Today's puzzle is by veteran constructor Chuck Deodene. Chuck had this to say about himself: I grew up in suburban New Jersey in the 1970s, majored in Chemistry at Oberlin College, and currently reside in Bloomington, Indiana. Along with my reading for the OED, another word-based trade I sometimes ply is crossword puzzle construction.
Yes, you read that right, Chuck is a reader for the Oxford English Dictionary and actively ferrets out new words to enter into that TOME. Chuck made a connection with a man from the OED in his father's used book store in Bloomington. Here Chuck describes this fascinating OED job
I have to wonder how many of the words Chuck unearths for the OED wind up in his puzzles.
Across:
1. Filtered messages: SPAM - You hope they get filtered out
5. Walk, e.g.: GAIT
9. Disreputable: SLIMY beat out Shady and Seamy
14. Get sucked into, in a way: HATE WATCH - Our constructor friend from Kingston, Ontario, Brian Paquin, introduced this term to us earlier this month. It means getting "sucked into" watching TV that you really don't like. For me it's soccer because I get sucked in to see why it is "the most popular game in the world" but after a few minutes I still don't get it and move on.
16. Choice word: EENIE.
17. Certain charger: AC ADAPTER - This one keeps me able to keep outputting whatever it is I output here even though I have worn off the top of the Command Key
18. Opposite of après: AVANT - Je peux te rencontrer AVANT ou après l'école (I can meet you before or after school)
19. Director's cut, perhaps: RE-RELEASE - One more shot at wringing some bucks out of a movie
20. Discovery: FIND.
21. It may be slashed: PRICE - The Omaha World Herald was going to charge me $620/yr up from $575 and I declined. Then someone from the paper offered to slash the PRICE to $490. What an insult! This just in: Yet another call offering me the paper for $199!
22. Curiosity shop stock: EXOTICA.
25. Tray opening: ASH - An smoking artifact of my childhood I do not miss
27. "Fake" salon service: SPRAY TAN - Very popular around prom time. Girls call it '''fake bake"
Avant Après
28. Tool box?: SHED - Yeah, I suppose most SHEDS are just big boxes
31. Trenton Thunder, for one: AA TEAM - Derek Jeter filled the stands in Trenton, NJ when he was there for a Yankee rehab assignment
33. Stop on the road: INN.
34. Adulterate (with), perhaps: LACE
35. Bite harmlessly: NIP AT.
36. Feet treat: PEDIcure
37. Japanese salad veggie: UDO - UDO and wakame seaweed salad
38. Aussie agreement: OK MATE - I suspect you can append MATE to most anything said "down under"
39. "__ sow ... ": AS YE so shall ye reap.
40. Low-fat, low-sodium regimen: RICE DIET - Like most diets:
42. Noble title: DON - Zorro's real identity was DON Diego de la Vega
44. Got off the point: STRAYED.
45. Religion involving ritual magic: WICCA
49. Possible swing result: MISS - There is no joy in Mudville...
50. Rare medical service: HOUSE CALL - We have great EMT's in our town who saved my friend's life in his house
54. Stuns, in a way: TASES.
55. "Terrible idea": I THINK NOT.
56. Pop superstar from Tottenham: ADELE - She recently made headlines for something other than her angelic voice. She lost 50lbs
Avant Après
57. Smarts: GOOD SENSE and 1. Quick-witted: SHARP.
58. Like contested divorces: MESSY.
59. Villainous giggle: HE HE - or this NYU assistant professor. BTW, that is her full name.
60. Batik artist: DYER.
Down:
2. Hoosier State NBAer: PACER - Not LARRY (Bird) but the Indiana PACERS
3. Gaming pioneer: ATARI - ATARI's Pong was an early game changer! I remember standing in line to plunk down my quarter to play at a console like this. Wanna play online using your arrow keys?
4. The '70s, in a Tom Wolfe essay: ME DECADE - Wolfe's essay postulated that this was a break from the communalism of the '60's
5. "Um, what?" expression: GAPE.
6. "__ way!": ATTA.
