Thursday, March 25, 2021, Emma Oxford

Good morning, cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here, wishing everyone a wonderful Thursday.  It need not be as joyous as it seems to be for our friend, above, for it to still be quite pleasant.

I, for one, am pleased to report that, in contrast to last Thursday's mind-expanding theme, today we are presented with a quite straightforward, easy-to-describe theme.  At four places in the grid, our constructor, Emma Oxford, has placed definitions of KING.  This solver found the theme entries to be helpful in completing the puzzle.  Of course, there are many definitions of KING that were not used in this puzzle (e.g. a type of salmon, a chess piece and Stephen King) and perhaps Emma will treat us all to a King-theme-redux at some point in the future.

WE THREE FOUR KINGS   (with a few more strewn about)

17 Across. King: HIGHEST FACE CARD.

King David?

33 Across. King: MALE MONARCH.

King Melvin Kaminsky

41 Across. King: TYPE OF COBRA. 

King Cobra

57 Across. King: POWERFUL CHECKER.

Like The Man Said, "King Me"

The completed grid .  .  .  .

.  .  .  .  and the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Pacific island called "The Gathering Place": OAHU.

King Kalakaua Lived Here

5. Lots of land: ACRES.

 

10. Workshop gadget: VISE.  A clamp, not a bad habit.

14. Cold-shoulder: SHUN.  Rarely used, as it seems to be used in the clue, as a verb.  Or, perhaps as in "he received the cold-shoulder"?,

15. Material from the French for a Scandinavian country: SUEDE.  This marine mammal was not previously cognizant of the etymology.  Then again, he also did not know that The Police had recorded a song called King of Pain.  As a result, for years he wondered what had inspired this:

Weird Al, King of Suede

16. MLB shortstop who agreed to play third because Jeter was already the shortstop: AROD.  Alex RODriguez.  Wow, that certainly is one lengthy clue.  Not to be confused with Chi Chi.

Les Nessman - WKRP

20. Used, as china: ATE ON.  Small "c" china originated in the Jaingxi province of capital "C" China.

21. Belief ending: ISM.

22. Mudville dud: CASEY.  CASEY At The Bat is the "Ballad of The Republic" written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer.  Mudville in the clue, of course, is a reference to the town.   And The Mighty Casey, of course, struck out.

The Might Casey

23. Theater section: LOGE.

25. "Queer Eye" fashion expert __ France: TAN.  Often, we see Amy.  "Queer Eye" is an American reality television series.  Tanveer Wasim France (nee Safdar) was on the show.

26. Clara Bow nickname: IT GIRL.

29. By the seashore: COASTAL.  She sells seashells by the seashore.

35. Society newbie: DEB.  Slang/shortened form of  DEButant.

37. Kuwaiti ruler: EMIR.

King Salman of Saudi Arabia and the Emir of Kuwait

King Salmon and Friends

38. Name synonymous with synonyms: ROGET.  Created in 1805 by Peter Mark ROGET and released to the public in 1852.

39. Frosty glaze: HOAR.  When humid air skips the droplet stage and goes directly to crystallization it forms HOAR frost.

Hoar frost

40. Place to relax: DEN.  Or, perhaps, not relax.  See also 65 Across.

Daniel In The King of Beast's Den

43. Disco lights: STROBES.

45. Pressing: URGENT.

46. "Who now the price of his dear blood doth __?": Shak.: OWE.  A quote from Shakespeare could be used to clue just about any word in the English language.

47. Roman commoner: PLEB.  Shortened form of Plebian.  Those citizens of Rome who were not Patricians were PLEBians.

48. Part of a 13-piece suit?: SPADE.  Not clothing but (another) playing card reference.  I wondered, but only for a very brief moment, if the clue contained a typo.

51. 19th-century mystery writer with just one complete novel: POE.  I didn't know that.  The novel was The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.

53. Ristorante order: PASTA.  Ristorante, Italian for restaurant, tells us the type of cuisine that we should be thinking of (of which we should be thinking?).

