Saturday, August 22, 2020, Joe Deeney

Saturday Themeless by Joe Deeney

Joe and his lovely daughter born in April

This challenging Saturday pinwheel-style puzzle by, Joe our Supply Chain Project Manager in Massachusetts, took some effort. Another New Yorker cartoonist, an obscure desert, a familiar word used as a sailing term and a city in South Sudan were partially balanced by my instant recognition of ENOS Slaughter, SEA-TAC and PARSEC. Here's a nice note from Joe along with a new picture of him and his daughter:

Hi Gary,

Hope you are doing well. I've attached a more recent picture for you to use.

As with last month's puzzle, this came out of experimenting with how many 10-letter entries I could reasonably fit into the grid. Would have loved to lose the cheater squares and get two more, but I couldn't make the NW work in a way that was both clean enough and colorful enough. I tinker with this grid pattern every so often to try to 
make that work for a future puzzle - maybe someday. For this one, I tried to make each corner of this puzzle as lively as possible without sacrificing too much to weak shorter fill. ONER is a dud as is the plural IANS, but most of the rest is O.K. Lots of trial and error with this one - I don't remember what the original seed was, but I do remember that it's no longer in the puzzle - It was in the SE corner and I ended up redoing the entire corner later on. Glad my clue for TASTE TEST survived. 

-Joe

Let's see what Joe has put into the supply chain here at our little popsicle stand. 

Across: 


1. NASCAR stat: MPH - I first thought it might be LAP because NASCAR does compile the number of LAPS led and it's Saturday but...

4. Afternoon entertainment staples: SOAP OPERAS.

14. Asia's __-Kum Desert: KARA - KARAKUM or KARA-KUM

15. Certain junkie's stimulus: ADRENALINE - Some people like our crossword friend Evel are called ADRENALINE junkies 

16. Slaughter on the diamond: ENOS - This N.C. boy had the nickname of "Country"

17. One sharing a pedigree: LITTER MATE - Mom and five LITTER MATES - three white and two black

18. Frittata base: EGGS - A Frittata compared to an omelet

19. Inexperienced: UNSEASONED.

20. Combined: POOLED - Many shrinking outstate Nebraska schools have POOLED resources to keep their academic and athletic programs going

22. Belgian or brown: ALE.

23. Canonized pope known as "The Great": ST LEO - 440 - 461 A.D.

24. Sea-__: TAC - It's about a 27 min drive from the SEAttle-TAComa airport to the Space Needle

26. Longtime New Yorker cartoonist Roz: CHAST - Last week Chris Adams had New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno in his puzzle

31. Starbucks selection: CAFFE MOCHA - A venti costs $4, has 240 cals and 150 mg of caffeine 

34. Pi, for a circle with a radius of one: AREA - AREA of a circle = A = π r². So if the radius of a circle is 1, the circle's sAREA = π x 1 x 1 = π

35. Where the action in Chicago's County General Hospital took place: ON ER.

36. Peripheral: OUTER.

37. "Phooey!": RATS.

38. Folklore fiend: OGRE.

39. Folklore trickster: BRER RABBIT - A tale of fooling someone into doing exactly what you want them to do. 

41. Gets rid of: LOSES - C'mon, you know the rest (*answer below)

43. Recognizes: IDS.

44. "The Red House Mystery" author: MILNE - His only mystery book (1922) predated Winnie The Pooh by three years (1925)

45. Delivery pros: OBS.

47. "Truly!": HONEST.

48. "Truly!": I CAN NOT LIE - Every wedding dance we go to these days features the song, I Like Big ______, I CAN NOT LIE.

54. Stadium ticket info: GATE.

55. Some white research subjects: ALBINO MICE.

56. Freudian subjects: EGOS - Let's boil it down

57. Cosmetic coating: NAIL ENAMEL.

58. Little pig, maybe: RUNT 

59. Great places to make contact: SWEET SPOTS 

60. Match with chips: SEE.

Down:

1. Rhyming cocktail: MANGO TANGO - Or a fruity drink sans liquor

Ingredients

• 3 cups ice
• 1 12oz bag frozen mango chunks
• 1 15.2oz Odwalla® Mango Tango® flavored smoothie
• 1 lime
• Chamoy sauce

