Good Morning Cruciverbalists, Malodorous Manatee here with the lowdown on a Friday puzzle by Wendy L. Brandes. Not unlike the puzzle we solved two weeks ago, our constructor (and editor) have elected to go with a bit of "letter play". In this instance, as is often the case, the key to figuring out what is going on lies within the reveal. Today, that is located at:
52 Across. Cheer heard in the Bronx, or a phonetic hint for making the starred clues match their answers: LET'S GO YANKEES.
Well, that's crystal clear. Not! First, the reference in the clue is to New York Yankees baseball team aka the "Bronx Bombers" and not to a so-called "Bronx Cheer" aka raspberry (flatulence). Second, this solver, a lifelong Dodgers fan and son of a Brooklyn-born mother had to get past the fact that the answer is something that would never, ever pass his lips. Third, the answer seems to mean absolutely nothing. Of course that is never the case with these things. Okay, then, what does it mean? After a bit of head scratching the light bulb began to glow, albeit dimly. The first step was to notice the EA letter combination in each clue. Perhaps the key was to be found there. While the EA thing did prove to be something of a dead end it at least set this solver's feet on the right path. It's the E! Get rid of the E. YANK the EES! Or, if you prefer, Let's Go Yank EEs. Without the Es in the clues, the relationship between the clues and the answers does make sense. Here are the three places where this bit of legerdemain is employed:
20 Across. *Bean poles: STRIKE LEADERS. Bean Poles morphs into Ban Pols when we YANK (delete) the E's. Bob Dylan said it well. Ban Politicans is roughly equivalent to Strike (as is delete) your Leaders.
...and watch your parking meters
27. *Beat poet: WITCHES CAULDRON. Beat Poet morphs into Bat Pot when we yank the E's. Witches reportedly use bats (not in the baseball sense), or parts thereof, as ingredients when concocting their brews in their caldrons (large pots).
43. *Came clean: PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB. Came Clean morphs into Cam Clan. In this case a Clan (group) of Camera enthusiasts.
This how it all appears in the grid:
And, here, now, the rest of the story:
Across:
1. Like dumping someone via text: COLD. A bit of slang to start. Neil will explain. It should not require a renowned Astrophysicist to explain the first clue/answer but, hey, edification is to be found where one finds it.
5. Send to a specialist: REFER. Sometimes, within my HMO, trying to get a needed REFERal leads to a case of REFER madness.
10. Chris elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021: BOSH. Has Ch. Moe been keeping something from us? No. A proper noun that we either knew or perp'd.
14. Healing plant: ALOE. We apply quite a lot of this when solving puzzles. It often provides some relief.
15. Musical set in Argentina: EVITA.
16. Biblical preposition: UNTO. And lo, an angel appeared UNTO the prophet Isaiah, and said:
Angel: "Behold! I exceed ninety degrees!" Isaiah: "Uh... what?" But the angel gave no explanation and then vanished. Isaiah muttered: "What an obtuse angel."
17. Feature of the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign: NEON.
18. Green energy option: SOLAR. Green as in eco-freindly.
19. Not superficial: DEEP.
23. Leave speechless: AWE.
25. Drink suffix: ADE. As in lemonaADE or GatorADE or PowerADE.
26. Another name for bingo: BEANO. New to this solver.
32. Zones: AREAS.
33. Word on Rhode Island's flag: HOPE. The state motto is, simply, HOPE.
34. 525,600 minutes: YEAR. The math checks out - if it's not a leap year.
35. Starts bubbling, maybe: BOILS. A watched pot never boils. The water does.
37. Slumps: DIPS. Hand up for first thinking SAGS.
41. "It's __ real": BEEN. But has it BEEN fun?
42. Greeting on a name tag: HELLO, my name is....
49. __ Hebrides: OUTER. See also 63 Across.
50. Assistance: AID.
51. G7 member: USA. The Pols change, the countries remain the same.
57. "Holidays Symphony" composer Charles: IVES. It took IVES from 1897 to 1913 to compose all four movements and the symphony is far too long to post here.
58. "Inferno" poet: DANTE. I tried to read the book but it took an eternity for anything to happen.
59. Pride constituent: LION. Not a reference to sexual preference (refreshing after what we've grown accustom to seeing recently in our puzzles. Can I say that?). Here, kitty, kitty.
62. Actress Spelling: TORI.
63. __ Hebrides: INNER. See also 49 Across. The southernmost of the INNER Hebrides is Islay, famous for its peated whisky.
64. Movie concessions purchase: SODA. Popcorn was far too long to fit.
65. Latin infinitive: ESSE.
66. "Yikes!": EGADS. Something that someone might say.
67. Concludes: ENDS. This one appropriately concludes today's Across clues.
Down:
1. "__ you not?": CAN.
2. Chant heard at Angel City FC games: OLE. A football (soccer) reference. Often clued with a Spanish or Mexican flavored reference.
3. Leaves to steep: LOOSE TEA. Not as in departs for the kitchen. What is steeped. Tea leaves.
4. Impress accidentally?: DENT. An automobile accident will often create quite an impression.
5. Dwell: RESIDE. Someone told me as a kid that huge reptiles RESIDE in the sewers...What a croc that turned out to be.
6. Brings to mind: EVOKES.
7. Single __: FILE.
8. Bibliography abbr.: ET AL.
9. Like white peacocks: RARE. True, but . . . .
10. Blossomed: BUDDED.
11. In __ and out ...: ONE EAR.
12. Omelet bar burner: STERNO.
13. Boards: HOPS ON. As in she HOPS ON the bus. And another one . . .
21. Fan sounds: RAHS. E.G. sports fans. Not something used to cool the room.
22. Qualified: ABLE.
23. On vacation: AWAY. Okay, but next Yuletide are we going to sing "On vacation in a manger..."?
24. Medium of many a Calder mobile: WIRE.
28. Mustang, for one: CAR. The Ford Motor Company likes to name their productions models after horses.
29. Home of the Terracotta Army: CHINA. This solver first thought of XIAN but it was too short so settled for the less specific answer.
The date stamp says 2008
So it must have been at least 16 years ago
30. Email pioneer: AOL. Remember all of those free floppy discs?
31. FedEx rival: UPS.
35. Plead: BEG. As a youngster, my daughter BEGged me to play as a horse. I begrudgingly agreed...I didn't really want to be a neigh sayer.
36. Not 'neath: O'ER. OvER
37. Human Rights Day mo.: DEC. Only twelve from which to choose (as long as the editor sticks with English) so a single perp'd square usually let's us know.
38. Sleight of hand: ILLUSION.
Teller Shows Us How
39. Asset: PLUS. What's the best thing about living in Switzerland? I don't know, but the flag is a big PLUS.
40. Udon kin: SOBA. When it's a generic noodle reference we have to figure out which of these two it is likely going to be. This time things had already been narrowed down.
41. Five-time Wimbledon winner Björn: BORG.
Bjorn Cy-Borg
42. __ Park: University of Chicago locale: HYDE. Sometimes clued with an FDR reference. Other times with a nod to Dr. Jekyll.
43. Like someone who writes thank-you notes: POLITE.
44. __ rancheros: HUEVOS. I understand that blanquillos is often the preferred word as HUEVOS has another meaning in some contexts.
47. Cooled off like an overheated boxer?: PANTED. Not a prize fighter reference.
48. Ones on a path to the top?: HIKERS. Hiking puns can be hillarious.
53. Garfield frenemy: ODIE. ODIE is the dog.
54. Yin and __: YANG.
55. "Object Lessons" novelist Quindlen: ANNA.
56. Alternatively: ELSE.
60. Quirky: ODD. You know what's ODD? Every other number.
61. Rapper on the "King's Disease" trilogy of albums: NAS. As a frequent visitor, NAS has become my initial guess for three-letter rap-related answers even though I am completely unfamiliar with his body of work.
That will conclude the chain YANKing for today except, perhaps, for this:
Chacun a Son Goût ("Every One to Their Own Taste")
Here is the bored Prince Orlofsky (a "trouser role") throwing a party in Johann Straus' operetta Die Fledermaus ("The Bat"), and admonishing his revelers to behave to "their own tastes" (i.e. "do your own thing!") ...
Today's constructors, veteran Katie Hale and Tennessee Grimes (making his/her Corner debut), give us a taste of lean construction, with only 10 TLWs and only a few people and places. They also give us 4 asterisked single word theme clues that fill with a synonym preceded by one of the classic four tastes: SWEET, SALTY, SOUR, and BITTER, each a two word in-the-language phrase ...
16A. *Center: SWEET HEART. Teri is ...
23A. *Hound: SALTY DOG. Slang for a seasoned sailor and the title of a sad song by Procol Harum, possibly about the sinking of a ship, but the meaning of the lyrics are disputed ...
49A. *Memo: SOUR NOTE. An offkey note, or metaphorically an unpleasant ending
61A. *Tablet: BITTER PILL. Something difficult to swallow.
And the reveal ...
37A. Something not immediately appreciated, or what the answers to the starred clues have?: AN ACQUIRED TASTE. Each of the one word clues has acquired a taste.
My only beef is where's the UMAMI? 😀
Here's the grid ...
Here's the rest ...
Across: 1. "Ethan Frome" writer Wharton: EDITH. Ethan Frome is a 1911 novella by American author Edith Wharton. It details the story of a man who falls in love with his wife's cousin and the tragedies which result from the ensuing love triangle. The story is an echo of our last two themers, ending on a very sour note and on a very bitter pill for the protagonists. The novel has been adapted into a 1983 film of the same name, starring starring Liam Neeson, Patricia Arquette, Joan Allen and Tate Donovan ...
6. Zenith: ACME. I'm tempted to take this fill and run with it, but I'm afraid I'd end up at the bottom of a canyon. 😀
10. Bygone airline with an iconic terminal at JFK: TWA. The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City. The TWA Flight Center was designed for Trans World Airlines by Eero Saarinenand Associates starting in 1956. It was erected between 1959 and 1962, and it operated as an air terminal until 2001.
TWA Flight Center
13. Roughstock event: RODEO. This article describes various rodeo events including RoughstockSaddle bronc, Bareback, and Bull riding. Contestants have to stay on the animals for at least 8 seconds before they are scored by the judges for other variables like rider control and animal ferocity. By my reckoning the scores in this clip are beasts 10 and cowboys 3 (don't know the scores for "rider control" for the latter, but the beasts look pretty ferocious for all 13 events) ...
14. __ dunk: SLAM. I think some of the beasts in 13D could probably make it in basketball. 😀
20. Clinking occasion: TOAST. Here's the famous toast aria, 'Libiamo ne' lieti calici' ("Let us drink from our happy cups ...") from Verdi's La Traviata ... 21. Made a guest appearance during a jazz set, perhaps: SAT IN. Here's B.B. King sitting in on a John Mayer gig ...
34. Garden-variety fish?: EEL. Hand up if you thought it was KOI?
37. [Theme reveal]
41. Neither's partner: NOR.
42. "If only I could __ that": UNSEE.
43. Charles III, e.g.: KING. Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles ascended to the throne on 8 September 2022, after the death of his mother, the beloved Elizabeth II. She reigned for 70 years 214 days, the longest of any British monarch. Charles was the longest-serving British heir apparent, having surpassed Edward VII's record of 59 years on 20 April 2011. He was the oldest person to succeed to the British throne, at the age of 73.
King Charles III
44. Angler's need: BAIT.
46. Cantina sizzlers: FAJITAS. Our favorite Tex-Mex. Here's a recipe.
Steak Fajitas
49. [Theme clue]
53. Signature need: PEN.
54. Exponent symbol: CARET. As in 10^3 = 1,000. But this word has 3 other homophones with different meanings:
55. Wage increase: RAISE.
57. Airport served by BART: SFO. The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system station. The elevated station is a transfer point to the AirTrain people mover system.
60. __ Major: URSA. Today's Latin lesson: BEAR -- the Big Bear, aka the Big Dipper, probably the most recognizable of the Northern asterisms ...
The Big Dipper the two stars furthest to the right point upward to Polaris, the North Star (not shown in this picture)
61. [Theme clue].
63. "All __ are off!": BETS.
64. Self starter?: YOUR. Meta clue.
65. Barely beat: EDGED.
66. Spots: ADS.
67. Spot: ESPY. An archaic term for "to see", rarely used outside of crosswords 😀. Also the ESPYAwards (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, and often referred to as the ESPYs) is an annual American awards show produced by ESPN since 1993, recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports.
68. Copenhagen citizens: DANES. Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark and the birthplace of my favorite DANE, Niels Bohr (come to think of it, the only other Dane I can name besides his wife Margrethe is Hamlet 😀)
Niels Bohr
Down:
1. Gaelic tongue: ERSE. An alternative name for any Goidelic language, especially the Irish language.
Percentage of Irish speakers in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland 2011 Census
2. Word with payment or pillow: DOWN.
3. Put a name to a face: IDED.
4. Many an undershirt: TEE.
5. Bubbly bath: HOT TUB.
6. On the briny: ASEA.
7. Elegance: CLASS.
8. One of the von Trapp girls: MARTA. Surprise -- there was no MARTAvon Trapp, at least not in real life. Marta is a character in Roger's and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, but there was no one by the name in the von Trapp family. There was a Martina, but her nickname was not Marta. Here is the real story of the von Trapp Family.
The Trapp Family in January 1946.
A personal note: Agathe von Trapp settled in America and was a parishioner in Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Glyndon, MD, where she was a music teacher in the school. Teri and I used to attend that church years after the time of Agathe's death in 2010, but many of the existing parishioners still had fond memories of her.
9. Triage pro: EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.
10. "OK, now I'm really mad": THAT DOES IT.
11. Nintendo antagonist in purple overalls: WARIO. Wario is a character in Nintendo's Mario franchise that was designed as an arch nemesis to Mario. Wario first appeared as the main antagonist and final boss in the 1992 Game Boy game Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. His name is a portmanteau of the name Mario and the Japanese word warui (悪い), meaning "bad".
Wario
12. Interlaced with: AMONG.
15. Legal suspensions: STAYS.
17. "Today" co-host Kotb: HODA. Hoda Kotb (HOH-də KOT-bee, born in Norman, Oklahoma on August 9, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show Today and co-host of its entertainment-focused fourth hour. Kotb formerly served as a correspondent for the television news magazine program Dateline NBC.
Hoda Kotb
21. Guitar that Bob Dylan went electric with, familiarly: STRAT. I was looking for something like B.B. King'sLucille, but here Dylan just plays his STRATocaster at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival ... 22. Smart: CHIC.
24. Member of the peerage: LORD.
25. James of "The Godfather": CAAN. James Edmund Caan (KAHN; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in The Godfather (1972) – a performance that earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor. He reprised his role in The Godfather Part II (1974). He received a motion-picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1978.
James Caan
26. Montessori year?: ANNO. Today's Italian lesson: YEAR. Maria Montessori, the founder of the eponymous teaching method was born in Chiaravalle, Italy. A bit of a stretch. 😀
Maria Montessori 31 August 1870 – 6 May 1952
27. Patterns around explosive comic book sound effects: STARBURSTS.
28. World Series stat: RBIS. Runs Batted In (RBI) vs Runs Batted Ins (RBIS). Your opinion?
32. Previously found in poetry?: ERE.
33. 49-Down spot: REEF.
35. Volcano with 2,700 years of documented eruptions: ETNA. Let's see what it's up to today .. If the above display is dark, try this webcam right on the slopes of the volcano.
36. Staying power: LEGS.
38. One of five: QUINT. One of 5 cards, or one of five quintuplets, children all born at the same time, e.g. the Dionne sisters born in Callander, Ontario in 1934 (CSO to CanadianEh!) ...
The first quintuplets known to survive infancy 1947
47. Cardinal's wing?: APSE. A section of a Church? Crossword Tracker shows that this is the first time this clue has been used for this fill (click View All to see complete list).
51. Le Tigre and HAIM: TRIOS. Le Tigre was formed in 1998 by Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning. Here's their TKO ... And from the other side of the tracks we have Haim (/ˈhaɪɪm/ HY-im; meaning "life" in Hebrew, stylized HAIM), an American rock band, based in Los Angeles and composed of three sisters, Este (bass guitar and vocals), Danielle (lead vocals, guitar, and drums), and Alana Haim (guitars, keyboards, and vocals). In addition to their primary instruments, each is proficient in several others. Here's their Cherry Flavored Stomach Ache ...
Theme: Confused Dog Days of August. The circled letters in each theme fill are a jumble of a type of terrier dog.
Fortunately, not like this.
18 A. *Skeptical response to an ultimatum: OR ELSE WHAT. Wadda ya gonna do about it? The mixed up dog here is a WELSH terrier.
24 A. *Swashbuckling feline voiced by Antonio Banderas: PUSS IN BOOTS. The original story is a European fairy tale about an anthropomorphic cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand in marriage of a princess for his penniless and low-born master. Now, this cat has gone to the dogs. Or at least to a BOSTON terrier.
50 A. *Common side with chiles rellenos: SPANISH RICE. A Mexican side dish made from white rice, tomato, garlic, onion, and perhaps other ingredients. Under the table, hoping for scraps, is an IRISH terrier.
39 A. *"Absitively posolutely!": HECKYES. Slangy and jumbled, but enthusiastic agreement. And who could say no to a SKYE terrier?
And the unifier -- 59 A. Hybrid dog breed, literal examples of which can be found in the answers to the starred clues: TERRIERMIX. A terrier mix is a dog that is a combination of a terrier-type dog and another breed. They can vary in size, color, and personality, and can make good companions for many lifestyles. What kind of dogged determination did it take to find the fill for this puzzle?
Hi, Gang. JazzBumpa here to walk us through this doggone fine puzzle, and not bark up any wrong trees along the way. Nothing arf-way about it. I've never had a dog, but every family in our next generation has has had a parade of them over the decades - mostly rescues.
Across:
1. Forecaster's tool?: ESP. Extra Sensory Perception - a paranormal ability to perceive information outside of the five senses, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, or precognition. Here, this is not a weather forecaster, as you might suspect, but somebody predicting the future
4. Sow's opposite: REAP. Planting and harvesting.
8. Forecaster's tool: RADAR. This clecho does refer to the weather.
13. Wong of "Beef": ALI. Alexandra Dawn "Ali" Wong [b. 1982] is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer and director. She is best known for her Netflix stand-up specials Baby Cobra, Hard Knock Wife, and Don Wong.
14. Seal predator: ORCA. The orca, or killer whale, is a toothed whale that is the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. It is the only extant species in the genus Orcinus. Orcas are recognizable by their black-and-white patterned body. They are the only predator feared by the great white shark. All they want from the shark is it's liver.
15. Lady Liberty's land, familiarly: US OF A. United States of America.
16. Bay Area industry: TECH. Computers, chips, software, and related items.
20. Unwilling to be swayed from: SET ON. Bound and determined, as my mother used to say.
22. Driver's "Star Wars" role: REN. The son of Han Solo and Princess Leia, Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver, is a dark warrior strong with the Force. He commands First Order missions with a temper as fiery as his unconventional lightsaber. As a leader of the First Order and a student of Supreme Leader Snoke, he seeks to destroy the New Republic, the Resistance and the legacy of the Jedi. If anyone is interested, here is my review of a movie he was in.
23. "Were your __ burning?": EARS. 'Cuz I was dissing you to your friends.
28. Retired Bing assistant: CORTANA. Not Mr. Crosby's former butler, Cortana was a virtual assistant developed by Microsoft that used the Bing search engine to perform tasks such as setting reminders and answering questions for users.
29. Shout to a diva: BRAVA. A shout of approval, the female equivalent of "bravo."
32. Days before: EVES. Especially of holidays or important events.
33. Vocal quality after a long speech, perhaps: RASP. A rough, unpleasant sound due to vocal irritation.
36. Giving a good look: EYING. Looking at or watching closely or with interest. Ogling, perhaps.
38. Flanders who lives on Evergreen Terrace: NED. Homer Simpson's neighbor.
41. Change one's tone?: DYE. Tone here meaning color, as of hair or clothing. Clever.
42. Innate characteristic: TRAIT. A distinguishing quality or genetically determined characteristic.
44. Role: PART. As in a stage or screen performance.
45. Nintendo rival: SEGA. Video game consoles.
46. Electronic instrument, for short: SYNTHesizer -- An electronic machine for producing different sounds. Synthesizers are used as musical instruments, especially for copying the sounds of other instruments, and for copying speech sounds..
48. National Park vacation package, perhaps: ECOTOUR. Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education
53. Burn treatment: ALOE. Ointment made from the juice of Aloe vera -- a succulent plant species of the genus Aloe. It is widely distributed, and is considered an invasive species in many world regions. An evergreen perennial, it originates from the Arabian Peninsula, but also grows wild in tropical, semi-tropical, and arid climates around the world
56. Bushwacker liquor: RUM. This does not refer to woodsmen skilled at surviving in the wilderness, nor to confederate guerrillas. Instead, the bushwhacker is a complex cocktail with several and varied ingrediants, which might or might not include rum.
57. Skyscraper abundance: GLASS. Because they often have a cladding system that covers the building's exterior by combining large windows and opaque panels to create the look of an uninterrupted glass surface.
63. "Frozen" sister: ELSA. When their kingdom becomes trapped in perpetual winter, fearless Anna (Kristen Bell) joins forces with mountaineer Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and his reindeer sidekick to find Anna's sister, Snow Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel), and break her icy spell. One might argue which of these female siblings is the main character and which is the "sister."
64. Runs into: MEETS. This refers to a chance encounter, rather than a planned meeting or a collision.
65. Click a floppy disk icon: SAVE. The act of preserving data at a storage location, such the hard drive or a portable device.
66. Stocking stuffer?: LEG. Usually this phrase refers to Christmas presents stuck in a decorated cloth tube hanging from the mantle. But here it's a body part put into an article of clothing.
67. Tiny bit: SKOSH. The word skosh comes from the Japanese word sukoshi, which is pronounced "skoh shee" and means "a tiny bit" or "a small amount." The Japanese word was shortened by U.S. servicemen stationed in Japan after World War II.
68. "Grand" ice cream: EDYS. A brand of ice cream from the American company Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc., which was founded in 1928 by William Dreyer and Joseph Edy. The brand is named after its founders and is sold in the Eastern and Midwestern United States under the Edy's name, and in the Western United States and Texas under the Dreyer's name.
69. U.S. ID issuer: SSA. Social Security Administration.
Down:
1. Puts away: EATS. Downs, ingests, devours.
2. Some tween parties: SLEEPOVERS. An event involving an overnight stay at another's house.
3. When school is full of posers?: PICTURE DAY. The day when school pictures are taken. Of course, the students all pose. Clever.
5. Go astray: ERR. Goof up. In the New Testament the Greek word for sin is a term from archery that means "missing the mark."
6. Biting: ACERB. Dry, sour or bitter. I always want an -ic at the end.
7. Diet that avoids processed foods: PALEO. An eating plan based on foods humans might have eaten during the Paleolithic Era. The Paleolithic Era dates from around 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. A modern paleo diet includes fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds.
8. Regret: RUE. Bitterly regret what one had done. Did the apprentice chef rue spoiling the roux?
9. In a manner of speaking: AS WE SAY. In a manner of speaking.
10. City whose name comes from the Arabic for "roundness": DOHA. Doha is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the country's population. It does have a sort of semi-circular layout.
11. Nowhere near: AFAR. At a distance.
12. "Dagnabbit!": RATS. Oh, phooey!
17. Slews: HOSTS. Large quantities.
19. Craft beer aficionado, perhaps: SNOB. A person who believes that their tastes in a particular area are superior to those of other people. I, for one, prefer Bell's Oberon to Budweiser.
21. Unit with a classified no. of employees: NSA. The National Security Agency/Central Security Service, a US Department of Defense agency that is part of the US Intelligence Community. The NSA's mission is to protect US national security systems and information by collecting, processing, and sharing foreign electronic signals intelligence. They also work to prevent foreign adversaries from accessing classified national security information.
25. Memo header: IN RE. In re is a Latin phrase meaning “in the matter of.” The term “In re” is used in legal documents to refer to a case, particularly a case without an opposing party.
26. Image Awards gp.: NAACP. NAACP stands for National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. It is the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the United States, founded in 1909 by Black and white activists in New York City. The NAACP was created in response to the violence against Black Americans at the time.
27. Very, in Vichy: TRES.
28. Minor change?: CENT. Ha, ha. One penny, rather than some slight modification.
30. What Zoomers are up to these days?: VIDEO CALLS. Zoom is a proprietary videotelephony software program developed by Zoom Video Communications. The free plan allows up to 100 concurrent participants, with a 40-minute time restriction.
31. "Who thinks they know the answer?": ANY GUESSES. I had a few solving this puzzle.
34. Reel Big Fish genre: SKA. A music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the off beat. Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album Turn the Radio Off.
35. Funeral piles: PYRES. Heaps of wood for burning a dead body.
37. Camper's bagful: GEAR. Equipment that is used for a particular purpose.
39. Address letters: HTTP. For web addresses
40. __ A Sketch: ETCH. A mechanical drawing toy operated by two knobs moving an enclosed stylus horizontally and vertically. It always amazed me when someone could actuallly draw something with one.
43. Some orthotic devices: INSERTS. Custom-made, removable, prescription medical devices that are worn inside shoes to help relieve pain and correct foot problems. Not all shoe inserts are orthotics.
45. Subway spinner: STILE. Short for turnstile, a post having arms which turn around that is set in an entrance or exit so that persons can pass through only on foot one by one.
47. Fabled braggart: HARE. In his hubris, he lost the race with the tortoise. "The Tortoise and the Hare" is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 226 in the Perry Index. The account of a race between unequal partners has attracted conflicting interpretations. The fable itself is a variant of a common folktale theme in which ingenuity and trickery are employed to overcome a stronger opponent.
49. Assn.: ORG. Association, organization.
51. Breastfeed: NURSE. literal.
52. "So cheesed off!": I'M MAD. An expression of anger.
53. Note givers: ATMS. Automatic Teller Machines, notes in this case being paper currency.
54. Shallot relative: LEEK. Both of these plants form edible bulbs that are used in cooking. They are related to onoins.
55. McCafé frappé flavor: OREO. A sweet, frozen coffee drink from McDonald's that blends vanilla Frappé base, ice, Oreo cookie pieces, and Cookies 'N Cream flavored syrup, and tops it with whipped cream and more Oreos
58. Overdrawn account?: SAGA. Not related to bank overdrafts. Instead, this clue isa pejorative descriptor of a long story.
60. Thereabouts: -ISH. A suffix that makes the modified noun less exact.
61. Wrigley Field plant: IVY. Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. Wrigley Field's features include its ivy-covered brick outfield wall, distinctive wind patterns off Lake Michigan, the red marquee over the main entrance, and the hand-turned scoreboard.
62. Marks (out): XES. Draws an X or a series of X's through something to indicate that it is incorrect or no longer wanted.
That's it for this Wednesday. See you in September.
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