Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Theme: Wisdom Teeth
Let's begin with the reveal:
64 Across. Molar, or a feature of 17-, 24-, 39-, and 50-Across: BACK TOOTH. A molar is a TOOTH towards the BACK of a human's mouth. Our clever constructor Kit has also found words such that TOOTH can be added behind (in BACK of) them to create new, in-the-language terms. Here they are:
Also, in case you missed it, CED shared this funny meme with us last Tuesday. Here's one more: 
SHARK TOOTH. Several of my male friends sported these necklaces in the 1980s. 
24 Across. Hunting dogs with a keen sense of smell: BLOODHOUNDS.
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Trumpet was the first BLOODHOUND to win Best in Show at Westminster (2022). |
HOUNDSTOOTH. You do not have to twist my arm to try on anything with this pattern.
39 Across. Completely unexpected revelation: BOLT FROM THE BLUE. This expression is new to me. Its meaning is as defined in the clue. It was first used in the mid-1800s. We have readers from across North America. Perhaps one of you is familiar with this expression and can tell us more.
BLUETOOTH. It is wireless technology that allows you to connect your devices over a short distance.
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| The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune merging the Younger Futhark runes (Hagall) (ᚼ) and (Bjarkan) (ᛒ), King Harald Bluetooth’s initials. He was the one who united Scandinavia. Get it? He connected them. |
50 Across. Like chocolate with a high cacao percentage: BITTERSWEET. Most recipes for chocolate chip cookies call for semi-sweet chocolate. Bittersweet chocolate contains 70% cacao, has less sugar, and has a deeper flavor than semisweet chocolate, which has 60% cacao. One can substitute these chocolates for each other in most recipes.
BITTERSWEET is also this very cool 1990 song by Big Head Todd and the Monsters: SWEET TOOTH. This idiom is a way of saying someone has fondness for sweet foods. ✋
There's more:
Across:
16. One of two on a 747: AISLE. A 747 is an airplane with two AISLEs running lengthwise down the plane.
19. Spot for a brooch: LAPEL.
20. Tennis great Williams: SERENA. She is also a fashion designer. Here she is modeling one of her fashion designs.
21. "Quiet on the __!": SET.
23. Color named for a duck: TEAL. There are several different types of TEAL ducks. This photo is of a male and female blue-winged TEAL.
27. Less likely to back down: FIERCER.
31. Puts a name to: IDS. Think of someone ID-ing a criminal.
32. Hoped-for result of a brainstorming session: IDEA.
33. Super Mario brother: LUIGI. According to the internet, Mario is known for his red hat and blue overalls while Luigi often wears green. They are both plumbers and are known for their adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom, where they often rescue Princess Peach from the antagonist Bowser.
36. Stately tree: ELM. I listen to Alan Titchmarsh's podcasts on BBC Gardener's World. He often recommends people plant English ELMs for their hedgerow. Here is a pic.
43. Sneaky: SLY.
44. Allows to use temporarily: LENDS. A library comes to mind.
45. Gymnast Korbut: OLGA. (b. May 16, 1955 in Belarus) She won six medals in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and was the inaugural inductee to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1988.
46. No longer fashionable: OUT. and 41 Down. Fashionable again: RETRO.
47. 1960s TV role for Diana Rigg: MRS. PEEL. I had to look this one up to get the "P". Diana Rigg (1938-2020) was an English actress who played Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers (1965-1968).
55. Textbook section: UNIT.
56. "__ la la!": OOH.
57. Philadelphia NFLers: EAGLES. and 71 Across. 57-Across, for one: TEAM.
1. Kissing pair: LIPS.
2. Sunburn soother: ALOE.
3. Fashion's Christian: DIOR. There is a bit of a fashion sub-theme going on today.
4. Christmas season: YULE.
5. Spanish Mrs.: SRA. Hmmmm..... "Mrs." is in the answer to 47-Across so we should not see it in a clue.
6. Upper body: TORSO.
7. Jabbed: POKED.
8. Orioles great Ripken: CAL. If you do not know who Cal Ripken is, you should. You can learn about him here.
9. Temporary break: HIATUS. HIATUS is a fun word. Its etymological origin is from Latin's hiare, meaning "to yawn". When you think about it, we do take a temporary break when we yawn.
10. Colorado ski town: ASPEN.
11. Beseech: PLEAD.
12. Exchanges for cash: SELLS.
14. Rachel Maddow's network: MSNBC.
18. In fine fettle: HALE. Fettle, like HALE, is a word seldom heard these days. The definition of fettle is (noun) state or condition of health, fitness, wholeness, spirit, or form. It also has a verb meaning.
