Thursday, May 30, 2024, Emma Oxford

 

The Stuff of Genius*

... and the staff of life.  People literally "broke" bread for their meals for thousands of years.  But all that changed in 1928 when Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented the bread slicer.  And constructor Emma Oxford has come up with the best invention since then -- sliced crosswords!  Well maybe not 😀.  But she does present us with the following fill for four pairs of theme clues, each with some of the letters circled (shown in RED below), sliced by a black square, and when sandwiched back together give us  four kinds of bread ...

17A. Radio City, for one: MUSIC HALL and  19A. In the lead: AHEAD -- CHALLAH BREAD.  Here's a recipe.

Challah Bread

32A. Arizona people: HOPI. and 34A. Drink mix made popular by NASA: TANG -- PITA BREAD.  It's not widely known that Otto also invented the bread stacker 😀.  Michelle tells you how to make your own stack without a machine.

46A. Dynamic start?: AERO. and 49A. Neat as a pin: TIDY-- ROTI BREAD.  And it's even less widely known that Otto also invented the bread peeler 😀.  Here's Karen's recipe.

Roti Bread

62A. Saint __: Caribbean island: LUCIA and 64A. Army unit: BATTALION -- which when sandwiched back together we get CIABATTA.  Looks like Otto's back in the slicer business.  Here's Gemma's recipe.

Ciabatta Bread

And slicing the puzzle right across the middle we have Emma's reveal ...

39. Basis of comparison for many innovations that's depicted four times in this puzzle: SLICED BREAD.  But who actually coined the phrase "That's the best thing since sliced bread?"

While the circles made the theme pretty obvious from the get go , the results were pretty nourishing (albeit some people's tastes may vary😀).

I noticed that there were no guys represented in the recipes, so I'm tossing in James Beard's Brown Bread (one of our favorites).  We just use a bread knife to slice it ...

Brown Bread

Here's the grid ...

Here's the rest ...

Across:
 

1. Elbows: JABS.

5. Tibetan monk: LAMA.  LAMA is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru, meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "highest principle", and less literally "highest mother" or "highest father" to show the close relationship between teacher and student.  Among the Tibetan lamas, the highest ranked is the 14th Dalai Lama.

Dalai Lama

9. Brand paired with devil horns for a Halloween costume: PRADA. Must be a very exclusive party.  A reference to this film perhaps?

14. "Yeah, sure": I BET.

15. Hertz rival: AVIS. ... and a Rara AVIS, is a rare bird.  Here are some recent sightings of rare birds by the American Birding Association, including this one ...

Blue Rock-Thrush
sighted by Jason Talbott
25 Apr 2024
San Francisco, CA

16. Like highways and running tracks: LANED.  And let us not forget BOWLING VENUES!

17. [Theme clue]
19. [Theme clue]

20. Gait between a walk and a canter: TROT.

21. Held on to: KEPT.

23. Verizon acquisition of 2006: MCI.  MCI, Inc. (formerly WorldCom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company before Verizon bought them in 2006.   For a time, it was the second-largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T.   Teri did some consulting for them back in the day.

24. Stop on a crawl: PUB.  Some of my English cousins took me on a PUB crawl one night, but that's all I can remember. 😀

26. "__ the season ... ": TIS.

28. Beach problem: EROSION.

30. Accord, perhaps: TRUCE.  There are two places in the world that need a TRUCE right now.

32. [Theme clue]
34. [Theme clue]

35. Cooper of CNN: ANDERSON.  Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator currently anchoring the CNN news broadcast show Anderson Cooper 360°.  His mother was socialite Gloria Vanderbilt and  his great, great grandfather was business magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who founded the prominent Vanderbilt shipping and railroad fortune.

Anderson Cooper

37. Poetic tribute: ODE.  ODES comprise 90% of the poetry in crosswords, the other 10% consisting of SONNETS, ELEGIES, IDYLLS, and a MOEKU or two every other Friday. 😀

39. [Theme reveal]

42. Sign of summer: LEO.  Has anyone heard from LEO III lately?

43. Petroleum jelly brand: VASELINE.  As distinguished from VICKS VapoRub.  Whatever you do, don't put the latter on sunburned skin. Ouch!

46. [Theme clue]
49. [Theme clue]

51. Pre-univ. warmup exams: PSATS.  Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Tests.  What the PSAT is and what to know about the exam (if you are a High School Junior or the helicopter parent of one).

52. Dressed for work, perhaps: IN A SUIT.  Or being SUED?

54. Fam member: SIS.  I have four.

56. Psychoactive constituent of cannabis: THC.  Shouldn't this clue have had some indication that this was short for Tetrahydrocannabinol?

Tetrahydrocannabinol

57. OB-GYNs, e.g.: MDS.

58. Like some Fr. nouns: MASC.  Today's French lesson -- but not a short one.  All French nouns are either MASCULINE or FEMININE (none being NEUTER, e.g. as in German).  The corresponding definite articles for these are LE and LA and the indefinite articles are UN and UNE.  In most cases, which of these articles to use for a given noun is a matter of memorization.  While that's easy for la jeune fille ("the young girl") and  le garcon ("the boy"), they must be memorized for nouns that don't have any associated real gender, e.g. HAT ("le chapeau") and DAY ("la jour").  But there are some general rules (and lots of exceptions) for figuring out the gender of a French noun ...

60. Warm, so to speak: NEAR.. Used a lot in party games -- "You're getting warmer", "You're getting colder", "You're freezing!". 

