Punny Podcasts
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For those not familiar with the term, a podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Podcasters may create audio podcasts on MP3 files or videos on services like YouTube. They can be played immediately, or downloaded to files for playing later.
Today veteran constructor Dan Margolis treats us to 4 theme clues with podcasts pitched to different audiences and filled with punny answers ...
20. Podcast category for electricians?: CURRENT EVENTS.
This one is pretty shocking 😀 ...
FYI -- "earth" is Britspeak for "ground wire"
28. Podcast category for demolition experts?: BREAKING NEWS. These guys are really razing Cain! 😀 ...49. Podcast category for sanitation workers?: TALKING TRASH. We had this same fill a few weeks back, about talking trash among sports figures, but I couldn't find any videos that would get past Margaret Farrar's sniff test. This sanitation worker not only talks trash, but he's also a Good Samaritan 😇...
58. Podcast category for beekeepers?: THE LATEST BUZZ. This girl's wish creates quite a buzz among the beekeeper community (be sure to get out your hankies) ... 😂
Across:
1. Glasgow topper: TAM.
4. Milky white gem: OPAL.
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| Milky Opal |
13. Slightly: A BIT.
15. Nutmeg spice: MACE. Myristica fragrans is an evergreen tree indigenous to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia that is the main source of the spices nutmeg and mace. The seed of the tree is the source of nutmeg and its aril is the source of mace.
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| Mace surrounding Nutmeg seed |
16. Singer's asset: RANGE. A clever pastiche of scenes showing Maria Callas' vocal assets ...
17. Firth kin: LOCH. FIRTH seems to connote a connection to a larger body of water, but also one that could be connected to a LOCH ...
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| Synonyms for FIRTH |
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| Synonyms for LOCH |
19. Sandwiches for dessert: OREOS.
20. [Theme clue].
23. Bart Simpson, e.g.: TOON. The TOONISH Till Eulenspiegel of the town of Springfield ...
25. Early Beatles bassist Sutcliffe: STU. Stuart Sutcliffe: The life, work and tragic death of the Fifth Beatle. Here he sings the Elvis classic Love Me Tender ...
33. Funny duo?: ENS. First meta clue.
36. Knitting need: YARN.
37. "__ Meenie": Kingston/Bieber song: EENIE.
38. One of the Three Bears: MAMA.
40. Boating hazards: REEFS. How to safely navigate a boat near coral reefs.
43. Prefix meaning "height": ACRO. This prefix most often precedes the word ACROPHOBIA or fear of heights. Those suffering from this phobia would probably want to pass on the Skywalk at Grand Canyon National Park.
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| Grand Canyon Skywalk |
44. Do-__: second chances: OVERS.
46. Desktop light: LAMP.
48. Keebler mascot: ELF.
53. Shape of a right angle: ELL.
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| Right Triangle |
55. Fill to the gills: SATE.
58. [Theme clue].
64. Had home cooking: ATE IN. The best!
66. Water source: WELL. A very deep subject -- I'll spare you the details. 😀
67. "Would __ to you?": I LIE. A bigger question is whether Epimenides lied?
68. "It __ sunk in yet": HASN'T.
69. Convenience: EASE.
70. Cannery row?: TINS. Rows of TINS being loaded into an oyster canner in the Baltimore Museum of Industry ...
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| Oyster canner |
72. "The Hidden Staircase" sleuth Nancy: DREW. The Hidden Staircase is the second volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, published in 1930 and revised in 1959.
_front_cover,_printing_1939B-29.jpg) |
| 1939 edition |
73. Most preferred: PET. E.g. a PET project..
Down:
1. Mineral softer than gypsum: TALC. How we know that is a CSO to Chairman Moe ...
2. Concerning: ABOUT.
3. Prefix with biology or brewery: MICRO. This week I'll go with the brewery ...
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| Since you asked ... |
4. Harbinger: OMEN. Last week we went with Albert King, this week we'll go with Cream ...
5. Concord: PACT.
6. Blue-Emu target: ACHE. Funny how crosswordese tends to morph. Blue-EMU is used for treating a variety of conditions, including muscle pain, arthritis, and itchy feet. When PETA finds out about the key ingredient in this stuff they might try to shut it down ...
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| It is not without its risks ... |
7. Pope after John XI: LEO VII. Pope Leo VII (died 13 July 939) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 3 January 936 to his death. He wasn't a saint, so I'm not sure why he's wearing a halo in this image ...
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| Pope Leo VII |
8. Early metalworking period: IRON AGE. The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic (copper) and Bronze Ages. It is preceded by the Stone Age (subdivided into the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic) and the Bronze Age. Here is an informative 10 minute video that provides an illustrated overview of these periods ...
9. Links rental: CART.
10. Basically: IN ESSENCE.
11. I, to Claudius: EGO. Today's Latin lesson #1. I, Claudius is also a novel by Robert Graves, which has had several adaptations, most notably the 1975 BBC TV series starring Derek Jacobi, Siân Phillips, Brian Blessed, and John Hurt. I don't know what Margaret would have thought about it, but I'm rating this trailer PG ...
12. In medias __: RES. Today's Latin lesson #2, meaning "in the middle of things" and sometimes used as a literary technique for structuring narratives.
14. Beat: THROB.
21. Professor Higgins, to Eliza: 'ENRY.
Eliza
22. Directional ending: ERN.26. Show off a new dress, say: TWIRL.
27. Make __: employ: USE OF.
29. Singer's asset: EAR. A clecho to 16D -- Maria must have had a pretty good EAR to hit all of those notes with a perfect pitch. ♫♬🎝
30. "The Boys __ Back in Town": ARE. The Boys Are Back in Town is probably the most famous song by Thin Lizzy, an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Thin Lizzy initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon ...
31. Genuflected: KNELT. A gesture of respect used before royalty and in some Christian churches. IIRC Ray - O commented that when he attended the Catholic funeral of long time commenter Spitzboov he could tell that most of those in attendance were Protestants, because most didn't know when to kneel and when to stand. 😀
32. Grant-giving gp.: NEA. Here's how you can apply for one at the National Endowment for the Arts.
33. Project feelings onstage: EMOTE. Don't project too far or you might end up "chewing the scenery".
34. Part of USNA: NAVAL. Another CSO to Spitzboov -- he was an engineer who had retired from the Navy. He also knew a lot about Germanic languages.
35. Assessment of credibility: SMELL TEST. I usually hear SNIFF TEST, but YMMV.
39. Deluge refuge: ARK.
42. Like a wee bairn: SMA. Today's Irish lesson: "a small child" with SMA being a diminutive describing one.
45. Nerve ending?: SILENT E. Second meta clue.
47. Start of a conversation in class, maybe: PSST.
50. Nada: NIL.
51. Chewed like a beaver: GNAWED. Here are a couple of them in action ...
52. Regular tendency: HABIT.
56. Blooming bulb: TULIP. Here are some of the tulips in Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore. Approximately 50,000 bulbs are planted each year.
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| Tulips in bloom |
59. Help for the stumped: HINT. Sometimes Cornerites are forced to resort to them.
60. Rend: TEAR.
61. Ultimatum word: ELSE.
62. Boatload: SLEW.
63. Gusto: ZEST.
64. Org. whose champion wins the Calder Cup: AHL. The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars.
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| The Calder Cup |
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| Meditating on Yin and Yang |
Cheers,
Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
