Friday, March 3, 2023, Amie Walker

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with this morning's review of a puzzle constructed by Amie Walker.  I had the pleasure of recapping one of Amie's puzzles last July and in that puzzle she added a letter or two to common expressions and, thereby, created new and different expressions.  In today's offering, she leads us in the opposite direction and deletes a single letter to yield definitions for three themed clues (all of which are starred for our convenience).  The reveal comes at:

50 Across:  "Stay alert!," or a phonetic hint to the answers to the starred clues: KEEP AN EYE OUT.  The phonetic hint is that we must delete an I.  An "eye for an I" in the reveal, as it were.

The starred clues are found at:

19 Across:  *Relocation specialist?: MOVE PRODUCER.   Movie Producer before the deletion.

26 Across:  *Chiropractor who treats mollusks?: CLAM ADJUSTER.  Claim Adjuster adjusted.

Steve Martin - Insurance Agent/Claim Adjuster

42 Across:  *Lift for Mom's mom?: GRAN ELEVATOR.  Grain Elevator.  Lift being, in this case, British English for what we in the USA call an ELEVATOR.

This is how the completed grid looks:

. . . and here are the other clues and answers:

Across:

1. PC shortcut key: CTRL.  The classic being CTRL ALT DEL

5. __ Jansen: kid-lit detective with a photographic memory: CAM.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

8. More than a few: MANY.  

12. Seehorn of "Better Call Saul": RHEA.  A TV reference.

13. Repaired, maybe: TAPED.  Yes, maybe.  Not often the best way to repair something.

15. Facial tissue additive: ALOE.

16. God of war: ARES.  MARS would also have fit, and meet the definition, but would not work out.

17. Market directives that have yet to be executed: OPEN ORDERS.  A financial market reference.

21. Study closely: PEER AT.  Hand up for first trying to make PERUSE work out.

22. Intended: MEANT.

31. Cattle breed: ANGUS.

34. Land divisions: ACRES.  5,280 feet per mile  x 5,280 feet = 27,878,400 square feet per square mile.   27,878,400 square feet divided by 43,560 square feet per acre = 640 acres per square mile.

 

35. Maker of Don't Bossa Nova Me Around nail polish: OPI.  This brand often appears.  It's probably one that I should commit to memory.

36. Light air: LILT.  Air as in a happy tune or song.

37. Tennessee athlete: TITAN.  A professional football team.  Formerly the Houston Oilers.

38. "Kapow!": BLAM.

39. Skater Midori: ITO.  An American Olympian.

40. Cutoffs fabric: DENIM.

41. Walk quartet: BALLS.  A baseball reference.   The new baseball rules regarding allotted time to throw a pitch and for the batter to be ready to hit are going to seem a bit odd at first.

45. Tag line?: NOT IT.

Please Forgive the Animals for Not Knowing 

Their (There, They're) Contractions

46. Spectators on "Ted Lasso," e.g.: EXTRAS.  Some are created with CGI.  Another TV reference.

55. Evasive reply to "Why do you ask?": OH NO REASON.  The reply is often an untruth.

58. Ancient letter: RUNE.   From Germanic alphabets used in the 3rd to the 13th centuries.

59. Lug: HAUL.  Hand up for TOTE (although that's often clued as a pledge drive giveaway).

60. Makes a baby blanket, say: KNITS.

61. Jazz legend James: ETTA.   This rare talent is a frequent visitor so we cannot say "At Last" she has arrived:

62. Bird in the starling family: MYNA.  To enforce a ban against exporting MYNA birds, a country trained lions to guard its frontiers.  One day two smugglers tried to sneak a MYNA bird out of the country while the border lions were sleeping.  The big cats woke up in time and captured the smugglers, who were accused of transporting MYNAs across state lions.