62. [Theme clue] .
64. [Theme clue]

68. Exams often given by committee: ORALS.

69. Way, way off: AFAR.  E.g. "You're in the next county!"

70. Up to the task: ABLE.  E.g. "Napoleon WAS ABLE to conquer Europe (and lose it) ERE he SAW ELBA".

71. "The War of the Worlds" writer: WELLS.   H. G. WELLS visited the Corner a week or so back in his Time Machine.  His War of the Worlds was made famous by an hour long radio broadcast on Halloween of 1938 by dramatist Orson Wells (no relation to the novelist) using a script derived from the novel.  The scale of the panic Wells created is disputed.  Here is a clip from that broadcast ...

72. Product preview: DEMO.

73. Absolutely must have: NEED.  Air? Water? Food?

Down:

1. Parsons of "Hidden Figures": JIM.  Jim Parsons is best known for playing Sheldon in the sitcom  The Big Bang Theory.  In Hidden Figures he played Paul Stafford, head engineer in the Space Task Group. In this interview he talks about the hard time he had accepting his role in the new movie and what a contrast it was to the part he played in TBBT ...

2. __ Dhabi: ABU.

3. Chums: BEST BUDS.  They say that Apple AirPods are the best, but they're expensive and I'm afraid I'd lose them. 😀

4. Step in a sauce recipe: STIR.  We've used cream sauce for years to serve over asparagus on toast, pastas, etc.  The only problem with it is the need to constantly STIR the mixture of flour, butter, and whole milk until it thickens to keep the milk from scorching.  Much easier to make, and just as tasty, is velouté sauce, which uses  chicken or vegetable stock instead of milk. Here's a recipe.  After the roux has thickened Teri stirs in a 1/2 cup of cream to per cup of sauce.

Velouté sauce

5. Actress Christine: LAHTI.  Christine Ann Lahti (born April 4, 1950) is an American actress and filmmaker. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1984 film Swing Shift. Her other film roles include ...And Justice for All (1979), Housekeeping (1987), Running on Empty (1988), Leaving Normal (1992), and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019). For her directorial debut with the 1995 short film Lieberman in Love, she won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.

Christine Lahti

6. Janelle's "Abbott Elementary" role: AVA.  Not the Janelle in Hidden Figures, but rather comedian Janelle James as Ava Coleman, in the mockumentary Abbott Elementary.  She plays the tone-deaf principal, who got her job by blackmailing the superintendent. 

Janelle James

7. Latte ingredient: MILK. 

8. Out like a light: ASLEEP.

9. "Allegory of the cave" philosopher: PLATO.  The "Allegory of the cave" is recounted in PLATO's Republic in a dialogue between his brother Glaucon and his mentor Socrates, and is narrated by the latter.  In the allegory, Plato describes people that have spent their lives chained in a cave facing a blank wall. They watch shadows projected onto the wall by objects passing in front of a fire behind them, and they give names to these shadows. The shadows are the prisoners' reality but not accurate representations of the real world. The shadows represent the fragment of reality that we can normally perceive through our senses, while the objects outside the cave represent the true forms of objects that we can only perceive through reason. Three higher levels exist: natural science; deductive mathematics, geometry, and logic; and the theory of forms. 
 
10. Stadium cheer: RAH.

11. Iron deficiency: ANEMIA.

12. Church minister: DEACON.  A DEACON is a Christian official generally associated with services of some kind, such as preaching and performing specific rites such as baptisms and marriages.  These services vary among theological and denominational traditions, such as the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheranism, Methodism, Anglicanism, and Mormonism.  The office was created very early in the history of the Church, as is described in the Acts of the Apostles 6:1-5.  The intent of the office was to offload some of the work of the Presbyters (priests) and Bishops.  Among the first seven deacons was St. Stephen.  If we follow the above citation from Acts a little further, we find that he was also the first Christian martyr -- from the Greek word for "witness".

The Stoning of St. Stephen
Luigi Garzi (1638–1721)

13. __ machine: ADDING.

18. Clique: COTERIE. "An intimate and often exclusive group of persons with a unifying common interest or purpose".  Merriam-Websters.  If they cluster around a personality like Taylor Swift or Beyoncé, the inner circle is called a POSSE.  They seem to have an affinity for the mononymous.

22. Monastic leaders: PRIORS.

24. School org.: PTA.  Parent Teacher Associations are not just a USA thing.

25. Self-serve dispenser: URN.

27. Steve Madden creation: SHOE. As I think product ads should be kept to a minimum in reviews, I decided on a Jeff McNally creation instead.  Here's a recent one from his rag, tag band of avian journalists ...

29. Moves without a sound: STEALS.  -- STEALTHILY.

31. Large strings: CELLOS.  Here a large group of large strings (a CELLO choir) from The Young Artists Orchestra of Las Vegas plays Argentinian composer Astor Piazzola's Libertango ...

33. Like some movie rentals: ON DVD.  You can't rent them from Netflix anymore, but here are still some other sources.

36. Nova __: SCOTIA.  One of Canada's Maritime provinces, and a CSO to CanadianEh!

38. Bathysphere realm: DEEP SEA.  The Bathysphere (from Ancient Greek βαθύς (bathús) 'deep', and σφαῖρα (sphaîra) 'sphere') was a unique spherical deep-sea submersible which was unpowered and lowered into the ocean on a cable, and was used to conduct a series of dives off the coast of Bermuda from 1930 to 1934. These dives were chronicled by explorer William Beebe in his book Half Mile Down.  

The Bathysphere
The National Geographic museum in 2009

We saw a friend recently, who mentioned that her son-in-law is a deep water geologist, and that these days all of this type of work is done by tethered drones.

