Friday, November 29, 2024, Deanne Cliburn, Will Eisenberg

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists, Malodorous Manatee here with a Friday, post-Thursday-food-coma, puzzle co-authored by Deanne Cliburn and Will Eisenberg.  An online search reveals that Will has previously shared puzzles with us.  I am not sure about Deanne.  Her name does not "pop up" when entering labels so a hearty "Congratulations on your LAT debut, Deanne" may be in order.

Today, our collaborating constructors conjure up a theme where they start with common two-word combinations.  In each case, the second word begins with the letter S.  By removing the S from the second word and appending the S onto the end of the first word, they make that first word possessive and, thereby, manage to completely alter the original meaning in a humorous manner without in any way altering the letter sequence.

The gag is implemented at these five places in the grid:

19 Across:  Having to watch the hare win over and over, perhaps: Tortoise Shell morphs into TORTOISE'S HELL.

27 Across:  Cabbie who picks up crustaceans, perhaps:  Crab Shack morphs into CRAB 'S HACK.  HACK, of course, being slang for taxi driver.

35 Across:  Birdhouse opening, perhaps: Cardinal Sin morphs into CARDINAL'S IN.  As in the bird's way in.

43 Across:  Device needed to renovate a small pad, perhaps: Toad Stool morphs into TOAD'S TOOL.  Toads, of course, like to hang out on lily pads.

54 Across:  Legal proceeding in the grazing meadow, perhaps: Sheep Shearing morphs into SHEEP'S HEARING.  Or, a different type of hearing . . .

Here is the completed grid:

. . . and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Goal for some night sch. students: GED.  While you may hear other meanings for GED such as Graduate Equivalency Degree or General Educational Diploma, GED traditionally stands for General Educational Development Test. 

4. Class for a 1L: TORTS.  A law school reference.  A 1L is a first-year law school student.

9. Device with 1080p resolution, e.g.: HDTV.  High-Definition TeleVision

13. Actor Malek: RAMI.  He portrayed Freddie Mercury in the film Bohemian Rhapsody.

14. Star ingredient in Chinese five-spice powder?: ANISE.

Star ANISE

15. Irish cheddar?: EURO.  Cheddar, in this case, being slang for money.

16. Sunburn soother: ALOE.  A frequent soother.

17. Bushel fractions: PECKS.

18. "Call Her Daddy" podcast host Cooper: ALEX.  All you might wish to know:  Wiki - Call Her Daddy

22. Common mark on a beginner's crossword: ERASURE.  Not limited to beginners.

23. March VIP: ST. PAT.  VIP is abbreviated.

26. Timetable locale: DEPOT.

31. Unenviable grade: DEE.  Although better than an EFF.

33. Hubbub: ADO.

34. "Who am __ judge?": I TO.  Cute.  Without the punctuation marks, and the space, it reads Judge Ito.

39. Something to shoot for?: PAR.  A golf reference.

41. Believer's suffix: IST.  Does a Cruciverbalist believe in crossword puzzles?

42. Homey room: DEN.

47. Stage: PHASE.

51. Fake ID?: ALIAS.  I know a guy who know’s a guy. I had him make me a fake ID card with a different name.  My alias was Justin Case.

52. Did the dishes: CATERED.  Clever.  Not something to do with cleaning up.  Prepared the dishes (food).

58. Besmirch: SOIL.

60. Was circumspect about: GOT AT.  Not sure I agree with the way this one was clued. 

61. East, in El Salvador: ESTE.  A directional Spanish lesson.

62. Salon service, informally: MANI.  MANIcure.

63. "Here we go __": AGAIN.

64. Square one?: NERD.

65. Minor name in constellations?: URSA.  Hope this one wasn't too much of a bear.

66. Doctrine: DOGMA.  What did the Catholic say to the Hindu?  Your karma just ran over my dogma!

67. Carry-on inspectors: Abbr.: TSA.  Carry-on luggage

Down:

1. In spades: GALORE.

2. Genre with moody hip-hop elements: EMO RAP.  Never heard of it but not too difficult to perp.

3. Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, for one: DIET SODA.

4. Herbivore with a short proboscis: TAPIR.

5. "Hold your horses": ONE SEC.  Idiomatic clue.

6. Sushi component: RICE.  Rice is so basic and this solver thought of several other possibilities before the AHA moment.  Doh!

7. Shows judgment: TSKS.  Not as in sagacity.  As in being judgmental,

8. Casual get-together: SESH.  We've seen this for Session before.

9. __ food: HEALTH.  So many words could have filled the blank.  If they'd fit.  And perp'd.

10. Ache: DULL PAIN.

11. Three, in Rome: TRE.

12. News site that hosts the "Future Perfect" reporting project: VOX.  All that you might wish to know:  Vox

13. Placed on a scale: RATED.  Not as in weighed.

20. The "O" of North Carolina's OBX: OUTER.  The OUTER Banks.

21. First of September?: ESS.  One of those clues.  September starts with S.

24. Perform in a play: ACT.

25. Bout-ending decision: TKO.  A boxing reference,  Technical Knock Out.

28. Totaled: RAN TO.  Like this but past tense:

29. Law that led to many curb cuts, for short: ADA.

30. Fearless: BOLD.

32. Make shipshape, in a way: EDIT.  A bit of a mixed metaphor.   EDITing text puts it into shape.

35. Ocean Spray snack: CRAISINS.

36. Kin of equi-: ISO.

37. Commuter's way around Philly: SEPTA.

38. Bone-deep: INHERENT.

39. School support gp.: PTA.  Group is abbreviated.

40. MSN rival: AOL.  This solver still uses America OnLine for some emails.  My kids were right.

44. National flower of Mexico: DAHLIA.

45. GPS heading: SSE.  Sur Sureste

46. Hebrew toast: L'CHAIM.

48. Comes up: ARISES.

49. Compact Nissan: SENTRA.  An automotive reference.

1982 Datsun Sentra

50. Finished some landscaping: EDGED.

53. Insurer owned by CVS: AETNA.

55. "Crikey!": EGAD.  My sentiments, exactly.

56. __ stick: POGO.   So many words could have filled the blank.  If they fit.  And perp'd.

57. Partnerless: STAG.

58. The Mustangs of the ACC: SMU.

59. Paddle kin: OAR.  When rowing I often do not know which paddle to use.  I guess that it is a case of either OAR.

Wishing everyone a great holiday long weekend.  I will be off to the mountains for a while to recharge and will be taking a break from blogging over the next month.  Rest assured, however, that Friday commentary will be in extremely capable hands.

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