Friday, November 29, 2024, Deanne Cliburn, Will Eisenberg

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists, Malodorous Manatee here with a Friday, post-Thursday-food-coma, puzzle co-authored by Deanne Cliburn and Will Eisenberg.  An online search reveals that Will has previously shared puzzles with us.  I am not sure about Deanne.  Her name does not "pop up" when entering labels so a hearty "Congratulations on your LAT debut, Deanne" may be in order.

Today, our collaborating constructors conjure up a theme where they start with common two-word combinations.  In each case, the second word begins with the letter S.  By removing the S from the second word and appending the S onto the end of the first word, they make that first word possessive and, thereby, manage to completely alter the original meaning in a humorous manner without in any way altering the letter sequence.

The gag is implemented at these five places in the grid:

19 Across:  Having to watch the hare win over and over, perhaps: Tortoise Shell morphs into TORTOISE'S HELL.

27 Across:  Cabbie who picks up crustaceans, perhaps:  Crab Shack morphs into CRAB 'S HACK.  HACK, of course, being slang for taxi driver.

35 Across:  Birdhouse opening, perhaps: Cardinal Sin morphs into CARDINAL'S IN.  As in the bird's way in.

43 Across:  Device needed to renovate a small pad, perhaps: Toad Stool morphs into TOAD'S TOOL.  Toads, of course, like to hang out on lily pads.

54 Across:  Legal proceeding in the grazing meadow, perhaps: Sheep Shearing morphs into SHEEP'S HEARING.  Or, a different type of hearing . . .

Here is the completed grid:

. . . and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Goal for some night sch. students: GED.  While you may hear other meanings for GED such as Graduate Equivalency Degree or General Educational Diploma, GED traditionally stands for General Educational Development Test. 

4. Class for a 1L: TORTS.  A law school reference.  A 1L is a first-year law school student.

9. Device with 1080p resolution, e.g.: HDTV.  High-Definition TeleVision

13. Actor Malek: RAMI.  He portrayed Freddie Mercury in the film Bohemian Rhapsody.

14. Star ingredient in Chinese five-spice powder?: ANISE.

Star ANISE

15. Irish cheddar?: EURO.  Cheddar, in this case, being slang for money.

16. Sunburn soother: ALOE.  A frequent soother.

17. Bushel fractions: PECKS.

18. "Call Her Daddy" podcast host Cooper: ALEX.  All you might wish to know:  Wiki - Call Her Daddy

22. Common mark on a beginner's crossword: ERASURE.  Not limited to beginners.

23. March VIP: ST. PAT.  VIP is abbreviated.

26. Timetable locale: DEPOT.

31. Unenviable grade: DEE.  Although better than an EFF.

33. Hubbub: ADO.

34. "Who am __ judge?": I TO.  Cute.  Without the punctuation marks, and the space, it reads Judge Ito.

39. Something to shoot for?: PAR.  A golf reference.

41. Believer's suffix: IST.  Does a Cruciverbalist believe in crossword puzzles?

42. Homey room: DEN.

47. Stage: PHASE.

51. Fake ID?: ALIAS.  I know a guy who know’s a guy. I had him make me a fake ID card with a different name.  My alias was Justin Case.

52. Did the dishes: CATERED.  Clever.  Not something to do with cleaning up.  Prepared the dishes (food).

58. Besmirch: SOIL.

60. Was circumspect about: GOT AT.  Not sure I agree with the way this one was clued. 

61. East, in El Salvador: ESTE.  A directional Spanish lesson.

62. Salon service, informally: MANI.  MANIcure.

63. "Here we go __": AGAIN.

64. Square one?: NERD.

65. Minor name in constellations?: URSA.  Hope this one wasn't too much of a bear.

66. Doctrine: DOGMA.  What did the Catholic say to the Hindu?  Your karma just ran over my dogma!

67. Carry-on inspectors: Abbr.: TSA.  Carry-on luggage

Down:

1. In spades: GALORE.

2. Genre with moody hip-hop elements: EMO RAP.  Never heard of it but not too difficult to perp.

3. Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, for one: DIET SODA.

4. Herbivore with a short proboscis: TAPIR.

5. "Hold your horses": ONE SEC.  Idiomatic clue.

6. Sushi component: RICE.  Rice is so basic and this solver thought of several other possibilities before the AHA moment.  Doh!

7. Shows judgment: TSKS.  Not as in sagacity.  As in being judgmental,

8. Casual get-together: SESH.  We've seen this for Session before.

9. __ food: HEALTH.  So many words could have filled the blank.  If they'd fit.  And perp'd.

