Friday December 10, 2021 - Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: "Get the **CK out of here!"

Well dang, Moe, what got your dander up this morning??! Actually, it's probably a combination of travel (as we speak, I am off visiting family), stress from the omicron variant of Covid-19 (my Mom's Assisted Care Living Center gets at least 3-4 new cases of Covid every day), and knowing that there are just 14 more shopping days until Christmas. But I'll survive; kinda like this guy who had to deal with some road rage, and whose initials are also a hint to today's puzzle theme: (note, there are a few mild expletives that could not be deleted from this video)

I normally trade weeks with Lemonade714 whenever there is a Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle on my Friday; but due to my travel this week, I knew I couldn't, as I would not have been able to deliver a blog on December 17th. Sorry Jason for not sharing this one, and I hope you'll stop by to offer your thoughts on this WACKY idea. Jeffrey was able to squeeze 5 play-on-word entries into a 15 x 15 grid, using about 1/3 (61) of the 185 letters in his themers. No "reveal" was necessary once you saw that getting the "CK" out of the entries was common to all. Let's explore how (the) heCK did it:

18-Across. Tinker Bell's play ender?: FAIRY TACKLE. Without the "CK", FAIRY TALE remains. Nice, but that must be one big FAIRY to end a (football) play with a TACKLE. A TICKLE, maybe . . .

My favorite FAIRY TALES growing up were narrated by Edward Everett Horton and a cast of toons from the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show:

24-Across. TV channel with bizarre humor?: WACKY STATION. Whack off the CK, and a WAY STATION appears. A WAY STATION is a stopping off point for those on a long car, bus or (4-Across. Commuting option:) RAIL trip. Originally meant "a STATION between STATIONs". It's a place to have a meal, go to the bathroom, stretch your feet, etc. And for those of you who, like me, are curious about whether there are any "WAY" radio STATIONS, here's a link

37-Across. Harbormaster's income source?: DOCKING BUSINESS. Chuck the CK and DOING BUSINESS is left. Did you ever wonder what the letters "DBA" mean after a corporation's name? Well, I can provide an example: The Corporation: "HELEN's FOOD SERVICE, INC", dba "HELEN's CATERING". DBA means: DOING BUSINESS as . . .

48-Across. Unreliable origami practitioner?: FICKLE FOLDER. Flick the CK and FILE FOLDER remains. Clever clue and answer. And of course a reminder of an archived Moe-ku:

Origami-ist
Sucks at Texas Hold'em, 'cause
He will always FOLD

And our 5th themer: 59-Across. What an education budget provides?: SCHOOL BUCKS. Shuck the CK and SCHOOL BUS becomes the more familiar term. A little Simpsons video for your entertainment

Here is the grid:

Off we go to cheCK out the rest of the clues and solves:

Across:
1. Bookmarked item: URL. At first I wasn't looking for an abbreviated word. But "URL" is widely known by internet users, and "bookmarking" a page makes it easier for to find a previously visited website

8. "Gone With the Wind" feature: DRAWL. Meh; the clue is OK but not great

13. __ Wee Reese: PEE. Harold Henry (PEE Wee) Reese, HOF inductee in 1984. Glad to see the former Brooklyn Dodger baseball player back to the crossword grids, if even for just 1/2 of his nickname

14. Old Icelandic text: EDDA. Prose EDDA is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland back in the 13th Century

15. Discussion-ending word: PERIOD. Literally, when someone says, "PERIOD, end of discussion!"

17. Bud 4 life: BFF. This had to be a texting acronym: Best Friends Forever

20. Food bits: ORTS. Another of the more tried and true crossword answers; or is it "tired" and true? Anyhoo, here's a ku:

Sex-starved sous chef saw
Pleasure from leftovers. Does
He sew his wild ORTS??

22. Relocation: MOVE. Back in my corporate life, I MOVEd (relocated) 5 times in 36 years. After leaving that, and before retirement, I MOVEd an additional 7 times. Hoping this is the last!

23. Schooner gear: SAILS. Gear, like deer, can be either singular or plural

27. This is one: CLUE. Duh! It sure is!!

28. Tech review website: CNET. I visit this site whenever I am looking to upgrade my iPhone or replace a laptop. Good reviews

30. Duration of employment: STINT. See 22-Across; My STINT at one company was 25 years, and quite honestly, I could've stayed longer

31. Protected: SAFE. Or what 13-Across often was when he stole second base. He led the National League in stolen bases twice; was 2nd four times

34. Adjustable border: HEM. HEMlines brought about the "mini-midi-maxi-dress" styles back in the 1960's and 1970's

41. Bother a lot: IRK. All of these "Greek-named" Covid variants are starting to IRK me

42. Marquee name: STAR. There are a plethora of STARs in the movie "STAR Wars". Too many for one marquee to house

43. "___ War": Jules Verne-based game: NEMO'S. Learning moment for me. Never played it. Wonder if you have "to find NEMO"?

