Friday, September 6, 2024, Zachary David Levy

 

 

I R Malodorous Manatee and I R here with a recap of this Friday morning's puzzle from puzzle setter Zachary David Levy.   In the puzzle, at 58 Across, he asks the question that David Spade is snidely posing, above:

58 Across:  Rude greeting, or an apt title for this puzzle?: AND YOU ARE ?  In this case, though, we are required to take the phrase literally as in adding (and) U R.  Zachary takes standard items and adds U R to the beginning to create appropriate answers to the clues.  Something AND U R.

This is the third puzzle in a row that I have recapped where "letter play" is at the core of the themed-answers.  Fortunately for our still-recovering-previously-scratched-up heads today's letter play is not as enigmatic as it was a couple of weeks ago.  Today, this gimmick is employed at four places.  I R ready to point them out if U R ready to take a look:

17 Across:  Cash in Eurasia?: URAL GREEN.  Al Green the singer morphs into money in the URAL region along the border between Europe and Asia.  Green being slang for money.  The expression "long green" has been around since the late 1880s, but it isn't as popular as some more recent slang terms for money, like moola (or moolah), dough, or even scratch.

24 Across:  Greetings from the bear's den?: URSINE WAVES.  A SINE WAVE is a periodic wave whose waveform is the trigonometric sine function.   Got that?  Here, it simply morphs into something a bear might do.

35 Across:  Like an address bar?: URL SHAPED.  A computer-ese reference.  The address bar is at the top of an open browser web page.  This solver is not sure at all what URL SHAPED means (perhaps a wide, not very high space) but it was derived, in this case, from L-shaped.  Perhaps 39 Down (below) will inspire someone to open a neighborhood Address Bar

49 Across:  Tunes for some pathetic Dickens characters?: URCHIN MUSIC.   Here, CHIN morphs into URCHIN.  In baseball, CHIN MUSIC refers to a pitch thrown at a batters head.  I am pretty sure that no batter said "Please, sir I want some more" ala Oliver Twist.

Here, now, the filled-in grid:

... and, as is customary, the other clues/answers:

Across:

1. "Doctor Who" genre: SCI FI.  SCIence FIction.

6. Air quality monitoring org.: FCC.  A bit of misdirection.  The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency first came to mind) but the clue was refering to the airwaves (radio and television).

9. Wrap brand: SARAN.  Having used The Fugs recording in an earlier write-up, we'll go with this:

14. Capital city of Piedmont: TURIN.  Site of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

15. Sigma preceder: RHO.  I helps to have a working familiarity with the Greek alphabet if one is into solving crossword puzzles.

16. System of beliefs: CREDO.  "I believe".   Valerie has plates that read:

I Believe In Enternal Love

For The Orchiette With Turnip Greens For Example

19. Mars exploration vehicle: ROVER.  The more we learn about Mars the less strange, and therefore, in an odd way, the weirder, it becomes...at least to this observer.

20. Swede's neighbor: DANE.  A geographical proximtiy reference.

21. __ Lingus: AER.  A frequent crossword flier.

22. Many a dance track: REMIX.  I REMIXed a REMIX.  It's back to normal.

23. DOJ arm: FBI.

27. Pass: ELAPSE.  Not a football reference.  Not a mountain gap reference.  Not a pick-up line reference.  Not a school grade reference.  Not a dice game reference.

As Time Goes By

29. Not at all welcoming: ICY.

30. Friendly opening: ECO.  One of those types of clues.  ECOfriendly

31. "__ Meenie": 2010 pop single: EENIE.  Unknown to this solver.  I looked it up.  Justin Beiber recorded it.  I have heard of him but know very little about him or his music.

32. Storybook bear: PAPA.

34. Bone, in Italian: OSSO.  As in OSSO bucco.

38. Jul. 4 shindigs: BBQS.  Abbreviated clue . . .

41. From Los Angeles to San Bernardino: EAST.  Easy for this SoCal solver.  Likely not so easy for folks from other places.

42. Crew: POSSE.  Modern slang.  No U.S. Marshall in a TV western ever said "Round up a crew".

46. Driveway stuff: TAR.  What in TARnation!?

47. Kilmer of "Real Genius": VAL.  I would have referenced "Top Secret" (1984)

48. Concern for a software engineer: PIRACY.  A music or movie reference would have been easier to suss out.

53. Tavern owner who stocks Duff beer: MOE.  MOE Syzslak.  A "Simpsons" TV show reference.

54. Covers: COATS.

55. Allow: LET.

56. Shellacking: ROUT.  Slang for decisive victory/defeat.

57. When repeated, "et cetera": YADDA.

60. As good as it gets: IDEAL.

61. Not keep up: LAG.  A friend told me that for minimal LAG I should use an analogue connection instead of Bluetooth for my speaker system.  Sound advice.

62. Sonar sounds: PINGS.  As in The Hunt For Red October.

63. Where chickens come home to roost: NESTS.  A clue meant to be taken literally.

64. Bile: IRE.

65. Map feature: INSET.

Down:

1. Payment to a breeder: STUD FEE.  I suspect that the horse would work for free.

2. Having a decent prognosis: CURABLE.

3. Like many songs or movies in Farsi: IRANIAN.

4. Spicy herb seasoning in gumbo: FILE.  As in FILÉ gumbo.  

Hank Williams

5. End to end?: ING.  Another one of those types of clues.  EndING

6. Unshackles: FREES.

7. French endearment: CHERI.

8. Big gathering of fans, casually: CON.

9. Disconcertingly odd: SCREWY.

10. Fragrance: AROMA.

11. Brings back to life: REVIVES.

12. Campaign pros: AD EXECS.  As in ADvertising campaigns.

13. Negating word: NOR.

18. Not in circulation, perhaps: RARE.

22. Episode lead-in, sometimes: RECAP.  Of what previously happened.

24. Friendly opening: USER.   Another one of those types of clues.  USER friendly,  Sometimes we get ECO friendly.

25. Bite gently: NIP AT.

26. "Hamilton" Tony nominee Phillipa: SOO.

28. Name of 12 popes: PIUS.  History suggests that not all of them were completely so.

32. Mass reading: PSALM.  Something to be read during the service.

33. "Open wide" sounds: AHS.  As at the doctor's office.

34. Fragrance: ODOR.  I once met a wine waiter with a really bad body ODOR.  Sort of like a dead skunk only sommelier.

36. Shows bias: LEANS.

37. Out of this world: EPIC.  An idiomatic clue and an idiomatic answer.  Far out, man!

38. AC meas.: BTU.  Air Conditioning.  British Thermal Unit.

39. Spot for beer and video games: BARCADE.  New to this solver.  A portmanteau of BAR and ARCADE.

40. Scannable squares: QR CODES.

43. Some Pacific Islanders: SAMOANS.

44. Nemesis: SCOURGE.

45. Exam for pupils: EYE TEST.  Not pupils as in students.

47. Set taken by a doctor: VITALS.

48. Feel sorry for: PITY.

50. Charged: HAD AT.   Hand up for first thinking RAN AT.

51. Of an arm nerve: ULNAR.

52. Tufted marsh plant: SEDGE.

56. Destroy: RUIN.

57. Dark portion of a Chinese circle: YIN.

58. Arab name that means "high": ALI.

59. Brand celebrating Hello Kitty's 50th Mani-versary in 2024: OPI.  A nail polish reference.  Crosword puzzles sure are broadening.

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