63. Carry-on inspectors: Abbr.: TSA.

64. Cubicle surface: DESK.

Down:

1. Muscle woe: CRAMP.  I flexed my glutes and got a cramp.  That was a pain in the butt.

2. Pang: THROE.

3. Superman player: REEVE.  In the 1978 movie "Superman" and in three sequels.

4. Use an engraving machine, say: LASER CUT.  I found this one to be just a bit of a stretch.

5. Guitar accessory: CAPO.  Let's say that the guitarist knows how to play a song in the key of G but the singer wants to do it in A flat.  Put the CAPO on the first fret and play just as you would in G.

6. Mimicked: APED.

Humans Pretending to Be Apes Aping Human Choreography

7. Set of dishes?: MENU.  Word play.  Not plates.

8. Some ladies of Spain: MADRES.  Spain was a bit of misdirection except to let us know that the answer might be, and was, a Spanish word.  Some ladies everywhere are mothers.   A somewhat open-ended clue in that there are many, many possible answers.

9. Yard sale?: ALE.  As in a yard of ALE.  A yard is a tall beer glass holding 2 1/2 imperial pints.

10. "That's neither here __ there": NOR.

11. "Bingo!": YES.  Aha!  Oho! Yea!   Another open-ended clue,

13. Sandwich that might have queso fresco and crema: TORTA.  A Mexican street food lesson.

14. OB-GYN, e.g.: DOC.  Abbr/abbr

18. Brother in Roman lore: REMUS.  Romulus and REMUS had a wolf for a foster mother.  The legend says that they founded Rome (named for Romulus).

Romulus and Remus

20. Buddies: PALS.  Good PALS don't let you do stupid things . . . alone.

23. Lagoon border: ATOLL.   I often forget if it's one T and two L's or vice versa.

24. Landlocked country in South Asia: NEPAL.

25. Abridges: TRIMS.  An editing reference.  No one says that they're going to abridge the hedges.

27. Location of the fictional town Horseshoe Bay on The CW's "Nancy Drew": MAINE.  Another TV reference.

28. Play ender, often: ACT IV.  This clue and answer is always a bit of a punt whether it is ACT IV or ACT I or ACT II, etc.

29. Pulitzer category: DRAMA.  There are 21 categories.  Yet another open-ended clue.

30. Fox Sports NFL sideline reporter Hale: JEN.  Another TV reference.

31. Square up: ALIGN.

32. TNT component: NITRO.  triNITROtoluene

33. Rub it in: GLOAT.

37. __ Aviv: TEL.  A major Israeli city.

38. Exchanged: BARTERED.  SWAPPED did not quite fit.

40. Dissuade: DETER.

41. Like classic Volvos: BOXY.

1975 Volvo 240

43. Inventor Tesla: NIKOLA.  Born in 1856.  Musk was born in 1971.  NIKOLA should have had the foresight to trademark his last name.

44. Chilly temps: TEENS.  As you read this I am at 9,500 feet in Colorado.  The forecast low tonight is fourTEEN ° F.

Looking West From Mt. Crested Butte

47. Path: ROUTE.

48. Reunion attendees: AUNTS.  Again, an open-ended clue.  This could refer to a family reunion (and it did) or a school class reunion or a military service reunion, etc.

49. Cookout choice: STEAK.  Lots of possible answers fit this clue, too.

51. Startled cry: EEK.  Often, EEK a mouse!  More often, we see the homophone EKE (out a living).

52. Huff and puff: PANT.

53. Craigslist caveat: AS IS.  I saw an ad on Craig's List that read:  "Radio, one dollar, volume stuck on high."  I thought to myself, "I can't turn that down . . ."

54. __ bene: NOTA.

55. Resistance eponym: OHM.  We're talking (electrical) physics here not political resistance.

56. Pile near a pitchfork: HAY.

57. Convent figure: NUN.

Well, that wraps things up for today .  .  .  and, you may well be thinking, NUN too soon.

As you read this,  Valerie and I are most likely driving through Utah or Colorado.  Hopefully, running on clear roads behind the storm that came through California on Wednesday headed east.  Stay safe, everyone.

