Hello Cornerites!
sumdaze here. Since we are now only one week away from Christmas, today's title is a no-brainer:
Gingerbread House
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| Note the WINDOW, DOOR, and ROOF. Let's see how constructor Jay Silverman builds them into his three themers: |
17 Across. Online customer service component: CHAT WINDOW.
It's on-line shopping season. If you have questions on a purchase, you might reach out via LiveChat:
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| Warning: the Enter key acts like a Send key. If you press Enter and expect to go to another line, it will instead send your incomplete message. No worries though, just continue typing. It will be OK. I mess this up all the time and it still works out. |
30 Across. Metaphorical feature of a poorly run company, perhaps: REVOLVING DOOR. If you say that a situation is a REVOLVING DOOR, you mean that people (employees) or things are continuously coming and going -- usually not a good thing for a business.
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| Will Ferrell in Elf (2003) More holiday cheer! |
46 Across. Does a celebratory dance by pushing up one's palms: RAISES THE ROOF.
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| Michael & Dwight (Steve Carell & Rainn Wilson) in The Office They are basically miming pushing the roof upwards. Warning: This gesture is considered dated. |
And the reveal:
61 Across. Welcome words from a bartender, and where to find the ends of 17-, 30-, and 46-Across?: ON THE HOUSE.
The "ends of 17-, 30-, and 46-Across" are WINDOW, DOOR, and ROOF. All can be found on a house.
"Welcome words", in this case, does not equate to "greetings". Instead, "welcome" means "good news to the listener." If a bartender says, "It's ON THE HOUSE," the listener is happy to hear that the drinks/snacks are free. Woohoo!!
Let's check out the rest of the neighborhood:
1. Curl up with a good book: READ. Great start! This is one of my favorite things to do. I wonder if we have more book readers or tablet readers on The Corner.
5. Objects of worship: IDOLS.
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| FYI: Patty Berg |
10. Furry "Return of the Jedi" creature: EWOK.
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| These little guys live on the planet Endor. (See 12-D on 12/4/23.) |
14. Off-roaders, for short: ATVS. An all-terrain vehicle is a motorized off-highway vehicle.
15. "The Jungle Book" bear: BALOO.
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| I always mix this one up with Sally's nickname for Linus. (Wrong holiday but you get the idea.) |
16. Abundant (with): RIFE.
19. Not 100% solid: IFFY. IF I were to guess, I would triple all of the numbers on this ice thickness recommendations chart from The Old Farmer's Almanac. Eight inches seems very IFFY to me.
20. Have lunch: EAT.
21. Thor's father: ODIN.
22. White Monopoly bills: ONES.
23. [Don't touch my bone!]: SNARL. and 18 Down. Wild canines: WOLVES.
19. Not 100% solid: IFFY. IF I were to guess, I would triple all of the numbers on this ice thickness recommendations chart from The Old Farmer's Almanac. Eight inches seems very IFFY to me.
21. Thor's father: ODIN.
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| Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Anthony Hopkins as ODIN in Thor: Ragnarock (2017) It is just a coincidence that I have pics of Chris Hemsworth two weeks in a row...really! |
22. White Monopoly bills: ONES.
23. [Don't touch my bone!]: SNARL. and 18 Down. Wild canines: WOLVES.
25. Raring to go: EAGER. From Grammarist, "This idiom originated in the early 19th century as a term meaning to be at the ready or impatient to be off. Rare is likely a variant of the word rear, meaning to rise up or stand on one's hind legs. The word is used to describe a horse rising up in impatience or anxiety before plunging forward."
Similarly, champing at the bit means one is ready but must wait, as a horse for its rider.
28. Nevertheless, briefly: THO. "Briefly" here means a shorter version of though.
33. One __ customer: PER.
34. Since Jan. 1: YTD. Year To Date. Accountants use this acronym a lot.
35. Woodwind instrument: OBOE.
28. Nevertheless, briefly: THO. "Briefly" here means a shorter version of though.
33. One __ customer: PER.
34. Since Jan. 1: YTD. Year To Date. Accountants use this acronym a lot.
35. Woodwind instrument: OBOE.
'Tis the season for Silver Bells -- a violin and OBOE duet
36. Books for those feeling lost?: ATLASES. I like the misdirection that one might find these books in the self-help section.
40. Stanzas of six lines: SESTETS. My last fix was to change SExTETS and xMOOCH to SESTETS and SMOOCH. In my defense, an XO can mean "kiss & hug".
42. Unravel at the edge: FRAY.
43. Illuminated: LIT.
45. "The Walking Dead" network: AMC.