7. Street fair treats: ICES - Philadelphia's Famous Italian ICES
8. Term trademarked by Lakers' coach Pat Riley, even though the team never achieved one under his leadership: THREEPEAT - He never did get three in a row
9. Spume at the shore: SEA FOAM.
10. Joshing: LEVITY.
11. Silly comments: INANITIES - They have a lot of air time to fill in during transitions
12. Pleasurable diversions, informally: MIND CANDY - Ours are crossword puzzles
13. Still: YET.
15. Dylan Thomas's home: WALES - Dylan's home of Swansea, U.K. in Wales is NNW of Exmoor, U.K. (Doone Country) we had recently
23. Like the 1972 film "Fritz the Cat," originally: X-RATED - Google if you must
24. Miss Hannigan's charge: ANNIE - Carol Burnett played the authoritarian head of the orphanage in ANNIE in her Hard Knock Life
26. Pocket square, e.g.: HANKIE.
27. March VIP: ST PAT.
28. Sounds tipsy, maybe: SLURS.
29. Was on Easy Street: HAD IT MADE.
30. Oil spills, e.g.: ECO CRISES - The Exon Valdez and Capt. Hazelwood leapt to mind
32. Aspired: AIMED HIGH
36. Lost one's cool: PANICKED.
38. Hardly a quick jaunt: ODYSSEY
41. Whiteboard props: EASELS.
43. 1936 Olympics standout: OWENS - Hitler didn't really snub Jesse OWENS as he did not congratulate any athlete. Here is a famous mashup of the two outside pictures that show an event in the middle that never happened.
Actual Picture Fake Mashup Actual Picture
46. Clever: CANNY - Kathy (Yellowrocks) is a fan of this word but I am more familiar with uncanny as in: Patrick MaHomes has an uncanny ability to avoid getting tackled.
47. Conclusion: CLOSE
48. Get to fit: ALTER - Dang, these pants have shrunk since Thanksgiving
51. Chiwere-speaking native: OTOE.
52. "I'm toast": UH OH.
53. Toast, sometimes: SIDE - $1.29 below. Fun clue.
Hi Cornerites! Chairman Moe here, getting to recap my second
Gary Larson puzzle, which today features multiple "polysemies". For
those whose lexicon is feeling lethargic on this day after Thanksgiving, a
polysemy is defined as the coexistence of many possible meanings for a word or
phrase. And today's used a verb tense (observe) as one meaning, and a noun as
another. Gary chose five such phrases that we'll describe in just a few
moments.
And if November 27, 2020 was added to his list, might we have seen this clue
and solve? "Observance of cream-less coffee?" BLACK FRIDAY
Yes, folks, it's BLACK FRIDAY, and while this year's version might be done
with shoppers wearing masks and keeping a 6' separation, it of course made me
think of this comic:
So while you're contemplating whether or not to go to the mall today, let's
see how Gary's polysemies fell into our grid:
16-Across. Observe music festival performers?: WATCH BANDS/WATCHBANDS.
Concert goers at this 1969 Festival got to WATCH 32 BANDS/ACTS over the course
of three days in mid-August at Max Yasgur's dairy farm in the town of Bethel,
NY. I doubt this would happen in 2020, what with masks and social distancing
The polysemy is WATCHBANDS, which Apple has a plethora of
38-Across. Observe woodworking tools?: SEE SAWS/SEE SAWS. SEE
SAWS could also be parsed as one who views Proverbs! But who, as a kid, didn't
fear THIS event:
61-Across. Observe bank drafts?: SPOT CHECKS/SPOTCHECKS. I
dunno about all y'all, but C Moe hasn't written an actual CHECK in years. All of
my banking is done online, and I also make my deposits of any "physical" CHECK
by taking its picture and sending it via my phone and bank app. Glad I have
adopted this as my closest bank is several miles away ... SPOTCHECKS: could Gary
have meant this trio of a highly reliable product used to detect surface cracks
or discontinuities in any non-porous material (metals, plastics or ceramics).
Magnaflux Spot Check is a red visible nondestructive test method for Liquid
Penetrant Inspections (LPI)?