60. Short mystery writer?: ANON.  Short, get it?, for ANONymous and, as an unknown, such an author would be a mystery.

61. Patch plant: BRIAR.

62. 23rd-century captain: KIRK.  The Star Trek television series ran for only three seasons (1966 - 1969) in the 20th-century before being canceled due to low ratings.  The show was, however, set in the 23rd century.  One of the best-ever spoofs of the show was written by Bobby "Boris" Pickett.  Yes, he of The Monster Mash.  He still owes me royalties.

Star Drek

63. Unfreeze: MELT.  Thaw was another four-letter-possibly-correct response.

64. Golfer's set: IRONS.  Metal golf clubs.  Called IRONS to distinguish them from "woods" which used to actually be made from wood.

King Cobra Irons

65. Relaxing spots: SPAS.  See also 40 Across.

Down:

1. Job safety org.: OSHA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration.  We've seen OSHA before.  Remember the cowboy?

2. "It's __!": SRO show headline: A HIT.  Standing Room Only means that all the seats have been sold.  This Broadway show had its share of sold out performances:

3. Very significant: HUGE.  King-sized?

4. Less saintly: UNHOLIER.  As Cheddar is to Swiss?

5. Obstinate mount: ASS.  It seems as if this answer shows up every week.

6. __ pie: CUTIE.  Apple, Berry, Peach, and Fruit - any of these five-letter words might have sent us down the wrong path.

7. Touchdown signalers: REFS.  Not an airport reference.  A football reference.

8. Dutch cheese: EDAM.  I know that we had this two weeks ago.  M - A - D - E  backwards.

9. Champagne label word: SEC.  Used to denote the level of residual sugar (for SEC, it is 17 to 32 grams per liter) in the wine.

10. Unoccupied: VACANT.

11. Some S&L plans: IRAS.  Individual Retirement AccountS are a crossword-ese staple.

12. Ticked off: SORE.  

13. Water whirled: EDDY.

18. 3-Down, poetically: ENORM.  Poetically !?  I thought that this was Valley-girl speak.

Frank and Moon Unit Zappa

19. Cybercurrency: ECASH.  Egad, another "E" word !

24. "Hallelujah!": GLORY BE.

25. Diplomatic: TACTFUL.

26. Chatted with, but not IRL: IMED.  Instant MessagED as opposed to talking In Real Life.

27. Subdues: TAMES.

28. Shimmer: GLINT.

Astronaut Photograph of Sun Glint

29. Pet store array: CAGES.  Today's "I prefer to skip the graphics" moment.

30. Snack with Red Velvet and Key Lime Pie varieties: OREO.  I have thought about constructing a crossword puzzle using only OREO for all of the answers but cluing it seventy-five different ways.

31. Acrobat maker: ADOBE.  Developed by ADOBE, Inc., Acrobat is a computer standard for viewing, creating, printing and manipulating PDF (Portable Document Format) files.

32. Absorb: LEARN.

34. "Ain't gonna happen": NOPE.  The clue is slangy, ergo the answer is slangy.

36. Frank's cousin: BRAT.  The wurst pun today.  Not your daughter to your brother's son, Frank.

39. Ridges with steeply sloped sides: HOGBACKS.  Named for the resemblance to, you guess it, the backs of some hogs.

41. Loom: TOWER.  Used as a verb as in "to TOWER over something".  A bit of misdirection as one might have thought of a device used for weaving.

42. French pancake: CREPE.

Une Crepe au noisette s'il vous plait !

44. Capybara, for one: RODENT.  Capybaras are the largest living RODENTs on Earth.  They are semi-aquatic and are found throughout most South American countries.   An adult Capybara weighs 75 - 150 pounds and can grow to be 3.5 to 4.5 feet in length.

47. Praline nut: PECAN.

Pralines

48. Unwanted email: SPAM.   In prior puzzle write-ups, I have used Hormel and Monty Python graphics for this SPAM.  What, now?  Hmmmm.  I guess that we could go with the current "junk email" use of the word, as clued.

49. Fried Dixie bread: PONE.  Tom Lehrer referred to Corn PONE in his classic I Wanna Go Back to Dixie:

Live - 1967

50. Badly off base: AWOL.  Absent WithOut Leave   For some, a bit of misdirection in that the clue refers to a military base and not a baseball game.

