20. Zelle and Venmo: APPS - I have podcast APPS that keep me entertained
21. Editor's tool: RED PEN.
23. Any of 12 popes: PIUS - Where our granddaughter attends in Lincoln, NE
24. Run: OVERSEE - OPERATE worked until it didn't
25. Some highlands musicians: PIPERS.
28. Salt Lake Bees and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp: AAA TEAMS.
29. "Who's better than me?!": I RULE.
30. Drops in the air: MISTS.
31. Red choice: CAB - Often found on our crossword wine list
32. Tips for a writer: NIBS.
33. 2020 Isabel Wilkerson bestseller subtitled "The Origins of Our Discontents": CASTE.
34. Stud locale: LOBE - It was not in a wall or a horse farm but in an ear
35. Night sch. class: ESL.
36. Gals, in dated slang: MOLLS - Clyde Barrow's MOLL, Bonnie Parker, leapt to my mind
37. Winds: COILS.
38. Member of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame girl group: SHIRELLE - C'mon, ya gotta love 60's rock and roll. SHIRley Ross and three classmates for Passaic, NJ were the first black, girl group to have a #1 hit with this memorable song.
40. Polarizing figure?: MAGNET.
41. Agreements: ACCORDS
42. "Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are __!": 1978 album: DEVO.
43. Opening night invitee: CRITIC.
44. Untimely?: LATE.
45. Evil computer who says, "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that": HAL - A forerunner of AI?
48. Bulls and bucks: HE'S - Males
49. Tailor's device: TAPE MEASURE.
52. "Dig in!": EAT.
53. Actor who played Tony Rodriguez on "NYPD Blue": ESAI MORALES - We have seen his vowel-rich first name here quite often
54. Some corporate IP: TMS - Corporate TradeMarkS ™ are Intellectual Property
55. Display that may have rotating shelves: DESSERT CASE.
Down:
1. Nicola Yoon's "The Sun Is Also a __": STAR.
2. Cribbage pieces: PEGS.
3. x, y and z, in math: AXES and in space flight
4. All-Clad product: PAN.
5. "Steps in Time" memoirist: ASTAIRE - An autographed copy can be had for $375.00
6. Intellectual property?: CAMPUS - Where I got my first degree, Wayne State College
7. Keurig pods: K-CUPS.
8. Concerns for some orthopedic surgeons, initially: ACLS.
9. HS proficiency test: GED.
10. Sap: ENERVATE.
11. Doja Cat hit with the lyric "Send your location, come through": STREETS.
12. Ensures that change is in the air?: FLIPS A COIN - If you flip a coin (piece of change), it will go in the air. 😀
13. Scrooge, ultimately: REDEEMABLE - All it took was three ghosts
14. In top form: AT ONE'S BEST.
22. One of the "Black-ish" parents: DRE - Anthony Anderson plays Andre (DRE) Johnson in this show
23. NOLA cagers: PELS.
24. Brewery equipment: OASTS.
25. Pouch with a woodsy scent: PINE SACHET.
26. Mudslide element: IRISH CREAM.
27. Attention getters: PUBLICISTS - There's no such thing as bad publicity
28. Target section: AISLE - The AISLE is in a Target™ Store
30. Shop keepers?: MALLS - Omaha had three huge MALLS and two are now shut and the other one soon will be
33. Focus of many a true crime podcast: COLD CASE - Who killed JonBenet Ramsey?
34. Letterhead feature, often: LOGO.
36. Just: MERITED.
37. The Lascaux bulls, e.g.: CAVE ART - One of 600+ such images in this network of caves in SW France
39. Rubbish: ROT.
40. Shower element: METEOR - An event that occurs when Earth's orbit crosses the path of a group of meteors that burn up in our atmosphere.
42. Actor Jean-Claude Van __: DAMME - "The Muscles from Brussels"
44. Fragrant neckwear: LEIS and 45. Dance with a kahiko style: HULA.
46. Trojan War god: ARES.
47. __-majestÈ: LESE - Disrespect or a crime against a Royal head of state. Example: Article 112 of Thailand's criminal code says anyone who "defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir-apparent or the regent" will be punished with a jail term between three and 15 years.
