I am just finishing my third year of being the Saturday blogger here and
there is no better way to do that than with a Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle.
This elegant picture of Jeffrey shows him in his element as an art curator,
a job from which he retired six years ago. Here are his comments on this
puzzle:
In response to Gary’s request for commentary on this puzzle, I will
offer a few observances on the clues. It has been mentioned in
many commentaries by myself and others that a crossword editor may alter
as many as half of all the original clues. It’s often interesting
to note whether the clues have been made easier or harder, especially
because both approaches may be seen within a given puzzle.
Two instances of the editor adding difficulty in this crossword are the
following. My original clue for TRENCH was simply [Long pit],
which could be rather obvious. Rich’s [ ___ coat] is much harder,
and I recall considering that clue but thinking “No, too hard”.
For CRAYOLA, I used [“Colorful” company that produces Silly
Putty]. Rich made that harder by removing “colorful”. It
seems odd when a changed clue doesn’t really alter the difficulty at
all, as in my clue for WINK as [Acknowledge coyly] to the editor’s
[In-on-the-joke indicator], or my clue for AS IN changing from [A-apple
core?] to [B-bravo link]. I often think such changes are just
expressions of the editor’s desire to insert some personal creativity.
Of course, it’s always nice to see a deceptive, humorous clue
appreciated and maintained, especially at 1-Across where my [Victorian
constraint on women?] was accepted. And I am always glad when the
Shakespeare reference that I place into each of my crosswords is
maintained, exemplified here by the King Lear quotation at 49-Across.
ACROSS
1. Victorian constraint on women?: CORSET - Here
Mammy is constraining Scarlet in a CORSET at Tara.
7. Certain lookout's concern: SQUAD CAR - Ah, don't worry,
it's just Toody and Muldoon
15. Gamer's guise: AVATAR - Modern day Walter Mittys?
22. "__ Can Cook": PBS show: YAN - CRAYON finally dawned on me and took care of this potential natick with
YAN
23. In-on-the-joke indicator: WINK.
24. Get emotional, with "up": CHOKE
26. Centers of attention: FOCI - If you put something
flammable at the FOCI of any parabolic mirror in sunlight...
27. Spots at the prom?: ACNE.
28.
Traces: HINTS.
29. Plural used for people but not
animals: ELKS - I thought this was really clever. Some
friends of mine are ELKS and I have seen herds of ELK
30. Wine
list clarification: YEAR - Sotheby's got £168,000 for a 12-bottle case of this Château Cheval-Blanc 1947
31. Ancient portico: STOA - Most veteran cwd solvers have
metaphorically walked under a STOA in the AGORA
32. Break-even
situation: WASH - WASH: I won $100 at blackjack and then
lost $100. It's a WASH.
33. First name in Canadian whisky: HIRAM - Unlike the high
price wine above, you can get this 700 ml bottle of Canadian Club
Whiskey produced by the HIRAM Walker Distillery for about $30.
34. Lose energy: FLAG and 39. Recedes: EBBS.
38. B-bravo link: AS IN - My name is Golf, Alpha,
Romeo, Yankee. I'm sure our military contingent here would say the "AS
IN" is assumed
43. Word in some European country
names: LAND - Eng, Ice, Green, Po, Switz are some
44.
English subject: USAGE
46. Russian
veto: NYET.
47. "No time to lose!": ASAP - We recently had Stat
as a clue for PDQ
48. David's "Frasier" role: NILES
49. "The younger rises when the old doth __": "King Lear": FALL
50. Poor start?: MAL - MALpractice leaps to mind
51.
Cash source: ATM - This seems to be a "stand alone" word
now
52. Longtime beverage sponsor for the New York Mets: RC COLA - The most famous Met of them all, Tom Seaver, pitching RC Cola and not
baseballs
54. Solo travels?: EGO TRIPS - Clever!
57.