44. Aching: SORE. A couple of ibuprofen tablets at bedtime helps ease my SORE fingers and joints

47. What an a cappella singer never wants to be: FLAT. Only because SHARP wouldn't fit, but as a former singer, it's much easier to go "FLAT" than to go "SHARP"

54. Cheaply, after "for": A SONG. From the freedictionary dot com: "The expression dates from the sixteenth century. Shakespeare used it in All's Well That Ends Well (“I know a man . . . sold a goodly manor for a song” [3.2]). It was a cliché by the time Byron wrote, “The cost would be a trifle—an 'old song'” (Don Juan, 1824)

57. Bash: GALA. As in a GALA affair. Black tie and ball gowns

58. Past time: YORE. The "time" when we used the term in 57-Across

62. Cold air quality: NIP. No NIP in the air as yet here in the Phoenix AZ area, but it's getting closer. Low temp's are nearing the 50 degree mark. Your mileage may vary, but that's cold here!

63. Get into gear: SUIT UP. I put SHIFTS in first before perps came to the rescue

64. Health factor: DIET. I am on a seafood DIET: I see food and then eat it

65. 31-Down, e.g.: Abbr.: NCO. Non-Commissioned Officer. An example of this is: (31-Down. Rank above cpl.) SGT.

66. Meter creators: POETS. A CSO to OwenKL, Misty, WC, Old Man Keith and sometimes, Moe

67. Jacuzzi effect: EDDY. As in a whirlpool; a Jacuzzi effect is also helpful when you're 44-Across

68. Remote inserts: AAS. As in "double-A" batteries; though many of ours require AAAS

Down:
1. What a "V" symbol means in violin music: UPBOW. I had to look this one UP. Violin lounge dot com says this: "Up bow is indicated by the V marks above the notes in the second picture. The V looks a bit like the tip of your bow. The up bow movement goes from tip to frog. Just as the down bow mark, this doesn't tell you something about the bow division"

2. Type of optical telescope: REFRACTOR. This:

3. Mouse activities: LEFT CLICKS. First ever usage of this in a crossword puzzle! And I'm guessing that JW didn't use this as a "themer", because no one ever has heard of the phrase: LEFT CLIS

4. One whistling often: REF. I was thinking of a tea kettle so POT went in first. Clever mis-direction

5. First president to live in the White House: ADAMS. Pretty easy to suss as WASHINGTON or JEFFERSON had too many letters

6. "... a tale told by an __ ... ": Macbeth: IDIOT. Filled with perps, so I didn't have to cheat on this one. If memory serves, JW likes to throw a Shakespeare quote into his CLUEs

7. Caterpillar, say: LARVA. Another no-brainer

8. Immunization letters: DPT. Diphtheria Pertussis and Tetanus. An immunization given to babies, I believe. WebMD describes it as: "Tdap is a combination vaccine that protects against three potentially life-threatening bacterial diseases: tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough). Td is a booster vaccine for tetanus and diphtheria. It does not protect against pertussis. Tetanus enters the body through a wound or cut"

9. Good thinking: REASON. I like to think that this has its roots in mathematics

10. Grasped by few: ARCANE. As I progress toward the age of 70, I may someday choose a homophonic combination of words to describe this CLUE: OUR CANE

11. User-edited site: WIKI. WIKIpedia has been bugging me the past few days to give them a donation

12. Hang loosely: LOLL. An abbreviation of LOLLygag, perhaps?

16. Paris' Pont __ Arts: DES. Frawnch - filled in with perps, once again

19. Still: YET. Oxford Languages shows that the word "YET" is becoming popular again as an adverb or conjunction

21. Keep from scoring: SKUNK. Any cribbage players out there? The term "SKUNK" in cribbage means to hold your opponent to fewer than 90 points (121 points = "game"), and is worth two pegs in the scoring of games won. Ms Margaret and I play this game often. Neither of us wants/likes to be SKUNKed

25. Hairy legend: YETI.

Abominable
Snowman may be a myth, and
YETI still exists (to some)

26. Summertime treat: ICES. ICEE also fit. As did the rapper, ICE T

29. Figure in many devotional paintings: THE MADONNA. Giovanni's rendition:

30. Reagan-era mil. program: SDI. Strategic Defense Initiative

32. Org. with cases: ABA. American Bar Association, and a CSO to all of our Crossword Corner barristers

33. Pelt: FUR. We had the opposite CLUE and solve the last time I blogged. Was this funny then and now??!

35. Things few understand: ESOTERICA. Collins dictionary dot com uses ESOTERICA in a sentence this way: "I have inherited her warmth towards ESOTERICA; she had none for people, but she loved her dreadful facts. It was the sort of ESOTERICA I had never had an interest in but which now composed a whole world

36. Ed.'s stack: MSS. Abbr. for MANUSCRIPTS

38. Nuclear physics time unit: Abbr.: NSEC. Nano-SECond. One billionth of a SECond. How did anybody have the time to measure this??

39. Facts: INFO. Read the Crossword Corner blog each day and you'll get plenty of INFO

40. "M.O." rapper: NELLY. He grew up with the name Cornell Iral Haynes Jr

45. Famed: OF NOTE. Merrium Webster dot com says: "important and deserving to be noticed or remembered American writers OF NOTE include Herman Melville, Mark Twain, and Emily Dickinson

46. Dress, as in a particular costume: RIG OUT. From Collins Dictionary: "If you RIG yourself OUT or are rigged out in a particular way, you are wearing a particular kind of clothes

49. Putin's USSR employer: KGB. Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti. And now you know why it's abbreviated. Putin was in the KGB from 1975 to 1991; resigned to begin his political career, and served under Boris Yeltsin in 1996

50. Magna cum __: LAUDE. Means "with great distinction"

51. Famed Castilian knight: EL CID. Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (EL CID) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific al-sīd, which would evolve into El Cid, and the Spanish moniker El Campeador. He was born in Vivar del Cid, a village near the city of Burgos. From WIKI

52. Forged: FAKED. OK, I will confess that when I was a lad of 18, I FAKED (forged) an expired driver's license, and changed my birthdate to "make me" 21 so I could buy beer

53. Property seizures: REPOS. Short for "repossessions"

54. Brayer: ASS. Bray is the word for the noise a donkey (or ASS) makes. So one making this noise would be a brayer - I guess . . .