50. Pops: PAS - They are/were usually married to MAS
Theme: (I get by) "With a little help from my friends"
Puzzling thoughts:
First off, I will explain why I chose the "theme" that I did. Every one of us bloggers has plenty of time to solve the puzzle, and write a recap for you all to read (and enjoy, we hope). Today's offering by Enrique was both a challenge for me to solve, but also a challenge for me to grasp. I just didn't "get it"
So what did I do? Why, contact my other brother from another mother, Malodorous Manatee, and ask for his assistance. After a few text messages and phone calls, Joseph sent me the following:
"Each of the three themed answers can be viewed as consisting of two words. But, in order to answer the clue appropriately, the second word must, itself, be split into two words." Aha! Thank you, again, MalMan, for explaining this!
Enrique is a recent crossword puzzle hobbyist/constructor. He started solving puzzles just a few years ago, and has already been published (as a constructor) in the NY Times. This is his third puzzle at the LA Times
Please allow me to map out this puzzle and see if you agree with MalMan about the reveal ...
Let's start with the reveal: 57-across. Brief moment, or what three long answers in this puzzle have?: SPLIT SECOND
Now, let's insert the grid:
19-across. Dinner and drinks with a preacher?: HOLY MAN DATE. The SECOND word in this entry is MANDATE. But if you SPLIT it into two words, MAN and DATE, it fits the clue
26-across. Thousands of years, for a megalith?: STONE MASS AGE. The SECOND word in this entry is MASSAGE; split in two it becomes MASS AGE. A megalith is a STONE MASS, and a thousand years is an AGE
45-across. Exam for a certificate in mediation?: PEACE PRO TEST. The SECOND word in this entry is PROTEST, and when divided becomes PRO and TEST. A PEACE PRO is, I suppose, a person who administers meditation. And I guess they have to be TESTed in order to do it. This one was my least favorite of the three
The puzzle was clever for sure, but I'm glad that I had over a week to solve, review, and prepare my thoughts. Today, my thoughts are going to be mostly in picture form ...
Across:
1. Otherwise occupied: BUSY.
5. "Checkmate!": "I WON".
9. Concert gear: AMPS. Interesting word, AMPS. It can represent the abbreviation for AMPLIFIERS as well as the abbreviation for the "juice" that runs amplifiers, AMPERES
13. "__ upon a midnight dreary ... ": ONCE.
14. Origami bird: CRANE. A couple of us on a Limerick and Haiku chat group put together a series of limericks about origami. My most recent one sort of fits this clue/answer:
Origamists, I hear, don't last long; Folding paper can often go wrong. I suppose you could say That there will come a day When they stop and submit their swan song
15. Henhouse: COOP. Moe-ku:
Car guy turned farmer Gave his hens a free-range roost: A Coupe DeVille COOP
16. "¡__ mío!": DIOS. I wonder ... when Latinos want to use "OMG" in a text message, do they use "DM" instead?
17. Rabbit kin: HARES. [according to Merrium Webster dot com] Hares are distinguished from rabbits by their larger size, longer ears, and longer hind legs. They also tend to live alone or in pairs in above-ground nests, whereas rabbits often live together in groups of up to 20 in underground tunnels known as warrens
18. Color of unbleached linen: ECRU. That seemed like a forced clue, but then again, it is Friday
22. Actor Jeong: KEN.
23. "Quite so": INDEED. A favorite word of mine. In German, they use the word "genau"
24. Move, roots and all: REPOT. Or in our case, as new home owners, it's to UNPOT. As you read this, Margaret and I are buying 3 vines, 2 shrubs, and a patio tree
31. __ Diego: SAN. What is the most popular opera in SAN Diego? Why, Carmen, of course!! ;^)
34. CNN anchor Burnett: ERIN. I don't watch CNN so this was a perped-in fill
35. Brain teaser aid: HINT. What I would've liked more of in today's puzzle. My solving time today was just south of 30 minutes
36. Bouillon cube maker: KNORR.
38. "Queen __": pop music nickname: BEY. Who is known as "Queen BEY" you ask? "BEYoncé. Her name conjures more than music, it has come to be synonymous with beauty, glamour, power, creativity, love, and romance. Her performances are legendary, her album releases events. She is not even forty but she has already rewritten the Beyoncé playbook more than half a dozen times" [as copied from us dot macmillan dot com]