"Darn it!": OH RATS - This Peanuts cartoon sounds like a
crossword utensil discussion we have
59. Awkward: UNGAINLY.
60. Hurtle: ROCKET - This 8-second video shows the
Osiris-Rex spacecraft (that was launched by an Atlas V ROCKET) landing on an
asteroid that is HURTLING through space at 65,000 mph, stirring up the
surface, taking in samples and taking off again after six seconds of contact
to return to Earth
61. Corridors, e.g.: PASSAGES.
62.
Academically stylish: TWEEDY - Indiana wore a suit like
that
Down:
1. Hardly a nice guy: CAD.
2. Not
neat: OVER ICE - Avert your eyes Tin!
3. Northern Italian city near the
Adriatic: RAVENNA - In our phone call, I told Jeffrey I had
confidently entered TRIESTE first
11. Bespectacled "Snow White"
figure: DOC - Can you name them left to right? Answer
12. Company that trademarked Silly Putty: CRAYOLA -
Who knew?
13. Nickname for antiaircraft guns: ACK ACKS - Cuba
Gooding Jr. plays the role of U.S. Navy cook Dorie Miller in the
movie Pearl Harbor. Dories took over an ACK ACK (anti
aircraft) gun aboard the USS West Virginia and became a hero
14. Like the area along a German river: RHENISH - This
land along the Rhine proclaimed itself an autonomous country for two years
after WWI. Today this word simply refers to land along the Rhine
20. "Child's play!": THIS IS SIMPLE.
23.
Method: WAY.
25. Facing charges: ON TRIAL - Guess who's ON TRIAL here
26. Select group?: FEW.
33. Hard to forget, as
a melody: HAUNTING - Pentatonix's version of just such a
melody
34. Catch fire dramatically: FLAME UP.
35.
Layered entrée: LASAGNA.
36. Closely related
things: ANALOGS - A variant spelling of ANALOGUES
37. Econ. indicator: GDP.
39. Assure compliance
with: ENFORCE - Will police be asked to ENFORCE mandatory
mask ordinances nationwide?
40. Where some picnicking takes
place: BY A LAKE - Picnic By The Lake (Пикник у озера) by Vladimir Pervuninsky
41. After the event: BELATED.
42. Letters on a
Cardinal's cap: ST L - Nebraska's best athlete wore this
cap
Bob Gibson
45. Go along with: ESCORT.
51. Verdi
creation: ARIA - Our more literate bloggers will know what
opera produced this ARIA which some claim is opera's most famous.
53. Eats: CHOW - Noun not the verb. CHOW for a U.S.
soldier:
55. Prof's helpers: TAS - Professor Lambeau and his
TA (played by John Mighton who helped write the complex math in the movie)
examine Will's anonymous work in Good Will Hunting
Hi, Cornerites. Chairman Moe here recapping what appears to be
Jonathan Potter's first LA Times crossword puzzle, and perhaps his
second ever published work. Pretty impressive to have a Friday - difficulty as
your first LAT entry, although I did not require the usual amount of Friday
time to complete. Yes, there were some areas where C Moe had to wait for
perps, but I am not the fastest solver in the world; just try to solve without
looking up words.
Today's puzzle has a clever theme: 58-Across. Educators' concerns ... or, a
phonetic hint to how four long puzzle answers were derived: ABSENTEES,
as in the letter E is missing, or ABSENT from the entries, and provides
a different meaning to a well-known item or phrase. Let's "C" how this
came about!
17-Across. Annual assembly of breakfast lovers?: WAFFLE-CON. Add an "E"
and it becomes WAFFLE CONE
WAFFLE-CON could be a play-on-words for
"Comic-Con". Where the word "Con" is an abbreviation for convention. So, a
convention/assembly of breakfast lovers might enjoy going here:
37-Across. Bathroom fixture trial version?: TEST TUB. Add an
"E" and it becomes TEST TUBE. Although the video shows a beaker, you
definitely have to follow this advice if you ever choose to dilute acid
As for a TEST TUB perhaps this is what Mr Potter had in
mind?
11-Down. Strategy for holding it while in the bathroom line?:
WAIT AND HOP. Add an "E" and the phrase is WAIT AND HOPE. Here
is a famous quote using the latter:
“There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the
comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the
deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt
what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life.
Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget, that
until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is
contained in these two words, 'Wait and Hope'.”― Alexandre Dumas
And of course, if you've ever been to a football game, or at a SRO
play/opera/musical, and had to pee, I'm sure we've all done this:
Last, but not least: 28-Down. Mess made while melting down old jewelry?:
GOLDEN GLOB. Add the "E" and it becomes GOLDEN GLOBE. The
Golden Globe Awards, as Wikipedia cites, began in 1944. In 1950, the Hollywood Foreign Press
Association made the decision to establish a special honorary award to
recognize outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. Recognizing
its subject as an international figure within the entertainment industry, the
first award was presented to director and producer, Cecil B. DeMille. The
official name of the award thus became the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
When I saw GOLDEN GLOB, the first thing that came to mind was:
Now, it's off to the races to see how quickly we can recap the rest
of this puzzle! As this blog is publishing, C Moe is in Athens, GA seeing his
daughter, son-in-law, and first grandson! You've all "met" him before ...
Across:
1. Draft sources: KEGS. As in the draft beer that is on tap. Kegs come
in a variety of sizes
5. Arabic for "commander": EMIR. Fresh cluing for this common x-word
fill. Usually clued as Arab "ruler", but historically, the word EMIR referred to
a commander
9. Parts of a code: LAWS. Although technically there are no "LAWS" in
this code shown below, the Comics Magazine Association self-regulated to assure
parents, perhaps, that the content in their publications was "safe" for their
kids to see and read
13. Pelvic parts: ILIA. The hip bones; plural for ilium
14. __ tag: NAME. A dear departed friend of mine, named Bob, wore a
shirt, just like this one, where the NAME tag was silk-screen printed onto the
tee:
15. Candied, as apples: GLACE. Technically, gla·cé. From the French
glacer; (of fruit) having a glossy surface due to preservation in
sugar.
19. Wee Scot: BAIRN. Scottish for "child"
20. Visibly upset: IN TEARS. This video went "viral" several years ago
when my (and TTP's) Pittsburgh Steelers upset the Cincinnati Bengals in a
playoff game
21. Exhaust, as a welcome: OUTSTAY. I think the quote from Benjamin
Franklin is: "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after 3 days." Moe is going to
be with his daughter for 5 days. Hope I don't cause this reaction:
23. Sci. course: BIO. Could be clued: "what's found in one's obit"
24. Words with waves: HI'S. Note the clue ... not "his" as in what
belongs to "him", but "hi's" as in the short term for "hello"
25. __ Sutra: KAMA. So, C Moe, how do you approach THIS clue/solve on
your recap??!! Well, I decided on a brief (and quite informative, I'd say)
explanation in a video
and then a Moe-ku (#1, if you're keeping track):
VP Elect's book On political pleasure: KAMA-la Sutra
26. Draft pick: LAGER. As in beer; "draft" as in what's ON TAP. So, of
course you ask: is LAGER different than beer? To begin, there is no difference
between beer and LAGER. LAGERS are beers that are fermented slowly at low
temperatures. They also ferment from the bottom up. The yeast literally rises
to the top during the fermentation process. Ales ferment quickly from the top
down and are brewed in a warmer environment. It’s important to note that LAGER
is not a type, but rather a family of beers that includes bright lagers, amber
lagers, dark lagers, bocks, doppelbocks, kellerbiers, rauchbiers, Oktoberfests
and, maybe the most popular, pilsners
29. "No problem!": SURE CAN. Remember back when we were kids and we
were constantly corrected about whether we CAN or if we may? "CAN I come over
and play?" Surely, you CAN ... but my Mom says "you
may not"
31. Playing a fifth qtr., say: IN OT. In OverTime. A
"fifth quarter" would apply to both basketball and football at the
professional level. The NBA plays 12:00 quarters; the NFL plays 15:00
quarters. In baseball, "overtime" is referred to as "extra innings". And my
Mom, bless her heart, who was totally clueless to this, would often ask my
Dad: "Is the baseball game in 'over innings'?!"
