Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap of a puzzle constructed by veteran puzzle-setter Blake Slonecker. Today's theme is straightforward so let's jump right in with the unifier which has been conveniently placed in the middle of the grid:
39 Across: Camera setting, and what shortened 18-, 24-, 47-, and 58-Across?: F - STOP. At the four referenced places, Blake has dropped the F (not dropped the F bomb, just the letter F) in order to answer the clues, and provide us with a few chuckles here, here, here and here:
Enough, F, Stop!
18 Across: Pollinator who can't fly?: GROUND BEE. Where's the BEEF?
24 Across: Parents in the Hundred Acre Wood?: RAISES THE ROO. Parents is used as a verb in the clue. Kanga is a single mom. When ROO misbehaves Kanaga idiomatically RAISES THE ROOF.
Roo and Kanga
58 Across: Experimental soft cheese?: TRIAL BRIE. A TRIAL BRIEF is a legal document presented to the court. It is intended to provide the court with the presentation of facts, evidence and legal arguments. A TRIAL BRIE might provide an introduction for someone who has yet to develop a taste for soft cheeses.
Here is how this all looks in the grid:
...and here are the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
1. Tries out: DEMOS. Hand up for initially trying out TESTS.
6. Nosegay: POSY. As in "Ring Around The Rosie".
10. Pod whose cross sections are pentagonal: OKRA.
6. Nosegay: POSY. As in "Ring Around The Rosie".
10. Pod whose cross sections are pentagonal: OKRA.
14. Skip a syllable or two: ELIDE.
15. Until: UP TO.
16. "Stay" singer Lisa: LOEB. I searched for a Leopold and (Lisa) LOEB mash up but could not find one.
17. __ Cup: PGA Tour prize: FEDEX. A golfing reference. Both Professional Golfers' Association and FEDeral EXpress have been abbreviated. Although, those abbreviations are now used far more often than are the full names.
20. Middle of dinner?: ENS. We have seen this type of clue before. There are two N's in the middle of dinner. If Blake had needed DEES, here, would he have gone with "Middle of middle"?
21. Perfect: IDEAL.
23. "Island of the Blue Dolphins" novelist Scott: O'DELL.
27. Joie de vivre: ZEST. A French phrase (in English, Joy of Living) fully co-opted by English speakers.
28. Emo: ANGSTY. Slangy clue/answer combo.
32. Storage furniture: CHEST.
34. Prize money: PURSE. Commonly used this way in the world of professional boxing and in professional golf.
37. Sphere in old referee whistles: PEA. Before they developed synthetic orbs they used real PEAs.
38. A pop: EACH.
40. Otter kin: MINK. A relationship that is a bit of a crossword standard.
41. Durango day: DIA. Today's Spanish lesson.
42. Apt rhyme for "freeze": SEIZE. As in SEIZE-up.
43. Well-mannered blokes: GENTS. It is relatively easy to convince ladies not to eat Tide pods but it is more difficult to deter GENTS.
44. Goofs in proofs: ERRATA. What do you call a list of corrections read out in a suggestive fashion? ERRATA - CA.
46. Tromp: PLOD.
53. Bird in a bevy: QUAIL. A group of QUAIL is called a bevy.
56. Hot spots: OVENS. Not a WiFi reference.
57. Signal: CUE. Both can be employed as either verbs or nouns.
60. Glossy material: SATIN. Like most chairs?
62. 55-Down, properly: ISN'T. See also 55 Down. Duh, MM.
63. Like most whiskey: AGED. This 36-year-old whisky can be yours for about five or six thousand dollars. Let me know and I will send you a link if I can still (pun intended, See 42 Down) find it in my trash file).
64. Heart Eyes or OK Hand: EMOJI.
65. Fancy spread: PATE. To make chicken PATE one has to first de-liver the chicken.
66. Fool (with): MESS.
67. Wrap sheet: SARAN. The following, from the mid-60's, might be deemed NSFW:
Down:
1. Schedule for later: DEFER.
2. Two-time WNBA MVP __ Delle Donne: ELENA.
3. Many a sedan: MID-SIZE CAR.
4. Amit Majmudar's "__ to a Drone": ODE. I was not familiar with this work. I have now searched for it online, found it, read it a couple of times and .... well, make your own judgement:
5. People's superlative: SEXIEST. A reference to People Magazine. The honorific of SEXIEST Man Alive is awarded annually to a male but the magazine awards Most Beautiful Woman Alive in lieu of SEXIEST.
6. Sound of the Northwest: PUGET.
7. O icon: OPRAH. OPRAH Winfrey of, among many other things, O Magazine.
8. Took second, say: STOLE. A baseball reference.
9. Second person: YOU. Not an Adam and Eve reference. A grammar reference.
10. One whose trick-learning years are behind them: OLD DOG.
11. "The Mamba Mentality: How I Play" writer Bryant: KOBE.
12. Rod and __: REEL. A fishing reference.
13. Cain's brother: ABEL. A reference to The Book of Genesis.
19. Nary a soul: NO ONE.
Sir Paul McCartney
22. "Spring forward" letters: DST. Daylight Savings Time.
25. Quick meeting?: SESH. "Quick" as in a shortened version of SESSION.
26. Tough talk?: RASP.
29. Damage control pro: SPIN DOCTOR.
30. High-stakes shelter: TENT. I don't know about the High bit, but many TENTs certainly do employ stakes.
31. Shaggy beasts: YAKS. See also 33-Down.
32. Relinquish: CEDE.
33. 31-Down abundance: HAIR.
34. Pump letters: PSI. Pounds per Square Inch
35. Lays aisle-mate: UTZ. A snack food (pretzels, potato chips, etc.) reference.
36. Bass output: ROE. Not a bass guitar. Not Bass Ale. Not the Mayor of Los Angeles. Fish ROE.
39. "__ the Turtle": University of Maryland catchphrase: FEAR.
40. "I would like some more catnip, please": MEOW.
42. Bootlegger's vessel: STILL.
43. Visual aids: GLASSES. Not, e.g., pie charts, flashcards, flip charts, or the like. Aids to help us see.
45. Really take off: AVIATE. Really. No, really take off.
46. Blame (on): PIN. As in "Y0u won't PIN that murder on me!"
Eydie Gorme (and friends)
48. Canyon: GORGE.
49. Campus climbers: IVIES.
Tom Lehrer - "Bright College Days"
50. Focus of Maslow's hierarchy: NEEDS.
52. Red Square honoree: LENIN.
All Hail Marx and Lennon !
53. Sample collector, maybe: Q-TIP. For the DNA lab.
54. __ Major: URSA.
59. "Bang!": BAM. Onomatopoeia
61. Org. for OBs: AMA.
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Notes from C.C.:
Voting is now open until March 1 for the 12th ORCA Awards – the annual celebration of creativity in crosswords! Winners will be announced on March 6 during a livestream filled with games and prizes. Five long-time solvers will receive special awards. For
each day of their streak, solvers can receive a chance to win crossword
memorabilia inscribed to them and signed by Will Shortz. Need not be
present to win. Details and voting info can be found at Diary of a Crossword Fiend.
