Saturday, August 5, 2023, Kyle Dolan and Dylan Schiff

 Saturday Themeless by Kyle Dolan and Dylan Schiff

Kyle

Dylan

Kyle is a science and tech consultant at the British consulate in Chicago and I have

blogged many of his themeless Saturday puzzles. Today he teams up with Dylan Schiff, who is a middle school science teacher like I was for 42 years. This was a big test for this solver and I enjoyed it immensely as I never felt I was out of it (except for two cells!). My issues were the two cells you see highlighted here in the grid. I had never heard of BOSS FIGHT and so I had BOSS HIGHS? where HEAT was a possible Guiness record data and SASHA could have been a character in a TV show. Buzz, we have some lovely parting gifts for you, Gary.

Across:

1. Next-level experience?: BOSS FIGHT Boss Fight Entertainment is an American video game development company based in Allen, TX. 

10. "The Hobbit" figure: DWARF.

15. Around: IN THE AREA - Middle infielders used to only have to be "IN THE AREA" at second base and not tag the base to have the runner called out. Not so any more after new rules make the fielders safer by making it illegal to "go after" the infielder.

16. Registration info: OWNER - I always intend to fill those out...

17. Strips at a party: STREAMERS 😀

18. Emma Roberts, to Julia Roberts: NIECE.

Emma, Julia and Lisa who is
Emma's mother and Julia's sister

19. Raises: HOISTS - A double HOIST

20. London institution with a Los Angeles namesake, familiarly: THE TIMES - For a price you can get this London TIMES edition proclaiming a 54-year-old event. Addendum: The British Open simply calls itself The Open Championship and The London Times simply calls itself THE TIMES

22. Drop (out): OPT.

23. Industry titan: CZAR.

24. Chichi: POSH - A POSH stateroom on the Titanic that could have hosted John Jacob Astor and his wife. Astor made a huge fortune in 29. Hides: SKINS but it didn't save him from drowning on that April night in 1912.

25. High wind: PICCOLO - A stirring patriotic John Phillips Sousa song with a famous PICCOLO descant that starts at 2:00.

31. Technical drawing: SCHEMATIC - Beautiful movie star Hedy Lamarr famously drew up a schematic on a cocktail napkin. Her device helped in the WWII effort and was the forerunner for a lot of modern technology. All you'd like to know

34. Boddingtons, e.g.: ALE.

35. Doesn't surprise, in a way: LIVES UP TO - LaBron James skipped his last two years of high school playing for the Irish of St. Mary's in Akron, Ohio. He has LIVED UP TO every expectation.

37. Allow: LET.

38. Place where stuff sells left and right: SHOE STORE 😀

42. Coastal habitat: MARSH.

44. Carry a torch for: CRUSH ON - to have a feeling of romantic love for someone. She is  CRUSHING ON him.

45. Like many of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's jabots: LACY - Jabot (zha bō or ja bō): a pleated frill of cloth or lace attached down the center front of a woman's blouse or dress, from the French for bird's crop. You're welcome.

46. "Now, about ... ": AS TO - RGB might have written, "This is unconstitutional, now AS TO what we are going to do about it..."

49. Yoga roll: MAT 😀

50. Onetime carrier based in Cairo: AIR SINAI - Air Egypt also fit and I found out AIR SINAI was a subsidiary of Air Egypt

52. "The Crown" role, familiarly: LADY DI - Actual images and images from TV series The Crown 

55. Short-tailed weasel: STOAT.

56. Taboo gathering?: GAME NIGHT - 😀 Can you make your partner say the top word on the card?

Saying the word or the other five words is Taboo

                            

58. Flip side?: TAILS - This choice starts every Super Bowl

59. "All good?": ARE WE COOL?

60. Diamond Jubilee number: SIXTY - QEII on her 60th year of rein. It's also used for 75th year.

61. Beach club?: SAND WEDGE 😀 - If someone lands in a sand trap, others (certainly not me) might say, "It's all good, you're on the beach!"