10-Down. Observe engagement jewelry?: SPY RINGS/SPYRINGS. SPY
RINGS is not an activity I've done in several years; it used to be that the
amount one should spend on an engagement ring is = to 3 month's income. If the
median income is about $40k, then you'd need to spend about $10k on a ring. Here
is what $10k might buy; 2.5 karats:
SPYRINGS brought this image to mind; from my youth:
37-Down. Observe fancy dances?: EYE BALLS/EYEBALLS. I'm not
sure that a sleuth would actually "EYE" BALLS - as in the dance - but I suppose
so ... OTOH, these EYEBALLS are kinda creepy:
BTW, I forgot to include this prior to Thursday, but thought you might enjoy ... I didn't know Dagwood Bumstead was a friend, but he made sure I had my turkey!
On to the other clues!
Across:
1. Easter beginning?: NOR. LENT obviously didn't fit ... a NOR'easter
refers to a storm, as this video describes:
Moe-ku #1
Folks who use coupons During NOR'easters? Of course, They're
Arctic Clippers
4. Small amount: DOLLOP. Not sure that I've seen this word used before,
but I know that our resident crossword historian, Lemonade714 will chirp
in ...
10. Hot tub with a whirlpool: SPA. Not sure that I like this clue, but
YMMV
13. Period often with a name: ERA. Or, a pitcher's (baseball) stat
14. Ring of color: AREOLA. Why does this clue/solve always appear
whenever I blog? Let your imagination run wild thinking of an image ... maybe
the next time it shows up in a Moe Blog I will take the bait ...
15. Welcoming: OPEN. Signs at establishments today?
18. Russian refusal: NYET. Was this Putin's response when asked if they
interfered with this year's election?
19. Small battery type: C CELL. Most of my small batteries are either AA
or AAA
20. One snugly in bed, say: NESTLER. I wonder if Gary thought of
THIS when he
chose this word? Go ahead and click on it ... it's safe ...
22. 2018 SAG Life Achievement Award recipient: ALDA. Well, all I can say
is that this is a more "modern" clue for this famous actor, AKA Alphonso Joseph
D'Abruzzo
23. Ukr., once: SSR. Crosswordese
24. Comment not meant for everyone: ASIDE. Muttered under one's breath
perhaps ...
27. Wish undone: REGRET. I rue the day when I next see this in a
crossword puzzle ...
29. Vegas attractions: CASINOS. And here I thought Gary meant these:
31. Ones who take things badly?: KLEPTOS. Apparently the word KLEPTO
entered into our language about the same time as I emerged from the womb. It is
a shortened version of KLEPTOMANIA and requires no "abbr." in the clue. As a
kid, and a dog lover, I came to know that Irish Setters are "career KLEPTOS"
34. Freudian topics: EGOS. So many clips to choose from about Freud and
EGOS. So here is
an imbedded video clip (1:07)
that speaks to the ID, EGO, and SUPEREGO. And here is a meme of our eponymous
psychoanalyst:
And lastly, Moe-ku #2:
Do you know what wives
In Berlin call petticoats?
Their Frau-dian slips.
35. Word of encouragement: OLE. One of these days, we are going to get
a clue for OLE that refers him to either Sven or Lena. For example:
"Ole and Sven die in a snowmobiling accident, drunker than skunks, and end
up in Hell. The Devil observes that they are really enjoying themselves. He
says to them 'Doesnt the heat and smoke bother you?' Ole replies, 'Vell, ya
know, ve're from nordern Minnesooota, da land of snow an ice, an ve're yust
happy fer a chance ta varm up a little bit, ya know.'
The devil decides that these two aren't miserable enough and turns up the
heat even more. When he returns to the room of the two from Minnesota, the
devil finds them in light jackets and hats, grilling Walleye and drinking
beer. The devil is astonished and exclaims, 'Everyone down here is in
misery, and you two seem to be enjoying yourselves?' Sven replies, 'Vell, ya
know, ve don't git too much varm veather up dere at da Falls, so ve've yust
got ta haff a fish fry vhen da veather's dis nice.'
The devil is absolutely furious. He can hardly see straight. Finally he
comes up with the answer. The two guys love the heat because they have been
cold all their lives. The devil decides to turn all the heat off in Hell.
