Kunal is a Senior Software Engineer at Snowflake in the San Francisco Bay Area and makes his initial appearance here in the LA Times Crossword. I made significant headway but the obscurities (for me) in the SE that you see below outlined in red put a strain on my completion anxiety. Knowing ASMRTIST would have solved my issues but, alas, I didn't. An obscure acronym that is made into a noun? Wow!
Across:
1. Clip follower: CLOP - People who made sounds for radio and animated films are called Foley artists. Here we see one making the CLIP CLOP sound of horses on the left and Gene Autry doing the same thing on the right.
5. Softens, in a way: DAMPS.
10. Clock toggle: AM/PM.
14. Big name in morning TV: RIPA.
15. Dread, perhaps: AWAIT.
16. Missouri representative Bush: CORI - CORI Bush represents the 1st district of MO
17. Balanced: EVEN.
18. Delectable: TASTY.
19. Like Oberlin since 1837: COED - This 1855 picture shows that they were also the first predominantly white institution to admit blacks.
20. Small businesses?: MINI MARTS.
22. Oregon city on the Deschutes River: BEND -In the geographic center of Oregon, Bend is nestled between the eastern side of the Cascades and the high desert.
23. Pitching areas?: AD SPACES - Two areas of pitching can be seen in this facility
24. Pet that needs a sitter?: LAP CAT 😀 - Lily gets one any time she wants one.
26. Manipulate: USE.
27. Deliver letters?: DICTATE - "Take a letter Miss Jones"
28. Place to check in: FRONT DESK - I made many a trip to this FRONT DESK at Disney's All Star Sports Resort to replace room keys kids had lost.
31. Earring Magic __: collectible doll of 1993: KEN.
32. Colorful Victorian houses in San Francisco, e.g.: PAINTED LADIES - This one lists for $3.5M but "needs work"
😀😬😫😧😧 34. Squeak of surprise: EEK.
35. Tosses: JETTISONS.
36. Ready: PREPARE.
38. Island in the Cyclades: IOS - It's in there
39. Instruments that may have 21 strings: SITARS.
40. Creator of spine-tingling content?: ASMRTIST - My big fat "dunno"! ASMR is Autonomous Sensory Media Response: a feeling of well-being combined with a tinglingsensationin thescalpand down the back of the neck, as experienced by some people in response to a specific gentlestimulus, often a particular sound. Speaking of CLIP CLOP, you can buy this:
45. Picks up on: GETS.
46. Jump-starts a training regimen?: SKIPS ROPE 😀
47. Amanda of "Brockmire": PEET.
48. Buttonholes, e.g.: SLITS
49. "Seriously?": IT IS.
50. "Contact" org.: SETI - Will SETI's first contact happen like this great scene from Contact? (3:52)
51. One of the racing Andrettis: MARCO - MARIO didn't work
52. Board sticker: DART - A fun video (2:34)
53. Tennis legend who wrote a history of African-American athletes: ASHE - An authenticated autograph on the title page
54. Orem resident: UTAHN - A frequent city from the Beehive State in cwds
55. Those, in Spanish: ESOS.
Down:
1. Taco topper that may be infused with lime: CREMA.
2. Spitting nails: LIVID.
3. Plays first: OPENS - or the first person to bid or bet in a card game
4. Street food also known as golgappa: PANIPURI.
5. Storage systems?: DATA CENTERS.
6. Savvy: AWARE.
7. Clipper parts: MASTS.
8. Places to retire?: PITS. 😀
9. Dump: STY.
10. Stomach: ACCEPT.
11. Lunar New Year treats: MOONCAKES.
12. Comes before: PREDATES - Entering PREDATES was PRECEDED by the wrong word
13. Start of summer or winter: MID - Halloween is the MIDpoint of autumn.
22. Computer security concern: BACKDOORS - A great explanation
24. Cartoon girl who popularized "meh": LISA SIMPSON.
25. Sue Bird's jersey number: TEN.
27. Lunch spot: DELI.
28. Part of a vampire costume: FAKE TEETH.
29. French crown: TETE 😀 - Yeah, TETE is French for head and crown is a euphenism for head
30. Rachel Carson subj.: DDT - Rachel Carson's book was fought by the chemical companies
32. Low points: PERIGEES - Halley's (rhymes with Sally's) Comet orbits the sun every 76 years and it will be visible on Earth next in 2061 when it is near the sun at PERIGEE of its orbit. No extra charge: Halley will reach apogee next month which is seen at the far left in the map.
33. Without getting worked up: IN STRIDE.
34. Some indie releases: EPS - Extended Play records
37. "Wonderful Tonight" memoirist Boyd: PATTIE - She was in the middle of all the British rock and rollers in the '60's.