2. Ones working on the links: PRO GOLFERS - Blog editors just wouldn't fit

3. Easy to use: HASSLE FREE - Turbo Tax for me

4. Mexican toast: SALUD.

5. God played by Anthony Hopkins in "Thor": ODIN.

6. Fine __: ARTS.

7. H.S. instructors who show you the ropes?: PE TEACHERS - A nightmare for many

8. "Inside the NBA" analyst: O'NEAL - Shaq

9. About 3.26 light-years: PARSEC - Like a light year, it's a measure of distance not time

10. Muppet who refers to himself in the third person: ELMO.

11. "Knives Out" writer/director Johnson: RIAN - I was told I would really like this movie

12. Required wager: ANTE.

13. Tournament position: SEED - A #16 SEED in the NCAA Basketball Tournament has to be a sacrificial lamb for a #1 SEED. At least they made it to the tournament

14. Doesn't freak out: KEEPS COOL - This courageous woman did and helped change a nation

21. Fair-hiring letters: EOE.

24. Hotel handout: TOURIST MAP - I just use my phone now but I really liked the 3-D ones

25. Didn't do nothing: ACTED - I can hear our grammarians grinding their teeth. They'd press for "Did something" instead of the double negative.

27. Precursors: HARBINGERS - My spring HARBINGER of The Masters got postponed

28. Group that suspended Syria in 2011: ARAB LEAGUE.

29. Permanent: SET IN STONE.

30. Challenge often undertaken while blindfolded: TASTE TEST.

32. Unruly group: MOB.

33. Talk Like a Pirate Day syllable: ARR.

40. "Te __": Rihanna song: AMO - Te Quiero Mucho (I Love You Very Much) is what you might say to your mom rather than the romantically tinged Te AMO

42. Emma Lazarus' "The New Colossus," e.g.: SONNET - The last five lines can be found at the Statue Of Liberty

46. Godsends: BOONS - Ten movies that proved to be a BOON to sales of a product

47. Tips to one side: HEELS - Happy to learn a new use for this word

48. Olympic swimmers Crocker and Thorpe: IANS - Not Joe's fav fill. 


49. Arcade game grabber: CLAW.

50. Irish Rose's beau: ABIE - The poster for the comedy ABIE'S Irish Rose (about a Jewish boy marrying an Irish Catholic girl) performed in Brooklyn in 1928

51. Juba's river: NILE - Here you see the White Nile emerging from Lake Victoria, flowing through Juba, the capital of South Sudan and then proceeding up to Khartoum, Sudan where it joins the Blue Nile which continues on to the Mediterranean. 

52. Long way to go?: LIMOusine 

53. Rapper-turned-actor: ICE T.

*No soup for you!

Click below to leave Joe a comment

Friday, August 21, 2020, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: This puzzle is for the birds.

Welcome back to Friday, Jeffrey. Today we have another variation of the single clue theme, where each clue is an alternate form of a base word - BIRD. He uses the expanded grid - 16 across by 15 rows - to give us 4 grid spanning themers. Then his skill really goes on display as he sets out a perfectly symmetrical and consistent pattern. 1 is singular - BYRD. 2 is plural - The BYRDS. 3 is plural - The BIRDS. 4 is singular. BIRD.  Even "the" is in harmony in 2 and 3. I know many of you do not concern yourselves with themes but they are an integral part of modern puzzles. For any of you who have tried to create one, you understand how much skill all that takes. With 64 spaces dedicated to the puzzle's theme, there is not much room for long sparkle but he does add CASSAVA, ORIGINS, SHEARER, TIGRESS, ENGINEERS, and OH SUSANNA.

18A. Byrd: SOUTH POLE AVIATOR (16). But not the North Pole? Byrd.

26A. The Byrds: TURN TURN TURN BAND (16). More biblical history this week. TURN

49A. "The Birds": HITCHCOCK CLASSIC (16). Loosely based on the 1952 story of the same name by Daphne du Maurier...
BIRDS.

62A. Bird: FLIER IN BADMINTON (16). Shuttlecock? A shuttlecock (also called a bird or birdie) is a high-drag projectile used in the sport of badminton. It has an open conical shape: the cone is formed from 16 or so overlapping feathers, usually goose or duck and from the left-wing only, embedded into a rounded cork base. The cork is covered with thin leather.

Now that you know all of that new stuff, on to the rest of the story.