40. Big fetes: GALAS.
41. Quechua speaker: INCA.
42. Nonpayment risk, for short: REPO.
44. Squalid digs: STY.
50. "Same!": ME,TOO. DITTO fit this
51. Titter: TEEHEE. Our thesaurussaurus:
55. Golf ball position: LIE. TEE also fit
60. Gumbo pod: OKRA. Moe-ku two:
TV Host turned chef Starts food show in New Orleans Called: OKRA Winfrey
62. Miso soup base: DASHI. The only DASH I know is Dash T ...
63. Possess: HAVE. OWN didn't fit
64. Ray: BEAM. Remember where the high BEAM activater was on a Coupe DeVille?
65. Like some rural roads at night: UNLIT. Unless there's a full moon
66. Rid of wrinkles: IRON. The verb
67. "__ there, tiger": EASY. What literally can be said to golfer Woods, these days, whenever he has to take an awkward step
68. Poems of praise: ODES.
69. Ice cream brand with a birthday cake flavor: EDYS. CrossEyedDave gets the shout out, here. Looking forward to seeing what kind of cake he links to today
Down:
1. __ Tree: place of enlightenment in Buddhist tradition: BODHI. I had LOTUS, which f***ed me up for a good 15 miuntes or so until the perps came into view
2. Collective bargaining group: UNION.
3. Give a good talking-to: SCOLD. Does any kid really get SCOLDed these days? Or do they just get sent to the "time-out area"
4. "Okay, I get it": YES! YES!. Not exactly what I said to Joseph, but close! ;^)
5. Country where Farsi is spoken: IRAN. Made me think of another pun ... the answer: CDC. The question: Place where Fauci is spoken?
6. New Orleans voting district: WARD. If you show up at one of these with an OKRA in hand, you're good to go!
7. Like challenging pushups: ONE ARM.
8. Lipton rival: NESTEA.
9. Royal flush card: ACE. The highest hand in poker (royal flush) when wild cards/jokers are not in use
10. Nojito and nada colada, for two: MOCKTAILS. I seem to recall my parents referring to these as "Shirley Temples"
11. Sweat outlet: PORE.
12. Like some silk or sugar: SPUN. Who didn't eat these SPUN sugar concoctions when visiting a state fair?
14. Garment similar to a hijab: CHADOR. I guess when I made my VEILed threat last time I blogged, Patti and Enrique called me on it!! ;^) [nytimes dot com says] "The CHADOR has no fasteners; it is held in place under the neck by hand. Black is the preferred color in public, but women often wear colorful versions at home or at the mosque. Hijab: The term has become a catchall, particularly in the West, for all Islamic veils, but is mainly used to mean a head scarf"
20. Parking post: METER. Some of these today don't take coins any longer; just credit cards
21. Short music releases: EPS. I've seen this word used quite often; it's borderline "crosswordese"
25. Job safety org.: OSHA. Another common crossword word
27. Bit of cacao: NIB. [Oxford Languages Dictionary definition] "noun: nib"
1. the pointed end part of a pen, which distributes the ink on the writing surface; a pointed or projecting part of an object. Example:"slide the tile into place until the nibs hook on" 2. shelled and crushed coffee or cocoa beans. In the USA, they're also small pieces of caramel, licorice, or other sweets
28. Month before febrero: ENERO.
29. Little pest: GNAT. BRAT also fit
30. Site with handmade crafts: ETSY.
31. Omit: SKIP. What I've done for several clues today on my recap
32. Actress Hathaway: ANNE. ANNE Jacqueline Hathaway is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2015 [Wikipedia]
33. Sign at some museums: NO CAMERAS. I thought it was NO CAMERAS ALLOWED?
37. Sack __: RACE. Might be difficult to do whilst eating Cotton Candy ...
39. Thus far: YET. Have you been enjoying the recap, YET??!
40. "Check it out": GO SEE. Hands up for iPhone users? Especially whenever you ask Siri to find something for you? What does she say? She says, "I found this on the web; check it out"! And for those of us whose partner has an Android phone ...
43. Watch the birdie?: PET SIT. Was this Enrique's clue or Patti's? The same letter sextet could be clued: What he does to a friendly dog?