40. Director Kurosawa: AKIRA - No help with ASMR. What classic American movie is based on this great Kurosawa film? (*answer at bottom of write-up).
41. "What's the __?": Kim Possible catchphrase: SITCH - I had "What's the CATCH for _ _ TCH which furthered bollixed up my three bad cells since I did not know Kim's catchphrase for "What's the situation?"
42. "Iliad" characters: IOTAS 😀 Gotta love meta clues! Iliad of course has two characters of IOTA when written in Greek - Ιλιάδα
43. VP between Hubert and Gerald: SPIRO - Humphrey, Agnew, Ford
44. Lab work: TESTS - It's said Edison TESTED thousands of filaments in his lab in Menlo Park.
46. Pallet piece: SLAT.
47. Free spot: PSA.
48. Big D campus: SMU - Inside all of that concrete.
*I'll bet you knew it!
Note from C.C.:
Happy birthday to MM's love Valerie and our blog adventurer Picard! Always makes me so happy to see this picture.
Left to Right: Valerie, MM, Merlie & Picard, 9/14/2021
Thanks to my fellow blogger MalMan who reminded me of this song from my youth. I like this all instrumental version ...
Puzzling thoughts:
You might recall a few weeks ago I blogged a Zachary David Levy puzzle, so I kind of know his "style". His, and most other Friday puzzles use a combination of witty puns and/or homophones. This seems to be the trend at LA Times, as the one MalMan did on the 17th had a similar "feel".
Today's reveal is pretty short and sweet and is located dead-center in the grid: 39-across. Conclude with, and a phonetic hint for the answers to the starred clues: END IN.
Zachary gives us 6 - count 'em - 6 entries to support his reveal. Two of the 6 intersect each other as 4 of the entries lie horizontally, and 2 of them vertically [it'll be clear once the grid is inserted into the blog]. Let's see how this happened:
17-across. *Obstacle encountered at dawn?: EARLY BURDEN. The more common phrase "early bird" is the first part of the pun's phonetics; the second (as it fits the reveal) is at the END, where the letters "EN" are pronounced "IN". BURDEN is pronounced "bird-in"
Next is: 24-across. *Plot where blue bars of soap grow?: COAST GARDEN. Coast is a brand name for a bar soap; Coast Guard is a branch of the US military
Intersecting 24 across is: 11-down. *Everyone's favorite fire-breathing monster?: MAIN DRAGON. OK, so this is where the puns and homophonics got me a bit confused ... the term "main drag" = the most prominent road in a city. Unlike the previous two entries, the punned homophonic part of the answer was not misspelled
47-across. *Time when tall, thick grass covers a golf course?: ROUGH SEASON. Rough seas are unpleasant for recreational boaters; rough, as in the area of grass just outside of the fairway on a golf course, is more lush and thick when the growing season is current
Intersecting 47 across is: 29-down. *Controller part that gets worn out playing "Mortal Kombat"?: KICK BUTTON. The phrase "kick butt" gets a phonetic "in" ending when it describes a feature of a popular video game
At lastly, 58-across. *Shoutout to a ride-hailing app?: UBER MENTION. This is a complete outlier, IMHO, as the word "Übermensch" is taken from Friederich Nietzsche's idea of the Ubermensch, or the superman, as an idea of humans who create their own values based on their experience of life. He presents this idea prominently in his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra [various internet sources]. Phonetically, I suppose, the word "mention" could be spelled: "mensch-in"
Four entries that end in "ON"; two entries that end in "EN"; 6 entries whose endings phonetically sound like "IN"
One thing I can say is that Zachary didn't ZHUZH us today!! 😜
One of Zachary David Levy's entries that didn't make the cut today ...
Clue: "Head nurse for the hospital's delivery rooms?" --> MATERNITY WARDEN
On one or two previous occasions where I questioned the theme/reveal/entries, I reached out to my fellow bloggers for assistance. Maybe, as I alluded to on November 16 when I commented on waseeley's blog, I am looking for more than what is just there on the surface. But if any of you, who solved this puzzle and are reading this blog, want to add your thoughts below, please comment. Here is the grid, and then off to the rest of the clues ...
Across:
1. Chuckleheads: BOZOS. If there was something I missed in today's puzzle, then you may call me a BOZO
6. Marcus Aurelius, for one: STOIC. ROMAN fits, too; [Wikipedia] "Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a STOIC philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ..."
