Thursday, December 22, 2022, Freddie Cheng & Caroline Sommers

 

HEDGE HUNTERS

Today's puzzle teams veteran Freddie Cheng with media writer and producer Caroline Sommers, who appears to be making her LA Times debut.

Their puzzle invites us to do a little landscape gardening with 3 themers that keep the bushes from getting out of control:

20A. *Strawberry's field, once: SHEA STADIUM.  A clever reference to Darryl Strawberry, the fearsome slugger who played in Shea Stadium for the NY Mets during his heyday.  The clue could also be taken as misdirection to lead us to Strawberry Fields in Central Park, a 5 acre section that memorializes John Lennon, who of course co-wrote and did the lead vocals on this song :
 

38A. *"Listen, I can explain":HEAR ME OUT. A phrase that often pops out of the mouths of perps  when they're being grilled under bright lights in detective shows.

48A. *Warning that could come with a "Shush!": EARS ARE FLAPPING.

ears are flapping

Someone is listening, or trying to listen, to the details of a private conversation: "Let's finish this conversation in the meeting room in case people's ears are flapping nearby ...". 

The Free Dictionary suggests that this is British slang  and it wouldn't be complete without one my favorite Brit idioms:  "... and we can have a chin wag".

 And the reveal:

57A. Hedge trimmer's tool, which seems to have been used on the starts of the answers to the starred clues?: PRUNING SHEARS. These are standard tools for the gardeners who have to maintain the shrubbery at Ladew Topiary Gardens in Jarretsville, MD.  Here they have to keep the hunter (upper left) and the hounds trim, if they're to have any hope of catching the wily fox in the foreground:

Topiary Fox Hunt
Ladew Gardens.

Across:

1. Auto industry pioneer: OLDS.  Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. From whence of course we get the eponymous rock band, REO Speedwagon.  Here's their Keep on Loving You ...

5. Couches: SOFAS. 

10. Enthusiastic: KEEN.

14. Christopher Robin's friend: POOH.  Winnie-the-Pooh, is a fictional teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner (1928), and then many others  The stories have been translated in many languages and Winnie Ille Pu has the distinction of being the only book in Latin on the New York Times best seller list.  But eventually Christopher Robin grows up and has to go to school, and the two friends must part.  Here's Winnie-the-Pooh - Final Scene (trigger warning: it's a bit of tear jerker) ...

15. Novelist Desai: ANITA.  Anita Desai, neé Anita Mazumdar (born 24 June 1937) is an English-language Indian novelist, short-story writer and children's author,  She was born in 1937 in Mussoorie, India. She was educated at Delhi University.and is the Emerita John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (a CSO to Picard).  Her novels include Fire on the Mountain (1977), which won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize, and Clear Light of Day (1980), In Custody (1984) and Fasting, Feasting (1999), each of which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the English equivalent of the Pulitzer.  In Custody was made into a film by Merchant Ivory productions. Her children's book The Village by the Sea (1982), won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award.

Anita Desai

16. Toll unit: AXLE.

17. Draped Roman garment: TOGA.

18. "Can't you get someone else?": MUST I.

19. Used Google Wallet, say: PAID.

23. 2020 and 2022 WNBA MVP A'ja: WILSON.  A'ja Riyadh Wilson (born August 8, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Stats and kudos.

A'ja Wilson in flight

25. Longtime local: NATIVE.

28. Resource in Catan and Minecraft: ORE.  You might have dug out this 3 letter nugget of crosswordese even if you had never of heard of the games Catan or Minecraft.

29. Rodeo hat: STETSON.  A CSO to all the Texas cowboys and cowgirls on the Corner, who probably already know all this stuff.  This is for all you greenhorns.

Stetson Hat

33. A Bobbsey twin: NAN.  She was one of four.  This is how to keep them straight.

34. "De __": "Gracias" response: NADA.  Today's Spanish lesson:  "No problem".  Maybe this is why  Gen-Xers have no problem with "No Problem":  they must all be bilingual!

36. Bank job: HEIST.

37. Pop in the mail: SEND.  POP also stands for Post Office Protocol, an Internet standard for handling email SENT from your desktop.

41. Mid-Mar. honoree: ST PAT.  St. Patrick (Feast Day March 17) is popular not only with Catholics, but some Protestants, and anyone who likes  green beer.  His story is chronicled in a notable book by historian Thomas Cahill called How the Irish Saved Civilization (not a spoof!).    The 5th century Roman Patricius was kidnapped at age 16, taken to Ireland as a slave, and pressed into service as a shepherd.  Six years later he escaped back to Britain, eventually converted to Christianity, was ordained a priest, and returned to Ireland as a missionary.  He was instrumental in the conversion of pagan Ireland at a time when the Irish were still practicing human sacrifice.  Also during this time the Roman Empire was dissolving and much of it's great classical literature was in danger of being lost.  The Irish monks on the Isle of Skellig Michael were instrumental in transcribing and preserving many of these works, and literally "saved civilization".