40. Dark horses: BAYS.

41. Rant: DIATRIBE.  Notice how deftly I avoid one in 50D below.  😀

44. Advanced degree?: NTH.  And the NTH time we've seen NTH!.

45. Key above ~: ESC.  A CSO to Splynter ~ is his favorite separator.  And just above it, perennially on the lam is

46. Temper expectations: AIM LOW.  A guaranteed way to succeed!

47. Put up with: ENDURE.

48. Rogue: RASCAL. Here are two shots of my son's cat RASCAL, which he titled Royal Rascal and Roaring Rascal, respectively ...

I believe these were taken when Rascal was young -- he's much bigger now.  He'll be 13 this year and spends most of his time in the woods hunting -- it also gets him away from all the riffraff kitties that my granddaughters keep adopting.

50. "Things don't look good": ITS BAD.  As there are no discussions of politics on the Corner, we'll move on to the next clue ...

53. Amherst campus, familiarly: U MASS. A college in Amherst, Mass.  And  it is also the approximate atomic weight of  Uranium (U  MASS = 238.03).  It's not an integer because U is actually a mixture of 3 isotopes ...

55. Overture: INTRO.  There are basically two kinds of overtures: opera overtures and standalone concert overtures.  Brahms' Academic  Festival Overture  is of the latter type and was composed on the occasion of him receiving an honorary degree from the University of Breslau.  The university administration didn't take too kindly to it, but the students loved it, as it is essentially a pastiche of student drinking songs popular at the time.😀  Estonian conductor Neeme Järvi does the honors ...

59. Bistro: CAFE.

61. Actor Ruck: ALAN. Alan Douglas Ruck (born July 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Cameron Frye in John Hughes' film Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), as well as television roles as Stuart Bondek on the ABC sitcom Spin City (1996–2002) and Connor Roy on the HBO series Succession (2018–2023.

Alan Ruck

63. Under the weather: ILL. I worked in ILLINOIS for a year and a half and I don't recall ever being under the weather, although it did rain sometimes. 💧💧💧

65. Hat that may match a kilt: TAM.  Here ya go ...

66. Part of a World Cup chant: OLE.

67. "Game of Thrones" patriarch Stark: NED.  NED  (né Eddard)  was played by Sean Bean, who among many other roles played Boromir in the  movie adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.  He is best remembered for his heroic death defending the other members of the Fellowship of the Ring from Orcs. In the Game of Thrones, it appears that Sean went over to the Dark Side ...

Ned Stark

Cheers,
Bill

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

waseeley

* "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration" - Thomas Edison

Wednesday, May 29, 2024. Matthew Stock

Theme:  You can't have one without the other.  Sometimes things just go together, as we shall soon see.  Or, if you got the circles, might be seeing already.  The near-by ends of the two words in each theme fill feature the same letter.

16. Marine animal that resembles a flower: SEA ANEMONE.  These are are a group of predatory marine invertebrates constituting the order Actiniaria. Because of their colorful appearance, they are named after the Anemone, a terrestrial flowering plant. You can read more about it here.

23. Branch of mathematics focused on collections: SET THEORY.   Set theory is the branch of mathematical logic that studies sets, which can be informally described as collections of objects. Although objects of any kind can be collected into a set, set theory — as a branch of mathematics — is mostly concerned with those that are relevant to mathematics as a whole.  I just barely squeaked through calculus, so that's all I've got.  If you want more you can start here. 

37. Chance to get together and take shots?: PHOTO OP.  This is an arranged opportunity to take a photograph of a politician, a celebrity, or an event.

48. Genre for 1980s hair bands: GLAM METAL.   A subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam rock ---  performed by male musicians who wore flamboyant and feminine clothing, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter, and female musicians who wore masculine clothing.

59. Kittens who should be adopted together, or what can be found in this puzzle's circles: BONDED PAIR.   Two cats that have a special relationship and the adoption center wants to place them in a home together.  There are also bonded pair dogs.   Separation would be traumatic for them.

Our BONDED PAIRS are the last letter of the first word and the first letter of the second word in each theme entry, as indicated by the circles.  This theme has an original concept, and a clever use of the unifier.

Hi gang, JzB here. Theoretically, I guess all the fill in this puzzle would constitute a set.  With no further theorizing, let's check it out.  

LATE EDIT Just before pushing the Publish button I noticed that the paired letters in sequence are A, T, O, and M, spelling ATOM.  So what we have in our bonded pairs are 2 ATOMS.  This makes it a chemical bond, and raises it to a whole new level of clever elegance. The long obsolete chemist in me heartily approves.   Very impressive! 

Across:

1. Retail club similar to Costco: SAM'S.   An American chain of membership-only warehouse club retail stores owned and operated by Walmart Inc.

5. Coin flip call: HEADS.  This refers to the front side, or obverse surface, of a coin.  The other side is the reverse or tails.

10. Pine family tree: FIR.    Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus Abies in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The genus is most closely related to Cedrus (cedar). The genus name is derived from the Latin "to rise" in reference to the height of its species. The common English name originates with the Old Norse, fyri, or the Old Danish, fyr.

13. Sitting on: ATOP.  On top of.

14. Arm joint: ELBOW.  The joint  where your humerus (your upper arm bone) meets your radius and ulna (the two bones in your forearm). It joins your upper arm to your forearm. Your elbow also contains cartilage, ligaments, muscles, nerves and blood vessels. Your elbow moves in two main directions.    There is no truth to the rumor that it is named after a macaroni noodle.

15. Singer and civil rights activist Horne: LENA.  Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (1917 – 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving on to Hollywood and Broadway.  A groundbreaking African-American performer, Horne advocated for civil rights and took part in the March on Washington in August 1963.