11. Distraction in a dr.'s waiting room: MAG. MAG, as in MAGazine. The abbr. in the clue gave this away, but I'm gonna say "meh" for this one
14. Meet part: EVENT. Not like the "meet" in "meet and greet" ... like a track meet ... where the 4x400 relay race is one of the EVENTs
15. Confection typically flavored with saffron and rosewater: HALVA. [wikipedia] Recipe for HALVA: "Sesame. Sesame halva is popular in the Balkans, Poland, Middle East, and other areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The primary ingredients in this confection are sesame butter or paste (tahini), and sugar, glucose or honey". Looks like they left out the saffron and rosewater ... maybe that's why I needed perps to solve this one
16. Make public: AIR. Like this blog, perhaps
19. Letters before a take: IMO. The clue for this seemed odd to me ... anyone else?
20. Ruse: PLOY. Let's see what the Thesaurussaurus says about this one:
21. Flamenco shout: OLE. Also heard at Ryder Cup matches ...
22. Sleep study subject: APNEA. Click here for more information
27. Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy: AIKMAN. QB #8 for the Dallas Cowboys. My favorite HOF football player named Troy is this guy:
31. __ roll: HONOR. Moe-ku #1:
Rodney Dangerfield's Least known quote from "Back to School" Is "I'm HONOR roll" ...
32. Certain cross-country traveler: SKIER. I cross-country skied when I lived in New England many decades ago. I enjoyed the workout as well as the lack of speed, unlike my Friday counterpart, MalMan who prefers to downhill ski
33. Two or three, say: A FEW. Two = a couple; three or four = A FEW
35. Setup punches: JABS. A pugilistic term
38. Chest muscles, briefly: PECS. PECtorals; here you go, ladies!! 😉
40. Four-award acronym: EGOT. This acronym is quickly becoming a part of crossword-ese
65. Actor Cariou: LEN. A CSO to CanadianEh! "Leonard Joseph Cariou OC OM is a Canadian actor and stage director. He gained prominence for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street alongside Angela Lansbury for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical" [wikipedia]
66. Pert: SASSY.
67. Anti-anxiety drug: XANAX. Not for those who are "palidromicphobic" 🤣
Down:
1. Appliance alert: BEEP. Unusual clue for this word, but it works
3. Round number?: ZERO. On my computer keyboard, the number "ZERO" looks like an OVAL, while the letter "O" looks more round ... and "ONE" is the loneliest number if you believe in Three Dog Night [this is what happens when you're into your third hour of writing a blog ...]
4. Merely: ONLY.
5. Porcine pen: STY. Porcine = french for "pig"; pigs live in a STY
6. NFL coach with the most career wins: SHULA. Don SHULA
7. Scale allowances: TARES.
8. Not fresh: OLD.
9. Secret suffix: IVE. "IVE" could've been clued as: "___ Got a Secret" (former game show). Secret is also a brand you can use on your PITs
10. Ancient land on the Dead Sea:) CANAAN Looks a bit like modern-day Israel!
12. Mann of pop: AIMEE. When I googled the word "AIMEE", AIMEE Mann comes up in the 4th position on the list of AIMEEs. I'm pretty sure that this filled via perps
13. [But I don't wanna do my homework!]: GROAN. You want a GROAN? Moe-ku #3:
Peruvian owl Becomes friends with mockingbird Are they Inca hoots?
18. Windfall: BOON.
23. Cast: PROJECT. Verb form of the clue word
24. Jaguar, for one: CAR. XKE could've fit (that's a Jaguar model)
25. His and hers: THEIR. All of these gender pronouns ... 😕
26. Gala garb: GOWN.
27. Egyptian cobras: ASPS.
28. Maker of BILLY bookcases: IKEA. These:
30. Text, e.g.: MESSAGE.
33. Star __: expensive spice: ANISE. And another clue whose solve sounds "similar" to ANISE: (48. Waiting in the wings:) ON ICE.
34. Rx overseer: FDA. Prescription drug watchdog
36. Whirled weapon: BOLA. I always get BOLA and BOLO mixed up. One you wear and one you whirl
37. Pedometer unit: STEP. I track mine (STEPS) either on my iPhone or Apple watch. I should be doing more
39. Large deer: ELKS. Is this a more difficult clue than "Fraternal order, familiarly" ... ?? Some folks would argue that the plural of ELK is ELK, not ELKS
43. "SNL" alum Hooks: JAN. I hate to admit, but SNL passed me by many decades ago. This was a complete unknown. I will bet that the J COLE crossing with JAN (Hooks) tripped up more than one solver today
45. "I dunno" gestures: SHRUGS. 🤷 🤷
46. Post-op wear for some pets: CONE. One of my favorite SNL sketches was the foibles of the CONEheads; they seemed funnier back in 1978 ... 😅
47. Drive away: REPEL.
49. Surveyor's units: ACRES.
50. __ the Owl: Rice University mascot: SAMMY. College mascot
53. Naan flour: ATTA. Interesting and fun fact: the flour used (ATTA) for the Indian bread (NAAN) is also a palindrome. How weird?