32. Langston Hughes Library designer Maya: LIN. Maya Lin, (born October
5, 1959, Athens, Ohio, U.S.), best known for this Memorial:
33. Melted cheese concoction: FONDUE. Remember when this was a staple
appetizer theme back in the day?
And Moe-ku #2:
Margaret, to Moe: "For our upcoming party, FONDUE? Please,
'Fon-DON't'!"
36. G, in the key of C: SOL. The fifth note of a major scale; the note
"G". Interesting that in the image below it's spelled "SO"
39. 9 to 5, say: Abbr.: HRS. Many East Coast businesses operate from
9:00am to 5:00pm; their corresponding Central Time Zone businesses operate from
8:00am to 4:00pm to accommodate East Coast customers. Or so I've been told
40. Like the Inca: ANDEAN. Indigenous to the "Cordillera de los Andes";
the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous
highland along the western edge of South America.
42. Electric __: EEL. For any of you SCUBA divers out there:
43. Marshy spots: BOGS. Interesting coincidence that a guy with THIS NAME
played at FENway Park:
44. Former flier with a NY/Newark/DC/Boston shuttle: EASTERN. Former
Astronaut and CEO of EASTERN Airlines, Frank Borman. Here is a bit of EASTERN
Airlines Shuttle "history":
46. Prairie home: TEPEE.
47. Tirade: RANT. Moe-Quain #1:
Brutal, Clumsy despot Had difficulty with A Windsor knot;
that prompted a Tie RANT
49. Plural French pronoun: ILS. Pronounced "eel'-uh". I eat and drink
"French" but can't speak a lick
50. Get: SEE. This guy "gets it", see?
51. Real asset ... or no asset at all?: BIG HELP.
Sarcasm intended
53. Repeat: ITERATE. Moe-Quain #2:
Repeat: I say, "repeat After me, and let me Be clear!" And
to re-ITERATE, Again
57. Keys: ISLES. From Google: "The Florida Keys are a string of
tropical islands (ISLES) stretching about 120 miles off the southern tip of
the U.S. state of Florida, between the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
They’re known as a destination for fishing, boating, snorkeling and scuba
diving. The southernmost city of Key West is famous for Duval Street’s many
bars, Mallory Square’s nightly Sunset Celebration and the Ernest Hemingway
Home and Museum." But I seem to recall that just before Halloween, Key West is
better known for
this. Enter
at your own risk; it's rated PG-55. Sort of like "Spring Break for AARP
members"!
60. Gruff: SHORT. The one on the left is definitely "SHORT"!
61. Together, so to speak: SANE. "So to speak" is the key to the clue. We
used to say that if someone is "SANE", they had their $h** together ...
62. Smell __: A RAT. Figuratively when something doesn't seem right;
literally
63. Napping, perhaps: ABED. When you are "in, at, or toward a bed". ASEA
(when you are at sea) is another example many x-word constructors use to use an
"A" as the start of a four-letter fill
64. Natural gas additive: ODOR. Natural gas in its native state is
colorless and odorless. Mercaptan is the additive that is added to natural gas
to make it easier to detect in case of a leak. The most important thing to know
about mercaptan is that it stinks. Some people compare it to the smell of rotten
eggs.
Mercaptans contain sulfur. That's what makes them smell. In a gaseous state,
Mercaptan has much the same property as natural gas, so it will also rise and
dissipate with natural gas.
Could this be another example of Natural Gas with an ODOR?
65. Sit: POSE. As in "posing" for a picture/photograph. Most everyone is
sitting
Down:
1. Only bird whose beak has nostrils at the end: KIWI. I didn't know
this, but it's always fun to find a picture that shows it. They're not very big
2. Verve: ELAN. More x-wordese. ELAN is not a word I use too often; nor
verve
3. Talent: GIFT. Definitely a "Friday" clue; having a "GIFT" is to
indicate ones talent at doing something. This?
4. Conservative choice: SAFE BET. It's a SAFE BET to say that the sun
will rise in the East. Moe-Quain #3:
It's a SAFE BET to know That Moe will litter his Recaps with
"Ku's", "L'ick's", or now, "Qains" Money!
