One of Lynn's entries that didn't make the cut? CLUE: When images of Lucky Charms are dancing in your head?: CEREAL TIMES (SURREAL TIMES)
If the THEME were K ==> N, then this cartoon would be appropriate:
Puzling thoughts:
More Friday wordplay as Ms. Lempel produces 5 homophonic phrases in which each of the homophones has a "C-word" that should begin with an "S" for the more common phrase or expression. Lynn Lempel's reputation as a Crossword puzzle constructor more than precedes itself. Having more than 100 puzzles @ the NY Times places her in a rareified class of puzzle producers
Hmm ... another wordplay just creeped into MY jumbled brain ... CLUE: Successor who lives above 10,000 feet?: RAREFIED HEIR
So let's examine each of the 5 phrases, "won" at a "thyme" ...
17 across. Odd remedy for an overhead crack?: CEILING WAX. Let's come clean for a second ... my first entry was CEILING FAN before realizing that this puzzle was heading in a homophonic direction. CEILING WAX isn't anything I'm aware of, but SEALING WAX most certainly is ... notice the red wax on the bottle below; it is hand-dipped at the distillery in Loretto, KY
25 across. Pennies that are a dime a dozen?: COMMON CENTS. "Let's throw in an idiom, too", said Lynn, as the phrase "dime a dozen" = COMMON; and after using a bit of COMMON SENSE, the Chairman (me) figured this one out
37 across. Percussion instrument for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir?: RELIGIOUS CYMBAL. This one calls for a Moe-ku:
Zildjian has special
Religious collection that
Features creche cymbals
52 across. Sacrifice of some data storage space?: CLOUD CEDING. The most subtle in terms of humor of the five ... I am very familiar with the CLOUD for data storage: [wikipedia] "Cloud storage is a model of computer data storage in which the digital data is stored in logical pools, said to be on "the cloud". The physical storage spans multiple servers, and the physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company"
CLOUD SEEDING is: [wikipedia] "... a type of weather modification that aims to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, which alter the microphysical processes within the cloud". Or maybe, this:
61 across. Jewelry in the shape of a swan?: CYGNET RING. THIS was my favorite of the 5. Very clever. A CYGNET is a juvenile male swan. A SIGNET is a small seal (usually on the face of a stone on a ring) that authenticates; this, e.g.:
As opposed to this:
Here is a singular of (1 across. Short shot: PIC) showing today's completed grid; this will also show where I made my mistakes (see the crossing of 44a and 39d, as well as 35a and 27d). Due to the number of theme entries, the puzzle grid had to contain a large number (22) of 3-letter words. Adding together the time I spent solving and the complexity of today's puzzle (for me) puts this @ 8.2 on the MOES hardness scale. Well done Lynn! Hope you'll stop by and say hello!
Across:
5. Shocks: JOLTS; and its singular "clecho" (20 across. Shock:) STUN.
10. Gum balls?: WADS. When I was a kid, many baseball players chewed tobacco. They always had a distinctive WAD in their cheek. I "aped" that - in a way - by cramming multiple sticks of bubble gum into my mouth. Might be a good reason why all of my molars had cavities ...
14. Shade in a neutral palette: ECRU.
15. Nebraska rail hub: OMAHA. CSO to our Saturday blogger and daily poster, Husker Gary
16. Actor Guinness: ALEC.
19. Speak effusively: GUSH.
21. Rejections: NOS. And two additional homophones: NOSE and KNOWS
23. "You can't mean me!?": MOI.
24. Go downhill fast: SKI.
30. Super __: PAC.
31. Met favorites: ARIAS.
32. Truism: AXIOM.
33. Sundance Film Festival state: UTAH.
35. Club kin: BLT. This one got me, as I didn't associate "club" with a sandwich, and I didn't recognize the name in the crossing word clue (27 down. Ventimiglia of "This Is Us":) MILO, even though I watched all of the "This is Us" series' episodes. MILO played Jack Pearson. Worth watching if you haven't seen it
36. __ carte: A LA.
43. "Hardly!": NOT.
44. Same old same old: RUT. My mistake here was using the word "ROT" instead of RUT. My inner Norm Crosby must've appeared
45. Rational: SANE.
46. CX-5 and CX-50 automaker: MAZDA. Anyone else try HONDA first?
49. Olympian and actress Sonja: HENIE; and conveniently, Lynn Lempel found this (2 down. Gear for 49-Across: ICE SKATE) to complement
51. Decline: SAG.
54. Prefix with friendly: ECO.
55. Tanqueray product: GIN. Not the brand I normally drink; here is one of my (and Margaret's) current favorite:
56. Tofu, basically: SOY.
57. Munch Museum city: OSLO.
59. Really distasteful: ICKY. Glad this wasn't a five-letter answer ...
66. Committed perjury: LIED.
67. Gochujang origin: KOREA. I love using this on fried or scrambled eggs, or in an omelete
68. Red's friend in "The Shawshank Redemption": ANDY. This filled in with perps as I did not remember the character's names; played by Tim Robbins
69. Boys: LADS.
70. More confident: SURER.
71. Baseball gripping point: SEAM. How to throw and two-seam fastball:
Down:
1. Delt neighbor: PEC. If this were a fraternity or sorority based clue, could the answer have been "EPS"?
3. Decisive: CRITICAL.
4. Chekov colleague: SULU. Original Star Trek, so technically it's not a CSO to Picard
5. Garfield's human: JON. The comic strip Garfield; not the US President. Any guesses as what Jon's last name is?? A LA Husker Gary, I will mention it at the end of my blog*
6. "Daaaang!": OMG. Text speak; Oh My Go...