54. "Glass Onion" filmmaker Johnson: RIAN. Another proper name solved via perps. Glass Onion teaser/trailer:
55. Bar mixer: COLA. Believe it or not, I can count on one hand the number of times I have had a COLA this year, and have fingers left over. The only carbonated beverage I drink (as a bar mixer) are Tonic Water and Ginger Beer
56. Black gemstone: ONYX. Odd assortment of letters on the border of the puzzle. Not that many choices of words that could fill this section that end in O, N, Y, and X
59. Campy scarf: BOA.
60. UFO aviators: ETS. The CONEheads, perhaps?
61. Squash: NIX. GOURD didn't fit
So how did you fare today? Hope y'all had a Happy Thanksgiving 🦃 🍗 🍠 🥧
November 8th of this month marked the 400th anniversary of
the publication of the great dramatist
William Shakespeare's 1st Folio, and our editor Patti and constructor Rena Cohen have certainly
picked a great way to commemorate it. Today Rena celebrates it with a
flourish of 4 starred themers ... 17A. *Naval rank of computer
scientist Grace Hopper: REAR ADMIRAL.Grace Brewster Hopper(née
Murray; December 9, 1906 – January 1, 1992) was an American
computer scientist, mathematician, and United States NavyREAR ADMIRAL. Among her many accomplishments, perhaps the most
significant was the invention of COBOL, an
early programming language still in wide use today. She is also credited with first applying the term "BUG"
to an early computer hardware failure (due to a moth stuck in a relay!). Years back Teri saw her speak and she gave every member in the
audience a 1 foot length of insulated copper wire -- the distance that electricity travels
in a nanosecond.
Dr. Grace Hopper Rear Admiral, US Navy
23A. *British tennis player who won the 2021 US Open:
EMMA RADUCANU.
Emma Raducanu MBE
(born 13 November 2002) is a British professional tennis player. She reached a
career-high ranking of No. 10 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) on
11 July 2022, and is a former British No. 1. Emma is the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title
since Virginia Wade at the 1977 Wimbledon Championships. And a
CSO to CanadianEh! as Emma was actually born in Canada ...
Emma Raducanu
38A. *Medium that's mostly talk: AM RADIO. I don't listen to
AM RADIO. There's too much talk. I only listen to
FM RADIO, then just one station:
WBJC-FM. The DJ's
talk, but not very much. They just play beautiful music 7x24 (and
OPERAS on the weekends 😀).
51A. *Drill command:
FORWARD MARCH. I've never quite understood this command. Does
anyone ever BACKWARD MARCH? Some people walk FUNNY, but
these are usually FORWARD WALKS ...
So what does this mysterious collection of themers have to do with
Shakespeare? The reveal might help ...
61A. Create tension in
a group, and a direction that was followed when forming the answer to each
starred clue?: STIR UP DRAMA. Shakespeare's plays weren't presented in the round, so there are no
circles to help us figure out the meaning of Rena's theme. But I think this grid should give away thePLOT ...
Here's the rest ... Across:
1. Embryo's environment: WOMB.
5. Draw: APPEAL.
11. Collar: NAB.
14. Bailiwick: AREA. In English, the original French
bailie combined with -wic, the Anglo-Saxon suffix (meaning a
village) to produce a term meaning literally 'bailiff's village'—the
original geographic scope of a bailiwick. In the 19th century, it was absorbed
into American English as a metaphor for a sphere of knowledge or activity ...
15. "Me neither": NOR AM I.
16. Largest human cells: OVA. Found in the general AREA of
the 1A.
17. [Theme clue]
19. Diarist Anaïs: NIN.
Anaïs NIN's
writing was considered pretty naughty in her day, but times have changed and
her stuff is pretty tame by today's standards ...
20. "The ReidOut" network: MSNBC. Well it used to be the "ReidOut"
network, but apparently
the show was cancelled. Cancelling seems to be a fad these days. Here's some
straight stuff on Joy Reid.
Joy Ann Reid
21. Personal: OWN. As opposed to PWN, which means to
OWN a gamer opponent.
22. Fantasy league datum: STAT.
23. [Theme clue]
27. Bouquet garni element: BAY LEAF. You can buy the dried stuff in
jar, or
make your own.
30. Alprazolam brand: XANAX. XANAX is Pfizer's brand name for
the generic anti-anxiety drug Alprazolam.
Here are it's uses and side effects.
31. Pop star: IDOL.
32. Ooh and __: AAH. The reaction of many to
IDOLS.