Down:

1. Chess pieces known as elephants in Russia: BISHOPS - Yes, Castles (yeah, I know it's rooks) fit too.

2. Focused: ON TOPIC 

3. Elaine who had a recurring role as Jack's mother on "30 Rock": STRITCH.

4. First word of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'": SHE'S.

She's a good girl, loves her mama
Loves Jesus and America too
She's a good girl, is crazy 'bout Elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend too

5. Potential Guinness entry, say: FEAT - Cycling backwards on a bike for 60km in 5hrs.

6. Perfect Portions brand: IAMS - I wonder what our Lily would think

7. Test with a max verbal reasoning score of 170: GRE - Sample

6. Since she believed him to be both candid and trustworthy, she refused to consider the possibility that his statement had been __________.

   A irrelevant 

   B facetious 

   C mistaken 

   D critical

   E insincere

8. Enterprise rival: HERTZ.

9. Smith of TV's "Empire": TASHA.

10. "That's a bad idea": DON'T.

11. O'Hare and Bush, for two: WWII PILOTS - O'Hare had the Chicago Airport named for him. George H.W. Bush was also a hero and our 41st president 

 

12. Sea __: ANEMONE - A clownfish with a symbiotic relationship with a Sea ANEMONE 

13. Nook: RECESS.

14. Straight from the garden: FRESH.

21. Unsure sounds: ERS.

23. __ du Rhône: COTES - Literally "the hillsides of Rhone" that is the home of great wines

26. Seasoning on a Chicago-style hot dog: CELERY SALT - I usually don't ask my lovely bride for her input but on a whim, I asked Joann if she knew a 10-letter seasoning for a Chicago-style hot dog starting with a "C". After ten seconds she gave me the correct answer! Yay, Joann!

27. Forgets, maybe: OMITS.

28. Heathrow facilities: LAV - LAV or LOO?

30. Japanese cutlet: KATSU - Another name for something I have never heard of.

32. "Roughly": ISH.

33. "The Flight Attendant" star: CUOCO - Of course we know Kayley broke through in The Big Bang Theory

36. What "p" may stand for: PER - I'm probably the only person thought of how p resembles the Greek letter rho ⍴

37. Brand with a Pamplemousse flavor: LACROIX - Pamplemousse is French for grapefruit. La Croix is French for the cross and was founded in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

39. "What?!": OH MY GOD.

40. One who crosses the line?: ROADHOG - Our new car gives a slight tug in the opposite direction if you drift over a line sand gives the warning you see here on the dash if you hit the dividing line.

41. Warrant: ENTITLE.

42. Cocktail flavored with orgeat syrup: MAI TAI - Full recipe

43. "Always and Forever, Lara Jean" novelist Jenny: HAN.

45. Holds up: LASTS.

47. Long-term investment accounts?: SAGAS - I wrote to Kyle about this clue/fill. I told him I thought it was about stories (accounts) told to people who a real interest (investment) in a common history (long-term). Kyle said that I did have it right he was glad I wrote. Both things made me very happy.

48. Pageant prize: TIARA - I'm not sure if this a TIARA or a crown but it is picture of a lovely girl I had in class fifty years ago. She is the same girl that I told you  about that now raises Alpacas in the highlands of Colorado and makes hats out of their hair.

51. Minute: ITSY.

52. Blue: LEWD - The girl with the TIARA/crown above said she would look for a picture with a TIARA but felt she do better with this clue! She's a hoot.

53. Again: ANEW.

54. Boggle pieces: DICE.

57. All U.S. vice presidents until 2021: MEN.

Friday, August 4, 2023,Taylor Johnson, Christina Iverson

 

Good Morning Crucibverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here once again with a recap of a Friday puzzle.   Today's puzzle setters are Taylor Johnson and Christina Iverson.  We have previously seen puzzles by each of them in the L.A. Times.