46. UFO beings: ETS.
47. Tegan and Sara, for one: POP DUO. Are some of you asking who Tegan and Sara are? I did, and had to cheat a bit to confirm that it was a POP DUO
48. "Independence Day" director Emmerich: ROLAND. [Wikipedia] "Roland Emmerich is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is widely known for his science fiction and disaster films and has been called a "master of disaster" within the industry"
49. Computer pro: TECHIE.
52. Stockpile: HOARD. Would AMASS fit?
53. Diplomat: ENVOY. [Merrium-Webster] "en·voy ˈen-ˌvȯi ˈän- : a diplomatic representative who ranks between an ambassador and a minister. : a representative sent by one government to another. ambassadors and other envoys"
54. Perfect places: EDENS.
55. Ear part: LOBE. Is there any room for another piece of jewelry here?
56. Store whose packages typically contain Allen keys: IKEA. Not to be confused with ALICIA Keys
58. Archipelago part: ISLE. "ISLE be back in two weeks, like it or not!" ;^)
Today veteran Neville Fogarty makes his 23rd visit to the Corner, appearing here for the first time on Saturday October 30, 2010, reviewed by C.C. Two years later she interviewed him on Sep 21, 2012, to provide us with a bit of background on this Jeopardy! and crosswordwunderkind. Today he presents us with 4 themers that tell us that
Breaking Up is Hard to Do 💔
Neil Sedaka's classic captures Neville's reveal perfectly ...
27D. Emotionally crushed, and an apt description of the circled elements [sorry YKW] in this puzzle?: ALL BROKEN UP. Note that these elements are not only BROKEN, but they're ALL UP. For those of you who read Hebrew this will be a piece of cake ...
3D. Sport with teams of quadcopters: DRONE SOCCER. I DNK this sport but it's very clever and looks like a lot of fun. This fill encapsulates our first broken element, which drones on and on [not unlike MOI from time to time 🙄]:
Broken Record
7D. Period of the Peloponnesian Wars: CLASSICAL GREECE. The Peloponnesian War
(431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta
and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. And we
all know that people in GLASShouses shouldn't throw stones:
21D. Hollywood Foreign Press Association awards: GOLDEN GLOBES. Here are the winners for 2023. I broke my first, and only BONE
(my clavicle) at age 70. You can't splint it, you just have to keep it
in a sling and wait for the ends to find each other. The experience
wasn't very humerus 😟
I think Neville makes BREAKING UP look pretty easy, but I'll bet that constructing this puzzle was HARD TO DO.
Here's the grid ...
Here are the rest ... Across:
1. Mixes in: ADDS.
5. Pricing word: EACH.
9. Tidied, as a lawn: EDGED.
14. "An Officer and a Gentleman" star: GERE. Here's a review.
Richard Gere and Debra Winger
15. Run the show: RULE.
16. Many a flower girl: NIECE.
17. Lotion component: ALOE.
18. Wyoming national park: GRAND TETON. Grand Teton National Park is about 140 mi Northwest of where my grandson is going to college in Lander, WY. Every new student at Wyoming Catholic College
arrives before the start of classes to spend a 21 day Freshman
orientation in the "Grand Tetons Wilderness", one of the most remote
areas in the Lower 48:
Grand Teton National Park
20. Charmin maker, familiarly: P AND G. The Procter & Gamble Company
(P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation
headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter
and James Gamble. My Mother's twin Arthur worked for their Baltimore Office for most of his career.
39. "Tabula rasa" philosopher John: LOCKE. John Locke FRS
(29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and
physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of
Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of
liberalism". He postulated that, at birth, the mind was a blank slate,
or tabula rasa. Contrary to Cartesian philosophy based on pre-existing concepts,
he maintained that we are born without innate ideas, and that knowledge
is instead determined only by experience derived from sense perception,
a concept now known as empiricism.
46. "The View" Emmy winner Shepherd: SHERRI. Sherri Shepherd
(born April 22, 1967)[1] is an American actress, comedian, author,
broadcaster, and television personality. She currently hosts the daily
syndicated daytime talk show, Sherri. From 2007 to 2014, Shepherd was a co-host of the daytime talk show The View, for which she received multiple Daytime Emmy Award nominations, winning one in 2009.
Sherri Shepherd
47. Purpose: USE.
48. Gurgling sound: GLUG. Today's French lesson: "Glug! glug! glug! I am the wine!" translates to "Glou! glou! glou! je suis le vin!, a line in the prologue to composer Jacques Offenbach'sThe Tales of Hoffmann, about a poet who has his HEART broken by his lover and her 3 alter egos. It's my favorite opera (lyrics):
49. Post-WWII alliance: NATO.
50. "Wiggle" singer Jason: DERULO. Unfortunately Derulo has been cancelled, so I can't comment on him. You can read about it here. [that was easy!]
