Puzzling thoughts:
This is better ... back to wordplay in a Friday puzzle. And today's puzzle did not just commit wordplay in the entries; it did so, too, by its reveal: 59-across. Book supplements, and an apt title for this puzzle: ADD END UMS
Ok, if you want to nitpick, the plural for ADDENDUM is ADDENDA (which I suppose could be another puzzle theme in a few years), but a couple of googled dictionary sources say it's OK to use ADDENDUMS. Maybe Yellowrocks or Misty will chirp in and give us their expert opinion? But I digress ...
Today's puzzle is a collaboration between Gary Larson and Amy Ensz. The two of them have collaborated on puzzles here (mostly on Sunday) as well as the Wall Street Journal. In an interview, Gary refers to his wife as "Amy". I wonder if her last name happens to be Ensz??
Anyway, the puzzle has four entries and a reveal; 55 characters in all. That is a lot of theme characters for a 15x15 grid (minimum number of theme characters is usually 40)... which leads to a plethora of 3-letter entries (I think I counted 19), as well as 4-letter and 5-letter ones. I am no speed demon, but today's puzzle was completed in record-Friday-time (less than 9 minutes). Once I "got" the gist of the puzzle (adding an "UM" to the end of the entries) it solved quite quickly. But that did NOT diminish the enjoyment I had figuring it out. Here are the entries:
16-across. Class reunion attendee who's in no one's yearbook?: WEIRD ALUM.
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| Weird Al |
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| Weird Alum (also Weird Al) |
25-across. Proper etiquette at the plate?: HOME DECORUM.
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| Home Decor |
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| Home Decorum |
37-across. Impulse behind the gift-giving in "The Twelve Days of Christmas"?: PRESENT MOMENTUM.
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| Present Moment |
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| Present Momentum |
47-across. Discussion panel about sheets, duvets, blankets, etc.?: COVERS FORUM.
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| Covers For | |
click on this to expose: COVERS FORUM
Sometimes pictures are worth a thousand words ... let's see how the rest of the words got THEIR moment(um):
Across:
1. Framing piece: JAMB. How about a Moe-l'ick right off the bat??
Welch's factory worker named Sam
Was found stealing. He went on the lam;
Tried escaping through door
Of the Company Store.
Don't you know he got stuck in the JAMB?
5. Swiatek who won her fourth major singles championship in 2023: IGA. Pretty sure that she does her food shopping at the "Hometown Proud" store in her area
8. Carding pre-entry: I.D.'ING. A bouncer's duty, perhaps, at a popular nightclub?
13. Vineyard measure: ACRE. The vineyards abroad generally use the term "hectare" to refer to this: "A hectare is a unit of measurement used by farmers to describe an area that is 10,000 m². Another way of looking at it is 1 hectare is equal to around 2.47 acres. As grapes for wine making are grown by farmers, the standard farm practice of measuring in hectares still stands" [Google search]
14. Russian dynast: TSAR. TSAR vs CZAR: Always remember TSAR is the head of a Russian dynast-TEE, CEE?
15. West Coast NFLer: NINER. They have a big NFL Divisional Round playoff game tomorrow vs the Packers
18. Dried poblano: ANCHO. CSO to Lucina, perhaps? I bet she knows a thing or two about peppers!
19. Off the street, in a way: GARAGED. Our subdivision has homes all with two-car garages, and allows for on-street parking on just one side to allow for emergency vehicles, et al, to pass freely
21. Irish capital: EURO. Since DUBLIN didn't fit, I knew that the "capital" meant their currency. Northern Ireland uses the British Pound, I believe
22. Touch: TAP.
27. Many of the Marshall Islands: ATOLLS. Another Moe-l'ick:
A PIRATE liked to wander afar,
On a boat, or by plane, or by car.
His next year's travel goal,
Is to see an ATOLL
Called Raroia; Its Airport Code? RRR!
29. Order member: NUN. Moe-ku:
Sister at convent
Was brash. Superior said,
"We'll have NUN of that!!"