Saint Patrick

44. Flick: MOVIE.

54. Rumpus: ADO.

55. Late-March sign: ARIES.  A fire sign:

56. Label: TAG.

62. Lose one's cool completely: GO APE.

63. Ingest: EAT.

64. Minor interruptions: BLIPS.

66. Choir section: ALTOS.  As 'tis the season to give praise, here's the part for the ALTO choir in the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah.

67. Mexican Mrs.: SRA.   Short for SENORA. Spanish lesson number 2.

68. Hit just past the infield: BLOOP.  This is usually called a BLOOPER, but I guess this was the constructor's (or editor's) call.

69. Isn't straight: LEANS.

70. Tater __: TOT.

71. Like the ocean: SALTY.  Or old sailors.  A CSO to Jinx.

Down:

1. Withdraw, with "out": OPT.

2. British lav: LOO.

3. Arctic transport: DOG SLED.

4. Bravo's "__ of Sunset": SHAHS.  Shahs of Sunset was an American reality television series that aired on Bravo. The series debuted on March 11, 2012. The series follows a group of Persian Americans living in Beverly Hills (and the greater area known as "Tehrangeles"), who are trying to juggle their active social lives and up-and-coming careers while balancing the demands of their families and traditions.

5. Kim's "Sex and the City" role: SAMANTHA.  Samantha Jones seemed to have it all — except a happy ending.

Kim Cattrall

6. Burden: ONUS.

7. Rock, in a choosing game: FIST.

8. Flour for roti: ATTA.  The new crosswordese you can make at home.

Roll your own Roti

9. Turned down: SAID NO TO.  This is hard to do sometimes, especially to grandchildren.

10. Shot: KAPUT.

ka·put

/kəˈpo͝ot,käˈpo͝ot/

adjective

informal

adjective: kaput 

 

broken and useless; no longer working or effective."the water pump's broken, kaput, malfunctioning" - etymology.

11. Check carefully: EXAMINE.

12. Country's __ Young Band: ELI. The Eli Young Band is an American country music band composed of members who met while students at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas: Mike Eli (lead vocals, guitar), James Young (guitar), Jon Jones (bass guitar), and Chris Thompson (drums). Here's their 2011 hit Crazy Girl:

13. Actor Beatty: NED.  Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor and comedian . In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 films. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest actor in Hollywood". His film appearances included Deliverance (1972), White Lightning (1973), All the President's Men (1976), Network (1976), Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Back to School (1986), Rudy (1993), Shooter (2007), and Toy Story 3 (2010).

Ned Beatty

21. Canon SLR camera: EOS.  [Product review] The Canon EOS Rebel T7 / EOS 2000D offers very good image quality, with little graininess present in images at high ISO levels, and feels decently comfortable to use. Unfortunately, it's not a good fit for video work due to its limited selection of frame rate options, lack of support for 4k recording, and a small spread of inputs and outputs.
 

Canon EOS Rebel

22. Ziering of the "Sharknado" films: IAN.  Sharknado is a series of six American made-for-television science fiction action comedy horror disaster films released by Syfy between 2013 and 2018. It has since been expanded into video games and comics, including a spin-off film, Sharknado: Heart of Sharkness, that was released in 2015. The first two films received mixed to positive reviews from critics, while the others received negative reviews.

Ian Ziering

23. Hit a walk-off homer, say: WON.  More baseball.  A walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end a game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not have an opportunity to score any more runs, there is no need to finish the inning and the teams can walk off the field immediately.

24. 401(k) kin: IRA.

26. Airport shuttle, often: VAN.

27. Tip: END.

30. Alway: EER.  The clue is archaic for ALWAYS; the fill is poetic for FOREVER.

31. Director Burton: TIM.  Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and artist. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as Beetlejuice (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), etc. etc. etc.  I think Edward would have no problem getting a gig at the Ladew Topiary Gardens.

32. Compass pt.: SSE.

35. Cries of discovery: AHAS.

37. "Quit it!": STOP.

39. Uber driver's guess: ETA. The last time we visited New York City, we guessed that it would be faster to take the subway than to wait for an Uber stuck in NYC's 7x24 rush hour.

40. Diamond authority: UMP.

41. Mermaid's realm: SEA.

42. Pond youngster: TADPOLE.  But like all critters, they don't stay youngsters forever ...

The Lifecycle of the Frog

43. Equitably divided: PRO RATA.  What it means and how to calculate it.

45. Scathing criticism: VITRIOL.  Nasty stuff.

46. Stuck: IN A SPOT.

47. Shakshouka ingredient: EGG.  Here's a recipe.

Shakshouka

49. Hindi cinema star Aishwarya __ Bachchan: RAI.  Vidwan we miss you!  Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (née Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films. The winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant, she has established herself as one of the most popular celebrities in India.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