52. Sushi prep verb: ROLL. Not only a verb, but the noun for the result, aka MAKI.
54. Brewpub barrel: KEG.
57. Meditate on: PONDER.
59. Gibbons of talk TV: LEEZA. Leeza Kim Gibbons
(born March 26, 1957) is an American talk show host. She is best known
as a correspondent and co-host for Entertainment Tonight (1984–2000) as
well as for having her own syndicated daytime talk show, Leeza
(1993–2000).
Leeza Gibbon
61. "No need to mince words": LETS BE REAL. Yes but physicists sure have minced a lot of words over [Geek alert]: just what REAL really is!. [End Geek alert]
65. __ pricing: UNIT.
66. Think alike: AGREE.
67. "West Side Story" pair: ACTS. The 1961 movie won 11 Academy Awards. However the composer of the soundtrack, a man named Leonard Bernstein, was not one of them. It was the first and only time he worked in Hollywood. This number is from Act 1:
68. Old character: RUNE. We have a lot of these on the Corner, present company included.
69. The Brownings, e.g.: POETS. In 1845, Robert Browning met the
poet Elizabeth Barrett, six years his senior, who lived as a
semi-invalid in her father's house in Wimpole Street, London. They began
regularly corresponding and gradually a romance developed between them,
leading to their secret marriage and journey to Italy September of 1846.
2. Supply chain inconvenience: DELAY. If the supply chain is a TCP/IPnetwork (e.g. the one supplying you with this review) this is called LAG (see 40A)
3D [Theme clue]
4. Tourney rank: SEED. A seed is a competitor or team in a sport
or other tournament who is given a preliminary ranking for the purposes
of the draw. Players/teams are "planted" into the bracket in a manner
that is typically intended so that the best do not meet until later in
the competition, usually based on regular season. Here's where the term originated and how it works.
5. Rowing machine, informally: ERG. The term ERG (commonly known as a rower) stands for ergometer, a device that
measures the amount of work performed in units called ergs.
6. Hearing-related: AURAL.
7D [Theme clue].
8. Layers on a farm: HENS.
9. [Theme clue]
10. Eating patterns: DIETS.
11. Word before "Shorty," "Smart," "Hard," and "Out," in film titles: GET.
12. Environmental prefix: ECO.
13. Bear's lair: DEN.
19. Evil spirit: DEMON. This has an alternate spelling, DAEMON,
which is not evil, but is a term used in multitasking computer operating systems for a
computer program that runs as a background process, rather than being
under the direct control of an interactive user (see 56D for an example).
21. [Theme clue]
25. Director Craven: WES. Wesley Earl Craven
(August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director,
screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been
recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the
cultural impact and influence of his work.
31. Ararat lander: ARK. After the Flood Noah had to start all over again ...
33. Semi: RIG.
35. Billowy mass: CLOUD.
36. Belmont Stakes racer: HORSE. The last race in the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes will be run this year on June 10th in in Elmont, NY; the second race is the Preakness Stakes on May 20th in Baltimore, MD and the first, the Kentucky Derby, is on May 6th in Louisville, KY. Here's a recipe for a Mint Julep to give you an early start.
Mint Julep
40. Shang-Chi player Simu: LIU. Simu Liu
(/ˈsimu ˈlijuː/ SEE-moo LEE-ew;[2] Chinese: 刘思慕; born 19 April 1989) is
a Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Shang-Chi in the 2021
Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Here's the trailer ...
42. Converged: MET.
45. Without help: ALONE.
46. Punkie Johnson's NBC show: SNL. The supply of clues for this bit of crosswordese is apparently inexhaustible.
51. Part of a Cinderella story: UPSET.
53. Give a speech: ORATE.
55. Online periodical: EZINE. A portmanteau of Electronic and MagaZINE.
56. __ community: GATED. Also [Geek alert] gated (pronounced "GATE DEE" (for DAEMON)), the name of a background process (see clue 19D) in Linux systems used to control the routing of network traffic [End Geek alert].
60. Currency symbolized by €: EURO. My only comment on this symbol (€) is that Blogger choked on it in the HTML
version of the puzzle and cut off the rest of the clues. Fortunately I
was able to reconstruct them from the printout generated by the binary
puzzle file.
61. Track circuit: LEG.
62. Self-image: EGO.
63. Italian three: TRE. Today's Italian lesson. In Verdi's comedic masterpiece Falstaff, based on Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor, the number THREE is repeated several times in the aria Reverenza! in Act 2. In this modern dress production, Mistress Quickly (contralto Stephanie Blythe) is setting a trap for Sir John Falstaff (baritone Ambrogio Maestri),
who has been sending letters propositioning all the "merry wives" in
the neighborhood (not realizing that some might be friends who compare
notes!). Quickly presents him with a letter from the virtuous Mistress Alice Ford inviting him to her home that afternoon "dalle due alle TRE" ("from two until THREE") when her husband will be away. The egotistical knight assumes this is an invitation to a dalliance: In
the scene
that follows (not shown here) Alice's husband shows up unexpectedly and,
to make a long
story short, Alice and her friends hide Sir John in a huge clothes
hamper and then unceremoniously dump it out the window into the Thames!
64. Psychedelic letters: LSD. Looks like this trip is over for today!
Cheers, Bill
As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading, for her constructive criticism, and especially for recommending Neal Sedaka's song title for the intro!
Theme: Spilled Milk. Let's see how it works. Different types of "milks" are spelled out in a diagonal array of letters, slanting down from left to right. They are RICE, from the R of 1A, OAT from the O of 9A, ALMOND, from the A at the 24A-25D cross, COCONUT from the C of 27A, and SOY from the S of 55A. Hope I didn't miss any. If you didn't have the circles in your grid, this theme would be impossibly opaque - or, at least, turbid. I can't imagine how Beth and Will put this together.
Hi, Gang. JzB here to be milkman for the day. Given the unusual nature of the theme, I posted the graphic here instead of at the bottom of the post.
I intend to MILK this puzzle for all it's worth. Grab your buckets and let's see what we can squeeze out.
Across:
1. Roughly: OR SO. An approximation, not a coarse surface or action.
5. Skin blemish: WART. A small, usually painless growth on the skin. Most of the time, they are harmless. They are caused by a virus called human papillomavirus
9. Poetic contraction: O'ER. Over.
12. Inheritance recipients: HEIRS. Person legally entitled to the property or rank of another on that person's death.
14. Slurpee-like drinks: ICEES. A frozen carbonated beverage available in fruit and soda flavors.
16. Astronaut Jemison: MAE. Mae Carol Jemison (born October 17, 1956) is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992. Jemison joined NASA's astronaut corps in 1987 and was selected to serve for the STS-47 mission, during which the Endeavour orbited the Earth for nearly eight days on September 12–20, 1992.
17. Parade with strict precision: MARCH IN STEP. Left-right-left, etc.
19. Body shop fig.: EST. Estimate of expected cost for the repair.
20. __ Lanka: SRI. Formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the south-west and India in the north-west.
21. Conclusion: END. Termination.
22. One providing misguided support: ENABLER. A person who encourages or enables negative or self-destructive behavior in another.
24. Milan opera house: LA SCALA. Abbreviation in Italian of the official name Teatro alla Scala is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the Nuovo Regio Ducale Teatro alla Scala (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.
26. Pull up stakes for one's co.: RE-LO. Move to another city. Relocate.
27. Hint: CLUE. Crosswords are full of them.
30. Starbucks size: TALL. The 4 are Short, TALL, grande and venti.
31. Gains a lap: SITS. You lose it when you stand up;
32. "Stay right there!": DON'T MOVE.
34. Fuel economy meas.: MPG. Miles per gallon.
35. Tropical storm: CYCLONE. A rapid rotating storm originating over tropical oceans from where it draws the energy to develop. It has a low pressure centre and clouds spiraling towards the eyewall surrounding the "eye", the central part of the system where the weather is normally calm and free of clouds.
36. More inclusive: BROADER.
40. See red?: OWE. To be in debt. A bit of a stretch, but OK.
41. Sorting factor in some directories: LAST NAME. Family name, then given name.
42. Blessing: BOON. A favor.
44. British noble: EARL. A British nobleman ranking above a viscount and below a marquess. Know your place.
45. "Saving Private Ryan" event: D-DAY. On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end, the Allies gained a foot-hold in Continental Europe. The cost in lives on D-Day was high. More than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded, but their sacrifice allowed more than 100,000 Soldiers to begin the slow, hard slog across Europe, to defeat Adolf Hitler’s crack troops.