7. Kim Wexler's field on "Better Call Saul": LAW. Am I the only one here who hasn't watched "Better Call Saul"? Thankfully, LAW was easy to perp into this spot. Reflecting back on ALL of the 3-letter's today, they were very fair
8. Marvel villain who collected the Infinity Stones: THANOS. I actually got this one, as Margaret introduced me to the Marvel Universe when we became a couple in late 2019. The Infinity Stones colors represent: Purple for Space, Yellow for Reality, Red for Power, Blue for Mind, Orange for Time, and Green for Soul. The stone colors were updated in the Marvel Legacy series to match the film versions. Here is an image of this dude with the 6 Infinity Stones:
9. Early invader of Great Britain: SAXON. Earlier invader of Great Britain: ANGLO. Otherwise, how else could they merge??
10. Jokester: WAG. See 9 down; that's Chairman Moe trying to be a WAG
11. Many college donors: ALUMNI. Many blood donors: O NEGATIVE
12. Bygone Chrysler: DESOTO. Bring back any memories?
13. Rupture in a church group: SCHISM. [Wikipedia] "A schism is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, such as the Great East–West Schism or the Western Schism"
18. Native of Peru's Urubamba Valley: INCA. [Wikipedia] "The Sacred Valley of the Incas or the Urubamba Valley, is a valley in the Andes of Peru, north of the Inca capital of Cusco"
22. Like a bass or a boa: SCALY. It's homoNYM time with the clues ... clearly, not these two:
24. Urge (on): SPUR. GOAD or PROD fits, too
26. Planetary path: ORBIT. Or if the clue were to somehow use a transitive verb we could have this Moe-ku:
Do we know planets
Are circular in shape? Or
Did we just ORB IT?
28. Ripened: MATURED. Margaret often tells me that I have not yet MATURED, but occasionally tells me that I am RIPE ... 藍
29. Chances to determine proficiency: EXAMS. I always liked multiple guess questions on EXAMS
34. Holi celebrant: HINDU. Another homonymic clue ... HOLI and HOLY are pronounced the same but have different meanings. [Wikipedia] "Holi is a popular and significant HINDU festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, and Spring. It celebrates the eternal and divine love of the deities Radha and Krishna. Additionally, the day signifies the triumph of good over evil, as it commemorates the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha over Hiranyakashipu"
If I were a betting man I would guess that Picard has some photos of this celebration to share with us today ...
36. Get credit for?: ACT IN.
38. Urges on: GOADS. Hmm ... didn't I just see this a few clues ago?? A plural clecho ...
39. Olympic gymnast Lee: SUNI. One of my two Naticks today. I didn't know this person, but her routine is pretty incredible:
40. Court boundary: BASELINE. This link provides several references to the term "BASELINE"
41. World's heaviest snake: ANACONDA. Now THIS boa is pretty SCALY
42. Component of some small castles: LEGO. Perps to the rescue but quite fair (and clever) as a clue
46. Montreal university: MCGILL. CSO to CanadianEh! Perhaps they can give us a bit more info on this fine institution
47. Garza who co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement: ALICIA. [Wikipedia] "Alicia Garza is an American civil rights activist and writer known for co-founding the Black Lives Matter movement. She is a recognized advocate for social and racial justice, with a particular focus on issues affecting marginalized communities, including Black women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and immigrants"
48. Utterly exhausted: ZONKED.
49. "Oh, hi!": HEY YOU.
50. Versatile celeb's achievement: EGOT. EGOT is becoming a very popular Crossword Puzzle entry
53. Roosters: COCKS.
58. Some Mex. spouses: SRAS. CSO to Lucina
60. Quilting qty.: YDS. Nice alliterative clue
62. "Why, I oughta ... ": GRR.
63. Name-clarifying word: NEE. My screen name is Chairman Moe, NEE Moe Vedre ... feel free to ask why
64. Otoscope target: EAR. Friday-like clue
65. Workout spot: GYM. An easy one to finish on
Hope y'all liked the puzzle and the wordplay. Please comment below ... see ya again just before Christmas ... *ARBUCKLE
Note from C.C.:
Happy 77th birthday to dear Jazzbumpa (Ron)! Ron is taking the December off, but he'll be back in January. Ron has been our faithful Wednesday Sherpa since January 2011.
