Working for Peanuts. The Starting word of each theme answer pertains to one's wages: RATE, PAY and FEE.
18-Across. Review site used by students: RATE MY PROFESSORS. Yup! There's a website for that.
28-Across. Honor, with "to": PAY TRIBUTE.
49-Across. Alliterative chant from "Jack and the Beanstalk": FEE FI FO FUM.
And the unifier:
64-Across. Entry-level wages, and a hint to the first words of 18-, 28-, and 49-Across: STARTING SALARIES.
Across:
1. NYC nabe with the Museum of Ice Cream: SOHO. Who knew
there was a Museum of Ice Cream in the neighborhood South of Houston?
5. Keith Haring genre: POP ART. Keith Haring (né Keith Allan Haring; May 4, 1958 ~ Feb. 16, 1990) was known for his
Pop Art that often depicted themes of social activism. Sadly, he died of
complications of AIDS at only 31 years old. [Name # 1.]
11. First piece moved in chess, often: PAWN.
15. "My turn!": I'M UP.
16. Dealership perk: LOANER.
17. __ vera gel: ALOE. // Not to be confused
with 42-Across. Lisbon greeting: OLÁ. Today's
Portuguese lesson.
21. First part: INTRO.
22. Après-__: SKI. Today's French lesson.
23. White House rejections: VETOEs.
24. Bronx-born member of Congress, familiarly: AOC. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (b. Oct. 13, 1989) represents New York's 14th District in the United
States House of Representatives. [Name # 2.]
26. Using Wi-Fi: ON-LINE.
32. Ye __ Shoppe: OLDE.
35. Sheltered, at sea: ALEE. This used to be a crossword
staple.
36. German article: DER. Today's German lesson. //
And 41-Across. French article: LES.
37. Most concise: TERSEST.
40. Tell tales: LIE.
43. EMT skill: CPR.
44. Makeup for lashes: MASCARA.
46. Ride-or-die pal, briefly: BFF. I wasn't familiar with
the phrase "ride-or-die", but the perps gave me the Best Friend Forever. According to the Slang Dictionary, the phrase means extreme loyalty to someone or some thing. It does
not exactly have a positive connotation.
47. Singer Del Rey: LANA. Lana Del Rey (née Elizabeth
Woolridge Grant; b. June 21, 1985) is known for her melancholic melodies.
[Name # 3.]
48. Opportunity: SHOT.
52. Montana's capital: HELENA. How Helena got its name.
It's still a mystery. Maybe Montana will weigh in and give us her take on the State's
capital. [Name adjacent.]
54. Soccer goal part: NET.
55. Calm: SERENE.
58. Neutral possessive pronoun: IT'S.
60. __ cotta: TERRA. Today's Latin lesson. The term
means Baked Earth. I saw the Terra Cotta Warriors when I was in Xi'an,
C.C.'s home town.
67. Appellation: NAME.
68. Sign after Taurus: GEMINI. Gemini and Taurus = a love
match.
69. Colorful eye part: IRIS. Everything you wanted to know
about the Iris but didn't know to ask.
|
| Iris are also colorful flowers |
70. Avoided a tag, perhaps: SLID. Think baseball. It
looks painful.
71. Like some fancy bathroom floors: HEATED. My bathroom
floors are not so fancy. We did, however, experience some very fancy
heated toilets while in Vietnam.
72. "__ No Sunshine": Bill Withers hit: AIN'T. Bill Withers
(né William Harrison Withers, Jr.; July 4, 1938 ~ Mar. 30, 2020) was working
as an aircraft assembler when this song was released in 1971. [Name #
4.]
Down:
1. Apple's virtual assistant: SIRI. If you ask Siri personal
questions and you will get some funny answers. [Name # 5.]
2. Mideast sultanate: OMAN.
3. Sluglike species of "Star Wars": HUTT. The most famous
Hutt is probably Jabba.
4. Run: OPERATE. As in operating some sort of machine, and
not running a marathon.
5. Kleenex layer: PLY.
6. "My bad!": OOPS!
7. Sport that turns everyday objects into an obstacle
course: PARKOUR. You learn something new with every
crossword puzzle. The word parkour is derived from the French term (more of today's French lesson) parcours du combattant, which roughly translates to obstacle course.
8. Bless using oil: ANOINT. Charles III, King of Great
Britain (b. Nov. 14, 1948) was anointed at his coronation ceremony last
Saturday.
9. Whistle blower?: REF. Cute clue.
10. Rome's __ Fountain: TREVI. The Trevi Fountain was constructed in the 1700s. Construction began in 1732 and it
was completed in 1762.
11. Muted shades: PASTELS.
12. __ gobi: vegetarian curry dish: ALOO. Another learning
experience. Aloo Gobi is a vegetarian dish made with potatoes and cauliflower. It
looks good.
13. Was dressed in: WORE.
14. Loch in tabloid photos: NESS. The modern legend of the Loch Ness monster dates back just 90 years.
19. Tie up at the dock: MOOR.
20. Madame's Spanish counterpart: SEÑORA. Today's Spanish
lesson. Hi, Lucina!
25. Angry Orchard beverage: CIDER.
27. Acquit: LET OFF.
28. Tropical tree: PALM.
29. Pseudonym: ALIAS.
30. "Unbelievable!": YEESH!
31. "Take care on the way home!": BE SAFE!
33. Late-afternoon coffee choice: DECAF.
34. Broadcaster of some NCAA games: ESPNU. ESPNU is the
sister company of ESPN that covers college sports.
38. Pixieish: ELFIN.
39. Shuttle on rails: TRAM. Also known as streetcars.
41. Not yet visible: LATENT.
45. Held together: COHERED.
46. Scrams: BEATS IT.
47. Game of chance also known as "Mexican bingo": LOTERIA.
Another learning experience
50. Mystery: ENIGMA. Alan Turing (né Alan Mathison Turing;
June 23, 1912 ~ June 7, 1954) cracked the Enigma Code. The Enigma machine was an encryption machine the Germans used during
WWII to transmit coded messages. Turing and other researchers at
Bletchley Park found some weakness in the code and were able to decrypt it.
It's a fascinating history.
51. Greek cheese: FETA. Feta is a soft, crumbly Greek cheese
made from sheep or goat milk that is brined in salt.
53. "Psycho" actress Janet: LEIGH. Janet Leigh (née Jeanette
Helen Morrison; July 6, 1927 ~ Oct. 3, 2004) is the mother of actress Jamie
Lee Curtis (b. Nov. 22, 1958). The shooting of the shower scene
in Psycho gave Janet nightmares for years after. It
creeps me out, too. [Name # 6.]
55. Taxpayer IDs: SSNs. As in Social Security Numbers.
56. List-shortening abbr.: ET AL. A crossword staple.
57. Actor Malek: RAMI. Rami Said Malek (b. May 12, 1981)
made a convincing Freddie Mercury in the 2018 movie Bohemian Rhapsody. [Name # 7.]
59. Levelheaded: SANE.
61. 2023 Super Bowl performer, to fans: RI-RI. Ri-Ri is the
nickname of Rihanna (née Robin Rihanna Fenty; b. Feb. 20, 1988). She likes a lot of exposure.[Name #
8.]
62. Bridle part: REIN.
63. Admin. aide: ASST. As in an assistant.
65. Formerly called: NÉE. More of today's French lesson.
Technically, the word comes from the French which
means born. The word née, the feminine past participle of
naitre, "to be born." The masculine form is né.
66. Pot top: LID.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