34. Preliminary version: DRAFT. Teri checks my review
DRAFT every week to ferret out spelling and grammatical errors and point
out any dumb stuff that I've included in it.
41. Quilting party: BEE. Here's an article on
The Quilting Bee Revival: Social Aspects of 1970s Quilting. Teri's sister Rose started back then, but she was never in a BEE. But she is still an expert quilter and
seamstress. Hand up if you're a quilter?
42. Stuck-up types: SNOBS.
44. 6-Down, for one: DOG.
45. "Tragically ... ": ALAS.
46. Feature of much of inland Canada: TAIGA. A
TAIGA, generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or
snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting
mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. Another CSO to
CanadianEh!
Taiga aka boreal forest
49. Library patrons, probably: READERS. While reading is certainly
a basic skill needed to use a library, modern libraries have branched out into media centers and many
other services.
Here are some offerings at our local library.
52. [Theme clue].
54. Super bad: EVIL.
55. "Queen Sugar" creator DuVernay: AVA.
Queen Sugar is an American drama television series created and
executive produced by Ava DuVernay, with Oprah Winfrey serving as
an executive producer. DuVernay also directed the first two episodes. The series
is based on the 2014 novel of the same name by American writer
Natalie Baszile ...
56. Creepy: EERIE.
60. Prefix in many a Scottish surname: MAC. Today's Scottish
lesson: "Son of". E.g. Macbeth.
61. [Theme reveal].
64. Civil rights leader honored in Jan.: MLK.
Martin Luther King Jr. ( January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an
American Baptist minister, activist, political philosopher,
and pacifist, who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil
rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. Here he
relates his dream ...
65. FoodNetwork.com offering: RECIPE. Today we Give Thanks for all
of our blessings! And if you're reading this and haven't thawed out
your
Turkey
yet, you're in big trouble 😀
Turkey
T66. Greek Cupid: EROS.
67. Twisty letter: ESS. Two plurals and the most common letter in the alphabet. What's not to like?
68. "Ooh, they DO look alike": I SEE IT. Well I don't.
69. Reject as false: DENY.
Down:
1. Welcoming: WARM.
2. Natural resources: ORES.
3. Intend: MEAN.
4. Need to do some heavy lifting?: BARBELL. Another CSO to puzzler and weight lifter
Stella Zawistowski. That BARBELL certainly looks heavy!
Stella Zawistowski
5. "Yes?": AND.
6. Fluffy toy, familiarly: POM. The clue is a CSO to Irish Miss. But in this case the "toy" 44A is a Pomeranian.
Pomeranian
7. Aforementioned: PRIOR.
8. Canal buildup: EARWAX. Not a supply chain problem in Panama. EARWAX (aka cerumen) helps
protect the ear by trapping dust and other foreign particles that could filter
through and damage the eardrum. Normally, earwax moves toward the opening of the
ear and falls out or is washed away, but
sometimes excessive earwax can buildup in the ear canal and become hard to remove. This is referred to as impacted cerumen:
Earwax
9. Poet Gorman: AMANDA.
Harvard graduate Amanda S. C. Gorman
(born March 7, 1998) is an American poet and activist. Her work focuses on
issues of oppression, feminism, race, and
marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. Gorman was the
first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. She published the
poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough in 2015. She rose to fame
in 2021 for writing and delivering her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the
inauguration of President Joe Biden.
Amanda Gorman
10. Rapper __ Nas X: LIL. Today's RAP lesson: "Little".
11. Like groceries, often: NONTAXABLE.
12. For the birds?: AVIAN.
13. Language family that includes Swahili: BANTU. The most widely
spoken
BANTU language
by number of speakers is Swahili, with 16 million native speakers and 80
million who speak it as a second language. Most native speakers of Swahili live in
Tanzania, where it is a national language, while as a second language it
is taught as a mandatory subject in many schools in East Africa, and is a
lingua franca
of the East African Community.
27. DealDash offers: BIDS. DealDash is a company that operates an
online auction and shopping platform. It was founded in 2009, and is
headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The company's platform
allows users to bid on and purchase a variety of products, including
electronics, home goods, and gift cards. Sounds a lot like eBay.
Hand up if you've had any experience with it?
29. Walk the dog, rock the baby, etc.: YOYO TRICKS. Here's an easy trick called "over the rainbow" ...
33. Ate: HAD.
35. Dread: FEAR.
36. One of Randall and Beth's daughters on "This Is Us":
TESS.
This Is Us is an American prime time soap opera television series created by Dan Fogelman. The show aired on NBC from September 20, 2016,
to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents, and
their three children, in several different time frames. A lot of the
characters have the same birthday. It's complicated. Here's the
trailer...