The next morning, the temperature is 60 below zero, icicles are hanging
everywhere, and people are shivering so bad that they are unable to wail,
moan or gnash their teeth. The devil smiles and heads for the room with Ole
and Sven. He gets there and finds them back in their parkas, bomber hats,
and mittens. They are jumping up and down, cheering, yelling and screaming
like mad men.
The devil is dumbfounded, 'I don't understand, when I turn up the heat
you're happy. Now its freezing cold and you're still happy. What is wrong
with you two?'
They both look at the devil in surprise and say, 'Vell, don't ya know, if
hell iss froze over, dat must mean da Vikings von da Super Bowl.'"
40. Full house sign: SRO. Standing Room Only. But I
immediately thought of this:
41. Plays (with): TOYS. Another verb tense for the grid-filler. Somewhat
similar in meaning to TEASE. As a noun: My S/O would be fine with us getting a
dog, but not one of these:
43. Brimming: REPLETE. I'm sure this word has appeared in x-word puzzles
before, but not recently as I recall. We just watched the remake of the 1940
Academy Award winning movie "Rebecca". The 2020 version (on Netflix) is REPLETE
with scenes from various British manors. Never saw Hitchcock's version but
Rotten Tomatoes seems to like the original better. Moe-ku #3:
The tailor got wild; Sewed scores of folds on the pants. REPLETE
with repleats
45. Washington Monument, for one: OBELISK. Again, if this word has
appeared before in an x-word, I'm not recalling it. Loosely translated, an
OBELISK is a four-sided monument with a tapering "pyramid" at the top. I found
this link
that will allow you to "click" on each remaining OBELISK and get more facts
...
47. Had an intense longing: LUSTED. In the Catholic world of the Ten
Commandments, the 9th of these poo-poos "carnal concupiscence", AKA "lust".
Glad they found a shortened word ... ;^)
51. Vagabonds: HOBOS. And now that I did some research, there could be
another definition for this abbreviated term:
52. Abe's role in "The Godfather": SAL. Abe Vigoda (February 24, 1921 –
January 26, 2016) was a character actor who played the role of SALvatore Tessio
in the movie, "The Godfather". Abe also starred in the erstwhile police show
"Barney Miller" as detective Phil Fish:
54. Video recorder since 1999: TIVO. Is the brand name for a digital
video recorder that made its debut on March 31, 1999. Its name is as synomynous
to DVR's as Kleenex is to facial tissues, or Scotch Tape is to ... well, Scotch
Tape!
55. Java products: APPLETS. Or, spelled with just one "P", something that
can go with a different Java as a snack. I will let our resident computer geeks
'splain the one with two P's ...
58. Kind of horn: TENOR. A rendition of "Autumn Leaves" as a TENOR horn
solo ... he is the one on the left in the video ...
59. Clinton's 1996 opponent: DOLE. I always thought this was one of the
more clever crossword puzzles created - back at the 1996 Presidential Election -
where either the word "BOBDOLE" or "CLINTON" could fit in the same space and all
other crosses make sense using the same clues
63. Punches in a workshop: AWLS. Moe-ku #4:
Shakespeare Comedy About pleased belt repairer: "AWLS Well That Mends
Well"
64. Oxygen-loving organism: AEROBE. I offer the
the condensed
version. Why is it that describing or defining science, physics, or biology
can't be dumbed down?!
65. Three-way joint: TEE. Or a kind of shirt, or a kind of wooden peg
which supports a golf ball ... gotta keep clues for these words fresh
66. Okay: YES. Not sure if when CC asked me if I would blog every other
Friday puzzle I said "Okay" or "YES"
67. Wee: TEENSY. TEENSY or teeny (teenie)? TEENSY is thought of to be
more of a childish adjective for something that is wee or very small; OTOH,
teeny (also spelled TEENIE) is so much more adolescent!
68. Old boomer: SST. Not sure if this is a CSO to our Monday Blogger
"Boomer"! I think the "boomer" Gary refers to is the airplane that caused a
sonic boom when it exceeded the speed of sound - as in Super Sonic
Transport. Now if he were thinking of OUR Boomer, the SST might stand for
Spares Strikes, and Tenpins
Down:
1. It has a smell named for it: NEW CAR. Having bought a NEW CAR this
past June 30, I can attest to this smell. And with the pandemic, I have yet to
drive it 2,000 miles. NEW CAR SMELL lingers still ... but once it disappears,
perhaps I can buy these to replace it?
