Theme: So you like solving crossword puzzles, Eh?
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A CSO to our own, CanadianEh! |
Puzzling thoughts:
Today's constructor, Zachary David Levy, selected a few common phrases and adds a phonetic "long a" syllable to them. By doing so he creates some interesting play-on-words that also use a couple of homophones
P-O-Ws have become a common "theme" of Friday puzzles. Some are better than others, and after my "intro" you'll see how this one from ZDL grades. We'll see if he brought his "A" game ...
Which segues right to the reveal (found at 37-across, in the center of the grid): Peak performance, and an apt title for this puzzle: A GAME.
The themers:
17-across. Therapist's questionnaire?: SELF SURVEY. This one plays off of the more familiar term "SELF-SERVE" which refers to that which you can help yourself without any assistance. (see image below) In this example, the word "survey" combines the phonetic "serve" with "ey" (which sounds like a "long a"), and completes the idea
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| I'm sure a lot of salad bars were not in use during COVID |
30-across. Paper model of a wrinkly dog?: CARD SHAR-PEI. This entry was a bit more literal than the first as it uses the word "Shar-pei", a wrinkly dog (see image below), without any phonetic or homo-phonic spelling. The term card sharp is the lesser-used term for "card shark", but as you'll see when you open the hyperlink is the original one
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| This Shar-pei is actually playing cards! |
46-across. Empty cup at Starbucks?: VACANT LATTE. I was torn on this one as one of the cup sizes used at Starbucks is called a Grande.
And that word, too has a "long a" sound at its end. But Grande is
six-letters in length and Zachary only needed five. The term "vacant lot" is the p-o-w connector here. I'd show an image of one but it would be "empty", no? 😉
64-across. Celebration that involves rowdy games of Twister, facetiously?: BODY PAR-TAY. This entry resembles CARD SHAR-PEI as it uses the word par-tay literally. The phrase "body part" connects with the game of Twister as you'll see in the image below:
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Here is one that I came up with. Perhaps Zachary did, too, and it ended up on the cutting room floor: |
The Grid - just one mistake today for C-Moe |
Across:
1. Spielberg thriller based on a Benchley novel: JAWS. "We're gonna need a bigger boat"
5. Large reference: ATLAS. Have fun clicking on the ATLAS
10. Pal: CHUM. Another way of cluing this would be to refer chum as a way to attract "Jaws".
14. Snack sometimes referred to as a sandwich: OREO. How do YOU eat an Oreo? I separate the two cookies and scrape the filling off with my teeth
15. Bounded: LEAPT.
16. Mata __: HARI.
19. Homemade website?: ETSY.
20. Peaceful greetings: SALAAMS. Moe-ku #1:
21. Wide body: SEA. Where "Jaws" lives
23. Father's hermana: TIA. Spanglish? Shouldn't this clue be "Padre's hermana"?
24. Sultanate on Borneo: BRUNEI. Is this pronounced Broon AY or Broon Eye?
26. Keeping in the loop: CCING. This is also how we keep our blog-mistress, Zhoquin Burnikel "in the loop" - Moe-ku #2:
28. Loan fig.: APR. This kind of fitting, in a way. Some of us may need a loan in Apr. when it's tax time. The IRS offers these with a low Annual Percentage Rate for taxpayers who can't pony up the full amount owed