30. Seldom seen: RARE. Also, the way that Chairman Moe likes having his steaks cooked (beef or tuna)
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| Perfect sear |
31. IRS action: AUDIT. Has anyone here been AUDITed by the IRS?? Want to talk about it??
34. Place for a mineral scrub: SPA. Believe it or not, the Chairman had a mineral scrub (Dead Sea salt) when he visited Israel 15+ years ago ...
41. "__-boom-bah!": SIS. I rather doubt that modern-day cheerleading squads utter this
42. "The __ in Me": Britney Spears memoir: WOMAN.
43. Senior advocacy group: AARP. AARP counts seniors as those over the age of 50; I never referred to myself as a senior until I was eligible for Medicare
44. Bank of China Tower architect: PEI. CanadianEh!, can you confirm that he once lived on Prince Edward Island??
45. Hot Wheels maker: MATTEL.
53. Go out with: SEE.
54. Again: ANEW.
55. Sang high notes?: YODELED. Old commercial for Swiss Miss:
57. Shopping aids: LISTS. Our shopping LISTS have one of two titles on them (depending on who's shopping): naughty or nice
63. Looks down?: MOPES.
64. Pharmacy orders, informally: MEDS.
65. Far offshore: ASEA.
66. Catch in a trap: SNARE.
67. Hindu title of respect: SRI.
68. Business review app: YELP.
Down:
1. Giant part of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton: JAW. Took me a couple of tries to get this; I knew it wasn't an ARM
2. Big heart?: ACE. Fun clue
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| We only play with Jumbo Index cards!! |
3. Sports doc's order: MRI.
4. Part of an icy breakup: BERG. Another fun clue; iceBERG
5. Quran faith: ISLAM.
6. Speedometer, e.g.: GAUGE.
7. Set, as an alarm: ARMED. Moe-ku:
My first alarm clock
Was shaped like an octopus
ARMED and dangerous
8. Cookbook writer Garten: INA.
9. Make a meal of: DINE ON.
10. Run up, as debts: INCUR.
11. Jacket style named for an Indian leader: NEHRU. This brings back memories
12. Best man's best friend, often: GROOM. Another fun clue
14. Need for poi: TAROS.
17. Arlene of classic cinema: DAHL. Or, Willy Wonka creator Roald
20. Sturdy material: DENIM. This clue threw me off for a few moments
22. Infield protectors: TARPS. Abbr. for TARPaulin
23. Centipede platform: ATARI. Centipede is an old arcade game
24. Sponge features: PORES.
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| Sponge, au naturel |
26. Adorable: CUTE. This little guy, maybe?
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| Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen (PBGV) |
28. Guitar legend Paul: LES.
31. 24/7 money source: ATM.
32. Thurman of "The Producers": UMA.
33. __ Quixote: DON.
34. Sports figures: STATS.
35. Blender setting: PUREE.
36. Copious: AMPLE.
38. Washbasin jug: EWER. Moe-ku:
Famous artist was
Asked to paint still-life. He said,
"EWER kidding, right?"
39. Loud: NOISY.
40. NL East player: NAT. Washington NATional
44. Tin alloy: PEWTER. PEWTER is an alloy composed primarily of tin with varying quantities of hardening agents such as antimony, bismuth, copper and lead
45. Grand Canyon rentals: MULES. Not now; overnight lows are in the teens and high temp's are barely above freezing
46. Hymn finale: AMEN. This is a beautiful rendition of Gloria Patri
47. Settles: CALMS.
48. Gibson garnish: ONION. A martini usually is garnished with an OLIVE or LEMON peel; a Gibson is garnished with a pickled ONION
49. Italian scooter: VESPA. Moe-ku:
Italian priest rode
A scooter to evening Mass
VESPA, for vespers
50. Bubbles up: FOAMS.
51. More eccentric: ODDER.
52. __-wip: dessert topping: REDDI. Anyone ever do this with a can?
56. June 6, 1944: D-DAY. My dad enlisted on D-Day; he had his 18th birthday just a few days before
58. London-to-Paris dir.: SSE. Directions, anyone??
60. "__ your head!": USE. What I usually say to myself when trying to figure out the puzzle themes
61. Airport code for Australia's second largest city: MEL. Airport code for MELbourne
62. Plant juice: SAP.
Here's the grid: Thanks to sumdaze for showing me how to caption my pics!! 😘