2. Soothsayer: ORACLE. Wait just a doggone moment! Earlier, we had JAVA
as a clue and it referred to APPLETS. Now, we have ORACLE and it refers to a
Soothsayer? I wanted a clecho ... ;^) Here is a video about the ORACLE of Delphi
4. Wonka's creator: DAHL. Roald DAHL (13 September 1916 – 23 November
1990) was both a noted WWII pilot as well as a most famous author. Willard
Wonka (aka Willy, from the book: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory")
5. Venus or Mars: ORB. Crosswordese; hardly goes a week by that we
don't see this word as a 3-letter answer. Pick any two planets, but Venus and
Mars? Wonder why? This?
6. Depends (on): LEANS. More wordplay. Gary definitely dug into the
lesser known definitions when doing the clues for today; or perhaps, Rich and
Joyce took care of some changes
7. Norman Bates, thankfully: LONER. Does this clue make this answer more
emblematic of a Friday puzzle? No Norman Bates videos; but here's a "NORM" who's
anything but a LONER:
8. Cutlass, e.g.: OLDS. Ransom E OLDS (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950)
was a pioneer of the automobile industry, and his OLDSmobile was one of the
General Motors brands until 2004, when it produced the now popular crossword
car, ALERO, as its final model. The OLDS Cutlass began as a premium, mid-size
two-door coupe that was produced from the mid-1960's through the end of the
1990's. Several versions. I drove the car shown below in 1976. It was a
company car and quite a nice ride
9. Over and done with: PAST. Not to be a nitpicker, but I would add the
words "IN THE" to PAST to make the definition fit. Maybe Yellowrocks can
offer her two cents?
11. Capital of Portugal?: PEE. Lisbon? Euro? No you dummy! PEE as in the
capital letter P. And when you translate PEE from English to Portuguese you get
"Xixi". Another learning moment, compliments of your head Stooge!
12. __-Man: Marvel hero: ANT. Again, keeping the clue for the insect
fresh. ANT-Man, according to many sources, appeared in the following Marvel
Movies: Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Ant-Man and the Wasp
(2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
15. Baby's bodysuit: ONESIE. Another word not often seen in x-word
puzzles but ideal for crosses needing vowels and common consonants. Here is a
cute example:
17. First name in superhero lore: CLARK. CLARK Kent - the alias for
Superman. We often see LOIS with similar cluing
21. Syllables in some madrigals: LAS. More fresh cluing; Vegas was
already used today
23. Has the wheel: STEERS. As in driving a car. I will keep this one open
for punning for Ray-O-Sunshine should he choose
25. Way out: DOOR. EXIT also fits into a four-letter space; but not this
one
26. Canadian gas: ESSO. Moe-ku #5:
I hear that up north Farts are called ESSO, 'cause it's
Canadian gas
28. Trains over the road: ELS. I wonder if golfer Ernie has ever ridden
on these?
29. Shade of black: COAL. OK, fresh clues notwithstanding, this may be
a stretch, but it is a different way of cluing this word
30. Too: AS WELL. Along with "your and you're", and "its and it's", and
"their and they're", TOO and to are among the more misspelled words in
texting
32. Cheat, in a way: PEEK. As in taking a PEEK at your neighbors test
sheet in school. With the 2020 pandemic, and the 6' spacing between desks, I
doubt that a cheater can PEEK anymore
33. Sugar amt.: TSP. Crosswordese
35. "However," in tweets: OTOH. On The Other
Hand, perhaps school kids are taking a different PEEK when their
classes are conducted via Zoom
36. Western wolf: LOBO. Also, the mascot and nickname of the University
of New Mexico athletic teams
39. Apt name for a chef?: STU. I pencilled in "SUE" at first; as in SOUS
chef. STU = stew, but that's not a dish normally prepared and/or served by a
chef, IMO
42. Math class calculations: SLOPES. I wanted "Places where one skis",
but that's not a good Friday clue
44. First name in cosmetics: ESTEE. Crosswordese
46. DSL provider: ISP. The good old Internet Service
Provider. Ours is Century Link
48. Colors: TINCTS. "Lightly colors" might have been a better clue. As in
this erstwhile anticeptic that always stung like hell!