5. Start of el año: ENERO. January, in Español
6. Computers with Apple cores: MACS. Cute. The capital letter "A" in
Apple gave it away
7. Twitter shorthand: IMO. In My Opinion.
Honest
8. "Le déjeuner des canotiers" painter: RENOIR. In English, the
Luncheon of the Boating Party. 1880-1881
9. Pride Month letters: LGBT. Lesbian Gay Bi-Sexual
Transgender. June is "Month" in which they celebrate. "Pride" as opposed
to shame or social stigma
10. One with a home in Nome: ALASKAN. At the 3:00 mark,
this erstwhile VP candidate
spoke (in a SNL spoof) about seeing Russia from ALASKA. Maybe in Nome you
could?
12. Skedaddle: SCRAM. To depart quickly; run away; SCRAM
16. "Dark Sky Island" singer: ENYA. Nice
18. Den: LAIR. Synonym
22. Worthwhile: USEFUL. Scott Van Pelt used this word to describe a great
golf shot, when he worked for The Golf Channel network
24. Camouflage wearers, at times: HUNTERS. This combination of colors
seems a bit odd when you think of it ... but maybe the deer are color-blind?
26. Edelstein of "The Kominsky Method": LISA. Complete unknown to C
Moe, but now that I am streaming, and have a Netflix account, I will have to
catch up; looks like a
great cast
27. Quote book abbr.: ANON. We certainly have had our share of
"ANON"ymous posters here at the Corner ...
29. Part of the fam: SIS. My SIS and I at the RnRHOF in 2018
30. Male swan: COB. I hope that Spitzboov will confirm this, but
male swans are called a "COB" due to the knob on its beak. The word "knob" comes
from the German "knopf"
32. Soup legume: LENTIL. Moe-ku #3:
We decided to Give up legumes, pre-Easter. Our LENTIL promise.
34. Desire: URGE. What one has before 11-Down kicks in
35. Latin infinitive: ESSE. Not to be confused with ESSO, which of
course is Canadian Gas ... or, if Hamlet were an ancient Roman, he'd have
uttered: "ESSE aut non ESSE? Illud est quaestio ..."
37. Univ. aides: TAS. Teaching Assistants. Usually a grad
student who assists the professor of a course in teaching or mentoring
undergraduate students at a University or College
38. Pin in the back: TEN. Wow! What a clue! Boomer probably
spotted this right away. Pin, as in bowling pin. The TEN pin is in the back of
the "rack" of pins, along with the SEVEN, EIGHT, and NINE. I know Boomer has
20 perfect (300) games in bowling, but I wonder how many times he's picked up
this split (the dreaded, 7-10):
41. Blinking diner sign: EAT HERE. Couldn't find any images with a
"blinking" sign, but here are a couple to amuse you. The second one is
definitely where this Stooge goes to EAT
43. Draft source: BEER TAP. Oh, not the Selective Service "draft".
During the Vietnam War, and when I was eligible to be drafted, I was first
1-A, then 2-S, and finally, 1-H. I'm pretty sure that I found a BEER TAP in a
local bar, more than a few times
45. Sun Bowl city: EL PASO. The
Sun Bowl
is, along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, second to the Rose Bowl as the
oldest post-season college football game. It currently features an "at large"
matchup between schools/teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the
Pacific 12 Conference (PAC-12).
The stadium is called the "Sun Bowl", and is ergonomically positioned into a
natural "bowl" on the campus of the University of Texas, El Paso. The
post-season "bowl game" has been played without interruption since 1935;
however, the 2020 game has been canceled due to the Coronavirus
46. __ Vogue: TEEN. Been waaay too long for me to know about this; not
even sure it was around back when my daughter was a teenager
47. Cleanup hitter's stats: RBIS. Technically, it's Runs
Batted In, but I guess Jonathan needed the plural here and used
some poetic license. But, you could also argue that this refers to how people
say the plural abbreviated phrase: "ribbies"
48. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" host Tyler: AISHA. Aisha Naomi Tyler (born
September 18, 1970). AISHA "replaced" Drew Carey when "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
resurfaced on the CW Network in 2013. Regulars Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles, and
Wayne Brady make this one of the funniest comic improv shows. Here's the cast
with Arsenio Hall:
50. Guide: STEER. Is this redundant?
52. City limits sign abbr.: ESTD. Established. However, a thorough visit
of "City Limits Sign ESTD" proved to me that this clue was forced. All of the
ones I found abbr. it as EST
53. Money-object link: IS NO. I can't recall the last time I used cash
money to pay for anything ...