____________________________________________

Thursday, March 2, 2023, Joe Hansen

We welcome constructor Joe Hansen, who made his NYT debut on April 14, 2020; got another puzzle under his belt  there on October 12, 2020; and has also published in the WSJ -- now he's ready for the big time!  His theme for this puzzle ...

DEPENDS ON HOW YOU SLICE IT

... and Joe swears by it in his reveal:

36A. Instruction before an oath, and a feature of 20-, 31-, 43-, and 54-Across: REPEAT AFTER ME.

... suggesting that the meanings of the fills for his punny theme clues depend on how they're parsed:

20A. Line dance that's actually a hustle?: CON GAME CONGA or CONGA ME CONGA.

31A. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Pacino?: ALS MEALS or ALS ME ALS.  A few years back there was an Al Pacino's Egyptian Pizza cafe not far from us.  They were the only place around where you could get Babaganush and Hummus on the side.  Alas they closed.  In researching this clue  I was delighted to find that they'd just moved up the road from their old place, but in the back of a strip mall so we don't see them as we pass it.  Here's their menu.  And for you feline fans on the Corner, not to worry -- they don't serve cat. 😸 

43A. Singer DiFranco, as portrayed in Japanese cartoons?: ANIME ANI or ANI ME ANI.

54A. One inevitable bar of music?: A SURE MEASURE or A SURE ME A SURE.  I'm not so sure about one bar of music being inevitable in all compositions.  E.g, those who aren't soothed by the sound of classical music may find this 4 movement piece by modern composer John Cage more restful.  It's entitled 4'33" (ssh, don't wake the audience!):

I thought this theme was pretty clever.  Here's the grid:

Across:

1. Boast: BRAG.  "Mine is better" is a mind game that even animals play:

5. Mil. truant: AWOL.

9. Witch played by Elizabeth Olsen in Marvel films: WANDA.  It looks like the Marvel Universe has replaced OPERA for the GEN* generations.  The googleverse seems divided over whether DIVA Wanda Maximoff (aka The Scarlet Witch) is a heroine or or a villain:

14. "Othello" villain: IAGO.  In Verdi's OPERA Otello, derived from Shakespeare's play, this guy is definitely a villain: 

15. Smoke an e-cig: VAPE.

16. Dude who might ask, "Have you tried turning it off and on again?": IT GUY.  The last resort when the 3 finger salute doesn't work.

17. Some agts.: G MEN.

18. __-steven: EVEN.

19. Sparkly stone: GEODE.  Here's how GEODES form.

Amethyst Geode

20. [Theme clue]

23. "What's your point?": AND.  ... AND we might ask the same about this clue of Joe. 
.
24. "Sick!": RAD.  It use to be GOOD and then it was BAD and now it's SICK. 

25. Quiets: HUSHES.

29. "Coming soon" ad: TEASER.

31. [Theme clue]

33. Like many mountain roads: TWISTY.

35. Hotmail provider: MSN.  Microsoft Network, a web portal run by the company originally founded by Bill Gates.  Their IT GUYS often resort to strategy 16A when they're stumped, also known at "Getting out of the car and getting back in again".

36. [Theme reveal]

41. Mint alternative: GUM.

42. Blood line?: ARTERY.   They are also life lines, which with the VEINS, comprise our amazing cardiovascular system. 

Anatomy of an Artery

43. [Theme clue]

47. Girls in the family: NIECES.  We have seven. One of them is an RN who interned at the clinic that produced the article for 42A.

51. Emotional strain: STRESS.

52. Request: ASK.

53. Regret: RUE.  In addition to its extensive use in crossword puzzles, it is also the common name of the herb Ruta graveolens.   Native to the Balkan Peninsula, it is known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, and is grown as an ornamental plant and medicinal herb. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluish leaves, and sometimes for its tolerance of hot and dry soil conditions. It seems to have multiple-personalities, cultivated as a culinary herb, and to a lesser extent as an insect repellent and incense.