49. Calls up: EVOKES. From the Latin "ex vocare" --> "out of; to
call"
50. English sheep breed: DORSET. From the county in SW England. Here's an
image:
52. Set aside for later: STORE. Yet another "polysemy"! Gary was on a
roll with his cluing and word definitions
53. Starter for 007's car?: ASTON. As in the ASTON Martin. James Bond
drove these in many of his films. I doubt that the ones we could purchase have
all the bells and whistles that his had
56. Future JD's hurdle: LSAT. Crosswordese; Law School
Admission Test
57. Blunted sword: EPEE. PEE and EPEE in the same puzzle?
58. Unnamed ones: THEY. Another fresh clue?
59. Calendar square: DAY. Dinah Washington sang it well
60. Run a tab, say: OWE. Popular activity in bars/taverns when consuming
many rounds of drinks. THEY almost always run a credit card to make sure that
the "tab" is paid and no one OWEs when the last call is made
62. "Survivor" station: CBS. Survivor is one of the longest running
"reality" shows, although the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted the show. From
multiple sources: "The series' 40th season Survivor: Winners at War premiered on
February 12, 2020, during the 20th anniversary of the show, and finished airing
on May 13, 2020. Production for the 41st and 42nd seasons were delayed due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, and are now planned to begin filming in spring 2021, with
a fall 2021 premiere date for season 41.
Well, folks, that's about enough for us to digest on this day after
Thanksgiving! Hope all are staying safe and look forward to your comments below!
42. It restricts peacetime quartering of soldiers in private homes: THIRD AMENDMENT.
Boomer here again, filling in another Thursday slot.
"Dream, Dream, Dream, Dream. All I have to do, is Dream." Everly Brothers. I hope everyone is healthy and safe. Graybar
treated us to a great display of tasty food, since the annual Christmas
luncheon has been cancelled. C.C. and I are having Thanksgiving dinner,
probably today, tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday Happy Thanksgiving to
all of you out there.
Across:
1. Antepenultimate Greek letter: CHI. Antepenultimate is "third last".
4. Gone by: PAST. We spent PAST Thanksgiving with family, but not this year.
8. "Love Story" author: SEGAL.
13. 17-Across opposite: SHUT. 17. 13-Across opposite: OPEN. Perry Mason used to solve these OPEN and SHUT cases.
14. W competitor: OMNI. Traveling to Atlanta for a Braves game?? You may want to stay at the OMNI. Bring your credit card
15. Out of it: LOOPY.
16. Targets: AIMS.
18. Come after: ENSUE. Willie - "My name is SUE, How do you do? "
22. Ski jump's approach ramp: IN RUN. I have never RUN IN to one of these.
23. Not turn: KEEP. As food.
24. Actress Graynor: ARI.
31. "The Last Jedi" heroine: REY. My son was a Star Wars fanatic. I thought a Lightsaber was a roll of candy.
32. Pronoun-shaped girder: I BEAM.
33. Scan used to diagnose migraines: HEAD MRI. My head was fine, but I needed the MRI to find why my back wasn't healthy. MRIs are not too much fun but it is what it is.
38. Cold War military force: RED ARMY.
40. Big name in metal: ALCOA. Mainly aluminum.
41. Bid the most: WON. It seems odd to say you WON a bid, because the next step is you have to pay.
49. Vicious on stage: SID. Punk rocker Sid Vicious. Our Minneapolis Star Tribune is still bemoaning the loss of sportswriter SID Hartman. Age 100.
50. Give off: EMIT.
51. "'And hast thou __ the Jabberwock?'": Carroll: SLAIN.
57. Assemblage: ARRAY. I hope all of you have a tasty ARRAY of food on your table.
59. Get rid of: OUST.
60. Soda selection: COKE. Sorry, I drink Diet Pepsi straight up.
61. Spirits: BOOZE. I said straight up!
62. Emphatic Acapulco assent: SI, SI.
63. Didn't conceal: TOLD.
64. Deals with things: COPES.
65. Perched upon: ATOP.
66. __ blue: SKY. "Blue SKY, smilin' at me, nothin' but blue sky, do I see." Willie Nelson.