50. Actor Borgnine: ERNEST.  Ernest Borgnine (born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades beginning in 1951, and included roles in From Here to Eternity (1953), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), and The Wild Bunch (1969).  He also played the unconventional lead in many films, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1956, for Marty (1955).  Borgnine achieved continuing success in the sitcom McHale's Navy (1962–1966), in which he played the title character.  Here's a clip from Marty, who's mother is trying to get him to go a dance at the Stardust Ballroom and perhaps meet a nice girl (you might need your hankies for this one too):

51. Mozart's "The Marriage of __": FIGARO.   Mozart's Marriage of Figaro is considered to be one of the greatest operas ever written.  While usually thought of as a comedy, it has dark undertones, as it was critical of the aristocratic patriarchy of the time, and was even banned in some cities.  This darkness is embodied in the role of one of the main characters: Count Almaviva.  A key element of the plot is the notion of le droit du seigneur – a Count's "right" to bed any servant girl on her wedding night, in this case Figaro's bride to be Susanna!  You may remember Figaro as the happy go lucky Barber of Seville from last Thursday's puzzle.  Figaro, Susanna, and the Count's wife (Countess Rosina Almaviva) spend the better part of the opera thwarting the Count's efforts and all is well in the end, with the repentant Count begging his wife's forgiveness.  Here is the overture, a masterpiece of orchestral writing, conducted by Claudio Abbado:

52. "Interview With the Vampire" vampire: LESTAT.  Interview with the Vampire is a 1994 American gothic horror vampire film directed by Neil Jordan, based on Anne Rice's 1976 novel of the same name, and starring Tom Cruise,  Brad Pitt, and Kirsten Dunst.

53. Volcanic debris: ASH.

58. Versed in: UPON.

59. Urquhart Castle's loch: NESS.  There's more to this loch then  the legendary NESSIE.

60. Flows back: EBBS.

61. Penne __ vodka: ALLA.  Here's a recipe.

62. Gadot of "Wonder Woman": GAL.  Gal Gadot is an Israeli actress, singer, martial artist, and model. She was born in Rosh Ha'ayin, Israel. Her parents are Irit, a teacher, and Michael, an engineer. She served in the IDF for two years, and won the Miss Israel title in 2004.

Gal Gadot

65. Undercover agent: SPY.  Who would suspect them?
 

Cheers,
Bill

As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism. 

waseeley

Freddie Cheng and Caroline Sommers,  you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever, in the Comments section below.  We'd love to hear from you.  And welcome back!
 

Wednesday, December 21, 2022 Susan Gelfand

p>Theme: A Sporting Chance.  In the language phrases are repurposed to indicate an action involving professional sport team players.  In each case, the first word of the phrase is transformed from a modifier to a verb; a clever and unusual kind of word play.   The major U.S. sports, hockey, football, baseball and basketball are all represented.

17 A. Lend San Jose NHL players?: LOAN SHARKS.  A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law.  The San Jose Sharks are currently in 8th place in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.  Would your team like to borrow one?

23 A. Ring up Los Angeles NFL players?: PHONE CHARGERS.  A phone charger is the accessory you plug into your phone when the battery power is low.  The L.A. Chargers are in 2nd place in the AFC West, behind the Kansas City Chiefs.  Give them a call.

47 A. Improve Los Angeles MLB players?: PERFECT ANGELS.  A perfect angel is an adorable and well behaved child. I cold not find a suitable definition on line, so I made this one up.  The L.A. Angels finished the 1922 season in 3rd place in the Al West division, 33 games behind the 1st place Astros.  There are certainly some opportunities for perfecting their play.

57 A. Videotape Miami NBA players?: RECORD HEAT.  Record heat is the highest temperature reached on a given calendar day at a specific location.  One could record the Miami basketball team with a camera or cell phone - if it's charged.  They are currently in 3rd place in the Eastern conference of the National Basketball Association.

Hi, Gang - JazzBumpa on hand to announce today's game.  I'm quite taken with today's theme. Sadly, though my local Detroit teams are all mired in mediocrity, but the Lions are showing signs of life, and have a slim chance of making the play-offs. On the other hand, I think we all have a sporting chance to get a good solve today.  Let's check it out

Across:

1. Peony part: PETAL.  Each of the segments of the corolla of a flower, which are modified leaves and are typically colored.

6. Tools that can be musical instruments: SAWS.  Here is one.

10. Huge tubs: VATS.  Large tanks or tubs used to hold liquid, especially in industry.

14. Venue for big concerts: ARENA.   A level area surrounded by seats for spectators, in which sports, entertainments, and other public events are held.

15. Discontinued Apple gadget: I-POD.   A portable electronic device for playing and storing digital audio and video files.

16. Cut covered by a SpongeBob bandage, e.g.: OWIE.  Kid's name for a small injury, aka booboo.

19. Bridge pose discipline: YOGA.  A Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation.

20. Twisty curve: ESS.  Shaped similar to the letter.

21. Late tourney game: SEMI.  Short for semi-final.  The winner advances to the final game.

22. Gingerbread person?: BAKER.  Also the cookie person and the cake person, unless I'm misunderstanding.

27. Soothing succulents: ALOES.   Any of several succulent plants, typically having a rosette of toothed fleshy leaves and bell-shaped or tubular flowers on long stems. Native to the Old World tropics, several species are cultivated commercially or as ornamentals.