10. Ache: DULL PAIN.

11. Three, in Rome: TRE.

12. News site that hosts the "Future Perfect" reporting project: VOX.  All that you might wish to know:  Vox

13. Placed on a scale: RATED.  Not as in weighed.

20. The "O" of North Carolina's OBX: OUTER.  The OUTER Banks.

21. First of September?: ESS.  One of those clues.  September starts with S.

24. Perform in a play: ACT.

25. Bout-ending decision: TKO.  A boxing reference,  Technical Knock Out.

28. Totaled: RAN TO.  Like this but past tense:

29. Law that led to many curb cuts, for short: ADA.

30. Fearless: BOLD.

32. Make shipshape, in a way: EDIT.  A bit of a mixed metaphor.   EDITing text puts it into shape.

35. Ocean Spray snack: CRAISINS.

36. Kin of equi-: ISO.

37. Commuter's way around Philly: SEPTA.

38. Bone-deep: INHERENT.

39. School support gp.: PTA.  Group is abbreviated.

40. MSN rival: AOL.  This solver still uses America OnLine for some emails.  My kids were right.

44. National flower of Mexico: DAHLIA.

45. GPS heading: SSE.  Sur Sureste

46. Hebrew toast: L'CHAIM.

48. Comes up: ARISES.

49. Compact Nissan: SENTRA.  An automotive reference.

1982 Datsun Sentra

50. Finished some landscaping: EDGED.

53. Insurer owned by CVS: AETNA.

55. "Crikey!": EGAD.  My sentiments, exactly.

56. __ stick: POGO.   So many words could have filled the blank.  If they fit.  And perp'd.

57. Partnerless: STAG.

58. The Mustangs of the ACC: SMU.

59. Paddle kin: OAR.  When rowing I often do not know which paddle to use.  I guess that it is a case of either OAR.

Wishing everyone a great holiday long weekend.  I will be off to the mountains for a while to recharge and will be taking a break from blogging over the next month.  Rest assured, however, that Friday commentary will be in extremely capable hands.

_______________________________________________

Thursday, November 28, 2024, Brent Sverdloff & Katie Hale

  Music of the Spheres

O vis eternitatis (O force of Eternity)
Hildegard von Bingen

I really liked this puzzle.  Today's constructors, Brent Sverdloff and Katie Hale, remind us that music is literally a universal language, a "force of eternity", recognized and appreciated not only here on Earth, but all over the Universe.  They demonstrate this with three theme clues filled with songs from different genres, each ending with the name of an extra-terrestrial body ... 

16. *Frank Sinatra song: FLY ME TO THE MOON.  A jazz standard written in 1954 by Bart Howard ...

29. *Beatles song: HERE COMES THE SUN.  A classic rock song written by Beatle George Harrison ...

49. *Bing Crosby song: SWINGING ON A STAR.  An American pop standard with music composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film Going My Way, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song that year.

Our constructors bring it all together with their reveal ...

61. Heavenly sounds, and what the answers to the starred clues could be called: CELESTIAL MUSIC.

... this is also a particularly apt description of the music by the Medieval mystic Hildegard von Bingen that introduced this review.

Here's the grid ...

Here's the rest ...

Across:

 1. Bypasses: OMITS.

6. Out of alignment: BENT.

10. Pilot's fig.: ALT.  ALTITUDE.

13. One of 70 on a radiant-cut diamond: FACET.
 

Radiant-cut Diamond

14. Actor Sy of "Lupin": OMAR.  Lupin is a French mystery thriller television series about professional thief Assane Diop, the only son of an immigrant from Senegal who had come to France to seek a better life for himself and his child. Assane's father is framed for the theft of an expensive diamond necklace by his employer and dies in his prison cell, leaving the fourteen-year-old Assane to fend for himself on the streets of Paris. Twenty-five years later, inspired by a book about gentleman thief Arsène Lupin his father had given him on his birthday, Assane sets out to get revenge on the Pellegrini family ...

15. Class before chem, often: BIO.  

16. [Theme clue]

19. Kitten's call: MEW.

Kitten mewing

20. Nursery sch.: PRE K.  PRE Kindergarten.

21. Brickmaker's need: KILN.  I filled CLAY first.  In researching this clue I stumbled upon this interesting short video about the history of brickmaking in Baltimore (interesting to Baltimorons anyway 😀) ... 