"This Is Us" appeared in Tom and C.C.'s Saturday puzzle. Judging by the
comments the series seems to have a following on the Corner. Hand up
if you're a fan?
38. China setting: ASIA. It's all about PLATE tectonics. 😁
39. Explorer with Boots: DORA. On the other hand DORI has fins.
40. Disney exec Bob: IGER.
43. Blubber: BAWL.
45. Stuck (to): ADHERED.
47. Prepares for fondue, maybe: GRATES. Cheesy clue. 🙄
48. Sage offering: ADVICE. From a wise guy?
50. Nailed: ACED.
51. Lyon woman: FEMME. Today's French lesson.
52. Track shapes: OVALS.
53. Organizational consultant Kondo: MARIE. Marie Kondo
(born 9 October 1984), is a Japanese organizing consultant, author,
and TV presenter. She has written four books on organizing, which have
collectively sold millions of copies around the world. Her books have
been translated from Japanese into several languages, and her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has been published in more than 30 countries.
Marie Kondo
57. Like a winning lottery ticket: RARE.
58. "My turn to sing!": IM ON. Almost done actually.
Theme: Let's Tie This Thing Up - Maybe Like A Turkey?
17 A. "Get lost!": GO FLY A KITE. The phrase originated in the 1940s and was very popular at that time and for the next few decades. Its meaning is derived from its literal meaning: A person would probably need to go away to actually fly a kite. And what would s/he hold on to -- hmmm.
23 A. Hands-on creation?: SHADOW PUPPET. These are figures that are placed between a light and a screen. Moving them creates the illusion of moving images on the screen. An experienced puppeteer can make figures appear to walk, talk, fight and dance. Shadow puppetry is a popular form of entertainment in countries all over the world. But there are other puppets manipulated in a different way.
46 A. Home of SpongeBob SquarePants: BIKINI BOTTOM. Bikini Bottom is the main setting in the SpongeBob SquarePants series. It is an undersea city where SpongeBob and his friends live. According to Nickelodeon's program summary, Bikini Bottom is located in the Pacific Ocean, beneath Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Were they just stringing us along? Here is the other kind.
57 A. Actress who completed her EGOT with a Grammy for the audiobook "Finding Me": VIOLA DAVIS. Viola Davis [b. 1965] is an American actress and producer. Davis is one of the few performers to have been awarded an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. She is the sole African-American to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting as well as the third person to achieve both statuses. Alternatively, the VIOLA is a string instrument that is bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.
And -- the unifier -- 36 A. What some favors and one part of the answers to 17-, 23-, 46-, and 57-Across come with?: STRINGS ATTACHED. If something such as an agreement or special offer has strings attached, it involves special demands or limits. These are metaphorical strings. But each of the other theme fill have an alternate meaning in which it is literally attached to a string - and in each case a different kind of string.
Hi Gang, JazzBunpa here to pull your strings today. Let's dig into this puzzle and see it we can put a bow around it.
Across
1. "Sounds cool, man": I'M HIP. OK. by me in jive talk.
6. Antioxidant-rich berry: ACAI. Açaí berry is a fruit from a palm tree found in South America, mainly in the Brazilian Amazon. Because the tree does not grow outside its natural habitat, and the fresh Açaí berries are very perishable, they are usually available outside Brazil only as a juice
10. Protrudes: JUTS. Sticks out.
14. Background tunes for a tree-trimming party: NOELS. Christmas Carols. Nope - still too soon.
15. Quarterback's setback: SACK. In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and without clear intent, or when a passer runs out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage due to defensive pressure.
16. "Just __!": A SECond. Request for someone to wait for a brief moment.
19. "You Bet Your Life" host Jay: LENO. James Douglas Muir Leno (born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, writer and comedian. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's The Tonight Show from 1992 until 2009. Since 2021 he has hosted the revival of You Bet Your Life.
20. Industrious insect: ANT. Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified.
21. "If I Could Turn Back Time" singer: CHER. Cher (born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry. Known for her distinctive contralto singing voice and for having worked in numerous areas of entertainment, as well as adopting a variety of styles and appearances.
22. Knight game: JOUST. Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French joster, ultimately from Latin iuxtare "to approach, to meet." You can learn about it here. [Embedding was not allowed]
26. Small parts for big names: CAMEOS. A CAMEO is a small character part in a play or movie, played by a distinguished actor or a celebrity.
29. Lamarr of the silver screen: HEDY. Hedy Lamarr [born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, 1914] was an Austria-Hungarian-born American actress and technology inventor. She was a film star during Hollywood's Golden Age.