29. Foray: SORTIE.   An attack made by troops coming out from a position of defense.

30. Like much fall weather: COOL.  At a fairly low temperature.

31. Admits as much: LETS ON.   Reveal or divulges information to someone.

32. Stick (out): JUT.   Extend out, over, or beyond the main body or line of something.

35. Workweek starter, for some: MONDAY.   The day between Sunday and Tuesday. 

37. Minnesota mining range: MESABI.    A mining district in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota.

39. First responder's group, for short: EMS.   Emergency Medical Services.

40. Write-ups that still need some work: DRAFTS.   Preliminary versions of pieces of writing.
 
44. "You can say that again!": AMEN.   An Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim practices as a concluding word, or as a response to a prayer.

45. Safe to put away?: EDIBLE.   Suitable to be eaten.

46. Elaborate cake layers: TIERS.   A tiered cake is multiple, differently sized cakes, stacked atop one another to create height and drama that lends itself to becoming a focal point of the party.

51. Steer clear of: AVOID.   Keep away from or stop oneself from doing something.

52. Chance to roll the dice, say: TURN.   An opportunity or responsibility to do or use something before or after other people

53. __ Moines, Iowa: DES.  The capitol city of Iowa.

56. Ancient France: GAUL.   Gaul was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy, and Germany west of the Rhine. 

60. Slight advantage: EDGE.    

61. Jacob's twin in the Book of Genesis: ESAU.   Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible.  He was the progenitor of the Edomites and the elder brother of Jacob, the patriarch of the Israelites. Jacob and Esau were the sons of Isaac and Rebecca, and the grandsons of Abraham and Sarah. Of the twins, Esau was the first to be born with Jacob following, holding his heel. Isaac was sixty years old when the boys were born.

62. Give body to, as hair: TEASE.   Teasing, also known as backcombing or ratting, is a combing technique used to create volume at the root of your hair. The technique involves using a fine tooth comb to gently comb the hair downward toward your scalp, causing the hair to slightly tangle and create a voluminous final look.

63. Closing document: DEED.   A legal document by which one person transfers land or buildings to another. 

64. Gen-__: post-boomers: X-ERS.   Generation X is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s as ending birth years, with the generation being generally defined as people born from 1965 to 1980. 

65. 63-Across holder: OWNER.   A person who has legal possession of something.

Down:

1. Lacking color: PALE.  Light in color or having little color.

2. Amorous archer: EROS.  The ancient Greek god of love, identified by the Romans with Cupid.

3. Recipe measures: TEASPOONS.   The teaspoon a unit of measure especially in cookery equal to ¹/₆ fluid ounce or ¹/₃ tablespoon (5 milliliters)

4. "The Dutch House" novelist Patchett: ANN.  Ann Patchett [b. 1963] is an American author. She received the 2002 PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction in the same year, for her novel Bel Canto. Patchett's other novels include The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, The Magician's Assistant, Run, State of Wonder, Commonwealth, and The Dutch House.

5. Rodeo ropes: LASSOS.   A lasso, also called lariat, riata, or reata (all from Castilian, la reata 're-tied rope'), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the Spanish and Mexican cowboy, then adopted by the cowboys of the United States. 

6. Blue-eyed cat: SIAMESE.   One of the first distinctly recognized breeds of Asian cat. Derived from the Wichianmat landrace, one of several varieties of cat native to Thailand, the original Siamese became one of the most popular breeds in Europe and North America in the 19th century.

7. Yellow-orange fruit: APRICOT.   A fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus Prunus. Usually, an apricot is from the species P. armeniaca, but the fruits of the other species in Prunus sect. Armeniaca are also called apricots. 

8. Stir-fry pan: WOK.   A large, bowl-shaped Chinese pan used for frying food quickly in hot oil:

9. '60s "New Left" gp.: SDS.   Students for a Democratic Society

10. Long journey: VOYAGE.    As defined.

11. Stopped snoozing: AWOKE.   Roused from sleeping.

12. Detroit ballplayer: TIGER.  The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, established in 1901, they are also the oldest continuous one name, one city franchise in the AL

13. Mail-order pioneer: SEARS.   Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began as a mail ordering catalog company migrating to opening retail locations in 1925, the first in Chicago.

18. Barnyard layer: HEN.   An egg-laying chicken.

22. Corned beef solution: BRINE.   Water with a high concentration of table salt.

24. Gripped: HELD.   

25. Timecard abbr.: HRS.   Hours

26. Molecule makeup: ATOMS.   An atom is the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element, consisting of a nucleus containing combinations of neutrons and protons and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus by electrical attraction; the number of protons determines the identity of the element.

27. Tippy top: ACME.   Apex, peak, summit

28. Weaver's machine: LOOM.    A machine for interlacing at right angles two or more sets of threads or yarns to form a cloth.

