Minced Metaphors
21. Get what's really going on: KNOW THE SCORE.53. Avoid elimination: MAKE THE CUT.
29. Rhyming slogan opposing a Kansas City Chiefs fan gesture: STOP THE CHOP.
30. Take a gamble: ROLL THE DICE.
Hi All! Anon -T reporting for duty.
And what a privilege it is to review one of Erik's puzzles. For those who don't know, Erik is a Jeopardy! champion, ACPT winner (2018), and, when he was Editor of the USA Today crossword, really up'd the game and modernized the puzzle's inclusivity and current pop-culture references.
Today, Erik offers four (semi-sport related) metaphors ending in the kitchen sous'ing: Score, Cut, Chop, Dice #YesChef!
Fun, no? I enjoyed it. Let's check out the fill and see if Erik butchered that too :-)
Across:
1. Fuzzy fruit: KIWI.
5. Nails-on-a-chalkboard sound: SCRAPE.
11. Heart of the matter: CRUX.
15. Very dry: ARID.
16. __ network: NEURAL. A neural network is a group of interconnected nodes that enables computers to "learn" by example (ie. recognize patterns in data). When I studied AI, we liked the idea of neural-nets but didn't have 1) sufficient sample sizes nor 2) the storage. Our nets were dinky and the idea was mostly shelved. The internet fixed #1 and cheap storage fixed #2. Now we have NNets like ChatGPT.
17. Public prank: HOAX.
18. Taper off: WANE.
19. Not remote: ON-SITE. Post-Covid, our office is remote M,F and ON-SITE T,W,Th.
20. Highest point: APEX.
21. [See: Theme]
24. Abbr. in recipes: TSP. Teaspoons.
25. Prefix meaning "three": TRI. TRI-pod, TRI-cycle, TRI-dent.
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| For people with only three teeth? |
26. Seconds, but for drinks: REFILLS. My buddy from Algiers said one of his first impressions of America was "Land of Free Refills!"
30. Lasagna ingredient: RICOTTA.
34. A third of a yard: ONE FOOT.
35. Standing __: OVATION. Bravo, Ole, Whoot!
36. Time for presents, for short: B-DAY. X-MAS fit too.
37. Need a shim, perhaps: WOBBLE.
40. Stitched: SEWN.
41. Your and my: OUR.
42. Warlock's repertoire: SPELLS.
43. Steamed bun: BAO.
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| Yum! |
44. Get hot, in a way: TREND.
47. Lacking slack: TAUT.
48. Terrifying: SCARY.
50. Passover feast: SEDER.
51. "Oh, be quiet!": HUSH.
52. Poutine pieces: CURDS.
53. [See: Theme]
56. Hereditary: GENETIC.
59. "If Beale Street Could Talk" actor Colman: DOMINGO. I know Beale Street in Memphis is Home of the Blues but I didn't know of Colman Domingo [WikiP].
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| Colman Domingo |
63. Line on a graph: AXIS.
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| 3D Euclidian Space with x, y, and z axes. |
64. "Oh, be quiet!": SHUT IT.
67. In a slump: COLD.
68. Not full-size: MINI.
69. Former name of the NBA's Thunder, informally: SONICS. Oklahoma City Thunder nee Seatle SuperSonics. The Sonics were sold, renamed, and relocated circa 2007.
70. Burden: LOAD. ONUS fit but I perp-checked b/f fill :-)
71. In-transit figs.: ETAS.
72. "Scandal" crisis manager Olivia: POPE. Olivia Pope is a fictional character played by Kerry Washington.
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| Kerry Washington |
73. Burnt __: barbecue delicacy: ENDS.
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| Corkscrew BBQ (aka Saturday's lunch w/ DW) in Old Town Spring, TX |
Down:
1. Midwestern people: KAW. Tribe from Oklahoma and parts of Kansas.
2. 401(k) alternative: IRA. An Individual Retirement Account is an alternative to a 401(k) which is a bla bla something paragraph in the tax code bla bla. D-O can explain in more detail.
3. Knowing gesture: WINK. I. Can't. Resist...
A nod's as good as a WINK to a blind bat.
4. Name: IDENTIFY.
5. Vehicles for cold times: SNOW PLOWS.
6. Little bit of change: CENT. I had COIN.
7. Not take one's time: RUSH. Could be clued as "The greatest band ever."
8. "Video" singer India.__: ARIE.
9. Touches lightly: PATS.
10. Optional courses: ELECTIVES. Who elected for the easy-A v. something more interesting? Who even had electives (my EE curriculum was pretty rigid)?
11. Vehicles from old times: CHARIOTS. I was thinking Model-Ts but Erik was thinking "further back."
12. Ladder material: ROPE. We made these in Boy Scouts.
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| Rope Ladder |
13. Dubai's fed.: UAE. United Arab Emirates.
14. Spy-fi film series starring Vin Diesel: XXX.
I don't think I've seen a movie w/ Vin Diesel in it.
22. Capital of Norway: OSLO.
23. Largest member of the dolphin family: ORCA.
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| I wasted three rolls of film at Sea World trying to get a shot this cool |
26. Many sci-fi characters: ROBOTS. Automatons.
27. Go on: ENDURE.
28. Was terrified of: FEARED.
29. [See: Theme]
30. [See: Theme] I wanted to fill ROLL THE BONES which is RUSH's 14th studio album and the first (and only time) RUSH tried to rap -- One could hear the collective WTF? scream of fans everywhere. Then we all had fun with it (see how many Canadians / Canadian acts you recognize during the "rap").
I won't fault you if you don't click :-)
31. Dressy accessory: TIE BAR.
32. In the direction of: TOWARD.
33. Rubs the wrong way: ANNOYS.
38. Fine specimen: BEAUT.
39. Cheek cosmetic: BLUSH.
45. Bitter enemy: NEMESIS.
46. "Curses!": DRAT.
48. Layer on a stagnant pond: SCUM.
49. Fingernail part: CUTICLE.
54. Touch lightly: KISS. In their early touring year(s), RUSH opened for Kiss.
55. Portable beds: COTS.
56. Willing: GAME. Q:"You in?" A:"I'm GAME" or "I'm willing."
57. Press Esc, perhaps: EXIT. Exit Stage Left is Rush's second live album.
58. "I Put a Spell on You" singer Simone: NINA. Nina Simone nee Eunice Kathleen Waymon (2/21/1933 - 4/21/2003) was a multi-genre musician. WikiP for more.
A Tribute Video
60. Halfway between midnights: NOON. Cute clue.
61. Pleased: GLAD.
62. Numbers with a colon: ODDS. Another reference to RUSH's Roll the Bones? In the song, "You Bet Your Life" the refrain contains "The Odds get Even / We play the game ..."
65. Word shouted while putting a card down: UNO. UNO or Gin; wait for perps.
66. Bit of advice: TIP. "Here's a TIP, lose the shirt." -Rodney Dangerfield, Caddyshack.
Wow, I think Erik is a RUSH fan - what, with all the references to Rush in the downs. ;-)
The Grid:
 |
| The Grid |
WO: Coin->CENT
ESPs: KAW, XXX, NINA
Fav: The entire puzzle was lively & fresh so I'll just go with RUSH :-)
11 days left to shop for Christmas -- no need to panic (yet)...
Cheers, -T