Today's "theme" is something of an odd duck and I find it to be a bit difficult to explain.  First of all, it is meta.  At five places within the grid (each clue ending with a question mark for a bit of added helpfulness), portions of the clues themselves are used to form the answers.  In each case the letters that are employed in this capacity frame the opening portion of the clue.  The relationship that each answer has to its clue is the "letter play"and the use of words such as border, case, frame, etc,.  Let's look at the first example and see if things might not become a bit clearer.

17 Across:  Op-ed column feature?:  OPEN BORDER.   If we look at OP-ED COLUMN we see that the O P E and N form the word OPEN.  OPEN forms, and frames, the left BORDER of the clue (exclusive of the word "feature").

25 Across:  Spa service feature?: SPACE CASE.  .   In the second-from-the-top themed clue/answer, we are presented with  SPA SERVICE in the clue.   The S,P, A, C, and E of the answer (SPACE CASE) originate in the clue.  They could be said the enCASE the clue.  The fact that we have two C's and two E's from which to chose might be a wee bit confusing but since we are going with edges and sides we'll go with the first C and the last E for the highlighting, below. Making things a bit more interesting or confusing is that, in this instance, SPACE can  frame both the clue and the answer.

The other three theme answers are:

35 Across:  Free booze feature?: FREEZE FRAME.  FREE BOOZE.    As with the previous theme answer, things are a bit more interesting / confusing because FREEZE FRAMEs both the clue and the answer.

48 Across:  Lotus pose feature?:  LOOSE ENDS.  LOOSE frames the ENDS of the clue LOTUS POSE.

58 Across:  Chocolate mousse feature?: CHOSE SIDES.  CHOCOLATE MOUSSE.

I found the theme, and its execution, to be both clever and a bit unwieldy.  YMMV.

In the grid things look like this:

Now, if we are not tuckered out from exploring the machinations of the theme, we can take a look at the rest of the puzzle.

Across:

1. Neck, in Nottingham: SNOG.   Neck as in canoodle.  We have seen this bit of British English before. 

5. Antlered ruminants: STAGS.

10. European range: ALPS.  Mountain range.

14. Cab, for one: WINE.  Not a taxi, CABernet Sauvignon.

15. Young trainee: CADET.

16. Spring, essentially: COIL.

19. "Un-Break My Heart" singer Braxton: TONI.

20. Reply "stop" to a text message campaign, say: OPT OUT.

21. One of a kind: UNIT.  Not a "one off" but one of many (of a type or kind).

23. Nickname that drops -in: KEV.

24. MIT __: business school: SLOAN.  

27. Mother clucker: HEN.   Also the name of quite a few restaurants.

28. School of whales: GAM.  Hand up for first going with POD.

30. __ sauce: seafood dressing: TARTAR.  COCKTAIL would not fit the allotted space.

31. Garnish in Mexican cuisine: PEPITA.  A subset of pumpkin seeds.

34. Rascals: IMPS.

38. Singer Parks with the 2023 album "My Soft Machine": ARLO.  A clue for the newer kids on the block.  Most of us would have gone with Guthrie.

40. Tick off: ENRAGE.

41. Rose ominously: LOOMED.

44. Poetic contraction: O'ER.  Over.

45. Path: WAY.  Hand up for wondering if it might be TAO.

51. Lyric poem: EPODE.  Fortunately, we have previously seen this one in our puzzles so it was easier to perp than would otherwise have been the case.

53. Former Russian orbiter: MIR.  MIR means peace or world.

The MIR Space Station

54. Plotting spot: LAIR.  Often clued with an animal reference but, hey, it's Friday.  Criminals plot capers in their LAIRs, I suppose.

55. __ wheel: FERRIS.

56. Some early PCs: IBMS.

IBM PC AT

60. "Marriage Story" writer/director Baumbach: NOAH.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks perps.

61. Desert refuges: OASES.  Plural clue, plural answer.

62. Pivot around: SLUE.

63. Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, for one: ESPY.  Named in honor of North Carolina basketball coach Jim Valvano.

