Monday January 8, 2024 Paul Coulter

  

Theme:        The Progressive Write

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here on what would have been Elvis Presley's 89th birthday. Due to a twist brought about by today's theme, we instead have Elvis Costello & The Attractions with Everyday I Write the Book (1983).  

Constructor Paul Coulter submitted a textbook Monday grid. The first word of each of the four longest answers progresses from LINE to PAGE to CHAPTER to BOOK, as does the writing process. The gimmick is logical and cleanly presented. Paul earns extra points for the inclusion of nine multi-word fill answers (in addition to the four themers). 

16 Across. Activity at a country western bar: LINE DANCING.  

26 Across. Error message that results from clicking a broken link: PAGE NOT FOUND.  

Flashback from yesterday's puzzle, anyone? This one happens when your browser is asking a website to display something but the website cannot find the right page to display so it gives you an error message.  Example

47 Across. Fraternity building: CHAPTER HOUSE.  According to this Greek Life Glossary, this is a house on a college campus where members of the organization reside. Not all campuses have CHAPTER HOUSEs. Some have designated rooms given to each fraternity or sorority called Chapter Rooms, or a special residence hall where each group gets a floor.

If you were not sure of this one, sussing the theme provided an extra clue.  

62 Across. "Hawaii Five-O" catchphrase: BOOK 'EM DANNO.  This was a Steve McGarrett (played by Jack Lord) catchphrase in the original series (1968-1980), spoken to James MacArthur's character, Dan Williams. To the delight of viewers, the line was reprised in the 2010-2020 re-make.

And now for the rest of the story....
Across:
1. "SNL" alum McKinnon: KATE.  She is so funny! Here is KATE pretending to be an airport chauffer in The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) with Mila Kunis. 

5. Made off with: STOLE.  

As the mastermind of the largest known Ponzi scheme in history, Bernie Madoff made off with tens of billions of dollars of investors' money.

10. Set the dog (on): SIC. as in "sic 'em"

13. Wildly out of control: AMOK. Today AMOK is synonymous with "unruly" but its etymology reveals a murderous meaning.

14. Don, as boots: PULL ON.  The straps on the sides of cowboy boots are called mule ears and are used to PULL ON the boots. Some styles are more pronounced than others. You can see how they got their name. 

15. __-la-la: singer's syllables: TRA.

18. Crew team's blade: OAR.

19. __ foo yung: EGG.  

This 5-star recipe is very adaptable to whatever is on hand.
The foodie writes, "It is believed to have originally been created by Chinese chefs in America
as a way to use up leftovers, so it’s not strictly authentic though there are similar dishes in China."

20. Wrap up: END.  

21. Nervous system cells: NEURONS.  NEURONS in the news

23. Longtime Dodgers manager Tommy: LASORDA.  (1927-2021)

This is a great fit for an LA Times puzzle! He managed the LA Dodgers from 1976-1996, winning two World Series plus two more National League pennants.  National Baseball Hall of Fame page

25. Snow vehicle pulled by huskies: SLED.  

31. "Are you really making me do this?": MUST I.  

34. Director DuVernay: AVA.     crosses     28 Down. Reproductive cells: OVA.

35. Practice in the ring: SPAR.  boxing

36. Absorbed, as a cost: ATE.  To "eat the cost" is to agree to bear the cost of something, usually monetarily and often begrudgingly.

37. Skill on the verge of extinction: LOST ART.  Hand up for trying to think of a specific skill as opposed to a synonym. 

41. Greek T: TAU.

42. "Darn it all!": RATS.  

44. Wrestler Flair nicknamed the "Nature Boy": RIC.  

Ric, flaunting his flair

45. Beside: ALONG.

51. Snowblower brand: TORO.  In the summer, this word is clued as "Lawnmower brand".

52. New York's Waldorf __ hotel: ASTORIA.  

The original Waldorf Hotel was built at 33rd Street and Fifth Avenue in 1893 by William Waldorf Astor. Four years later, John Jacob Astor IV, William’s cousin and familial rival, built an even taller hotel next door in an act of one-upmanship. The cousins finally agreed to a truce and the two buildings were connected through a 300-foot marble corridor known as Peacock Alley. The Waldorf-Astoria was born.  more history

56. Shield from harm: PROTECT.

59. Simple top: TEE.

60. Early ISP: AOL.  Internet Service Provider and America Online

61. __ and reel: ROD.