Common Rue

54. [Theme clue]

58. Bear in the WWF logo: PANDA.  The World Wildlife Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment.

61. Voracious: AVID.

62. Like items at a thrift shop: USED.

63. "How fun!": OH BOY.

64. DoorDash link: MENU.  DoorDash, Inc. is an American company that operates an online food ordering and food delivery platform. The company is based in San Francisco, California. It went public in December 2020 on NYSE and trades under the symbol DASH.  They were a major life line  to many during the COVID pandemic.  It looks like they might also be helpful if you contract the munchies.

65. Cuba libre ingredient: COKE.  The origins of the Cuba Libre cocktail can be traced to 1900 and to a U.S. Army captain who was stationed in Havana during the Spanish-American War.  Here's a recipe with a dash of history.

Cuba libre

66. Becomes more friendly: THAWS.

67. Support, with "up": PROP.

68. Cabbage unit: HEAD. 

Down:

1. Member of the genus Panthera: BIG CAT.  Panthera is a genus within the family Felidae that was named and described by Lorenz Oken in 1816, who placed all the spotted cats in this group.  The classification of the genus was revised in 1916 to include the tiger, lion, jaguar, and leopard on the basis of common cranial features.  The genus name evokes the black panther, which is actually a leopard with large amounts of the dark pigment melanin in the animal’s fur and skin.

Black Panther

2. "I Wanna Be Sedated" surname: RAMONE.  The RAMONES were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group.  Here's the clue song, one of their biggest hits (lyrics)

3. Meeting guide: AGENDA.  I've used this before, but I can't seem to get it out of my CABBAGE UNIT ...

4. Pagoda instrument: GONG.  Here's some gong music performed by percussionist Marilyn Donadt.  The bars of her music do have an air of inevitability ...

Here's the only biographical info I could find - in a capsule review to her book Voices of the Gong.

5. Beyoncé song that samples Schubert: AVE MARIA. 

6. Greeted wordlessly: WAVED.

7. Intl. oil group: OPEC.

8. Longtime NBC host: LENO.

9. Ralph of "The Simpsons" who said, "Me, fail English? That's unpossible": WIGGUM.

10. "You can relax now": AT EASE.

11. Oxfam, e.g.: NGO.  Oxfam is a Non-Governmental Organization.

12. Disappointment: DUD.

13. Sailor's yes: AYE.

21. "__ having fun yet?": ARE WE.  I am.  I hope you are too.

22. School org. for top students: NHS.  The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achievement), leadership, service, and character.

26. "Mad Men" star: HAMM.  John Hamm plays advertising genius Don Draper, a man with dark secrets, in the TV series Mad Men.  This American period drama ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015 and lasted for seven seasons with 92 episodes.   The show is set from March 1960 to November 1970.  It's definitely pre #ME-TOO:

27. Otherwise: ELSE.

28. Govt.-issued ID: SSN.

30. Valvoline rival: STP.

31. Classic arcade name: ATARI.

32. Uber alternative: LYFT.  We tried UBER in New York,  but they couldn't get to you any quicker than the cabs.  We did use LYFT during an anniversary get away to Washington, D.C. just prior to the onset of the pandemic.  They arrived promptly, were reasonably priced, and we liked  the service.  But then DC has a lot less traffic than NY.

34. Suffix meaning "land": STAN.  E.g. the land of the AFGHANS.

36. Litter's smallest: RUNT.

37. Mideast title: EMIR.

38. Started to freeze: TENSED UP.

39. "Get Out" actress Alexander: ERIKA.  Erika Rose Alexander (born November 19, 1969) is an American actress, writer, producer, entrepreneur and activist best known for her roles as Pam Tucker on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1990–1992), and Maxine Shaw on the FOX sitcom Living Single (1993–1998). Her film credits include The Long Walk Home (1990), 30 Years to Life (2001), Déjà Vu (2006) and Get Out (2017), in the role of Detective Latoya. 