64. Some piercing spots: NOSES.  First thought was LOBES.  Three out of five wasn't going to work out.

65. Toy (with): MESS.

Down:

1. Sportswear logo: SWOOSH.  A Nike athletic apparel reference.

2. Baby bottle topper: NIPPLE.

3. Pickup spec: ONE TON.  Not a pickup bar reference.  A truck reference.

4. Ligurian port on a namesake gulf: GENOA.  Often clued with a salami reference but, hey, it's Friday.

5. Glasgow citizen: SCOT.  Not Glasgow, Montana.

6. Road goo: TAR.

7. Total: ADD UP.  If this had been a truck reference the answer could have been WRECK.

8. Davis of "Beetlejuice": GEENA.

9. Stern: STRICT.

10. Pretend: ACT.

11. Cry for attention: LOOK AT ME.

12. Turpentine ingredient: PINE SAP.  First went with PINE TAR.

13. Tweezers targets: SLIVERS.  SPLINTERS was too long.

18. Jumper cable?: BUNGEE.

22. 39-Down, e.g.: TEA.

25. Portmanteau coined by Tyra Banks on "America's Next Top Model": SMIZE.  Smile with your eyes.  Perhaps in some circles Tyra-isms are as accepted as Yogi-isms are in other circles.  However, at this point in the solve the only thing my eyes were doing was rolling.

26. Harlan Coben genre: CRIME.

29. Simian: APE.  What do you call a simian who lives in a ventilation system?  A duct APE.

31. Dances with queens: PROMS.  Dances is used here as a plural noun.

Julie Brown

32. Sundial X: TEN.  Roman numeral.

33. Some natural hairstyles: AFROS.

35. Blueprint: FLOOR MAP.  More often, FLOOR PLAN but that would not fit.

36. "Black Beatles" hip-hop duo __ Sremmurd: RAE.  Ear Drummers spelled backwards.  Yo!

37. Matches: AGREES.
 
38. "None for you!": ALL MINE.

39. Herbal red 22-Down: ROOIBOS.  A new one for me but, apparently, not all that obscure.

42. Unadon fish: EEL.  A sushi reference.

43. Church official: DEACON.  A couple of locals DEACONs stood by the side of the road holding up a sign that read, “The End is Near! Turn yourself around now before it’s too late!” They held up the sign to each passing car.  “Leave us alone you religious nuts!” yelled the first driver as he sped by. From around the curve they heard a big splash.  “Do you think,” said one DEACON to the other, “we should just put up a sign that says ‘bridge is out’ instead?

45. Guessing game where the answer can be false, but not true?: WORDLE.  A gimme for many here.  Tough for many others.

46. Farewells: ADIEUS.  Could have been ADIEUX.

47. Approvals: YESSES.

49. Hangzhou "Hello": NI HAO.  Today's mandarin lesson.

50. Metallic waste: DROSS.  SLAG was too short.

52. Spectrum-maker: PRISM.

55. Own (up): FESS.  It might have been clued as "Actor and wine maker ____  Parker".

57. Short: SHY.  Not a height reference.  As in to owe money that one does not have.

59. "The thing is ... ": SEE.

The thing is... that about wraps things up for today.  Have a great weekend, everyone.  I will be traveling and taking time off from blogging for a while.  See you in September.

_____________________________________________________________

Thursday, August 3, 2023, Grant Boroughs

 

 

Veggie Tales

Today is Grant Borough's 5th visit to the Corner, fresh from an appearance at the NYT.   He takes us on a visit to the County Fair to see the winners of the BVOAT contest (Best Vegetables of All Time), exhibiting 4 common veggies, all sliced short to sound like a common phrase ...

17A. Proud proclamation at the county fair produce contest?: THAT'S MY CUCUMBER.  Our CUCUMBERS are coming in faster than we can eat them, so tomorrow I'm making pickles.