50. Like a famous Broadway couple: ODD. Neil Simon's comedy, The Odd Couple, opened March 10, 1965 at the Plymouth Theater in NYC, starring Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison and Art Carney as Felix Unger.
43. Illuminated: LIT.
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| Clark Griswold's house was LIT! National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) |
45. "The Walking Dead" network: AMC.
50. Like a famous Broadway couple: ODD. Neil Simon's comedy, The Odd Couple, opened March 10, 1965 at the Plymouth Theater in NYC, starring Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison and Art Carney as Felix Unger.
51. Button on a game console: RESET. and 4 Down. Mar.-to-Nov. hrs.: DST.
Most of us RESET our clocks in March for Daylight Savings Time.
52. Leaves out: OMITS.
55. Goes out, as the tide: EBBS. The tides with the biggest difference between high and low water are called springs and those with the smallest are called neaps. Spring tides happen just after every full and new moon, when the sun, moon, and earth are in line. Read more here.
57. Electrical adapter letters: AC/DC. Here's a 2:45 min YouTube explanation:
59. Goopy hair stuff: GEL.
60. Italian farewell: CIAO.
64. Early Peruvian: INCA.
65. "Doctor Who" actress Gillan: KAREN. I know this Scottish actress from Doctor Who, Jumanji, and Guardians of the Galaxy but I thought Gillan was her first name so I was trying to think of a last name. I felt pretty silly when perps gave me KAREN.
66. Commedia dell'__: ARTE. Britannica article
67. Inquires: ASKS. From Dictionary.com: While inquire means "to seek information in a formal way," enquire means "to ask in a general way." They can be used interchangeably. Also, they both originate from the same Latin word, meaning "to seek".
68. Backyard storage sites: SHEDS. My dog SHEDS in the backyard...and the front yard...and in the house...and in the car....
69. Take a breather: REST.
Down:
1. Track events: RACES. There is a possibility of misdirection if you thought "track" was being used as a verb. Instead, it is short for Track & Field.
2. "Training Day" actor Hawke: ETHAN. I think he also hawks furniture with his brother, Allen. (ba-dum-tsh)
3. James Cameron franchise featuring the Na'vi: AVATAR. This clue references the 2009 and 2022 films.
52. Leaves out: OMITS.
55. Goes out, as the tide: EBBS. The tides with the biggest difference between high and low water are called springs and those with the smallest are called neaps. Spring tides happen just after every full and new moon, when the sun, moon, and earth are in line. Read more here.
57. Electrical adapter letters: AC/DC. Here's a 2:45 min YouTube explanation:
In case you were wondering, some Christmas lights use AC and some use DC.
59. Goopy hair stuff: GEL.
60. Italian farewell: CIAO.
64. Early Peruvian: INCA.
65. "Doctor Who" actress Gillan: KAREN. I know this Scottish actress from Doctor Who, Jumanji, and Guardians of the Galaxy but I thought Gillan was her first name so I was trying to think of a last name. I felt pretty silly when perps gave me KAREN.
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| Karen Gillan as Amy Pond in Doctor Who -- not to be confused with Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully in The X-Files |
66. Commedia dell'__: ARTE. Britannica article
67. Inquires: ASKS. From Dictionary.com: While inquire means "to seek information in a formal way," enquire means "to ask in a general way." They can be used interchangeably. Also, they both originate from the same Latin word, meaning "to seek".
68. Backyard storage sites: SHEDS. My dog SHEDS in the backyard...and the front yard...and in the house...and in the car....
69. Take a breather: REST.
1. Track events: RACES. There is a possibility of misdirection if you thought "track" was being used as a verb. Instead, it is short for Track & Field.
Michael Johnson's running posture inspires me!
He was a world record holder in 2 events and a 4-time Olympic gold medalist.
2. "Training Day" actor Hawke: ETHAN. I think he also hawks furniture with his brother, Allen. (ba-dum-tsh)
3. James Cameron franchise featuring the Na'vi: AVATAR. This clue references the 2009 and 2022 films.
Last week Vidwan reminded us that AVATAR is borrowed from Sanskrit. Here are 17 more words that come from Sanskrit.
5. "How much am __?": auctioneer's question: I BID. This one did not feel right but it turns out that it is an expression used by an auctioneer when starting a bidding process for an object to be sold. It is more hoity-toity than this 1956 song by Leroy Van Dyke:
5. "How much am __?": auctioneer's question: I BID. This one did not feel right but it turns out that it is an expression used by an auctioneer when starting a bidding process for an object to be sold. It is more hoity-toity than this 1956 song by Leroy Van Dyke:
My Great-uncle A.V. was a livestock auctioneer. I used to love watching him work!