22. Quadriceps locale: THIGH.
25. Synthetic fabric pioneered by DuPont: ORLON. Its texture is wool-like. more detes here
26. "Garfield" dog: ODIE.
27. Trivial lies: FIBS.
28. Object of adoration: IDOL.
29. Too wriggly to get hold of: EELY.
30. Rodent in a subway tunnel: RAT. Freakonomics recently did a three-part podcast series on RATs. I learned that one rat female can have up to 72 pups per year. (Yes, they're called "pups".) A rat pair having offspring and those offspring having offspring can add up to 1,200 rats born in one year just from the original pair. Oof!
34. College Park sch.: UMD. The University of Maryland is located in College Park, Maryland.
35. "Who's there?" reply: IT'S ME. This made me think of this 1981 Men at Work song:
36. French pronoun: ELLE.
37. Olympics sled: LUGE.
38. Lunch or brunch: MEAL.
40. Chimney part: FLUE.
42. Jazz style: BOP. As I said at 47-A, I had to look up the "P". For some reason my concepts of Jazz and Bop were not on the same page. Perhaps I was confusing BOP with Doo-Wop. Learning moment. BOP can be short for bebop, a style of jazz.
46. Playful river mammals: OTTERS. The subjects of this 57-sec. video are sea OTTERS, not river OTTERS, but I think you will like it anyway. To really appreciate the OTTER'S actions at the end, you need to know that OTTERS have a pocket-like flap of skin in their armpits that they use to carry a favorite rock to use for opening shellfish.
48. Really stink: REEK.
49. Data for a sports analyst: STATS.
60. "At Last" singer James: ETTA.
61. Phony: SHAM.
63. "What'd I tell ya?": SEE.
65. Massachusetts cape named for a fish: COD. Cape Cod was named by English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602 with a nod to the abundance of codfish in the area.
1. "A Star Is Born" star __ Gaga: LADY. Here she sings Shallow with Bradley Cooper in this video composed of movie scenes. She co-wrote this song for the movie.
5. Gas additive brand that's a longtime NASCAR sponsor: STP.
8. Blokes: CHAPS.
13. Largest bone of the pelvis: ILIUM.
5. Gas additive brand that's a longtime NASCAR sponsor: STP.
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| Constructors love this product as much as NASCAR does. |
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| a CHAP wearing CHAPs to protect him from CHAPparral |
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| I remember this one because in Yoga we stretch the iliopsoas muscles. |
15. Kanga's kid: ROO. characters from Winnie the Pooh
16. One of two on a 747: AISLE. A 747 is an airplane with two AISLEs running lengthwise down the plane.
20. Tennis great Williams: SERENA. She is also a fashion designer. Here she is modeling one of her fashion designs.
23. Color named for a duck: TEAL. There are several different types of TEAL ducks. This photo is of a male and female blue-winged TEAL.
27. Less likely to back down: FIERCER.
31. Puts a name to: IDS. Think of someone ID-ing a criminal.
32. Hoped-for result of a brainstorming session: IDEA.
33. Super Mario brother: LUIGI. According to the internet, Mario is known for his red hat and blue overalls while Luigi often wears green. They are both plumbers and are known for their adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom, where they often rescue Princess Peach from the antagonist Bowser.
36. Stately tree: ELM. I listen to Alan Titchmarsh's podcasts on BBC Gardener's World. He often recommends people plant English ELMs for their hedgerow. Here is a pic.
44. Allows to use temporarily: LENDS. A library comes to mind.
45. Gymnast Korbut: OLGA. (b. May 16, 1955 in Belarus) She won six medals in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and was the inaugural inductee to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1988.
46. No longer fashionable: OUT. and 41 Down. Fashionable again: RETRO.
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| This was Heidi Klum's tagline on Project Runway. |
47. 1960s TV role for Diana Rigg: MRS. PEEL. I had to look this one up to get the "P". Diana Rigg (1938-2020) was an English actress who played Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers (1965-1968).
55. Textbook section: UNIT.
56. "__ la la!": OOH.
57. Philadelphia NFLers: EAGLES. and 71 Across. 57-Across, for one: TEAM.
aka this year's Super Bowl champions
Also, is anyone else spying on the bald EAGLES, Shadow & Jackie? Their three eggs hatched the first week of March. Watch as they bring fish from the nearby lake to feed the eaglets. If you hear one of the parents call out, the other will arrive soon. Their devotion is inspiring!