22. Many a North African: ARAB.

24. Like a ghost story: EERIE.  Like a really spooky lake?

27. Loaded, in Lima: RICO.  Today's Spanish lesson: RICH.

29. [Theme clue]

32. Paragon: IDEAL.

33. Florence or Sydney: CITY.  Iconic cities ...

The Florence Cathedral

 

The Sydney Opera House

34. "The Penguin" network: HBO.  The Penguin is an American crime drama television miniseries developed by Lauren LeFranc. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, it is a sequel spin-off from The Batman, a 2022 film. The series follows Oz Cobb's rise to power in Gotham City's criminal underworld.  Definitely not a family series.  Here's the first season trailer 

35. Nothing: NADA.  More Spanish: NADA = "Nothing".

38. Bath bubbles: SUDS. 

40. Sci-fi invaders: ETS.  They've been in the news since July 8, 1947 (two days after I was born😯) and are still in the news today -- here and here.

43. "Peter Pan" pooch: NANA.  NANA appears in the story's opening scene.  She is the Darling children's nursemaid ... 

45. Do a double take, say: REACT.

49. [Theme clue]

53. Bellagio's lake: COMO.  Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy.  It has an area of 146 square kilometres (56 sq mi), making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres (1,300 ft) deep, it is the fifth-deepest lake in Europe and the deepest outside Norway; the bottom of the lake is 227 metres (745 ft) below sea level. One notable characteristic is its distinctive "Y" shape ... 

Lake Como

54. Colander cousin: SIEVE.

55. Supergirl, for one: HERO.  Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman.  Here's a preview of coming attractions for one of the upcoming spinoffs starring Australian actress Milly Alcock.   ... 

56. "Pick one" hand position: FIST.

58. Lumber mill array: SAWS.  Lumber mills do indeed have arrays of SAWS, but in researching this clue I encountered many more arrays of lumber mills.

60. Planner page: DAY.

61. [Theme reveal]

65. Red state: IRE.  The red states are not in a red state these days. 😀

66. Hong __: KONG.  My son, new grandson, and I ate lunch in Hong Kong during a one hour stopover from China to bring my grandson home.

67. "Peter Grimes," for one: OPERA.  Peter Grimes is a tragic opera in 3 acts written by English composer Benjamin Britten in 1945.  It is a dark, brooding story, set in a small fishing village on the East coast of England.  Peter Grimes is a fisherman, a loner, estranged from the villagers and is accused of the deaths of his two young apprentices.  The ending is ambiguous and we never really know if the accusations are true.  In the last scene Grimes rows out to sea and drowns himself by scuttling his boat.  It's not an opera I would recommend to those unacquainted with the genre. 

The overall mood of the work is perhaps best expressed by a haunting, standalone instrumental work which is often performed as a concert piece -- The Four Sea Interludes that separate the acts.  Here Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo leads the orchestra ...

68. Donkey: ASS.

69. No great shakes: SO SO.

70. "We have the __!": Arby's slogan: MEATS.

Down:

1. Put up for sale: OFFERED.

2. Risk of spreading spam: MALWARE.  Malware (a portmanteau of malicious software) is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, deprive access to information, or which unknowingly interferes with the user's computer security and privacy. 

3. Like a hostile greeting: ICY.

4. Office part-timer: TEMP.

5. Start to type?: STEREO.

6. Goodreads suggestion, briefly: BOOK REC.  Helping you decide what to read next ...

7. CPR expert: EMT.  An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is an expert in Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).  The first step in helping someone who has had a heart attack and who has no pulse (their heart has stopped) is to call 911.  Leave your phone on for instructions from the dispatcher and begin CPR immediately ...

8. Casual pass: NAH.  "Not interested".

9. Long journey: TREK.

10. Put an end to: ABOLISH.

11. Simba, when lifted up by Rafiki: LION CUB.  Rafiki is a baboon who knows a secret about Simba's father ... 

12. Two thousand pounds: TON.

17. Abound (with): TEEM.

18. Mucky spot: MIRE.

19. Hawaiian catch, on menus: MAHI.  Here's a recipe for pan fried MAHI-MAHI ...

Mahi-Mahi

23. Kidney __: BEAN.

25. Egyptian goddess of healing: ISIS.  Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world.  Her maternal aid was invoked in healing spells to benefit ordinary people. She was usually portrayed in art as a human woman wearing a throne-like hieroglyph on her head.

Isis

26. Shakespearean rebuke: ET TU.  Today's Latin lesson: "AND YOU ... (Brutus!)".

28. Artist Yoko: ONO.  Yoko Ono (born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.

Yoko and John Lennon
when they married in 1969

30. "The Trolley Song" sound: CLANG.  The Trolley Song is a song written by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin and made famous by Judy Garland in the 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis ...

31. Many-headed mythical monster: HYDRA.  The Hydra was a serpentine lake monster with 9 heads in Greek and Roman mythology. Its lair was the lake of Lerna, reputed to be an entrance to the Underworld.  In the canonical Hydra myth, the monster is killed by Heracles (Hercules) as the second of his Twelve Labors. 

Heracles battling the Hydra

36. Keynote's spot: DAIS.

37. MMXXIII, MMXXIV, etc.: ANNI.  Today's Latin lesson: "Years".

39. Informal gathering: SESH.

40. Key hit in panic: ESC.

41. Groupon deals, perhaps: TWO FERS.  Groupon, Inc. is an American global e-commerce marketplace connecting subscribers with local merchants by offering discounted activities, travel, goods and services in 13 countries. Groupon was launched in November 2008, its name being a portmanteau of "group" and "coupon". Groupon's first deal was a two-pizzas-for-the-price-of-one offer at the Motel Bar, a restaurant on the first floor of the company's building in Chicago.  By the end of March 2015, Groupon served more than 500 cities worldwide, nearly 48.1 million active customers and featured more than 425,000 active deals globally in 48 countries.

42. "Fit as a fiddle" and "free as a bird": SIMILES.  A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things using words such as "like a", "as a".  Similes are often confused with metaphors which are rhetorical comparisons of two things without any connectors.  They may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas.  

44. "It used to be that ... ": AGES AGO.  LONG AGO fit, but didn't perp.

46. Was taken down quite a few notches: ATE DIRT.  An evocative metaphor ...

47. Birthplace of Simón Bolívar: CARACAS.  Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios Ponte y Blanco (his friends just called him Sy 😀) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bolivia to independence from the Spanish Empire. He is known colloquially as El Libertador, or the Liberator of America.

Simón Bolívar
24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830

48. Former quarterback Aikman: TROY.  Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.  Aikman was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

Troy Aikman

50. Snout: NOSE.

51. Track shape: OVAL.

52. One taking maternity leave: NEW MOM.

57. Disapproving sounds: TSKS.

59. Tenant's contact, briefly: SUPE.  Superintendent.  I've heard "super" before, but never "supe".
.
61. Org. in "Argo": CIA.  Argo is a 2012 American biographical historical drama thriller film based on real events, directed, produced by, and starring Ben Affleck. The screenplay was adapted from the 1999 memoir The Master of Disguise by U.S. C.I.A. operative Tony Mendez and the 2007 Wired article The Great Escape: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran.  Here's a trailer ...

62. Moreover: TOO.

63. Helpful connections: INS.

64. Dog or wolf preceder: SEA.  There were many references for both Sea Dog and Sea Wolf, but here are two I found interesting ...

The Sea Dogs were a group of English privateers and explorers authorized by Queen Elizabeth I to raid England's enemies, whether they were formally at war with them or not. Active from 1560 until Elizabeth's death in 1603, the Sea Dogs primarily attacked Spanish targets both on land and at sea, particularly during the Anglo-Spanish War. Probably the most famous of these was Sir Francis Drake, who lead the British navy in their defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.  The defeat is commemorated in a poem called Drake's Drum by Sir Henry Newbolt and set to music by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.  My favorite recording of Drake's Drum is a  stirring rendition by Sir John Shirley-Quirk, which sadly is no longer available on Youtube. Here is an MP3 file of Sir John singing Drake's Drum, copied from one of my old CD's: 

Lyrics

The Sea-Wolf is a 1941 film starring Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, and John Garfield, based on a 1904 novel by Jack London,   It begins when fiction writer Humphrey Van Weyden and escaped convict Ruth Webster are rescued when a ferry they are traveling on collides with another vessel and sinks. They are rescued from drowning by the Ghost, a seal-hunting ship. The Ghost's captain is Wolf Larsen, who delights in abusing his crew ...

Cheers, and a Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you and your loved ones!

Bill

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

waseeley

Wednesday, Nov 27th, 2024 ~ Christina Iverson

  THE MIND...

I am a pluviophile

Another 16 x 15 grid for a Wednesday puzzle - but - no circles, then again eight or ten names, depending on how you count, 22 each of TLWs and four-letter words, eight "quoted" clues, and a whopping ELEVEN abbreviations;

18. *Is treated unfairly: GETS THE SHAFT

29. *Biodiverse ecological layer: RAINFOREST CANOPY

49. *Lost control of one's emotions: FLEW OFF THE HANDLE

64. Expression that covers a broad category, or what is found at the end of the answer to each starred clue?: UMBRELLA TERM - Today's $2 word for this phrase is "hypernymy"

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Coastal country with approximately a quarter of Africa's gorillas: GABON - I recall "Survivor" had a season there

6. "Huh, really?": "THAT SO~?"

12. Panda car driver: COP - I did not know this is a British term, despite having parents born & raised in England, but it makes sense; black & white . . . . the Wiki

15. The "A" of the ABC islands: ARUBA - the others being Bonaire and Curaçao

16. Become less intense: EASE UP

17. Singer DiFranco: ANI - name #1 

20. Slump: SAG

21. Skedaddles: SCOOTS

22. Fish out of water: MISFITS - semi-meh.  FishES would have helped

24. Data unit: BYTE

26. "A little assistance here!": "HELP~!"

28. Monogram pt.: INITials - abbr#1

34. Irene who matched wits with Holmes: ADLER - #2; I did not know this character

35. Eateries that might have 1950s decor: DINERS

Hello~? McFly~?

36. Actress Gadot: GAL - #3; I am getting used to seeing her in crosswords now

37. Apple platform: iOS

40. Foot part: TOE

41. Arthur of "The Golden Girls": BEA - #4, crossword staple

44. "You're making me blush!": "STOP IT~!"

47. Sacred song: PSALM

54. Actress Chaplin: OONA - #5 - her IMDb

55. Phone message: TEXT

56. Genesis garden: EDEN

57. Suitcases: LUGGAGE

61. Gutter ball preventer: BUMPER

I think she's cheating . . . .

63. Genetic material: DNA - abbr#2

68. Common breakfast ingredient: EGG

69. Hearty: ROBUST

70. Loads (of): SCADS

71. Poor grade: DEE

72. Real estate and the like: ASSETS

and "the like"  :7))

73. "Aw, shucks": "OH MAN..."


DOWN:

1. "Eww!": GAG

2. "__ you nuts?": ARE

3. "And yet ... ": BUT STILL...

4. More than a little indecent: OBSCENE - "the words he knows are all obscene, but . . . "

We lost Phil Lesh last month - Oct 25th

5. Brussels-based gp.: NATO - Wed-level crossword clue - abbr#3

6. Wobble: TEETER - good WAG on my part

7. Pestered: HASSLED - but ANNOYED was not

8. Volcanic residue: ASH

9. United group: TEAM

10. Certain Muslim: SUFI

11. Makes a selection: OPTS - meh. chooses is  better

12. Vegas venue: CASINO - I have ZERO desire to go to Las Vegas, other than to see the architecture

13. How some bet: ON A TIP - Dah~! Not ONLINE

14. Spot that isn't spotless: PIG STY

19. Hostess brand: HoHo - meh.  I don't like this clue; isn't it a "product", not a brand~?

23. Snorkeler's footwear: FINS - how goes the swimming, C.C.~?

24. Boast: BRAG

25. When repeated, "Blah, blah, blah" kin: YADA - the "Elaine-ism" from Seinfeld

27. Trident-shaped letter: PSI

30. __ pie: dish with corn chips: FRITO - does make sense; we called it "Dip" in Cincinnati

31. Explosive letters: TNT - two blogs in a row for me; abbr#5

32. Corp. suit: CEO - ah; 'suit' meaning the 'person' in the position; the term for this is "metonymy" - and abbr#6

33. Colombian street snack: AREPA

A recipe here - a taco made with a thick corn flatbread

38. "Sounds painful!": "OOF~!"

39. UV-filtering measurement: SPF - Sun Protection Factor - for UV "B" rays, and abbr#7

41. Nightmare: BAD DREAM

42. Fanning of "Super 8": ELLE - #5, More from her IMDb page

43. Prayer ending: AMEN

44. Branded totes and pens, e.g.: SWAG - I am quietly wondering if I will ever get invited to the Pipe Organ convention, and see what swag they are offering. . . . 

45. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT - duh-duh-duh dun....snick - snick - #6

46. Tina Turner's signature song: THE BEST - I can think of others that are "BETTER"

48. Star-bellied Dr. Seuss creature: SNEETCH - I've never heard of these guys, #7

49. Practiced origami: FOLDED - practiced POKER, too

50. Upscale waiting area in an airport: LOUNGE - total WAG

51. Take part (in): ENGAGE

And a Picard Shout-Out~!

52. Rejoices: EXULTS

53. Web design code: HTML - abbr#8

58. Supernatural glow: AURA

59. Engineered foods, for short: GMOs - Genetically Modified Organisms, abbr#9

60. Subsides: EBBS

62. El __, Texas: PASO

65. Regret: RUE

66. Dietary amt.: RDA - abbr#10

67. Early AOL rival: MSN -  MicroSoft Network - abbr#11

Splynter

Savor Stuffing the Stuffing tomorrow~!