Wednesday, August 9th, 2023, Jon Pennington

Theme: 

 

Dearly beloved,
We are gathered here today,
To get through this thing called life.

20. Orange-yellow hue in 1970s kitchens: HARVEST GOLD.

30. Place to purchase Pixel phones: GOOGLE STORE.

46. Make drowsy with a lullaby: SING TO SLEEP.

55. First track on Prince's "Purple Rain," and a hint to each set of circled letters: LET'S GO CRAZY.

CRAZY is a clue that the circled letters are anagrams of LET'S GO.

Story Behind The Song: Prince’s religious appeal, ‘Let’s Go Crazy!’

Across:

1. Caterer's coffee servers: URNS.

5. Golden Rule preposition: UNTO. Do unto others ...

9. Green pasta sauce: PESTO. Recipe.

14. Hammer or sickle: TOOL.

15. Amphibian that can regrow an appendage: NEWT. They can regenerate parts of their tails, jaws, ears, hearts, spines, eyes and brains.

16. Was sore: ACHED.

17. Much of an atlas: ASIA. Nice clue.

18. Way out: EXIT.

19. Unceasingly: NO END.

23. Aliens, for short: ETS. Extra Terrestrials. life which may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth.

24. [Error in original text]: SIC. Adverb. Used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands in the original, as in a story must hold a child's interest and “enrich his [sic] life” or a hero of antient [sic] Rome.

25. Mapmaker's right: EAST.

 27. Crockpot topper: LID.

36. People of Pennsylvania's Lancaster County: AMISH.

38. Taxing trip: TREK.

39. Way off: AFAR.

40. Come-from-behind victory, perhaps: UPSET.

41. Coastal inlet: RIA. A ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. 

42. Curly-tailed watchdog: AKITA.

43. Venison: DEER.

44. Chums: PALS.

45. Splinter groups: SECTS.

49. Bull's-__: EYE.

50. Many a techie: GEEK.

51. Karaoke aid: MIC.

53. "I've got it!": AHA.

62. Kingly: REGAL.

64. Pound or kilogram: UNIT.

65. Flute's orchestral neighbor: OBOE. See flute and oboe in the third row from the top?

66. French pancake: CREPE.

67. Church area with pews: NAVE.

68. Underhanded plan: PLOT.

69. Feast with bitter herbs: SEDER.

70. Got older: AGED.

71. Cargo hauler: SEMI.

Down:

1. Home of the Bonneville Salt Flats: UTAH. The famous salt flats stretch for over 30,000 acres and are found just west of Great Salt Lake. They are are a remnant of Lake Bonneville, which covered over one-third of Utah from 10,000 to 32,000 years ago.

2. Civil rights icon Parks: ROSA.

3. Pinot __: NOIR.

4. Some Balkans: SLAVS.

5. World Heritage Site gp.: UNESCO. Wikipedia: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture.

6. On deck: NEXT.

7. Snappable stick: TWIG.

8. "Homeland" actress Miranda: OTTO. Also known for Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings.

9. Stuffed critters given to some medal winners at the Beijing Olympics: PANDAS.

10. Writer Umberto: ECO. Umberto Eco considered himself an academic scholar first and a novelist later. He said he considers himself a university professor who writes novels on Sundays. He wrote many novels that are considered classics today, including The Name of the Rose, Foucault’s Pendulum, and Baudolino.

11. Floe, e.g.: SHEET OF ICE.

12. Pup shelter?: TENT.  A pup tent is so named because it is smaller in size than a standard tent, similar to how a puppy is smaller than an adult dog. The name “pup tent” likely originated from military use, where smaller tents were used for individual soldiers or a small group.

13. __ and ends: ODDS.