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| I grabbed this screenshot last Wednesday. That silver thing between Shadow's feet is a fish. You can watch the live cam here. |
62. Fixed prices: RATES. Fixed is an adjective here, not a verb.
66. Drum kit component: SNARE.
67. "Mr. Blue Sky" gp.: ELO. This song peaked at #35 in the US Billboard Charts. Here you go, a ticket back to 1977:
68. __ Monica, California: SANTA.
69. On edge: TENSE.
70. Raspberry shade: RED.
Down:
66. Drum kit component: SNARE.
67. "Mr. Blue Sky" gp.: ELO. This song peaked at #35 in the US Billboard Charts. Here you go, a ticket back to 1977:
68. __ Monica, California: SANTA.
70. Raspberry shade: RED.
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| This shade goes well on 1-D. |
1. Kissing pair: LIPS.
2. Sunburn soother: ALOE.
4. Christmas season: YULE.
5. Spanish Mrs.: SRA. Hmmmm..... "Mrs." is in the answer to 47-Across so we should not see it in a clue.
6. Upper body: TORSO.
7. Jabbed: POKED.
8. Orioles great Ripken: CAL. If you do not know who Cal Ripken is, you should. You can learn about him here.
9. Temporary break: HIATUS. HIATUS is a fun word. Its etymological origin is from Latin's hiare, meaning "to yawn". When you think about it, we do take a temporary break when we yawn.
10. Colorado ski town: ASPEN.
11. Beseech: PLEAD.
12. Exchanges for cash: SELLS.
14. Rachel Maddow's network: MSNBC.
18. In fine fettle: HALE. Fettle, like HALE, is a word seldom heard these days. The definition of fettle is (noun) state or condition of health, fitness, wholeness, spirit, or form. It also has a verb meaning.
22. Quadriceps locale: THIGH.
25. Synthetic fabric pioneered by DuPont: ORLON. Its texture is wool-like. more detes here
26. "Garfield" dog: ODIE.
28. Object of adoration: IDOL.
29. Too wriggly to get hold of: EELY.
30. Rodent in a subway tunnel: RAT. Freakonomics recently did a three-part podcast series on RATs. I learned that one rat female can have up to 72 pups per year. (Yes, they're called "pups".) A rat pair having offspring and those offspring having offspring can add up to 1,200 rats born in one year just from the original pair. Oof!
34. College Park sch.: UMD. The University of Maryland is located in College Park, Maryland.
35. "Who's there?" reply: IT'S ME. This made me think of this 1981 Men at Work song:
36. French pronoun: ELLE.
37. Olympics sled: LUGE.
40. Chimney part: FLUE.
42. Jazz style: BOP. As I said at 47-A, I had to look up the "P". For some reason my concepts of Jazz and Bop were not on the same page. Perhaps I was confusing BOP with Doo-Wop. Learning moment. BOP can be short for bebop, a style of jazz.
46. Playful river mammals: OTTERS. The subjects of this 57-sec. video are sea OTTERS, not river OTTERS, but I think you will like it anyway. To really appreciate the OTTER'S actions at the end, you need to know that OTTERS have a pocket-like flap of skin in their armpits that they use to carry a favorite rock to use for opening shellfish.
48. Really stink: REEK.
49. Data for a sports analyst: STATS.
Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt in the 2011 movie Moneyball (2:46 min)
I loved this movie but I loved, loved, loved the book.
50. Sudden outbreak: BURST.
51. Vapid: INANE. Our inanehiker is the opposite of vapid. She is quite sensible.
52. Pre-Olympian god of Greek mythology: TITAN.
53. Temperate: SOBER.
54. Mammal that feeds on krill: WHALE.
58. One looking after the kids?: GOAT.
51. Vapid: INANE. Our inanehiker is the opposite of vapid. She is quite sensible.
52. Pre-Olympian god of Greek mythology: TITAN.
53. Temperate: SOBER.
54. Mammal that feeds on krill: WHALE.
58. One looking after the kids?: GOAT.
two minutes of hoppy kid GOATs
59. One and only: LONE.
60. "At Last" singer James: ETTA.
61. Phony: SHAM.
63. "What'd I tell ya?": SEE.
65. Massachusetts cape named for a fish: COD. Cape Cod was named by English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602 with a nod to the abundance of codfish in the area.
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| Atlantic COD |
Here is today's grid:
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| This might be an LA Times debut for Kit Sheffield. If so, congratulations! |