18. Possesses: OWNS.   Has and holds as property.

19. Open-toed shoe: SANDAL.  A low-cut shoe that fastens by an ankle strap

20. Payable now: DUE.   Expected at or planned for at a certain time.

21. Dance Dance Revolution move: STEP.   A single element of a dance.

22. Term of address that elides a letter: MA'AM.  Shart for madam.

25. Creature in Sherpa folklore: YETI.   An ape-like creature purported to inhabit the Himalayan mountain range in Asia. In Western popular culture, the creature is commonly referred to as the Abominable Snowman. 

27. Virtuous one: SAINT.  A person of exceptional holiness of life, formally recognized as such by the Christian Church, especially by canonization. Less formally, a person of great holiness, virtue, or benevolence.

28. Contributes: ADDS.  Puts in.

31. "Kapow!": BLAM.  Catroon sound efects for explosions.

34. Guinness, for one: STOUT.   A dark beer that is generally warm fermented.

36. "You stink, ref!": BOO.   Common expression of disdain.

39. Slam Dunk Contest org.: NBA.  National Basketball Assocoation.

40. Pixy Stix contents: SUGAR.  Pixy Stix are sweet and sour colored powdered candy usually packaged in a wrapper that resembles a drinking straw.  Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. 

42. Episodic drama: SAGA.  The word saga has its origins in the Middle Ages. In those days, a saga was an historical tale of the first families who lived in Norway or Iceland. Today the word is used to describe a very complicated or detailed series of events. 

43. "Come on now": JEEZ.  An expression of surprise, disappointment or disdain.

44. Underneath: BELOW.  Located under or lower than something else.

46. Minor in astronomy?: URSA.  The little bear, also known as the little dipper constellation.

51. Parts of plays: ACTS.   An act is a major division of a theatre work, including a play, film, opera, ballet, or musical theatre, consisting of one or more scenes.

54. Mother of Apollo and Artemis: LETO.   Leto is a Titan and the mother of the gods Apollo and Artemis in classical Greek mythology. She is the daughter of Coeus and Phoebe, and her main legends take place on Delos and Delphi. Leto is known as the goddess of fertility and motherhood, and is also known as Kourotrophos, which means "Rearer of Youths". Leto's story includes being pregnant by Zeus, seeking refuge on Delos to give birth, and suffering misfortunes due to her relationship with Zeus. 

55. Thanksgiving, e.g.: Abbr.: THU.   Thursday

56. "I'm one of them too!": LIKE ME.  having something in common.

58. Lends a helping hand: AIDS.   Assists.

61. Catch sight of: SPOT.  Eye, espey, obsrve.

62. __ Martin: British car: ASTON.   Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC  is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with expensive grand touring cars in the 1950s and 1960s, and with the fictional character James Bond following his use of a DB5 model in the 1964 film Goldfinger. Their grand tourers and sports cars are regarded as a British cultural icon.

63. Norway's capital: OSLO.   the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of 709,037 in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022.   During the Viking Age, the area was part of Viken. Oslo was founded as a city at the end of the Viking Age in 1040 under the name Ánslo, and established as a kaupstad or trading place in 1048 by Harald Hardrada. The city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V of Norway around the year 1300. 

64. Go limp: SAG.   Droop.

65. Naps, say: RESTS.   Ceases work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength.

66. Simple tops: TEES.  A short-sleeved casual top, generally made of cotton, having the shape of a T when spread out flat.

Down:

1. Back talk: SASS.   Impudence; cheek.

2. Starting five, e.g.: A TEAM.   A group consisting of the best members of a larger group; an elite group.

3. Disney heroine who sings "How Far I'll Go": MOANA.   An adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana meets the once-mighty demigod Maui, who guides her in her quest to become a master way-finder. Together they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds.

4. Some self-care opportunities: SPA DAYS.   A day spent on a visit to a spa, which is a place that offers relaxation, luxury, and beauty treatments. 

5. Element of high fashion?: HEEL.   High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels or pumps, are a type of shoe with an upward-angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the wearer appear taller, and accentuate the calf muscle.

6. __ City: New Haven nickname: ELM.   New Haven had the first public tree planting program in the U.S., producing a canopy of mature trees (including some large elms) that gave the city the nickname "The Elm City".

7. Place to call home: ABODE.   The place where one lives.

8. Breakfast-on-the-run choice: DONUT.   a type of pastry made from leavened fried dough.   The two most common types are the ring doughnut and the filled doughnut, which is injected with fruit preserves, cream, custard, or other sweet fillings.

9. Candy: SWEETS.    A confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. 

10. Maybe not any at all: FEW TO NONE.   A description of rarity or very long odds.

11. Float in some water rides: INNER TUBE.   An inflatable torus that forms the interior of some pneumatic tires. The tube is inflated with a valve stem, and fits inside of the casing of the tire. The inflated inner tube provides structural support and suspension, while the outer tire provides grip and protects the more fragile tube.

12. Coarse-sounding: RASPY.    Unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound.   I can relate since as I write this, my voice is in the 2nd sub-basement.

15. Succumb to one's emotions: LOSE IT.  A temporary inability to control one's emotions, typically in response to anger, fear or sorrow. 

17. Title: NAME.   These words are synonymous when applied to written works or musical compositions, but not when applied to people.

23. Farm fixtures: SILOS.    Structures for storing bulk materials.   Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be confused with a grain bin, which is used to store grains. The typical structure is a right circular cylander.

24. Padlock holder: HASP.   A clasp for a door, lid, etc., especially one passing over a staple and fastened by a pin or a padlock.

26. "Candidly," in texting: TBH.   To Be Honest.

28. Muscles stretched in cobra pose: ABS.   Abdominals.

29. High-ABV hoppy beer: DOUBLE IPA.    A  type of IPA that contains more hops and malt than a regular IPA:

30. Extremely competitive: DOG EAT DOG.   Used to refer to a situation of fierce competition in which people are willing to harm each other in order to succeed.