51. Sound of a contented cat: PURR.

Rocky The Flying Cat

52. Medley: OLIO.

They might have added "often found in crossword puzzles".

54. Decide not to go to: SKIP.   I first tried to see if STAY would work.

55. Giga- x 1,000: TERA.  In one sense, computer jargon.

56. Sacred cabinets: ARKS.

The Ark of the Covenant

58. "The Sopranos" org.: FBI.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Mafia would not fit.  Mob would fit but all of the perps would have to change.

59. Store door nos.: HRS.  Hours.  Punt!  It's time to leave, now .  .  .  .  .

Happy (just a tad early) Pesach

_____________________________________________

MM OUT

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 Jerry Edelstein

Theme:  I've pondered this but cannot come up with something clever, so here is the unifier --

65. Marine Corps motto, briefly, and a hint to the answers to starred clues: SEMPER FI.  This is short for SEMPER FIDELIS, meaning 'always faithful" in Latin.  In our puzzle, the theme fill are two words, both beginning with the letter combination "FI."  So - always FI.

20 A. *Matches with known outcomes: FIXED FIGHTS.  Boxing matches in which one competitor loses on purpose, dishonestly, for reasons related to betting.

56 A. *Music group's lead violinist, casually: FIRST FIDDLE.  I've heard of playing 2nd fiddle, meaning to always play a supporting or inferior role.  By extension, FIRST FIDDLE means to play a commanding role.  I wish it had been clued this way, since it's not really a musical term in common use.

3 D. *Fast-food alternatives to burgers: FISH FILETS.  Popular on Friday's, especially in Lent.

30 D. *Like half a chance: FIFTY FIFTY.  An even bet.  Not sure what half a chance means.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here, faithful, as always.  Let's charge into this puzzle and see what we can find.

Across:

1. Concerning: AS FOR.  With regard to  .  .  .

6. Letters replacing a list: ETC. And so on, and so forth.

 

 9. Afternoon snooze: NAP.   Zzzzzz  .  .  .

12. Nighttime party: SOIREE.  From the French soir, meaning evening.

14. Soccer tiebreaker, perhaps: SHOOT OUT.  Selected players from both teams take turns attempting to score on the other side's goal keeper.  Same in hockey.  Since nobody can win the regular game, they decide to have a one on one skills contest.  Meh!

17. County on the English Channel: SUSSEX.  South Saxony located on the island's southern coast.  The battle of Hastings was fought near its modern eastern border.

18. Canyon namesake of dry California winds: SANTA ANA.  They sweep westward from the mountains to the coast.

19. Tree with elastic wood: ASH.  Hence its popularity as baseball bats.

22. Hi-__ TV: DEF.  High definition - a high degree of clarity and detail in the images.

23. What "X" may mean: TEN.  Roman numeral.

24. Music center?: ESS.  The middle letter of the word.  Lame clue, lame fill.

25. Dennis the Menace, for one: IMP.  A mischievous child.

28. Beloved: DEAR.  Held in affection

30. Monk's title: FRA.  Derived from frater, the Latin word for brother.

33. Cultural setting: MILIEU.  Environment or setting, from the French, meaning "middle place."

36. Black and blue?: BERRIES.  Also straw and rasp.

39. H or O, in H2O: ELEMENT.  Hydrogen and oxygen, each a fundamental substance consisting of only one kind of atom.  They combine to form water.

41. Contrasting ornaments: SET-OFFS.  Items with differing appearances to achieve a visual effect.

42. Roald Dahl title heroine: MATILDA. A precocious 5 1/2 year old IMP.

43. Submitted, as a manuscript: SENT IN.  By post, or possibly electronically.

44. Kvetching sounds: OYS.  Exclamations of anger or dismay.

45. Weakens: EBBS.  By reference to a receding tide.

48. Give voice to: SAY.

49. __ Lingus: AER.  Airline of Ireland.

51. Partner in a 2020 peace agreement with Isr.: United Arab Emerates, located at the eastern end of the Arabian peninsula, and home to almost 10 million people. 

