": APRON. Mine says "Italia!" DW's says (in Green, White & Red) "IBM" [Italian by Marriage].
51. Baggins of Bag End: BILBO. Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit saga. #CallbackTo55a
52. Desktop array: ICONS. I have minimal (1.2 columns) ICONS on my laptop; DW's is literally covered with 'em -- drives my OCD self nuts.
53. Verb in cooking or sewing instructions: BASTE. Someone will have to fill me in on the sewing part of this clue 'cuz, at this point, I'm too lazy to look it up.
57. Smart: CHIC. Hep.
59. MLK Day's mo.: JAN. Martin Luther King Jr. is celebrated on the 3rd Monday of January.
60. Couple: TWO.
61. Divining tool: ROD. To find water(?) #BS!
62. Afore: ERE.
63. Rainbow roll fish: EEL.
 |
| OK, true, no Rainbow Roll in this boat -- but! the second one, [no photo available] for the KID's table, did. |
The Grid:
 |
| The Grid |
WO: BOzO
ESPs: AUDRE | IDA, BUENO (as clued), BAZ, RAE, ARLO (as clued), ROBB
Fav: I'm going w/ 1a's CHIEF 'cuz it made me think of Buck Henry's & Mel Brooks' Get Smart.
No Joke folks, I'll be here for your next four (4) Wednesdays -- be sure to tip the waitstaff.
Cheers, -T
*My Angel Editor / Secret Santa found this about Dr. Breen:
"I’m a physician, piano player, voracious reader, lap swimmer, animal lover, movie buff, student of baseball, and a lifelong resident of the Northeast. I drink my coffee with milk and my gin gimlets straight up and ice-cold. I’ve enjoyed solving crosswords and other word puzzles for years and just started constructing this spring (2023); I’m honored that gin + grapefruit is the site of my debut. The ‘crossworld’ is such a warm, welcoming community and I’m genuinely in awe of how creative puzzlers are with their themes, themeless seed entries, and cluing. My thanks to Taylor for encouraging me to give midi construction a try and to Shannon for editing. I hope you enjoy the solve!" on this site.
Thank you Dr. B.