55. Atlantic fish commonly called a porgy: SCUP. Stenotomus_chrysops (SCUP). The fish shown in the image below. I'm guessing that Gershwin never considered calling his opera, SCUP and Bess

56. Where I-70 and I-75 cross: OHIO. An easy one for me. I was born in NE OHIO, lived between Cincinnati and Dayton from 1993-2010, and drove across the intersection of I-70 and I-75 many times. DAYTON (Vandalia, actually) wouldn't fit . . . see map below

60. Early RCA output: LPS. Radio Corporation of America (RCA) first began producing LPS (Long Play Records) in the early 1930's

61. Farm enclosure: STY. Pig out? Not when it's in a STY

And once again, Moe has reached the end of his blog. Hope this one was better than it was craCKed up to be! Have a great weekend, and as always, comments are welcome . . . see you on Christmas Eve

Thursday, December 9, 2021, Dan Margolis

 

 Stuck in the Middle

The lyrics

Today is the 6th  appearance of constructor Dan Margolis on the Corner, and here's a bit of bio from a review of his first four puzzles for that "other newspaper". 

As this is a Thursday, this puzzle should have a theme, but Dan seems to have hidden it well.  There are no clearly identifiable themers, no stars, no circles, no reveal, and no real pattern discernible in the cluing.  However the usual suspects, the 4 longest fills, seem to contain what statisticians might call a "measure of central tendency", in this case the MEDIAN, which is the value separating the HIGHER half from the LOWER half of a data set, e.g. the count of clues in this puzzle.

20A. Often euphemistic words for lacking employment: IN BETWEEN JOBS. The good news is that the number of people in this situation continues to go down (at least on the day this review was written).

27A. Manhattan attraction: CENTRAL PARK.  The park first opened for public use in the winter of 1859 .  It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed the Sudbrook Park neighborhood about 4 blocks from my home.  Central Park has hosted many events over the years, including this one (here are the lyrics):

44A. Rounding third base after starting at second, say: HALFWAY HOME  For Rush there was just no goin' back (here are the lyrics):

53A. Just plain folks: MIDDLE AMERICA.  I used this 2 weeks ago and it feels just right for this clue:
 

American Gothic
Grant Wood 1930

Just in case you were holding your breaths, the median value for the total clue counts in this puzzle is 37.5.  The total number of clues was 74, thus 37 are below the median and 37 are above it.  Where the below and above values are equivalent, the MEDIAN is the average of the two.

Now on to some useful information:

Across:

1. Guttural interruption: AHEM.

5. Hook or Kirk: Abbr.: CAPT.  The dastardly pirate and one of PICARD's predecessors.

9. Logician's "E": ERAT.  As in Quod Erat Demonstrandum - Latin for "which was to be demonstrated."  The Legal Information Institute defines this as "Often abbreviated as 'Q.E.D'., the statement may appear at the conclusion of a text to signify that the author's overall argument has just been proven" (emphasis added).  Don't believe that for a moment!  In the words of a former President, "Trust, but verify".

13. Rope fiber: SISAL.  One of three common fibers for making rope, the others being HEMP and JUTE.  SISAL is the strongest of the three.  HEMP can be pretty strong too, but not as a fiber.

15. Confidently say: AVER.

16. Earned: MADE.

17. Vintage hue on a photo app: SEPIA.

18. Digital media brand: ROKU.  Pretty much all we watch these days.  ROKU carries all of the major content providers (a.g. ACORN, BRITBOX, HBO, NETFLIX,  etc.) and charges a nominal monthly fee to get them to you.  There may also be a monthly fee for some of the content providers 

19. Plains people: OTOS.  Also spelled OTOES, also called OTOE MISSOURIA, North American Indian people of the Chiwere branch of the Siouan linguistic family, which also includes the languages of the closely related Missouri and Iowa tribes

23. __-pitch softball: SLO.

25. I-5 state: ORE.  The fill for this was not in vein.

26. Liberia neighbor: GUINEA.  Guinea is a country in West Africa, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. It's known for the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, in the southeast. The reserve protects a forested mountain range rich in native plants and animals, including chimpanzees and the viviparous toad. On the coast, the capital city, Conakry, is home to the modern Grand Mosque and the National Museum, with its regional artifacts.

31. Petri dish gels: AGARS.  Derived from red algae, AGAR is used not just for microbiological cultures, but in Asia as an ingredient in desserts,  as a laxative, an appetite suppressant, as a substitute for gelatin, a thickener for soups, etc.

32. Former Romanian president: ILIESCU.  Ion Iliescu (Romanian pronunciation: [iˈon iliˈesku] (listen); born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 to 1996 and from 2000 until 2004.