32. __ snail's pace: AT A. Making distressigly slow progress

33. Bigwig: MOGUL.  An important or powerful person, especially in the motion picture or media industry.

35. Toon devil: TAZ.  This guy.

37. Gathering for senior partners?: PROM.  I guess this is referring to a formal high school dance party, attended by seniors and their dates.

38. Source of water power?: OAR.  For powering a canoe.

41. "So close": ALMOST.   Missed it by that much.

43. "Bingo!": JACKPOT.  The big winner.

45. Mixologist's amenity: WET BAR.   A small bar used for mixing and serving alcoholic beverages that includes a sink with running water, as opposed to a "dry bar" that does not include a sink.

47. Uttered: SAID.  Spoken.

48. Pane piece: GLASS.  A portion of a window.

49. This and that: THOSE.  More than one thing.

50. Some godmothers: AUNTS.   Moms' sisters.

52. Needle: TEASE.   Make fun of or attempt to provoke someone in a playful or pseudo-playful way.

53. Happy face: SMILE.  An facial expression denoting pleasure.

56. Binoculars part: LENS.   An optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. 

57. God with a bow and arrow: EROS.  Eros was the Greek god of carnal love.  Eros was the assistant, and according to some the son, of Aprhodite, the goddess of love and fertility. He made people fall in love by shooting an arrow into their heart.

60. Pointillism bit: DOT.  Pointillism is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image.  Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism" was coined by art critics in the late 1880s to ridicule the works of these artists, but is now used without its earlier pejorative connotation.

Now it's time to set this puzzle aside.  Hope you enjoyed the solve.

Cool regards!

JzB

Tuesday, May 28, 2024 ~ Barbara Lin

Hold On!

Blues Brothers Band covers Sam and Dave.

Today Barbara gives us four things one can hold. Only one you do for someone else...

20. Hard core exercise?: PLANK POSITION. It strengthens your "core."

27. Conference room activity: STAFF MEETING.

45. Portal to another level: ELEVATOR DOOR. Be nice; don't hit the close-door button.

53. Postgraduate pursuit: MASTERS DEGREE. One of my professors had this on his door:

Eldest just got her Masters on her way to a PhD.
//if the characters look familiar that's because
  Matt [Letterman] is also creator of The Simpsons.

58. "Not so fast!," or what one can do with 20-, 27-, 45-, and 53-Across: HOLD IT.

Across:
1. Make a splashy attempt: GO BIG or go home.

6. Cartoon cry of alarm: ACK.

IIRC, the last Cathy.

9. Beer ingredient: MALT.

13. Expert in resolving tense situations?: EDITOR. Ha! Verb tense.

15. __ favor: please, in Spanish: POR.

16. Conversely, briefly: OTOH. On The Other Hand.

17. Mark in the margin: NOTATE. Not doodle.

18. Polish brand at a nail salon: OPI.

Cajun Shrimp is the color (for Lucina :-))

19. Egg on: URGE.

20. [See: Theme]

23. Syst. of hand symbols: ASL. American Sign Language.

25. Photographer Goldin: NAN.

26. Beehive State resident: UTAHAN.

27. [See: Theme]

30. Tofu source: SOYA.

31. Right-angle bend: ELL.

32. Actress Sarandon: SUSAN.

36. Daredevil Knievel: EVEL. As a kid, I loved his stunts.

37. Angioplasty tube: STENT.

40. Land unit: ACRE.

41. Succinct: TERSE. I would say more, but it defeats the fill.

43. Neither here __ there: NOR.

44. Oblong tomato: ROMA. Love 'em for sauce.

45. [See: Theme]

49. Sneezer's need: TISSUE.

51. Feel bad about: RUE.

52. Best 5K times, e.g.: PRS. Google says it means "Personal Records."

53. [See: Theme]

56. Constellation bear: URSA.

57. Buckeye State sch.: OSU. Ohio State University (not to be confused with Oklahoma State University).

58. [See: Theme]

61. Tart-tasting: SOUR.

62. Writing tool: PEN.

63. To the max: SO MUCH.

64. 13-Across's override: STET.

65. Yellowstone ruminant: ELK.

66. Matter of debate: TOPIC.

Down:
1. __ Z: Zoomers: GEN.  My kids are.  Keeps me young (at least insofar as the modern-day vernacular).

2. Automotive prefix with meter: ODO. The odometer measures milage (or kms for C, Eh!).

3. Performer with a small role: BIT PLAYER.

4. Slanted type, for short: ITAL. Italics.

5. Failed, in a way: GOT AN F. Most of my spelling tests in grade school. Spellcheck makes me look smarter than I am #dyslexia!

6. Informal pricing words: A POP.

7. Flimsy excuse: COPOUT.

8. Figure skater Yamaguchi: KRISTI.

9. Device that protects teeth and gums: MOUTH GUARD.

10. Bright and airy areas of some malls: ATRIA.

11. Connect after entering credentials: LOGON.

12. "And __ what happened?": THEN.

14. Gives a new handle to, as a rescue pet: RENAMES.

21. Prepared to propose, possibly: KNELT.

22. Writers McEwan and Fleming: IANS.

23. Money in the bank, say: ASSET.

24. Hot appliance: STOVE.

28. Sprinter's before-the-gun error: FALSE START.

Football False Starts

29. Kagan of the Supreme Court: ELENA. When she was 8yrs old, Youngest listened to Sotomayor's hearings on NPR in the back seat on the way to school. About a week later, she announced she was going to be a Supreme Court Justice. She's studying for the LSAT as I type.