54. Leader of space?: AERO. AEROspace, as in the branch of industry
associated with aviation and space flight
55. Tazo products: TEAS. Tazo TEA Company was founded in Portland, OR in
1994. It is currently a part of the Unilever family of food and beverage
products
56. Santiago-to-Buenos Aires dirección: ESTE. Spanish for "east"
59. Unenviable: BAD. As in not desirable or pleasant; which fortunately,
(for me, anyway) recapping these puzzles is not "BAD"
The Grid:
Compliments of our friend Malodorous Manatee:
There is "no Moe"! Give me your best shot below. See you again on Christmas
Day ...
The themers for today's puzzle are word pairs: the first an anagram of the
second, the second an animal of some sort:
17A. *Bovine that doesn't waste words?: TERSE STEER. He doesn't
chew his cud twice ...
24A. *Dog that had a few too many?: LOOPED POODLE.
Here's lickin' at ya kids. Hic!
34A. *Sheep that can't see over the pasture wall?:
WEE EWE. She's so wee that we can't even see her.
41A. *Insect that caught some rays?: TAN ANT. I thought
this guy was one of the latest regenerations of Dr. Who. Here he is
with his sonic screwdriver, a must have for MacGyvers. I betcha
Anon-T would love to add one of those to his toolkit!
48A. *Weasel-family critter wearing clothes?: GARBED BADGER. Badgers, like
skunks, are members of the family Mustelidae and distant relatives of
18D.
And the reveal: 60A. Leave one's car unlawfully ... or where you might
expect to find the creatures in the answers to starred clues?:
DOUBLE PARK. This is one of the many ways to park illegally, but
perhaps one of the potentially most serious, especially if the blocked vehicle
belongs to an on call EMT. I get the DOUBLE in the first half of the
answer, but I'm MIA on PARK. Ants and badgers perhaps, but not
steers and poodles (except maybe on a leash).
The rest of the clues:
Across:
1. Arizona locale for MLB spring training fans: MESA . And here's where
the fans sit, in Hohokam Stadium. Named for the Hohokam Indians, a tribe
indigenous to the Mesa area. They were an agricultural society, known for
building extensive networks of irrigation canals. They prospered in this area
until their civilization was destroyed by a great drought in the mid 15th
century.
5. __ breath: bouquet filler: BABY'S.
10. Human rights lawyer Clooney: AMAL. Rosemary's
niece-in-law.
14. Enthusiastic: AVID.
15. Crush the final: ACE IT.
16. Nosh: BITE.
19. Class struggle?: EXAM.
20. Court events: TRIALS.
21. Glitz: GLAM.
23. Central Park tree: ELM
27. Approach evening: LATEN. I thought this was a language?
30. __ Canadiens: Montréal team: LES.
31. Stenographer's stat: WPM.
32. Big Ten sch.: OSU.
33. "I __ had!": WAS.
37. Choice cut: SIRLOIN. Shouldn't that be "Soreloin?" Ouch!
40. Fair treat: CORN DOG.
42. Scatter, as seed: SOW.
43. Having one sharp: ING. IIRC the same an an A Flat. CSO to any
musicians out there ...?
44. Morning hrs.: AMS
45. Downed: ATE
46. Tests for future OBs: MCATS.
52. 2019 event for Pinterest, briefly: IPO. Well picture that!
63. Exclusive, as a community: GATED. Also an internet routing
protocol, for all you Linux geeks.
64. Pop singer Sands: EVIE.
65. "Meet the Press" moderator: TODD.