Ion Iliescu
Looks like a Positive guy

36. Buster Brown's dog: TIGE.  Hand up if you remember the cartoon, which first appeared in 1902.  TIGE, was an American Pit Bull Terrier, thought to be the first talking pet to appear in the comics, and, like that of many of his successors (e.g. HOBBES), his speech goes unnoticed by adults.  Here's Buster Brown and Tige (Tige's the one on the right):

I recall only the Buster Brown who appeared in the early TV show Andy's Gang.  My meme from that one was  "Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!"   

37. Flat sign: TO LET.  The Brit equivalent of "Apartment to Rent".

39. Alternatively: ELSE.

41. Mosaic piece: TESSERA.  A TESSERA is an individual MOSAIC piece.  This art form dates back at least to 3500 BC.  Perhaps mosaics began as a way of recycling broken glazed pottery.  By cutting the shards into regular shaped pieces, they could be re-assembled as images on walls.  Some of the most beautiful mosaics in the world are made from "micro-tesserae", e.g. the images on the walls of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, which are virtually indistinguishable from oil paintings.  Here is "The Altar of the Navicella", which derives its name from the Gospel narrative of Jesus walking on the water.  Peter is on the left, sinking in the waves as his faith fails him.  This mosaic was copied from a painting by Giovanni Lanfranco (1582-1647):
 

The Altar of the Navicella

43. Pricing word that rhymes with its opposite: STEEP rhymes with CHEAP.

47. Axis foes: ALLIES.  Lest we ever forget.

51. Guffaw sound: HAR.

52. Cue preceder?: PEE.  PEE and CUE are homophones for the letters P and Q.

57. Cream additive: ALOE.  A frequent crossword additive, with three creamy vowels.

58. It may be wild: RICE.  Buying, cooking, and recipes.

59. Union station?: ALTAR.  The number of ways that constructors can hitch this fill into a crossword is amazing.

62. Midday refreshers: NAPS.

63. Inland Asian sea: ARAL.  The depletion of this lake began in 1960 due to the diversion for agricultural use of the two main rivers feeding it.

64. Hospital cry: NURSE.

65. "Time spent with __ is never wasted": Colette: A CAT.  Hello Hahtoolah!
 

66. P.D. ranks: DETS.  DETECTIVES, an abbreviation implied by the clue.

67. Thai money: BAHT. The Thai baht, like the pound, originated from a traditional unit of mass. Its currency value was originally expressed as that of silver of corresponding weight (now defined as 15 grams).

Down:

1. Jenny's offspring: ASS.  HINNY didn't fit.

2. Hustle, quaintly: HIE.

3. Threat to national security: ESPIONAGE.  More than we know, I suspect.

4. Water __: MAIN.

5. "Breaking Bad" bad guys: CARTEL.

6. Swear: AVOW.

7. Short dog, for short: PEKE. 10 Fun Facts about the Pekingese.  This puzzle is starting to go to the dogs.

8. 1969 film remade in 2010 with Jeff Bridges in John Wayne's role: TRUE GRIT.

9. Smiley face with hearts for eyes, e.g.: EMOJI. 😍

10. Betray: RAT ON.

11. Sun-dried brick: ADOBE.

12. Thompson of "Westworld": TESSA.  Rumor has it that "Westworld" is pretty racy.  As we don't subscribe to HBO, I've never seen it.

Tessa Thompson

14. Hercules' dozen: LABORS.  Commit these to memory.  One of them is bound to show up in a puzzle one day.

21. Historic time: ERA. 

22. Zap: NUKE.  I had a lot of nightmares about being NUKED when I was a child, but it wasn't by a microwave oven. 

23. Shoo relative: SCAT.  SCAT has a lot of other meanings, some musical, and some that don't smell so good.

24. Kosher: LEGIT.   This usage is slang for OK or legal.  The term from which it's derived implies "fit or proper as it relates to Jewish dietary law".

28. "__ chic!": TRÈS.  You can still get a FIR if you omit l'accent grave.

29. Dish from which paella evolved: PILAF.  Here's a recipe for RICE PILAF (you can even use 58A).  Here's one for PAELLA.  It's more involved, but makes a great  MAIN course for dinner guests:
 

30. Sierra Nevada, e.g.: ALE.  I prefer "60 min. Dogfish IPA" myself.  I'd take you to their website, but they discriminate against draft age Cornerites who are not yet old enough to drink alcohol.

33. Genesis son: SETH.  SETH was Adam and Eve's 3rd son, born after CAIN the eldest, who murdered his brother ABEL.  Things did not get off to a good start in Genesis.

34. The "her" in Shakespeare's "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale / Her infinite variety": CLEOPATRA.  From Anthony and Cleopatra, quoting Enobarbus, a friend of Mark Antony, implying that Cleopatra is overwhelmingly attractive to men not so much because of her beauty as because of her fascinating unpredictability and range of moods. Richard Burton found that out the hard way.

35. "I can help": USE ME.  I'm not touching this one.

37. Buzz-creating promo: TEASER AD.  IMHO, all ads are TEASERS, some are just BUZZIER than others.

38. The NBA's Magic: ORL.  Orlando Magic. Circa 12/4/2021 it looks like they could use more Magic.

40. Duel tool: ÉPÉE.  Another piece of vowelful fill often inserted in crosswords, but you wouldn't want one inserted in you. You get extra credit if you fill les accent aigus.