30. Particle with an orbital system: ATOM. An atom is a particle that consists of a nucleus of protons and neutrons surrounded by an electromagnetically-bound cloud of electrons. The atom is the basic particle of the chemical elements, and the chemical elements are distinguished from each other by the number of protons that are in their atoms.
31. IRS convenience: E-FILE. Electronic filing, also known as e-filing, is a process of submitting documents to a court or government agency. You typically do this via the internet or other electronic means.
33. Brownie __ mode: ALA. Topped or garnished with ice cream.
40. L.A.-to-NYC dir.: ENE. East-North-East - the direction or compass point midway between east and northeast..
41. Tiny bits: IOTAS. Extremely small amounts.
42. Set the pace: LEAD. Set the initiative in an action; be an example for others to follow, have first place in a race..
43. Brittney Griner's org.: WNBA. Women's National Basketball Association. Brittney Yevette Griner ( born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA.)] She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national basketball team and a six-time WNBA All-Star. She was additionally named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
44. Little rascals: SCAMPS. Person, especially children, who are mischievous in a likable or amusing way.
51. Dark wood: EBONY. Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus Diospyros, which also includes the persimmon tree. Few Diospyros species such as macassar and mun ebony are dense enough to sink in water.
52. Portal: DOOR. Entrance way.
53. Itinerary info: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.
56. "Sounds cool!": NEAT. Slang phrases for approval or agreement.
60. Story: TALE. a fictitious or true narrative or story, especially one that is imaginatively recounted.
61. __-Alt-Del: CTRL. A PC key combination. The function of the key combination differs depending on the context but it generally interrupts or facilitates interrupting a function.
62. Leaves out: OMITS. Leaves out or excludes (someone or something), either intentionally or forgetfully.
63. Actor Sharif: OMAR. Omar Sharif [born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub, 2015). was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is best known for his appearances in American, British, French, and Italian productions.
64. "Black-ish" star Tracee Ellis __: ROSS. 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) receiving nominations for five Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the latter. She is the daughter of actress and Motown recording artist Diana Ross and Robert Ellis Silberstein.
65. Windbreaker fabric: NYLON. Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers with amide backbones, usually linking aliphatic or semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are white or colorless, and soft; some are silk-like. They are thermoplastic, which means that they can be melt-processed into fibers, films, and diverse shapes. The properties of nylons are often modified by blending with a wide variety of additives.
Down:
1. Pulitzer-winning architecture critic Saffron: INGA. Inga Saffron (born November 9, 1957) is an American journalist and architecture critic. She won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism while writing for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
2. Once in a blue __: MOON. This indicates a rare event. More precisely, a blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season. This happens every two to three years (seven times in the Metonic cycle of 19 years)
3. Lift with effort: HEFT. As defined.
4. Ailing: ILL. Sick.
5. Film set at the Bates Motel: PSYCHO. Psycho is a 1960 American horror film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The screenplay, written by Joseph Stefano, was based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. The film stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Martin Balsam. The plot centers on an encounter between on-the-run embezzler Marion Crane (Leigh) and shy motel proprietor Norman Bates (Perkins) and its aftermath, in which a private investigator (Balsam), Marion's lover Sam Loomis (Gavin), and her sister Lila (Miles) investigate her disappearance.
6. Made inquiries: ASKED. Said something in order to obtain an answer or some information.
7. Tahrir Square city: CAIRO. Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the city-state Cairo Governorate, and is the country's largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metropolitan area, with a population of 22.1 million, is the 12th-largest in the world by population. Tahrir Square; English: "Liberation Square", also known as Martyr Square, is a major public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations. The 2011 Egyptian revolution and the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak occurred at the Tahrir Square.
8. "__ your age!": ACT. Behave in a manner appropriate to someone of one's age and not to someone much younger.
9. Actor Barinholtz: IKE. Ike Barinholtz [b. 1977] is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. He is best known for his starring roles in the comedy series MADtv (2002–2007), Eastbound & Down (2012), The Mindy Project (2012–2017), Bless the Harts (2019–2021), The Afterparty (2022), and History of the World, Part II (2023). In February 2023 he won the inaugural primetime season of Celebrity Jeopardy!, winning US$1,000,000 for charity.
10. Bucket of bolts: JALOPY. An old car in a dilapidated condition.
11. Burn through: USE UP. Use or consume all of a stock or supply of something.
12. Tied up in knots: TENSE. Become emotionally upset, typically through anxiety or nervousness.
13. "House of Gucci" director Ridley __: SCOTT. Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English filmmaker. He is best known for directing films in the science fiction, crime, and historical drama genres. His work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades throughout his career, including the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2018, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. In 2003, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
18. Cries of discovery: AHAS. Used when you are expressing pleasure or surprise that you have understood something or found something out
22. King Herod's realm: JUDEA. The Herodian kingdom was a client state of the Roman Republic ruled from 37 to 4 BCE by Herod the Great, who was appointed "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate. When Herod died, the kingdom was divided among his sons into the Herodian Tetrarchy.
