Wednesday, April 17th, 2024, Emma Oxford

IN BLOOM

Nirvana - In Bloom

April showers bring....hey, wait, we're too early for the flowers~!  This is my second blog of an Emma Oxford puzzle this year ( see 67A.).  Four 11-letter and one 13-letter spanners for the theme - scrambled, or "wild" - flower names.  No circles, but "in my opinion" ( see 59D. ) it might have helped, as the first two themers are two-word scrambles, but then the second two are just the first four letters.  Your Experience May Be/Might've Been Different - in fact, I'm coining a new term, "YEMBD" - pronounced "yem-beady".  Very few names, plenty of foreign (read) French words, but a longer than usual solve time for me, as I did not get the "ta-DA~!" at the end due to my "LIKE to serve" mistake, which took a while to find.

18. *Be extremely helpful: LIVE TO SERVE - VIOLET - the original Willy Wonka

There's a valid argument for why she should have "won" the Chocolate Factory

29. *Staged a fireworks show: LIT UP THE SKY - TULIP - ah, there's an organ joke in there....

I do not have this record...

36. *Start of an instruction to an automated assistant: SIRI SET A TIMER - IRIS

The 'Monet' version; perhaps you're a Van Gogh type~?

44. *Sensitive area: SORE SUBJECT - ROSE - and the 'start' of the joke ....

Axl "ROSE is" on the piano - and, er, Slash is on piano, too....

58. Colorful elements of a meadow, and what can be found at the starts of the answers to the starred clues?: WILDFLOWERS

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Gasteyer of "Mean Girls": ANA

4. Stand-up individual?: COMIC

9. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner: MEALS

14. Place for a pint: PUB - Bzzzt~! Not BAR - AND - 20A. Some pints: ALES

15. Miso soup mushroom: ENOKI - perps, but then again, a crossword staple lately

16. Data processor's need: INPUT

17. Lenovo products: PCs - Lenovo is a Windows-based computer maker

22. Crying harder: TEARIER - meh.

23. Tempo similar to largo: LENTO

25. Prepares, as a sleeping bag: UNROLLS

33. Part of EVOO: OIL - Extra Virgin Olive Oil

34. Used DoorDash, say: ATE IN - had food delivered, that is; I made my own version of General Tso's chicken the other day~!

35. Auction site: eBAY

41. Very: MOST - as in "she is most attractive"

"Très OUI" - Frawnche #1

42. Rene of "Tin Cup": RUSSO

43. Death on the Nile cause, perhaps: ASP - "Very dangerous...you go first"

50. Frightening vision: DAYMARE - as opposed to NIGHTmare - a new word for me; more here

52. Part of TNT: NITRO - Everything you ever wanted to know about trinitrotoluene

53. Do over and over: ITERATE - so to REiterate is to do over and over AND OVER~?

57. "Begone!": SHOO

62. Convent figure: NUN

63. Adult stage in insects: IMAGO

64. Provide an address: ORATE - ooh, clever misdirection

65. Here, in France: ICI - Frawnche #2

66. Airport structure: TOWER

"We have no tower - just a bridge, Sir"

67. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" host Aisha: TYLER - strangely, this is the second time with this clue/answer for me in an Emma Oxford puzzle blog

68. "Evita" role: CHE


DOWN:

1. Revolt: APPALL - the "ick" revolt, not the political one

2. Atomic cores: NUCLEI - I read somewhere that our constructor Emma has atomic knowledge

3. Playing hooky, perhaps: ABSENT

4. Cartoon still: CEL

5. "Roger that, boss!": "ON IT~!"

6. Make emotional: MOVE - MOKE seemed like a possibility 😜

7. Maker of Ektorp sofas: IKEA - I have learned to default to "IKEA" when it's an oddly-named furniture clue....

8. Fruit type that tends to be in season in winter: CITRUS - I did not know this; read more here from "The CIA"

9. Kathy Bates film based on a Stephen King novel: MISERY - I am not a fan of this genre

10. Month after diciembre: ENERO - the Spanish spelling of January

11. Mo. after Mar.: APRil - the current "mid-spring" month - I have daffodils in my front yard

It would appear that I need to wash my siding

12. Hon: LUV - Thank God it was not the "other" three-letter cringe word

13. Sault __ Marie: STE - Frawnche #3

19. Sty sound: OINK

21. Queen Anne's house: STUART - I have had this type of misdirection before; not the actual house as in structure/style, but the "political" one - see the Wiki highlighted

A "local" example, the James Alldis house in Torrington, CT

24. __-Free: contact lens solution: OPTI

26. Piercing spot: LOBE

27. "Not true!": LIAR - I had "LIES~!" to start

28. Devious: SLY

30. Your, in Tours: TES - Frawnche #4

31. Dash, quaintly: HIE

32. __ nous: ENTRE - fifth and finale Frawnche

35. Characters in some texts: EMOJIS - 😀😎😜

36. Slugger Sammy: SOSA - an easy baseball reference, tho I am not a fan like our blog host C.C. - I did like the link to the two guys trying to hit 100mph fastballs, Chairman~!