65. Throw in: ADD.

66. Whole: ENTIRE.

67. End-of-the-week letters: TGIF.  not the Monday end

68. "You got it": YES.  Also, a rock band from London that released this song in 1971.  

I've Seen All Good People:  Your Move

69. Wails with grief: KEENS.  Learning moment. KEENS is the 3rd person present form of the verb keen, as defined in the clue. Example:  She KEENS over her lover's lifeless body.

In a similar vein, KEENS are Irish funeral songs accompanied by wailing.

70. Ham or lamb: MEAT.

Down:
1. Superman's birth name: KALEL.  

Five for Fighting. Superman (It's Not Easy) (2001) 

2. Latina friend: AMIGA.  Latina is feminine so we did not have to wait for perps to see if it was amigo or amiga.

3. Kitchen picker-uppers: TONGS.

4. __ out a living: just get by: EKE.

5. Dairy Queen order: SUNDAE.  

My friend calls these "Texas stop signs".

6. Special attention, for short: TLC.

7. Lena of "Chocolat": OLIN.

8. Symbol on the Texas flag: LONE STAR.  Speaking of Texas...

9. Overwhelm: ENGULF.  Are there any other David Sedaris fans on The Corner?

When You are Engulfed in Flames (2008)

10. Didn't back down from: STOOD UP TO.  

I Won't Back Down was the lead single on Tom Petty's first solo album, Moon Fever.

Look for George Harrison and Jeff Lynne (co-founder of XWD favorite ELO) on guitar.

That's Ringo Starr in the video but he was not the drummer for the recording.

11. Shiraz's country: IRAN.  Along with being a city in IRAN, Shiraz is a red wine historically produced in that area. I think it is the same grape as an Australian Syrah. Perhaps C-Moe, our wine guy on The Corner, can elaborate.

12. Autos: CARS.     and     22 Down. Early 20th century autos: REOS.  

14. Ivory soap company, informally: P AND G.  Procter AND Gamble  

17. Upset, as a plan: DERAIL.

24. Decide to leave, with "out": OPT.

27. Slangy "Of course!": NATCH.  NATCH-urally

29. Bread baked in a tandoor: NAAN.  This man makes NAAN every Tuesday at my local Farmer's Market. He told me that the dough sticks to the sides of the oven because it (the dough) is a little bit wet.

30. Medication: DRUG.

31. Painter Chagall: MARC.  (1887 Belarus - 1985 France)

In this self-portrait (1912-1913), he has seven fingers on his left hand,
possibly because he was born 7/7/1887.

32. Provo's state: UTAH.

33. Caused a disagreement between, say: SET AT ODDS.

38. Cookie-flavored ice cream holder: OREO CONE.  

Will wonders never cease?

39. Round Table title: SIR.

40. Had a bite of: TASTED.

43. "You missed a __": SPOT.  So annoying!

46. Zodiac sign before Virgo: LEO.  also the only 3-letter sign

48. Alex whose job was in "Jeopardy!" for many years: TREBEK.  

After hosting 11 previous game shows, he started his Jeopardy! gig on September 10, 1984.
I am not sure but I think this pic is from that first show.

49. Horse operas: OATERS.  a.k.a. westerns

50. "I'm at your disposal": USE ME.

53. Driving __: golfer's practice site: RANGE.  

Free Range Golfers

54. Ancient Aegean region: IONIA.  I worked this one out by remembering the three types of Greek columns:  Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian then later looked it up. IONIA was a territory in western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Twelve cities formed the Ionian League but it was not a political nor a military alliance. One of those cities was Miletus, as in the Greek philosopher, Thales of Miletus (624 BC - 527 BC).

55. High up: ALOFT.

56. Seek divine guidance: PRAY.

57. Went in a biker's sidecar, say: RODE.  This clip is from the Marx Brothers:

58. Handy bag: TOTE.  

NPR knows we like them!

63. Extended family: KIN.

64. Spot for fast cash: ATM.  

The epilogue:

That's all for today. I look forward to reading your comments!