23. Service plaza rig: SEMI. A semi tractor-trailor vehicle used for hauling freight.
24. Tiny bits: WHITS. Iotas, and a clecho.
25. Linus Van __: "Peanuts" kid: PELT. Linus Van Pelt is a fictional character in Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts. He is the best friend of Charlie Brown, the younger brother of Lucy Van Pelt, and the older brother of Rerun Van Pelt. His first appearance was on September 19, 1952, but he was not mentioned by name until three days later. He was first referred two months earlier, on July 14. Linus spoke his first words in 1954, the same year he was first shown with his security blanket. Linus is named after Schulz's friend Linus Maurer.
26. 12 bottles of wine: CASE. A box or receptacle for holding something, often a specific quantity.
27. Env. directive: ATTN. Mail routing instruction within an office or business.
28. Extra: MORE. But, wait . . .
31. Founded: Abbr.: ESTAB. Established - the date when a business was started.
32. Drone-regulating org.: FAA. Federal Aviation Administration.
33. "Excuse me ... ": AHEM. Feigned throat clearing sound, used to get someone's attention.
34. __ year: LEAP. A year, occurring once every four years, that has 366 days including February 29 as an intercalary day.
35. Stirs in: ADDS. If you add one thing to another, you put it in or on the other thing, to increase, complete, or improve it. For example: add the grated cheese to the sauce.
37. Nincompoop: NINNY. A foolish nitwit.
38. Asian desert: GOBI. The Gobi Desert is a vast, cold and arid region in northern China and southern Mongolia. It's known for its dunes, mountains and rare animals such as snow leopards and Bactrian camels. In the Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, the Khongoryn Els sand dunes are said to sing when the wind blows. The park also features the deep ice field of Yolyn Am canyon. Dinosaur fossils have been found at the red "Flaming Cliffs" of Bayanzag.
39. Chowder morsel: CLAM. Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds.
43. Time for cold feet?: WINTER. Literal. I've been wearing socks to bed for a few weeks. Figuratively, having cold feet is to be too fearful or timid to undertake or complete an action.
44. Greek portico: STOA. A classical portico or roofed colonnade.
45. Le __ Bleu: Julia Child's alma mater: CORDON. Literally "blue ribbon," indicating a high level of achievement.
46. Lunchbox type: BENTO. A bento is the Japanese iteration of a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch. Outside Japan, it is common in other East and Southeast Asian culinary styles, especially within Chinese, Korean, Singaporean, Taiwanese cuisines and more, as rice is a common staple food in the region.
47. Steel girder: I-BEAM. An I-beam is any of various structural members with an I or H-shaped cross-section. Technical terms for similar items include H-beam, w-beam, universal beam, rolled steel joist, or double-T. I-beams are typically made of structural steel and serve a wide variety of construction uses.
48. Souvenir toy from Australia, say: KOALA. A stuffed animal toy replica of the koala
49. Landfill emanations: ODORS. It's garbage. It smells bad.
50. Road trip expense: TOLLS. A charge payable for permission to use a particular bridge or road.
53. Mean business?: EVIL. Profoundly immoral and wicked. Clever misdirection.
54. "Mambo King" Puente: TITO. Ernest Anthony Puente Jr., [1923 -2000]commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. Puente and his music have appeared in films including The Mambo Kings and Fernando Trueba's Calle 54.
55. Trade gp.: ASSN. A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry.
57. Bygone TV attachment: VCR. Video Cassette Recorder.
58. Skater Midori: ITO. Midori Ito [b. 1969] is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 1989 World champion and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist. She is the first woman to land a triple-triple jump combination and a triple Axel in competition.
59. "Doctor Who" role for Karen Gillan: AMY. Karen Sheila Gillan (/ˈɡɪlən/; born 28 November 1987) is a Scottish actress and filmmaker. She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the science fiction series Doctor Who (2010–2013), for which she received several awards and nominations. Her early film roles include Ally in the thriller film Outcast (2010) and Jane Lockhart in the romantic comedy film Not Another Happy Ending (2013). She also worked on the stage while in Britain, appearing in John Osborne's play Inadmissible Evidence (2011).
That wraps up this Wednesday. Hope I didn't string you along. Have a joyous, blessed and food-filled Thanksgiving. See you all in January. Go Lions!
.jpg)
_logo.svg.png){kind=logo}