Across:

1. For that reason: ERGO. I am sure you love COGITO ERGO SUM.

5. Mekong River land: LAOS. It goes alongside Thailand, Mynamar meeting at the Golden Triangle. I am no Picard but that is my picture from 2018.

9. "Settle down!": COOL IT.

15. "Banjo on my knee" song of 1848: OH SUSANNA. I had no idea how controversial this BALLAD was. If you are easily offended, please do not listen. This was not the version I learned.

17. Weapon for Spain's Philip II: ARMADA. One of my favorite chapters in HISTORY.

20. Frivolous: GIDDY. Another celestial euphemism; Old English gidig ‘insane’, literally ‘possessed by a god’, from the base of God

21. Female beast that sounds like a river: TIGRESS. Euphrates to put in that fill?

22. Strengthen: AMP UP. History - 1886 as an abbreviation of ampere; 1967 as an abbreviation of amplifier.

25. __ chi: TAI. T'ai chi ch'üan 太極拳.

35. Top often with an image: TEE. From an August 10, 1979 concert.

36. Showing presently: ON NOW. What are you watching while you solve it? I watch GMA.

37. Power source: SOLAR.

38. Gp. with related interests: ASSN. A fancy group.

40. Provides a buffet, say: CATERS. Who catered your wedding?

43. Disease namesake: LYME. Do we have another puzzle here? Lime Rickey; Lyme Connecticut? You could sneak in "caused by bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi."

44. Staff figures: CLEFS. Music, cute. LEARN.

46. Object of a detective's quest: PROOF. CLUES? OK, not a plural.

48. D.C. VIP: SENator.

53. Organ with a hammer: EAR. Ear bone, also called Auditory Ossicle, any of the three tiny bones in the middle ear of all mammals. These are the malleus, or hammer, the incus, or anvil, and the stapes, or stirrup.

54. Unwilling: LOATH.

55. Root that's a source of tapioca: CASSAVA. A very interesting but complicated ROOT VEGETABLE. In Florida, they are called YUCA and are in all Publix supermarkets. Not to be confused with the Casaba melon

59. Hip-hop star Green: CEELO.

67. Butcher's offering: CUTLET.

68. Many in Caltech's faculty: ENGINEERS. But not Sheldon.

69. Like troublesome mascara: SMEARY. Meh.

70. Forest grazers: DEER. Not around here.

71. Indian music: RAGA.

Down:

1. Aurora's Greek counterpart: EOS. Did the answer finally dawn on you? There was a time I had this fill often.

2. P-like letter: RHO.

3. Atlanta sch. fielding the Panthers: GSU. GEORGIA STATE U.

4. Defeat: OUTGUN. One word, hmm.

5. "Major Crimes" force, briefly: LAPD. A SPINOFF from THE CLOSER.

6. "And giving __, up the chimney ... ": A NOD. Our quotation today is not Shakespeare.

7. Without siblings: ONLY.

8. Encl. to an editor: SAE. Self-addressed envelope.

9. Eggs on crackers, perhaps: CAVIAR. Fishy, not birdy.

10. Starting places: ORIGINS.

11. Little on "The Wire": OMAR. Very strong series.

12. Running behind: LATE.

13. Loving exchanges: I DOS.

14. Works on a route: TARS.

16. Mailing label words: SHIP TO.

19. Westernmost Aleutian Island: ATTU.

22. Join: ATTACH.

23. Granola relative: MUESLI. The main difference between muesli and granola is that while both are made up of grains, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, muesli is unbaked while granola is baked along with a sweetener and oil to bind the ingredients together.

24. Like some hotel thermostats: PRESET.

27. Sch. with an Asheville campus: UNC. University of North Carolina.

28. Genetic molecule: RNA.

29. Insensitive, in a way: NOT PC.

30. Gyrate like Cyrus: TWERK. Miley more than a mile from her Hannah Montana days.

31. Neighbor of Arg.: BOLivia. I have a friend from there who keeps going back and forth but no flake. (Bolivian flake was a very popular cocaine product when I was defending drug dealers. No personal experience.)

32. Actress Milano: ALYSSA.  In the NEWS.

33. "Whatever you want": NAME IT.