6. "Get Out" actor Kaluuya: DANIEL. his IMDb page
7. Discount clothing chain owned by Gap: OLD NAVY.
8. Brit's washroom: LOO. The LOO in the British OLD NAVY is called the head because it was at the front of the ship, which is the last place the wind hit. That way the odor did not carry across the ship.
9. Piglet's mother: SOW. Hand up for seeing the capital "P" and thinking of Winnie-the-Pooh's friends. Bzzt. This one is just a random baby pig's mother.
10. "__ Brockovich": ERIN. Julia Roberts won the Best Actress Oscar for her work in this 2000 thriller/documentary.
11. Bride: WIFE TO BE. Fun fill!
12. Outgrowth: OFFSHOOT. Def: anything conceived of as springing or proceeding from a main stock.
13. Lock opener: KEY.
22. Assn.: ORG. Association and ORGanization
24. Settles a debt: REPAYS. Think of "REPAY a favor" as opposed to paying money owed the first time.
26. Skedaddles: GITS. Both are slang for getting the heck out of there.
Git Along Little Dogies starring Gene Autry, The Singing Cowboy (1937)
I like how his horse, Champion, made it into the page 1 credits (@ 1 min.).
27. Make cherished: ENDEAR.
29. Loads from a lode: ORES.
and
31. Ultimatum words: OR ELSE.
32. Google or Yahoo: DOT-COM. a company that relies largely or exclusively on internet commerce
36. Curly hairstyle: AFRO.
37. Used vehicles, sometimes: TRADE-INS. used articles accepted by the retailer as payment for another item
38. Giving chill vibes: LAID BACK.
39. Doesn't play, say: SITS.
41. Kiss: SMOOCH. See 40-Across.
44. London's Old Vic, for one: THEATRE. British locale = British spelling
47. Hosp. areas: ERS. Emergency Rooms in hospitals
48. Made a long-lasting impression?: ETCHED.
31. Ultimatum words: OR ELSE.
32. Google or Yahoo: DOT-COM. a company that relies largely or exclusively on internet commerce
36. Curly hairstyle: AFRO.
37. Used vehicles, sometimes: TRADE-INS. used articles accepted by the retailer as payment for another item
38. Giving chill vibes: LAID BACK.
39. Doesn't play, say: SITS.
44. London's Old Vic, for one: THEATRE. British locale = British spelling
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| This 1,000-seat THEATRE's history goes back to 1818. A Christmas Carol is playing there now through January 6. |
47. Hosp. areas: ERS. Emergency Rooms in hospitals
48. Made a long-lasting impression?: ETCHED.
and
49. Shape: FIGURE. The sport of FIGURE skating got its name because skaters tried to ETCH perfect shapes (e.g., circles) in the ice. Compulsory figures used to account for 60% of a skater's score in competitions. The last Olympics to include compulsory figures in scoring was in 1988 (Calgary). Read all about the origins and evolution of figure skating here.
54. Wintry mix: SLEET.
56. Constricting snakes: BOAS. Who would prevail between a BOA constrictor and a giant ice spider?
58. Man caves, e.g.: DENS.
60. Chef-training sch. based in N.Y.: CIA. The Culinary Institute of America's primary campus is in Hyde Park, New York.
61. Approves: OKS.
62. Slangy "Pass": NAH. No, thank you.
63. Rower's blade: OAR.
Today's puzzle had an extra bite to it but I'd say Jay hit a home run with this one. What do you think?
49. Shape: FIGURE. The sport of FIGURE skating got its name because skaters tried to ETCH perfect shapes (e.g., circles) in the ice. Compulsory figures used to account for 60% of a skater's score in competitions. The last Olympics to include compulsory figures in scoring was in 1988 (Calgary). Read all about the origins and evolution of figure skating here.
Skating by Vince Guaraldi
53. Exams: TESTS.54. Wintry mix: SLEET.
56. Constricting snakes: BOAS. Who would prevail between a BOA constrictor and a giant ice spider?
58. Man caves, e.g.: DENS.
60. Chef-training sch. based in N.Y.: CIA. The Culinary Institute of America's primary campus is in Hyde Park, New York.
61. Approves: OKS.
62. Slangy "Pass": NAH. No, thank you.
63. Rower's blade: OAR.
The grid is in the basement:
Today's puzzle had an extra bite to it but I'd say Jay hit a home run with this one. What do you think?