Sliced cucumbers

26A. Praises a prizewinner at the county fair produce contest?: HAILS A CABBAGE.  These require an early start and we didn't.

45A. Cause of a frantic search at the county fair produce contest?: LOST ARTICHOKE.  They don't grow in these parts, at least I haven't found any ...

Arthur C. Clarke said that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic".  The same could be said for LOST ARTS.  The skills necessary to build another Chartres Cathedral disappeared long ago in the dusts of time ...

60A. Squashes a rival's entry at the county fair produce contest?: GOES TOE TO TOMATO.  I think Grant stubbed his toe on this a bit.  We're getting lots of cherry TOMATOES, but the big ones don't start coming in until early August.

Mortgage Lifter Tomato

There was no explicit reveal that I could find, but I'm open to any suggestions for interpreting the theme differently.

Across:

1. Respiratory organ: LUNG.

5. Lake-maker: DAM.  BEAVER was too long.

8. "The Bonfire of the Vanities" novelist Tom: WOLFE.  Thomas Kennerly WOLFE Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018) was an American author and journalist widely known for his association with New Journalism. The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1987 novel by Tom Wolfe. The story is a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics, and greed in 1980s New York City later made into a movie with Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, and Melanie Griffith  ... 

Wolfe also wrote a lot of great non-fiction.  One of my favorites is his iconoclastic The Kingdom of Speech (scroll past all the reviewer bios to start the review proper at "The Kingdom of Speech")

13. Among buoys: ASEA.

14. Came down to earth: ALIT.

16. Catherine of "Schitt's Creek": O'HARA.  Schitt's Creek is a Canadian television sitcom created by Dan Levy and his father, Eugene Levy, that aired on CBC Television from 2015 to 2020. It follows the trials and tribulations of the formerly wealthy Rose family, who now suddenly destitute, find themselves up the proverbial creek without a paddle.  Catherine plays Moira, the family matriarch ...

17. [Theme clue].

20. Legalese adverb: HERE TO.

21. Some intelligence workers: ANALYSTS.  A CSO to you know who.

22. "To __ is human ... ": ERR.

23. King topper: ACE.

25. Neither Dem. nor Rep.: IND.  INDependent. 

26. [Theme clue]

33. Wander, in a way: DAYDREAM.

35. "Black-ish" star Tracee __ Ross: ELLIS.  Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee ELLIS Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series Girlfriends (2000–2008) and Black-ish (2014–2022).

Tracee Ellis Ross
2014 NAACP Image Awards

36. Writer Bombeck: ERMA.  Erma Louise Bombeck (née Fiste; February 21, 1927 – April 22, 1996) was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper humor column describing suburban home life, syndicated from 1965 to 1996. She also published 15 books, most of which became bestsellers.  She was a mistress of the bon mot.

Erma Bombeck

37. Debonair: SUAVE.

40. Actor Idris: ELBA.  Among his many accomplishments, he is also the last word in the world's most famous palindrome.

Idris Elba, OBE

41. First Hebrew letter: ALEPH.  ALEPH (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician ʾālep 𐤀, Hebrew ʾālef א, Aramaic ʾālap 𐡀, Syriac ʾālap̄ ܐ, and Arabic ʾalif ا ...

Aleph

43. Data in IRS tables: TAX RATES.

45. [Theme clue].

48. Novel: NEW.

49. Lawn layer: SOD.  Also a noun in British slang, which can be used as a verb, as in SOD OFF!

50. Slugger's stat: RBI.  Here are some others beside RBI and ERA.

53. Transfer recipient: ASSIGNEE.

58. Parent, e.g.: REARER. 

60. [Theme clue].

62. One-named "Easy on Me" singer: ADELE. Blue eyed soul ...

63. Ready to serve: DONE.

64. Deportment: MIEN.

65. Noodle option: RAMEN.

66. Actor Beatty: NED.  NED Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor. 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.