33. Smelling a rat, so to speak: LEERY. Moe-ku #3:
35. Nursery refrain: E-I-E-I-O. Old MacDonald's line
36. Slowly go dark: FADE.
39. Members of Gil Grissom's team, briefly: CSIS. Short for Crime Scene Investigators. I'm not a big fan of this entry; the clue was difficult enough for those who did not know that Gil Grissom was the night shift supervisor on the CBS hit series, CSI ... it also pluralizes an abbreviation
43. Bygone airline whose first flight was from Key West to Havana: PAN AM. Read all about it here
45. Whisky name: DEWAR. CSO to Irish Miss who likes her Dewar's on the rocks 🥃
51. Moody genre: EMO. Moe-ku #4:
52. Daisy variety: OX-EYE. Also known as, Leucanthemum vulgare
53. "The Secret of Monkey Island" figure: PIRATE. This answer would have come to me if I knew what "The Secret of Monkey Island" is. Apparently it's a video game ... not a clue for us "Boomers"
55. Tinkering inits.: DIY. Good Friday clue
56. Captured: WON. As in the game of chess; I captured the King and I won
59. Helped a cause, say: DONATED. I usually look at organizations that use at least 90% of the monies donated (to the actual cause or cure) before I do so
62. Caffeine-rich nut: KOLA. I prefer the caffeine-rich berry, also known as coffee
66. Old Testament book: AMOS. RUTH also fits
67. Trial site: VENUE. Never heard a courtroom called a "venue", but whatever
68. Chapeau spot: TETE. Today's Frawnch clue/entry. We already had Spanglish
69. 403(b) IDs: SSNS.
70. Is really good, songwise: SLAPS. Had to go to Urban Dictionary to find this
71. Cheek: SASS.
Down:
1. __ stick: incense: JOSS. Joss stick or incense stick is a substance burned for fragrant scent
2. Floor plan measure: AREA.
3. Brought up with excellent manners, say: WELL BRED. Moe-ku #5:
4. To this point: SO FAR. AS YET also fits
5. Figure at a reunion dinner: ALUMNA. You'll notice her wearing a dress, skirt, or pants suit, perhaps
6. More succinct: TERSER. Not an attribute of C-Moe's blog, usually, as they often contain run-on sentences, hyperlinks, YouTube videos, random images, cartoons, and Moe-ku's
7. Head, to a Brit: LAV. LOO also fits
8. Big lugs: APES. Moe-ku #6:
9. Lid affliction: STYE.
10. "Evita" narrator: CHE.
11. Genteel gesture: HAT TIP. Moe-ku #7:
12. Bearish: URSINE. This almost became a Major problem for me, but ended up being quite Minor
13. "The Karate Kid" mentor: MIYAGI. I literally forgot the name. Was it Miyaga? Miyago? Miyagu? Perps to the rescue
18. Showing a bit of cheek: SAUCY. I once showed a bit of cheek at a nude beach. I wasn't called "saucy"; it was almost, Gross
22. Palm berry: ACAI. I wonder if the Palm BlackBerry phone ever considered calling itself an acai?
25. Aid for brainstorming: IDEA MAP. Moe's informational video
27. "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" singer: CROCE. A Barbershop Quartet cover:
28. ET from the planet Melmac: ALF.
29. Pod filler: PEA.
31. City-building game franchise: SIM.
32. Bit of a giggle: HEE. I tried "TEE" first, to no delight of this solver
34. Fulfill a debt: REPAY.
37. Little pest: ANT.
38. 128 oz.: GAL.
40. Southern pitcherful: SWEET TEA. I could've sworn I had this entry once before, recently. As I said then, and will say now, I am not a big fan
41. "Can confirm": I AM. "Sam" confirms this, often
42. "Sold out" sign: SRO. Standing Room, Only
44. Once again: ANEW.
45. Carter of country: DEANA. She could've gotten a wax, instead ... shaving her legs is never mentioned, interestingly
46. Bar shelf assortment: VODKAS. Among all of the alcoholic beverages, vodkas are my least favorite, though they are OK in a Bloody Mary
47. Old saws: AXIOMS. Moe-ku #8:
48. Sri Lanka, once: CEYLON. Here is a little bit of its history
49. Get ready for guests, perhaps: TIDY UP. Where I grew up we called it "Ret(ting) up"
50. Familiar devices: TROPES. The dictionary definition
54. Bakery treats: TARTS. ROLLS fit, but they aren't what I would call a "treat"
57. "Well, duh!" shorthand: OBVS. Another dictionary definition
58. Holiday time: NOEL. Just passed. Hope everyone had a joyous Noel
60. Grub: EATS. I'm glad that the ride-share company didn't call this service, "Uber Grubs"
61. Highlights, e.g.: DYES. As in adding highlights to ones coif
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| Achieved with a hair DYE |
65. Cheek swab molecule: DNA.