42. Kid-lit poet Silverstein: SHEL.  Sheldon Allan Silverstein (September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, songwriter, and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons, songs, and children's books.
 

Shel Silverstein

43. Iraqi neighbor: SYRIAN.  The citizens may be neighbors, but I'm not so sure about the states.

45. Slangy alternative to walking: WHEELS.

46. Swiss river: AAR.  The AAR (or AARE) river is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland.

47. Range name: AMANA.  ANDES didn't perp. 

48. New Hampshire state flower: LILAC.

49. Parkinson's treatment: L DOPA.  Looks simple enough, but it's a very important player in he metabolism of the brain:

l-DOPA is an amino acid that is made and used as part of the normal biology of some plants and animals, including humans.  l-DOPA is the precursor to several neurotransmitters essential for brain health.  Synthetically manufactured L-DOPA can partially compensate for the failure of the body to produce adequate amounts of the natural substance, which leads to Parkinson's disease.

50. Latin "in other words": ID EST  i.e.,  "That is to say".

54. Suffix for the rich: AIRE. A MILLION here, a BILLION there, and pretty soon you're talking REAL MONEY.

55. Future doc's exam: MCAT.  The Medical College Admission Test® (MCAT®) is a standardized, multiple-choice examination designed to assess one's problem solving, critical thinking, and knowledge of natural, behavioral, and social science concepts and principles prerequisite to the study of medicine. 

56. Black card, maybe: CLUB.

60. Bat wood: ASH.

61. No longer working: Abbr.: RET.  Don't let anyone tell you that when you've retired you won't have anything to do!  My secret is to take a 62A every day.

Here's the grid:

There weren't very many opportunities for music in this puzzle, so I'm exercising my reviewer's license to finish with this Italian/English paean to happy endings (here's an all English translation).

And as always, special thanks to Teri for proof reading and constructive suggestions.

Cheers,
Bill

Notes from C.C.:

Happy birthday to the incomparable Hahtoolah (Susan), whose posts always brightens our days. Behind her witty comments and funny links, there are hours of hard work. Thanks for all you do, Susan!

 

 

Wednesday, December 8, 2021, Ed Beckert

Theme: DRESS TO THE NINES   

17. Execs who only look the part: EMPTY SUITS.

25. Ostentatiously nice sort: GOODY TWO SHOES.

41. Pompous types: STUFFED SHIRTS.

55. Pretentiously elegant one: FANCY PANTS.

Hey Cornerites, Melissa here. This appears to again be a debut for Mr. Beckert, it's nice to see that so regularly. 

I never realized there were so many phrases for pretentious people and clothing, nice job, Ed.

Across:

1. Midday tide-me-over: SNACK.

6. Landlocked African land: CHAD. 

10. Acrimony: BILE. Ew.

14. Common wrist measurement: PULSE. Ohhhh, of course.

15. Tatting fabric: LACE.

16. Geometry calculation: AREA. Height times width.

19. Pics for docs: MRIS. Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

20. Stephen Colbert's network: CBS.

21. Jury makeup: PEERS. Theoretically.

22. Beyond heavy: OBESE.

23. Burden: TAX. That's the truth.

24. Screwdriver, e.g.: TOOL.

31. MLB game-ending accomplishments: SAVES.

32. Tomatoes used to make paste: ROMAS.

33. Guest beyond a velvet rope: VIP.

35. Pac-12 squad: UTES. Utah Utes - college football. Utah beat Oregon 38-10 last Friday to win its first-ever Pac-12 championship.

36. Shrink in fear: COWER.

37. Spreadsheet input: DATA.

38. Debussy's sea: MER. This is a full 24 minutes, and beautiful.

39. Expert: MAVEN.

40. More delicate: FINER. Bit of a nod to today's theme.

44. High-flying mil. group: USAF.

45. __ museum: ART.

46. Land divisions: ACRES.

48. Hard stuff: BOOZE. Tricky.

51. Pollution watchdog org.: EPA.

54. Designated money: FUND.

57. Help in a bad way: ABET.

58. Puckish: ARCH. Who got this right away? Puckish = playful, especially in a mischievous way. Arch =

mid 17th century: from arch-, by association with the sense ‘rogue’ in combinations such as arch-scoundrel .

59. Type of coffee or whiskey: IRISH.

60. Start from scratch: REDO.

61. Simple tops: TEES. As in T-shirts.

62. Tot's tea party guest: TEDDY. Teddy bear. I've had a few tea parties with dolls and bears. Speaking of tots, my granddaughter recently explained why her little sister was crying: "I didn't see it, but nothing happened!"

Down:

1. Project detail: SPEC.

2. Without feeling: NUMB.

3. European range: ALPS. The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately 1,200 km across eight Alpine countries: France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia.

4. Wisconsin winter hrs.: CST. Central Standard Time.

5. Security system components: KEYPADS.

6. Game with rooms: CLUE. Colonel Mustard, in the library, with a candlestick!

7. Rapunzel's "ladder": HAIR. Ouch.

8. Play divisions: ACTS. Neil Simon has written two separate memoirs: Rewrites (1996), and The Play Goes On (1999),  plus a combined version with both and some new material, Neil Simon's Memoirs. He writes about his brother and him learning to write three act plays in Rewrites.