21. Cube root of 512: EIGHT.

22. Potato and __ soup: LEEK.

26. Anti-vampire weapon: STAKE. Vampire stakes.

27. Exalts: LAUDS.

28. Louvre Pyramid architect: IMPEI. 10 Things you did not know about Louvre Pyramid by I.M. Pei

29. Tuned out: DISENGAGED.

31. Others, in Spanish: OTRAS.

32. Cook over coals: GRILL. It's that time of year! 50 Best Grilling Recipes for Summer

33. Renter's contract: LEASE.

34. Shabby: RATTY.

35. Totally remove: ERASE.

37. Twilled fabric: SERGE. Serge is a type of twill fabric that has diagonal lines or ridges on both inner and outer surfaces via a two-up, two-down weave. The worsted variety is used in making military uniforms, suits, greatcoats, and trench coats. Its counterpart, silk serge, is used for linings. French serge is a softer, finer variety.

42. Gelatinous tomato dish: ASPIC. I usually see ASPIC made with beef stock, rather tha=- tomato.

44. Hawaiian dish of diced raw fish: POKE. Yum.

47. Penn's silent partner: TELLER.

48. Was melodramatic: EMOTED.

52. Farmer's concerns: CROPS.

53. Rainbow shapes: ARCS.

54. "Present!": HERE.

56. Traditional fish in 44-Down: TUNA.

57. Cardigan problem: SNAG.

58. Donate: GIVE.

59. Start of a classic palindrome: ABLE. “Able was I ere I saw Elba.” Contrary to popular believe, Napoleon did not say this. Hhere are some cool Napoleonic anagrams and puns here though.

60. Videoconferencing platform: ZOOM.

61. Creature of Sherpa folklore: YETI.

63. Donkey Kong, e.g.: APE.

 

 

Note from Melissa bee: Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes, and a belated happy birthday to you, Waseely - I don't get to the blog as often as I'd like to stay caught up. Sixty has been looming so large in my head I actually rushed things and told several people that I turned 60 last week. A dear friend (who was born the same year as I) corrected me, and now I feel like I have a free year! 

Tuesday, August 8, 2023 Rebecca Goldstein

The Monster Mash:  The first word of each theme answer is a CREATURE, but not necessarily a monster.

43-Across. *   Bookmark, in a way: DOG EAR.

46-Across. *   Frame style of some vintage glasses: CAT EYE.  This is an apropos clue.  Just last week, the Google Doodle celebrated the 116th anniversary of the birth of Altina Schinasi (Aug. 4, 1907 ~ Aug. 19, 1999).  She was an artist, inventor, and designer of the distinctive cat-eye glasses.  I find it fascinating that at the time, she was working as a window dresser for the upscale Bonwit Teller department store and collaborated with Salvador Dalí (May 11, 1904 ~ Jan. 23, 1989).

3-Down. *   Speaker at a protest?: BULL HORN.

7-Down. *   Spout shape for some kettles: GOOSE NECK.

11-Down. *   Fan-shaped breakfast pastry: BEAR CLAW.  Yummers!

And the Unifier:

60-Across. Monster movie, and what the answer to each starred clue has?: CREATURE FEATURE.   [NOTE:  Sometimes when writing the commentary, I get lost in the forrest and miss the trees.  That happened today.  Many thanks to Jinx in Norfolk, who pointed out that each theme answer is actually a two word construction.  The first word is the Creature and the second word is a Feature of that Creature.]

Across:

1. Student __ relief: DEBT.  It's been in the news a lot recently.  Enough said.

5. Copperfield field: MAGIC.  Not the Dicken's character, but the American magician whose birth name is David Seth Kotkin (b. Sept. 16, 1956).  [Name # 1.]

10. Reading basics: ABCs.

14. Grad: ALUM.

15. Sweet smell of success, at a bakery: AROMA.

16. "Drag Me to Dinner" judge __ Patrick Harris: NEIL.  Patrick Neil Harris (b. June 15, 1973) is best known for his comedic roles in sit-coms, such as Doogie Howser, M.D., and How I Met Your Mother.  [Name # 2.]

17. Grocery section: DELI.

18. Subway map dots: STOPS.

The London Tube map.

19. Spanish cat: GATO.  Spanish for Hahtool.  Hi, JD.  Do you still do the crossword puzzles?

20. Oft-torn knee pt.: ACL.  ACL = Anterior Cruciate Ligament. This injury appears with some frequency.

21. Pattern with teardrop shapes: PAISLEY.  Paisley Park was the home of Prince.

23. Seeded bread: RYE.  Yummers!

24. Biblical "you": THEE.  Only if one is referring to the English translation of the King James Bible.  A brief history of the King James Bible.