46. Medical pros: DOCS. Doctors, Physicians.
47. Opens, as a gift: UNWRAPS. Tears off the paper.
49. Sound bite, e.g.: EXCERPT. A short extract from a film, broadcast, or piece of music or writing.
51. Sked info: ETA. A schedule might include an Estimated Time of Arrival.
52. April 15 payment: TAX. A compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers' income and business profits,
55. Original Beatle Sutcliffe: STU. Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe (23 June 1940 – 10 April 1962) was a Scottish painter and musician best known as the original bass guitarist of the English rock band the Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue his career as a painter, having previously attended the Liverpool College of Art. Sutcliffe and John Lennon are credited with inventing the name "Beatles"
56. Metaphor for something that can't be changed, and what's found five times in this puzzle?: SPILLED MILK. Don't cry over it.
59. Keystone figure: KOP. Fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917.
60. Lofty nest: AERIE. A large nest of a bird of prey, especially an eagle, typically built high in a tree or on a cliff.
61. Shrub that may be toxic: SUMAC. A shrub or small tree of the cashew family, with compound leaves, fruits in conical clusters, and bright autumn colors.
62. Informer, maybe: SPY. A person who secretly collects and reports information on the activities, movements, and plans of an enemy or competitor.
63. Saxophone insert: REED. A thin piece of flat material that is held to the instrument's mouthpiece by a ligature. The reed vibrates when a musician blows air between it and the mouthpiece, producing a certain tone.
64. Repair: MEND. Fix
Down:
1. Electrical units: OHMS. The SI unit of electrical resistance, expressing the resistance in a circuit transmitting a current of one ampere when subjected to a potential difference of one volt.
2. Caboose: REAR. A railroad car with accommodations for the train crew, typically attached to the end of the train. By analogy, a person's back side.
3. Virtual assistant on Apple devices: SIRI. Apple's virtual assistant for iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS devices that uses voice recognition and is powered by artificial intelligence
4. Goblinlike fantasy creature: ORC. (In fantasy literature and games) a member of an imaginary race of humanlike creatures, characterized as ugly, warlike, and malevolent. The concert originated by J.R.R.Tolkein in his Lord of the Rings novels.
5. South Dakota national park known for its air currents: WIND CAVE. Wind Cave National Park is an American national park located 10 miles (16 km) north of the town of Hot Springs in western South Dakota. Established on January 3, 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, it was the sixth national park in the U.S. and the first cave to be designated a national park anywhere in the world. The cave is notable for its calcite formations known as box work, as well as its frostwork.
6. Rm. coolers: ACS. Air Conditioners.
7. Share again, as a joke: RETELL.
8. "Ooo La La La" singer __ Marie: TEENA. Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie and later acquired the nickname Lady T, given to her by her collaborator and friend, Rick James.
9. Brunch dish: OMELET. A dish of beaten eggs cooked in a frying pan until firm, often with a filling added while cooking, and usually served folded over.
10. Stands in a studio: EASELS. A self-supporting wooden frame for holding an artist's work while it is being painted or drawn.
11. Nostalgia-inducing: RETRO. Imitative of a style, fashion, or design from the recent past.
13. "__ Butter Baby": Ari Lennox/J. Cole song: SHEA.
15. Hydrotherapy spot: SPA. A mineral spring considered to have health-giving properties.
18. Not negotiable: IN STONE. Used to emphasize that something is fixed and unchangeable.
23. Bandits: BRIGANDS. A gang that ambushes and robs people in forests and mountains.
24. Live it up: LET LOOSE. Spend one's time in an extremely enjoyable way, typically by spending a great deal of money or engaging in an exciting social life.
25. Pub choice: ALE. A type of beer with a bitter flavor and higher alcoholic content.
27. Public health agcy.: CDC. Center for Disease Control. A U.S. federal government agency whose mission is to protect public health by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability.