Ned Beatty
at the 1990 Annual Emmy Awards

67. Sole: ONLY.

Down:

1. Shaping machine: LATHE.  What's the difference between a LATHE and a SHAPER?

2. Theater director?: USHER.  Here's a film about someone you don't want to be directed by ...  based on a short story by Edgar Alan Poe (buried in my hometown 😱)

3D. Queen and regime, e.g.: NEAR RHYMES.  We are getting lots of Silver Queen corn from the Eastern Shore, delivered daily by the Misty Valley Farms regime, known for their fresh locally grown veggies.  That's a NEAR as I can get.

4. Part of a pen: GATE.  Not the kind you write with, the kind you pen animals with.

5. Sword of __: impending disaster: DAMOCLES.  Based on an ancient Greek fable ...

6. Gymnast Raisman with three Olympic gold medals: ALY.  Alexandra Rose Raisman (born May 25, 1994) is a retired American artistic gymnast and two-time Olympian. She was captain of both the 2012 "Fierce Five" and 2016 "Final Five" U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics teams, which won their respective team competitions.

Aly Raisman

7. Mineral used in pearlescent paint: MICA.  DNK this usage. Pearlescent pigments are coated MICA platelets that provide color and exciting visual effects to various coatings, plastics, and printing ink. They are widely used in the production of automobile paints and by DIY hobbyists and cosmeticians. I found lots of claims that they posed no hazards to the latter two groups but I was unable to find any info on what colorants are used to coat them, nor could I find any FDA material safety data sheets for them.

This is the variety of MICA commonly used to make them ...

Muscovite mica

8. Aspiring: WOULD BE.

9. "Gracious!": OH MY.

10. Research centers: LABS.  Many use a lot of 53D.

11. Worry: FRET.

12. "Were your __ burning?": EARS.

15. Long, loose top: TUNIC.  The history of the tunic ...
 

Roman worker dressed in a tunic

18. Help in getting to the next level?: STAIR.

19. Water-to-wine village: CANA.  Here's the scene from the series The Chosen where Jesus performs his first miracle (John 2:1-11).  One of the things I like about this series is that it often repurposes an anonymous figure in the Gospels, e.g. the "wine steward" in the wedding at Cana, and identifies him with someone famous: in this case the Apostle Thomas.   Even though Thomas has seen Jesus miraculously change water to wine, he is still a doubter even after Christ's resurrection ...

24. Son of Isaac and Rebecca: ESAU.  As we know ESAU was a twin, so I'm still waiting for a constructor to fill this clue with his brother JACOB, who is subsequently much more famous in the Hebrew Bible.

27. Roll with the punches: ADAPT.

28. Vintage violin: AMATI. AMATI  is the last name of a family of Italian violin makers who lived at Cremona from about 1538 to 1740.  Today, violins created by Nicolò Amati are valued at around $600,000. Because of their age and rarity, Amati instruments are mostly kept in museums or in private collections and are seldom played in public.   Here is the Adagio from Sonata No. 1 in G minor by J. S. Bach (1685--1750), performed on an AMATI violin by Sean Avram Carpenter ...

 The violin he is playing is in the collection of the Metropolitan Art Museum in NY.  For more information and selections see this link.

29. Gloomy: BLEAK.

30. Like some rugged vehicles: ALL TERRAIN.

31. Cutting remark: GIBE.

32. Those, in Spanish: ESAS.

33. Deliver cards: DEAL.

34. Folk singer Guthrie: ARLO.  Here's ARLO with Pete Seeger playing a song by Arlo's Dad ...

38. Carpet cleaners, for short: VACS.

39. Beseeched: EXHORTED.

42. Brand known for surfing gear: HANG TEN.  A name derived from the prehensile feet of surfers.

44. Barrel racing milieu: RODEO.  Here are some barrel races from the Houston RODEO (and CSO to -T).  Pretty exciting ...