33. Grabbed with both hands: SCOOPED UP.

34. Knight's suit: ARMOR.

35. Comes close: NEARS.

38. "The Hunchback of __ Dame": NOTRE.

Youngest was in Paris a few weeks back and snapped this.

39. Slop holders on a farm: TROUGHS.

42. Otherwise: ELSE.

46. Liechtenstein's continent: EUROPE.

47. Boat or gravy boat: VESSEL.

48. Propagate anew: REROOT. The girls & I repotted our cacti yesterday. We rooted the "arms" of Bullwinkle that broke off in our effort.

49. Divination deck with 78 cards: TAROT.

50. Matter of debate: ISSUE.

53. Dishevel, with "up": MUSS.

54. Action with a basketball or a cookie: DUNK. Eldest bought Pepperidge Farm's London Fog w/ Earl Grey. They were delicious w/ milk. //so I got two more packages :-)

55. Ticklish Muppet: ELMO.

59. Here, in Quebec: ICI. I'm assuming that's French.

60. CBD-like compound in some edibles: THC. Can's miss the seemingly hundreds of CBD stores that have popped-up in the last few years. They're at every strip-center (along with a liquor store, a massage parlor, and a kids' learning center(?!?)). Tetrahydrocannabinol - the part of "the devil's lettuce" that makes one high.

The Grid:

The Grid

The skinny:
WOs: N/A
ESPs: PRS, NAN, ICI
Fav: I'll go with ROMAs from ITALy :-)

Cheers, -T

Monday May 27, 2024 Amanda Cook

  

sumdaze here, wishing you a Happy Memorial Day! This national holiday commemorates all the men and women who have died in U.S. military service.  

We had three themed clues today:

17 Across. Manually adjusted camera lens: OPTICAL ZOOM.

27 Across. Run-scoring out in baseball: SACRIFICE FLY.

44. Tech genius: COMPUTER WHIZ.

The reveal is at: 

59 Across. Heartfelt tribute, or what can be found at the ends of 17-, 27-, and 44-Across?: MOVING WORDS.

I am sure that many MOVING WORDS will be said today as part of the various Memorial Day activities across the country. Nicely done, Amanda and Patti!

As for the themed answers ... ZOOM, FLY, and WHIZ are all words with a movement connotation. Look closely, however. None of them convey motion in their themer states. ZOOM is referring to a type of lens, FLY is referring to a type of hit, and WHIZ is referring to a type of person. Amanda has provided a textbook demonstration of how the meanings of the themed answers should transform in the reveal.  👍👍

Let's move on to the other clues:

Across:
1. Person who may win an Emmy: ACTOR.  Here is a list of 124 Emmys that were awarded in January 2024 for achievements in 2023.

6. Stogie: CIGAR.

11. Toe bean spot: PAW.  New to me ... toe beans are a cat's paw pads. I asked the internet if dogs could have toe beans. Here is one poster's take:

While this subreddit is primarily for cats toes, other animal toes are allowed as long as they are cute and jellybean-like.

14. Jeweler's magnifier: LOUPE.  

This jeweler is wearing a LOUPE.

15. Make amends: ATONE.

16. Pub quaff: ALE.

19. Fish eggs: ROE.

20. Prefix meaning 41-Across: OTO-.     and     41 Across. Hearing organ: EAR.

For example, OTOmycosis is a fungal infection of the ear.

21. Graphic consulted before a cross-country road trip, for short: U.S. MAP.  

Hand up if you like these U.S. MAPs made out of license plates!

22. Paid for a poker hand: ANTED.  

24. Anticipate: FORESEE.  Def.: to see (something, such as a development) beforehand.

26. Linger: STAY.  

32. In base eight: OCTAL.  A base 8 system only uses the digits 0 - 7. As a result, "8" is written as "10", "9" is written as "11", and "10" is written as "12". How do you think one would write "16"? Just continue the pattern and you will see that the answer is "20".

35. Book of Genesis shipbuilder: NOAH.  

36. Belonging to us: OUR.

37. Blueberry desserts: PIES.  Time for our first tune....  

Fats Domino performs Blueberry Hill on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956.

It must have been difficult to play the piano while maintaining eye contact with the camera.

He makes it look easy!

38. First Nations carving: TOTEM.

40. Boring: DULL.     and     30 Down. Break in the action: LULL.

Side note:  The village of Dull, Scotland became sister cities with Boring, Oregon in 2012. Bland Shire, Australia joined them in 2013, creating what some people call the "Trinity of Tedium".

42. Uncommon: RARE.

43. "My, my!": GOLLY.  

Jim Nabors played PFC Gomer Pyle from 1964 to 1969.
He could stretch out GOLLY to five syllables.

48. Charged particles: IONS.

49. "Try a sample!": HAVE ONE.  

53. Black-and-white bamboo eater: PANDA.  I recently heard on Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! a news story about a zoo that drew criticism for painting dogs to look like PANDAs. They look pretty convincing to me! 

55. Letter-shaped skirt style: A-LINE.

57. Quarterback Tagovailoa who led the NFL in passing yards in 2023: TUA.  

He plays for the Miami Dolphins.

58. Obamacare, initially: ACA.  Affordable Care Act

62. Feline: CAT.     and     65 Across. Tuxedo accessory: TIE.  

A black & white cat is often called a "tuxedo CAT".
This one is sporting a bow TIE.

63. Offer a perspective: OPINE.

64. "Practice makes perfect," e.g.: ADAGE.  

66. Poet John known for 61-Downs: KEATS.

67. Affirmative answers: YESES.

Down:
1. Hard to form a bond with: ALOOF.