28. Poet Mina or actress Myrna: LOY. Mina Loy [1882-1966] poet and painter, was a charter member of the generation that—beginning in 1912 with the founding of Poetry magazine—launched the modernist revolution in poetry in the United States. Loy was too radical for Poetry's editor Harriet Monroe, who published her poetry only in a review article, but the generation's more innovative members admired her defiant honesty of subject and applauded the new directions she advanced for poetry.
Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; 1905 – 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. As a performer, she was known for her ability to adapt to her screen partner's acting style.
29. Chapel Hill sch.: UNC. University of North Carolina.
31. Ad: SPOT. The 30-, 40- or 60-second ads that appear in a television or radio commercial schedule,
33. Like freshly cut lawns: MOWN.
34. Fred Flintstone's boss: MR. SLATE. Fred's boss at the Bedrock Quarrel and Gravel Company (later known as Slate Rock and Gravel Company) and a fictional character of the original series, The Flintstones and the rest of the franchise,
36. Raced (along): BARRELED. Moved very quickly, perhaps in a turbulent or uncontrolled manner.
37. Family man: DAD. A father.
38. Horvath of "The Rings of Power": EMA. Ema Horvath (b.1994) is an American actress. She has appeared in the films Like.Share.Follow. (2017), The Gallows Act II and The Mortuary Collection (both 2019), and What Lies Below (2020). Since 2022, she has played Eärien, the sister of Isildur, in the Amazon Prime fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
39. Marina del __, California: REY. (Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, with an eponymous harbor that is a major boating and water recreation destination of the greater Los Angeles area. The port is North America's largest man-made small-craft harbor and is home to approximately 5,000 boats.
41. Bar code?: LAW. Clever clue. The bar is the legal profession as an institution. The term is a metonym for the line (or "bar") that separates the parts of a courtroom reserved for spectators and those reserved for participants in a trial such as lawyers. Code is a body of law.
42. Cereal eater's proof of purchase: BOX TOP. A boxtop, in the context of being a proof of purchase, is understood to be the upper portion of a product box, detached, and mailed as part of a claim for a radio premium or other advertising offer. During the 1930s through 1960s, cereal boxtops were usually the most common proofs of purchase used to claim such premiums.
43. Keep busy: OCCUPY. Fill one's time, hopefully with something useful.
44. Unabridged: ENTIRE. Not cut or shortened.
46. Secretaries, e.g.: DESKS. A writing desk with a top section for books
47. __ Peninsula: Michigan home of Yoopers: UPPER. AKA, the U.P. - hence the phonetic designation Yoopers. Those of us who live in the L.P. - below the Macinac [pronounced Mackinaw - don't ask me why] Bridge are known as trolls.
48. Cushions: PADS. A pillow or similar item stuffed with a mass of soft material, used as a comfortable support for sitting or leaning on.
50. Pretoria's land: Abbr.: RSA. Republic of South Africa. Read abut it here.
52. Umpire's cry: TIME. Indicating a time out - a halt in the play. This allows the coaches of either team to communicate with the team, e.g., to determine strategy or inspire morale, as well as to stop the game clock.
53. Mathematician Turing: ALAN. Alan Mathison Turing OBE FRS (1912 – 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of algorithm and computation with the Turing machine, which can be considered a model of a general-purpose computer. He is widely considered to be the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence.
54. Randall Munroe's webcomic of "romance, sarcasm, math, and language": XKCD. Well - this is an unlikely letter grouping to appear in anX-word, so kudos for making it work. Munroe states on the comic's website that the name of the comic is not an initialism but "just a word with no phonetic pronunciation".The subject matter of the comic varies from statements on life and love to mathematical, programming, and scientific in-jokes. Some strips feature simple humor or pop-culture references. It has a cast of stick figures, and the comic occasionally features landscapes, graphs, charts, and intricate mathematical patterns such as fractals. You can read it here.
57. Two truths and a __: icebreaker game: LIE. To play, everyone sits or stands in a circle. One by one, each person in the circle says three statements about him/herself. Two of these statements must be facts, or "truths," and one must be a lie. The other members then try to guess which statement is the lie.
58. Autumn flower, for short: MUM. Chrysanthemums. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center of diversity is in China. Countless horticultural varieties and cultivars exist.
A picture I took in October, 2014
That's all we have. Hope you found this puzzle to be tasty and nutritious, regardless of your lactose tolerance.
Bettina and Dan give us a lot of wide-open spaces with only 22 blocks and 99 open squares.