37. Guessing game: I SPY

38. Ger. neighbor: AUStria

39. Nashville sch.: TSU - I WAGed this, figured it was something like "Tennessee State University"

40. ID on a Barnes & Noble buy: ISBN - ID is abbr., so too the International Standard Book Number

41. Outraged: MAD

44. Took, as an exam: SAT FOR

45. Baseball analyst Hershiser: OREL - does this mean he offers "Orel" exams~? ba-dum-tiss

46. Transplant: REROOT - I re-potted my houseplant a month ago, and it's still in shock; I don't want to lose it, because it was my mother's plant and I kept it when we sold the LI house after she passed

47. Pertaining to a certain culture: ETHNIC

48. Catcher's stance: CROUCH - ah; much better than "SQUAT", which was my first thought

49. Nickname for the Canadian $2 coin: TOONIE - I filled in LOONEY, as I have seen this before in Crosswords, but obviously had the wrong $ value, and spelling - but 50% correct~!

51. Small fly: MIDGE

54. Out of whack: AWRY

55. Blue-green shade: TEAL

56. Art Deco icon: ERTÉ - I happen to "MOKE" (😁) the Art Deco style - his Wiki

58. Cleverness: WIT

59. Brief "I would say ... ": IMO - In My Opinion

60. Order's partner: LAW - for those who are interested, the LAW & ORDER tab for the TV show theme from Ultimate Guitar; you'll have to create a log-in to see it if you don't already have one

61. Msg. from a pulpit: SERmon


Splynter

Tuesday, April 16, 2024 Ricky Sirois

Going Dutch:  I found a couple of theories on how the term Going Dutch came into existence.  It is believed to have entered English at the time of the eastern trade route rivalry.  England and the Netherlands fought constantly over trade routes.  The phrase to go Dutch is a a contraction of In the Dutch fashion, meaning, To pay ones share.  The phrase today is used to mean paying one's way.  Not necessarily  Splitting the Check evenly at the end of a restaurant meal, but it could be.  

18-Across. *  Game timer that may implement the Fischer method: CHESS CLOCK.

24-Across. *  Choose selectively: CHERRY PICK.

52-Across. *  Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band with the hit "The Flame": CHEAP TRICK.  [Name # 1.]

61-Across. *  Silverado, for one: CHEVY TRUCK.

And the unifier, which includes 31, 41 and 45-Across:

31-Across. With 41- and 45-Across, go Dutch, or what the answers to the starred clues do?: SPLIT.

41-Across. See 31-Across: THE. and 45-Acorss. See 31-Across: CHECK.  No circles in today's puzzle, but they weren't needed.  The word CHECK is split in each two-word theme answer with the first word beginning with CHE and the second word ending in CK.

Across:

1. Has finished making payments on: OWNS.

5. NYC cultural institution redesigned by architect Yoshio Taniguchi: MOMA.  Yoshio Taniguchi (b. 1937) is a Japanese architect.  He is best know to Americans for the re-design of the Museum of Modern Art.  He was hired in 1997 to expand the Museum's space.  He is known for his fusion of traditional Japanese design with Modernist aesthetics.  [Name # 2.]

9. Made fun of: JAPED.

14. Dance for seniors: PROM.  Seniors in High School, not the retirees.

15. Dove calls: COOS.

16. Main artery: AORTA.

17. Weight adjustment button on a deli scale: TARE.

20. "Cleared for takeoff!": IT'S A GO.

22. Acorn dropper: OAK.

23. "Eureka!": AHA.

27. Wound memento: SCAR.

28. E __ elephant: AS IN.

29. Bedframe board: SLAT.

35. Sci-fi extras: ETs.  As in ExtraTerrestrials.

37. Still in contention: ALIVE.

40. Brother's daughter: NIECE.

42. The "N" of USNA: NAVAL.  As in the United States Naval Academy.

43. River mammal: OTTER.

44. Casual affirmative: YEP.

46. "No __, no fuss!": MUSS.

48. Get up: RISE.

50. Shed tears: WEEP.

58. German pronoun: ICH.  Today's German Lesson.

59. British lav: LOO.  The word “loo” is derived from the French phrase "guardez l'eau", meaning "watch out for the water!"

60. Certain Honshu resident: OSAKAN.  A person from Osaka would be called an Osakan.  Osaka is a large port city and commercial center on the Japanese island of Honshu. The city is known for its 16th-century shogunate Osaka Castle.