34. Spray with a hose: DRENCH. Ray, maybe "what do you use when a C wrench doesn't fit?

39. It has Giants but not Titans: Abbr.: NFC.   National Football Conference.

41. Mythical aerial menace: ROC. Were they a menace? Roc, also spelled Rukh, Arabic Rukhkh, gigantic legendary bird, said to carry off elephants and other large beasts for food. It is mentioned in the famous collection of Arabic tales, The Thousand and One Nights, and by the Venetian traveler Marco Polo, who referred to it in describing Madagascar and other islands off the coast of eastern Africa.

42. Roman sun god: SOL. I mythed studying this ONE.

45. Woolgatherer?: SHEARER. Norma?

47. Order to soldiers: FALL IN.

50. Hollowed-out area: CAVITY. Often in your teeth...

51. Algerian port: ORAN.

52. With less delay: SOONER. Than later.

55. Ozone-depleting chemicals, briefly: CFCS.  Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are anthropogenic compounds that have been released into the atmosphere since the 1930s in various applications such as in air-conditioning, refrigeration, blowing agents in foams, insulations and packing materials, propellants in aerosol cans, and as solvents. Bad?!?

56. Donor drive target: ALUM.

57. Browser's find: SITE.

58. Ward of "House": SELA.

59. Candy __: CANE.

60. Periphery: EDGE.



61. Burnoose-wearing leader: EMIR.

63. Word with sea or seed: BED. I never saw the clue until now, but as written I think it is hard.

64. Leaves for a spot: TEA. Pip, pip and all that; right Steve and Pedant Brit and the rest.

65. 38-Across relative: ORG.

66. CIA relative: NSA.

Wow! Another JW is in the books. In preparing for my write-up two comments came to mind. 1. it is amazing how many puzzles JW has published here. 2. C.C. has over 300 puzzles in major newspapers since her first collaboration with Don G. This does not count her new run in USA Today. Check them all out. Thanks, Jeffrey and all who read. Be safe.

Thursday, August 20th 2020 Roland Huget

Theme O no! Are we missing an "O"? Yes, we are.

17A. Run-of-the-mill deity?: COMMON GOD. Common good. The Roman and Greek gods were pretty common, one for every day, event and situation.

23A. Officer who helps keep public statues clean?: PIGEON COP. Pigeon coop. The pigeon cops might be busier with paint than poop right now.

35A. Junior faculty member?: CHILD PROF. Childproof. Dougie Howser, MD?

50A. One who campaigns on traffic congestion issues?: BUMPER POL. Bumper pool. I'd never heard of this game, but when I looked it up reminded me of "bar billiards" - almost every public bar in an English pub had a bar billiards table and a dartboard. There were local leagues in both darts and bar billiards to drum up business on slower midweek evenings.

58A. Mechanical bull rider?: COWBOY BOT. Cowboy boot. I like the clue - my first leaning was towards the rider of a mechanical bull, rather than the rider being mechanical. I liked the uncertainty. Oh, and if you're ever tempted to ride a mechanical bull, don't.

Thank you, Roland. Let's see what we can find in the fill:

Across:

1. Mexican bar tender: PESO.

5. Final notice?: OBIT.

9. Queen Amidala's home planet: NABOO. I just don't do well with science fiction characters - I recently watched all three Star Wars movies which featured the good queen Padmé, and I have no recollection of her last name nor her planet.

14. Petri dish gelatin: AGAR.

15. Small parasite: MITE.

16. Enmity: ODIUM.

19. Many converted apartments: LOFTS.

20. Muse of comedy: THALIA. I had to guess at the "H" as I'd never heard of the crossing SAM HILL and I don't have all my muses down pat. "H" seemed to make the most sense though so I avoided the dreaded Natick.

21. Billionaire financier George: SOROS.

22. Tedious routine: GRIND.

27. Feel poorly: AIL.

28. Sprain application: ICE PACK. I hate it when I have to ice a sprain or a swelling, to me it''s more uncomfortable than the injury itself.

30. Taking after: ALA.

31. 1984 mermaid romcom: SPLASH.

33. Reggie Jackson's alma mater, briefly: A.S.U. Arizona State. I very much like Reggie, he was a class act when he played and remains so as a broadcaster. I was surprised by ASU though - I just assumed he went to one of the "powerhouse" schools - Duke, UNC, UCLA or one of the many others. I think I respect him more now I know he didn't.