46. Carson City neighbor: RENO.

47. Coarse fabric: TWEED.

51. Stimulant-yielding Asian leaf: BETEL.  I'd heard of BETEL, but always thought it was a NUT.  It turns out that the leaf (aka "paan") is always chewed in conjunction with the Areca nut, the fruit of the Areca palm. The chewing of these two plants together is widespread in Southeast Asia, despite the fact that The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) who have determined that chewing betel with areca nut is carcinogenic to humans.  OTOH, this article in the Indian e-zine netmed.com claims that there are Amazing Benefits Of Betel Leaves Nobody Told You, a veritable "paanacea" ...

Betel leaves
for sale in a local market

52. Wry twist: IRONY.

53. Seaweed gelatin used as a thickener: AGAR.  The word AGAR comes from agar-agar, the Malay name for red algae (Gigartina, Eucheuma, Gracilaria) from which the jelly is produced.  The substance is not only used in cooking, but also in scientific applications, e.g. as a culture medium in microbiology (see 10D).

 Petri dishes containing AGAR gel for bacterial culture

54. Fountain drink: SODA.  Also known in some parts of the country as POP.

55. Appear to be: SEEM.

56. Land in the water: ISLE.

57. School founded by Henry VI: ETON.  ETON College is a public* school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore, making it the 18th-oldest school in the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Originally intended as a sister institution to King's College, Cambridge, Eton is particularly well known for its history, wealth, and notable alumni (Old Etonians).

* Public school is Britspeak for private school.

59. Points to make in an argument, figuratively: AMMO.  Sadly, not all of it is used figuratively.

61. Lowest score on some scales: ONE.  On a piano score the lowest on the scale is A.  Here's why.

Cheers,
Bill

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

waseeley  

Here are the CUCUMBERS Teri picked when I started writing this review:

Here are the first twelve jars of pickles we canned yesterday.  All twelve popped!
 

Postscript:

Today marks the 79th anniversary of the death of Teri's uncle Vincent Deterkavage, who was killed in action in Normandy during WWII. 

Teri and I have twice visited his grave site in the American Cemetery in St. James, Brittany in France, and today our family is taking the flag that was given to the family after his death to Fort McHenry in Baltimore, to have it flown there beside the Fort's Old Glory.

Note from C.C.:

Happy birthday to dear Melissa, the bravest, most tenacious friend I know. You continue to inspire me every day, Melissa!

Wednesday, August 2, 2023 ~ Brooke Husic

Embracing the 9 to 5

Hi All.
Today's offering is a return of Brooke. Last Huckster Gary checked on Brooke (10/22/22), she was in Berlin doing a post-doc in computational chemistry and machine-learning work on molecular kinetics.
Um, I might could help with the latter but the former is beyond me.

Alright then, let's get down to business:

17. "We've all been there": JOIN THE CLUB. JOB - your 9 to 5 work.

29. Element of some holiday traditions: GIFT GIVING. GIG. Could be a job or freelance work.

46. Sentiment celebrated with pink, blue, and white apparel: TRANS PRIDE. TRADE - what you do for your work.

62. Ways to sidestep obstacles, and what are found in this puzzle's circles: WORK AROUNDS. Ah, the circles embrace the phrase (and I made them blue-collars ;-))

Across:
1. Italian city known for its cheese: PARMA.
 

How it's Made

6. "Girl, Woman, __": Bernardine Evaristo novel: OTHER.
 