31. Line of a song: LYRIC.   The words

32. "Rebel Without a Cause" star: JAMES DEAN.   James Byron Dean [1931 – 1955] was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), in which he starred as troubled teenager Jim Stark. The other two roles that defined his stardom were loner Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955) and surly ranch hand Jett Rink in Giant (1956).

After his death in a car crash on September 30, 1955, Dean became the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his role in East of Eden. 

33. App-based car service: UBER.  A platform where those who drive and deliver can connect with riders, eaters, and restaurants. In cities where Uber is available, you can use the Uber app to request a ride. When a nearby driver accepts your request, the app displays an estimated time of arrival for the driver heading to your pickup location.

34. Altoids containers: TINS.  Rectangular hinged metal boxes.

36. Chimed in with: ADDED.  Contributed to the discussion.

38. Move effortlessly (through): SAIL.   Glide.

41. Misty Copeland's dance troupe: Abbr.: ABT.   American Ballet Theater, a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spring and a shorter season at the David H. Koch Theater in the fall; the company tours around the world the rest of the year. 

42. Open freight train unit: FLATCAR.   A flatcar is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks or bogies, one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry extra heavy or extra large loads are mounted on a pair of bogies under each end.

43. Flimsy: TENUOUS.   Very weak or slight.

45. Submitted tax returns online: E-FILED.

46. Take care of: TEND TO.   Pay attention, apply oneself. 

47. Flipped (through): PAGED.   Turned the pages of (a book, magazine, etc.) especially in a quick, steady manner. 

48. Steer clear of: EVADE.  Escape or avoid, especially by cleverness or trickery.

49. Color for cheeks: ROUGE.   A red powder or cream used as a cosmetic for coloring the cheeks or lips.

50. Watchdog's warning: GRR.  Growling sound.

54. Simplicity: EASE.   The quality or condition of being easy to understand or do.

55. Hip or tip ender: -STER.  A suffix denoting a person engaged in or associated with a particular activity or thing.

57. Dinosaur voiced by Wallace Shawn in the "Toy Story" films: REX.

58. Opposite of WNW: ESE.  West-north-west and East-south-east.  The latter is the direction or compass point midway between east and southeast.

59. Chop down: HEW.   Chop or cut something, especially wood or coal, with an axe, pick, or other tool.

That wraps up our sports outing.  Hope you enjoyed the game, and that your team wins - unless they are playing mine, of course.

Below the puzzle are some bonus tracks from our Winter Wonders Concert on Monday.

Cool regards!

JzB

Jingle Bells, ala Count Basie

Sleigh Ride, a la Glenn Miller

Christmas Time Is Here

The Jody Grind

That's me with the stop time trombone solo at 3:15

Tuesday, December 20, 2022 - Erik Agard

O-Men

Jon Stewart once said of USA Today puzzles, "I will solve [it] but I don't feel good about myself." [cite: Wordplay trailer]

If you don't know, today's constructor, Erik Agard (ironically, no Os in his name), is a 3-time Jeopardy! (and the 2018 ACPT) champ and, as now-editor of USA Today's x-word, has really upped-the-game for that paper's puzzle.

Jon Stewart's gonna need to revisit his comment. //The floor is yours, good sir. :-)
Read a little about Erik [WikiP]. For more, just Google him.

I'm not a big fan of names in puzzles but, um, that's the core of the theme!
All but one name was totally unknown, so that's fair(ish). Today's offering presents fresh clues for stale fill [see: RENO] and, while I'm still just an apprentice, I can appreciate the build.

A look at the O-Dudes first:

1a. *Fictional swordfighter with a horse named Tornado: ZORRO.
ZORRO was my first thought, but I wanted omega for 1d (always check the perps, people) and I started trying to remember Three Musketeers' (and the horses' they rode in on) names.

20a. *"Parasite" director: BONG JOON-HO. I'll be honest, all perps and I had to Google how to parse the good director's name. I'm not much for movies much less who was in them (unless they're comedies - then I'm all over that).
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean film director, producer and screenwriter. The recipient of four Academy Awards, his filmography is characterized by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black humor, and sudden tone shifts. [WikiP]. #Learning!

The guy's got Bling

31a. *Abolitionist who was the first person executed for treason in the United States: JOHN BROWN. The nuns at St. Joe's taught us this song [Pete Seeger's version] in kindergarten.

40a. *Former MLB pitcher nicknamed "Flash": TOM GORDON. I'm sure Boomer (R.I.P.) had this card.

52a. *Marvel supervillain who created deadly robot clones of himself: DOCTOR DOOM. Yeah, that guy.

66a. What one might say after figuring out what the answers to the starred clues have in common?: OH, MAN.

See? Men with only O(h)s in their name.
A nice Tuesday puzzle with a bit of learning. What's not to like?
And now, for the rest of the grid:

Across:
1. [See: theme].

6. Weight: HEFT.

10. Early aughts music buys: CDS. More O's, er, zerO's. The early aughts (2000's) - when one could still hear, and buy(!), music without autotune.

