Theme: TEasing TEsty TErriers
Veteran constructor Joe Deeney gives us five symmetrically placed theme entries, with one spanning the grid, and a reveal at the very end. In each answer, the letter combination TE is repeated thrice.
Theme entries:
17 Across. *Asked for trouble: TEMPTED FATE.
24 Across. *Nickname for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio where Bugs Bunny was developed: TERMITE TERRACE.
"Termite Terrace was the original Warner Brothers animation studio for Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. Unlike most other animation studios, which used much larger buildings, Termite Terrace was a very small building made of clapboard, and very infested with insects, especially termites." (https://looneytunes.fandom.com/wiki/Termite_Terrace) Did Not Know (DNK), but filled it with the help of perpendicular entries ("perps").
34 Across. *Van Gogh painting also known as "Sorrowing Old Man": AT ETERNITY'S GATE.
47 Across. *GPS offering, maybe: ALTERNATE ROUTE.
56 Across. *One who might leave bite marks?: TASTE TESTER.
65 Across. Banal, or a three-part hint for the answers to the starred clues: TRI T E. TRITE means unoriginal, banal, clichéd, commonplace, hackneyed, stale, stereotyped, threadbare, or tired. However, in THIS case, broken into three parts, it means TRI T E, or three T E combinations in each theme answer.
Let's go on to the other clues and answers.
Across:1. Ferret out: DIG UP. I never really stopped to consider the origin of this expression before.
6. Universal donor's type, briefly: O NEG. Type O negative blood is considered the universal blood type because it can be safely transfused to people with any blood type. "Briefly" in the clue allows for the abbreviation "NEG" in the answer.
10. __ generis: SUI. Sui generis is a Latin phrase that means "of its own kind" or "in a class by itself." While the phrase is used in biology, the arts, and law, I remember it from my college philosophy courses, where it meant an idea or entity that cannot be reduced to a lower concept or included in a higher concept.
13. "Spirited Away" genre: ANIME. DNK. Solved with perps and a reasonable guess. It's a 2001 Japanese animated film about a girl who accidentally enters the world of spirits.
10. __ generis: SUI. Sui generis is a Latin phrase that means "of its own kind" or "in a class by itself." While the phrase is used in biology, the arts, and law, I remember it from my college philosophy courses, where it meant an idea or entity that cannot be reduced to a lower concept or included in a higher concept.
13. "Spirited Away" genre: ANIME. DNK. Solved with perps and a reasonable guess. It's a 2001 Japanese animated film about a girl who accidentally enters the world of spirits.
14. First State capital: DOVER. Delaware was the first colony to ratify the U.S. Constitution, and by doing so, became the first state. Its capital city is Dover.
16. Sculptor Gillen: ANN. DNK. All perps. She has created a lot of public art in NYC.
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| Flying Red by Ann Gillen, 1987 |
17. [Theme clue]
19. Routing word: VIA.
20. Shot spot: ARM.
21. Game cube: DIE. Singular form of the plural word "dice."
19. Routing word: VIA.
20. Shot spot: ARM.
21. Game cube: DIE. Singular form of the plural word "dice."
22. Handy reference for a crossword constructor: ROGET'S. Roget's Thesaurus, first published in 1852.
24. [Theme clue]
28. Like granola: OATY. The plant-based "milk" we use at breakfast is also "oaty."
29. Continues with intensity: RAGES ON.
30. Urban haze: SMOG. Of course, we've never seen that in Los Angeles. đ
32. Fishing pole: ROD.
33. Start at the beginning?: ESS. The beginning of the word START is the letter ESS. Meta! (Or, self-referential. The clue is about the clue.)
34. [Theme clue]
39. Little bit: TAD.
40. Intention: AIM.
41. Ballpark figure: OUTS. Not a person, but a statistic. A figure can be a shape, a diagram, or a number.
42. Connecting: TYING IN.
45. Paint brand at Home Depot: BEHR.
47. [Theme clue]
51. Having a veneer: COATED.
52. "You for Me" singer Rita: ORA. Singer/songwriter who is popular in the UK and in crossword puzzles.
53. Purple yam in some desserts: UBE. DNK! A sweet yam that originated in Southeast Asia and has been cultivated in the Philippines for centuries. My limited experience with Philippine desserts is that they do not match my expectation for sweetness.
55. On a streak: HOT.
56. [Theme clue]
60. New Orleans-to-Tampa dir.: ESE. East-South-East.
61. Bothered: ATE AT.
62. __-Grain cereal bars: NUTRI. A brand name.
63. __ Moines, Iowa: DES.
64. Slithery swimmers: EELS.
65. [Theme reveal]
Down:
1. Mined stuff: DATA. Couldn't be ORE, so it had to be the more modern DATA mining.
2. Like helium: INERT.
3. Easy score: GIMME.
4. Ballpark figure: UMP.
5. Family member who might be microchipped: PET. Did you write in DOG or CAT at first?
6. Curious thing: ODDITY.
7. Pro bono: NO FEE.
8. Green of "Casino Royale": EVA. DNK. Eva Green is a French actress. Of her many films, I have only seen Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016).
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| Eva Green with Daniel Craig (as James Bond) in Casino Royale |
9. Warm up: GET READY.
10. Put one's jacket down, say: SAVE A SEAT. Good strategy at a large gathering.
11. Prices per piece: UNIT COSTS.
12. "Sorta": IN A SENSE.
15. Office shake-up, briefly: REORG. Again, "briefly" in the clue signals an abbreviation in the answer, in this case, the abbreviation for reorganization.
18. Improve, hopefully: EDIT.
23. Hurdle for Ph.D. hopefuls: GRE. I took the Graduate Record Examination decades ago when applying for the Master of Library Science program at UCLA. DH likes to brag about my perfect score on the verbal section.
25. __ cellar: ROOT. Before refrigeration, an underground root cellar was an essential way to store carrots, turnips, beets, parsnips, potatoes, and other root vegetables.
26. World of Warcraft charmer: MAGE. World of Warcraft is a multiplayer, online video game. A mage is a magician or wizard who can cast spells (or charms).
10. Put one's jacket down, say: SAVE A SEAT. Good strategy at a large gathering.
11. Prices per piece: UNIT COSTS.
12. "Sorta": IN A SENSE.
15. Office shake-up, briefly: REORG. Again, "briefly" in the clue signals an abbreviation in the answer, in this case, the abbreviation for reorganization.
18. Improve, hopefully: EDIT.
23. Hurdle for Ph.D. hopefuls: GRE. I took the Graduate Record Examination decades ago when applying for the Master of Library Science program at UCLA. DH likes to brag about my perfect score on the verbal section.
25. __ cellar: ROOT. Before refrigeration, an underground root cellar was an essential way to store carrots, turnips, beets, parsnips, potatoes, and other root vegetables.
26. World of Warcraft charmer: MAGE. World of Warcraft is a multiplayer, online video game. A mage is a magician or wizard who can cast spells (or charms).
 |
| World of Warcraft mage |
27. Brisk gait: TROT.
30. "Relax!": STAY LOOSE.
31. Does one's om work?: MEDITATES. In Hinduism, Om is a sacred sound that can be chanted during meditation.
32. Basket part: RIM. Admittedly, I wasn't thinking about basketball and envisioned a different kind of basket. But I think this is what the constructor had in mind:
34. Unable to let go: ATTACHED.
35. Plan B time: RAIN DATE. An alternative date for an event in case of inclement weather.
36. "Little Girl Blue" singer Simone: NINA. Nina Simone (1933-2003) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger, and civil rights activist.
37. Neighborhood near Tribeca: SOHO. A 16 minute walk between these NYC neighborhoods.
35. Plan B time: RAIN DATE. An alternative date for an event in case of inclement weather.
36. "Little Girl Blue" singer Simone: NINA. Nina Simone (1933-2003) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger, and civil rights activist.
37. Neighborhood near Tribeca: SOHO. A 16 minute walk between these NYC neighborhoods.
38. Ashram adviser: GURU. Bet he does his om work.
43. Basket part: NET. Well, here's the other part of that basket!
44. "Lady Bird" Oscar nominee Gerwig: GRETA. Greta Gerwig directed this 2017 coming-of-age film, as well as the more recent Barbie movie and others. She has also acted in films and on television.
45. TĂȘte toppers: BERETS. TĂȘte is French for head, so you would put French hats on top.
46. Basic Latin verb: ERAT. Past imperfect form of third person singular "to be."
48. Absolute: TOTAL.
49. __-frutti: TUTTI.
50. "At the Movies" co-host: EBERT. Roger Ebert (1942-2013) was an American film critic widely known for the televison show "At the Movies With Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert" which appeared under varying names on several networks over the years.
54. Pennsylvania port: ERIE. Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and is the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Like other Great Lakes port cities, Erie is accessible to the oceans via Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River network in Canada.
57. "Get the picture?": SEE.
58. Tolkien's Treebeard, for one: ENT. In J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy series, The Lord of the Rings, ents are sentient beings who resemble trees. Their leader is Treebeard of Fangorn forest.
59. South, south of the border: SUR. Spanish for South, as heard south of the US-Mexico border.
49. __-frutti: TUTTI.
50. "At the Movies" co-host: EBERT. Roger Ebert (1942-2013) was an American film critic widely known for the televison show "At the Movies With Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert" which appeared under varying names on several networks over the years.
54. Pennsylvania port: ERIE. Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and is the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Like other Great Lakes port cities, Erie is accessible to the oceans via Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River network in Canada.
57. "Get the picture?": SEE.
58. Tolkien's Treebeard, for one: ENT. In J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy series, The Lord of the Rings, ents are sentient beings who resemble trees. Their leader is Treebeard of Fangorn forest.
59. South, south of the border: SUR. Spanish for South, as heard south of the US-Mexico border.
Here's the grid:
What did you think of today's tripartite effort? Was it a TAD difficult? Or were the answers all GIMMEs?
NaomiZ
