Friday, June 28, 2024, Zachary David Levy

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists, Malodorous Manatee here with a recap of today's puzzle by oft-time puzzle setter Zachary David Levy.  After substituting for Ch. Moe last Friday yours truly is back in his usual time slot.

Last Friday we were asked to add Oh! to get the themed answers.  Today, at five (not the more common four) places in the grid Zachary has commanded us to get rid of you.  Or ewe.  In its stead we are further bade to substitute ooo as in the cow goes moo.  Except for one place where we swap "you" for "oh" (perhaps it was left over from last week).  I am still scratching my head about that seeming anomaly.

Let's start with the unifier . . .

67 Across:  Pointless, or a phonetic hint to five of this puzzle's long answers: NO USE.  But pronounced as in to use your common sense.  No yous.  No ewes.

. . . and then see how it is applied in order to produce answers to the themed clues. . .

17. Remark from a revolutionary?: THAT'S MY COUP.  From That's My Cue.  My K-YOU becomes My K-OOO.  Revolutionaries stage COUP de Etats.

25. Feature of a broken remote?: MOOT BUTTON.  From Mute Button.  M-YOU-T becomes M-OOO-T.  If the remote is broken then, I guess, this button is MOOT.

35. One gold doubloon?: A THING OF BOOTY.  From A Thing Of Beauty.  B-YOU-TEE becomes B-OOO-TEE.  Pirates' BOOTY.

49. Asset in bartending school?: POUR GENIUS.  From Pure Genius.  P-YOU-R becomes P-OH-R.  Being smart about what/how to POUR.   The one that does not quite match the others phonetically.  Perhaps P-OOO-F or Winnie the Pooh could have been employed somehow?

56. Nitwits from the past?: FOSSIL FOOLS.  From Fossil Fuels.  F-YOU-LS  becomes F-OOO-LS.  Old FOOLS from out of the past.

This is how it all appears in the grid:

The rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. "One-Punch Man" genre: ANIME.  Unfamiliar with the specific reference but quite familiar with both the use of genre and ANIME as crossword staples.

6. Diving acronym: SCUBA.  From Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

11. Pampering retreat: SPA.  Foot massages are good for the sole.

14. Wheel of Fortune setting: TAROT.  Hand up for trying to make something related to the TV show work out.

15. Goes the distance: LASTS.

16. Isn't missing: HAS.

19. PC "oops" key: ESC.

20. Serengeti pack animal: HYENA.  I was once attacked by a laughing hyena.  It's not as funny as it sounds.

21. "I feel seen!": SAME.  A bit of I-don't-know-what-kind-of-speak.  Seems to mean "You agree with me!"

22. Calligraphy array: INKS.  Hand up for PENS.

29. Karate belt level: DAN.  The DAN ranking system is used by many Japanese, Okinawan, Korean, and other martial arts organizations to indicate the level of a person's ability within a given system.

30. Alternative to seed: SOD.  Hand up for SOW (not the pig) but that would have been the verb and not the noun as we were intended to take the clue.

31. Didn't strike out, say: GOT A HIT.  A baseball reference.

32. Scare off: SPOOK.

34. Wales who co-founded Wikipedia: JIMMY.  Here is his Wikipedia page: Jimmy Wales

40. Book that may hold personal records: DIARY.  Odd use of the word records.  Unless you were setting them.  TMI.

41. Move furtively: SNEAK.  Why is leather armor the best armor to sneak around in?  It's made of hide.

43. Home of the world's busiest airport: ATLANTA.

46. "__ of course": BUT.  But, of course.

48. Brew in a 42-Down: ALE.  ALE in a KEG.

51. Remnant: DREG.  Often used in conjunction with wine.  Sometimes, society.

52. Cold, hard cash: COIN.  A coin (as opposed to a piece of paper money).  Apple Pay would be an appropriate answer but it was too long.

53. Overwhelmingly: BY FAR.

55. Greedy figure: HOG.  Colloquialism.

 A Ball HOG

62. 39-Down alum: ELI.

63. Many a seventh grader: TWEEN.    An age-related reference.

64. Match, in grammar: AGREE.  ... and in other fields, too.

65. Some ER figures: MDS.  Abbreviated clue -  Emergency Rooms.  Abbreviated answer - Medical DoctorS.  One of many abbreviations in today's clues and answers.

66. Metallic sound: CLANG.  Hand up for CLINK.

Down:

1. Parent company of Cricket Wireless: ATT.  The clue was not abbreviated but, then again, does anyone call it the American Telephone and Telegraph Company?

2. "Pass": NAH.  The quotations marks indicate that the answer will be something someone might say.

3. 403(b) alternative: IRA.  Often clued with a 401 (k) reference.

4. Some lepidopterans: MOTHS.  Lepidopterans is an order of winged insects that includes butterflies and moths.

5. "Keep Commerce Human" company: ETSY.  A new way to clue this common crossword answer.

6. Surreptitious assent: SLY NOD.

7. Crème de __: CACAO.  MENTHE and CASSIS were both six letters.

8. Service gp.: USO.  United Service Organizations is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed Forces and their families.

9. Window unit meas.: BTU.  As in widow-mounted air conditioner.  British Thermal Unit.

10. Egyptian snake: ASP.   A frequent slitherer.

11. Form-fitting dress: SHEATH.  Yesterday we had a shift dress.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

12. Dijon denial: PAS MOI.  "Not me", en français.

13. Way up: ASCENT.  What is the worst thing about going up the stairs behind someone?  The ASCENT.

18. Office posting: MEMO.  The posting bit threw me off a bit.  

21. Decide not to retire: STAY ON.

22. Licenses, e.g.: IDS.  Used, here, as a noun.  Can I say used in this recap?

23. County east of Sonoma: NAPA.

24. Tangled clump: KNOT.  What do you call a monkey caught up in a KNOT?  An orangutangle.

26. Cry at the end of the week: TGIF.  All together, now . . .

27. Get no laughs, say: BOMB.  Colloquialism for failure.

28. Maximal: UTMOST.

30. Activity where newcomers practice "pizza" and "french fries": SKIING.  This one the Manatee knew immediately.  In reality "wedge" and "parallel" but the kids prefer to call it Pizza and French Fries (from the shape the skis make).  For the uninitiated:

33. "Phooey": OH DARN.  It took a while to see if it would be OH DANG

34. Elation: JOY.

36. "Great" detective of kid-lit: NATE.

37. Nickname for Mom's mom: GRAN.

38. Salty drop: TEAR.  Not as in to TEAR a piece of paper.

39. New Haven school: YALE. A job interviewer asked me why I had a 4-year gap in my resume. I told him that was when I went to YALE. He looked impressed and told me I was hired.  Woohoo, I got the yob!

42. See 48-Across: KEG.  ALE in a KEG.

43. Tough HS science class: AP CHEM.  HS as in High School.  AP as in Advanced Placement.

44. Past a certain cutoff: TOO OLD.  Too close to home.

45. "__ Mansion": Nintendo series: LUIGIS.  A video game reference.

46. Believing, so to speak: BUYING.  Are you BUYING what Patti and Zachary are selling"?

47. Sports org. revived in 2022 after a 37-year hiatus: USFL.

50. Playwright Henrik: IBSEN.  A proper noun that this solver actually knew.

51. Jason Momoa's "Game of Thrones" role: DROGO.  A proper noun that this solver did not know.  Thanks, perps.

54. Sign-off from an admier: A FAN.  Not a ceiling FAN.

56. Org. concerned with price-fixing: FTC.

57. Rice University athlete: OWL.

58. __ salt: SEA.  PINK HIMALAYAN, EPSOM and CURING were all too long.

59. Tulsa sch.: ORU.  Hand up for first trying OSU.

60. French article: LES.  LES DES CES MES SES.   The leading perp will tell us.

61. Catch: SEE.  Last Friday it was Catches = Spots

Thanks for catching the recap.  See you in a couple of weeks

__________________________________________________________

Thursday, June 27, 2024, John Michael Currie

 

  Rarely do I find a splash screen that explicitly reveals the reveal (see if you can spot it) ...

Missed it?  Here it is ...

59. Rodentlike features, and a phonetic hint to a segment of 18-, 23-, 36-, and 50-Across: BEADY EYES. And without further ado, here are the 4 themers, provided to us by constructor John Michael Currie  ...

18A. Sea creature who lived across the Strait of Messina from Scylla: CHARYBDIS.  As described by Odysseus on his 10 year voyage home from the Trojan War (see also 46D).  The phrase "between the Scylla and the Charybdis" is also a metaphor sometimes used for "being caught between the horns of a dilemma".

Charybdis

23A. Objects for separating subjects: TAB DIVIDERS.  Adjectives?

36A. Seafood appetizer often seasoned with Old Bay: CRAB DIP. Teri's recipe for this popular Chesapeake Bay delight is posted on C.C.'s Ginger Roots Blog. 

50A. Land of giants in "Gulliver's Travels": BROBDINGNAG.  These creatures of Jonathan Swift's imagination are not only 60 feet tall, but they are also moral giants who have nothing to fear.

Still don't see it?  Patti made it a lot harder than the hat trick from last week -- and certain members of our community will love the fact that there are no circles, stars, question marks, or any other cruciverbalist crutches, so I guess we'll need the grid 😀...
 

... Now say BDI 4 times real fast!

Here are the rest of the clues ...

Across:

1. False earnestness: SMARM.

6. Sawbuck halves: ABES.  A sawbuck is a $10 bill and an ABE is a $5 bill.

10. "Pencils down": TIME.

14. World capital once called Thang Long: HANOI.  My brother-in-law is from a capital just South of there now called Ho Chi Minh City, once called SAIGON.  But that terrible time in history has passed, and he has returned to beautiful Viet Nam a few times to lecture on his cancer research.

Hanoi Travel Guide

15. Zoom: RACE.

16. Human rights lawyer Clooney: AMAL.  Amal Clooney (née Alamuddin; born in Beirut, Lebanon, on 3 February 1978). is a British international human rights lawyer. Notable clients of hers include former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed, Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and Iraqi human rights activist Nadia Murad. She is fluent in English, French, and Arabic and has held various appointments with the Government of the United Kingdom and the United Nations, and is also an adjunct law professor at Columbia Law School.

Amal Clooney

17. Bonus feature: ADD ON.

18. [Theme clue].

20. Like good things happening to good people: KARMIC.  The adjective form of the noun KARMA.

22. Not obviously true: ARGUABLE.  I suppose if something is actually TRUE and you argue against it, then you are WRONG! 😀

23. [Theme clue].

25. Staffer: AIDE.

26. Norman Lear's specialty: SITCOMS.  The most famous of which is probably All in the Family.  It had a really great laugh track ...

30. Establish anew, as authority: REASSERT.

34. Sandwich cookie: OREO.  EKTORP.

35. End of a professor's address: EDU.

36. [Theme clue]

40. Heat quickly: ZAP.

41. Mattress option: FIRM.

43. Some "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" characters: DEMIGODS.  After viewing clips for several video adaptations, I decided they were rated NFA (Not For Adults) and decided they were probably not the best way to teach kids Greek Mythology. I haven't read any of the novels, but  this should tell you all you need to know.

45. Onset of: START TO.

49. Isolated group of employees: SILO.  An information SILO, or a group of such silos, is an insular management system in which one information system or subsystem is incapable of reciprocal operation with others that are, or should be, related. Thus information is not adequately shared but rather remains sequestered within each system or subsystem, figuratively trapped within a container like grain is trapped within a silo, or a human actually trapped in an office cubicle.  It can be a frustrating experience ...

50. [Theme clue]

54. Person experiencing the bystander effect, perhaps: ONLOOKER.

57. Heroic sister of children's literature: GRETEL.  "Hansel and Gretel" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of Grimms' Fairy Tales.  There have been many adaptations of it over the years, including an opera by Engleburt Humperdink (no relation to the singer Arnold George Dorsey MBE) and a 1987 film starring Cloris Leachman ...

59. [Theme reveal]

61. Ticked off: IRATE.

62. Check status: VOID.

63. Cozy retreat: NEST.

64. Truly stuck: MIRED.

65. Home of Lucas Oil Stadium, familiarly: INDY.  The venue for the yearly Indianapolis 500 Race.  And if you're not into racing Taylor Swift will be there in November. 😀

66. SoCal school: SDSU.  San Diego State University.

67. Snail trail: SLIME. Or the  trail of an ethereal, supernatural presence ...

Down:
1. Literary citation abbr.: SHAK.  Not ibid, op. cit., et. alia, but this guy ...

William Shakespeare
1564-1616

2. Cross with: MAD AT.

3. "The United States vs. Billie Holiday" Oscar nominee Day: ANDRA. Andra Day plays Lady Day in this 2021 musical drama (some profanity) ...

4. iRobot products: ROOMBAS.  Not the dance.  The vacuum cleaners ...

A PSA by iRobot*

5. Bygone audio format: MINIDISC. MiniDisc (MD) is an erasable magneto-optical disc-based data storage format offering a capacity of 60, 74, and later, 80 minutes of digitized audio first distributed in November of 1992 and the last was sold in March of 2013.  It is highly likely though that operational versions of MiniDisc players are owned by the National Archives, as they are tasked with maintaining the capability to make available any US government records in any medium to duly authorized persons.

MiniDisc reader and disc

6. Character's beginning, middle, and end: ARC. Initially I thought this might be a meta-clue, as the letters A, R, and C appear in it.  But anyone who writes fiction is familiar with the the evolution of a character in the course of a story, especially the protagonist.  Here is an intro on How to Write a Captivating Character Arc, offered by the tutorial site MasterClass.

7. Faith founded in Persia: BAHAI. ISLAM didn't play very well with the perps and then I remembered that although it is practiced in what is modern day IRAN, Islam was actually founded in SAUDI ARABIA.  The BAHAI faith however was founded in the 19th century in what was then Persia.  The governing body of the Baháʼís is in modern day Haifa, Israel.

Seat of the Universal House of Justice

8. Paperless Post offerings: ECARDS. 

9. Pianist Rachmaninoff: SERGEI.  In addition to being a great pianist, he was a great Russian composer, my favorite actually. Here is a 3:30 min. excerpt from his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini featuring the titular theme.  The work premiered at the Lyric Theatre in Baltimore in 1934, with Rachmaninoff at the piano ...

If you want to hear the rest of the piece, the YouTuber who posted it has a link to the full-length version (23:33) in his comments.

10. Hot sauce from Louisiana: TABASCO.  A CSO to HOTOOLAH! 😀

11. Website with a STARmeter: IMDB.  Internet Movie DataBase.  IMHO this site is in need of a major  upgrade and I'd rate it ⭐⭐.  I find that the Wikipedia is a much more useful tool for researching entertainment sites.

12. Vote by __: MAIL.

13. Otherwise: ELSE.

19. Circular shelter: YURT.  A teepee on the Mongolian steppes ...

Yurts

21. Beer alternative: CIDER.  Cider is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. It is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, as well as the largest cider-producing companies. Ciders from the South West of England are generally higher in alcoholic content.   We've had it in France, where it is a local cottage industry. In the US it's generally referred to as hard cider, to distinguish it from the unfermented fruit juice. It is brewed to varying degrees of dryness.

24. Designer Wang: VERA.

27. Short-cut pasta: ORZO.

28. Beer alternative: MEAD.  The main ingredient of this beer is made by bees.  Mead is the first known alcoholic beverage consumed by mankind and is believed to predate wine by nearly three thousand years.  Everything you need to know about it.  Hand up if you've ever imbibed it? ✋

Mead

29. Soaks (up): SOPS.

30. Penalizing sorts, for short: REFS.  Da bums!

31. Trade unions for onions?: EDIT.  Just replace the U with an O!  Luv them meta clues. 😀

32. Vibe: AURA.

33. Brief "Not sure yet": TBD.

37. Comedian Lydic: DESI. Desi Lydic is an American comedian and actress who is a senior correspondent on The Daily Show. She got her start in the 2001 parody film Not Another Teen Movie. She's a little edgy, so it took me a while to come up with this clip, which includes her treading water in Iceland while she explores gender equality with some of the natives; plus more interviews on the same subject with Namibians and Spaniards.  All you guys out there might want to skip this ...

38. Chatting on Slack, for short: IMING. Internet Messaging.

39. Voyagers of 1620: PILGRIMS.

42. Victim in Clue: MR BODDY.  Mr. Mustard didn't cut it, but one of these perps did ...

44. Sister of Regan and Cordelia: GONERIL.  A 1D reference to the play King Lear and a CSO to our beloved Ol' Man Keith -- here's his Wiki.

46. "Iliad" city: TROY.  The city and the legend of the Trojan War.

The Trojan Horse

Spoiler alert -- according to Jeopardy maven Ken Jennings, most of what has been passed down to us about the Trojan Horse is found in Virgil's Aeneid.

47. Arcade currency: TOKENS.

48. Did as instructed: OBEYED.

51. Shift, for one: DRESS.  A shift dress is a dress in which the cloth falls straight from the shoulders and has darts around the bust. It frequently features a high scoop or boat neck (like I have any idea what they are 😀)

Shift Dress
Ann Taylor for $159.

52. Arcade pioneer: ATARI.

53. Phrase beginning a chase scene, maybe: GET EM.  ... and often ending with Book 'em Danno!

54. Slangy "Duh": OBVI.  Obviously!

55. Club light: NEON.

56. Put down: LAID.  "... The best LAID plans of mice and men ..." -- and an ODE to our theme creature by Robert Burns.

58. Journo's intro: LEDE. ALAS, embedded ads in online journalism have killed the inverted pyramid.

60. "The Simpsons" disco guy: STU. As Stu is pointing out, some of this commentary is by ChatGPT Pro.

Disco Stu

Cheers,
Bill

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

waseeley

*Copyright Isaac Asimov.  Some of the other videos I watched definitely violate at least two of Asimov's Laws of Robotics.  These devices can actually be modified to torment cats and shoot bullets!

Wed., Jun 26th, Shannon Rapp & Will Eisenberg

-

A not-too-difficult-level Wednesday for yours, "verily", but upon finishing, stared at the theme answers for too long a time, trying to determine what the reveal had to do with the other four answers.  I finally decided that it had something to do with the first and last few letters of each fill, but was not thrilled with the results; the end letters "wrap" the answers and reveal a "party".  Meh.  Nevertheless, I checked in with our host, and she agreed that I was, in fact, correct.  Sigh.  Three 11-letter and two 10-letter themers, which took up a lot of squares, and left us with some fresh fill, but also a ridiculous amount of three-letter-words (3LW).  The theme answers/reveal;

17. *Swimmer that can expand to three times its normal size: BALLOON FISH - BASH - I am shocked that BALLoon was acceptable, considering that the next theme is "BALL"

26. *Dreamhouse occupant: BARBIE DOLL - BALL - seems like a dupe to me

38. *Employee responsible for minimizing negative outcomes: RISK MANAGER - RAGER - had to look this one up; I have heard of a "RAVE" party, but a "RAGER" is new to me - and I noted, too that "SARAN" was scrambled in the answer, which is also a "wrap", so to speak. . . . .

51. *Greek salad component: FETA CHEESE - FETE - Meh.  Feta & Fete are just too close for me

61. Postshow cast celebrations, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues: WRAP PARTIES - Parties that "wrap" the theme answers, but not really; more like bookend...

I like this "Wrap Dress" party better

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. "Good heavens!": "EGAD~!" - O God, I can't believe this puzzle passed muster~!

5. Novelize, perhaps: ADAPT - Meh.  Isn't it the other way, adapting a novel TO a screenplay~?

10. Old-school cool: HEP - 3LW#1

13. Star-nosed diggers: MOLES - not pretty, but I guess it gets the job done~!

15. Skin care brand: NIVEA

16. United: ONE - 3LW#2

19. Boy of the fam: BRO - 3LW#3

20. Not needing an MD's script: OTC - Over-The-Counter; I see now that birth control AND the "little blue pills" are available without a prescription;  Hmmm - coincidence~? - And 3LW#4

21. "Black-ish" father: DRE - perps - And 3LW#5

22. Like some arcade games: COIN-OP - should there be an abbr. in the clue, or is this in the vernacular~?

24. Ego: SELF

29. Prognosticator: SEER - I am merely a proCRASTINator

30. Bath bathroom: LOO - British city Bath, British bathroom  - And 3LW#6

31. Skilled: ABLE - the Florida Panthers were ABLE to hoist the Stanley Cup Monday after winning Game Seven - sorry Oilers fans

32. Put in a little oil, say: SAUTÉ

35. Back tooth: MOLAR

41. Front-end alignment: TOE-IN - if you're "10A." like me, when you took your car to the mechanic, there were three things to correct, Toe-in/out, Camber, and Caster

42. "Veep" role for Louis-Dreyfus: MEYER - Meh.  Talk about vague - last name for a last name from a sit-com that was only on HBO five+ years ago - I just happened to recognize the name, due to the popularity of Seinfeld, but that didn't really help much

44. Many a Jordanian: ARAB

47. CGI-heavy superhero franchise: MCU - Marvel Comics Cinematic Universe - totally not my wheelhouse, and the reason why I missed "Brie" last Wednesday - my apologies to waseeley et. al. - And 3LW#7

49. Intl. oil cartel: OPEC

55. "The Possibilities Are Beautiful" retailer: ULTA

56. Contributing element: FACTOR

57. Catan resource: ORE - Catan is a board game; I invented a board game that uses "resources" as well; now I am trying to find someone who knows code, so it can be converted to a phone/tablet app; I'm willing to split the profits - And 3LW#8

59. Century divs.: YRs - 3LW#9

60. That, in Spanish: ESO - 3LW#10

65. Trig function: COS - sin, cos, tan, cot, sec, csc - take your pick - And 3LW#11

66. One holding things back?: LEVEE - I have to include this song

Did you catch the missed hi-hat~?  John Bonham - prob my fave drummer

67. Gulf of Suez peninsula: SINAI -the "incident" from three years ago; $540million fine~!

68. Explosive material: TNT - 3LW#12

69. Reproduce like salmon: SPAWN

70. Boot camp figs.: SGTs


DOWN:

1. Create a design that stands out?: EMBOSS - I did this a long time ago using the "emboss" tool from Photoshop

2. Small beards: GOATEES

3. Safe call: ALL CLEAR

4. "Doin' Time" singer Lana __ Rey: DEL - WAG - But the video is pretty cool.  A remake of a song that was already a remake of a classic song.  And 3LW#13

5. Strengthen, in metallurgy: ANNEAL

6. "What's the __?": DIFference~? - Slang - And 3LW#14

7. Pic above a username: AVI - Meh.  Avatar, abbr. - And 3LW#15

8. Joe of "Casino": PESCI - the one name I DID know

9. Largest North American alpine lake: TAHOE - HURON fit, but that's not the largest of the Great Lakes; "so what's an alpine lake~?" I wondered . . . .

10. Mingle (with): HOBNOB - Spellcheck is OK with this as one word

11. Join the club: ENROLL - meh.  "Signed up" is better suited to "clubs", IMHO

12. Folks: PEOPLE

14. Roll on the lawn: SOD - 3LW#16

18. Planet, e.g.: ORB - 3LW#17

23. Goading words: I DARE YOU - I triple DOG dare you~!

25. Frugivorous flying mammal: FRUIT BAT - I sussed frugivorous meant fruit; see the "Flying Fox"

27. Colleen Hoover's genre: ROMANCE - no clue, filled via perps - Goodreads

28. Godsend: BOON

33. General on American Chinese menus: TSO - 3LW#18

34. Scrape (by): EKE - 3LW#19

36. Quick getaway: LAM - Meh. 3LW#20

37. Number on a birthday card: AGE - 3LW#21

39. Silent actor: MIME - are you aiming for these people~?

Maybe that mime

40. Getting back (to): REPLYING

43. Opposite of charge: RETREAT - not the "deplete" of a battery, but the fall-back of a military group

44. Have an impact on: AFFECT

45. Motivation: REASON

46. For neither profit nor loss: AT COST

48. Tournament won by Coco Gauff in 2023: US OPEN - no clue, but a fairly safe WAG

50. Black currant liqueur: CASSIS

52. Some sweater necks: COWLS

53. Corp. employee in charge of recruitment: HR REP - interesting fill

54. Cy Young stat: ERA - 3LW#22

58. Triage ctrs.: ERs - 3LW#23

62. Filmmaker DuVernay: AVA - filled via perps; her IMDb - And 3LW#24

63. Syllable in a blaster imitation: PEW - there's a bird ( I believe ) that I hear every morning - I am up typically at 4am - and its call is "pew-pew, pew-pew", and it makes me think of a laser blaster every time; anyone know which bird I mean~? - And 3LW#25

64. "Verily!": "TIS~!" - think "Old English" = truly - And the final 3LW#26

 I am following Chairman Moe's lead from Fri Jun 14th, and rating this puzzle at just 1⭐

Splynter

THAT'S A WRAP

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 ~ Amie Walker

Polar Bear Club

Today we get another "downs theme." [See: last Monday].  This one from Amie Walker who, IIRC, we last saw set a puzzle for Star Wars Day (May the 4th). Today she lures us to the Polar Bear Plunge by calling it "therapy."

Let's see what I mean:

1. Temporary housing-cost regulation: RENT FREEZE.

4. "What's with the dad jokes all of a sudden?": YOU USED TO BE COOL. I've got Dad Jokes, but I'm still cool, right?

7. Streamlined date?: NETFLIX AND CHILL. Snuggle up and watch a movie at home.  Streamlined is a twist on streaming over the internet a program / film.

28. Post-workout water therapy option, or a description of the ends of 1-, 4-, and 7-Down: COLD PLUNGE. And there we have it... All the themers go down and end with a synonym for cold.

Across:
1. Not family-friendly, maybe: RACY. I was going with UN-PC first, but that depends on the family ;-)

5. Kylo of "Star Wars": REN.

8. __ pit: slam dancing spot: MOSH. The area in front of the stage where concert goers dance energetically and somewhat violently. You can also body-surf the crowd. Here's folks at a Nirvana concert running on stage and diving off into the audience.

Floyd The Barber (live)

12. Musical pace: TEMPO.

13. Gift at "no gifts" events: PRESENCE. "Just showing up is your gift to me." -Pop on Father's Day (we did get him a $$ grill too).

They agreed "No gifts" 

[WKRP @6:55 (I've been binging it (again) while DW's in Japan)]

15. Alaska's capital: JUNEAU.

16. Group that might divide and conquer?: MATH TEAM. I went to state twice (in IL & LA) with the Math Team. #Nerd!

17. Tunneling insects: ANTS.

18. __ and downs: UPS.

20. Indulgent meal: FEAST.

21. Pt. of HDTV: DEF. Hi DEFinition Television.

22. Tire inflation abbr.: PSI. Pounds / Square Inch.

23. Balkan native: SLAV.

24. __ on the side of caution: ERR.

25. Martial arts teacher: SENSEI.

27. MBA course: ECON. ECONomics is part of a Masters of Business Administration degree.

31. "My word!": EGAD.

33. Wicked spell: HEX.

34. Caramel-filled candy: ROLO.

Originally made by Mackintosh's in the UK in 1937.
Now produced by Nestle globally and Hershey's in the US.

35. Cookie with a Space Dunk variety: OREO. A new clue for an old x-word friend.

37. Princess Tiana costume topper: TIARA.

39. Whole bunch: SLEW.

40. Greek liqueur: OUZO. The Greek version of Sambuca. Both are anise [read: licorice] flavored booze. Goes great in evening coffee.

41. Not new: OLD.

42. Requirement: NEED.

44. Chicken __: trifling amount: FEED. Gramps had this tiny wooden box he made with "Three Piece Chicken Dinner" printed on the top. You open it and there are three kernels of corn inside! #GrampsJoke

45. Mixes thoroughly: BLENDS.

47. Kiss in a crowded room, for short: PDA. Public Display of Affection. eg me smooching DW full-on at a restaurant.

50. Totally wows: AWES.

52. Pretend: ACT.

53. "haha": LOL.

54. No-frills: BASIC.

56. "Ew, whyyy": UGH.

57. Taurus symbol: BULL.

58. Works too hard too fast, maybe: BURNS OUT. I attended a talk at a Cybersecurity conference on Burnout. The guy was the Musical Director for Hamilton. He'd suffered a heart attack and came up w/ a triangle of work/life balance-y stuff. No mention of "Have a beer. It'll all be just fine." :-)

60. "I wish!": IF ONLY.

62. Reason to branch out during yoga class?: TREE POSE. An Ektorp (X-word slang coin'd by Emma Oxford for "a clue whose answer you can get from context without actually knowing it." Splynter proved the rule by entering IKEA at the clue: "Maker of EKTORP sofas").

63. Pines (for): LONGS. Yearns was too long. Cue Python.

Pining for the Fjords [@1:38 of The Dead Parrot Sketch]

64. Crunchy picnic dish: SLAW.

65. Birth announcement abbr.: LBS. How many Pounds the baby weighed. I have no idea why this is important -- perhaps to spot the next heavy-weight champ?

66. Vein rich with ore deposits: LODE.

Down:
1. [See: theme]

2. Iowa college town: AMES.

3. Tax prep pro: CPA. Certified Public Accountant.

4. [See: theme]

5. Record speeds, for short: RPMS. Rotations Per Minute (per is used here in the abbr. but not in PSI... wonder why).

6. Stretch of history: ERA.

7. [See: theme]

8. Set of interactive virtual spaces: METAVERSE. Oy! Don't get me started.

9. Small bills: ONES.

10. "Shoo!": SCAT.

11. Dress edge: HEM.

12. Old TV knob: TUNER.

14. __ butter: skin care ingredient: SHEA.

15. Green gem: JADE.

19. Brooch: PIN.

22. Ad with an educational message: PSA. Public Service Announcement.

23. Clairvoyant: SEER.

26. Concealer specification: SHADE. A makeup c/a.

28. [See: theme]

29. Fotbol cheer: OLE.

30. This second: NOW.

32. "All better!": GOOD AS NEW.

35. "Yikes": OOF.

36. Be sorry about: RUE.

38. Hardships: ILLS.

43. Approximate fig.: EST. ESTimate.

46. Bother relentlessly: NAG.

48. Tea party attendees, often: DOLLS. Not Daddy?!?... the number of times I sat in that tiny chair wearing a TIARA wishing there was beer in my cup...

49. Friend: ALLY.

51. Trace of smoke: WISP.

54. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" singer Ives: BURL. I oft hum this song throughout the year - much to the chagrin of my family.

55. Field of study: AREA.

56. Great Basin people: UTES. Cue Vinny.

My Cousin Vinny clip

57. Open up to, with "with": BOND.

58. "Dynamite" K-pop group: BTS. BTS is an abbreviation for K- (Korean) Bangtan Sonyeondan which translates to Bulletproof Boy Scouts [WikiP]. DW has really gotten into K-Dramas; it's mostly light-fluff.

59. PC port letters: USB. Universal Serial Bus.

61. __ Fighters: "Learn to Fly" rock band: FOO. The front-man for Foo Fighters, known as the nicest guy in Rock & Roll -- Dave Grohl, was the drummer for Nirvana [see: 8d].
There are 3 songs that I know of titled Learning to Fly: Pink Floyd's ('87), Tom Petty's ('91), and the Foo Fighters' ('99). Google says Sheppard ('21) and Christina Aguilera ('23) also have a song titled Learning to Fly. Since the clue is about Foo Fighters (and the Video is funny (Jack Black ++the band members play the main roles)), I'll leave you with 'em b/f the grid.

And the Grid:

Da' Grid

WOs: REy -> REN, Serb -> SLAV
ESPs: N/A - Clean (of obscure names) Grid.
Fav: I'll go w/ MATH TEAM //yeah, I'm a #Geek.

Cheers!
-T

Dave Grohl's bar bill - 'cuz he just had to.

Monday June 24, 2024 Larry Snyder

  

Happy Monday, everyone! Today's offering comes to us from OVERachiever Larry Snyder. Husker Gary introduced us to Larry on his June 3, 2023 LAT debut.

Theme:                          Overdoing It!

I am always impressed when a constructer can double-up on the themers. Let's take a look:

17 Across. Like structurally significant walls: LOAD-BEARING. I knew this one from watching HGTV. It'll cost extra!

• OVERLOAD.  to load with too great a burden or cargo
• OVERBEARING.  unpleasantly domineering

30 Across. Many a beach resort condo: TIMESHARE.

• OVERTIME.  in addition to normal working hours
• OVERSHARE.  reveal an inappropriate amount of detail about one's personal life

39 Across. Taking every point, in hearts: SHOOTING THE MOON.  Hearts is a card game. explanation

• OVERSHOOTING.  going past (sometimes unintentionally)
• OVER THE MOON.  extremely happy; delighted

46 Across. Have a guilt-free conscience, so to speak: SLEEP EASY.

• OVERSLEEP.  sleep past the time one intended to wake up
• OVER EASY.  a way to cook eggs so both sides are fried but the yolk remains runny

Then the reveal:

64. Repeatedly, or what can come before the main components of 17-, 30-, 39-, or 46-Across: OVER AND OVER.

When something is said repeatedly it is said OVER AND OVER. Also, two OVERs are paired with the two parts of the themed answers. 

Well done, Larry! I especially liked your grid-spanner, SHOOTING THE MOON.  

Hmmm.... I wonder if C.C. will pay me OVERTIME for having to write two explanations for each answer?  😜

Next, I'll go OVER the remaining clues:

Across:
1. Lettuce wrap lettuce: BIBB.  Fortunately I could only think of one variety of lettuce with a 4-letter name. Here is a P.F. Chang's copy-cat recipe. It calls for ground turkey or chicken but I want to try it with tofu.

BIBB lettuce makes nice cups for the filling.

5. "Tapestry" artist King: CAROLE.  Tapestry is the title track of the second studio album by American singer-songwriter, Carole King (b. Feb. 9, 1942). Here is a version with the lyrics:  

11. Weaken: SAP.  

14. Opera solo: ARIA.     and     36 Across. Kind of soprano: MEZZO.

MEZZO-soprano ARIAs offer a rich vocal range  for the middle female singing voice (between soprano and contralto). This is Raehann Bryce-Davis singing La Luce Langue at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerp, Belgium in 2021. She will knock your socks off!  

15. Soft end of a pencil: ERASER.  cute

16. One more than bi-: TRI-.

19. Cherry shade: RED.  not the protection from the sun provided by a cherry tree

20. Creative motivation, casually: INSPO.  INSPiration

21. Floating ice chunk: BERG.  not a 4-letter nickname for iceberg lettuce (See 1-Across.)  

hanging out on the BERG

22. Actress Merrill: DINA.  (1923 - 2017)  Her father was Wall Street broker E.F. Hutton and her mother was cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. NPR ran this piece when she passed away.

23. Use oars: ROW.

25. "No harm done": IT'S OKAY.

27. Chew the fat: GAB.     and     71 Across. Chews the fat: YAKS.  

33. Beginning on: AS OF.

35. Sorento automaker: KIA.  Here are the details on the 2025 model from Car and Driver magazine. When did KIAs get so large?

43. 41-Down variety: PEKOE.     and     41 Down. Brewed beverage: TEA.

44. Floral garland: LEI.

45. How only two Super Bowls have ended, for short: IN OT.  an Easter egg??

This just happened last February when the Chiefs beat the 49ers IN OverTime in Super Bowl LVIII. The other time was seven years ago when the Patriots beat the Falcons in Super Bowl LI.

50. Moody music genre: EMO.

51. Cajole: WHEEDLE.  

53. Droop: SAG.  Blame it on gravity!

Old 97's (You know I love them!)

No Baby I from their seventh studio album, Blame it on Gravity

"You got them tears

They fall like pearls

Blame it on gravity, yeah

Blame it on being a girl"

55. Gripped: HELD.

56. __ A Sketch: ETCH.  

"screen time" in the 1960s

59. Maps app output: ROUTE.

63. In need of chicken soup, maybe: ILL.

66. "Fee, __, foe, fum": FIE.  I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread.

(Hand up for preferring the dead option when this happens.)

67. Make fizzy: AERATE.  On my recent cycling trip in the Pyrenees I tried txakoli wine (not a type-0! how to pronounce). It is not in itself fizzy but they pour it from on high so it AERATEs by the time it gets to your glass. (See the 9 sec. video below.) You are supposed to drink it quickly, before the bubbles leave. more info  

He makes this look easy! 

68. Dread: FEAR.

69. Supporting: FOR.  as in "I am FOR this ballot measure"

70. Bishop's neighbor on a chess board: KNIGHT.  

Down:
1. Indonesian island that has more than 20,000 temples: BALI.  That is about 1 temple for every 225 people. Balinese Hinduism

2. Wrinkle remover: IRON.  

3. Leaning: BIAS.  "Atilt" took today off.

4. Negative media coverage, for short: BAD PR.  Public Relations is shortened.

5. Fair grade: CEE.  

6. Part of UAE: ARAB.  United Arab Emirates

7. Hard to find: RARE.

8. Egyptian god of death and rebirth: OSIRIS.  ESP for me but it turns out he was one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt.  more info.

9. 50 meters, for an Olympic pool: LENGTH.  I liked this fresh angle! I also like a 50-meter pool. The pool where I swim these days is only 25 yards. I feel like I am constantly turning around.

10. Unit of energy: ERG.  The erg is a unit of energy equal to 10⁻⁷ joules.

11. Home plate umpire's parameter: STRIKE ZONE.  Great fill! I saw that "batter's box" fit but that did not seem quite right so I waited for a couple of perps.

12. Large stadium: ARENA.

13. March 14, to math fans: PI DAY.  3/14 is the day we celebrate 3.14  

18. Kick (out): BOOT.  

Nancy Sinatra released These Boots Are Made for Walkin' in 1966.

22. Sequence before fa-sol-la: DO RE MI.  

24. Crowdsourced site, briefly: WIKI.  Today's meta moment:  Wikipedia's entry about Wikipedia  

26. Alike: SAME.

27. Sound of shock: GASP.

28. Tennis legend Arthur: ASHE.

29. Merchant with novels, memoirs, etc.: BOOK SELLER.  I recently read Days at the Morisaki Bookshop. There is a picture of a cat on the cover so I kept waiting for a cat to appear in the story. Spoiler alert:  no cat.

31. Least amt.: MIN.  MINimum

32. Two under par, in golf: EAGLE.  

34. Tricked: FOOLED.

37. Speed (by): ZOOM.  

38. "You may be __ something there": ONTO.

40. Cued (up): TEED.

42. Angry cat sound: HISS.

47. An hour before midnight: ELEVEN.  11:00 p.m. is one hour before 12:00 a.m. Whose great idea was that?!

48. "Great" czar: PETER I.  (1672-1725)  more info

Hand up for quickly filling in P-E-T-E-R what???

49. Three feet: YARD.

51. Faint scent: WHIFF.

52. Prefix meaning "sun": HELIO-.  Helios was the Greek sun god. He drove a chariot across the sky from east to west every day.  

relief sculpture excavated at Troy

54. Silly: GOOFY.

57. Rocky projection: CRAG.  This is a 5:35 min. video about a couple looking to find a new location in Greece for sport climbing. They establish ROUTEs on a gorgeous and challenging CRAG.  

58. "Thirty days __ September ... ": HATH.  I useth the knuckle trick.  

60. Eye layer: UVEA.  

61. Flooring wood: TEAK.     and     64 Down. Flooring wood: OAK.

62. Messes up: ERRS.

65. Com alternative: NET.  Top Level Domains (TLDs) See #4 below. (Click to enlarge.) 

Here's the grid:

That's it for today. sumdaze, OVER and out!