13. French bottled water brand: EVIAN. You pay for that water; I'll just drink it out of the tap and save my cash.

14. At any point: EVER. Did you EVER? [That Dog (I had this on CD)]

15. "Go bother someone else!": SHOO. Ooo!, more Os.

16. Midterms and finals: TESTS. Wait, I was supposed to remember stuff after syllabus-day? Oy!

17. Largest city in Washoe County, Nevada: RENO. Washoe County is named for the Washoe people who were there first.

Washoe County

18. Hard precipitation: HAIL. Hail storms - not fun for your car's finish nor windshield.

19. "Rules __ rules": ARE. Them's the breaks (if you're caught breakin' them :-))

20. [See: theme]

22. Leisurely walk: STROLL. Ah, finally, time to slow down and think about stuff...

Jack Handey

25. __ football: ARENA. Not to be confused with the NFL - WikiP will tell you.

26. Promises of eventual repayment: I.O.U.S. My Amex bill come January.

28. Health product chain: GNC. General Nutrition Center. They sell nutrients you could just get from eating real food. 'Nuff said.

29. Holiday lead-in: EVE. Christmas will be led in with one (lasagna dinner at Pop's!). So will New Years. And then there's Amex-bill eve.

31. [See: theme]

35. Smart __: know-it-all: ALEC. Trebek! Oh, wait, that was Alex...

36. Bring to mind: EVOKE. Well, you see what Smart ALEC brought to (my) mind :-)

37. Aussie animal, for short: ROO. Also, a Jr. in Milne's wonderful stories.

38. Deceive: LIE TO. Would I Lie to You? [Eurythmics]

39. __ ex machina: DEUS. Gods from (in?) the machine.

40. [See: theme]

42. Form 1099 org.: IRS. April will be here before we know it.

43. Org. concerned with toxins: EPA. 'Concern' seems to depend on the administration.

45. Ohio border lake: ERIE.

46. Completely stop: CEASE.

48. Formally charge: INDICT. Someone is getting time for something, maybe.

52. [See: Theme]

56. Female pig: SOW. See also: 23d & 38d.

57. Masjid prayer leader: IMAM. I like the specificity of the clue - better than the generic "Muslim leader" or some such.

58. Cut, as grass: MOWN. I don't think I saw this clue while solving but I'd have missed past-tense for "cut" for a bit, I'm sure.

59. Throb: PULSE.

61. Slippery fish: EELS. I like the fish-plural here.

62. Not doing anything: IDLE. Me doing this expo? //I should really start the wash.

63. Quartz type: AGATE.

64. Internet access option: DSL. My backup to fiber. What do y'all use to get on-line?

65. Throw in the trash: TOSS. And then dig it out ala éclair.

George eats from the bin

66. [See: theme]

Down:
1. Greek Z's: ZETAS. I was thinking, "English alphabet end equivalent to the Greek alphabet end" and nearly entered Omega.

Greek Alphabet

2. Not veiled: OVERT. Or, "not the bride"(?)

3. Platform on a stage: RISER. Stage(s) above the stage. Eldest sang in choir - I was sure at least one of those kids were going to fall off the riser.

4. Zodiac rodent: RAT.

Chinese Zodiac Calendar

5. Add-__: extras: ONs.

6. Day saver: HERO.

Dudley Do Right

7. Balanced: EVEN. Karma always evens it out in the end.

8. __ shui: FENG. One of DW's BFFs warned us not to buy our old house because of it's feng shui: "Money will just run out the front door." I don't know if there's anything to her Vietnamese wisdom but,... we did spend a ton of money fixing the foundation :-(

9. USC athlete: TROJAN. The J was my last fill. [see: 12/10's LAT "SEC" clue for my (lack of) NCAA divisions knowledge :-)]

10. Did an uncanny impression of: CHANNELED. When a comedian can really CHANNEL someone...

Rich Little channels Carson and Rickles

11. Slumped-shoulders response to a task: DO I HAVE TO? Yes, and have it on my desk by 8am.

12. Unaccompanied: SOLO.

15. Sneaker, e.g.: SHOE. I was hoping for a reference to the old hacker movie.

A burglar, a spy, a fugitive, a delinquent, a hacker, and a piano teacher...
And those are the good guys.

20. Indistinct memory: BLUR. Some weeks are all a BLUR.

21. Fantasy creature: ORC. J.R.R. Tolkien and every D&D game I played. Nasty little buggers, them.

23. Pig talk: OINKS. Not Latin?

Not Peppa

24. Dangling ear part: LOBE.

27. "In a sense, I guess": SORTA. ish.

28. Small garden party?: GNOME. The little ornaments protecting your garden (or stealing your underwear!)

Forbes Explains

30. Class studying demand curves, for short: ECON. Supply and demand (expectations) over time. Quants have fun with these.

31. "Star Wars" knights: JEDI. May The Force be with you (and also with you).