9. __ Moines: DES. Des Moines takes its name from Fort Des Moines (1843–46), which was named for the Des Moines River. This was adopted from the name given by French colonists. Des Moines translates literally to either "from the monks" or "of the monks."
10. Panda's diet: BAMBOO. I thought it was eucalyptus but then realized that is Koalas.

11. Of no consequence: IRRELEVANT.

12. Parts of Hawaiian greetings: LEIS.

13. Get (into) carefully: EASE.

18. Attention-getting, in a way: SEXY.

22. Reactions to fireworks: OOHS. Ahhhhh.

23. Little piggies: TOES.

24. Winter Palace monarch: TSAR. The Winter Palace was an official residence of the Russian sovereign from 1732 until 1917; however, it was their home for little more than 140 of those years. The last Tsar to truly reside in the palace was Alexander II, who ruled from 1855 to 1881, when he was assassinated.

25. Starting spots for some races: GATES.

26. Reversed on appeal: OVERTURNED. Very rare.

27. Treasure __: TROVE.

28. Blew away: WOWED.

29. Dark clouds, maybe: OMENS.

30. Internet destinations: SITES.

31. What a capital sigma symbolizes, in math: SUM. Sigma is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as an operator for summation.

34. Course standard: PAR. By definition, “Par” is the number of strokes needed to complete a hole in a golf course. Each hole in a course is given its own par rating.

36. Informal London eatery: CAFF. The Nine Best Traditional Caffs in London.

37. Gossip: DIRT.

39. Degs. for choreographers: MFAS. Master of Fine Arts Degree.

40. Campsite staple: FIRE PIT. Smores!

42. Familiar with: USED TO. Used is an interesting word. Used to. We all know what it means, but why does it mean what it means?

43. Unclear: HAZY.

46. Off in the distance: AFAR.

47. Rubik creation: CUBE.

48. Reveal: BARE. Verb not noun.

49. Almost never: ONCE. I guess.

50. Protest singer Phil: OCHS.

 

51. Children's author Blyton: ENID.

52. Returning GI's diagnosis: PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

53. Pallid: ASHY.

55. Considerable, as a bonus: FAT.

56. "Where __ you now?": ARE.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Congrats on your debut, Ed!

2) Happy birthday to dear Jazzbumpa (Ron)! Ron has been faithfully guiding us on Wednesdays since Jan 2011. Our blog shows total 210 posts written by him. Thanks for all the humor and entertainment all these years, Ron! (Thanks for the correction, TTP!)

 

 

Tuesday, December 7, 2021 Jeff Stillman

Fire and Rain.

17-Across. *  Spends time in the gym: WORKS OUT.  Fire Works and Rain Out.

26-Across. *  Upscale eatery service for topper wearers: HAT CHECK.  Fire Hat and Rain Check.

54-Across. *   Times Square New Year's Eve custom: BALL DROP.  Fire Ball and Raindrop.  Last year's Ball Drop.  This year people can attend as long as they are vaccinated.

65-Across. *   When employment ends, formally: EXIT DATE.  Fire Exit and Rain Date.

And the unifier:

38. James Taylor classic ... or, respectively, what can precede the two words in each answer to a starred clue: FIRE AND RAIN.  The first word of each theme answer can be paired with Fire and the second word can be paired with Rain.

Across:

1. Sneaker feature: LACE.

5. Balance scale container: PAN.  //  And 70-Across. Balanced conditions: STASES.

8. Plays the role of: ACTS AS.

14. Milky white gem: OPAL.  Hi, Kazie!  Opals come in all different colors.  I think of Opals as coming from Australia, which is a large source of the stone, but they are also found in many other countries.

15. Focus of modern-day surfing: EGO.

16. Most achy: SOREST.

19. Shrimp entrée: SCAMPI.  It's supposed to be an easy dish to make.

20. Prime meridian std.: GST.  As in Greenwich Standard Time.  Also known as Greenwich Mean Time.  Everything you wanted to know about GST but didn't know to ask.

21. Make into law: ENACT.

23. Quaking tree: ASPEN.

24. One of the Coen brothers: ETHAN.  Ethan Coen ( Ethan Jesse Coen; Sept. 21, 1957) and his brother Joel ( Joel Daniel Coen; Nov. 29, 1954) are American filmmakers.  Even if you don't recognize their names, you probably recognize some of their films: Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, and Fargo are just a few of their films.

Joel (left) and Ethan (right) Coen

28. Big-time celeb: A-LISTER.  Not to be confused with the Scottish name Alister.

31. P-like Greek letter: RHO.  By now, we should all have memorized the Greek alphabet because the letters appear with such frequency in the puzzles.

32. ACLU issues: RTs.  As in Civil Rights.  The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in January 1920.

33. Smell really bad: REEK.  //  And 13-Down. Smells really bad: STINKS.

34. Crosses (out): X'ES.

36. Antiquated: OLD.

42. "__ on my watch!": NOT.

43. Chaney of horror films: LON.  Lon Chaney (né Leonidas Frank Chaney; Apr. 1, 1883 ~ Aug. 26, 1930) was a versatile stage and film actor, however, he has been typecast as a figure in horror films.

44. Where some surfers shop: EBAY.  The history of eBay.  The first item listed for sale was a broken laser pointer in 1995.

47. Nonprofit URL ending: ORG.

50. __ Lingus: AER.  Aer Lingus is the flag carrier of Ireland.