66. Perfect places: EDENS. In Xwds EDENS are always depicted as
"perfect", but I think there was a snake in the grass there (or in a tree
maybe).
67. Talk back to: SASS. When you're a little kid this is a great
way to get your ivories cleaned with Ivory soap.
Down:
1. "The Simpsons" creator Groening: MATT. Has anybody seen this?
I watched it only when it was used to close the old Tracey Ullman Show and
then lost track of it. I'm familiar with a lot of the characters though
because the show is virally mnemic, especially in Xwd puzzles. I hear it's
pretty funny.
2. "Did you __?!": EVER. I haven't lived long enough yet.
3. iPhone assistant: SIRI. Ssh. I hear she might be listening!
4. Source of website revenue: AD SALE.
5. Low voice: BASSO. Very profundo.
6. Take steps: ACT.
7. Disco trio with a Grammy Legend Award: BEE GEES. Another CSO
to Anon-T.
8. Cedes the floor: YIELDS.
9. Guitar band: STRAP. CSO to HuskerGary who told the funny story
about his guitar strap breaking while he was performing at a friend's
wedding?
10. Prez on a penny: ABE.
11. Eclectic art technique: MIXED MEDIA.
12. In the least: AT ALL. Or a bar order, particularly for a
double shot of whiskey?
13. "I wanna!": LEMME.
18. SpaceX CEO Musk: ELON. see 48A.
22. Links machine: MOWER. Our lawn tractor is on the blink and Dw
has been keeping the lawn trimmed with a hand mower, as YT is now "too busy"
to do it.
25. Have in mind: PLAN. IMHO planning is a lost art.
26. Links event: OPEN. I don't watch much sports on TV, but I do
find watching golf to be very relaxing.
27. Without a clue: LOST. Welcome to a large and growing
group.
28. Bangkok locale: ASIA.
29. React to a missed exit: TURN AROUND.
33. Clever one: WIT.
34. "Holy moly!": WOW. A mincing of the phrase "holy Moses",
popularized in the 1940s by the character Captain Marvel in the DC Comics'
comic book of the same name.
35. Habit: WONT.
36. Breakfast fare: EGGS.
38. Moussaka meat: LAMB. See 34A. The absolutely best thing
to make with eggplants. We had a bumper crop this year.
39. Start: ONSET.
40. Like some dorms: COED.
42. Law: STATUTE.
45. Visiting Vietnam, say: ABROAD.
46. Scant: MERE. Also a French Mama.
47. Breakfast fare: CREPES. 46D's make them a lot.
48. Colossal: GIANT. I read recently that some archaeologists now
believe that Goliath wasn't nearly as tall as his press agents claimed him to
be.
49. Sitcom set in a H.S. science class: AP BIO. Didn't have these
back in the day. Did take advanced biology with Mr. Pottler though.
Great teacher.
50. Duck: DODGE.
51. Desired medals: GOLDS.
55. Etna output: LAVA.
56. Hindu titles: SRIS.
57. Scrapes (out): EKES. As opposed to "eeks", freaks out.
59. "Ideas worth spreading" conference: TED. Well, some ideas
anyway.
61. Folds of music: BEN.
Here's the grid:
I thank you all for coming, and as this is my first outing I thank
CC for inviting me to the party, and for MalMan, Moe,
TTP, and Anon-T for keeping me from drowning in the puns bowl.
waseeley, but you can call me Bill.
Notes from C.C.:
1) I'm very pleased to tell you that Bill (waseeley) has agreed to join our
team. He'll share the Thursday blogging duties with Joseph. Here's Bill, whose
grandson Ray is from Harbin, China.
2) Here is Ðave, who has corrected many mistakes in
my blog write-ups over the years. This picture was taken yesterday. Tell us
why you start with a specialÐ!
25. With "The," '80s British rockers who gave their group "the most
ordinary name": SMITHS.
31. Chit: IOU.
32. Sargasso Sea spawner: EEL. The Sargasso Sea is a vast area of
the northern Atlantic Ocean which is home to sargassum, a kind of seaweed.