32. Gets past: OVERCOMES. Some things, like Catholic school, are hard to overcome. [see: above ;-)]

33. In-home appointment: HOUSE CALL. A relic of the past come back to being by Tele-Docs. One plus of the pandemic(?).

34. "Wow, this rocks!": WOO! I wanted 'Rad', MAN.

35. Broadcast: AIRED.

38. Meat cut: LOIN.

No sows were harmed in this image

41. Not looking good: GRIM. Dark clouds hang over... #O-MEN

43. That, in Spanish: ESO.

44. Allow: PERMIT. A six-year-old in CA is the first to get a Unicorn Permit. //read the whole story - it's the kind of 'feel-good' we all need.

47. Dispensers of 20s: ATMS. Cute. I read 'of THE 20's' and had tommy-guns in my head for a moment.

49. Five Pillars faith: ISLAM.

50. __ Rica: COSTA.

Middle America?

51. Preadolescent: TWEEN. Almost there, kid. Just a little bit of more of the world (and, apparently, curse words) to learn before you're 13.

52. Ran out of battery: DIED. Some afternoons are like that.  Nap time!

53. Extinct bird: DODO. Hand-up if you remember our dear DoDo here at The Corner.

54. Nocturnal birds: OWLS. I like the feathered-friends side-by-side.

55. Singles: ONES. Not something ATMS offer.

59. Kung __ chicken: PAO.

Yummers!

60. "Blech": UGH. Um, yep.

The Grid:

Erik's Grid

WO: exams -> TESTS
ESPs: BONG JOON-HO | TROJAN, DEUS
Fav: DO I HAVE TO?

Erik, it was a pleasure breaking-down and making silly comments about your puzzle. I look forward to more LATs from you (yeah, I know you have a day job). Thanks for the puzzle!

Well, there you have it folks. Another expo in the books. I hope y'all enjoy'd the puzzle and my little fun with it.
Now it's your turn - gimme your $0.02.

Cheers, -T

Monday December 19, 2022 Spencer Leach

 Hello Cornerites!

sumdaze here, taking a look at Spencer Leach's puzzle. My first thought when seeing the empty grid is that it reminded me of the Message Monster forever stamp from 2021.

 

Do you see it?

I think the monster might be waving hello. Let's make today's theme:

Monstrous Waves 

We'll begin with the 3 themers:

17. Across*  Medical scan with a wand: ULTRASOUND.  First used for medical purposes in Glasgow in 1956, ULTRASOUND is an imaging method that uses sound waves to produce images of structures within a patient's body.

Since an ULTRASOUND uses sound waves, this answer feels a bit too close to the theme. Perhaps something like "Puget Sound" would have done more to separate this themer from the reveal.

27. Across*  "Channel Orange" Grammy winner: FRANK OCEAN.  Every Single Perp for me.

In 2012, Frank Ocean won 2 Grammys -- one for Best Urban Contemporary Album for Channel Orange and another for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for No Church In The Wild with The-Dream, Jay Z and Kanye West.

44. Across*  Comment after a joke that doesn't land: TOUGH CROWD.

Rodney Dangerfield

Then the reveal:

60. Causes a ruckus, and what the end of each answer to the starred clues does: MAKES WAVES.  The 3 types of WAVES the themers make are:

SOUND WAVES

OCEAN WAVES

and CROWD WAVES

Next we'll check out the swell fill clues.

Across:

1. "Whatever floats your __": BOAT.  Whatever makes you happy.

5. Cuts of pork: CHOPS.

Miss Piggy demonstrating pork CHOPS

10. New York MLB team: METS.  Sometimes we are expected to remember that they play at Citi Field.

14. Really get to: RILE.

15. Patient contribution: CO-PAY.

16. Aid and __: ABET.

19. British conservative: TORY.  Whigs and Tories in under 500 words

20. Valentine symbol: HEART.

21. Three-pronged Greek letter: PSI. My memory trick for this letter is Poseidon carried a trident.

22. Mint family herb: THYME.  I do not usually think of THYME as being related to mint but I figured Burpee (seed company) would know.

23. Multiuse tool with lots of attachments: DREMEL.

DH has one. His eyes light up when he thinks of a project that requires it.

25. Phone up: CALL.  You know, "dial".

31. "How sad for you": BUMMER.

Hummer Bummer

35. "A mouse!!": EEK.  Yesterday's puzzle's theme.

36. Sporty car roof: T-TOP.  

Barbie has a pink one.

38. Being kept cold: ON ICE.

39. Box set component: DVD. At first I thought this was one of those video game console questions.

40. "Same here!": ME, TOO.

41. Pottery oven: KILN.  kiln FAQs

42. Actor's prompt: CUE.

43. Pungent sushi condiment: WASABI.  Real WASABI vs. Fake WASABI

47. Farm animal with horns: GOAT.  Like cattle, both male & female goats can have horns.

48. Badger at the comedy club: HECKLE.  What members of a TOUGH CROWD do.

52. "That's the answer!": BINGO.