26. Have a look at: SEE.

27. Per person: EACH.

29. Pitchfork projection: PRONG.

30. Gasteyer of "American Auto": ANA.  Ana Kristina Gasteyer (b. May 4, 1967) is probably best known for being a cast member on Saturday Night Live.  She starred in the recently cancelled sit-com American Auto.  [Name # 3.]

31. God of Islam: ALLAH.

33. Civil offenses: TORTS.

34. Mario Bros. console: NES.  NES = Nintendo Entertainment System.

35. Item held by Lady Justice: SCALE.  It's said Justice is Blind, meaning that it should be impartial and objective.

36. Latin years: ANNI.  Today's Latin lesson.

37. Knight clubs: MACES.  Cute clue.

39. Parliament members: OWLS.

40. Powder on a gymnast's uniform: CHALK DUST.

50. Charlottesville sch.: UVA.  As in the University of Virginia.

51. Prepare cocktails: MIX.

53. Cloud location: SKY.  We had a powerful thunderstorm here last week, that caused lots of rain, wind and wide-spread power outages.

54. Org. that issues Challenge America grants: NEA.  NEA = National Endowment for the Arts.  According to the NEA website, Challenge America Grants are designed to offer "support primarily to small organizations for projects in all artistic disciplines that extend the reach of the arts to groups/communities with rich and dynamic artistic and cultural contributions to share that are underserved."

55. Fill-in worker: TEMP.

57. By the book: LEGAL.

59. Michelangelo's "The Creation of __": ADAM.  The Creation of Adam is a fresco on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel.  It was painted by Michelangelo (né Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni; Mar. 6, 1475 ~ Feb. 18, 1564) sometime between 1508 and 1512.  He had been commissioned to paint the ceiling and it took him about 4 years to complete the project.  [Name adjacent]

63. Attach, as a trailer: HITCH.

64. Individual: ONE.

65. Preserves in brine: CORNS.  Before there was refrigeration, people used salt to preserve food, such as beef.  Think Corned Beef.  The name came from the corn kernel-sized grains of salt in which the meat would be packed and stored. 

66. French head: TÊTE.  Today's French lesson.

67. Strikes (out): XES.

68. Mimics: APES.

Down:

1. Father, in baby talk: DADA.

2. Subatomic particle in a cloud: ELECTRON.

4. "No more details pls": TMI.  Textspeak for Too Much Information.

5. Tortilla dough: MASA.  It's made of ground corn.  Everything you wanted to know about MASA, including a recipe, but didn't know to ask.

6. Like some farmers market products: ARTISANAL.  What are ARTISANAL farmers market products?  They might be breads, cheeses, fruit preserves, cured meats, oils, and vinegars that are home made.

8. "That makes me very happy": I'M PLEASED.

9. Suffix with suit or brief: CASE.

I've had this experience!

10. "Life of Pi" director Lee: ANG.  Before it was a movie, Life of Pi was a novel by Yann Martel (b. June 25, 1963).  The book was adapted to the 2012 movie directed by Ang Lee (b. Oct. 23, 1954).  [Name # 4.]

12. Local wedding venue: CITY HALL.

13. __ gin fizz: SLOE.  Everything you wanted to know about a Sloe Gin Fizz, but didn't know to ask.

21. Labels (as): PEGS.

22. Votes in favor: YEAS.

25. Tempt: ENTICE.

28. "Little Women" novelist: ALCOTT.  Louisa May Alcott (Nov. 29, 1832 ~ Mar. 6, 1888) wrote a number of books, but is best known for Little Women.  The novel is a coming of age story roughly based on her own life.  [Name # 5.]

29. School fundraising org.: PTA.  The Parent Teacher Association makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.

32. The Chiffons' "__ So Fine": HE'S.  And now a musical interlude ...

37. Actress Henner: MARILU.  Although she has a long list of film and TV credits, Marilu Henner (b. Apr. 6, 1952) is probably best known for her role as Elaine O'Connor Nardo in the television sit-com Taxi.  [Name # 6.]