Comment edited to strike out the total nonsense I was spouting late last night. Thank you for everyone who pointed out that I didn't have a clue what I was talking about. It happens.

34. Auto pioneer: OLDS.

38. Tummy trouble: ACHE.

41. Gear with a bill: CAP.

42. Got around: EVADED.

46. Head of Britain?: LOO. Restrooms. I hate to spoil the fun with this one, but the maritime "head" is called - wait for it - a "head" in Britain too.

47. Cohort: COMRADE.

49. Santana's "__ Como Va": OYE. Can't not link this one here !

52. Party hearty: REVEL.

54. Sussex set: TELLY. In the UK, the TV is also called a "telly" (hence "Teletubbies".) Sussex is a county south of London. There's some bloke who recently moved to Montecito just up the street from me who claims to be the Duke of Sussex. I think we've had the discussion recently that there's an Sussex, a Wessex, an Essex and a Middlesex. But no Norsex. Northhampton is in Northhamptonshire, but Southampton is in Hampshire, and there's no such place as Southamptonshire. The county of Devon is called Devon, but the clotted cream is "Devonshire cream". The pasties from Cornwall, right next door, are called Cornish Pasties, not Cornwallshire Pasties. Worcestershire sauce comes from Worcestershire, but is pronounced Wuster, the same as Worcester, the county town. No wonder the tourists get confused. I could go on, but I think the room has gone quiet so I'd better go before I'm gonged off.

55. Fraternal meeting places: LODGES.

57. Hearing-related: AURAL.

61. "24K Magic" singer Mars: BRUNO. Darn, I used my musical link on Carlos.

62. Double Delight cookie: OREO. Please can we not have an OREO fill for - let's say - 40 days - let's give up OREO for Crossword Lent. There may be a few others to go in the "can't use" bag too.

63. Peel: PARE.

64. Small change: CENTS.

65. Coiffure site: TETE.

66. Genealogy chart: TREE.

Down:

1. Lobbying gp.: PAC. I sprung for PTA first which made me smile when I saw the error of my ways.

2. Voyage taken alone?: EGO TRIP.

3. Quaint euphemism for "hell": SAM HILL. A learning moment for me. I've never heard the expression but I can quite easily hear an old-timer exclaiming - "Gosh darn it, what the Sam Hill is that?"

4. "The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom" author: ORMAN.

5. Luxury hotel chain: OMNI.

6. Galoot: BIG APE.

7. Olympic skater Midori: ITO.

8. British poet Hughes who was married to Sylvia Plath: TED. Ted was an "earthy" poet, and when he was appointed Poet Laureate, there were some wags who parodied his style for occasions such as the Queen's Birthday. This is the inimitable Peter Cook (last four verses only for brevity):

Old Stoatie falls in.

Rotting stoat

Body carcass

Gleaming fish nibbled

Carrion of death

Sodden fur bulging

Eyes

Old Stoatie's

Rather had it.

Happy Birthday

Your Majesty

9. Like some basketball passes: NO-LOOK. Reggie was a master at the no-look pass.

10. Festoon: ADORN.

11. Two-part lens: BIFOCAL. I have progressives - they took a little time to get used to (falling down stairs was always on the cards) but I eventually got used to them and now wouldn't be without them.

12. Peddled faster than: OUT-SOLD.

13. Meditation sounds: OMS.

18. Somewhat passé: OLD-ISH.

21. Tied down: SECURED.

22. Beetle juice?: GAS.

24. High-end tablet: IPAD PRO. I didn't know there was a "Pro" version? I guess now I do.

25. [She actually said that?!]: GASP!

26. Faux __: PAS.

29. Coffee-flavoring root: CHICORY. I first had chicory-flavored coffee in France many years ago. I thought all fresh-ground espresso tasted like that. You know "muscle-memory" when you can repeat a movement over and over? I have "taste-memory" with chicory and coffee, it instantly takes me back to the first time I tasted it.

32. Top player: ACE.

34. Birds-feather connection: OF A.

36. Tanning device: LAMP.

37. Engage in to excess: OVERDO.

38. Priestly garb: ALB.

39. Fashionista's field: COUTURE.

40. It may be inside the park: HOME RUN. Isn't it "inside-the-park"? I can't edit the clues, but I think hyphens are involved.