Inglourious Bastards (2009) 2 min. clip

55. Freight weight: TON.  Axle Weight Limits by State...and Canada, too!

57. Message-spelling board: OUIJA.  Do you say wee-juh or wee-jee? Both are correct. The first pronunciation matches the spelling but the second is more common.

59. Slim woodwind: OBOE.  Mozart's Oboe Concerto in C major, K. 314 was originally composed in Spring or Summer 1777 for oboist Giuseppe Ferlendis from Bergamo (1755-1802).

62. Bird's __ soup: NEST. I have heard of this soup but I had assumed it was made with noodles. I am surprised to learn that it is made with actual birds' nests.  link to a 5-star recipe and very interesting info

bird's nest soup

63. "Queen Sugar" co-producer Winfrey: OPRAH.  They had me at "Winfrey".  about the show

64. Peace Nobelist Walesa: LECH.  We meet again! Clued yesterday as "48D. Polish Solidarity hero Lech", Polish born LECH Walesa was in the news almost daily in the early '80s. This bio on NobelPrize.org tells his story much better than I can. 

65. Post-breakup pair: EXES.

George Strait singing All My Ex's Live in Texas

66. Like bogs: PEATY.

67. Superficially highbrow: ARTY.  Peaty's best friend since 2nd grade.

Down:
1. "Dude!": BRUH.  Recipient of today's Giant Leap award for spelling. Apparently "Bro" is very GenX and the Millennials have made the leap to BRUH. 

2. Used lubricant on: OILED.

3 min. video on Turkish Oil Wrestling

3. Place to say "I do": ALTAR.

4. __ Haute, Indiana: TERRE.  With 58,525 people, Terre Haute is the 15th most populated city in the State of Indiana.

5. IV units: CCS.  Cubic CentimeterS.  There are 2,000 CCs in a 2 liter bottle of soda.

6. Ruckus: HOOPLA.

7. "Mr. Holland's __": Dreyfuss film: OPUS.

Official Trailer (1996) 2:50 min.

8. Froze, perhaps: PANICKED. Good clue.

9. Pink Floyd guitarist Barrett: SYD. Y do I always misspell his name?

10. Students with a lot of problems?: MATHLETES.  super awesome kids!

11. Goth-like aesthetic of some TikTok guys: E-BOY.  Husker Gary gave us this link in his 10/22/22 blog.

12. Time in office: TERM.

13. Eye affliction: STYE.

18. Withdrawal charge: ATM FEE.

22. Gentle handling, for short: TLC.  Tender Loving Care

24. "To __ is human ... ": ERR.

... To forgive, divine.  (Alexander Pope)

... But it feels divine.  (Mae West)

... To admit it, superhuman.  (Doug Larson)

... To purr, feline.  (Robert Byrne)

26. Perfectly fine: A-OK.

28. At no point: NEVER.

29. "__ baby!": "Way to go!": ATTA.

30. Clueless gamer: NOOB. We've seen some spelling variations for this. In many fields, NOOB is short for "newbie" which is slang for someone new to something.

31. __ choy: BOK.  a staple at my house. Here's why:

32. Foot or furlong: UNIT.  MATHLETES have to remember to label their answers with the correct UNIT.

33. Ventimiglia of "This Is Us": MILO. Also the #4 male dog name in Nov.22 according to Rover.com

Milo Ventimiglia

What do you think? Keep or ditch the beard?

34. Happy Meal chicken option: MCNUGGETS.

37. Luau bowlful: POI.

39. All-purpose roll: DUCT TAPE.  Is it "duck" tape or "duct" tape? Actually, it's both!

The first name alludes to the tape's development: an elastic glue appended to a cotton duck fabric backing. Troopers in WWII utilized it to seal ammo cases, repair shoes and do the million different things a duct tape can do. The tape was particularly helpful for its capacity to oppose water, which kept running off the elastic. The "duct" name change really happened post-war, when HVAC experts thought that it was valuable for fixing AC pipes. Source:  10 Really Cool Products Invented by the U.S. Military

40. Bovine disease, familiarly: MAD COW.  AKA Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). According to the CDC, there have been 6 cases in the U.S. 

42. "__-ching!": CHA.  Also a financial literacy program for kids grades K-6.

43. "SummerSlam" org.: WWE.  World Wrestling Entertainment

45. Slime: GOO.  If you've got a lot of Goo, you can get Goo Gone.

46. "How cool!": OH NEAT.

49. __ Lumpur, Malaysia: KUALA.

50. Gallbladder neighbor: LIVER.

51. Kick out: EJECT.

52. Dog biscuit shape: BONE.

53. Wild mountain 47-Across: IBEX.

male Alpine Ibex

54. Win by a __: NOSE. Rudolf, when playing reindeer games.

56. Gumbo pod: OKRA.

58. Like a newly reborn phoenix, probably: ASHY.  I see what they did there.

60. Floor-washing tool: MOP.

61. Relatively timid: SHY.

Here's the completed grid:

That's all for today. I encourage you to not waive your rights to comment!