Erika Alexander

40. Deli slice: RYE.

41. Tank filler: GAS.

44. Grassy expanse: MEADOW.

45. Op-ed pieces: ESSAYS.

46. Sch. with a Phoenix campus: ASU.  Arizona State University is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the U.S.  Paul Davies, one  of my favorite physicists, is on their faculty.

48. Literary castaway: CRUSOE.  His man Friday visited us a couple of weeks back.

49. California city on Humboldt Bay: EUREKA.  Humboldt Bay was unknown to non-natives until explorer Josiah Gregg discovered it in 1849 and named it for the genius Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859), a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science.

50. Like some 40-Down bread: SEEDED.  Specifically with caraway seeds, the source of its characteristic rye flavor.

52. __ acid: AMINO.  The constructor's favorite acid - short, three vowels, and linked to two of their other favorite acids:  RNA and DNA.

55. Skate park feature: RAMP.

56. At any time: EVER.

57. "No __ luck!": SUCH.

58. Cauldron: POT.  I've made a few POTS over the years, but never any CAULDRONS, which are usually made from iron.  You'd need a special clay body called flameware, with ingredients that make it resistant to thermal shock when the ware is exposed to direct flame. The body has low plasticity and is thus difficult to throw, it tends to warp, and it doesn't work well with glazes.

59. "That feels nice!": AHH.

60. Org. with Cavs and Mavs: NBA.  The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Dallas Mavericks are in the NBA Central Division and Southwest Division, respectively.
 

Cheers,
Bill

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

 

waseeley

Wednesday, March 1, 2023, August Miller

Theme: GENDER BENDER

16. Brilliant artist beset by personal demons, say: TORTURED GENIUS.

21. Activities Rudolph was kept from joining: REINDEER GAMES.

33. Southern part of the Mariana Trench: CHALLENGER DEEP.

43. Leafy side: COLLARD GREENS.

52. Not conforming to traditional male/female norms, and a hint to this puzzle's circles: GENDER CREATIVE.

CREATIVE is a clue indicating an anagram, in this case for letters GENDER that stretch across the two-word theme answers. 

Melissa here. Just like a dictionary documents newly added terms and definitions, so do crosswords. A recent NYT article, Will Shortz's Life in Crosswords, quotes Shortz as saying "I think the crossword should reflect the life, language, and culture of everybody who reads the Times, and that’s everybody from smart teens up to the oldest people." Here's another NYT article listing over 1,900 words that appeared for the first time in their puzzles last year.

Across:

1. Pinnacle: ACME. Wiley Coyote's favorite catalog.

5. Zither kin: HARP. All about zithers. Not to be confused with Blondie's Mr. Dithers.

9. Is profitable: PAYS.

13. Like a clown car's passengers: CRAMMED IN.

15. __ palak: dish of potatoes and spinach: ALOO. Did not know this dish. Here's a recipe.

18. Condition that may be treated with CBT: OCD.

19. Hand (out): DOLE. Perps kept mete at bay.

20. Coding shortcut: MACRO. A series of instructions in the form of code that helps automate manual tasks, thereby saving time.

24. Dudes: GUYS.

25. 2020 and 2022 WNBA MVP Wilson: AJA. Sometimes see this clued as an album by Steely Dan.

26. Sagan who hosted the original "Cosmos": CARL. Pale Blue Dot. A beautiful piece of writing by Carl Sagan about the earth.

28. Little red Corvette or little deuce coupe: AUTO.

30. "The French Dispatch" director Anderson: WES.

37. Certain sib: SIS. Not bro.

38. Engrave: ETCH.

39. With competence: ABLY.

40. "Don't __ me started": GET.

41. 20s dispensers: ATMS. My first thought, which didn't fit, was Pez. Created in 1927, as an alternative to smoking. History of Pez.