43. Chocolate-coated ice cream treat: DOVE BAR.

44. Urban renewal target: EYESORE.

45. Part of a PC reboot sequence: DEL. CTRL-ALT-DEL. Sadly, very common and well-known. I don't think I've rebooted my Chromebook for two years.

47. Cumbersome instruments: CELLOS. Yeah, they're big buggers. I wouldn't like to be standing at the side of the road in the rain trying to hail a cab with a cello.

48. Utterly wrong: ALL WET.

51. Undercover agent: PLANT.

53. "Death on the Nile" setting: EGYPT.

56. Easy-to-carry instrument: OBOE. Now here's your ideal cab-hailing instrument. You could also play a happy ditty on the way home.

57. "The Good Doctor" network: ABC. Great series from the South Korean original based on a "Dougie Howser" character who is autistic. First season - impressive. Subsequent seasons - terrible. TV execs: know when to stop. Really.

58. Camp bed: COT.

59. Resource in The Settlers of Catan board game: ORE. Never heard of the game, but O** was a gimme.

60. Spot to drive from: TEE. Fore!

And, without futher repetition, hesitation or deviation, here's the grid!

Steve

Wednesday, August 19, 2020, Nina Sloan & Ross Trudeau

Theme: ME, MYSELF & I

17. *Colorful addition to an aquarium: DAMSEL FISH.

24. *Big rig need: DIESEL FUEL.

46. *Eco-friendly source of some shellfish: MUSSEL FARM.

59. Like someone who only has I's for you? ... or an apt description of the answers to starred clues: EGO CENTRIC.

Melissa here. Love the phrase, "only has I's for you." Of course I kept looking for "EGO" hidden in words - until the light finally went on. Dig the extra layer to figure out - puzzle inside a puzzle. There can't be too many two-word phrases with "SEL F" stretched across that way. Appears to be Nina Sloan's debut here at the corner.

Across:

1. Little jerk: TIC. Love this misleading clue.

4. Human: PERSON.

10. Grand __: SLAM. Makes me think of Denny's.

14. NAACP co-founder __ B. Wells: IDA. 

15. Really go for, as an opportunity: LEAP AT.

16. Spanish boy: NINO.

19. In the thick of: AMID.

20. Down the road: AHEAD. Why not up the road?

21. 13th to beware?: Abbr.: FRI.

22. Cropped up: AROSE.

23. Weaver's contraption: LOOM.

26. Modern sweetie: BAE.

28. Sidewalk stand drinks: ADES.

29. Hot stuff: TABASCO.

33. They roll at the end: CREDITS.

36. "Planet Money" network: NPR.

37. ATM user's need: PIN. Personal Identification Number.

38. Possess: OWN.

39. '60s war zone: NAM. Vietnam.

40. Afternoon break in London: TEA TIME.

42. Vexes: BOTHERS. If you say so.

44. Bareilles of "Waitress": SARA.

45. "Star Wars" sequel trilogy heroine: REY. Wikipedia.

51. GI on the lam: AWOL. Absent With Out Leave.

55. Celestial ovine: ARIES. Astrology - ram.

56. Dictator Amin: IDI.

57. Where to find Bologna: ITALY. The capital B gave it away.

58. Cake layer: TIER.

61. Present: HERE. Bueller?

62. Not quite four times: THRICE.

63. Binge-watcher's device: DVR. Hardly necessary any more, with all the streaming services.

64. Winter glider: SLED.

65. Shorthand pros: STENOS. Stenographers.

66. Salty expanse: SEA.

Down:

1. __ wave: TIDAL.

2. Craters of the Moon state: IDAHO. National Monument and Preserve.

3. Typical Stan Lee role: CAMEO. Interesting life.

4. Begged: PLED.

5. It might shock you: EEL.

6. One-named "Baby Beluga" singer: RAFFI. Love Raffi - with my kids and now my grandloves. Here he is on CBS Sunday Morning in January of this year. (6:31)

7. Empire State Building topper: SPIRE.

8. Desert relief spot: OASIS.

9. To the __ degree: NTH.

10. Wolfed (down): SNARFED. Didn't realize that was a real word. 

11. Stretch at a wedding?: LIMOUSINE.

12. Licorice-like flavoring: ANISE.

13. Prototype: MODEL.

18. Brazilian dance: SAMBA.

22. Like firm pasta: AL DENTE. "To the tooth."

24. Number that has a point: DECIMAL. Cute clue.

25. Far-too-memorable song: EAR WORM.

27. Hopes (to): ASPIRES.

29. "Snowpiercer" network: TNT.