Down:
1. "The Daily Show" correspondent Ronny: CHIENG. Malaysian comedian.
2. Upper arm bones: HUMERI. Funny bones I guess.
3. Carnival ride cry: IT'S FUN. "We had joy, we had FUN, we had seasons in the sun." Terry Jacks.
4. Like a grade of D: POOR. Better than an "F".
5. Alarm clock toggle: AM PM. I have not used an alarm clock in years back when we used to get up around 3 AM to get a good spot at the flea market.
6. Quietly evade: SNEAK BY.
7. App with much swiping: TINDER. I think it might burn also.
8. Melatonin, for one: SLEEP AID. Never tried that. Sometimes I might use a Motrin PM. They work pretty well.
9. Long periods: EONS.
10. Delicate fabric: GOSSAMER. A light weight backpack, until you fill it up.
11. "The Simpsons" character with an 18-letter last name: APU.
12. Caustic chemical: LYE.
13. Delhi dress: SARI.
20. Lang. of Belize: ENG.
21. Used to be called: NEE. Some ladies keep it as a middle name.
25. Paper package: REAM. 500 sheets
26. "__ Life": Beatles: IN MY. "There are places I'll remember, all my life though some have changed."
28. Throw wildly, say: ERR.
29. Portuguese king: REI.
30. Letters before a trade name: DBA. Doing Business As
33. Kepi and kufi: HATS. Kepi is military. Kufi is like this.
34. K-12, in brief: EL HI.
35. Candy made with sour sugar: ACID DROP.
36. Palme __: film award: D'OR.
37. Flirted with, with "at": MADE EYES. "I only have eyes for you" The Flamingos.
38. Biographer Chernow: RON.
39. Get done with: END. We are not there yet.
41. Diver's attire: WET SUIT.
43. Reddit interview, briefly: AMA.
44. Midmorning drink: MIMOSA.
45. The NCAA's Spartans: MSU. In the Big Ten. Tough competition
in basketball for our Gophers. Seems that a Gopher versus a Spartan is
a bit of a mismatch.
46. Votes in: ELECTS. We just did that.
47. Title Inuit in a 1922 film: NANOOK. NANOOK of the north is a silent film mystery. I think she was Paul Bunyan's girlfriend.
48. Sensitive, as a subject: TICKLY.
52. One in Maslow's hierarchy: NEED. "As long as he NEEDS me". Judy Garland.
54. Level: RAZE. Interesting. RAZE is the opposite of RAISE.
55. Standard Oil brand: ESSO. We do not have ESSO in Minn. I think it's mainly farther north in Oh Canada.
56. Personal hygiene aid: Q TIP.
57. Robin Roberts' network: ABC.
58. Joey in the Hundred Acre Wood: ROO.
Here's my Turkey of the Year for the MN Bowling site.
Once again, enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and stay safe. Vaccines are coming! Our turkey is now in the oven. Will be our meal for the next four days.
29. Like Ben Franklin's religious beliefs: DEISTIC.
42. Delicate: FRAGILE.
52. Atonement: EXPIATION.
60. Hats: LIDS.
62. After 1-Across, skilled childcare worker ... and a hint to putting
together this puzzle's circles: NANNY.
Move the circled sections around a bit, to get
SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS, from Mary Poppins.
Seeing 1A SUPER and 10A CALI made this jump out pretty quickly.
SUPER NANNY was a reality show that lasted five seasons from 2004
to 2011.
Melissa here. This appears to be Mr. Dalal's debut on the corner, ambitious
to get all those pieces in the grid. Mary Poppins was the only of
Walt Disney's films to receive a Best Picture nomination (in 1965). Julie
Andrews received an Oscar for Best Actress. The 2013 film Saving Mr. Banks was based on the production of Mary Poppins, the author of the
book, P.L. Travers, and her meetings with Walt Disney. Great production,
IMO.
Across:
6. Spanish for "tar": BREA.
14. "Pokémon: The Series" genre: ANIME. Not sure if those cards are
still popular. My kids dabbled a little in the mid-90's. My late FIL
always pronounced it "Pokey-MAN."
15. "The __ Not Taken": Frost: ROAD.
16. Household paint no longer contains it: LEAD.
17. Mani-pedi tools: FILES. Most of those mani-pedis are being done
at home now.
20. Hillary and Norgay's conquest: EVEREST. Sir Edmund Hillary and
Sherpa Tenzing Norway were the first (known) to reach the summit
on on May 29, 1953.
Did Hillary or Norway reach the top first?
22. Allow to use: LEND.
23. Word after sun or speed: DIAL.
24. Supplement: ADD ON.
27. To some extent: PARTLY.
32. Pseudonym: ALIAS.
33. Pequod sinker: WHALE. Pequod is a fictional 19th-century Nantucket whaling ship that appears
in the 1851 novel Moby-Dick by American author Herman
Melville.
34. Huge mythical bird: ROC.
36. Protected inlet: COVE.
37. Mollusk's home: SHELL.
38. Prefix for tone or chrome: MONO. Made me think of this tune ...
39. One of 20 digits: TOE.
40. Then, to Pierre: ALORS. used as English speakers might say “so,” or “well.”
41. "Hired" workers: HANDS.
44. Bit of wit: BON MOT. A witty remark.
45. Cast a ballot: VOTED.
46. Hipbones: ILIA.
47. "The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple __": Noyes:
MOOR. The third line from the narrative poem The Highwaymen by
Sir Alfred Noyes. The metaphor compares “the road” to a “ribbon of
moonlight” in an attempt to paint a mental image for the reader. An
exceptional rendition of the poem was recorded by folk singer Phil Ochs
on his 1965 album, I Ain't Marching Anymore.
49. Whenever: ANYTIME.
56. Web surfing tool: MODEM.
57. Deleted, with "out": EXED.
58. Dunkable cookie: OREO.
59. Perpendicular to the keel: ABEAM.
61. Fork-tailed seabird: TERN.
Down:
1. Combination target: SAFE.
2. Degree offerer: Abbr.: UNIV. University.
3. Construction machine: PILE DRIVER. Used to drive piles into soil to provide foundation support for
buildings or other structures.
4. Retired female professors: EMERITAE.
5. Tightly closes again: RESEALS.
6. Cookout choice: BRAT.
7. Rubbish: ROT. Sounds so dignified.
8. Singer's asset: EAR.
9. Hubbub: ADO.
10. Customer: CLIENT.
11. Near-eternity: AEON. Also spelled eon.
Wikipedia.
12. Commend: LAUD.
13. Passports, e.g.: IDS.
19. Not quite worthy of a cigar?: CLOSE. "Close, but no cigar" is a
saying from the practice of giving cigars as prizes at carnivals in the US in
the 20th century; this phrase would be said to those who failed to win a
prize.
21. Like a fox: SLY.
24. Stuck (to): ADHERED.
25. Bargains: DEALS.
26. Herb used in potato salad: DILL. This is mashed potato
week for most of us in the U.S. It's the first thing my family agreed to
when picking a menu. Not just regular mashed potatoes,
thanksgiving mashed potatoes. A little potato to hold together the
butter, cream and four kinds of cheese.
27. Formal agreement: PACT.
28. Detached: ALOOF.
30. "Somewhere in Time" band: IRON MAIDEN.
31. Deeded apartment: CONDO.
33. Entire: WHOLE.
35. Amount paid: COST.
37. Narrow cut: SLIT.
38. One of Canada's Prairie Provinces: MANITOBA.
40. Athenian marketplace: AGORA.
41. Male ascetic: HOLY MAN.
43. Steers clear of: AVOIDS.
44. Recycling receptacle: BIN.
47. XLV years before the Battle of Hastings: MXXI. I always need
all perps for these - even if I did know what year the Battle of Hastings
was.
48. Columnist's page: OP-ED.
49. Archaic "soon": ANON.
50. Signify: MEAN.
51. Primetime award for which Betty White has received 21 nominations:
EMMY. What a treasure she is. Now and then.
24. Miss Hannigan's charge: ANNIE - Carol Burnett played the authoritarian head of the orphanage in ANNIE in her Hard Knock Life