52. Ophthalmologist's field: EYE CARE.

57. Calf-length skirts: MIDIs.

58. Like the sea when waves are crashing: AROAR.

Lions Roar

59. NFL Dolphins' home: MIAMI.

62. Bloodshot: RED.

63. Broadway's Ethel: MERMAN.  Ethel Merman (née Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; Jan. 16, 1908 ~ Feb. 15, 1984) was in many Broadway shows.

67. Cheese in some bagels: ASIAGO.  Yummers!  I generally however opt for the Everything Bagel.

68. Freight weight: TON.

69. Old Spice competitor: AFTA.  Old Spice and Afta are both aftershave products.

71. Aardvark's morsel: ANT.

72. Common flag symbol: STAR.  You can see some flags with stars here.

Down: 

1. Transmission choice for steep ascents: LOW GEAR.

2. Biblical disciple: APOSTLE.

3. One driving the wrong way?: CAR THIEF.  Fun clue.

4. Lodge member: ELK.

5. Menial laborer: PEON.

6. Océano filler: AGUA.  Hi, Lucina!  Today's Spanish lesson.  There is a lot of water in the ocean.

7. V-shaped slit: NOTCH.

8. Pack animal: ASS.

9. Pepsi rival: COCA-COLA.  Coke vs. Pepsi.  What's your choice?  I would select Coke.

10. Vandalize: TRASH.

11. Start of the Marines' motto: SEMPER.  The Marine motto is Semper Fidelis, which is Latin for Always Faithful.

12. Appearance: ASPECT.

18. Dispatched: SENT.

22. Driveway material: TAR.

25. Welcome to one's home: ASK IN.  Could also be parsed as As Kin, which would be welcoming family into one's home.

27. Like rosebushes: THORNY.

29. New Hampshire prep school town: EXETER.  I will be near Exeter, New Hampshire next week.

30. Actor Stephen: REA.  Stephen Rea (b. Oct. 31, 1946) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

35. NBC weekend show: SNL.  Saturday Night Live has become a crossword staple.

37. Cinque times due: DIECI.  Today's Italian lesson.  5 x 2 = 10.

39. Blowup on the highway: ROAD RAGE.  

40. Buck's partner: DOE.

41. Annual hoops player selection event: NBA DRAFT.

45. Short operatic solo: ARIETTA.  Not a Tuesday word.

46. "Whatever you say, honey": YES, DEAR.

47. Trumps' White House predecessors: OBAMAs.

48. Least cooked: RAREST.  Rawest also fits in the spaces provided and is only 1 letter off.

49. Vocalist Estefan: GLORIA.  Gloria Estefan (née Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; b. Sept. 1, 1957) was the lead singer in the Miami Sound Machine.

51. CD follower: ROM.  Compact Disc-Read Only Memory.

53. Radiate: EMIT.

55. Asian priests: LAMAs.

14th Dalai Lama

56. Michelangelo masterwork: PIETÀ.  The Pietà is housed in the Vatican.  In 1972, a deranged man attacked the sculpture and caused serious damage.  The statue is now behind a pane of bullet-proof glass.  Interesting fact:  This is the only known piece of work actually signed by Michelangelo.

60. Neural transmitter: AXON.

61. Like new: MINT.  Origin of the term Mint Condition.

64. Turndowns: NOs.

66. Courtroom figs.: DAs.  As in District Attorneys.  They would be in state courts in criminal trials.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday December 6, 2021 Kevin Christian & Andrea Carla Michaels

Theme: 62. "C'mon, get serious!" ... and an admonition evidently ignored by the starts of the answers to starred clues: DON'T BE SILLY. - The first part of each theme entry can follow "Silly".

  

17. *Cage for a bunny: RABBIT HUTCH. Silly Rabbit.

26. *Tool for filling in holes in the wall: PUTTY KNIFE. Silly Putty.

40. *Bow users' musical ensemble: STRING ORCHESTRA. Silly String

49. *Skin response to fear or cold: GOOSEFLESH. Silly goose.

Boomer here.  

Silly Rabbit - Trix are for kids.  Who has never had that little egg with Silly Putty in it, and copied a comic?  Silly String comes in a spray can.  Careful - do not spray on your hair.  And my friend Andrea is a silly goose from Minnesota.  Hello!!

Boomer, C.C., Tom Pepper, Andrea Carla Michaels

May 26, 2021

Across:

1. Mexican dip: SALSA.

6. Kitten-lifting spot: NAPE.  I am pretty sure that those cats don't like it, but they have no choice.

10. "Notorious" Supreme Court justice, initially: RBG.  We lost Ruth a little over a year ago.

13. Gold miner's staked-out land: CLAIM.  I have a claim on my backyard, but all I found is dirt and grass.

14. Polishes, as text: EDITS.  I am polishing this blog right now.  Hope I don't screw it up.

16. Botch the job, say: ERR.  "To ERR is human", unless you're a shortstop.

19. Actress Zadora: PIA.

20. Moody music genre: EMO.

21. __ Grey tea: EARL.  "As I, walk through this world, Nothing can stop the Duke of EARL."

22. Wasn't feeling well: AILED.

24. Early bird's reward: WORM.  I am not that early.  I settle for Wheat Chex.

29. Blackjack card: ACE.  Get a face card and you win!

31. "Superman"' actor Christopher: REEVE.  