65. Actress Neuwirth: BEBE.  Bebe Neuwirth (née Beatrice Jane Neuwirth; b. Dec. 31, 1958) is primarily a stage actress and has won two Tony Awards.  She is probably best known to non-theater people for her role as Dr. Lilith Sternin on Cheers, where she played the wife of Dr. Frasier Crane.   She also had a recurring role in Frasier.  [Name # 3.]

66. Oscar winner Firth: COLIN.  If you watched The Middle, you know that Colin Firth (né Colin Andrew Firth; b. Sept. 10, 1960) was Frankie's favorite actor and secret crush.  [Name # 4.]

67. Back of the neck: NAPE.

68. Flake (on): BAIL.

69. Colorado ski locale: ASPEN.

70. Watery expanses: SEAS.

71. "__ it obvious?": ISN'T.

Down:

1. Related to the eye: OPTIC.

2. Ire: WRATH.

3. Like the deities Odin and Freya: NORSE.  In Norse mythology, Odin is the god of war and death.  Freya is the goddess of love, beauty, youth, and fertility.  [Name adjacent, Mythological.]

4. Makeup slip-up: SMEAR.

5. Clan that feuded with the Hatfields: McCOYS.  The Hatfield-McCoy feud revolved around two Appalachian families that apparently went on for decades and the legal issues involved ultimately ended up at the United States Supreme Court.  The actual start of the feud has been lost to history.  [Name # 5, Real.]

6. "Look, fireworks!": OOH!

7. "The Simpsons" tavern owner: MOE.  And a shout-out to our Chairman Moe.  [Name # 6, Fictional.]

8. Professional org.: ASSOC.  As in Association.

9. Tire changer's need: JACK.  Could be a name, but isn't.

10. Hotmail alternative: AOL.  As in America On Line.

11. Like someone who takes the initiative: PROACTIVE.

12. __ Sketch: art toy: ETCH-A-.

13. Capital of Senegal: DAKAR.  The official name of Senegal is the Republic of Senegal.  It is the westernmost country in continental Africa.  Dakar is a port city and the largest city in the country.

19. Fifth Avenue retailer: SAKS.  The history of Saks Fifth Avenue. [Name adjacent.]

21. Cheese gadgets: GRATERS.

25. Devoutness: PIETY.

26. Right over the plate, as a pitch: IN THERE.  Meh!

27. Egyptian soccer superstar Mohamed: SALAH.  His full name is Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly (b. June 15, 1992).  In 2019, he was named as one of the 100 most influential people in Time magazine.  [Name # 7, Real.]

30. Little needles in some medical tests: LANCETS.  Also the name of a medical journal.  The Lancet, which was founded in England in 1823, is one of the oldest medical journals.

31. Hostess __ Balls: SNO.  They now come in all sorts of "fun" colors.

32. Fire place?: PIT.

33. "You shouldn't have to do it all alone": LET ME HELP.

34. Frost over: ICE UP.

36. Retro tint for photos: SEPIA.  On your smart phone, you can probably "sepia" all your photos. 

38. Rug cleaner, for short: VAC.  As in a Vacuum Cleaner.

39. Large deer in the Rockies: ELK.

47. Glaswegian, e.g.: SCOT.  [Name adjacent.]

49. Bike wheel parts: SPOKES.

50. Neopagan religion: WICCA.

51. Amazon smart speakers: ECHOS.

53. Prominent feature of a mountain goat: HORNS.

54. Religious leader in many a Chaim Potok novel: RABBI.  Chaim Potok (né Herman Harold Potok; Jan. 17, 1929 ~ July 23, 2002) is one of my favorite authors.  [Name # 8, Real.]

55. Furniture stores that sell meatballs: IKEAs.  [Name adjacent.]

56. Log home: CABIN.

57. Got down to propose: KNELT.

59. Country singer Loretta: LYNN.  Loretta Lynn (née Loretta Webb; b. Apr. 14, 1932 ~ Oct. 4, 2022) had a music career that spanned 6 decades.  The movie Coal Miner's Daughter was based on her life.  [Name # 9.]

62. Compete: VIE.

63. Abu Dhabi's fed.: UAE.  United Arab Emirates:  A federation of seven kingdoms on the Persian Gulf coast of the Arabian Peninsula, bordered to the east by Oman, the south and west by Saudi Arabia, and the northwest by Qatar.

64. Audit firm pro: CPA.  As in a Certified Public Accountant.  I bet they are glad that Tax Day is over and they can take a well-deserved vacation.

And here's the Grid:

חתולה

Passover begins with the first Seder Monday night.  Happy Passover to all who celebrate: