Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. Today's theme is:
Editor and constructor Patti Varol treats us to one of her own creations. I am always impressed with Patti's gridwork and today is no exception. She gives us five themed clues, three of which are grid-spanners.
17 Across. Dr. Seuss work featuring an elephant who declares, "A person's a person no matter how small": HORTON HEARS A WHO.
23 Across. Skeptical reply to an assertion: BASED ON WHAT?.
39 Across. Very remote place: MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
50 Across. "Should I stop pouring?": JUST SAY WHEN.
61 Across. "My motives have to remain a secret": I CAN'T TELL YOU WHY.
WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and WHY are sometimes called the Five Ws of report writing. Patti has identified their placement at the ends of in-the-language phrases. The first one is my favorite because the character meaning of WHO is furthest from its interrogative pronoun usage.
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| It helped that Horton is the only elephant I know of in the Dr. Seuss universe. |
When a 15X15 grid is divided up by five, long, themed answers, it will inevitably have some less-than-first-choice fill that is difficult to get around. Patti dealt with that by using familiar clueing in just the right places to help keep things at a Monday level. Well done!
Why not take a closer look?
Across:
1. The "O" of EGOT: OSCAR. "EGOT" is an acronym for the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards.
1. The "O" of EGOT: OSCAR. "EGOT" is an acronym for the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards.
Also...OSCAR is the name of the cat introduced in Season 4 of All Creatures Great and Small. I know we have some fans here on The Corner (including me!) I hope they will enjoy this 1:25 min. video.
6. Pulitzer winner Jennifer: EGAN. Here is Jennifer, receiving her prize in 2011 for her novel, A Visit From The Goon Squad. more about this award
10. Some primates: APES.
14. Frighten: SCARE. The movie Planet of the 10As SCAREs me!
15. Mouse catcher: TRAP.
16. See 4-Down: DECO. and 4 Down. With 16-Across, style of L.A.'s Griffith Observatory: ART.
20. IM pioneer: AOL. Instant Messaging and America Online
21. Single: ONE.
22. Maker of EcoTank Supertank printers: EPSON. "Printer" narrowed down my guesses.
28. "That ship __ sailed": HAS. Use this idiom when you want to say that it is now too late to do something, an opportunity has been lost.
6. Pulitzer winner Jennifer: EGAN. Here is Jennifer, receiving her prize in 2011 for her novel, A Visit From The Goon Squad. more about this award
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| I have not read any of her books but I knew her name from my volunteer work at my local library. |
10. Some primates: APES.
14. Frighten: SCARE. The movie Planet of the 10As SCAREs me!
15. Mouse catcher: TRAP.
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| Remember this game? |
16. See 4-Down: DECO. and 4 Down. With 16-Across, style of L.A.'s Griffith Observatory: ART.
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| more on art deco |
20. IM pioneer: AOL. Instant Messaging and America Online
21. Single: ONE.
22. Maker of EcoTank Supertank printers: EPSON. "Printer" narrowed down my guesses.
28. "That ship __ sailed": HAS. Use this idiom when you want to say that it is now too late to do something, an opportunity has been lost.
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| I know I've used this one before, but it's so funny! |
29. Harrison Ford's "Star Wars" role: HAN SOLO. He appeared in six Star Wars movies. wookieepedia
Confession: For too long, I though his name was Hanz Olo.
33. More slippery, as a winter sidewalk: ICIER.
36. Spring shape: COIL.
38. Pea holder: POD.
43. Chowed down: ATE.
44. Fashion's Spade: KATE. This is her website. She is mostly know for handbags, shoes, and jewelry.
45. Tries to avoid being seen: HIDES.
46. Tampers (with): MEDDLES.
49. Ryan of rom-coms: MEG.
55. Dads: PAPAS.
33. More slippery, as a winter sidewalk: ICIER.
36. Spring shape: COIL.
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| It's a slinky on a treadmill! |
43. Chowed down: ATE.
44. Fashion's Spade: KATE. This is her website. She is mostly know for handbags, shoes, and jewelry.
45. Tries to avoid being seen: HIDES.
46. Tampers (with): MEDDLES.
49. Ryan of rom-coms: MEG.
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| a gimme for us rom-com fans |
58. Stately tree: ELM.
59. "Blue Bloods" actor Cariou: LEN. I have never watched this show so the crossing with 53 Down was a WAG for me.
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| Len Cariou was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on Sept. 30, 1939. |
66. Math course with many functions, for short: TRIG. In TRIGonometry, students explore the ratios between sides of right triangles -- sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, secant, and cosecant.
67. Word after "all the" or "just the": SAME. Nice clue!
68. Geek Squad clients: USERS. Think "computers".
69. Long sandwich: HERO. The longest sandwich was close to a half a mile long (735 meters) and was built in Beirut, Lebanon in 2011.
Have I mentioned I love sandwiches?
70. Say the rosary, e.g.: PRAY.
70. Say the rosary, e.g.: PRAY.
Bon Jovi released Livin' On A Prayer in 1986.
Jon met his DW when they were in high school.
71. Magazine edition: ISSUE.
What about the Down clues?
Down:
1. Federal org. that approves protective gear: OSHA.
2. Shaggy's pal, informally: SCOOB.
3. Celebrity chef Hall: CARLA. I know Carla from Top Chef. She was also on The Chew from 2011 to 2018. Here she is:
5. __ Speedwagon: REO. Time for another big hair music break!
REO Speedwagon released Keep On Loving You in 1980.
(They still had telephones with cords shaped like a 36-A in 1980.)
6. Prefix with "musicology": ETHNO-. Ethnomusicology is the study of music in its social and cultural contexts. more
7. Color of a correctly placed letter in Wordle: GREEN. What a welcomed clue for all the Wordlists on The Corner!
8. Small battery size: AAA.
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| What happened to B? What happened to A? Why do more As make it smaller? |
9. "Weekend Edition" airer: NPR.
10. Learns to fit in: ADAPTS.
11. Church seats: PEWS.
12. Sound that bounces back: ECHO.
13. In a few minutes: SOON.
18. Dozes (off): NODS.
19. Actor Astin: SEAN. He played Mikey in The Goonies and Sam in The Lord of the Rings. IMDb link
24. Leave fur on the sofa, maybe: SHED. 
25. __ Grey tea: EARL. DH drinks this. I prefer the herbals.
26. Kvetch: WHINE. The Yiddish word kvetshn (literally, to squeeze or pinch) comes from Middle High German. When used as a verb, kvetch means to complain habitually. As a noun, it is a habitual complainer.
27. Saintly glow: HALO. HALO lesson
30. Opinion column: OP-ED.
31. Traditional tales: LORE. Folklore and fairy tales can be found in the 398 section of the Dewey decimal system.
32. Poetic tributes: ODES.
33. Muslim leader: IMAM.
34. Give credit to: CITE.
35. Carded, briefly: ID-ED.
36. Sail (through): COAST. To coast is to move easily without using power. I think of COASTing down a hill on my bicycle.
25. __ Grey tea: EARL. DH drinks this. I prefer the herbals.
26. Kvetch: WHINE. The Yiddish word kvetshn (literally, to squeeze or pinch) comes from Middle High German. When used as a verb, kvetch means to complain habitually. As a noun, it is a habitual complainer.
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| waseeley, are you and Teri still watching Northern Exposure (1990-1995)? I am almost finished with Season 4. Joel immediately came to mind. |
27. Saintly glow: HALO. HALO lesson
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| Benozzo Gozzoli's Angels in Adoration (detail) (1459-1460) Gozzoli used HALOs as a sort of speech bubble. |
31. Traditional tales: LORE. Folklore and fairy tales can be found in the 398 section of the Dewey decimal system.
32. Poetic tributes: ODES.
33. Muslim leader: IMAM.
34. Give credit to: CITE.
35. Carded, briefly: ID-ED.
36. Sail (through): COAST. To coast is to move easily without using power. I think of COASTing down a hill on my bicycle.
The Coasters released Poison Ivy in 1959.
Talk about double entendre!
(Added note: Imagine my surprise when I read Husker Gary's blog last Saturday and saw that he had quoted this song!)
37. Many times o'er: OFT. The first known use of OFT was before the 12th century. "Often" became commonly used in the 16th century.
40. Barely gets (by): EKES.
41. "Glad that's over!": WHEW. A CSO to this month's graduates.
42. __ and mighty: HIGH.
47. "__ Unchained": Tarantino film: DJANGO. The D is silent. IMDb link
48. Unbridled desire: LUST.
49. "Good gravy!": MY MY.
40. Barely gets (by): EKES.
41. "Glad that's over!": WHEW. A CSO to this month's graduates.
42. __ and mighty: HIGH.
47. "__ Unchained": Tarantino film: DJANGO. The D is silent. IMDb link
48. Unbridled desire: LUST.
49. "Good gravy!": MY MY.
The Simpsons (11 seconds)
"It's just brown and water."
51. Alabama home of the National Voting Rights Museum: SELMA. It is part of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail.
52. Bowling venue: ALLEY. Bowling lanes on a Monday bring up fond memories.
53. Cary of "The Princess Bride": ELWES. You might be hoping I will insert a 3:14 min. scene from The Princess Bride with Westly (Cary Elwes) and Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright). "As yooouuu wiiiiiiishhhhh...."
54. Jawaharlal who was the longest-serving prime minister of India: NEHRU. (1889-1964) He was also the first prime minister of an independent India (1947-1964). Some might better know him as Indira Gandhi's father or as the wearer of an eponymous jacket.
55. White part of an orange: PITH.
57. Au __: nanny: PAIR.
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| "Mom and dad have to migrate now, so we're leaving you with the au pair". |
60. Wall St. index: NYSE. "Street" is abbreviated, so is New York Stock Exchange.
62. Cook's meas.: TSP. "Measurement" is abbreviated, so is TeaSPoon.
63. Corn shucker's unit: EAR.
65. Letters on the starship Enterprise: USS. This is a Star Trek reference. Depending on whom you ask, USS has alternately stood for "United Space Ship", "United States Ship", and "United Star Ship". It also carries the letters NCC. Perhaps that foiled true fans?
Also, back on Earth, the USS Enterprise is a decommissioned aircraft carrier. In this case, USS definitely means United States Ship. In 1958 she was the world's first nuclear powered aircraft carrier. She currently sits at a pier in Newport News, VA. 
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