32. Hooded snake: COBRA.

35. Final Four org.: NCAA.  A big hit for Basketball fans, and office "Pick Winners", which I never won.

37. Dutch cheese town: EDAM.

43. "The jig __": IS UP.  My golf scores are UP, bowling scores are Down.

44. Double-reed wind: OBOE.

45. Trio in H2O: ATOMS. Three atoms.  Two Hydrogen and one Oxygen and you're all wet.

46. Barnes' bookselling partner: NOBLE.  We have stopped there many times.  They have the Beckett baseball card price guide plus Sudoku.  They also have a coffee bar but I don't pay their price for coffee.

48. Italian three: TRE.

53. Applies with a Q-tip: DABS.  "A little one will do ya" (Brylcreem commercial).

57. Finance whiz Suze: ORMAN.  We do not do much with financial planners.  Sometimes I watch CNBC but you just cannot predict the tricky DOW.

58. Christmas song: NOEL.  "The first NOEL, the Angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay".  (19 days and counting,)

60. Rapper __ Kim: LIL.

61. Oral health initials: ADA.

66. Part of mph: PER.  OR Price per Gallon.  It's about $3.10 in Minnesota but I have heard we are lower then most USA states at this time.

67. Promised to tell the truth: SWORE.  Or hit a bad golf shot, or leave a split.  (#@!&%#@)

68. "There's no such thing as a free lunch," e.g.: ADAGE.  This has been a LONG Medicare Ad AGE.  Hopefully it ends on Wednesday.

69. Hosp. triage areas: ERS.  My first trip to the VA emergency room was for pain I could not take anymore.  Then the bad news - three years ago.  The "C" word.

70. Still-life subject: EWER. "It's a still life water color, of a now-late afternoon .. . and we sit and drink our coffee".  Dangling Conversation. Simon and Garfunkel.

71. Printer supply: TONER.

Down:

1. Carpenter's fastener: SCREW.

2. Mission to remember: ALAMO.  "High up, Santa Ana, We're killing your soldiers below.  So the rest of Texas will know --- And remember the ALAMO."

3. Materials partner on a repair bill: LABOR.

4. Member of the fam: SIB.

5. Gallic girlfriend: AMIE.

6. Indira Gandhi's father: NEHRU.  Also a funny looking jacket that I never wore.

7. Grownup: ADULT.  Classification for some Movies that I never went to.

8. Racetrack stop: PIT.  Wow -- can those guys ever change tires in seconds!

9. And so on, briefly: ETC.

10. Answered, as an email: REPLIED TO.  Easier than answering regular mail.

11. Lawyer's filing: BRIEF.  Yes but they are hardly ever BRIEF.

12. Student's mark: GRADE.  My High School always gave numerical grades.  100 was great - 70 was passing.  Below 70 was trouble.  

15. Ice cream drink: SHAKE.  Used to be 20 cents at McDonald's in the 1960s.  Now I cannot afford them any more.

18. Scotch or masking: TAPE.  I like the Curad stuff to strengthen my bowling hand.

23. Played the market: INVESTED.  Believe me, it is NOT playing.  However sometimes I PLAY Craps. About the same results. 

25. California county that contains parts of Yosemite National Park: MARIPOSA.

27. Copy on transparent paper: TRACE.

28. "You betcha!": YEAH.

30. Recycle bin item: CAN.  We recycle so much paper that there is hardly room for CANS.

32. CBS forensic series: CSI.

33. NFL tiebreakers: OTS.  I sat through a few of these this year.   

34. Multiple Grammy winner featured on "Uptown Funk": BRUNO MARS.

35. Prize since 1901: NOBEL.

36. __-Magnon: CRO.  This was not the best looking guy to maybe put on a coin.

38. Vaccination spot: ARM.  C.C. was sore for a day or two.  I did not have any side effects but I wish people would Knuckle down and get their shots.  Last week we had an Omicron case here in Minn.

39. More, in Madrid: MAS.

41. Game with putting: GOLF.  Of course our courses are closed for the season, but our fall is lasting a long time. No complaints. We had a day of 52 degrees with a bit of rain.  No kidding and no snow!

42. Lend an __: listen: EAR.  What? Huh?  You talkin' to me?

47. Is flexible: BENDS.

48. You, biblically: THEE.  "America, America, God shed his grace on THEE!"

49. Flip out: GO APE.

50. Trial judge's demand: ORDER.  I think I have most of the "LAW and ORDER" episodes memorized.

51. Between, in French: ENTRE.

52. Like a designated driver: SOBER.  Like me forever.

54. Poe's middle name: ALLAN.  Edgar.

55. Ship's hull region: BILGE.  These must be most of those parked in the Pacific Ocean that have Christmas gifts on them.

56. More cunning: SLYER.

59. Aspiring DA's exam: LSAT.

63. Be obligated to: OWE.  "I OWE- I OWE, so off to work I go"

64. "Don't delay!": NOW.

65. Pre-marital (just barely) promise: I DO.

Boomer

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 84th birthday to Lucina! Lucina used to travel to CA regularly and met up with our California blog regulars JD, Chickie, Clear Ayes and Garlic Gal. Sadly both Dodo and Clear Ayes have passed away. JD, Chickie and Garlic Gal are still in close contact.

L-R back row: Chickie, Clear Ayes, Garlic Gal
   Front: JD, Lucina, Dodo (June 23, 2011)