38. Nurse: SUCKLE.

41. Sandwich meat: HAM.  Not in my sandwiches.

42. Utter aloud: SAY.

43. __ oven: cast-iron cookware: DUTCH.  I have one, but rarely use it.

44. "So done with that": OVER IT.

45. Cell produced by meiosis: GAMETE.  //  58-Down. Chromosome part: GENE.  Today's biology lesson.  From the National Human Genome Research Institute: "Meiosis is a type of cell division in sexually reproducing organisms that reduces the number of chromosomes in gametes (the sex cells, or egg and sperm). In humans, body (or somatic) cells are diploid, containing two sets of chromosomes (one from each parent)."

47. Live through: ENDURE.

48. Hankers (for): YEARNS.

49. Namesake of an iconic chair: EAMES.  Charles (né Charles Ormond Eames Jr.; June 17, 1907 ~ Aug. 21, 1978) and Ray (née Ray-Bernice Bernice Alexandra Kaiser; Dec.. 15, 1912 ~ Aug. 21, 1988) Eames were a married couple known for designing industrial / office furniture.  They were known for groundbreaking contributions in the field of architecture, furniture design, industrial design, manufacturing and the photographic arts [Name # 7.]

52. Photocopier brand: XEROX.

53. Strongboxes: SAFES.

56. Treaty: PACT.

59. Upon: ATOP.

61. Specifying article: THE.

62. 2010 healthcare legislation initials: ACA.  ACA = Affordable Care Act.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday, Aug 7th, 2023, Laura Dershewitz

 

THEME: The Age of Aquarius, not Superman

17. Tied with a scrunchie, maybe: IN A PONY TAIL - An "UP" hairstyle

30. No longer on deck: AT THE PLATE - "UP" at bat - I saw this happen in a game on TV while down in VA

BACKSWING BAT CATCHES CATCHER

47. Taking time off: ON VACATION - "I am AWAY from my desk..." - Technically, I was on vacation last week, as I was supposed to be in between jobs - needed the time off to sort some legal issues still pending from the sale of the house on Long Island - went down there for two days, and that was enough to remind me why I left....

And the connection -

62. Classic sunshine pop hit single with hot-air-balloon imagery, and what 17-, 30-, and 47-Across literally are: UP UP AND AWAY - Ah, the 60s - this one is from 1967; I was born in 1971, but I heard this "The 5th Dimension" hit on the radio, along with another one of theirs, "Aquarius" - and born in early February, I am an Aquarius

Up, Up, ....

AND AWAY we go~!

ACROSS:

1. Make small adjustments to: TWEAK

6. Palindromic title: MADAM - a palindrome is a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward - I found this clever palindrome poem

11. "¡Dios __!": "MIO~!" - OMG in text-speak

14. Fictional chocolatier Wonka: WILLY- played by one of my favorite actor/comedians, Gene Wilder

"Pure Imagination"

15. Sports complex: ARENA

16. Series finale, e.g.: END

19. Director DuVernay: AVA - Not much one can do, but IMHO the proper names in crosswords are becoming too much

20. Italian ice cream: GELATO

21. Most coll. applicants: SRs - Twice in a puzzle row now for me

22. Thing: ITEM

23. Food __: lethargy after a big meal: COMA - Thanksgiving is a mere 15-1/2 weeks away; football starts in exactly one month - yay~!

25. Mosaic tile: TESSERA - Learned by doing crosswords, otherwise, a $2 Monday word

27. Stargazer's bear: URSA - My "bear" last week was "MAMA"

32. Election night backdrop for Steve Kornacki: MAP - No idea who we are referring to; filled via perps....no politics, please~!

33. Whispery video genre, for short: ASMR - This is a 21st century crossword fill; not familiar with it, so I went to YouTube, and I actually got that 'tingly' sensation.

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

34. "Fiddlesticks!": "DRAT~!"