11. NCAA swimming champion Thomas: LIA.

14. Howlin' Wolf's genre: BLUES.

15. Actress Watts: NAOMI.

16. Magic, on scoreboards: ORL. The basketball team Magic is in Orlando, FL.

17. [see: theme]

19. Enemy: FOE.

20. Nissan sedan: SENTRA.

21. Six-pt. plays: TDS. Football: Touchdowns are six-points.

22. Ice Follies venue: RINK.

23. Goose sound: HONK.

25. Sierra Nevada lake: TAHOE.

26. Research on an adversary, for short: OPPO. Opposition research against your (oft political) opponent.

29. [see: theme]

33. PC "copy" combo: CTRLC. Control-C puts the highlighted text on the clipboard for later CTRL-V (paste).

35. Carrot relative: PARSNIP.

36. Also: TOO.

37. Bit of facial decor: LIP RING. Ouch.

39. Stephanie of "Everything Everywhere All at Once": HSU.

Internet says her name is pronounced SHOO

42. Four-time FIFA Women's World Cup champions: TEAM USA. Ole!(?)

44. Lanai greeting: ALOHA.

46. [see: theme]

49. Heavy fencing sword: EPEE.

50. Costa Rica's __ Island National Park: COCOS.
 

51. Big swallow: SWIG. Oh, not the bird.

53. CPR experts: EMTS. Emergency Medical Technicians are experts at cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

54. Corp. VIP: CEO. The Chief Executive Officer is a Very Important Person.

57. Hosts: EMCEES.

61. Floral wreath: LEI.

62. [see: theme]

64. "haha": LOL.

65. Tear-inducing ingredient: ONION.

66. Fritter maker: FRYER.

67. NNW opposite: SSE. Compass rose.
 

68. Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks: NNEKA.
 

69. Caramel-topped desserts: FLANS.

Down:
1. Easy sammies: PBJS. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches.

2. __ vera gel: ALOE.

3. Make a mess of: RUIN.

4. Component of some mint oils: MENTHOL.

5. Jetson canine: ASTRO. The Jetsons were a cartoon of my youth.
 

Rosie, George, Jane, Judy
Astro, Elroy
(left to right, back to front)

6. Ariana Grande's "__ Last Time": ONE.

7. Diplomat's skill: TACT.

8. Pend: HOLD.

9. Ground-bound birds: EMUS.

10. Celery piece: RIB.

11. Form of chill-out music: LoFi HIP-HOP.

12. Appliqué type: IRON ON.

13. Pub cask: ALE KEG.

18. Chill (with): HANG.

22. Musician Shankar: RAVI.

24. Yom __: KIPPUR.

25. Mexican shredded meat dish: TINGA.

Recipe

26. Autumn mo.: OCT. October.

27. Vacation hrs., e.g.: PTO. Paid (Personal) Time Off.

28. Touch-oriented language: PROTACTILE. Braille was too short.

30. Language of Nima Yooshij's poetry: FARSI.

31. Threesomes: TRIADS.

32. "The $100,000 Pyramid" channel: GSN. Game Show Network.

34. Reunion group: CLASS.

38. Little devil: IMP.

40. __/her pronouns: SHE.

41. OPEC member: UAE.

43. Actress Mireille: ENOS.

45. Hamstring exercise: LEG CURL.

46. Immune response agents: T-CELLS.

47. Alfa __: Italian sports cars: ROMEOS.

My '86 Alfa Spider Veloce -  Red Barchetta's [RUSH] kin.

48. Still-life pitcher: EWER. Oh, not baseball players' #1 position before the game-clocks ;-)

52. "Gotta run!": IM OFF.

54. The Nutmeg St.: CONN. Connecticut.

55. Sandusky's lake: ERIE.

56. "I get it, I get it!": OK OK.

58. "The Celts" singer: ENYA.

59. The paradise of "Paradise Lost": EDEN.

60. Cold War gp.: SSRS. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, is Latin alphabet transliteration of Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (СССР) //yeah, I Googled the translation.

62. Triumphed: WON.

63. Santa __ winds: ANA.

The Grid:

The Grid

WOs: KIPPoR, something under PARSNIP, I'M Out.
ESPs: OTHER (as clued), LIA, ENOS, LO FI HIP HOP, HSU, COCUS, NNEKA, and probably many others
Fav: Alfa ROMEO

Hope the grid wasn't too much of a 'task' for y'all.
And with that, I'll just leave yous with Styx's Blue Collar Man.

Cheers, -T