30. Big swinger: APE.

31. Lingerie top: BRASSIERE. Rarely see the whole word spelled out.

32. __ of a kind: ONE.

33. Kernel holder: COB.

34. Road goo: TAR. Awful smell when it's hot. I saw a picture of an airport worker in Arizona, walking on the TARmac this week that got to over 130 degrees. Melted through two pairs of shoes.

35. Texting format, for short: SMS.

41. Used a stun gun on: TASERED.

43. Hilton competitor: HYATT.

46. Arithmetic, to Brits: MATHS.

47. Archangel who guarded Eden with a fiery sword: URIEL.

48. Making-up preceder: FIGHT. Aw.

49. Love to bits: ADORE. Aw.

50. "Breaking Bad" poison: RICIN. Wiki Fandom.

52. Fends (off): WARDS.

53. Kalamata __: OLIVE. My favorite olive.

54. Stretchy fiber: LYCRA.

57. Model/actress Sastre: INES.

59. Sci-fi beings: ETS.

60. Novelist Umberto: ECO.

Tuesday, August 18, 2020, Mark McClain

Volleyball terms.  I learned only recently that Beach Volleyball is an NCAA sport.  The LSU Women's team has done well in the tournmaments.  No tournaments this year, however.



The first word of each theme answer is a Volleyball term.  [NOTE: I know virtually nothing about Volleyball and how it's played.  The definitions I used, and other volleyball terms, can be found at the link I included at the end of the introduction.  Apparently, there is more than meets the eye to today's theme.  If you know what it is, please let me know in the comment section.]

17-Across. *   Bring dinner to diners, say: SERVE A MEAL.  Serve:  One of the six basic skills; used to put the ball into play.  It is the only skill controlled exclusively by one player.

24-Across. *   Discover incriminating information: DIG UP DIRT.  Dig:  Passing a spiked or rapidly hit ball.  Slang for the art of passing an attacked ball close to the floor.

39-Across. *   Band's cheat sheet: SET LIST.  Set:  The tactical skill in which a ball is directed to a point where a player can spike it into the opponent’s court

50-Across. *   Stiletto on a shoe: SPIKE HEEL.  Spike:  Hit or attack.  A ball contacted with force by a player on the offensive team who intends to terminate the ball on the opponent’s floor or off the opponent’s blocker.

And the Unifier:
62-Across. Sport that involves the moves that start the answers to starred clues: VOLLEYBALL.

For a comprehensive list of Volleyball terms, check out this site.

Across:

1. Give kudos to: LAUD.

5. Trudge through water: SLOSH.

10. News piece: ITEM.

14. Marriott alternative: OMNI.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

15. Cake instruction Alice followed: EAT ME.

16. Empty-truck weight: TARE.

19. Gumbo pod: OKRA.  This is becoming a crossword staple.  Fried okra is actually quite tasty.

20. Villainous expressions: SNEERS.

21. Jamaican export: RUM.  Yo-ho-ho and a Bottle of Rum.

22. Revolutionary Trotsky: LEON.  Leon Trotsky (né Lev Davidovich Bronstein; Nov. 7, 1879 ~ Aug. 21, 1940) was a Russian revolutionary and a leader in the Russian October Revolution of of 1917.  He was later clashed with Joseph Stalin and was forced into exile.  He ultimately landed in Mexico where he was  assassinated  at age 60 almost exactly 80 years ago.

23. To and __: FRO.

26. Not yet resolved: AT ISSUE.

29. Yorkie, size-wise: TOY.

30. Sans accomplices: LONE.

31. Work on punches: SPAR.

34. Buffalo hockey pro: SABRE.  The hockey team.

38. ID checker's concern: AGE.

41. Schlep: LUG.  Schlep:  From the Yiddish:  שלעפּ‎‎,

42. "Sorry to say ... ": SADLY.  //  Which crossed with 26-Down. "Sorry to say ... ": ALAS.

44. Apiary unit: HIVE.

45. Yao of hoops fame: MING.  Yao Ming (b. Sept. 12, 1980), played professional basketball with the Houston Rockets.  He is 7 ft. 6 in., tall.