53. Quite a ways away: FAR.  

61. Anger: IRE.

62. Imagining: IDEATING.

63. Photo taken backwards?: SELFIE.  With a phone camera pointed at the user.

  66. Thrills: ELATES.  To thrill is to give a sudden feeling of excitement or pleasure. To elate is to make someone very happy.  Equivalent?  You decide.

67. General on a menu: TSO.  A Chinese chicken dish.

68. Fair-hiring letters: EOE. Equal Opportunity Employer.

69. Flair: STYLE. Elan.

Down:

1. Syrian leader: ASSAD.  Bashar Hafez al-Assad [b 1965] is a Syrian politician who has been the 19th president of Syria since 17 July 2000.

2. W.C. Fields persona: SOUSE. A habitually excessive drinker, from the verb "souse," meaning to drench with liquid.

4. RN workplaces: ORS.   Registered Nurses in Operating Rooms.

5. Sailing danger: REEF.  A ridge of jagged rock, coral or sand near the surface of the sea.

6. Ancient mystic: ESSENE.  Members of a Jewish sect, ca 200 BCE to 200 CE who lived in community practicing voluntary poverty and asceticism.

7. Jazz trumpeter Jones: THAD.  Thaddeus Joseph Jones [ 1923 - 1986]  was also a composer, arranger, and one of my jazz heroes.   He was born into a musical family, in near-by Pontiac, MI.


 

 8. Meeting group: CONFEREES.  

9. Biblical boater: NOAH.   Hosted a variety of animals during a flood.

10. Bee, to Opie: AUNT.  From the Andy Griffith Show.

11. School orgs.: PTAS.  Parent- Teacher-Organizations.

13. Leave: EXIT. Depart

15. Name seen on one's way to the penthouse?: OTIS.  Brand name for elevators.

16. License plates: TAGS.  So your car can be on the road legally.

21. Marked on a ballot: X-ED.   We get bubbles to fill in.

26. "La BohËme" role: MIMI.  In my mind, she was FIFI.  That disappointed me.

27. Banana covering: PEEL.   Technically, a banana is a berry.  Blackberries and raspberries are not

29. Hunk's pride: ABS.  Hard, flat abdominal muscles on a well toned fellow.

Here's how

31. APR-reducing loan: REFI.  Refinancing a loan to get a better interest rate.

32. Pt. of AAA: ASSN.  American Automobile Association.

33. Office notice: MEMO.  A written message, usually in a business context.

34. "Now __ me down to sleep ... ": I LAY.   Beginning of a night time prayer.

35. Being severely criticized: UNDER FIRE.  The subject of an attack.

37. Numbered rds.: RTES.  Routes.

38. Novelist Jaffe: RONA.  [1931-2005]  She also wrote for Cosmopolitan in the '60's.

40. Diner check: TAB.  Record of accumulated charges.

46. Aussie parrot, briefly: BUDGIE.  Read all about them.

47. Mournful: SAD.   Feeling sadness, regret or grief.

49. 33-Down demand, perhaps: ASAP. As Soon As Possible.

50. Luncheon end?: ETTE.  Suffix denoting small size.

52. "... or __!": ELSE.  Overt threat.

54. Cartoon mermaid: ARIEL.

From Disney to you

55. Actress Witherspoon: REESE.  Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (b.1976) is an American actress, producer, and entrepreneur.   She has won an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Woman on a mission

56. Punch deliverer: FIST.  

Pow

57. March time: IDES.  (In the ancient Roman calendar) a day falling roughly in the middle of each month (the 15th day of March, May, July, and October, and the 13th of other months) from which other dates were calculated.

58. San __: Italian resort: REMO.  A city in extreme western Italy on the
 Mediterranean coat. 

59. Recon target: INFO. Reconnaissance to gather information.

60. Sniggler's catch: EELS.

64. Map line: Abbr.: LATitude.  Position on a line north of south of and parallel to the equator.

OK, gang we are FInally FInished for this Wednesday.  Hope you enjoyed it.

Cool regards!

JzB