2. Admit guilt in: COP TO.  I cannot say for certain; but, a quick web query seems to indicate that COP TO is short for "COP TO a plea (bargain)". The latter is specific to when the accused admits to a lighter crime to avoid the likelihood of a more severe sentence. Eventually, "COP TO" became slang for admitting to doing something. 

3. Academic coach: TUTOR.

4. Nail polish brand with a Barbie collection: OPI.  

5. Self-disqualification: RECUSAL.  Def.:  to remove (oneself) from participation to avoid a conflict of interest.

6. More relaxed: CALMER.

7. Chichen __: Mayan ruins: ITZA.  In 1988 Chichen Itza was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site and in 2007 it was voted in a global survey as one of the New Seven wonders of the World.  UNESCO website  Perhaps we can dispatch Picard to go take some photos for us?

8. Yucky muck: GOOP.

9. "That's __-brainer!": A NO.

10. Competitor's chance for redemption: REMATCH.  

11. Spilling red wine on the host's white couch, say: PARTY FOUL.  We had this answer in this recent puzzle by Irish Miss and C.C.  😄

12. __ vera gel: ALOE.  Have you tried the ALOE vera drinks with little pieces of gel at the bottom? I like them.  

13. Dandelion, e.g.: WEED.  How Dandelions Benefit You and Your Yard

18. "Just __": "Be right back": A SEC.

23. Scottish refusal: NAE.

25. Those, in Spanish: ESAS.  Spanish uses different words for "those", depending on whether it is functioning as a pronoun (esos) [How much are those?], an adjective for a masculine noun (eses) [How much are those tacos?], or an adjective for a feminine noun (ESAS) [How much are those apples?]. Without any hints in the clue, we are left waiting for perps.

26. Former name of Thailand: SIAM.  "Siam" changed to "Thailand" on June 24, 1939. It was briefly renamed "Siam" from 1946 to 1948.

28. Prefix with net or com: INTER-.

29. Adversary: FOE.

31. Every 12 mos.: YRLY.  "Months" is abbreviated, so is "YeaRLY".

32. Oil cartel acronym: OPEC.  Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

33. Italian goodbye: CIAO.

34. Conclude: TERMINATE.  This ended up being a nice, 9-letter symmetrical partner to PARTY FOUL.

38. Body ink, casually: TATS.  Perhaps you have heard Groucho Marx sing Lydia the Tattooed Lady, but have you heard Kermit's version?

39. Mine find: ORE.

40. Quick snooze: DOZE.

42. Go wild: RUN AMOK.  "AMOK" is a fun word.  

Perhaps he should try some 55-Downs.

43. Buckle: GIVE WAY.  Tricky, tricky! Here is a famous video (1:10 min.) of a bridge BUCKLing.  

45. Edamame component: POD.  "Mame" (pronounced mah-mayh) means "bean" in Japanese. Edamame are soybeans. They are a popular appetizer in Hawaii (and elsewhere). This is how I prepare them:  Heat a box of frozen edamame still in their PODs in the microwave. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve. Super simple, right?!  

Eat them as a finger food. You can "pinch" out the beans.
Do not eat the PODs!

46. Complains petulantly: WHINES.

47. Put up, as curtains: HANG.

50. Others, in Spanish: OTRAS.  Again, we need perps to know the last vowel.

51. Prod gently: NUDGE.

52. Makes less complicated: EASES.

53. Treaty: PACT.

54. Berry in some purple smoothies: ACAI.

55. Adidas competitor: AVIA.  Both are sport shoe companies.

This is the final word beginning with the letter "A". Today's grid had three 3-letter, four 4-letter, and six 5-letter words that begin with the letter "A". Not that there's anything wrong with that....

56. Dryer buildup: LINT.

60. Midwestern exclamation of surprise: OPE.  Perhaps someone from The Midwest can elaborate?

61. Poem of praise: ODE.  Here is a delightful poem of praise by Mingyu Y. entitled, Ode to crosswords:  Are you down for a cross?

You know, all this moving talk makes me think we will need some moving boxes. You will find more than enough below:

That's all for today. Please be extra safe & smart if you are traveling this holiday weekend!

Sunday May 26, 2024 Samuel A. Donaldson & Doug Peterson

Theme: "Workplay" - Each business place is literally rephrased fitting the first word in each clue.

22. Home business?: REAL ESTATE OFFICE.

39. Risky business?: INSURANCE AGENCY.

56. Pressing business?: DRY CLEANER.

70. Core business?: FITNESS STUDIO.

83. Funny business?: COMEDY CLUB.

101. Family business?: FERTILITY CLINIC.

122. Nobody's business?: SHELL CORPORATION.

Great to see Sam back with Doug. They're a terrific pair and have collaborated on many puzzles in the past.

I really like this theme type where both the theme entries & and the clues are solid in the language with wordplay involved. Both Sam and Doug are masters at wordplay. I actually read the title as "Wordplay".

Across:

1. FLOTUS after Hillary: LAURA. Bush.

6. Result of a lost front tooth, perhaps: LISP.

10. Winter accessory: SCARF.

15. Docs doing deliveries: OBS.

18. Fairy tale bullies: OGRES.

19. Kuwaiti ruler: EMIR.

20. Gainbridge Fieldhouse player: PACER. The Indiana Pacers.

21. "Sussudio" singer Collins: PHIL.

25. Sword side: EDGE.

26. Ritzy: DELUXE.

27. PJ top, perhaps: CAMI.

28. Change one's story?: EDIT.

29. Handle: NAME.

30. Sift through: CULL.

32. Small stream: RILL.

34. "They set us up!": IT'S A TRAP. 42. Fail to cooperate?: ACT ALONE. 66. Real struggle: HARD TIME. 99. Gymnastics team gear: LEOTARDS. A few favorite fill in Across.

36. Italian "That'll do!": BASTA.

44. Timid souls: MICE.

45. Division I org. based in Arlington, Texas: WAC. OK, Western Athletic Conference.

46. Efficient: LEAN.

47. Diamond with hits: NEIL. Lovely clue.

49. Pita sandwiches: GYROS.

52. Rough and disorderly: ROWDY.

59. Checker's concern: FACT.

61. Loafer, e.g.: SHOE.

62. Souvenir shop staples: TEES.

63. Pop, to baby: DADA. Baba in Chinese.

68. Buckeyes' sch.: OSU.

74. Venn diagram grouping: SET.

75. 1960s sitcom family with a pet dragon named Spot: MUNSTERS.

77. Entreaty: PLEA.

78. Formerly, once: ERST.

80. Amount countable on one hand: A FEW.

81. Partially melted: SOFT. Hmm, frozen durian.

88. Six Flags attractions: RIDES.

90. Afternoon class hour: TWO PM.

93. 127-Across's Bonneville __ Flats: SALT. 127. Bryce Canyon National Park locale: UTAH.

94. Homeowner's overhaul, for short: RENO. Renovation.

95. ICU readout: EKG.

97. Response to something 98-Down: ROAR. 98. Laugh-out-loud funny: RIOTOUS.

107. Scanner brand: EPSON.

108. More than necessary: OVERMUCH. I just use "too much".

109. Wind with keys: OBOE.

110. Unnamed others: THEM.

112. Slimming procedure, for short: LIPO.

113. Gothic governess: EYRE.

115. Guesses from late guests, briefly: ETAS.

117. Lack of pep: ANEMIA.

121. "Hooked on Classics" record label: K-TEL.

125. Make waterproof: SEAL.

126. Doomed, so to speak: TOAST.

128. Run the __: GAMUT.

129. Couture monogram: YSL.

130. Weasel relative: OTTER.

131. Okay: SO SO.

132. Kimberly of "Diary of a Mad Black Woman": ELISE. Oh guess what? She was born in Minneapolis.

Down:

1. Parliament member: LORD.

2. "The African Queen" screenwriter James: AGEE.

3. Intercontinental mountain range: URAL.

4. Second thoughts: RELUCTANCE. 38. "More to come": STAY TUNED. 76. Glazed treat: SWEET ROLL. And   79. Some recycling material: SCRAP METAL. And a few favorite Down fill.

5. Like one of the ace community: ASEXUAL.

6. Service that's neither good nor bad?: LET. Tennis.

7. Apple that comes in many colors: IMAC.

8. Lutelike instruments: SITARS.

9. Pump option: PREMIUM.

10. Lotion letters: SPF.

11. Central Perk, e.g.: CAFE. In "Friends".

12. Biting: ACIDIC.

13. Compete in a poetry slam: RECITE.

14. Tool that resembles a "P": FRETSAW.

15. "Fiddlesticks!": OH DARN.

16. Burger with a jingle listing its ingredients: BIG MAC.

17. Grumpy colleague: SLEEPY.

21. Whitsunday, by another name: PENTECOST. Seven Sundays after Easter.

23. Seasoning for French fries?: SEL. French for "salt".

24. North Sea work site: OIL RIG.

31. First part of many forms: LINE A.

33. Like many doilies: LACY.

35. Vegan panna cotta ingredient: AGAR. Never had "panna cotta". But agar is widely used in Chinese/Japanese desserts.

36. Lacking locks: BALD.

37. Laptop using ChromeOS, maybe: ACER.

40. Apt reply to "Does drei times drei equal acht?": NEIN.  "Does three times three equal eight?"

41. Brand with a Kids Tactical Vest Kit: NERF.

43. Tiny outfits: ONESIES.

48. What a journalist might bury, in jargon: LEDE.

50. Home of surfing's Triple Crown: OAHU.

51. Slew: SCAD.

53. Teakettles and referees, e.g.: WHISTLERS.

54. Cake stand topper: DOME.

55. Chuck, casually: YEET.

57. What just isn't right?: LEFT. Fun clue also.

58. Hoarse voice: RASP.

60. Had a go at: TRIED TO. 96. Sticks on: GLUES TO. 106. Close by: NEAR TO.

64. ISP option: DSL.Stay away from CenturyLink.

65. "Gimme __": A SEC.

67. Nemo's forgetful friend: DORY.

68. Squad-mate of Tlaib and Pressley: OMAR. The Squad in the Congress. Ilhan Omar.

69. Islamic mystic: SUFI.

71. Easy gait: TROT.

72. "H.R. wouldn't like this" warning: NSFW.

73. New Mexico art community: TAOS.

82. Rishi Sunak, for one: TORY. The UK Prime Minister.

84. Algeria neighbor: MALI.

85. To-be: ELECT.

86. Ctrl+Z action: UNDO.

87. Cap'n's deputy: BOSN.

89. Whole alternative: SKIM.

91. Slightly, on scores: POCO.

92. Argentine grape: MALBEC. Looks sweet.

100. The first "T" in TMNT: TEENAGE.

101. Down-home: FOLKSY.

102. Offers with clickable RSVP's: E-VITES.

103. Overturn: REPEAL.

104. Pain relief brand with an oxymoronic name: ICY HOT.

105. Word with empty or veiled: THREAT.

111. Snarky syllable: HAR.

114. Instead: ELSE.

116. Daycation destinations: SPAS.

118. "Rent" role: MIMI.

119. Promising notes: IOUS.

120. Pay to play: ANTE.

123. Abbr. on a copier tray: LTR.

124. "Think so, eh?": OHO.

C.C.