35. Big gulps: SWIGS

37. Word before salt or snail: SEA

39. "Know what __?": I MEAN

42. Pre-calc math class: TRIGonometry

44. YouTube diary: VLOG video web log; we here are merely a weB LOG

46. Irish actor Stephen: REA - Crossword staple

50. Car sticker amt.: MSRP - Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price - I bought a used Prius C for $12K, using my Amazon credit card - what a rush that was; I paid it off immediately with money from the sale of the LI house

51. [shrug emoji]: BEATS ME - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

52. Turner known as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll": TINA - Died 24 May this year

54. Wheel turner: AXLE

55. Donne couplet?: ENs - do N N e; Donne I believe refers to this guy

57. Forced from power: OUSTED

61. "The Real World" airer: MTV - Shows on this channel seem contradictory - the "golden age" of the music video, the 80s, gave us a lot to see, so what defines a good music video~?  I threw this question at my brother, and got the response below; a little bit of story-telling, some performance, and some 'over-the-top' elements; what would YOU choose~?

ZZTop Gimme All Your Lovin'

64. Gobbled up: ATE

65. Draped silk dresses: SARIs - or sarees

66. Mitt: GLOVE - more gratuitous baseball for C.C. 😁

67. Letters of distress: S.O.S.

68. Utopias: EDENS

69. Made less onerous: EASED

DOWN:

1. Small branch: TWIG and; 26D. Small branch: SPRIG - Rhyme time, too

2. Sonoma County product: WINE

3. Ben Gurion-based airline: EL AL - Crossword staple, Israeli Airline

4. South American kin of a camel: ALPACA

5. Japanese city with many shrines: KYOTO - WAG

6. Star Wars Day month: MAY - the Fourth Be With You

7. Review-heavy newspaper section: ARTS - I had OP-ED, my first incorrect DOWN fill

8. Scarcity: DEARTH - Vader~?

9. Ouzo flavoring: ANISEED

10. "Bad" prefix: MAL - Latin

11. Carnivores: MEAT-EATERS - Reminds me of Jurassic Park - couldn't find a link to the scene I was thinking about

12. Turn upside down: INVERT

13. Whoopi's Oscar-winning role in "Ghost": ODA MAE

18. Spanish phrase equivalent to "¡Basta!": "NO MAS~!"

22. Five Pillars faith: ISLAM

24. Devices called "cashpoints" in the U.K.: ATMs - fresh cluing for a crossword staple; still didn't fool me

 27. Sounds of hesitation: UMs - never can tell if it will be ERs or UMs

28. Uncooked: RAW

29. Trumpet parts that need to be drained: SPIT VALVES - JazzB can fill you in - or maybe that's not the phrase to use in this instance....I play the guitar and drums - usually, no spit involved

31. Fountain near Rome's Spanish Steps: TREVI - It's said that $1.5mil in coins was tossed in during 2016

33. Nike rival: ASICS

36. Storm drain cover: GRATE

38. Oodles: A LOT 

40. __ Lingus: AER - Irish Airlines

41. Rest in a sleep pod: NAP - I figured it was "NAP", but the sleep pod part had me baffled; THIS or THIS~?

43. Xbox controller, for one: GAME PAD - Gaming for me was Atari 2600

Yar's Revenge

45. Awesome Blossom vegetable: ONION - The "bloomin' onion" appetizer from Outback is called the "cactus blossom" at Texas Roadhouse - proprietary, as my brother gets agitated when I use the "wrong" name at the wrong restaurant

47. 2000s first family: OBAMAs

48. Alongside of: NEXT TO

49. Academic job security: TENURE

50. Indian spice mix: MASALA - I did not know this; filled via perps

53. Gentle reminder: NUDGE - "shall I phone you or nudge you~?" - but again, couldn't find a link to this line from a scene in a great, underrated, all-star cast movie called "Sneakers"

 

56. Rotate: SPIN

58. Low poker pair: TWOS - meh.  I went with TREY, since when I play cards, it's DEUCES

59. Roof trim: EAVE

60. Hid one's true colors, perhaps: DYED - har-har

62. "It's just no __!": USE

63. Mule kin: ASS - well, that's what you get when you reach the "bottom", I say....

Splynter