Also the name (Wide Sargasso Sea) of a prequel to Jane Eyre,
about Mr. Rochester's wife, Antoinette, renamed by her husband as Bertha - mad and confined to the
attic in Brontë's novel.
33. "Baby back" morsel: RIB.
34. Consider: DEEM.
39. Balloon demise sounds: POPS. Speaking of balloons - I recently heard a great episode of the podcast
Radiolab called
A Very Lucky Wind, the first few minutes of which involves a very unlikely true story
about a girl and a balloon.
40. La-la preceder: TRA.
41. Rapper __ Nas X: LIL.
42. Java: JOE.
48. Actress Meryl: STREEP.
50. "Finally, it makes sense": I SEE NOW.
51. Director DuVernay: AVA. Director of another Netflix series,
When They See Us, about the Central Park Five.
52. Page-bottom abbr.: CONTD.
54. "Yabba dabba __!": DOO. Fred Flintstone.
58. Like eta and zeta: GREEK.
60. Unwelcome look: LEER.
61. Fairy tale opener: ONCE.
62. Car service choices: UBERS.
63. Whirling current: EDDY.
64. Sign of sadness, maybe: TEAR.
65. Little drinks: NIPS. Not sips. In New England, the word “nip” is the regional slang for a tiny bottle
of booze, usually 50 ml in size. It's thought that these bottles
originated as tasters in the mid-1800s. The term nip likely comes from
the Low German word nipperkin and was used as early as 1796.
Down:
1. Israeli coin: SHEKEL. Not to be confused with a
schmeckle.
2. Stopped the ship by facing the wind: LAID TO. Nautical term, to
lay to is "to bring a ship vessel into the wind and hold her stationary. A vessel
doing this is said to be laying to."
10. More robust: HEARTIER. "Hearty" refers to good health and ability, while "hardy" implies a
boldness or capability to withstand tough conditions.
Grammarist.
11. Outdated collective noun: MAN. Did you know the collective noun for butlers is a ‘sneer of butlers’?
Harsh. 10 Most Offensive Collective Nouns.
12. Antlered bugler: ELK. Bull elk bugle (verb) as a sign of dominance, however, they also will
bugle as a means to locate other elk. A bugle is also a way for a bull
to call cows in to him. A chuckle is the series of grunts following a
bugle.
13. Multiple choice choices: A B OR C. Tricky.
18. Elgar's "__ and Circumstance Marches": POMP.
21. Place for card games: TABLE TOP.
24. Ones with regrets: RUERS.
25. Hardest to spot: SUBTLEST.
26. Garden tools: HOES.
27. Bottom line: SUM.
29. Whipped __: CREAM.
30. Sportage automaker: KIA.
34. Probe (into): DELVE.
35. Real riot: HOOT. Oh, that kind of riot.
36. Performed surgery: OPERATED.
37. To and __: FRO.
38. Mercenary: HIRED GUN.
39. Nighties: PJS. Worn AFTER DARK.
43. Caboose's place: REAR.
44. Pitch that curves downward: SINKER.
45. Dangerously involved: IN DEEP.
46. Pigeons, e.g.: COOERS. Like the coo-coo Pigeon sisters
...
47. Furry "Star Wars" creatures: EWOKS.
49. __ so often: occasionally: EVERY.
52. Candy shape: CANE.
53. Killer whale: ORCA.
55. Part of IPA: ALE.
56. Central banking syst., with "the": FED.
57. URL bit: DOT.
59. Hitter's stat: RBI.
Notes from C.C.:
Happy birthday to dear Hahtoolah (Susan),
whose humor and talent shine through in each of her posts and links. A
bat called Guanita who does not sleep properly? Only she can find that.
Hahtoolah loves traveling and has been everywhere, including my hometown
Xi'an. Hope you can be on the plane again next summer, Susan!
33. First name in Canadian whisky: HIRAM - Unlike the high
price wine above, you can get this 700 ml bottle of Canadian Club
Whiskey produced by the HIRAM Walker Distillery for about $30.