46. Connections: INs.

48. Storefront covers: AWNINGS.

55. "Not only that ... ": AND.

56. Put to work: HIRE.

57. "__ let you know": I'LL.  Meaning:  The answer is "no", but I don't want to tell you that now.

58. Stream crosser: BRIDGE.

61. Word in a hot day simile: OVEN. It's so hot, I can bake cookies in my ...

64. Speech quality: TONE.

65. Olympic blades: ÉPÉEs.  A crossword staple.

I hope those aren't blood spots!

66. Molecule component: ATOM.

67. Hearty bowlful: STEW.

68. Tenant payments: RENTS.

69. Credit union seizure, briefly: REPO.  Repo Man was a 1984 film that starred Emilio Estavez and Harry Dean Stanton.  I saw it when it first came out and thought it was very funny.  I haven't seen it since, so don't know if it has stood the test of time.

Down:

1. Fiscal disappointment: LOSS.

2. "Couldn't agree more!": AMEN!

3. Like crude oil: UNREFINED.

4. Not at all homogeneous: DIVERSE.

5. Black and Red: SEAs.  I have been to both.  Some of the best snorkeling I have experienced was in the Red Sea off the Sinai Peninsula.  The Black Sea borders on Turkey.  The Red Sea is between Egypt and Saudi Arabia on the map below.

6. Run for it: LAM.

7. "SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI.  We haven't seen Cheri Oteri (née Cheyl Ann Oteri; b. Sept. 19, 1962) in quite a while.  She makes regular guest appearances in the crossword.

8. Dragon in "The Hobbit": SMAUG.  I have tried reading The Hobbit, but just couldn't get into it, so I didn't know the name of the Dragon. 

9. __ Kohl, first chancellor of reunified Germany: HELMUT.  Before the reunification of Germany, Helmut Kohl (né Helmut Joseph Michael Kohl; Apr. 3, 1930 ~ June 16, 2017) was the chancellor of West Germany.

10. "Listen to me next time!": IT OLD YA!

11. "Star Trek" actor George: TAKEI.  George Takei (né Hosato Takei; b. Apr. 20, 1937) was born in Los Angeles, California.  He wrote a graphic novel entitled They Called Us Enemy, about his life in an internment camp during World War II.

12. Fielder's fluff: ERROR.  A baseball reference.

13. Should have said: MEANT.

18. God of love: EROS.

24. Pool diver's concern: DEPTH.

25. Fence support: POST.

27. Forum garment: TOGA.  Another crossword staple.

28. Purpose: USE.

32. Oscar winner Mahershala: ALI.  Mahershala Ali (né Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore; b. Feb. 16, 1974) is such a good actor.  He won two Oscars (Best Supporting Actor): one in Moonlight (2016) and the other in Green List (2018).

33. Adversary: RIVAL.

35. Sight-unseen encounter: BLIND DATE.

36. Ladder part: RUNG.

Anatomy of a Ladder

37. Incubator contents: EGGS.

39. Last word in the first song of the year: SYNE.  And I thought it was Happy New Year!

Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,

and never thought upon;

The flames of Love extinguished,

and fully past and gone:

Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,

that loving Breast of thine;

That thou canst never once reflect

On old long syne.

40. Suture, say: SEW.

43. Showing no wear: LIKE NEW.

45. Pay-for-what-you-use hotel feature: MINI BAR.

47. React to cold: SHIVER.  For day's when it is not as Hot as an Oven.

49. __ a one: zero: NARY.

50. Annual pet checkup components: SHOTS.

51. Turn on a shaft: PIVOT.

52. Cara of "Fame": IRENE.  Irene Cara (née Irene Cara Escalera; b. Mar. 18, 1959) is probably best known for writing and singing the songs from Flashdance.

53. Marry on the fly: ELOPE.

54. DeGeneres who voices Dory: ELLEN.  Ellen DeGeneres (née Ellen Lee DeGeneres; b. Jan. 26, 1958), has been in the news recently but not for good reasons.  She was born in Metairie, Louisiana, which is just outside of New Orleans.

58. Gershwin heroine: BESS.  A reference to George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess.

59. Unsavory stuff: GLOP.

60. Saint with a fire: ELMO.  Also the name of a 1985 movie.

63. Tennis do-over: LET.

Here's the Grid:

Stay Positive, but test Negative!