49. Unsettling, in a way: EERIE. My son and I were recently in the McKenzie River area (in Oregon) and witnessed the eerily beautiful forest, two-plus years after a raging fire. Over a 5-10 mile stretch of highway we saw hundreds of RVs where people were living while rebuilding their homes and businesses. The trees left standing were mostly black, and smoke still hung in the air, almost like a ghost.

50. Word on Irish coins: EIRE. Irish for "Ireland."

51. Issa of "The Lovebirds": RAE. Also known for her YouTube web series Awkward Black Girl.

55. Burn balm: ALOE.

56. Prison drama that was Jonathan Demme's directorial debut: CAGED HEAT. Have not seen this 1974 film. Looks kind of .... terrible.

57. Multitude in a pointillist painting: DOTS. Example: Le Clipper, Asnieres by Paul Signac, 1887.

58. Copied: APED.

59. Norway's most populous city: OSLO.

Down:

1. Person in a cast: ACTOR.

2. Jim who sang "I Got a Name": CROCE.

3. Time to celebrate with one's krewe mates: MARDI GRAS. Had to look this one up: A krewe is any group or organization of friends who would like to band together to host a Mardi Gras ball, ride on a Mardi Gras parade float, and participate in social events throughout the year. In Southwest Louisiana, there are more than 60 krewes, a number that continues to grow each season.

4. First responder: Abbr.: EMT.

5. First responders, e.g.: HEROES. Clecho.

6. "Easy on Me" singer: ADELE. Mononymous is an adjective describing one who is known by just one name.

7. Rodeo contestant: RIDER.

8. GIF alternative: PNG. Image file types. Use PNG format for any image that needs transparency, or for images with text & objects with sharp contrast edges like logos. Use GIF format for images that contain animations.

9. Land on an isthmus: PANAMA. An isthmus is a strip of land that connects two continents, two different parts of the continent, or a peninsula to a continent. See?

10. Painter Neel known for nudes: ALICE. Did not know this American artist. 1900-1984. Wikipedia says she was "known for her portraits depicting friends, family, lovers, poets, artists, and strangers." This is a beautiful site to browse her art. The site is a little tricky to navigate, but you can hear Neel speaking about her work if you click on The Met (on the right menu), and then use the navigation buttons to go forward to 7/17, and click on the words "Neel speak."

11. "What's mine is __": YOURS.

12. Meh: SOSO.

14. In need of a doggy bath, maybe: MUDDY.

17. Key with four sharps: E MAJOR. F♯, G♯, C♯, and D♯

22. No longer valid: NULL.

23. Garden entrance: GATE. Here is a famous one.

26. Hypo units: CCS.

27. Fish at a sushi bar: AHI. In Hawaii, “ahi” refers to two species, the yellowfin tuna and the bigeye tuna.

28. Anti-apartheid org.: ANC. Wikipedia: The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa, a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid.

29. "Gross": UGH.

30. Episodes on YouTube, say: WEB SERIES.

31. Fish at a sushi bar: EEL. Tastes like chicken. (Not really, but it's tasty.)

32. Hidden asset?: SPY. Nice clue.

34. Actress-turned-artist Sobieski: LEELEE. American artist and retired actress. 

35. "__ Jones Sings Lady Day": 2001 album: ETTA.

36. Title for Judi Dench: DAME. Regarded one of Britain's best actresses, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1970, a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1988 and a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in 2005.

40. Moves smoothly: GLIDES.

41. "Deal!": AGREED.

42. Traction aid: TREAD.

43. Gnarls Barkley singer-songwriter Green: CEELO.

44. " ... unless you'd rather do something else": OR NOT.

45. Summary at the start of a new season, e.g.: RECAP. There's so much time in between seasons of streaming series now that we can binge-watch, the recaps are helpful.

46. Mournful tune: DIRGE.

47. __ blockade: NAVAL.

48. Take care of: SEE TO.

49. Quaint oath: EGAD.

53. TV pioneer: RCA.

54. However briefly?: THO. Nice clue.